Path of Dragons-Chapter 49Book 7: : Man Mo Temple

It felt like a thousand eyes were following Elijah’s every move.

It was not an unreasonable sensation, especially given the setting. In fact, there was a good chance that he’d underestimated the threat. He’d stopped counting the number of zombies in the area at around five hundred, and he knew he’d only scratched the surface of their local population. Yet, none of them had reacted to his – or the rest of the group’s – presence at all.

“Most disconcerting, is it not?” remarked Gideon. “It feels as though we’ve just jumped into a lion enclosure, but for some reason, the beasts just don’t care about us. With every step, I feel as if I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop and for them to pounce.”

Elijah nodded. It was a good characterization of how it felt to walk through a horde of zombies who couldn’t sense them at all. On more occasions than he could count, he’d used Guise of the Unseen to walk undetected among his enemies. However, doing so in his human form was, as Gideon had pointed out, unnerving.

He’d also questioned whether or not the other members of the team – aside from Dat, Sadie, and Gideon – would be useful. However, at least Zhang Yue, the Thief, had proven his worth. He hadn’t revealed the name of the spell that granted stealth to the entire party, but it was obviously very effective, considering that they’d been using it for the last couple of hours.

Lin Tao would hopefully be just as valuable of an addition.

“You know you can speak, right?” Gideon asked. “Zhang Yue’s spell has an auditory component.”

“I’m aware,” Elijah answered. “I just prefer to limit distractions. No stealth is entirely foolproof. I know that from experience.”

After that, Gideon went silent. Elijah was thankful for it, too. The man wasn’t overtly rude, but something about his demeanor just rubbed Elijah the wrong way. As they continued on, he focused on the other members of the party.

Dat was acting as the group’s scout, ranging far ahead and charting their course. Meanwhile, Sadie took the lead, her large sword at the ready. She was wearing a new set of armor – this set was blue enameled with gold highlights and veered closer to the traditional Chinese side than her old armor – but Elijah was happy to see that she hadn’t used her block of Celestial Gold. The material was extremely powerful, and it deserved to be worked by a true master like Carmen.

Gideon wore the same armor he’d worn the first time Elijah had met him, which meant that he was clad in modified riot gear. Zhang Yue looked like he was cosplaying a movie ninja, with all black clothing and a pair of shortswords strapped to his back. The Summoner, Lin Tao, wore a white outfit embroidered with subtle flames and featuring a tight bodice with wide-legged pants. Around her waist was a thick, leather belt that almost looked like a corset. She also carried a small wand in a holster at her hip.

If he was honest, she was quite attractive, too – in that porcelain beauty sort of way. However, when she was next to Sadie, Elijah had trouble even noticing the Summoner. Comparison between the two wasn’t really something he wanted to focus on, but considering their proximity, it was difficult not to do so.

Finally, there was Nico.

To Elijah, it seemed clear that the pressure of being one of the strongest people in his settlement had gotten to the Healer. He was acutely aware of his every action, and when he spoke, it sounded almost like he was trying to give a speech. In short, he seemed like someone who’d been thrust into the role of a politician, and he’d reacted by embodying the worst stereotypes associated with that position.

If Dat and Sadie hadn’t already vouched for him, Elijah probably would have disliked him as much as Gideon. As it stood, he wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, but disdain kept creeping in. He knew he’d need to remain on guard for that. Otherwise, it would affect how he treated people, and that was the last thing he wanted. It also wouldn’t help their group dynamics. He didn’t know how long it would take to conquer the Primal Realm, but he suspected it would not be a short trip. So, he knew he needed to remain cognizant of how the group fit together.

In short, he needed to be nice.

Or at the very least, indifferent. Whatever the case, he would do his best not to offend Nico. Or even Gideon.

The group slowly progressed through Hong Kong as they made their way to the first destination, which was the Man Mo Temple. Thankfully, it was not that far from the International Commerce Centre. Apparently, it had once been a single bridge away on the northwestern coast of Hong Kong Island, but after the transformation of the world – and the shuffling of the land – the International Commerce Centre was now on the northeastern coast of the same, now-enlarged island. That meant they needed to travel a little over ten miles in order to get to the Man Mo Temple.

Which shouldn’t have taken very long. After all, in Shape of Sky, Elijah could reach triple digits in terms of miles per hour. Yet, their journey was complicated by the presence of so many zombies and the flying creatures – which the others called kamikazes due to their attack method. So, they continued on foot, moving slowly in order to avoid alerting the hordes of undead waiting to rip them to pieces.

Elijah expected that if it came down to it, they could probably fight the creatures off. Even alone, he could make a good showing, and each member of the group was powerful in their own right. Still, from what he had experienced during his own bout of exploration, he knew that the numbers of undead were nearly endless. The group’s stamina was not. So, if it ended up in a fight, they would, in all likelihood, be overrun.

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At least that was true of the others. For Elijah’s part, he knew that he could always escape. But that wasn’t his charge. It was further evidence that, in the Trial of Primacy, he’d gotten incredibly lucky when it came to the other members of his group. That they could keep up with him was a minor miracle of coincidence, and he knew that, aside from Dat and Sadie, these new group members could never hope to match their performance.

The result was that he had to slow himself down, and not by an inconsiderable amount. Especially with Lupine Reflexes active, which, due to the nature of its evolution, could no longer be applied to others. It took all of Elijah’s patience not to simply shift into Shape of the Predator, use Guise of the Unseen, and go scouting.

Or exploring, considering just moving was probably far more important to his psyche than finding any information that might help the group.

Whatever the case, he pushed his impatience aside and focused on the task at hand. He trusted Zhang Yue’s ability – it had worked so far, after all – but there were always exceptions. Who knew if there was a particular sort of undead who was capable of seeing through stealth? So, Elijah remained on guard as they wove their way through the hordes of zombies.

Thankfully, his wariness wasn’t necessary, because they reached their destination without issue.

“Are we certain this is the place?” asked Gideon, gazing up at the temple. From what Elijah understood, it had once been a relatively small building. Only about sixty feet wide and thirty feet deep. However, it had clearly grown, likely when it had been chosen as the shrine associated with the Primal Realm. Now, the building was at least twice the size of its former incarnation. Still not huge – especially compared to some other, more complex temples in the city – but big enough to be imposing.

As far as the appearance, it was surrounded by a white wall topped with green tiles, and the building itself featured a sloped roof with elaborate carvings at the peak. Chinese characters Elijah couldn’t read stood above the door.

Sadie answered, “It is. Can’t you feel it?”

Elijah certainly could, but Gideon looked a little skeptical. Clearly, his ability to sense ethera was too weak to recognize the powerful vortex emanating from within the temple. Unfortunately, Soul of the Wild was incapable of penetrating the building itself, so he had no idea what awaited within.

“What now?” asked Dat.

“Obviously, we’re supposed to go inside,” Gideon answered before anyone else could offer an opinion. “Let’s go.”

Without waiting, he stepped forward. However, when he reached the gap in the wall that was the entrance to the grounds, he hit an invisible barrier. After rebounding slightly, he frowned. “That is quite unexpected.”

“What is it?” asked Lin Tao, the first time she’d spoken.

“See for yourself,” Gideon replied, gesturing toward the opening.

The others did just that, though Elijah hung back slightly. He waited, watching their expressions change as, one by one, they laid their hands on the invisible shield. Via Soul of the Wild, Elijah could barely sense the thin plane of ethera, and though it seemed extremely fragile, he knew that if he tried to shatter it, he would fail miserably. It was something created by the system, and as such, it was all but infallible.

Finally, he stepped forward and laid his own hand against the barrier. Immediately, a notification appeared before his inner eye.

You have arrived at Man Mo Temple. To earn the Blessing of War, enter and complete the challenge within. Entry is restricted to one individual at a time. The challenge resets in 7 days upon completion or failure.

For access to The Desolate Reach, only one party member (maximum of six for each instance of the blessing) is required to obtain the blessing.

Do you wish to enter?

[Yes] or [No]

“I see,” Elijah said.

“I should go,” Sadie offered.

“My summons make me perfect for this sort of thing,” stated Lin Tao. “I should be the one.”

Elijah sighed. “I’ll do it,” he said. “Of everyone here, I’m the most self-sufficient. I can heal, do damage, stealth, and survive when most of you – aside from Sadie and maybe Gideon, assuming he took some sort of defender class – would be killed. I’m the obvious choice.”

“You don’t have to, Elijah. I can do it,” Sadie insisted.

“I know you can,” he responded. “But…well, I’m a higher level, and I’m more versatile. I stand a better chance of doing this without injury.”

It was an uncomfortable point to make, largely because much of Sadie’s self-perception was wrapped up in the ability to do her duty. She was strong, and she used that power to safeguard her people. That was who she needed to be. It was who she had forced herself to become.

However, if nothing else, Sadie was an eminently rational person, and though her agreement came begrudgingly, she eventually nodded and said, “You’re right.” She glanced toward the others. “Any objections?”

Gideon coughed and weakly offered himself for the role, but to Elijah, it was clear that the man never intended to follow through with it. He knew it would be refused, and the offer merely existed to save his reputation and avoid being called a coward.

Or maybe that wasn’t it at all. Perhaps Elijah’s perception of the man’s personality had infected the way he saw Gideon’s actions. Regardless, everyone else agreed, and after spending a few moments stretching and ensuring he had all of his gear ready and buffs active, he stepped forward, Feral Spire in hand.

Then, he laid his fingers on the barrier, re-read the notification, then selected the affirmative response. The barrier disappeared beneath his hand, and a new notification appeared:

Prove yourself worthy of the Blessing of War. Proceed into the Shrine.

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After taking a deep breath, Elijah looked back at Sadie and grinned as he said, “Here goes nothing.”

Without waiting for a response, he stepped forward, and everything went briefly black. It only lasted for a second, but even in that short span, Elijah felt a moment of panic. Thankfully, it lifted soon after, but when he beheld the scene before him, he couldn’t help but gasp.

Clearly, he was no longer in Hong Kong.