Pandora Unchained - a Cultivation Progression Fantasy

Under mounting pressure from three God Seeds and other individuals with strong backing, the remaining emerald-ranked teams, as they were now designated, began challenging the arena in groups.

Several important rules were discovered, including the fact that the number of normal demons supplied scaled with the number of competitors. Elite demons were also empowered based on the number of competitors, making group size matter less and making up numbers impractical.

Another key fact was soon discovered—the demons were getting stronger with every challenge. As a result, the emerald teams raced to enter the arena and secure easier challenges.

Incidentally, this behavior led to another phenomenon: the splitting up of existing teams. When two teams tried to enter at the same time, and the arena did not allow more than ten people to enter at once, the remaining individuals, the elites of their teams, challenged the arena by themselves and, in so doing, proved that solo challenges were also possible.

For a time, everything went as planned. Some challengers succeeded, while others brutally failed. Teams with large disparities between numbers split up and recombined, with only a few teams retaining individuals with stronger blessings to "carry the team."

Soon, all the emerald-ranked individuals had finished, and sapphire-ranked teams stepped up. These challenges proceeded smoothly as well until roughly half the Sapphire teams completed their challenges.

Then, seemingly at random, the observed rules suddenly changed. A team that had just entered the arena discovered, to their dismay, that four of the normal demon symbols had vanished, and replacing them were two elite demon symbols and two white fire symbols.

At first, this was well-received. Elite combats weren't impossible to the current teams and provided more wish-fire for a single fight. As for the white fire symbols, they provided just as much wish fire as an elite challenge but without requiring combat or energy expenditure. Five 'normal' encounters or one elite challenge were sufficient to upgrade a wish-fire sphere to the emerald grade, and these requirements were twice as high for a sapphire grade.

Everyone's opinion on the matter shifted when a team completed five challenges, and the wheel changed once more, doubling the number of elite challenges. They proceeded to encounter two consecutive elite challenges and suffered a crushing defeat, forcing people to rethink their approach.

Sorin, being especially sensitive to corruption, discovered that this was a result of a struggle. "The rules seem to be changing to adapt to the overall power level and the goals of our expedition," said Sorin. "By introducing variance, the black disc is able to better capitalize on our greed."

"I see what you're saying," said Daphne. "It's like a casino, but losing a spin means going bankrupt. The wheel increases the rewards for each spin, but a single loss can take out a team and take back everything."

"Are you suggesting that this wheel is sentient?" asked Astley. "Apologies, but that's a bit of a stretch. Are you sure you won't reconsider your views on Pandora's history?"

"It's not me who suggested it, but Sorin," Daphne replied. "I'm just saying that the logic for doing so pans out. Whether this is happening because a limited pool of demonic opponents is being depleted or the conflicting forces are still actively fighting, it's clear that this change benefits the corruption beneath Delphi most."

The sudden change in the wheel had three immediate consequences. Firstly, an even greater number of teams splintered due to disagreements on risk aversion. Second, the increased variance resulted in a greater number of failures. As a result, a large number of heroes ignored Melinoë's thinly veiled threats and withdrew after securing lower-level wish-fire orbs, thereby increasing the pressure on high-ranked teams.

Eventually, all sapphire-ranked individuals completed their challenges, and Bast updated everyone on their performance thus far. "To date, 75% of challenges have been successful." His words provoked cheers from the remaining heroes. "However, our overall effectiveness is only at 45%. This is because a large portion of those who failed did so when they were close to reaching their targets, while those who withdrew early to secure lesser gains technically succeeded."

"Just tell us what's on your mind," said Michael. "No need for so much detail."

"According to my calculations, those who feel comfortable doing so need to increase the number of challenges past their quota requirement, " answered Bast without any hesitation. "Only in this way will it be possible to make up the shortfall. While the risk of defeat increases with each challenge, the rewards will surely increase as well. I believe this will be the case even if the wish-fire spheres don't increase in grade."

Roughly 120 individuals remained, and each of them had received at least ruby-tier blessings. Many, like Sorin's teammates, had received bronze-tier blessings. Ten individuals had received silver blessings, and of these individuals, five had already announced their intentions to participate as individuals to obtain a stronger blessing than their team was capable of securing.

"I think it's time we made a decision," said Gareth. "The first one being whether Astley is comfortable aiming for a bronze wish-fire sphere."

"I'm obviously not lacking compared to any of you," answered Astley. "So, if you have me, I'd like to participate with the rest of the team."

"I also agree that Astley can pull her weight," said Gareth. "Any objections? No? Then, this matter is settled. That only leaves one final decision. Sorin?" Everyone looked in Sorin's direction. As the recipient of a golden blessing, his quota was much higher than anyone else's.

"I don't know how far I can go," confessed Sorin. "But, I still think it's better if I participate individually."

"Your reasoning?" asked Gareth. Sorin could tell that he wasn't asking as the team's strategist but as Sorin's watchman. Those corrupted by Madness often made irrational decisions, and double-checking was necessary to prevent incidents.

"The first reason is that if I don't at least try to obtain a silver-tier wish-fire sphere, the entire team will encounter harsh criticism and potential backlash," said Sorin. "The second reason is that this backlash might even extend past general political inconvenience. It could affect the Medical Association's inquiry, making things that much more difficult for both me and the Kepler Clan, my backer.

"The third reason, and this is the most important reason, is I'm very well suited to this sort of challenge. Thanks to my armor, the skills I possess, and my high damage potential, I'm able to handle elites with relative ease. Large numbers of demons are also not a problem, as I can basically tank all the damage and recover, thanks to my life-siphoning abilities.

"In other words, I can accomplish the challenge, and there are serious downsides for me not attempting it. Moreover, I think the team is self-sufficient without my being here. I'm not a lynchpin member like Stephan that the team can't do without."

"I think there's one thing we're all overlooking," said Stephan. "Don't get me wrong; I'm all for solo challenges and would even consider doing so myself if the team could live without a tank. But in the end, I wouldn't. The reason is that there's a 1/100 chance of encountering a floor boss. I wouldn't be able to handle a floor boss on my own."

"Judging by the way the wheel is evolving, I'm pretty sure those gunning for a silver sphere or a golden," added Daphne.

Sorin nodded. "I'm aware of this possibility. And if the floor boss is sealed as the symbols suggest, I might stand a chance. I'm not the cultivator I was four months ago. Also, I'm not alone, remember?"

"Reee!" screeched Lorimer from his perch atop his shoulder.

"Lorimer and should be considered a single entity," added Sorin.

"Um, guys?" Lawrence said. I think we're about to get some extra information on the floor boss."

"Quiet while the adults are speaking," snapped Stephan.

"Um, I'm going to insist," said Lawrence. "Because a team finally summoned a floor boss." Their eyes turned to the arena, where an unfortunate ruby-tier team rolled the worst result for its third challenge: a chained boss.

A huge amount of wish-fire gushed out from the fox status, and a similar amount rushed out from the black disc, severely weakening its aura. The fire and mist combined to form a black-scaled serpent that was three hundred feet long and five feet thick all around the center of the arena.

A golden pattern could be seen wrapping around the serpent's lustrous scales, inhibiting its power. Yet, at the same time, there was no mistaking that hint of three-star pressure that could crush an average Bone-Forging cultivator without even trying.

The team in question was a rare warrior-based team completely lacking in magical ability. They didn't even have a life mage, and as a result, they scattered as the monster appeared. No one even attempted to tank the creature.

They desperately hacked, slashed, and pierced at the monster's scaly flesh, but only three of the combatants were able to wound it. One of these was immediately crushed by the serpent's massive tail, and the two that managed to evade a retaliatory blow could only watch on in horror as the serpent picked off their archer, who was targeting its eyes, and a fencer, whose thin blade snapped as it attempted to pierce between the serpent's scales.

The two remaining team members did whittle the creature down, but in the end, only one of their attacks managed to cut deep enough to chip the creature's strong bones. This used up all their remaining energy, however, and they were unable to endure the serpent's retaliation.

Having completed its task, the serpent proceeded to inhale the ruby-ranked team's wish-fire orbs and the black smoke spewing out of their corpses to empower itself. It then flew up into the air and plunged into the arena, reinforcing the black disc with more energy than ten elite combats put together.

For a while, no one issued a challenge. Everyone, including Sorin, greatly underestimated the floor boss's result.

It was only when the stage began to pulse that a team finally built up the courage to step into the arena. They discovered, to their horror, that a chained serpent had replaced an elite challenge on the wheel. Everyone's odds of encountering an impossible challenge had just doubled.