Unchosen Champion-Chapter 318: Birds of a Feather

When Coop manifested from a splash of mists in the center of an empty field outside of the Heartland Settlement, abruptly confronting the massive collection of human warriors, the preparations for battle had already ceased. All of the fiery aggression had been doused by the overwhelming power displayed in response, then the appearance of a familiar Champion, briefly thought to have been dead, extinguished any battlelust that remained. The growing competitiveness was replaced by general confusion.

Marcus noted that Coop arrived with his aura fully unleashed. It sent a wave of subconscious fear through the people present. Marcus recognized the crushing, oppressive atmosphere it created, hinting at an unrelenting, reckless ruthlessness that clashed with the actual personality of the one at its center. The aura alone would have been enough to give any overconfident individuals pause before they sought to steal glory, but the fact that so many of the most prominent warriors were so quick to stand down at the mere appearance of his spear swept any overly ambitious thoughts away. There were enough people present who recognized the signature abilities of Ghost Reef’s Revenant to halt any potential opening strikes. Instead, they questioned what he was doing there and what was with his timing.

Still, Marcus cast his aura inspection skill, Thoughtful Guidance, to gauge the state of the fallen Champion. He sought whatever clarifications he could get as soon as possible.

[Icon of Humanity (Level 0)]

Marcus felt his jaw slacken in surprise, expecting to find only one thing, and not exactly seeing it. It should have said ‘Human.’ Icon was a scary title in their experience.

“Where did that come from?” He muttered under his breath, wondering if the change was what had caused his level to change.

Marcus’s skill only received a single line in response to touching Coop’s aura, but it wasn’t because it was unable to retrieve information due to being insufficiently leveled relative to the target. The fact that it worked as expected was confusing enough by itself, as it confirmed that Coop had actually somehow undone his level, but failing to retrieve any other stats on a low level made no sense.

The lack of any further lines of information meant that every single one of Coop’s stats were higher than his own, which raised a dozen more questions regarding the legitimacy of the level designation. Marcus had no idea how to parse the existence of one line and lack of others, but at least it confirmed that Coop wasn’t weak, despite what his level implied. Apparently, his intimidating aura was more true to his status than anything Marcus’s ability explicitly revealed.

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Coop already had his hands held out to discourage any conflict, knowing he needed to calm everyone down before something bad happened. He looked like a lion tamer, shouting ‘Hey, now! Hold on a sec!’ but he was facing well over two million humans, and all had been primed for battle. It seemed easy for something to go wrong.

Where the previous engagements with Primal Constructs from the Fallen Zone had only required small portions of the warriors to be at attention, the ‘unknown’ had drawn them all to arms. They had formed a loosely convex line in preparation for significantly outnumbering their opponents, and Coop ended up in the center of it all.

Marcus reacted first, having already been positioned at the forefront of the combat lines and in the middle of the formation, doing his best to help extinguish the situation . “Coop?” He queried, breaking the tense atmosphere, confirming that it was really him. “What’s going on?”

“I’ll explain in a minute, just, everyone relax while I calm her down. She’s kinda overprotective.” He spoke quickly, before seeming satisfied that no one would attack and turning away to intercept the still rapidly approaching boss monster.

Marcus glanced at Shane and Arthur, but both offered no attempt to explain the Champion’s actions, simply accepting his words for what they were and waiting to see what would happen next. The collection of warriors stayed quiet, chewing on Coop’s instructions for a few seconds before they started murmuring a thousand different questions.

It only took a minute before General McCallister marched across the battle lines to confront Marcus, intent on demanding an explanation.

“Well?” The General spoke gruffly. “You mind sharing with the class what in the seven hells is happening?”

Marcus wasn’t sure what to say, but he was keeping his eyes on Coop, who had reached the other figure while it was still a great distance away, blocking their path and forcing them to stop. He was apparently having a conversation, as he gestured back and forth.

Marcus strained his eyes, trying to get a better look at the hovering being, feeling like it reminded him of the goddess that had set Ghost Reef on the path of preparing for the Eradication Protocol, but she couldn’t be wandering around on their planet, could she? As far as he knew, she was merely a projection that could only briefly appear, relaying some questionable guidance before returning to wherever she came from. If she was traveling with Coop, that meant something considerable had developed.

He glanced at the General, and put his hands out in a gesture that admitted he had no idea. “Coop tends to make strange friends.” He offered neutrally. “Most recently it was a bunch of alligators.”

The leader of the Pacific Republic just looked at him like he was getting tired of dealing with such nonsense, but the fact that almost every other group was standing down left him on something of an island. It was clear that if he acted, he would be on his own. He and his teams would just have to wait with everyone else, submitting to Coop’s care.

“My mana scouts claimed they were designated boss monsters.” He pointed out, though he had seen with his own eyes that at least one of them seemed to be human.

Marcus didn’t know what to say. “Maybe he’s a boss ranked human?” He offered, though no one seemed to be able to corroborate his estimation.

It didn’t take Coop much longer to conclude his chat with the other ‘monster.’ Once they were done, they just moseyed across the rest of the field, completely unintimidated by the collection of humans awaiting them. Marcus supposed that was to be expected, given Coop’s normal attitude.

The boss that had seemed like it would wipe them out without breaking a sweat hovered along with Coop, and as she drew closer, Marcus confirmed that it actually was the Avatar of the System. Obviously, she had no real reason to be hesitant in front of the gathering of humans. She was far beyond them all, as evidenced by her cavalier presence. If Coop was casually indifferent, she was simply confident in her superiority, with good reason.

Her angelic appearance was crystal clear, fed by her own carefully curated aura. She was positively glowing and Marcus had to repeatedly remind himself that she wasn’t really a goddess. It was no wonder the Great Khan was so dutiful toward her. Marcus had forgotten the effect of her presence since he had only seen her the one time at the end of the Siege Event, and by that point in their struggle everyone in Ghost Reef was operating on fumes.

In his previous life, Marcus had once been trained in the etiquette of meeting a real life queen, and he couldn’t help but subconsciously tap into the conditioning, viewing Coop as her temporary retainer. He cleared his throat and reminded himself that she was an alien. She wouldn’t recognize his manners, no matter how proper.

Curiously, Thoughtful Guidance described her as an Entity of the Lighthouse, and like with Coop, it was only a single line. The real surprise was that it had worked at all.

The entire army of humans held their breath, feeling the same way about being in the presence of a higher being and drawing upon their own histories in deciding how to yield to her authority. Many looked back and forth at each other, averting their eyes from her graceful beauty while trying to decide if they should kneel. Somehow, among the remaining humans, there was a universal hesitance toward submitting to anyone else, as if to survive and succeed in the assimilation to this point had required a certain amount of willful unruliness. The representatives of the Jaguar Sun didn’t even consider it, but the EEC seemed to regard the utility of tactfully yielding as they gathered more information.

It wasn’t like it mattered. Marcus was pretty sure if she wanted them to kneel, she would have forced them all to the ground. He couldn’t wait for Coop to explain whatever adventure had pulled the Avatar from the stars.

Even General McCallister was silent, squinting at the Avatar suspiciously. The poor guy appeared to be having his foundational beliefs challenged. Marcus was about to whisper something to him about their skepticism regarding the actual holiness of this goddess, but it seemed like he didn’t need to. McCallister was solidly on the side of human independence. The way he squeezed his jaw and clenched his hands reminded Marcus of the way Coop greeted the Avatar the first time around: with his fist swinging for her jaw in order to free everyone from her spell.

Then, as various internal mental struggles ebbed and flowed, the image of unerring superiority was simply broken. Coop ruined it by placing his hand on her forearm and gently, but firmly, forcing her to walk on the ground at his side. He leaned over to her and seemed to quietly remind her of something, almost like the parent of a child that was going on stage for a concert or play for the first time. She complied, tilting her head down slightly before stopping and putting her hand out in a silent demand that he hold her hand in support.

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Coop glanced at her with uncertainty, then laughed under his breath, drawing a scowl from her. Rather than explain anything with words, their little interaction had been more than enough to open up a potential new dynamic between humanity and the Avatar of the System, one where they were closer to equals.

When they drew close enough to address the crowd, she spoke first, clearing her throat with a royal sounding “Ahem!” before sweeping her gaze across the battleline. It was clear she was assessing them from behind her runed blindfold.

“Greetings proud heroes of Earth!” She began, projecting her voice such that it was beautifully clear to everyone present. “I, the Avatar of the System, have appeared before you bearing a message of warning and hope! You will all- ack!” She suddenly stopped, interrupted by Coop.

The Champion of Ghost Reef shouted an explanation before anyone could question what was happening. “Sorry about that everyone! She was just gonna tell you about the Eradication Protocol, which I’m sure most of you have already heard about.” He scowled at the Avatar as if she betrayed his trust before he continued. “Anyway, she’s not really some kind of spokesperson for the system, her name is Lyriel and she’s the newest recruit to the Lighthouse. Her planet went through the Eradication Protocol and she survived, and it’s a similar story for her little friend, Palisteon. I’m sure they will be helpful in the future.”

“You lack suitable elegance, little human.” She grumbled at Coop, barely audible in the silence that had followed.

“You’re way too pretentious. And telling people they are going to die isn’t a good way to make friends.” Coop argued back in a loud whisper, causing even Marcus to raise his eyebrows. “We talked about this.”

“You cannot fathom my intentions.” She asserted, but he rolled his eyes at her, having recognized her spiel from their previous meetings.

Even though Ghost Reef had immediately doubted the legitimacy of her claims, there was no denying the fact that compared to them, she was ultra powerful. But here was Coop, reduced to level 0, completely indifferent toward the disparity between them. Marcus decided that it really was rather typical of him.

“What about the Fallen Zone?” General McCallister spoke up. Impressively, he was remaining on mission regardless of the many distractions and developments around them all.

“It is done. This weakling destroyed the core monster.” Lyriel announced, directing them all to Coop. “Then he destroyed an Icon of Mana that would have swallowed your planet in harmonious drones if it had been given the opportunity to do so. After that, he defied the system, received a penalty, and thinned the barrier that separates your world from the galaxy, creating a window for my arrival.” She continued, sweeping her blindfolded gaze across the collection of humans. “The planetary sponsor has lost this foothold.” She finally declared when no one properly reacted, as if encouraging adoring cheers.

“Huh?” The General grunted in confusion while countless others questioned individual parts. “It’s done?” “What core?” “Drones?” “Icon of Mana?” were all repeated across the armies. “It’s over?” more people wondered, as they parsed her words, feeling like they hadn’t even started.

Coop seemed to detect the growing sense of bewilderment and quickly spoke up to mollify the confusion.

“There’s plenty of monsters for the subjugation effort to hunt, but I killed the Region Boss at the center.” Coop clarified. “If you ask me, the whole domain could use a thorough sweep to prevent more Infestations.” He concluded, encouraging the warriors, General McCallister chief among them, with the knowledge that there was a job to do. “Should probably place a bunch of Mana Pylons too…” He added as no one responded.

Coop looked around, recognizing people all over the place. It seemed like it finally hit him that he was holding up a major united effort that topped anything he had witnessed before. He scratched the back of his head, suddenly feeling anxious after a dozen other more appropriate opportunities to do so had passed right by.

“Don’t let me hold you up!” He offered. “Uh, Marcus, could we talk?”

Arthur stepped forward. “Right this way, Champion.” He bowed, directing Coop toward the bunker.

The weird atmosphere finally broke, with conversations and questions erupting all over the place. The Great Khan rushed to politely greet Lyriel with a bowed head, professing that he had fulfilled his promise while Platinum demanded to know what Coop was up to since she intended to surpass him in levels in a fair competition. Tzultacaj offered words of congratulations to Coop on a successful hunt while Mateo vocalized his stream of consciousness regarding the Revenant’s apparent level and how he thought that would impact their chances of survival. Members of the European delegation attempted to draw Lyriel’s attention with polite queries regarding an official audience. It went on and on until Coop was kneeling among the pink flamingos, impossibly amused by the decorations.

“That’s not a real bird either.” Lyriel rejected Coop’s explanation as they continued holding their own private conversations in front of the rest.

“It totally is.” Coop endorsed the lawn ornaments. “And so was the Greater-Sage Grouse we spotted on the way here.”

“Nonsense.” Lyriel contended before cooing at the worm on her shoulder. “Absolute nonsense.” She repeated. “Neither of those creatures could possibly exist. The first was a creation from some sort of summoner and those are clearly the result of humanity’s overactive imagination.”

“You’re just like this system,” Coop insisted, “completely underestimating the power of natural selection.” Without turning around, he called over his shoulder to his Viceroy. “Marcus! Do you think they’ll let us take one of these home?”

“I’m sure we can ask.” Marcus sighed.

Meanwhile, three dozen diplomats from around the world jockeyed for position close enough to listen in on Coop’s explanations to his advisors about what had happened. Marcus could only do his best to signal for Coop to avoid revealing too much, but he doubted Coop would listen or care about oversharing.

To his surprise, Coop stuck to the explicit facts of the Fallen Zone, keeping his personal developments to himself. Arthur and Shane helped by asking clarifying questions that kept all the information specific to what would help the subjugation mission. Lyriel stuck by Coop’s side, making herself seem unapproachable and successfully avoiding the many attempts to solicit her attention simply by ignoring them.

When the representatives of Ghost Reef were finally left alone, later in the night, after Coop dragged them back to the surface for some fresh air, Marcus got more serious. “So what’s the plan?” He asked Coop, finally able to reveal that he was equally confused by the events surrounding his friend. “Are you able to recover your levels?”

Coop shook his head, but he didn’t seem sad or discouraged as he gazed somberly at the stars. “Nah, I’m gonna head home-” Marcus almost choked in fear as he jumped to the conclusion that the Unchosen Champion was retiring. Coop looked at him funny as he finished his sentence. “...and I’m gonna re-level even faster than before. My original levels are gone.” Then he pointed at Lyriel as she cooed at her tiny alien companion. “They’re like contracted residents, so I need to escort them back to our territory anyway. They can’t go on their own.”

As they talked more, it became clear that they didn’t need to worry about Coop as much as they had believed. When they saw his level drop, they had naturally been concerned, but Coop explained that his reset had been an exchange that he guaranteed would make him even more powerful by doubling his stats. Really, they had no choice but to trust his judgment. They would be focused on building the broader alliance and preparing for the Eradication Protocol anyway. He just needed to continue fulfilling his role as their Champion. If that’s what was happening, they had no reason to question him.

It was with renewed trust that Marcus accepted another series of meetings with different world leaders, setting up an overnight office in the second floor of one of the nearby barns to answer their questions. Most of them were simply making efforts to confirm that they were in the good graces of Ghost Reef and its Champion, especially after the grand reveal of Lyriel as their newest ‘asset.’ If Coop’s power level had motivated them to attend the summit, Lyriel’s had made their commitments to cooperate, or at least avoid opposition to the Lighthouse concrete. The real test would be in properly checking each and every person that was now willing to collaborate and unite.

The only one who met with Marcus and remained doubtful of their legitimacy was the representative from the Assembly of Settlements. It wasn’t General McCallister, who was more like Coop in the sense that he kept a firm separation between survival and politics. No, it was a man named Brehanu Yosef Fekadu, the temporarily appointed leader of the Assembly, someone who could be replaced by another at any given moment. Marcus watched the man’s pointer finger as he bashed the air with it like it was a stick and spoke down to him as though he had seen how a king would behave in a movie and was doing his best to imitate it.

“You claim that your Champion is such a great and valuable figure, but he can’t even take a few minutes to properly greet the administrator of the greatest alliance on the planet?” The man continued, practically begging for gentle assurances from Marcus. Rather than project confidence, he merely seemed insecure. “Where is he? I heard he made a big show of arriving late, but he hasn’t come to salute me!”

Marcus turned away to stand in front of the open window, as if he would watch the sunrise instead of answering the man. In front of the barn, Coop was caught in a gentle headlock by the shadowboxer from the African settlements. He was laughing as the boxer gave him a noogie, frustrated by Coop’s complete indifference toward his perceived strength. Apparently, even at level 0, Coop was too strong for the other champion to defeat in a duel.

Others from around the world were watching and laughing at the spectacle. Platinum and Neon leaned against a fence with Alex Nova, the former bus driver Tomb Blade was trying on one of the European operatives's goggles, the Great Khan’s robed general was quietly speaking with Reina Kitawa, Sila Tupua appeared to be giving advice to the Can Gio scout that was always accompanied by multiple shadow clones, and the entire African delegation had encircled Coop and the boxer.

“He’s busy with more important matters.” Marcus concluded, momentarily jealous of the role Coop had carved out for himself, but then he imagined all the fighting and shuddered.

He turned back to the spokesperson and continued. “Why don’t you tell me more about Nyiragongo and these rivers? If we can cross the Atlantic, do you think we’ll be able to bring ships all the way into the interior?” He redirected the conversation to something more productive.

Lyriel had warned them that relying on the Underlayer was a fool’s idea, given how the ley lines would become charged at the initiation of the Eradication Protocol. If people lacked the proper constitution or otherwise waited too long, they would be eroded away like actual mana manifestations. That tiny bit of information meant that Marcus would need to revise their plans regarding evacuations for the rest of the planet. He sighed at the thought, but he was glad it had been mentioned early, before most of the other settlements had even agreed to join the Lighthouse.