284 A Promise
Chapter 284
A Promise
Cain returned to the reality he knew, on in which the cosmos wasn't borne naked before him. One within which he was just a slightly above-average Conqueror, entirely unassuming beyond his perfectly-crafted dad jokes that always incited a laugh from everyone. And one within which he suddenly felt a sense of emptiness. The Dragon had vanished, and a quick look around confirmed that the Wyverns did as well.
The world was wholly empty and barren now, the sounds of silence filling the gaps between the narrow spaces. He landed squarely and gently from the sky, welcomed by the greeting party who stared at him in anticipation. He elected not to tell them anything—not even Emma or Senna. There as no reason for them to know what he had learned—it only had a chance of causing the existential crisis. Besides, the quest he was given was so outrageous he didn't even know where to begin with it—but he did know when, at least. And the answer was far, far, far, far, far, far off into the future is when he will start.
Nonetheless, he had to spin the yarn and weave some tale. Others were quite allergic to his bullshit, however, and weren't likely to trust him so he didn't put much thought into what came flying out of his mouth.
"Haii, that was hard!" he exclaimed. "To think becoming a Dragon Rider would be so difficult, tsk. That guy really didn't want to bend."
"Oh. Is that the trial's reward?"
"That's pretty cool."
"Pretty cool? It's giga cool, man! I mean, c'mon, a Dragon-freakin'-Rider! That's the dream!"
"It really is, eh?"
"…" Cain's expression iced immediately as he glared daggers at the group. An indescribable feeling rose within his chest, one that was impossible to put into words. It felt as though there was a lump in his throat, and it was going up and down like a Ferris wheel.
"What's wrong?" Emma quizzed, speaking for the first time, though a playful shine in her eyes let Cain know she understood.
"Nothing," he grumbled, surrendering. "I see you guys are fine."
"Fine?" it was the group's turn to be befuddled; after all, there quite literally wasn't anyone who wasn't hurt at least a bit, including the long-range snipers and supports. Though none of the wounds were life-threatening, they were still evidently there.
"Yes, fine," Cain doubled down. "You fought a nest of fucking Wyverns and barely have some surface-level wounds to show for it? Be grateful, you fucks. Jesus, your worldview is way off."
"But… you fought a Dragon," Ethan pointed out. "And seem to have zero wounds."
"That's because I'm the equivalent of a God," Cain spouted some more nonsense. "And you lot are merely like, I dunno, angels or something."
"Ah, dearie, your God-complex is rearing its ugly head," Emma warned. "Better put that fire out before I pour some oil on it."
"… khm, anyway, it's time to leave. We're done here." Just then, a window popped up in front of Cain, one that others evidently saw as well. It wasn't long after that everyone glanced at Emma with a strange look in their eyes and that Emma arched her brows, looking at Cain who could only sigh and sigh and sigh.
[Congratulations, little tiger! You went and done it—I mean, Quest Completed!
Did I tell ya' you looked extra baked at one point? Pfft, ha ha ha…
Anyway, good fight, nice abs, spectacular tongue. Here's a little bit something to reward you.
I won't be able to chat for a while, but here's a image of my body with strategically covered areas as to inspire the most lust. Good luck!]
'Attached' to it all indeed was an image, it was a faceless one with a woman's body that's barely covered at all. Cain always knew she was a wee-bit-nuts, but she wasn't nuts, not really. She was just a trolling jackass.
"You've got a ten times better bod, babe," Cain said.
"…" Emma's lips quivered, but not because she was touched, but because she barely held in her laughter. To claim anyone, really, had a better body than what they were seeing was just… nuts. In fact, only Cain and few other elect morons could even utter those words aloud without spontaneously combusting into flames.
"Jesus dad, you really know how to meet 'em, eh?" Senna said. "Is that gonna be my new mom?"
"Oi, don't fan the flame, you ungrateful kid!"
"The only flames being fanned are those thighs 'cause that booty's fuckin' fire!" Jamal gasped as did everyone else, really. Not even women were all that resilient. In fact, out of everyone, Cain was by far the best and it was because he'd already seen her—well, not her directly, but did see her silhouette and let his imagination fill the gaps. The greatest shock for him, in fact, was how accurate his imagination was. A human's brain was a scary thing indeed.
"Should… should we be ooglign at this, anyway?" Kramer finally shook out of it and raised a valid point. "From my very limited understanding, this is effectively a God in our eyes. An actual one, not like Cain."
"Oi!"
"And here we are, not a circlejerk, but almost a jerking circle."
"Nice."
"Thanks."
"But don't worry," Cain dispelled their fears. "She did it on purpose."
"Oh? You know her well enough to know her intentions?" Senna, once again, jumped at the opportunity, causing Cain to glare at her to which she merely giggled.
"Yes, in fact, I do. She's the one that gave me that uber-overpowered ring. And also the one who helped me with my other trial here. She's been like a mom to me. You hear me, you ridiculously hot moron?! You're like a mother to me! A mother!"
"… are you shouting for her or for us?"
"Both!"
"Oh, a'right."
"Okay, okay, let's pack up," Emma laughed a little before declaring, shaking her head. "We need to move on. Unlike the Dragon Rider here, none of us got any rewards. And he got three."
"Three? No, I got tw—oh. Oh. Is it like that? Wanna bet that you got far wetter than I got harder, huh?"
"Dude, your kid's here." Emma scolded, but her cheeks did get a bit red.
"Oh, spare me," Cain grumbled. "She probably inherited your crazy drive. You all lot are just using me as an excuse to hide your own little yarns. Shit, I'm onto you, fuckers! Anyway, we really should move out. This world will likely soon fall apart."
While the others rushed in panic to leave, Cain took the moment of respite from their fear(a measure they used to hide their embarrassment) to look through the extra reward the nutty Divine left him. It was another ring, though judging by the very small window, he suspected it wasn't nearly as strong as the other one.
[Ring of Promise(F—Divine)]
Level: N/A
Requirements: Cain Gregory
Passive[Prayer for the Tomorrow] – completing quests at least 20 levels above yours will reward you with a permanent 1% increase in ALL stats. Rejecting them when offered will lessen ALL your stats by 2%.
Passive[A Man of His Word] – defeating floor bosses will increase your overall damage by 15% flat, stacking infinitely. Skipping a floor boss will instead lower your Damage and Mana by 20%. Skipping two in a row will lower ALL your stats by 30% and destroy the ring.
???
???
???
Note: Since you seem to have trouble deciding what you want to do for yourself, I'll ease your choice. Either you do it… or you forfeit ever doing it. I hope we meet for real one day, Cain. Though not lovers, 'd very much like us to become friends. Good luck!
Cain sighed desperately, rubbing the bridge of his nose. She never did do anything simply and without complications. He was screwed, through and through. The Ring had the potential to be the most broken thing ever created, especially after a few floors, but it also had the potential to completely cripple him and make him give up the Conquest. She really was forcing him to make a choice as he really was sitting on the fence for far too long.
"What's up?" Senna's voice woke him up and he just realized she'd stayed behind the rest, looking at him with concern. "You really were injured, weren't you?" she immediately exclaimed. "I knew it! Fuck! I'll fetch Yuki immediately and you just—"
"No, no, sweetie, that's not it," Cain chuckled lightly and held her back. "No, I'm fine. It's this." She unhesitantly shared the Ring's information with her, causing her to exclaim in shock.
"Jesus, this thing is a freakin' nuke!" Why do you always get all the good stuff? Tsk. I mean, yeah, sure, you did fight a Dragon, but still. Aww man, I'm so jealous."
"Ah, yes, sure, that's the face of someone jealous. You're gleeful."
"Of course I'm gleeful," she said. "I still remember our conversation when you told me that, one day, I'd soar past you and it would be my turn to protect you."
"…"
"I never bought into it. I knew that the only reason that would ever happen… is if you just gave up. Now, at last, I can stop expecting. Either you will or you won't. And, well… I know you won't."
"Oh? You know?"
"Yeah," she nodded. "I know you enjoyed your big vacation, but can you honestly imagine a lifetime of that? A lifetime of not fighting Dragons?"
"Stop writing out my dreams."
"Bullshit!" she exclaimed. "Maybe, that used to be your dream. But that was when you had few expectations of yourself. When you were weak, untalented. Now? No matter what you say, you've closed the gap and then expanded it to be larger than ever before. It's how it's meant to be, dad. If someone besides me was gonna take the cosmic spotlight, only you and mom qualify. The rest want that as well. Why do you think nobody climbed seriously without you? You more than equipped us for it, both in terms of items and experience. But… we didn't. Why?"
"…"
"Climbing without you is honestly… boring," Senna smiled gently. "Somehow, one way or another, you take even the most ordinary adventure and by just being you, you spice it up. Look at this trial. Who else in the entire world will get to experience fighting Wyverns and Dragons? Nobody, I garner. But we did. And that's why we waited. We waited for you to come back so we can start anew. This is the first time in a long number of years that all of us have gathered together with a clear intent—clear the floor, kill the boss, and advance. So, it's time to man up, dad. Man up and do the right thing."
"You do realize that doing the right thing would mean giving everything up and taking your mom, Lana, and you with me to mountains somewhere so we can live virtually forever in peace and quiet?"
"… alright, then. Do the wrong thing instead," Senna rolled her eyes. "Just do it. Climb with us."
"…" Cain merely smiled and ruffled her hair as they stepped through the gates, returning to the Ninth Floor. "Others are waiting, firefly. Let's start small first and see where it gets us."
