The debut of his soul ability gave a stellar result.

The Myriad Soul in One Arte shows its worth. More than 10,000 Soul Power, still far from the 1,000,000 needed for the Grand Soul but even then my soul Artes are already much stronger than my water Artes.

Hidden fact, Viers didn't even use his Horizon boost during the fight earlier.

While standing tall surrounded by the broken remains of his enemies, Viers invoked one last Arte. The two screamers received Veirs’ mercy and curse at the same time before losing consciousness.

“Goodness gracious, Viers… ‘Meatbag’? Seriously?” Paina was amazed how Viers could even come up with that term.

“I must teach them something called the food chain. When I’m through with them, they'll know their position in the natural order of creation,” Viers replied.

“I know they attacked us first and they deserve what they got but I can't help feeling pity for them a little,” Clarissa said.

“Suggestion: Shall we try to kill them for real to cheer us up?”

“...What?”

“I’m joking. Hahahah!” Viers was in a good mood.

Vengeful Spirit, Desolate Dive, Howling Wraiths.

These soul Artes were something that Viers had already possessed for some time but only now he used against his enemies. Viers took inspiration from another HK to create the Artes.

From the ‘corpses’ of the seven, spark shards came out. Viers summoned his spark and the little thing absorbed the shards.

Because this was a ‘casual’ defeat, according to the rules Aletro set, Viers would gain 10% of their total spark shards.

I got about 50 spark shards from them so their original pool is at 500? Much easier than an expert quest.

“As the rules depicted then. What would you do if they went with Formal Challenge?” Clarissa asked.

“Beat them down all the same, of course. None of them are in the Not Prey category. More shards for me.”

After gaining his rightful bounty, the bodies disappeared. Teleported to the infirmary in the Path of Paradise resort. Although Viers hit them with his soul Artes, their lives were never in danger thanks to Aletro’s mysterious means.

“Now, shall we finish the quest?” Viers said chipperly. “I don't want to get a penalty. It’s only medium difficulty. It shouldn't be too hard.”

***

Tanael returned to the Quantum Main Hub before a group gathering.

Tanael donned a stylish garment in white and red, making his look clean and charming. The raid quest ruined his clothes; he knew he would face an audience once he got back so he dressed up a bit.

“Look! He’s back.”

“He’s not even hurt.”

“The attackers weren't nobodies. They were all in the top 150, led by the Barbarian. He was ranked around the 90s this morning. He… beat them just like that?”

“Tanael, tell us what happened. Your rank went up so you won, right? But what happened to them?” Someone spoke up.

“They’re in the infirmary, folks,” Tanael catered to the needs of the masses. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I still have irons to grind with them.”

He flew to the resort.

“Oi, let’s follow him. We might be able to see a good show.”

Like a school of sardines across a colorful sea, the spectators went to be entertained.

Meanwhile, the seven were grunting hurtfully on their beds.

“Healer, you said our injuries have been healed. Why am I still feeling this pricking pain in my chest? We paid good money for this. Do your job!”

“Yeah. Urgh… It’s like, I’m wearing a shirt of barbed wires.”

“Rrrhh, the pain! How can we frickin’ go questing like this? Make it stop...”

The infirmary was filled with NPC healers, all women in pure white garb and cared for the sick with the skills of saints.

Paid saints.

“Dear guests,” one of them spoke with a concerned face. “We’ve certainly healed all of your injuries but what ails you is not injuries. To heal your malady you must pay a hundred spark shards. Because-”

“Because I left a ‘thorn’ in your soul with my Arte, Soul Sting.”

Tanael’s voice heralded his presence and he swaggered boldly into the infirmary, more than fifty people at his back. Viers paid them no mind and walked to the seven’s beds.

“Did he say soul? I didn't mishear it? A soul user!?”

“What? Does it mean he’s a taboo user? No wonder we never hear or see this guy despite being Regidana locals. He must have lived under a rock all this time.”

Darian projected a deep-red hatred to Tanael’s tranquil green eyes. He tried to say something but Tanael spoke first.

“Rejoice, meatbags. I’ll remove the thorn if you pay me 70 spark shards each.”

There was a moment of silence as they tried to parse what Viers offered. Then the unrelated onlookers broke into discussion among themselves as if this was a market and not a sacred sickbay.

“Oh my Goddess! He's extorting them!!”

“How heartless…”

“Good idea! I would have done the same in his shoes.”

“Can he do that? Is that allowed?”

“Why can’t he? Why can't we? We chose the black spark, remember?”

“Then I’ll do the same as him later.”

“Fool. First you have to find a way to leave lasting damage to your opponent that normal healing cannot heal. Do you have that? Damn this Tanael. His soul affinity is such an unfair advantage.”

Viers had this plan from the start. Other than meeting the seven, Viers also had to know the market price for the healing for his blackmail to work. He had only set the price just now, after hearing the healer’s words.

“You, blasted-” Darian the Barbarian’s hatred grew. He tried to rise from his bed but the minor movement made his body jolt with a wave of pain and he let out a painful gasp.

“Friend Tanael, may I offer a suggestion?” A calm and collected voice came from the gallery of watchers. Viers turned to face his caller.

It was the Blade of Justice, the white spark holder’s top ranker.

“Friend, after victory, you have gained their spark shards. They’ve paid the price for their wrongdoings to you and lose out once again by paying the medical treatment. They have been sufficiently punished. There’s no need for further retribution.”

Blade of Justice's words had weight. Not a small number among the gallery agreed with him. What he said was reasonable as well.

But while Avel of Javia might be shackled to maintain a reasonable person persona, Tanael was not.

“I haven't gained enough,” Tanael said loud and clear. “Taking the spoils from the defeat is the privilege of the victor. Outsiders… shouldn't butt in,” giving the Justice guy the sight of his back.

There were muffled sounds from the masses, surprised Tanael did not give even a little bit of face to the famous. Although Blade of Justice was an alias, most Regidanan knew his identity since he didn't disguise his face. As for Troy himself, he took the rejection well. He was serene, calm, and dignified.

“Friend, your might has been seen bright and clear, now people are looking at your character. Is this the way you want the world to see you?”

Viers was still facing Troy with his back but he turned his head sideways a bit to reply.

And so Macbeth said…

“For mine own good, all causes shall give way,” Viers said with a tone as hard as steel. He approached the seven people who were lying in bed in a sorry state. They were in pain but fully awake to hear the entirety of the conversation.

“So what is it gonna be, meatbags?”

Whether my Fable ends in tragedy is not yet written.

***

Out of pride or hatred, only 4 out of 7 took up his offer despite it being the more cost-effective one. Darian was one of the three that refused.

On the fourth day, Viers gained 305 from the raid quest plus an extra, 338 from defeating his ambushers and gained another 280 from extortion for a total gain of 923 spark shards.

Viers gained 243 spark shards on the first day, mainly because he was testing the waters. Thanks to his monster transformations, 320 spark shards on the second. His gain dropped a bit to 282 on the third day because of the grouping with others and not as intense questing. The fourth day’s harvest was more than all three previous days combined.

Tanael’s ranking jumped from 39th to 5th with 1768 spark shards.

While Viers slept with a smile on his face, his tale spread like wildfire that very night.

Time passed and the fifth day had started, only three candles remaining and one of them was burning.

There was something different in the eyes of the black spark holders today. They were more on edge, even when in an area of no harm permitted. Ambition and anticipation wreathed their being. They all understood the truce was over and from today onwards, the dog-eat-dog competition had started for real.

Aletro stoked the fire further when he gave the daily ranking gifts and today’s patch.

The black solo quests had been reduced significantly while the group quests sprouted like mushrooms after rain.

Perhaps this was Black Aletro’s aim from the start. Black solo quests were getting fewer and fewer as days passed across all difficulties.

Meanwhile, white quests had no such change.

“Hehehe, are you excited yet, kids?” Black Aletro smugly said while being a tall giant shade. “There’s one last thing. From this point onwards, you can choose to make the Formal Challenge option always active! Go and fight to your heart's content!!”