by Ivan Kal
Thankfully they had decided to continue to the boss room to try and find a way out that way. It had been luck that they’d managed to escape. They hadn’t known how it happened before, but Morgan knew he had managed to open the door of a spawning point that had led them to the Guiding Force. With the knowledge he now possessed, he suspected that he’d managed to enter wasn’t accidental. He no longer could, though—he had tried opening more spawning-point doors to no success.
The party entered the boss chamber, and across the domed room they saw the manticore. Morgan looked around, not seeing the other one, but he knew that it was there, hiding. He took a deep breath.
“Let’s go,” Morgan said as they stepped into the room, and the manticore roared.
CHAPTER TWENTY
About an hour later the party left the dungeon, their bags full of loot, though they hadn’t found anything all that good. From the lizard-men and kobold gear they had taken only the best-looking pieces, but those would probably either be sold off to the other towns or broken down for materials for their crafters. From the boss’s loot they had gotten a shield with an illumination enchantment on it, making it glow when activated—good for fighting in dark places, Morgan supposed. They did find a class stone for casters; however it was a class called Geomancer, which required an earth alignment, meaning that Titus couldn’t use it, since his alignment was fire. Morgan hoped they would find something for him soon.
Of course, Morgan had also harvested the manticores, getting their hearts, hide, horns, and even claws. He hoped that they would eventually be able to craft something with them. He needed to find someone who had an alchemy skill, or something like it. They still had the potions they recovered in the skeleton dungeon, except that his Inspect didn’t work on them. They had no one who could tell them what they were or if they were even still viable.
For now, Morgan kept them in the workshop.
As soon as they left the dungeon, Morgan glanced at his notifications to see his experience gains.
DUNGEON GROUP EXPERIENCE GAINED!
24 Kobold Warriors killed = 160 exp
37 Kobold Miners killed = 120 exp
10 Kobold Scouts killed = 50 exp
34 Lizard-men killed = 550 exp
4 Lizard-men mages killed = 80 exp
2 Manticores killed = 90 exp
Morgan Newton LVL 15 exp 2203/7000
He grimaced. The entire run had given him barely a thousand exp, which was to be expected, but he had gained almost a third of exp less now than he had the last time. Regardless, this hadn’t been for him, but more for the others: Vall to try out his new hand, Clara to familiarize herself with fighting a bit more, and to level up the guards. He saw the two of them wearing that blank look that told him that they had leveled up from this, and he was glad. They needed more people with higher levels.
Then he glanced at his new pendant, the Boon of the Blood Drinker. The gem that was set in it seemed to be filling up, but it wasn’t even ten percent full, making Morgan was a bit disappointed. He had hoped that it would fill up faster than that—although the amount could be based on his opponents’ strength, and the enemies in the dungeon hadn’t really been all that strong.
He was just about to ask Vall how far he was from level fifteen when he realized that he had more notifications. Quickly, he brought them to his eyes.
Congratulations! You have learned a new skill: Phytokinesis I—user can encourage plants to obey his will. (Capabilities limited by user’s imagination and will; energy consumption lowered with increased intellect)
Hah, knew I would get something like this! Morgan cheered inwardly. He then looked at the other notification.
Congratulations! You have learned a new ability: Root Spear I
He looked over the description of the ability and the skill and frowned. It was exactly what he had been doing so far by using his energy to move and use plants. He wondered why he had received the ability now and not before. Perhaps he’d had to get good enough with it in order to gain it? It didn’t matter, he supposed; he felt the new information in his head, though it wasn’t much more than what he had known previously—it was just more streamlined, which would make him a bit more efficient at using the ability in the future.
He looked at the other notifications he had, which told him that a few of his skills and abilities had leveled up. His Energy Manipulation had jumped to level V, his Archery to level VIII, and his Weapons to level II. Of his abilities, his Ward had leveled to III, and his Energy Blade was now level II. He shook his head, wondering if there was a way to see how close to leveling his abilities and skills were.
Again, he had to wonder about the system that guided their advancement as ascended. It was all magic based, that much was clear—every ability they had was in some way connected with their energy. It was almost as if that was the point of the entire ascension system: to teach others how to use and control magic. Morgan knew that Oxy had great powers, but could his powers be only a far more advanced version of what they were doing through the system?
The entire world was bonkers. He knew that Oxy wanted an army, but Morgan was pretty sure that aside from his god-like powers, Oxy also had superior technology—so far advanced that it only seemed like magic. Ever since Morgan had gotten his memory back, he had been looking at everything around him and wondering what was magic and what was just technology. The hearthstone, for example, was something that he had started to suspect was actually technology—the way that it built things made him suspect that the cloud that left the stone was perhaps a cloud of nanites that broke down materials and then built whatever they wanted. The screens in his vision, too, might just be technology; for all he knew, he’d had ocular implants installed, or perhaps Sabila was some kind of high-end implant. She had said that his comparison between her and an implant was partly correct. He shook his head—it didn’t really matter, in the end.
He turned his attention to his last notification and brought it up. Immediately he blinked. Well, this is new.
Warning! Class-path deviation detected. Class progression branching.
“The hell does that mean!” Morgan exclaimed.
“What is it?” Clara asked from beside him.
Morgan turned to look at her. He explained what he saw and she looked thoughtful.
“I don’t know, Morgan. I haven’t heard about anything like that, but then again I am probably not the person to ask. Lucius is the one to know if anyone does.” She shook her head. “At times like this, I really see the weakness of our Guild. We just don’t have any knowledge. We are pushing alone into the unknown.”
“You’re right, but only because we had no choice,” Morgan reminded her.
“True,” Clara said.
“Did you level up?” Morgan asked.
“No, I’m just a hair’s breadth away from level fourteen. I did level a few of my abilities, though.”
“Disappointed?” Morgan asked with a raised eyebrow.
“I have gotten accustomed to these large jumps in level since I started being near you, so yes, actually.”
“Well, what can I say,” Morgan said with a grin. “I know I’m great and all, but even the best can’t perform at the top of their game all the time. I’m sure next time will be better.”
After the party gathered itself, they started the trip back to Reach, Morgan and Vall walking at the front of the group.
“So, how does it feel?” Morgan asked.
“It is more than I had hoped,” Vall said honestly.
“Good. Now you know I keep my promises,” Morgan told him.
Vall glanced at Morgan, studying him for a long moment, and Morgan frowned in return.
“What?”
“You’ve changed, Morgan,” Vall said finally. “You used to act like an idiot most of the time. I don’t know what happened while you were away, but you seem more…responsible.”
Morgan snorted. “Of course I am. I always had been—you just failed to see my awesomeness. I
know, it’s a curse.”
Vall shook his head, but there was a smile on his face. After a moment, he glanced back at Clara and the Guards, who were walking a few meters behind.
“You also seem closer with her,” Vall said, nodding in Clara’s direction.
Morgan shrugged. “We bonded and became bestest buddies.”
Vall narrowed his eyes at Morgan. “I might be grateful to you for getting me this hand, but I still remember my promise. If you do anything to hurt my sister, I will kill you—especially if you do it with her first female friend. This is the first time that she’s had a friend like her.”
“What is it with you people and assuming that I want to start something with Clara?” Morgan asked, rolling his eyes. “I mean, she’s hot in that freaky barbarian kind-of way, but seriously? I told you I love Ves, and that’s not going to change.”
Vall narrowed his eyes.
Morgan groaned. “Don’t worry, Vall. Clara doesn’t like men. She prefers women.” Morgan paused then as something occurred to him. Vall was right—Ves and Clara had been spending a lot of time together. Like, a lot a lot.
He turned around to look at Clara with wide eyes.
“Oh my god! Are you trying to steal Ves from me?” he nearly screeched.
Clara blinked and stopped walking, looking at him without really comprehending.
“You are, aren’t you?” You spend so much time together ‘training,’” Morgan said, using air quotes as he accused her. “Wait—did Ves tell me that you used the bath together?”
Clara opened her mouth, then closed it, just looking at him in shock.
“Wow, and here I thought we were best friends. Amigos for life you know. And you stab me in the back.” Morgan put a hand on his heart and looked sadly at Clara, before noticing Vall bring a hand to his face.
“I spoke too soon. You are still an idiot,” Vall said as he stomped off and muttered something that Morgan didn’t quite catch.
Morgan’s expression immediately cleared and he gave Clara and the guards standing uncomfortably next to her a grin and a wink. Then he turned and followed after Vall.
After only a few steps, he heard Clara shout after him, “He’s right! You really are an idiot!”
Morgan chuckled and quickened his pace to catch up with Vall. I think messing with Vall is going to be my new favorite pastime.
They arrived at Reach to find a large commotion in front of the town gates.
“Are those…?” Morgan asked.
“The tribes,” Clara whispered.
Morgan took a look at the large group that seemed to be camped in front of the gates. There were a lot of tents and the like in the process of being set up just south of the Reach Town. Morgan could see that there were hundreds of people there, all orcs. The Sky Guard was on the walls of the town, and Morgan could see that Lucius had started reinforcing the walls, but the gates were open, so there didn’t seem to be any problems.
Their group walked quickly down the road and past the mass of orcs. They glanced at them but didn’t really seem all that interested. A few of their looks landed on Clara, but there was no visible reaction, almost as if she wasn’t one of them at all, but just a stranger.
They entered the town, and after Morgan asked a few of the Guard what was going on, they were pointed in the direction of a large, new building that they had made as Karissa’s headquarters—basically the town hall for Reach Town. There they found Lucius, Ves, and Karissa meeting with eight orcs. Four were obviously warriors and there as guards; the other four, however, were quite obviously the chieftains of the four tribes. There were three male orcs and one female, each wearing simple garbs—cloth with furs on top—but Morgan knew who they were both from the way they carried themselves and from the fact that they were here with Lucius.
“Ah, Morgan, it is good that you have returned. We were just about to begin this meeting,” Lucius said.
Morgan nodded and walked into the room, followed by Vall and Clara, the Sky Guards remaining outside. As soon as they entered deeper into the room, Clara stopped and froze.
“Father,” she said, and Morgan turned to look at her in surprise. He glanced back at the man she was looking at. It was one of the older orcs, a chieftain with a scar running down his face on the left side. He had short-cropped brown hair streaked with white and a bone earring on his left ear.
The chieftain’s expression tightened, and then he inclined his head. “Ascended,” he greeted his daughter.
Clara winced and then lowered her eyes. “Apologies, chieftain,” she said, her tone suddenly devoid of emotion. “I greet the tribes.”
Morgan’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t comment. It was not his place. He turned instead to Lucius and walked over to stand across from the four orc leaders, looking them in the eyes. He inclined his head. “Welcome to Skyreach. I am Guild Master Morgan.”
Clara’s father looked Morgan over, his expression never changing, and then he returned the head bow and spoke. “I am Chieftain Marcus of the Forest Tribe.”
Morgan winced inwardly. I forgot about their human names. I swear, that’s the most ludicrous thing about all of this.
Soon after, the others introduced themselves. The man standing next to Marcus spoke first—he looked younger than Marcus, but his hair was all white, and long, falling loosely around his head to rest down to his chest. He had a face tattoo that covered the entire right side of his face; it was a kind of tribal inking, dark red in color. “I am Erik of the Stonehoof Tribe.”
The woman was next. She was middle-aged, with black, braided hair that rested over her shoulders. She had purple irises, too, the first Morgan had seen the color in someone’s eyes. “Daniela of the Riverbank Tribe.”
The last chieftain was the youngest, and the toughest looking. He had wide shoulders and short-cropped black hair. On his hips were sheathed two double-headed short axes. He nodded at Morgan and introduced himself. “Kogan of the Wolfhowl Tribe.”
Morgan blinked at the name for a moment, taken aback. The other chieftains noticed and Daniela chuckled.
“He was raised by humans for the first few years of his life,” she said. “They named him.”
Morgan stared at her, his mind doing spins. Humans named him, huh? Morgan thought. He wanted to open his mouth and make a comment very badly, but he knew that was a bad idea. To the side he could see Vall raise his head to the sky and murmur something which sounded very much like a prayer.
“Uh, right, of course,” Morgan managed to say. The man, Kogan, glared at Morgan, but didn’t say anything either.
Marcus, Clara’s father, cleared his throat and spoke. “Your people found us while we were on our way south, and they relayed your message. We have decided to come and speak, to see with our own eyes if you can fight the goblin horde.”
Morgan took a deep breath before speaking. “You’ve been moving your tribes already?”
Marcus nodded. “There have been movements from the goblins. They will march soon. We were planning on leaving the valley and seeking the other tribes beyond the pass—and we might still do so. Your people told us of your desire for us to join you and fight against the goblins.”
“Yes, our plan is to defend the valley,” Morgan said.
Kogan huffed. “You have some nice walls here, but it won’t be enough. The goblins have numbers far larger than yours. Your numbers are not more than my tribe.” He sneered. “You will be swallowed whole.”
Morgan turned to look at him. “We have many ascended of higher level than the average goblins, and we are upgrading our defenses even as we speak. We might not have their number, but we are strong. If you add your strength to ours, I am sure we will stand a chance. We have more plans for how to deal with them as well.”
Daniela shook her head. “You might have plans, ascended, but you don’t have the time to implement them. The horde moves now—you have a month, two at the most. You should run through the pass, abandon the valley. The goblins might spill through the p
ass, but the Guilds there will not allow them to spread wide. Hide among others of your kind who are stronger.”
Morgan knew that was a possibility, but doing so would mean leaving many here to die. They had talked about it, but a lot of the non-ascended here didn’t want to leave. They would rather die than move from their homes. Reach was now Morgan’s home, too—it was his, and he would not abandon it.
But all of this had rested on the idea that they would have more time. Clara had said that it would be a year at least, making the goblin advance very early. “We thought we had more time,” Morgan said. “What happened?”
Erik shrugged. “The Goblin King united all the tribes. It is the only thing that would make them move.”
“Two months…” Morgan said. “It is a short time, but we can fight them, and I can see you don’t really want to leave your home. Stay and fight with us, and I know that we will prevail.”
Marcus looked at Morgan, appraising him. “I can see that you are strong, but you are not as strong as others I have seen. Still, we might have a chance if we fight together, this is true… But many would die. You are asking us to pay a high price for keeping our homes.”
“It is a high price, but all things worth having carry with them such a price. I know your people do not associate with the ascended, that you prefer to be left alone, but I also know that we can help one another greatly,” Morgan said, pausing momentarily. “I want to make you an offer. I know you do not become ascended, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t help you. If you help us fight, I can promise you free rein in the domain of my Guild. You would be free to settle anywhere and enjoy the same protections as the non-ascended sworn to me. I don’t know why you don’t want to ascend, but it is not my business. If you wish to be left alone, you will. If you want to trade, you can.”