Gone was any hint of Ragoth’s Altarian nature.

His body had contorted, gurgled, and swelled. His back bulged with the hunch of a cave-troll. His arms, legs, and neck thickened and his skin darkened, hardened, and wrinkled. But, most notable of all was the change in his eyes. Where there had once been rationality, there was now only a primal, feral glare. Rational thought had vanished. Ragoth was driven by a single repeating word in his mind.

“Victory.”

The elephant-troll stormed down the lane, trampling toward the second-tier tower without fear and without any sign of stopping. His steps thundered through the earth, shaking the tower, and damaging it from afar. Saliva sloshed from his mouth as he ground his teeth and clenched his jaw, prepared for impact.

Leonidas stood and watched from the false safety of the tower’s shade. He tilted his head, absorbing the shockwaves painfully in his bones and shaking at the burst of energy that radiated off of Ragoth. His face turned sour as if to say, no fucking way. Leonidas knew he couldn’t handle this creature. There was no doubt in his mind that he didn’t stand even a thread of chance against it. He’d exhausted most of his cooldowns. He was far from at his strongest.

“You did well,” Jack said to Leonidas. “You can watch from the woods, or go help fight at bottom if you’d like.”

Leonidas didn’t need a second push. He scurried from the tower, taking cover away from the lane and beneath a nearby tree.

“He’s going to charge straight through,” Thea warned, hovering beside Jack.

Ragoth rammed into the tower sending a shockwave of wind and dust in all directions.

The tower creaked, groaned, and cracked, but held its form.

Ragoth drove his feet into the dirt. He reached out with his massive arms and wrapped them as if to hug the tower with claws digging into the tower plating.

“That’s just unfair,” Leonidas commented.

Ragoth heaved and roared.

The tower rang in alarm and launched waves of attacks that caused no damage.

“You’re just going to watch?” Thea asked.

“Don’t you want to win?” Jack jested.

“I gain an idiotic brute of a mate if we win,” Thea shifted her gaze. “If we lose. At least I get to see my father’s furious face. No amount of whippings or time in the isolation chamber can take that away from me.”

Ragoth let out a final grunt and straightened its legs performing the heaviest deadlift that humanity had ever seen. He ripped the tower from the ground and then let it topple over his shoulder and crumble to the ground.

“Didn’t see that coming,” Jack commented. “That’s some raw strength.”

“It’s all the pill,” Thea explained. “He’s going to suffer massive recoil. He’ll be crippled for life if he doesn’t get immediate treatment. And even then, there still are hordes of side-effects.”

A rustle came from the jungle.

Thunder dashed from the trees and snarled at Ragoth who had steadied his footing and looked as if he were ready to continue his charge. Thunder snapped and swiped at Ragoth’s calves, using her quick footwork to dodge any of the troll’s slow but deadly swipes. She ripped flesh from his body, spitting the foul-tasting meat to the ground before attacking again and again. With each attack, she chipped slowly away at Ragoth’s health. But, more importantly, she kept herself always in Ragoth’s vision. She taunted him. She toyed with him. She forced him to focus on her.

Silently, Lightning launched herself from the woods behind Leonidas. She flew through the air with the grace of an owl. She was the predator, Ragoth was her prey. Energy gathered in her throat, a crackling mix of purples and yellow. She charged her attack quickly, pouring everything she could into the flying strike.

Thunder snapped again, latching on to Ragoth’s outstretched arm. But this time, she did not let go. She tugged backward, like a dog with a rope. She pulled Ragoth off-balanced. She forced every ounce of his focus onto her. She chomped harder, trying to crush the bones beneath her jaws.

“They fight as one,” Thea noted. “Very impressive for four-leggers.”

“That they do,” Jack smiled proudly.

Lightning released her attack. She blasted a beam of lightning toward Ragoth’s nape. The energy cracked through the air. Thunder dug her paws into the earth and pulled.

Ragoth spun around on instinct alone. The fight ended in an instant. He dodged the blast, slammed the latched-on Thunder into the ground, and then caught the flying wolf in his other hand. Thunder whimpered and twitched as her health neared zero.

“It was a helluva attack,” Jack smiled. “Couldn’t have asked for anything more.”

Lightning whimpered and tried to blast another attack.

Ragoth laughed.

Lightning clawed, chomped, and roared, eyes flickering from Ragoth to Thunder’s writhing body. She bit down for one final attack, forcing Ragoth to tear off a chunk of his own flesh as he slammed her into Thunder.

Without hesitating, Ragoth turned and barreled down the lane.

Ding!

The wolves’ bodies fizzled into a mist of fog.

“The power of a name,” Jack chuckled.

A cloud formed, rumbling with energy.

A creature appeared from the cloud. It was slimmer than either of the wolves but densely packed with muscles. Its teeth were sharper, longer, and more vicious. Its irises were charcoal black with thin rings of purple and blue that radiated out. Its front paws were more hand-like: curled and bent with opposable thumbs and retractable claws.

“Go get em Storm,” Jack cheered, opening his skills to confirm what he had just witnessed. The two wolves had vanished from his list of tamed beasts, replaced by the Warg, Storm. Had they always been one? Jack wondered. Or did they sacrifice themselves for power? Jack reached out to feel the Storm’s mind.

“Hello, Master,” Storm rumbled. From her sides, two fuzzy wings spread outward and she launched into the air, soaring after the stampeding Altarian. A dark cloud spread from Storm’s body. Static chirped and rumbled. Storm attacked from the air. From her wings, she flung blades of razor wind, and from her mouth, she shot arcs of lightning.

“It’s not enough,” Thea said.

“Nope,” Jack agreed. “But it was a worthwhile fight.”

The attacks triggered Ragoth to regain his consciousness if only for a moment. The air around him changed. His countless wounds healed. His missing regenerated. He turned and stared into the fog that surrounded him. His eyes followed through the storm. And then, he laughed. A maniacal laugh. A laugh that only one with absolute confidence could muster. Ragoth pulled back his hands and clapped the empty air. His thunderclap raced through the space, flush with mana. The fog dispersed.

Storm wobbled and fell to the ground.

Ragoth stomped forward, clapping again.

Storm tried to right herself, to focus, but her body struggled.

Ragoth’s third clap crushed Storm’s skull.

“Nobody can stop him,” Thea sighed. “Not until he exhausts himself.”

Jack laughed a full belly laughter. “Want to make another bet?” he asked.

“I don’t have anything else to offer,” Thea lamented.

“Oh well,” Jack shrugged. “Better for you probably.” He could feel Robin’s mind burning with fiery passion. She wanted to fight Ragoth, she needed to fight him. She begged. Pleaded. Whimpered. Jack raised his eyes and imagined himself looking face-to-face with Robin. “Thirty seconds,” he said, assuming that would give her enough time.

“Thirty seconds?” Thea asked.

Jack nodded.

Ragoth slammed into the third and final lane tower.

“Should I stall him?” Sylo whispered.

“No need,” Jack said, dropping to the ground. “I’d say that was about thirty.” He called to Robin, outfitting her in her ideal battle gear. Deep purple dragon studded leather with twin poisoned daggers.

“You’ve tamed your own kind?” Sylo cried out.

“Can I?” Robin asked, her heart already thumping with a battle-ready fire.

“He’s all yours, my dear,” Jack said.

Robin grinned and pecked Jack’s lips. “I’ll be off,” she said, drawing her blades and exploding down the lane.

“She’s the one you spoke of?” Thea asked. “She is beautiful, for a wingless-one.”

“She is,” Jack agreed.

“I think we should end this soon, if you can, Jack,” Leonidas messaged Jack privately. “There are half a million lives at stake.”

Jack nodded. He had been considering the same thing. He knew there was no chance of losing, however, humanity might not feel the same. And, while he did not care what humanity thought about him, he didn’t want to implicate the others in his pursuit of knowledge.

“It was nice chatting with you two,” Jack said to Thea and Sylo. “Good luck with everything.”

“What?” Thea turned just in time to see Jack take off running down the lane toward her team’s base.

“Wait!” Thea yelled, flying after him.

“Althea!” Sylo shouted, “I’ve got it!”

Jack ran leisurely to the tree, beating both Thea and Sylo by a few short breaths. He looked at the thick truck and raised his hand. Just before he swung, he paused, remembering the absurd nickname he’d once given himself, The Star Slaying Lumberjack.

“Wait!” Thea cried as she landed and ran toward Jack. “Wait, please,” Thea panted.

Jack didn’t say a word. He was watching Robin’s fight through her eyes. And then, he messaged the others. “Robin is fighting the big one. I’m waiting by the enemy’s tree and can end the game at any moment. Are there any objections to letting her finish her fight?”

“None here,” Ryan said. “I’m having a blast not having to worry about dying.”

“I’ll defer to you, but we are playing with innocent lives,” Trid reminded.

“The stronger we get, the better we can protect our world. I’ll defer to Jack. Without him we would’ve lost, guaranteed.” Gemma added.

“I agree,” Leonidas found his voice. “This is an unimaginable opportunity for us. We can fight unrestrained. We should take advantage of it. If Jack says there isn’t any risk then that must be true.”

“A request,” Thea said, pulling Jack from the messages.

“What can I do?” Jack asked, smiling at Robin’s fight. She sliced easily through his flesh, poisoning him with each cut, outpacing his regeneration. She dodged, leapt, twisted, and turned, using her stealth to attack from the shadows, striking again and again without Ragoth being able to keep his eyes on her. Most impressive, however, was how she used the earth to assist her fight. She called pillars of rock beneath her feet, propelling her forward with massive speed, while also allowing her to shift her direction in otherwise impossible ways.

“Tame me,” Thea stated.

Jack replayed the words, making sure he had heard correctly.

“The Altarians have extended their hand in a draw,” the announcer echoed.

A screen appeared before Jack’s eyes.

~Game Notification~

Draw Offer

There will be neither reward nor punishment.

Majority Vote: 0/0

Accept/Reject

“What’s this?” Ryan asked.

“Don’t accept it,” Jack commanded. “The enemy King is frightened.”

“Rejected!” Gemma chirped.

Jack rejected the offer and closed the notification.

“Is that what you want?” Jack confirmed. “I have to warn you. If I do, even if I cancel it later, you might never be the same. The ability, it roots something deep in your mind. It changes how you think. This is not a decision you should make lightly. And, your father is the one who tried to take half a million human lives. Even with your contempt of him, people might not accept you.”

“I understand the risk,” Thea said firmly.

Jack nodded and activated his taming ability. He reached out with his mind and his mana, trying to collect Thea into his pool.

“You have to wholeheartedly and willingly submit,” he informed her.

“How?” Thea asked.

“I’m not sure,” Jack wondered. The ability had caused him much unease. After Gobby had transformed into Robin, he wasn’t so sure he’d ever want to use the ability again. “Best guess is that you have expose what you fear most.”

Thea glanced around. She fidgeted with her fingers, inhaled, and then spread her wings to their fullest. The white puffs stretched out like the fluffiest of clouds, reaching nearly ten feet to either side. As she stepped toward Jack, she encased them in her wings. She lifted her chin to meet his eyes. Her eyes shook and her cheeks blushed. Thea wrapped her arms around Jack’s waist and then pressed her forehead into his chest. While Jack didn’t know it, this was the most vulnerable display that an Altarian could show. In their culture, it was more intimate than sex, more meaningful than any gift.

Ding!

~Notification~

<????>

The Altarian Althea Altrax submits to her new master.

Accept/Reject

As Jack accepted the offer, a second notification chimed.

~Subclass <2> Assignment~

Overlord

All species submit to the Overlord.