Hawke noted all of that as he moved, trying to catch up with the quick monster. It turned back towards him, its hands outstretched for a grapple. Hawke was having none of that: he swung Saturnyx and chopped through one of the zombie’s forearms, sending the severed limb flying, and smashed the edge of his shield into its face. Again, it felt like he was hitting a wall rather than a person, but the two solid hits staggered the creature, just in time for Kinto to finish the job with a spear thrust to the back of its head. Health down to zero, the Risen went down for good.
Holy crap, that was one minion!
The fight had lasted less than a minute, but Hawke felt like he’d run three flights of stairs at a run. He glanced at Tava and was relieved to see that Gosto was tending to his sister. Her hair and face were covered in blood from a scalp wound, but her Health was almost back to full and she seemed to be angry as all hell but otherwise okay. Healing magic could undo concussions, apparently.
Hawke summoned one of the water bottles from his inventory and drank his fill, keeping an eye on the hole in the ground. If a bunch more undead cavemen showed up, things were going to get hairy. Elite monsters had always been hard to take down in games, and it held true in this game-turned-real.
On the other hand, the rewards were commensurate with the effort.
For slaying your foe, you have earned 400 Experience.
Ding!
Twenty-Six
Congratulations! You have reached Level Four! You have gained 6 Attribute points to distribute.
Your Sword Skill has been raised to 7.
Your Shield Skill has been raised to 7
Your Dodge Skill has been raised to 5
New Life and Light Magic Spells Available.
Current XP/Next Level: 1,000/2,500
The jump in Experience to go from fourth to fifth level was huge. Hawke asked the sword about that and got told that certain levels marked milestones in development. Level five was one of them. He wondered what he’d get when he got there. Hawke also noticed that Tava had leveled up as well. Getting nearly killed paid dividends in the Realms, assuming you stayed on the ‘nearly killed’ category. That was great; it improved everyone’s chances of making it through the Lair.
Tava Kintes (Human)
Level 4 Ranger
Health 45 Mana 42 Endurance 44
After making sure no more monsters were about to come out, he took the time to improve himself. Physical power and the ability to soak up damage were important, so he decided to focus there for a change. Three Attribute points went to Strength, two to Constitution, and one more to Charisma because those bonuses to Reputation were becoming very useful. He’d improve his mental and magical Attributes next time he made level. With the bonuses from the sword added in, his stats were impressive. Normal human Attributes maxed out at 20; he had reached or surpassed that limit on a couple of them, and he was barely fourth level. It was clear that higher-level Adventurers, let alone Eternals, left mere mortals in the dust fairly quickly. Being a normie in the Realms must be hell. Hawke wondered why more of them didn’t seek to become Adventurers.
Always a bummer with you, Hawke replied, but he was mostly joking and the sword knew it.
He picked new spells next. Or rather, his new spell. He had several available choices, but could only pick one. To learn more magic tricks before reaching his next level, he would have to find a teacher and have access to the appropriate Element or School of magic. He quickly picked Bulwark of Light, another defensive aura that would help him mitigate damage. He was the only ‘tank’ the group had, so he should have the proper tools for the job.
Bulwark of Light
Time to Cast: 4 seconds. Cooldown: 15 seconds. Cost: 5(4) Mana. Duration: 3 minutes. Range: Self. Effect: Creates an aura that has a Health equal to 10(15) points of damage per level. When its Health is exhausted, the spell will end and must be recast. If Armor of Light or similar spells are in effect, attack damage will be reduced by the indicated amount before affecting the Bulwark of Light.
That wasn’t bad at all; it was almost like having an extra sixty Health at fourth level, thanks to the 50% bonus he got from Saturnyx, although the cooldown meant that if it went down shortly after he cast the spell, it would be several seconds before he could use it again. He didn’t mind; he was used to games where you needed to keep track of those things. Which perhaps was a reason why he and his fellow gamers had been brought to the Realms.
Saturnyx came next:
Saturnyx Demons-Bane (Legendary Artifact). Soul Sword. Level 4. One- or two-handed. Damage: One-Handed: 22-27; Two-Handed: 23-37. Requires Sword Skill.
Special Abilities:
Enhanced Attributes: +4 to Strength, +4 to Constitution, +4 to Dexterity.
Enhanced Skill: +4 to the wielder’s Sword Skill.
Dragon-Bone Hilt: Provides Damage Resistance: Elemental (Fire) 50% Elemental (All Others): 20%.
Elysian Steel Cross-Guard: Reduces the Mana cost of spells by 1.
The bonuses remained impressive; the talking sword was making him far more effective than someone should be at his level. One might even say he’d gotten an unfair advantage almost from the start. Well, as far as Hawke was concerned, the world was unfair and sometimes the unfairness worked for you instead of against you. It still didn’t make up for all the times when life had screwed him. Spawning in a Necromancer’s midden instead of a nice village, for example.
He had a new Sword Boon to select. At fourth level, he had a choice from two available abilities. He examined each one carefully:
Spell Focus: You can cast spells of your Chosen Element through the sword. Doing so will reduce casting time by 2 seconds or 20%, whichever is better. If casting time is reduced to 0 or below, the spell can be cast instantly.
Elemental Sunder: Your sword inflicts 50% more damage on creatures, objects or constructs created by or having an Affinity to your Chosen Element’s opposite.
Both abilities sounded great, but after some thought Hawke chose Spell Focus. Most of his spells could be cast in a few seconds, but in combat a few seconds could mean the difference between activating an aura or getting your throat cut before it went off. A couple of his Light spells would now be insta-cast, giving him a lot more options. Saturnyx didn’t criticize his choice, so he figured he had done well.
Satisfied, Hawke opened his character sheet and studied the new him:
Name: Hawke Lightseeker. Race: Half-Elf. Class: Paladin. Level: 4
Experience/Next Level: 1,000/2,500
Attributes:
Strength 17(21), Dexterity 13(17), Constitution 19(23), Intelligence 14, Spirit 17, Perception 13, Willpower 13, Charisma 17
Characteristics:
Health: 69 (Regain 6.3/min)
Mana: 49 (Regain 5.7/min)
Endurance 65 (Regain 6.3/min)
Identity: 20
Skills
Dodge 5, Lore 2, Shield 7, Spear 4, Stealth 1, Survival 3, Sword 7(11), Swimming 2, Tracking 1
Languages: Common Fey, Vulgate, Lesser Celestial
Perks
Dark Vision, True Sight, Undying, Unlimited Potential
Spells/Abilities
Aura of Light, Bolt of Life, Bulwark of Light, Consecrated Ground, Enlightenment, Growth, Hammer of Light, Shield of Light, Touch of Light
He was getting tougher, more skilled, and hopefully a bit wiser. He stretched a bit, feeling his muscles ripple under his armor; he hadn’t bulked up much, luckily, or he might need a new set of clothing. The improvements might be enough to let him survive the Lair and pick up another level or two. There were things he needed to do first, however. Hawke turned towards Kinto, who was watching the Lair’s entrance while Tava and Hawke did their bookkeeping.
“We’re going to need better teamwork to make i
t out in one piece.”
“That is the most sensible thing I’ve heard all day,” Kinto said. “A Seventh Level Lair is not something a group of children led by an old man and a new Eternal should undertake. If we don’t do better, we will not live to face the Lair Master.”
“I think we would do better if we all knew what each of us is capable of,” Hawke replied.
Back on Earth, he had helped organize and lead 25-man raids in a number of games, and gotten pretty damn good at it. Those skills should translate in a world overlain with game rules. But first he needed to know what abilities everyone had. With that knowledge, he could figure out the best tactics to use.
Kinto nodded. “I should have thought of that myself. Too much of a loner for my own good, I’ve always been. Never bothered to become a Party Leader. Even if I had, it wouldn’t do us much good. We cannot form an Adventuring Party until we all reach the fifth level in our Paths.”
That was something else Hawke hadn’t known. Maybe next time he was about to be transported to a game world he should read the game’s FAQ.
“Without a Party Leader, we’ll have to do things like mere mortals,” the Hunter concluded. He turned to his family. “Gosto, Tava! Come over here. The Paladin wants to play general!”
A few minutes later, Hawke had the information he wanted.
Kinto was a Hunter. Most of his special abilities related to forest and other wilderness terrain, but he had a number of useful combat skills, as well as a stealth ability that might make him the best choice for a scout. Imbue Weapon let him add +5 damage per level to one melee attack, but the ability cost 10 Mana and Endurance to use and had a 10-second cooldown. He could also deliver an automatic critical strike (Killing Blow), with the same cost, and if he took about ten seconds of prep time and spent 20 Mana and Endurance, he could combine both abilities in a single attack. Second Wind let him recover half of the damage he’d taken; the ability cost 20 Mana and had a five-minute cooldown, so it was the kind of ‘spell’ you used only in an emergency. He had a couple of arrow-enhancing attacks, but it made more sense to keep him in the front lines even if they had more than one high-quality bow.
Tava’s Ranger’s Path was similar to a Hunter’s, but was mainly focused on missile weapons. She could Imbue Arrows, similar to Kinto’s ability but it affected her next five bow shots. With a cost of 12 Mana, she could only do it a couple of times per fight, however. Another power: Avenging Arrow, created a miniature lightning bolt that inflicted 1-5 points of Elemental Air damage per level, but had a cooldown of one minute and cost 15 Mana. Her level four ability, True Aim, let her shoot an arrow that couldn’t miss ordinary targets and did double damage, at a hefty cost of 12 Mana and a 30-second cooldown. She was definitely a damage dealer, a ‘DPS class’ in Hawke’s gaming parlance.
At only second level, Gosto was the weakest link but also the one with the most potential. His main healing spell, Nature’s Warmth, helped a single target regain 5 Health per level, could be cast instantly, and had a long range. But Gosto had been so worried about keeping people healed that he had neglected his brand-new spell, Nature’s Grip, which summoned wooden tendrils from the ground and could immobilize or slow targets for up to ten seconds and also inflict 1 point of damage per level.
Armed with that knowledge, Hawke devised a plan of attack. Kinto added a few suggestions of his own. So did Saturnyx, who had centuries of experience. If the rest of the party had been able to listen to the sword, Hawke would have made her the leader. Unfortunately, the honor fell to him, for good or ill.
Now all they had to do was get down into the pit and see if their plans worked.
Twenty-Seven
Risen Troglodyte (Undead)
Level 4 (Elite)
Health 200 Mana 80 Endurance 160
A level higher than before, and there are two of them this time, Hawke thought.
The hole the overturned stone had uncovered led to an earth ramp that spiraled down into the darkness. Hawke’s auras provided enough lighting for the group to descend without using torches. The ramp went down about fifty feet before reaching a landing and the entrance to a tunnel carved into rock. There had been a door sealing the tunnel mouth, a heavy metal-bound door covered in arcane symbols. Something had burned a hole through its locking mechanism and then knocked the door clear off its hinges.
Hawke figured whoever or whatever had broken the door had awakened the Risen Lord. An agent of Domort, most likely.
After entering the tunnel, Kinto had gone ahead. Two of his Hunter Abilities, Shadow Walk and Cat’s Eyes, let him move near-invisibly and see with minimal light. While the second spell wasn’t as good as Hawke’s Night Vision, the Hunter could move a lot more quietly in his leather armor than Hawke in his clunky breast plate. The Hunter had discovered a large chamber. Another torn-down door lay by its entrance, along with two Undead Troggs standing watch.
“Why weren’t those two guys guarding the entrance instead of a single lower-level one?” Hawke asked Kinto after the Hunter came back and reported what he’d seen.
“That’s the way Lairs do things,” Kinto explained. “Their Masters feed on Adventurers, so they lure them in by posting weaker minions on the edges, and stronger ones as you venture further in. Those too feeble to handle their sentries aren’t worthy of their Master’s time.”
It hadn’t occurred to Hawke that Lairs got something out of being invaded by Adventurers, but it made sense. If experience was actually transferred energy, then Lairs, Dungeons and Labyrinths could increase their power by killing Adventurers. It made sense, in a twisted sort of way. The Dire Bear had earned a level after killing him, after all. It was a dog eat dog world, and the biggest dog won.
“Okay, let’s do this,” Hawke said. “Everyone ready?”
They all nodded. The party was around the corner from the final stretch of the tunnel. The Risen were sixty feet away. The light from Hawke’s auras should be visible to the Undead guards, but they hadn’t reacted to it. The Lair monsters were behaving like mindless mobs. He wondered why as he refreshed all his auras.
“Okay, I’m up,” Hawke announced before stepping into the tunnel and walking forward.
The Undead just watched him get closer. They only reacted when he threw a Hammer of Light at one of them. The thirty points of damage from the spell got their attention; the two Risen rushed towards him. Hawke ignored them and began prepping Consecrated Ground. Unfortunately, the Life spell didn’t benefit from the fast-casting ability from his sword, but the managed to go through the three-second spell just as the two Undead were almost on top of him.
“Now!” he yelled when the Risen stepped onto the glowing area around him – and started taking twenty-four points of damage for second as the Life magic he had imbued into the ground burned them.
Kinto and his offspring stepped around the corner. The Hunter rushed forward while Tava loosed an arrow and Gosto cast Nature’s Grip on one of the Risen, immobilizing him in the middle of Hawke’s spell. Tava’s arrow was charged by three Ranger spells: Imbued Arrow, Avenging Arrow and True Aim. The fifty-six-point impact struck the undead that Gosto hadn’t immobilized, staggering it just in time for Hawke to deliver a slash on the critter for another twenty-six points. A moment later, Kinto joined the fray and stabbed the wounded monster.
The Risen was too tough to die so easily, but it was down to less than half its Health when it swung its bone club at Hawke, who caught it in his shield and countered with a blow of his own. The monster dodged his attack but not Kinto’s Killing Blow, a massive hit that ran the Risen through as a red 72 rose from the impact. The Life damage from the Consecrated Ground did the rest. One down.
The other Undead was struggling against the vines that had sprouted under its feet and rooted him to the spot. Hawke
and Kinto had maneuvered to be out of range from its melee attacks. The trapped Risen had looked for a target to throw his bone club at, but Tava and Gosto had stepped out of sight after launching their attacks. It held on to the weapon and waited, losing twenty-four points every turn from Hawke’s ongoing spell.
Hawke thought about just letting the second Risen die on the vine, as it were, but the critter was tugging at the plants and it might break loose at any moment. Better to finish it quickly. He went for it, with Kinto backing him up. Unable to dodge away, the Risen was cut down without much problem. The fight was over.
For slaying your foes, you have earned 360 Experience.
Current XP/Next Level: 1,360/2,500
Hey, how come I got less experience from two Risen than I did for the first one?
Interesting, Hawke mused as he reached for the two floating loot bags that had appeared over the bodies of the zombie cavemen. There were a lot of variables involved in awarding experience. The ‘rules’ seemed designed to discourage mindless grinding and reward taking risks. People from Earth trying to find shortcuts were going to be disappointed.
You have found 1 gold, 2 silver and 4 copper coins.
You have found Minor Healing Potion (1), Minor Mana Potion (2).
The money was nice; he no longer had to worry about paying for food and lodging for the foreseeable future. The potions might come in handy, although so far he’d been in no danger of running out of Health or Mana. That might change in a lengthy fight, however, so it was good to have a couple of those. Although his companions might need them more than him.
“Do you guys have any Healing Potions?” he asked the group. Only Kinto nodded. “Here,” he told them, producing the three potions he had collected so far and handing them over to Tava and Gosto. They didn’t have Holding bags, but stored the sturdy earthenware bottles in pouches hanging from their belts.
Twilight Templar (The Eternal Journey Book 1) Page 15