Otherside Border, Coconino National Forest, Sedona, Arizona - 9:02 PM
Della’s confused and panicked look was something to behold, but the Tulpas were approaching. I gestured towards a cluster of them. “Why don’t you focus on these ones here,” I said. “And don’t worry about the rest. Trust me when I say that they’re pushovers this far away from their creator. A single rock, branch, tumbleweed, whatever through any part of their body will break them down.”
“They do seem rather… lethargic,” Glaraphel noted as the enemies slowly shuffled towards us. “Player Della Luna should do well enough.”
She took a breath and I saw her aura settle. It was still full of nervous energy, but she knew what she had to do and was willing to do it.
Della turned away from me to check the enemies I had given her. A quick glance told her everything she needed to know, and she looked around for ammunition. Raising a hand, she seemed to beckon various things her way. Rocks, branches, and even some small cactus were Pulled into a pile at her feet.
“I said earlier that a Tulpa was essentially an imaginary friend, but that’s fairly basic. They are a materialized being, though,” I explained as I turned my attention to the enemies that weren’t in the area I assigned her. “Essentially, what Talafraxis is doing is thinking these creatures into existence. Literally. This far away from him, they’re barely a threat. That will change as we get closer.”
Glaraphel’s observation had been correct. Given how slow they were, all of these Tulpas would go down in a single hit. They were slow, weak, and bumbling. This far from Talafraxis’ seat of power, that was all they could be.
It was the perfect fight for Della to gain some confidence and get used to hitting something with a mostly human face. That wasn’t going to change for the duration of this scenario.
I truly enjoyed having Absolute Awareness. With one hand holding the Loaner Sword and the other on my hip, I sent two rocks flying through the air, zigzagging through the chests of the enemies behind me while I watched Della’s progress.
At first, she took too long. Starting with rocks, she would Lift them and get ready to Push, but constantly moved back and forth to get the perfect shot. It took her precious seconds to fire one projectile.
“Don’t worry so much about hitting weak points,” I told her. “Just focus on hitting them anywhere. Even if you hit a leg or an arm, at your Willpower you’ve got more than enough oomph to break the limb off of these creatures when they’re more powerful later on. Make more attacks now and accuracy will start to come naturally with practice.”
“I hear you,” Della replied through gritted teeth as she fired off the hovering rock. It barely passed by the nearest Tulpa, and she groaned in frustration. The next one clipped through the same enemy’s shoulder, causing it to waver and slowly disappear. “Got one!”
“Are you, perhaps, using the yeet method?” Glaraphel asked, seemingly interested since there was no immediate danger. “Anthony mentioned it before.”
“Yeah, probably,” she absently replied as she Pushed another rock. This one struck an enemy in the hip, causing it to waver and fall like the one before.
“I have not spent much time on Earth and even less time speaking with the players here,” the Angel started slowly, as if he wasn’t sure if he should say something. “But I have heard great things from children about the power and distance provided by the yeet method. If you are looking for accuracy, I believe you should switch to the method named after the man called Kobe instead.”
Della dropped the branch she had Lifted so that she could look at the Angel, and I found myself laughing. “Man, the weird shit you pick up roaming around Earth, huh?” I said between laughs. “Della, eyes forward.”
“Yeah. Okay, just… yeah,” she said as she shook her head. The tension was leaving her after what she perceived to be a joke, which was good.
“Did I say something funny?” Glaraphel asked, confused.
“Just something unexpected,” I told him honestly. “It’s good advice, for sure. But if you have any other nuggets of Earth wisdom like that, feel free to share them outside of battle.”
“I am pleased that my words have been of use, then,” he said.
Despite Glaraphel’s advice, my rocks were still swerving unerringly between Tulpas behind us and to the sides. The Angel had noticed this when he checked our flanks for enemies, but Della was too focused on her enemies to notice.
I had to give her credit. By the time her pile of ammunition had dwindled to nothing, she was managing to hit most of the enemies. Not perfectly, but enough to hurt them. I reminded myself to thank the Red Oracle when we got back; she had certainly picked someone capable out of the crowd.
Merrick might have been exceptional in the role eventually, but I wanted someone who would do well now.
Once she started looking around for more ammunition, my two rocks came swinging in from the sides. There weren’t many Tulpas left, and they were quickly dispatched by my attack.
I began clapping. “Not bad for a first attempt,” I praised as I jerked my head towards the path forward. Without waiting, I started heading that way.
“What happened to the rest of them?” Della asked, looking around.
“Anthony took care of them,” Glaraphel answered.
She shot a confused glance his way. “How? He was watching me the whole time.”
“It seems as though he is not bound by the same rules you are when it comes to sight,” he offered with a shrug.
“He’s right. I’ve got a passive that lets me see all around me for as many feet away as my Wisdom,” I said, putting my free hand in my pocket. “It’s very handy, though pretty hard to come by. I had to use several different skill books and Synthesis Pages to get there.”
“And it just lets you see things around you? What is your Wisdom?” Della asked.
I glanced at the Loaner Sword I still carried. With the strange weapon, I had to open my menu to check.
<<<>>>
[[Status]]
Avatar Anthony Franklin
Class: Warmind
Race: Half-Angel (Dormant)
Patron: (Hidden)
Guild: Sol LigatusThe narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Player Kills: 8
Points: 83,852
Stats:
Hit Points: 1,104/1,104
Mental Points: 1,617/1,963 (300/300)
Strength: 42; Dexterity: 83; Constitution: 92; Wisdom: 133; Willpower: 125
<<<>>>
“Looks like 133, but I could bump that up to 143 if I dual wield another of my weapons,” I said. Her jaw dropped as she slowed down, but Glaraphel gently pushed her forward with his shield and she caught up. “What, don’t believe me?”
“No, no, I do. That’s just… really high, isn’t it?”
“I suppose so, but my three physical stats that everyone gets aren’t over a hundred. Strength isn’t even over 50, if you can believe it. I’m a bit of a min-maxer because Shield and Force Field can take a lot of damage, so Dexterity and Constitution aren’t as big a deal. Not that you should ever neglect your Constitution, though. Keep that maxed.”
“I would never,” Della said as if the mere thought of it was stupid, and she opened her menu. “I haven’t had to use Shield yet.”
“That one’s really easy. Flip a mental switch to turn it on, and then it’ll be active until you turn it off,” I replied. “I usually keep it toggled off because I want to use it strategically. Sometimes it’s better to tank attacks, sometimes it’s better to turn it on in quick bursts so that it can take specific attacks. If you want to keep it on, feel free to do so. I will warn you, though, that even though it doesn’t use Mental Points it will give you a migraine if you leave it on for a couple of hours.”
“Seems like this class really does a number on your brain,” she joked.
“It does, yeah,” I agreed with a chuckle. Looking towards the sky, I saw the sun was already in position for noon even though we had only walked a short distance. “I think Talafraxis is inviting us to his position faster than we would normally go. Must not have taken my challenge very gracefully.”
“A boon for us, then,” Glaraphel stated. He watched the eyes that watched us, staying as vigilant as ever.
I grunted in agreement before looking back at Della. “How’d your first combat as a Warmind feel?”
She thought about it for a moment before answering. “I guess it kind of felt like playing a carnival game.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. As in, I know what I’m supposed to be doing. The steps are all in front of me, but the game’s rigged,” she explained. “It’s harder than it looks and I know in my mind that it’s meant to be difficult, but it doesn’t feel like it’s something that I’ll be bad at forever so long as I keep practicing. It’s just going to take a lot of time before I start winning the prizes I want.”
“That’s a good way of looking at it,” I said, nodding. “Practice will make perfect, but I don’t ever want you to think where you top out is bad.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, furrowing her brow.
I Lifted three rocks off of the road and juggled them in front of me without touching them. “I mean, if you stop at being able to Split your focus three ways, then don’t be frustrated by that. If it’s four, or five, then that’s phenomenal. If it’s one or two, that’s still okay. Remember: Fred couldn’t even Lift his watch for more than a few seconds.”
“You’re saying I’m going to hit a hard limit,” she said.
“Statistically speaking, yes,” I informed her with a thin smile. “I have semi-reliable knowledge of the future, as you may have heard, and the only person other than me that breaks six items is a woman in Nanjing, China. She tops out at nine. Now, I don’t know about you. I was here for Fred and he’s not what I found. You could top out at two, could top out at nine. Either way, the class is going to do well for you.”
Della frowned as she thought this over. While she did, the sun set in front of us and the moon came back out. “Okay, that’s really annoying.”
“What’s really annoying is that we’re basically time traveling right now,” I said. “We’re missing out on seven days of getting shit done. Great if you don’t want to wait for something, terrible if you want to get more training in.”
“Is it even worth it?” Della asked. “I mean, the scenario was going to have this guy attack the city anyway, right?”
“You’d think, but all you’d do is end up getting Tulpas and a few other things,” I answered. “Talafraxis would have set up here like he has now, but while you’re spending so much time getting to him he’ll have continued to send his minions into the city. You’d have no idea if you’d return to a safe place or a smoking crater.”
She shook her head. “But your bet and provocative words have made him stand down for now?”
“Less stand down and more unable to disengage from his ego. We’ve got the audacity to claim we’re better than the Lord of Otherside. And it’s true!” I yelled at the eyes around us. They glowed in the dark now that the sun was gone. “So now he’s all disgruntled because we hurt his wittle interdimensional feelings.”
The ground and sky shook as the eyes grew bigger. It was easy to tell that they were enraged, mimicking the expression of their boss. They were becoming more numerous, too, as more black lines appeared midair and opened up as we got close.
“Yeah, yeah. I hear you, you great big thing, you,” I said, exasperated.
“What are we going to do when we get there?” Della asked, a little shaky.
<<<>>>
[[Patron Quest: Destroy the Enemies!]]
I have discovered that the Patron Quest time limit is based on my time, not yours. I’m going to be peppering you with these as you travel incredibly slowly through Otherside, but it’s better than leaving points on the table.
Another wave of enemies is heading your way, so take care of them.
Objective: Destroy the Tulpas.
Reward: 1,000 points.
<<<>>>
“I’ll get to that in a moment. If you could both duck for a moment, I would appreciate it,” I said as I activated my Dragon’s Breath. They both stopped and, after a moment, did so.
Tulpas surrounded us, crawling out of the darkness. While Della certainly needed practice, I wasn’t going to make her do it with so little light just yet. There were still a few cycles of daylight remaining that would give her the opportunity to practice.
For now, I did my thing. Divine energy sparked from my mouth before spilling out as a concentrated beam. Spinning in place, I lit up the entire forest and sliced through it indiscriminately. Trees, rocks, and shrubs were cut in half along with the enemies stalking towards us.
Once I was facing forward again, I closed my mouth.
<<<>>>
[[Patron Quest Complete!]]
Good work, Ant. Seeing as that’s the only kind of enemies around here, I’ll let you know when more waves are coming with quests. You already have the one to break the scenario, so the three per day I have are going to be more of these.
Sorry, there’s not a lot to do here.
Reward: 1,000 points.
<<<>>>
“Alright, so, here’s the plan,” I said, snapping away the screen as if I hadn’t just barfed up a laser. My companions slowly stood, looking at each other before catching up. I conjured a scroll from my inventory and offered it to Della. She gingerly took it.
<<<>>>
[[Item]]
Scroll of Copy Equipment
Use this scroll to cast the spell on it. Choose a target within sight, and your clothes morph into an exact replica of what that target is wearing. You are able to use any unique items not provided by a Patron, but other than that restriction you gain the same stats, skills, and passives the gear provides. This spell lasts for twenty-four hours.
<<<>>>
“Della, you’re going to use that once we lay eyes on Talafraxis, and then you’re going to deal with the Tulpas with the help of your Guardian Angel. There’s going to be a lot of them, Glaraphel, but I have faith in you.”
“Your faith is not misplaced,” he answered immediately.
“I know, but make sure she gets to take out as many as she can for the points. Protect her only when necessary,” I continued. “It’s going to be one hell of a battleground, but I believe the two of you will do well enough that I won’t have to leave my one on one to save y’all.”
“You’re going to…” Della paused and sighed. “Of course you’re going to fight the scenario boss by yourself. So we’re just fighting the monsters to give you space?”
“You’re fighting the monsters for practice and to tell everyone that it’s not going to be safe here once the third scenario rolls around, which will happen quickly,” I said, not telling her that I’ll likely be swarmed as well. “Focus on your survival against overwhelming odds. That will put you in an excellent position once we leave this place. You’ll probably even end up stronger than your uncle, if you practice enough.”
Any doubt in Della’s mind disappeared when I said that, and she stood up even straighter. “No probably about it, I will.”
“That’s the spirit,” I praised. “Go ahead and level up your abilities as high as you can go. After the first scenario, you should be able to Split your focus twice and work in some Force Fields, which take more effort than just Shield because you have to mentally place them. We’ve got a few more cycles left, so we’re going to be practicing the whole way.”
The Warmind gave me a firm nod, and I smiled. This wasn’t turning out half bad.