Six people left leaving four people who remain steadfast to the cause of vanquishing the tyrant. These four are two males and two females. All of them have weapons. They might not have earned it due to pure talent and skill but they have it nonetheless. All that is required to earn a weapon is to be the one to deal the killing blow to a monster two ranks above your rank. It might be difficult to do so as a solo fighter but those with factions have a way around it.
The female that called the meeting looked at all of them and said to them. "There's nothing to lose apart from our scores and maybe our weapons. We might not be able to use the weapons when we go to another challenge so they might not be very important. I might be wrong and the artifacts turn out to be important but I believe that trying to kill Soverick is worth it."
The two males nodded in agreement.
One of the males said, "I will be satisfied if I can just hit him once."
The other male spoke with hot-blooded passion. "That won't be enough for me. I want to crush him and destroy him."
He made a fist and his eyes shone with determination as he spoke. The other female didn't say anything. She just listened and went along with them. She can be considered to be a very beautiful battle sage monkey. She has pink fur and purple eyes. Her white robe is elegant and fitting to her body.
The way that she looks around with unfocused innocent eyes makes others want to protect her. She looks definitely out of depth and out of place in a team that can only be called a suicide squad. No one warned her otherwise. She has to be competent in one or another for her to become a rank 9. Or she could have been very lucky to reach rank 9. In that case, her good luck so far is finally catching up to her. It is time that luck takes it pound of flesh from her.
The four of them prepared and ascended the mountain. They chose to walk rather than fly. If their plan fails and Soverick can manipulate their gravity, then they want to be on the ground not in the air when it happens. The first female battle sage monkey has experienced what it feels like to be locked in a giant earthen ball and made to fall to the ground from a very great height. She will tell you that it was not a pleasurable ride.
It took a while but they soon reached the peak. They saw Soverick sitting and meditating with his eyes closed. They noticed something about the robe he is wearing. It is giving off a lot of energy fluctuations. The energy fluctuations are far above what a normal robe should have. It is almost like he is wearing an artifact, not a simple reinforced fabric.
"Wait a minute. Is that another artifact? Does he have two artifacts? How am I supposed to hit him now that he has both a defensive and attacking artifact? I am out of here."
The male that would be satisfied with just hitting Soverick once gave up after sighting Soverick. You can only get and use one artifact in the challenge. If you have gotten one before, you can't get another one if you lose it. And you can't use another one if you took it from someone else. That's what they have been told and also experienced so Soverick shouldn't have two artifacts but it looks to them that he has two.
It is already difficult to hit Soverick just once. His aim can be considered a pipe dream but this new development has made that nearly impossible. He is giving up while he can. He turned around and ran away down the mountain as fast as possible leaving the other 3 behind.
"What a Coward." The first female that arranged the meeting said after the deserter left them.
She feels like shouting actually but she didn't. She said it quietly so that the noise won't spook Soverick. She knows that he is probably aware of their presence but that has not alleviated her deep-seated fear for him. She wouldn't be so opinionated as to call someone a coward if she knows how Soverick got that robe. Unfortunately for them, they are facing his front and can't see the words written on the back of his robe.
"Now it's three of us. We can still do this." She said to the others.
The only male in the party nodded and affirmed his will. He has a strong will that will not be overcome easily. The other female tilted her head at the words. It was neither agreement nor disagreement. It seems that she is confused about what's going on but she followed the other two as they continued up the mountain.
One of Soverick's eyes opened to focus on them. The gold pupil lined with a ring of multicolored iris sent an involuntary shiver down their spines. The three of them stopped immediately and froze. The situation continued like so for several moments as the eye moved to examine them one by one.
Soverick broke the silence. " I wonder. Should I call you brave and courageous or stupid and foolish?"
The second female spoke. Fear took over her features. Her naive look changed into a terrified one as she spoke quickly. "I am neither. I am simply intrigued. I followed them to watch the fight up close."
It seems she has finally realized the immensity of the situation that she has gotten herself into and now she wants no part in it. She looked straight into his eye as she said those words. Her soft words and the way her eyes shimmer make her look harmless and innocent. A formless wave spread out from her. The wave invoked feelings of peace and calm toward her.