Chapter Forty-Eight

Harmony missed the ease of equipping Night as a full piece of armor instead of these adhered-on plates that required fiddling with extra bits to protect her and cover all the bare skin. At least, after feeding the pair-bonded armor, the plates had a more metallic sheen, silver as a polished mirror.

This latest version was inspired by how it used to be. But required a lot of wiggling and shoving to get close to the old look, and even then, it wasn't that perfect shine with armor embedded inside. Instead, it was more of a flexible leather with patches of hardened shells built in. [Manipulate Dead] and [Disintegrate] had to work in stages and multiple treatments to get the spider carapices flexible enough. That was with leaning into the stats of connection and synergy. The seals were helpful in that it prevented her from overdoing it and turning everything into a pile of unuseable goo.

The bioluminescence could also be faked with glowing elemental crystals that now had more ideal spacing and a tear-away option for quick use if she needed the explosive energy that could be provided. The general slight skill boosting aura wasn't to be overlooked. It was the kind of thing that gave her that edge against Felix when they fought.

The cost of getting only slightly closer to the beauty Night could be was a lot of effort in putting the damned thing on. At least when they had a countdown, she could plan ahead. Now she was rushing.

Tyler entered, interrupting her dressing, without even the politeness to knock. "Don't tell me you're volunteering to be one of the ten to participate."

The man's tone was an implication of worry and a touch of possessiveness; at least it wasn't audacity at the idea she might consider herself one of the ten strongest here. She was no longer Lord Tyler's employee.

Harmony picked up the segments to cover her calves and pushed her foot through like it was a stocking with a burst of irritation. "It's not like we have that much time, and I am one of the ten strongest competitors here."

"Without Adric, you've lost a third of what you can bring if this is a fight. What if none of the other trips show up? We'll be losing six members. Gareth is pushing for abstention on the likelihood that those eliminated will be from those who have shown up. Eric and his crew are all sitting out to gain advantage for the next time a vote happens, if we do decide to send ten."

So he was questioning her strength? Not in his manner, but he was using it for an angle of attack. He might as well be telling her she has to go. Blue fire flashed around his ears as Jessica was probably lecturing him on that approach.

"You're not talking me out of this," Harmony growled with authority, strengthening her words. She used [Manipulate Dead] to tighten the leather into place with just enough flex that it wouldn't cut off circulation.

"No." Tyler rebuffed the effect with a stronger application of his own authority.

It stung like she'd been slapped. His standing up to her was shocking enough that she stopped equipping her gear and pulled her attention fully to the young lord. Maybe, like she'd asked him for advice on fate, a lesson from him on authority might be useful. He was weaker than her, but apparently could punch up when needed.

If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

That shocked silence was the opportunity for Tyler to continue, "You're not thinking straight, Harm. I don't know if it is Adric being away or your worries about Maxwell, but you're not looking at this logically. If we lose you, everything will fall apart here, and if our allies are removed, then Eric and his crew will wear us down. Either they'll strike at you in the next elimination vote or cut my legs out, with the misguided idea that losing my support will bring you down." Tyler finished.

He wasn't wrong on the numbers, or Adric and Max distracting her from more local issues. "Rotting caverns, I hate social games."

"That's what politics is. It's currently a core part of these Ascendant Games. You saw how much I avoided such things at the manor. Gran had to pull my hair to get me to go to one of her garden parties."

He was right. "What do you suggest I do?"

"I don't bleeding know. But having you and your supporters running off to get eliminated won't help. They voted you leader. Not me."

He was the reason why they voted her in charge! [Poise and Bearing] held her tongue. An eraser didn't shirk away from the problems they were handed. They eliminated them with ruthless efficiency. Not that she'd met another with her profession, but that was the example that needed to be set. "Fine. But I'm still going."

Tyler bowed and made his retreat, having fully dumped the issue into her lap.

With only half her armor on, she had plenty of time to decide the best way to scrub up the mess brewing. The competition rules? Send your ten best. Not that the Games defined best at what. This could be a cooking competition, and her entry would doom her. The subjectivity of it was a joke. Anyone could be considered the best at something. That was something she could lean on.

Harmony tugged, squeezed, tightened, sealed, and shoved herself into what was left of her armor as she incubated the plan. It didn't sound like they had a mix of people who wanted to go and those who were refusing, which made this a disorganized mess. Equipped with her armor and a plan, she exited and made her way to the stewpot, the center of communal gathering. The scene ahead made everything so much easier.

"Why do you think you should go over me?" Milo heatedly demanded of Jenny.

Good, a fight. Eric and his conspirators might have decided to abstain, but there were still plenty of people competitive enough to want to be one of the ten going. Finesse and a possible time limit sometimes had to be compromised. They'd elected her to be a leader for situations like this. Now, if there hadn't been a fight, this might have been more complicated.

If her new growth skill wouldn't bust open her armor, she'd consider getting bigger to make more of a statement. "Look what I can do now!" Not that she'd shared it with anyone but Hyacinth. He only left impressions, but the reason that he got his ability to change size was possibly linked to her ability, even if in a sideways manner. No, she just had to do this the old-fashioned way.

She pooled authority and deadly confidence into her voice. The words of a royal, one designated leader of this motley crew. "I've decided who the nine will be traveling with me to the Sacred Valley!" Silence wasn't even needed to draw everyone's attention to her. "Tyler Coodley, Gareth Brine…" No one could argue she was sparing her people, "Eric Cautnan…" Time to add in the troublemakers mixed in with some of the better competitors. This was an elimination match. The time for politics was both over and at its highest point.

Eric stood there, taken aback, a half cocked smile that had been on his face ripped away and replaced by a look slowly evolving into calculated anger. Could he fight this without losing face? Here was Harmony, messing with his plans again and tossing him about. She'd drive the point home that he needed to stop this petty, whiny, manipulative behavior.

This time, his eyes met Harmony's. The prick could learn.

"Now pack up! I want to be on the march as soon as possible." Harmony finished.

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.