“Yes, I agree. Anyway, you were saying, Baby?” Jay prompted the Fairy to continue.
“What is there to say? He is really high-level, so we don’t play together. Also, it’s his job, he has obligations to his sponsors, level quotas, streaming content and things like that,” Baby said, sounding annoyed now.
“He is an elitist jerk,” Rose added. “He’s more worried about staying famous and gaming alone for months at a time than he is about spending time with his fiancé.” Rose was not a fan of him.
Baby glared at Rose. “It’s only temporary,” Baby stated, she sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than Rose.
“Temporary or not, he should be with you,” Rose said, softening slightly. “When is the last time you wrote him?”
“Last week,” Baby said. “He wrote me back,” she added, sounding hopeful. “He says he misses me.”
“Then you should tell him to come help us here,” Rose said. “I bet he hasn’t come across any events like this before. Have you told him anything about what we’ve learned? Like with the citizens and the books?”
“We . . . haven’t talked much about the World Tree,” Baby answered reluctantly. “He was so preoccupied during the last break with the streaming stuff. When we did talk, we mostly talked about wedding stuff and maybe taking a trip next week.”
Rose groaned, she wanted to lash out at him but that wouldn’t do any good right now. “You tell him to get his fluffy tail here tomorrow or else,” Rose said.
“Or else what?” Baby asked, looking worried at what Rose might have planned.
“Or else I’ll tell the whole world about the jerk that refuses to game with his fiancé, see how many subscribers he has left after that,” Rose said firmly. There was a chance that he would deny it and break up with Baby as a result, but that would just show the jerks true colors.
“I can try,” Baby said, wincing as Rose saw the same concern flit across her face.
“Do, not try, do,” Rose said. It was a little harsh on her part, but it was better her sister found out before they got married.
“Fine, but only if you try to have an opinion about the dress style,” Baby said.
Rose groaned. “Fine, knee length, tight, lowcut, no bows or fat straps,” she said, looking pointedly at Jay.
Jay simply beamed. “Oh, you’re going to look fabulous. Baby, be a dear and find some shoes that match.”
Baby grinned and zipped over to a section of the store filled with premade clothing, none of which boasted any stats like what Jay would be able to make.
“No more than 2-inches,” Rose called after her sister.
“Ooh, Rose, come look at this design,” Micaela gushed, holding up the design book she had been leafing through.
Rose spent hours with her sister and Micaela, most of that was because it took Jay hours to prepare the cloth. Rose was actually more interested in the preparation of the cloth than the actual clothes. The pants and blouse for under her armor gave bonuses to Endurance, something she greatly appreciated.
Micaela didn’t get a new dress, just pants and a blouse, both gave a boost to Spirit much to Micaela’s joy and Jay’s annoyance as he looked at the six wasted bolts of blue cloth. Still, Jay was very satisfied with how they looked under the dark stone plates of Micaela’s armor. Jay wasn’t complaining too much as he was able to sell the cloth back to the shop for a rather tidy profit.
Baby got the most out of it. Two dozen new dresses in several different styles and colors, all of them giving bonuses to Intellect, Wisdom or both. The point was that Baby now had a worthy ensemble of clothes that were both fashionable and functional and none of them were the poufy white messes that her starting dress was.
“Where next?” Micaela asked as they stepped back out on to the street.
“I’m going to find Jack,” said Rose, ready to escape and try to set things right with her boyfriend.
“No, you’re not, you’re coming with us,” said Baby. “This lady’s day is not over. Mardi told me about this spa we really need to visit before we leave the province.”
“Yay!” Micaela cheered. “Massage here I come.”
“Supposedly, it leaves you with a buff,” Baby added in a sing-song voice halting Rose in her tracks.
“What buff?” Rose ground out. If there was a buff, then it could be worth the time. It might be nice to share something with Bye-bye considering all the times he’s shared stuff with her, like the ‘Lore’ and ‘Meditation’ stuff.
Baby shrugged. “You’ll need to come with if you want to find out.”
“Fine,” Rose said, it couldn’t hurt to just check it out.
Baby smiled brightly, leading the trio of women plus Jay through the streets.
Rose left the spa feeling great, her muscles were relaxed, her mani-pedi was magical, her hair had a fresh bounce and shine to it, and yet, Rose was not smiling.
Pampered – You have been pampered and made to sparkle with the best of them. +10-Charisma for 2-hours
That was the buff. Two hours of spa treatments and that was the buff!
“Oh, Rosie, it’s not that bad,” Baby giggled.
“Two hours for 2-hours of +10-Charisma,” Rose stated.
“Yeah, but you enjoyed it, didn’t you?” Jay asked, fluttering out next to them. He didn’t have any of the makeup they did, but his hair . . . feathers look shinier and his talons had a new gleam and sharpness to them.
“Not the point,” Rose said. Truthfully, the massage was wonderful and a painless mani-pedi really was magical. But she had hoped for a better buff than that. It was also two more hours Rose didn’t get to spend with Bye-bye.
“I suppose I have forced you to endure long enough,” Baby said with a sigh. “Go on.”
Rose didn’t appreciate being shooed away like that and was half tempted to argue with her sister but that could lead to more lady’s day stuff, like martini’s. Rose suppressed a shudder. “Thank you, it was fun,” Rose said.
“Really?” Baby asked, looking hopeful.
Rose knew if she answered incorrectly, she could hurt her sister’s feelings, or worse, be forced into more days like this. It wasn’t enough that Baby insisted they spend one day of their free time in the real-world doing stuff like this, now she found a way to bring it into the game world as well. “Yes, I enjoyed the spa,” Rose said, compromising. If she said she enjoyed the spa, it might get her out of dress shopping in the future.
“Good, now go have fun with Bye-bye,” Baby said.
Rose smiled and waved one last time. She faintly heard Micaela ask, “Now, who wants a martini?” from behind her. Rose smiled in relief, she escaped just in time.
Rose found me near the mini-temple we built in Mardi’s cavern. And then she sighed and grumbled, I was meditating again.
Rose sat down across from me and wrote out a hasty note reading ‘wait for me, I will only meditate for an hour – Rose’ and set it in my lap.
Rose then settled back and activated her own skill ‘Meditation’. The world fading from view and fading back in to the tower of her mind temple. The tower roof was just as she remembered from when she first earned the skill though she hadn’t spent much time there, no time really. There was a wide stone platform surrounded by a wall with crenellations that provided cover in the event of an attack, not that she expected an attack in her mind . . . unless she really was crazy. In the sky above her, hung the largest moon ever, filling the night sky and illuminating her tower and the forest that surrounded it. And in the middle of her tower sat a throne with red velvet upholstery.
Rose was happy to take a seat on her throne, opening the menu to select a focus for her one hour of meditating.
Welcome to the Meditation Mind Temple
Select Meditation focus
Intellect
Wisdom
Charisma
Exit
Rose could use the Intellect to give her overall mana capacity a boost as well as add some damage to the few sp
ells she had access to. As nice as the mana regeneration she gained from Wisdom was, she knew the additional damage meant more threat, which was her primary job as her group’s tank. With a thought, Rose selected ‘Intellect’ from the options menu.
Intellect Meditation Selected
Select that which you wish to develop.
Shield-Wall II
Shift
Charge
Resist IV
Lore
Enchanting II
Dancing
Stealth
Campsite Management
Scavenging III
Perception
Heat Resistance
Edda of Light and Dark
Maintenance
Vampiric Stare
Exsanguination
Summon Vampiric Familiar
Drain Life
Drain Magic
Magic Paralysis
False Title
Command: Taunt
Command: Courage
Command: Surrender
Command: Military Command
Valkyrie Strike
Exit
Rose liked her list of skills. It wasn’t as expansive as my list of skills, but it was much more efficient as far as she was concerned. All . . . well, most of her skills were directed toward one thing, being the best tank in the World Tree. Given there was a big fight on the horizon, she would need to choose the skill or spell that would have the most impact. Her magic spells were okay, but she didn’t see them having that much of an impact except for ‘Exsanguination’ and maybe ‘Magic Paralysis’
Exsanguination
Level: 52
Experience: 23.01%
Spell Effect (Active): When you receive a melee strike, drain -260-HP from attacker and gain +260-HP.
Spell Mana Cost: 50
Rose already knew this would probably be her most powerful spell tree if she could get it to level 100 and if she was able to learn whatever spell required ‘Exsanguination’ as a prerequisite. She hoped it was a spell with a similar effect but more powerful.
Magic Paralysis
Level: 27
Experience: 71.41%
Spell Effect (Passive): Paralyze the mana in the body of a single target for 11.35-seconds. Cooldown: 30 seconds
Spell Mana Cost: 100
If Rose understood the description of the puzzles Bye-bye had given her, then it would be about timing the use of her spell. She might be able to get as many as 20 levels to one of them, and unfortunately, 20 levels to ‘Magic Paralysis’ would only add about a half a second to her spell’s duration. But, twenty more levels to her ‘Exsanguination’ spell would add another 100-HP to the drain and restoration effects.
Rose selected ‘Exsanguination’ and the world faded to black.
The world faded back in a moment later.
Objective: Use ‘Exsanguination’ as many times as necessary to stay alive until your allies defeat your foe.
Rose was confronted with a single
As the sword was about to hit, Rose activated ‘Exsanguination’. The sword hit and Rose saw her HP drop -213-HP then refill as a red haze was torn from her opponent and absorbed by her for +150-HP. It was considerably weaker than her actual spell.
A moment later another simulacrum appeared next to her, its own great sword swinging into the enemy. Rose didn’t let that distract her as she renewed her spell on herself. Except the simulacrum didn’t attack her right away. It hit the simulacrum next to her instead. The pair traded blows and only when her ally died 30-seconds later did it turn to attack her. Rose tried to recast the spell, but it failed. A quick look showed she was out of mana.
“Aw crud,” Rose bemoaned as she took a beating until she died.
Objective: Use ‘Exsanguination’ as many times as necessary to stay alive until your allies defeat your foe.
“Yeah, yeah, let’s go,” Rose said, annoyed more with herself than anything.
The simulacrum appeared and attacked her, hitting her shield and using the single charge of ‘Exsanguination’. Again, it attacked her ally first before turning back to her. She activated the spell again and this time when it hit her, she stole away the last sliver of its health.
Exsanguination has gained a level. -5-HP Drain, +5-HP Absorb
That was exactly what Rose wanted to see.
Objective: Use ‘Exsanguination’ as many times as necessary to stay alive until your allies defeat your foes.
The room faded back in and Rose was confronted by two
Rose learned very quickly to cast the spell when she saw the attack directed at her. Then she learned to be watchful of the follow up from his friend or friends as the attacking force continued to grow and change strategy with each new simulation. Sometimes Rose failed the simulation two or three times until she learned the pattern which unfortunately slowed her down a lot more than she would have preferred. When the 1-hour timer expired, she had only completed thirteen of the simulations. Still, thirteen more levels were thirteen more levels to the skill.
Exsanguination
Level: 65
Experience: 0.00%
Spell Effect (Active): When you receive a melee strike, drain -325-HP from attacker and gain +325-HP.
Spell Mana Cost: 50
And oh, what a sweet skill it was.
Rose quickly exited the mind temple and opened her eyes to the familiar cavern.
Rose looked like she had expected to find me sitting in front of her. Instead, I was actually a few feet away, having a conversation with the Goddess Issara, or rather the small statuette that represented her.
“What do you mean you don’t know who messed with my stat gains?” I asked, more than a little irritation in my voice.
“What is not to understand? I do not know who,” Goddess Issara’s statuette stated clearly.
“Any suspects?” I asked, feeling a pair of arms wrap around me from behind.
“Two,” Goddess Issara answered.
“Hello, Goddess Issara,” Rose said in greeting to the statuette.
“Hello again, Squire Thorns,” Goddess Issara returned the greeting.
Goddess Issara continued answering my question, “It could have been Chaos, but I find that unlikely. It sounds like directing you to ‘Meditation’ helped you tremendously, not something I would expect Chaos to do.”
“And the other?” I asked.
“Ivaldi,” Goddess Issara answered, the small form glowered.
Yeah, that made sense to me. The God Ivaldi wasn’t above using me to protect his daughter, the quests he gave us said as much. Except, this felt like something more, something beyond the quests he has already given my friends and me.
“And believe me when I say, I will be having words with him. If that squat, flatheaded, dirt munching, smoke sucking God thinks he can mess with my Champion, he has another thing coming,” Goddess Issara threatened, making the cavern shake a little.
“I don’t suppose you would be able to boost my stat gains for Intellect and Wisdom for a bit, just to catch me up to where I should be?” I asked, feeling a great appreciation for my Goddess.
“No can do,” Goddess Issara frowned. “At least, not with this puny temple and not with as much influence as Ivaldi has in this province. You might be better off demanding compensation from him . . . then again, he did help you discover the benefits of ‘Meditation’ so it might be best to just let this one go. I suppose I should let things calm as well . . . then I will hit him when he least expects it.”
“Thanks anyway,” I said with a sigh, seeing her point.
“Always happy to help. I will leave you for now,” Goddess Issara said, turning back into stone.
“So, how did your
‘Meditation’ go?” I asked Rose.
“Good, I gained 13 levels of ‘Exsanguination’. It now drains and restores 325-HP,” Rose answered, not moving from her hug. “How about you? Is that what you were doing all day?”
“Pretty much . . . well, that and reading this book,” I said, pulling the book ‘Your Body and Your Control’ from my bag and showing it to her. “I was trying to find a way to use ‘Holy Meteor’ that wouldn’t result in my dying upon impact?”
“Any luck?” Rose asked, hugging me a little tighter.
“A little,” I said, enjoying the contact.
Body Control
Level: 100
Experience: N/A
Subskill: Recoil
Damage Reduction: Reduce all physical damage taken by 30.00% for 5-Seconds
Skill Stamina Cost: 500 per boost
That was a major bonus. It meant I could jump to a decent height and probably survive the fall. I would need to test it later to see how much.
After figuring out the subskill, I went ahead and leveled it the rest of the way to level 100 where it stopped, no longer advancing. Given I had time and wanted to get a little more training done, I hit up ‘Perception’ which might have been the most interesting puzzle set yet. The puzzle would pick one subskill to start then as the puzzles advanced, they would use two or three subskills. I ran out of time when I was up to five subskills, still it was worth it, thirty-eight levels gained.
Perception
Level: 90
Experience: 0.00%
Skill Range: 19.00 yards
Chance to See: 32.50%
Chance to Identify/Track: 55.00%
After three hours of reading and three hours of meditating on those three skills I had earned +1-Wisdom and +2-Intellect and more importantly, reading yielded +4-Intellect and +2-Wisdom, it seemed my stat gains were functioning correctly again.
The Mountain Valley War Page 55