by Jez Cajiao
Every time I thought about it, I felt my anger bubbling up, along with my fear. I admitted that last bit to myself grudgingly. I could lose anyone at any time. I knew that, but the thought of losing Oracle made my heart clench and bile fill my throat. I was right to have sent her; it was the only way, I told myself, but still, I couldn’t shake the fear that I’d never see her again.
I forced myself to my feet and used Battlefield Triage on Lydia again. It was a quick cast, the minimum needed, mainly because it now gave as much information on the condition of the target as it performed healing, and I let out a sigh of relief. Lydia was better than she had been. She was worn out still, but it seemed more like extreme exhaustion now, rather than the near death-like state she’d been in.
I smiled at Miren again, more genuinely, and frowned at Arrin, who’d clearly given up and had gone looting instead of meditating.
“Arrin?” I said quietly as I stepped over to meet him a few feet away where he’d been stripping a gold ring off the finger of a corpse.
“Hey, boss,” he said casually, straightening up and holding the ring up to the light of his magelight, then grinning and dropping it in a pocket. Then he looked at me and swallowed as he saw the look in my eyes.
“What happened to meditating?” I asked him in as even a voice as I could manage.
“I… uh, I couldn’t get it, so I figured I’d be better off searching the dead, you know, looking for mana potions and stuff,” he replied, looking away.
“And did you find any?” I asked, my voice cold.
“No…” he said, sagging.
“No.” I repeated. “And did you think that a glass vial of magical elixir was likely to be found on walking corpses? Corpses that were commanded by a Lich?” I pressed, and he shrugged, refusing to meet my eyes.
“I didn’t...” he mumbled.
“You didn’t consider that the Lich would have already gathered things like that to him, or you did, and you decided to ignore my order to meditate? An order I gave you because we need all the fucking mana we can get right now, and you decided that looting the bodies of the dead was a better use of your time?” I asked through gritted teeth.
“I… I…” he stammered, looking around at the floor and walls, basically anywhere but at me.
“We’ll talk about this later,” I growled, and turned, walking across to where Yen was standing, ostensibly checking over the loot that everyone had piled together. I glanced over it and noted the gold, jewelry, weapons, and other random shit that made it up. The lack of anything that was obviously valuable or any potions made me sigh, as I marked down the need to speak to Arrin about the fact he’d been pocketing the rings, rather than putting them together the way the others had for me to go over.
“I don’t have any healing magic…” Yen said quietly. “But I do have an Identify spell, and I checked these two over. Your naginata is down there when you’re ready for it.” She gestured down to the swordstaff piled with the rest of the gear, then held out her hand. I reached out, and she dropped a pair of rings into my palm. The first was black, solid black; it looked like someone had made a damn ring out of the darkest part of the goddamn night, while the other was a simple golden band with a gently glowing red ruby in it. “Here…” she said, and I saw my notifications pulse again as she did something.
“Fuck, give me a few seconds to work through these,” I muttered, pulling them up.
“It’s fine, I’ll come back if you need me to share it again.” She stepped away, leaving me to read.
Congratulations! You have killed the following:
11x Gnome Badunka Riders of various levels for 47,150xp
29x Feral Gnomes of various levels for 63,115xp
14x Crazed Gnomes of various levels for 53,875xp
16x Insane Gnomes of various levels for 23,430xp
1x Crazed, Dominated Human for 7,150xp
114x Undead of various levels for 28,158xp
1x Bartholomew the Lich for 18,350xp
*
A party under your command killed the following:
3x Gnome Badunka Riders of various levels for a total of 22,130xp
6x Immature Leviathans of various levels for 53,140xp
1x Crazed Cavern Dominatrix Human for 11,750xp
1x Grant; ‘Master’ of the gnomes 0XP awarded due to SkinWalker’s survival
278x Undead of various levels for 57,111xp
Total Party exp earned: 114,131xp
As party leader, you gain 25% of all experience earned
Progress to level 19 stands at 432,266/265,000
Congratulations! You have reached Level 19! You have 7 points to invest in your stats.
You are now at 167,266/305,000 Exp toward Level 20
*
Congratulations! Through hard work and perseverance, you have increased your Strength by one point. Continue to train and learn to increase this further.
*
Congratulations! You have made progress in your Quest: ‘Fix the Fixers’
You have discovered the chilling secrets of the Prax ‘Glorious Retribution,’ discovered a working, if unpowered, portal, and killed the ‘Master’ and his unwilling servants. Due to the level of difficulty involved, and the bravery shown by your acceptance of the realities of your situation, the Goddess Jenae has increased your rewards, and altered the Success Conditions of the Quest.
1) Recruit the Gnomish Survivors: 21/27
2) Recover sufficient manastones to power the ship ‘Interesting Endeavors’: 17/40
3) Eliminate Bartholomew the Lich: 1/1
4) Find and prepare the ship ‘Interesting Endeavors’ and use it to escape.
5) Bonus Condition: For each SporeMother killed, receive an additional 10,000xp.
Reward: Improved technological capacity in the Great Tower, Possible technological boosts to the fleet, Survival , Gnomish exploration vessel ‘Interesting Endeavors’, ‘ 500,000Exp
A member of your team wishes to share information with you. Do you accept?
Yes/No
It wasn’t exactly rocket science who and what that was referencing, so I mentally tagged ‘yes’ and watched the screens bloom for me.
Ring of Darkest Desire
Further Description Yes/No
Details:
This Ring grants the wearer +5 Charisma and a 10% bonus to Intimidation!
Rarity
Magical
Durability
Charge:
Highly Rare
Yes
57/100
N/A
Ring of Bloody Brilliance
Further Description Yes/No
Details:
This Ring was forged in the depths of antiquity by the sadistic creator Ivanna Humpalot. This ring feeds on the life energy of its wearer, providing a +4 to both Intelligence and Endurance, but inflicts a -5hps wound on the wearer.
Rarity
Magical
Durability
Charge:
Highly Rare
Yes
34/100
N/A
I looked the rings over, shaking my head in amazement at the Lich. It’d been an absolute asshole, and that was with an additional five points of Charisma? I snorted and popped the black ring on, guessing that the boost might be useful in negotiation, and it never hurt a guy to draw a little attention in the right way.
The second ring, though… hell no. It would boost my Mana and Stamina a good amount, true, but not with regards to losing the five HP per second. The Lich might have been able to get around that with being technically undead, and whoever Ivanna was, she was clearly a kinky fucker, and didn’t expect to be wearing the ring long-term…
I shrugged and dumped it into a bag, looking at the last series of notifications, realizing that there were five more left.
At a mental flex, they rearranged themselves into easier reading, and I scanned over them, dismissing the majority of the extraneous details.
Congratulation
s!
You have practiced enough to raise the following skills:
Unarmed: Level 9
Shields: Level 7
Medium Armor: Level 9
Staffs: Level 12
Mace Wielding: Level 7
Small Blades (Daggers): Level 8
Continue to practice and learn to increase these skills further.
Once these skills reach Level Ten, you may choose their first evolutions. For skills that surpass this marker, additional evolutions will occur every ten levels.
“Hey, Oracle...” I started to ask without thinking, then stopped myself, realizing that she was already out of my range, never mind her being able to speak to me when I spoke out loud.
“Can I help, Jax?” Yen offered, walking back over and I shrugged.
“I was going to ask Oracle a question about the skill evolutions; just forgot where she, and I, were, that’s all,” I admitted sheepishly, rubbing the back of my neck.
“I’ll answer, if I can?” she offered again, and I grinned awkwardly.
“Thanks, Yen. I’ll be honest, I’m used to asking Oracle, mainly because so many of my questions are so… obvious to the rest of you. You grew up with these systems, after all. Makes me feel a bit stupid at times.”
“I can understand that, Jax. Honestly, ask, and if I can answer, I will,” she reassured me.
“Okay, I keep getting skill notifications, like my daggers reaching level eight, that kinda thing, but I don’t seem to be getting many spell ones; why is that?” I asked, half expecting it to be a really obvious answer.
“Do you use many standard spells?” Yen asked, smiling gently. “I’ve seen you use dozens of variations on spells, but hardly any over and over…”
“Well, yeah I use what I need. We usually adjust a spell on the fly, so that…” I said, my voice trailing off as I realized what she meant. “Wait, so because I’m doing that, using spells we’re making and adjusting, I’m not leveling?”
“You are, just slower than you would be if you were using, say, Fireball exclusively. You’re spreading yourself around all of these spells. Have you examined them individually?” she asked, and I shook my head. “I think you should, then… you might get a nice surprise, after all. Has Oracle explained about the various Schools of magic?”
“I think so?” I said, unsure, as I looked around the room. “Okay, everyone, grab whatever you’ve got; it’s time to move on,” I called, before turning back to Yen.
“There are many schools. Fire, Water, Earth; basically, any of the basic elements is classed as a ‘school’, and if you leveled up the spell, for example Firebolt, ten times, you get the first evolution to that spell,” Yen explained, and I nodded. “Well, once you reach that, you gain a single point in Mastery of Fire. It doesn’t sound like much, and most people just ignore the little gains like that, as it seems like it takes forever to grow them. After all, a one-point gain in Fire Mastery gets you only a one percent reduction in the cost of the spell, and a one percent resistance to the element.”
“I remember my teacher back in my realm talking about this… vaguely,” I admitted.
“Well, think of it this way: one percent of say, ten mana cost is nothing. You’d never notice it. Hell, ten percent, even, would only be one point of mana… but… the higher you go, the more it stacks. Once you reach fifty percent, your Fire magic costs are halved, and any Fire based spells that hit you are only half as effective as they should be. Hit one hundred, and your Fire spells are free, and you’d be able to bathe in lava fields. Hit the Grandmaster ranks at one hundred and fifty, and you’d be gaining mana whenever you cast the spell, and you would be healed by anyone that tried to hurt you with Fire. You could literally stand in a fireplace and heal yourself!” Yen said excitedly.
“Yeah, but it’d take forever…” I countered quietly, as the others joined us and we set off, clambering across the rubble and piled bones. Grizz, Stephanos, Jian, and Ty’Baronn worked together to carry Lydia on a stretcher that Stephanos had built from the longer leg bones and some leather he could find.
We took turns helping to carry Lydia, moving at a fast walk as Yen continued to explain.
“It may seem like it’ll take forever…” she agreed. “But you’re doing it anyway, so just keep going, really. Maybe try to limit yourself to a set few spells, and you’ll see the increase sooner. Plus, it doesn’t really take that long, and there are ways to ‘cheat’ the system, as it were. If you get, say, ten low-level fire spells, and advance them all to the tenth level, that still gives you ten points in fire mastery, after all. Also, for example, that water fountain spell; what level is it?” I pulled it up, checking it over, confident in Tang and Bane to keep us safe as we went.
“Uh… level nine?” I said, surprised. “I didn’t think I’d used it enough, but…”
“And the explosive spell you’ve been using?” she asked.
“Level three,” I said, nodding my head in understanding. “So basically, keep spreading myself thin, and it’ll slow my growth in a specific spell, but eventually, I’ll get them all; or I can cast the same ones over and over, and they’ll level fast?” I clarified.
“Basically, yes,” Yen agreed. “It’s one of those things where a little change can make a big difference, after all. Did Oracle explain about complimentary spells?”
“No?” I said, then frowned. There should have been some sign left by now; we’d cleared the far side of the room and started down the next corridor, but there was nothing. As we’d been going, Tang or Bane had been using a pair of damaged weapons, and Yen, Arrin, or myself had used fire spells, to mark the walls, making sure that when the gnomes followed, they could pick up our trail.
There was nothing here, though, and there should have been…
“What are…” I started to ask absently as I looked around. In fact, the floor there looked different, the path seemed to end at the wall abruptly, but…
“Ambush!” Yen roared suddenly.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Yen leapt forward, tackling me at the shoulder and slamming me aside as a bolt of lightning as thick as my leg slammed into her, instead of me.
I went sprawling, the wall I’d expected to hit vanishing as I touched it, and I staggered, then fell, as I threw myself down to avoid an axe being swung at my head.
The walls… we’d come to a crossroads, and someone had covered the branching paths with a goddamn illusory set of walls!
I hit the floor, bounced, and lashed out, grabbing the ankle of the man who’d just tried to behead me as he glared down at me. I’d landed with my naginata underneath me, so I released it and yanked hard, pulling the man off balance, and making him hop to stay upright.
He swore and lashed out, forcing me to release him and roll aside to avoid being hit. As I tumbled, I saw Bane. He was laid limply further up the branching passageway that I was in now. If I hadn’t seen the glowing spell-web that held him down, I’d have sworn he was dead, there was that much blood.
Next to him was Tang, being slowly bound in gleaming golden lines of magic, slowly rotating as a pair of mages worked, fixatedly staring at their victims.
I rolled again, the grunt of effort all the warning I needed, and the axe slammed down hard, glancing off the metal floor in a shower of sparks. I’d rolled back in the direction I’d come from and came to a stop against the leg of the armored axe wielder as he drew his weapon back up to strike again.
I didn’t have time for this shit. My eyes blazed with fury as I triggered ‘Mana-Overdrive,’ lifting my legs as high as I could and wrapping them around the backs of the towering figure’s knees, yanking hard and taking him down.
He staggered forward, his balance lost, falling over atop me, as I yanked out my Dagger of Ripping and rammed it up under his helm and into his brain via the underside of the chin.
I felt the parting of flesh, the crunch of cartilage and bone, and then the spasm of the fresh corpse over me, even as hands reached out, trying to pull the
ir friend free.
I grinned up at the pair of soldiers that stood over me, one dragging their friend back, the other holding a sword and shield combination half ready but lowering it in shock as I yanked the blade down, releasing a spurt of fresh arterial blood across myself from his final heartbeats.
I ignored the guy with his hands full of corpse, using the body to sit myself up, Mana-Overdrive granting me the speed and strength to rise before they could attack me.
I grabbed the shield of the man on my left, yanking it forward to block both his view of me and any chance of striking, as well as bringing me close enough to drive the dagger into the joint of his armor around the knee.
It scraped across a section of metal before sinking in deeply behind the next piece, and as it hit bone, I yanked it back out… sideways.
The soldier screamed in pain as his lower leg was practically severed at the knee, and I twisted, looking back at the pair of mages and throwing the dagger, hard.
Unlike other times I’d thrown one, this time, it struck true, the blade sinking into the man’s upraised left arm as he tried to bind Tang further, cutting off his casting with a scream. A scream that was echoed by the other mage, as their spell tore out of control and lashed them with feedback.
The soldier who’d lifted the corpse let go and swept out his mace, slamming it down at my face.
I yanked the corpse back into his path, making him pause for a second with the crunch of the mace against the side of his friend’s head.