by Tao Wong
“This Goblin dungeon, it’s gone?” he says.
“As gone as we can make it. Best to have someone swing by for the next little while, check it out. At least once every few days.”
He nods, making a note in the air. “Then we are done. Unless there is something else?”
“No.” I turn away then stop, turning back. “Why?”
“Why what, Mr. Lee?” Minion’s voice is cool as he stares at me.
“You know what,” I growl.
“And if I do not answer, you’ll beat it out of me? That’s the thing with you people, isn’t it? It’s all violence and anger, rage and destruction. You stomp through the city acting like you own it and maybe you do, but the rest of us have to pick up after you and your kind. You Adventurers, you’re just waiting for a chance to pick on us, push us around. Damn you all,” says Minion, his voice trembling. Catching himself at the end, he draws a deep breath.
I stare at the small man shouting at me, and I blink as it sinks in. “Adventurers… you hate the Yerick and me because we’re Adventurers?”
“You may leave, Mr. Lee,” Minion says.
“Wait a second. You hate me because I fight to survive? To keep all of us alive?” My voice rising, I stare at the man.
“Very well.” Eric turns and walks to the other office door. He shuts it behind him, leaving me staring at him.
I could have stopped him of course, but then I’d just be using violence to get my way. I shake my head, staring at door. Yeesh… some people.
“Quiet tonight,” I murmur, staring around the Nugget as I enter.
Ali nods and flits over to our usual table. We all needed a break after the Goblin dungeon, so the group split apart to do their own thing after we came back.
Richard, as far as I could tell, was in and around town, doing meetings and ladies in equal amounts. Aiden was back to his books, training and teaching, and I have a feeling he might not come out with us again. Amelia has her duties, and the stink eye I get from Vir tells me he doesn’t approve of her jaunt with us. Or maybe it’s just that he doesn’t approve of me. Mikito, out at our shoddy training grounds, works with hunters and others who want to improve their melee skills. That leaves me as the only one dumb enough to go out hunting still. What can I say? There’s a peace to fighting creatures that don’t talk or scream or have babies.
Of course, that time alone also gives me a chance to check out the fort and speak with the Hakarta. It’s my first visit with them since I’ve made the deal. We both have better things to do I’m sure, and it’s not as if I can gather that much more detail in only a few months. Our talk was both interesting and profitable, though I make note of what they’re asking. Numbers, Classes, defenses, and Roxley’s whereabouts all are prominent in the questioning, but we touch on other matters too, like the number of buildings and the dungeons that have appeared and the food situation. I get the feeling that whatever they’re hunting for or need is hidden in the mess of questions they ask. I’m still not sure if keeping secret the fact that they’ve been asking about us is a good idea, but I don’t entirely trust the Council not to go off their rockers with this information. We’re so busy doing our thing, I’m not entirely sure there is anything the Council could do even if they did know.
Resting against the chair, I nod in gratitude to the waitress who drops off the beer and the appetizers. After all the Credits and loot I’ve picked up, my latest visit to the Shop came with some significant purchases. A thought is all that’s required to pull up my character sheet so I can survey my growth.
Status Screen
Name
John Lee
Class
Erethran Honor Guard
Race
Human (Male)
Level
26
Titles
Monster’s Bane, Redeemer of the Dead
Health
1190
Stamina
1190
Mana
930
Mana Regeneration
65 / minute
Attributes
Strength
72
Agility
114
Constitution
119
Perception
45
Intelligence
93
Willpower
100
Charisma
16
Luck
25
Class Skills
Mana Blade
1
Blade Strike
2
Thousand Steps
1
Altered Space
2
Two are One
1
The Body’s Resolve
1
Greater Detection
1
Instantaneous Inventory*
1
Cleave*
1
Frenzy*
1
Combat Spells
Improved Minor Healing (II)
Greater Regeneration
Improved Mana Dart (IV)
Enhanced Lightning Strike
Fireball
Polar Zone
I’m still disappointed that there wasn’t any particular bonus for crossing one hundred in any attribute. I’d considered it a possibility, and even though I had checked with Ali earlier, it felt as though it should be significant somehow. However, since the numbers themselves are rough approximations of the changes in my body, it does make sense that there’s no benefit. For that matter, I’m being rather human-centric—there’s no particular reason why it had to be a hundred.
“Hey, Ali, does the Council have ‘special’ numbers?” I ask the Spirit, who’s staring at a screen.
“What, like the number eight or ten?” At my nod, he shrugs. “Depends on the race. The Tuinnar really like prime numbers. The Joxin revere the number fourteen. There’s the Prixamars—giant rolling spheres—who find Pi extremely important.”
I nod in thanks before returning to my screen. Interesting but irrelevant. Looking over my Status Screen, I smile slightly at how much better it looks now. I’ve adjusted the screen to display just my combat spells, since those are the ones I’m mostly concerned with. Utility spells like Tinder, Light Orb, Purify Water, Cleanse, and the like just aren’t that that interesting, even if they are useful for everyday life. They’re so useful that Aiden now spends a good two thirds of his class time teaching those spells to others. After all, not everyone needs to throw a fireball, but everyone needs to do laundry and dishes.
Fireball is my new mass monster killer and follows along the line of the old Dungeons and Dragons spell—a small flaming orb that shoots forward before sending a sphere of heat and flame outward. Polar Zone, drops the temperature in a targeted location and slows monsters down. Size of location and temperature drop are dependent upon Mana and how big I make it—the bigger the area, the less of a drop. Of course, the minimum area I can target is about ten feet wide. It’s a pretty good crowd control spell and does some minor damage, but mostly, it’s my anti-forest fire spell. Throwing around fireballs in a dry forest is a bad, bad idea. It’s also why I still prefer Lightning Strike.
One thing I’m holding off on is purchasing more direct protection Spells and Skills since at Level 30, I’ll be able to access Soul Shield, my Class Shield Skill. I’ve fast come to realize that you’re constantly trading off between acquiring passive Skills, which are powerful but reduce your regeneration rates, with active Skills and Spells that require Mana to operate. It’s why even Mages wear armor in this world—after all, other than Credits, it costs nothing to purchase nano-woven armor that could stop a “normal” sword stab.
Of course, theoretically I could just spend the Credits and buy an active protection spell or Skill. The trade-off of purchasing something now is that if I could earn it later on, I’d be wasting Credits now that could be spent on upgrading my equipment. As it stands, I’ve begun to realize that h
aving both the System Inventory and Altered Space abilities is quite broken.
Altered Space lets me ignore a whole series of knowledge areas that most professional Adventurers, like the Yerick, have to learn. For most Adventurers, picking up the basics of monster lore and anatomy is very important, along with basic Skills in skinning and harvesting. Most monster corpses have only a few parts that the Alchemists and Armorers want. Knowing what they are is an important secondary source of Credits and can add anywhere from ten to fifteen percent to your days earnings. Harvesting the bodies for parts with a Skill lets you place them in your inventory, so most Adventurers dedicate time or money to learning those Skills. I just ignore the problem by tossing entire bodies into my Altered Space and letting the butchering yard deal with it.
In addition, because I’ve got a secondary and significantly larger form of storage, I don’t have to husband my inventory space. Working with the Yerick, I realized that many of them carry numerous other pieces of equipment with them on a “typical” Adventure. These range from extra sets of clothing, spare armor, weapons, and potions to more mundane equipment like ropes, living accommodations, food, water, and light sources. Then you get the specialized toys—directional explosives, mines, portable shield barriers, and drones for scouting to name a just few.
All of those things take up a ton of space but make dungeon delves and combat safer. Of course, the more you carry in inventory, the less space you have for Loot. Since I don’t have to worry about space, I’ve been devoting surplus Credits to adding to my “normal” loadout in the hopes of giving myself more options in the future. I might never need a dozen Claymores and a half-dozen bounding mines or over fifty grenades in various forms, but if I ever do, at least I’ve got them.
I’ve been tempted repeatedly in the last few weeks to add more points into my Mana Imbue, increasing the damage output of my sword. Fighting at range is a nice idea, but between dungeons, where visibility is about five meters at most, and monsters that need multiple shots to kill, I’ve found myself in close combat more often than not. Compared to the Yerick, I’m just not hitting hard enough. On the other hand, my Mana Regeneration is already suffering from my numerous passive Skills and I’m really curious to see what a Thousand Blades is like in combat. After all, if I can hit a dozen times rather than once, a minor increase in damage will definitely be negated.
My thoughts about my build—and damn Jason for making me think of it in that way—is interrupted as Lana drops into a seat next to me, snagging a chicken wing as she does so.
“Hey, beautiful,” Ali greets her. “You’re looking tired.”
“I am.” Lana flashes him a smile that washes away her exhaustion for a brief moment. “John.”
“Lana. You okay?” I look around once more, noting again that only a few tables are full.
“Just been a long day.” Lana shakes her head, worry lines appearing between her eyebrows again. “Finding someone to run this place after the last manager quit has been a pain.”
“Ah!” I nod slowly. That explains her absence in the evenings for the last week and her constant presence here. “Quiet today. There something going on that I missed?”
“Tons!” Ali quips while we both ignore him.
“The Cellar reopened today. They’ve got lower prices and a human-only policy,” Lana says tiredly, looking around the Nugget. “A lot of the regulars decided to check it out.”
“Who bought it?” I say.
“Bill.” Lana’s voice rises slightly at the mention of his name. “He picked up the motel next to it at the same time and put the same policies in place. I hear there’s work being done on the restaurant that was located in the motel too.”
“Huh.” I look around the Nugget again, wondering if the lowered volume will affect the viability of the business. I frown, trying to recall Lana’s ramblings about the business before I quickly realize that I don’t have the details to make an educated assessment. “I guess that’s what’s stressing you out?”
“Mmm… not really. He’s still buying most of his alcohol from the brewery, so either way, we win. And maybe this way the newcomers will start coming by more,” Lana adds.
I nod. The Yerick, mostly led by Capstan, started showing up at the Nugget in the last few weeks, but the Truinnar continue to stay to themselves, preferring to live, sleep, and relax in their quarters in Roxley’s building. Vir’s about the only Truinnar we see in the Nugget, and his obsidian skin and white hair always get more than a few stares.
Looking at the plates before me, Lana says, “Are you okay?”
“Hmm…?” I answer as I chew on a mouthful of wontons.
“There are only four plates here. That’s about half of what you normally eat.” Lana points.
I look at the food before shrugging. “Huh. Funny story about that.”
“I could use a laugh,” Lana replies.
“Boy-o here gets hangry. The Yerick started feeding him every few hours and he stopped being as bitchy,” Ali cuts in before I can say anything.
I growl at the Spirit, who just shoots me a wide smile.
“Oh,” Lana says, her eyes twinkling as she tries not to laugh.
Yeah, yeah… so maybe part of my anger control issues are due to low blood sugar. Real funny.
“Hey, sis.” Richard bends down to give the top of Lana’s head a quick kiss.
She glares and swipes at him tiredly while he chuckles, taking a seat. Richard’s latest girl flashes us a quick smile, dropping into a seat as well. Both of them have that weird, too clean look of someone who just got hit with a Cleanse spell. Useful spell, as I said, but it’s particularly harsh on clothing and creates this weird dichotomy where the clothing itself looks factory fresh but any wear then shows through in stark contrast.
“Dick. Patti,” Ali says, and I nod in welcome to both newcomers.
“The Cellar’s busy. I saw a pair of Amelia’s people standing nearby, keeping an eye on the crowd. Rumor has it that they don’t intend to close at all,” Richard says without preamble, waving to the waitress and holding up a pair of fingers.
“How did Fred take it?” Lana says.
“Kicked up a fuss at the meeting today. Of course, Bill’s just ignoring him so far. Fred even mentioned maybe taking it up with Roxley.” Richard shakes his head.
Fred must be at his wit’s end if he’s asking for Roxley’s help—the alien interloper, as Fred likes to call him.
“Why is the Cellar being open all hours a problem?” Patti asks, her brow furrowed.
I smile at Richard’s latest girl, who has managed to last three days so far. That’s pretty surprising. Of course, the way Richard is eyeing the waitress as she bends over to serve him, Patti’s days might be numbered. At this point, if a woman in town doesn’t know about Richard’s womanizing, she’s either catatonic or completely socially inept.
“Because Fred is Mayor No Fun and wants us back to ten o’clock closings,” Richard says.
“It’s more complicated than that,” Lana corrects, holding up a finger. “We’ve always had a problem with alcoholism. While a lot of the active alcoholics didn’t make it, quite a few of those who were on the wagon have relapsed. Limiting the hours the Nugget was open helped reduce the temptation and the times they could drink, which gave us potential windows to help, well, sober them up.”
“If they die off, isn’t that better for us?” Patti asks, brown eyes glittering.
“Cold…” Ali grins. “I like you.”
Richard looks startled as she says that. He opens his mouth then shuts it then tries again. “It’s, well, shouldn’t we try to help them?”
“Why?” Patti shakes her head. “They’re just a drain on our resources. We don’t have the, the space for them, you know.”
“But they’re humans, like us. We just can’t discard them to the wayside,” Richard protests.
“We’re not discarding them, we’re letting them choose,” Patti points out. “I didn’t put the bottle in their
hands. They did. If they choose, isn’t that better for us?”
“If they aren’t useful now, we should just let them die if they want to?” Lana states, and when Patti turns to her and nods, Lana huffs out a breath. “You know, a lot of people have said that. A lot.”
“Yeah, see? We should do that,” Patti reiterates.
“Except if everyone did that, most of us would be dead,” Lana points out. “John saved us when we couldn’t fight off a Troll. Roxley put his guards into place to save the city when we couldn’t fight off the spawns. Richard, Jim, John, and the rest, they’ve all taken the hunters out again and again to level them. Part of being human is that we all stumble sometimes. We all need help sometimes,” the last is said while Lana faces me, her violet eyes somber.
“When is enough? When do we say that’s it?” Patti says, hand clenching her pint glass. “When do the rest of us get to live our lives and stop sacrificing for the useless? We’re dying out there. We go out, we kill the monsters, and we bring back the food, and the Council tells us it’s not enough. Never enough. And then we go out again and we die because we’re too damn tired or under-resourced. When do we get to stop?”
“Well, that is the question, isn’t it?” Lana murmurs, seemingly unaffected by the anger Patti shows. Then again, she’s dealt with me for months now. A little leaked frustration is small potatoes. “Who are you with?”
“I’m in Wigmore’s group. That’s how I met Richard.”
Taking the opening, Lana adroitly steers the conversation to something a little less controversial, getting Patti to talk about how she and Richard met. I tune it out, focusing on my meal, and catch a glimpse of Richard staring at Patti with a bit of a shocked expression.
A large, stocky man trundles in. “Pearson!”
Both redheads look up and he points straight at Richard. Behind him, a young lady scrambles around the enraged man, calling for him to calm down.