THEOS

Rex is going to fail. Luke thought, as Cyzicus’s youngest grandchild desperately clawed his way to the next step.

Counter to his expectations, even three thousand steps later, the robotic sentinels still gave them three seconds to recuperate their breath before beginning to attack. Neither did that pattern seem like it was going to change.

In hindsight, it was easy to see why. If a contestant couldn’t keep up the pace, they would be punished, and if they couldn’t withstand the punishment they would be attacked, and if the androgynous humanoids succeeded in pushing them down a step, they would vanish in a burst of red-yellow light.

Luke had already seen it happen hundreds of times, and he expected to see it hundreds more. Even so, a small part of him was unwilling to see it happen to Rex. He would be the first to admit that he wasn’t looking forward to facing Blinky in any future rounds, but seeing him lose so early was disheartening.

But, it was also an opportunity. A few steps ahead of him, both Arya and Spiros were also showing signs of fatigue, Arya more than Spiros who seemed remarkably steady even now. Making Luke wonder what exactly was so special about him. His uncanny level of strength even at the mortal tier was hard to forget, but even after all this time, he didn’t know what exactly was responsible for it. Not that it mattered much, after analyzing the competition, Luke couldn’t be sure he wouldn’t lose in spite of his own advantages. Everyone still in the game had something going for them it seemed.

So, as a robot sprung to life, and nipped at Rex’s heels while he desperately scrambled forward, Luke grabbed the other teens' robes and yanked him forward. Forcibly dragging him to the next step.

Alright, so that’s allowed. We can help each other. He thought, making sure not to let the relief he was feeling show on his face. He hadn’t known if doing that would sic the robots on him or not.

“What… are you… doing?” Rex asked, his voice escaping his lips in short bursts.

Eyeing the robot that stepped up to him, and began its countdown, Luke attempted to frame his actions in a way that would make sense, and not destroy the other teens ego, before giving up. He was tired, mentally more than physically, but tired nonetheless. There was something soul crushing about walking up boring metal steps, with absolutely nothing around for miles.

“Helping you.”

“Why?” Rex asked, looking confused.

Because I’m not an asshole. Luke grumbled internally, while he mulled over his answer. He watched another bot step up to him, and before the machine ended its countdown, he yanked Rex to the next step, where another robot immediately took the place of the last.

“Really, what are you doing? I don’t want your he–”

Luke cut him off. “I’ll pull you for a little while until you gather your energy, and then when I start to get tired, you do the same to me. Some of the people here are absolute monsters, that guy up there looks like he can do this forever.” He said, pointing towards his lookalike. “It’s better if we work together for any advantage we can, otherwise we might both lose. Deal?”

“Deal.” Lukeus said, answering for Rex, while he waited out his own timer. He was faring better than his younger brother, but Luke suspected that he would fail sooner rather than later, if his hunched back was any indication. Considering the amount of participants still in the tournament, the more cynical part of Luke’s brain realized it wasn’t enough, and that Lukeus wouldn’t make it to the top hundred at his current rate either. Maybe top two-hundred and fifty if he was lucky. A respectable placement, considering the caliber of their competition, but ultimately not good enough.

Maybe another fifty or sixty ranks, if pulling them along with me works out as well as I think it will. I’ll have to rotate partners and tug them all at some point, but my stats are high enough that the next few levels should still be doable, especially with the boost I can get from my sword, but I should hold off on that as long as possible. This is a marathon– not a sprint, and who knows how much time, if any, we’ll have to recover between this round and the next. Double the points in Constitution or Strength are really going to go a long way though.

“Count me in too.” Rose chimed in, a miserable expression marring her face.

Ignoring them for the moment, Luke dragged Rex to the next step. “Well? Are you in?”

“Fine.” Rex said begrudgingly.

Nodding slightly, Luke indicated for Lukeus to help pull Rose forward, and let himself relax slightly when he did. Even if they wouldn’t make it all the way, staying longer would still be a better outcome. Even if their only gain was improving their cultivation, by exerting themselves in a god’s Holy Land. Luke himself, had already gained more attributes the short few hours he had been here, than he had in the past two weeks, and with the Seed, his rate of improvement was already head and shoulder above theirs. To most of the people here, this place was a cultivators paradise.

Pulling someone along was only a little harder than just climbing by himself, and letting Rex and Rose catch their breath for even ten to fifteen minutes would let them recover a significant amount of their stamina. A favor that when repaid, would work well for all of them.

We’re competing, but it's not so restrictive yet, that we have to turn on each other.

All that however, was only his secondary aim. Considering the fact that they were effectively strangers, if Luke wanted to help Spiros take first place in the tournament, he needed to do it in a way that didn’t come off as suspicious or expose his identity.

I can’t help him directly or even too obviously, but if both Arya and Spiros happen to hear our strategy and decide to use it for themselves, well that’s fair play. It doesn’t even matter if other people hear it too. Most of them probably don’t trust each other enough for this, or are struggling enough by themselves to offer help. Spiros won’t give up, but if Arya passes too, he’ll have someone he can trust more than me to watch his back. Hopefully…

Even to him, his plan was far from the best, but no matter how he sliced it, there wasn’t a way to cheat under the watchful gaze of a god.

The rule’s had been clear enough on what they were allowed to use and what they weren’t. Everyone was permitted a single artifact at the warrior tier, which they had to register prior to the start of the tournament.

No potions or talismans were permitted with the exception of those provided during the course of the tournament itself. The god hadn’t seen fit to take them, but Luke had no doubt in his mind, the second he took one from his storage ring with the intent to drink it, he would find himself back in Cyzicus’s throne room.

Bloodlines and Techniques were considered inherent powers, and weren’t restricted. Even tamed beasts were allowed, so long as you could prove they were part of your skillset, meaning they had to be controlled by an ability, and were registered before coming. Or, they would be eventually, seeing as they weren’t yet.

Seeing that most of those present were likely descendants of gods, some probably even sharing Rex and Lukeus’s ancestor, it made sense, but also felt a little unfair to Luke considering that it effectively made any battles two versus one.

His own bloodline, while useful, didn’t have many combat applications when it came down to it. At least none that he had discovered over the past few months. The Eyes of Insight didn’t let him punch harder, move faster, or even see all that better. Considering all his other advantages, and his inability to negotiate the rules though, he decided not to dwell on it.

And it’s not like I don’t have my own shit going for me too. My sword is busted, my mana is plentiful, my Technique solid, and I have enough raw stats, that were I not a Paragon I may have been pushing the Hero tier.

But I’m not the one that needs to win this.

Shaking his head, they continued onward for longer and longer. He never actually needed Rex’s help, but with every level they climbed, Luke needed to pull more and more, and as he did, even he began to feel the burn.

“Two-hundred and three people left.”

Rose groaned out loud, and then in a surprise move, stepped back and stood still. They had already been on the step for two seconds, and before any of them could even process what she was doing, a sentinel leapt in front of her and kicked her down the stairs. Luke scrambled forward, and watched numbly as she disappeared in a flash of orange-red light.

“Shit.” Lukeus cursed under his breath.

“Guys… I think… I think I’m done too.’ Rex said a moment later, ripping himself free from Luke’s grip as he did. “You’ve been carrying me long enough, I don’t want you to lose because of me… and Gramps only needs one of us to–”

“Shut-up.” Lukeus sighed, and in a move that surprised both Rex and Luke, bent his knees and heaved his younger brother onto his shoulders. His face flushed red with exertion, he hobbled forward. “I’ll carry you as long as I can, and then forfeit. Blinky is strong, so whatever the next challenge is, if you can use her, you’ll have a shot of getting into the top ten.”

“Let me carry him.” Luke said, “I still have plenty left–”

“He’s my brother, I’ve got him for now. You should conserve your energy as much as you can in the meantime. I’ll carry him for as long as I can, and after that it's all on you.” Lukeus said.

“No, really– I can.”

“Listen Luke. I have no shot here. Nutbutter is a good steed, but I can see I’m not going to win this. Hanging on any longer, will just be me being stubborn. You and Rex both have a good shot of going further if you make it though, so that’s what you should focus on. I don’t even know if gramps wants the potion anymore, but if he gets it, he becomes a Saint. That’s why we’re here, remember?” Lukeus looked pointedly between Rex and Luke.

Staring into his eyes, Luke nodded. It was a shame, but he had known for a while that it would come down to something like this.

“Fine. Carry Rex as long as you can, and I’ll make sure to bring him with me to the next round.”

“Good. If you make it to the finals, Gramps will get an invitation to come and watch. We better get one,” he grinned.

Luke grinned back, and free of his burden, he continued onwards. Keeping track of both Spiros and Arya in front of them, and patiently watching as one after another people were attacked by the sentries, only to vanish in golden light.

Half an hour later, Lukeus collapsed onto his knees. Rex climbed by himself to the next step, and three seconds later, they watched as he was sent back home with a stern kick from the robot– eliminated.

“Come on.” He said to Rex. Pulling him up. The emperor’s grandson nodded, and a little refreshed from his break, continued what would be the the last stretch of their journey with him.

He walked under his own power for an entire layer, before he lost the ability to keep pressing on. Focusing his mana into his sword, Luke activated its ability, and cycled through doubling each of his attributes, before settling on an increase to his strength. Doubling his Constitution and Agility helped, but not nearly as much as raw power did.

Then with his enhanced attributes, he let Rex climb onto his back. Things went as well as they could, for a while, and it was when there were only a hundred and twenty-five people left that Arya collapsed.

Shit.