by Aleron Kong
He handed it back to Bowdin so the dwarf could affix the blade to a hilt as soon as possible. The dwarf nodded and carried it back to the heavy elementum chest. When he opened the lid though, something caught his eye and his face adopted a speculative expression. Richter noticed none of this.
He waved everyone away and dealt with the remaining notifications awaiting his inspection. Richter had assumed the prompts were about the changes in relationship, but the last one was a quest!
You have unlocked a Profession Quest: The Power of Two I
Success Conditions: You have progressed along the path of the Enchanter. Make a total of 10 dual enchantments to complete this quest. Current Progress 1/10.
Reward: 5 Talent Points
Do you accept? Yes or No?
The Universe really seemed to be softballing in the quest names now, Richter thought sourly. “The Power of Two One?” That was pure garbage, in his humble opinion. Like a girl talking to her third choice at last call though, he just sighed and said, “Yes.” Ugly or not, Profession quests put out cold, hard Talent Points, and he could always use more of those.
He checked over the rest of his stats quickly and saw that at long last he had made some progress to his next skill level in Enchanting. It was only two percentage points, but it was something. If Richter had known that dual enchantments were a way to power level his primary skill, then he would have bought the Increase Number of Enchantments Talent long before. It just proved how many secrets and wonders there were still left to discover in The Land.
The crowd dispersed and Richter kept enchanting for another hour. He was able to make many more Soul Trap arrowheads and he created several with Life Attack as well. There was even time to enchant a few more pieces of armor with Life Defense and Defense +2. Richter thought about trying another dual enchantment, but something made him want to wait. That was enough for him. He had always trusted his gut. He just hoped this time it didn’t have crap for brains.
Once he was done enchanting, he sat down and took a breather. Richter had accomplished a great deal today, but he had burned through a large amount of captured souls as well. It made him think about how many creatures would have to die to fuel his enchantments. Was what he was doing really any different than what the humans on Earth had been doing for centuries? Denuding forests, exploding mountains and ruining nature, all to fuel their ambitions?
Richter shook his head. The answer to those questions didn’t matter if he wasn’t willing to stop. The truth was, he wasn’t. The industrial revolution had needed coal. The genetic revolution had prayed on the poor from third world countries. Richter’s own Enchantment revolution needed captured souls. He would harvest every soul in the forest if that was what it took to keep his people safe. No matter what, his village would survive.
His introspective thoughts were interrupted by Bowdin asking some technical questions about what the Forge should focus on the next day. The two men talked and came up with a game plan. By the time they were done, Richter’s mood had lifted somewhat. This was The Land. He would survive. He would prosper. He would grow in power. The lives of a few hundred monsters were a small price to pay to save the lives of his people.
Another thought occurred to him that brought a smile to his face. He didn’t have time to be melancholy. It was time to party!
Richter decided to get cleaned up before the feast. Based on some of the things he had in mind, it was just polite. It was also never a bad idea to not smell like a gross gym bag when spending time with people, especially before dancing.
He was also still cognizant of the first impression he had given the freed prisoners. True, he had helped them escape the cruel yoke of captivity, but he had been covered in gore and blood when it happened. That had been because he’d been killing their goblin captors, but they might not know that. You could not apply a rational argument to an emotional issue. Richter supposed many of them might even be worried that their “savior” was just as bad as the goblins that had enslaved them. Tonight wasn’t just about celebrating life or having a good time. It was showing the freed prisoners that this was a place they could call home.
He needed more able bodies.
Richter stopped by the area where the villagers that took care of the wash sorted the clothes. To the amusement of his people, he stripped down to his smallclothes. Then with a shrug, he took those off as well and threw them in the dirty pile. After that he ran away to whoops and cheers. He called out over his shoulder, “Don’t act like you’re not impressed!”
He breezed through the gate, throwing up a hand in greeting. The guards threw salutes to their lord in confusion.
“Should we go after him?” one asked.
“I don’t want the sergeant chewing me out for leaving our post,” another answered.
A third guard chimed in, “The captain might be upset if we don’t guard him though.”
It was silent for a moment. The first guard spoke up, “You know, I don’t think Lord Richter was waving. I think he was telling us to stay put.”
They all looked at the woman in charge of the guard rotation. She thought about it for a moment then nodded, “Works for me.”
They resumed their vigil.
Richter noticed none of this. He ran through the cultivated fields outside of the village. The farmers looked up from their toils to see their naked lord running by. He already had a reputation for being slightly off, dancing to the beat of his own drum… being weird, so they just shook their heads and went on with putting up their tools. Randolphus had made it clear that all were to enjoy themselves that night, so the workday was cut short.
The chaos seed decided to put a little more juice into his run and tried to cast Weak Haste. The spell fizzled twice before it took hold. Casting on the run wasn’t the easiest thing, and in all honesty, Richter wasn’t focusing too well. The thought of swimming in the river was awesome. Plus, he could try out one of his new spells.
When Richter got to the riverbank a few minutes later, he scrambled to the top of a large rock. Dropping his Bag of Holding and weapons behind him, he used the stone like a springboard. The chaos seed jumped as high and as far as he could out into the river. With his high Strength, Agility and Dexterity, he got some major air! He turned as he jumped to face the village. When he reached his peak, he hung in the air for a golden moment.
The sun was coming through the trees and the air was warm. His settlement was growing, hundreds of people were living, laughing and loving. The wall was almost complete, and it made him feel good to know his villagers were protected behind it. In that golden moment, all was right in The Land. With a whoop, he fell into the cool river and the water flowed over his head.
He just existed under the water for a while. The hunters and fishermen scanned the river every day for predators so he felt relatively safe. He still looked around quickly right after he was submerged. The battle with the river skaths had shown him that seemingly still waters could be dangerous. Thankfully, no aquatic predators had come close to the village before, and there were none present now. Rising to the surface, Richter enjoyed his swim.
Two times while he relaxed, prompts appeared in his vision. Alma, his cuddly little killer, had been draining creatures over the past few hours. None were high level, but it was adding up. Richter was in no way complaining. He would much rather that she picked off easy prey rather than taking on a high-level opponent. She was amazingly powerful, but when she committed to Brain Drain she was basically helpless.
You have been awarded 880 experience (base 20,116 x 0.07 x 1.25 x 0.5) from Brain Drain against Level 6 Tufted Varmit.
XP deficit remaining: -171,392
You have been awarded 589 experience (base 13,472 x 0.07 x 1.25 x 0.5) from Brain Drain against Level 5 Red Tribble.
XP deficit remaining: -170,803
It had been a hard lesson, but he realized that he couldn’t protect everyone all the time. The truth was, his familiar was dangerous and wild. He was just happy she was o
n his side, and he couldn’t argue with the results. She had already gained him three thousand experience points. The last prompt made his heart race though. He knew there were many horrors in The Land, but he had never imagined… Richter made himself calm his thudding heart. He was sure it was just a coincidence.
After about half an hour, Richter decided to test his new spells. He had started treading water and raised one arm well above the surface. Memories of playing water polo flooded his mind. It didn’t seem like a violent sport to most, but that was because the water hid the nut grabs and gut punches. He had tread water for hours in practice, but his form had never been so fluid and sure on Earth. He barely bobbed in the water. Whatever else might be true about The Land, it had given him a body with superhuman capabilities.
He began the incantation. Richter focused his conscious thoughts on the spell and let the back of his mind worry about staying above the water. His fingers were cocooned in magical blue energy and he spoke words of Power. He cast Weak Swift Swim. The blue light on his hand spread over his entire body. A second later, he started smiling.
Water was inherently buoyant. Richter had always defined that as, it helped him not sink. For the first time, he felt like the water was actively holding him up. Treading water hadn’t been hard before, but now it was effortless. With a quick beat of his legs, he surged even further out of the water and stayed like that with no problem. The chaos seed spent a moment just doing laps across the river. The water seemed to part in front of him and he left small furrows in his wake. With a smile still on his face, Richter cast his next spell, Summon Weak Aether Carp.
Three seconds later, a portal appeared in the water. Richter felt a rush of cold when the water from wherever the fish was coming from rushed into his plane of existence. A five-foot carp with steel-grey scales swam through. Richter guessed that it had to weigh fifty to sixty pounds. It had a broad downturned mouth. It didn’t have any teeth that he could see, but he could see it causing some damage if it rammed him at full speed. Even more interesting was that as it moved, wisps of purple and blue energy escaped from its scales in spots. It left a faint trail of light behind it as it swam around him in lazy circles. To Richter’s surprise, a bar of purple appeared underneath his mana bar and a prompt appeared in his vision.
Know This! You have summoned an Aether Carp. This creature will serve not only to protect you, but will also augment your mana. Water magic that you cast in its presence requires 5% less mana.
Richter had never been able to summon a creature that augmented his own magic! With the casting cost being only forty-two, it was more than worth the mana expenditure. He would regenerate that in less than two minutes. He was starting to see what Randolphus had meant when he said that rarer spells were powerful despite being low level.
He looked the fish in the eye and made a mental connection with his Psi Bond ability. The bond was a paltry, flimsy thing, limited by the carp’s inferior intellect. For his purposes, it was enough. He enjoyed making the fish swim here and there, watching the blues and purples it trailed behind it.
Richter ultimately dismissed the creature. The portal reappeared and it swam back through. Strangely, he didn’t feel any rush of cold this time. Once it was gone, he climbed out of the river and reached into his bag. Pulling out his Fish Ring, he took off his Ring of Minor Healing. He slipped the Fish Ring on, giving himself three minutes of air underwater. The other ring went into his bag. Then he cast Teatro’s Weak Water Casting. If the spell description was right, he should be able to cast novice level Life, Water and Dark spells underwater. Richter had no idea why those particular spell schools were allowed, and not the other five Basic Elements, but it was still cool.
He finished the four-second casting and then jumped back into the water. He swam down several feet, then looked back up. Even after months in The Land, it was the simple things that amazed him. With a bit of trepidation, he took a breath. When he found that, once again, he could breathe underwater, a look of boyish glee overtook his face. He test-cast Weak Dark Bolts.
His fingers moved into a specific configuration. It took a bit of mental forcing to make his conscious mind speak underwater, but there was no ill effect when he did. The water did not even enter his open mouth, which let him know that even without the Fish Ring he would be fine. Other times he was able to drink with the ring on, but the spell kept his mouth dry. More importantly, two bolts of Dark Energy shot from his hand and through the water. The spell worked!
He tried several other spells from the requisite three spell schools and they all worked as well. On a whim, he tried to cast an Earth spell, Weak Paralysis Beam, but his mouth filled with water as soon as he started. He thought a green glow might have flickered around his fingers, but it could have just been his imagination.
Richter climbed out of the water and walked over to his Bag of Holding. He switched the two rings back and then just lay there on the grass. The fading light still shone down through the trees. Even though it wasn’t high overhead, the sun was warm and pleasant as his skin dried in the air. Soon he was dry and he took out a clean set of clothes.
After he was clothed again, he put his weapons harness back in place. As a reflex, he lifted both blades ever so slightly from their sheaths to make sure they could be drawn quickly if needed. He walked back towards the village gate. It was near dusk now and he caught sight of fireflies across the fields. The guards saluted as he entered the village. Richter was looking forward to the party that night, and by the smiles of many of his people, they were as well.
It was remarkable how much difference a day made. The village had mourned together only the night before. There were certainly still tear-streaked faces, but those who had lost a loved one had been given another day off. Richter had even insisted on it. Randolphus had had food and drink prepared for them all day. Overall, he could tell that his people were content.
He crossed into the village and was about to turn right towards the feast area when he had an absolutely awesome idea. He turned left instead and ran up to one of the paddocks. After a quick bit of pilfering, he had the item he needed. Then it was time to join his people.
Just as Richter had expected, Randolphus had taken care of everything. A high table had been set up and more tables were arrayed before it. His villagers and the newly freed slaves were mingling and tables laden with food were dotted across this new impromptu campground. His people began cheering as he ascended a small stage the chamberlain had brought over.
“Greetings, people of the Mist Village!” he began
The response was loud and emphatic, “Hail, Lord Richter!” “We love you, my lord!”
Richter cocked his head, expecting one more cheer. His eyes eagerly scanned the crowd, but nothing else was forthcoming. Well played, he thought, and continued his speech. “Tonight is about celebrating life. It has a come with a high cost, but we are still here!” More cheers met his pronouncement.
“Before we do anything else, let us celebrate the men and women, of all races, who fought for us!”
The cheers and roars of celebration were thundering. The fighting men and women stood tall and looked ahead, many prouder in that moment than they had ever been in their lives. Richter let it go on for long minutes before silencing the crowd again.
“I am proud to have fought and served with each and every member of our army,” he shouted. “I am equally proud to have fought alongside our honored allies, the wood sprites.” Richter turned towards Hisako and bowed deeply. The Hearth Mother inclined her head and smile broadly at the respect he paid her. More cheers rang out.
“Hooray for our allies!”
“The wood sprites are always welcome at my table!”
“I love those little guys!”
Richter held up his hands again until the tumult died down. “As I said, I am proud to have gone into battle with the people of the Mist Village and the sprites of the Hearth Tree. I wish I could single out each and every one of you, but-”
“But there is drinking to be done!” Sion called out from behind him. That got an especially loud series of cheers.
Richter rolled his eyes at his best friend, but he was smiling as well, “But, I would be speaking all night if I spoke about the heroism of all who had gone into battle with me. I will commend six special individuals who distinguished themselves in battle, however. When I call your names, step forward.” His voice gained the crack and snap of a military leader, “Captain Terrod, Sergeant Caulder, Guard Ox, Guard Schroeder, Meidon Sprite Kentyiro, and First Meidon Sprite Sion, stand with me!”
His Companions and Caulder exchanged surprised glances. They had had no idea this was going to happen. He had asked Terrod, Hisako and Sion to ensure that Ox, Schroeder and Kentyiro were near the stage respectively, but hadn’t told them they would also be part of the ceremony. All six did as they were told, however. A minute later they were assembled.
“These six men fought in my own warband. They were so ferocious and unyielding that the Universe itself recognized their prowess!” Shouts and calls of congratulations rung out. Richter stepped in front of Schroeder and placed his hand on the guard’s shoulder. A prompt appeared to both of them explaining the field advancement he had earned and why. Richter bestowed the advancement and read it aloud so all could hear.
Congratulations! A leader’s true strength stems from his followers. Six members of your War Party have distinguished themselves in battle and can now be promoted with Field Advancements. To activate these promotions, you must personally bestow them upon your party members.
For fighting while wounded and slaying many foes despite his injuries, Schroeder has earned the Field Advancement: Unconquerable Soul I. When his health is below 20%, the damage of each incoming attack is reduced by 1.
Schroeder’s eyes widened. A boyish smile peeked out from beneath a mop of brown hair. “Thank you, Lord Richter!”
“You deserve it,” Richter answered with an echoing smile. Roars of appreciation were coming from villagers and freed captives alike. The former slaves knew they owed their freedom to these men and women. With an inner smirk, the chaos seed realized his fighting men and women wouldn’t be short of loving company that night. He moved to the next man in line, Guard Ox. For each of the six, he spoke aloud both their advancement and what they had done to earn it. The applause was deafening.