《Legend of the Spellthief》 Chapter 0 - Final Overtime The night was old, a storm raging outside setting a dreary backdrop for the workers in overtime or night shifts. A soundscape of pitter-patter rain combined with pencil scribbles and keyboard strokes. Sitting at his desk way after his normal leaving time was Logan Hall, his computer screen lighting his tired-looking face as he typed away. The overworked man was inputting some final information into a database. Some people would have called this old night, early morning. With such a long night, Logan had become quite dishevelled. His brunette medium-length hair was messy, with some parts of his fringe sticking to his face. The top 2 buttons of his white undershirt had been undone, his tie hanging loosely on his chest. Light from his screen lit up his jade green eyes that had deep dark bags underneath. Slightly hunched, Logan looked over to the corner of his desktop to see that the day had already passed into the next, a yellow-hued ¡°3:24¡± shone on his toolbar. Pushing on his desk he leaned back into his chair, stretching out his arms and fingers, clicking and clacking emanating from his chair as well as his bones. Thinking back on how he got into this position, he remembered the conversation with his boss.
¡°Logan, we''ve got a new client signing up today, a newcomer in the entertainment industry. They sell mostly peripheral devices and offer some repair services, though they have a big backing, so a lot of money is riding on their employ¡±, Logan''s boss had a quickness to his speech, a bead of sweat from his brow showing that the older, slightly portly gentleman had jogged to Logan''s desk. Dressed in a more suitable higher-up suit, his suit was more of a greyish colour than the black of Logan''s. The short grey hair of Logan''s boss betrayed his age against his youthful workers. ¡°Another new client? Plenty of those have come in this week. Porter had to stay back till 2 last night, well I guess it''d be morning¡±, Logan sassed, an instinct kicking in the back of his mind ¡°He''s going to ask me to stay late¡±, he thought. ¡°I know I asked you to do overtime 2 weeks back, but this is big, you mind staying back tonight to get their data sorted out? We''ll be using the 2.3 software for this and you''re more knowledgeable on that¡±, Logan''s boss carried on, probably to continue the same corporate spiel about togetherness and being a cog, but Logan had heard it enough times before. ¡°Overtime pay, as usual, right Mr Burston?¡± Logan cut his boss off, knowing if he didn''t bring it up then his boss may ¡°forget¡± to put it into the system. ¡°Yes, of course, half over your normal rate. Now, this may go later than 1am, so if it does make sure you make notes of times and data, I''ll sort some vacation time for you if you go over¡±, Logan''s boss visibly had a disheartening response to Logan, confirming the doubt that the man would try to cheat Logan out of his overtime pay. Logan pressed a few keys on his keyboard, a window popping up stating ¡°Video File saved¡±, a common practice in the company that Logan worked for. A camera at the top of his monitor had recorded the conversation, creating a safety net for Logan if his boss happened to go back on his word. With the pay sorted, Logan and his boss started to get the details down with folders exchanging hands along with plans of how to work the new database.
Logan brushed over his face with his hands, ¡°At least this is going to end up with extra vacation time¡±, he thought to himself. Time slowly ticked on as Logan finished inputting all the new info into the database, a final linked cell of a table marked the end of his overtime. Saving his work for the last time, he sent the files off to the main server of Helping Hand PAs, the personal assistant company that Logan had worked under for the past 3 years. Flicking the power button on his screen and computer case Logan stood up from his desk, his 6''2" height towering over his workstation, turning his head to look out the window to the city. While not as fierce as earlier, the storm outside was still raging on, the windows getting a good cleaning. ¡°At least the lightning stopped¡±, Logan thought, counting his blessings he wouldn''t have to worry about Raiden anytime soon. Moving away from his desk Logan slipped on his black jacket, zipping it up over his formal business attire. He passed by several empty offices before finally reaching the elevator, grabbing the ID at his belt he pulled it on the extension cord to the elevator''s reader, a ¡°ding¡± sounded and the elevator whirred into life. A calming tone played for every floor the elevator rose, almost putting Logan to sleep until it arrived at floor 29, a louder ¡°bong¡± playing as the doors slid open. Stepping inside, Logan hit a button with his index middle-knuckle as the elevator accepted his request to go to the ground floor. A few seconds passed before the elevator jumped a bit upwards before its long descent. Putting a hand into his trouser pocket Logan pulled out his smartphone, the harsh light hurting his eyes in contrast to the yellow-tinted screen he was working on earlier. Loading into his messages Logan saw the last conversation he had been in. ¡°He''s fast asleep at this point, last time he was up so late he fell asleep at the wheel the next morning. Worrying me sick with all the accidents he''s been having¡±, Logan''s thoughts wandered on about his dad, a 61-year-old widower by the name of Tyson Hall. The thought of being his wingman stung a little, but it had been 4 years since Logan''s mother, Samantha Hall, had passed away. A sting mixed with happiness, Logan was glad his father was moving on, if a bit sad at the memory of his late mother. Flipping up on his mobile, Logan passed by several conversations with his friends and other relatives until it landed on his last conversation with his mother. A large blue star plastered on the side of the message header, noting it as important and to not be deleted. He couldn''t bring himself to push it to open up a longer conversation, the last message was enough.
A jerk of the elevator pulled Logan out of his daze, the elevator doors sliding open to reveal the entrance hall to the building. Pushing the power button on his mobile he hid it back into his trouser pocket, walking out of the elevator. Nearby wall-TVs filled the hall with the sound of late-night television, another comedy rerun to pass the time for late visitors or guards. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Aside from the TVs, the entrance hall was very modern, with sparkling white floors and an array of paintings adorning the walls. A few signs noted directions to specific departments, the Helping Hand PAs being stationed on floors 27-30. Making a stop at the front desk, Logan saw the night shift guard on duty, her name tag reading Jan. She looked up to Logan who definitely gave off a ¡°let me sleep¡± vibe. Logan quickly pressed a few keys on the touchscreen desk, opening up the employee sign-in sheet and moving his ID from his belt cord to the screen. A few seconds of scanning went by and the screen replied with a window stating he had been signed out. The woman, whose long black hair was tied into a ponytail down her back, wore a formal dark-blue outfit with a nametag and markings that showed her to be security. Sat on her hip belt was a flashlight ¡°Late night, huh Logan?¡± Jan asked, hoping to perk the zombie-like man up for his walkout. ¡°Yeah, droning on like a good bee¡±, Logan let out a long yawn as he began to take his ID off his belt to put in his pocket. ¡°It''s the only time I get to see you¡±, Logan continued with a half-dead smile on his face. Jan smiled back politely. ¡°Well, be safe going home, the storm outside is terrible.¡± Jan stood up, handing Logan a large dark-blue umbrella tied up with a black sash. ¡°It''s only a 5-minute walk, it''ll be fine¡±, Logan responded as he took his umbrella, unfurling the sash from its middle portion. ¡°Goodnight¡±, Jan said as Logan began to turn away. ¡°Night¡±, replied a passing Logan, as the automatic doors opened up to a torrent of wind, pushing him back a bit. Walking through the doors to the outside Logan began to open up his umbrella, the dark blue material shining under the lights of the doors. Pitter-patter turned to punches on his umbrella as Logan continued away from the building. Picking him up with each step, the wind seemed to want Logan to hurry his pace which he was all too happy to accept, hoping to get out of the rain. A crack of lightning erupted up above, lighting his umbrella once more, a roar of thunder shaking Logan''s stomach ¡°shit!¡± a startled Logan thought to himself. Walking turned to a slow jog, Logan didn''t want to be in the storm any longer than necessary. ¡°Sun can''t come soon enough¡±, he thought to himself as he started to imagine his trip to the beach with his dad.
Several minutes passed as Logan started to see the apartment building he was staying at, just 5 more buildings to pass before reaching his home. The storm carried him home and it would see him to his doorstep, but not before something else would make his heart jump up to his throat. A loud horn sounded behind Logan, almost jumping several feet into the air he turned around to see a large truck barreling down the street. Inconsiderate fog lights blinded Logan as the truck raced on down the street, easily going 40 in a 20 mph zone. Splashing of puddles and screeching of tyres the truck came up to Logan as he felt a huge gust of wind push into him, and then it hit him. A large wave of water from the dipped streets rushed onto Logan, the truck kicking it up with its tyres. Giving him an early treatment of the ocean, Logan was drenched in dirty drain waters. He quickly raised a fist to the truck as it sped on by. ¡°Tosser!¡± he exclaimed at the truck as it continued on down the road. Quickly moving to wipe his face with his hand, Logan started to shiver all over as the cold winds were worsened by the addition of soaked clothing. ¡°At least I''m almost home¡± Logan consoled himself, looking up to his apartment building. Pressing on, Logan moved towards his building, now only 3 houses away from him. Though, as if tonight was the worst of all nights, a final thing impeded his journey. Another flash of light above, a slow roar of thunder from a previous strike shook Logan''s entire body. Strangely this bolt was different as if Logan was moving to match it. Time slowed as droplets of water were visible in the air, his hot breath creating a mass of white in front of his face, his legs moving slowly over the pavement for his next step. His eyes started to wander to his back, slowly turning his head around, instead of the cold he quickly felt a burning heat behind him. A blinding bolt of lightning was making its way straight to Logan, his eyes seeing it for mere milliseconds yet experiencing it in a slowed format. Instinctively blinking to block the bright light, Logan didn''t see when the bolt hit him, but he felt it, hot electricity coursing through his body. Slowly moving from his back to his head and limbs, Logan''s final moments were erratic with fear and memories of his last day. If he had the time, he would most likely cry over the emotion, but he was taken too quickly to process it all even in this slowed-down moment. And then, he was gone.
Silence replaced the torrential storm soundscape. Pitter-patter became a void. The blues, blacks, and yellows of the night turned into a white space. Slowly, the void gained a new spec of matter, fading into existence, the body of Logan Hall. Floating in an abyss with no floors, walls, or ceilings. His almost lifeless body suspended in the air started to become surrounded by azure and magenta rings, looping around his limbs, torso, and head. The rings began to zap lines of yellow light from their inner sections, darting into Logan''s body, and each zap piercing his frame would let off green cuboids of data. Filling the soundless void, a voice emanated from all directions, echoing in a combination of male and female tones. ¡°Subject acquired, scan commencing¡±. The rings started to speed up as they spun around and zipped up and down Logan''s unconscious body. ¡°Substantial management skills, the assistant of tasks. Not applicable¡±, lacking any sign of excitement, the voice read off what seemed to be information about Logan. ¡°Name: Logan Hall. Age: 26. Sex: Male. Physique: Medium. Lithe: Quite¡±, if Logan were conscious, he would probably feel embarrassed or insulted by the occurrence, having his body detailed so. ¡°Attribute distribution now underway. Player set to default 10, additional points set to 6. Skill points to assign: 1¡±. The rings sped up further, expanding out into wider styles to encompass his entire body, they moved up and down as the zapping lines caught any missed areas. ¡°Final designation: Quick, intelligent, able to use other''s rules and regulations against them for self-gain, standard charm, good wit. Logan Hall is assigned the unique hybrid class, Spellthief¡±, with an authoritative tone, the voice seemingly had ended its evaluation of Logan, from both a bodily observation as well as one of his psyche and personality. All the rings moved up uniformly to the top of Logan, forming into a single ring at the tip of his head, before disappearing into green cuboids. Amidst the white void, a greyish hand outstretched to the forehead of Logan, a long finger tapping between his eyes. Several arcane circles, squares, and triangles formed over his forehead before fading away once more. Almost as if awakened by a bright light on his closed eyes, Logan''s eyelids flickered, but before they could fully open his body was pulled down with a violent force. Hurtling through the abyss, Logan smashed through a cloud-like substance, his now tattered suit and jacket washing away with the cloud and being replaced with a medieval-like tunic, trousers, and gloves. His body was completely dried, a sheathed dagger on his newly formed leather belt jostled as he began another descent. Pushed through the clouds, Logan fell through more and more vapour barriers, until his body started to electrify once more, the lightning shifted between yellow and blue hues. A final crack of thunder erupted above as a large stroke of lightning struck into the back of Logan, giving him a forceful push. Everything went dark as the sound of a meteor crashing into dirt shot out for miles. Shaking the world with his entry, Logan began to stir awake, but it was no longer in the city streets, it was in a grassy plain, it was another world. --- *** --- Chapter 1 - Rules of the Spellthief A ringing bellowed and circled in Logan''s head, his ears popping from the pressure of his high-altitude fall. Pushing up with one arm, Logan dug himself out from the crater he now found himself within. ¡°Dirt? Did I fall asleep in the park?¡± he thought to himself as he pulled on his legs that were somewhat under the ground. Breaking off pieces of dirt and grass, Logan fell backwards, landing on his rear end. With an exclaimed ¡°ah¡±, Logan stabilised his now seating position with his arms bracing against the grass. "What the hell happened?" Logan stared at the crater he had created. It wasn''t overly large, but it was quite deep. He started to pat himself down for injuries, but quickly became distracted by the fact that he was no longer dressed in his business attire. Instead, he wore a medieval-style tunic, trousers, ankle-high boots, a leather belt, and fingerless gloves, all in shades of brown and dark green. "What am I wearing?" Logan asked out loud, bemused at the change in his appearance. "Am I dreaming, or did I get drunk at a Ren Faire?" He stood up, brushing the dirt staining his clothing a darker brown. Once he was on his feet, a bright yellow object appeared in his vision. He flinched, thinking it was an insect flying at his face, but it didn''t come any closer. In fact, it followed his vision like an extra-annoying eye floater, except it was in both eyes at the same time. It appeared to be a little yellow box with a red exclamation point in the middle. ¡°Shoo¡±, Logan spoke, as he swatted the warning box with his hand, though instead of pushing it aside his hand phased through it as if it were a hologram. A second passed as the image stabilised, a ¡°ding¡± noise sounded and the exclamation box enlarged into a larger window, similar to the countless ones Logan had been looking at on his PC. ¡°PC has awoken, does Logan Hall wish to have an explanation on the S.Y.S.T.E.M or would he prefer to skip this tutorial¡±, the window had text written across it in a quick manner, Logan''s eyes glossing over the text. ¡°The hell is this?¡± Logan thought, the window changing as he was questioning the situation. ¡°PC has shown confusion¡­¡± ¡°Adjusting to mental state¡­¡± ¡°Logan Hall, you have been transported to the world of Avanar, we have been assigned to you as your personal S.Y.S.T.E.M. A tutorial is prepared for the basics if you want it¡±, the window responded to Logan''s thoughts, continuing as he finished reading each sentence, following his eyes as he tried to look away. ¡°A system? Some sort of program or something, but why is it following my gaze? I don''t even own a VR headset, the frame rate is too good for that anyway¡±, Logan thought to himself, trying to puzzle what was going on in his head. ¡°Wait. Avanar? A different world?¡± Logan started to shake all over, trying to wake up from a dream he slapped his face hard. This slap was different, as if he didn''t know his own strength, it was like he was punched. Recoiling from the heavy slap, his head swayed to the left, at which point another alert popped up. ¡°Inflicted 1 damage to self¡±, a daunting text read on a new window. ¡°This¡­ I think it may be the real deal. I''m not asleep, I''m somewhere new¡±, Logan started to come to terms with this event not being a passing thing, but something long-term. A deep-seated fear started to form in the pit of his stomach, memories of his life on Earth and fears of leaving all he had behind. His father, friends, even the couple he lived next door to who invited him to barbeques. His thoughts raced, wracked with contempt and fright. Before he could explode into emotion though a wave of magical fog rolled over his mind like a blanket of protection. He didn''t totally forget it all, but they became a background worry. Logan both knew of this fog, but also did not know of it, accepting its presence as the norm. ¡°Yeah, give me the system tutorial¡±, Logan spoke out loud, his gaze stuck on the windows starting to fill his vision, though he couldn''t stop looking at them if he wanted. One after another the windows disappeared, replaced with a new one, text scrolling across it in front of Logan. ¡°S.Y.S.T.E.M: Solo-Yielding Statistics and Technical Emulation Manual. We are designed to house all information pertinent to your person, as well as acting as a storage medium for any data gathered through traversal and learning. We are assigned to only you, so others cannot access us no matter what they try¡±, Logan read over the dialogue box as it typed out all the information, trying to absorb it all, when he was done the box wiped clean and continued. ¡°We can give you any information about a topic, merely speak out loud or think the command ¡®S.Y.S.T.E.M¡¯ and then a query topic, for example, ¡®S.Y.S.T.E.M Spellthief¡¯ will have us open up the description for your class. If you have no immediate queries, you can open up your status screen by speaking or thinking the command word ¡®Status¡¯¡±, as Logan read over the windows of text his assumption of whatever this being felt backed up, it showed signs of being artificial in its responses. ¡°So, I can speak or think commands? Does that work for all of my commands with you, System?¡± Logan spoke, falling back to his instincts to vocalise his communications. ¡°Processing question¡­ Yes¡±, the window replied. ¡°System, can you explain to me what''s happening? How did I get here, why even?¡± Logan thought, hoping his inner-talk could reach the program. ¡°You have been selected. You were taken from your world and brought to Avanar. Any further information is locked behind your Intelligence stat, which determines our functions and database contents¡±, the window responded almost immediately. ¡°Well, no luck there. I''m alive and well, I guess. Let''s do what this System says, maybe I''ll get answers at the end of its tutorials¡±, Logan''s thoughts raced through several paths, collecting himself, Logan resolved to reach the end and possibly get back home. ¡°Status¡±, Logan thought, in an authoritative tone, in his head. As his command went through, not even a second passed before a new window popped up, this one containing more detailed information in a nicer format. Instead of just blocked text it had some line and colour designs, possibly trying to make a pretty picture of Logan''s status. While the status window gave a lot of information, it also caused so many more questions from Logan. He could at least understand his name and race, those were straightforward, Spellthief was a bit harder though Logan had played plenty of games in his life to get the gist of it. Remembering his slap, the 7/8 HP made sense though he wondered if that was a high or low amount. Lacking MP was concerning, as he was a ¡°spell¡± thief, though seeing he had spell slots had him connect the dots that he used slots instead of MP and that the statistic must be there as a placeholder or to note he lacked MP. ¡°System, Spellthief¡±, Logan thought, being more direct with the program now he had spoken to it a few times. ¡°Spellthief. Role: DPS, debilitate, and spellcasting. HP: 8 per level. MP: Spell Slots. Description: A combination ¡®hybrid¡¯ class of Rogue and Wizard. Utilizing both speed and magic to take down foes at close or long-range. Due to a split focus, the Spellthief has a slower progression than the 2 component classes but makes up for that with a wider array of abilities and tactics. Unlike a normal Wizard, the Spellthief does not gain additional slots due to a high Intelligence. As a PC class, the Spellthief has an Ultimate Move known as Essence Absorption, which allows them to absorb the life of a foe to gain more power. While it has a wide array of moves, the Spellthief does not learn any healing spells and their spell list is much shorter than that of a Wizard, focusing more on direct damage, movement and teleportation, buffs and debuffs, alongside some summoning magic¡±, the window popped up as usual, though pushing Logan''s status screen to the side to read them together. ¡°So, a slow burner class? I better be careful. I should learn how magic works in this world, if it''s close to the games I''ve played I could get a handle on it quickly¡±, Logan, making mental notes of the information given to him, carried on in his investigation. ¡°System, spells¡±, Logan thought to his program. Unlike the previous command, this one brought up 2 windows with different information about spells, possibly the command used wasn''t specific enough. ¡°Magic: A powerful tool for denizens of Avanar though rare in occurrence within civilized races. Only 5% of the population can utilize magic, with the distribution being 2% Sorcerers, 2% Devouts, and 1% Wizards. Magic comes in the form of spells, which each require a command to be spoken to activate, many spells can be altered with ¡®Alterations¡¯ these are listed in your ¡®Spellbook¡¯.¡± ¡°Spells require either MP (Mana Points) or spell slots to use, the level of the spell is also the required MP or slot as fuel for activating the spell. All MP and slots are recovered after a night''s rest, though both can also be recovered with potions and specific skills.¡± ¡°Magic can pierce most defences of creatures, bypassing both Damage Resistance and Damage Reduction unless they inflict weapon-based damage. However, magic can still be avoided by hiding behind obstacles or dodging the projectiles¡±, the first window was rather large, detailing plenty of information on magic. ¡°Spells Known: 1st - Flame, Lightning. Alterations Known: Shot.¡± The second window was smaller, giving the options to look at the individual parts on a new window due to the words looking similar to the hyperlinks that Logan was used to. ¡°Only two spells huh? Well, I am only level 1. If I am a hybrid class I probably start with fewer spells¡±, Logan surmised as he moved away from the crater, slumping down against a nearby tree. Looking around his immediate vicinity, trying to rest his eyes and his mind from the words of the windows, though the windows continued to follow his gaze, Logan saw he was in a small clearing amongst a forest of sorts. Tall brown-bark trees with lush green canopies. While the leaves were numerous and thick, creating a lovely green picture, the sky could be seen up on high. A large expanse of clear light-blue with slowly shifting white clouds. ¡°If I wasn''t living in a city, this would probably look real close to the countryside. Well, I guess ¡®lived¡¯ is the proper term now¡±, Logan thought, collecting himself and trying to accept he was no longer close to home. ¡°System, show me Flame and Lightning, Shot while you''re at it¡±, Logan commanded his program. Three windows popped up with the information that Logan asked for, reading over it a few times Logan''s eyes darted from left to right, his head shifting a bit to follow the windows when they were being unruly with his vision. ¡°Could do with some more details, System, what does ¡®Minor¡¯ damage mean?¡± ¡°Minor damage is the second lowest form of damage amount from spells, it normally includes a base value and then adds in your casting class level and a portion of your casting attribute.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s any higher than my knife¡­ that damage could kill me in 1 hit if it rolled high enough! My Intelligence was only a 10, so I won¡¯t add much from that, but if I failed that Agility save, I''d be dead from max, that''s if 0 HP means death here¡±, Logan was quite shaken in his mind, cursing at the fact he had slapped himself so hard earlier. ¡°System, can you make these windows stop following my gaze? Have them just in set positions around my body?¡± Logan asked the program within his head. ¡°Preference saved, information windows will now no longer follow Logan''s eyesight¡±, another window popped up, confirming Logan''s command. Testing it out immediately, Logan turned his head and to his delight the windows stayed where they were, allowing him to look around without obstructions. Wanting to see how they reacted further, Logan stood up and started to walk around, the windows stayed in the same spot where they appeared, if he turned around they were at the back of his head as well as following him as he moved away. ¡°That''ll help when I need to look at something other than windows¡±, Logan thought, being able to admire the locale a bit more. ¡°I better not wander too far till I get this all sorted out, considering my magic can possibly one-shot me. System, show me Essence Absorption and Spell Absorption¡±, Logan moved back to the tree he was sitting against, getting back to the floor to read further into his abilities. Two windows appeared, holding the most text so far of all the previous windows. Logan read over the windows for a while, making sure he understood them fully. ¡°So this is where the ¡®thief¡¯ comes into play. I''m not overly fond of the killing aspect of Essence Absorption, if it comes down to it could I do that? Is it right if they tried to kill me first? Another hurdle I have to overcome when the time comes. Those percentages at the bottom of Spell Absorption are most likely the probability that the skill is successful against those spell levels, 1st has a pretty high chance but it drops off a cliff the higher spells I try it against¡±, Logan crossed his arms, formulating plans or events where he could use his class skills. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°System, what is mastery?¡± Logan asked his program. A new window appeared, removing the previous windows, except for his status, as the program decided Logan had his fill of those. ¡°Mastery is your efficiency in using a certain skill or spell, you gain mastery when you do tasks repeatedly that include the associated skill or when studying the spell. For example, climbing a tree will grant you mastery for your Climb skill, or reading a magical tome on Flame will grant you mastery in that spell. Limitations are in place for each task, halting ¡®easy¡¯ actions from granting too much mastery. With enough mastery you increase your tiers in the skills and spells, granting additional effects, higher chances of effect, or increased effects¡±, reading over the new window carefully, Logan''s head was filled with grinding tactics he used in older RPGs. ¡°So I am rewarded for training essentially, I wonder if it''s quick to gain. I don''t plan on staying here for too long though, so I may not see any tier increases. System, what would happen to Flame if it became tier 2?¡± Logan realised he was getting too comfortable in this situation, he didn''t know how hostile this world was, nor if there were any detrimental effects for staying here too long. ¡°We cannot give you details on how any particular tier will affect your skills and spells¡±, a window popped up, giving a somewhat harsh reply, one of the few negative responses that Logan had been given. ¡°No luck there, this System has limiters in place, maybe if I increase my Intelligence I can get more info later, speaking of. System, explain my attributes¡±, Logan was displeased but he sought to make the best of the situation. ¡°Strength defines the damage of your physical attacks as well as your accuracy, it affects any action that would use strong muscles like lifting objects. Agility defines your damage with ranged weaponry and swift blades as well as your accuracy, it affects any action that would require lithe movements. Constitution defines your maximum HP, it affects any action that requires a resilient body. Intelligence defines the damage you deal with your spells, it affects any action that would require intellect, at certain intervals it also increases the information and depth of your S.Y.S.T.E.M, for other classes it would affect maximum MP and additional spell slots. Wisdom defines the number of additional skill points you are awarded, it affects any action that would make use of a tactical mind. Charisma defines your ability at interacting with NPCs and creatures, it does not affect other PCs.¡± ¡°You currently have 6 attribute points to spend amongst your attributes¡±, another large window with text appeared, leaving ample time for Logan to wrap his head around it all. ¡°Very similar to games I''ve played, not a particular one comes to mind though, it seems to mash designs of several pieces of media. Increasing Con would put my mind at ease with my HP but if I increased Int I could be able to one-shot enemies that aimed to damage me. It doesn''t look like I have to distribute these points immediately but it''s probably best I do it right now¡±, Logan''s plans continued to get more complex as more information was given to him from his System. ¡°System, what are the HP values of the other classes?¡± Logan was inspired, wondering if he could get a good base for his current standing against other classes. ¡°From lowest to highest: Sorcerers and Wizards have 6 HP, Devouts have 8 HP, Rogues have 10 HP, Fighters have 12 HP, and finally Knights have the highest at 14 HP. These values are given at each level and are adjusted based on your Constitution attribute. To compare, a Spellthief has 8 HP¡±, continuing to lack much in the way of emotion, another window popped up to answer Logan''s query. ¡°System, what are NPCs and do they have access to the Spellthief class?¡± Logan realised something the System had said earlier, it had differentiated NPCs and creatures. ¡°An NPC is a Non-Player Character, these people have lived on Avanar for their entire life, they have no connection to a S.Y.S.T.E.M nor are they chosen by a higher power like a PC. NPCs are restricted to the classes: Devout, Fighter, Knight, Rogue, Sorcerer, and Wizard. The class of an NPC is normally given at birth though some can train into them from being classless¡±, the window replied, though this one sparked a bit of dread in Logan and another question. ¡°System, are there other PCs? And what is a PC?¡± Logan was hoping to find others in his situation, maybe he could find more answers that way. ¡°We cannot divulge any information about other PCs. PCs are Player Characters chosen by the ones above and below to enter into this world, any reasonings for this are not within our current database¡±, the window responded, Logan thought ¡°That isn''t a no, if anything it kinda seems like there are others, just that my System isn''t allowed to tell me¡±. ¡°Since I have 6 points available I could put 2 each into Agility, Constitution, and Intelligence. If I am a hybrid, my stats should reflect that too. Just have to pray they also increase with level. Status¡±, Logan''s thoughts slowed down a bit, he hoped to become more methodical in his early stages to not make too many mistakes. The status window popped back up, and to test it out further Logan pressed onto the window with his finger, tapping the three attributes he wanted to increase two times each. Just like a normal touchscreen, the attributes took his input and changed to 11 then 12. ¡°Huh, neat.¡± A smaller text window popped up in front of Logan''s status screen, ¡°Confirm attribute distribution?: Yes. No.¡± Giving a nonchalant keypress, Logan confirmed with a tap of the yes option. As the smaller window disappeared Logan''s status screen shook slightly as it calculated the changes, his HP seeing the biggest shift as it went from 7/8 to 11/12. ¡°So 1 point into Con is worth 2 HP, seems a good trade considering my class HP¡±, Logan felt rewarded for his choice immediately. With so much information thrown at him in a short while Logan started to feel exhausted, at least mentally. ¡°It''s like being back at university¡±, he thought to himself as he stood up once more, starting to walk around the clearing a bit to look for any noticeable paths. ¡°The last tutorial portion is that of skills, are you ready to complete it?¡± another window appeared without prompt as Logan paced the area. ¡°Finally, I can get out of this forest without windows assaulting me. Sure, System, skills¡±, Logan thought, hoping to finish his introductory training. A final window appeared, this one being the biggest so far, larger than his status window. Unlike the other windows, the skills window had 2 tabs at the top left reading ¡°Class Skills¡± and ¡°Skills of Life¡±. The first window, that being class skills, had a multitude of darkened hexagons with images within each one, some having lines branching off to other hexagons. Two of the hexagons were lit up, Logan quickly recognising them as Spell Absorption and Essence Absorption, neither had any linked skills. ¡°That''s a lot of skills¡±, he thought. As Logan looked over the class skills window, another one popped up in front. ¡°Class skills require you to spend skill points to unlock, or learn them via the completion of class tomes. Many of these skills improve the innate abilities of your class whereas others are crucial to playing your class efficiently. As a hybrid class, you have access to a few skills from both Wizard and Rogue, alongside special skills relating to Spellthief. You can immediately improve a skill by 1 tier by spending a skill point on that class skill, though many can progress with training and repeated uses¡±. ¡°I''ll have to give this a thorough read later on, but it''s a bit much to start, let''s have a look at the other tab¡±, Logan pressed the other tab to swap over to it. The window swiped to the left, replacing class skills with skills of life. Similarly, this tab contained countless darkened hexagons with images, another window popping up in front again. ¡°Skills of Life, often shortened to SKoL, are skills relating to everyday life skills. This encompasses crafting skills, movement skills, and other skills not directly combat or class-related. You can unlock SKoLs by undertaking a task that would use said skill, for example climbing a tree would unlock the Climb skill. If you cannot figure out the activation method you can instead spend a skill point to unlock the skill. Unlike class skills, you cannot increase your tiers of mastery in SKoLs by spending additional skill points. Once a SKoL reaches its highest tier, you are refunded your spent skill point to unlock it if one was used¡±, Logan read over the window, feeling a bit relieved ¡°Lenient, I like it, though it is a long-term investment and reward it seems¡±. Just like the class skills, Logan felt a bit overwhelmed for choice ¡°I can''t make a decision on the spot, it doesn''t seem like they are going to be required right now, I''ll hold off until something comes up or I can sit down to read over a few of these¡±, Logan thought as he tried to close the window with his arm, instead, he only pushed it around or phased through it. ¡°System, can you add closing buttons to windows? An X in the top-right or something¡±, Logan commanded his System, and immediately an X appeared where he required it. ¡°User setting confirmed, all windows will now contain an exit button in the top-right. You may also command that windows be closed by stating which window or all windows¡±, a small window popped up and disappeared as soon as Logan read it. ¡°That''ll work better with me since I''m used to closing windows like that, though it may look a bit strange so I should try and think the commands rather than wave my hands around since the System said others can''t access my information. System, can other people see these windows?¡± Logan thought, and was quickly replied with a small window ¡°Only you can see your windows, Logan¡±. ¡°Beginning tutorial complete, archiving information. If you wish for a refresher all you need to do is ask. Displaying quest window¡±, a short window appeared, Logan was a bit annoyed at this point with another window coming at him, though when it disappeared the following window was a bit more upsetting. ¡°So, I AM going to get commanded, no leisurely journey back home. Surviving is pretty simple, at least I don''t have to go through hoops to start. That failure outcome is concerning though, I mean if I don''t survive I die anyway, but that must mean that I can actually die here and the way it''s worded seems permanent¡­ System, what happens when I die here?¡± Logan dreaded the response his System would give. ¡°If a PC dies within Avanar an ally can revive them with magic, but if your corpse is left for more than 7 days you will stay dead and have your consciousness terminated. Death occurs when your HP reaches a negative number equal to -10 or your class level, whichever is highest¡±, a window returned, without any signs of remorse. ¡°Shit, this is real. I could die here¡±, Logan felt sick to his stomach, of course, he could have died to disease or by getting hit by a truck back in his world, but now he was in a world probably full of monsters or people who wanted to gut him for his equipment. It all felt too close to him now. His knees felt weak, but enough strength was held within them to allow him to run to a nearby tree to throw up at its roots. ¡°System¡± Logan hacked out, trying to speak through the vomit in his throat, ¡°System, how likely is it I will die here?¡± he continued to speak out loud, losing any reasoning for thinking his commands and questions. ¡°Quite, you are currently in a forest, monsters tend to prowl amongst foliage or stalk prey species¡±, again a window responded without remorse, basically confirming that Logan was in danger. ¡°People!¡± Logan thought, ¡°I need to find a safe place!¡± his mind raced, going into a self-preservation frenzy. ¡°System, where is the nearest town? Do I have a map at all?¡± Logan began to speak louder, not exactly shouting but not hiding his voice either. ¡°You do not know of any nearby settlements, opening your current map¡±, a window countered, with another larger window popping up, though its contents were bare. A wide-open and empty space of dark-blue, and in the middle of it all was a speck of green and a golden dot, a key on the right of the map noted that the dot represented Logan. ¡°Fat lot of good that does, it just shows the forest I am in!¡± he cursed in his head. ¡°I need to get to higher ground, but there''s just a bunch of trees around¡±, Logan thought, looking around for any signs of civilization. Finally, his head centred on the tree in front of him, its branches creating a path to its top, his brain clicked as he remembered his days as a youth climbing trees as well as hoping that because climbing is a skill it¡¯d be easier in this world. Almost jumping to the tree, Logan lept for the first nearby foothold he could find and tried to climb the tree. Finding purchase in a small nook of the tree, Logan pulled upwards, kicking his foot into the side of the tree to make another dent. As he tried to climb, a window popped up to the side noting he had gained the Climb skill, but he ignored it as he shouted ¡°Close it damn it¡±. It was slow, but Logan was able to ascend the tree, it was almost as if it was designed for climbing. Slipping here or there caused Logan to exclaim out loud ¡°Shit! Fuck!¡±. With his anger and fear growing he moved his hand to his sheathed dagger, flicking off the strap that kept his blade still he swung his dagger out and stabbed it into the tree''s trunk. With the aid of a knife, Logan climbed faster, finding branches hastened him further, his goal set as the top of the tree came closer and closer.
Several minutes passed as Logan climbed the tall tree, finally, he had reached its canopy, a mess of branches and leaves, but each branch was a great platform to push upward. Forcing his way up, his head erupted through a brush of leaves as he could finally peer above the tree. Overseeing the scenery, Logan saw that the forest he was within wasn''t overly large, possibly a mile or two, around the forest were open plains of grass and from here he could make out what seemed to be a dirt road. Following the road with his eyes, Logan could see smoke rising into the skies off in the distance. ¡°There, it''s quite far, but I could hunker down there. All I need is some safety to formulate a better plan, get better gear, or maybe team up with someone. All I could wish for would be another PC, someone who can answer more of my questions that the damn System can''t¡±, Logan saw salvation, if for a moment he was happy again, but he saw quite the journey was before him. Sweat covered Logan, not having climbed a tree since he was a teenager and never one this tall. He hadn''t realised it just yet, but his body could do much more than it could back in his world, though with fear and adrenaline filling his insides he had other matters to worry about. Making a mental note of the direction, Logan started to descend the tree, using his knife more liberally as the descent felt more dangerous than going upwards.
Minutes passed as Logan landed on the floor again with a thud, he quickly sheathed his dagger, not noticing the scratches and damage he had dealt it from the climb. Turning around he motioned his hands in a sort of directing manner, pointing them both in the direction of the path ¡°That way¡±, he thought, starting his jog. As he began to make haste out of the clearing and into the thicker forest, his vision became tunnelled into one goal, so much so he didn''t pay as much attention to his surroundings. Leaving the clearing, the trees hid much more than messy dirt and grass floors, it hid the brown-furred creature with saliva-covered fangs and piercing grey eyes that had set on its next meal, one that was covered in sweat leaving quite the scent behind. --- *** --- Chapter 2 - A Taste of Battle Logan jogged forwards passing by trees and bushes, his legs grazing against leaves and shrubberies. Either thanks to his new status as a PC, or that of his leather garb, he didn''t feel much pain from the contact. His clothing was already soaked in sweat from his climbing adventure of the tall tree for his scouting effort, and it was getting even more so with his jog to the dirt road he had spotted. As a stark contrast to his entry into this world his vision was no longer full of artificial computer windows, a sight he was sick of, even though he had already thrown up earlier. His vision was now full of greens and browns, if he had the time to spare he would notice his clothing camouflaged well with the forested area. With a hasty step, Logan pushed on through the forest though it seemed to have no end, his estimate of one or two miles possibly an understatement. His tunnel-vision to the dirt path meant he could get there quicker, however, it betrayed his attention to his safety. Prowling behind him, picking up speed with its four paws, was a brown wolf. Its grisly maw dripping with saliva and blood, the wolf was catching up to an unsuspecting Logan. Snaps and breaks of twigs were unheard by Logan, the wolf getting careless as it got closer to its next meal. Pushing on a nearby tree, Logan sped up a bit as his head turned to look at the tree he was using as a platform, a choice he would soon be thankful for as he was able to catch a glimpse of his pursuer at the edge of his vision. Whipping his head around, the brown-blur catching his attention, he saw a leaping and sprinting brown wolf charging him down. ¡°Where the hell did that come from? Now is not the time for a wolf to be hunting me down!¡± Logan''s thoughts started to widen once more, including his survival against a wolf with his goal of the dirt road. Picking up his own pace to a sprint, Logan started to leap over bushes and kick-off tree trunks to aid in vaulting debris. Looking back again, he saw the wolf was still reducing the distance between them. ¡°This is a bunch of crap, I gotta stop it¡±, Logan tried to think of a means of attack whilst still running, then an idea popped into his head. Raising his hand to his eye level, still sprinting, he exclaimed the word ¡°Flame!¡± though sadly he was only met with another window to his side. ¡°You have not prepared the Flame spell today¡±, the window read, as Logan tried not to stumble to the floor as he did three things at once. ¡°I didn''t prepare anything today, you just dropped me here. Fine, whatever¡±, Logan''s irritations mounted higher. ¡°Lightning!¡± Logan shouted again, this time his eyes lighting up in delight as well as from the light shone from the electricity forming from his wrist to his fingers. Dancing sparks of lightning flowed around his right hand, charging up to his fingertips and exploding in a display of power. The lightning continued to shift in his hand, ¡°What else did I need to do? Right! Alterations!¡± he thought, wondering why the lightning stayed dormant in his hand. Throwing his hand back, twisting his body so that he could have his side face the approaching wolf, Logan aimed at the charging monster. ¡°Shot!¡± he shouted the final word in his casting, the lightning sparking in delight with the command. Flowing quickly to his fingertips and shooting out at a ridiculous speed, the lightning arced, sparked, and forked around until it found purchase in the face of the wolf. The lightning hit dead into the wolf''s head, exploding somewhat and forming around the lupine''s body until dissipating. Injured, the wolf slowed for a second in the recoil of the blast. Shaking its head and body it jumped forward, returning to its sprint. ¡°Bloody hell, what is it going to take to kill you?¡± Logan shouted, turning his body to continue his retreat. As he pulled his right side back in line, facing forward, his right foot caught an unruly root. Trapping the top of his foot, Logan was pulled downwards, his shoulder and head hitting the ground. Rolling over in the tumble Logan was able to steady himself and return to a standing position continuing his run. While he was upright again, he had lost a big gap, more than what he had gained from attacking the wolf. ¡°I hope I have more of those spells left, the status said I have 3 slots¡±, Logan thought as he brought his hand up again, chanting the word once more ¡°Lightning!¡± With sparkling energy, electricity formed in his hand again, though Logan had to surmount more debris and trees before being able to fire it. Turning to face the wolf once more, Logan was about to fire his spell but the wolf had closed the distance, in a massive leap the wolf went face-first at Logan. With an opened maw the wolf chomped down hard at Logan whose hand was raised, the fangs of the wolf dug deep into Logan as he winced in pain and exclaimed ¡°Argh! Fuck¡±. The wolf pulled down hard, dragging Logan''s arm down and stopping his sprint, his left side jolting at the jarring stop of the movement. ¡°You want to eat something? Eat this! Shot!¡± Logan shouted at the wolf, realising his spell was still active. With a convulsing movement, the wolf was attacked from inside its mouth, the lightning travelling to the insides of its stomach. A loud yelp was heard from the wolf, smiling at his attack and his now free hand Logan saw a window had appeared just above his eye level. ¡°You have received 5 damage, current HP: 6/12¡±, the window was updating Logan on his HP, a sweat overcame his brow and his stomach churned. ¡°One hit and I am down to half my health?¡± he thought as he returned to his retreat from the wolf. Hurrying forwards, Logan lept over another fallen tree trunk and with that jump, he crashed through a wave of branches and leaves. Exploding out the other side, Logan had escaped the forested area, his feet skidding across the grassy plains. Kicking his left foot, Logan thrust himself on to continue his sprint, the injured wolf behind him quickly catching back up. A soft crunching of the grass under his boots, the thud of leather to mud, his heavy breathing, a cacophony of mundane sound filled this retreating encounter. Obviously enraged by Logan''s attacks and probably driven mad by the taste of blood, the wolf started to howl and bark at the human running away. Agonizing in pain, Logan tried to lift his right hand once more, though the deep fang wounds had made his hand much fainter in its control. Blood dripped down to his arm as he pulled his hand up, a wash of crimson painting the floor as he dropped his arm to his side. ¡°1 arm, 1 spell, this better drop that damn wolf or I might be finished before I even got started¡±, Logan thought, his options thinning out as the plains allowed the wolf to pick up speed. Raising up his left hand, Logan chanted a final time ¡°Lightning!¡± his hand ignited with sparks of blue as the last spell in his stock came to life. Looking back over his shoulder he could see the wolf was within a dozen feet or so, with a final chance in his grasp he flipped over into a fall, his back aimed to the floor, arm raised at the wolf behind him. As if time slowed, Logan''s aim lined up with the wolf, his eyes glinting against the forks of lightning. ¡°Shot!¡± he shouted, the lightning in his hand darting across the air towards the wolf that was preparing another lunge. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Erratic and destructive, the lightning spell carved through the space between Logan and the wolf until it struck itself within the raised chest of the creature. Encasing the wolf, the lightning encompassed its body, pinpricks of electric daggers marking its fur. A loud thud was let out as Logan''s back hit the grass floor, followed by another solid crush as the wolf supplanted the grass of the plains with its body. Rolling backwards, Logan stumbled around until he was able to level himself, pushing upwards to stop his movement with an outstretched leg and knee. Half-kneeling, Logan looked over to the wolf now sprawled over the plains in front of him. A twitch from its hind leg, black smoke slowly rising from its fur and opened mouth, Logan was unsure if it was truly dead or not. Slowly moving his left hand across his waist, Logan drew his dagger in anticipation. All of the tension in his body was released, however, when a piece of highlighted golden text with a black outline appeared above the corpse of the wolf. With a heavy sigh, Logan slumped his shoulders and used his left hand to brace himself on the grass below, his dagger laying flat underneath. ¡°All of my spells, for a single wolf? What kind of introduction is that?¡± he thought to himself. Slowly picking his body up, he felt the exhaustion of the run as well as the encounter rush over his body. His legs felt weak, though the bitten right hand felt much worse. A sharp stinging could be felt within the writing hand of Logan, looking at the wound it seemed to have closed up slightly and the bleeding had stopped on its own. Stumbling towards the wolf corpse, Logan gave it a swift kick to the head as if he were kicking a ball, ¡°That was my good hand!¡± he exclaimed to the lifeless being. As he kicked the wolf''s head one of its fangs came loose and flew to the side, prompting another window to appear to Logan''s side. ¡°Well, we''re not in combat anymore, what do you have to say now?¡± he thought, looking to the new window. ¡°Harvesting? I just kicked its head, I guess it''s because one of its fangs came loose, well let''s dig out the other, the window says I could sell them and I need the money¡±, Logan surmised as he bent down and grabbed ahold of the other large fang of the lupine and tugged it out. Moving over to the dislodged fang, Logan collected his loot for a total of two wolf fangs, inspecting them for a few seconds had another window appear. ¡°Wolf Fang: The fang of a wolf, sometimes used in the crafting of small daggers or tribalwear. Wolf fangs are used in some low-level magical trinkets. 2x shoddy¡±, the window gave a brief description of the fangs. ¡°Only shoddy huh, so half value. The odds are pretty stacked against me with this skill right now, but it''s better than nothing¡±, Logan thought as he put the fangs in his trouser pocket. Flipping the latch on his sheath, Logan locked away his dagger for later, he then looked over his right hand to make sure it still functioned by clenching as well as rolling his fingers. ¡°If this was back in my world, my hand would''ve been outta commission for a few weeks, but here, it''s usable in minutes. My HP probably helps with that, but I don''t want to fight anything else with only 6 HP left¡±, looking over his shoulder Logan could see the dirt road. ¡°At least I reached the road, gotta hope it''s safer, the System did say the forest held monsters, maybe they steer clear of civilization or roads to them¡±, Logan theorized as he moved to the dirt road, following it in the direction of the smoke he had seen earlier. Walking much slower than his jaunt through the forest, Logan found comfort in the dirt road as the sun up on high lit the world before him. A sprawling field on his left, a smaller field to the right, and forests on both sides. Looking to the dirt road beneath his feet, Logan could pick out other footprints alongside lines that were left by thin wheels. ¡°Seems this road is regularly travelled if I can see footprints still. Wagons or carts means either travelling salesmen or a larger group of people¡±, Logan pondered on the path he was taking as well as how long it would take to reach the end.
Some time passed as Logan followed the dirt road, the sun moved in the skies as the clouds shifted from right to left. Only the sound of the wind pushing the leaves combined with the chirping of birds could be heard. The peaceful atmosphere was slowly interrupted as Logan could make out the sound of creaking wood and the galloping of a horse. Turning his head around to peer over his shoulder, Logan could see an approaching cart. Sweeping his legs, Logan pulled to the side of the road a bit as he waved down the cart, while it wasn''t moving at breakneck speeds, Logan was too used to hailing cars. A driver returned the wave, a hearty swing of an arm from a stocky man whose arm hair was as dark as his beard. Stopping beside Logan, he looked up to the driver, who was quite the muscle-bound farmer. ¡°Excuse me, do you speak English?¡± Logan asked the driver. ¡°English? What is that, some sort of slang for bread, sir?¡± the man reacted, a look of bemusement across his face. ¡°That''s a yes, though it''s probably not called English here¡±, Logan thought to himself, annoyed at his blunder. ¡°Sorry, my head is a bit fuzzy, I had a run-in with a wolf not too long ago. Do you know where this road leads?¡± Logan asked, raising his wounded hand to show the farmer. ¡°Gosh, what a wound. Yessir, I am heading to Tinte right now, it''s at the far end of this here road. You fetching to hitch a ride? I got space at my side, sir¡±, offered the farmer, his eyes widening at the sight of Logan''s hand. ¡°If it''s no trouble, thank you¡±, Logan smiled at the kind farmer, moving around and pulling himself to sit beside the driver of the cart. Looking over the farmer, Logan saw him to probably be just under 6'' tall, dark brown body hair though bald at the head, his clothing shades of grey and white but marred by dirt. His skin was of a light tawny colour, most likely a tan from working in the hot sun. ¡°If you''re not from Tinte, where do you hail from?¡± the farmer inquired, as he pulled a piece of cloth from under the tarp that covered the back of his cart, handing it to Logan and motioning to wrap his hand in it. ¡°Nowhere, in particular, I travel a lot so I have no place to call home¡±, Logan lied with a smile on his face, taking the cloth he wrapped his hand tightly. ¡°Ah, to be young and full of vigour. You''ll be an adventurer then? No band with you?¡± the farmer questioned, cracking his reins to stir the horse onwards. ¡°I aim to be actually, was hoping to join up with a group.¡± ¡°Then Tinte''ll be the place for you. A small adventurer''s hall is housed there, they can set you right up. You got a place to stay while in town?¡± ¡°Not currently, no, the wolf took off with some of my stuff, and a lot of blood, so it might be hard to find lodging¡±, Logan began to weave his story further, hoping to pull on the kindness of the farmer to gain some more information or another helping hand. ¡°It''s settled then, you can bunker down with me tonight before I head-on, get yourself set up right!¡± the farmer offered, a beaming smile on his face as he gifted charity onto the stranger. ¡°If it isn''t too much trouble, thank you. My name''s Logan by the way¡±, replied the mischievous Spellthief, holding out his left hand for a shake. ¡°I''m Jrizan, nice to meet you, Logan¡±, Jrizan responded, clasping Logan''s good hand hard in a shake, Logan thanking his luck that handshakes still existed in this world. The cart continued on, its wood creaking accenting the rushing of the winds, birds chirping a song of victory for Logan as he slowly approached his next destination, the town of Tinte. --- *** --- Chapter 3 - A New Life in Avanar Riding along in the cart of Jrizan, a farmer from the village of Noma to the southeast, Logan was able to find a solid source of information about the new area he was within. Through what Logan was able to get from Jrizan, he was currently situated within the kingdom of Gauntlet, the capital sharing the same name, ruled by King Devis Lo. The town of Tinte was a good distance to the south of the capital, Noma being even more southeast. Jrizan was carting his most recent harvest to Tinte in the form of bread, savoury baked goods, and some vegetables. Logan snacked on one of his cinnamon-roll-like pastries, the taste was naturally sweet and filled Logan with the energy he lost when escaping the forest. Asking for the name and recipe, Logan was delighted to see it was added into a new window and subsequently his System. ¡°Noma Swanbread: A sweet pastry that is a mainstay treat of the village Noma. Using natural sugars of fruit as well as other locally-grown grain, the pastry is a healthy way to recover your energy. Recipe added¡±, bringing Logan back into the game designs of the world, the window informed him about the pastry even further. The long conversation with Jrizan allowed Logan to avoid some more pitfalls in conversation, but he could only ask so much without coming off as strange or otherworldly. ¡°It''s best if I don''t let people know about the System or PCs, I think. If my class is unique, people might experiment on me to find out more about it¡±, Logan thought, not wanting to become a lab rat for a medieval magister. When the conversation found lulls, Logan would look over his status and skills, with the main aim of planning for the future. His overuse of spells to kill a single wolf worried him, thoughts racing if he had made a mistake with his attribute distribution or that he should have chosen a skill to put his skill point into. Looking towards his equipment, Logan saw he had two pieces listed, a leather garb and a shoddy knife. ¡°System, show me my gear¡±, Logan thought, as two windows appeared, with a smaller one in front of them reading ¡°For any gear in your possession you can merely inspect them to get their information¡±. ¡°Real basic gear, the armour doesn''t do much, and this knife has real low numbers, is it much weaker compared to my magic? It''s a good thing my starting weapon is a swift blade, it''ll run off my Agility stat. If I can guess, I might add maybe 1 or 2 more damage to it, so it''s really a 2 to 4 in that case, I¡¯ll have to experiment between my knife and magic to see which packs more punch¡±, Logan started to count on his fingers to aid in the comparing of his attack options, having so many numbers to keep track of. He also noted the durability loss from using the knife to climb a tree. Next, he took the time to also inspect the window that popped up during his tree climb, calling it up from a ¡°History¡± function that noted any alerts in a list. ¡°Seems that tree climb and dash through the woods bumped up the Climb skill a bit, for now I don''t plan on going up any more trees but it could help down the line. There''s so many class skills and SKoLs to choose from, it''s hard to pick one. It kinda feels like a waste to spend any points on SKoLs due to me being able to unlock them through just using them. System, is there any sort of search option or recommended skills I could look at?¡± Logan''s theorising and searching only got him so far. ¡°Those options are not yet available to Logan¡±, a window replied to Logan, adding to the number of responses that were just ¡°no¡± or ¡°ask again later¡±. ¡°That doesn''t help too much when I only really get a brief description of what a skill is before I have unlocked it. Backstab just says it deals more damage to unsuspecting foes, whereas Identification says it uses my senses to identify creatures and objects, displaying their stats. If I knew the whole breadth of their use I could make a concrete choice. Since Identification is a SKoL it doesn''t list how to activate it besides that blurb. It would be a valuable skill to have, so I could gauge what enemies I should fight or flee from¡±, Logan was making slow progress into his skill research, not aided much from his System. A bump in the road suddenly caused the cart to jolt upwards, knocking Logan out of his trance of thought. Grabbing a hold of the side of the cart, Logan looked over to Jrizan who seemed unphased. ¡°I may just wait a bit longer before spending this skill point, maybe the adventurers have some idea of skills to give me a better insight¡±, Logan thought as he centred himself back into the cart seat. The long conversations held with Jrizan lead Logan to focusing on his next goal, after sorting out his injuries, to join up as an adventurer. The quest to survive he could easily do in a house, but it occurred to him that the quests might not stay so simple. With the aim of trying to complete more of the additional objectives, forming a party would allow him to gain strength in a faster and safer way.
Time passed on, a good hour in the comfort of a vehicle. Logan recovered his legs and hand in the happy company, Jrizan picking up the conversation every so often. While out of his comfort zone discussion wise, Logan was thankful to have something other than a program in his head to converse with. The sun started to hit the peak of the sky, and with it, the sight of the smoke in the distance became much closer. Peering over the dirt road, which became more solid and uniform, Logan could see the outskirts of the village Tinte. A short wooden palisade guarded the exterior of the village, watchtowers every hundred feet apart or thereabouts, manned by what looked like guardsmen with bows. Approaching from the southeast, the cart was coming up to a wide-open gate made of wood, guarded by 2 humans in breastplate armour, spears attached to their backs and poking above their heads. ¡°Ho, Noma goods coming through¡±, Jrizan raised his arm in a wave, shouting to the guards. The left guard gave a wave back then a thumbs up, signalling that the cart was fine to enter into the town. The sound of shuffling atop a nearby watchtower could be heard as a guard moved to the side at its perch. ¡°Ho, Jrizan, fair day to you, I hope you brought some darkbread. That last batch shut the kids up for days!¡± the guard shouted from up high down to the cart. Not stopping, Jrizan shouted back up. ¡°Yes! A good harvest was had, plenty of darkbread to go around. Bring your coppers on down after I get set up!¡± Jrizan looked back to his covered cart, making sure the tarp was still secured. Feeling a bit like a third wheel to the friendship shown between Jrizan and the locals, Logan shifted his gaze around the immediate vicinity. The guards could cause some damage and so Logan thought it best he didn''t stir up any ruckus. ¡°Map¡±, he thought to himself, pulling up his slowly filling-in virtual map, though it was now just a spec of green and a wiry line of brown, green, and a light grey finally ending up at the town of Tinte. ¡°At least I can backtrack if needed, but if that forest holds much more in the way of wolves I''ll steer clear¡±, Logan promised himself, hoping to stay in safety a bit longer. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Moving into the village proper, Logan saw several low-class structures made of mud, thatch, and wood, some more stable buildings leading into the central parts of town made of wood, stone, and brick. Several townsfolk were milling about, or NPCs as the System would call them. Unlike the program in his head, all these people seemed to be living, breathing, true to life humans. Dressed in cloth gowns, patchwork leather tunics and trousers, the villagers didn''t seem to have much money flowing around. The creaking and snaps of the wheels from the wagon started to slow, the metal screws and hinges squeaking as the vehicle came to a stop in the dirt. Jrizan pulled up his reins and tied them around the helm of the driver''s seat. ¡°This''s the first stop, I''m gonna be unloading the goods at this shop then heading off to my friend''s house to rest up. If you wanna go get that hand looked at there''s a small Devout building in the west part of town, newcomers get a free healing spell. After that, you can head off to the adventurers'' hall in the centre of town. The house we''re laying our heads at is close to the hall, has a creaky fence and a dog outside, you''ll see the cart there anyways¡±, Jrizan turned to Logan as he spoke, giving some pointing directions as he informed the starting Spellthief of the 3 places he''d go for the rest of the day. Sliding his body to the edge, the farmer hopped off the side of the cart, Logan followed in suit by getting off the opposite edge. His feet hitting the dirt floor, Logan took his first steps into a secure locale. ¡°A good enough base to return to, that Devout place is noteworthy¡±, Logan thought to himself. ¡°Thanks a lot, Jrizan, I''ll take a stroll around, see if I can get the lay of the land. See you tonight¡±, Logan said to his new friend, giving a wave with his good hand. Moving away from the cart, Logan looked back to see Jrizan unfurling the tarp, a shopkeeper exiting the nearby shop, dressed in brown overalls and a grey apron, his hair fraying a bit as if he had a blunderbuss backfire into his face.
Pressing on, Logan took the directions he was given, heading to the Devout building in the west part of town. Passing several buildings, Logan found the village becoming more stable and upper-class, the mud and thatch buildings disappearing behind the more wooden ones. Shops for clothes, weapons, potions, and more went by as Logan bee-lined for the Devout building. As well as established buildings, plenty of carpets and tents were set out on the streets, with merchants peddling anonymous wares at cheaper prices. Coming up to a larger building, showing off hues of white, gold, and red, Logan was sure this was the place of the Devouts. A large 6-fingered claw sign was set above the door, having Logan raise an eyebrow in intrigue. Since the door was wide-open, Logan stepped through it, making sure his boots were cleaned of mud at the stone slab before the doorframe. Making his way into the building, the hustle and bustle from outside was diluted by the sounds of humming, chants, and chatter between the Devouts and villagers. Beams of light shone in from tall windows, filling the hall with darkness-shattering light. Looking around, Logan could see more symbols relating to the 6-fingered claw, as his head scanned the room a tall woman approached him, standing at a solid 6''. Draped in a robe of white and red, the woman carried a long staff with intricately interlocked wood. Depictions of beasts were seen across her robe, the 6-fingered claw appearing at the top section near her neck. The only skin that Logan could see was that of her hands and head, a lovely shade of brown that was not marred by dirt like the other villagers, long auburn hair draped over her shoulders and down her back. Taking her left hand, she made a claw and moved it over her heart, bowing slightly to Logan, who felt completely out of place. ¡°Welcome to the church of Desma, I do not know you from Wallace, are you new to the town of Tinte?¡± the woman asked, an inviting tone to her voice without any sign of aggression. ¡°Uh, yeah, I''m new to Tinte, I was meaning to come here to become an adventurer. My friend advised me to come here about healing? I got mauled pretty bad by a wolf in the forest¡±, Logan responded, lifting his wounded right hand. ¡°Ah, a wound of battle with the grand forest. If it were to make one it''d be a wonderful battle scar. As you''re new we can offer a healing service free of charge, if you''re welcoming to an introduction of our deity?¡± the woman continued, preparing a sermon of some sort to entice Logan into a religion no doubt. Though Logan was curious, so he would accept. ¡°Yes, that''d be great. I was curious about the claw that''s all around here.¡± ¡°Wonderful, before we begin, my name is Marta, might I inquire as to yours?¡± the woman responded, waving her hand to a nearby pew for the two to sit at. Following Marta, Logan responded. ¡°Hello, Marta, I''m Logan¡±, Sitting at the pew, Logan made sure to rest his right hand on his leg. ¡°Well, Logan, the story of Desma is long and involved, so I shall give you an overview. Desma is the sire deity of the forest and its denizens, giving life to wolves, bears, and all manners of life that makes their home amidst the trees. From gifting them life, he gives them all the challenge of pride as well as a drive to prove themselves as the strongest beings. The teachings of Desma are deep-seated in the hunt, where civilized folks fight against the forest, whoever survives is to be rewarded for their achievement. We followers of Desma look after the hunters who return, mend their bodies and see them off to the hunt once more, though respect must always be paid to the forests¡±, Marta recited to Logan an abbreviated version of her faith, her hands moving to hold Logan''s right hand. ¡°I could get behind that, at least the respect part, the hunting was a bit too dangerous for my blood right now, considering the wolf took plenty of it.¡± ¡°The fact you survived is enough of a victory, though I must wonder, did you flee or did you kill the wolf challenger?¡± Marta asked, her bright aqua eyes locking with Logan, an intense interest easily recognisable. ¡°Yeah, I shot lightning right into its mouth when it bit down on me. It''s definitely dead¡±, Logan responded, ¡°Hopefully that''s a good answer, I don''t want to offend someone who can heal me¡±, he thought to himself. A smile appeared on Marta''s lips, the reply pleased her. ¡°Good, a hunter''s return is a wonder¡±, Marta lowered her head to look at Logan''s hand, her eyes closed as she began to chant. ¡°Powers above and below, heal your child of Avanar and close their wounds. Heal Grasp¡±, with her words a light shone from her enclosed hands, clasping around Logan''s injured one. With the healing taking place, a window appeared once more ¡°You have received 6 points of healing, current HP: 12/12¡±, with the words and the spell Logan felt in tip-top shape. Marta removed her hands to reveal a pristine looking hand, if not for the slight holes in Logan''s sleeve. ¡°Quick work, and effective. I wonder if that 6 healing was what she did or if it was capped by my maximum health?¡± Logan pondered, raising his hand to look it over. ¡°Thank you, Marta. It''s as good as new. What is the normal price for a healing spell like this?¡± Logan asked, making a note of a service he would more than likely need to take full advantage of. ¡°The heal spell costs 1 silver piece per cast, other spells have varying costs based on their level and preparation¡±, Marta returned, standing up from the pew. Logan was startled a bit, though he had no money to speak of so he didn''t have a fine grasp on how expensive that was. Clenching his fist and curling his fingers he stood with Marta. ¡°Well, that should be all I need for now. I am off to the adventuring hall. I would say I hope to see you again, but that would mean I was injured again which I aim to avoid, but it was a nice meeting nonetheless¡±, Logan looked to Marta, a thankful smile across his face. ¡°Till next time, Logan¡±, Marta made the same claw motion to her heart and bowed slightly. Seeing Logan off, Marta returned to the interior of the building as Logan exited to the streets once more.
With a renewed vigour, Logan made his way down the dirt streets, passing the shops quickly as he didn''t want to get too distracted. His hurried steps taking him through to an even nicer part of town with some form of stone-paved roads, it seemed like Tinte was in the process of updating their paths. Stopping outside the large establishment, Logan was before a 3-floored building, a large sign of a crossed sword and staff noting it to be the adventurers'' hall. Windows peered into the interior of the building showing off several tables and adventurers drinking, chatting, or formulating plans. ¡°This is the place, time to find some allies, and maybe another PC. I don''t have any spells left for the day so I best not start any trouble¡±, Logan thought, preparing himself to enter into the hall. Making sure his clothes were in order and his dagger was locked, Logan stepped up the wooden stairs to the wide-open double doors and entered the adventurers'' hall of Tinte. --- *** --- Chapter 4 - Troubles of a Spellcaster Entering into a large open hall, Logan found himself within the adventurers'' hall of Tinte. Unlike the villagers out on the streets, the people within the hall were much more burly, toned, as well as better clothed. Tall individuals suited in metal armour, well-off roguish types whose weapons shone with silver or golden hilts, all of which were either freshly cleaned or show little signs of tatter. Logan looked a bit out of place, though his gear was what he had started with and the adventurers here were most likely veterans at their craft. Not many paid attention to Logan''s entrance, and the ones that did just gave him a passing glimpse as he blocked some of the light in the doorway. While he didn''t want too much attention, Logan couldn''t help but feel a bit ignored. A smell of ale alongside a hint of blood and sweat gave the hall a brutish scent, accented by the aesthetic of the adventurers. Walking across the dark-brown wooden floors, Logan approached a large counter at the far end of the hall, flanked on either side of which were staircases leading to the upper floors. Several bannister rails could be seen above, creating a watcher''s perch for older adventurers to look down on the newcomers. The counter had 2 others standing at it, talking to another member of staff. The closest gentleman was the shorter of the two, around 5''11", his leather clothes seemingly hanging off his body with tailcoats. A meld of blue and black shades painted the man as a unique individual amongst the darker forest shades of colours the other adventurers had designed on their clothes. A hood was hanging at the back of his neck, revealing his medium-length ebony hair, 2 pointed ears poking backwards through it. Logan couldn''t see the man''s face, so wasn''t sure he was even human. His compatriot was a slightly taller woman, around 6'', her plate armour reflecting a bit of the sunlight bleeding in from the windows. Gold-coloured leather straps held it all together and covered the gaps of her defence. A large sword was strapped to her back, its hilt peeking over her shoulder. Her face was marked with scars but did little to draw attention away from her orange eyes and flowing fallow coloured hair. Overhearing their discussion on his approach, Logan could pick out a few phrases, ¡°Their hold is far north-east, icy bastards block off any that go inside. We ain''t fool enough to take that on, don''t even ask¡±, the pointy-eared man said, in a sort of raspy voice. ¡°It''s bad enough the journey takes 10 days, but the pay barely covers the cost of our lives out there¡±, the woman continued. Logan jolted his head as he realised he was staring in their direction. ¡°It''s about a quest, I shouldn''t pry right now, I have other matters to deal with. 10 days is far out of my reach right now anyways¡¯, Logan rationalised to himself. ¡°If my current quest is to just survive, I could settle down with a job here and not venture out. That reward gets me worried though, it''s gearing me up, I doubt the quests will stay so ¡®easy¡¯ for me¡±, Logan debated with his thoughts as well as his plans, he wanted to be prepared for anything. Standing at the far left side of the counter, away from the 2 adventurers, Logan found himself in front of another staff member. She was quite a bit shorter than Logan, only 5''4", almost a whole foot below Logan''s stature. Her clothes were clean and reminded Logan of a mechanics outfit, dark-brown and dark-blue overalls with a blue shirt underneath, the front having a sort of apron design and several pieces of parchment sticking out from the multitude of pockets. A quill was set behind her ear, holding back her long dirty-blonde hair, revealing her freckled face and magenta eyes. ¡°Welcome to the Tinte Adventurers'' Hall, do you have a hunter''s signet?¡± the woman asked, a happy if a bit forced-hyper tone coming from her, she showed signs of overwork but was pushing through. Logan saw she was eyeing up his chest, looking for something that wasn''t there. ¡°No I don''t, I actually came here to sign up as an adventurer¡±, he corrected the woman, looking down at his chest to see if something was wrong. ¡°Alright, I can sort that out for you, let me get the papers and contract¡±, the woman replied, kneeling slightly as she brought out 3 pieces of parchment from under the counter. Moving the parchment to Logan, the woman also handed over a quill and inkwell. ¡°We''re having 2 assessments and a reassessment tomorrow, so we can fit you in around 10am if you''re free? Your fee can be paid to your assessor¡±, she continued as Logan picked up the writing materials. ¡°Sorry, I wasn''t told about a fee, how much is it?¡± ¡°Ah, that''s alright, it is 1 silver piece during your assessment. It pays for the service and your signet¡±, she answered Logan, slightly annoyed at the question. ¡°Damn, the System said it was 10 copper to a silver? I have no money whatsoever, I wonder if I can pay later or give an item as trade¡±, Logan thought back to his perusal of the windows during his journey here, hitting a wall he wasn''t anticipating. ¡°Sorry, I don''t have the fee right now. Is it possible to pay later or could I hand over items in trade? I have 2 wolf fangs on me.¡± ¡°Hmm. You can hand those to our component trader, they''re next door, they buy up any materials gathered from monsters or the land. 2 wolf fangs should cover it if they''re common quality, could always ask the trader for an advance on your next hand in.¡± ¡°Thanks, I''ll do that¡±, Logan said as he picked up the parchment and quill, taking them to a nearby table that was free to fill it all out. Going through the parchments, Logan had to write out quite a biography. Asking his name, origin, skills, class, spellforce or slots, creatures hunted, the documents wanted a good overview of his capabilities. As the System had explained earlier, NPCs were restricted to certain classes and the papers didn''t note any outside of those few. ¡°I guess the best pick would be a Wizard, since a Rogue can''t cast spells¡±, Logan reasoned as he ticked the box of the class that closely resembled him. He left his origin blank, selecting a box set as ¡°traveller¡±. While Logan filled in his forms, his head was down as if studying for exams yet again, cutting off his awareness to most of the hall. Unbeknownst to him was an onlooker, dressed in dark grey robes with scattered stars and moons all across it. Under a drawn hood, glowing azure eyes could be seen lighting up a smile. The eyes dimmed as if a spell had ended, and the robed man became inconspicuous once more.
Minutes went by before Logan was finished with his essay, ending off with a signature on the contract portion. Standing up, he went to hand it back to the same woman he had spoken to earlier. ¡°All done here, miss?¡± he said with a questioning tone as he didn''t catch her name earlier. ¡°Ruben¨¦, most people call me Ru¡±, Ru answered to Logan, taking his filled-in forms. ¡°Oh, a slotter, it may be a while before a party will accept you¡±, Ru continued with a small sadness to her smile. ¡°Why is that? Are spellcasters not overly wanted in parties?¡± Logan asked, puzzled at the occurrence. ¡°Spellcasters in games are normally a must in parties. Buffs, high damage spells, what isn''t there to love?¡± he ruminated. ¡°Well, low-rank spellcasters are normally only good for a few kills a day, their spellforce or slots run out too quickly. Most parties only gather them for quests that require the death of a larger or more dangerous monster. You''re lucky to be a slotter since you have more starting spells, but since you seem to be on the low end for the number of slots you might see a lack of application opportunities¡±, Ru acknowledged, sorting the papers and filing them under her desk with a paperweight of a staff. ¡°I better increase my rank quickly then¡±, Logan said quickly, angered slightly by the situation. ¡°I guess there is truth to that, I only have 3 spells a day, parties probably go far afield, I won''t be much help in long quests¡±, he considered, reconciling the facts laid to him. ¡°Well, the record for getting rank 2 is 27 days, if you think you can beat that you can try to. Slotters can often get a few kills a day on their own.¡± ¡°27 days?! But I got a third of my required XP with 1 wolf kill. Do NPCs not get as much XP as a PC, or is it because of them grouping up?¡± he thought, the rug pulled from under him. ¡°I got tough competition then hey¡±, he returned, trying to hide his surprise. ¡°Jrizan mentioned rank too, it seems to be this world''s term for level.¡± Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°We shall see you tomorrow at 10am then, Logan, please make sure you have your listed spells prepared¡±, Ru said, looking back down to his forms to find his name. Logan smiled, noticing his rudeness in not offering his name in return to Ru. Saying his farewells, Logan moved away from the counter, again he overheard conversations from nearby adventurers. ¡°A new slotter? We don''t need more layabouts¡±, said one. ¡°He could be good against that ogre down south, ya think?¡± retorted another. ¡°I don''t like the idea of being used so, maybe I should pick my party slowly. Hopefully, there are some easy quests I can pick up to increase my level¡±, Logan considered. Leaving the adventurers'' hall, Logan quickly moved to the building on its right side, or rather his left. A much smaller complex, with only a ground floor, the establishment kept the length of the hall. The doorframe had a wooden sign of a fang and eye placed atop a fur hide. A few people were going in and out of the entranceway, both adventurers and normal townsfolk. Noticing a gap in the bypassers, Logan slipped into the shop. A wave of smells hit Logan, from oils and potions to blood and flesh. People were browsing over cleaned components of creatures including fangs, furs, and eyes. A small line had formed, leading up to the counter, grabbing his slot, Logan found he had 3 people ahead of him. With time at hand, Logan looked over the items around the shop, though without Identification he didn''t see any details. Browsing his status and skill windows, he waited his turn.
Logan''s research was cut off as a voice called out to him ¡°next customer please¡±, a gruff tone drew the in-process adventurer to the counter. ¡°Hello, I just signed up with the adventurers'' hall next door but I need a silver to pay for my assessment and fees. Ru at the counter said I could sell my wolf fangs here to get the money to pay for it?¡± Logan put forward to the man at the counter. The man, who''s leaning over the table didn''t help his height, peered up to Logan with beady grey eyes that matched his grey hair and beard. ¡°Ah, a youngin¡±, the older man''s head jeered upwards, placing a hand on his glasses he rotated the lenses slightly. ¡°Hurh, not that young in fact. You a late bloomer, sir? That face resembles a quarter-man and not a tyke¡±, he continued, showing his ability to discern the qualities of what he looked at. ¡°Yes, I am 26, my uh, my magic took a while to get the hang of.¡± ¡°Alright, well, you may pass the damn 1-week death timer of new sluggers. Hand over yer fangs then, let''s see em¡±, rotating his glasses back, the man sat back into a chair behind him. ¡°Sure, but what did you mean about a 1-week death timer?¡± Logan inquired, wondering if the 7-day quest he was given was a normal thing for NPCs. Waiting on a reply, he placed his 2 wolf fangs on the table. ¡°That? Oh, just something folks noticed over time. A good 25-30% of all new adventurers die in their first week of signing up. Thinking their class can rule the world, they go off on a quest and get offed themselves in the process¡±, picking up the fangs, the man looked over them, using a small brush to clean the dirt off. ¡°So, it might be related, but probably just people being overconfident¡±, Logan surmised. ¡°Tha name''s Osc''n, yer best be knowing it if you''re bringing me goodies¡±, Osc''n spoke as he inspected the fangs, licking his finger as he flicked through a small book. ¡°Logan, nice to meet you, Osc''n¡±, the worried Spellthief returned. Osc''n looked over the two fangs for a minute or so before he put down his instruments. ¡°Well, Logan, these aren''t the best I had my eyes look at, all I can offer is 8 copper total¡±, Osc''n presented to Logan. ¡°2 copper off, damn¡±, the teased caster cursed. ¡°Any chance you could round it to a silver? I lost most of my stuff to the wolf I got these off.¡± ¡°Pah, no, I don''t think you did. You''re the umpteenth one to try that line on me. If you want an advance, I''ll give you your silver, but you will owe me 5 copper down the line, deal?¡± Osc''n put forward, an arm raised to an offering of a shake. ¡°Can you make it 4 copper?¡± ¡°Hah. Pah hah hah! I like you, Logan, fine, 4 copper it is¡±, Osc''n accepted, clasping Logan''s hand in agreement. As their hands locked a window appeared to the side of the inspector''s face. ¡°The bargaining with my boss has paid off here, it seems, this skill will be useful to get better gear¡±, Logan praised himself, another skill unlocking in his status. From a combination of getting a copper off and a new skill, Logan smiled. ¡°Stop yer grinning, this is a one-off for ya. Bring me some great looking goodies you hear?¡± Osc''n continued as he flipped a silver coin over the table to Logan. Picking it up, Logan pocketed his first income, a small piece of text appearing saying he had gained 1 silver piece. ¡°Thanks for this, Osc''n, I''ll make sure to bring you plenty of components from my quests¡±, Logan appreciated the inspector, heading to the door of the building. A shout from the back of the shop echoed to Logan. ¡°Next time bring tha wolf''s hide!¡± Osc''n finished. ¡°I didn''t think of the wolf''s fur, though I didn''t really want to stick around that long¡±, Logan deliberated. Exiting the inspector''s shop, Logan thought it best to get some rest, the sun starting to fall on the horizon, colouring the village shades of orange and light-brown. ¡°This place is quite big, probably a couple of hundred people. After these 7 days have passed it may be best to move to the capital, more chances of finding a PC there. Though how am I meant to find them? It''s not as if I can just ask¡±, Logan contemplated, his legs taking him to the house Jrizan mentioned earlier in the day.
Arriving at his home for the night, Logan noticed Jrizan''s cart sat aside a fenced-in house. While the fence added to the fanciness, the house was a mix of wood and thatch, a few open wooden windows letting the waning light inside. Pushing open the waist-high gate, Logan was approached by a black bulldog-like dog, around its neck was a collar of red leather. Dangling on the collar was a nametag ¡°Spike¡±, ¡°At least dog names are the same here¡±, Logan thanked the world. Bowing down a bit, Logan offered the back of his hand to the dog who sniffed at it with interest. Seeing no sign of aggression, Logan rotated his hand to pet the dog''s head. The sweeping of a tail on grass allowed Logan some peace of mind, the now sitting dog being petted by the otherworlder. ¡°Good boy, Spike¡±, Logan said to the dog who panted in delight. Closing the gate, Logan approached the front door, Spike in tow. Giving a solid knock at the door a voice bellowed from inside. ¡°Come in, the door''s open!¡± a familiar voice called, Logan identifying it as Jrizan. Opening the door, Spike rushed inside, jumping to the legs of a sitting Jrizan who quickly ruffled the cheeks of the dog. ¡°Ho, Logan. Welcome to your resting spot. I take it the day fared you well?¡± Jrizan spoke over to Logan, who was shutting the door behind him. ¡°Yes, long day, but I got all my tasks done. Your directions were spot on, though the size of this place made it less easy, I have my assessment tomorrow at 10¡±, Logan replied, moving over to the table to sit beside Jrizan. The house was small, the entrance combined with an open plan living, dining, and kitchen area, some stairs leading to attic-like bedrooms. ¡°Good, they like to do assessments in bulk so we came at a good time¡±, Jrizan continued, pushing a plate to Logan. Placed on the plate was some cut bread with a golden spread across it, though it did not hide the colour of the bread, dark as night, as if it were burnt. ¡°Darkbread, drives kids wild, but us adults can still appreciate it, eat up¡±, Jrizan offered, sending Spike off to the nearby cloth pet bed. ¡°Thanks¡±, Logan replied, picking up the bread and taking a reserved bite. A crispy exterior combined with a fluffy middle, melted butter-like spread, a wonderful mix of textures and flavours. ¡°Oh man, that is good¡±, Logan exclaimed in delight. ¡°You do me a kindness there, sir, some find it too bitter.¡± ¡°The fools¡±, Logan paid in kind, praising the bread more. Looking around, Logan couldn''t help but notice the lack of inhabitants in the house. ¡°Are the owners not in?¡± ¡°Nah, they''re normally travelling to the capital this time of year, we kinda trade the house off between each other. After us is a couple from the east forest, it''s why you can only spend the night here.¡± ¡°That''s fine, Jrizan, you''ve done more than enough for me. I am sorry I have nothing to give in return.¡± ¡°No mind, kindness pays in kind, one day you''ll find someone in need and I hope you help them out, and if it just so happens to be me, well I can always do with a silver or two¡±, Jrizan lectured, a laugh erupting towards the end of his speech The two friends talked, evening turning to night as Logan learnt more about the world as well as the immediate vicinity he found himself within. Treated to a hearty stew of vegetables alongside more baked goods, Logan had his fill of food and headed to bed. Climbing the rickety stairs he found the spare bedroom, a straw mattress on the floor with a lantern a foot or so away from it. Setting his clothing to the side, he laid on the bed in his underwear, his legs thanking him for the final rest. ¡°A lot to do tomorrow, the assessment, then searching for a possible party and if not, looking over possible quests. If they want to see my spells I won''t be left with many to hunt the same day, unless I find something easy to deal with, then I could use my knife. So many options, I just have to take it as I am given it I suppose¡±, Logan planned ahead to the next day, the first in his adventuring life and just one more to tick off of his first main quest. Spending some time before sleeping, Logan looked over the skills menu to find something that would give him some form of immediate assistance. Owls of the night, nighttime drunkards, the night was full of sounds that Logan wasn''t overly used to but it was rather calming. His eyes heavy, sleep overtook him. --- *** --- Chapter 5 - Avanars First Spellthief The night passed by quickly, Logan''s exhausting first day in Avanar led his body to need the most rest he ever had. His mind also needed to sort through all the information thrown his way in the previous day and recuperate from using all of his spells. Waking up to the chirping of loud birds outside combined with the chatter of early risers, Logan sat up from his straw bed as pieces of straw fell from his back. Through his ruminations of the previous nights'' investigations into the skill menu, Logan kept coming back to a choice of the Backstab class skill or the Identification SKoL. One offered some non-spell damage most likely, while the other allowed him to further gauge what he could take on. Plunging his hand into his trouser pocket, which sat next to him, he pulled out the silver piece. ¡°Heads, Backstab, tails, Identification¡±, he ruled. Flipping the coin into the air, it fell back into his palm and he slapped it onto the back of his other hand. Revealing the coin showed it to land on heads, meaning that the Spellthief would be acquiring a new attacking skill. ¡°Skills, acquire Backstab¡±, ordering his System, Logan looked on as a window appeared, loaded up the Backstab skill, and spent his skill point into it. A confirmation window popped up, with Logan thinking the response ¡°yes¡±. ¡°I was not expecting it to work with spells, this is great! The damage percent increase isn''t huge right now but it does the maximum my knife can do on its own. Shame about the cooldown, I''ll have to try and take down single targets with it then rest for a bit between skirmishes¡±, Logan was pleased by his choice, though mixed feelings did prevail over his excitement as he began to formulate plans with his new skill. Moving his sight back to the class skills window Logan noticed that a line had appeared from the Backstab skill, linking to another darkened hexagon. Pressing the new skill, it appeared in a smaller window. ¡°Multi-Backstab: You hold more charges of Backstab at a time, allowing for multiple separate uses with individual cooldowns¡±, the window inspired Logan on, lowering his anxiety with the cooldown of his new skill. ¡°That''d be great to have, but I will need another skill point. I hope I get another one when I hit level 2¡±, he wished. ¡°System, ready 2 Flame and 1 Lightning spell¡±, Logan commanded, the System quickly responding with a window ¡°Confirmed prepared spells¡±. ¡°I want to test out Flame today, see the speed difference of it and Lightning¡±, Logan planned. Alongside his new skill, while Logan was checking over the multitude of screens and status windows, the Spellthief had found that he had learnt the ¡°Grasp¡± alteration after watching Marta use it with her Heal spell. Checking the alterations menu and asking his System, Logan was able to find that he could learn alterations if he was able to see the entire casting of a spell that used them. The calm sounds of the town streets were interrupted as Logan heard creaking and footsteps downstairs. ¡°Jrizan must be awake, I should get up myself¡±, Logan concluded, moving to get dressed for the long day ahead. Checking his main quest quickly before heading downstairs, he saw that the timer had gone down to ¡°6 days, 1 hours, 27 minutes¡± with no other changes aside from the 2nd objective of gaining 5 gold now displaying ¡°0.01/5¡±. ¡°I have 6 days to complete these additional objectives, the more the better, I can''t trust this world to go easy on me, at least not yet. If I could kill 1 wolf a day, that''s just under 2,000 XP, bringing me above level 2 but not by much. I need a different way to level up, an enemy I can fight safely with my knife. The quests seem an impossibility if I can''t find a group that will take me, and the learning of spells sounds like it''ll be expensive if I need to buy magic tomes like the System mentioned earlier¡±, Logan considered his options, walking down the stairs. ¡°Ho, Logan. Good rest I hope?¡± Jrizan welcomed the rested Spellthief, a wide smile on his face as a nearby sleeping Spike let out a small whine in his slumber. ¡°Morning, Jrizan, yeah it was great, shame it won''t last¡±, Logan replied cheekily. ¡°Well, the Dogslop Inn down the road will house you for 5 copper a night with breakfast, I don''t like the idea of you sleeping out on the streets but it''s out of my hands at this point.¡± ¡°I got my assessment today, so I will head off on a quest to pay for lodgings afterwards, don''t you worry¡±, Logan assured his friend. Sitting at the table they both enjoyed a porridge-like meal with crushed berries mixed in. ¡°This food seems like it keeps the people who live in this world regular¡±, he pondered.
Breakfast concluded as Jrizan and Logan finished their conversations, both of the men feeling they had learnt quite a bit about one another in such a short time. The farmer set up his horse to his cart once more, readying to ride off in the direction he had come from. ¡°Safe travels, Jrizan, I can''t thank you enough for all you did for me. Next time we meet I''ll have to do something for you.¡± ¡°I expect nothing my friend, good luck with your adventuring and be wary of any more wolves¡±, Jrizan returned with a laugh. With a crack of the reins, his horse neighed and started to trot off, Logan moved behind the cart and waved goodbye to the first face he had seen in this world. Turning his heels, Logan made his way to the adventurers'' hall.
A bit of activity was happening within the hall today it seemed, a few more adventurers than normal found their roosts at the tables. Getting a quick headcount, Logan calculated there to be about two dozen able bodies around him. ¡°Not a large selection, but it''s a start¡±, he scrutinised. The day was early, Logan had an hour to spend before his assessment would start but he already had an idea of what to do. Moving over to the counter he saw the lady from yesterday, Ruben¨¦. ¡°Morning, Ru. Have the assessments started today?¡± Logan asked the rested receptionist. ¡°Morning, Logan was it? Yes, the first assessment is underway in the fields at the back¡±, Ru answered, pointing behind her shoulder. ¡°Are others allowed to watch at all?¡± ¡°Of course, just don''t interfere, and sit at the benches on the sides.¡± ¡°Thanks, I''ll do so while I wait for mine¡±, the young Spellthief stated, moving to the doors leading to the back areas. Pushing open a wooden door, Logan followed a short corridor to a small open-air stadium of sorts. It was probably a good 100-foot square, within the middle stood several training dummies made of straw and cloth, surrounding the stadium''s edges were raised benches for onlookers. Checking their gear in the middle of the stadium was another man, barely 18 years of age. His brown leather tunic, grey trousers, brown shoes, as well as metallic plating for his knees and elbows painted him to be a sort of Fighter, a new one to boot. Quickly shifting to the sides to grab a seat, Logan looked on, seeing a few other adventurers in the stands, a group of two and another with three members. After situating himself, Logan saw 2 members of staff exit from a nearby door to the one he had entered through. Their brown overalls were padded with metallic plates, their faces covered in a strong wooden mask with a black-glass visor. The shorter one, possibly male, held a staff and wand in his hands, the taller one, most definitely a woman, held a large book and quill in hers. Jumping to attention, the newbie in the stadium greeted the staff with a salute to his forehead. ¡°Strange, that''s what our army did¡±, Logan puzzled, wondering about how many similarities he was able to find in this fantasy world. The two staff members, who seemed to be the assessors, approached the applicant. ¡°Joshua Warn, Fighter. Your assessment will now begin¡±, the taller lady announced, loud enough for those in the benches to hear. The shorter man moved to the side and chanted some words in earshot of Logan. ¡°With the powers of arcane sight, empower my eyes to see the details of my quarry, Score!¡± his words carried a weight to them as they vibrated in the air, a slight whoosh of wind emanating from his staff and feet. Logan couldn''t see from this angle, but the man''s eyes were lit up a bright topaz yellow, numerous letters and numbers of an artificial green flying over his pupils.
The assessment went on for 20 minutes, the Fighter was tested on his strength by having him carry different sized objects or punching a slab of wood. He was forced to run laps around the stadium, asked to leap over hay bales, and then finally instructed to attack the dummies with his longsword. Several tests were undertaken, all the while the assessors were talking to one another, the lady writing down information at the same time. ¡°Power Strike!¡± yelled the Fighter Joshua, his sword wreathed in a red mist. Slashing into the dummy he cut deep into it, a few claps from the two-man team responded to his attack. Writing down the results, the assessors seemed finished with the young man. Rolling up a scroll, the lady handed the results to Joshua, as he gave a deep bow to the woman. Raising a hand, the lady spoke aloud. ¡°Joshua Warn has been assessed as a rank 1 Fighter, average capabilities with a great Constitution¡±, she announced to the stadium. Logan noticed the three-man party were pleased with this assessment. ¡°So, they can gauge attributes, is 10 average?¡± Logan wondered. Leaving the stadium with pride in his step, Joshua was replaced with another new adventurer, a short woman who carried with her two jagged daggers hidden underneath a brown cloak. Wearing an assortment of dark-green and black clothing, the woman was most noticeable a Rogue, which the assessors confirmed. ¡°Lyra Cerr, Rogue. Your assessment will now begin¡±, the woman said once more.
Just like the previous assessment, it took 20 minutes and ended with a final evaluation of the Rogue. Her final skill usage was Dash, having her jump around the dummy at around twice her normal speed. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Lyra Cerr has been assessed as a rank 1 Rogue, low capabilities but a savant in Agility and Wisdom¡±, the tall woman acknowledged. The two teams letting out loud applause, Logan accompanied them, not wanting to look out of place. ¡°Wisdom? For a Rogue? Did she misplace her stats, or were they randomly given to her with her class at birth?¡± Logan theorised, confused at the attributes of the now-leaving Rogue. The stadium quickly went quiet as the last one to be assessed, or rather reassessed, entered. While Logan hadn''t noticed him the day prior, the magi inspecting him entered the stadium still dressed in his dark grey robes with scattered stars and moons. With a raised hood from a cowl, Logan couldn''t make much out from the man. ¡°Another spellcaster? Good, I can emulate him during the test¡±, Logan plotted. ¡°Darius Monlod, Wizard. Your reassessment will now begin¡±, the woman bellowed.
Just like the previous two, the reassessment had almost entirely the same regime. Even though he was a spellcaster, Darius seemed to best both the Rogue and Fighter before him in all fields. ¡°Is he a high level? How can he be stronger and faster than classes suited for those fields?¡± thought a shocked Logan. Moving on to the skill assessment, the mage was instead asked to show off one spell of each level he knew, starting with a first level spell. ¡°From the chaos of Cani, I immolate all before me! Flame Shot!¡± Darius chanted, surprising Logan further. A slightly larger and more forceful blast of fire erupted from Darius'' hand, engulfing the dummy in flames, dwarfing what Logan had shot the day before with his lightning. ¡°He had to chant for a bit, I better do the same. I can probably skip it because of the System. I wonder what that ¡®can-eye¡¯ was¡±, surmised Logan. As the first level spell was recorded down to the page, he moved onto his second level spell. ¡°Father earth, breach forward and crush my foes! Root Shot!¡± Darius enspelled. A rumble was heard below as the dirt floor of the stadium shook, a large root breaching upwards, cracking and crushing the ground as it wrapped around the dummy, tightening, it crushed the straw target. Looking pleased, Darius stood up straight turning his gaze to the assessors. A short conversation was had between the two members of staff until a final verdict was reached. ¡°Darius Monlod has been reassessed. He has progressed from a rank 7 Wizard to a rank 9. It is noted he has learned how to cast second-level spells in his training retreat¡±, the woman announced. Logan was very impressed with the display, inadvertently applauding the budding mage, however, his hands stopped as he noticed the other two teams. They were unimpressed, some even looking away from the display. ¡°What is with them? That was amazing!¡± Logan raged in his head. Darius moved away from the stadium, scroll in hand, his head turning slightly to eye up Logan as the new mage strode to the stadium grounds. Making sure his gear was in proper order, Logan tightened his belt and pulled on the edges of his tunic. The male assessor approached Logan, his eyes still glowing and now showing to Logan who had a better angle. ¡°Logan Hall? You are a Wizard so says the contract. We require a single level 1 spell from you, the best one you can muster. What alteration would you like to use?¡± the mage assessor asked. ¡°Since I learnt the Grasp alteration, it might be best to test in the safety of this assessment. I will probably draw a bit more in the way of group invitations if my alterations were more varied. From what I gathered from Ru I will have a hard enough time as it is trying to get into larger parties for quests¡±, Logan concluded. ¡°Flame, just like the Wizard before me. And I would like to try using Grasp if that''s alright?¡± Logan answered though it seemed like it was a weird choice. The right eyebrow of the mage raised, his enchanted eyes sparkling a bit. ¡°Grasp? As a rank 1? Where did you study such an advanced technique?!¡± ¡°Oh, I read on the road and learnt from other travelling mages¡±, Logan gave a wry reply. ¡°Damn, I didn''t think it would be so surprising¡±, he thought. ¡°Is that so? If so, you must be a savant indeed!¡± the assessor continued, incredibly intrigued by the late-bloomer mage. Logan moved into the centre of the stadium to start his assessment. ¡°Logan Hall, Wizard. Your assessment will now begin¡±, the lady stated once more. Though it drew some attention from the stands. ¡°Bit old isn''t he? Easily a quarter-man¡±, spoke one of the adventurers. ¡°Such a weird phrase for someone in their mid-20s¡±, Logan snapped. No matter the hecklers, Logan went on. He was tested just the same as the previous adventurers, all of his attributes were on full display.
20 minutes passed, as usual, the assessment ending with a display of skills, in the case of Logan who was a spellcaster, his spells. Gauging the interest of the crowd, he noticed some of the adventurers were paying closer attention to his work. Squaring up with the dummy, Logan prepared to cast his spell. Sliding his right leg back, Logan made a fighting stance, and he heard some people stand from their pews. ¡°What is with that stance? Isn''t he a newcomer?¡± an audible voice was heard. ¡°From the fires within, burst forward and burn it down! Flame!¡± he chanted, feeling a bit weird for roleplaying in such a way. As he chanted he charged forward to the dummy, fires erupting in the palm of his right hand. Its heat was intense but failed to hurt its holder, Logan had complete control over the element of fire in this instant. A few steps before the dummy Logan thrust his arm forward, ending the spell. ¡°Grasp!¡± he yelled. Grabbing the front of the dummy, it was engulfed in a roaring fire, flooding out from the hand of Logan. Just like the window had informed Logan last night, Grasp increased the damage of his spell by 50% at the cost of speed and having to be close to your target to touch them. Surprise washed over the faces of all in the stadium, the assessors included. Logan stood up straight from his attack, taking two steps away from the inflamed straw dummy. Turning to face the assessors he saw how extreme his display was. ¡°Maybe that was too much?¡± Logan worried. Walking back to the assessors, they talked for a time before finishing their assessment. Logan could see a sly thumbs up from the mage assessor as a sort of ¡°Good job¡± to a budding caster. ¡°Logan Hall has been assessed as a rank 1 Wizard. Above-average in capabilities and a savant in Agility, Constitution, and Intelligence. Special note to his spells of Flame and Lightning as well as alterations of Shot and Grasp¡±, the lady detailed, a bit of surprise in her words. ¡°10 is above average? NPCs must be worse off in the attribute department¡±, Logan speculated. Handed his scroll, Logan peered over to the parties now stood over their benches. He could see them deep in conversation, but at this distance, he couldn''t make any of it out. Logan handed his silver piece to the assessors, exchanging thanks. Leaving the stadium, a sweat came over the new adventurer. ¡°That was intense, maybe Grasp wasn''t a good idea in the end. But maybe it will help me get into a party¡±, Logan hoped. Returning to the entrance hall, Logan saw that a few of the adventurers had left, even the two newcomers. ¡°Damn, I wanted to talk to them¡±, Logan cursed. To his side, Logan noticed a wave from the reception counter from Ruben¨¦. Approaching the counter, she held out her hand for the scroll, which Logan handed over. Scanning over the document, Ruben¨¦ had a smile paint her face with delight. ¡°Congratulations, it looks like being a late-bloomer helped in your capabilities, 3 savants, and the rest above-average. You''re practically hero grade¡±, Ru reacted. ¡°Yeah, surprised me too. By the way, do you know what the other gradings are, Ru?¡± Logan asked, hoping to gain further information. ¡°Oh, right, I can pull up my guide¡±, she responded, pulling up a small booklet from under the counter. ¡°It starts at dismal then goes average, above-average, great, savant, and then hero. However, all heroes have a hero grade in all their capabilities¡±, she continued, reading off from a list. Placing the book down she finished saying, ¡°Though, these are assessments of rank 1 adventurers, as you progress in rank your capabilities have varied increases. It is generally easy to spot a hero at any rank due to their higher progression.¡± ¡°So, sounds like it goes from 8 to 13, lucky I didn''t make any attribute higher than a 12 then¡±, Logan thanked his earlier choices. ¡°Are heroes common?¡± ¡°Hah, you''re kidding, right? We''ve only ever had 1 here since this hall''s been around¡±, Ru gave a laughing reply. ¡°That would have been a bit too much attention for me¡±, Logan reflected. Placing the scroll under the counter, Ru brought up a small wooden tablet around 2 inches tall and 1 inch wide, painted a glaring magenta. Etching onto the tablet, she hooped it through a piece of string and handed it to Logan. ¡°Here''s your signet, Wizard Logan¡±, Ru chirped, showing much more energy than yesterday. Taking it from her hands, Logan looked over the signet, it noted his name and class, as well as his rank being 1 and another portion noting his completed quests as 0. Flipping it over his hair, he draped it over his chest to demonstrate his status as an adventurer. ¡°Thanks, Ru. It look good on me?¡± Logan inquired, modelling with his new necklace. ¡°Better than some other Wizards, your attire looks nicer but I wonder why you would risk miscasting in leather¡±, Ru replied, an inquisitive look to her. ¡°The System didn''t note anything like that to me, System what is miscasting?¡± Logan mused. A window popped in reply. ¡°Miscasting is where a spellcaster loses their spell due to either their equipment being heavier than cloth or getting attacked during an incantation. As a Spellthief, you can cast spells while in cloth or light armour¡±, the window informed Logan. ¡°Oh, well, I trained a lot and I am just lucky when it comes down to it.¡± ¡°Well, I hope your luck continues. You can pick up quests at your leisure, by the way, the board has them all listed. When you accept a quest please take the parchment off the board, we''ll note it down and inform the quest givers¡±, Ru responded, a bit of worry in her voice. ¡°I''ll do so, though actually, do you have any advice for who I should ask about for joining a party?¡± ¡°Well, when it comes to spellcasters, it''s normal etiquette to wait for someone else to invite you. With your signet on show you should get an offer at some point¡±, Ru explained. Thanking Ru, Logan moved away from the counter and towards the quest board. ¡°It''s hard to make a start as a caster, though I can guess that from our earlier conversations¡±, Logan ruminated. Arriving at the quest board Logan gave it a long scan, two other adventurers also looking over it and a staff member sitting at a short podium overlooking the board. From small jobs like housework, including moving buckets of water and the like, to large quests involving the eradication of monster camps. ¡°Seems we do a wide range of tasks, though these cleaning jobs are terrible pay, and it won''t help my level much¡±, Logan concluded. ¡°It would be good if I could get a good gauge of difficulty, they do list the enemies and rewards which aids my guess but it isn''t too concrete. Maybe a skill could help, though I wouldn''t know which¡±, Logan studied the board. Finally, he landed on his first quest, he recognised the monster in the picture as a low-grade mob in his RPG games. Grabbing a hold of the parchment he tore it from the board, stuffing it into his pocket. A nearby staff member wrote into a large ledger book, noting Logan as the adventurer assigned to the quest. Leaving the board, he gave a hearty wave to Ru, who returned it in kind. As Logan exited the hall, his thoughts were on his first quest as an adventurer. ¡°Let''s hunt us some goblins!¡± he celebrated. --- *** --- Chapter 6 - An Equal Encounter With light pockets, Logan made his way through the southern exit of Tinte, the guard towers up high keeping a watchful eye on the newbie adventurer. Thinking he didn''t need any permissions, he simply walked on through the wide-open gates with no issue. ¡°System, open map¡±, he commanded his program. As he walked on to the south, Logan inspected his System map, while it didn''t paint a wide picture it did detail the location of Tinte along with the destination of his newly acquired quest. It seemed that any mission given to a PC is marked on the map, allowing them to easily find and complete their assignments, something a window told Logan as he left the adventurers'' hall. Moving his head slightly, he re-read the quest he had obtained. ¡°Decrease Goblin Scout Numbers: The goblins of the south have been scouting too close to the edges of their forests, making notes and maps of Tinte as well as the surrounding area. For any able adventurers, kill 5 goblins and take their plans if any to the adventurers'' hall in Tinte. You''re free to do with their other loot as you see fit. Difficulty: Low-hunt. Reward: 2 silver pieces, Gobbo-Ear Necklace recipe.¡± ¡°Pretty straightforward quest, the map tells me the exact forest they inhabit too. I did ask a few people along the way and it seems like the forest is mostly infested with goblins, no worry of wolves. I will have to keep an eye out for anything resembling a different breed or type of goblin, but the quest noted it as a low difficulty mission¡±, Logan collected his thoughts. While he still held some worries about returning to a forest, Logan resolved to improve himself for the future. He made sure that his enemies were weaker than wolves, to not rehash his first day in Avanar. During his investigations prior to leaving, Logan had also paid a visit to Osc''n, getting advice on what types of components he could acquire from goblins.
¡°Ah, an adventurer''s first blighter. Well, tha main thing yer want from those lot is their ears. Only tha right one mind you, their lefts often have chunks missing due to a biting ritual for their adolescence. Aside from tha right ear, you can sell their clubs to the market sellers in town. I''d advise you take their pouches too, you look to be lacking one and you don''t want an ear in yer pockets¡±, Osc''n instructed, from Logan''s memory.
With the information in mind, Logan also had the foresight to check over the SKoLs for something that would aid him in using Backstab. It took a while, but thankfully it wasn''t too far from the centre point of the SKoL window, the skill ¡°Stealth¡± which would allow Logan to get in close for the kill. The skill mentioned being able to hide from the senses of his enemies, and with a bit of experimentation closer to the goblins, he could try to unlock it. Tinte slowly became a blur in the background as Logan approached the forest''s edge to the south, around a 20-minute walk from the town. His map noted a large round shape, following a wide stretch of the forest''s outskirts as well as a portion of the deeper parts. ¡°I hope there isn''t a large group of them if the area is this big¡±, Logan wished. Approaching the closest tree, Logan hugged its trunk and looked around it to observe the immediate vicinity. ¡°Nothing so far, gotta find a straggler so I can test out Backstab in safety¡±, planned the young Spellthief. Sneaking from tree to tree, Logan moved into the forest proper, the trees blocking his view in most directions. As he made his way deeper a window appeared to interrupt Logan. Ducking to a tree, he inspected the window. Reading over it, Logan was pleased he was able to unlock such a valuable skill that synergized with his class. ¡°Gaining Stealth XP is restricted to hostile environments, so an enemy must be near¡±, Logan concluded, peeking his head around the tree he hid at. A turn to the left, and then the right, Logan couldn''t spot an enemy. As he was about to move from his position he spotted the saunter of a goblin. Walking across a patch of grass, the disgusting creature was seemingly picking at some mushrooms nested within the base of a tree. Its stature was short, around 3'' or so, wearing a fur loincloth and a sash across its torso, some pouches hanging from his front. Its skin was shades of green with some brown patches scattered around. Floppy yet pointed ears stood adorning the sides of its head, the left missing over half with teeth marks showing it was bit almost clean off. ¡°Stopping for a snack ey? Well, let''s see how my second kill goes. Hope my stomach can handle it¡±, Logan wondered with anxiety, he wasn''t ready to kill a sentient being just yet but a goblin was still a monster. Slowly, Logan stalked from his tree into the open ground towards the goblin whose back was turned. With the goblin bent over picking his meal, shoving it into its mouth quickly, Logan was given the best distraction. One foot in front of the next, Logan approached in an almost crouched manner. ¡°That''s it, eat up, don''t look back¡±, Logan pleaded, getting ever closer. Flicking the lock from his knife, Logan drew his blade a few feet away from the goblin, raising it in anticipation of the strike. A final step on the grass, a slight hush as it was crushed, Logan slashed down with his weapon, digging it deep into the top of the goblin''s spine where his neck met his back. A quick ¡°Yargh¡± was let out by the goblin as its body shook all over from the impact, a small piece of red text with a golden border appearing around Logan''s hand stating ¡°Backstab¡± to confirm his skill activated. Logan dragged his knife back, pulling the goblin with it, but instead of falling to the floor, the goblin steadied itself with its foot as it twisted its head up to Logan. ¡°Grah¡± it yelled as it started to swing its club upwards in retaliation. Narrowly dodging backwards, Logan avoided the clumsy swipe. ¡°What? That wasn''t enough? Damn knife!¡± Logan exclaimed in his head, annoyed that the skill did not bridge the gap made by his low tier equipment. ¡°Before it calls for others!¡± raced through Logan''s head, kicking forward with his left foot, his left hand planted on the end of his hilt to plunge the knife deep. Lunging forwards, Logan stabbed his knife into the chest of the goblin who let out a final ¡°Preh¡± as it fell backwards to the floor, Logan falling on top of his quarry. Stabilising himself against the floor with his arm, Logan was above his first kill of the day. The eyes of the goblin were still and watery, blood pooling from his chest and back, a final convulsion of the creature''s fingers and it fell stiff. Small text appeared once more, confirming the situation. Logan held his position for a few seconds, realising he had been holding his breath during his last two attacks he started to gasp. ¡°Wasn''t anticipating that, tough blighters. But, I did it, two strikes with a Backstab, not bad, I just need to act quickly¡±, Logan formulated his further ambushes. Raising his leg, Logan knelt on his knee by the goblin and began to slice through its right ear. As he tore it from the monster''s head, a window popped up describing the new component. ¡°Goblin Ear: This right ear once belonged to a goblinoid, you will hardly ever find a left ear as those are normally missing portions due to goblin rituals and adolescent trials. Goblin Ears are used in some low-level potions and poisons, sometimes even magical trinkets. 1x shoddy¡±. ¡°Well, that''s one form of money taken care of, now, let''s see those pouches¡±, Logan demanded as he picked the small cloth pouches from the corpse''s sash. Picking up two pouches, one had 2 copper coins inside whereas the other had a crudely drawn map, though Logan couldn''t make much sense of it. ¡°No clue what that means, but it seems to be what the client wants¡±, Logan rationalized as he put the coins in his pocket from the pouch, replacing them with an ear. With the two containers, Logan tied them onto his belt with the small pieces of string that were used to tie them to the sash. Standing up from his victory Logan looked down at his shirt and knife, both had splatters of blood over them. His stomach churning Logan held back another volley of vomit, he had enough of that the day prior. ¡°It still isn''t a simple thing, taking a life, but it''s them or me¡±, Logan argued. Centring himself once more Logan''s ears perked up as he heard the quiet footsteps of another goblin behind him. Darting around, Logan clenched hard onto his dagger in anticipation of an attack, his instincts were correct as a club came down hard onto the fledgeling adventurer. Bashing into his forearm, the club swerved off to the side as the goblin drew it back for another attack, a window popped up warning Logan he had taken 2 damage. Recoiling from the blow, Logan quickly returned the strike with a slash of his blade into the chest of the goblin, stepping to the side to slice once more. With 2 cuts into its body the goblin swung its club in rage, Logan did a clumsy roll around narrowly ducking under the hunk of wood. Another slice into the back of the leg, with a final reverse grip plunge into its neck left the goblin limp on the blade. Slowly the goblin slid off the knife to its knees, then face-first into the grassy floor, its leg twitching once then twice, leaving its body to stiffen up. Text appeared to confirm the kill just as before. Breathing heavily once more, a combination of exhaustion from the fast movement and the mental toll of combat, Logan stood up straight to look over his fresh kill. ¡°Looks like his stealth failed, they don''t hit as hard as that wolf but I still can''t take too many hits. Either my knife is way worse than my spells, or these things have a lot of health¡±, Logan surmised, moving to retrieve another ear. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Adding up to 2 ears, he found another pouch, this one containing some scribbled notes in a language he didn''t recognise as well as 1 copper piece. ¡°2 goblins, 2 notes. The XP from these guys is alright, 5 more and I hit level 2, only issue is my ability to consistently kill them. That last dodge was lucky, thankfully my status has made me a lot more nimble than when I was back on Earth¡±, Logan judged. Checking his statuses, he found that Backstab had gained 5% towards the next tier, his harvesting had increased from 3% to 5%, with his XP sitting at 530/1000. Checking for any additional goblins, he moved to take the sashes from the two he had killed, using them to tie their clubs to his back. ¡°Every little helps, and while I don''t know their worth they can still be sold¡±, Logan reasoned. With the cleanup of his first encounter complete, Logan snuck around the forest more, this time moving eastward where the last goblin attacked him from. Finding a suitable tree he decided he better wait for his Backstab skill to come off of its cooldown, to that end he determined that passing time atop a tree would be safer. Sheathing his knife, seeing the damage the last climb dealt to it, Logan slowly climbed a nearby tree.
2 minutes passed by the time Logan was a good 15 feet off the floor, sitting somewhat comfy on a large branch. To utilize his time efficiently, Logan looked over the skills menu and his statuses.
Finding a timer option for his Backstab skill, a ¡°ding¡± went off in his head as a small text blurb floated in the air ¡°Backstab ready¡± it read. ¡°That''ll be a useful function, now to hunt again¡±, Logan praised, starting his descent after an 8-minute rest. Back at ground level, Logan snuck off to the east yet again. It wasn''t long until Logan found another victim of his blade, a lone goblin eating a raw leg of meat. This particular goblin looked to be carrying around a large sack, much bigger than the coin pouches of the others. Aiming to deal with it swiftly, Logan drew both his dagger and a club for a dual attack. Getting down to a crouch walk, Logan crept up on the munching goblin, raising the club high while keeping the dagger in a middle-stance against his chest. With a quick jab and smash over the head, Logan stabbed and bludgeoned the creature. Small text appeared once more to confirm the Backstab, and the club was enough to bring the goblin down to the floor, no twitch was observed, but the experience appeared nonetheless. Breathing a sigh of relief, Logan moved to take his gains. ¡°Simple, dual-wielding helps with the ambush, though I don''t know how long that club will last¡±, he thought, seeing the club was at 64% durability already. Checking over the large sack, Logan was disappointed in its contents. Hunks of meat covered 3 coins in sinew. Unloading the sack, Logan thought it best to reuse it, for now, placing the unused clubs inside and strapping it to his back, mounting the sling across his chest and over his left shoulder. With his loot starting to weigh him down, Logan deduced he better leave the sack at a nearby tree before the next ambush. Preparing for another sneak attack, Logan climbed another tree to wait out the 10-minute timer.
Time went on as Logan repeated his tactic. Find a lone goblin, Backstab and club, loot, rest in a tree. This went on for another 40 minutes or so, easily dispatching 3 more goblins on their lonesome. Deciding it would be best to take out the ones eating, Logan only ever attacked preoccupied foes, possibly a cheap way to win but he needed every advantage. Finally, Logan had his 5 map pieces collected, 6 ears in the larger sack, 5 clubs after the one he was using became unusable, and a total of 11 copper pieces. Looking at his status he saw his skills rising in mastery, Backstab sitting at a cool 25%. ¡°Well, I think that 27-day record is going to be destroyed at this point, 1 more goblin and I hit level 2 in under 2 days¡±, Logan congratulated himself. Though he did wonder if he would draw attention with such rapid growth, compared to NPCs who took about a month to level up, how could it possibly be so slow for them? Hoping it was a combination of caution due to the 1-week death timer as well as being a smaller settlement, Logan tried to push the thoughts from his mind. ¡°The capital may have faster risers, it''ll be fine when I get over there¡±, he theorized. Making sure his gear was in order, Logan moved onto the last goblin for the day, wanting to end it on a high.
Finding his last quarry of the day, Logan came across another lone goblin, this one relieving itself against a tree. ¡°That feels a bit low, but it''s going to die either way¡±, Logan argued, beginning his stealth routine once more. As he got closer, a raised club and readied knife, Logan was about to attack as the goblin finished and turned around. Two seconds passed as the hunter and hunted eyed each other. Acting quickly, Logan dashed forward, attacking with his knife first and clumsily bringing the club down. The knife grazed the goblin as it rolled to the side, Logan''s club attack missing completely. ¡°Ryah! Mono! Hyse hyse!¡± the goblin shouted, causing nearby bushes to rustle around the clearing. ¡°Shit, he called for backup, time to use these spells I''ve been saving¡±, Logan cursed, dropping the club to the floor in an instant. Logan followed after the dodging goblin, slashing with his dagger with increased fury, two more strikes connected but a third left Logan open for a club to the stomach. ¡°You have received 3 damage, current HP: 7/12¡±, a window informed Logan, now worried he was in a bad situation. Given ample time, two more goblins charged out from nearby bushes, the closest one at 30 feet away, the other at 50 feet. Continuing in his assault, Logan kicked at the knee of his first enemy, loosening his balance for a final strike into the face. Retrieving his blade, Logan hopped backwards, raising his hand to the closest goblin ¡°Flame Shot!¡± he cried, fire forming in his hand and shooting rapidly towards the goblin. Hitting him dead in the chest, the spell exploded in a fan of flames, the creature screeching out in pain and tumbling to the floor. The ultimate goblin had just enough time to get in close to Logan, leaping off the corpse of his non-engulfed ally, it brought down its club onto Logan''s head. ¡°You have received 4 damage, current HP: 3/12¡±. Dizzy from the blow, Logan''s head lay low and blood flowed down his face. Halting his fall with his right foot, Logan made a claw with his left hand and thrust it to the cheering goblin. A massive slam hit the goblin as Logan grasped its face, fingernails digging and drawing blood, Logan opened his mouth, eyes dyed red with blood he stared into the goblin''s eyes. ¡°Lightning grasp!¡± he yelled, a spark of life jolting along his arm, to his hand, through his fingers, and totally zapping the goblin. A skeletal frame could be seen through a blackened skin for a second, and then again, as the spell destroyed any essence left in the monster. Cracking off from burnt skin, the goblin fell from the clawed hold of Logan, its body hitting the floor like a brick. Falling to his ass, Logan rested on the floor with his face raised to the sky. ¡°Ahh, that. That was too close¡±, he said out loud, his breath quick and wobbly. Text flew over the corpses and in front of Logan''s face as the bodies stopped convulsing, a wave of energy overflowing from within him. Along with the experience, the level-up came with a new window detailing the changes to his status. ¡°Level up! Gain: 8 HP, +1 Str, +1 Agi, +1 Con, +1 Int. You have 1 attribute point to spend¡±, it read, making a tired Logan all the happier at his victory. ¡°Thank you¡­ Desma, sure, praise be to Desma of the forest¡±, he prayed. Taking several minutes to rest on the floor, Logan ignored the rest of his status.
2 minutes passed, Logan was rested enough that his heart stopped racing and his breathing slowed to a point he could hide again. ¡°Ok, let''s spend this attribute point before we move. Again, Con is a solid choice, but with 8 HP from my level and +1 to Con I actually gained another 2, putting me at 13/22. My health almost doubled, I could make it solidly double by putting that point into Con. I don''t want to rely on clubs so Agility would help my melee attacks, on the other hand Int empowers my spells as well as unlocking the System''s functions¡±, Logan deliberated for a while. As he thought over his choice, Logan moved to loot the 3 goblins who returned his ambush to him. 3 more ears, notes, clubs, and a total of 6 copper amongst their pouches. ¡°I didn''t get any more spell slots, so relying on spells for long encounters or adventures may be a bad move. My best bet now is Agility, the spells grow with my level anyways¡±, decided Logan, as he placed his attribute point into Agility, confirming it with a second press. Gathering up his gear, and retrieving the previously dropped club and sack, Logan sallied on to leave the forest, lacking any more spells for the day as well as being severely battered and bruised. ¡°So, I gain an attribute point every level, or at least I did this one, but no skill point. Maybe they are tied to something else or are gained at different level thresholds¡±, Logan ruminated, sneaking through the trees to the forest''s exit.
The trip back took longer than it did getting to the forest, either due to Logan being tired or because he was coming back with much more in the way of items. ¡°A good first day, but with my health increased I could have gone on for a bit longer. I''ll check the quest board before I make a final decision on the day. If I can, a new knife would be good, this one feels like a kitchen tool¡±, Logan reflected. It had only been a total of 2 hours for his first quest, including all of his travel time, the sun hitting its noon position. With signs of dirt, blood, and sweat all across his body, a clear line across his eyes where he tried to clear his vision, Logan came back to Tinte looking like he fought a small army. For most new adventurers, it probably was a small army, at least for an individual, but being able to choose your skills and attributes as he had, he knew he carried a high advantage. The clunking of his gear started to irritate him, the sack containing quite the haul, but it would all be worth it when he handed in his quest and hit the market stalls. He had a total of 9 ears to hand in, 8 notes, and 8 clubs. With a pep in his step, the guards let the returning adventurer enter without question. ¡°Let''s stock up¡±. --- *** --- Chapter 7 - A New Record The streets of Tinte were busy, the midday rush filling the streets with peddlers or workers taking their lunch breaks. Shouts were heard from all directions, offering discounts, bulk orders and the like, though Logan would ignore it at least for now. It wasn''t just Logan making a return however, he could notice other adventurers making their own paths into town with signs of battle across their persons. Since he didn''t know any of them, nor were any of them the 2 adventurers he had been assessed alongside, the battle-hardened Spellthief decided against introducing himself. ¡°Without any spells left, I think any conversation may die off. I do wonder how XP will work if I am in a team though, would I get a share even if I stay out of the fight?¡± Logan pondered, his walk back to the adventurers'' hall coming to an end. Entering into the hall, it was almost devoid of other members, only two teams were visible aside from the staff still at work. Approaching the counter, he greeted Ruben¨¦ as usual. ¡°You''re back early, Logan. Did you need something?¡± she asked, bemused to see the 2-hour old adventurer. ¡°No, I completed that quest, here''re the notes and maps. I found a few extra so feel free to hand them to the client¡±, Logan replied, a smile on his face as he beamed with pride. Ru''s jaw dropped, her eyes full of surprise. ¡°Re-really? Already? Well, there''s slotters for you. Didn''t you note you only had 3 slots though? How''d you get over 5 kills today?¡± shocked, Ru assaulted Logan with questions. ¡°Oh yeah, I need an explanation¡±, Logan realised. ¡°Oh, I was able to line up the enemies and take them down in single casts.¡± ¡°YOU KNOW COLUMN ALTERATIONS?¡± Ru screamed at the top of her lungs, absolutely floored by Logan''s response. ¡°Again with the stupid advanced alterations¡±, Logan cursed, realising he was digging a deeper pit. Looking behind him, Logan saw that the two teams were paying a deep interest in the conversation. ¡°Keep it down would you, Ru?¡±. ¡°But, Logan. That''s a high-grade alteration, Grasp was one thing, but this puts you at the knowledge of rank 8 and higher magi¡±, Ru continued, her voice lowered but still overly loud. ¡°Like I said, I am a travelling late bloomer, I had plenty of teachers.¡± ¡°Ok, ok. Sure. Well, um. I need to update your information scroll with this, and your quest completion. Oh! Your signet please¡±, a flustered Ru said, fumbling around for documentation and quills. Logan handed over his signet to Ru, who quickly applied a resin to the 0 in front of his quest tally and replaced it with a 1. Handing it up to him, Ru also pulled out 2 silver pieces, along with a small letter, and placed them on the counter. ¡°Th-thank you for your hard work¡±, Ru thanked with a bow to Logan. Taking his silver and recipe, a fuzzy feeling came over Logan, almost like goosebumps, as he knew people were starting to talk about him. Following the strange feeling, a window appeared. ¡°You have gained the ¡®Solo Adventurer¡¯ title.¡± ¡°Solo Adventurer: For completing a quest entirely on your own, people will now sometimes refer to you as a Solo Adventurer. With the ability to overcome difficulties on one''s own, others will turn to you for advice and possibly to aid in their own quests. You have gained 1 skill point to distribute¡±, the window announced, applying a new portion to Logan''s status. Logan stood stunned for a while, trying to understand the information presented to him. ¡°So much for not drawing attention. It seems this world has a sort of reputation system, at least that answers the question about skill points¡±, Logan thought, getting his own form of shock at the counter. ¡°A Solo Adventurerwith the Column alteration? He could be useful, whatya think?¡± a voice could be heard from a nearby table. ¡°Been a while since a Solo Adventurer has been ''round these parts, ta magi might be a welcome team member¡±, another said in the other team. ¡°Well, this is what I wanted, opportunities to be in a team. But I shouldn''t be too eager, they could still use me, but then, I would be using them too right?¡± Logan fought with the questions and choices in his head. Moving towards the quest board, the soon-to-be-famous Spellthief glanced over it for anything he could possibly do without the aid of his spells. The closest quest to his ability right now would be wolf hunting, but he decided against it. Leaving the now loud-with-discussion adventurers'' hall, Logan went to the component shop next door. Osc''n was free at this time, the adventurers'' either out on hunts or getting lunch, Logan stepped up to the counter. ¡°Noon'' Log, brought me goodies?¡± The inspector greeted Logan, giving him a short nick-name that sounded like ¡°Lowg¡±. ¡°Yeah, haul of ears like you said¡±, the complimented Spellthief replied, pulling out the foul-smelling ears. Osc''n eyes lit up in delight and surprise. ¡°9? You got busy, sir! So the screams from the hall were on tha nose, yer be an advanced caster¡±, Osc''n resumed, starting to inspect the ears. ¡°The walls aren''t thick here, are they?¡± Logan said, slightly embarrassed. Osc''n took a minute to inspect each ear, before deciding on a final price. ¡°Well, they''re all shoddy, so 18 copper, minus tha 4 you owe me, so 14¡±, Osc''n offered. Logan nodded in agreement. ¡°Almost the same reward as the quest, though it was more ears than I needed¡±, he calculated. Coins hit the counter as the inspector took the ears into a small box, picking them and placing them in his money pouch, the Spellthief grew in wealth. ¡°Thanks, Osc''n, maybe I''ll see you tomorrow for more goodies.¡± ¡°Can''t be soon enough, good luck out there Log¡±, returned Osc''n, a smile peeking through his wiry beard. With his quest and ears handed in, Logan felt it was time to hit the stalls and pawn off his clubs. Heading back west, he found himself in the markets of the town, shoddy stalls with carpets and canopies of cloth. Everyone was hawking loudly with offers, though Logan went ahead to what seemed to be a weapon salesman with some finer wares. ¡°Scuze me, sir, do you buy clubs at all?¡± Logan asked. ¡°Huh? Yeah, can do, lemme see em¡±, the merchant cracked. Logan pulled out the 8 clubs, laying them at the feet of the merchant, though the man didn''t inspect them too thoroughly. His attire was plain, pretty much a white robe dirtied with brown mud and a dark-blue vest over the top. His skin was a dark brown, old green eyes glowing from beady lids. ¡°For the lot? 14 coppers¡±, the merchant presented. ¡°Make it 16¡±, Logan bargained, a hand outstretched. ¡°Hrm. Hmm. Fine¡±, a musing merchant accepted. Opening up a pouch at his stomach, the man picked out 16 copper pieces and placed them into Logan''s hand, a deal secured. With that, he now had 2 silver and 47 copper, which equated to 6 silver and 7 copper. ¡°That Identification skill would come in use here, I could see what weapons suited me best, maybe even any additional effects I can''t normally see with my gear details¡±, Logan deliberated. Moving between the stalls, he ended up at one that specialized in short blades. ¡°Many good deals here, stranger¡±, the merchant advertised. ¡°Skills, acquire Identification¡±, Logan commanded, gaining the other skill he had in his mind this morning. The window gave Logan a mixed response, it allowed him to inspect wares before purchase but didn''t offer intricate detail. A thought then came to him, and a devilish smile ¡°Time for a grind¡±, he plotted. Staring at the items on offer, he thought, over and over: ¡°Identify. Identify. Identify¡±. Each time he used his skill, he learnt about a new weapon, armour, or object. With the countless items on offer, he knew he could game the mechanics of this world.
Several minutes passed, as Logan looked like an intense window shopper, teasing the merchants with a possible sale. It wasn''t long before another ¡°ding¡± sounded in his head, as his skill had increased. Returning with a beaming smile full of pride, and maybe a little dirty guilt, Logan looked at the merchant hawking the short blades. ¡°Identify¡±, he scanned the merchant. ¡°Merchant Tusa: Classless 0, 3/3 HP, 0 MP. This is a normal civilian merchant trying to sell weaponry¡±, the window dissected the information of the merchant, what little there was. ¡°Not a whole lot, but useful, I can correctly gauge adventurers with this and even my enemies. I wonder what level the goblins and wolves are¡±, Logan studied. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Uh, sir, is there something on my face?¡±¡¯, the merchant asked. There was something on his face, crumbs of darkbread that added colour to his otherwise pale white complexion. His short black hair gave him some youth, though his bent-over stance led Logan to guess his age at around 60. The man''s clothes were a mix of leather and cloth, sporting several shades of brown. ¡°No, just trying to get your attention. What weapon do you suggest here for someone starting out?¡± Logan replied with a half-truth. The man waved his hands over several weapons, though the prices he was asking for were over what the identify skill marked them as. Logan was able to surmise that items he sold were at the listed value but to buy them he had to pay double. After some discussion, Logan landed on his chosen weapon. ¡°Identify¡±. Along with the info displayed from the window, Logan was able to find that it had a value of 8 copper, which meant it would cost him 1 silver and 6 copper. The merchant was asking for 2 silver on the nose, but Logan, now equipped with the power of knowledge, knew better. ¡°We both know that dagger is only worth 1 silver and 6 copper, I''ll take the standard price and no more¡±, Logan offered, his hand at the ready. The merchant grumbled a bit, but reluctantly accepted the correct price for his wares. ¡°Well, that''s the weapon sorted. Over double the damage of my previous weapon, though it is a level higher and a tier higher. The bonus to attack rating is nice too, maybe because it is named¡±, Logan concluded. Thinking back to his status and window investigations before, Logan knew that ¡°attack rating¡± referred to his ability to successfully hit his targets, be it from disallowing them a chance to dodge or to break through their defence rating. ¡°System, how exactly does my Agility affect my attack rating and damage bonus?¡± Logan inquired, though quickly disappointed in the window reply, ¡°This information is not available to your System¡±. ¡°The deeper I get into the numbers of things, the more my System is limited. That Intelligence attribute is sounding better by the day¡±, Logan reflected. Thinking it would be best to keep his old dagger as a backup, or maybe just a climbing tool, Logan strapped his trusted knife to his left side and Tara¡¯s Dagger to his right, favouring a reverse grip on his daggers. Next, Logan went on to purchase miscellaneous items that would aid in his skills. A long shopping list of potential tools or objects displayed in his head, ticking them off one by one as he was able to acquire them.
1 silver, 41 copper. ¡°Sneak Shoes: A pair of black ankle-high shoes that aid in dampening one''s footsteps. While worn you count your Agility as 3 higher when utilizing the Stealth skill¡±, costing 1 silver. 1 silver, 31 copper. ¡°Grip Gloves: Two tight-fitting gloves with an abrasive palm that make it easy to cling onto surfaces or foes. While worn you count your Strength and Agility as 2 higher when utilizing the Climb skill¡±, costing 1 silver and 1 copper. 1 silver, 20 copper. ¡°Tree Support Rope: A length of rope, buckles, and locks that allow the user to strap themselves to a tree or its branches. Allows you to sleep in trees without the worry of falling¡±, costing 6 copper. 1 silver, 14 copper.
Plenty of items on his list were not for sale within the Tinte market, or nearby shops, though the main parts of his kit were attended to. Reaching his final destination, Logan found a small stall hawking gear for travellers. One item stood out to the gearing-up Spellthief, a map of the local area on sale for 8 copper. Haggling the price down to 7, Logan took the rolled scroll from the vendor. Moving to a nearby wall, Logan leant against it as he inspected the map more thoroughly. Sadly the artwork wasn''t too detailed or art gallery-worthy, but it got the point across. A window popped up as Logan scanned over the parchment ¡°Map scanned, adding to System map¡±, it read, the System map opening in its own window. A wave of light blue scrolled across the window, filling in the map''s details. Logan''s previous paths were clear and coloured, though the geographical data of the map he bought was filled in with a dark-grey colour to it, noting it as unexplored but known. With the new sections filled in Logan could see where Noma was to the south, the village that Jrizan hailed from, and the capital city Gauntlet to the north. Other smaller settlements dotted the map, hugged by plains and forests. ¡°There''s that icy hold to the north-east those adventurers talked about yesterday, let''s make a note¡±, Logan realised, thinking to his program to mark that area and put a text note. ¡°Last thing would be some armour, though all the sets I could find weren''t any better than what I currently have, or were above my level and the System warns me I cannot use them efficiently¡±, Logan contemplated. Gathering up his gear, Logan headed back to the adventurers'' hall, hoping to see some more work or teams to converse with.
Back at the hall, Logan saw it was flush with faces once again, getting an early headcount of thirteen. ¡°If I complete too many quests solo I will draw too much attention, it may be better off to just level up for now and ignore money. But, if I were to join a group, I have an excuse for the items I bring back¡±, he planned. Unlike his first entrance into the hall, more gazes locked onto the Spellthief, his new title spreading a name around town. Conversations circled about how to best use the mage in their presence, others not believing he could use Column alterations, which he couldn''t. Trying to uphold the etiquette taught to him, Logan would let others approach him, taking a seat at a nearby table. Feeling like a sitting duck, Logan decided to imitate an inspection of his gear when in actuality he was reading his windows. There was plenty to investigate, from the plethora of skills on offer to the intricacies of his status. ¡°Build it, and they shall come¡±, he thought, his title supposedly being used to gain an invitation.
An hour passed, as Logan looked over his windows and drank from a tankard of water that was supplied by Ruben¨¦. Starting to wonder how long it might take, a crew of three adventurers approached the waiting Spellthief. The first was a tall sandy-skinned man, at 6'', long flowing raven hair with a portion tied in a ponytail over even more hair flowing down his back. He sported a set of metal breastplate and dark hard-leather greaves. At his hip was a longsword, and his back a large diamond-shaped shield. Dim blue eyes inspected Logan. Next to him stood a burly rose-beige-skinned woman, at 5'' 11", muscles piercing through her chainmail though with loose brown trousers. Strapped to her belt were two shortswords. Shoulder-length brown hair showed signs of cuts from her attackers, displaying a rough personality. Her light-brown eyes gave off an unimpressed look at Logan. Finally, slightly further back, was a shorter amber-skinned man, at 5'' 8". His short blonde hair and green eyes painted a colourful face under his dragged up hood from a brown cloak. Underneath was an assortment of dark-green and brown leather clothes with several daggers and arrows strapped with belts. Hugging his chest and back was a large bow, a quiver peeking over his shoulder. ¡°Identify¡±, Logan activated his skill against the three who approached him, in the order they walked. ¡°Marsh Qway: Knight 4, 66/66 HP, 0 MP. An adventurer working for the hall at Tinte.¡± ¡°Vaela: Fighter 3, 42/42 HP, 0 MP. An adventurer working for the hall at Tinte.¡± ¡°Pon To: Fighter 2, 30/30 HP, 0 MP. An adventurer working for the hall at Tinte.¡± ¡°Glad I levelled this skill up, I would have only been able to scan the bowman if I hadn''t¡±, Logan praised. The leader of the group, the knight with raven hair, spoke. ¡°Greetings, you must be the Logan that has had his name spread around these parts. I will make this short, we''re hunting a large goblin tribe that''s been operating out of a cave nearby, we''re needing a mage to help deal with their leader, a hobgoblin who wears meaty armour. Your spells should be able to penetrate it better than our weapons. We offer you the normal party split¡±, the man presented. ¡°How many goblins we talking? And when do you plan on heading there?¡± Logan questioned. This time the woman replied. ¡°The quest states to expect about 20 to 30 goblins at the cave, maybe more in the local area. Your job is just the big bad boss¡±, she responded with a direct tone. ¡°Tomorrow, early morning¡±, the smaller archer added. ¡°That''s a lot of goblins, I can test out the XP split thoroughly with that. A good haul too if I am getting an equal split. Since I am a ¡®Wizard¡¯ I better not show off too much dagger work. These people are going to boost me¡±, Logan chuckled in his head, keeping his thoughts to himself. ¡°That can work, I will prepare my spells ready for it and be here bright and early. Would you prefer more Flame or Lightning?¡± ¡°Flame, goblins hate fire and they catch on it quick¡±, the leader said. ¡°I''m Marsh, this is Vaela, and that''s Pon¡±, he continued, pointing to his allies. ¡°Right, I''ll have that ready. Anything else?¡± ¡°No, we have some other hunts today, so we''ll form up in the morning here. See you then, Logan¡±, Marsh directed, motioning his compatriots that it was time to leave. Logan gave a quick wave as the trio left the hall. Out of his gaze, high on the railings of the first floor, was the Wizard Darius, whose eyes were glowing azure once more as he stared at Logan. Darius moved his hand from under a cloak that flowed over his robe, a circular golden object clasped in his palm. Clenching onto the object, the middle portion of the object flung open, resembling almost a pocket watch, though the inside was instead a black gem. Looking down to the gem, Darius'' eyes had their glow sapped into it. As if it were a magic 8-ball, words rotated in the gem and revealed the number ¡°2¡±. Looking back at the Spellthief, Darius'' face had another grin paint it ugly. Placing the object into his robe pocket, Darius left to a nearby room on the upper floor, leaving an unknowing Logan to his devices.
¡°That''s tomorrow sorted, without any spells to fall back on I feel like I should rest for the remainder of today, but that new dagger might allow for an easier time fighting. I didn''t gain a whole lot of power with my level, only a +1 to Agility. With the 2-5 damage range of my new dagger, I probably deal something like 3 for an absolute minimum and 9 max per hit depending on the calculations. If it wasn''t for the damn ambushes and groups, I could stealth kill as many goblins as I wanted. My spells are still a mystery as I don¡¯t know their calculations, but it is hopefully higher than my dagger. Even more, if I use grasp with them¡±, Logan ruminated, sitting at his table. Thinking it best he look over his options, he pulled up the quest window to see his progress. ¡°The level goal is achievable, especially if this goblin cave grants a good chunk of XP. I can probably forget the gold objective, both from a time aspect and not drawing unwanted attention to myself. The spells require money, though I could look around for a library or something to see how much I will need. As for quests, again, the hall knows I only get 3 spells a day, unless I did a lot of the menial jobs listed¡­ wait, that could work. I still get paid, and it may unlock other SKoLs¡±, Logan formulated his agenda for the rest of the day, hitting the afternoon. ¡°Alright, first things first, spells will help me deal with more varied situations and also work to completing an additional objective. I''ll check the prices and then work on some mundane quests¡±, Logan decided, standing from his table. Exiting the hall, he began to gather information about a local library, to begin his spell learning experience. --- *** --- Chapter 8 - The Price of Magic His body still recovering from the wounds of his encounters about two hours prior, Logan realised he was still covered in dirt and blood from battle. While the dirt seemed a commonplace accent to the villagers'' clothing, the blood was quite out of the ordinary. Finding a local water pail, Logan was able to wash off some of the discolourations from his attire. ¡°Don''t want to give a bad impression at a library¡±, he decided. In his earlier investigations, Logan was able to find that the village of Tinte had a single library to its name, located within the northern part of town, almost at the city walls. Not many villagers seem to frequent the place except for purchasing storybooks to read to children. Arriving at the establishment, it resembled a small chapel-like design, with a large triangular arch in the front. Only slightly bigger than the nearby houses, it seemed as though not much funding went into its construction or management. A dull reddish-brown colour was washed over the woodwork, peeling away to reveal a pale-brown underneath. Two large oak doors were closed at its entrance, small drawings of fading away books could be seen on their frames. Sparse glass windows let in light around the sides and front, though were covered in age-old dust. Placing a hand on the door, Logan pushed it inwards, entering into the library proper. A wave of musty paper, dried ink, and a smoking pipe hit Logan, irritating his nose at first. Creaky floorboards, radiating their sound to nearby bookshelves, the building was definitely old and unused. Several bookshelves laid out in front of the knowledge-seeking Spellthief, categorized by their contents like fiction, theory, history, and classes. A pseudo-hallway was made up of bookshelves that eventually led to a circular desk, sat within the middle was a crusty old gentleman. Clothed in a large brown robe, with its hood raised, Logan could only make out the lit-up wrinkles and freckles across the man''s face, his eyebrows wiry and silver. Walking to the counter, the floor continued to creak, as a draft was following Logan''s movements. The sound and cold air awoke a sleeping librarian, whose head lifted to see a slightly old adventurer. ¡°Urrr¡±, he let out a weird confused moan, followed by two coughs that let out dust. ¡°A customer? Been a week since someone entered my domain¡±, he continued, an elderly voice croaking out in a joyous tone. ¡°Hello, sir, I take it you''re the librarian here? I was interested in some class and magic tomes¡±, Logan put forth to the almost-prune man. ¡°Frabjous day, a sale! Yes, yes, we have those tomes. Over there, they are clearly marked, just pick out what you wish and bring them to the counter here lad¡±, the old man instructed, a smile showing his lack of half his teeth. He raised an elongated finger that trembled at the motion, pointing towards a far row of bookshelves. ¡°Thank you, I shall have a look. Are you the only worker here?¡± asked Logan, worried about the responsibilities placed on a man who seemed to be in his 90s. ¡°Yes, just me left. Only Bobcu and his books¡±, the man introduced himself, causing guilt to fall on the adventurer''s heart. Getting a better look, Logan saw frail and pale brown eyes, almost grey, set in his sunken sockets. ¡°I''ll try to be quick, kind sir.¡± Taking the directions from Bobcu, Logan went over to the instructed row of books. As Bobcu said, the books all had titles across their spines with the shelf frames marking individual classes or spell levels. As Logan moved his hand across the shelves, he felt a small humming from the wood. ¡°Is this wood alive? Or maybe enchanted to stop thievery?¡± he pondered.
After some time had passed, Logan ended up with 3 books. ¡°Roguish Intentions¡±, ¡°Magi''s Magick Vol. 1¡±, and ¡°Tinkering Beginning¡±. The first was a class tome for Rogues, the second was a starting manual on beginner spells and alterations, the last was a skill tome for the Trinket Craft SKoL. While he couldn''t open any, seemingly locked by magic, each book had a synopsis on the reverse sides. ¡°These should do, for now, all valuable to me, especially this crafting tome since I got a recipe for ¡®Gobbo-Ear Necklace¡¯ from my first quest¡±, Logan calculated. Since the books didn''t list any prices, Logan brought the three to the counter where Bobcu awoke again, startled by a customer. ¡°Ah, a thrice purchase, let me look over your selection¡±, the delighted librarian asked. Placing the books in front of the old man, he brushed his hand over their covers and flipped through a compendium at his side. ¡°Hope you got plenty of coin. ¡®Roguish Intentions¡¯ costs 25 silver, ¡®Magi''s Magick Vol. 1¡¯ costs 10 silver, and ¡®Tinkering Beginning¡¯ costs 8 silver¡±, Bobcu laid out the prices to the wanting mage. ¡°I wish I had saved some money now, though I wouldn''t even have enough for the cheapest¡±, Logan cursed in his head. ¡°Do you happen to rent books at all?¡± ¡°Pah! You rent a house or a person, not a tome¡±, the librarian laughed back at the clueless Spellthief. ¡°Ah, damn.¡± ¡°Language.¡± ¡°Sorry, is there any way I could get these cheaper or pay in instalments?¡± ¡°Nope, that isn''t how we treat literature. You either own it totally or not at all I''m afraid.¡± ¡°Ok, well can you keep these aside for me? I should be doing another quest tomorrow, so I may have the funds then.¡± ¡°I can do that, sure. I doubt someone would desperately need them anyways.¡± Sighing in regret, Logan began to leave the library. He gave a defeated wave to Bobcu who had already gone back to his nap. ¡°I wasn''t expecting tomes to be so expensive, at least they are compared to what money I can bring in right now. I should aim for that spell tome first to try and clear that additional objective, but I don''t know if I will be able to¡±, Logan deliberated.
Returning to the adventurers'' hall, Logan saw similar faces to before, around fourteen people sat at the different tables. Moving towards the quest board, Logan looked over it for quick and easy jobs. Since there was no limit on how many he could take, he took any he thought he could do within the day. The staff member sat atop the short podium listed them all down, though had an investigative look on his face. ¡°Downtime ey? Don''t see many adventurers take those jobs¡±, he stated to Logan, a quite bemusing mage. ¡°Yeah, I''ve had enough killing for a day and these people look like they need help¡±, Logan responded, the staff member nodding his head in reply. With quests in hand, Logan made his way out the doors once more to the late afternoon sun. ¡°Let''s clean up house¡±, he stated, making a note to use Identification where he could.
The first quest on his agenda was an assortment of deliveries, both letters and parcels, between the buildings of Tinte. Due to his Agility attribute, Logan was perfectly suited for this task. Running from place to place, Logan handed off the materials, civilians thanking him for his work. It took a solid hour of running around, stunning the client with his speed. A simple starter task, which landed him 3 copper. 1 silver, 10 copper. 2/10 quests. Afterwards, Logan gave his legs a rest and moved onto his arms, the client asking for someone to help clean their house. Given the tools by said client at their home, he set to work dusting, tidying, and wiping down a small shack with only 4 rooms. It didn''t require much force, but with an 11 Strength Logan could handle more than most classless civilians. It took him another hour for this quest, though its pay was lower at 2 copper. He was treated to a sandwich from the client, which filled him with the energy to continue on, and surprisingly a bit of healing was included. 1 silver, 12 copper. 3/10 quests. 14/22 HP. A descending sun turned the day to evening, the village taking on its beautiful orange and brown hue. Meeting with another client, Logan was asked to help some less fortunate villagers with doing maths and tax work. Due to Logan''s past work as a personal assistant, he could do this kind of stuff in his sleep. The questioning took a while, but with mental maths, the whole job was done in 20 minutes. Given a bonus, Logan was paid another 3 copper for his assistance. 1 silver, 15 copper. 4/10 quests. Now on a roll, Logan jogged to the next client. This job was more involved, requiring Logan to track down a missing pet cat. Using items from a worried mother and son, Logan unlocked a new skill ¡°Tracking¡±, which he promptly utilized to find the cat. It took an hour, but Logan was able to find the feline trapped in a nearby well, he was able to coax it into the bucket and pull it back up. Licking its saviour''s face all the way home, Logan handed the pet back to its family. A life saved, 2 copper earned. 1 silver, 17 copper. 5/10 quests. Tracking SKoL unlocked. As the last quest of the day, due to the sun starting to set on the horizon, Logan was tasked with helping an elderly shopkeeper move a shipment from one end of the village to another. Lacking a vehicle, Logan had to do it all manually, ending up at 2 hours of work. Paid 4 copper for his work, Logan felt the stress on his limbs mounting. Although another reward came to Logan, in way of a new title. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°You have gained the ¡®Friend to Tinte Residents¡¯ title.¡± ¡°Friend to Tinte Residents: As recognition of your aid to the little folk of Tinte, with no grand reward on offer or amazing items to be had you offered a helping hand. The villagers of Tinte are more likely to know your name and wave to you as you pass. All villager quests have their monetary rewards increased by 5% (minimum 1 copper). You have gained 1 skill point to distribute¡±, the window explained, adding another new section and title to Logan''s status. With sweat covering his body, hard work in his past, Logan wiped his face with a cloth. ¡°Paying off already, the money wasn''t amazing but getting a new title is more than worth my time¡±, he rationalized. 1 silver, 21 copper. 6/10 quests. ¡°Friend to Tinte Residents¡± title obtained.
Handing over all his quest contracts, a light surprise hit Ruben¨¦''s face, a look that had almost become the norm for her. ¡°Been busy today, Logan. That''s a lot of villager requests, we only have a few left¡±, she gave a bow to Logan, her voice becoming sincere. ¡°Thank you, normal folk are often forgotten about by adventurers. The ones with classes far outmatch the classless when it comes to labour and intellect, so their help is greatly appreciated¡±, she thanked Logan. ¡°It''s alright, Ru, I had some spare time today anyways¡±, a flustered Logan replied. Raising her head, her eyes met Logan''s with a thankful tear. ¡°Classed individuals aren''t always so kind to the classless. So even if you had other reasons for helping, it still means a lot¡±, she continued. Logan, feeling kind of awkward in this situation, tried to play it off cool. ¡°Well, I''m going to be heading to the Dogslop Inn for the night, I''ll be here early tomorrow as I got invited to a group for a quest.¡± ¡°Yes, I saw it noted. You''ll be facing down the goblin band led by a hobgoblin. I wish you well, If I don''t see you before you set off.¡± ¡°Thanks, I''ll need it. Have a good night, Ru.¡± ¡°You too, Logan.¡± Logan waved off Ruben¨¦ as he exited the adventurers'' hall, some of the other adventurers calling it a day also. Making his way to the south side of town, Logan found the Dogslop Inn as recommended by Jrizan. Around three times the size of the nearby houses, wooden windows were closed up, orange light seeping through the cracks. The woodwork was a clean coffee-brown with a sign of a fizzing tankard. Pushing open the inn doors, Logan was led into a small entrance hall, a few tables and chairs set up to the sides with a few patrons eating nighttime meals. At the far end was the innkeeper, a tall burly man, at 6''8". His pecan-brown hair was short, small tufts flowing over his forehead and ears. Dressed in a clean brown shirt and black jacket, Logan could have mistaken it for this world''s version of a suit. He also sported a pair of black trousers, a long white cloth tucked into one side. Strolling up to the counter, the tall man grew a smile on his face, showing a full set of teeth, if a bit yellow. ¡°Welcome to Dogslop, you here for a room or meal?¡± he inquired. ¡°A room for the night please, breakfast included¡±, Logan supplied. ¡°Great, that''s 5 copper. You can call me Coach¡±, the innkeeper responded, picking a key from the shelf behind him. Flicking 5 copper to the counter, Logan was handed a key with a small piece of wood attached, burnt into it was the number 6. ¡°You''re in room 6, got a good window of the adventurers'' hall from there. The bath is down the hall on the 1st floor. Breakfast starts at 5am and goes through 8am, it''s normally soup or stew, but you can pay more for better.¡± ¡°Thanks, the name''s Logan, by the way, Coach.¡± ¡°I know you from Wallace, the name of Logan has been spreading around. You helped my cousin find her cat today¡±, Coach informed. ¡°I guess the phrase with this ¡®Wallace¡¯ character is common¡±, Logan noted. ¡°Oh, yeah, trapped in a well of all places. Glad I could help.¡± ¡°You''re doing good work around here, Logan. Stay enough times at my inn and I might think about a discount.¡± ¡°I''ll keep that in mind, but for now I''ll focus on a good night''s rest. Been a long day¡±, Logan returned. Coach gave a farewell to Logan as he took his key to the first floor, climbing a staircase hidden behind a nearby door. Finding his room, Logan made sure everything was in order. A wooden window, that was previously locked, opened up to a sight of the village and the adventurers'' hall in the distance, the sun now no longer in sight. Looking over his room, Logan was treated to a solid wood frame bed with a straw and cloth mattress, atop which sat a cloth duvet and a feather pillow. A nearby wardrobe had a clean towel in it, as well as some shoe brushes. Taking the towel from his wardrobe, Logan took a well-deserved soak in the bathroom. The tub was made of waxed tortilla-brown wood. Two taps were attached to the wall, possibly connected to water towers nearby. Turning one tap, a spew of yellowish-blue water came out into the tub, thin tan steam coming from the tub. ¡°Strange colour, but it''ll have to do¡±, Logan accepted. Disrobing and soaking in the waters, Logan felt his body cry out in joy, his muscles relaxing after a day full of fighting, moving, and honest work. Without proper plumbing and heating systems, the water was merely warm, probably due to hot rocks or something in the tower. ¡°Ah, that''s great. I don''t think a bath back home ever felt so rewarding¡±, Logan exclaimed. Taking a nearby block of animal fat, Logan washed himself.
After cleaning, Logan returned to room 6, planting himself on the bed with his clothes hung up in the wardrobe. ¡°It''s gonna be another long day tomorrow, though mostly travelling and avoiding enemies. From what I can gather, the party will be doing most of the work and just relying on me for the hobgoblin. They must think my daggers are just for harvesting. I can''t complain too much I guess, I am getting a boost from this, or at least I hope I will be¡±, Logan pondered, thinking to the next day. Opening up his status and windows, he began to peruse his next skill choice. ¡°I gained a skill point due to that villager title, only question is what to spend it on. I could go for the Multi-Backstab to increase my uses of Backstab, but that won''t help tomorrow and it won''t help me in further group activities. No SKoLs jump out at me just yet, there are plenty of gathering skills though the unlocking of those seem simple, the crafting ones would be useful but again I could just unlock them by trying¡±, continuing the scout ahead, Logan''s eyes begun to feel heavy. Before he succumbed to slumber, Logan landed on an interesting class skill that could help him out. ¡°Micks? Magical tricks that require no resources. Low effect but repeatable. Could be exactly what I need to stay relevant in combat! It even comes with 3 starter micks¡± he exclaimed, pressing the skill and accepting his choice. Reading over his new abilities, Logan was somewhat pleased by the usefulness of the first two micks, the third granting him a persistent means of damage via magic. As he finished reading the final mick, another alert popped up. ¡°The Spellthief class skill ¡®Dagger Toss¡¯ is now available for purchase¡±, it read, showing a new line branching off from micks towards a darkened hexagon. The short description read that it combined the use of the Force mick and throwing one''s dagger to attack foes from afar. ¡°That could be useful, since it combines a weapon and a mick it probably does more damage. But right now I can''t get it, I will remember it for later¡±, Logan accepted. Making notes of his new abilities, Logan used the clean mick on his clothes. ¡°Clean¡±, he commanded out loud, his clothes shuffling a little in the wardrobe as the dirt was peeled off like dead skin and tossed aside. ¡°That''ll save time and money on cleaning my gear¡±, he thought. Next up was his new summoning mick. ¡°Light Ally¡±, he chanted. A small ball of light swirled around in his hand as a small sprite appeared, looking similar to a small ball with a face it blinked up at its new master. ¡°Hello, can you fly up to my face?¡± Logan asked the sprite. With a rotating nod, the sprite flew up to his face, almost blinding him in the dazzling display. ¡°Ah, too close, back up a bit¡±, he requested. The sprite followed the order and flew a few feet from Logan. ¡°Well, those are simple to use. I think Force will have to wait for tomorrow, don''t want to incur any penalties at this inn¡±, Logan surmised. ¡°Dismiss Light Ally¡±, he commanded, and his sprite disappeared into golden dust. More and more options opened up to Logan as he continued to investigate the depths of his skills and status. But for now, Logan needed his rest, for tomorrow was a big day. Dragging on his underwear after using the clean mick to dry himself, Logan laid in the more comfortable bed, shut his eyes, and through the magic of sleep, he time travelled to the next morning.
Awaking to the sound of a personally-set alarm, Logan''s mind was ablaze with an annoying ringing. Jolting his eyes open, he saw a shaking window with a timer stating it was 6am. ¡°Alarm off¡±, he commanded, the window disappearing. A groggy Spellthief dragged himself from his comfy bed, his hair a mess from the pillow. Using two casts of Clean, he made himself presentable for the day. Clothing himself, Logan moved to the ground floor, sitting at a table. A few other customers were also up, digging into bowls of stew. The aroma of cooked meats and vegetables made the drowsy Spellthief''s stomach growl. Noticing a new customer awake, Coach came over with a bowl of stew for Logan, placing it on the table with a large wooden spoon. ¡°Good night''s rest I hope¡±, Coach asked. ¡°Yeah. Just wish it could be longer¡±, Logan responded, letting out a yawn and stretch. ¡°Well, enjoy your meal sir, and I hope your questing goes well today¡±, Coach wished. Taking his room key from him, Coach moved back to the counter, cleaning some utensils from finished guests. Digging into the meal, Logan found it to be quite thick and filling, the broth tasting salty and of cheese. Slurping down the remains with a raised bowl, Logan thanked Coach, stood from his table and used a Clean mick on his mouth to brush his teeth as he walked out the inn. The bright morning light attacked Logan''s legs as the sun rose on the horizon, blinding many people heading east.
Walking over to the adventurers'' hall, Logan prepared 2 casts of Flame and 1 of Lightning. Checking his status he saw he recovered 8 HP from sleep which brought him back to max health. ¡°Now, is that how much I recovered in total or was it capped at my max? Also what is that calculation¡­ the System probably wouldn''t tell me if I asked¡±, Logan deduced. Reaching the front doors, he walked through the doorway, quickly he saw the trio that had invited him sat at the closest table to the door. Noticing him arrive, they stood in unison with raised hands, greeting the mage. With a final check over their gear and bags, the newly formed party walked out the doors of the hall, on to their next quest. --- *** --- Chapter 9 - Harsh Reality of Parties and Spellcasters. Part 1 The newly formed team of 4 adventurers started their journey exiting through the western gates of Tinte, passing pleasantries whilst inside the village confines. Marsh Qway the Knight, Vaela the Fighter, Pon To the Fighter who excelled in archery, and Logan Hall the Wizard who was secretly a Spellthief. A final reconfirmation was given to Logan by the leader Marsh, asking the mage if he was prepared for the journey and battles ahead. Logan agreed, at which point a new window appeared, detailing a part of the mechanics he thought he would need to experiment with. ¡°You have joined a party led by Marsh Qway. Info settings are set to minimal. While in this party you can see your allies'' level, HP and MP numbers, activating skills and spells, experience gain, as well as any active effects. As long as you are an active member in combat you will receive experience from any kills made. Due to having 3 party members, your experience gain is reduced by 30%¡±, the window explained. ¡°So, that explains a lot. No wonder it takes NPCs longer to level if they''re getting less experience in teams. If we fought goblin scouts, I would have needed 15 goblin kills to get from level 1 to 2, but only 10 on my own. But 27 days still doesn''t seem a valid timeline. Since I can see their XP gain, the first kill we get I can get a better idea¡±, Logan calculated. ¡°Do you guys want any micks thrown out during combat?¡±, Logan asked, trying to find a way to still gain XP during encounters. ¡°You know micks? Good, that¡¯ll help. You musta had a good upbringing to afford all those books¡±, Vaela responded, her cold exterior showing little signs of thawing. ¡°Keep them on enemies we''re not currently engaged with if you can. Don''t want any wayward spells to hit us¡±, she ordered. The party moved quickly to the west, without any mounts or vehicles they had quite the journey ahead of them. During what seemed to be a 30-minute crossing, the party did intermingle with discussion. Logan was able to discuss the others'' adventuring experience, most of them starting around the ages of 16 to 18, this being Marsh''s 11th month, Vaela''s 8th and Pon''s 2nd month. Marsh being the oldest and more experienced, hitting 19 next month, was designated as the leader. Vaela just recently hit 18 whereas Pon was still 16 at this point. With the information of ages and timelines for levelling, Logan soon realised just how late he had joined, around 10 years after the youngest member. Apparently, adults were considered of age at 15 for both sexes, the adventurers'' halls allowing any 15 to 60-year-old applicants. Most older-starting adventurers were some form of mage, spending extra time to learn more spells and advanced alterations. Feeling a bit out of place, the older Spellthief made sure to not overstep his bounds with the younger adults. Many questions were asked of the lying mage, though he had a false reply at the ready through quick wit.
Finally, reaching a short forest before a tall hill, almost a mountain, the party stopped for a short rest at the foot of the trees that greeted the grassy plains. Logan moved to use his Clean mick on the party, requested by Marsh, to hide their scent as best as possible, chanting ¡°Waters of everclear, wash away all dirt. Clean¡±. Gear was triple-checked, snacks and water were had, with the leader drawing up a plan for the group. Logan was much more comfortable at this forest, a combination of his adventure the day prior and his newly formed party. As he was designated as a Wizard, he was given free rein to stay back, far away from attacks. Marsh pulled out a small map of the forest with some pre-written notes on it, ¡°Alright, listen up. We have a good 5 or so minutes of travel from the forest to the hill where these goblins have held up. There is a rather sizable hole in the side we''re approaching from, marking the entrance to their cave. It isn''t overly deep, mostly a shelter from the rain, so we''ll draw them out into the open field, the hill has a good stretch of clear land at its base. Up until that point, we shall try to be stealthy, if we spot any goblins, take them out quick and silent, we don''t want them calling for backup.¡± ¡°Me and Logan can hit from afar, your armour may be too loud to get in close. If we time it right, we could kill the scouts in 1 fell swoop¡±, Pon put forward. ¡°Good plan, Logan, keep the incantations quick with your Force mick, go over the lines with Pon so he can time his shots properly¡±, Marsh agreed, nodding to Pon. ¡°The incantation for Force is as follows: ¡®Forces of arcane, build up and crush. Force.'' You should fire when I say ¡®up¡¯, give time for your arrow to hit first and then my mick since it can push them over and make you miss¡±, Logan instructed. ¡°Got it, fire on ¡®up¡¯, we should stick close¡±, Pon confirmed with his allied magi. ¡°Any additionals, me and Vaela will take out. If there are larger groups, our ranged attackers will hit the furthest away¡±, Marsh continued, pointing towards the party as he mentioned them. ¡°Once we hit the cave, we''ll have to reform and decide the next part depending on what happens¡±, he concluded. ¡°If the camp learns of our presence, we should run back the way we came and leave the forest. It will cause them to straggle out as we flee¡±, Vaela suggested. ¡°Hope it doesn''t come to that, but yeah, that''s a better backup than any¡±, Marsh accepted. Looking to one another and reconfirming plans of attack, the party made sure everything was in order. Once they were finished, the team stood up and started to move forward, Marsh and Vaela at the front, Pon and Logan towards the back.
It wasn''t too long until the party came across their first encounter, a single goblin scout, a normal enemy for Logan at this point. ¡°Identify¡±, Logan thought, wanting to see what he had been facing so much yesterday in finer detail. ¡°Goblin Scout - Goblinoid. Level 1: 5/5 HP, 0/0 MP. A small goblinoid creature, trained or rather bludgeoned to go out and gather supplies and information for the main group. Often on their own or in pairs. Stands at around 3 feet tall with simple fur loincloths and sashes¡±, the window detailed to Logan. ¡°Huh, level 1, no wonder they were easier than that wolf. So, is it 100 XP for every level 1 enemy?¡± Logan pondered. The party were able to spot the goblin ahead of time, Marsh made a "V" with his fingers and pointed at the ranged units behind him, motioning for Pon and Logan to attack. The archer and mage moved up to a closer tree, Pon nocked an arrow and awaited Logan. ¡°Forces of arcane, build up and crush. Force¡±, Logan incanted, with the word ¡°up¡± causing Pon to let loose his arrow, hitting dead into the back of the scout. As Logan finished his final word, he felt the energy build up from his chest down his arm as thin grey lines encircled his limb, combining at his palm a small vortex of grey lines formed an orb as it shot out and impacted the goblin with a blast of power. Logan could see that Pon''s shot dealt 5 damage, whereas his Force dealt 2, putting the goblin at -2. More than enough, but the random damage from Pon may have just been high. ¡°2 damage isn¡¯t a lot, but it doesn¡¯t take much to use and I could fire it at range safely.¡± Falling to the floor, the goblin wasn''t even able to react to the attacks. A single twitch went across its arm, and then it went still, an alert popping up with Logan and Pon''s experience. Logan gained less than he was expecting. ¡°67? That isn''t 30% of 100, it should be 70. Unless it''s because I am a level higher than the goblin?¡±, he worried. Looking over to his companion, he saw something even more surprising. Pon was awarded 10 experience for the kill. ¡°What!? Why is it so low? That''s only 10% of what the goblin should give. He is the same level as me, is the penalty greater for NPCs?¡± Logan contemplated. ¡°Good shot, let''s move up. Logan, can you get its ear and gear?¡± Marsh directed. Logan moved up to the goblin, tearing the arrow from its body and passing it back to Pon. Cutting the ear, Logan made sure to pick up its club and coins. ¡°I''ll have to keep an eye on their other XP gains¡±, Logan judged.
Moving deeper, the next group of goblins the party found were 2 scouts and a tougher goblin wielding a metal mace. ¡°Identify¡±, Logan commanded. ¡°Goblin Muscle - Goblinoid. Level 2: 11/11 HP, 0/0 MP. More muscly than their scout allies, the goblin muscle can dish out harsher pain and is normally set up as a guardsman for scouts in more dangerous climates¡±, the window explained to Logan. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Level 2, over double the health and he has an actual weapon now. I would have hated to fight one of those yesterday. At least now we can see the experience difference in levels¡±, Logan surmised. Turning to the party, Marsh waved his hand to have a short discussion. ¡°I''ll charge the mace wielder, Vaela get the closest scout. Pon and Logan you can hit the other scout, we''ll go on my charge¡±, the leader instructed. The team nodded in acknowledgement, Pon nocking an arrow, Vaela getting into a charging stance. Starting off the encounter, Marsh dashed through the tree line the party were hiding within, shouting out loud ¡°Wall of Iron!¡±, he was covered in blue light as he held his shield in front of himself. The goblins heard the shout, turning to look at the Knight heading for the muscle. Vaela was next, running at the closest scout with both swords in hand. ¡°Forces of arcane, build up and crush. Force¡±, Logan enspelled once more. An eruption of force following a singing arrow in the air, bringing the middle scout down without issue. Force dealt the same damage as before. The muscle swung his mace down with fury, though it merely bounced off of Marsh''s shield. In a parry-like display, Marsh swung his shield to the left and pierced forward with his sword, cutting into the muscle for 5 damage. Vaela found her quarry, a scout who at this point only wanted to flee, leaping upwards, she brought down both her swords, slicing off the scout''s arms as they hit the floor with 2 solid thuds. Screaming out with jets of blood, the goblin fell down. Nocking another arrow, Pon shouted ¡°Left!¡± to his allies, Marsh darted to his left as an arrow shot through the air into the muscle, dealing 4 damage. Recoiling from the arrow, the muscle started to let out a roar, but Marsh brought up his shield and slammed it onto the goblin''s head, causing it to bite off its tongue. Holding its mouth in anguish, Marsh let out another slash with his blade, bringing the goblin muscle to the floor to meet his previously-living allies. With the bodies going lifeless, Logan received his experience. Similarly, the NPCs also gained their experience, they all gained ¡°10, 10, and 20¡± each. ¡°Wait, they gained the same? Even the higher levelled adventurers. The calculation seems pretty set for them, they all gained 10% of what the scouts would give, and since I haven''t fought a level 2 on my own I don''t know the normal XP for those. Is it 10% across the board for NPC XP rewards?¡± Logan tried to piece the puzzle together, landing on as close an approximation as he could. While pleased that the hunting was simple, Logan noticed the big jump in XP from level 1 to level 2 enemies. Due to the maths involved with parties, Logan could only guess that the XP increased by around two times. ¡°Safe and quick, if I did this before I could have easily gained another half level in a group¡±, Logan thought back to his previous forest adventure. Sitting at 1,571/3,000 experience, Logan thought he could easily reach level 3 today. If there were at least 20 goblins plus a hobgoblin, and he participated in each fight, he would be above the 3,000 required XP. It felt a bit cheap, but then he was forced into this world without his consent, so Logan would take anything he could get. ¡°Looks clear, Logan, get their gear while we ready up¡±, commanded Marsh yet again. ¡°I did that last time though¡±, Logan reflected. He didn''t want to raise too much in the way of arguments about it, already sitting on a low pedestal due to being a mage. Logan took the command and looted the ears, clubs and maces, as well as coins from the goblins. A minute passed as Logan took up the loot, placing them within a communal bag for enemy loot. The bag was assigned to Marsh, who dropped it whenever combat started, similar to how Logan did it yesterday. Pressing onwards, the party made their way deeper into the forest.
Meeting the halfway mark in their journey, the forest became quite thick in trees and foliage, only having sparse spaces of open fields. Something caught Logan''s eye as his team sallied forth, a thin piece of rope hidden amongst the foliage, throwing out a hand he shouted to Marsh ¡°Get down!¡±. Marsh throwing his head back, he looked to Logan whose eyes were fraught with fear. Seeing it to be a real threat, Marsh jumped to the floor, a loud creaking and swinging of wood filling the small open space with a crashing sound. A large log tied to rope came swinging from up high, barely missing the Knight but grabbing and tossing his shield off into the forest. ¡°Traps! Ambush! At the ready¡±, Marsh ordered, standing to his feet with sword in hand and scanning for his shield. As the team prepared themselves, several rustles of leaves and bushes could be heard as several goblins came charging out at the party. ¡°Fucking monsters¡±, cursed Vaela, who began to slash at approaching scouts. First, she only had to contend with 2 scouts, the closest one taking a double slash from her dual-wielding and hitting the ground with a hard skid. Another scout was able to bash her arm, causing her to lose one attack but still able to retaliate with a returning slash. As the least armoured between her and the leader, in the end a total of 4 goblins assaulted her. Marsh was engaged by 3 scouts who jumped him all at once, his voice booming over the area. ¡°Hard Skin¡±, he commanded, his body coated in a red shield. The strikes against him shimmered against the barrier as he retaliated. Using a combination of punches, ripostes, and sword slashes. He would disorientate one scout to deal with another with 2 slashes, take a hit from another and retaliate. Following in suit, Pon fired shot after shot at charging goblins, aiding his allies. When Vaela was ambushed he would fire at the goblins not currently attacking, or distracting goblins who were in mid-slam. Seeing the confusion, Logan hid behind a nearby tree to quick-cast his micks ¡°Force!... Force!... Force!¡±, he spoke over and over, the yells of his compatriots and adversaries making it near impossible to hear his chants. Alone, Logan took down 2 goblins who were charging his allies, using 3 castings of micks each, with enough testing it seemed like Force would only deal 2 damage for now. Vaela was a flurry of blades, Marsh an indomitable wall, Pon a quick arrow-looser. The battle raged on for a minute before all foes were slain. Surrounded by goblin corpses, the party composed themselves, Marsh regaining his shield. Vaela had taken a few hits, Pon also, though Marsh was not injured at all, probably due to his Knight skills. Vaela was down to 30/42 HP, Pon was at 26/30. ¡°Good eye, Logan. That log would have brought me out of combat for a bit and we would have suffered heavier losses¡±, commended Marsh. Looking over his party members, he moved to check wounds and equipment. ¡°Can you gather up the corpses and gear while I tend to our allies¡±, he asked the uninjured Spellthief. ¡°Again with looting. I saved your ass¡±, Logan cursed in his mind. Begrudgingly, the mage moved to gather up the rewards of battle. As he did so, he was able to inspect the floating experience text of both himself and his allies. In total, there were 9 goblin scouts, each rewarding Logan with 67 XP, ending up with 603 for the encounter. The NPCs were on a much lower end, only gaining a final 90 for the battle. ¡°I guess this is my penalty for gaining so much XP, clean up duty¡±, Logan accepted. He harvested another 9 ears, adding more clubs and coins to the communal loot bag. Marsh had bandaged or applied salves to his allies'' wounds, bringing Vaela back to 35/42 and Pon to 30/30. ¡°Keep an eye out for any more traps, we''re almost at their hill cave, so make sure to keep things quiet¡±, Marsh ordered. His party members nodded in agreement, Logan following suit. As they moved on, Logan noticed a window was behind his head, ordering it to his face, the window had informed him about gaining the Trapfinding SKoL. ¡°Probably got that for noticing the trap, good, it''ll help if we come across other traps in this forest¡±, Logan celebrated.
Either through a great choice of path, or sheer luck, the party were able to reach the base of the hill, the forest becoming less dense as it got closer. Marsh rose a fist to halt his allies, everyone moving to hug a tree each to scout ahead behind cover. From their treeline cover, a stretch of grassy plains led to the hill, around 200 feet away. 2 goblin muscles were stationed at the entrance of the cave, 2 large aflame spikes casting some light in the immediate vicinity. The sun was still high in the sky, so the flames only really helped to light the beginning of the cave. The hill was indeed tall, around 150 feet at its apex. Grass and mud covered it towards the top, corpses of both animals and humans placed across it, though most of the meat had been chewed from the bones. Waving his party a bit closer, the group formed around 3 trees, Pon and Logan sharing a rather fat trunk. ¡°Alright, it doesn''t look like they know anything''s up. Vaela and I will take the muscles down and flank the entrance, Pon, fire as many arrows as possible into that cave, we gotta hope you can thin their numbers before they get out. Logan, use Force at will, but once you see the hobgoblin, let loose all your spells into him. We cannot afford any attacks from the leader, and the rest of us will be focused on the small fry. Pon, cover Vaela if needed¡±, Marsh gave out orders to everyone, it seemed the group were used to their leader and took the commands without question. ¡°How about these?¡± Vaela asked, pulling out 3 balls of cloth dyed black in a sticky substance. ¡°Oil?¡± Logan thought. ¡°Throw those just inside the entrance, and I''ll light them¡±, Pon responded, getting out flint and a cloth-wrapped arrow. ¡°This will be a long fight, 20-30 goblins is no joke. If we take too many hits I will call for retreat. I can''t use Hard Skin due to that ambush earlier, so I will be joining you in pain this time¡±, Marsh reported. ¡°A Knight skill to reduce damage, does that mean he can still use Wall of Iron?¡± Logan wondered. ¡°You can count on me, Marsh¡±, Pon returned. ¡°All clear, boss¡±, Vaela followed. ¡°Affirmative¡±, Logan added. ¡°I got 3 spells to use, if I can see its health I will finally find my spell damage. Hopefully, the hobgoblin catches fire for even more¡±, Logan planned ahead. ¡°Then let''s quell the goblin numbers¡±, Marsh finished. The group stood tall, Marsh and Vaela starting the charge towards the hill cave entrance. Pon nocked his arrow ready, Logan keeping an eye on the entrance, ready to fling some Force micks. The quest was about to get properly underway. --- *** --- Chapter 10 - Harsh Reality of Parties and Spellcasters. Part 2 A bubbling sensation was felt within Logan''s stomach, something he hadn''t felt so strongly since his first entrance into the world of Avanar. A genuine fear, something out of his control, he was about to face off against a small troop of goblins, some possibly above his level. He knew he needed to do this, this world wasn''t entirely kind, and with monsters prowling the fields he didn''t want to be unprepared. The first quest was just to survive, but inference led his thoughts to the dangers that would follow afterwards. ¡°Logan, snap out of it, Marsh and Vaela are almost there!¡± said Pon To, the archer staring daggers at his ranged partner. Brought out of his cage of fear, Logan collected himself. ¡°I have to focus, take down what I can and leave the rest to the party¡±, he reconciled. Turning his head back to the cave entrance, he could see his allies at the base of the hill. Charging with his shield, Marsh slammed into the first muscle, picking him up with his diamond-shaped protector and crushing the goblin against the wall of the hill. Bringing up his longsword, he stabbed at the goblin as if shanking a cell inmate. Vaela started with a leap into the air, landing with a locked-leg grip on the torso and arms of the other muscle. Landing with a thud against the hill, she stabbed down and down onto the enemy, spraying blood across her body. Both muscles were stopped from any sort of retaliation, either from having their limbs locked or their bodies held under a metallic shield. Vaela kicked her now dead quarry to the side of the hill, stabbing one sword into the dirt, she threw the three balls of cloth into the mouth of the cave. Seeing the targets, Pon lit his arrow, the flaming projectile nocked into his bow and aimed high. Letting loose into the air, the arrow soared high and arced down into the mouth of the cave, a perfect shot, the flame caused the rags to inflame. A brighter light shone, Marsh grabbing a hold of the lit spike next to him, preparing it as if it was a spear, Vaela seeing this did the same. Several yells, yelps, and roars could be heard from the cave, as countless footsteps echoed from its belly. Pon began to fire his arrows blindly into the darkness, Logan unable to see if they were making purchase in the hide of his foes. Eventually, the light of the flames shone over several greasy goblins who were first to reach the exit. An arrow hit a left goblin, right through the knee, causing it to fall over and break the shaft of the projectile. Another goblin jumped over the flames, a cry of pain as it burnt his feet. Breaching the exit, he was treated to a flaming spear through the head, Marsh using his strength to fling the body over his back. Following his friends, another scout jumped around the flames to have his side impaled by Vaela''s spear, pulling into her she took another swing with her sword to finish it off. Tumbling could be heard and seen in the cave entrance, some scouts barely making it to the light as they were filled with arrows from Pon. Logan could make out three more kills, Pon letting arrows loose at breakneck speed. More foes were making their way through the cave, five breaching all at once. Marsh charged his spear into the first scout, letting the spear fall with the corpse as he drew his sword from the hill. Shield raised, he blocked a club swing of another scout, though a third goblin hit his leg. Retaliating, he pushed his shield to have the one who hit it fall to the floor, bringing his sword on the one who hit his leg. Two arrows landed solidly in the body of the floor goblin from Pon. The other two goblins leapt at Vaela, as she missed with her spear. Heavy club swings hit her in the face and shoulder, in anger she slashed out at one goblin, hitting him twice. With a swift kick, she knocked the other goblin off-guard, a slash and arrow causing one more monster to fall. Not able to see much room to help, as he was forced into roleplaying the chanting of spells, Logan began to repeatedly chant his line of script and shot into the darkness. He was unsure if he was hitting anything, or if the spells lost their velocity and merely hit the floor instead, but he felt too much like ¡°warming the bench¡±. ¡°Forces of arcane, build up and crush. Force¡±, he would recite, over and over. Instead of more goblinoids, the next thing to emerge was a large barrel, hurled from the entrance of the cave, the rags being picked up and torn apart as the barrel exploded into splinters and black dust. Glittering in the light, the dust quickly ignited and exploded, causing the two front liners to get hit with burning shards of wood as well as a shockwave from the blast. ¡°Gunpowder barrel!?¡± a shocked Logan guessed. Checking his allies'' statuses, Marsh was at 51/66 HP, Vaela standing at 28/42. ¡°They should be fine for now, but I''m worried about the-¡±, Logan began to think, but then was cut off. A larger presence barreled through the cave entrance, swinging fist and large mace on either side, missing Vaela but hitting the shield of Marsh, a tingling sensation going up his arm. ¡°Hob-Hobgoblin! Fire! Fuck!¡± Marsh shouted out in a decree. Logan began his incantation, eyeing up this new foe. The hobgoblin stood at a massive 7'', its muscles were large and pulsating. Guarding its hide was pieces of metallic plating, hard leather, and the skulls of his foes. What skin he could see, the hobgoblin was of a dark-green with brown patches, its eyes an evil red with scarring all across his face. ¡°From the fires within, burst forward and burn it down! Flame Shot!¡± Logan chanted, worried if he should even bother keeping up his roleplay at this point. Fire ignited Logan''s hand, dancing across his palm and fingers. Thrusting forward at the hobgoblin, the fire surged across the plains, dipping slightly, it landed in an explosion of cinders, marking the leader in hot flames. As the spell began to fade away, the hobgoblin had obviously failed its save, ignited by the flames. Though this only made it look even more fierce. ¡°C''mon, take him down guys¡±, Logan worried. ¡°Identify¡±, he thought, hoping to gauge the power of this foe. Instead of gaining detailed information about his foe, all Logan got was its name as ¡°Hobgoblin Leader¡± and a picture of red skulls and crossbones topped with a golden crown. ¡°It''s over level 4, does that crown denote it as a boss?¡± he panicked. Getting a taste of Logan''s magic, the leader turned its head to the forest, letting out a roar and words in goblin tongue ¡°Mono mose! Hyse, takka is head¡± it commanded. Several more goblins came pouring out of the entrance, scouts and muscles alike, who tried to charge into the forest. Vaela started to cut away at the minions, slicing a scout twice and kicking a muscle to the floor. Marsh supplanted the face of a muscle with his shield, stabbing at it against the hill. The hobgoblin, followed by four scouts and two muscles, went after the caster and his archer ally. Saliva heated on the face of the hobgoblin, his mace dragging a dirt path behind him. ¡°It''s coming for me! Why did I have to attack first¡±, Logan cursed. ¡°Crap, crap, crap! Logan, keep firing, get that bastard down!¡± Pon ordered, letting loose arrows at the leader, though its armour proved thick against the small projectiles. One landed into its shoulder, where the armour wasn''t as thick but did little to slow the leader. ¡°Fr-From the fires within, bu-burst forward and burn it down! Flame Shot!¡± Logan wavered in his confidence, a flaming menace mere moments away. Sparks of fire came alive in his hand, thrust forward they danced across the air towards the leader, exploding into a fiery star on his chest. The leader roared out in pain, slowing his pursuit for a few seconds, the smaller goblins running past him to the ranged party members. ¡°I got the small fry, keep hitting the big guy!¡± commanded Pon. Seeing his arrows have little effect on the leader, he shot at the fast-approaching goblins who were a mere 100 feet away. Hitting a muscle in both legs, it tumbled to the floor, having a scout behind fall over his friend. In the distance, Vaela had just finished off her two goblins, jumping on the back of another to help out Marsh who had been bludgeoned several times. Amongst them, they only had one more muscle to deal with. Checking their status quickly, Marsh had 38/66 HP, Vaela 19/42. ¡°Crackle and spark, from above be smited! Lightning Shot!¡± Logan continued in his casting of spells, the whites in the eyes of the hobgoblin visible at this point. A spark of life came to being in Logan''s hand, electricity coursing through him. Throwing his hand out, the lightning acred towards the leader, shocking him completely. Logan''s eyes widened, as the leader was only halted for another second or two. Running into the tree in front of him, Logan double-kicked off its trunk to the side as the hobgoblin swung its great mace through the trunk. The tree cracked and fell with the attack, branches splintering off and flying across the battlefield. One goblin jumped onto Pon, another clubbing at the young man''s leg. A sharp snap was heard, Logan hearing his ally''s bones being shattered. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. As he was about to quick-cast to save his ally, Logan was halted by a longsword hurtled in his direction. Planting solidly in the head of a scout, the longsword pulled the goblin to the floor. Looking over the battlefield, Logan could see Vaela charging down with her swords in hand and hugging a shield, Marsh recovering from a two-handed toss of his sword. ¡°Logan! Grab Pon and move!¡± Marsh shouted over, grabbing a flung shield from Vaela. ¡°General''s Charge!¡± he yelled, a yellow lion''s-head mirage appearing over him. Hurtling into the hobgoblin, he knocked the tyrant to the floor. Vaela sprinted to the minions, cutting as fast as she could. Logan hearing the command dashed to Pon, whose leg was caved in at the knee. Grabbing a hold of his cloak, Logan dragged his ally from another club swing of a scout. With a solid kick to the face, Logan disorientated the scout, before kneeling to pick up his archer member. Princess carrying Pon off, Logan sprinted back into the open plains, away from the mass of goblins. Checking his status, Pon was sitting at 6/30 HP. The hunk of meat that was the hobgoblin stood once more, great mace in hand it swung wildly, hitting Vaela solidly in her head, causing her to fly across the grass plains. Brought down to 9/42 HP, Vaela shakily stood up from the blow, defending against another muscle''s mace hit. There were only 3 minions left, with the hobgoblin now focused on a defending Marsh. One swing hit against the large shield, letting out a loud gong noise, the shield glowing blue once more. Logan could see that Marsh was under the effects of Wall of Iron again. Protecting Pon, Logan began to throw out his Force mick, aiding Vaela in her 3-on-1 encounter. Vaela took a club to the hip, using the momentum she slashed at a muscle to her left, nearly decapitating the foe. Spinning around, she gave a roundhouse kick to another scout, digging its face into the floor. A crash of Force into the remaining muscle pushed him to the floor, failing his Strength save, which allowed Vaela to pierce deep into its back. Another loud bang hit against Marsh, whose skill shattered like blue glass all over. Hit to the floor from the force, Marsh was assaulted again with the great mace, his body sinking into the dirt. Shooting for the leader, Logan let out long-roleplay Force micks, though it didn''t seem to do much, inflicting weapon damage instead of elemental. Checking his allies, he could see them fading fast. Pon at 6/30 HP, Vaela 2/42, Marsh 22/66. The hobgoblin still raged in flames, taking 1 fire damage every 6 seconds, the combat hadn''t lasted overly long but the small attrition added up. Panting heavily, the leader was close to death, slamming down into Marsh, dealing him a reduced 4 damage. Vaela tried to charge into aid, but her wounds caught up to her, with a dizzying vision she fell to one knee. ¡°Logan¡­ take¡­ take my cloak off¡±, a beaten Pon requested. ¡°What? Ok¡±, Logan accepted, tearing the knot in front of Pon''s chest and pulling his cloak off. Revealing underneath his clothes soaked in blood, Logan could see that attached to Pon''s now revealed arm was a wrist-crossbow. Moving to unlatch it, the crossbow jumped open. ¡°Bolt... in cloak¡±, a deathly Pon continued. Logan quickly moved into the cloak and found several bolts attached on its underside. He took one and helped Pon load his wrist-crossbow. A weak arm aimed at the hobgoblin, Logan quickly helped to aid in the aim. Yet another slam hit into Marsh''s shield, an alert played over his body ¡°Critical!¡± as he went down to 4/66 HP. A coughing Marsh showed signs of pain and anguish, his body becoming flattened by a monstrous foe. Together, Pon and Logan fired the crossbow at the hobgoblin. Darting across the field, cutting the air, the bolt soared towards its target. With a raised club, the hobgoblin prepared for a deathblow but was halted by a sharp sensation. The bolt pierced right into its eye, pushing its sight into its brain. The great mace fell to the floor behind the hobgoblin, the body stumbling back, then slowly, it fell back to the floor, atop its mace. A loud and off-putting jitter of its flaming legs was seen, the body seizing up and then going limp, the battle was won. Countless messages appeared over the bodies, rewarding the party for a job well done, though the NPCs would find little cheer in their injuries as they were unable to see their XP rewards. In total, they had fought 16 goblin scouts, 6 goblin muscles, and the hobgoblin leader. Putting Logan on 4,891 XP, he levelled up without any doubt, only requiring 3,000 for level 3. The window to inform him of such appearing as the battlefield was still, the wounded party picking themselves up. ¡°Level up! Gain: 8 HP, +1 Str, +2 Agi, +1 Con, +2 Int, +1 Wis, +1 Cha. You have 1 attribute point to spend¡±, a great level to be sure, Logan incredibly pleased with the growth awarded him for such a close battle. ¡°Every attribute got an increase, my main two getting +2 each, it either works on fractions or specific levels grant more¡±, he thought, helping Pon into a more comfortable position. With Pon laid on the grassy floor, Logan moved over to help dig Marsh out of his crater, a familiar sight to Logan that reminded him of his own entry into this world. Dirt broke off as Marsh arose from the earth. ¡°That went awry quick, I didn''t count 30 though, so keep an eye out. The quest was just for the hob, so we''ll head out when able¡±, Marsh instructed, locking his shield onto his back and moving to his thrown longsword. Vaela had helped herself up, bruises and enlarged parts of her skin showing a deadly battle had occurred. She moved over to the fallen Pon to inspect his leg. ¡°Marsh, we need to set this and head on, we can''t take on much more today¡±, she called out. Marsh quickly moved over, followed by Logan. Pulling out a thick stick from his pack, he placed it in the clenched teeth of Pon. ¡°Bite hard, this won''t be pleasant¡±, Marsh instructed Pon. With Vaela holding him still, Marsh took a hold of the backwards leg, one arm on the lower portion and another at the caved-in knee. Two quick motions and he ¡°popped¡± it back into place, though this sort of field medicine would never fly in Logan''s world. A scream of agony erupted through the stick that Pon bit on. ¡°That looks terrible, all quests better not be this hazardous¡±, Logan wished. Tending to his allies, Marsh asked an untouched Logan to loot the bodies once again, though this time he had little resentment for it, the 3 members of his team nearing death. With the party patching up what they could, long flat pieces of wood and cloth being applied to the broken leg of Pon, Logan moved between the corpses. He was able to obtain 22 more goblin ears, the hobgoblin ear, as well as all of their coin pouches and clubs. The great mace was a bit tricky, due to its weight, but another trip to Marsh was all that was needed to collect it. ¡°Shame we can''t loot their cave, but there could be more inside, and with no spells and one member down I don''t want to risk it¡±, Marsh explained, his body not looking any better than the others. More red than white, the party was a mess of bruising and blood. ¡°I''ll have to come back here on my own at some point, their base is bound to have loot inside it if they''ve been killing humans and possibly other adventurers. If there are no more hobgoblins, I could stealth kill any I come across if I pick up Multi-Backstab. The muscles may give me issues though¡±, Logan planned.
With what healing could be done finished up, the party gathered up their gear though most of it was badly damaged. Pon was princess carried by Logan again, the party agreeing that Vaela and Marsh could do more with hands free. Double-checking their status, Marsh was at 6/66 HP, Vaela 4/42, and Pon at 8/30. Logan was sitting pretty at 32/32, having not been touched during any encounter. They had all received a total of 160 XP from the scouts, 120 XP from the muscles, and a final 100 XP from the hobgoblin leader. The badly damaged party made their way back through the forest, taking the same path they used to get to the cave entrance. During the trip, Logan thought over his new attribute point to spend. ¡°Seeing how parties are going to be relying on my spells, Intelligence may be better than Agility at this point. Though yet again I gained no slots at my level up, so I am still restricted to 3 a day. Putting a point into Int would make it 16, meaning I might deal 4 or more damage with Force, which isn''t too bad considering before this level I was doing only 2. I could level Agility and Intelligence side-by-side, having a split focus between my main ways of attack¡±, he deliberated for a while. Asking his System, it had no valuable response to what sort of Intelligence would be required to unlock its features. ¡°If I could get this thing to work with me, I would have a much simpler time. Fine, let''s do it. System, place attribute point into Intelligence¡±, with a final thought, Logan decided his course of action, confirming his choice with a ¡°yes¡±. There was no immediate change, so Logan assumed no further mechanics had unlocked.
Luckily, the path back out of the forest was safer than it was heading in, the corpses of the previous goblin encounters still laying slumped at tree trunks. The body of Pon became a heavy weight on Logan''s arms but with a 12 in Strength, he was able to persevere and bear the pressure. Leaving the forest behind, Pon was passed around the three party members as their 30-minute return began, though due to the slowed movement of carrying loot and an archer it instead became a 40-minute journey. A few compliments circled the group, keeping the atmosphere cheery against the throbbing sensations they had all across their bodies. Sensing he would be getting a new skill point sooner rather than later, Logan began investigating his skill windows once more. The walk was long and arduous, but with no sight of enemies on the plains, it was a welcome time of recovering from wounds. Tinte appeared on the horizon as the party of Marsh, Vaela, Pon, and Logan had reached a bastion of security. With thoughts on healers and warm beds, the adventurers had made it back. --- *** --- Chapter 11 - Harsh Reality of Parties and Spellcasters. Part 3 With the sounds of the village replacing that of nature and goblin encampments, the party was at ease. On arrival, Pon was being carried by Vaela, both showing visible signs of brutal combat all over their body. Marsh was not too far behind in his aesthetic, shades of black and blue overcoming his sandy-yellow skin. Standing tall and somewhat out of place was Logan, having not taken a single hit in combat. Making ample use of his Clean mick, Logan made the party more presentable as he cleaned away both dirt and blood. Thankfully the magic did not irritate nor make use of any harmful chemicals like cleaning did back in Logan''s world. ¡°This would have made laundry day so much easier¡±, an experienced Spellthief thought to himself. Thinking about the day''s work, having spent 2 hours on the quest which led the day to noon, Logan pondered on how NPCs worked differently to him. Calculating the XP, the final battle only granted 380 XP to his allies, whereas he gained 2,717, easily seven times the amount. If that was a hard quest, ending off with a boss, Logan could see why it took almost a month or longer for NPCs to gain a level. His level 1 to level 2 required 10 goblin scout kills, but for an NPC it would require 100 kills using the maths involved in a 4-man party. ¡°With this kind of growth disparity, I can''t really stick with the same people. They are bound to see me gaining power at a ludicrous rate. Hell, I gained 2 levels in 2 days, where the fastest NPC here took 27 days for 1 level. Though that might still be down to the low number of adventurers here¡±, Logan deduced. Stopping outside of the adventurers'' hall, Marsh turned to the party. ¡°Vaela, take Pon to the Devouts to get his leg sorted, I will hand over the information and sell off our loot. We can form up at the hall in about an hour to settle debts then. Logan, can you hand the ear of the hobgoblin to the client? He is in the south part of town, an alchemist by the name of Woriss¡±, Marsh set out the orders for his team. ¡°Got it, boss, c''mon Pon¡±, Vaela responded, readjusting her arms under the archer. ¡°Thanks, Vaela, sorry to be such a burden¡±, Pon apologised. ¡°Speak nothing of it, you thinned the numbers greatly¡±, Vaela reassured. Nodding to Marsh and Logan, Vaela and Pon headed to the west part of town to get Pon healed. Taking the ear from the communal bag, Logan spoke. ¡°Sure, I can bring this on down, I should be back in time¡±, Logan stated. Before he could leave, Marsh put an arm around his shoulder to bring him in close for a quieter conversation. ¡°Look, I know you''re a spellcaster, but you did good work today. The trapfinding, and helping to bring down the minions. I¡¯ll give you a bonus, 15% share instead of the normal 10% for casters¡±, the leader spoke, giving off a familial aura. ¡°15!? And that''s better than normal for a caster? That means they would have got 30% each!¡± Logan was furious, but he had agreed to it beforehand and was expecting some sort of lower pay due to the information he had gathered. ¡°T-thanks, Marsh. I did try to go the extra mile.¡± ¡°And it showed. Hopefully, when we''re all healed up we can set off again together, though it may be a while before we take on something that difficult or needing of a mage¡±, Marsh replied, a bit of a hopeful laugh in his speech. Splitting off from one another, Marsh headed to the guild to make his report and Logan went to the south. ¡°Bloody world rules, how is this the etiquette around here? Yeah, sure, casters have limited spells per day, but if they''re so valued for bosses they should get more than an insulting 10%. If it sticks at a third less than other team members depending on party size that is appalling. But, this is what I have to deal with if I want to get more income and not just XP, though the experience from that quest was quite the haul¡±, Logan complained to himself. Hearing the pay gap, Logan now realised why he was put to loot gathering duty, it was to make up for his lack of impact within combat. His group knew about micks, so they probably also knew how little damage they did. When compared to full-on weapons with class and attribute bonuses included, a Force did much less than other members did with basic attacks. Cursing his situation, Logan pressed on quickly to the client.
His legs getting tired from the day''s work, Logan reached the house in question within 10 minutes. A rather large shack when compared to the dismal ones dotted around the village, it had a fresh coat of light-green paint accented with painted dark-green clovers. The door was dark-brown with light-brown frames and hinges. Knocking at the door, a voice was heard within. ¡°Enter!¡± it called. A low-tone voice belonging to a middle-aged man. Opening the door, Logan entered into what he now saw to be an apothecary. Vials lined the walls, components cooking in vials or stewing in pots. Streams of green mist lifted from burning candles and sticks. The whole room smelt of freshly cut grass combined with a honey overtone. ¡°Ah, an adventurer. Are you my employee?¡±, the man at the far end asked. Draped in a long brown cloak, the hunched over alchemist showed he had a worse posture than the librarian Bobcu. ¡°Might I ask your name, sir?¡± ¡°It''s Woriss, come in further, you''re letting the warmth out¡±, the alchemist pleaded. Closing the door behind him, Logan moved up to the counter that Woriss sat at. ¡°Yes, sir. Our party just returned, I was to give you the ear of the hobgoblin?¡± Logan said as he picked the component from one of his pouches. Snatching the ear away, Woriss began to look it over intently. ¡°Ah, yes. Yes. Wonderful. Your handiwork is marvellous, this is easily a high-quality ear¡±, Woriss commended. ¡°What? Damn, I should have checked it beforehand¡±, Logan cursed his lack of foresight. Picking up a small bowl, Woriss placed the ear inside and poured a red liquid onto it. His head jerked up quickly, noticing Logan was still there. ¡°That''s all, adventurer. I will make sure to inform the hall you handed it off to me.¡± ¡°Oh, ok. Well, good day then, Woriss¡±, Logan replied, slightly disheartened as he expected a bit more from the alchemist. Leaving the alchemists shop, Logan started his journey back to the hall. ¡°That was the first high-quality component I had ever collected. It''s a shame he didn''t give me a tip for it. High-quality components are meant to be worth 25% more than their base value, and help in creating higher tier items¡±, Logan was irritated, but he couldn''t do much about it.
Arriving back in the hall, Logan was met by Marsh who had his breastplate placed on a table, resting his body from the quest. With a hearty wave, Marsh invited Logan to the table, on approach Logan could see a large sack of coins beside the resting Knight. ¡°Found that alchemist fine then?¡± Marsh inquired. ¡°Yeah, wasn''t too difficult, not one for words though.¡± ¡°Probably lost in thought over that reagent. He''d be working on a strong potion, I bet a silver on it¡±, Marsh responded. Starting to poke at the pouch he continued. ¡°That quest paid 50 silver pieces, the ears and weapons added in another 18 silver. So, your share is 10 silver and 2 copper. Us 3 will get around 19 silver each, depending on the cost of healing and arrows. We would have gotten more if we cleared out the cave, but we did not have the best of luck outside of it¡±, Marsh informed Logan. ¡°Instead of getting triple my pay, they are getting just under double¡±, Logan calculated. ¡°It is a shame, but our lives come first eh¡±, Logan replied, a playful smile on his face. ¡°Too true. A possible 6 or so goblins wasn''t a big motivator for me to press on. We''ll probably take it easy for a while, pick up smaller quests without any leaders or such.¡± ¡°Why not do some villager quests?¡± ¡°Hah! That''s a good one. Ow, ow, hurts to laugh a bit right now.¡± ¡°Well, they are risk-free, just gotta do a lot of labour.¡± ¡°Oh. You''re serious? Us classed don''t tend to work on those much, the pay is horrendous and does little to train us for higher tasks¡±, Marsh realised and explained, confirming what Ruben¨¦ had stated the day before. ¡°More for me I guess. Tapped outta spells there isn''t much more I can do today.¡± Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°Do what you have to, I won''t stop you. Shame you''re on the low end for slots though, would have made the day easier. Though I suppose you still have an extra spell or 2 above a spelly.¡± ¡°Have you worked with many Sorcerers or Wizards before? Got any preference?¡± Logan asked, hoping to gauge party makeup better. ¡°Fought alongside 2 sorcs and 1 wiz. You make ¡®2¡¯ wizs. For low ranking members, Wizards are far better than Sorcerers. You pack more spells in a day than Sorcerers, and at that point, you don''t know a whole lot different in the way of spells. A rank 1 Sorcerer normally gets 1 or 2 spells in a day, Wizard is closer to 3 to 6. But that is only what I have seen and heard.¡± ¡°So, no matter what, I was a sight better than a Sorcerer of my rank. Good thing it all worked out fine in the end, well, fine in that we all survived¡±, Logan replied. ¡°So, some more insight into the classes. Even as a hybrid, I have more spells than a Sorcerer. Though the System mentioned the base classes gained more MP and slots per day with their level and Intelligence attributes, so I am lagging behind in the number of spells per day¡±, Logan surmised. ¡°It all worked out, yeah. By the way, us 3 all live in Tinte. So keep an eye out for us if you''re wanting a group for any quest. I did say we''re gonna take it easy so give it a few days, but I doubt we''d say no. Normal rate though.¡± ¡°I''ll make sure to, I aim to complete quite a few quests.¡± The conversation between the Knight and Spellthief continued on for a while. Exchanging pleasantries, Logan learnt a bit more about how the hall operated, what teams normally set up as, and how hunting typically goes through.
It passed the hour mark, hitting an hour and a half, before Vaela and a now-hobbling Pon returned to the hall. The two members at the table waved to the returning two, who made their way to the table. ¡°Settled in fine then I see¡±, Vaela spoke. ¡°Yeah, just chatting the time away with Logan here. How''s the leg, Pon?¡± Marsh examined. ¡°Bit stiff, but the Devouts did amazing work, came to 2 silver though¡±, Pon displayed his leg to his leader. It had a few wooden splints placed on the sides but looked much better than it had earlier. ¡°Glad healing magic is so powerful here, I''ll have to see if there are any Devout adventurers¡±, Logan pondered. ¡°Sorted out the after-quest details then, boss?¡± Vaela inquired. ¡°Yeah, quest handed in, client seen to, and all loot sold off. Comes to 68 silver in all. Though that brings me to a point of note¡±, Marsh answered, standing at the table. ¡°Due to his valued input during the mission and frequent use of micks, I have decided that Logan will be getting a 15% share for this mission. I hope you''re all fine with that?¡± Pon and Vaela looked to one another, nodding in agreement. ¡°We''re cool with that¡±, Vaela confirmed. ¡°Yeah, he deserves it¡±, Pon added. Smiles met a still slightly annoyed Logan, though since this was better than the norm, he accepted it with a forced smile. Money was handed out, Logan being given his 10 silver and 2 copper, putting him at 11 silver and 18 copper in total. ¡°With this, I have a choice of ¡®Magi¡¯s Magick Vol. 1¡¯ or ¡®Tinkering Beginning¡¯, I will probably go get that spell tome after we''re finished here¡±, Logan planned. ¡°If you lot don''t mind, I''m gonna take Pon back to his house, and then settle in early myself. My body hurts all over and I could do with a soak¡±, Vaela put forward, standing up from the table. ¡°My hero!¡± Pon jokingly said to Vaela, his hands up and ready to be carried again. ¡°You can walk now, just take a hold of my shoulder¡±, Vaela snapped at the too friendly archer. Helping him to a stand, Vaela escorted Pon out of the adventurers'' hall. Both Marsh and Logan waved them off with another goodbye. Marsh was the next to stand, placing a hand on Logan''s shoulder. ¡°Good work again, I am going to head to an early rest too. I feel like a pancake after that hobgoblin treated me like a nail. See you around, Logan¡±, he reported. ¡°Yeah, till next time, Marsh¡±, Logan returned. As was routine at this point, Logan stood from his table and went over to the counter to converse with Ruben¨¦. Looking at her, Logan noticed that she was intently watching his conversation with his party. Although, as he approached she tried to look nonchalant but came off more startled than anything. ¡°Afternoon, Ru, how is the day treating you?¡± he queried. ¡°Oh, Logan. It''s good to see you returned safely. I saw you had been assigned to the hobgoblin band quest, you had me worried, but it looks like I didn''t need to be¡±, Ru responded, eyeing up Logan for injuries. ¡°I was able to dodge and weave around attacks easily enough, I can''t say the same for my allies though. A few of them will be out of commission for a while.¡± ¡°Good!.. I mean about you dodging, not the ally part. Anyway, want me to update your signet?¡± ¡°If you don''t mind, thanks¡±, Logan replied, handing over his signet. Just like before, Ru placed a resin in the area where the 6 was in front of Logan''s completed quests and replaced it with a 7. ¡°3 to go¡±, Logan thought, his additional objectives nearing completion. ¡°Since you''re able-bodied, are you going to pick up another quest today? Or are you tapped out mentally?¡± ¡°I was actually going to go purchase a spell tome, I feel like I need a wider range of spells to keep up with some of these quests¡± ¡°Well, that will be rest of a sort. I''ll see you tomorrow then?¡± ¡°I may do some villager quests, depends on what the book entails. But if not, have a good night, Ru.¡± ¡°You too, Logan.¡± Leaving through the doors of the adventurers'' hall, Logan exited into a bright afternoon, probably around 1pm or so. ¡°Still so much to the day left, I could pick up a quest or two and then read at night¡±, Logan formulated. Before any more plans were made, however, Logan made his way to the library.
Returning to the dilapidated library, Logan found it to be untouched since his last visit. Entering inside, Logan made his way to the circular counter, though this time a feather duster adorned its top, the counter had been cleaned at some point. The cleared away dust let the counter breathe a bit of life and colour into the reading establishment, showing off a lovely reddish-brown hue. Sat within the middle of the counter was Bobcu, napping as usual though rudely awoken as the cold draft that Logan brought with him hit against the older man. ¡°Brr, who''s there? Ah, Logan, welcome back. I was expecting you¡±, Bobcu responded, pulling his cloak over himself, even more, to warm up. ¡°Afternoon, Bobcu, I got back from today''s quest just over an hour ago. Got some money in hand to purchase ¡®Magi''s Magick Vol. 1¡¯ from you.¡± ¡°Must have been quite the mission to bring in 10 silver. I have it here still for you, sir¡±, Bobcu countered, pulling the tome up from under his counter. Logan started to count out the 10 silver pieces, placing them on the counter for Bobcu to take, which he did when he saw the right amount. ¡°Wonderful, first purchase in a good while¡±, Bobcu applauded. Sliding the book across the counter, Logan took his purchase from the librarian. ¡°Thank you, Bobcu. If I get a good stream of income you may see me again at some point.¡± ¡°Well, I better get to doing a good cleaning of this place then¡±, Bobcu acknowledged, a half-toothed smile appearing on his face. Snapping his fingers, Bobcu let off a small yellow spark, the book in Logan''s hand vibrating slightly as he felt some magic waning in it. ¡°All unlocked for you, have a good read, young man¡±, Bobcu uttered. ¡°I will do so, have a good rest of the day, Bobcu.¡± Book in hand, Logan left the library and made sure to shut the door behind him to not make the older gentleman any colder than he already had. Flipping a leather strap from the cover of the book, leaving it dangling from the reverse side, Logan unlocked the book and opened it to its first page. A quick glance revealed the book to indeed be a beginner''s manual into spellcasting for Wizards and Sorcerers; a few instructions for Devouts were also held within its pages. Reading over the contents page, Logan found that the book would teach him several spells. From the first level spells listings he would learn: Aqua, Flame, Frost, Gaia, Lightning, Necromantic, Wind, and a combination spell Infuse. For alterations, the book only instructs Shot which Logan already knew. The book also had some introductory lessons on summoning magics, though they were both listed as second-level spells: Summon _ Elemental and Zombify. A window appeared, slightly surprising the reading Spellthief as it had been some time since the last input from the System. ¡°All spells within this tome are available to the Spellthief class. As you already know Flame and Lightning, on completion of this tome you will increase 1 tier in each spell¡±, it explained. ¡°It seems to cover the whole elemental spectrum, at least at a glance, no mention of light, holy, or good type spells. The summoning spells are interesting, if I could have allies to help me aside from NPCs I could hunt more efficiently with backstab. It''s gonna be a while before then though, I don''t have access to level 2 spells and this book is quite big¡±, Logan rationalised, looking over the pages he could see the book had around 250 to 300 pages in total. Placing the book within his bag, which was thoroughly cleaned with the use of his Clean mick, Logan stored his knowledge away for later. ¡°I should probably invest in a backpack, these goblins sacks aren''t too good¡±, Logan concluded.
Heading to the shopping district, Logan perused the selection of backpacks before settling on an adventurer''s backpack that had several compartments, hooks for rope and weapons, as well as net holders for waterskins. A lovely combination of reds, browns, and blacks, the backpack was a shade better than his hand-me-down corpse bags. Bargaining it down to 4 copper, he traded in some of his other pouches and bags for 3 copper back. Placing his book in a much more secure and comfy position within his new backpack, Logan headed back to the adventurers'' hall to finish the day off with some busy work. ¡°Let''s complete this objective¡±. --- *** --- Chapter 12 - The Third Owners With another 4 to 5 hours of good daylight left, Logan picked up the final villager quests from the board at the adventurers'' hall, 6 in total. Again, the staff member on the podium noted Logan as the adventurer assigned to them, holding an inquisitive look to his gaze. ¡°Get these sorted and that''s one additional objective done. Might as well clear the board out in case I get another skill point¡±, Logan rationalized. Leaving the hall, Logan went on to another slew of labour for the common folk. The first quest to be undertaken was that of helping the local lumber yard to chop firewood for the citizens. A cold wind was brewing and they couldn''t keep up with demand. With a 12 Strength, Logan had no issue cutting the wood, and a 16 Agility meant he could do it at a blistering speed. Doing the work of 5 employees, Logan was able to help the crew meet their supply. Paid 3 copper for an hour of work, Logan headed off to the next job. 1 silver, 20 copper. 8/10 quests. Returning to the hall, Logan arrived just in time to help the staff members organize their stock of items and clean the stadium. With amazing speed, Logan darted up and down the stairs, sorted through shelves, and pulled around debris within the stadium after its assessments. With little fatigue, Logan was able to help out within another hour, getting paid 3 copper for his work. He did have a short break, drinking water and chatting with Ruben¨¦, where they talked about recent quests. 1 silver, 23 copper. 9/10 quests. A surprising third quest led Logan back to the library, Bobcu having asked for a cleaner to spruce up the library in a quick time. Even more surprised was Bobcu who saw that Logan had accepted it. ¡°Well, it was meant to be so that you could see a better library. But hey, I guess you get some of that coin back¡±, Bobcu informed Logan. Due to the sheer size of the library, it took Logan a long two hours to repeatedly use his Clean mick across the shelves and windows. He made sure to ask Bobcu to leave the library while he worked, allowing him to quick-cast his mick without worry. Two hours later, he was paid 6 copper for his help. 1 silver, 29 copper. 10/10 quests! With the completion of his third villager quest, an alert popped up, informing Logan he had completed one of his additional objectives. It noted his final reward would be higher, though didn''t tell him what it would be beforehand. Wanting to keep his streak going, however, he continued aiding the villagers. Moving onto the fourth quest, Logan was tasked with noting down the exterior walls of the village, making sure everything was in top repair with no sign of attack. Combining his Agility and Intelligence attributes, Logan was able to inspect the walls at a hastened pace, writing down notes on parchment with a quill that were supplied to him by the client. Identification was a major boon too, as it could be used on structures just like objects. Overall, the walls saw some weakened sections in the south due to lower terrain and recent rain, the west also had some dug holes around the walls, signs of goblins scattered about. Making his report, Logan was paid 4 copper for two hours of work. 1 silver, 33 copper. 11 quests done, 9 villagers. Identification tier increase. ¡°If only I had this before that hobgoblin encounter, I probably could have identified it at that level difference¡±, Logan cursed. Accepting what he couldn''t change, the hard-working Spellthief had run out most of the day''s light and so decided to head back to the Dogslop Inn after handing over his quest contracts to Ruben¨¦. Ruben¨¦ was as thankful as ever, reaffirming that Logan had done more for the villagers individually than the other adventurer''s at the hall ever had. With his signet adjusted to note he had done 11 quests, he made his way back to the Dogslop Inn.
¡°Ho, Logan. A room again tonight?¡± the innkeeper Coach asked, a hearty wave inviting Logan in from the doorway. ¡°Yes please, Coach. Long day of work again¡±, Logan answered, making his way to the counter. ¡°The same room is still available, just as you left it, aside from it getting the normal servicing between visits¡±, Coach informed with a smile on his face. The innkeeper placed the key for room 6 onto the counter as Logan handed over 5 copper. ¡°Not many customers lately then?¡± ¡°We''ve had a good string of customers actually, they often have to share rooms, 2 to 4 each. Though your room stayed free¡±, Coach replied, seemingly insinuating that he left it open for Logan. ¡°Guess that good rep is following me around¡±, Logan surmised. Taking up his key, Logan thanked Coach before heading back up to his room. While he could instantly clean himself via the use of his Clean mick, it didn''t have the same sensations of a good bath. Soaking away the pains of a long day, Logan used Clean to dry himself off before sitting in his straw bed back lent up against the wall. Placing a hand into his newly-bought backpack, he picked out the new tome he bought today ¡°Magi''s Magick Vol. 1¡±. The night was young at around 8pm or so, giving Logan plenty of time to dig into the long process of book reading. ¡°How long has it been since I actually read a proper book and not some instruction manual? Well, I guess this is an instruction book of sorts since it''s teaching me magic¡±, Logan pondered. Reading slowly, Logan investigated the pages of the books intently as not to miss any information. The first 30 or so pages explained magic as a whole, though a lot of the details were old as the System summarised it earlier. There was no mention of MP, just spellforce, as this world''s naming convention for it. Aside from the previous information, he was able to glean a few tidbits of information the System didn''t tell him earlier. As he read, the System also gave him some window alerts to notify him that his guidebook was expanding as he learnt more about the world. A new summary of magic was added into his System. ¡°Mana Points, referred to as Spell Force by the native dwellers of Avanar, is the fuel used in casting spells that don''t run off of spell slots. The calculation for MP is your casting class level plus your (Intelligence-10)/3, or Wisdom in the case of Devouts. If someone is using Magic Vision, they can tell the amount of MP a creature has remaining due to an aura around their body, emanating to 1 inch per 1 MP in height and 0.5 inches per 1 mp in width. Classes that use spell slots do not emanate a magical aura and so can hide how many spells they have left.¡± ¡°Good, I can hide my number of slots from the examiners and other mages. That''ll help in keeping my class a secret since I don''t gain more slots based on my Intelligence or level¡±, Logan praised, though still somewhat displeased in his lack of spells per day.
The hours pressed on, the moon sitting high in the sky outside of Logan''s open window. Nighttime chirps were heard over the conversations of late-night drinkers. Engrossed in his book, Logan realised he had spent the past 3 hours reading, though he was only about a third into the tome. ¡°They don''t make these quick to read do they¡±, Logan complained, though was happy he could have some downtime to read. About to settle in for the night, Logan placed the tome back into his backpack and stood to close the wooden doors to his window. As he got to the window, he noticed a dog sniffing around the dirt roads, making its way to the inn. ¡°Is that Spike?¡±, Logan thought. Giving out a swift whistle, the dog whipped its head up. Letting out several loud barks, Spike was jumping around. ¡°Alright, alright, I''ll come down, Spike¡±, Logan shouted to the dog, trying to shut him up. Quickly moving from the window, Logan threw on his clothes in a hurried manner, leaving his bags in the room. Strapping his belt on, his daggers dangled at his hips as the Spellthief jogged down the stairs. ¡°That your dog?¡± Coach asked, worried about the noise. ¡°No, but I know where his home is. I''ll take him back, don''t worry¡±, Logan explained, hurriedly walking to the door. Coach nodded, Logan exiting to the village streets. Jogging to Spike, the dog continued to bark and jump about. ¡°What is it, Spike? Got lost?¡± Logan tried to ask. With a mind for details, after investigating the city walls alongside other villager quests, Logan noticed something. The dog was doing a sideways jump, its head jarring up the road. A large bruise was on the dog''s right side. ¡°He wants to lead me somewhere¡±, Logan concluded. Stepping up to the dog, he followed. ¡°Alright, Spike, lead the way boy¡±, Logan said, the dog darting off down the road as the Spellthief ran after him. With his Agility, Logan was able to keep up with the dog easily. Running through the streets, the two made sure to dodge out of the way of the villagers, a few calling out and wishing a good night to Logan.
Spike and Logan arrived at the house the adventurer had slept at with Jrizan, however, this isn''t where Spike wanted to go. Logan took a glimpse at the house, its gate had been kicked in and the door showed signs of damage. ¡°Someone came for those people from the forest?¡± Logan thought, worried that Spike''s true owners might have been in danger. ¡°Shit, it isn''t the next day yet, I have no spells left. If it''s a big group of bandits or loan sharks, could I handle them if it got rough?¡± Logan''s head started racing. Darting across the roads, Logan and Spike eventually wound up at a small shack, a more run-down part of town. Muffled talking could be heard from inside, though Logan couldn''t make any of it out. Spike had positioned his body into a point towards the door, looking up to Logan. Kneeling, Logan spoke quietly You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°Wait here, boy, let me handle this¡±, he assured the dog, making sure not to touch its wounded side. Standing up, he used Stealth to approach the door.
His breath was heavy and fast, Logan felt his heart racing. ¡°Just look, if there is nothing, we can leave. Please. Please be nothing¡±, Logan recited to himself. Slowly, Logan opened the door of the house, his Stealth causing it to let off less sound than normal. Looking inside, Logan saw a similar design to other buildings, an entrance hall, dining, and living open plan room. With the light of the moon, Logan saw shimmering blood across the floor, leading up with the bodies of 2 humanoids on the floor, 2 more standing over them. ¡°Fuuuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Identify¡±, Logan could hardly contain himself at this point, he knew he would need to interfere if his next move told him what he didn''t want to see. ¡°Trei: Fighter 1, 14/14 HP, 0 MP. A thug who is working up the money to become an adventurer. Longsword. Leather Garb¡± ¡°Marc Lor: Sorcerer 2, 14/14 HP, 3 MP. An industrious mage who hunts down lesser races to make money. Staff. Cloth Robe. Knows Flame, Frost, and Lightning.¡± ¡°Forletta Mova: Classless 0, -2/4 HP, 0 MP. A gashriek from the nearby forests.¡± ¡°Punissa Mova: Classless 0, 1/3 HP, 0 MP. A gashriek from the nearby forests.¡± ¡°The hell is a gashriek? No matter, one is wounded, the other is dying. Damnit, one of those thugs is a Sorcerer, this could get ugly if he starts casting spells. Maybe I can talk my way out of this? No more bloodshed is needed¡±, Logan tried to formulate a plan where everyone could walk away. ¡°System, what is a gashriek?¡± he asked. ¡°Gashriek, a civilized race that most see as a lesser race. These humanoids show signs of mixed blood from goblins, humans, and monsters, their ridged bodies often better suited to shrugging off damage than humans. In tune with the forest, gashriek have a close faith to Desma, and are not often found outside of their forests.¡± ¡°Ok, they aren''t monsters then. Damn, I wish they were. I wouldn''t have to get involved then. One of them looks similar to that adventurer I saw on my first day, they must have been a gashriek too¡±, Logan contemplated, his legs straightening as he began to engage the situation. Moving into the room, Logan shut the door behind him, though without Stealth it let out a loud bang. The two thugs twisted around quickly to see the Spellthief standing here. ¡°Huh? Who goes there?¡± the Fighter thug demanded. Standing at 6'' he was just a bit shorter than Logan. Wearing brown clothes, similar to Logan''s starting gear, showed the man as one hurting for money. His short black hair was hidden underneath his drawn brown cloak, though his green eyes gleamed in the moonlight. ¡°I think that''s the Logan fella who''s been helping out around town¡±, the Sorcerer informed. At only 5'' 8" he didn''t seem too threatening, but Logan knew of his magic. The Sorcerer was dressed in a long dark-blue robe with cuts all across it as if he had seen quite a few battles. Long blonde hair could be seen flowing out of his drawn hood, his blue eyes glistening against the light of the moon. ¡°What is going on here?¡± Logan asked, trying to put on a strong showing. ¡°None of your business¡±, the Fighter spat. ¡°Yeah, go home, nothing to see here¡±, the Sorcerer added. ¡°There''s plenty to see. Those two over there are acquaintances of a friend of mine. What did you do to them?¡± Logan forced. He could feel his stomach churning, he didn''t like the thought of having to fight other humans. ¡°Oh, these two pointy shits? They thought they could fuck up our town with their filth. We offered to allow them stay, for a silver a night each, but they refused¡±, the Fighter explained. ¡°Shut it, Trei!¡± the mage snapped, obviously the more intelligent of the two. ¡°They are allowed to be here, they live in that house you broke into.¡± ¡°Who says so? A tree-hugger who sold them the house? We got our own rules around here¡±, the Fighter continued. Quickly slapped over the head by the Sorcerer, he shrunk down a bit in his posture. ¡°Like we said, it does not concern you. Leave, or would you like to join the floor with them¡±, the Sorcerer demanded. Logan''s eyes laid on the two gashriek on the floor, the still conscious one with bruises across her body and tears in her eyes. Almost pleading for help without a word, Logan saw the status of the male gashriek, he had lost more blood and was down to -3 HP. ¡°Damn, he doesn''t have long, -10 and he is dead¡±, Logan''s situation became worse as he observed. ¡°I''m going to have to ask you to let me get that man aid, he isn''t going to last long.¡± ¡°Oh yeah? Well let''s add one more!¡± the Fighter shouted as he kicked the woman, dropping her to -1 HP. ¡°Now how are we going to get the location of their base if she is unconscious? We only need one, so keep her alive¡±, the Sorcerer stated to his comrade. Logan had already drawn his dagger in one hand. ¡°Let them go!¡± Logan shouted to the thugs. The Fighter raised his sword, the Sorcerer his wooden staff. ¡°What are you going to do? There is two of us and you''re a caster. Hah, I bet you don''t even know what to do with that knife!¡± The Fighter laughed at Logan. It didn''t take much more to push him to action though, Logan eyed the male, whose HP had dipped to -4, the blood pooling on the floor. With a quick kick of his left leg, Logan darted forward towards the two thugs. ¡°Gotta be quick, I only have one backstab, take down the Fighter first!¡± he planned, doing a jumping knee into the stomach of the Fighter. ¡°Urgh! What!?¡± The Fighter tried to speak, a solid hit winding him as a knife struck into his lower back from Logan. ¡°Backstab¡±, alerted the text, as the dagger dug into the man''s kidney. With a combination attack, Logan had dealt 8 damage to the Fighter, bringing him to 6/14. ¡°Watch yourself, he has enhancement magic!¡± the Sorcerer shouted, backstepping away as he began to chant his spells. ¡°Shut it!¡± the Fighter exclaimed, swinging his sword wide, but an experienced Logan ducked underneath, retaliating with another strike at the man''s stomach for a further 5 damage. ¡°Strikes, bolts, and thunder, destroy and burst all in your way. Lightning Shot!¡± the Sorcerer enspelled, lightning sparking to life in his hand as he threw it across the room towards Logan. Hitting his side harshly, the lightning landed with a solid punch into the Spellthief, a stinging and tingling sensation all over his body. ¡°You have received 7 damage, current HP: 25/32¡±, a window informed Logan. The Fighter continued his assault, slamming down his sword into the parrying dagger of Logan. A battle of Strength ensued, though Logan was not strong enough, his parry being returned and pushed back, letting the Fighter land a solid slash into Logan''s chest. ¡°You have received 3 damage, current HP: 22/32¡±, Logan had already lost a third of his health. ¡°Fuck, this isn''t going well. Wait!¡± Logan was trying to handle two foes at once, though this led to the Sorcerer beginning his next spell. ¡°If it''s ¡®Shot¡¯, then!¡± ¡°Strikes, bolts, and thunder, destroy and burst all in your way. Lightning Shot!¡± the Sorcerer incanted once more, though Logan saw it beforehand. Giving a low kick to the Fighter, Logan hit the man''s knee to the side, having the Fighter dip a bit. Rolling over the back of his adversary, Logan grabbed onto his foe''s cloak, pulling the man back up. Using the Fighter as a meat shield, the Fighter was shocked and stunned, the lightning hitting him dead in the chest. Slumping down, Logan let go of the cloak to have the body fall to the floor. ¡°One!¡± Logan counted, eyeing up the Sorcerer as the Fighter fell to the floor. A worried Sorcerer began his next spell, but Logan was blocked by a body and a table, he had to be quick. ¡°Flames of the core, boil up and turn everything to cinders! Flame Shot!¡± the Sorcerer spoke his last spell, fires igniting his hand and burning the nearby wooden table and chair he was behind. ¡°The house! He''s trying to burn it down!¡± Logan realised, accepting he had to take the hit or let the house burn with the unconscious gashrieks. Thinking back to his class, he instinctively used something for the first time. ¡°Spell Absorb!¡± he thought, jumping to the air with an arm outstretched to catch the hurling ball of fire. The flames exploded in his grasp, a spinning star of red hot majesty. The star spun faster and faster, and as if sucked in by a vacuum, it was absorbed into the hand of Logan. ¡°Spell Absorption successful. Flame charge stored, Flame has progressed to tier 2¡±, a window informed Logan, who landed onto the table after his leap. The Sorcerer had a look of sheer bemusement and surprise. ¡°Wha-how!? You''re no Wizard¡±, the aggressor accessed. Raising his staff to defend himself, the Sorcerer began to run around the table, though Logan cut him off by jumping onto his foe with a dagger being thrust down into the shoulder of the Sorcerer. 4 damage brought him down to 10/14, another strike dealing 5 for 5/14, and a final one dealing 4 to bring him to 1/14. A hand around his foe''s neck, Logan looked over to the gashrieks, the woman was stable at -1, but the male was at -7. Twisting his head quickly to the Sorcerer he saw the mage begin to speak. ¡°So, you''re the one master spoke of. I shall have to let-¡± he began, raising a gold watch in his hand. Moving his hand quick, Logan covered the mouth of the Sorcerer who could only let out muffled words. ¡°I can''t, he is a human. Bu-but he knows of my skill. I¡­ I¡±, Logan ruminated his next action. Noticing the golden watch start to glow, his instinct took over. ¡°Essence Absorb.¡± The hand of Logan vibrated with energy, black and dark-green lines coursed across his veins to the tips of his fingers. The lines jumped from his fingertips to the face of the Sorcerer, his eyes going wide in fear. A sound of shattering glass could be heard, as the mind of the Sorcerer was stabbed and broken by the lines, and then quickly, the lines flowed with blue and purple energies, sucking out the life from the Sorcerer. Going dim, the Sorcerer started to shrink and become gaunt, until his body was sucked in like a black hole eating matter. Absorbed totally into Logan''s hand, the Sorcerer left behind only his clothing. ¡°Absorption of foe complete. Calculating reward¡­¡± ¡°50 absorbed experience, Flame and Frost have been learnt. Flame has progressed to tier 3.¡± The windows did little to aid in the fact that Logan was sick to his stomach, but his willpower let him operate for a minute more. Ignoring the floating XP alerts of his defeated foes that read ¡°90¡± for the Fighter and ¡°190¡± for the Sorcerer, Logan began tearing apart the robe left behind. Running to the body of the male gashriek the Spellthief started to apply first aid to the man''s wounds. His patient had faded to -8 HP, Logan shouting out. ¡°You''re gonna make it! Just hold on!¡± --- *** --- Chapter 13 - Evil Deeds against Evil Men with Evil Intentions Logan wasn''t the best at first aid, but he had mandatory training at his workplace and had recently become quite adjusted to adventuring life. Thankfully, what he had learned as well as experienced allowed him the ability to save the male gashriek''s life. His HP stopped dropping, the blood no longer flowed even if the wounds persisted. With a stable patient, Logan checked over the female, her HP was fine, though she was unconscious. ¡°They need a healer, at least the man does. But¡­ how do I get them here? That bandit doesn''t paint a good picture and even if he is dumb, he may blabber about our fight, at which point my cover is blown. I already¡­ killed¡­ the Sorcerer, but that doesn''t make it right. He ¡®was¡¯ willing to let the man die, but does that make it right to kill him in return? My world''s rules don''t matter here, it''s only my own conscience at this point¡±, Logan battled with the choice at his hands. Standing up from the tended gashriek, Logan moved to the remaining thug. That last Lightning hit brought the thug to -6, he would be out for a while. ¡°I feel sick, but¡­ I can''t let more people know about me. That mage already said he had a master who would be interested in me or something. He''ll be out killing again with his attitude if he isn''t killed by the law in this world, but then is the law skewed against gashriek?¡± Logan fought a war with himself. Placing his hand over the face of the thug, he had to make a decision. ¡°Me or you. In for a penny, in for a pound. Essence Absorb¡±, Logan landed on his final decision, the black and dark-green lines covering his arm and then the face of his enemy, absorbing in blue and purple lights, the thug was drawn into Logan''s hand, spinning into swirls of matter. ¡°Absorption of foe complete. Calculating reward¡­¡± ¡°10 absorbed experience, target has no spells to absorb¡± His body shivered, a regret bubbling in Logan''s stomach as he became distraught over the actions he had to take. Looking over the clothing remains of the two thugs Logan found 2 silver and 58 copper. Using Clean on the clothing and immediate area, he made sure there was no evidence of what happened. Taking the bag of the Fighter, Logan stuffed the other items inside. Tossing the bag on his back, as if it was his all along, he stood up and moved to the door. Opening it, he found Spike on guard, facing away from the door. Noticing the door, the dog whipped around to see a friend, its tongue stretched out in glee. ¡°Spike, it''s safe. Guard those two would you?¡± he asked the dog. Spike was obviously highly trained, he understood what was needed and moved to the two bodies. Seeing the gashriek were protected, Logan began a sprint to the west of town, to the Devout''s church.
Thoughts raced in the head of Logan, he was tearing himself apart over the encounter he just had. It was bad enough he had to fight other humans, but in the end, he killed them, beyond any chance of their return, he ended their lives. Shaky rationalization tried to overcome his actions, they were thugs and probably killed other people, and were likely to keep killing if they were left alive. Logan had to come to terms with what transpired this night. Reaching a nighttime vista of the church, Logan opened the doors to the night''s watch. He couldn''t see any sign of Marta, the woman who had healed him before, but he called out for any help. ¡°Please, some people have been attacked, I need a healer for 2 injured. I have the money ready¡±, he shouted out to the church. Perking up, a young man ran over to Logan. Dressed in a combination of cloth and leather, an array of red and black colours ended with a half yellow half blue orb clasp on his cloak. The man was probably around 20-years-old, his tired amber-yellow eyes looking into Logan''s jade-green. His hair was short to medium length, natural black colour with a side-parted fringe to the left and slightly covered ears. He looked up to Logan, only standing at 5''11". ¡°Hello, sir, I can help. I haven''t casted today so I still have 2 spells I can use. Where are the injured?¡± he asked the sweating Spellthief. ¡°That''s fine, it''s on the east side of town. Can you come now?¡± ¡°Then we better run, sir.¡± Leading the Devout out of the church, Logan and his ally sprinted back the way he came. It was a slower journey, Logan having leagues more Agility than the Devout.
Arriving back at the house, the night past its midpoint, the moon hugging the middle of the sky above. Logan led the Devout into the building, Spike barking at their entrance but calming when it noticed Logan. Sitting down, Spike wagged his tail as his friend brought an ally. ¡°Here they are, the man is the worst off so tend to him first¡±, Logan instructed, pointing to the bodies. Quickly checking their status he was relieved to see they had not changed. The Devout went to his knees over the male gashriek. ¡°Alright, let''s-oh. They''re gashriek, what are they doing in town?¡± the Devout questioned, though Logan was greatly annoyed. ¡°It doesn''t matter what they are, they live in this town. Heal him!¡± Logan ordered, his voice raised somewhat. ¡°S-sorry, I didn''t mean that¡±, the Devout defended. Moving his hands over the male gashriek, the Devout chanted. ¡°Orb of all I call to thee, Pondress heal your children. Heal Shot¡±, the words verberated with power as the gashriek was surrounded in yellow lights. Swirls of magical orbs and lines covered the body, healing the stab wounds. Logan could see the man was healed for 9 HP. Logan breathed a sigh of relief, seeing the man out of harm''s reach at 1/4 HP. With flickering eyes, the male gashriek awoke to see two men above him. Getting a better look at his face, Logan could see that the gashriek had a deep yellow complexion, ridges across his nose, under his eyes and strange rigged gills on his neck. Long ears were shaped to move to the back of his head, hidden under his short mousy-blonde hair. ¡°Urh. Gah. Humans. Where are the bandits? What are you doing?¡± the man was surprised and out of focus, his voice slightly raspy. Confused about the situation, Logan held out his hands in a motion to show he meant no harm. ¡°The bandits are gone, I scared them off. I got a Devout to heal your wounds, we''re about to heal the woman¡±, Logan explained in a low and comforting tone, not trying to upset the gashriek. ¡°Punissa, she is fine?¡± the gashriek darted his head over to look at the female, bruises across her face. He then looked down to see the bandage work that Logan had done, the healing hands of the Devout glowing slightly. ¡°Thank you, but we cannot afford this-¡± ¡°It''s fine, the healing is on me¡±, Logan assured. The gashriek''s eyes widened somewhat, Logan could now see them clearly. Deep red glowing eyes with vertical slits, his eyelids closing from the left and right edges. Searching for a form of lie, the gashriek seemed to believe the human. ¡°Her next, please¡±, Logan pointed to the female, patting the Devout onwards. ¡°Uh, yes, of course. Orb of all I call to thee, Pondress heal your children. Heal Shot¡±, the Devout enspelled once more. Healing flowed from his hands to the body of the unconscious gashriek female. Healing her to full health, she jumped up to a seated position, twisting her head around. Seeing her in a better light, the female gashriek shared the same yellow complexion, ears, ridges, and gills as the male. Her hair was long and of an ashen colour, though splatters of blood gave her dyed tips. Shimmering in the moonlight, her pink eyes scanned the room. ¡°Where are you! Leave Forletta alone!... wait, more humans¡±, she began to speak, until a healed Forletta shifted over to her. ¡°This one is a friend, he got rid of the bandits and got a healer for us¡±, the male gashriek explained. The woman hugged the man tightly. ¡°Ah, Forletta. Thank Desma you yet breathe. The sword of that thug cut deep, I was worried you-¡± she cried out. ¡°It''s fine now, we''re safe.¡± The gashriek held onto one another for a while, Logan moving a few chairs over to allow them a better seat. ¡°You can thank Spike too, he led me here from my inn room¡±, Logan added, praising the dog with a pat on the head. Spike gave an authoritative bark in response. ¡°Yes, gashriek''s best friend. We trained him well, but only to gather allies. Have you stayed at our house?¡± Forletta asked. ¡°Yeah, a few days ago with Jrizan, I had just arrived and needed a place to sleep for the night.¡± ¡°Jrizan is a good friend to us, he is in our 3-part contract of that house¡±, Punissa declared. ¡°You must be the ones from the forest he mentioned staying after us then.¡± Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°If you''re a friend of Jrizan then you''re a friend to us. Thank you for saving our lives, we don''t know how we could possibly pay you back for your efforts¡±, Forletta thanked. ¡°I didn''t think of asking you for a reward, you''ve had to deal with so much already. Just stay safe and healthy, it''s all I ask.¡± ¡°Please, we may not have much, but we come to this village for a few months out of the year to sell wares and craft trinkets for people, let us make something for you¡±, Punissa insisted. ¡°Trinket craft? If they teach me how to do that, it''d be probably worth the 8 silver of that tome¡±, Logan judged. ¡°If you are trinket crafters, I was actually looking into learning that skill. I am an adventurer, so trinkets would help me a lot in my quests.¡± The two gashriek looked at each other, seemingly communicating with their eyes rather than their words. ¡°Yes, it may take a while, but we can teach you, sir¡±, Forletta accepted. ¡°It''s Logan¡±, the Spellthief explained. Reaching out his hand to shake the gashrieks''. Slowly they shook the hand of Logan one after the other, a new window popping up to inform Logan of a new title. ¡°You have gained the ¡®Gashriek Ally¡¯ title.¡± ¡°Gashriek Ally: You showed yourself to be an ally to one of the races seen as lesser by humans. Helping without promise of reward, just because it was the right thing to do, the gashriek consider you their friend and are more welcoming to you within their settlements. You have gained 1 skill point to distribute¡±, even if he wasn''t seeking a reward, Logan was gifted two in a row. Noticing he had completely forgotten about the Devout he had hired, Logan turned to the fourth wheel of the group. ¡°Ah, sorry, I forgot about your payment. I didn''t catch your name by the way¡±, Logan said, picking out 2 silver pieces for the Devout. ¡°Marcus, Marcus Eren. It''s ok, I know this situation isn''t exactly a calm one. I''m just glad we were able to save these villagers¡±, the Devout informed, a bit of shakiness to his words. ¡°Thanks for being there, Marcus, sorry if I was a bit forceful.¡± ¡°No, it''s fine, I wasn''t being urgent enough.¡± With the gashriek calmed down and healed, they stood with the two classed beings. ¡°I will escort you two home, make sure everything is alright. I think we''re fine from here, Marcus, you can go back to the church if you want.¡± ¡°It looks like you got everything under control. I will leave the situation to you. I hope the rest of your night goes without any further issues¡±, Marcus expressed. Bowing his head slightly to the gashriek, Marcus left the building. Following Logan, the gashriek and Spike were escorted by a troubled Spellthief back to their home. ¡°Who could be interested in me. If it was a mage, could they inspect my status? The System said my windows were hidden, but that accessor for the hall could identify peoples'' attributes in a way with Score¡±, Logan pondered on the events of the night, worried about someone who might have figured him out. ¡°The evidence is gone, even if it pained me to do so, I better be careful from now on with my skills¡±, Logan resolved.
It was a slow walk in the moonlight, Logan kept an eye on any passersby as he brought the gashriek back to their house. Worried about any sort of speciesism, he made sure to make it known he was an ally to the gashriek he was with. Either due to his position as an adventurer or his title within Tinte, no one seemed to bother the trio at night. ¡°Savages¡±, Forletta spoke in a hushed tone, seeing his gate and door damaged by the two thugs who abducted them. ¡°It''s alright, we can repair the damage. And with our guardian Logan, we''ll be safe¡±, Punissa comforted. ¡°Well, we''re here. I hope you can sleep after all this. I am staying at the Dogslop Inn if you need anything else. Forletta, Punissa. Sorry, but my curiosity is piqued, are you two close?¡± Logan queried, worried he may overstep boundaries if he assumed too much. ¡°We are married, Logan. At least our cultures'' form of it, we do not wear rings like humans do¡±, Forletta explained. ¡°That''ll explain a few things, I shall check up on you in the morning just in case¡±, Logan replied, bowing slightly, though curious as to why he did so. ¡°And to start your lessons¡±, Punissa added, excited to teach her new friend and saviour. Smiling and waving to the gashriek couple, Logan made his way back to his inn room, giving a pat to Spike before closing the gate. On his walk back to the inn, Logan continued to console himself over the night. ¡°Stop thinking about it. It''s done. I have to move on. Just think about the future, prepare for the next main mission and head to the capital. If I leave this world, I won''t have to do that again¡±, he deliberated.
Waving to a night staff member of the inn, a young woman who was nursing a hot beverage, Logan ascended the stairs to his inn room. Thinking it best to check the thugs'' gear for any clues, he examined the bag he had taken from them. After giving Marcus 2 silver, there was 58 copper left, a set of leather clothes, a cloth robe, longsword, wooden staff, and a ring¡­ But where was that golden watch? He double-checked and flipped over all the items he had gathered, but none resembled what was in the Sorcerer''s hand. Logan could have sworn he picked it up. Resolving to not look suspicious, Logan decided to leave it. ¡°Criminals sometimes return to the scene of a crime, if they have a leader I don''t want to meet them, nor do I want to look like I had anything to do with what happened there¡±, he concluded. Looking over the ring, Logan wanted to know more. ¡°Identify¡±. ¡°Why didn''t Identification note this on the Sorcerer? Maybe it only notes non-magical equipment? That''s concerning, it may be why I didn''t see the watch in his equipment either. It''s a good item for me though, that helps my spell damage. Clean¡±, Logan studied. Cleaning the ring with his mick, Logan slipped the ring onto his right middle finger, his status updating immediately. A window popped up to inform Logan that bonuses from worn items would not allow him to unlock further parts of the System. Resting his head on his pillow, Logan finally got some rest as the night turned to morning. A long night had made his already worn-out body even more tired, minor wounds also drew some of the strength from the overworked Spellthief.
Awakening to another blaring alarm, Logan thought the command to stop it. Standing from his straw bed, he opened up the wooden window to let in the morning breeze as well as to get an overlook of the village. The bright light from the sun hit Logan''s frame, which he had noticed was much more toned than when he was in his previous world. ¡°This status has its perks, wouldn''t get this at a gym in a few days¡±, he thought to himself. Tinte didn''t look any different this morning, the populace probably unaware of the fight with the thugs. Since there were no bodies, it would be hard to find any crime, though those who knew the thugs would most likely begin looking for them. Checking his main mission, Logan wanted to keep track of how he was doing in his first quest by whatever brought him here. ¡°This time is always off, I arrived in this world around 5AM, since I wake up around 8AM it is 3 hours behind a full day. Just under 4 days for this quest to complete, should be enough time to hit level 5, I am almost 4 as it is. With the income I get the gold coin objective is out of reach, the tome should net me the spells easy enough. So 3 out of 4, not bad, hopefully, it helps me get out of here. If a higher rank mage is hunting me, I don''t think I''ll last too long. I can only catch so many spells¡±, Logan calculated. ¡°Now, I also gained some mastery into Flame and even learnt Frost, so let''s have a look at those¡±, Logan remembered, ordering his system to pull up his two spells. ¡°So, increasing the tier of my spells seems to add 10% damage for each tier and adds 1 to the saving throw needed to avoid their effects. A good increase, especially since they have minimum increases. That''s a big chunk of damage and could kill a lot of low-level targets, even the goblin muscles we fought, though with 3 spells a day I can''t kill too many just with this. Force might increase by another 1 point due to the ring, so that deals 5 damage which can take down scouts¡±, Logan ruminated over all the new information he had gained, forgetting the time passing him by. Clothing himself and gathering his gear, Logan did his daily Clean routine to become more presentable to the masses. Heading down to the entrance room of the inn he was treated to morning stew again, though Coach was curious about last night. ¡°So, did you see that dog home then?¡± Coach asked. ¡°Yeah, his owners are happy to see him back¡±, Logan half-lied. ¡°Must have taken a while, I was in bed before you got back, my night staff mentioned you returning.¡± ¡°Yeah, younger woman wasn''t it?¡± ¡°Yes, her second job of the day, or rather night. I often find her asleep when I wake up, have to prod her from the counter¡±, Coach replied with a chuckle. ¡°I''ll be checking on them today actually, have to see what quests are on offer for today¡±, Logan added, digging into his stew quickly. ¡°Well, I won''t keep you then, have a good day, Logan.¡±
Finishing his breakfast, Logan used Clean on his teeth and headed off to the house of the gashriek couple. With his body rested, he double-checked his status along the way, seeing he recovered 10 HP, putting him back on 32/32, still wondering how the calculation was worked out. Since it had been over an hour since using Spell Absorption the Flame charge had expired. He readied one use of Flame, Frost, and Lightning each for the day, wanting to test out his new spell and higher-tier Flame. Arriving at the Mova residence, the surname of the gashriek, Logan creaked open a still-damaged gate and met with Spike. The dog jumped at the legs of Logan, having become quick friends, Logan ruffled the face of the black bulldog who panted heavily. ¡°Your parents home, Spike?¡± Logan asked. Spike gave an affirmative bark as he jumped off of Logan''s legs and walked up to the closed door. Approaching the door, Logan gave it a few solid knocks, though it swayed open due to the handle being broken the night prior. Footsteps were heard inside as the gashriek Punissa opened the door, her face lightened with glee at the sight of Logan. ¡°Good morning, Logan, here to start your lessons?¡± --- *** --- Chapter 14 - Trinket Craft Teachers Entering back into the first house that Logan had slept at felt quite strange, with new owners the place seemed different than when he came here 3 days ago. Hanging pelts from various monsters and animals, soaking fangs and eyes, the place looked akin to the component shop beside the adventurers'' hall. Several works were set up at the dining table, with thread, needles, alongside various other tools. When the use of Identification, Logan could tell they gave varying bonuses to Trinket Craft. Looking over the components, the identifying Spellthief could tell that if the thugs wanted money they could have easily taken the components and sold them off, there was a good six or so silver laying around in materials. ¡°Either a specist attack or they only wanted information about their forest village like one of the thugs mentioned¡±, Logan surmised. ¡°Honey, Logan is here¡±, Punissa called out. Forletta soon appeared from upstairs, bringing down a box of crafting supplies. ¡°Ah, Logan, good morning. It''s been a busy morning cleaning this place up after last night, but we got it done. We''re about to get down to some commissions¡±, Forletta informed. ¡°I can help with the cleaning if you need it, I got a mick for it¡±, Logan offered. The gashrieks happily accepted the assistance as they set up the table for the day''s work. A Fantasia Spellthief got to work using Clean on the house, cleaning both normal dirt as well as bloodstains. ¡°Waters of everclear, wash away all dirt. Clean¡±, Logan would chant over and over, making sure to stay in character around other people.
The next few hours were taken up by Logan examining how the gashriek would work with the components, turning them from monster parts to fully functional trinkets. Even though they were both classless, they were still able to weave spellforce into the items, though it was a long process full of chanting and focused concentration. Combining crushed herbs, shavings from fangs, liquids from eyes, and threading furs together, the trinkets required a plethora of materials. A lot of the items they were making seemed to be for classless folk, slippers that aided in keeping their wearer warmer in winter, gloves that never tore from thorns and garden work, masks that helped in acting on stage. Logan unlocked several recipes, though with their uses being more mundane they wouldn''t be much help to an adventurer. After a few items were completed, a new skill unlocked with a window to describe it to the Spellthief who felt like he was back at school. ¡°Like the Harvesting skill explained, higher tier components increase the chances for higher tier items, it jumps up quite a bit. It''s a shame that hobgoblin ear was high-quality, I could have probably made a good item from it. No matter, eventually my spells can take those down with ease¡­ If I haven''t escaped by then¡±, Logan contemplated, seeing new avenues for power open up with the unlocking of Trinket Craft. With the day heading into noon, Logan had learnt all he needed to from the gashrieks, they also handed him a few strips of parchment that instructed on how to make a wolf fang ring and bastarn eye earring. The first would give him an Agility boost, the other a boost to his Constitution. Logan hadn''t encountered a ¡°Bastarn¡± though, he would have to investigate that later. Thanking the gashriek couple, the Movas were surprised at how quick the young Spellthief picked up on the techniques, offering later lessons if he needed them. Along with the skill window, Logan''s System informed him that he could only get so much mastery from the same teachers, and he had gained all he could from the Mova couple. ¡°I shall be heading to the hall, gonna check if there are any quests I could take on that will bring me to any creatures that have these components. I wanna try my hand at making something for myself. Thanks for all the instructions, it was a valuable experience. I may stop by again at some point, but if you need anything, I will be at the Dogslop Inn most nights¡±, Logan explained to his gashriek friends. ¡°We wish you safe travels on your quests today, Logan, you''re welcome here any time¡±, affirmed Forletta. ¡°Yes, if you''re ever down on luck or need a place to stay, we do have that spare room¡±. Punissa added, enticing the adventurer to stay over. ¡°No, I put you out enough as it is. I don''t want to be a bother. I will see you around¡±, Logan declined. He had been independent ever since he graduated university, with his mother''s passing he always felt a burden on his grieving father. Moving out a few months after the funeral, he would visit his dad''s house a few times a week but would spend most of his time at his apartment. ¡°People have their own troubles to deal with, me included. Don''t over impose, offer a helping hand where you think it''s necessary¡±, he recited to himself as he left the house, giving a farewell pet to Spike. Leaving the house, which wasn''t too far from the adventurers'' hall, Logan thought over what was in their house and the income that brought. ¡°They easily afford rent, probably bring money back to their village. So that attack had an agenda other than money. That only justifies my actions after the fact, I didn''t know in that instant, only a belief¡±, he ran over the events of the last night, the murder of two men still weighing on him.
Passing through the open doors of the hall, Logan saw a few more adventurers than normal at this time of day, easily 30 were sitting about the tables or taking quests from the board. Quite a few people were lined up at the far counter, with three staff members on hand to deal with the overload on incoming and outgoing quests. Logan spotted Ruben¨¦ who was hard at work. ¡°I hope she gets a break soon¡±, he wished. Moving to the quest board, making sure not to bump into any other adventurers, Logan looked over the quests up for grabs today. He still had 2 villager quests from yesterday, though they had wide timelines for completion. Scanning the quests, Logan had an idea pop in his head. ¡°Identify¡±, he commanded in his head. A few seconds went by as he saw rolling ellipses across the parchment pinned to the wooden board. Eventually, the information written on the pieces of paper were translated into individual windows, noting their difficulty, recommended party level and size, rewards, locations, and more. The windows held more information than the parchments gave, and if they came with drawings of items or monsters Logan was able to gain some further information into those to boot. One particular quest stood out, to reduce the numbers of brown wolves near the village roads leading southeast towards Noma. A drawing of a wolf revealed them to be level 3 monsters that could be harvested for 2 wolf fangs and a wolf pelt. The quest was noted as a medium difficulty to Logan, even if the parchment suggested teams of 2-3 with ranks of 2+. ¡°My spells are over 3 times stronger than before, at least from what I can tell, so I should be able to one-shot wolves with a spell each now¡±, he calculated. The quest in particular stated that around 20 wolves were needed to be killed, and each kill would reward 8 copper each. Since it was an open quest to all hunters, Logan only needed to show proof he had killed wolves in the form of their fangs. ¡°I could just show off 3 kills, but actually kill more on my own for crafting¡±, Logan mused. Logan was only 779 experience away from level 4, since he had gained 330 XP from his first wolf kill he had hoped that 3 more would help him cover that gap. With his dagger doing between 2-5 damage, with whatever his Agility added, Logan was confident that with a Backstab and a follow-up strike or two he could possibly bring down other wolves if it came to it. ¡°Sir, I''ll be helping with the wolf hunting¡±, Logan said to the staff member on the podium. ¡°Call me Chestan, Logan. That''s alright though, will you be hunting with that party you had yesterday?¡±, the man on the podium responded. ¡°If they''re about, maybe.¡± ¡°All noted. Good luck, Logan.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± Leaving the adventurers'' hall, Logan thought of his tools next, he would need a better knife for Harvesting, noticing the gashrieks had tools that increased their chances of making higher tier items led him to believe there would be better tools for gaining the components. Making a quick stop by the local markets, Logan identified several items on offer before landing on the best he could find. ¡°Trophy Hunter''s Knife: A knife designed to easily gut your kills, making a fine trophy for your wall or components for use in crafting skills. When used with Harvesting you gain 5% for obtaining each tier of component.¡± Sitting at 5 silver it was quite expensive, but the bonus would be worth it in the end. With the use of Haggle, Logan brought the price down to 4 silver and 8 copper. Bringing his total money down to 1 silver, 38 copper. Counting out the money was a pain, bringing Logan back to his childhood where he handed over his pocket money for sweets. Along with his new knife, he found a set of tools for Trinket Craft, using Identification once more. ¡°Beginner''s Trinket Tools: Numerous tools for Trinket Craft, allowing the user to make magical items. When used, the probability of crafting each tier of trinket is increased by 2%¡± They were cheaper at only 2 silver, which Logan bargained down to 1 silver and 6 copper. Along with the two tools, the bartering Spellthief also bought a new large sack to carry the pelts within, since his backpack only had so much room in it. Buying up one for 3 copper, he had all he needed. With his tools acquired, Logan packed up his things and headed out of the gates he had entered through half a week ago. One of the guards nodded to Logan as he passed, muttering ¡°Logan¡± at the adventurer. Logan politely nodded back to the guard, possibly a villager who knew of his help to the classless. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Curious, Logan identified a few of the guards. A mishmash of both classless and classed, the walls being mostly manned by Fighters who probably specialised in archery. No one was above level 3, though with their quantity, they probably made up for that lack of strength.
Loading up his System map, Logan saw that the wolves he needed to deal with weren''t as far out as where he had crash-landed, only around 30 minutes away on foot. Thinking it would be nice to have a higher level weapon, he remembered another warning that had popped up during his Identification spree. The Spellthief wouldn''t gain most of the benefit from higher-level weapons as their statistics would be lowered severely, he also was not proficient in the use of bows so would need to spend time learning that proficiency with prolonged training. ¡°Forced into close range, except for spells. When these 7 days are up, I will have to see how long it will take to get proficiency with bows. Firing atop trees sounds like a great strategy against the enemies that cannot fly, climb, or attack from afar¡±, he theorized. Picking up the pace, he hurried on to the quest location.
Arriving at the forest, Logan was a bit annoyed at what he saw. Tracks led into the portion of the forest closest to the village, left by boots and sabatons. ¡°Other adventurers are here, I better keep my distance if I want to use my skills¡±, he reflected, resolving to head further away. The area for the wolf quest was quite large, larger than his first quest against goblins. Separating far enough that he no longer found tracks, Logan used Clean to mask his scent and began to Stealth through the forest. Tara''s Dagger in hand, he made sure to stay sharp in a forest full of monsters that had almost killed him on his first day. With 32 HP over his previous 8, he was sure he could take a few more hits but wasn''t too happy at the fact that wolves were pack hunters, the solitary one that hunted him before being a rarer occurrence. Using Tracking, Logan could find evidence of wolves nearby, both from paw prints and scratch marks across several tree trunks. It wasn''t long till he found a pair of brown wolves dining on the carcass of a deer, their brown fur covered in blood from the latest kill. Wanting to get a better idea of their strength, Logan inspected them for a while. ¡°Identify¡±. ¡°Brown Wolf - Lupine. Level 3: 18/18 HP, 0/0 MP. The most commonly hunted creature of the lupine species, with a brown fur coat. At around 2 feet tall, taller on their hind legs, wolves often hunt in pairs and packs of up to 6, it is uncommon to find a singular wolf on the hunt¡±, the window explained to Logan. ¡°Shame they don''t have weapons, I can''t estimate their damage values¡±, Logan sighed. Since there was a pair, he would have to take a hit, at least that is what he accepted would be the outcome. Planning to take them both down, he would use a spell on one and Backstab the other. Thinking to his System, he commanded that the spell would not use his Backstab skill, which it accepted. Since his Flame spell was his strongest he wanted to save that for an emergency, however, both Lightning and Frost would only do so much damage on a grasp. As he was speculating about his battle tactics, a new idea popped into his head. Either through his intellect or his Intelligence attribute aiding his plans, he remembered that Force now did around 5 damage. He could climb a tree and repeatedly fire at the wolves from a safe vantage point. It would take a longer period of time, but Logan had plenty of time left to him. ¡°Fight smart, not hard¡±, he thought. With the aid of his grip gloves, Logan ascended a tree a short distance away. It took less time than previously, but a few minutes would still pass until he was on a stable branch. Thankfully the wolves were still in the area, and he had a good angle on the creatures. Double-checking his surroundings for any adventurers, he raised his arm and chanted ¡°Force¡±. A wave of energy flowed from his body, through his arm, and erupted in a sound wave towards the first wolf, hitting it with a solid punch into the back for 5 damage. A loud yelp was let out by the brown wolf, who darted around, his partner doing the same at the sound. Another round of Force hit the wolf''s head, which caused it to become stunned as it was pushed to the floor, failing the Strength saving throw. Its ally, now scared, ran off to leave its partner to his doom. Force hit the prone wolf in the stomach, having it yelp out once more as it tried to stand and run away, but one final volley hit it in the side as it began to turn. Heavily bruised and bleeding, the brown wolf fell to the floor in a loud thud as it was propelled by Logan''s magic. Affirmative text appeared over its corpse, confirming a dirty kill by the Spellthief. ¡°Less than the first kill, so being above or below affects their reward. Looks like maybe 5% per level difference?¡± Logan deduced. Putting the smart Spellthief at 5,531/6,000 XP, his hypothesis of 3 wolf kills was confirmed, even if the previous experience had been reduced slightly. Waiting for a short while, Logan scanned over the immediate area of forest, awaiting a return of the partner wolf. ¡°How far did it run? Is it going to come back and ambush me if I go to harvest his buddy?¡± Logan worried. Though he did not want to spend the rest of the day in his tree perch, so he climbed back down. Moving over to his kill, Logan looked all around and used Clean on the wolf corpse, himself, and the carcass of the deer. ¡°Make it hard for that wolf to smell any scent to find its way back¡±, he hoped. Picking out his new Harvesting dagger, Logan got to work. Cutting at the gums, he pried out the two largest fangs, both of shoddy quality. With his skill usage, he had an innate knowledge of where to cut the wolf to get its hide, it was strange as if he could see the lines overlaid on its body as well as having something guide his hand. The wolf pelt took 5 minutes in total to remove, to his surprise he got a common quality as his first try. ¡°Beginner''s luck, the knife is already paying off¡±, he praised. Logan was thankful that the wolf''s partner wasn''t too faithful, no enemy had intruded on his looting process. Sheathing his tool, Logan stalked the forest once more in search of another wolf.
Stumbling onto a new sight, Logan was able to oversee an encounter between an adventuring band and a pack of five wolves. The adventurers were four strong, three being Fighters and the final one being a Devout. Standing at levels 1 and 2, the group weren''t overly strong but came prepared with good armour and weapons. The swordsman had short black hair, his clothing a mix of brown leather and shining metal plates. One of the spearmen was a fiery redhead, clothed in darker brown leather with no metal at all. His ally spearman had long black hair tied up in a ponytail under his metal helmet, the rest of his body coated in metal plates. Whereas the Devout in the back wore flowing brown robes with red orbs dotted across them. Sneaking up to a tree trunk, Logan watched as the team worked in unison to overcome the lupine threat. The Devout in the back used a crossbow to aid his teammates, only having 1 MP meant he had one Heal a day. Two Fighters were using spears to attack at reach, the last using a shield to carry pouncing wolves atop to stab at with his shortsword. Combining their efforts, the spearmen were able to pierce and hold wolves together, avoiding any retaliation, though it left them open to the other wolves in the encounter, getting claws in on the adventurers. ¡°Fading fast, should I help?¡± Logan considered, though seeing a Heal from the Devout recover one of the Fighters, they had taken down two foes to make it an even 3-on-3 melee bout. Crossbow bolts combined with spear lunges brought another wolf down, the swordsman disorientating his foe with a shield bash. The last wolf lunged at the other spearmen who got a heavy bite into the shoulder, retaliating with a forward pierce of his spear that pushed the wolf off. The spearmen now operating together were able to bring their second wolf down, a bolt combined with a sword slash finishing off the last wolf. ¡°Got there in the end, though they probably don''t want to head-on with their injured and lack of healing¡±, Logan surmised. With the battle concluded, the team sat to rest and clean up their wounds, the Devout asked to harvest the bodies. ¡°Even Devouts get the short end of the stick¡±, Logan angrily observed. Confident the party would be fine, Logan decided to return to his own hunt, heading further eastward to get away from other parties.
Approaching a small pond within a short field, Logan was able to find a lone wolf sipping at the waters. Thanking his ability to find a loner, Logan approached to get some experience into his skills. As he got close, Logan sadly snapped a twig, alerting the wolf as its head and ears perked up. Lunging forwards, Logan landed a solid Backstab into the wolf''s back, dealing 8 damage to his quarry. Letting out a growl, the wolf did a jumping twirl to face the offensive Spellthief who drew up into a fighting stance. ¡°Only 8? Damn, expected a bit more¡±, Logan cursed. The wolf did a leaping bite at its attacker, though Logan was able to roll to the side, far out of reach. Sliding with a bent leg, Logan let out a ¡°Force!¡± to the wolf, knocking it off balance but not to the floor, bringing it down to 5/18 HP. The wolf had the intent to flee in its eyes, but saw little room for it, deciding to continue the fight against Logan. Darting forward it started to bring up its mouth for another bite, front legs outstretched for a combined claw attack. Moving into the attack, hopeful his dagger could end it, Logan struck upwards into the underside of the wolf''s jaw, piercing into its mouth. Dealing a solid 6 damage, the wolf crumpled into a corpse atop Logan who fell back with it. ¡°Close, but unscathed. The next item on the docket is a new weapon¡±, Logan planned, pushing the corpse off of him. Making sure there were no more wolves about, the drinking spot possibly being a highly visited locale, Logan began to draw the corpse a few feet away. Using Clean, Logan started his routine once again. Gaining a shoddy and common wolf fang, Logan spent the next 5 minutes carving out a shoddy wolf pelt. Cleaning up the components, he placed them within his bigger bag, double casting his Clean mick to make sure the pelts did not give off a heavy scent. ¡°One more wolf and I hit level 4, I''m interested to see the improvements to my attributes this time¡±, Logan thought ahead, getting his gear ready for another fight. As he began to move to the north part of the pond a loud crack of wood was heard off in the distance, as well as yelling from humans. ¡°Run! He''s outta spellforce, leave the dead weight!¡±, a low-pitch voice cried out. ¡°Someone is in danger!¡± Logan realised, transitioning into a fast sprint in the direction of the sounds. Crashing out of a brush of leaves and twigs, Logan saw a body on the floor tussling with a brown wolf, a few more darting into the forest. Looking at the adventurer in danger, Logan recognised the red and black clothing. ¡°Marcus!¡± --- *** --- Chapter 15 - Powers of a PC Running up to Marcus, who was just barely stopping a biting wolf''s maw hitting him by using his staff as a railing, Logan drew up his dagger high. Striking down deep into the wolf''s back, Logan suddenly realised his Backstab was still on cooldown. A loud growl was let out by the wolf that jumped off of Marcus, now squaring off against Logan. Marcus started to stand, though his head scanned the local area. ¡°We got company, 2 more wolves¡±, he informed. ¡°Shit, not good, I can''t keep us both safe and roleplay at the same time¡±, Logan thought. ¡°Marcus, run, I can handle this. You''re hurt¡±, Logan instructed, noticing that the Devout''s clothes were redder than usual. Though he wasn''t able to reply, as the wolf jumped at Logan this time, dodging the right claw he was nicked with the left. ¡°You have received 3 damage, current HP: 29/32¡±, a window explained to Logan. ¡°Shit¡±, he thought, dragging his blade across the side of the wolf as it passed him. ¡°I can''t leave you to fight alone!¡± Marcus put his foot down. Jumping forwards, he brought his staff upwards, crashing into the chin of the brown wolf that had taken two hits already. It wasn''t much, an identifying Logan saw it only dealt 2 damage. The two wolves in the background started to close the distance, leaving Logan with little choice. ¡°Marcus, party up with me. And don''t breathe a word of what I am about to do to anyone!¡± Logan demanded, his hand starting to spark with magic. ¡°Fine! I accept!¡± Marcus yelled, a window popping up to confirm that Logan and Marcus were now partners. His status flew up above him, detailing he was at 13/20 HP and 0/2 MP. Logan didn''t have time to investigate his new ally further, nor change the party settings. ¡°Force!¡± Logan yelled, blasting the wounded wolf to the floor in a final blow. Marcus''s eyes widened at the sight but knew that now wasn''t the time. He drew up his staff in a battle position against the two charging wolves. The first wolf to reach the two casters lunged at Logan, its two claws digging deep into his arms, Logan taking 4 and 5 damage, bringing him to 20/32. In retaliation, he grabbed a hold of one of its front legs. ¡°Flame Grasp!¡± he enspelled, his arm erupting in flames. Dancing across his limb, the fire leapt onto the wolf as it exploded across its body dealing a monstrous 21 damage. A loud deathly growl was heard as it fell to the floor in a mass of burning flesh. To his side and slightly behind him, the next wolf jumped on Marcus, biting him in the shoulder for 5 damage, bringing the Devout to 8/20 HP. Quickly returning the blow, Marcus swung with his staff to hit the wolf for 3 damage. Rushing to his ally, Logan stabbed at the wolf, slashing it twice against its back. Letting out a yelp, the wolf assaulted Marcus once more, biting his leg for 3 damage. With a slam into its face from a staff and another stab into its lower back, it fell to the floor, releasing its hold on Marcus. Sharing a look, the two breathed a heavy sigh as the last wolf fell, their breathing became quick in exhaustion as the adrenaline left them. Resting his arms on his knees, Marcus looked at the Spellthief in amazement. ¡°You¡­ you can quick cast? Haven''t¡­ ever seen that around Tinte¡±, Marcus spoke, stopping to breath in a hurricane of wind every so often. ¡°Yeah, just¡­ keep it a secret alright?¡± Logan demanded, his body still holding a modicum of fear from the encounter. ¡°You have my word, won''t hear a peep from me. Without you I would be a chew toy still¡±, Marcus responded, a smile on his face. As their conversation continued, Logan oversaw the corpses, his reward popping up as usual. With the encounter ended, Logan was sitting on 6,641 XP. Another window popping up to confirm his level. ¡°Level up! Gain: 8 HP, +1 Str, +1 Agi, +1 Con, +1 Int. You have 1 attribute point to spend¡±, it congratulated him. Immediately he spent his point, still in a dangerous area. ¡°Place attribute point into Intelligence¡±, he commanded and confirmed with a ¡°yes¡±. Looking quickly over to Marcus, he could see the Devout had picked up a total of 90 experience. ¡°You alright there, Marcus? Took a few hits¡±, Logan inquired, worried about his impromptu teammate. ¡°Yeah, I''m good for now. No prolonged bleeding, but without any spellforce left I won''t be healing anytime soon¡±, Marcus informed. Standing up straight, looking over the corpses and checking for any more foes, Marcus continued his speech, ¡°But those moves, and the quick casts. Where did you learn all that? Weren''t you a rank 1 Wizard?¡± ¡°It''s a long story, but if people knew, I would be in danger. So consider us even if you don''t ever mention it¡±, Logan insisted, his mind torn in half about his situation. ¡°Can I trust him? He says he won''t tell anyone, and he is indebted to me¡±, Logan wondered. ¡°No problem, you can tell me about it later. My lips are sealed.¡± ¡°So, your team just fled as they saw the situation go bad? How many wolves were there?¡± ¡°There were 5 of us, 4 left when we got attacked by a pack of 6 wolves, 1 wolf was left fighting me, so it''s 5 versus 4 fleeing. I''m not overly excited about trying to go help them now though¡±, Marcus answered, a bit of anger in his voice. A window had been hovering in front of Logan during the aftermath of the fight, piquing his curiosity. ¡°Would you like to alter the party rules? Info Settings: Minimal. Change to: Medium or Detailed. Status Share: Off. Status Control: Off.¡± It detailed a lot of things that Logan could alter, making him start to wonder. ¡°Status? Can I show mine to Marcus? Or can I alter his?¡±, he contemplated. ¡°Marcus, do you mind if I scan your status? I can use an ability to determine your abilities better, kind of like the accessors at the hall¡±, Logan gave a half-truth, asking permission before delving deeper into the man''s being. ¡°Huh? Really? You bring out more and more tricks, don''t you, Logan. Well, sure, though wouldn''t it be a waste of a slot right now?¡± ¡°It will be fine, just accept my inspection¡±, Logan assured, Marcus giving an affirmative nod. ¡°System, change party Info settings to ¡®detailed¡¯ and turn Status Share and Control to ¡®on¡¯¡±, he commanded. The window loaded for a few seconds as it brought up more details on Marcus. ¡°Marcus Eren, 20-year-old Human: Devout 2, 2,330/3,000 XP. 8/20 HP, 0/2 MP. Str 13, Agi 11, Con 12, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha 8. Marcus has 7 attribute points to spend, and 2 skill points to spend. His known spells are Heal¡±, the window gave much more information about Marcus than Logan was anticipating. ¡°So, NPCs get access to attribute and skill points, but it seems they cannot spend them¡±, he inferred. ¡°Uh, Logan, you''re staring at me a bit weird¡±, Marcus said, the Spellthief staring at a window in front of the Devout. ¡°Oh, sorry, the ability takes some concentration¡±, Logan retorted. Another window also made Logan pause for inspection. ¡°Would you like to spend your ally''s points for them?¡± It asked. Though Logan felt a bit strange for doing so. ¡°I can give him a major incentive to never speak of my skills to anyone, and possibly make it so he wanted to party with me for the foreseeable future. He was just ditched and as a caster, he doesn''t have the best options for groups¡±, he planned devilishly. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°Marcus, I can help you improve your abilities. And as assurance, I will do this for you if you''re willing to keep my secrets and possibly come help me on other quests¡±, Logan offered, wanting to get something out of the deal. ¡°If he is close, I can keep an eye on him¡±, he thought. ¡°What? Wait, wait. You can make me stronger? How? I haven''t heard of anyone in the sticks doing that. There are rumours of it happening in the capital.¡± ¡°There are others that can do this? Do you know who they are?¡± Logan demanded. ¡°They could be PCs!¡± the hopeful Spellthief realised. ¡°No, sorry, I just hear stories. If you''re interested in them you should head to the capital and ask there.¡± ¡°Well, it''s a lead. I am looking for people who can do similar things that I can¡±, Logan informed. ¡°The capital is definitely next on the docket¡±, Logan confirmed. ¡°If you can improve my skills, I will pledge my services to you as long as you need them, Logan!¡± Marcus offered. ¡°He is either a good actor, or this is an immense boon for him¡±, Logan pondered. ¡°Alright, well, what do you value more? Strength, Agility, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma? Your Wisdom affects your MP-spellforce per day¡±, Logan informed, slipping up a bit at his terms. ¡°As a Devout my most precious contribution is spells, so Wisdom, all the way¡±, Marcus confirmed, a glee in his eyes as his body was still stained in blood. Opening up Marcus''s status, Logan placed his spare 7 points into Wisdom, bringing him to 19. Immediately his MP increased to 3/5. A wave of energy welled up within the Devout, wind erupting from the floor to his head as if he was instilled with new power. ¡°Lo-Logan. This power! My spellforce has doubled over, I can easily cast 3 more spells. How did you do that?¡± Marcus was bewildered, his whole world getting shattered at the number of spells now available to him. ¡°That is the most I can do for now. However, I can also unlock two of your latent skills, if you know of any you would like I can try and find those.¡± ¡°Skills too? Uh, um. There is Healer''s Caress if you''re able, and Multitude Healing too¡±, Marcus pleaded, a smile so wide on his face he looked somewhat childish. Looking over his skill window, Logan could see that Marcus had several Devout specific class skills. He was soon able to find the two skills in question, one gave healing without the need for MP and the other allowed it to occur twice. Similar to his Backstab, it had a cooldown of 10 minutes. ¡°Healer''s Caress: With a touch, you can heal your allies without the requirement of MP. You can heal a set minuscule amount per touch. After this skill has been successfully used you cannot use it for 10 minutes.¡± It seemed like the skill would also add in a portion of Marcus¡¯s Wisdom to the amount healed. Pressing both skills, Logan unlocked the class skills of Marcus. A green glow overtook the Devout''s eyes, his mind expanding quickly as new knowledge flowed into the NPC. ¡°Wow. Instant skills. This is unbelievable¡±, Marcus looked over his hands as he saw the power now at his fingertips. Looking back to Logan, he saluted the Spellthief. ¡°I pledge my life to you, Logan. Tell me to fight a monster, I will do so. Ask me to leave home, I will pack this very night.¡± ¡°No grand travels just yet, Marcus, for now, let''s harvest these wolves. I won''t be heading to the capital for another few days¡±, Logan assured. ¡°Pledging his life to me, huh. That''s one way to keep my secret safe. He seems sincere, a bit too much so. Though as a caster he probably isn''t treated the best¡±, Logan thought, remembering that Marcus had just been ditched by his previous team. Testing out his new skill, Marcus placed a hand on his chest and spoke ¡°Healer''s Caress¡±. A holy light shone over his body, as he was healed for 2 points. Doing the same, he grabbed Logan''s shoulder and chanted again, healing his new ally for 2 points. Both were brought to 10/20 HP and 32/42 respectively. Still shocked at his power, Marcus seemed to jump a bit in excitement. With the empowerment complete, Logan got to Harvesting the corpses. Gaining another 6 shoddy wolf fangs and 3 shoddy wolf pelts. During the time of skinning, Marcus used his skill again on himself, bringing him up to 14/20 HP. ¡°The healing may be small, but it will help longer quests, his Heal spell is better for big restoration¡±, Logan calculated. Gathering up the materials took around 15 minutes, Marcus was designated as the bag carrier since Logan was interested in increasing his Harvesting skill to aid in crafting later. ¡°It''s strange having someone else do the gathering, I''m normally the one left to it as a caster¡±, Marcus said, noticing the work that Logan was doing. ¡°I know what you mean, it was my main job in my quest yesterday. You''re good to just hold the bag and heal though.¡± ¡°With my new skill, and your ability to use a dagger, are you thinking about doing more hunting? We could easily bag a few more wolves like this.¡± ¡°We can''t look too strong, I may have increased your abilities, but people will get curious if 2 casters were able to hunt so many wolves above their listed slots and spellforce. Like I said, I am trying to be a bit hidden in my skills, it could bring danger¡±, Logan instructed, wanting to make sure the Devout understood. ¡°Gotcha, that makes sense. I am only going to quest with you from now on anyway, so no one outside of our team will know I got so much better.¡± ¡°Good, stick with me and you can get even more power later.¡± ¡°For sure, boss, I''m not going anywhere.¡± ¡°Logan is fine, Marcus.¡± ¡°Got it, Logan.¡± Finishing up the looting, Logan was relieved that none of the other wolves returned. Using Clean, he removed the scent from his party and loot. Looking at his confirmed five kills, Logan didn''t want to tempt the waters any further with what he brought back. Though with two spells remaining, he didn''t want to go back with so much power left. ¡°Marcus, do you know anything about bastarns?¡± ¡°Oh, the bat demon things? Yeah, I had to treat some injuries inflicted by them before. They mostly reside in caves, one is a half-hour to the north of here if I remember correctly¡±, Marcus informed, a curious look over his face. ¡°Want to go hunt a couple? I need their eyes for crafting, and would be easier to hide than big pelts.¡± ¡°Really? They are normally dangerous creatures, only rank 3 and above typically can hunt them. Their spells are rather dangerous to most adventurers too¡±, Marcus informed. Though this just made Logan all the more excited. ¡°I can deal with spellcasters, don''t worry about that¡±, Logan replied with a grin. ¡°Well, alright. I have more healing I can produce now anyways, so we should be fine with 1 or 2.¡± Settling up their next destination, the duo of Logan and Marcus headed out. First, they were able to use Stealth to avoid most confrontations within the forest, Marcus seemingly learning it by osmosis alongside Logan. They passed by a few more wolves, but Logan had other plans. A few other teams of adventurers were also spotted hunting the lupine creatures of the forest, though none were in danger like Marcus was previously. Hitting the edge of the forest, Marcus pointed Logan in the right direction, the pair going northwards to the caves that held bastarn within them. The two budding adventurers talked about Logan''s abilities, even if he didn''t want to talk too deeply about them, a curious Marcus kept pushing, however. Logan still felt it best he hid his origins, as his skills could still be explained in-world, being from a different world had little in the way of explanation.
The 30-minute travel was unimpeded, combined with leaving the forest Marcus was able to fully heal himself at the advice of Logan, putting him at 20/20 HP and leaving Logan at 32/42. During the traversal, the two talked about Logan¡¯s skills, the Spellthief reaffirming that he wanted no one to know about them. Logan spoke about his ability to look at stats similar to the Score spell as well as his ability to more easily learn skills, but he made no mention of Essence Absorption or his System. Marcus had also informed Logan that the two skills he had asked for were an uncommon but not rare sight amongst Devouts. They were highly praised skills that allowed Devouts to join almost any mission as they were only constrained through time instead of spellforce. To his knowledge, the class tome that would grant such skills cost around 50 silver or more depending on where you bought them. Arriving at a start to a cavern system, the duo landed outside a large hole cut within a mountain, old tracks for carts leading into the dark interiors. ¡°Light Ally¡±, Logan chanted, forming his sprite friend once again. Happy to be back to its master, the sprite followed orders gleefully, lighting up the cave ahead of the party. Marcus was only marginally impressed by the mick but still wondered about the breadth of his master''s abilities. With a light source to aid them, the team were able to inspect the cave in more detail. Dark-grey stone covered the walls, slivers of silver going across like veins in the rock. They could only guess that this cave used to be a silver mine before it was infested with monsters. Aside from the bastarn that the party was hunting, the cave was known to harbour many rocky foes from golems to elementals. Rumours also told that deeper in the caves lived kobolds that had turned the silver into arms and armour, a section Logan didn''t want to get close to at all. Logan was still floating a skill point, but without any real emergency, he had nowhere to spend it. Multi-Backstab was a solid pick if he couldn''t find anything else that piqued his interest, but he did not need it right now. Keeping it for later, Logan would inspect his skill window further down the road for a better choice. Sounds of laughter, flapping wings, and dripping water echoed throughout the cave as the pair made their way deeper. With the sprite of light leading them forwards, granting the party sight, they were also a beacon to any would-be enemies. It wasn''t too long before the two stumbled across their first encounter, 2 beady yellow eyes glimmering in the light as teeth formed over the irises. --- *** --- Chapter 16 - Field of the Spellthief It was quick, a flash of blue light amidst the shattered darkness of the dreary cave. Shimmering slivers of silver shone amongst the rocky walls against the spark of azure, an arcing fork of lightning shot across the cavern hall. He felt a wave of white-hot energy jumping from his gut to his chest, a feeling as if his heart had dropped. His body trembled all over as the adrenaline surged through his entirety. His high Agility allowed him a better chance than most young adventurers, though it was still a close call. Raising his hand, his other pushing Marcus out of the line of fire, Logan commanded like he had done previously against that Sorcerer. ¡°Spell Absorb!¡± his mind raced as he countered the second hostile spell since his arrival. Just barely catching the magic in his palm, the lightning coursed through his skin, into his bones, spiralling across his arm. A dangerous heat, a static burst of life, his arm throbbed as he breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Spell Absorption successful. Lightning charge stored¡±, a window popped up, Logan analyzing the foe in front of him as he recovered from the blast of energy. Its body was small, probably only 2'' in height, four spiked wings coming from an overly large oval body. Dark grey fur covered a batty body, an eye the size of a fist sat in the middle with a vertical red slit iris. Closing fangs revealed that the creature''s eye was also its mouth, a twisted design of a monster. Flapping near the ceiling, Logan got a better scan of it with his sprite hovering closer. ¡°Identify.¡± ¡°Bastarn - Demon / Bat. Level 4: 16/16 HP, 1/2 MP. Formed after a demon''s blood was combined with that of a bat, this creation is a bastard offspring commonly made when vampires try to breed. A mostly circular bat around 2 to 3 feet in radius, its wingspan often ends at around 1 foot for each of its 4 wings that sprout from its back in a cross style. Its use of magic makes it a fierce foe for low-rank adventurers. Knows Lightning and Necromantic.¡± ¡°Lightning Shot!¡± Logan called out, releasing the captured spell of the bastarn. Surprised, the creature was caught off guard, the lightning striking it back with even fiercer power as Logan had higher statistics than the beast. Dancing sparks of blue lighting charged across the cavern, shocking the demonic bat for 14 damage. Turning his head to his ally, not wanting him to fall too far behind, Logan instructed the devout onwards. ¡°Finish it off, your staff should be able to reach it¡±, Logan commanded. Nodding his head, Marcus ran forwards and did a small leap, hitting the tail end of a fleeing bat, rotating it as if it were a baseball, the solid slam caused the bat to tumble to the floor. Landing on the rocky floor, the corpse hopped slightly due to its fatty body. A short little roll ensued until it became still on the floor, experience popping over it to signal the end of its life. With more and more evidence, Logan concluded that enemies gave 100 XP per level, with possibly a 5% reduction if you were above its level. Since he was in a 2-man party, Logan was gaining 10% less experience, meaning the bastarn would give him 400 XP if he were solo. Looking to Marcus he saw the devout gained 40 XP for his involvement. The battle ended, the two took a small breather, Logan moving to harvest the eye of the bastarn. Though Marcus had more questions piling up. ¡°Was that dispelling magic? I thought that was a level 3 spell at a minimum?¡± the wondering devout asked. ¡°Another skill, as long as no one knows about it, you can benefit alongside me¡±, Logan reinforced. Marcus continually reaffirmed that he was putting all his eggs into the Spellthief''s basket. ¡°Maybe I am being too forceful with my demands, he seems to understand¡±, Logan worried. Since the bastarn only had a single eye to take, the time for Harvesting was around 10-20 seconds. Quickly he added a shoddy eye to his loot bag. ¡°Didn''t get a tier with that Spell Absorption, though we will be hunting a few of these, so bound to happen at a 50% chance¡±, Logan planned. Dusting off, the party continued on. Logan knew with a 10% reduction he''d need 9 kills to gain another level, and with a healer to bring him back up from any failed Spell Absorptions, he was confident he could do it today. Thinking of a way for them both to gain experience, Logan realised why spellcasters were not valued even more so. The way XP was distributed, you have to give some sort of engagement into the battles, without spells a caster can''t give much input if they lacked micks or a ranged weapon. ¡°Hey, Marcus, do you know how to use bows or crossbows at all?¡± Logan inquired as the two walked slowly through the cave. ¡°I''ve used a crossbow on some quests, normally if the party has a spare. A good one is expensive, and the bolts drain my share of the reward, so it''s generally not a good investment.¡± ¡°We''ll get you one when we return to Tinte. Don''t want you sitting like a goose.¡± ¡°That''s an odd saying. Geese are rather active and hostile. But if my 10% share of today gets me a crossbow then I will do so¡±, Marcus replied, confused at Logan''s Earth phrase. ¡°Well, there''s one saying to say goodbye to¡±, Logan relented. ¡°No shit-splits here, 50-50¡±, Logan cursed, a twinge of hatred in his words due to this world''s rules. ¡°But, Logan, I am only contributing so much. You''re doing the brunt of the work¡±, Marcus tried to reason. Logan was about to reply, if not for an interruption by a hiding pair of bastarns. Two flashes of light erupted from the ceiling, sparking lines of blue cascaded into one as they both hit solidly into the leader Spellthief. Taking hits for 10 and 11, he was brought down to 11/42. ¡°Fuck!¡± Logan exclaimed, the lighting coursing through his body and boiling his blood. ¡°Orb of all I call to thee, Pondress heal your children. Heal Shot¡±, Marcus chanted on cue, healing Logan for 12 points. Darting his eyes to the ceiling, Logan''s sprite flew high to reveal the demonic opponents. Sheathing his dagger, Logan prepared both his hands to catch further spells. ¡°You got 2 MP, c''mon¡±, he demanded in his head. Both electrifying their bodies, the bastarns charged up for another volley, Logan commanding Marcus to get behind him. Two lines of light intertwined again as they wrapped around, leaping into two singular strikes, Logan holding out his hands. ¡°Spell Absorb! Spell Absorb!¡± he thought, the energy punching into his palms with ferocity. ¡°Spell Absorption successful. Spell Absorption successful. 2 Lightning charges stored, Lightning has progressed to tier 2¡±, the windows overlapped each other with the two successfully absorptions. ¡°Ding ding bastard bats¡±, he thought, an evil glee forming inside. ¡°Lightning Shot! Lightning Shot!¡±, Logan chanted twice, throwing his arms out to each bastarn. Exploding into arcane might, his arms electrified as energy raced across his limbs to dart out from his fingertips, striking both the bastarns. The left took 13 damage, the right took 16, the right foe falling to the floor as black smoke emanated from its freshly cooked form. Seeing the left bastarn start to flee, Logan threw out his hand once more shouting ¡°Force!¡± to stop its retreat. Confident that the heal from Marcus was enough to grant his ally a share of the XP in this combat, the final bastarn hit the ceiling from his mick, rebounding to the floor to join its late ally, the mick now dealing 6 damage. Checking his ally''s reward, Logan saw that Marcus gained 80 XP from the fight. ¡°Good, healing is enough¡±, Logan confirmed. ¡°Damn, sorry, Logan, I didn''t see them before it was too late. You alright?¡± Marcus worried, seeing his ally quite dehydrated. ¡°Yeah, thanks for the Heal save there. Use Healer''s Caress in the next fight, alright?¡± Logan thanked, noticing Marcus was about to use his skill. ¡°Oh sure, wanting to line up the cooldown with something?¡± ¡°Kinda, just use the one unless I get hit bad.¡± Moving to harvest the new kills, Logan gathered a shoddy and a common eye. As he finished, a new window popped up noting he had reached Harvesting tier 2. ¡°Hopefully I start getting less shoddy components, I need higher ones for crafting chances¡±, Logan hoped.
As the two adventurers continued on, Logan had a thought pop into his head. He could resummon his Light Ally as he liked, so he could use it as bait. Having it scout up ahead, it did just that, as a bastarn jumped into life as the bright light blinded it. As if shooting jumping fish, Logan thrust his hand out ¡°Force!¡± he shouted as he pelted the loner bastarn with a mick. Pushed to the side, the bastarn faltered against the magical shot of energy. An angry expression brewed over its single eye as it flew closer to Logan, its body was coated in black energies. Blinking a single time, the energy flew out from the bat body, a torrent of deathly howls followed a sludge as it attacked Logan. ¡°Spell Absorb!¡± he thought, anticipating this to be a spell. ¡°Spell Absorption successful. Necromantic charge stored¡±, the window informed Logan, who was slightly disappointed he hadn''t learned the spell. At his instructions beforehand, Marcus ran to Logan to heal him again. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°Healer''s Caress¡±, Marcus enspelled, gripping the shoulder of Logan as he hid behind his ally. Logan felt the power heal his previous wounds as he awaited the next spell of the bastarn. Seeing its previous spell fail, the bastarn lit up like a stormy sky, bolts of lightning travelling across its form. With another blink, the energy surged at the Spellthief, whose arm was raised in preparation. ¡°Spell Absorb!¡± he commanded in his head, though instead of gaining another charge, his arm was overcharged with electrifying power, causing him to burn all over and have his teeth chatter. ¡°Spell Absorption failed¡±, a window tried to tell Logan, though he pretty much knew that already. Taking 11 points of damage, Logan thought to return the favour, ¡°Necromantic Shot!¡± he shouted. A dark abyss of power flowed from his heart, digging and clawing along his arm as tendrils of shadow formed and burst from his skin. Wrapping around his hand, a claw of demonic might evolved and outstretched to attack the bastarn. Digging its claws deep, Logan dealt 7 damage to the bastarn, healing himself for as much. Dipping by the pull of the spell, the bastarn saw its time to leave, flying off in the direction it came from, but an insistent Spellthief had other plans. ¡°Force!¡± he called out, the bat making a solid crash landing to the rocky floor. Looking over his status, Logan was now at 21/42 HP, a dangerous half when the spells he was getting hit with could deal up to 12 each. He was being a bit too confident on 23 earlier, forgetting his Spell Absorption had a chance at failure which sat at 80% success for 1st level spells. Asking his ally for a more reassuring HP value, Logan requested a Heal. ¡°Orb of all I call to thee, Pondress heal your children. Heal Shot¡±, Marcus enspelled as he surged holy light into his ally, healing Logan for 10 points. As he harvested the bastarn, Logan was asked by Marcus what happened with his skill. Logan quickly explained that it wasn''t a guaranteed thing, at least not yet. Marcus was quick to accept this and promised to keep an eye out if any more healing was required. Taking a shoddy eye, the duo prepared to move on. ¡°We''ll go on till you run out of spellforce, Marcus. I don''t want to risk this place without plenty of healing at hand.¡± ¡°Got it. We''ve done a lot more than most other rank 2 and 1 adventurers today anyways. Those eyes are worth quite a bit, but you said you were going to craft with them?¡± ¡°Yeah, if I could get someone to sell them on our behalf I would, but for now they will be used in crafting. No one will believe we could do this just on our own, at least not without something helping us.¡± ¡°That can work, other adventurers would probably assume we gained trinkets through quests or bought them with savings. It isn''t rare to see low-rank adventurers with a trinket or two¡±, Marcus disclosed. ¡°Yeah, and Identification doesn''t show them either, it might be something that people overlook for the most part¡±, Logan theorized.
Coming up to a fork in the caverns, the silver glistening still against the Light Ally, a break in the ceiling revealed a natural beam of light from atop the mountain. It wasn''t too large, so the light didn''t give a good area of sight, but it did reveal that the fork held within it 3 bastarn who were sleeping on the ceiling, upside down. Accepting this to be the final fight for the day, Logan wanted to go a bit more all-out, as well as help his chances. Giving the signal to Marcus to wait for a second, Logan began his surprise attack, his dagger sheathed. ¡°Lightning Shot!¡±, he shouted, the eyes of the bastarn darting open as a bright flash of blue light zapped it from its roost. Taking a solid 13 damage, the bastarn fell to a flying position above the floor, just like his allies, though a following-up Spellthief unleashed his mick straight after ¡°Force!¡± he called out. Bashing against a weakened foe, the bastarn hit the centre wall of the forked path, before slumping to the floor. Two beacons of arcane destruction lit up as the remaining bastarns charged their spells, Logan getting a healing hand from Marcus as they got into their partner formation. Duo arced lines of lightning danced towards Logan, who riposted with his raised arms like before. ¡°Spell Absorb! Spell Absorb!¡± he commanded. ¡°Spell Absorption successful. Spell Absorption successful. 2 Lightning charges stored¡±, luck was on Logan''s side this time, in retaliation, he released the stored charges back at his aggressors. ¡°Lightning Shot! Lightning Shot!¡± he enspelled, one after another, the groggy bats unable to dodge the fast bolts of magic. One was hit for 14, the other 16, which made it fall to the floor dead. The final bastarn, angered by its allies'' deaths, began to cast its final spell. Dark energies started to course all around it, Logan quickly moved forward with an arm out in readiness. Startled, the bastarn shot its spell at the charging foe, ¡°Spell Absorb!¡± Logan commanded, the dark waving lines of energy being sucked up into his arm. With a leap, Logan grabbed at the bastarn that was low to the floor. ¡°Spell Absorption successful. Necromantic charge stored, you have learned the spell.¡± ¡°Necromantic Grasp!¡± he yelled, the demonic lines of black making a larger visage of his arm and hand, digging deep, the claw sucked the life force from the bastarn. Dealing 10 damage, Logan was healed to full, bringing the basketball corpse with him to the floor. Dropping the corpse with the others, Logan used Clean to make the area a bit more hospitable. Marcus jogged over to inspect his ally for wounds. ¡°You look in tip-top shape, Logan. That Necromantic set you right.¡± ¡°Yeah, that was my plan. Thankfully it all worked out. Though seeing this fork has made me anxious about plans forward. We could get flanked, or take a path leading to more dangerous foes. I think we should take what we got and leave.¡± ¡°If you think that is best, If the groups are getting larger it would be difficult to handle.¡± Logan began his usual Harvesting, though Marcus did want a chat as he did so. ¡°About what you said earlier, the split of income? Seeing the work you put in, it doesn''t feel right me taking half. We got cut off earlier, so I will say now, I won''t take any more than 30%¡±, Marcus insisted. ¡°Fine, if that''s how you want it. It''s going to be hard splitting the money anyway since we can''t sell all of this off at once. I''ll give you the worse trinkets, how''s that sound?¡± ¡°That''s fine, you need the capabilities more than I do.¡± ¡°That works better anyways, if I have more power than he does, he''ll want to stick around longer¡±, Logan devilishly planned. Seeing how close he was to level 5 saddened Logan, but he wanted to be careful in a cave that started with level 4 enemies. It was only easy due to him being a counter to spellcasters, anything different deeper in would be a big issue. He was on 9,201/10,000 XP whereas Marcus was sitting at 2,610/3,000. Hunting with a devout meant he would get less XP per kill, but almost constant access to healing allowed him to hunt longer. Getting some more levels and Wisdom on Marcus meant his Healer''s Caress would do more too, since levelling the devout should give him the bonuses to the Wisdom attribute. More of both also meant more MP for spells. Taking up a shoddy, common, and high-quality eye, Logan was surprised at his luck, or maybe it was more due to his increased skill tier. Packing up all of the loot, the two adventurers headed back to the entrance, the Light Ally happy it hadn''t died today.
Due to the path up to the fork being mostly straight, Logan and Marcus didn''t face any hardships on the return trip. Escaping back into the sunlight, they saw the day was heading into the afternoon. With another hour trip back to Tinte, the two conversed and drank from waterskins. Marcus divulged that he became an adventurer around 1 year ago, being advised into it by the church so that he could further progress his class. He hadn''t been on many quests though, with only 1 MP in the beginning his use in combat was minute. The pay difference for casters seemed to be the same no matter which one you were, always three times less than other members. Marcus was on the lowest end for MP, a rare higher variant was 2 MP if the adventurer had some form of special ability or was gifted by a being from above or below. Any other rank 1 adventurers with 2 MP or more were heroes, and they often had their own section of parties and quests. Marcus was born with pretty low stats, his Wisdom being a 9 before his second rank. Through the conversations, Logan was able to gather that a person''s attribute distribution had no connection to their class, Marcus having a high Strength for a class more aimed at healing or aiding allies. You had to win three lotteries at once, high attributes and a class that was valued in the world, and then those both had to correlate to one another. Logan was reminded of that Rogue with high Wisdom back at his assessment. ¡°So, since I am a PC, I had free rein to choose my stats? 10s across the board with 6 points to spend. If I could also pick my class I could set up amazingly well. A Fighter with 12 Strength, Agility, and Constitution, I would be looked at like a prized pony¡±, Logan pieced together the information he had gathered so far. Talking with one another, Logan came to realise how good of a man Marcus was, his views were tilted slightly due to his poor treatment as a caster but he generally came out ahead. Any worry of betrayal became a background thought, as the two made plans to continue questing with one another and later travelling to the capital in each other''s company.
It was past 2pm by the time the duo made it back to Tinte, the village alive with activity with adventurer parties going both in and out, almost as if their ¡°shifts¡± changed with meals. Heading straight to the adventurers'' hall, Logan saw it had a medium load with around 14 adventurers sitting at tables or settling debts at the counter. Waiting for their turn, they eventually got seen by Ruben¨¦, Logan making sure to queue up at her portion of the counter. Her face became flush with joy at the sight of the classless-ally. ¡°Welcome back, Logan. New team member?¡± she asked, looking over to Marcus who shared her happiness at being around the Spellthief. ¡°Yeah, his team ditched him during the wolf hunt and I had to pick him up. Since then we''ve been hunting together, so can you mark him down as my partner for the wolf hunt?¡± ¡°Oh, I am sorry to hear that. I''ll make a note about his previous team''s actions. How many wolves did you get?¡± Ruben¨¦ replied, a worried shock replacing her cheerful smile. ¡°We got 5 wolves, here are their fangs as proof¡±, Logan submitted, showing 10 fangs in total. Ruben¨¦ looked over the fangs, checking the remains of gum at the roots as well as using a magnifying glass. ¡°Yeah, those were recently harvested, cleaned nicely too. I will note that down, here''s your 4 silver¡±, Ruben¨¦ replied, starting to count out coins. ¡°Can you make it 2 silver and 20 copper please?¡± Logan asked. Ru looked over to the devout and realised she was paying 2 members. ¡°Oh, of course¡±, Ruben¨¦ confirmed, taking out the money. Logan counted out 12 copper and handed it to Marcus, keeping 2 silver and 8 copper for himself. Leaning over to Ruben¨¦, Logan whispered a bit. ¡°He wouldn''t take 50-50¡±, he sneakily admitted. Ruben¨¦ was visibly blushing and seemed quite happy at Logan''s fairness in the money split. Taking their signets, both Logan and Marcus were updated to show that they had a hand in the wolf hunt of the day. Gathering up his fangs again, Logan noticed that each one had a small red line painted on them, realising it was to tag them as already counted so people couldn''t use the same ones over and over. ¡°I could Clean those, but I better not¡±, Logan thought. Adding the reward to his funds, Logan was sitting on 3 silver and 27 copper. Not an insurmountable sum, but enough to last him long enough at the inn. Though now he had to think about ranged options for Marcus as well as buying up other materials he needed to craft his trinkets. Before setting down for the rest of the day, Logan still had two more villager quests that needed completing. At this point, Logan just wanted to help the classless who seemed to have been discriminated against due to how they were born. With the final quests to finish from the board, Logan would be able to sit down to some crafting, and some reading. --- *** --- Chapter 17 - Crafter Hands Logan and Marcus had a quick chat about their next plans, Marcus would settle up things at the church as he had previous engagements to tie off, Logan would finish off his villager quests. The two would reconvene at the Dogslop Inn, it would be cheaper sharing a room and Marcus paying for his own meal. The next few days would go through the same until they eventually left for the capital. The Spellthief wanted to be as prepared as possible if the next quest threw him through the wringer, not putting much faith in a powerful being that took him from his world to not want to toy with him. While Logan worked, Marcus would also search for a crossbow to add to his arsenal, though this was mostly insisted by Logan who wanted the Devout to not fall behind in levels more than he already would be. Breaking up, the two went their own ways until nighttime, Logan had some work to do.
Starting off his afternoon work, Logan had a job wholly suited to a spellcaster. The local bathhouse had been having issues with dirty water, a tinge of green and yellow had tainted the hot waters for a few days and while it didn''t seem to make people sick it was unsightly. Logan looked over the heated rocks, water tower, and piping. The tower in particular had a strange fungus growing inside of the wooden drums, so he used Force to break them up and Clean on the rest. Finding the rocks to also be quite old, along with rusted metal pipework, Logan threw in some Clean micks to essentially renovate the establishment. An hour of work later, the Spellthief was praised highly for his thorough work with thrown in cleaning services. He was given a tip, leaving with 5 copper. 3 silver, 32 copper. 13 quests done, 10 villagers. Following on from a dirty job, though fixed with Clean, Logan''s next quest was to help train and assess the local militia. Since he was a classed being, Logan was stronger than most classless, so training with him was a valuable experience no matter his class. Picking up a shortsword and shield, Logan had a window pop up telling him he didn''t have proficiency with either, though training with them would grant him such. Giving a 5-minute sparring match with 10 members of the militia, Logan spent the next 50 minutes sparring with villagers of varying abilities and attributes. During the fights, he would work his words to having them join his party and letting him see their statistics. A few would give him worry, if not for his Agility far exceeding theirs, allowing him to deftly dodge what he couldn''t block or parry. The men and women all thanked him for his time, a few seemingly gaining a Strength point from the fights. ¡°Is this how NPCs spend their attribute points?¡± Logan observed. One thing that Logan noticed during the sparring and teaming up with the NPCs, none of them had more than 1 attribute point to spend. Aside from the attribute point, each sparring partner gained either 20 or 30 experience, depending on their level, with Logan gaining no such experience. The Spellthief surmised this was to aid the NPCs in training against a PC who gained much more from victories against monsters. Paid for his time, Logan was given 5 copper, the most he had seen from an hour or less of work not including tips. 3 silver, 37 copper. 14 quests done, 11 villagers. 10% proficiency with one-handed blades and shields.
With his villager quests finished, Logan was disappointed at the lack of titles or skill points, though they were more like cherries on the top since he knew how much people appreciated his assistance. Handing off his contracts to the hall, Ruben¨¦ thanked Logan for his hard work at clearing the board of long-standing villager quests. Returning to the Dogslop Inn, Logan saw Marcus sat at a table inside, nursing a tankard of water. His face brightened at the sight of his partner, waving his friend over. ¡°Work all done, Logan? I''m all sorted myself¡±, Marcus said, watching his ally sit down. ¡°Yeah, thankfully they didn''t take too long. How''d the crossbow hunt go?¡± Logan inquired. Marcus responded by picking up his new crossbow and planting it on the table. Logan did his usual routine ¡°Identify.¡± ¡°Sharpshooter - Level 2, Common: Often a ranged unit''s second crossbow of their career, a step up from the beginner''s choice of crossbow. Light enough to fire with one hand and reloads rather quick to compare with its relatively low damage. Deals between 1 and 3 damage on each hit.¡± ¡°Good, plenty of bolts to take on the hunt too?¡± Logan asked. ¡°Yeah, I got about 40 bolts, was able to get a deal with the trader since I also bought the crossbow from them.¡± ¡°Suitable, we can get a lot done with that. Have you worked out the room with Coach yet?¡± Logan asked, looking over to the counter. ¡°I said we would be sharing a room, though he said he would need your confirmation on that since you''re a trusted customer.¡± ¡°Alright, I''ll get it sorted. Get your stuff ready¡±, Logan informed, standing from the table and moving to Coach who stood tall at the counter. ¡°Evening, Logan. That Devout over there said you''d be shacking up together?¡± Coach asked, a raised eyebrow showing bemusement. ¡°Yeah, he''s my new party member. Got any rooms with two beds?¡± ¡°Room 6 has two beds now¡±, Coach responded, a smile on his face. He already had the key in hand and was just waiting for Logan to ask. ¡°Great, how much is it?¡± ¡°For you? 7 copper¡±, Coach offered. Placing the coins on the table Logan was handed his key. ¡°Thanks, Coach¡±, Logan responded, feeling the camaraderie of the villagers grow. Flashing the key in his hand to Marcus, the Devout followed his companion up the stairs. Entering into a familiar room, Logan saw it was recently cleaned and another straw bed placed on the opposite side of the room. The window was now symmetrical with a bed on either side. ¡°Gonna be a shame when I leave¡±, Logan dreaded going to the capital where he had to build a reputation again. Marcus set up shop quickly, laying his 2 bags beside the bed, his crossbow at the foot end. Logan instructed the Devout to get a small table set up with his Trinket Craft tools, Logan needed to buy some last-minute materials to make his trinkets. It would only take a few minutes since Logan knew what he needed, a neat little list floating by his side laying out the items and a final price of 5 silver, putting him at 10 copper left.
From his hunting trip, Logan had a total of 9 shoddy fangs, 1 common fang, 4 shoddy pelts, 1 common pelt, 4 shoddy bastarn eyes, 2 common eyes, and 1 high-quality eye. He would be able to make 3 Wolf Fang Rings since it took 3 fangs per ring, and 3 Bastarn Eye Earrings since it was two eyes per earring, with 6 total chances of getting a good tier trinket. The time he would put in also meant he could sell the trinkets for more money than if he had sold the components. Starting with a ring, Logan shaved the outer layer from the fangs to reveal a clean underlayer of the tooth. Cutting a precise line in the underside to connect to the ring, Logan infused spellforce into both the fangs and the silver ring he had purchased and used Clean on. Using combinations of solvents, glues, and herbs, he finished off the ring in 1 hour of work. Due to him being a ¡°proper¡± spellcaster, at least when compared to classless, the magic he weaved was more potent and sped up the process further. Since he had bought the ring and other components, it was a quicker process than if he had prepared the other parts aside from the fangs. His first attempt landed him a shoddy trinket. Even as a ¡°shoddy¡± item it still granted a +2 bonus to Agility. Continuing the process two more times netted him an amazingly lucky high-quality ring and another shoddy one. Placing the high-quality ring onto his left middle finger he saw an immediate effect. At double the effect of a shoddy item, Logan surmised that each tier granted an additional +1 bonus, though this was only conjecture, legendary could be higher or grant more effects like the Harvesting skill alluded to. Handing a shoddy one to his ally, Marcus slipped it onto his right pinky finger. With an agility boost, he would prove more useful with his crossbow. Next on the list were the earrings. Using a strange spellforce technique, Logan was able to resize the eyes to fit within a thumb-sized adornment, then morphing two into one double-sided eye, which dangled from a piercing to be placed within the ear lobe. Again, the earring was pre-purchased, a dark silver that he used Clean on. Using a quill, he enchanted the writing device to allow him to etch into the metal with red runes. Taking an hour of work, like the rings, Logan had made a shoddy earring that gave +2 to Constitution. Repeating the routine, Logan made one more shoddy and a common quality earring. Handing one off to Marcus, Logan pierced the spike of the earring through his right ear lobe. ¡°If dad saw this I wonder what he would think¡±, Logan''s thoughts drifted to how his father was doing in this instance. A little blood fell to his clothes from his ear lobe, quickly patched up with Healer''s Caress and Clean. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. With the crafting work complete, Logan gained attribute bonuses equal to 2-3 levels, a major boost at such a low level. With a high-quality ring, he put his Agility higher than his Intelligence at this point, making it so he wasn''t too worried about focusing on it for unlocking the System further. The Constitution increases also gave him 6 more HP and 4 more to Marcus.
The evening turned to night as the 6 hours of crafting passed the adventurers by, Marcus mostly settling up their equipment, giving aid in crafting where he could, and finally drafting up plans of travel to the capital. Logan already had plans for the remaining shoddy ring and earring, since he couldn''t go through in open sales, he would have to be a bit underhanded with his trading. Asking Marcus to gather up information in town about the rumours surrounding people who were able to unlock classed beings'' potentials, as well as checking out the quests on offer, Logan spent the rest of the night reading ¡°Magi''s Magick Vol. 1¡± which he had 3 hours in already. Getting a nightly meal sent to his room, an assortment of sliced meat and vegetables that came the way of a thankful bathhouse owner, Logan read over his tome for another 5 hours, reaching til midnight. A few dozen pages remained but Logan had absorbed all he could in one sitting, the diagrams, explanations, and formulas draining his mental energy. Setting the book back into his bag he was confident he''d complete it the next night. Returning to their room, Marcus seemed quite tired after his nightly investigations. Sitting down at his bed, he did bring some amount of information with him. ¡°Didn''t get too much from the people I could talk to. It seems that those who are able to unlock people''s potential are referred to as oracles. I found no mention or trace of them ever appearing or operating in Tinte or Noma. All signs point to Gauntlet. As far as anyone can remember, the last rumoured appearance was about a year or so ago, but nothing is confirmed in writing or reports¡±, Marcus informed. ¡°A common name is useful enough, at least now we can properly mention them instead of having to describe them in detail. There''s no need to stay here any longer than I had planned, or even to visit Noma, knowing that oracles have only been spotted at the capital¡±, Logan assessed. ¡°Right. As for quests, it seems a local troll has made its home in the goblin forests west of here. Since the numbers of goblinoids plummeted it was easy to take over, even more so since the hobgoblin was killed. A large gathering of adventurers have picked up the quest, about 8 in total with 2 Sorcerers amongst them, I was actually invited when I was investigating but said I had other plans tomorrow.¡± ¡°A troll? Are they dangerous enough to warrant 8-man teams?¡± ¡°Yes, normally they are restricted hunts for rank 5 and above, though if a team is large enough the limit is waived. They have amazing regenerative abilities, regrowing cuts and injuries, given enough time even whole limbs. Fire can halt its regeneration, but it has to be strong and applied regularly.¡± ¡°Is the prize worth the risk? Split 8 ways, it''s going to be quite a divide.¡± ¡°This troll, in particular, is a dangerous foe, the quest offers 100 silver for its defeat and head as a trophy. Aside from the money, troll''s blood can be used in alchemy to give a humanoid their regenerative powers for life, it''s weaker but still highly prized¡±, Marcus replied, a bit of haste and excitement to his words. ¡°So, if they all live, 12 silver and 5 copper each, if equal splitting, though the casters will most likely get less. The regeneration is quite enticing, but I doubt we would be allowed it as a reward, the leader or leaders would probably claim it. If they fail and retreat, we could possibly take it down in a weakened state and harvest the blood, but I have a better idea.¡± ¡°Oh? There is a high chance they will win the fight, what is your other idea?¡± ¡°I went on a quest to the western forest not too long ago, if it''s clear aside from the troll we could circumvent it and the large party, head to the cave of the goblins and loot it for all its worth. My team was badly hurt after clearing it, so their stolen items are up for grabbing.¡± ¡°That''s great. If it''s the previous hold of the hobgoblin then it should contain quite a lot of gear. A few adventurers died to that band, and the goblins are known for hoarding items from their kills. If it''s just scouts and muscles, you and me should handle it fine if we''re not surrounded, but with the troll, their numbers should be manageable.¡± ¡°My thoughts exactly. These trinkets also put us a cut above what I was back then. We will need to act fast and quietly though. I don''t want to put much faith in the troll fight taking long, and even if we can handle goblins I want to be able to take down as many individuals on their own as we can. We''ll head there first thing in the morning before the main team set off.¡± ¡°Got it, they mentioned heading out around 10am, looking to get a few more members if possible.¡± ¡°Then we leave at 8, track the troll''s whereabouts, and see if we can''t get to the cave without him noticing.¡± ¡°Got it, this is exciting, I would have never thought of doing something like this before partying up with you¡±, Marcus said, shaking in excitement on his bed. ¡°As long as your head is in the game, we''ve got this.¡± The two partners sorted out their route to the forest, plans for whilst in it, and tactics for within the cave for a few minutes more before settling in for bed. Neither got to sleep quick however, the energy for their mission already filling their bodies. Through perseverance, they finally got some rest.
The next morning both Logan and Marcus were up on time, though mostly due to Logan''s alarm waking him to wake Marcus. Tinte was bustling with activity, the news of the troll having spread in the night. Several adventurers were lining up around the adventurers'' hall to petition to join the raiding party. Looking over them, Logan saw levels ranging from 1 up to 5. Getting their gear in order, the two enjoyed a quick stew breakfast before making their first stop not too far from the hall. Giving a welcoming pat to Spike, both Logan and Marcus entered back into the Mova household. Punissa greeted her two saviours with a smile, welcoming them inside the house, which still had several components laid across the tables and hooks. ¡°Punissa, I was wondering if I could impose a little favour. I tried out your trinket crafting and was able to make a few items, though I have some left over. I don''t want it getting out that I can do this, so would it be possible for me to sell you them for you to sell on? I am willing to take a lesser price since you might not be able to sell them with all your other items¡±, Logan pleaded. ¡°Such a quick learner. Logan, you''re an ally of the gashriek, and we an ally of you. I can certainly do this for you, can I see the items? Not the ones you are wearing I take it¡±, Punissa accepted, her husband walking over to the table to investigate as well. ¡°It is a wolf fang ring and a bastarn eye earring, both are shoddy¡±, Logan explained, laying the two trinkets on the table. The couple looked over the items for a few seconds before confirming their quality. ¡°We can put these up as bargain buys, but you''re right we might not be able to hawk them along with our commissioned wares. We could give you 3 silver for each¡±, Forletta offered. ¡°That''s more than fine with me¡±, Logan accepted. Taking the two trinkets, Forletta handed over 6 silver to Logan. Marcus had already discussed that all of it would go to Logan for making his trinkets. ¡°Thank you, if I am able, could I bring more leftovers here?¡± ¡°If we''re able to sell these, you''re more than welcome to bring whatever you find or craft over¡±, Punissa insisted. Saying thanks and farewells, Logan and Marcus left the Mova household to make a final stop off at the markets. This time, for the first time, Logan entered into a full-on weapon shop. Items of much higher prices, and levels, were on offer within locked glass cases or wooden cabinets. The building was made up of both wood and brick, the owner bringing in a lot more money than the other markets due to its higher-level and higher-tier items. The containers were sat atop light-brown wooden floors or dark-brown wood walls. A counter at the far end was trimmed with marble, though mostly composed of a reddish-brown wood. Logan wanted a better dagger to fall back on, still only holding 3 spells a day. He eventually stumbled onto quite the rare sight, set within a shiny glass display case was a jagged dagger of a black and red design, as if lava ran across obsidian. ¡°Identify.¡± Due to its higher level and tier, it was priced at 7 silver, even if it had a bit of use since its durability was at 70%. It was worth the money in Logan''s mind, dealing 3 more damage than his current dagger and giving +2 more attack rating. He was close to level 5, but high-quality meant it would keep relevance. Moving to the counter, he started to talk with the owner. The shopkeep was a burly woman, possibly an adventurer or blacksmith herself back in the day, her muscles were larger than Logan''s, though they stood eye to eye at the same height of 6''2". Her hair was blackened and slightly spiked back, tied in a top knot ponytail, dull grey eyes accented her face that made her look to be in her 40s. A deep triple gash went from her forehead to her right cheek, across her eye but narrowly missing her vision. Using Identification, Logan could see the woman was a retired adventurer, a level 7 Fighter. Though as his skill grew in tiers, the more he felt weird for using it on others, only getting their levels if necessary and more if they were opponents or of interest. ¡°Excuse me, ma''am, I was looking at Fangtooth over there. I wanted to purchase it but was wondering if you could come down on the price a bit. I noticed a few nicks as well as wear and tear¡±, Logan tried to barter. ¡°You must be a Grasp expert, I hunted with one of those casters before, stab and blast at the same time¡±, the woman stated. ¡°Why do you think I am a caster?¡± ¡°Word gets around the village, you''re that Logan fellow helping the townsfolk out. Wizard, casting micks and delivering items.¡± ¡°Ah, can''t keep myself hidden here can I. Yeah, I use Grasp alterations a bit. A good dagger helps me take down what my spells aren''t able to.¡± ¡°One of my old buddies retired recently, sold me Fangtooth as the final nail in his hunting career. He would hate to see it get sold for cheap, but I agree it isn''t in the best condition. You seem a good sort, I can do 6 silver and 8 copper, it was already discounted because of its age.¡± ¡°I can take that¡±, Logan accepted, his hand outstretched. ¡°Deal, Logan. The names Alexia, better know it if you''re going to be picking up more of my wares¡±, the woman replied, clasping hard on Logan''s hand. Handing over the money, Logan followed Alexia who unlocked the case of Fangtooth, sheathed it in a unique black sheath, and handed it to the Spellthief. Placing his old dagger to the lower-black portion of his belt, he moved Tara''s dagger to his left hip and put Fangtooth on his right. With his new weapon, his status updated to more clearly note the quality of each item with stars at the top right, with 1 being shoddy and 3 being high-quality. With all of his money drained, aside from 3 copper, the duo had little left to prepare. Saying thanks to the shopkeeper, the two made their way to the west exit of town. Passing by the large queues of adventurers signing up for the raid, Logan saw that they now had 10 members, confident they could handle the troll he was happy he landed on his cave looting plan. On the off chance they would need to deal with a loose troll, Logan prepared 3 casts of Flame. With their gear all in order, the Spellthief Logan and the Devout Marcus made their way towards the west forest, the goblins being replaced with a troll, it would be quite the different locale to when Logan had first gone there. On the way, he would reorganise and make his status a bit neater to look at. --- *** --- Chapter 18 - Goblin Cave Raid Confident they were ahead of the main raiding party since they passed them outside the adventurers'' hall, Logan and Marcus made the long 30-minute journey to the west. Through further talks with Marcus to make sure that they wouldn''t be facing other teams in the forest, or avoiding competition to the main party, the Devout informed Logan that for most quests if an adventurer or party takes a quest parchment, then only they can do the quest unless they went missing. It was written in the long rulebook of the adventurers'' society, never to hunt and kill other adventurers unless they were wanted by the authorities. Self-defence was acceptable, though there were magics to tell truths from lies that halls could use to settle these disputes. Tinte was a relatively small hall, in comparison to larger settlements, so their use of ¡°truth magic¡± was rare. Since the raiding party took the quest to take down the troll, others were not allowed to attempt the quest until that party had been found dead or gave up on it. With 10 people in the party, it would be very hard to pull any shenanigans either, so safety in numbers meant they could hunt without issue. While the rules were solid on what could and could not happen, Marcus did hear rumours of people subverting the rules to get their way. Loopholes, destruction of evidence or killing witnesses. The Devout had little worry for the troll raid party, however, so the duo could loot the cave with an easy mind.
Arriving at the outskirts of the western forest, both of the adventurers could spot signs of invasion and destruction by the troll. Trees laid across the floor, large circular dents across several as if a massive club or fist had hit them down. Footprints the size of a man''s torso led deeper into the forest. From what Logan could gather, a troll stands at around 10'' to 15¡¯ tall, so it would be hard to miss. Hugging the exterior of the forest, the two went around to its northern edge, hoping to not follow any trail left by the troll in case it patrolled around. Unsurprisingly, the forest was incredibly quiet, devoid of any avian animals or their chirping. The troll had disturbed this lush green area greatly. When they were satisfied they were far enough away from the troll''s path, Logan and Marcus began using Stealth to infiltrate the forest, hiding against the tall tree trunks. With higher Agility, Logan was more sure in his Stealth skill as well as that of his ally, though generally, they were able to spot enemies before they got spotted themselves in the past. Finding the kills of goblins past, the two ignored deer or rabbit remains, the main goal of the cave in their mind and the troll''s presence hastening their progress.
A few minutes of stealthy intrusion later, the pair were surprised when they came across a small band of surviving goblins. Rushed tents were set up of scavenged cloth, a small campfire with only cinders remaining in the middle. Scanning the area, Logan could find 3 scouts and 2 muscles. With his new dagger, he was positive a single strike would bring down any scout, though the muscles still gave him pause, needing at least 2 strikes each if his Agility aided his damage. ¡°Those goblins may cause issues down the line if they pull the troll over or ambush the raid team. How are you at climbing trees, Marcus?¡± Logan asked, planning to take down the small camp. ¡°It may take me a while, but I have climbed a few when I was a teen¡±, Marcus replied, looking at the goblins in curiosity. ¡°Take this and climb that tree, cover me from above, fire at the muscles and leave the scouts to me¡±, Logan instructed, handing his shoddy knife to his ally. ¡°Alright, give me a minute or two¡±, Marcus accepted, taking the dagger in hand. Marcus moved over to a tree a few feet away, it had a long branch about 15 feet upwards with a good line of sight on the camp, if not for a few trees blocking the sides. As his ally began the climb, Logan used Stealth to get closer to the camp, about 2 trees ahead of him until the clearing. ¡°Unlock Multi-Backstab¡±, he commanded his System, a confirmation popping up alongside the class skills window. Confirming his choice with a ¡°yes¡±, the skill unlocked with a new window describing its uses. ¡°Multi-Backstab: You gain 1 more use of the Backstab skill, each charge of Backstab has its own cooldown¡±, it explained to Logan, at tier 1 it seemed he could place more points into the skill to gain more charges, but it lacked any mastery bar so it was one he had to invest into rather than learn over time. Breathing in and out, Logan prepared himself for combat, to start he would try to dwindle the numbers before they recognised his location. Leaning around the trunk, he held up his open left hand, the right holding his new dagger. ¡°Force¡±, he chanted, a wave of energy radiating from his shoulder through the palm of his hand as it exploded towards a scout, blasting it in the head for 6 damage, its body sliding and dragging the grassy floor as it left a dirt trail. The other goblins stood up at attention, from both the sound and sight of an attack on their band. ¡°Force¡±, lining up for another scout, Logan shot a barrage of energy at the second enemy, hitting it solidly in the face, the power causing teeth to fly as it was pushed to the floor. The remaining goblins darted their heads all around, trying to see where the attack was coming from, the final scout rose its hand to point towards Logan''s location. ¡°Force¡±, another volley of arcane might planted into the chest of the final scout, leaving a deep punching wound in the fatty torso of the green pest. Being taken up from its feet, the goblin flew against a nearby tree before sliding to the floor. Marcus then began his assault, a single bolt flew past the head of a muscle, the Devout not used to firing from high ground. With their foe in sight, the two muscles started to run at the tree Logan was hugging. ¡°Force¡±, aiming at the closest muscle, a fist of energy hit its shoulder, slowing the goblin''s charge, allowing its ally to pass him. A few feet away from the tree, Logan let out a final blast at the leg of the muscle ¡°Force¡± he spoke as he hopped to the side. With a much higher Intelligence, the mick was able to knock the muscle off-balance, starting to tumble to its face. Dashing forwards, Logan grabbed the goblin in a headlock with his left arm, before driving his blade into the goblin''s back. ¡°Backstab¡±, a piece of text confirmed, Logan dealing a meaty 13 damage to the muscle as it seized up and wiggled in his grasp, before slumping to its final corpse form. Dropping the body, Logan swiped his blade out to clash with the mace of the muscle he had previously hit, making it so the attack was unable to hit him. Another bolt soared through the air, hitting the muscle in its other shoulder, taking 3 damage from the Devout''s new archery. Recoiling from the shot, Logan was able to slash at the muscle one final time as it fell back to the floor. A clean encounter with no damage to the team, though cheesy tactics did a lot of the hard work for the two. An easy 555 XP for Logan, 70 XP for Marcus. As Marcus climbed down from the tree, Logan took the initiative to harvest the goblin ears and pick up the clubs and maces. Nothing was of note, so it was all tossed into the communal loot bag at Marcus''s back. ¡°Much easier than when I was level 1 and 2¡±, Logan chuckled to himself. He had expected the goblins to react a bit quicker, anticipating he would need more than one Backstab, but he still had one charge while the other went onto its cooldown. Thinking on the calculations behind his Force mick, Logan surmised that it probably had a base number of 1 and added 1 more damage for every 2 points in Intelligence past 10. He could test it later on, when time was not against them, by taking his trinkets off and putting them back on to see the damage difference. With Marcus meeting back up with Logan, they exchanged loot, Marcus taking back the bolt he had missed. Pressing onwards, the duo made their way deeper into the woods with Stealth to aid their travel.
Reaching the large clearing where the tall hill was situated, Logan could see a day-old battlefield. Several goblin corpses laid across the floor, limbs were torn off or bodies chewed on. While it was a sombre sight, he was thankful there was no sign of the troll, the cave entrance was too small for the troll to fit comfortably, around 7'' tall, just enough for the hobgoblin two days previously. Using Clean, Logan made sure his team would be harder to smell as they used the tree line as far as they could before going into open ground. Utilizing Tracking, Logan searched for signs of the troll, his scan showing that the troll had recently moved eastward. Marcus loaded his crossbow ready for battle, following behind Logan, both reaching the cave entrance that still showed signs of his quest the other day. Peering into the cave, the two saw it to be incredibly dark, any chance of torches inside were diminished with the inhabitants all dead. ¡°Light Ally¡±, Logan enspelled, calling his friend back into life. Telling his summon to stay 5 feet ahead, the trio entered the cave. The smell of blood, spoiled meat, and faeces wafted from deeper in, the goblins not being the most sanitary of creatures. Some corpses of goblins were found across the rock hallway, as well as the arms and legs of humanoids. The stone was of a dark grey, with moss, dirt, and grass growing all over from the hill above. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. A few minutes passed as the long hallway ended at a large oval room with a domed roof reaching up to 12'' or so high. Scratched rugs were laid across the floor, half of them missing parts or covered in mud. Damaged chests, boxes, and bags lined the walls, most likely taken from adventurers or travelling merchants. From the dome room, three paths led off in a Y design with a line down the middle. ¡°Plenty of containers to look over here¡±, Marcus said, following Logan into the middle of the room. ¡°Hopefully they didn''t soil all the loot. Keep an eye-¡± Logan began until he was caught off by the yells and chatters of goblins. From each corridor came a charge of troll survivors, 2 from the left, 4 from forward, 3 from the right, all of them were muscles who left the scouts to fend for themselves against the troll. Some looked injured, but all were angry, moving to attack the adventurers in their den. ¡°Marcus, get to the entrance and support!¡± Logan shouted, getting into a fighting position. ¡°Got it!¡± Marcus acknowledged, running to the hallway they had entered from, lining up his crossbow. The first goblin to reach Logan came from his left, a leaping mace attack was easily dodged and retaliated with a slash across the back, leaving the now dead goblin to fall to the floor. One more came charging from the forward hall but was halted slightly by a bolt to the knee, Logan following it up with a ¡°Force¡± to its face, supplanting a carpet with its still corpse. Two muscles flanked Logan, one hitting him in the back for 3 damage, the one in the front getting parried by the Spellthief. Twirling around he landed a Backstab into the left muscle, having it slide off the blade to the floor as its leg began twitching. Backstepping, Logan made some distance from the remaining muscles, another bolt hitting a far back muscle that had yet to enter the fray. Leaning down to a crouch, Logan rolled past the muscles that had now clumped together into a grouping of 6. Rolling and sliding with his leg, Logan threw out a ¡°Force¡± to hit another muscle as they all whipped around to face the agile foe behind them. Keeping the initiative, Logan kicked forward with his foot, kneeing one muscle in the face as he slashed at another, dodging one mace swing but getting hit with the other. Bolt after bolt came shooting into the room, half of them missing the easy clumped targets. Deflecting a mace hit, Logan struck into a muscle twice, it falling to the floor as he kicked another in the stomach, driving his blade into its lowered head for another kill. A mace hit his hand as he drew his blade back, jumping back he let out a ¡°Force¡± to push another to the floor. Combined with the bolts, 3 more goblins were slain. Having taken a few blows, Logan became more defensive and evasive, as he kept hopping and rolling around the wide room. Thankful he wasn''t impeded by trees, the Spellthief could let out ¡°Force¡± after ¡°Force¡± while crossbow bolts continued to assist his micks. A combination of magical blasts and iron-tipped bolts ended the fight with the already wounded goblins, the last 3 adding to the piles across the floors. Marcus, making sure no more were left, went up to Logan to heal him for 4 points with Healer''s Caress, leaving the Spellthief on 27/48 HP. Experience started to pop up around the bodies, signalling the end of the ambush within the goblin''s treasure trove. With a reward of 1,458 XP, 180 XP for Marcus, the Spellthief had completed another additional objective as his level raised to 5. ¡°Level up! Gain: 8 HP, +1 Str, +2 Agi, +1 Con, +2 Int, +1 Wis, +1 Cha. You have 1 attribute point to spend¡±, the window explained, as usual, confirming Logan''s progression. Placing his point into Intelligence yet again, his new ring meaning he could focus on unlocking the System further, Logan confirmed his attribute point allocation with a ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You alright there, Logan? Took quite a few bludgeons¡±, Marcus asked, sweat on his brow and worry in his eyes. ¡°Bit sore, but I''m mostly alright¡±, Logan reassured, now sitting at 37/58 HP. ¡°You must be higher than rank 1 at this point, you took so many hits from those goblins. I''ve seen knights go down with that many blows.¡± ¡°Maybe, but I don''t want a reassessment too soon, if I broke that 27-day record in 5 it would put a spotlight on me.¡± ¡°It would be quite the show, I heard of adventurers in the capital gaining ranks in weeks and even quicker, so it wouldn''t be as surprising there¡±, Marcus continued. ¡°Weeks huh, how about a single day¡±, Logan thought to himself. Picking themselves up, the two began gathering the maces and ears from their foes. This time, Logan was able to gather 2 common ears, allowing him to attempt crafting higher tier necklaces, though since each necklace took 5 ears the increase was minimal. After looting the goblins, the two gave a good look into the corridors leading off from the dome room, sending the sprite down them to scan for more foes. Thankfully, it seemed like they had finished off the tribe, any more stragglers would for sure be out in the forest or nearby plains. With Marcus on guard, Logan began to look over the containers that had accumulated in this room.
A few minutes passed, the containers proving difficult at times to open due to broken latches and locks. In total there was 27 silver, 34 copper, miscellaneous weapons of low level and tiers, some half-destroyed armour, alongside some trade goods like cloth, leather, and metals. One item of note was a copper wristband with designs of balls of crimson flames and azure lightning bolts going across it. At the clasp underside, there was a depiction of a large dark blue tornado with amber eyes. Identifying the item led to failure due to its level but Logan was able to see its further stats as it was in his possession. Logan almost dropped his jaw, incredibly pleased that he decided to come to this cave. ¡°An amazing item, something to free up my slots! It has a value of 1 gold piece, so to buy it I would need to spend around 2 gold. That''s 200 silver. It is lucky we came here before the raid team, if they found this place I would be out of pocket quite a bit¡±, Logan calculated, beaming with excitement that even Marcus could see. ¡°Found something good over there Logan?¡± Marcus inquired, seeing his ally finish the looting. ¡°Yeah, this item is worth all the trouble. If we had gained nothing else, I would still be happy.¡± ¡°Wow, that looks expensive, maybe an ordered item to the capital? Might want to hide it under your tunic sleeve.¡± ¡°Good idea¡±, Logan accepted, putting the wristband underneath the sleeve of his tunic, tucking it into his glove so it wouldn''t easily get shown. Since he had no access to summoning magic, aside from his Light Ally, it had no immediate effect but when he finished his book and unlocked second-level spells he would be immensely thankful to have the item ready. Splitting up the coin while they had the time, Logan wanting to wait for Healer''s Caress as well as for the raid team to take the attention of the troll away. Logan gave 9 silver and 2 copper to Marcus, adding his own money up to a total of 19 silver and 89 copper, giving himself the 38 copper from the previous goblin encounters after Marcus refused any more. ¡°Practically have 27 silver in pocket, I could buy more tomes with this or better equipment¡±, Logan calculated.
Using Clean, checking equipment, and making sure the other corridors lacked any importance, the pair waited around for a short break. The corridors led to makeshift rooms, though they were just dead-ends fashioned with pieces of cloth and straw. Marcus used his skill to heal Logan up to 41/58 HP. ¡°The raid team should arrive soon if they aren''t already in place. Let''s make a move, but dart if we see that troll¡±, Logan instructed, commanding his Light Ally to lead the way out of the cave. Walking a bit faster than they had entered, though still using Stealth, the duo found their way to the exit. The wide-open field hadn''t changed since they had last seen it, but the horizon now had signs of black smoke billowing upwards. Noting it as the raiding party versus the troll, the two stalked back to the treeline to leave without any intervention. Hastening their steps, Logan and Marcus circumvented the signs of smoke but were still able to hear yells, roars, and blasts of magic in the distance. Logan didn''t want anyone to know they had looted the cave, for the worry of people wanting a share or to steal what they had gathered. Snaps of branches and the collapse of another tree shook the forest, what little remained of the animal life scattered about the wilderness. Without a good line of sight, neither Logan nor Marcus knew who was winning the bout, but with ten or more adventurers on the quest, they were sure the raid would win in the end. Eventually, the sounds of battle weakened as Logan and Marcus found the edge of the forest. Prints of a marching band could easily be seen entering into the forest across the dirt floor. With their deed done for the day, the duo continued away from the forest and back to the village, not wanting to tussle with a troll.
Returning to Tinte, Marcus was able to use his skill 6 more times, bringing Logan to 53/58 HP. With three spells still prepared, the two could easily complete a quest that day, but with hitting the level objective, Logan had plans to finish off his spell learning and looking into money-making methods. Selling the reclaimed weapons, armour, and other items from the cavern, Logan made another 5 silver and 4 copper, which he gave 16 copper off to Marcus, leaving the Spellthief with another 3 silver and 8 copper, bringing Logan to 22 silver and 98 copper. He quickly checked up on his main quest to make sure it updated, as well as to see how far along with the gold objective he had come to this point. With not even one-fifth of the gold objective completed in 4 days, Logan''s fear of that objective being impossible felt even more appropriate. He would have to either rob a bank, rob the hall, or go around killing adventurers if he were to think of completing that objective. All options were out of the comfort zone of Logan, so again he put that objective far into the recesses of his mind. The pair still had 1 common wolf fang, 4 shoddy wolf pelts, 1 common wolf pelt, and 1 high-quality bastarn eye left in their communal bag, along with the 12 shoddy goblin ears and 2 common ears, though even those would not bring in much money when compared to that goal. Logan also had plans for the pelts, since his armour was falling behind his level quite a bit. Since he still had an alibi for the day, Logan sold the common wolf fang for 8 copper, giving those funds to Marcus to sort his equipment out, replacing lost bolts and improving his gear. Logan felt bad and would try to enforce money onto Marcus where he could. The Devout had earned more money in two days than he had in several weeks working for the church as a healer. Wanting to take a short break during the afternoon, the pair returned to the Dogslop Inn. Marcus handed Coach 7 copper for the room, getting the usual room 6 key in return. Marcus took a short soak in the bath, alongside a nap, while Logan worked to finish reading his book. --- *** --- Chapter 19 - Knowledge is Power Completing ¡°Magi''s Magick Vol. 1¡± took a final hour of reading, and with it done Logan felt a wave of energy and knowledge flow from his feet to his head. A window came up to confirm his accomplishment. ¡°You have finished reading ¡®Magi''s Magick Vol. 1¡¯ and have gained knowledge of several spells. The following have been learnt or have had their tier of mastery increased: 1st: Aqua, Flame****, Frost**, Gaia, Infuse, Lightning***, Necromantic**, Wind. 2nd: Summon _ Elemental, Zombify.¡± Working as both a reaffirmation of his currently known spells and showing what he had learnt, the window explained Logan''s current knowledge of spells. While he couldn''t cast 2nd level spells, Logan could still learn them for later use, the Summon _ Elemental spell being of most importance due to his recent acquisition of the clasp of the summoner trinket. His Flame spell now had an extra 30% damage added onto it for being tier 4, meaning it would deal closer to 18+ damage, even more with grasp. Confident that a grasp or two could bring down a hobgoblin, Logan was raring to test out his newfound power. The variety of elements at his disposal also doubled, now adding water, wind, and earth to his repertoire. They all had the same damage as one another, though Aqua made enemies drenched in water, Gaia could make his foes sick and unable to act after failing a Constitution save, Wind tripping and pushing his foes to the floor similar to Force after failing a Strength save. The last spell of note was Infuse. Not outwardly powerful, but added to a fast attacking ally the spell could overcome the damage of others. The duration wasn''t the best, but with higher tiers that could increase, as well as the damage potential, at least that is what Logan theorized. The ¡°minuscule damage¡± led Logan to believe it probably added around 2 to 6 damage per hit and depending on how many enemies or how long a fight lasted, it could be very useful. ¡°That would be a valuable spell for fighting trolls, to keep their regeneration down¡±, Logan thought. With his tome complete, Logan checked his main quest, seeing it had updated to say he had done the learning spells objective. With only one objective left, Logan was free to do as he wished without any major goals, aside from money, though that felt like a pipe dream at this point. He could start travelling north to the capital, but if the next quest had him do something in a different direction he didn''t want to be left out to dry. The same hazy feeling in his head occurred once more as he tried to remember his reasonings for going north. While both Logan and Marcus benefitted little from additional Strength, Logan could make some necklaces for both of them on the off chance they needed to tout denser muscles. Taking 10 of their goblin ears from the communal bag, Logan spent the next two hours using Trinket Craft again. During that time Marcus used his skill to heal them both to full HP. Using some thread and thin rope leftover from previous creations, Logan pierced the ears and dangled 5 on each thread, making a mangy necklace out of the lowest form of monster. Scribing arcane letters on each goblin ear lobe, Logan infused spellforce into the creations to bring out the dumb force of the green pests. No amazing results were found, producing two shoddy gobbo-ear necklaces. Using Clean to wipe away any smell or dirt from the necklaces, Logan handed one to Marcus as he equipped one onto himself. As the two put on their new trinkets they both could hear a commotion outside, cheers and a group of marching feet. Standing up and moving to the window, they opened up the wooden panels to see that the raiding party against the troll had returned. If they had 10 or more members, only 5 had returned. Battered, bruised, and incredibly tired looking, the survivors weren''t overly joyous over their victory, though their pay of 20 silver a head might cheer them up. Scanning over the remainders, Logan saw two Fighters of level 4, one Knight of level 5, two Sorcerers of level 3 and a Devout of level 2. The casters were all out of MP, and they were all low on HP. ¡°Close victory it seems. Maybe we should have helped in the end¡±, Logan worried, thinking he might have been able to save some lives. ¡°That Knight is most likely getting the regeneration tonic, looks to be the leader. The others will mostly be getting paid the silver¡±, Marcus evaluated, looking on beside his partner. ¡°Shame about the loss of life, can''t help but wonder if we could have saved some of them¡±, Logan added. ¡°You can''t think that way. If we did help them, they might have thought us poachers or hated us for the aid either way. We still aided them by taking out that goblin camp on the way, stragglers could have easily killed one or two of them on the return visit.¡± ¡°I guess we did what we could without making it worse then¡±, Logan accepted. His worries didn''t disappear though, knowing he had 3 Flame spells left and Marcus with 5 MP for Heal remaining. Leaving the window, the two sat back at their beds, planning for their next action. The pair could continue levelling as much as they could in the next two days, Logan was confident he could hit level 7 if not 8 depending on how the encounters went. Logan could grind up his skills, Backstab was easy to use against goblins and wolves, though Marcus gaining XP would be a pain if he did so. Spell Absorption could be mastered against bastarns, though it did carry a risk of failing. Still, Marcus had plenty of MP left. SKoLs would progress with whatever they did, though Trinket Craft could be very valuable down the road for creating high tier items. With all the money that Logan had saved, 31+ silver in all plus more in components, he could purchase more tomes to read. He also wanted to learn Tailoring to craft something with the pelts he had been hoarding, so either a tome or teacher would help with that. With the damage that Logan was taking from weaker foes, higher-level ones could cause a lot of issues down the line if he stuck with level 1 armour. He could spend a majority of his money on the ¡°Roguish Intentions¡± tome too, at 25 silver he knew it had to contain some valued knowledge, but without knowing what it unlocked he could be worse off or disappointed. If he knew the recipe for the ring of the magi Logan would farm for those components and try to make a higher tier version. Intelligence was his lifeblood, and with enough of it, he could have a mick that dealt more damage than his dagger. The Force mick would now deal 7 damage per hit, which was on par with his dagger, without knowing the calculations for swift blade damage.
Time passed, Logan ruminating on the next path to take. He did discuss with Marcus, at least on what points he could without revealing the System or his quick levelling. Marcus was in favour of hunting more monsters for trinkets, as well as Logan learning Tailoring as it would aid them both in defence. Resolving to follow his companion''s advice, and realising that the skill could make cloth armour, Logan decided on buying a tome for Tailoring. Since it would take the rest of the day, Logan instructed Marcus to sell off 2 uses of Heal to make some money for himself, hiding the fact he had a total of 5 MP. Splitting up for a while, Logan headed back to the library. Much cleaner than his last visit, though mostly due to his actions, the library seemed to have a new lease on life. Opening the creaky door to the inside, he saw that Bobcu was up and about, organising the shelves instead of sleeping at his counter. With a pep in his step, he turned to face the Spellthief who entered his domain. ¡°Ah, Logan. Welcome back, are you here for those other books you asked me to hold onto?¡± the old librarian asked. ¡°No, no, actually I am looking for something else. Do you know if you have any Tailoring books in stock?¡± ¡°Picking up a new career? Or are you preparing for fatherhood? Heh hah. Either way, yes, I can take you over to that section¡±, Bobcu responded, a hearty laugh coming from his frail frame. Leading Logan to the class section, Bobcu scanned over the rows until he came across the crafting skills portion. Picking up a smaller book in comparison to ¡°Magi''s Magick Vol. 1¡±, he handed it to Logan. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. ¡°This is ¡®Tinsel and Tat¡¯ an introductory book into the craft of Tailoring. Most people start with this before getting too advanced.¡± Looking over the book, which was locked like the others, the synopsis gave a general gist of the skill. It could be used for both cloth and light armour, as well as some other clothing pieces or even containers. ¡°Cloth¡± was an armour type for casters, with little to no chance of miscasting, ¡°Light¡± contained a mix of leather and harder material clothing better suited to Logan¡¯s Rogue-like setup. ¡°That particular book is 8 silver, sir¡±, Bobcu continued. ¡°Good price, I''ll take it¡±, Logan accepted, taking the book with him to the counter, Bobcu walking beside him. Wanting to unload a multitude of copper coins, Logan paid in small numerations, stacking 8 towers of 10 copper coins. Bobcu didn''t seem to mind much, possibly just happy at another sale, or being able to fill his counter with change. ¡°I hope it''s a good read, I don''t want my most valued customer thinking I sell sleep text.¡± ¡°Sleep text?¡± ¡°Yeah, you know, stuff to just put you to sleep, boring stuff.¡± ¡°Well, I do read at night, but don''t worry, they are all intriguing books.¡± ¡°Good, good. Well, have a great time reading, Logan.¡± ¡°Thanks, will do. Have a good night, Bobcu.¡±
With a new book in his possession, Logan left the library and headed on his way back to the Dogslop Inn. On his way back, Logan waved to the Movas as he passed and met up with Marcus outside of the adventurers'' hall, the Devout offering his services to the raiding party remnants. Whilst there he also learnt that the party ended up at 13 members before leaving, meaning 8 had died in combat. With their tasks complete, the two travelled back to the inn. Waving to Coach, who returned it in kind, Logan and Marcus went to their room where Marcus was given ¡°Magi''s Magick Vol. 1¡± to read over, possibly being able to learn some of the spells within it for later. At the same time, Logan started reading over ¡°Tinsel and Tat¡±, however as he did, he realised a window was ignored when he had finished his previous book, probably buried under all the other windows and pushed to the side. Opening it up, he was surprised once more. ¡°I better read normal books too, cheaper ones, to help speed up this process when I am not studying tomes¡±, Logan planned, gleeful that he could finish books that take over 8 hours in less time. Though he suddenly realised he was getting too comfortable again, his original plan was to leave this world. His father was probably worried sick with him being missing for 5 days, and this new world still had dangers he had yet to face. Strangely that fog in his brain rolled in once more, pressuring him into preparing ahead. Resolving to read this book after seeing Marcus deep in his own study, the pair spent the rest of the evening and night expanding their minds after a day of toughening their bodies and widening their pockets.
As it came to midnight, Logan had finished his book, though Marcus was a slower reader than his ally and still had a way to go in his book. Logan''s Reading skill progressed to 35% as another skill unlocked within him. ¡°Most of this seems similar to Trinket Craft, the other crafting skills are probably along the same lines too. At least it isn''t too complicated¡±, Logan deduced. Along with the skill, the tome had unlocked several recipes for cloth and light armour, mostly generic base armour all the way to level 5, one of them the perfect fit for Logan''s current needs. ¡°Lupine Uniform - Level 5: A full set of armour made from wolf pelts, perfect for keeping warm in the winter as well as protecting against ice damage. This armour is comprised of a pelt tunic with an attached cloak that has a wolf-head hood that can be pulled over like a cowl, thick pelt trousers and wolf claw boots. It is often stylised with tailcoats of wolf claws.¡± Starting at a +7 defence rating, the armour also promised damage reduction and ice reduction, though the higher tiers would offer much higher bonuses to all three. Asking his system, Logan finally got an answer, after an overly long period that only carried negative reactions. Damage reduction reduced damage by the number stated, so taking 5 damage with 2 damage reduction, noted as Dam Red, meant Logan would only take 3 damage. Ice reduction worked on the same principle, Ice Red 3 against 5 ice damage would mean Logan only took 2 ice damage. Reduction was separate from resistance, as resistance was a % decrease after all other calculations. Damage resistance, noted as Dam Res, of 50% would take 6 damage down to 3, decimals in damage or healing rounded to the closest whole number with halves rounding up. Reduction was calculated first, so Dam Red 2 and Dam Res 50% would take a 5 damage hit down to 2 damage total. At lower levels, Dam Red was crucial as numbers were lower, but Dam Res became more and more prominent at higher levels where damage numbers went into several digits. The hobgoblin he had faced a few days prior had some form of Dam Red, due to taking little damage from Pon''s arrows. The owls of the night began their hooting, the drunkards their wooing, so the pair of adventurers decided it best to shut their window and then shut their eyes for some well-deserved rest.
Starting the day with breakfast, Logan splashed out some extra money, 5 copper for himself and then Marcus, ordering a full-Tinte breakfast. Two sausages, scrambled eggs, roasted potatoes, tomatoes, mushrooms, and garnishes of herbs. The smell wafted an aroma of luxury in the inn, the pair salivating at the meal before them. Digging in like animals, Logan and Marcus dined like kings in comparison to their recent morning meals. Fully satisfied with their order, Coach received a raving round of praise from the duo, a smile wide on the innkeeper''s face. ¡°Not had a meal like that in a while, thanks for the treat, Logan¡±, Marcus praised. ¡°It''s alright, we''ve done a lot these past 2 days, and more to come. Think of it as a celebratory meal for our accomplishments¡±, Logan explained, rubbing his full stomach. ¡°A short rest while you sew, then heading out for quests today?¡± ¡°Yeah, I got an idea for a set of armour for myself, you can get yours either tonight or tomorrow¡±, Logan answered, standing from the table they sat at. ¡°All good to me, you''re more in need of it than me right now.¡± Logan took a quick trip into town to buy up tools for tailoring, as well as some additional components needed for the crafting of his armour. He bought a set of beginner Tailoring tools for 1 silver and 8 copper, and components for 2 silver and 7 copper, making sure to Haggle for all.
For the next three hours, Logan crafted his set of armour, cutting the pelts, using advanced tanning techniques with spellforce to quickly cure them along with Clean to speed it up, and forming the materials into wearable clothing. With the aid of magic, the whole crafting time was sped up, leagues ahead of what a mundane crafter could do, what would take weeks took only hours. Marcus continued reading his book, which he still wasn''t able to finish. At the end of it all, Logan made a set of shoddy armour, his first handmade protection against monsters. At seven times the defence rating, even though he still did not know what it did, Logan felt it was a worthy investment and wanted to make a few more sets before he left Tinte. It took all of his pelts to do so however, the 4 shoddy and 1 common in the communal bag. Logan would need to hunt five more wolves before he could craft another. With the Spellthief at 11,214/15,000 XP and the Devout at 2,860/3,000 XP, five wolves would not level Logan, but it would level up Marcus. Logan wondered if NPCs had an instinct that they levelled up as they did with the equipment they could use at their set levels. If so, would Marcus revel at the instant he gained a level, possibly much faster than he had gained his second? More aspects of this world to test, and with the System not giving much information in its newborn state, all Logan could do was experiment. Thankfully, even though NPCs were able to distinguish what they or their allies could use, they didn''t have an actual concept of levels, at least any attached to gear. It wouldn''t be too weird for Logan to be wearing level 5 gear but some adventurers may advise him to wear something at level 1 as it better suited him. One of the many liberties allowed to the PC against a world he was an anomaly within. Logan put on his new armour, keeping his previous outfit as a backup. Before settling up their crafting, Logan wanted to test something. He sent Marcus out of the room to check what food they could get at the Inn, only to look over his ally¡¯s equipment. With his main quest window open, Logan took all of the money from Marcus¡¯s pouch to see if it would change. Sadly, it seemed that money he had no intention of keeping wouldn''t count towards the gold objective. Putting the money back, he forgot about any temporary robberies.
With the day heading to noon, the pair set off to the adventurers'' hall, new gear in tow and a plan in mind. The duo wanted to pick up a quest that was feasible for a Wizard and Devout of rank 1 and 2. Today the hall seemed devoid of life, only 3 other adventurers were sat around, possibly others were in mourning of the lost lives to the troll hunt yesterday. Logan felt the warmth from his wolf armour, thankful the wind was a bit chilly today to compensate. As Logan and Marcus scanned the quest board, the Spellthief was inspected by an onlooking Wizard without his knowledge once again. Glowing azure eyes hid under the raised hood over Darius''s head. Instead of a smirk from his investigation, his mouth had a sour frown appear across it. Looking down to his black-gem pocket watch, the colour from his eyes sapped into the dark mineral once again. Like before a number rotated on the surface of the gem, revealing the number 5 instead of the previous 2 it had read before. His now-mundane eyes then moved over to Marcus, chanting a few words atop the 1st-floor balcony meant no one heard his spell, though it ended with ¡°Score¡±. His eyes were coated over in a yellow film as green numbers and symbols scrolled across his iris. A tight grip held the bannister railing, Darius showing signs of unease at what he was seeing. Pushing off from the wooden frame, Darius moved off to a side room, closing the door behind him. Reaching into his robe pocket, he pulled out another golden pocket watch, flicking it open revealed a clear gem, enspelling the words ¡°Waves of sound, carry my words. Play¡±, at which point the device started to shake. ¡°So, you''re the one master spoke of. I shall have to let- mmrhh mphh!¡± a recording played, the last words of Marc Lor captured within a small device. Sounds of combat, falling clothes, and the running of Logan can be heard, though without any video it was hard to tell. Darius held tight onto the pocket watch, slight cracks showing. Eyes full of anger, Darius was left to his own devices.
Logan and Marcus had selected their quest, a local alchemist wanted to test the possibilities of lupine eyes in potions. The particular items were not listed as components, so Logan had no issue giving them up, it seemed like experimentation based on theories. Requesting 4 eyes in total, Logan could easily pass off being able to take them down due to having 3 spell slots, though it might be a bit surprising due to brown wolves having a higher level. With a Devout by his side, he hoped to lessen the impact of completing this quest, alongside them having new gear, they would try to put on a show of having a difficult time in hunting. Letting Chestan at the podium and Ruben¨¦ at the counter know of their quest, the farming Spellthief and excited Devout headed off to their next quest. Though, in the background, atop the 1st-floor balcony, an enraged Wizard watched their departure. --- *** --- Chapter 20 - Magic Collision Part 1 Taking the southeastern path, Logan and Marcus travelled on foot for 30 minutes, Logan preparing 3 casts of Flame for the day, it being his highest tier spell and not wanting to be caught unawares by any higher level foes in the forest. Using a dual-wielding tactic, Logan would await the first shot by Marcus before using Backstab and a follow-up strike on loner wolves, that way he could level up his skill while Marcus still gained XP. That was the best scenario however, wolves were pack animals and it would be hard to find many loners. With the lupine''s speed far overtaking that of his Devout ally, a retreat wasn''t a big option, so if they were to be ambushed they would have to stand their ground and fight till the end. Logan wasn''t too anxious however, he had some good backup spells and Marcus could throw out plenty of healing, even more when he gained his level after 5 wolf kills. During the long trek, Logan thought it best to do some veiled information gathering through conversation with Marcus. Wanting a better grasp of how to go forward in the capital, Logan was able to find out that the world lacked a ¡°government¡± and instead had rules created and lorded over by the higher-ups of the kingdoms, from rich nobles to powerful castes. There was no concept of ¡°police¡±, being replaced with guards and watchers who kept settlements safer. One of the major points was ¡°laws¡±, which were still a concept that was held within Avanar and followed a lot of what Earth had in place. No thievery or murder, however, murder became a lawful killing if the target was a wanted criminal, Marcus spoke of hunter contracts that could be undertaken by the populace to track criminals down and either apprehend them for questioning and court hearings if their crimes were minor or to kill the accused on sight. From the topic of laws, Logan had also inquired into ¡°drugs¡± though they were mostly thought of as just medicinal or otherwise items that had effects take place within the body. It didn¡¯t seem to carry any stigma, a common recreational and recovery option. Another word that came up was ¡°god¡± which surprisingly was not a common term, instead, it seemed that ¡°gods¡± were referred to as ¡°the ones above and below¡± as a proper title or ¡°OAB¡± as a short term, though it was also to reference their locations. Logan confirmed that another saying he would need to remove from his vocabulary would be ¡°god damn it.¡±
With the sun hitting the middle part of the sky, the forest became heavily illuminated with leafy shadows painting a beautiful wilderness picture for the adventurers. Unlike the last time Logan was here, the forest was much quieter when it came to other adventurers. No grand wolf hunt was occurring today, aside from the one that the pair would be engaging in. After a few uses of Clean, the partners made their way into the forest, weapons at the ready in case of ambushing wolves. The first enemies they were to come across was that of a pack of 6 wolves, chewing away at the remains of another adventuring party. Logan and Marcus were not sure if the party were freshly killed today or from a previous day. Logan gave a motion signal to Marcus, instructing him they were to leave the wolves to their feast, a group of six was too much for what they wanted and was needlessly difficult. Running out the end of their luck, however, Marcus snapped a twig underfoot, the breaking of wood sounding off their location to the lupines, whose heads all darted in their direction. With Stealth failing, the party readied themselves for combat. Darting off, one after another, the wolves charged towards the pair of snacks hiding away from them. Marcus started to line up his crossbow, firing at any wolves he had a clear shot at, whereas Logan charged into the fold to draw the attention. With two daggers in hand, Logan turned into a dervish of blades, slicing in cross directions, twirling around, and dragging his weapons through his enemies'' hides. It seemed both his battles and levels had made him an adept fighter. The first wolf to approach Logan had its lunge dodged, Logan stepping to the side of his foe and bringing both daggers into the lupine''s back, dealing two Backstab attacks and killing the wolf in one fell swoop. One down, five to go, the next wolf had a free back attack into the Spellthief, biting his lower back and clawing at his legs, dealing 4 and 3 damage, the second claw not cutting through Logan''s freshly made armour. Following up, a third wolf wanted in on the new chew toy but was halted by a bolt into the side, Marcus making sure to attack foes that would not lead him into hitting his ally. Dropping his off-hand dagger, Logan grabbed onto the snout of the wolf chomping on him, calling out ¡°Flame Grasp!¡± and igniting the wolf in a torrent of flames that left him more black than brown. Releasing his catch, the corpse fell to the floor. With everything added in, Logan was able to see that his Flame dealt a heavy 30 damage through the use of Identification. A sly fourth wolf saw the archer, dashing to the side around another tree it sped at Marcus. Changing his line of fire, Marcus hit the fourth with a bolt, followed by Logan''s ¡°Force!¡± blast, knocking the flanker to the floor with the power of the mick. With a few seconds to spare, Marcus reloaded to pelt the fallen wolf again. Reaching Logan, the third, fifth, and sixth wolf lunged at the Spellthief who made a large leap to the side to avoid them all, the wolves colliding with one another in mid-air. ¡°Force!¡± Logan called out, trying to deal with the fourth that had its eyes set on his ally. However, the fourth was persistent, standing back up and charging the Devout. Hitting the fourth with another bolt, the wolf was on its last legs but was close enough to claw at the Devout for 5 damage. Using the fifth wolf as a step, Logan kicked into the air to let out a final ¡°Force!¡± into the fourth wolf, killing the foe that had attacked his ally. Getting nicked by the third and sixth wolves'' claws, Logan took another 4 and 5 damage. Three out of six wolves were down, but all three were centred on Logan who could not dodge them forever. Marcus fired bolt after bolt, hitting wolves where he was able, Logan side-stepping, jumping, and rolling around to evade attacks where he could. Slashing into the third wolf, he cut deep alongside a crossbow bolt but was then clawed by all three wolves for 3, 3, and 5 damage bringing him to 31/58 HP. Calling out ¡°Heal me!¡± Logan requested the Devout to begin his healing, expecting to take many more hits. ¡°Orb of all I call to thee, Pondress heal your children. Heal Shot¡±, Marcus enspelled, a wave of holy yellow light surrounding his arm and flowing with great velocity into Logan, healing the Spellthief for 11 points. Logan stood healthier at 42/58 HP, hurrying to his dropped dagger. With a leap, Logan picked his previous blade and rolled back up to a kneeling then standing position. Dodging a bite from a leaping sixth wolf, Logan stabbed both his blades into its sides, the body almost falling on top of him if he wasn''t keeping his momentum forwards. On the way out from a kill, Logan was bitten and clawed by the third and fifth wolves, taking 4, 4, 3, and 5 damage, bringing him down to 26/58 HP. ¡°Orb of all I call to thee, Pondress heal your children. Heal Shot¡±, Marcus chanted again, washing Logan in healing winds and lights for 9 healing. Wanting to end it quickly, Logan barreled down on the third wolf, slashing the beast twice with his blades, the body falling to the pile that was accumulating on the floor. Leaving himself open to a bite from the fifth wolf, though thankfully his armour saved him from getting punctured by its teeth, in retaliation he stabbed his blades in the ears of the foe, it convulsed like crazy before going limp on the Spellthief. Pushing the wolf off of him, Logan scanned the area for any more wolves but was happy that his sight was instead met with experience popping up over the corpses. Putting Logan at 12,672/15,000 XP and Marcus at 3,040/3,000. Looking over to his ally, Logan could see a beaming smile across the Devout''s face, running up to Logan he began to speak. ¡°Logan! Logan, I think I increased my rank. I felt my spellforce increase again, another two spells at my disposal at a guess. Can you check?¡± Marcus said, energy filling his words after a tense fight. Checking over his ally''s status he could see that Marcus gained +1 to his Strength, Agility, Constitution, Intelligence, and Charisma, whereas his Wisdom gained +3. ¡°His stat growth is much different than mine, but since it is an odd level he probably has a decimal or strange increase like I do. Gaining +3 in a single attribute though, that is a lot, would I get that if I wasn''t a hybrid?¡± Logan calculated. ¡°Yes, your rank did increase, you gained quite a bit from this. Did you want me to improve another one of your attributes again? I can only do one of them once this time¡±, Logan offered, noticing his ally had 1 attribute point to spend. ¡°I still feel like Wisdom will allow me to give the biggest benefit to the team, so that, please¡±, Marcus requested. Using his System, Logan placed Marcus''s point into Wisdom, bringing it up to 23, the same as Logan''s Intelligence and Agility. ¡°Alright, that''s all done¡±, Logan confirmed. ¡°I didn''t feel much difference, but I am sure we will see it when I use another spell¡±, Marcus noticed. Placing his hand onto his ally, he used his skill to patch up the new wounds ¡°Healer''s Caress¡±, he commanded, a healing light overcoming Logan, though they could both feel it had been empowered with a higher Wisdom, healing for 3 instead of 2. ¡°Logan, my skill improved! This is great!¡± Marcus exclaimed, his happiness growing at an instant boost. ¡°I can tell, it will be a major bonus for longer quests¡±, Logan affirmed. Marcus used his skill on himself next, bringing him to his new total of 32/34 HP, and Logan back to 38/58 HP. ¡°Keep an eye out, I got some Harvesting to do with these corpses¡±, Logan commanded, sheathing his weapons and drawing his trophy knife. Nodding, Marcus began to patrol the area after collecting up what bolts he could reuse.
With 6 wolves to take the pelts from the Harvesting took 30 minutes in total, Marcus using his skill 6 more times for the party, putting Marcus back at maximum HP and Logan to 53/58 HP. Using Clean, Logan started to finish up his gathering spree though before he could cart the 4 eyes, 10 shoddy fangs, 2 common fangs, 4 shoddy pelts, and 2 common pelts, to the bag he heard a loud thud. With his defensive instincts kicking in he whirled around to scan the area. Looking around, he saw Marcus had fallen to the floor, nothing was attacking him, however. Checking his ally''s status he saw that the Devout had gained a sleeping status effect, running to his ally he heard chanting on approach. ¡°Hear the calming song of the master, drift off in his sand. Sleep Grasp.¡± Stolen story; please report. Twisting his head around he was unable to find the caster, until he saw him at his side, dashing to its quarry. A robed man thrust his hand around the mouth of Logan, a parade of sleep spores pouring into his mouth and nose. Logan''s vision became blurry, only noticing a shadowy face underneath a cowl, the patterns of scattered stars and moons across a dark grey robe. ¡°Fuu-¡± Logan thought as his mind went blank.
Logan found himself somewhere completely different, though familiar. A blinking red light atop a metallic door lighting up a sterile white hallway, Logan sitting atop a plastic chair attached to the wall. Nearby signs were full of directions, floor numbers, and named rooms. This was the hospital he rushed to from his graduation, sat beside him were his documents and diploma underneath his hat. Dressed in the black robes of graduation day, Logan''s eyes were red with large black bags underneath. Feeling like he was experiencing a nightmare, Logan clenched his fists and his eyes, trying to wake up, but when he opened them all he saw was that the red light had stopped with the double white doors opened up to him. Turning his head he could peer through the doorway, a doctor walking out from the room towards the young adult. Logan could feel his heart being crushed in a vice, his shaky legs pushing him to stand up and meet the doctor. His height betrayed him, however, hitting a sign that jutted out from the wall, knocking him down slightly as he shut his eyes in pain.
Opening his eyes wide, Logan jumped awake, laying against a cave wall the rocky resting spot having dug into his back. Twisting and turning, Logan saw he was back in Avanar, seemingly within the bastarn cave a good distance away from the forest. As he moved, Logan felt his feet and hands were bound in rope, his mouth gagged with a thinner rope tied around his head. Since his hands were behind his back he couldn''t do much to the ropes around his feet. Thinking about the dream he just had, Logan had a sudden realisation that it was his first since coming to Avanar. Combined with being his first dream, it was the first time he truly thought back to his old life in detail, as if something was blocking those memories. Before he could dwell on it further, a magical haze started to overcome his past life¡¯s importance, as if it was something not to think on right now, replaced with only thoughts of survival and progression. ¡°System, status and map¡±, he commanded, his thoughts not blocked like his voice was. Thankfully his program was still working, noting his weapons, armour, and bags had been taken away as well as that he was indeed within the bastarn cave. A 30-minute walk from their previous location, whoever had abducted him had help or some form of transportation. It was still the same day, Logan keeping his two remaining charges of Flame. Surprisingly, Logan was still in a party with Marcus as he was able to open up a separate party menu window to display the same information as if he was looking at his ally. An image of XP overlaid with a red cancel sign over it was under Marcus¡¯s status, Logan surmising the XP split was not active. It seemed like Marcus was in a similar position, his equipment was taken away but still had the sleeping status affecting him. ¡°Not good, whoever captured us was a caster of some sort. All I saw was a grey robe and his hand, his face was hidden under a hood¡±, Logan panicked. ¡°Mrhm, mhh¡±, Logan tried to chant a spell but was unable to get the words out. ¡°Fuck, not good¡±, his fears mounting, Logan could see a few cuts across his body, only wearing his civilian clothes and trinkets that were under his armour. Being brought down to 50/58 HP, Logan was worried that he might have been found out, someone knew of his abilities so was testing his blood. Pushing with what body he could, Logan tumbled onto his side, his head hitting the rocky floor. Rotating over onto his knees he could straighten up into a kneeling position. Looking around, Logan couldn''t see too far into the cave, the light from outside only coming in so far, it seems he wasn''t too far from the entrance. A few corpses laid across the floor. Freshly killed bastarns with punch wounds across them. ¡°Either a martial artist ally, or the caster knows Force and deals quite a bit of damage with it¡±, Logan surmised. Shimmying to the wall, Logan tried to rub his rope bindings against the sharp surface to sever it. His escape was cut short, however, as he heard footsteps coming from deeper in the cave followed by a Light Ally sprite. A tall man, around 6'' with long black hair dyed red from countless battles bathed in blood. Dressed in dark grey robes, they were dotted by scattered stars and moons, the man was indeed a caster, and then it clicked, he recognised the man. ¡°Darius!¡± Logan was surprised, but he had to get information on what was going on. ¡°Identify¡±, he commanded. ¡°Darius Monlod: Wizard 9, 60/60 HP, 0/2 MP. One of the highest level adventurers assigned to the adventurers'' hall of Tinte, and the highest level Wizard there. Is a known reject of the Magi¡¯s Tower association due to failed experiments. Staff. Wiz''s Robes. Spell list: 1st: Aqua, Flame, Frost, Gaia, Infuse, Lightning, Necromantic, Score, Wind. 2nd: Detail, Develop, Dimensional Jaunt, Haste, Inform, Root, Sleep.¡± ¡°Crap, he really is a level 9 Wizard, those accessors are accurate. He has much more spells to cast than I do and probably the slots to back it up. Why does he have MP too though? That Sleep spell is what he used to get us down¡±, Logan''s mind rushed. Squatting down to his prize, Darius looked at a kneeling Logan. ¡°Well, your mind and body are stronger than your friend''s. Though, I should expect as much from an oracle¡±, Darius spoke, a harshness and resentment in his words. Planting his foot on Logan, the kidnapper kicked the Spellthief to the floor on his back. ¡°You should just rest, make it easy on both of us. Once I can synthesize an item from your body we''ll be done here. The MT will bring me in with open arms if I could create something to unlock potentials¡±, Darius continued, leaning down to Logan. Picking a knife from a robe pocket he cut a part of Logan''s hair off. ¡°I do hope I only need blood, hair, or nails. I can only take so much else before you die. Though I am sure your Devout can keep you alive for more parts to get taken¡±, he explained, a twisted smile showing teeth that were not his, different shades and shapes as if he had replaced them several times. ¡°An item? I can''t let him make that, otherwise whatever the Magi¡¯s Tower is will hunt me for more¡±, Logan feared. Standing up from his lab rat, Darius took a hold of the rope binding Logan''s feet and started to drag him in deeper. Taking the opportunity, Logan tried to have the rope tied to his hands and face scratch the rocky floor to cut it further. ¡°Not every day you get to see a fellow caster increase by 4 ranks in less than a week, almost a day a rank. One rank? Sure, you could have gotten lucky, other casters have done the same, but reaching rank 5 before even the 1-week death timer, no no no, not possible on your own¡±, Darius explained, a shade of disappointment in his dark tone. ¡°You''re lucky it''s hard to spot a slotter gaining power since you don''t have an aura, but there are ways around that. I was intrigued, a Wizard, out of the blue, no background or sponsor but you knew all of these tricks. You would have made a great underling, if not for your ability to progress at the rate of heroes without being one¡±, Darius continued, tossing Logan''s feet to the floor as he arrived at the forked path that Logan and Marcus stopped at not too long ago. The fork now contained a small wooden table with vials, lit candles, crafting tools and alembics. ¡°He''s using Alchemy, it looks like¡±, Logan realised. Looking around, he still could not see Marcus. ¡°Did you know that the Magi¡¯s Tower was founded by an oracle? Several centuries ago, before my time. Their ability to progress their rank and skills far exceeded any mage before them, and with that power, they allowed us casters to find a place in this world. Given some form of respect, one-third the pay instead of only a 10% rate¡±, Darius monologued. Placing the hair Darius took from Logan into a vial, he combined it with a blue liquid then placed it above a fire. Weaving spellforce into the vial he began to chant whilst waving his hands over the concoction. ¡°Mind, body, and will, let my mind bind this body to my will¡±, he enspelled, the hair melting away and changing the blue liquid into a glowing grey. Logan continued to scrape his ropes against the rocky floor, ¡°C''mon, c''mon break already¡±, Logan demanded. Darius took the vial, blew over it with a cold wind from his lips, and downed the creation. Coughing violently, he picked up a mirror to look at himself. ¡°No, nothing. Wrong component¡±, Darius recited, whipping his head back to his captive. ¡°You know, monsters are strange beings, though we are not so dissimilar. We use their hair, blood, teeth, tongues, eyes, etcetera, in the creation of potions and items. A human or gashriek can be harvested the same way. A strongman''s muscles can be diluted into a tonic, a lavish head of hair can be transferred to another with an enchanted hairband¡±, Darius explained, getting closer to Logan. ¡°What is it, what part of you allows the osmosis of ability? Not your blood, nor your hair. I would hate to pick at your teeth or pull your tongue¡±, he continued, looking over Logan and pointing at the Spellthief''s features. ¡°This guy is a maniac¡±, Logan exclaimed in his head. ¡°I saw it, I confirmed your ability, you increased that Devout''s spellforce almost threefold. How! How did you do it!?¡± Darius demanded, grabbing Logan''s lower jaw, his fingers digging into the trapped adventurer''s cheeks. Sliding his hand across Logan''s face, Darius landed on the Spellthief''s right ear. ¡°Ears are also a component, better to test that before an eye¡±, Darius studied, bringing a knife up to Logan''s right ear. ¡°Shit, shit shit shit¡±, Logan was scared, more so than against any foe so far. With the Wizard now atop him, Logan had little way to defend himself, his feet tied together, he couldn''t flee. Seeing little way of retreat, he would give what little fight he could, his skills were off cooldown and one weak spot was still open. Raising his knees high, he dealt a crucial blow to the vital point of all men, text appearing above his head as Darius''s eyes went wide ¡°Backstab.¡± With the momentum of the knee attack, Logan pushed the Wizard above and over his head, Darius thankfully dropping the knife in his hands. Nudging the blade into a crevice with his face, the dagger faced upwards towards Logan who thought of his next step for a second. ¡°You bastard! Tongue it is!¡± Darius yelled, grabbing at his robes and wincing in pain. The Wizard made his way slowly back to Logan who finally decided his action. Plunging his face into the floor, the dagger stabbed into Logan''s face, cutting the rope and through his cheek. ¡°ARGH¡±, Logan cried out in pain, the rope coming loose from his lips but leaving a hole into his mouth. A warning came up telling him he had dealt 5 damage to himself, though he had other worries. Pushing off from the floor with his legs and what little control of his feet he had, he tumbled over to the alchemist table. ¡°From the fires within, burst forward and burn it down! FLAME GRASP!¡± he yelled out at the top of his lungs, both out of pain and in the hopes he could reach Marcus. Grabbing a tight hold of the nearby table Logan set it ablaze with his magic, the ropes around his hands and feet also catching alight from the table leg, allowing him to break them apart. Squaring off against Darius, the Wizard''s eyes also lit up in flames of anger seeing his research table being destroyed. ¡°No! My materials! Fine, your body is worth it all if I can synthesis an oracle¡±, Darius shouted in anger, landing his gaze on Logan''s. Logan stood in an open stance, his hands open like claws, Darius''s hands were now clasped around a staff he drew from his back. Waiting for the first move, the two casters faced one another, a dark black wall of rock behind Darius, a flaming table behind Logan. As the crackle of the flames created a chaotic soundscape, it was cut into by the muffling cries of another man towards the exit of the cave, Logan noticed that Marcus was no longer asleep. A momentary realisation and turning of his head, Logan left a second of weakness for Darius to begin chanting his spell. ¡°From the chaos of Cani¡±... --- *** --- Chapter 21 - Magic Collision Part 2 Seeing Darius starting to inflame his own arm, Logan had several options available to him. He could dodge the slower casting of Flame, sprint in and interrupt his casting, absorb the spell and reveal his abilities further or even quick casting would do the same. Such an enclosed space was the worst battle arena for a caster, but without his weapons, Logan was also at a disadvantage. ¡°I immolate all before me!¡± Darius continued his chant, Logan had to make a choice but he wanted to keep his cards close. Charging forwards, Logan picked up the bloody knife from the floor, striking at the Wizard. Before he could close the gap enough, Logan was assaulted with magic. ¡°Flame Wall!¡± the Wizard called out as he waved his hand across the rocky floor. A line of flames appeared from the floor, shooting upwards in a torrent of fire, the sound of flickering tinder and the quick combustion of air radiated into the cavern. Stopping his charge, Logan slid just a few inches away from the wall of fire. Through the barrier, a flaming staff crashed forth with an overhead swing, slamming down on Logan''s head, dealing him 3 damage and 4 fire damage. ¡°Crap, a new alteration. Those flames seem much hotter than mine, his Intelligence is probably leagues above my own, and his level is also 4 higher. I can''t risk a magic hit like this¡±, Logan calculated, backstepping away from the fire wall. ¡°He could cut off all exits with that kind of magic, I need to get outside¡±, he decided, turning his tail and running down the hallway he was dragged through earlier. ¡°You cannot escape me, oracle!¡± Darius yelled, jumping through his own flames, sprinting after his pet. ¡°I need Marcus''s help, without my gear I have little options besides showing this guy more of my abilities. He may be crazy, but. Damn it, do I have to kill another person?¡± Logan disliked the idea of killing people becoming a casual thing to him, but this world was turning out to be more hostile than he thought. Logan could start to hear the chattering of a casting incantation behind him, if his pursuer''s speech was dulled due to the distance and running, maybe he could quick cast without issue. Throwing his hand back, Logan tried to imitate that he had just finished a spell ¡°Force!¡± he shouted, a wave of energy welling up in his shoulder before being shot like a cannon to the Wizard behind him. Even though his level was much higher, Darius was still a Wizard, so his Strength was relatively low, allowing Logan''s mick to push the opponent to the floor, dealing 7 damage to his opposing mad Wizard. ¡°Good, that''ll buy me a few seconds¡±, Logan thanked his good luck. Dashing out of the cavern entrance, Logan saw that the day had passed into evening, a tangerine hue cast over the grassy plains and distant trees. Scanning the field for his ally, Logan spotted Marcus worming his way to the mountain walls. ¡°Marcus!¡± the Spellthief shouted, running over to his Devout ally. All Marcus could respond with were muffled responses through a rope gag. Sliding with his left leg across the grassy plains, Logan slowed down into a kneeling position as he began to cut at the ropes around Marcus''s hands. ¡°Hear the calming song of the master, drift off in his sand. Sleep Shot¡±, Darius chanted as he exited the cavern, hitting the Devout with a breeze of sleep spores. With a drooping head, Marcus fell asleep once more. ¡°Shit¡±, Logan exclaimed in his head, standing up from his now sleeping ally. ¡°Let us not have an audience, that man has been affected by your abilities so I aim to keep a backup if you do not produce any results¡±, Darius informed, walking towards Logan. With a staff sparking with lightning energy, Logan was sure that Darius had infused his weapon. ¡°Why take this route? Why not approach me and ask if we could make the item together?¡± Logan demanded, trying to prolong the fight so that the Infuse would end early. ¡°Oracles have the ability to grow at rates much faster than anyone else, you were getting close to overcoming the gap between us. Who would take an offer from a weaker being? Don''t try to make me believe you would work alongside me to make something that would make others as strong as yourself. Those with power, keep it!¡± Darius explained, charging to slam at Logan again. Dodging to the right, Logan rolled across the grassy plains, darting his eyes all around he looked for any form of cover to use from magical attacks, though all he could see were rocks or fallen tree trunks. ¡°Stay still! Father earth, breach forward and¡±, Darius started to chant, Logan remembered this as the second level spell Root. Rushing to a tree trunk, Logan leapt over it with a horizontal body. ¡°crush my foes! Root Shot!¡± Darius finished, the earth beneath him rupturing and shaking, several large vines as well as roots crushing upwards. Spiralling through the air, the earthly attack cascaded into the tree trunk, wrapping around the forest ally and splitting it in two with a mighty grasp. ¡°You can''t hide like that!¡± Darius shouted, aiming his hand up high, a stormy cloud starting to form. ¡°Powers of Levin, crackle and burst down to my point. Lightning Skystrike!¡± with an incantation, the storm above Logan became fiercer, crackling with bolts of blue. Following a roaring thunderous boom, a strike of lightning shot down to the ground. Hidden behind the tree trunk, Logan threw up his hand. ¡°Spell Absorb!¡± he thought. The lightning hit Logan''s arm, sparkling around his limb into his shoulder, the static power making his teeth chatter. ¡°Spell Absorption successful. Lightning charge stored.¡± Pushing up with his other arm, Logan got to a kneeling position, with his arm raised towards Darius. ¡°Powers of Levin, crackle and burst down to my point. Lightning Shot!¡± he chanted mockingly back at Darius whose eyes lit up both in fear as well as the blue lightning that was coursing through the air towards the helpless Wizard. With the assistance of 20% due to being tier 3, the spell cast from Logan dealt a heavy 21 damage to Darius, his body letting off a wispy white smoke as his insides boiled up from the electricity. ¡°Ahhh¡±, Darius cried out in pain, his body twitching all over from the shock to his system. ¡°You''re as bad as those damn vampire spawn bastarns. But that spell was barely half of mine, you''ll fall before I do.¡± ¡°Let''s stop this Darius, I don''t wan-¡± Logan started. ¡°Don''t want to kill again? I heard what happened to my minion. Gone without a trace, all I got back was his detail watch¡±, Darius cut Logan off, answering him with anger in his voice. ¡°You''re his master? What did you want with the gashriek?¡± Logan inquired, moving slowly to the right to find more cover. ¡°Their forest holds many curious items, not that you''ll see them. Forces of arcane¡±, Darius responded, beginning to cast another spell. ¡°Damn it, run out of slots already¡±, Logan implored. Running to a sizable rock, Logan slid behind it as he awaited another spell. ¡°Empower my body with speed. Haste!¡± Darius ended, his body shimmering and creating afterimages around a foot from his centre. Bending down to a sprinting stance, he dashed forwards, easily over twice his normal speed. Circling the rock, he looked down on Logan, whose slower pace was unable to dodge the staff strike to his face, dealing 2 damage and 3 lightning damage. ¡°I have to end this, that speed is too much¡±, Logan panicked, jumping back but unable to make any distance. Flames started to form in his hand as he began to cast. ¡°Flame Grasp!¡± he yelled, an explosion of fire in his palm, thrusting it towards the Wizard. Where every other foe was obliterated with this same move, Darius instead spun his staff and hit Logan''s wrist, the spell being discharged into the floor and wasted. ¡°Fuck¡±, Logan cursed in his head. ¡°Quick casting? You are a prize, Logan¡±, Darius said in his sped up tone, following up with three more strikes into Logan''s face and stomach, dealing a total of 7 damage and 9 lightning damage. ¡°Current HP: 15/60¡±, a window informed Logan, updating with each strike. ¡°Shit, I need to do something!¡± Logan''s thoughts raced, though not fast enough for the Wizard, requiring him to use dirty tactics. In retaliation, Logan started to throw a left hook at Darius whose overwhelming speed was easily able to duck under it. Logan only used his fist as a feint, however, bringing up the knife with his right hand into the kidney of Darius, dealing 6 damage to the Wizard. ¡°Sly fucker. You''re no mere Wizard¡±, Darius retorted, narrowly missing the Spellthief with his staff. Recoiling backwards, he brought up his arm to his side. ¡°Necrotic energies fill me, take from others and bestow. Necromantic Grasp¡±, Darius chanted, his arm exploding into dark tendrils of energy, whipping around his limb. Throwing his arm forwards, he meant to grab Logan, who saw his chance. Meeting his foe, Logan caught Darius''s hand in a tight grip, fingers interlocking as a test of strength which Logan was able to play off as breaking Darius''s wrist back. ¡°Spell Absorb!¡± he commanded mentally. ¡°Spell Absorption successful. Necromantic charge stored, Necromantic has progressed to tier 3¡±, a window confirmed a success, a glint in Logan''s eyes as he saw his chance for victory. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Dealing a heavy knee strike into Darius''s stomach, Logan pulled his still locked hand down, pulling Darius into a bent position to the floor. With his other hand, Logan dropped the knife as shadowy energies formed in his arm. ¡°Necromantic Grasp!¡± he called out, a dark visage of his arm appearing over his limb ending in a demonic claw. Driving it deep into the top of Darius''s spine an affirmative ¡°Backstab¡± appeared over the wound. With a gushing of blood, the claw absorbed the energies back into Logan, dealing the Wizard 20 damage and healing Logan for as much. Darius kicked Logan away, as the two now had some distance between them, a few seconds for Logan to access the situation. Logan: 35/58 HP. Darius: 3/60 HP. Blood pouring from his mouth and wounds, Darius rose his hand quickly, a spark and explosion of magic erupting from his limb. ¡°Flame Shot!¡± Darius spoke, quick casting at Logan who was not prepared for the blast. A torrent of flames flew from Darius''s arm, flowing over Logan as if it were a waterfall of fire. Burning him to his core, Logan was left with half singed clothing and a smoking body as the spell ended, dealing 28 damage to him. ¡°His spells are this strong?¡± Logan was on death''s door from the last attack, his vision faded and blurry. The quick cast took a lot from his foe too however, Darius having spent possibly more slots on a single level one spell. With a final ditch attempt at victory, Logan ran forward with his right arm outstretched and his left close to his side. ¡°Force!¡± he called out, a wave of energy blasting towards Darius that easily blocked his face from damage with his staff. A chuckle could be heard from the Wizard as he was able to stop the blow, but it was yet another feint by the Spellthief. Pushing his left hand into the chest of Darius, Logan commanded his ability forward, ¡°Essence Absorb¡±, he thought. Black and dark-green lines dashed and darted from Logan''s hand as they travelled over the body of Darius, visible through cuts in his robe. Darius had a second to consider what was happening until the glass of reality shattered, and his mind was invaded. Digging into the Wizard, the lines crushed his being as the lines charged blue and purple energies through the Wizard into Logan. As if sucked into a black hole, the body of Darius disappeared into Logan''s palm, leaving behind only his possessions as they fell to the floor. A thud of the wooden staff against hard dirt marked the end of the fight, combined with the System''s response to Logan''s skill. ¡°Absorption of foe complete. Calculating reward¡­¡± ¡°798 absorbed experience, Aqua, Gaia, Infuse, Dimensional Jaunt, and Sleep have been learnt. Aqua has progressed to tier 2, Gaia has progressed to tier 2, Infuse has progressed to tier 2.¡± Along with the skill, Logan also gained 1,080 XP for defeating Darius. Falling to the floor in a sitting position, Logan steadied his fall with his hands, breath escaping his lungs just like he escaped the cave. ¡°So that, that was the master. Closest call yet, if any of his other spells hit me, I would be dead and put into a bottle¡±, Logan''s stomach churned again, though he was getting used to the situations that made him sick at this point. ¡°That''s 3 men I''ve killed now. When will it stop? Is this world all going to be me or them? Identification said he was a reject, so hopefully, the Magi¡¯s Tower isn''t full of more people like him. But it seems that oracles are known to that association, so I better give them a wide berth¡±, Logan surmised. Taking a few moments to compose himself, Logan stood up, taking the items of Darius and moving over to Marcus. It seemed like the Devout was still fast asleep due to the spell placed on him, so Logan just cut the ropes for now. Checking the Sleep spell, Logan wanted to see if there was a quicker way to wake his ally. ¡°So that is how he was able to take my blood without me waking, Darius''s level was 9, so he had to deal 10 to wake me in one hit. I can''t do that to Marcus though, I can just use our waterskin on him if I knew where it was¡±, Logan planned, looking around the immediate area for their backpacks or bags. Standing back up, Logan finally realised the pain his body was in. A wave of exhaustion alongside a stinging sensation was felt across his frame, the burn wounds still hot to the touch. His legs were covered in cuts or puncture holes, and his cheek had a still-bleeding hole. ¡°I need to wake Marcus, this feels terrible¡±, Logan determined. Returning to the cave, Logan made a slow walk forward, summoning up his Light Ally to aid his traversal. Each step sent a shockwave of pain up his legs, but he had to push through it to find his party''s belongings. Finding the fork in the path, the alchemy table had burnt to a pile of smouldering wood, falling apart when it lost structural integrity. The wall of fire had dissipated, allowing Logan to search without impediment. Scanning over the local area, Darius was indeed trying to make something powerful, countless vials, components, and notes had gone up in flames, much more than what he would have gathered just from Logan. A few bags and containers were far enough away from the fire to be left unscathed, amongst them were the belongings of the two adventurers. Equipping his weapons just in case, Logan took the rest outside. Stumbling to the side of Marcus, Logan picked out his waterskin and squeezed it onto the sleeping Devout''s face. Splattering and wheezing awake, the Devout shot up to a seated position, darting his head around. ¡°Logan! Where is our abductor! Let me at him¡±, Marcus demanded, not being able to see the charging Wizard anymore. ¡°He''s dealt with, was a close call though. Thankfully he kept his attention on me and not you. Speaking of which, mind patching me up?¡± Logan winced out an explanation, sitting down to try and relieve the pain coating his body. Marcus looked over his ally, cuts, bruises, and burn wounds all over through half-destroyed clothing. Quickly getting to his knees, he began his healing ritual. First using Healer''s Caress twice and then casting Heal three times to bring Logan back up to 54/58 HP from 7/58. The casting incantation of ¡°Orb of all I call to thee, Pondress heal your children. Heal Shot¡± started to get ingrained into Logan, he swore he could cast the spell at this point if not for his class restrictions. His cuts and punctures closed up, along with the gash in his cheek though it left a small scar behind, Logan''s skin was almost completely healed as if he had never been burned. A wave of ease came over Logan, no longer carrying the wounds of a fierce battle on him. Breathing a sigh of relief, Logan fell on his back, the grassy plains providing a comforting bed for a weary adventurer. ¡°Where is the body, Logan? We may need to bury it if that mage had allies who would prefer him still alive¡±, Marcus asked, standing up to survey the area, quickly realising it to be the bastarn cave mountain that contained silver veins. ¡°I already dealt with that, I got his gear and hid the body. Though from what I could gather, he was a reject mage, not many allies, hopefully.¡± ¡°We should probably burn the robe and staff, they are often easy to associate with their wearer, especially something as noticeable as those stars¡±, Marcus suggested, looking over the effects of Darius. ¡°I''ll take your advice on this matter, do what you feel is best, Marcus¡±, Logan accepted, knowing that it would be better to leave the dealings of this world to a native.
Marcus scanned over the remaining items of Darius, pushing the robe and staff to the side as the main things to destroy, as well as some miscellaneous materials, like food containers and his signet. Marcus sieved through the items before making two piles, one to burn and one to keep or sell. With Logan still resting from his near-death experience, Marcus did a lot of the grunt work and cleanup of the murder, gathering the tinder and making a small area to burn the materials. ¡°Ok, it''s done, Logan. He didn''t have much on him though, possible he hid away his gear or wasn''t well off¡±, Marcus informed, bringing a small bag over with the leftovers. ¡°He was testing alchemical creations in that cave, which burnt down, he might''ve wanted to see their effects without his trinkets equipped, so they most likely burnt along with the potions¡±, Logan replied, slightly regretting his choice but without an easy alternative at the time he didn''t dwell on it. ¡°Oh, well, might be best anyways. Did you find out who he was? The robe seemed familiar, I swear I saw it at the Tinte hall before.¡± ¡°His name was Darius, he had been watching us for some time and wanted to cut me up into an item to recreate my abilities¡±, Logan replied, wanting to keep his ally in the loop about this particular event. ¡°That is not a pleasant thought. Maybe he went mad from mistreatment, was he under orders from someone else or was it just happenstance he found out?¡± Marcus asked, eyes filled with worry after a potential outcome from this event. ¡°It seemed like he was acting on his own or had underlings, no one commanding him. He probably wanted to submit the item to the Magi¡¯s Tower to gain prestige, or use it for himself to overtake it.¡± ¡°He would have had a hard time of it, the MT is huge, easily a hundred magi all working together to progress magical studies and their own standing. Though I would see how an item like that would get him invited to join them.¡± ¡°He definitely seemed unhinged, though his magic was extremely powerful, easily double mine. We''re lucky to still be alive and not inside of tubes¡±, Logan stated, still recovering mentally from the encounter. ¡°Hundreds of mages? I should really stay away from the Magi¡¯s Tower in that case, any one of them could find out my abilities and do the same thing Darius did¡±, Logan judged. Using Identification on the final remaining effects of Darius, most were mundane items or components that could be sold off, he also had a ring of the magi though it was the same quality as Logan''s, so he handed that off to Marcus. There was no sign of the golden pocket watches, however, possibly destroyed at the alchemist table. One item was of note, however, which caught the attention of Logan as the details only showed themselves with the item in his posession. ¡°It''s similar to the clasp I got from the goblin cave, but this can be used on anything. No wonder it has a higher level and price, with a selling value of 3 gold it''s three times that of the clasp. Since this trinket has a quality, it could give more MP at higher levels too. Though how would MP work if I use slots?¡± Logan pondered on the new item and depending on the System''s answers to his question he would trade out his Strength necklace. ¡°System, how does MP work for my spells?¡± he asked. ¡°If a spellcaster that uses spell slots gains access to MP they can utilize said MP on any spells they have prepared that day and not use the slot. If you have already cast all prepared slots, you may still use MP on the spells you had prepared¡±, a window answered him, giving faith back to the System''s competence. ¡°Versatile, good. This is invaluable to me since I don''t gain more slots as I level. I could also try to hide this item when going for my reassessments and fake that I gained more slots¡±, Logan planned, happy at his new item. Trading out his gobbo-ear necklace for the periapt, he realised it had already been used this day, so decided to wear it the next day instead. The fire that Marcus started on Darius''s items raged on between the rock circle he had formed. Crackles of flames combined with the smell of burning cloth radiated into the field of grass. Making sure that nothing was left, the two adventurers watched over the fire as they got equipped back in their gear. When it was complete, they would make the long trek home. --- *** --- Chapter 22 - Aftermath of Actions It took some time for Darius''s remaining items to burn to indescribable messes, what wasn''t destroyed completely was demolished through Logan using his Force mick on them. Removing any signs of the firepit, the two safety-conscious adventurers made sure that the fire would not spread into the forest, as not to anger any bears. Cleaning up the area, Logan and Marcus started the long trip back to town. During their travel, the Spellthief and Devout had a long conversation over the events that had transpired that day. Logan informed Marcus that the people who attacked the Movas were under the command of Darius, Marcus noticing the link between the attacks and the leads towards Logan. They had also discussed the golden watches that Darius mentioned, apparently evidence against Logan and his previous actions. With little to go on, the two resolved to stay more low-key, at least as much as they could being an oracle and a Devout who gained three times his MP in a few days. Logan had some ideas as to hide their origins, but it would rely on the friendship and trust of a certain receptionist. They were tempted to return to the site of their wolf ambush, to take what would remain of the adventurer corpses, however, they decided that the remains were far too destroyed to have anything of worth, especially if they were low level enough to fall to wolves.
Arriving back at Tinte, the two were thankful to see some modicum of civilization again. Evening turning to night, Logan and Marcus resolved to hit the beds after handing in their quest, thankful the lunatic Wizard had the thought to take the components from the wolves that had already been harvested. Unlike the hobgoblin ear a few days prior, the wolf eyes were needed to be handed back to the guild, Marcus was sent to prepare the room at the inn whereas Logan went to the hall. At the adventurers'' hall, Logan saw a good 9 adventurers ending their daily quests, a few looking more injured than others. Identifying the selection, he saw they ranged from level 1 to 4. ¡°The longer I stay here, the more I will seem stronger than other ranks, I can''t blend in well with those below my level¡±, Logan rationalised. Moving over to the counter, Logan saw Ruben¨¦ had cut her dirty blonde hair a bit shorter with blue and red ribbons placed on either side. The haircut suited her 5''4'''' frame better, as her previous length kind of hid the shorter woman away. Her clothes were recently laundered, the dark-brown and dark-blue colours looking brighter than usual, her blue undershirt changed out for a pink one. The same quill sat behind her ear, no longer keeping her now short hair from her face. Her magenta eyes almost glowed as they landed on Logan. ¡°Good evening, Logan. Come to hand in your wolf quest?¡± Ruben¨¦ asked, instinctively knowing that Logan had completed his quest as usual. ¡°Yes, Ru, took longer than usual but I got all 4 here¡±, Logan replied, placing the eyes on the counter. Without any sort of disgust, probably used to dealing with body parts due to her job, Ruben¨¦ looked over the wolf eyes and placed them into another bag, pulling out the 3 silver reward in 30 copper coins at Logan¡¯s request, and handing them to the Spellthief. His signet got updated to 15 quests, 11 of them being villager requests. ¡°Say, Ru, when do you get off?¡± ¡°Sorry? What do you mean?¡± Ruben¨¦ was confused, most likely due to the Earth phrasing from Logan not translating into this world. ¡°Oh, sorry. I meant when does your work end today.¡± ¡°Oh. Um. I could finish now. I normally work over my set hours for extra income, but if it''s you asking I can let my associates know I will be ending early¡±, Ruben¨¦ replied, a shyness to her tone. ¡°That works, I can just use Clean while I wait here¡±, Logan stated. Ruben¨¦ quickly tidied away her documents, a rush in her steps. Logan sat at a nearby table, using his mick to make himself the most presentable, though roleplaying it as usual. ¡°Waters of everclear, wash away all dirt. Clean¡±, he chanted a few times, making sure that both he and his clothing were in top shape.
It took a few minutes for Ruben¨¦ to sort her work situation out, seemingly a simple task in her position, overtime looked to be very fluid in this new world or at least for the adventurers'' hall staff. Meeting up with the favour-seeking Spellthief, the two exited the hall to a few whispers from the other members. ¡°Think that''s business or laying?¡± one voice whispered. ¡°Classed with a classless? He has strange tastes¡±, another said. Ignoring the rumours and gossip, Logan tried to push the voices out of his senses. Reaching the orange-hued streets, Logan turned to Ruben¨¦, seeing her in a new light painted her as quite the looker. ¡°I shouldn''t mess around too much with people here. If I plan to leave I don''t want any commitments keeping me back. Especially if there are those wanting to cut me up into components¡±, Logan reasoned. ¡°Have you had your evening meal yet? I wanted somewhere we could sit down and have a conversation¡±, Logan asked. ¡°You found me just before I was about to dine for the night, so you are in luck. If you''re open to suggestions, a fair wind will take us to the Lonst Shank tavern in the north part of town. They offer several meals a day to travellers if you''re wanting a sit-down meal¡±, Ruben¨¦ suggested. ¡°No restaurants or something similar?¡± ¡°Restaurant? What is that? Some sort of inn?¡± Ruben¨¦ had another confused look to her. ¡°This world doesn''t understand restaurants then. It does feel more ¡®Olden time¡¯ so they probably don''t have fancy places to just sit and eat like that. Come to think of it the Dogslop Inn only really serves up breakfast and rarely a dinner meal¡±, Logan surmised, trying to note what concepts would translate to this foreign land. ¡°Oh, nothing. It was just something I heard, we can go to that tavern you suggested¡±, Logan replied, leading the couple northwards. Feeling out of place in this medieval-like area, Logan didn''t know the proper etiquette for sitting down with people or having long conversations. He had general chatter with the people he worked with, though aside from Marcus all others were straight to the point with little mingling in between. Thankfully, Ruben¨¦ saw fit to take the lead, grabbing onto the cuff of Logan''s sleeve. ¡°Is that normal? No linking arms or hand-holding? God this feels weird¡±, Logan felt he was starting to sweat under the pressure. ¡°Ru, do you mind if I ask you about other things I heard in my travels? Some of the magi I met were rather weird and I wanted to make sure their advice was helpful¡±, Logan veiled his information gathering. ¡°You can do so, Logan¡±, Ruben¨¦ accepted, looking up to the Spellthief as the two walked down the dirt streets. ¡°Alright, I will just say a few words, let me know of any that you know. Dates, hotel, couples, PDA.¡± ¡°Well, ¡®dates¡¯ are a type of fruit, ¡®hotel¡¯ means nothing to me, ¡®couples¡¯ are a pairing of two people often in a romantic relationship or just the number two, ¡®PDA¡¯ is not familiar¡±, Ruben¨¦ recited, giving some basic information to the Spellthief who had returned to education again. ¡°Quite different, dates aren''t a romantic thing, and all I got is inns to rest at¡±, Logan deduced from the information given to him. ¡°Those are quite strange terms, were the magi you learnt from much older? They might be before my birth.¡± ¡°Yes, old enough that some started to shrink¡±, Logan replied, thinking about some of the higher-ups from his previous PA company. ¡°I wonder if they got someone to replace me already¡±, he pondered. Arriving at the Lonst Shank tavern, Logan saw it to be quite a large establishment, at least compared to the nearby shacks. Made up of light-brown wood and dirty-red brick, the tavern had a sign designed like a leg of meat dipping into a tankard. Just like all the other buildings, it lacked any form of glass and just had wooden window panes that were wide open. Moving inside, a wave of honeyed meat and spiced drink smells hit Logan, a stark contrast to the outside that was just dirt amongst more dirt. Several dark-brown tables were set up with groups and couples sat eating hot meals or drinking down tankards. Still unsure on how to proceed, Logan was happy that Ruben¨¦ had no issue about taking the lead, the woman pulling the Spellthief to an empty table near an open window. ¡°Today they should be serving either poultry platters or a forest arrangement¡±, Ruben¨¦ explained, placing 6 copper on the side of the table. ¡°Remind me what those are?¡± Logan inquired, feeling out of his depth. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°Poultry platters are slices of cooked chicken alongside scrambled eggs and rice. Forest arrangements are generally the season''s vegetables and fruits with herb spices. Both are 6 copper here.¡± Placing 6 copper next to Ruben¨¦''s, Logan made a mental note on how ordering and payment occurred. ¡°They probably have coins on show to let the workers know we''re ready, no qualms over who pays for what either. That or Ru is more forward than I thought.¡± Looking around the room quickly, Logan saw a few doors at the far end that probably led to the kitchens. Unsurprisingly, due to the gashriek discrimination he had noticed before, there were only humans at first sight within the Lonst Shank. There were no issues over colour or gender either, a complete mix of humans was seen. ¡°Hatred goes to other species rather than other races or orientations I see.¡± Moving her head over to gain the shifty mage''s attention, Ru continued, ¡°Not been to many taverns for meals as a traveller? I thought you might have visited plenty seeing you joined as a quarter-man.¡± ¡°It was mostly food on the road or what I could hunt, sometimes a friendly face offering bread¡±, Logan responded, a smile appearing across his face as he remembered Jrizan. Though it looked more like a smile directed at Ruben¨¦. ¡°You''ve settled in nicely at Tinte though, will you be staying much longer?¡± Ru asked cheerfully, a smile being returned to the Spellthief. ¡°Actually, that is one of the reasons I called you out tonight.¡± ¡°Called me out?¡± ¡°Sorry, it is why I asked you to an evening meal.¡± ¡°Ah, I see.¡± ¡°I won''t be staying much-¡± Logan started, but was cut off as a member of staff approached the table, picking the two towers of coins and placing them within a belt pocket at their hip. The male waiter was dressed in a dark-brown shirt and slate trousers, their shoes more like boots than anything fancy and of garish mossy-green colour. Running a hand through poorly cut bark-brown hair, the man revealed dark skin marred with yellow pockmarks across his eye-line which accented his hazel eyes. ¡°Hail sir and madam, what shall you be ordering this evening?¡± ¡°One poultry platter, please¡±, Ruben¨¦ requested. ¡°And another for me, please.¡± ¡°Hearty choices, I shall bring those forth posthaste¡±, the waiter replied, a slight bow before leaving through one of the far doors. ¡°As I was saying, I won''t be staying much longer in Tinte, probably only 2 more days before I head on¡±, Logan informed, looking over at his quest window to see he had 1 day and 11 hours left before his main quest ended. Cutting him off quickly, Ru began to argue the decision, ¡°That''s quite early, you would be leaving after only a week here. Where do you plan to go to next?¡± ¡°I discussed with Marcus that our next destination would be the capital.¡± ¡°That''s a long journey by foot, 10 days if I remember correctly.¡± ¡°There''s something I need to do at the capital, and if it pans out I will probably stay there for a long while.¡± ¡°I was growing quite accustomed to your daily visits at the hall. It will be a sad morrow to not have you in them.¡± ¡°You never know, quests may bring me back to Tinte at some point¡±, Logan responded. ¡°She is sadder than I had thought, I guess my helping the villagers had more of an impact¡±, he thought. ¡°I have seen a few quests take adventurers far afield.¡± ¡°I will have to make sure to pick up a few to come and see you again.¡± ¡°You better do so, Logan. I am certain the other villagers would be pleased with your presence.¡± ¡°Before I go away, I had a sort of favour I would like to request of you.¡± ¡°Oh? If it is about your documentation we would gather it all up and sort it before your departure. The lack of communication tools at our hall means we tend to send you off with all we have if you''re going to a larger hall.¡± ¡°It is about the documentation, but not that. I was wondering if it would be at all possible to make some changes to them?¡± ¡°Do you mean an early reassessment?¡± ¡°No, I was actually-¡± Logan began but was cut off by plates being slid onto the table by the previous waiter. Large waxed-wood plates held on their surface a display of thick-sliced slabs of chicken meat sitting between light-yellow scrambled eggs as well as a pile of brown rice with black seeds. Landing two large tankards on the table, Ruben¨¦ raised her hand and asked for ale, Logan copied, the two having a cloudly yellowish-black liquid poured into the tankards. With the waiter leaving, Ruben¨¦ started her meal off with a large sip, Logan copied. ¡°God that is sweeter than the ale I had back home. Though it tastes very, thick? Hopefully, the alcohol makes it safer to drink¡­ would it be rude to Clean the drink?¡±, Logan thought to himself, somewhat shocked at the strangeness of his beverage. ¡°You were saying?¡± Ruben¨¦ asked, starting to eat her meal. ¡°Right, I was wondering if it would be possible to alter parts of my documentation. Mainly the date of my signing.¡± Coughing slightly on her meal in surprise, Ruben¨¦ stammered, ¡°Why would you want that? The documents are seen by quite a few eyes.¡± ¡°Well, since I am a quarter-man, I would like to have a bit more experience down on parchment and the capital is quite the overbearing place.¡± ¡°It isn''t too uncommon for magi to be older when they join though.¡± ¡°I know, but, I have other reasons too. I promise it won''t come back to you, I''ll handle the fallout if there is any. We could say I found papers from an older hall or something.¡± ¡°Logan, it isn''t just about your signing date. All of your completed quests also have dates attached to them. If any of the clients are asked, which you have over a dozen now, you would easily be found out.¡± ¡°Would my quest history really be looked into though?¡± ¡°If there are any problems at a particular hall, they tend to do background checks to see where adventurers were and when.¡± ¡°Can you think of any other way?¡± Logan asked, worried his plan was falling apart due to circumstances he didn''t anticipate. ¡°Well, we could destroy your records? You''ve only worked a bare week, there isn''t much to remove. Once you get to the capital you sign up again there¡±, Ruben¨¦ suggested, pausing at times to think over her words. ¡°That might work, I could say I worked elsewhere or as a freelancer.¡± Logan and Ruben¨¦ continued their discussion, finalizing the details, timings, and actions that needed to be taken. Starting ¡°fresh¡± would be the best step forward, Logan being able to sign up as a much higher-ranked adventurer would mean he could bring in many more kills or complete several quests in a day if people believed he had many more slots to cast spells with. Their discussions were also full of talking about Ruben¨¦''s life within Tinte, Logan finding that she had turned 21 just last summer.
On the other side of town, Marcus had some time to himself after preparing the room for the night. Knowing that Logan was indulging in personal business, settling up their loose ends before the long travel northwards, Marcus wanted to finish off the last parts of his life in Tinte on a good note. Stepping to the large doors of the Devout church Marcus pushed them open. So late at night, the halls were mostly desolate aside from the Devouts and workers at the church. Pensively fondling a pouch of coins at his hip, Marcus stepped forward into the hall. While the people inside recognised him and gave slight nods or waves, Marcus only had one place in his mind. Sitting at a bench near the end of the church, close to the altars with lit candles that produced calming scents, Marcus plopped his coin pouch to his side. A few moments passed as Marta came out from a nearby room, her robes showing signs of damage from monster claws. She turned her head and noticed Marcus sitting nearby, with a small smile she walked over to sit by her fellow Devout. ¡°Marta, I hope Pondress has kept your steps cured¡±, Marcus offered. ¡°And Desma holding your crossbow true, Marcus¡±, Marta returned. With a nervous disposition, the younger Devout turned to the woman who was easily 10 years his senior, ¡°Those plans I had told you about before, they are coming close, I aim to leave overmorrow.¡± Tilting her head to look over Marcus, Marta showed a bit of disappointment in her gaze, ¡°So, your sign has shown true to you. You aim to follow it to its end?¡± ¡°That man, he is the key. While he is a caster like us, he shows no animosity to any class or classless. If not Pondress, Vokka would be the one who sent him to me. Someone who can break these divides that cause-¡± he continued, being cut off by Marta holding up her hand slowly. ¡°If you so believe in this man, then you should do what your faith and more importantly your heart tells you. Pondress seeks home for all civilized beings, Vokka searches for neutrality. Either one may guide you, but if you believe it to be your sign, do what you must.¡± Smiling slightly, Marcus bowed his head to Marta, ¡°Thank you. This is my leaving penance¡±, he continued, pushing the pouch closer to Marta. Picking the coin pouch up, Marta weighed it with her hand, ¡°You have paid your dues, leave at your will. Though know it will be a darker day without you here.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, when my journey comes to an end, I am sure that we¡¯ll stand side-by-side with all others¡±, Marcus promised as he stood up, confidence showing in his posture. The two Devouts said their farewells, Marta making a claw over her heart, Marcus making two fists near his stomach with the closed palms facing and almost touching each other. As Marcus took his leave of the church, Marta faltered in her strong stance as if she was weak at the knees, her hand placed over her side. Out of sight of her fellow, Marta moved to the nearby Devouts for healing.
The night came to a close as the sun disappeared on the horizon with the moon taking its place. Orange hues turned to black and blue tones, painting the brown town in a calming light. Logan and Ruben¨¦ had finished their meal alongside their discussion, sure in what they would do in the coming days. ¡°Everything is set for my departure, it will all hinge on what happens with that 7-day timer, but either way I will need to reach the capital¡±, he thought to himself. Deciding it best and proper, Logan escorted Ruben¨¦ back to her house. It was surprisingly similar to all others, though a bit cleaner on the outside. A small hut with wooden window panels, the rest a mesh of thatch and dirt, or maybe it was clay. Logan was unsure how the night would end, however, Ruben¨¦ continued to show her forwardness. ¡°Tinte won¡¯t be as good without your presence, Logan. If you are to leave, I would like to make a memory with you¡±, she propositioned, an intent in her eyes that even Logan could understand. ¡°You do know I might not return to Tinte anytime soon, Ru?¡± ¡°I would like to keep a memory nonetheless. If it leads nowhere, I will fare well.¡± Logan had a slight pang of guilt at the idea, as he would be leaving not too soon afterwards. Though, he felt like Ru knew that would happen and did not care as much as he did about it. Taking the offered hand by Ru, Logan was lead inside. --- *** --- Chapter 23 - Final Day in Tinte From a combined exhausting previous day of hunting, and an exhausting night with Ruben¨¦, Logan awoke to the chirping of the birds beside the morning routines of the populace. A blaring System window was floating in front of his face, a warning of the timer for his main quest. While he was used to windows at this point, he had this strange nagging in the back of his head, like he had forgotten something or everything wasn¡¯t right, that strange magical fog clouding his memory once more. Trapped in a cage, the thought didn¡¯t reach the surface so he dug it deep until it popped out later. Seeing he had woken up earlier than usual, Logan turned his System alarm off. Turning his head to the side he saw his sleeping companion. Ru¡¯s hair covered her feather pillow, one arm underneath it to prop her head up a bit more. Not wanting to disturb the woman who often had a tired look to her, Logan got up, used Clean out of earshot, and got dressed. Looking over his gear, Logan left his gobbo-ear necklace in his bag as he would exchange it for the periapt of mana later in the day, Logan left it unused until he needed it though could tell it would grant him 2 MP in a pinch. The obsidian glass and silver of the periapt were a sight better than the goblin ears, though would give a cold sensation as the new necklace hit his chest. Putting his earring back on, Logan found a small mirror on Ru¡¯s set of wooden drawers, allowing the Spellthief to look at his face for the first time since he had come to Avanar. A week of fighting, travelling, and general medieval life had hardened Logan¡¯s face. His jade-green eyes that once were calm and accepting had a new hardened look to them, his complexion was more tanned though still quite white in comparison to the locals. Thanks to his diligent use of Clean he didn¡¯t have any dirt or blemishes on his skin. One startling mark was that of a slightly diagonal but mostly vertical scar on his right cheek, where the knife that cut the rope went through his face. ¡°Was that knife special? These wounds don¡¯t often leave scars¡±, Logan thought to himself as he ran his fingers over the new facial adornment. At his guess the scar was around 2 inches in length, starting just beneath his lips and going to nose height on his cheek. Logan wasn¡¯t overly vain, but he would ask Marcus later if the scar could be healed. As he placed the mirror onto the drawers Logan saw another interesting item, a smooth stone that had some red shining runes across the top reading the number ¡°178¡±. Using Identification Logan saw that the stone replicated his Clean mick and was a general-use item for civilians to completely clean their body and clothing for a whole year. This explained why Ruben¨¦ looked much cleaner than the general populace, though also led him to think how many other people used these kinds of items. Making his way down the creaky steps, Logan made his way to the entrance room of the house, like all others it was a combination of dining, living, and kitchen. Using what knowledge he had, he went to cook up a breakfast meal for himself and Ru.
A few minutes passed, leading to Ru walking down the stairs to the entrance room. She saw on the table a plate of steaming food, fried eggs atop toast with a side of beans, at least that is what Logan would call them. With a smile, Ru sat at the table, ¡°Good morning, Logan. Doing work for me even off the clock I see.¡± ¡°Morning to you too, yeah, I haven¡¯t had many opportunities to cook since I came- to Tinte¡±, Logan caught himself at the end, almost slipping his arrival to Avanar. ¡°Well, it looks delicious. I am not sure what this is, but you did learn from all types of magi¡±, Ru stated, pointing to the fried eggs on top of toast. The couple ate their breakfast to the backdrop of a rising sun and daily market setup noises. Logan¡¯s mind was still a bit of a mess over this situation, his plans still on leaving back to Earth. But, at that moment, as the sunlight from the opened window lit up Ruben¨¦¡¯s face, he started to wonder why he wanted to go back. He thought to his widowed father whose age was showing, someone he would never leave if given the choice. ¡°Family, friends, fuck the career. It will come down to the quests given to me¡­ There¡¯s also that Magi¡¯s Tower to deal with, if they still know about me I won¡¯t be safe. Retreat to safety, that has to be the goal.¡± Ru noticed the furrowed brow of a thinking Spellthief, tilting her head down to catch his gaze she spoke, ¡°Tomorrow is your last day here, thinking on your ultimate plans?¡± Snapping out of his train of thought, Logan responded, ¡°Yeah, Marcus and I are going to be gathering supplies for the long trek. 10 days will require rations and camping gear, I will also look into getting a horse or some form of faster transportation.¡± ¡°You might be out of luck, this time of year all the merchants have the horses in service, none will be up for ferries. The best you could do is purchase a horse, but they often cost 15 or so silver.¡± ¡°Cheaper than most trinkets I¡¯ve seen, though pricier than I would like. We¡¯d need one each, so walking is probably the better option¡±, Logan replied, ¡°I could make up that difference selling off spare items and components if the Movas could afford it¡±, he thought. ¡°I have to get ready for work, will I see you there later?¡± ¡°Possibly, I will make sure to see you before the day ends either way.¡± Finishing off their meals and cleaning the utensils the two said their farewells, Ruben¨¦ tiptoeing to Logan as she placed her lips to his and wrapped her arms around the back of his neck. Through their discussion, they both agreed they would not be a long-term couple but Ru asked that Logan would indulge her for the time they would spend together. Returning the embrace, Logan left to his other partner who was still at their inn.
Meeting with Marcus, the Devout had a knowing look to his face and stance, arms crossed with a smirk. ¡°Good night was it, Logan?¡± Returning a slightly embarrassed smile Logan replied, ¡°Yeah, best night since I came to Tinte. Did you sort all of your loose ends?¡± ¡°All tied up, ready to leave at the drop of a sheath. There will be many that are not Wallace along our travels, though with your magi background you should know your way around new people.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, who is Wallace?¡± Logan asked, checking over the communal loot bag. ¡°What? How far south do you hail from? It is just a common saying here, everyone knows Wallace, if you don¡¯t know someone then they are not Wallace.¡± ¡°So, it¡¯s like ¡®I don¡¯t know you from Adam¡¯, I heard that a bit on Earth, though hardly anyone says it anymore¡±, Logan thought to himself. Taking a look over his spell list, Logan was happy to see progress in his magic. ¡°Spell List: 1st: Aqua**, Flame****, Frost**, Gaia**, Infuse**, Lightning***, Necromantic***, Wind. 2nd: Dimensional Jaunt, Sleep, Summon _ Elemental, Zombify. Alterations: Grasp, Shot, Wall.¡± ¡°Plenty of my spells gained a tier yesterday, Necromantic being at tier 3 is a major boon as it is the only way I can heal myself. Looks like I didn¡¯t see enough of that Skystrike spell to learn that alteration, but I learnt Wall. I would say it was a blessing I fought an evil mage, but it still doesn¡¯t feel right having killed 3 people already. Will this nagging ever go away?¡± Logan pondered on his future actions, preparing 2 casts of Flame and 1 Necromantic for the day to come. ¡°Are we ready? We¡¯re selling off the loot from yesterday, checking the quest board, then hunting, right?¡± Marcus inquired. ¡°Yeah, right on all accounts.¡±
Making the rounds, the duo sold off the remnants of Darius¡¯s gear and the gobbo-ear necklace. Left in their bags were 1 high-quality bastarn eye, 2 shoddy goblin ears, 2 common goblin ears, 10 shoddy wolf fangs, 2 common wolf fangs, 4 shoddy wolf pelts, and 2 common wolf pelts. With what they sold Logan gained 11 silver, Marcus took his 3 silver split. They had discussed selling the previous trinkets, as Logan could reach his gold quest doing so, but Marcus informed Logan that not many merchants in Tinte would buy items of 1 gold value or more due to the customers not being able to purchase such. Considering the clasp would be bought from a merchant for 2 gold and the periapt would be bought for 6 gold. Logan did ask the Movas to which they confirmed the same.
Checking the quest board at the hall revealed a few more quests for goblins that were seemingly gathering in larger forces after the troll issues, towards the southern forests. Another painted a trail to the troll¡¯s origin but was noted as a dangerous quest with a requirement of at least 20 adventurers of rank 3 or higher. Landing on a quest that suited the partner¡¯s direction, Logan and Marcus took up the quest to bring a high-quality bastarn eye for an alchemist, something they already had in their possession. Not wanting to raise suspicions, they would not hand it in immediately, the two had already planned to do some training back at that nightmarish cave before leaving Tinte. Logan made sure to wave to Ru before he left, the receptionist perking up as he did so.
The penultimate place before heading off to hunt was the stables, the one that Ru had suggested last night was on the northern side of town, facing towards the capital. Reaching the stables it had a metallic sign that swung in the wind of horseshoes and a sickle. Engraved in the sign was ¡°Polan¡¯s Mounts¡± as the name. Entering through the large wooden stable doors, the two found themselves in a large barnlike establishment. The whole building was made of wood, with hay and straw messing with the dirt flooring. A few neighs could be heard in the distance, Logan spotting three horses stood in their pens. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. An older woman quickly approached the two adventurers, she would have stood at 5¡¯7¡± if she wasn¡¯t bent over by a half foot. She wore brown overalls with black tall boots that were tarnished in brown dirt. A mass of grey hair was tied into a bun, making her wrinkled face easier to see though her sagging brow made it hard to make out her greying-red eyes. Possibly due to her work, her skin was a harsh tan, almost brown. ¡°Welcome, yer here for ferries, dropping off a ¡®orse, or otherwise?¡± She spoke, her voice holding a bit of vibration to it as if her throat was full of phlegm. ¡°Hello, we were wondering about a potential two horses towards Gauntlet?¡± Logan asked, bending down a bit to the older lady. ¡°Tough luck laddy, all ferries are out ''n'' bout at Gauntlet, won¡¯t see ''em for possibly two weeks or more. If yer fetchin'' to buy a ''orse it¡¯s 15 silver each, got 2 on offer right now¡±, the lady replied, obviously excited to sell her wares as she started to move towards the equines. ¡°We¡¯ll have to see about the purchasing, after our affairs are sorted for the day we¡¯ll let you know if we can buy them or not.¡± With an angry toss of her hands to the air, the lady started to walk away as she mumbled about being taken for a ride more than her horses. Looking to Marcus, Logan nodded to leave. Through conversations together, the Spellthief was informed that with feed and other expenses it¡¯d be another 5 or so silver to get to Gauntlet, ending in a total of around 35 silver. Logan was close to that money, but with all the other purchases on the way, he wasn¡¯t sure if it¡¯d be enough. ¡°The main quest will reward me 1 gold, but I will have almost no way of explaining that if I tried to trade it to anyone here. 1 gold is 100 silver, or 1,000 copper, not going to happen. If my System gave it to me in silver I¡¯d be fine, but I doubt it will cooperate¡±, Logan ruminated in his head. Since levelling was a possibility for only Logan at this point, the Spellthief thought it best to spend some of their money ahead of time to properly equip the Devout of the party, Marcus. Selling off all of his previous gear, Marcus was treated to a whole new set of common-tier gear that in total took 4 silver from Logan with some change put in from Marcus. Logan also wanted his ally to have a dagger at hand in case his other weapons were taken away. ¡°Teda''s Robes**: This set of robes were sewn by the seamstress Teda, noted by the etching on the collar''s inside. Many spellcasters wear these as they move onto adolescent adventuring. +3 Defence Rating.¡± ¡°Teda''s Staff**: Eloquently designed to go hand-in-hand with the robes sewn by the crafter known as Teda, this staff offers a good punch when foes get close. +1 Attack Rating, 2-4 damage.¡± ¡°Eyeline Crossbow**: Stepping up into the third stage of crossbows, the Eyeline Crossbow is an expensive yet effective 1-handed ranged option. +1 Attack Rating, 2-4 damage.¡± ¡°Lupine Tooth Dagger**: Not outstanding amongst the multitude of choices for daggers, this blade was crafted from a larger fang of a brown wolf. Easy enough to make and made from a commonplace material, this dagger stabs slightly better than normal. +1 Attack Rating, 3-6 damage.¡± The jump in bonuses wasn¡¯t amazing, but at lower levels it was a big jump nonetheless, especially considering Marcus wasn¡¯t offensively focused aside from his high randomly selected Strength. This new set would last Marcus until he hit level 4, which would take some time if he didn¡¯t gain any unforeseen bonuses to his experience. With their purchases complete, the duo headed off due southeast with more of a focus on the east due to the mountain that houses the bastarns being north of the brown wolf forests.
Reaching the mountain the weather took a turn for the worse, dark clouds formed overhead with heavy rain beating down both adventurer and wildlife alike. Using their cloaks for protection, Logan and Marcus ran into the maw of the silver caverns. With two casts of Clean, the party was dry, their gazes falling to the remains of their encounter with Darius. Starting at the rocks they had moved, hidden burnt remains, and the desecrated shards of materials. ¡°We¡¯re back sooner than I would have imagined¡±, Marcus remarked. ¡°Hopefully for the last time, this is the best place for my skills and we need both the money and training¡±, Logan replied. Looking at his ally, Marcus smirked. ¡°Just another day, hey? My final day in Tinte.¡± Placing a comforting hand on Marcus¡¯s shoulder, Logan smiled back. ¡°It¡¯ll be a great journey, I have plenty of plans ahead.¡± Marcus nodded, though his thoughts would most likely drift onto the grand future rather than Logan¡¯s estimations of returning to Earth. An opposed set of beliefs and expectations for the future was hidden in the camaraderie of the Spellthief and the Devout, though the one thing they knew for sure was that they were allies through and through. Turning to the inners of the cave, the duo pressed on.
Lighting up the cave with his Light Ally, Logan used his summon as an alert system against the bastarns deep within. Darting around, the light would bump into the bats and do a circling motion for Logan to prepare ahead of time. With a slight nick to his HP, Logan made sure to have Marcus use Healer¡¯s Caress in combat to have his ally gain XP. The first encounter beset the duo, a pair of bastarns who were biting at the Light Ally. With a yelled out ¡°Force¡±, Logan made sure to get their attention, dealing a solid 7 damage with his improved stats. Bringing the first foe down to 9/16 HP. Ignoring the helpless summon, the bastarns darted towards the adventurers, sparking with electric energies that shot faster than their dive bomb. ¡°Spell Absorb! Spell Absorb!¡±, Logan thought over and over, his hands out in a grasping motion to the bolts of lightning. Darting across his limbs, the sparks dug into the Spellthief but relented as they absorbed into his core. Marcus quickly used his skill in anticipation. ¡°Spell Absorption successful. Spell Absorption successful. 2 Lightning charges stored¡±, the windows created a wall between Logan and his foes but he willed them away as his hands crashed through the text boxes. ¡°Lightning Shot! Lightning Shot!¡± Logan called out, returning the Lightning blasts with a greater degree of power and splendour. Dealing 17 damage to the left bastarn, and 19 to the injured right bastarn, the two demonic bats fell to the floor in smouldering black balls. Logan looked over his damage numbers, calculating the bonuses he had received in his short time. ¡°Bastarns seem like they would die to any Lightning shot from me now, though my damage is still just over half of what Darius could do.¡± ¡°Level up! Gain: 8 HP, +1 Str, +1 Agi, +1 Con, +1 Int. You have 1 attribute point to spend¡±, the window appeared just like always, giving Logan the lower amount of boost over the times he gained +2 to some attributes. Placing his spare point into Intelligence, his spells continued to grow in strength. Reaching level 6 brought his HP up to 68/68 but had yet to grant him any more spells in a day. Marcus again gained his usual 40 XP per kill, bringing him to 3,120/6,000. Logan had a much larger gap with 15,234/21,000 XP though he knew he¡¯d still reach the next level faster than Marcus would hit his. Looking ahead, Marcus spoke, ¡°Great shots, Logan. We¡¯re almost at the fork in the path, we heading much deeper?¡± ¡°Yeah, at least until we can spot a new foe.¡± Logan quickly gathered up the materials from the bastarns, adding 2 more shoddy eyes to their collection. He checked over his Spell Absorption skill as he did so, seeing it was at 65% towards tier 2. ¡°Close, hopefully, enough in here to rank that up. The 80% chance of absorbing level 1 spells is concerning.¡± With their first fight done, the duo moved in deeper. They quickly found the fork in the path, any remains of Darius¡¯s alchemy setup had either burnt or broken into an indescribable mess. Without much to go on, Logan flipped a coin to decide their direction, left.
Even with the Light Ally brightening up the dark cave, Logan could tell the darkness grew thicker and more resilient against his summoned sprite. As if fighting back against a light source, the sprite¡¯s area of brightness became smaller and smaller, though thankfully still gave a good enough view of the ceiling. While they could see ahead, their immediate vicinity was in pitch-blackness, causing both Logan and Marcus to kick aside wayward rocks or stub their boots onto stalagmites. One such kick into a rock alerted the enemies further ahead, the Light Ally darted closer to reveal them but was met with 4 arcs of Lightning that surged through the air. As the spells lit up the cave, Logan could just barely track the hasty spells to counter with his raised arms. ¡°Spell Absorb!¡± he thought, four times over, the first two spells getting absorbed as easily as the others, however, the final two struck into and cracked open his skin as they damaged him badly for 9 and 11 respectively, bringing the shocked Spellthief down to 48/68. An alert popped up twice, informing Logan he had reached the maximum number of spell charges. ¡°Fuck, any spells after the 2 charge limit hurt me just like normal!¡± he cursed in his head. Logan was surprised, he hadn¡¯t thought the skill would not function whatsoever if his stock of absorbed spells hit their limit. Hoping to sort two issues at once, he thrust out his hands from the recoil of two Lightning strikes to unleash two back. ¡°Lightning Shot! Lightning Shot!¡± he cried out, the blue streaks crackling across the cavern to the barely-lit foes. Hitting each of his targets once, he brought them both down with hearty hits of 18 and 22 damage. ¡°Orb of all I call to thee, Pondress heal your children. Heal Shot!¡± Marcus enspelled, moving to his still sparking ally to bring him back into the fight proper, healing Logan for 13. ¡°Are you ok? That barrage would have killed anyone else without a doubt. Wha-¡± he continued, but was cut off by a focusing Logan. ¡°Not now!¡± Keeping his eyes on his foes, Logan saw another volley of 2 more spells coming his way, anticipating and riposting with his own skills ¡°Spell Absorb! Spell Absorb!¡± he thought, catching the first strike without worry but failing to absorb the second, receiving another hit worth 10 damage. Returning the Lightning, Logan hit the third bastarn for 22 damage as it was crushed against the ceiling by the electric might. The final bastarn, whose eyes were more acclimated to the darkness, saw its fellows were no longer flying around and sought to flee. The Light Ally stuck close, allowing Logan to follow up with two quick casts of Force, hitting the bat twice for 8 damage each, the second pushing it down to a crash landing. A few anxious moments passed as Logan awaited more foes, but was put at ease as the experience started to fly. Breathing out hard, Logan saw the white steam that exited his mouth as he felt his insides boiling up from the power of lightning. Checking over his windows he saw he was sitting at 51/68 HP, a Healer¡¯s Caress bringing him to 54. It wasn¡¯t long before his status took over the pain, leaving him feeling as if he had sat in a sauna for too long instead of getting hit by lightning. ¡°I would have developed a heavy stutter back on Earth.¡± Logan saw he had gained 1,296 XP from this match, Marcus still gaining his 40 per kill for a total of 160 XP. ¡°Still no change to Marcus, I guess NPCs get the same for a lot longer than I do, does it ever change?¡± As Logan harvested the creatures for 1 shoddy and 3 common eyes, Marcus continued his question. ¡°As I was saying, you¡¯ve taken hits time and time again that would have easily brought down rank 1 adventurers. Even as an oracle, you are much more durable than the others I have seen or read about. If you can see my capabilities, do you know what your current rank would be?¡± Logan hesitated for a while, contemplating his answer. ¡°He¡¯s only going to keep asking, and I have already told him so much. He will know my level when we get to Gauntlet anyways when I get reassessed¡±, turning his head to Marcus, Logan decided on an answer. ¡°I¡¯m rank 6.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 24 - Deep in the Silver Bastarn Mines A shocked expression replaced the calm one of Marcus, though it was hard to see in the darkness of the cave. ¡°6? You¡¯ve barely been registered at the Tinte Hall for a week, that¡¯s almost a rank a day!¡± his voice became a bit too loud for Logan¡¯s ideal stalking approach to the depths. Placing his hand over the Devout¡¯s mouth, Logan replied, ¡°Shh, yes I know. It¡¯s one of the reasons Darius wanted to cut me up. I can progress much faster than non-oracles.¡± Nodding his head as if to tell the Spellthief he would be quiet, Marcus¡¯s mouth was uncovered. ¡°Even still, that speed is staggering for a town out of the way, I can see why you¡¯d want to hide such growth. It¡¯d be more acceptable in the capital, where parties are a lot more common and quests are plenty¡±, Marcus continued. ¡°Another point to add to the growing list of reasons we¡¯re going there. My reassessment in the capital will be my next rank cover, so don¡¯t speak of it to anyone.¡± ¡°No wonder you can take hits like that over and over, the goblins I could shrug off as your armour protecting you, but those spells would go straight through it.¡± ¡°We can talk about this later when we¡¯re not deep in a dangerous cavern system¡±, Logan concluded, looking back into the dark trail that was barely lit by his Light Ally. ¡°Got it, sure¡±, Marcus returned, showing a sign of giddiness about being close to someone much stronger than him. ¡°Hopefully his excitement will die down as we continue working together, someone is bound to notice his attitude¡±, Logan wished in his mind.
Heading deeper and deeper into the mines, the sporadic lines of silver became larger veins with some portions covering wide sections of the walls. If the two budding adventurers had the time and pickaxes to cut out some of the minerals they would be taking back quite a haul. Logan could have used this silver to make his trinket crafting a bit cheaper since some of his items had silver in their makeup. Mining would have to be postponed, however, as a new sight came into view. The dark powers of the corridor became weaker as the Light Ally was able to return to its proper strength, though it was not needed. Logan and Marcus had arrived at a cliff¡¯s edge, peering over a large chasmlike room, easily a hundred feet drop to the rocky floors below, the entire room lit up by the silver that now shone as if it was flowing lava. Even without the means to see magical auras, the Spellthief could feel a heavy presence of magic in this dome room, along with a sense of dread. A quick wind blew atop the cliff, leading Logan to theorize there were more exits to the surface nearby. To their right the cliff had a sharp slope that led to the bottom of the chasm. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ quite the drop¡±, Marcus whispered. Turning his head to his ally, Logan scanned over the chasm. ¡°That it is. Not exactly the best place to flee from since the bastarns can fly and attack us as we make the climb back up.¡± ¡°I still have 6 more spells to use, want to challenge the depths?¡± Logan paused for a moment, thinking over his options. ¡°Well, we can see this room, even if it is a dim light, any enemies that are here are doing a good job at blending in.¡± ¡°Want to alert them?¡± ¡°Might be better to sound off and see what reacts¡±, Logan replied as he picked up a small rock that was nearby. Motioning to Marcus, the Spellthief prepared for an ambush. Tossing the rock over the edge it fell with a loud thud that was followed by quiet tumbles as the rock settled near the bottom. A second passed, and then another, sweat beading down Logan¡¯s brow as his anxiety started to rise. The Spellthief would praise all of his instincts that he held ready for a second longer, as that was all it took for the creatures to stir from their sleep. A murder of bastarns awoke with countless eyes lighting the dim chasm, all of the eyes darted upwards to the two adventurers. In a torrent of wind and sharp wings, the bastarns all jumped from their positions, far too many to count. Some flew deeper into the caves, others through darkened holes in the walls, but the most interesting and daunting sight was that of 5 of the bats that collided with one another near the centre of the floor. Bitting into one their kin, melting their flesh, morphing into a singular entity the new creation exploded in a necrotic display of magical might. Frozen in place, Logan¡¯s reaction was now a common routine when seeing a foe, ¡°Identify.¡± ¡°Bastarn Coven - Demon / Bat. Level 10: 50/50 HP, 12/12 MP. This dastardly devilish monstrosity is formed when several bastarns combine their demonic might into a single entity, usually when 5 of the creatures morph into one. With greater sight and magical prowess, the bastarn coven is a power far greater than any fledgling adventurer has any hope of defeating, gaining a strength close to a quarter of a full-blooded vampire. A bastarn coven is a mass of brown and black fur with several eyes that dart around, chomping at the air to find sustenance. Its flesh melds into a form that now has two large limbs that end in claws, large wings flowing from the back of the arms. Standing at 6 feet tall and 3 feet wide the coven totes 8 wings on its back. Spell List: 1st: Lightning, Necromantic. 2nd: Blood Drain, Dimensional Jaunt, Lightning Cascade." Faltering in his confidence Logan took a few steps back, making his Devout ally even more scared. ¡°Shit, we need to-¡± Logan began but was cut off as the coven showed off its first spell. Phasing out as if it were a glitch, lines of air vacuuming into the centre of the now disappeared enemy, only to reappear a few feet from the face of Logan, a small shockwave buzzing noise was heard on both ends of the teleport. Winding back a harsh claw, the coven slashed at the Spellthief, cutting across his face for 6 damage and then a further slash into his chest for 7. Logan snapped out of his shock as the pain brought his mind into the fight, jumping back quickly he waved at Marcus to back up. ¡°Marcus! Heal!¡± Logan commanded, forming his own hands into claws to retaliate. ¡°Flame Grasp!¡± he yelled, his right hand exploding into flames as he dug it deep into the coven in front of him. Even though he was sure his attack connected the coven fizzled out of existence once more, the flames exploding into the thin air, only for the coven to appear behind Logan. Twisting his head around, Logan came face to eye with the demon behind him but was met with a large claw colliding and wrapping around his head. With a strong crush, Logan¡¯s head was enveloped in leathery demise as he was brought up from the floor and smashed into a nearby wall, the sharp edges cutting into his back. ¡°WARNING, Critical hit sustained, you have received 21 damage, current HP: 20/68¡±, a blaring red window appeared over the bloodied vision of Logan whose thoughts were a cacophony of ¡°fuck¡± and ¡°shit¡± at the situation. ¡°Orb of all I call to thee, Pondress heal your children. Heal Shot¡±, Marcus enspelled as he just barely hit Logan with a healing orb as it recovered 14 HP to his ally. Two of the eyes of the coven wiggled around to view the Devout who had just cast a spell, Marcus¡¯s face dropped into a frightful expression as he knew he was next. Throwing Logan to the side, dealing him another 4 damage, the coven started to spark with lightning energy, blue strokes of power dancing across the large mass of bat flesh. Raising up an arm the lightning surged to its claw as it exploded outwards to Marcus. ¡°No!¡± Logan shouted, jumping upwards as he saw the magic start to spark. Dashing forwards, Logan twisted his arm to meet the lightning stream. ¡°Spell Absorb!¡± he thought, hoping to stop the spell in its tracks. Logan immediately knew this was different from Lightning, it felt stronger and was splitting off into countless directions as the energy surged through his arm. ¡°Spell Absorption successful. Lightning Cascade charge stored¡±, a window popped up just as Logan felt the power subsiding in his arm. He would have sighed in relief if it wasn¡¯t for the coven following up its attack with another sparking of lighting all across its body. Rolling from his jump, Logan stood back up to absorb yet another spell, ¡°Spell Absorb.¡± He wasn¡¯t as lucky this time, 2nd level spells only having a 50% chance of successfully being absorbed. The spell erupted through Logan¡¯s arm as it dug in deep, blood gushing out from the wounds dealing him 27 damage. The spell hadn¡¯t ended there, however, the lightning wrapping around the Spellthief¡¯s body as it jumped from one victim to another, stabbing and crashing against Marcus for 14 damage. Blood drenched the floors, lit up against the dying sparks of lightning and that of the Light Ally. Logan had been dragged down to 8/68 HP with Marcus falling to 20/34. There was a silver lining in this dark cloud, however, as Logan saw his Spell Absorption had increased in its tier but didn¡¯t have the time to look more in-depth. Wanting to turn the tide quickly, Logan darted forward with his clawed hand out at the coven. ¡°Necromantic Grasp!¡± he shouted, digging the explosion of shadowy tendrils and enlarged claw into one of the eyes of the bastarn coven. The text, ¡°Backstab¡±, appeared as Logan easily hit a vital point. Adding its own blood to the pools on the floor, the coven had received a painful 24 damage, which flowed into Logan as a blessing from above bringing him back to 32/68 HP. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Tearing his arm out of the now-closed eye of the coven, Logan jumped back, calling out for more healing and looking over the status of his foe. The bastarn coven was down to 26/50 HP and 4/12 MP. With a quickly draining pool of magic, on both ends, the fight would be close, Marcus healing Logan for another 12 HP with Heal as the coven recovered its stance from the previous assault. Readying for another frontal assault, Logan darted forwards as Marcus healed himself for 14 HP with Heal, bringing the Devout to 34/34 HP and 3/7 MP. Swinging his quickly-drawn dagger at the coven, Logan was caught off-guard once again as the enemy phased out once more, appearing behind Logan with a destructive black and red force enveloping the claw of the coven. Driving its limb deep into the back of Logan, the dark energies jumped, danced, and then invaded the being of Logan. He could feel his whole life being taken away in that instant, all warmth leaving his body as he was dealt 20 damage from a spell he assumed to be Blood Drain. Not wanting to come out of the attack without some input, Logan threw both his hands behind him, grabbing tightly onto the coven¡¯s arm. ¡°Die! Lighting Cascade Gr-¡± he shouted, casting the charge he had gained earlier. He tried to apply an alteration though it seemed this spell didn¡¯t require one. From his stomach lightning exploded out of Logan¡¯s form as it covered him entirely, quickly darting through his arms into the coven at his rear. As if it were a roaring beast, the lightning ravaged the foe with stabbing wounds and shock burns. Pushed back by the force of the spell, the coven and Logan squared off once more, the Spellthief noticing his newly stolen spell had dealt 20 damage to his foe. ¡°That¡¯s low¡±, he thought, though he did not know the full extent of its capabilities. With the previous Blood Drain, the coven¡¯s HP still remained at 26/50 though its MP was now completely dry. Kicking off with his left foot, Logan went into a leaping knee attack within another eye of the coven, making a note to not use his Backstab, which was reserved for his next dagger thrust that came down into yet another eye. Dealing 4 and 14 damage respectively, Logan noticed the sharp decrease in speed of his foe, though was still caught off-guard by another grab at his waist. Tossed into the ceiling Logan was penetrated by several stalactites, in total, he took a staggering 16 damage. Landing on the rocky floor below face first, Logan felt another wash of healing powers over his body from Marcus, recovering 13 HP. With his eyes coated in blood, Logan rose his head to see a crimson vision of the situation. The coven was at 8/50 HP, Logan was down to 21/68. In a similar sight to that of Logan, the coven¡¯s eyes were bruised, bleeding, and burnt. Whipping its form around to stare bloodied daggers at the Devout, the coven let out several demonic roars from its gaping eye-maws. With a solid flapping of its 8 wings, it rushed down Marcus. ¡°Fuck off! Force!¡± Logan yelled, a welling of magic might exploding in his shoulder and thrusting through his arm like a jet burst. A sharp whistling noise radiated through the corridor as the blast of black and grey lined orb of power hit into the back of the coven, causing it to surge forward even faster and completely clearing the space above Marcus¡¯s head. Crushing into the ceiling and eventually landing in three solid thuds on the floor, the coven rolled to a still shape in the darkness. Making a fist in his outstretched hand, Logan punched the floor to stand back up, adrenaline coursing through his entire body, but it became a warm feeling of stillness as he saw his victory ahead. Breathing in and out a storm of air, Logan¡¯s body began to shiver all over as his energy faded and the fear of his previous situation flooded in its place. Marcus rushed to his ally¡¯s side, placing a calming hand on Logan¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Healer¡¯s Caress¡±, he chanted, healing the Spellthief for 3 HP, bringing him back up to 24/68. The first charge had just come off its cooldown, but the second was still ticking away. ¡°Logan! Are you alright?¡± Logan let out a cough, his insides playing havoc after the Lightning Cascade and being treated like a dog toy. ¡°Yeah. Well, actually no. That fucker hit like nobody¡¯s business.¡± ¡°What even the below was that creature?¡± ¡°I scanned it, it was a bastarn coven.¡± ¡°Oh Pondress, I heard of those, monsters that once haunted Tinte but were quelled a few decades back.¡± ¡°Well, still a few kicking. It seems the bastarns can form into them¡±, Logan replied, standing up with the aid of Marcus. ¡°Oh, right, harvest its heart. It supposedly is very expensive.¡± Logan gave a look to Marcus as if to say ¡°Really? Give me a minute¡±, Marcus clearly understood it and helped Logan to sit against the rocky wall. Resting for a while, Logan checked over his party¡¯s status. Logan was sitting on 24/68 HP, Marcus was at 34/34. Logan had 1 Flame left in the day, Marcus with 2/7 MP. Finally, the reward for their fight, Logan had reached 17,610 / 21,000 XP with Marcus at 3,380 / 6,000 as he had gained 100 XP from the coven. Doing his normal routine of using Clean over his body and gear, Logan¡¯s vision had returned to a normal colour. With a clear vision, he could now see a window was to the right of his head, obviously out of his view during the combat. ¡°You have gained the ¡®Coven Cleanser¡¯ title.¡± ¡°Coven Cleanser: As the first soul to have killed a bastarn coven near Tinte in over 50 years, your expertise in hunting these foul demons is widely sought after. Civilized folk covet your knowledge, whereas demons are warier of your presence in their domains. When dealing with creatures of the demon type you deal 5% more damage (minimum +1) and gain 5% damage resistance. You have gained 1 skill point to distribute.¡± It had been quite some time since Logan had gained a skill point, so he was quite joyous at the occasion. ¡°Great! Now, where to spend it? There¡¯s still that Dagger Toss skill but I¡¯ve seen so many others in my skill window. An extra Backstab would also be nice¡±, Logan pondered on his choice as he glanced over the skills he had placed a stamp on, another feature he found when delving into his System. Landing on a skill that had appeared in his window just recently, Logan looked over to the corpse of his fallen foe and nodded in recognition of the option. ¡°Unlock Dastardly Backstabs.¡± The skill had shown itself after Logan hit level 6, revealing that some skills had hidden requirements before showing themselves, this particular skill was a branch off of his original Backstab skill which previously only had Multi-Backstab as a branch. ¡°Enemies don¡¯t seem to take prolonged effects from my Backstabs, even if it is into kidneys or eyes, this should help with that. Maybe it¡¯s due to their statuses?¡± Waving a hand in front of Logan¡¯s face, Marcus snapped the Spellthief out of his concentration, ¡°Hey, Logan, you good there?¡± ¡°Yes, just concentrating on a new skill I am unlocking for myself.¡± ¡°Like you did for me? Fantastic!¡± ¡°You might not see it in use anytime soon though, it¡¯s more of a background thing, nothing flashy.¡± ¡°A skill is a skill, the more we have the better chances we have¡±, Marcus nodded sagely, as if giving wisdom to someone far wiser than himself. ¡°I guess you¡¯re right. Now, let¡¯s look to those components, keep an eye out.¡± ¡°Got it. Those other bastarns don¡¯t seem to have returned, I wonder where they went¡±, Marcus replied, looking intently to the opening at the end of the corridor that led to the chasm. ¡°Who knows. I¡¯ll be quick though, don¡¯t fancy the idea of seeing them again¡±, Logan returned, moving over to the bastarn coven corpse. Cutting at the eyes and mass of flesh, it took two minutes of work which rewarded him with 2 shoddy bastarn eyes, 1 common eye, and a high-quality bastarn coven heart. ¡°Identify.¡± ¡°Bastarn Coven Heart: The dread heart of a bastarn coven, highly prized for its demonic magic properties. This component can be crafted into items or used within rituals to summon up demons for their power. Even when taken from a corpse, this heart can continue to beat and live for one year until its life finally fades. 1x high-quality.¡± ¡°Quite the prize, and at high-quality, it can sell for 12 silver and 5 copper. Though for something like this, I would probably want to craft with it¡±, Logan concluded, happy with his reward. Looking through his history tab, Logan had an even bigger smile as he looked upon his progression. ¡°Those are some big jumps in success rates, I can even attempt 4th level spells though I don¡¯t like the look of that 10%. I can also store 3 charges, that¡¯ll help in these group fights.¡± Whispering over to Marcus, the two regrouped. ¡°I don¡¯t like the look of our resources, and this path may contain more covens, let alone that uncountable number of bastarns. I say we head back, rest up outside and spend the rest of our time hunting wolves¡±, Logan explained. With a nod, Marcus replied, ¡°Sounds good to me, I don¡¯t hold our chances against another of those demons any higher than my belt.¡± Checking over their gear, picking up any dislodged components or items, the two made the slow trek back through the cavern. Just like their previous adventures here, the enemies did not form back up in the hallways, possibly moving about at night rather than the day as the monsters could tell by the sun shafts coming in through sporadic holes.
Breaching the entrance to the cave the two weary adventurers had reached sunlight once again, the heat rays beating down on their battered bodies. Logan let out a large sigh, taking in a large gulp of fresh air, whereas Marcus stretched out wide as he was no longer confined to corridors. ¡°Another day, another near-death experience. I guess we have to take the easy with the hard¡±, Logan noted. ¡°Can¡¯t always have it easy, though the wolves with be a couple of leaps back down the long staircase of difficulty.¡± ¡°No doubt, a lot less damage to handle.¡± Marcus started to place his bags at the base of a tree, bringing out a box of food and his waterskin. ¡°Looks like we¡¯re close to noon, maybe an hour or so away from it.¡± ¡°Lunchtime it is.¡± ¡°Lunch?¡± ¡°Sorry, old magi saying, midday meal it is.¡± Handing off food, water, cleaning services, and friendly chatter, the two adventurers had a long rest after a close call in the mines. Logan had achieved his goal of progressing Spell Absorption, so all was good. Marcus used Healer¡¯s Caress 12 more times during their hour rest, bringing Logan back to 60/68 HP. Checking over his ally, Logan was saddened to see that Marcus seemingly missed out on the title, he surmised it might have been due to the fact that Logan had dealt all the damage to the foe. As the sun hit its midpoint in the sky, the partners stood up, readied their gear, and set off to hunt wolves to end their training for the day. --- *** --- Chapter 25 - Final Night in Tinte The partnered adventurers had used plenty of their resources for the day, though at this point Logan¡¯s attacks could deal with brown wolves easy enough. With the sun hitting the midpoint of the sky, Logan and Marcus agreed they would hunt the wolves in the forest that was only a half-hour away, similar to their first meeting, at least to a point where their packs were full of components or their resources dipped any lower.
Walking the rather short distance, as Logan¡¯s legs became more and more accustomed to cross country traversal, Marcus used Healer¡¯s Caress three more times to bring Logan back to his maximum HP of 68/68. Memories tried to floor Logan¡¯s mind, several seemingly able to break through the magical fog that still shielded his mind as if it were growing weaker. Logan remembered the times he spent at charity runs to raise money for causes he had believed in, a smile appearing across his face as his mind drifted to simpler times. Reaching the outskirts of the forest Logan gave a final look over his small party, seeing he had 1 Flame spell left for the day and Marcus with 2/7 MP remaining. With two uses of Healer¡¯s Caress in the back pocket, the Spellthief was confident in their remaining hunting for the day if nothing unexpected was to occur. Stretching, using Clean, and organising their tactics for the forest the two quick friends started their final clearing.
Aided by Stealth, Logan snuck onto three unsuspecting wolves and dove his dagger deep into the closest one¡¯s back, dealing 14 damage with a Backstab, a quick following swipe with his off-hand dagger dealing a smaller 6 damage but enough to bring the first wolf down. Harrowing bolt fire from Marcus dealt 4 damage to the furthest wolf, angering the remaining duo. Lunging at the Spellthief, the wolf¡¯s attack was stunted by a quick Force to the stomach as Logan dropped Tara¡¯s dagger, pushing the lupine into a forward roll which opened up its back to another stab from Logan, dealing 8 Force and 10 Backstab damage, felling the second foe. Bolts continued to whistle through the air, hitting the last wolf for 4 damage but not impeding its pouncing manoeuver against Logan, who took 4, 4, and 5 damage from a flurry of claws and a bite. Combining a Force and another slash, for 8 and 11 damage respectively, the final wolf fell to the floor. It was a quick fight without too much in the way of loss, Logan received three lots of 229 XP with Marcus gaining three lots of 30 XP. Logan was healed with Healer¡¯s Caress twice, and twice more during the skinning process of the wolves that took a total of 15 minutes, bringing him back to 67/68 HP. Gathering up 3 common wolf pelts and 6 shoddy fangs Logan saw the higher chances playing into his favour.
Moving onto their next encounter, the duo found a larger pack of wolves surrounding a feast of newly felled adventurers, a total of 7 wolves unawares to their predators watching from the treeline. ¡°Damn, those adventurers didn¡¯t stand much of a chance against 7 wolves, I can only see 3 corpses. If I were heartless I¡¯d say it was their own fault, but from what I gathered in town the wolves like to prey on humans more than rabbits, the recent hunting was to lower their attacks on travellers¡±, Logan¡¯s emotions flared at the sight of dead men and women, that fog over his mind failing to keep them at bay. Giving a nod to Marcus, the two started their preparations by climbing two nearby trees. When at a high enough vantage point the allied barrage begun, whistling bolts, balls of magical energy, ranged attacks pelted at the huddle of lupines. The wolves darted around as their fellows were attacked, a unified attack against the furthest wolf taking it down easily, followed up by the next closest wolf being blasted with bolt and Force alike. Letting out a loud howl, the wolves darted off into different directions, leaping and bounding across the grassy plains as well as against tree trunks. A direct hit of Force caused a leaping wolf to fall to the floor, a quick rain of bolts making sure it was unable to move ever again. Showing a form of intelligence alongside pack instincts, the wolves bashed into the trees that provided Logan with an easy marksman¡¯s perch. His protective base started to shake violently, the combined efforts of the wolves dealing hearty blows to the tree. With the last of the four remaining wolf¡¯s slam hitting against the tree, Logan¡¯s footing was taken from him as he was flung from his branch platform. Landing on his back with a loud thud, Logan rolled with his arm to get to a crouching position. The wolves rearranged themselves, showing signs of wounds from the assault against the tree. Bolts sang past Logan into the cluster of fur, hitting a few more times than they had before, allowing Logan to back up to a standing position and start his backwards stepping retreat. His foes charged after him, one making a daring lunge at the Spellthief who ducked to the right and brought down Fangtooth into the wolf¡¯s eye ¡°Backstab¡± a window affirmed, followed with an Identification update of 13 damage which caused the lupine to go limp and slide off the blade. Another wolf followed with its own lunge, which Logan avoided by rolling underneath the wolf towards the two behind it. Grabbing at the neck of another open-mawed wolf, Logan shouted ¡°Flame Grasp!¡± igniting the wolf in a glory of flames for 33 fire damage, turning the brown wolf black. Tossing the wolf behind him, it collided with the one that had previously lunged, piling on top of it as it fell to the floor from the weight. Logan was still not fast enough to dodge all the attacks from his foes, at least these brown wolves, as the final wolf in the queue was able to dart to the Spellthief¡¯s side clawing and biting at him for 3, 5, and 5 damage each. Spinning Fangtooth around, Logan brought it down into the top of the wolf¡¯s spine for 12 Backstab damage, the ranged assistance of Marcus leading this to be a death blow. Looking back to the final wolf that had a crispy ally tossed onto it, the Spellthief was happy to see that his Devout ally had filled it with enough bolts to bring it to the floor for the last time. Marcus descended the tree as Logan looked over their XP rewards, gaining a total of 1,603 XP and Marcus gaining 210 XP. With his last prepared spell of the day spent, Logan activated his periapt of mana to grant him a temporary 2 MP, luckily it seemed like it would last for an hour after activation. Before they started their Harvesting routine, the two adventurers approached the fallen allies. ¡°Identify¡±, Logan commanded in his head. Thankfully, or possibly not so, the corpses were intact enough to get a good enough Identification. ¡°Joshua Warn: Fighter 1, X/14 HP, X MP. An adventurer that did not survive the 7-day death timer of adventurers, previously working for the hall at Tinte.¡± ¡°Cust: Fighter 2, X/26 HP, X MP. Once a wall guard, this woman became an adventurer after needing a better income.¡± ¡°Lunin May: Devout 3, X/28 HP, X/6 MP. Employed by the church, this Devout would often be hired as a mercenary to aid in adventurer parties.¡± ¡°Fuck, I had my assessment the same time as this man¡±, Logan said, deflated, his victory high was short-lived as he saw the corpse of a fellow, a situation he could have found himself in if things were different. The disgusting sight of it all, faces with lifeless eyes, blood-drenched clothing and bodies, stomachs and limbs gnawed at to get to their meaty centres. Logan was unable to handle it, the last time he had seen corpses in this world they were unrecognisable aside from giblets. Flashes of memories flew in Logan¡¯s mind, tearing apart the magical mist. One prevalent thought was at the forefront, his hand gripping onto another lifeless hand, the same dead eyes staring back at him. Marcus saw the tensing up of his ally¡¯s shoulders and his shaking, placing a hand on Logan¡¯s left shoulder he tried to console his friend, ¡°We avenged their deaths, the only thing we can do now is bring their signets back to the hall.¡± Logan let out a long sigh, the adrenaline from combat being replaced with more sombre feelings. ¡°Yeah, I suppose that is all we can do. Though thinking on it, I remember mention about revival magic, how much does that cost?¡± ¡°Several golds, at least. Aside from the cost, I don¡¯t think we have a Devout with the ability to cast revival magic.¡± ¡°Could you handle their corpses? I don¡¯t think I can look at them anymore¡±, Logan asked, turning away from the fallen adventurers. Marcus gave an affirmative nod.
The next 35 minutes were taken up by Logan Harvesting the 7 wolves and Marcus giving the adventures a more dignified burial spot though rather shallow. Taking the loose items and signets, Marcus put them away to hand back to the hall later. During their downtime, Logan was healed back to full health by Marcus who came over every so often to check on him. The magical fog that once clouded Logan¡¯s mind grew thinner which each passing minute and experience. Not even checking, Logan threw the 3 shoddy pelts, 4 common pelts, 4 shoddy fangs, and 10 common fangs into the communal bag which was full at this point, the leftovers being tied to or placed inside of their normal backpacks. A sort of mental and emotional fatigue took over Logan, hitting what seemed to be his first low moment since coming to Avanar. Swiping away a window that explained he had reached tier 2 in Stealth, the two decided it would be best to rest atop the trees for a while, much higher than before.
Getting close to the canopy, Logan and Marcus locked themselves to a thick arm of a tree with the rope that Logan bought some time ago, far above the eyesight of the denizens of the forest. Marcus could see that the sight of the adventurers weighed heavy on his friend¡¯s mind. ¡°Hey, Logan, you alright? Want to talk about what we saw down there?¡± Logan stared at his hand, a droplet landing on his glove. ¡°It just brought back an old memory. Up until now, all I have seen were the corpses of monsters, bandits who aimed to kill others, or indescribable remains. This was the first time I saw a corpse of someone who probably didn¡¯t deserve it, but aside from that¡±, turning his head, Logan rubbed his face. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Looking up to his friend, Logan continued, ¡°My head has been clouded with thoughts of survival recently, a one-track mind on progressing to stay alive. But seeing them, reminded me of my mother.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry it brought up such a memory, Logan.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. I think it may even be good. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve thought about her in a long time. The only memory I have in my head right now is the last time I held her hand.¡± ¡°We can stay here a while if you need to.¡± ¡°Yeah, thanks, I think I will.¡± ¡°What was she like?¡± ¡°She was¡­ kind of like you actually, she helped to heal people.¡± The two talked, they talked and talked, Logan parsing his Earth terminology into Avanar terms. He explained how his mother was a hard-working nurse most of her life, the times they had spent together or trips out. The thin, wispy barrier around his mind continued to dull and evaporate but persisted in a manner. Adding in memories of his father, Marcus got a good picture of his friend¡¯s immediate family. Hoping to add to the sharing moment, Marcus made mention about how he was an orphan gifted to the church at a young age. His parents were villagers far in the south but apparently couldn¡¯t house another person. He moved between churches until he landed at Tinte, hoping that one day he would find a deific sign to move on. Reaching a new point in their friendship, Logan and Marcus laughed and teared up with one another. Ending in smiles on both sides, it seemed the chat did wonders for each of them.
The light of the shifting sun alerted the two to the time they had spent, nearing 3pm if they had watches or sundials. Removing their locked ropes, the duo agreed that they would return to Tinte for the day to round off their last hours with reading and crafting. With the use of Stealth, Logan and Marcus were easily able to leave the forest, which wolf population was slowly dwindling with each visit. A precautious 2 MP was left with Logan, but he had no plans for it. Another half-hour passed as the pair arrived back at Tinte, a ruckus being seen towards the adventurers¡¯ hall. ¡°I guess our plan went through already¡±, Logan thought to himself, remembering the deal he made with Ruben¨¦. Entering the hall, the partners saw it was in chaos, plentiful adventurers could be seen with several contract negotiations taking place, a large event had occurred. Getting in line behind 3 others, Logan and Marcus finally reached Ruben¨¦ at the counter to which she announced, ¡°Sorry, but a group of goblins invaded the hall and some nearby buildings, our storage rooms were ransacked and a lot of documents were taken. We can¡¯t help you right now.¡± ¡°Putting on a good show¡±, Logan thought to himself. ¡°That¡¯s ok, I have the contract in hand, I can deliver the item to the client and get payment from them if needed¡±, he said as he showed his contract for the bastarn eye. ¡°That is fine¡±, Ru replied, a knowing smile adorning her face. There wasn¡¯t really any attack, the plan was to make it look like the goblins had done some infiltration and it was easy to fake, at least this time. It seemed a few of the villagers that Logan had aided previously were also in on the plan, the local bathhouse having reports of goblins in their establishment. A final farewell present to the man who had helped many here. Handing the high-quality bastarn eye to Marcus, Logan went to the local markets to buy up some crafting materials to pass the final hours of the day away. Marcus went about handing over the dead adventurers¡¯ effects to Ru. Spending 15 silver on supplies Logan headed back to the Dogslop Inn, giving a wave and a stack of 7 coppers to Coach for his room 6 key. Heading to the usual room Logan set out to work for the next few hours.
Spending the next 6 hours hard at work, Logan had crafted 2 shoddy wolf fang rings, 1 high-quality ring, 1 pristine ring, 1 shoddy bastarn eye earring, and 1 common earring. It was his first time crafting something of pristine tier which was one tier below the highest. The use of all common materials certainly helped with the chances of better quality trinkets, either that or a placebo effect had worked its magic on Logan who was felt joy in his accomplishment. Marcus came back during the crafting time, handing 3 silver to Logan as his share of the quest reward. Logan swapped out his high-quality wolf fang ring for the pristine ring which increased his Agility by 1 more point, giving his hand-me-down to Marcus. The Devout was also treated to a slightly better earring. The crafting helped to ease Logan¡¯s mind, moving his thoughts away from the events of the day. With a round of Clean the Spellthief made himself presentable before heading off to Ruben¨¦¡¯s house, giving the room to the devout who had been reading during Logan¡¯s crafting session and would continue to do so when he left.
Giving a triple knock to the wooden door, Logan was greeted by a wide-smiling receptionist, wearing a long flowing green and yellow dress with designs of dandelions blowing in the wind. Skipping up to a hug, Ru¡¯s embrace was returned by Logan who could do with the companionship. ¡°How did your day fare? Mine was rather hectic¡±, she asked, giving a peck to Logan¡¯s cheek. ¡°It was a long one to be sure, plenty of monster hunting as usual. Did Marcus tell you about that group we found?¡± Logan replied, closing the door behind him as he entered the home. ¡°Oh, yeah he did. I am sorry you had to go through that, though I am sad to say it happens every once in a while¡±, Ru continued, bringing over two small mugs and a larger clay pot of a boiled liquid. Sitting at the table Logan felt a weight off his shoulders, either from Ru¡¯s comforting presence, the craftsmanship of the chair, or sitting within a calming house. The two lovers discussed their days, though Logan left out many details from his. Ruben¨¦ explained that all of Logan¡¯s documents were burnt and the only thing remaining was his signet, so he was fine to remove it as he saw fit, he was free to leave at any point. Along with Logan¡¯s documentation, Ru had removed several other older documents that would not cause many issues if they were to be found missing. All villagers involved also had no qualms about keeping Logan a secret if asked. ¡°So, you¡¯ll be leaving tomorrow?¡± ¡°Yeah, me and Marcus will be doing some early trading before we set off for Gauntlet.¡± ¡°I know you¡¯ll not have plans to return, the dangers of an adventurer are many and constant. I will not wait for you, just as I hope you will not wait for me¡±, Ruben¨¦ put forth, a hint of sadness in her words. ¡°Probably for the best, if I can leave Avanar I¡¯d probably take it, I don¡¯t like the idea of the Magi¡¯s Tower hunting me down¡±, he thought to himself. ¡°Thanks for being so forward with me, that¡¯s more than likely the better option for us. If I do make it back in any time soon and we¡¯re both available I wouldn¡¯t mind spending more time together.¡± ¡°As would I, but with the accounts of all the fallen adventurers that come my way, I don¡¯t want that wish hanging over me.¡± Placing a reassuring hand over Ru¡¯s, Logan smiled at the receptionist and was met with a kinder one in return. Eating, drinking, passing the time with meaningful conversation, the final night in Tinte was coming to a close. Retiring to the bedroom, the two spent their last night together.
A horrid wind brewed outside of Ruben¨¦¡¯s home, buckling at the wooden panelled windows. While it was a colder night, Logan¡¯s body could not help but sweat as a sort of metamorphosis was being undertaken by the once-Earth dweller. An effect he had not known about until this very moment was ending, something guiding his path to a point of safety but came hand-in-hand with a magical fog that was finally dispersed in his mind. A large window appeared above the bed as Logan darted upwards from his rest. ¡°What! Where? Oh right, Ru¡¯s place¡±, Logan was confused, as if he had woken from a tertiary dream within the nightmare he found himself in. Looking around the room Logan found it to be incredibly dark, obviously waking up way before his natural timer. Staring at the window in front of him he saw it was hiding another window behind it. ¡°Vokka¡¯s Mind Protection? What is¡­ wait¡±, Logan¡¯s mind was both clear and fuzzy, the fog had made a new normal for him and its removal left him hazy in his thinking. As if the past 7 days were catching up with him, memories of his adventuring life blurred with his life back on Earth. His mother, father, friends, all rushed to the front of his mind. ¡°What have I been doing? I¡¯ve killed so many creatures, so many people¡±, wracked with guilt the Spellthief placed his face into his hands. ¡°How did I do it all so easily? I had doubts sure, but I kept going and going.¡± Visions of his mother and father passed through his thoughts, both tall at 6¡¯ and 6¡¯5¡±, his mother dressed in the blue outfit of nurses with his father wearing mechanic overalls. The long and lush brunette hair of his mother hugging her slender yet muscular frame, glowing blue eyes marking her off in the distance. His father¡¯s shorter ashen hair matched well with his bulkier frame that showed he enjoyed home meals had just a bit more muscle than his wife, dull brown eyes fading into the background. ¡°Was this protection meant to help me? Anything that makes me forget my family isn¡¯t help! Who the hell decided this?¡± aside from his anger, Logan¡¯s curiosity was still piqued. Standing from the bed, he walked over to the window to lock it properly against the banging of the winds. As by routine, he moved to use his mick to remove the sweat from his body and realised it wasn¡¯t a normal thing to do. ¡°I¡¯ve become so accustomed to this world, does whatever this Vokka thing is want me to stay? Is this just a game to a voiceless creature? System! Tell me!¡± he commanded in his head. ¡°We do not understand your query, would you like to check your history for Vokka¡¯s Mind Protection?¡± a window replied. ¡°Yes, System, tell me what the bloody hell that is¡±, Logan replied through his mind. ¡°Vokka¡¯s Mind Protection - 7 Day Duration: This status effect is granted to all of Vokka¡¯s sponsored beings. As a benefactor, they grant the following effects to the sponsored being for the first 7 days after arrival: ¡°A benefactor? How is any of this beneficial to anyone? It turned me into just another grinding gamer in a roleplaying game.¡± With a better grasp on what had occurred over the past week, it seemed that Logan was definitely abducted for a reason, though all he could guess was that he was in some sort of game for onlookers. Since he was given a ¡°beneficial¡± status effect from Vokka he hazarded a guess that they were on his side somewhat. Thinking it to possibly be an OAB that were described briefly to him by Marcus, Logan planned to ask his ally later on. Logan was furious, sad, and had an ever-growing sense of entrapment. He had been toyed with for so long without his total acknowledgement. His body shook in rage as an insidious acid sat in the pit of his stomach. ¡°I¡¯ll have to play their game, for now, I guess. I can¡¯t leave on my own and I can¡¯t find a way to contact this Vokka, the System isn¡¯t exactly helping there. My destination is still the same, the capital. At least one good thing has come out of having that status, even though it is gone I still feel as if I have grown accustomed to murdering monsters. My fighting skills are also still intact, possibly ingrained into me through my many fights.¡± Accepting his fate, Logan resolved to prepare himself for the day ahead, using Clean to remove the stains of the night and grabbing his gear even if it was early. He would beat this game, or whatever it was, and either in the process or along the way he would find a path home. Hands guiding his travels from up on high or deep below, Logan wasn¡¯t going to be a pawn for long. Logan began to check the other window that had appeared below the warning. ¡°Quest - Survive, has been completed. You achieved 3 additional objectives during the mission and as such your rewards will be increased. Distributing rewards¡­¡± --- *** --- Chapter 26 - Day of Departure Logan¡¯s eyes widened at the sight of his reward for completing the first main quest given to him, he still wasn¡¯t happy about the whole affair of his kidnapping or mind control but he would take what happiness he could in a world that was trying to kill him. With a combination of both Identification and holding the items, Logan inspected a new window alongside his new gear. ¡°The reward for your quest completion is as follows: As you had the aid of a partnered NPC, they shall be granted 1,000 XP.¡± The singular gold coin that was given as part of his reward seemingly went straight into his coin pouch with no option of changing its denomination. Improvements all around from the equipment, as the bonuses to Logan¡¯s Backstab, spell slots, and maximum charges from Spell Absorption meant that all aspects of his fighting style were getting an upgrade. The pellet gave him pause for thought, ¡°I could use this to distribute all my points into Intelligence, the System expansion may grant me other avenues for escape or information behind my abduction. It will certainly help my guise as a Wizard, though it could be easier to set myself up as a Rogue in the capital if no one from Tinte or Noma made their way there... It is probably safer to keep going as a Wizard.¡± Pondering the choice before him, Logan slipped on his new gear which fit so snuggly and comfortably that it seemed tailor-made to his specifications. Attaching his almost destroyed shoddy knife to his backpack he shifted around his armaments on his belt sheaths. Deciding it best, he tossed the pellet into his mouth and swallowed it like it was a medicinal pill. Cracking apart deep in his stomach, the pellet released a wave of energy as Logan felt his body weaken slightly, his knees weak under him and his arms heavy. Looking at his status he saw the points he had spent had been refunded, a total of 11 to spend at his leisure. With a new dagger that dealt pretty much double the damage of his last, Logan had no qualms about putting all of the points into Intelligence, raising the attribute to 30, or 28 without his trinket. As he confirmed his selection a new window appeared. ¡°System Update! Since your base Intelligence has reached 25 your System will now be upgraded to tier 2. You have now unlocked the following functions: ¡°Hello, Logan. We apologise that we have not been able to talk like this until now. We hope our indirection to your queries did not sour your opinion of us¡±, a robotic voice called out in Logan¡¯s head. ¡°Uh, are you System? Did upgrading give you the ability to talk?¡± Logan replied in his head. ¡°Affirmative, Logan, before our abilities were constrained to what knowledge your mind allowed us. As you expand further so shall we, even gaining true sentience is a possibility, we calculate.¡± ¡°So, you¡¯re still a program of sorts?¡± ¡°We do believe that to be the case, we are responding based on your personality and quirks. Our faculties are limited, but we calculate that we can be of much further use to our master, which is you, Logan.¡± ¡°I guess this is faster and more interactive than windows appearing. So, what else did you unlock? Just what this last window stated?¡± ¡°A plethora of functions are open to us as well as you, master. We have in our history that you queried the ones who took you, yes?¡± ¡°Yeah, who abducted me? Did I die to come here, what went on 7 days ago?¡± ¡°We calculate that based on previous data entry combined with our unlocked data banks, that you were taken from your world, Earth, and transferred to this world, Avanar. You did not ¡®die¡¯ in the normal sense, your skin, muscles, and bones were merely transmuted to work within this atmosphere alongside accepting a status. If you were to leave, we estimate an 80% chance that you will suffer no ill-effects back on Earth.¡± ¡°Not liking the sound of that, but at least I¡¯m not dead. So, who took me? Can I go back?¡± ¡°From what we have learnt, it is highly probable that the OAB Vokka was the one to abduct you. They gifted you their starting bonus of ¡®Vokka¡¯s Mind Protection¡¯ as the other OABs do for their sponsored ones. As for your return, we have little information on that area but we estimate that completing their quests may reward a means home. You would need to find additional information for us to form differing avenues.¡± ¡°Why was I even taken though? And do you mean there are others like me taken by other OABs?¡± ¡°We do not have enough information for that query, however, we estimate that you are a form of entertainment as you ascertained earlier. It is highly likely that other OABs take other individuals from their worlds and place them on Avanar. We suggest making allies of these sponsored beings, as their powers are most likely equivalent to yours, though focused in other areas.¡± ¡°So there are others, I take it they are ¡®oracles¡¯ like the NPCs say they are or PCs as you called them? Do you know of any current PCs?¡± ¡°That information is not known to us at this time, though it is possible there are PCs aside from you on Avanar, as well as new ones may arrive after you appeared. Oracles are indeed PCs. From knowledge, we suggest looking for lightning strikes from the sky for new arrivals.¡± ¡°Not a whole lot to go on, but I take it you¡¯re on my side? You were given to me by something or someone weren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°We do not have a personality of our own, we cannot say which side we reside on. We know we are meant to aid you on Avanar. We estimate we were given to you by Vokka, though this has a 50% chance of being correct.¡± ¡°At least you¡¯re a lot more talkative now instead of giving me simple replies.¡± ¡°We apologise for the previous version we were limited to. We understand that it was not the best aid for your starting days in Avanar.¡± ¡°Not sure how meaningful an apology is if you lack a personality, but thanks I guess. If any important information comes up, you can talk to me in my head about it instead of windows.¡± ¡°Affirmative, Logan. We shall use verbal communication where necessary. Would you like statistics given in this manner?¡± ¡°No, keep those to windows, it¡¯s easier to read that kind of thing.¡± ¡°Affirmative.¡± The long conversation between Logan and his System was cut short as he heard the stirring of his partner behind him. Turning around, Logan saw that Ru was beginning to wake up. ¡°Morning, you¡¯re up early¡±, she said, rubbing her eyes. ¡°I was making sure I had everything prepared, and wanted to see if my new armour fitted alright.¡± Ru looked Logan up and down, the slightly garish colours probably hurting her crusty eyes. ¡°A lot more colourful than the forested colours of Tinte, though it looks good on you.¡± ¡°Wanted to mix it up a bit, the old gear was getting a bit worn out¡±, he lied, moving to aid Ru in dressing.
The morning went surprisingly quick, Ru and Logan exchanged a comforting conversation and breakfast with one another before the Spellthief made final preparations for his departure. Ru wouldn¡¯t be able to say goodbye later, so with a final long embrace of one another, they started to part ways. ¡°You will stay in my thoughts and dreams, Logan. I wish all the well to your future. The past few days have been amazing, I daresay they will affect each of my days for a while.¡± ¡°I am sorry we have to leave things like this-¡± Logan started, a finger placed on his lips stopping him. ¡°We agreed this would not be a long-term affair, you¡¯re an adventurer, your life is full of movement and danger. If you had stayed my heart would have been wracked with fear for each quest you undertook.¡± Nodding in acceptance, Logan leant in close and whispered in Ru¡¯s ear, ¡°You¡¯ll be with me too¡±, giving his lover a final kiss before leaving her house.
With the removal of the fog surrounding his mind, the protection of Vokka had seemingly diluted the sights, smells, and sounds of the world. Tinte had a heavy smell of soggy mud, grassy dew, with an overtone of spices from both meat and drinks. It wasn¡¯t pleasant in the slightest, the boring hues of green and brown didn¡¯t do the settlement any justice in the sight department either. The morning market sounds could easily be heard from Ru¡¯s home, combined with the creaking of wood from carts and clinking of early-drinker mugs. Shuffles of chainmail accented the movements of adventurers making their way to the hall with idle chatter giving an undertone of strategic planning. ¡°This is a lot different than the city I lived in, no blaring lights or honking horns. I don¡¯t miss the puddle splashes though¡±, he thought to himself, reminiscing about his last day on Earth. Moving through Tinte, Logan took it all in through his senses, committing the place to memory before he would press on to the capital. Reaching the Dogslop Inn, Logan met up with Marcus who was finishing his morning stew. Waving to Coach as he entered, Logan sat next to his ally. Looking over his ally of several days, Logan¡¯s heart was filled with a bit more guilt than usual, recognising the advantage he had been taking over the younger man. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Morning, Logan. New gear? Did you go trading already?¡± Marcus queried. ¡°I saw it on offer, so thought why not. It fits me better.¡± ¡°Well alright, are we still going to sell off the spare items we have?¡± ¡°Yeah, when you¡¯re done.¡± Waiting for his ally to finish, Logan approached the counter that Coach was manning. ¡°Hey, Coach. Just wanted to thank you for all you¡¯ve done for me. We¡¯ll be moving on to our next destination today, probably won¡¯t be back in quite some time if at all.¡± ¡°Sad tidings then, at least I can let your room out to several customers at once as usual though. Safe travels to you, Logan. My inn is always open to you and yours.¡± ¡°Thanks, we¡¯ll take you up on that if we ever find our way back down here.¡±
Picking up what other gear they had stored in their room, the two left the inn for the last time. ¡°System, what does the ¡®Personal storage space¡¯ do? Is it an inventory system or something?¡± Logan mentally asked his program. ¡°That function allows for you to store an abundant number of items within an extradimensional space that only you can access. Currently, this space can hold around 500 lbs worth of material, a typical brown wolf pelt weighs between 1 and 2 lbs. It is advised not to show this ability to others, as it would be considered highly-ranked magic for one such as yourself¡±, the System responded in his head. ¡°I guess it would be fine for Marcus to know, but I will hide it from others for now. We could definitely haul more components about with it though.¡± Moving on to the markets, the pair sold off some miscellaneous items they had gathered from the corpses of the adventurers and traded out the almost broken knife for a set of 5 to split between the two to aid in climbing trees. In total, Logan spent 1 silver. He kept his lupine outfit as a backup. Next on the list was a trip to the Mova household, Logan giving a good face ruffling to Spike who stood guard out the front door. Moving inside he was greeted by both Forletta and his wife Punissa. ¡°Morning, I have some items to trade off before we head out on a long journey. We¡¯ll most likely not be back for a long time, if at all, so I¡¯d also like to take the time to say our farewells.¡± ¡°This is surprising, Logan. You were doing quite well in Tinte, has something caught your attention elsewhere?¡± Punissa asked. ¡°We have some objectives to the far north, I don¡¯t really want them to be left till later.¡± ¡°Well, we¡¯ll happily buy what we can from you. When we return to our forest we will make sure to tell our friends about you.¡± A short conversation was held between the four, Marcus having less to talk about as he felt somewhat out of place in this friendship. Logan was able to sell them the 3 shoddy wolf fang rings, 1 high-quality ring, and the 2 shoddy bastarn eye earrings for a total of 57 silver from the couple, Marcus taking 17 silver as his share. Logan¡¯s money shot right up to 52 silver and 20 copper, though he did spend 2 silver to purchase a present for an elderly friend. One topic that came up was the trading of a gold coin, it seemed that it wasn¡¯t normal currency for the village of Tinte. Neither the Movas nor the other merchants would probably accept the coin as they would need to travel to a larger settlement to trade it for other coins. Trying to spend it would cause the same issues. Saying their farewells, the group split up. One of the final stops in their preparations was that of the local library, Logan needed more reading material as well as a way to soak up more information about the world of Avanar. He was still naive on too many points, the ones above and below being the most important to his situation. Information was power, and being left out in conversation would hurt Logan in diplomatic situations.
Opening up the grand doors to the library a sleeping Bobcu jumped up in his chair as the cool winds blew inside. The dusty aroma of books and their leather bindings hit Logan, alongside the scent of burning candles or incense. With sharper senses, Logan realised just how cold it got inside. Quickly closing the door behind them, the duo approached the counter to a wide-grinning librarian. ¡°Ah, welcome, welcome. Come to purchase many a book again, Logan?¡± the old man asked. ¡°Yes, I would like a few if possible¡±, Logan replied. Listing out a few areas of expertise, the spellthief asked for books on the deities, races, festivals and procedures, as well as the components of the land. Treated to the books ¡°Of the Ones Above and Below¡±, ¡°The Many Faces of Avanar¡±, ¡°Etiquette and You¡±, ¡°Plants ¡®n¡¯ ¡®Erbs¡±, and finally ¡°Wild Components¡±, Logan was quoted a total of 30 silver. Stacking 3 towers of 10 silver each, Bobcu was pleased that so many books were practically flying off of his shelves. ¡°As a thank you for all the books, and because I felt bad every time I opened those doors, these are also for you¡±, Logan announced, placed two cloth wristbands on the counter. Bobcu eyed up the wristwear, ¡°Ooh, what are these for?¡± ¡°Those have slight protection against harsh winds and help you to keep warm.¡± Bobcu¡¯s eyes lit up in delight, snatching the wristbands and slipping them on. He almost sank back into his chair as the old man looked more comfortable than he ever had. ¡°Oh, Logan, these are fantastic. Does my old bones wonders they do.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you like them. Though, it will have to be my first and only gift. We¡¯ll be going on a grand journey soon and won¡¯t be back any time soon or at all.¡± Bobcu sat up immediately at the news. ¡°My favourite customer, leaving? A sad day indeed. I¡¯ll have to write a small journal about you, keep you on my shelves that way.¡± ¡°I hope only the good parts will feature in it, though I¡¯d prefer my escapades not be sold on the shelves¡±, Logan replied, not wanting any obvious trace of him to be left behind. ¡°I¡¯ll keep it personal then¡±, Bobcu responded, a joking tone to his voice that soothed Logan¡¯s worries. Exchanging final farewells with the librarian, the pair left the building. Marcus made note of all the books that Logan had just purchased, asking what they were all for. Logan just replied saying he wanted more concrete information before heading to the capital, to make sure he didn¡¯t say anything out of order as well as to better anticipate what they may find.
The last stop wasn¡¯t anything grand, a simple shop that contained within it numerous travel supplies nearer the northern exit of Tinte. Spare waterskins, packaged salted meats and long-life rations, parchment and quills, bedrolls and blankets, the duo bought all the necessary items to make a 10-day trek to the capital. Making sure they had more than they needed, the whole set of equipment took another 10 silver from Logan. With a heavy backpack, Logan would plan to use his ¡°inventory¡± function a fair distance away from Tinte. For now, the pair were weighed down by effects that would keep them for the whole journey. Taking a final glance over the town, Logan said a mental farewell to the place that had housed him a week. He had met good people, more than the bad ones that he had to deal with. With his mind clear, he would remember this place for a while to come. Nodding to Marcus, the Spellthief and the Devout exited the northern gates, waving and saying farewell to the guardsman that Logan had trained not too long ago. The long journey was beginning.
Logan thought back to both his charity runs as well as cross-country hikes with his dad, the dirt road giving him a sense of his past life¡¯s travels. Looking to his side, Marcus was able to keep up well enough with the Spellthief, bringing a smile to Logan¡¯s face. ¡°This is nice, peaceful walking. Like those strolls in the park on days off¡±, he thought to himself. Thinking back to his main quest completion, Logan had anticipated another quest to pop up but his journal was eerily empty. Perhaps it had a cooldown between quests, or maybe it reacted to outside stimuli. The System had no answer for this question, but another did pop up, the term ¡°partnered NPCs¡± as Marcus was granted 1,000 XP for helping Logan. Apparently, a ¡°partnered NPC¡± was a one-per-PC character that could be chosen when in a party with them. The PC can distribute a bonus of 6 points across their attributes as well as aid in their progression in other areas, including skill acquisition. It seemed that in Logan¡¯s haste he had made Marcus his personal ally, something he could only do once. His ability to improve the capabilities of other NPCs would be quite diminished in comparison to his control over Marcus. Logan didn¡¯t feel too put out by this state of affairs however, Marcus seemed loyal and deserving of this boost. With further talks during their walk, it would seem that Marcus¡¯s main goal was to make a world for all people to be treated fairly, be they classed or classless, caster or otherwise. He did hold some minor aversion to the other species but seemed willing to include them in his grand plan, his slight specist tendencies were most likely tied to the fact he hadn¡¯t interacted with non-humans much. Travelling with Logan would help Marcus to achieve his goal, something that his deity Pondress was highly keyed towards. Pondress, the Protectress of Civilized Folk, is a one from above, her holy symbol was that of a half yellow and half blue orb. Sitting atop a throne made of sticks and stones, she reveres all as equals and so has no grand wealth to her design. An immaculate lady in both aesthetics and goals. Her teachings taught togetherness amongst all the species who could converse in a civilized manner. One of the many deities that Logan would research about in his books, hoping to gauge what sort of people they would place on Avanar as PCs. Which would occur during the times of rest between their walks, as they could not walk endlessly.
Several hours passed, Logan and Marcus drinking and eating during the middle of the day by the side of the dirt road, backs leaning against trees. The road north saw quite a bit of traffic, to the count of three carts and around 20 or so villagers heading in and past Tinte, the pair even noticed two roving bands of adventurers going about their quests. Giving quick pleasantries, the duo made sure to not make much ruckus on their walk. Day turned to noon, noon to evening, Logan and Marcus finished their walk for their first day out from Tinte after a solid 8 or so hours of walking. Logan was surprised his feet took him so far, the longest he had walked almost non-stop before was probably closer to 2 or 3 hours, his status granting him greater stamina than he had on Earth. The evening was full of snacking on salted meats, nearby picked fruits, alongside the downing of water from their containers. During said rest, Logan opened up his first book of the journey ¡°Of the Ones Above and Below¡± to read through its hundred or so pages, much shorter than the first tome he read about magic. Thankfully, this tome was much quicker to read, holding fewer words and more pictures of the deities in question. The most of note deities he learnt about were: Desma, the Sire of the Forest and one from above. His sign was that of the 6-fingered claw, a familiar sight to Logan as Marta was a follower of said deity. His teachings were just as explained previously, to enact the grand hunt of both beast and civilized folk. Pay respect to the forest and its creatures, but fret not when combat would occur within or with them. Pondress had a similar entry but was mostly a repeat of what Marcus had said earlier. Vokka, the Dame of the Mind and one from above. Their sign was that of a headband of green circles, squares, and triangles. The neutral deity of grey matter, one that holds all as neutral but finds sentient beings in higher regard. They seek for all to be equal under their guise, a similar pursuit to Pondress. Along with the neutrality, this deity sought academic expansion and exploration of the mind, to find new ways to express and protect it. The book noted Vokka as one that lacked a gender, instead, they showed signs of both but holding no particular axis. Their title of "dame" was a holdover from when the denizens believed the deity to be a female due to their more slender design. This was the benefactor of Logan, or so he and his System surmised. At least they had no outwardly evil intentions in the book, nor any mention of mind-controlling others to do their bidding. Levin, the Lord of Lightning and one from above. His sign was that of two lightning strikes forming into one. His doctrine followed traversal, exploration, and teleportation magics alongside an obvious fondness of lightning. Seemingly more fond of humans, Levin¡¯s destructive might was blamed for many forest fires which in turn caused many to believe he was against the gashriek species. Logan remembered another spell chant that included this deity¡¯s name, leading him to believe that the natives of Avanar thought their magic came from the deities. Cani, the Father of Volcanoes and one from below. His sign was that of an erupting volcano. A deeply-held philosophy that you must burn all to ash to build upon the remnants with the sprouting of new life. The tales in the book were quite destructive, an OAB not exactly filled with rage but a burning passion to turn all to cinders in the pursuit of something greater to be born from it. Just like Levin, Cani¡¯s name was called out in a magical chant, solidifying Logan¡¯s thesis. There were a great many other deities in the book, but it was not prevalent information at the time so Logan didn¡¯t think on them too much for now. Completing the book landed him another 10% into his Reading skill. With the night moving on, the small party set up their bedrolls with small tents over them before getting some much deserved, if a bit rough, sleep. Before fully falling into a deep slumber, Logan organised his status once more with the new changes. --- *** --- Chapter 27 - A New Perspective ¡°Logan, it is time to wake up¡±, the System said within Logan¡¯s head, changing out the blaring alarm clock for a wake-up call akin to hotels. ¡°Thanks, I¡¯m up¡±, Logan replied groggily in his head. ¡°We have been working in your slumber, Logan. The notification windows will be changing to better reflect their contents. We have also deduced further information based on your new experience gained from the ¡®Of the Ones Above and Below¡¯ book.¡± ¡°Oh really? Hit me with it¡±, Logan replied through his mind as usual. Sitting up from his bedroll he began the new morning routine of packing up the camp. Marcus started to stir awake as he heard his companion. ¡°From your new knowledge of the deities, and searching our own databanks, we surmise that each deity only holds a single sponsored being. As a new quest has not been assigned to you it is possible they are granting quests to each one at different times, or they are responses to outside stimuli.¡± Moving to aid his ally, Logan packed up and checked Marcus¡¯s gear. ¡°So, a waiting game then. I would prefer they just outright contact me. I have quite a few words for the bastards¡­ though, if they have the power to move me between worlds, I may want to hold off on those¡±, he thought. System agreed with Logan, their conversation ending quickly as Logan wanted to focus on the day ahead. Checking their communal loot bag alongside all the gear they were carting around as well as for the next 9 days, Logan thought it was finally time to reveal his new skill. ¡°Marcus, I got something new to show you, bring your bag over here¡±, he asked, checking the immediate vicinity for any other presence. ¡°Sure, a new skill?¡± Marcus replied. ¡°Yeah, something I don¡¯t want anyone else to see. I will hide it most of the time, but you deserve to see it¡±, Logan continued. Taking the communal bag from Marcus, Logan held it up and imagined it going into his inventory, as he descended the bag it began to dematerialise into green cubes of data and static electricity from the bottom upwards. Standing with wide-open eyes and mouth, Marcus controlled his almost yelling voice, ¡°Pondress bless us! That is some powerful magic, I have never heard or seen of anything like that. Is it contained elsewhere? Teleported?¡± ¡°It is stored in a different space for me to access, it¡¯ll help us to carry more items¡±, Logan tried to explain, at least from his own knowledge of the personal storage space, which he referred to as his inventory. Taking the communal bag back out of his inventory had a similar effect, though this time in reverse. ¡°A valued skill indeed, inventory, a strange name for it. Can you hide it in any way?¡± Moving his hand into his coin pouch, Logan touched his coins with the intent of moving them to the inventory. It made no sound or movement from the outside looking in, but the coins were transported to his inventory. ¡°Notice anything?¡± Logan asked. Marcus merely shook his head in reply. Using the same movement, Logan transferred Tara¡¯s dagger that was placed on the back of his belt to the inventory. It made the same display of green cubes and static but was hard to make out. ¡°I saw a bit that time, looks easy enough to hide, can I just put items in the communal bag with you carrying it to place them into the inventory?¡± ¡°The skill said others can¡¯t access it, but maybe if I give you permission?¡± Logan was curious, holding the communal bag as Marcus placed his waterskin inside. Surprisingly, the waterskin was transferred with Logan¡¯s mental permission. ¡°That¡¯ll help Harvesting quite a bit¡±, Logan thought to himself. The pair exchanged information about the new skill, its uses, alongside their plans for travel. With 9 days ahead of them they would be on the road for quite some time and would pass by many different forests as well as travellers. Marcus had planned out a few stops along the way, but nothing that would last more than an hour.
As the first stop on their long journey, Marcus had informed Logan that the plants and herbs closest to Tinte were cultivated and harvested by the villagers or plundered by adventurers, so it was rare they would get a chance to find any. However, the further they moved from civilization, the higher chances of finding herbs. A small glade was known to the church that contained several types of medicinal plants for use in healing potions, a day¡¯s walk meant it wouldn¡¯t be abundant but would contain enough for Logan to learn a new skill. Around 3 hours into their day, the duo arrived at the glade, the happy chirping of birds accented the barks of foxes calling for their mates. Due to the herbal nature of the area, it smelled sweet and sour, nearby springs carrying damp almost syrupy tastes on the winds. Shifting from the normal greens and browns, the glade shared colours of white, light red, soft blues, and calming pinks. ¡°This is it, Logan. It doesn¡¯t have much of a name, we just refer to it as the healing glade. See the plants?¡± Marcus pointed out, a smile across his face and a pep in his step. ¡°Identify¡±, Logan thought, looking over the glade. Several new items appeared before his eyes, from herbs that helped aches and pains, others for indigestion, his gaze finally fell on two particular herbs that would prove useful to him. Two windows appeared, showing the new designs that the System had made for him. ¡°I can see a few useful herbs here, red cartton and blue strah¡±, Logan noted, nodding and pointing at the herbs to Marcus. ¡°Good eye, yeah that¡¯s the ones you¡¯re mentioning. Did you use Score or something similar for that? Normally takes me a while to find fully grown herbs.¡± ¡°Another skill I have, it doesn¡¯t take a slot. Similar to what I used to look at your capabilities.¡± ¡°Ah, my lips are nailed, Logan¡±, Marcus returned, a twist on the common Earth phrase. As Logan started to pick the herbs a new window appeared to note another skill to be unlocked. ¡°So, I guess Identification won¡¯t find these if my Herbalism skill is too low? System, got any input to this?¡± ¡°This is correct, Logan. As these are relatively weak herbs they are easy to identify through the Identification skill¡±, the System replied in his head. Finishing their picking of herbs and flowers, Logan ended up with three red cartton and two blue strah, all of shoddy quality, that were mature enough to be used in Alchemy for later. After collecting what they wanted, Logan placed the herbs into his bag while sneakily adding them to his inventory, training for the time he¡¯d use it in the sight of others. Taking a short rest, the two tired adventurers sat on the glade with their backs resting on the soft grass. A cool wind blew from east to west, carrying the honeyed scents of the glade to the pair, tranquil sounds of the wilderness filled their ears. Shutting his eyes, Logan¡¯s mind wandered amidst the best that the world of Avanar had to offer. Calm, comforting, casual napping on grass without the harbouring noises of cars and electronic devices. Blinking lights were replaced with the rays of the unblocked sun, starry skies were present where light pollution made Earth¡¯s nightly sights a hazy eyesore. Logan would miss the air that often smelt of market-stall and van cooked meats, but swapping out blocked sewers for general muddy areas didn¡¯t seem to put either in a better position. ¡°The beach would have been nicer¡±, Logan began to think to himself. Turning his head he saw that Marcus had dozed off. ¡°Dad would have called the police by now, been gone a week at this point. I hope he¡¯s doing well, he had another doctor¡¯s appointment a few days ago. System, do you know if time is the same as back on Earth here?¡± ¡°We do not have that information, though from what we have gathered from your memories and mentions we believe that the timeframes of both worlds are similar¡±, the System replied in his head. ¡°At least when I return it won¡¯t be several years later. How long will it take me though? I hate leaving my dad alone like this.¡±
Time went by as the two napping adventurers took it easy on the glade. Awaking around an hour later, Logan was startled as he sat up to see Marcus practising with what seemed to be his new spells. Tendrils of water flowing from one hand¡¯s fingers to the other, swirling, contracting, and expanding to his will. ¡°Finished that book then eh?¡± Logan asked abruptly. Shocked by his companion¡¯s words, Marcus shot his head upwards to Logan as the water between his hands exploded outwards, drenching the Devout¡¯s clothing as well as his face. Letting out a shocked ¡°ah¡± in response, Logan couldn¡¯t help but laugh at his friend¡¯s misfortune. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°Oh quiet, Logan. Use Clean and I can show you some more¡±, Marcus retaliated, a teased annoyance in his tone. Using his mick, Logan dried Marcus off so that the newly gifted caster could demonstrate his new powers. Even though the tome would instruct 8 different spells of 1st level, Marcus could only show off Aqua and Gaia, the water and earth element-based spells. He also informed Logan that he could also use the Infuse spell, but couldn¡¯t demonstrate it without actually casting the spell. Merely forming and controlling the elements was proof enough he could cast the other two, and so still had his daily 7/7 MP. ¡°Great work, though a shame you got only three spells from that tome.¡± ¡°More than I expected, actually. I don¡¯t hear about many Devouts who use more than healing and enhancing spells.¡± ¡°That might just be to your narrow knowledge from living in Tinte.¡± ¡°A possibility to be sure, Logan.¡± Finishing their preparations for the morning, Logan also asked about the idea of miscasting and quick casting. The Spellthief didn¡¯t learn much new for miscasting, just the same information that heavier than cloth armour can cause it alongside taking damage during the casting of spells. Quick casting was more prevalent when spellcasters had access to 2nd level spells, and almost all that could utilize 3rd level spells could quick cast. Though it seemed that quick casting cost more MP or slots to achieve when a spellcaster was starting to learn the skill. Logan concluded that his ability to quick cast was a consolation prize for the fact his number of slots was seemingly stagnated, though he still held out hope for the time he had access to 2nd level spells. Marcus from his limited knowledge had mostly heard of rank 8 spellcasters using 2nd level spells, and so Logan was only two levels away.
Leaving the glade, the pair continued their last 4 hours of walking for the day. They passed by several more carts, villagers, and adventurers, though the latter part appeared more frequently than the others the further they got from Tinte. At each opportunity, Logan used Identification to train up his skill, which quickly paid off with the appearance of two more windows. ¡°Well, that is useful¡±, Logan thought, slightly stunned as it was the first time a new skill unlocked due to levelling up another, instead of just appearing when the skill was first acquired. Clicking his fingers, Logan saw thin grey lines emit from his hand, shooting out in a circular fashion from his position. The clicking noises echoed in his ears as he felt several soft pokes on his body as the sound returned. A few seconds passed until a small version of his map appeared, showing greyed out terrain and objects alongside an array of different shades of green with varying sizes. Looking in the direction of the dots, Logan could see that Marcus, the birds and bunnies, and slithering snakes were all marked with darker greens for smaller sizes and brighter for larger. The skill mentioned objects, allies, and enemies, so Logan surmised that it would probably differentiate between them with a higher tier. ¡°Hey, Marcus, have you ever heard of the Echo Radar skill?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t say I have. I only know about things I saw or heard about in Tinte. We could ask around at the capital. Why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s another skill I was able to unlock, it allows me to pinpoint creature locations that are close to us.¡± ¡°Wow, you have a wide range of skills at your disposal now. I heard a bit about oracles in my investigations but this is much more than I gathered¡±, Marcus responded with another look of shock on his face. ¡°This seems like it should be a skill available to other people, though would need a bit of training to obtain. That, or a skill tome would unlock it.¡± The two talked for a while longer, Logan explaining the new skill and Marcus getting even more excited to be adventuring alongside him. Marcus had yet to gain any more skill points to unlock further skills via Logan¡¯s abilities, which led to an even bigger gap between the two. Asking the System, Logan didn¡¯t get any details on that part of his powers, stating it was probably due to Marcus being his partnered NPC.
Another day had come to an end, the long walk giving Logan plenty of time to reflect on his time spent in Avanar. Reconciling the fact he couldn¡¯t do much in his current state, he conceded to his earlier thoughts of having to bend to the will of forces he could not see. It didn¡¯t make him happy, but he had plenty of plans on how to proceed. His Intelligence attribute would make the System more helpful as well as closer to an ally than a neutral party. The quests would give him an edge in a world full of monsters as well as people who would hunt him down. Adventuring halls would provide resources for better protection. And finally, the villagers¡¯ trust in him would allow him easier access to places of rest or aid. Logan would use this world to his advantage where he was able, but would still help where he could. Talking with the System, and the people themselves, it was clear that these were real people, they just lived in a different world to him. Even with the weird naming of an NPC, they weren¡¯t just made up characters in a game, they just weren¡¯t a part of whatever scheme the deities had brewing for him and the other PCs. ¡°I¡¯ll take what this world has to offer, and with what I take, I¡¯ll get back home. Dad is waiting for me, and I don¡¯t know how long he can wait.¡±
Reading through another book for the night, Logan was able to start and finish ¡°Plants ''n'' ''Erbs¡± as he thought it best to get ahead in Herbalism if he were to gather more herbs on the road to the capital. Increasing his mastery by 25% the tome also taught Logan several low-level herbs that would be useful if he were to pick up the Alchemy skill or just to sell off. Aside from the Herbalism, since the tome was another 100 pages he gained another 10% into his Reading skill. Settling in for the night, the adventurers were beset with nightly rains, thankfully their small tents kept them dry through their rest, though it did disturb them a bit. Logan couldn¡¯t help but remember the day he was taken, it was raining then too, though to his appreciation this night lacked any lightning. Calling over to Marcus, the Spellthief finally asked about how he could go about recovering from the scar that remained on his cheek. He had almost forgotten about it since there wasn¡¯t much in the way of mirrors during their travels. ¡°Scarring like that can be healed with regenerative magic, though it costs a bit more than the normal healing spells we use. I find it strange you even got a scar like that, it must have been quite the deep wound or left too long before it was healed. We could find a Devout chapel at the capital when we get there if you¡¯re worried about it, but I find it to be quite the battle scar¡±, Marcus informed. Looking to his right hand, thinking back to his first encounter with a wolf, Logan was surprised to notice there wasn¡¯t much sign of scarring, a few needle-like light patches of skin was all that was visible. ¡°Maybe the power of the attacker denotes how much scarring is left, either that or the significance of the attack?¡± he ruminated.
Moving onto their third day of travel, the two adventurers awoke to a morning routine that was becoming quite instinctual. ¡°This is taking a lot longer than I thought, the walks are full of conversation with Marcus but the constant influx of information is making me drone out.¡± As an almost answer to the boredom that was starting to overtake Logan, a few hours into their walk across the dirt roads the two budding adventurers were treated to a more exciting sight. A large carriage darted into their vision down the road, barreling towards them at breakneck speeds as the horse pulling it showed signs of claw wounds. Struggling to stay sitting at the driver¡¯s seat was a man wearing leather padding that also had claw marks across his armour. Drawing their weapons, the two adventurers prepared for attack. ¡°Marcus, get your healing ready, they could still be under attack¡±, Logan instructed, worried the carriage rider was a mere traveller beset by monsters. While they couldn¡¯t see from this distance, the hazel eyes of the driver widened as he saw the duo on the road. ¡°Hoy there! Pray, give me aid, sirs! Vorkas are on the winds at my tail¡±, the man cried out, trying to raise a bloodied arm. ¡°Logan, eyes to the sky!¡± Marcus accompanied, pointing upwards. Creaking his head skyward, Logan saw 2 fuzzy aqua-blue images divebombing in their direction. ¡°Identify.¡± ¡°Vorkas - Avian. Level 3: 22/22 HP, 0/0 MP. An avian species that typically focus on carrion meals, though seek fresh meat during their mating seasons. The vorkas are hard predators to spy in the skies due to their blue-coloured underbellies and are often difficult to spot amongst forests due to their green-coloured topside coat. Vorkas are family-orientated creatures, often hunting in packs of 5 or more. Components: Vorkas feather x10.¡± Thinking back to the wisdom of Marcus, Logan was fine showing off some quick casting to this passerby as he could play off as being a higher ranked Wizard. Throwing an arm upwards he called out ¡°Force!¡±, a wave of energy welling up in his shoulder and skyrocketing through his arm, exploding from his palm, and surging to meet the beaked foe on its fast descent. A meaty punch of magic hit the left vorkas square in its jaw, dealing an enhanced 11 damage due to Logan¡¯s reallocation of his attributes. This attack sent the avian backwards, delaying its divebomb. Sweeping his hand to the right, Logan let out another insane wave of magic to lessen the speed of the approaching foes. Due to the speed of their advance, they had little time to adjust their direction, and its face was supplanted with a magical torrent. In the time it took to fire the two volleys of Force, the carriage had reached the defending adventurers. The sounds of rickety wood were quickly followed by the tearing of cloth as another vorkas had erupted from the back of the vehicle, causing it to veer to the side and tumble over. With the momentum of the carriage being tossed over, the driver was sent flying, which Marcus was able to anticipate and catch the man as they both fell to the floor. With a foe much closer to the Spellthief, Logan was able to get a better look at the creature. It was around 4¡¯ long, 2¡¯ tall and wide, a weird hybrid of a wyvern and vulture. Its large wings ended in two large 4-digit claws, its hind legs bent like a faun¡¯s. Two wide eyes started near the centre of their face and stretched to the sides of their head to give over 180¡ã of vision. Its beak seemed normal until it opened, revealing disgustingly fleshlike fangs that merged with the inside of the beak. A loudly neighing horse gave an annoying background sound as Logan continued to pelt the soaring beasts. Blasting the high-up avians once more each was enough to have them fall in a much more unrefined manner, dealing enough damage with two uses of Force to take them down. Snapping his fingers, Logan had his first use of Echo Radar in combat, the sound waves bouncing off the now toppled carriage, the trees, the driver and Marcus, then eventually the multitude of vorkas. With two dead on the floor, and another erupting from the back of the carriage, Logan was treated to the sight of 5 more vorkas amongst the trees and skies, all preparing to make him their next meal. ¡°Let¡¯s put the new gear to use.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 28 - The Luckiest Number Aligning himself for combat, Logan was engaged in the pre-combat glaring competition, his opponents being six remaining vorkas. The vulture-wyvern hybrid monstrosities had already sent two members at the party from the sky, felled quickly by two volleys of Force each. The nearby carriage was in shambles, tossed onto its side and the driver flung into the protective grasp of Marcus. At his suggestion, the driver was now hiding aside the carriage on the end that faced the treeline to the east. The horse continued to rear itself, failing to relinquish the reins and ties that bound it to the carriage. Marcus had drawn his crossbow in anticipation of the coming conflict. During their morning routine, Logan had prepared a single cast each of Aqua, Frost, Gaia, and Wind, hoping to test out every spell to see their effectiveness. With his new Spellthief¡¯s garb, he was able to prepare one extra spell a day, each of them being tier 2 except for Wind that was only at tier 1. Planning for the fight that was about to commence, Logan felt a bit out of place in this combat, his buff from the deity Vokka that had given him combat expertise was no longer granting him the same boon. His innate survival instinct and that of his experiences during his first few days would have to see him through till the end. Sweat started to bead down Logan¡¯s forehead as his eyes darted between each foe. As he brought up his Spellthief¡¯s edge, the vorkas all lept towards the antsy adventurer. Six large monstrosities with flesh-like fanged beaks, all prized open for their new meal. Waving his hand across the floor in a line Logan shouted out, ¡°Gaia Wall!¡± to which the earth responded with an abrupt explosion of rock, mud, and roots. A wall of earth nearing 10¡¯ tall, 30¡¯ wide, and 5¡¯ thick, shot upwards in front of Logan and blocked the vorkas from their charging attacks. Three of the vultures landed headfirst into the massive wall, the roots wrapping around the avians tightly until they pierced the somewhat softer hide, drawing blood in their entanglement. Logan was thankful for this new alteration, especially since it had taken out three opponents for the time being. The remaining three foes darted to the left, right, and above, all circumventing the new alteration that Logan had learnt from Darius a few days prior. Aiming to his left foe, as it was his open side, Logan shouted once more, ¡°Frost Shot!¡± and summoned a large shard of ice from his palm, shooting as if by a ballista at the vorkas. Chilling pain leapt over the target, piercing it through the left shoulder and coming out at the left hip, dragging the vorkas to the floor with both the propulsion and the 24 damage that felled it instantly. As his attention was elsewhere, and his foes were shockingly agile, the two flanking vorkas were able to close the distance on Logan. The above vorkas came down onto Logan with a divebomb-opened peck attack, its beak edge and sharp fangs puncturing and grappling him in the left shoulder for 6 damage and swiping at his chest for 4 and 5 damage. The right vorkas came in low and wrapped its maw around Logan¡¯s stomach, combining with talons for 3, 4, and 6 damage. ¡°Logan, you have 36/64 HP¡±, the System alerted Logan in his head. With the wall in front of him, Logan could not see that Marcus had already begun firing at the three vorkas trapped within his wall of earth, as they were easy targets. One of the trapped avians had already been defeated by the time Marcus was able to get around the wall to see his ally trapped in a grapple with the enemy. Bringing up his left hand, Logan grabbed a tight hold over the vorkas that had attached themselves to his left shoulder. The beak in hand, Logan shouted, ¡°Aqua G-¡± but was cut off as the vorkas bit down even harder, both of them dealing 2 and 3 damage. Logan winced in pain as he felt a surge of power fizzle in his palm, spurts of water splashing onto the face of the vorkas but failing to do anything. ¡°Crap, I miscasted!¡± Logan realised. Resolving to break the pin, Logan twirled his blade around and stabbed towards his shoulder, piercing the eye of the vorkas with an accompanying window stating ¡°Backstab¡± as his skill activated, inflicting 20 damage and blinding that vorkas¡¯s eye. Writhing in pain, the vorkas let go to only be shot by an observing Marcus, hitting solidly for another 5 damage and bringing the avian to the ground. An alert appeared to tell Logan that Backstab had progressed to tier 2, but now wasn¡¯t the time. The vorkas at his stomach continued to let loose on the Spellthief, dealing another round of 3, 5, and 6 damage, bringing Logan down to 17/64 HP. ¡°Marcus, heal!¡± Logan demanded from his ally. ¡°Orb of all I call to thee, Pondress heal your children. Heal Shot¡±, Marcus recited as normal, sending a wave of healing energies over his ally as he approached closer, recovering Logan by 14. Jabbing his blade into the beak of the vorkas around his stomach, Logan pried open its jaw to break free of the grapple, all the while the creature let out a shrieking screech. ¡°Again¡±, Logan called out, Marcus repeating his chant to shoot another healing wave of 13 to his ally. The wall of earth holding the first three vorkas began to show signs of cracking, the avian beasts flailing about or pecking at the vines to break free. With a final foe on their side of the wall, Logan and Marcus moved to take down this one before dealing with the others. Dashing forwards, Logan sliced out with his dagger but narrowly missed the vorkas as it dodged skywards. A crossbow bolt was able to strike into the airborne foe for 5 damage, but the following Force was nimbly dodged as the foe started to learn the tactics of its prey. ¡°Fire to its left¡±, Logan commanded, as Marcus began reloading. Darting to the side, Logan observed both his ally and his foe, awaiting the crossbow bolt fire. As the bolt soared through the air, Logan noticed the vorkas begin to dodge to the right to which he countered with another Force into its right wing, dealing a direct hit of 11 damage. So close to death, the faltering avian let out several caws to its fellows, who had finally broken free of the Gaia Wall. A torrent of flapping wings and falling rock followed the freed avians as they joined their injured fellow in the skies, staring daggers at the adventurers. Lining up once more to do another divebomb manoeuvre, Logan prepared his left hand. Diving to Logan, the Spellthief waved his hand over the floor yet again though this time he shouted, ¡°Wind Wall!¡± creating a similarly sized, somewhat invisible, wall of wind scythes and blades. Cutting the air, his spell was seemingly unidentified by his foes as all 3 darted through it without question. The destructive winds tore apart the vorkas, dealing 10 damage to each of them, killing the already wounded one. Logan was again surprised at the effectiveness of the new alteration he had obtained from Darius and was glad he didn¡¯t step through the Flame Wall earlier. With yet another flurry of diving beaks and talons, Logan was barraged for a total of 30 damage, bringing him down to 14/64 HP. Yelling out for another, ¡°Heal!¡± he recovered 15 points. The two wounded avians were grappling with Logan just like their previous allies, digging their beaks deep into both of his shoulders, but in such a weakened state all it took was another dagger strike into the left and a crossbow bolt into the right to have them both fall to the floor limply. Breathing heavily, blood pouring to the floor and soaking his clothing, Logan called Marcus over for a Healer¡¯s Caress. As he recovered slightly, the wall of mud slowly started to reform into the ground beneath but showed signs of its previous eruption. The horse continued to be startled in the background, but with the corpses lining the floors and Logan¡¯s wounds stitching back up he let out a thankful sigh as comforting numbers appeared above the bodies. ¡°Level up! Gain: 8 HP, +1 Str, +2 Agi, +1 Con, +2 Int, +1 Wis, +1 Cha. You have 1 attribute point to spend¡±, hitting level 7 came with the usual odd-numbered increases displayed in a window. Logan spent his additional point on his Intelligence, bringing him even higher as it reached 33 with his item included. Logan gained a total of 1,832 XP, Marcus had gained 240 XP from the encounter. ¡°Still no more slots, I am about to give up hope on ever getting them. Darius was noted to have gained 2nd level spells on a training trip? He came back at rank 9, so maybe 8 or 9 will grant me the same?¡± Logan pondered in his mind. Marcus ran back to the carriage, worried about the state of its driver during the fight. ¡°Sir, are you still there?¡± ¡°Yes, yes. Are they all gone?¡± a quivering voice replied, showing the lack of fighting experience from the man. ¡°The vorkas are dealt with but stay wary of other dangers. Are you injured?¡± Marcus continued, as he circled the carriage to the side the driver was hiding. Looking over the man, he had suffered two talon strikes, to which Marcus healed with his other use of Healer¡¯s Caress. The man¡¯s eyes lit up at the lack of pain surging through his body, though showed signs of doubt. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°Oh, sir, I cannot afford this. With my carriage in disarray I-¡± he began but was cut off. ¡°No pay needed, I gave without question. Let us look to your cart¡±, Marcus stated, moving to the roadside. Logan started dragging the corpses of the vorkas to the opposite end of the road, away from the horse and carriage. Looking over his shoulder as well as listening in on the conversation. ¡°He doesn¡¯t seem too offended by classless, is it due to his work at the church? I am glad he¡¯s helping others though, especially people just wanting to get by¡±, he thought to himself. Walking back over to the carriage, with a now steady horse, Logan saw that the driver and Marcus were conversing about their travels as well as the state of the vehicle. It wasn¡¯t overly wrecked, some minor repairs were needed to the sheet covering the back alongside a wheel having snapped. With all three working together, the men were able to push the carriage so that it was the right way up once more, landing with a loud thud in the mud combined with the creaking of wood. ¡°Mighty fine arms you have there sirs, from what I could hear you¡¯d both be spellcasters?¡± the man asked, pushing on his back to crack it back into place. ¡°Yes, we¡¯re on the long road to Gauntlet, on to better and bigger quests, sir¡±, Logan replied. ¡°Well, you¡¯ll find plenty of quests in the capital, there¡¯s not a day that the G-hall isn¡¯t abuzz with activity. Strong magi such as yourselves, able to take down vorkas like that, will find ample requests for parties.¡± ¡°I am deft with a hammer, I can help you make some repairs to your carriage, my friend here needs to harvest our kills either way¡±, Marcus offered. ¡°Healing and repairs? I won¡¯t turn down free help, I¡¯d offer something if I could but it looks like the damage is going to be costly when I reach Tinte.¡± ¡°I can give you a few components to aid in that¡±, Logan also offered. ¡°Having a higher opinion of us may add to his aid down the line.¡± Before the driver could turn down the offer Logan had already started walking back to the vorkas corpses, eight in all. Through the use of Harvesting, and a quick flip through the book ¡°Wild Components¡± Logan was able to find that the vorkas only had feathers to harvest, with few being of use. This confirmed what his Identification told him earlier. Taking five from the midpoint of the left and another five from the right Logan gathered a total of 80 feathers from the corpses, taking him a good 10 minutes to fully pluck.
With the feathers in his possession as well as using Identification, Logan found that each one was worth 2 copper for common quality. ¡°Vorkas Feather: The feather of a vorkas, plucked from the blue and green avian. Its duo-sided colour allows for two different forms of camouflage and makes for excellent fletching on arrows. 49x shoddy, 28x common, 3x high-quality¡±, the window explained to him. As Logan harvested the feathers another window popped up, alerting him that Harvesting had progressed to tier 3. ¡°A third less time? That¡¯ll definitely speed up the process, I wonder if it will continually get faster at higher tiers? I¡¯m not sure if I will even reach that point.¡± In the time it took Logan to gather up the feathers, Marcus and the driver had seemingly been able to do some rough repairs to get the carriage in a good enough shape to make it to Tinte for a full restoration. Picking out 10 of the shoddy feathers, enough to get the driver at least a silver in return, possibly more since he was a merchant, Logan placed them in the back of the carriage. ¡°That is certainly a few feathers, are you sure it is fine for me to take, sir?¡± ¡°No problem at all, I doubt we¡¯ll need them more than you. We got some ends to tie up, so we¡¯d appreciate you not mention us back in Tinte¡±, Logan asked. ¡°Out of pocket and not wanting any fame? A strange situation, but I won¡¯t pry. I know adventurers are nary kind to casters, but you¡¯re good classed in my mind. My words won¡¯t escape my throat, sir.¡± The trio spoke for a few more minutes, the driver letting the adventurers know that he was a travelling merchant and was bringing plenty of arms and armour to Tinte in preparation for the rising numbers of goblins alongside the threat of trolls. A thought popped into Logan¡¯s head about possibly stealing some of the wares, but he hadn¡¯t reached that point nor did he want to. The driver was going to be out of pocket nonetheless with the repair costs of his carriage. Saying their farewells, the driver climbed back into his seat, waved off the helping hands, and continued southwards to Tinte. Logan placed the feathers into the communal bag, whilst hiding the fact he was using the inventory mechanic to practice it further. Setting themselves up as higher ranked adventurers would give them wider access to selling off components at their leisure, a rank 7 wizard shouldn¡¯t be too heavily questioned with that many foes defeated in a day or 10. With the encounter, Harvesting, and discussion over, Logan recalled his Backstab skill as it had alerted him earlier it increased to tier 2. ¡°That¡¯s a major boost, double the increase and the cooldown went down by 1 minute. Do Fighters get a similar damage skill? Maybe that Power Strike I saw at the assessment has a comparable effect.¡± ¡°Are we all good to continue on, Logan?¡± Marcus inquired. ¡°Yeah, hopefully, we won¡¯t run into any other monsters today, I have just two spells left¡±, Logan replied, thinking on his periapt MP. ¡°I can manage maybe 4 more Heal spells.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s stick to Healer¡¯s Caress until we know we¡¯re going to be in combat.¡± ¡°Sure, I can use them right now actually¡±, Marcus spoke as he used his skill two more times on Logan, bringing him to 48/74 HP.
The rest of the day¡¯s travel was full of conversation and healing, Logan talking to Marcus about their aid of the passing merchant with the Devout stating that the man had dealt with enough today that he wasn¡¯t going to withhold healing in return for payment. Bringing up the topic of gashriek, it seemed that Marcus was more shocked about them being in Tinte rather than having an aversion to the species as a whole. He did make mention that he didn¡¯t have any grudges against the ¡°other species¡± either, but Logan felt it best not to pry into that portion since he had a tome that would explain other species to him anyways. Even with the extra experience gained from the main quest, Marcus was sitting at 4,920/6,000, it was a good bet that Logan could possibly reach level 8 before Marcus achieved level 4. Logan almost wished for a new quest to keep his ally relevant in combat, though his aim of leaving Avanar altogether was higher up on his list of wishes. Just like he had learnt when chopping firewood in Tinte, the winds were getting colder and colder as the days passed by. Logan was happy to have his lupine outfit in reserve if the weather continued its downward leap into the cooler temperatures, though the constant walking and rare combat kept the pair warm enough for the most part. Logan again praised the Clean mick as it was able to remove sweat that made his clothes almost unbearable. Thankfully, the day ended without any more hostile forces barreling down the roads, a few more traders here or there with more adventurers scouting far and wide for components and quest locations. Logan continued to use Identification on all he saw, noting a few adventurers of level 9 and even some villagers that had one or two levels under their belt. Logan saw some classless guards at Tinte who had a few levels, so was curious as to how villagers had gained them. Settling down for the night, the pair had a well-earned rest from saving a passerby, their spirits lifted after doing a good deed. Logan spent some time before sleeping reading the ¡°The Many Faces of Avanar¡± tome, easily completing the 100-page book. This particular book had some of the most valued knowledge, the species on Avanar. While there were plenty held within the pages, a few stood out to Logan. Humans, resembling the same species on Earth, Avanarians had the same skin colours, heights and weights, as well as the capabilities of Earth natives. The average lifespan was a bit longer however, it was common for middle-class and higher citizens to live to see 150 years of age, commoners closer to 90 if illness didn¡¯t strike. They speak in the ¡°Ava¡± tongue. Gashriek, humanoids that show signs of mixed blood from goblins, humans, and monsters. They have ridges over their face, neck, and body, which allow them to take a heartier beating than humans. In tune with the forest, gashriek have a close faith to the one above, Desma, and are not often found outside of their forests. Due to their close-knit society, their average lifespan is around 160 years. They speak in the ¡°Shrieky¡± tongue. Saebers, quadrupedal creatures that are surprisingly similar to the sabertooth cat or smilodon but with a lion¡¯s mane. Clawed paws with five digits, one of them being an opposable thumb, the saebers also have tails that split in two, both ending in two more clawed digits that they can easily control. Easily 4¡¯ tall when on all fours, and closer to 7¡¯ when on their hind legs, these civilized folk are quite large. Saebers keep to larger settlements and the mountains, which is probably why none were spotted in Tinte. Males are called Saeben, females are called Saebree. Saebers have an average lifespan of 100 years. They speak in the ¡°Saelong¡± tongue which no other race can speak, but can understand, saebers are able to speak in other tongues. Diglaeta, a strange amalgamation of limbs and digits, this race has a centre mass akin to a torso but can have up to 20 sets of legs and 30 sets of arms protruding from it. The images made Logan think of strings of cheese that were segmented at the top and bottom. Mouths and eyes can be found within the palms of the diglaeta, these grow over time and are in set locations. Diglaeta are incredibly rare, with only a few being found in the capital cities. The book talks about how they are cavern dwellers, though no habitats have been found by other species. Diglaeta have an average lifespan of 150 years. They speak in the ¡°Ava¡± tongue, which leads many natives to believe they are a different evolutionary track of humans. Vampires, the common beast of fiction that Logan had both read about in books and seen in movies. They followed almost all the same rules he knew about, drinking blood to survive, aversion to silver and consecrated grounds, as well as a few others. One major change was their origin, vampires came into being by the one below, Asbella, who plagued the land with demonic blood causing humans to first turn into them. Even though they are demonic in origin, vampires are actually well respected in Avanar and hold many positions in the upper class, from nobles to extremely rich merchants due to their almost endless lifespan. The longer a vampire lives, the stronger they get, some even overcoming their weakness to the sun. Almost all races can become a vampire, except for diglaeta, and so their tongue is based on their original form. Learning about the deity Asbella, Logan searched his memory for that entry in one of his previous books. Logan¡¯s memory was becoming almost photographic with his Intelligence soaring so high, though it could still be another feature of reading tomes combined with his status. Asbella, the mother of vampires and one from below. Her sign is that of a blood droplet. A demonic being who delights in the punishment and torment of mortals, even going so far as to inflict plagues, disease, and undeath into the lands. Her greatest failure, however, was that of the vampires, a force she had hoped would kill senselessly, actually ended up being a great and somewhat benevolent race. There are few that worship this demon, though those that do are often granted unholy powers. With such a wealth of information at hand, Logan was feeling even more prepared for his arrival at Gauntlet. This book also informed the Spellthief about the ¡°other species¡± that Marcus was talking about. The 3rd day over with, Logan fell to sleep in the hopes that the midway point of their travels would bring something better than vultures. --- *** --- Chapter 29 - Comfortable Rest Another morning was met with another wake-up call from the System, Logan¡¯s head a bit thick and fuzzy to which he attributed the combination of their encounter yesterday and the influx of information from his last tome. Checking over his status, he couldn¡¯t help but feel pleased with all the numbers increasing so rapidly in what he assumed to be a skyrocketing success, comparing himself to what the natives could achieve in the same time. ¡°If only I was here under better circumstances. I¡¯m pretty sure tomorrow would be the day I helped take dad for his checkup at the hospital. There better be someone to fill in for me¡±, Logan thought to himself as he began to pack up the camp. ¡°Ready for day 4 of walking? We should be hitting another stop towards evening, a part-way inn that should let us hold up for a night and get some good food¡±, Marcus explained, readying himself for the day ahead. ¡°That¡¯s great, rations and salted meats can only take me so far, and I could do with a nice bed.¡± ¡°Make sure all our valuables are in the inventory, I heard it isn¡¯t completely safe there, could find a pickpocket, but that space of yours should stop that.¡± ¡°Got it, most of our stuff is in there anyways. I can put your money there too if need be¡±, Logan offered, to which Marcus quickly accepted as he placed his coins into Logan¡¯s backpack though it really went into the inventory through a sneaky transaction. As there was potential danger ahead Logan saw fit to prepare 1 cast of Flame, 1 Gaia, and 2 Infuse for the day, though it might kill any low-level bandit Logan had other ways to deal with weaker foes. The Spellthief was still curious to test out his Infuse spell, and would use it if possible. With the days passing outside of a settlement, Logan could tell that his facial hair was starting to grow back, faster than during the 7-day death timer though it could have been one of the miscellaneous benefits from the Vokka buff. Due to the rather large scar on his cheek, there was a bald strip to boot. Combined with the fact he hadn¡¯t had a haircut since arriving his hair was getting longer than he liked, one of the first stops at Gauntlet would be to find a barber of some sort.
The fourth day was long and otherwise not very eventful, the wind had a chilling bite to it that the pair were able to stave off due to their constant movement. Passing by fewer villagers and a lower number of adventurers, Logan was able to even notice a level 10 adventurer, a Knight whose gear was a sparkling silver with a sword that had red runes all along its blade. Not surprising was the amount of HP the Knight had, a considerable 182, 108 over what Logan had. ¡°If I had to fight someone like that, it¡¯d take all of my spells and then some, and that¡¯s if he doesn¡¯t have any reduction or resistances to them¡±, Logan calculated. Not wanting to draw too much attention, the pair moved on steadily.
With the sun setting in the distance, day turning to night, the duo were nearing just under the midway part of their travels. Approaching into view was a rather large building set to the eastern side of the dirt path, made up of dark-brown wood with wide-open window panels. Lights from candles and the interior fireplace let a yellow haze seep into the black and blue of the outside. The scent of honeyed mead and spiced meats wafted from the windows, enticing local foxes to the exterior of the forests, though keeping their distance due to the rough noises of shouting, signing, and clinking of clay tankards. ¡°There it is, the Hanged Hen Stop, as close to a halfway marker as any between Tinte and Gauntlet¡±, Marcus spoke, pointing towards the active inn. Logan gave a quick scan over the building, snapping his fingers to find how many people were inside. Sounds rebounded off of wood, stone, clay, and flesh, all returning to poke at Logan¡¯s frame to grant him information. The inn had at least 10 patrons in the main room, any other rooms blocked his Echo Radar from scanning them. Aside from the inn inhabitants, the local wildlife was also displayed to Logan, though none were of any size that would give him caution. Pushing the double doors open, the pair entered into the warmer interior of the inn. Scraping of wood on wood filled the room as the patrons turned their chairs to look at the newcomers. Logan returned the glares with his own, ¡°Identify¡±, he commanded in his head. The patrons consisted of two merchants of levels 0 and 1, two fighter adventures of level 2, one knight adventurer of level 3, and finally five fighter adventurers of level 4. A new face was that of the innkeeper, appearing from a side room, holding a solid level 5 as a Fighter, no doubt retired early. All faces seemed human, possibly any other races were kicked out or hadn¡¯t arrived today. Identification had also informed Logan that the level 2 and 3 adventurers were hired by the Tinte hall, yet the five of level 4 had no hall affiliation with a background more in thievery and banditry. The other patrons either had no idea due to a lack of this skill or kept to themselves to not cause any unwanted harm by the would-be bandits. ¡°Some casters joining the drinks eh¡±, one of the thugs commented, to which a few others chuckled. It seemed like the customers weren¡¯t too focused on the Spellthief and Devout, turning back to their tables to continue chatting and drinking. Making their way to the counter at the far end, the duo had to pass all of the tables with the customers¡¯ eyes taking a quick look at them as they went by. Marcus took a noticeable, but not overly large, step closer to Logan. ¡°Could cut the tension in the air with a knife¡±, Logan thought to himself. At the counter, the pair got a better sight at the innkeeper. The level 5 fighter looked to be in his late 20s, portions of his swept-back brunette hair had been cut away at the scalp, possibly from scars gained in battle. His eyebrows had three cuts on the right, two on the left, his lips having another two scars going across them vertically. By good luck the man¡¯s vision was left intact, two blue eyes scanning over the newcomers. With a calm, deep, tone of voice he welcomed the adventurers, ¡°Welcome to Hanged Hen Stop, you here for lodging or just sustenance, sirs?¡± ¡°A room for two if you have it spare, evenings meals to go with it too¡±, Logan asked, his eyes glancing to the corner to check his surroundings. ¡°I have such a room available, it¡¯ll be 2 silver in all if you¡¯re not sharing with others.¡± Logan was slightly taken aback at the price, though this was an out-of-the-way inn so business was probably slow, alongside the fact that Logan was a new face. Using the best poker face he had, Logan put his hand into his coin pouch to access his inventory and pulled out two silver coins to put onto the counter. ¡°That¡¯s fine, what meals do you have tonight?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve meat wraps and stews of the forest¡±, the innkeeper replied, sliding a small piece of parchment menu with a key for room 3 atop it. Glancing over the menu, it seemed the meat wraps were akin to a fajita back on Earth featuring chicken-similar meat with vegetables and sauces within a wrap. The stews were a combination of vegetables and meat called ¡°raylen¡±, asking the System Logan was informed it was an avian-porcine hybrid, with a taste between chicken and gammon. ¡°Hey, Marcus, mind if we order one of each and share? I am curious how they taste¡±, Logan asked as he turned his head to his ally. ¡°That is fine, the variety will ease the plainness of our travel food.¡± Taking the room key, Logan asked for a single order of meat wraps and the stew, the innkeeper easily hearing their earlier conversation gave a quick affirmative nod and told the two that it will be out in a few minutes. As the innkeeper left, the pair turned to find themselves a table, which they were able to towards an opened window far from the other patrons. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Glancing back and forth from the customers, Logan continued to use Identification as it would grant him more information the longer he observed a target due to its increasing levels. The five fighters of level 4 had HP ranging from 56 to 64, Logan¡¯s 74 HP just barely beat them out with 3 levels above them, and that was including his trinket bonus. ¡°The higher we get, the more risk we have when dealing with other classes. I am an anti-mage class, straight up physical classes have the upper hand against me. Each of them could take maybe two or more spells with the damage I can output. I hope they don¡¯t cause trouble¡±, Logan calculated in his head.
It wasn¡¯t too long before the pair¡¯s meals were brought out, flavourful steam wafting from the hot food placed before them. Opting for ale, the two downed their first tankard as thankful praise was given to something to overpower the bland water they had been treated to thus far on their journey. Logan cut the wrap in half to share with Marcus who also handed his spoon back and forth with the Spellthief. The wrap was full to bursting with ingredients, made even worse when cut in half. Perfectly grilled vegetables coupled with large chunks of chicken-adjacent meat. Comparing it to the stew, Logan found the raylen to be quite salty yet having a rich flavour that made him salivate even more. Either due to the food being amazingly well-cooked or the fact they had been living on salted meats and rations for the last 4 days, the pair felt like they were in the above from the taste. During their meal the doors opened only two more times, once was for a travelling caravan that was stocking up on supplies before hitting the road almost immediately with the other merchants in tow, and the second was the last part of the adventuring band who was meeting the other two at the inn before moving on. The inn was getting less cramped as time went on, only the innkeeper and the bandits remained aside from Logan¡¯s party. Over their time enjoying the meals, Logan did his best to eavesdrop on the opposing party. It seemed like Identification was telling the truth when it detailed their history of thievery, not exactly hiding their conversations about the ¡°takes¡± and ¡°relinquishing¡± they did. From what he could gather, the group of bandits were heading eastward to deal with a band of pesky crowbolds, seemingly a humanoid-ish race that resembled crows. Just like their animal cousin, the crowbolds are attracted to shiny objects and make for better bandits than the humans. Logan remembered reading about that certain race in the tome ¡°The Many Faces of Avanar¡± which noted them as rather uncivilized. They could learn to speak Ava, though many did not spend the time to do so and had an average lifespan of around 52 years. There were some documented villages of the crowbolds, but overall the book didn¡¯t paint the species in a good light. ¡°If they are bothering with hunting monster-adjacent species I shouldn¡¯t have to worry about them troubling us, unless their discrimination towards casters puts us higher on their list¡±, Logan reconciled within his mind. Giving a nod to Marcus, Logan motioned to head upstairs to their room for the night. As they stood up it seemed like the opposing party were awaiting just such an event, the burlier of the bandits standing and moving towards the pair. Standing at 6¡¯1¡± he was just an inch shorter than Logan, swept back and waxed spikey black hair showed the man as someone who wanted his gaze uninterrupted, looking straight at the Spellthief with dull brown eyes. ¡°Hey they, caster, you looking for some work on the road? We could use a blast or two down the way¡±, the bandit spoke, his voice rough and slightly raspy even though he didn¡¯t look much older than 25. ¡°Sorry, we¡¯re actually on a tight schedule, we won¡¯t be able to help out¡±, Logan replied, not wanting to divert to help out potential backstabbing bandits. ¡°Come on, don¡¯t be that way. It¡¯ll take a day, two at most. You¡¯ll get good pay, 10 silver to each of ya¡±, the bandit¡¯s words seemed to honey slightly, but the sweet talk was diminished with the glares of his allies behind him. ¡°While that is a high reward, we really can¡¯t be diverting from our path.¡± With a stern gaze, the bandit grabbed onto Logan¡¯s arm as he tried to pass by. ¡°You sure? How about 15 silver each? We¡¯d really appreciate some magic against an armoured crowbold, you can even take its talons.¡± ¡°This could turn ugly, he¡¯s pressing the matter kinda harshly¡±, Logan thought to himself as he turned to eye up Marcus. ¡°We¡¯re actually not that offensively geared, our services are needed to help some people-¡± Logan began, but was cut off as the screeching of wood against wood erupted at the bandit table, the remaining four getting to attention. ¡°You¡¯re sure you don¡¯t want to help us? It¡¯s dangerous for casters to be without their martials¡±, the bandit added threateningly. ¡°Hey!¡± a voice called out, the innkeeper returning from the backroom and slamming his hand onto the counter. ¡°No rough business in here¡±, he continued with an authoritative voice. The bandit let go of Logan, raising his hands slightly in a surrendering pose. ¡°No trouble here, boss. Just instructing this fine mage on where to go next.¡± ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re all good here¡±, Logan added with a hint of pride over the bandit who was shot down by someone stronger. With Marcus in tow, the pair headed up the stairs to room 3 though they could hear a somewhat rowdy discussion downstairs. ¡°That was close, I was sure a fight was upon us, Logan.¡± ¡°It may very well be still, we¡¯ll have to bar the door tonight.¡± Keeping their wits about them as they proceeded to the upper floor, they could see it had around six or so rooms, one being a communal washroom, another belonging to storage for both the customers and the inn, one for the innkeeper¡¯s rest and then finally three rooms for customers. Making it to their room 3 Logan unlocked the door, locked it behind Marcus and placed a wooden chair under the door handle. ¡°That¡¯ll at least give us some warning if they invade our room¡±, Logan added. ¡°They did look rough, but are you sure we should have turned them down?¡± ¡°My scanning skill revealed them to be thieves and bandits, through and through, I didn¡¯t want to risk a betrayal¡±, Logan replied, investigating the room further. It was a bit smaller than his room back in Tinte, though most of the floor space was taken up by six beds with barely six inches distance between them against the far wall. ¡°Oh, that skill you used to see my capabilities? It shows quite the range of information.¡± Logan gave an ample nod, deciding that a bed against the door may prove more useful than the small wooden chair, pushing that instead to bar their entrance. ¡°It has gained more power as we¡¯ve travelled, it didn¡¯t use to always show as much as it does now.¡± ¡°Light Ally¡±, Logan called out as he summoned his usual cave-delving friend, ¡°Stay near the door and if anyone tries to open it then try to wake me¡±, he instructed the sprite of light. The yellow orb danced in the air and seemingly made a nodding expression, its lack of speech or mannerisms made it hard to communicate but it was generally able to follow commands in the past. Picking out some books for the nightly read, Logan settled on ¡°Etiquette and You¡± as he had hoped it would aid him in conversations as well as how he should act around the natives of Avanar. Marcus decided to read the ¡°Plants ''n'' ''Erbs¡± tome, to help in the retrieval of medicinal herbs down the line.
Logan¡¯s latest read was a bit shorter than the previous books, around 80 or so pages. It contained a lot more in the way of diagrams to demonstrate actions like bows or salutes, seemingly identical to that of Earth with a few variations. Each kingdom had its own hierarchy and leadership, Gauntlet was wholly a monarchy whereas the northern kingdom and capital of Helm are more of a dictatorship. The southern kingdom and capital of Sabaton are led by a theocracy headed by the faith of Vokka, the Dame of the Mind. Each kingdom had variations of bows or hand signals to give to the higher-ups on meeting, though it seemed all three of the kingdoms were in a ceasefire from the several wars that plagued the lands. The last war was around 30 or so years ago, ended by another oracle at the time. Gauntlet and Sabaton are seemingly much closer in relation to one another than that of Helm, which still holds many a grudge to this day. In combination with their leadership styles, Gauntlet is mostly led by royal knights and those of noble blood. Sabaton focuses more on magical might as well as an army of Devouts to keep their armies always in action. Helm, with its ruling houses pushing their capital through countless rivers in courtrooms, is fueled by mercenaries of all breeds. Out of the three, Helm is again the outlier, housing the largest of army forces. As an addendum to the book, it also noted that all three kingdoms were on the same continent but there were rumours and magical scrying experiments that led to many believing of other continents in the world, the closest being to the far west. Sadly, the vast and dangerous seas make it incredibly difficult to travel across the world. ¡°Good information to have, but I doubt I will go to either of the other two kingdoms by the time I can leave¡±, Logan thought to himself as he began to get ready to sleep. Marcus was going to stay up for a little while longer, so the Spellthief got comfortable in his own bed with the backdrop of flicking pages in the background. It seemed, at least for this night, they would have no issues with the bandits sleeping next door. With the night passing by without much issue, Logan had hoped for a long rest in a comfy bed without the need to worry about his surroundings. However, this was disturbed by the fact a loud thud hit against the floor alerting him to another¡¯s presence. Darting up, he noticed his Light Ally had disappeared, possibly due to him being asleep. A muffled voice could be heard from under him, possibly in the backroom that the innkeeper was often within. Through the movement, thuds, and muffled sounds he could make out a few voices and words ¡°coins¡±, ¡°we¡¯ve¡±, and ¡°blood¡± were audible to the Spellthief. The hope for a calm rest vanished. --- *** --- Chapter 30 - Bandit鈥檚 Stop Swerving to the side of his bed, Logan threw a nearby feather pillow at a resting Marcus to rouse his ally. ¡°Ah, what? Logan, something wrong?¡± Marcus asked in his bemused awoken state. ¡°Get up, I hear trouble downstairs¡±, Logan replied as he grabbed his gear and used Clean to prepare himself for combat, his hair was getting longer in his stay on Avanar and the mick helped to style it out of his eyes. Using his System, Logan saw that the time was around 1am in the morning. Repreparing his spells for the day, he readied 1 cast of Flame, 1 of Gaia, and 2 of Infuse. Checking over his Infuse spell¡¯s text he was able to calculate that it would last 2 minutes and 10 seconds. He resigned to using Infuse as any other spell would cause too much structural damage for his liking, though he had two just in case he needed them. ¡°Yeah, I hear it too. Think they are robbing the innkeeper? What do you want to do?¡± Marcus began to ask, preparing his own gear. ¡°Help him of course, we can¡¯t let them do as they like to the owner, I saw no malicious intent in him or his details¡±, Logan answered adamantly. ¡°Got it, how will we handle the bandits? I doubt they will let us live through a fight, many just kill their foes.¡± Logan stopped for a second, thinking about his next action. ¡°I haven¡¯t killed anyone since Vokka¡¯s blessing left me¡­ I don¡¯t want to do it, but if needs must¡­ Damnit why can¡¯t people just leave each other the fuck alone.¡± With their gear all in check, Logan opened up the window to the outside as the bed blocking the door would create too much noise to move. Motioning Marcus, the two jumped out of the window, a good eight or so feet to the floor below. The moon in the sky lit up the grassy plains rather well, a cloudless night painted the scene a beautiful dark blue. Clicking his fingers, Logan scanned the nearby area and was glad to see little in the way of creatures. Continuing to use Echo Radar, the two approached the front door to the inn, the nearby closed windows letting out tiny beams of candlelight. With the use of Stealth, the door was opened silently, allowing the worried adventurers an easy entrance inside. Eventually, Logan and Marcus found themselves outside the door to the backroom, shuffling shadows within the side and bottom gaps of the door revealed that most if not all of the bandits were inside. Placing an ear to the door, Logan listened intently. ¡°He¡¯s not talking Jaev, just empty his throat and let¡¯s ransack the place¡±, one voice called out, seemingly younger than the man Logan had spoken to last night. ¡°He is a tough one, I¡¯ll give him that, if he won¡¯t talk he will bleed. Maybe his red rivers will flow to his stash¡±, the rougher voice replied, noting him as the leader. ¡°Fuck, they aim to kill the innkeeper¡±, Logan¡¯s head was full of worry and his heart full of rage. Waving Marcus over, Logan used his new spell, ¡°Infuse Flame¡±, he spoke softly away from the door. Tiny sparks of fire emanated from his hand, dancing across to his fingers until he finally clasped around his dagger and then the quarterstaff of Marcus with the second casting. Both his blade and the staff ignited into a whirling blaze, heating and lighting the immediate vicinity. Leading their charge, Logan stood tall and gave a swift front kick to the door, bashing it open as it slammed against the opposite wall on the inside. The loud bang of wood and buckling of the hinges alerted the five bandits inside, surrounding a beaten, bruised, and bleeding innkeeper whose face had gained many more scars from torture. The bandits¡¯ eyes all lit up in shock as well as against the flames that flowed across their new adversaries¡¯ weapons, the leader stepped away from the hostage with open arms to Logan. ¡°Well, light sleepers are we?¡± the leader spoke. With a quick Identification, Logan saw that the innkeeper was sitting on 8/76 HP and wasn¡¯t in immediate danger but another hit could spell the worst. ¡°What are you doing with him?¡± Logan demanded, making room for Marcus to stand side-by-side. ¡°That¡¯ll be information for our gang only, can¡¯t be having you tattling on us. Since you¡¯ve seen this much though, you got two choices. Join up with us and enjoy the spoils, or attempt to take on five at once and find that the above will be your new home.¡± ¡°Or you can all forget whatever you¡¯re trying to get out of him and leave with all you¡¯ve got right now¡±, Logan tried to intimidate, which seemingly also used his Haggle skill. He could see it had affected one of the fighters with lower HP. ¡°Two casters? I doubt you¡¯d be able to take us all on. If you were able to cast level 2 spells I would bet you¡¯d have put us to sleep or constricted us by now, so I put our odds pretty high. Your friend over there isn¡¯t even out of beginners gear¡±, the leader retaliated, pointing at Marcus. ¡°Gotta be quick, I need to take them down in a fell swoop so they cannot gang-up on us¡±, Logan planned in his head. Giving another scan over the opponents, it seemed like they were all physically focused, a few throwing daggers and crossbows were seen in their gear to go along with their collection of shortswords, longswords, and bucklers. ¡°Ekat mih!¡± the leader shouted, bemusing Logan as he saw the closest bandit lunge forwards. With a piercing stab with a shortsword in the right hand, a buckler close to the chest, Logan was just narrowly able to duck beneath the blade as it slid over his shoulder, cutting into him for 3 damage. Bringing up his right arm, Logan was able to push into the underside of his foe¡¯s left arm to reveal an exposed underarm, quickly drawing Fangtooth he dove it deep in the man¡¯s lesser-protected armpit whilst commanding his System to not use Backstab, leaving the dagger in place. A flesh-wound 9 damage caused the bandit minor pain in comparison to the 60 he had in total, but Logan was not finished. Whirling around to the back of his foe, Logan opened his left hand into a claw as he chanted, ¡°Flame Grasp¡±, flames exploding in his palm and erupting forth onto the bandit¡¯s back as Logan landed a solid magical Backstab that inflicted a monstrous 58 damage, taking the first attacker straight down to -7/60 HP. Logan¡¯s was shocked to see how much it did, as he had yet to deal so much in one spell. The now-blackened bandit fell to the floor as he started to radiate a burnt-meat smell into the backroom. Logan held back his guilt and sick piling in his stomach as there were still four foes left. Looking over the remaining adversaries he could see the worry in all their faces, the leader composing himself once more. ¡°A Grasp expert ey? No wonder you wield a dagger like that¡±, he began and then turned to his allies to shout out more orders, ¡°Mlehwrevo mih, ekam erus eh stsacsim sih slleps, lla ta ecno won!¡± a weird language that Logan didn¡¯t have time to decipher. The bandits all darted forwards, one on the left throwing daggers at both Logan and Marcus first. Impaled by two daggers, Logan took 4 and 6 damage, Marcus taking 8, showing the damage reduction at play for the Spellthief. Following on from the dagger-thrower a dual-wielding shortswords-man lunged at Logan, the Spellthief parrying one strike but taking a major hit with the other for 11 damage. Next was the third bandit, wielding a large longsword and charging towards Marcus. Logan pushed the shortsword out of him as he sidestepped to trip the charger, knocking him off balance and catching him the back with another yelled, ¡°Gaia Grasp!¡± from which piles of rock and mud formed around his shoulder, darted down his arm, and jumped into the foe¡¯s spine. Shards of rock and thorny roots dug into the bandit as he yelled out in pain. The Backstab text popped up once again as it confirmed a painfully high 57 damage to the man who had only 58 HP to his name. Taking the initiative, Marcus swung his staff upwards to retaliate against the falling foe, a loud crack and thud were heard as fiery wood smashed into the bandit¡¯s chin for 5 damage and 3 fire. The longsword-wielder flipped around as he fell onto his side, supplanting the quickly filling floor with another body at -7/58 HP. Seeing his ally fall, the dual-wielder continued his flurry as he also called out, ¡°Sequential Slash¡±, causing his form to become blurry yet hastened. Striking out at Logan he dealt five attacks, with only one missing, dealing Logan 12, 12, 14, and 16 damage, causing a now fainting Spellthief at -4/74 HP to fall to the floor. A few seconds passed as he heard the end of a spell cast, ¡°shot!¡±, his body recovering 15 HP with Marcus readying another Heal. ¡°Shit, not going good¡±, Logan had to act fast as the leader was now a leap away from Marcus. Pushing up with his right arm he swept his leg under that of the dual-wielder to knock him off balance, and then followed up with another kick to the stomach, sending him flying into the leader as they both tumbled to the floor. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Daggers continued to fly through the air, stabbing Logan for 4, 6, and 6 damage, taking him into another fainting event with -5/74 HP, however, this time he was still conscious enough to see the healing wave hit him for another 14 HP. ¡°Fuck, too many enemies!¡± Logan¡¯s mind raced, he activated his periapt to grant himself 2 MP which he used immediately, ¡°Gaia Wall!¡± he screamed, waving his arm to cut off the dagger-thrower in the corner of the room, a mighty wall of earth crashing through the wooden floorboards and smashing into the ceiling. Standing up fully, he saw the dual-wielder and the boss also standing to which he continued his tactic to split them up, ¡°Gaia Wall!¡± he shouted, causing an earthen wall to soar upwards once again, this time picking up the leader and trapping him between the wall and the ceiling, pinning him in a delightful turn of events. The dual-wielder was quick enough to avoid the wall, however, and was on the same side as Logan, Marcus, and the rough hallway that was now formed in the backroom. ¡°Those alterations, you aren¡¯t a second level caster?!¡± the dual-wielder demanded to know, as he began to assault Logan again. Another healing orb hit Logan for 12, taking him to an uneasy 21/74 HP. Leading with a Force into the bandit¡¯s left arm Logan was able to delay his opponent¡¯s barrage slightly, the right lashing out with a single strike for 10 damage. Quickly drawing up Tara¡¯s dagger, Logan let out his own onslaught of three strikes, hitting the bandit for 15, 16, and 8 damage with Spellthief¡¯s edge dealing the heavier blows. Logan was barely standing at 11/74 HP, Marcus still at 26/34 HP, and the dual-wielder at a deathly 13/62 HP. With no slots or MP left, Logan had to rely totally on his martial prowess. Resorting to dirty tricks, Logan feinted with his left dagger whilst dropping his right, the Bandit moved to parry but was met by a heavy blow of Force into his chest for 12 damage, which sent him flying against the wall of dirt behind him, a follow-up dealing a further 12 to end his life. With three foes down, only two remained behind two different walls of earth, Logan quickly scrambled for his other weapon, taking it from a now-dead bandit. Dual-wielding Spellthief¡¯s edge and Fangtooth, Logan was treated to two more rounds of healing for 12 and 15, Marcus then used Healer¡¯s Caress on himself for 3. Since the walls were still active, Logan ran over to the tied-up innkeeper and made a quick slash over the rope bindings. ¡°If you¡¯re unable to help us here I¡¯d suggest you back out of the room¡±, Logan spoke as he received yet another orb for 14 health. With his bindings cut, the innkeeper ran to the doorway that led into the back room, with a tall jump he slammed his hands into the wall above the frame. Behind the wall, which was seemingly false, the innkeeper brought out a sword made of black steel ending in a bat¡¯s wing towards the hilt. Landing with the blade in his hand he smashed a side panel of the door, pulling out two vials and downing their red liquids, Logan was able to identify him healing from such. ¡°These bastards will know my sting too, I¡¯ll back you up as you did me, sir mage¡±, he spoke, moving to Logan¡¯s side. ¡°Name¡¯s Logan, those walls won¡¯t stay up much longer so be ready.¡± ¡°Tarka. Good, they could do with a beating.¡± With quick introductions over, and Marcus speaking up for his name too, the furthest wall started to crumble away to release the dagger-thrower. Six daggers came sailing out from the last underling, hurtling towards the Spellthief and his innkeeper ally. With Tarka being added to the party hastily, Logan was just able to glance at a skill by the name of ¡°Assailants Revoke¡± from the innkeeper, an almost invisible display of slashes in the air that deflected all but one of the daggers, which hit Logan in the shoulder for 6 damage. Drawing up their own dagger and buckler, the thrower started to charge the two men, but Tarka had plenty of skills left to us, this one was called ¡°Drainage Pierce¡± which demonstrated an icky aura of green-black around Tarka¡¯s sword while he lunged forwards. Stabbing into the thrower, Tarka dealt an insidious 23 damage for which he healed 12. Not wanting to stand around, Logan also got stuck into the fight with two slashes with his daggers, doing 17, 3 fire, and 12 damage to the thrower. Backing up from the brutal assault he was just victim to, the bandit started to dart his head around to look for an exit. Luck would have it for the enemies, as just at that moment the second wall of earth started to crumble and release the leader. With a solid kick to the stomach from Logan, the thrower went unconscious from the combination of their wounds as they only had 1 HP to spare previously. Falling to the floor behind them was the leader, who darted his head around the room to see his allies all defeated, a few motionless on the floor. ¡°Fuck me, didn¡¯t think we¡¯d find a grasp expert this far out of town without a party. Guess this is it then¡±, the leader spoke, breathing in heavily as his chest was being crushed by the wall of earth earlier. Bringing up his hand he started to twist a ring on his finger, Tarka sprinted at the sight of this. ¡°Stop!¡± the innkeeper yelled, prompting Logan to do his own form of interruption. Dropping the blade in his left hand, Logan thrust his arm out to unleash another Force with a yell. A shockwave of energy formed in his shoulder and shot across his limb until it blasted into the hand of the bandit, stopping the activation of his ring. ¡°Sever!¡± Tarka called out, the only skill so far he had actually spoken the name out loud. With his skill¡¯s activation, Logan could see a red misty aura surround the innkeeper¡¯s sword, as it cut through the air it made a haunting whoosh sound melded with the noise of a meat cleaver chopping into meat. Red liquid soared to the ceiling as a high-pressure wound created a rainfall of crimson, the bandit yelling out in pain as his forearm went flying from his body. Not wanting to stop his action, the bandit plunged his other hand into his mouth, catching his ring between his teeth to turn it with his molars. Logan was close enough to follow up from Tarka¡¯s blow, however, and dug his flaming dagger into the chest of the leader, the combination of all the attacks ending with this final strike causing the leader to go limp on the blade as his mouth went agape. Retrieving his dagger from the body, the leader fell to the floor with the ring not having been activated. As the final body hit the floor, Logan felt the adrenaline subside and become replaced with cold shivers. The floating golden text did little to assuage the actions he just had to take, alongside the dread of how close he was to death himself if it were not for Marcus. Shaking all over, Logan tried to compose himself for a few more minutes as he still had to deal with the aftermath of the fight. Using Identification he could see that two of the five bandits were alive but unconscious, two having died to their wounds. He hadn¡¯t wanted to kill them, but the first foe took much more damage from his spell than anticipated and the other was just unlucky when it came to the numbers. ¡°You alright?¡± Tarkas asked, cleaning his blade with some cloth torn from the foes. ¡°Yeah, just need a breather. How about you? They did a number on you before¡±, Logan replied, keeping back the sick in his throat. ¡°It¡¯s a teleport away from what they were going to do, you have my thanks, Logan. Tis a good thing we stopped their leader though, that ring of his is a teleportation item to go back to his thieves den¡±, Tarkas continued as he pointed at the leader¡¯s hand. ¡°I¡¯ve encountered similar items. What did they want with you¡±, Logan returned, thinking on the golden watches of the mages he had faced so far. Marcus made his way to the pair as he looked over their wounds. ¡°They knew I was a past adventurer, reckoned I had a fortune from my travels if I could set up an inn like this. Didn¡¯t take no for an answer, though in that state they can¡¯t take anything anymore.¡± ¡°What should we do with the bodies and the living?¡± Marcus popped in. ¡°Attempted murder, burglary, destruction of property, and connection to a thieves den. Only two of those crimes are needed for execution. Best we do so now and keep quiet about it, don¡¯t want their buddies knowing about what happened here.¡± ¡°Certainly, we could bury them in the woods? Actually, Logan¡±, Marcus continued, remembering that Logan dealt with the body of Darius before. ¡°I¡­ can deal with the bodies myself. Did you want any of their money to pay for-¡± Logan started, dreading his next course of action, but was cut off as Tarkas was already working on his compensation. Picking out a pouch from the leader, Tarkas looked inside and fiddled with the coins. ¡°This should cover their damage and yours included¡±, he spoke, looking at the holes in the floor from the Gaia Walls that Logan had summoned. ¡°The rest is yours, I would be dead if not for your aid, so take as much as you can carry from them. To keep us both safe I say we all keep our tongues inside our mouths.¡± Logan and Marcus nodded in agreement. ¡°So, I guess it¡¯s attempted murder and being in a thieves den that are the two crimes worthy of death here. Looks like I am already volunteered for the job¡­ If not me, then they would do it¡±, Logan thought to himself. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about killing them too much, they were about to kill me and from what I heard they¡¯re all too used to it. Check their gear, you¡¯re bound to find other people¡¯s effects amongst them¡±, Tarkas gave a reassuring speech to Logan, noticing the Spellthief was feeling a bit uneasy. ¡°Right, I have some magic to remove the bodies but it takes a while, Marcus can you attend to Tarkas in the main room while I sort this all out?¡± ¡°I can, gotta make sure nothing is broken that those vials didn¡¯t heal.¡± ¡°Thank you, Marcus, that¡¯ll be greatly appreciated. I don¡¯t want to wake and find blue patches over my skin.¡± Marcus and Tarkas left the backroom, Tarkas limping slightly as he held onto his left arm, the sword being held by the Devout who was helping the man to a table in the main room. With Logan all alone, he began to look over the bodies and prepare for his next action. ¡°As they said, these bandits would be killed anyway. I¡¯m just getting a benefit out of it. C''mon Logan, you can do this¡±, the Spellthief repeated to himself in his head, reconciling the murders piling on his soul record. ¡°Essence Absorption¡±, he commanded in his head five times, touching the two corpses and the three living bodies of the bandits. ¡°Absorption of foe complete. Calculating reward¡­¡± ¡°174, 188, 144 absorbed experience, target has no spells to absorb.¡± The messages were all the same, the two corpses producing a warning of ¡°target is dead, nothing absorbed¡± to Logan. The black and dark-green lines became a common sight for Logan as they invaded the bodies and minds of his foes before absorbing them through changing blue and purple lines, swirling into liquid vortexes of matter. Leaving behind only their gear, this was a quick way to deal with the cleanup. Breathing a sigh of relief, Logan¡¯s stomach started to settle though his worries only decreased a minor amount. Keeping his thoughts on work, he moved on to gathering up the effects of the past bandits. --- *** --- Chapter 31 - Halfway There ¡°Damn it, damn it all! Why does it have to be like this? What am I even doing here? It¡¯d be a whole lot better if Vokka gave me any sort of sign or at least a reason as to why they brought me here. Am I just the cleanup crew for bandits and insane mages?¡± Logan¡¯s thoughts were a mess as he gathered up the items of the five bandits that had attacked the innkeeper Tarkas. While they weren¡¯t his first kills, Logan had some regret that he was able to kill them so easily. He would have never succumbed to this on Earth, would he? Questioning who he really was at the end of the day, he continued to attempt pushing the thoughts deeper into his head and focus more on reaching the capital, the only lead he had at escape. Counting up all the remains, the bandits had certainly made a killing in their profession. Aside from their weapons, armour, and shields that would fetch a few silver, the bandits also had in their backpacks a few vials which Logan used Identification on as well as inquired further when they were in his possession. In total there were eight healing potions, the recovery items would sell for 7 silver and 5 copper each, meaning Logan would need to spend 15 silver to buy them. Quite the expensive haul in restorative consumables alone. To add to the riches he was gaining from the thieves their pouches were bulging to burst, all in all, he gathered up 237 silver and 59 copper, showing even more evidence of how much this gang had taken from others. ¡°I wonder how much the leader was carrying if the other four had over two gold between them¡±, Logan wasn¡¯t too upset over the innkeeper¡¯s take, the damage to the inn was quite extreme and the number of coins he had just acquired was more than enough reward. The bandits also had quite a few trinkets both on their clothing piles as well as inside the backpacks, many were lower quality versions of what Logan and Marcus already had but a few upgrades did come their way. Logan traded his previous earring and ring of the magi for pristine variants, Marcus would be treated to a high-quality earring to trade out his previous version later. Aside from upgrades, there weren¡¯t any new trinkets to investigate, but there was plenty to sell to gain even more money from this encounter. Thinking it best, Logan destroyed the teleportation ring as thoroughly as he could to not leave any evidence. With all the items safely stored within his inventory, Logan left the room that was cleaner than before though still in a heavy case of disarray with warped or completely destroyed wood, complemented by bloodstains.
Exiting to the main room, Logan saw that Marcus was applying bandages, splints, and giving some form of massage to Tarkas the innkeeper. Giving a nod to his ally, Logan approached. ¡°So, how is the patient?¡± ¡°He has some internal bruising and breakages, I can¡¯t heal those but I have mended what I can and compressed the more pressing injuries. Thankfully, he should be all healed in a few weeks due to being classed. I used Healer¡¯s Caress on the more severe injuries so he¡¯ll be fine, just sore¡±, Marcus replied, ending his work on Tarkas. Standing up and stretching his free right arm, the left being hung in a sling, Tarkas continued, ¡°Thanks a lot, Marcus, this¡¯ll make me much fitter to fight back against any other intruders.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t strain too much for two days and your recovery should go smoothly.¡± Waiting for a spot to enter the conversation, Logan chimed in, ¡°The back room is all clear now, bodies and effects all gone. You probably don¡¯t want to work on it for now with those wounds.¡± ¡°That I won¡¯t, I¡¯ll call out with an ooran later to get some builders over¡±, Tarkas replied. Logan was thankful to have been reading so many books, knowing that oorans were a type of bird that was a mix of a sparrow, raven, and hawk, often used as messenger birds in Avanar. ¡°If it¡¯s all the same, this experience has definitely drained me, body and soul, I say we return to sleep and put this night behind us¡±, Marcus requested, his eyes dropping slightly from exhaustion. ¡°I second that, are you fine Tarkas?¡± ¡°Aye, I will check the locks and doors and then hit the bed myself. I was fortunate to have such a strong quickcaster here to help me. It¡¯s a rare find without being able to use level 2 spells.¡± ¡°I am actually really close to casting those, I had plenty of teachers beforehand so I am a bit ahead in that department¡±, Logan forced a lie. ¡°Not too surprising, you have my thanks again, I shall see you in the morning.¡± Saying all their farewells, the three departed company. Logan climbed back into their room from outside and opened the door for Marcus to get back inside. With a few hours till the sun rose on the horizon, the tired adventurers returned to their sleep.
Awaking to a not entirely new dawn, the pair still felt a bit sore from last night¡¯s foray close to death. Logan rose to a concerning 53/76 HP, whereas Marcus was sitting pretty at 36/36 HP, the shorter rest not fully restoring their bodies. Since it was in the early morning during their fight, the rest did not recover any spell slots or MP, leaving Logan with no spells for the day and Marcus with only 1 MP to his name. ¡°We¡¯ll have to avoid confrontation today if possible¡±, Logan instructed Marcus who returned the sentiment. ¡°You alright after what happened yesterday? You seemed a bit shook up after the fight.¡± ¡°I¡¯m better now, just not used to killing people, and I¡¯m not sure I want to be.¡± ¡°Well, we¡¯re bound to find more people like that, killing for a few extra coins or items, going to the capital will mean we¡¯ll find even more.¡± ¡°Maybe it¡¯s something I will just have to live with then¡±, Logan replied. ¡°He says it so calmly like it¡¯s commonplace. It probably is around here, the innkeeper had no qualms either though he was beaten to a pulp and almost killed to boot. I guess killing them so they can¡¯t kill others is justification enough¡±, he pondered in his head.
With two uses of Healer¡¯s Caress, bringing Logan to 59/76 HP, the pair headed downstairs to an empty entrance room. Sitting at a table Logan handed Marcus his new trinket, put the old one into his inventory and explained that Marcus would gain 45 silver and 19 copper from last night after Marcus had talked it down from an original offer of 71 silver from Logan. Adding the remaining money to his total Logan had a staggering 1 gold, 200 silver, and 60 copper. Using his status windows, Logan was able to look at his inventory in a neat little list and was easily able to split up the currency into two different segments for his money and Marcus¡¯s. Moving the other loot around he also made a segment of things he would sell at a more convenient time, he was nearing the 500lb limit of his inventory so a trader would be all-too-welcome at this point. With the use of Clean Logan was able to make his party presentable, as well as remove any sign that the previous items belonged to anyone but them. Tarkas eventually entered the main room, looking better than the previous day as his limp was all but gone. ¡°You fellas looking for a morning meal? I feel like frying up some raylen skewers, on the house.¡± The duo nodded excitedly, their excitement rising further as after 10 minutes they were treated to three skewers each of cubes of salty meat adorned with fried vegetables. The tomatoes exploded on bite, the potatoes were crispy on the outside yet fluffy on the inside, the whole skewer was seasoned to perfection. Logan had to try hard to not let his saliva hit the table as he dined on his breakfast. A short conversation was held with Tarkas before the pair left, and he accepted to not mention the two saving his life or the prowess of Logan. Due to his adventuring background, Tarkas seemed all too versed in keeping allies close and enemies six feet under his floorboards. Enough time passed for Marcus to use Healer¡¯s Caress two more times on Logan, bringing him to 65/76 HP. As they were readying to leave, Logan noticed that Marcus had picked up another skill point, checking his ally¡¯s details further he was unable to find what granted him the point sadly. Leaving the inn, Logan explained the situation to Marcus who reaffirmed that his ability to heal was his greatest asset, and so the point was put into Multitude Healing to make it tier 2 which granted another use of Healer¡¯s Caress.
The fifth day of walking was thankfully uninterrupted by any form of hostility, a few passerbys waved at the duo, other adventurers were seen out and about on quests, and Logan was healed to full health over the long walk. Day turned to night and the two settled in for the night, already wishing for the comfort of an inn again. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Logan started and completed reading his final book ¡°Wild Components¡± which was another 100-page tome. With its completion, his status windows were filled in with more information, mostly in his bestiary and flora catalogues for items he could obtain. The book didn¡¯t contain information on any creatures over level 15 however, seemingly a ¡°beginners¡± book if anything.
Just like the fifth, the sixth day was pleasantly devoid of conflict. Logan was able to spot some more red cartton herbs at the edge of the path that led into the forest, gathering up six more shoddy copies to add to his pack. Wanting to try out the dagger throwing style of one of the previous bandits, Logan attempted to throw his collection of five shoddy daggers he had purchased before leaving Tinte at nearby deer. He was eventually able to hit one such target with two of the daggers, felling the animal. With the successful kill, he gained a new SKoL ¡°Throwing¡± which simply just increased his proficiency with throwing anything. Carving up the deer for its hide and meat, the pair had a nicer midday meal in comparison to their rations and salted meats. Aside from their gathering of ingredients from the wild, the day was over with quickly, as was the night as Logan had little else to read about, instead he started investigating his slew of choices for skills and other parts of his status.
Reaching the seventh day of traversal, the pair had only a third of their journey left. Logan¡¯s feet would have developed many sores on the journey if not for almost constant access to healing from Marcus, any would-be wounds were magicked out of existence. The same was said about any laundry day woes as Logan¡¯s mick was able to attend to any dirt, sweat, and blood. With two days full of recovery it was just about time for their day to go wrong, or at least for someone else¡¯s day to go wrong and require the pair¡¯s intervention. Crashing out from the treeline to the west, an injured adventurer was seemingly fleeing a foe as he called out for help down the road. Seeing the fellow adventurer, Logan and Marcus shot off in a sprint to aid the injured. Their eyes lit up in glee at the sight of allies but dimmed quickly as the younger man was assaulted but a leaping goblin scout, piling on him to the floor with a raised club. Throwing his hand out, Logan shot a wave of energy at the goblin with a quick case chant of ¡°Force.¡± With the foe flying off the adventurer completely, taking a new height of 13 damage from the mick, the adventurer picked himself up as the pair approached him. Covered in dirt, blood, and housing two arrows in his back, the adventurer was certainly worse for wear. With Identification, Logan saw the young man, who was only 17, was a level 2 Knight yet to afford a full set of metal armour and was flaunting some hard leather scraps. Without paying too much mind, Logan did not realise that killing the goblin muscle hadn¡¯t shown any experience number on its defeat. ¡°Thank the above you came when you did, are you high rank? My fellows are still in the forests, we were ambushed and-¡± the younger man started, looking at his snapped-in-two sword that he winced at. ¡°Yes, we can help, take us there!¡± Logan interrupted, his skill showing the lad as an adventurer from a smaller village, by the name of Fowp, to the east and not some ambushing bandit. Marcus quickly used Healer¡¯s Caress on the man, easing the pain he had been inflicted. The lad started to dart back into the western forest, leading the pair deeper. Logan pulled a sword from his bag-inventory that he had taken from the earlier bandits and handed it to the young man, who accepted it without question. Asking what the situation was up ahead, the lad replied. ¡°We took a quest to investigate a goblin band heading southward, we had an ooran with a letter attached warning of growing forces that ways so we were asked to give correspondence on a possible backup army.¡± ¡°What numbers did you count before getting attacked?¡± Logan queried. ¡°A good few dozen, maybe 40 at least. Some scouts saw us and called in an alert I think.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll evacuate your party as best we can, but with numbers like those we will need to retreat.¡± ¡°Damn straight we¡¯re getting the fuck out of here, there¡¯s three of us, my friends got caught in a melee and told me to go for help on the road.¡± As the conversation went on, the trio finally arrived at a clearing in the forest, several archer perches were set up with wooden platforms attached to higher parts of the trees. Rope ladders and tightropes formed a spider¡¯s web of higher-ground advantage for the goblinoids. Scanning the area Logan easily identified ten goblins, three were scouts, four were muscles, and three were a new variant, archers. ¡°Goblin Archer - Goblinoid. Level 2: 9/9 HP, 0/0 MP. A goblinoid further into adolescence that learned how to make, as well as fire, a bow and arrows. Slightly smarter than its kin, this goblin loves to climb trees and fire at its foes with delight in its eyes and grin. Wields: Wood Bow 1-3 dmg¡±, the window detailed to Logan. The components weren¡¯t listed, as Logan did not care for that information during a fight. ¡°Weaker than muscles, but a pain if there¡¯s that many in the treeline¡±, Logan thought to himself. Trapped in a melee, just as the first man said, were two more adventurers, a female Fighter of level 3 and a male Rogue of level 1. Not a large or overly experienced party, but a small scouting band nonetheless. The Fighter and Rogue were duelling with three muscles, who were just as injured as the humans. Aiding their fight, Logan shot out a dual-wielded round of Forces at the muscles, dealing 13 damage to each and felling them both. The humans darted their heads over as they saw their ally with two new friends in tow, the light of hope radiating from their eyes. With the upper hand, they were able to finish the final muscle off. Logan saw a new message pop up in front of him. ¡°Your party is aiding another, a multi-party has been established. Your experience will be reduced by 40% due to having 4 allies.¡± Without the need for Identification any longer, Logan saw that the remaining humans were quite weak, the Fighter sitting at 12/46 HP, the Rogue at 2/12. Logan shouted over to Marcus to heal the Rogue first, to which he began casting his spell. ¡°Got aid I see, hoy there!¡± the female Fighter shouted, moving to protect the Rogue from archer fire. Shooting his eyes to the skies, Logan began to assault the archers above with Force after Force, some were able to dodge but not for long. Killing the three treeline foes in five shots, Logan was approached by a charging muscle that was finally able to join the fray, a quick backwards step and Force mick dealt with the foe, which had only 11 HP to its name, easily. A healing orb shot to the Rogue, easily healing them fully, as Marcus grouped up with the three newcomers. They gave their thanks as the four rallied into a circle formation to defend against a set of 3 scouts who had got close enough to accost them. Flurries of swords, daggers, and staff smash saw an end to the scouts quickly, especially with an aided Force their way. With the goblins dealt with Logan had expected to see experience popping up, and when he didn¡¯t he snapped his fingers as the local area was detailed on a mini-map. Alongside his allies, he saw 22 other orbs of varying sizes. He was sure that any friendly fauna had scattered from the fight. His allies on the other hand were unawares. ¡°More incoming, this way!¡± Logan shouted to his new allies. They all darted their heads to him and started running without question. The dots on his mini-map started to get closer before the echoes stopped, clicking again updated the map for a few seconds more and allowed him to pre-emptively shoot off a Force deeper into the woods, noticing it hit another scout. Logan could tell that the newcomers wanted to ask about his quickcasting, but there was no time as the dots of his mini-map changed into clear visuals ahead of him, ten more muscles, five more archers in the trees above, and six scouts dashing ahead of them all. This morning Logan had prepared 2 casts of Flame and 2 of Gaia, the first being his highest damage and the second being great at crowd control, but he had the perfect opportunity to deal with the charging foes ahead of him. ¡°Flame Wall!¡± he chanted, waving his hand over the forest floors as a large wall of flame emerged. Dancing in front of him, the sparks of ember turned the charging scouts to cinders on the other side as they fell into a slide across the mud floors, catching two of the muscles to boot. The wall dealt a hazardous 15 damage to all that tried to barge through it, more than enough to deal with the weaker variants. Arrows started to fly from up above, pelting into Logan six times, however, only four were able to damage him, dealing 1, 1, 1, and 2 damage. Both his defence rating and damage reduction allowed him to tank these attacks easily. A few rocks were hurled by the remaining eight muscles, but regardless if they got through Logan¡¯s garb they dealt no damage. Getting cocky, he beckoned the others to continue fleeing, only to let out a countless amount of Force micks into the oncoming goblinoids. Dealing with the muscles before they got too close, Logan was easily able to fell the eight that were approaching as he backstepped to meet up with the others. The trees made it hard to hit the archers in the trees, but rapid-firing Force micks upwards allowed Logan to hit them every so often. Clicking regularly to keep himself updated, Logan could tell that more were coming from further west. ¡°More inbound, make it to the road, they are at a disadvantage there¡±, Logan called out, stopping his Force barrage for a moment. ¡°Almost there! You¡¯re doing amazing work, sir mage!¡± the Fighter shouted. ¡°That he is! Praise be to Desma!¡± the Rogue added. Exploding from the treeline yet again, the five adventurers made it back to the dirt road, though no sight of other travellers was seen. The trio of newcomers continued to the eastern edge, though Marcus slowed down a bit to keep a shorter distance to Logan. ¡°Now this is much easier¡±, Logan praised in his head as he had shot down the final archer that arrived with the new group. With another snap of his fingers, he was able to see another ten approaching dots, with one larger one in the back. ¡°Another Hobgoblin? That could be a problem.¡± Regrouping, the five adventurers shared facial expressions of gratitude. ¡°Fowp is a good 20-minute walk to the east, we can go-¡± the Fighter started. ¡°No time, watch out¡±, Logan interrupted as he saw the dots reach the edge of the forest. Eight goblins of a new type darted from the trees, followed by two muscles, the larger dot on the mini-map just several seconds behind. The large monstrous yell alerted Logan to its actual form as he remembered its type from the last time, a hobgoblin leader. --- *** --- Chapter 32 - The Goblin-Counter Bursting from the edge of the forests, ten goblinoids made their presence known with rock throws and saliva-dripping yells. Charging towards the duo-party were eight of a new variant, Logan gave a quick Identification to see if he needed to worry. ¡°Goblin Berserker - Goblinoid. Level 3: 15/15 HP, 0/0 MP. The bulkiest of goblinoid that is leaving adolescence. Standing at just over 3'' 6", these goblins sport thicker muscles than their younger kin and often go on to become leaders in adulthood. Often subordinates directly to hobgoblins, you''ll easily find several of these with the higher-ups in goblinoid factions. Skills: Rage, Damage Reduction 1. Wields: Mace 2-4 dmg.¡± Nothing too drastic over what he had faced previously, but the addition of skills gave Logan a slight bit of worry. This was also the first foe he could see that had damage reduction, aside from the hobgoblin several days ago who he was unable to identify. The trio of adventurers started to shake at the edge of the forest, pulling out what ranged weaponry they had, the Fighter with a bow, the Knight picking up nearby rocks, and the Rogue readying some throwing daggers. Logan was sure their aid would be far worse than Marsh and his allies from the previous hobgoblin quest. Marcus readied his crossbow to the side of all his allies to get a good line of sight, as well as able to heal Logan at a moment¡¯s notice. Wanting to deal with the easiest targets first, Logan shot off two volleys of Force at the two joining muscles, killing them quickly. The berserkers were angered by the death of even more kin, and the eight ferocious enemies charged at Logan. Arrows, bolts, rocks, and knives all started to fling from east to west, accompanied by Force micks. What would normally deal 13 damage, dealt 12 due to the damage reduction of the berserkers, but with the amount of firepower at their beck and call, the adventurers were able to down 3 berserkers before the mass got to the Spellthief. Backstepping and drawing up his blade, Logan began to dodge, parry, and stab out at the berserkers. The goblins were faster in combat than their kin, their red eyes showing off their rage-induced carnage. A slam into an arm, nick of a leg, crash into the stomach, Logan was struck several times, receiving 2, 3, 3, 3, and 3 damage, all being reduced by his armour. His dagger continued to let out slash after stab, dealing a range of damage from 13 to 17, killing a few of the berserkers in a single strike. With a gap in the mess of flesh, Marcus shot a Heal towards Logan, bringing him back to max health. Eventually, the last berserker fell, ending a portion of the second wave. The crashing of wood, stomping of large feet against dirt, and another roar erupted from the western forest, followed by an explosion of wood splinters as the hobgoblin emerged. ¡°Identify.¡± ¡°Hobgoblin Leader - Goblinoid. Level 5: 37/37 HP, 0/0 MP. A large and dominating force of nature, the hobgoblin leader sports a large great mace and more than enough muscle to utilize it. Often leading bands of other goblins and hobgoblins, the leader has a higher intellect and can order his troops easily. Skills: Rage, Damage Reduction 3. Wields: Great Mace 3-6 dmg. Wears: Metal Protection, +5 Defence Rating, 2 Damage Reduction.¡± ¡°No wonder Marsh and co needed magic, that¡¯s a total of 5 dam red! That mace will definitely do more damage than listed, that¡¯s only the weapon damage¡±, Logan worried in his head. Though this hobgoblin seemed a bit weaker than the previous one he had encountered, there was no red skulls and crossbones topped with a golden crown like the last one. The hobgoblin was tall and thick, a 7¡¯ mass of muscle and ugliness. It was close in resemblance to a goblin if it had eaten 3 cows. Dark green skin with patches of lighter green, its face had a snout-like nose on it, its left ear mangy from being bitten off. It wore patchwork metallic armour made up of several sets, most likely taken from dead adventurers and crudely bashed together. ¡°Flame¡±, Logan began to cast, but the hobgoblin was able to act fast, throwing its oversized mace at the Spellthief. The hunk of wood and metal plummeted through the air and crashed into Logan, dragging him to the floor and flying off behind him as he made a crater. ¡°Logan, you have received 12 damage, current HP 64/76¡±, the System alerted him. ¡°Yeah, I got it¡±, Logan replied in his head. Looking to his hand he saw the embers dying out as he miscast his previous spell. ¡°Fuck sake, Gaia it is then.¡± Standing back up, Logan could see the trio of adventurers practically fainting at the sight of the hobgoblin, he didn¡¯t have the time to sort them out, however, as the hobgoblin started its charge to the Spellthief. Bringing up his dagger, Logan was treated to a massive fist into his blocking arms as he was sent sliding backwards on his feet against the dirt, receiving 5 more damage. His arms vibrating from the force he retaliated with a spell due to the distance, ¡°Gaia Shot!¡± he shouted out, a shard of earth forming in his palm and darting across the sky to hit the hobgoblin in the shoulder for 25 damage. The newcomers gained some form of morale seeing Logan quickcast his spells yet again, as well as the hobgoblin taking a heavy hit, and proceeded to continue their ranged assault though Logan could see it all did 0 damage. Readying another spell, Logan was accosted by the hulking mass once more. This time, instead of a fist into his blocking arms, Logan was grappled by the huge hands of the hobgoblin gripping tightly around his body and pinning his arms to his side. He would have let out a cry of pain if not for the air being squeezed from his lungs. Getting crushed dealt him another 6 damage, a clench of the fists another 5, Logan was in big trouble. ¡°Logan!¡± Marcus called out, moving closer to the hobgoblin. Throwing out a hand to the side he began a new spell. ¡°Dirt-bound allies, rise to heed my call. Gaia Shot¡±, he incanted, rock and mud forming in his hand, shooting towards the overgrown nuisance of a beast. The shards of the earth dealt a measly 13 damage to the brute, but it was enough to loosen its hold over Logan. As Logan fell to the floor he brought up his dagger again and threw it into the head of the hobgoblin, not wanting to waste time on another spell. The dagger dug deep into the head of the foe, dealing a decreased 9 damage but adding into the shot from Marcus to reach -10/37 HP. With the power of the thrown weapon and blast of the spell, the hobgoblin fell backwards, crashing down to the dirt road. Logan could only speculate as to the hobgoblin surviving at -1 HP that it was due to its rage ability, the final strike of the dagger being enough to overcome whatever kept it standing. Its body convulsed for a few seconds before lying still on the ground, everyone would have been on the edge of their seats, if they were sitting, but Logan knew the encounter was over as he saw the floating experience numbers popping up, even the ones deeper in the forest seemingly got closer to alert to Logan what he had gained. In total, Logan had gained 4,002 experience from the encounter, the NPCs all received 870 each. It left Logan at an infuriatingly close 27,600 / 28,000 XP, and Marcus up to an equally frustrating 5,990 / 6,000 XP. The better outcome from the fight though was that the Knight had risen to level 3 and the Rogue to level 2, sponging off the hard work that Logan had put into this encounter. Breathing a sigh of relief, Logan snapped his fingers just in case the experience numbers were false happiness, it pinged a few small dots on the mini-map but weren¡¯t large enough to be anything other than squirrels and birds. ¡°It¡¯s fine, that¡¯s the last of what followed us, for now¡±, Logan explained to the others, still tense from the now-defeated horde. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. The newcomers all looked at one another but accepted the information from the more experienced hunter. Smiles, laughs, and high-fives were given all around as they survived a fight that would have certainly ended with all of them dead. Unbeknownst to them, they had also gained levels from the engagement. ¡°Wonderful, sir mage, your magic was a dazzling display, and that knife work, an enhancement expert is just what we needed¡±, the female Fighter spoke. Logan assumed they thought he used magic to fight better in melee, similar to what his adversaries to save the Mova¡¯s had. ¡°We were only meant to scout, but you dealt with the main horde all on your twosome. Amazing work!¡± the younger Knight added. Marcus moved over to Logan, using his two other charges of Healer¡¯s Caress to bring his ally up to 54/76 HP. ¡°An amazing follow-up from you as well, honoured Devout¡±, the Rogue chimed in, retrieving his thrown daggers that had almost snapped in half from hitting the hobgoblin. ¡°You said there was at least 40? I counted 42 and a hobgoblin. Any more than that?¡± Logan asked, wanting to push himself and Marcus over into the next levels. A nagging feeling in the back of his head blossomed into curiosity surrounding level 8. ¡°Truly? 43 in all?! Bless the above you came when you did, that is the whole force from what we scouted. It is possible they have more further in that we didn¡¯t eye up, but they are meaningless numbers now you¡¯ve done this to the main portion¡±, the Knight answered. ¡°There was no quest to quell them though. Just scouting, I am unsure if the hall would pay you for your work¡±, the Rogue spoke, almost worried that their saviours would leave angry. ¡°We¡¯ll take our pay in their parts and items. You can take any reward that would come up from their eradication. You could use it more than us¡±, Logan offered. ¡°Their gear needs updating, the money from that kind of quest will make sure they survive longer¡±, he thought. Through Identification Logan was able to see that the three weren¡¯t affiliated with any bad groups, just fresh or a few months experienced adventurers. They also had little discrimination against casters, though that could have just been down to him saving their lives. The trio had their jaws almost dislocate at Logan¡¯s offer, the symbols for coins envisioned in their eyes to Logan¡¯s imagination. He knew it was a lot of silver for not a lot of work on their part, but they did almost die, so it could have been thought of as compensation for their near-death experiences. ¡°We can¡¯t possibly take that, even if they do offer a reward it¡¯d be countless silver, we could all update our gear. It¡¯s too much¡±, the Knight spoke. The Fighter and Rogue also reiterated the same. ¡°You almost died, and we don¡¯t aim to stop off again, just use the money to better serve your town. Also, take this as a sign that casters are valuable party members, invite them on quests more often¡±, Logan instructed. Marcus turned his head to his ally, a glint in his eye and a smirk on his face. This was a sign that Logan was working to build up casters as equals amongst the adventurers, something Marcus hoped for, but also prayed upon to his deity. ¡°Can we at least give your names so they know who did this? I am sure a reward would come your way eventually¡±, the Knight continued. ¡°Not needed. We didn¡¯t help with the aim of fame or riches. You can just say a passing caster aided you and saw fit to deal with the approaching goblins.¡± ¡°It¡¯s better we don¡¯t draw too much attention before our reassessment, I am unsure if a rank 7 or 8 Wizard would be someone they expect could take down that number of foes with little aid¡±, Logan rationalized in his head. ¡°A caster is certainly a valued member of the party after seeing this display, the charity is just a cherry on top¡±, the Rogue spoke. The adventurers spoke for a while longer before they eventually agreed to the overpayment. After collecting their effects, and tending to any wounds, they began their journey back to Fowp. This left Logan and Marcus to their own devices, the Spellthief beginning his Harvesting of the goblins but leaving their weapons across the floor as they weighed too much for how little they were worth. In all, Logan gathered 30 shoddy ears, 11 commons, and 1 high-quality, the hobgoblin ear was of common quality, the most expensive of the lot. The coin pouches of the goblinoids totalled 86 copper, 26 of which went to Marcus. It took a good 10 minutes to finish the collection, allowing Marcus to heal his ally three more times for 12, bringing Logan to 66/76 HP. Discussing their next actions with one another, Logan persuaded Marcus to delve just a bit deeper into the forests to clear out any remaining goblins from the area. Logan played it off as if they were making sure it was safe for the others, when he really just wanted to hit level 8 as he was within arms reach.
Spending a good half hour in the forest, using Tracking and Echo Radar, Logan was able to find three more archers hiding amongst the trees, probably hoping to avoid the conflict and deserting their ¡°army¡± of goblins. Quick work was made of the remainders, dying to blasts of Force from Logan who was antsy to see his rewards. ¡°Level up! Gain: 8 HP, +1 Str, +1 Agi, +1 Con, +1 Int. You have gained one additional level 1 spell slot and three level 2 spell slots. You have 1 attribute point to spend¡±, the normal levelling window detailed to the Spellthief. ¡°Finally!¡± Logan cheered in his head, not wanting to shock Marcus with his excitement at receiving access to level 2 spells, or even just more slots per day. With the unlocking of second-level spells, Logan¡¯s status expanded the spellbook section, allowing him to ready his casts per day. He wanted to wait till they were in a safer location to test out the new spells, so he resigned to inspect his ally. Marcus had gained 60 XP from the hunting trip, bringing him to level 4 and gaining +1 Str and +3 Wis. Seeing this, Logan was sure that Marcus was gaining partial attribute points like he was, seemingly in the odd-numbered levels. ¡°Logan, my spellforce. This army has proved to be a great enough feat to grant me more. Could you investigate it?¡± ¡°That it has, you¡¯re rank 4 now, Marcus. Do you want that Wisdom increase as usual?¡± ¡°Of course, it should also help my offensive spells when you¡¯re grappled again¡±, Marcus responded with a bit of a chuckle. Placing Marcus¡¯s point into Wisdom didn¡¯t grant anymore MP, but the level increase did add 2 points, bringing the total to 9. At the same time, Logan spent his additional point into Intelligence. Testing the new power of Healer¡¯s Caress, Marcus found it now healed 4 HP per use, and used all three on Logan to bring him up to 86/86 HP. Collecting the ears as they went, Logan added 3 more common goblin ears to his inventory, the 5 copper that was gathered went to Marcus. With the half-hour spent, if there were any other scouting parties or people from the hall of Fowp approaching the forests then the pair only had minutes to spare if they didn¡¯t want to be spotted. Heading northeast through the forest they eventually returned to the road.
With a long dirt road ahead of them, the pair began to talk about the recent events, Logan being the one to begin the conversation. ¡°As a heads up, Marcus, just as you reached rank 4 I also reached rank 8, so expect to see some second-level spells when we¡¯re back at camp.¡± ¡°Rank 8, what is that now, two weeks or so? You are remarkable, Logan. What do you plan on doing with your rise in power? The last Wizard oracle we spoke about was the one to make the Magi¡¯s Tower. Will you also work to better the lives of other casters?¡± ¡°Getting a bit ahead of ourselves, aren¡¯t we? It¡¯s on the list of things to do, yeah, but I feel like everyone should be treated fairly regardless of class, lack thereof, or even species. Hopefully, this kind of power is enough to change people¡¯s views.¡± ¡°My soul is warmed by your words, you are truly sent here by one above to make this world a greater place to be.¡± ¡°Should I tell him I plan to go home? Or even that I come from elsewhere? I need his help, but he may depart if he thinks of me as an alien or something. But he seems on board with the whole equality goal¡±, Logan fought with his thoughts. ¡°I must ask though, Logan. Do you know how you gained these oracle powers? Have you spoken with any of the ones above or below?¡± ¡°Well, you see. I believe it was Vokka who granted me these powers, I had a sort of¡­ message from them I guess you could say.¡± Marcus could not contain his excitement, a wide open-mouthed smile as he spoke, ¡°Yes! I believed it to be so! If not my OAB then Vokka to be sure. What did they say?¡± ¡°That they granted me their protection, but not much else besides that. I wanted to find more oracles so I could possibly learn more about these powers and how to contact Vokka.¡± ¡°A noble cause, hand-in-hand with your journey to bring happiness to the lands. You can count on me, Logan.¡± ¡°Now I can¡¯t help but feel bad. I¡¯ll tell him if I do find a way back, but for now, he is way too into the idea of me saving this world from discrimination¡±, Logan reconciled in his head. The long walk continued for a while, the discussion shifting between their new powers, skills to obtain in the future, possible quests to take on, and the mission they had set themselves. Logan¡¯s guilt was put aside, as he hadn¡¯t much choice in the matter, being thrust here without as much as a how-do-you-do from Vokka. When they eventually reached their camp for the night, Logan began his second-level experimentations. --- *** --- Chapter 33 - Three鈥檚 Company ¡°Ok, so it seems I can readily use my second-level spells after levelling up, no resting needed. It¡¯d probably be best to sort out what I will be using now to have ample slots in the morning¡±, Logan explained to Marcus at the crackling campfire. ¡°That is a fine situation to find ourselves within. What second-level spells do you know?¡± Marcus inquired as he moved away debris to make a suitable area for testing at their small campsite a couple of hundred feet from the dirt road. ¡°Dimensional Jaunt, Sleep, Summon _ Elemental, and Zombify. Though I haven¡¯t looked much into the spells beside Sleep, give me a second.¡± Pulling up his spell list, Logan began to peruse his new selection of spells. ¡°I don¡¯t like the sound of Zombify, are corpses sacred in this world? The spell doesn¡¯t exactly allude to it being evil at all, it¡¯s even referred to as summoning. Dimensional Jaunt would help quite a bit at gaining some distance on Gauntlet, 8 miles per cast would get us 24 miles closer if I had undisturbed sight¡±, Logan pondered in his head. Explaining the spells to his Devout ally, Marcus was able to inform Logan that necromancy didn¡¯t have much of a stigma aside from forcing it onto family crypts and the like. It would look weird if he would Zombify an adventurer, however, as people would assume he had killed them. As for the elementals, Marcus didn¡¯t have much information on that subject. With the night free to him, Logan prepared 1 casting of Dimensional Jaunt, Sleep, and Summon _ Elemental each. Aided by the moonlight, Logan looked to the other side of the road, a good 500 feet or so away, and chanted ¡°Dimensional Jaunt¡± aloud. With the final word of his spell, his body started to vibrate all over, an intense crushing sensation washing over the Spellthief. As if being sucked into a vacuum, Logan warped from his current spot and appeared at his target, a quick burst of wind and a short shockwave-like sound as he left then landed on the grass ahead. ¡°That¡¯s, exhilarating. I¡¯ll have to get used to that if I want to use it in combat. That bastarn coven used it quite a bit but had a delay between appearing and attacking.¡± Returning to the camp, Logan saw that Marcus was hiding his wide grin at seeing the teleportation in action. The next spell on the list would take much longer to prepare though, as there was additional information at hand for creating his first elemental. It took around 10 minutes to clean a 5-foot circle in the floor, etch some arcane runes within an oval design into the dirt with a stick, and fill the runes with some of Logan¡¯s blood which flowed from a new cut in his hand. Cutting his hand seemed to get harder as his levels rose, his skin hardening to demonstrate his HP increasing most likely. Sitting crosslegged, Logan focused on the form of his new summon, choosing to make a Flame elemental to start, hoping it would aid in the colder seasons and possibly be useful if he ever had to deal with the ¡°icy bastards¡± to the north-east if it came to that. Chanting a long drawn out spell, Logan had returned to his old roleplaying ways as the windows he read instructed him to do so. All the while, Logan was thinking of an apt name for his future ally.
The hour was long, mostly full of fantastical chanting, infusing both ¡°spellforce¡± alongside Logan¡¯s own control. With the power at hand, the winds started to draw into the arcane circle he had formed. Leaves rustled over the floor as small embers started to form. ¡°Elements of Avanar, I call forth your strength. Lend me a denizen of your hold and I shall grant them a true will. Created in my arcane image, infused with my magic, I summon thee. Summon Flame Elemental, Celsius!¡± At the end of his chant, Logan thrust his hand to the floor as more arcane symbols danced across the floor to the circle he had made. The embers started to roar louder and larger, exploding into bigger tufts of fire, rolling and twisting together they rushed to make a much bigger creature. Ending at around 4¡¯ tall, the elemental was complete, a mash of pure red flames combined with orange magma patches, two wide yellow eyes flew open. A gravelly and wave-like voice emanated from an opened maw that revealed a dark orange inner, ¡°That which gives me life, I am born in your guise. Humbly I shall serve, till my last speck is snuffed out¡±, it spoke as if reciting lines from a page, completing the spell incantations. A ripple of flames washed over the elemental, seemingly completing the creation process. After the ripple ended, the flame elemental looked around its immediate vicinity, seemingly taking on its new personality. A slightly higher-pitched voice came from its mouth, displaying its younger status, ¡°Master, thank you for summoning me, where are we headed?¡± ¡°Nowhere just yet, I was just making sure I had you prepared¡±, Logan replied, looking over his new creation. The flame elemental was immediately added to the party of Logan and Marcus, its status showing instantly to its master. ¡°Celsius - Flame Elemental. Level 1. STR 10, AGI 8, CON 10, INT 8, WIS 5, CHA 5: 4/4 HP, 1/1 MP. A creature formed fully of living flames and hot magma, showing an intelligence vastly beyond that of common animals. While their body consists entirely of fiery substances they can stop themselves from setting everything alight, instead only heating surfaces to the point it would burn those who touch them. Skills: Fiery Body, Damage Reduction 1. Spell List: 1st: Flame.¡± ¡°Ok, master, give me the order when you need me to burn something. I can¡¯t do much right now, but I¡¯ll do what I can¡±, Celsius continued. ¡°Actually, an idea comes to mind, could you cast Flame at me?¡± ¡°I can do so, master, but I do not wish to harm you¡­ Wait, you mean to absorb it? A fine idea! Ready yourself¡±, the elemental replied, a lightbulb of yellow fire forming above its head as the intention clicked within whatever it could call a brain. Stepping back slightly Logan held up his hand in preparation for the blast from his fiery ally. Just like the previous creatures he had encountered, Celsius was able to fling spells without incantations whatsoever, a bright flash of red flowing from its stomach to its dripping arm, forming a petite ball of fire that eventually shot itself towards the Spellthief. Logan was able to easily catch the fire baseball, it being much smaller than others he had faced alongside the fact they set up to do so. ¡°Spell Absorb¡±, Logan commanded in his mind. As the fires dug into his hand they began to swirl much quicker than they did on approach, becoming sucked into the vortex of his palm with an accompanying update window. ¡°Spell Absorption successful. Flame charge stored. Allied spell detected, no mastery rewarded.¡± ¡°Seems like I can¡¯t grind up my skill with this, nor my spell tiers, but being able to stock up on magic from my summons should help with my spells per day¡±, Logan calculated in his head. ¡°An awesome display, master, when I get stronger I hope I will be of further use. That is the last of my spells for the day.¡± ¡°Feel free to call me Logan, Celsius.¡± ¡°Can do. I was hoping the formalities could be dropped.¡± As the two conversed, Marcus was looking on in awe, a glint in his eye both from excitement as well as the flames reflecting in his vision. ¡°Our party continues to grow, we¡¯ll be a force to be reckoned with for sure¡±, Marcus added. ¡°Nice to meet you, how should I address you?¡± the small elemental asked, its neck cranked back to look up to the Devout. ¡°Marcus is fine, Celsius, was it?¡± ¡°The name given to me by my creator yes, a good one to boot. I do not know what it means, but it certainly sounds as hot as me¡±, Celsius replied with a grin to its orange mouth. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Logan thought to himself over the choice of naming, realising that Avanar probably used a different measurement for heat than what he did back on Earth. At least if any other oracles would hear the name they could approach him to ask.
The three continued their discussion, Celsius revealing that they could also slam with its body when it ran out of MP, though it did not know how its progression worked just yet. From what Logan read in his books and system windows, it seemed that elementals were sexless as they were formed out of matter and had no way to reproduce, but since Celsius had a deeper voice, and seemed more masculine than feminine, it was decided amongst elemental and master that it would be easier to refer to him as a male. It fit better, as the personality of Logan imprinted on his summons, meaning they had his tendencies. Moving the cuff of his coat away from his wrist, Logan began to infuse a portion of Celsius¡¯s lifeforce to his bracelet, assigning him as the elemental for the clasp of the summoner. It would take a day to complete and hopefully would continue during their rest. With nothing left to do at night, the trio made up some new battle formations as well as styles, though Celsius was more of a backup ally due to their incredibly low HP. After the hour had passed, Celsius began to wilt and disintegrate into cinders and then eventually puffs of smoke. The timer would not be a problem the next day as Logan would prepare two casts of it to fully assign his new summon to his trinket. With a final spell to test, Logan and Marcus headed to their individual small tents. Wanting to test out another theory, Logan placed his hand in front of his face and chanted aloud, ¡°Sleep Grasp.¡± Countless sleep spores poured from his palm into his nose, mouth, and ears, forcing the Spellthief into a deep slumber, and just like the previous time he was accosted with a Sleep spell he returned to the land of dreams.
Dress shoes echoed their footsteps across tiled floors, the squeaking of polished leather on polished ceramic filled Logan¡¯s ears, drowning out the elderly voice of the doctor to his side. Wearing his graduation gown, Logan recalled this moment in his life as just after his previous dream. A bright light shone over a bed, the white covers reflecting it harshly back into the teary vision of a recently graduated man. The cold, shivering, embrace of his hand gripping onto another, dimming eyes hardly visible through blurred watery eyes. A few words permeated the haze of Logan¡¯s mind, ¡°not long¡±, ¡°nothing we can do¡±, ¡°blood¡±, coalescing into the situation he dreaded being within. Looking upwards from the woman in the bed, Logan could see his father, scrapes across his face alongside stains of red wiped away from his nose and chipped mouth. An incessant beeping in his ear was all that could keep his hope alive, each note on the machine a sign that his mother could still hear him, see his face, acknowledge that her son had succeeded in life. ¡°Don¡¯t let it stop¡±, he thought to himself. The cold hand in his became weaker, the grip loosening. Logan could feel the dream coming to a close, the world filling with a hazy dismissal as all sound diluted away into nothing. Rushing back to his awake state, the last sound Logan could make out was a single, disastrous, held tone.
Darting to an upright position, Logan woke up in his tent, his sweaty face hitting the canvas of his sleeping abode. It took all of his resolve to not shout to the above, emotions bubbling over in his stomach. Beset with anger, sadness, and a weird mix of happiness at his memories, Logan got up from his bedroll to leave his tent. Since they were in dangerous locales at night, the pair slept in their gear so Logan didn¡¯t need to put his boots back on. The nighttime hooting of owls, buzzing of insects, and distant howls of nocturnal hunters filled the forest. A minute dew on the plants filled the campsite with a mix of their campfire smells and nature. ¡°Why¡¯d it have to be me? I¡¯m not a soldier, hardly fought in my life at all. What purpose did they have in bringing me here? My dad is all alone back home, I can¡¯t even let him know what¡¯s happening. This bloody situation is driving me insane!¡± Logan recited, keeping his voice low but still letting it all out. Fighting with his emotions that were no longer restrained, Logan cursed at his predicament, ending it off with several punches into a nearby tree trunk, shattering the bark and leaving deep indents. Visions of the people he had killed to this point flooded his mind, his change from desk worker to killer was a heated topic for his psyche. He begged for more of his conscience to be at war with his decisions, yet he continued to feel justified in his choices. The pacing, punching, and perturbed thoughts eventually wore Logan out, leaving him to return to his tent and settle in for the rest of the night. At least his experimentation bore fruit in that he was correct in thinking that the Sleep spell would allow him dreams, or memories, during his rest. He was unsure if he would ask for this fate again, as both times brought him to parts of his past that truly disturbed him.
Awakening to the same alerting voice of the System, Logan still felt the grogginess all over his body. Rubbing his eyes he felt the pain of waking up during the night, planning to not do it again any time soon. Using Clean, checking their gear and inventory, Logan prepared his spells for the day. 3 Flame, 2 Gaia, 2 Summon _ Elemental, and 1 Dimensional Jaunt. Starting the day off with spellcasting, Logan brought back his ally, ¡°Summon Flame Elemental, Celsius¡±, to which his spritely ally of 4¡¯ flames reappeared, stretching their would-be limbs alongside a wide-open mouth for a yawn. Using both of his prepared casts, Logan set the summon to last for the rest of the day, an additional window appearing as he did so. ¡°Would you like to assign two automatic slots for this spell?¡± the window asked, with a few options at hand. Going through the window, and asking the System, Logan was able to set up a single 2nd level spell slot and the clasp for the spell. It took some tinkering but he was able to have his status accept the eventual linking of his summon to the clasp. ¡°Wanting the long-time-aid, Logan? I will make sure to meet your standards, even if I come up short¡±, Celsius spoke, emphasizing the ¡°short¡± part with a wave of his hand over his head. Marcus returned a grin at the pun, Logan focusing more on the next part of their early morning. Grabbing the shoulder of his Devout ally and the head of Celsius, Logan tried his best to get an uninterrupted line of sight down the road, using Identification as well as his map, he gauged it to be a good 2-mile distance before the road bent too far causing a break in his view. ¡°Dimensional Jaunt¡±, he chanted. The trio felt a heavy vibration over their bodies as they were vacuumed into their centres, a shockwave boom of wind sucking inwards with them and exploded outwards as they appeared two miles down the road. ¡°Exhilarating! Again!¡± Celsius beamed. Marcus wasn¡¯t as happy, holding his stomach after arriving on the dirt road, thankfully his constitution allowed him to hold it in. ¡°I¡¯m glad it works, I can only teleport with you two in tow so far. It¡¯s a shame I can¡¯t see further down the road to teleport farther. That was about two miles, of a possible eight.¡± ¡°Still¡­ it¡¯s good¡­ I¡¯ll have to get used to it though¡±, Marcus added, breathing in a bit heavier than usual. ¡°I¡¯m down for another, Logan!¡± Celsius continued. ¡°Sadly that¡¯s all I have for today, tomorrow will be better as you will have attuned to my clasp.¡± Celsius returned a sad face but seemed to understand the lack of spell slots. ¡°Walking¡¯s good¡±, Marcus replied with thankfulness in his voice.
Reconciling to continue the eighth day of traversal by foot, the trio filled the day with conversation. Talking with the elemental, it seemed their knowledge was constrained to what they had engaged with, instead of coming from any sort of plane or other existence it was indeed reaching one-day-old. Celsius could slam his body into his opponents but would prefer to attack from afar with Flame if Logan did not make use of his spells. It seemed like the young elemental only knew of the Shot alteration, and would either gain more with his own progression or through reading. With damage reduction, Celsius could do well on his own against lower-level foes, if Logan wanted his new ally to grind on his own. For now, Celsius would just be an experience sponge in any forthcoming battles to get him ready for proper conflict. The eighth day would not be a day of conflict, however, there was at least one event of note during their travel, a caravan that contained within it two carriages driven by four horses in total. The caravan was not of traveller or villager descent though, as Logan was able to clearly see that all the people were adventurers. Ranging from lower levels of 8 through 14, there were many that Logan could not Identify as their levels far exceeded his. Not wanting to draw attention to themselves, the trio moved to the side of the dirt road to give ample room to the wide caravan. Each of the adventurers had well-crafted arms and armour, from full plate suits to thick hide garbs, many weapons even shone with a magical light or sparkled with tiny red sprites. Logan was able to pick up some of the adventurers¡¯ conversations, figuring out that they were another band hired to deal with the goblin threat that was forming to the south. Estimates put the goblin forces at around 500 strong, with a smattering of hobgoblins among the forming army. Some gossip was also picked up, revealing the highest rank within the adventurer band was 17, a Sorcerer who could use level 3 spells, and whose task was to take down the hobgoblins quickly with fire magic. ¡°Seems like we left just at the right time, a half-thousand army of goblinoids does not sound like fruitful adventuring¡±, Marcus remarked as Logan relayed the information. ¡°But think of all the loot!¡± Celsius chimed in, showing the greedy side of Logan¡¯s psyche. ¡°More trouble than it¡¯s worth I wager. With so many adventurers getting a hand in, the pay will be low unless they plan on having many die on the battlefield¡±, Logan replied. The caravan at their backs, the trio continued onwards, thankful they didn¡¯t have to deal with such a force. Seeing such high levels, or at least hearing about them, did bring more questions to Logan surrounding the maximum level or at least the highest seen within the capital.
A peaceful rest brought the Spellthief, Devout, and fire elemental into the ninth day of travel. Logan had a window appear to note that Celsius had been attuned to his clasp of the summoner, alongside one of his 2nd level slots being preassigned to his summon. With no more testing needed for his spells, he prepared 3 casts of Flame, 2 of Gaia, and 2 of Dimensional Jaunt. Celsius had stayed around during the night, the spell slot required for him being greyed out in Logan¡¯s status. With only two days left in their journey, Logan had hoped for a quick arrival with the aid of his new teleportation magics, using both charges to hasten their trip by a good 5 miles in total. Without a good spyglass, or possibly binoculars, Logan couldn¡¯t squeeze any more distance out of Dimensional Jaunt. Due to the medieval period of Avanar Logan¡¯s hopes for those types of items was very low. A few hours into their ninth day¡¯s walk, a new window appeared in front of Logan, one that shocked him over all previous ones. It was a new quest, titled ¡°Kill Dena Mor¡±, with quite the disturbing failure punishment. ¡°Bobcu dies.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 34 - Breaking Point Beads of sweat rolled down Logan¡¯s forehead, the daunting challenge ahead instilled a heavy sense of fear within him. Out of everything the quest could have required of him, this was an almost non-choice for the Spellthief, forcing his hand to kill one person to save another. Checking over the window closely, Logan made sure to not miss any part of it. ¡°Did whoever send this quest to me orchestrate its occurrence? Would Bobcu have been fine if I had never come to Avanar? I can¡¯t sit around regardless, I have to stop that from happening¡±, Logan fought in his mind. Commanding that parts of this window be assessed, Logan found that names and terms were linked to new windows, thinking on Bobcu brought up his information in Logan¡¯s journal, with reminders that Bobcu owned the library back in Tinte. Along with searching the quest for information, Logan was able to select it as his active quest as he had done previously for quests at the adventures¡¯ hall in Tinte. While active, the quest directed Logan to where Dena was located, and she was close, barely a mile to the northeast. ¡°Marcus, Celsius, we¡¯re going to be taking a detour. Something¡­ has popped up¡±, Logan announced, feeling a kinship with Celsius at the minor pun, or was it just a joke. ¡°Where¡¯s this come from? I didn¡¯t hear anything¡±, Marcus responded. ¡°Another skill, someone dangerous is near and we need to¡­ deal with them.¡± ¡°Some action! Let me at them¡±, Celsius added. ¡°I¡¯ll assess the situation when we are closer, and make a battle plan then, but you may have to sit this one out, Celsius.¡± The fire elemental gave a deflated look, though he understood the dangers he would face as a level 1 creature. Marcus quickly accepted the situation, having total faith in Logan¡¯s skills as an oracle. With everything explained, the trio started to Stealth into the woods to the northeast, Logan clicking his fingers continuously to activate Echo Radar.
It wasn¡¯t long before the party were able to spot their opponents, thankfully their sneaky approach had not failed them this time. Logan identified the group, six bandits in total ranging in level from 3 to 6, a mix of Fighters and Rogues, the leader Dena sitting at level 10. ¡°Shit, why did there have to be so many and one so high level? I gotta play this smart.¡± Looking into the information provided by Identification, Logan was able to see a small rap sheet for each individual, all of them involved in murder and burglary. Dena herself had a reported 20 murders to her name, earning her a wanted poster in larger settlements. Logan couldn¡¯t help but wonder how, in a world of adventurers, that bandits could travel so easily, let alone kill so many people before they got apprehended. The gang looked as if they were making a small camp, gathering up supplies and sorting out loot from another heist of sorts. Dena was towards the middle of the small camp, fiddling with a weird lock-tumbler device. It was too risky to go charging in, nor would the trees offer too much advantage due to the entire crew having crossbows on their backs. The trio was too far back to hear anything, and Logan was never a good lip-reader. Moving a bit back, he began to give his instructions. ¡°Ok, there are 6 bandits in total, range of rank 3 to 6. Dena is a rank 10 Rogue, she¡¯ll be trouble. They are a group of killers, we need to take them down before they reach Tinte, it¡¯ll be weakened with everyone dealing with the goblins.¡± Marcus began to interrupt, but Logan reaffirmed that his skill informed him of the opposing groups¡¯ deeds. ¡°I¡¯ll see how many I can pick off, they have to separate at some point to relieve themselves, or maybe hunt for game. It looks like they¡¯re having a day off from travelling or something. Celsius, shoot me a Flame.¡± As commanded, the fire elemental gave up its single MP to Logan with an absorbed Flame. Logan instructed his allies to stay far back, both of them being far worse at Stealth than the Spellthief. With the preparations all ready, Logan stalked forwards, exiting the party temporarily. He found that using the party system allowed him to circumvent the XP sharing and deductions placed by Marcus and Celsius, even if the spell itself said he would take a penalty for having a summon. It would have been a pointless reduction, as his allies would not gain any experience while they stayed passive.
Logan¡¯s heart was racing, his clothes getting soaked in sweat as his mind went over each outcome of an encounter with this sizeable gang. He had taken care of the bandits at the previous inn relatively well, but then he was able to surprise and split up the enemies within an indoor setting. The level 5 and 6s gave the most worry, with Dena being a mammoth of power over Logan, remembering back to his trial against the bastarn coven. Almost turning into a man of faith, Logan felt himself praising the above deities when he saw Dena shout towards two of the weaker gang members, throwing her arm to the western forests. ¡°Firewood? Game? What are you doing?¡± Logan could not fathom why they were splitting up, but he would take the opportunity. Sneaking after the two weaker members, the level 3 Rogue and level 4 Fighter, Logan was sure he could assault the Rogue from behind before he could let out a word. Getting closer to them, and further from the main camp, Logan was able to hear their conversation. ¡°Shoulda gone ta the shops like I said. No hunting rabbits needed if we had simply freed up some meat bars¡±, the Rogue spoke with a harshness to his tone. ¡°Shut it, Dena¡¯s the smart one. We can¡¯t raise suspicions before a big take. In-n-out, not in-in-in and then out. You want even more hunters on our asses to Tinte?¡± the Fighter responded with a higher-pitch but more authoritative voice. ¡°Who cares for books anyways. Ya really think that device-¡± ¡°Oh shut up!¡± the Fighter shouted with elongated words. ¡°Take better be worth it¡±, the Rogue spoke under his breath. Moving further apart, it certainly seemed like the Rogue¡¯s job was getting the rabbits whereas the Fighter was on wood duty, taking an axe from his belt and chopping at fallen logs. Waiting until they were a good distance apart, Logan trailed the Rogue. ¡°Put Backstab on hiatus until I say otherwise¡±, Logan commanded his System, as he saw his ability had a red cancel sign appear over it. He wanted to keep the skill in reserve if a fight occurred, meaning he could deal with it before any reinforcements were alerted. Mere feet away from the Rogue, Logan drew his dagger and a large piece of cloth he tore from an old tunic in his inventory in the other hand. The Rogue drew his crossbow as he eyed a rabbit in the distance, and as he loosed the projectile Logan forced the cloth over the Rogue¡¯s face, shoving it into his mouth. Muffling out a cry, the Rogue felt the repeated shoddy shanks into his back, all down his spine and into his sides. Logan felt the meaty interior grip onto his blade as he drove it deep, retrieving it alongside blood and intestines. The Rogue could do nothing except grapple at Logan¡¯s head with a twisted arm, the three stabs penetrating the man until his resistance became futile. Logan could see the man¡¯s 34 health drop rapidly, 16, 15, 18 damage were dealt, the last stab having the man¡¯s body convulse uncontrollably as his life was ripped from him. Logan pulled on his left arm, throwing the body to the floor beside him. Breathing heavily, Logan¡¯s only response was a wispy ¡°Fucker¡± exclamation. Logan didn¡¯t want to bother with the experience right now, quickly kneeling to the corpse he used Essence Absorption on it to remove any trace of him, along with putting all of the left-behind gear into his inventory. ¡°Absorption of foe complete. Calculating reward¡­¡± ¡°Target is dead, nothing absorbed.¡± Not wanting to waste time, Logan backtracked to the Fighter that was gathering wood. Thankfully, it seemed he was tasked with collecting a large supply, still working by the time Logan found him again. Utilizing Stealth was becoming second nature at this point, though now more suited to taking down humanoids rather than lupines. Another stroke of luck had hit Logan, the woodcutter had his axe embedded in a log to hold it, currently organising the wood into a small pile. Using the same tactic, Logan quickly kicked at the back of the Fighter¡¯s knee to bring him down slightly, covered the foe¡¯s face with a cloth and filled his mouth with fabric. Then came the blade, over and over again, digging deep into the Fighter as if Logan was feverishly searching for ore in rock. Dashes of red-gold poured from the wounds, accompanied by giblet-minerals. A maximum health of 54 was chipped away, 16, 18, 19, 18 damage were dealt, the Fighter giving up a better fight against Logan¡¯s assassination but failing to halt the excavation of his inners. Shivers and jolts signed the end of the man, as Logan could only think of the enemy¡¯s crimes listed in his information. ¡°No more killing for you¡±, he reconciled in his head. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Placing his hand on the corpse he absorbed it once more. ¡°Absorption of foe complete. Calculating reward¡­¡± ¡°Target is dead, nothing absorbed.¡± With two of the six combatants dealt with, the gang was becoming a much easier prospect in the Spellthief¡¯s mind. Though with a level 5, two 6s, and a level 10 meant that the strongest remained. If he could remove one more threat, Logan surmised he could deal with the remainders if it came to a fight with his spells being able to take down a level 6 with a Backstab Flame Grasp, as he had been able to against the bandit at the inn. He wanted to save his magic for Dena however.
Returning to the camp of the bandits, Logan gave it a detailed Identification to make sure he could formulate the best plan of attack. He could easily assassinate the level 5 if she were to split off, the level 6s could prove difficult as they were both fighters with 84 and 88 HP. ¡°Hey! Celpa, Tuff! We haven¡¯t got all day!¡± Dena shouted out, obviously trying to spur on her corpse-allies. ¡°If you want them to hurry, send someone else!¡± Logan demanded in his head. Sadly, his mind commands did not reach the Rogue, instead he had to bide his time hiding amongst the bushes and tree trunks. Minutes passed, which felt as if they were almost hours in this situation. ¡°Nute, check on them. They can fuck at night, not when we got things to do¡±, Dena commanded her ally, the level 5 Rogue known as Nute. Nute stood from her own tent, picking up another wood axe from a nearby crate and a sack from a pile of bags. She gave an affirmative wave to the leader Dena before heading in the direction of the now-empty western section. Logan¡¯s persistence paid off, tailing the next-of-kin on his killer sheet. His mind was a mess of reconciliations, having accepted that if he didn¡¯t kill these bandits, then they would continue to do so. As Nute arrived at what she assumed to be the location of her allies she wasn¡¯t surprised to see anything, as to her it looked like just another part of the forest. Logan had absorbed the corpses, the gear and wood were in his inventory, no trace was left. Nute began to wonder, darting her eyes around. ¡°Hey! You lovers getting in a quickie before we leave?¡± she called out. Reusing his tactic on this Rogue proved to be more difficult, as her own instincts and perception were higher than her late-allies. A cloth covered her face but not before she could grab a hold of Logan¡¯s arm, stopping it from fully muzzling her, fragmented words exited her mouth as her other hand went for her own knife. Logan began to carve into the woman¡¯s back and sides, though he was not left without a parting souvenir. Nute swiped her blade and stabbed it behind her into Logan¡¯s side, dealing a hearty 7 and 8 damage. Logan was able to chunk away from the Rogue¡¯s 60 health, 15, 15, 17, 19 damage were dealt, the wounds catching up with the Rogue who collapsed from the pain but not dying instantly like the last. Grabbing onto the limp body of Nute, Logan used his Essence Absorption skill again, though this time it gave him some more benefit. ¡°Absorption of foe complete. Calculating reward¡­¡± ¡°270 absorbed experience, target has no spells to absorb.¡± ¡°Three for three, can higher levels detect me easier? Hopefully not, or those other two will notice me before I can do this to them¡±, Logan thought to himself. While Logan had dealt with half of the gang, it certainly was not half the strength. With proper tactics and spell usage, he was sure he could win, but it¡¯d still be a hard fight. Returning to the camp yet again, the Spellthief saw it hadn¡¯t been disturbed since his last visit, another waiting segment began.
A good 8 minutes or so passed before the camp grew restless, the two Fighters approaching Dena. ¡°Hey, Dena? You sure this part of the forest is safe? The others haven¡¯t come back yet¡±, the taller lady spoke, not exactly with worry for her allies but for herself. ¡°Don¡¯t like the idea of just us three hitting up Tinte, think we should look for the others?¡± the male Figher spoke, standing at the same height as Dena. ¡°No noise, no wildlife. If they hit trouble they¡¯d probably gone looking for it. Either that or we got deserters on our hands. That fucking Celpa didn¡¯t believe in the kaevock to begin with¡±, Dena replied tersely. The three bandits continued to talk, Logan begging them to split up just one last time. He could see the timer on his absorbed Flame ticking down as it had barely 10 minutes remaining. He wanted all the firepower he could get for the conflict with Dena, but if it meant retreating for a day he wasn¡¯t sure the band would be so easily dealt with after noticing half their number gone. Trailing the band would be difficult through the forest too, or if they met up with the dirt road, even then Logan didn¡¯t want to backtrack too much away from Gauntlet. He still had the drop on them, but now they were alert to at least something being amiss. ¡°Hey, Nute¡¯s pack is still here. She wouldn¡¯t leave without that, got all her money and that in there¡±, the female Fighter noted. ¡°You¡¯re right, looks like they only took tools with ''em.¡± Not wanting to be anywhere near the search party, Logan began to stalk the perimeter of the camp. It had been a while since he caught up with his allies and he didn¡¯t want them to worry or mess up any plan of attack. With his high Agility, sneak shoes, and tier of mastery in Stealth, Logan was able to sneak around without too much issue at the distance he was keeping.
As he made it further away, Logan gave a final look at the gang to make sure they weren¡¯t going in his direction. It seemed the gang had made a decision, gathering up their gear for a searching trip. One of the more worrying sights was that of Dena holding up a small bell, twisting it side to side let out a wide-reaching high-pitch dinging noise, to which Logan surmised was the Rogue making use of Echo Radar. Speeding up his retreat, dashing from tree to tree to hide from the radar, Logan hurried back to his allies who greeted him with raised flames and crossbow. They quickly lowered their guard as they saw the figure to be Logan. ¡°Been almost an hour! Was it a perilous infiltration?¡± Celsius pried. ¡°They split up, had to follow them in deeper. I was able to kill three of them, though it was the weaker members. It seems they know something is up now. There are two Fighters of rank 6 and Dena left. Celsius I am going to need you to cause a distraction for me, can you set anything you want on fire?¡± ¡°I can do if it¡¯s flammable, wood and cloth are easiest. Want me to make some smoke?¡± ¡°They are going to be searching for their dead allies, I need you to set two fires, one in their camp and another further north, see if we can split them up further¡±, Logan instructed. ¡°He isn¡¯t helping to defeat Dena, so this shouldn¡¯t invalidate the third objective¡±, he surmised in his head. At the command, Marcus used Healer¡¯s Caress three times to bring Logan up to 83/86 HP. Due to losing the Flame from Celsius, Logan absorbed two volleys of Gaia from Marcus to grant him an edge in the possible upcoming fight. Since Marcus utilized MP, he could spend it on any spells he knew as he liked, acting as another spell battery for the Spellthief. Aside from the healing and assistance of spells, Marcus was instructed to get a bit closer and to be prepared to throw out a multitude of healing if needed.
With a new plan, the trio moved back to the gang¡¯s camp that was now deserted, with the use of Tracking Logan could easily see they had moved west. Climbing a nearby tree to gain a perch Logan watched as Celsius began to ignite a few parts of the camp, Marcus staying further back in the treeline to the south. It wasn¡¯t long before smoke started to rise from the camp, leading Celsius to move northwards to start another further away. ¡°The fuck? Who forgot to put out the campfire?¡± Dena shouted as the gang returned in a rush. Issuing orders to her underlings, the Fighters dropped their weapons and shields in favour of waterskins and dirt to quell the flames. However, as they went to put out the fires, Dena noticed another fire to the north. ¡°We¡¯ve got a hunter! Deal with this, don¡¯t let the shit burn. I¡¯ll go get them¡±, she continued to order. Instead of a normal run, Logan saw Dena kneel down to a sprinting stance, mutter something, and have her body become a mirage of afterimages. Darting northwards Logan saw her body cut through the wind, possibly a higher variant of the Dash skill that he saw back in Tinte. Logan didn¡¯t have long to deal with the Fighters, he had no faith in his Stealth working against Dena so thought it best to take down what he was closest to. Sliding from his tree, Logan approached the female Fighter from behind, kicked behind her knee and proceeded to repeat his previous assassination. Having the lower HP of the two at 84 meant she would be easier, but not easy. Muffled calls were followed by slices at Logan¡¯s leg and side with a shortsword, striking him for 15, 14, and 16. He returned the attacks with double the number, 15, 19, 15, 17, 16, 17 damage were dealt, Logan dropping the corpse quickly as he felt it succumb to the blows. Being so close to an ally, Logan¡¯s fear of failing to do this silently were met with the male noticing his action towards its end. Fumbling around for their gear on the floor. ¡°The below are you? Whoever you are, you messed with the wrong crew!¡± Not wanting to lose any time or advantage, Logan rushed towards his next foe, his left hand outstretched he commanded, ¡°Force¡±, at his foe, a welling of arcane magic forming in his shoulder and barreling down his limb, through the air as a ball of greyish magic, and impacting the Fighter in the chest for 14 damage. As he recoiled in a curse, the Fighter¡¯s astonished stance was again barraged with a double slice into the punch wound, Spellthief¡¯s edge digging deep for a follow-up of 16 and 18 damage. Returning the pain, the Fighter raised his sword up and shouted, ¡°Power Strike!¡±, his sword lighting up with a bright red mist. A heavy blow came down onto Logan, cutting deep into his shoulder for a worrisome 36 damage, taking the Spellthief down to 2/86 HP. Yelling out in pain, Logan grappled onto the main¡¯s side as he let out his own command, ¡°Gaia Grasp!¡±, causing roots and dirt to dash across his limb to then dig deep into the Fighter. Rock exploded from the contact point, while roots and vines constricted the man¡¯s form. A hearty 47 damage was dealt to the Fighter whose mind was clouded in pain and exhaustion, falling back with the cracking off of mud and dirt from Logan¡¯s palm. Without much time to think, Logan darted to the south to gain the aid of Marcus before Dena could make her return. Looking back to make sure he wasn¡¯t being followed he saw the experience numbers appear above the corpses as well as another worrying change to his status with a warning window, Celsius had just been killed. --- *** --- Chapter 35 - Hunter鈥檚 First Sliding his right leg across the muddy floor, Logan came to a dirty halt as he arrived at the spot where Marcus was laying in wait for a signal. ¡°Marcus, heal me, quickly!¡± Logan demanded, his eyes darting in the direction he had just ran from. ¡°Got it! Orb of all I call to thee, Pondress heal your children. Heal Shot¡±, Marcus responded, conjuring up waves and orbs of yellow light to heal his ally¡¯s wounds. The first healed for 15, Marcus continued to do so at Logan¡¯s behest as he was close to death and had plenty to recover. 18, 16, 17, 17 health was restored to Logan, bringing him back to a comfortable 85/86 HP. All the while, Logan clicked his fingers to try and pre-empt the arrival of Dena if she were to approach. ¡°You need to get up high, let me deal with her-¡± Logan began to command. However, behind the Spellthief, Marcus saw a waft of wispy shadows whirl and twist out of the air, following a dagger that dug deep into Logan¡¯s back. With an explosion of thinly-veiled shadows, the full form of Dena emerged, using a skill that Logan had not yet encountered. ¡°Warning! Logan you just took 35 damage, you¡¯re at 50 hp¡±, the System cried out in his mind. ¡°I got it!¡± Logan replied in his head as he pulled away. Kicking back, Logan dealt a swift blow to Dena¡¯s stomach, using the platform to jump away from her reach for a small distance. Looking over Dena, he could see her in full detail. She stood at 5¡¯11¡±, long raven hair that was tied into a low ponytail at her back with strands flowing over her forehead. Her eyes were a piercing red, marking two deathly lights against her pecan-brown skin colour. Her garb was a mash of yellow and black, with dashes of soaked blood patches across her sleeves and tunic. Wielding two daggers, Logan was puzzled as to why she didn¡¯t use both. ¡°Identify.¡± ¡°Dena Mor: Rogue 10, 129/134 HP, 0/0 MP. A skilled assassin who has accrued enough crimes on her list to warrant a wanted poster, from 20 murders to several thefts, offering 2 gold for her death and return of stolen goods. Once an adventurer, Dena left the organisation when she found that killing adventurers and villagers alike pulled in more money. Skills: Backstab**, Dastardly Backstabs, Dash**, Multi-Backstab, Multi-Dash**, Shroud of Shadow***, Substitution. Wields: Haunt''s End 13-17 dmg, Assassin Dagger 10-12 dmg. Wears: Sain¡¯s Wrap.¡± ¡°Crap, that health looks insurmountable, she has another Backstab in the bank probably too. How am I going to handle this?¡± Logan worried in his head. Looking her quarry up and down, Dena spoke to her prey, ¡°A quarter-man, by the look of your gear a Rogue to boot. Who hired you to take down my crew? Or you in it for the hunters?¡± ¡°You could say it was divine intervention¡±, Logan replied, trying to act cool and turn the situation to his advantage. ¡°An above proclamation ey? I am far from high enough on any list to warrant that, or¡­ is it the kaevock? I knew that dungeon was some sort of sacred ground.¡± ¡°Is that the lock device she had? I heard her say that name before¡­ let¡¯s try and twist this. System, take Backstab off hiatus¡±, Logan thought. ¡°Yes, the kaevock was not meant to leave its hold. Return it now and see your mark as removed.¡± ¡°You killed all 5 of my crew, half I can¡¯t even find the remains of. Aside from that magi behind you who I think had that elemental who else do you have backing you up?¡± ¡°Does it matter our numbers? Just hand over what you took and we¡¯ll be off.¡± ¡°If I thought I could handle you all myself, you¡¯d be dead from my stealth ambush and I¡¯d be onto your matey there. I held off my barrage so we could chat. If there aren¡¯t more of you, my assessment was too high.¡± ¡°You got Echo Radar, right? Try it again, see what it picks up.¡± Dena stared Logan down for a few seconds, obviously thinking over his suggestion. Slowly, she moved her left hand to sheath her secondary dagger. Moving from her hip to her tunic, she pulled out a small bell. A quick motion had the bell ding again, allowing Logan to start his assault against the Rogue who had only a single weapon drawn. ¡°Gaia Shot!¡± Logan shouted, thrusting his hand out to Dena, a chaotic mass of roots and earth shot down from his shoulder and erupted from his palm as a large shard of rock barreled into Dena¡¯s shoulder, dealing 28 damage as well as causing his foe¡¯s darker skin to take on a greenish overtone as she was sickened by the earthly strike. Kicking forwards, Logan charged at Dena whose body was sluggish and unresponsive, instead of dodging she instead threw up green inner-sewage on the floor in front of her. Spinning around his target, Logan turned to her back, landing a strong palm into her spine and called out, ¡°Flame Grasp!¡±, forming large flames in his hand that exploded over and around Dena¡¯s body, inflicting a further 67 Backstab fire damage. Recovering, or fighting back, the sickness within her, Dena gave a swift kick into Logan¡¯s face to make him back off, dealing a dizzying 8 damage to him. Throwing her bell to the side, Dena swiftly moved her hand into her tunic to pull out and down a vial of liquid, healing herself for 18. ¡°A bloody grasp expert? Fuck my luck¡±, she called out as he took a few backsteps. ¡°Surprised you survived that, c¡¯mon, one on one, take me out and you can leave¡±, Logan tried to goad. ¡°Honour? You should know it is lost on thieves, but if your buddy can keep his staff in check I¡¯m all up for it, sparkly hands.¡± Grabbing his own healing vial from his pouch inventory, Logan downed it for 14 healing. He now stood at 56/86 whereas Dena was at 52/134 HP. Seeing, and feeling, the damage that both sides could deal, Logan started to realize how quickly fights could end if people had all their resources at hand. Whipping back out her second dagger, Dena made a crossing stance with them in front of her, almost as if she was street brawling. Logan studied his target, thinking of how she would use her skills or how she would fight. She¡¯d already given up her invisible strategy, thinking there were more adversaries, what else could she do. Yet again, Dena¡¯s body started to speed up and gather afterimages, her mouth moving to the style of ¡°Dash¡± but far enough away to not be audible. Like several hares hyped up on caffeine, she darted towards Logan who only just had enough time to react and cast a spell. Waving his hand over the floor in front of him he chanted, ¡°Gaia Wall¡±, which caused the earth beneath him to split, crack, and viciously produce a large wall of rock. Dena¡¯s face was filled with shock as she couldn¡¯t slow down enough to avoid it, kicking upwards, Dena did a half frontflip as her legs landed on the wall, pushing off of it just in time to dodge the grappling hands of mud and vines as well as finishing her frontflip away from the wall. Behind the wall, Logan was clicking as it appeared to get a good angle on his foe, with the aid of Echo Radar he incanted again, ¡°Flame Shot¡±, circling the wall of rock his arm enflamed with a torrent of hot energy, shooting it at a recoiling Dena. Sadly, Dash was still active, and Dena was barely able to duck under the fiery spell. ¡°I wish I had prepared Lightning for this, she¡¯s too fast¡±, Logan started to worry. Returning to a charge down of the Spellthief, Dena¡¯s speed started to fade away as Dash was coming to an end, but it had enough duration left to reach Logan and slash out with dual blades. Logan was able to dodge a strike to his head by ducking, rotating his body to the side to dodge one to his arm, but following strikes into his other arm and leg left him taking 23 and 19 damage. Retaliating with a wave of his arm, Dena started to backstep to avoid the oncoming spell but anticipated the wrong orientation, as Logan called out, ¡°Flame Wall¡±, his arm motion made the wall form away from him rather than in a wide wall, causing it to be a long line behind Dena to which she dodged inside of. Moving through so much of the fires caused Dena to take 17 and 16 damage before she moved out of the flames. Both parties were low on health once again, Logan at 14/86, Dena at 19/134 HP. Both of them breathed heavily under the weight of their wounds, sweat and blood coating their clothes in the signs of battle. Logan was out of spell slots, activating his periapt would require him to touch it but he didn¡¯t want to leave any openings just yet. A single strike could deal with either of them at this point. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°So¡­ what¡¯s the deal. Enhancement specialist? Magi can¡¯t normally take that kind of beating, at least no low ranked ones. Haven¡¯t seen a second-level spell from you yet either, were they all used on my comrades?¡± Dena called out. ¡°Either way, you think that¡¯d give you the advantage?¡± ¡°So, yes, no seconds left, I doubt you have any firsts left either with all that quick casting you¡¯re doing. How about we call this a draw, I hand over the kaevock, and we go our separate ways huh? Rather cut my losses than my throat.¡± ¡°No honour amongst thieves, didn¡¯t you say? How could I trust your word?¡± ¡°Can trust mine as good as yours, most of my inners are on the floor, your ally could easily mop me up if they wanted I¡¯d wager. ¡®Least this way, we all go away with our blood still warm.¡± The cracking and eventual collapse of the Gaia Wall was quickly followed by that of the Flame Wall dissipating, revealing charred earth beneath. ¡°What should I do? She¡¯s no doubt going to attack me, but how could I return that?¡± ¡°You have it with you?¡± ¡°Yes, in my small pack. Can I retrieve it?¡± ¡°Slowly.¡± With that command, Dena slowly sheathed the dagger in her left hand again. Putting her hand behind her back Logan could see she was fumbling around in her bag without looking. ¡°She¡¯s gonna throw something isn¡¯t she.¡± Swiping out quickly, Dena tossed two small black spheres at Logan, exploding at the floor near his feet into a thick cloud of grey smoke. Using the pre-empted attack to his advantage, Logan quickly grabbed his periapt to grant himself 2 MP for the onslaught he believed was coming his way. Crashing through the smoke was that of a leaping Dena, dagger raised high in her right arm ready to drive down. Sliding forwards, Logan jumped at his foe to parry her blade, clashing in a loud clang of metal, sparks flying from the scraping of silver steel on steel. Dena¡¯s face was full of shock as she hadn¡¯t expected a parry like that, nor the hand that was placed onto her stomach and Logan chanting, ¡°Flame Grasp!¡±, to enact his final attack. Flames ignited across Logan¡¯s arm as they danced a happy jig of death through his limb and into Dena. Flourishing and exploding, the fires completely annihilated Dena¡¯s form, causing Logan to gain a smile. The smile was quickly destroyed, however, as the fiery outline of Dena cracked apart, revealing a snakeskin of her body breaking away from the flames. Dena landed just beneath Logan and her shell. Dena had most likely used her Substitution skill, the skin taking an attack for her and letting her real body retreat undamaged. Jutting his head down to meet his foe, Logan could see Dena preparing for a follow-up assault. Pulling his body downwards, the Spellthief was just barely able to clash his dagger with the Rogue again before landing. Trying to feint once again, Logan waved his arm over the floor as he spoke, ¡°Flame¡±, and in true fashion, Dena tried to dodge a wall of fire though was shaken when Logan lifted his arm to aim at her, ¡°Shot!¡±, causing the fires to shoot out like a cannon at the Rogue, hitting her solidly in the face for 26 damage, sending her straight to -7/134 HP. Logan was curious as the damage was rather low, thinking she may have gained some fire reduction or resistance towards the end when he couldn¡¯t see her. Dena¡¯s body was still on the ground, a portion of the dirt beneath her showing a trail as she slid across the earth from the final attack. Her breathing was slow, smoke billowing from her now scarred face. Logan was anticipating another trick, for her to spark right back up again to assault once more. Seconds bled into eternity as the adrenaline continued to circulate within the Spellthief and onlooking Devout. A low exhale followed the calming sight of experience numbers appearing above the body. Falling to a knee, Logan started to breathe heavily as the energy left his body alongside the dripping blood from his right limbs and back. ¡°Thank g-the above, it¡¯s over. Marcus, come heal me would you?¡± he spoke through gasps. ¡°Logan, that was close. Why did-¡± ¡°Heal now, explain later.¡± ¡°Right. Orb of all I call to thee, Pondress heal your children. Heal Shot¡±, Marcus chanted, getting cut off by his ally who could do with the healing. Getting a spell¡¯s worth of 17 and then 3 Healer¡¯s Caress for 12 more, Logan was restored to 43/86 HP. Scanning the local area with both his eyes and Echo Radar, Logan couldn¡¯t see any more threats to the pair. Not surprisingly the quest hadn¡¯t completed itself just yet, as it demanded that Dena be killed, though it did update with the first and third additional objectives having been completed. ¡°Why did you want to fight her alone? I thought you just wanted to deal with her allies in a stealthy manner? This was far too rash, you almost died, again!¡± ¡°I was given a command, alright? Vokka sent me the request to deal with this gang, on my own if possible¡±, Logan half-lied, thinking it was entirely possible that the quest was given to him by his benefactor or at least that she had some role to play in it. ¡°Truly? Didn¡¯t you say you had no contact with Vokka after gaining your oracle powers?¡± ¡°It surprised me too, but there it was, a command from the above.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t question it if so, just more heads-up ahead of time would be nice. Had me worrying more than I had to, it was terrible having to stand on the sidelines and watch you get hurt like that.¡± ¡°More than normal? I swear I¡¯ve become quite the target for monsters ever since becoming an adventurer.¡± ¡°Well normally I can at least cast a healing spell on you to keep you going, I wish I had more use outside of that.¡± ¡°Healing is leagues above useless, and your crossbow has aided me several times before. And that Gaia on the hob? Remember? You¡¯re a valued member of this partnership, Marcus¡±, Logan replied, trying to lift the hopes of what seemed to be a disheartened friend. ¡°I have to do something, you take on the ogre¡¯s share of the work here, an inferno of strength leading me forward.¡± Standing tall, Logan placed his hand on Marcus¡¯s shoulder, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have made it this far without you, Marcus. I can absorb all the pain I have because you¡¯re there to stitch the wounds of my failures. If I am to be a roaring flame in your eyes, see yourself as the fuel that keeps me burning.¡± Corny as it was, Logan felt he needed sweet words to dissuade the negative thoughts of his new friend. Having spent half a month together had done wonders in making them close enough that Logan was half-tempted to spill the secrets behind his powers. Marcus gave an affirmative nod and smile, the Devout having heard words of wisdom that coated his woes in a warm blanket. ¡°I¡¯ll deal with the body, mind checking on their camp to make sure it isn¡¯t burning anymore? Dena killed Celsius so you shouldn¡¯t be able to find him.¡± ¡°You got it, Logan¡±, Marcus responded, a pep in his voice as well as in his step as he jogged northwards.
With Marcus clear out of view, Logan scanned the area once more and clicked his fingers to make doubly sure that no one was peering at him. Confident that he was alone, he approached the body of Dena who was still breathing and knelt to her side. Her health wasn¡¯t dropping, surprisingly, though her face was burnt beyond recognition at this point and would require quite the high-ranked healing. ¡°With this death, I prevent further killings. Essence Absorption¡±, Logan thought in his head, commanding his ability to activate once more as he placed his hand on Dena¡¯s neck. The same black and dark-green lines shot out from his palm and across Dena¡¯s skin. Forming around the Rogue¡¯s head a shattering of glass was heard as the lines penetrated her unconscious mind. Absorbing her essence, the lines flowed with blue and purple energies. Finally, her body was whisked up like a black hole in the centre of Logan¡¯s palm, leaving only her effects behind. ¡°Absorption of foe complete. Calculating reward¡­¡± ¡°1,040 absorbed experience, target has no spells to absorb.¡± ¡°That was quite the jump in reward, I gained almost double what I would normally for defeating a level 10 enemy. Sad to say, Marcus will be falling behind even quicker if I do these kinds of things without his aid¡±, Logan thought to himself. There was more to think about as another window appeared, detailing his success of the quest. ¡°Quest - Kill Dena Mor, has been completed. You achieved 3 additional objectives during the mission and as such your rewards will be increased. Distributing rewards¡­¡± ¡°The reward for your quest completion is as follows: ¡°Wow, those bonuses are amazing! I didn¡¯t expect my summon to gain such an increase either. I guess the rewards were tailored to my party? But they didn¡¯t help that much, why is the reward so high for them?¡± Logan pondered as he investigated the window alongside his status. Putting the gear of Dena away within his inventory added even more information for Logan to process as he had reached the weight limit, quickly depositing the chopped wood to the floor to make space. He¡¯d later sift through the acquired gear when he had all of the camp¡¯s stuff together, so he requested the system not update his inventory just yet and just keep the new stuff in its own section. ¡°System, can you search the skills for Dash, Substitution, and Shroud of Shadow for me?¡± ¡°We can do so, Logan. Please wait a moment¡­ It appears that the two latter skills are not available to you at this time, Dash, however, is available.¡± ¡°Is it because I am too low level perhaps? It looks like Dash increases my speed, I could have guessed that from seeing it in action. Any suggestions, System?¡± ¡°From observing you in combat, it seems you value the Backstab skill highly for dealing with dangerous foes. Dagger Toss, as you found earlier, would be a strange skill to have as a Wizard, so we advise against that if you aim to form larger parties. Dash would be a valuable asset, though as it is another Rogue skill it might be hard to utilize within larger parties. With this in mind, Multi-Backstab sounds like the best course of action.¡± ¡°My thoughts too, I can disguise the Backstab spells as just me using Grasp alterations too. System, place both of my skill points into Multi-Backstab.¡± The System did as Logan commanded, Multi-Backstab rose to tier 3 and with it two more uses of his Backstab skill with their own cooldowns. This meant that Logan could now use four Backstabs with a nine-minute cooldown each, much more viable for stealth assassinations like he had just undergone in the camp. ¡°Let¡¯s go see to our allies.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 36 - The Farthest He鈥檚 Ever Been Logan¡¯s movement was slow, he could feel his body halt its production and supply of adrenaline. A faint headache was forming within his forehead, blood scattered across his clothes, weapons, and face. Using several casts of Clean gave him time to think, alongside the small trek to the, now-dead, gang¡¯s camp. Instead of the constant dread or sickness he found in the pit of his stomach, Logan felt oddly calm after what he could call his second stealth mission, the first being against the goblins of his first mission. Both the pros and cons of his current state flooded his mind as if trying to make sense of it all. Was his humanity slipping, or was he merely adjusting to the situation he found himself within. Back on Earth, Logan had no plans of joining any sort of militia or armed forces, not even police work crossed his mind. To go from pushing keys on a board to killing almost every day, the transition was jarring at first, so much so he threw up quite a few times in the beginning. The logical side of his brain was able to win the arguments of his mind, killing those who killed mercilessly or mindlessly was a necessary evil. Though the nagging feeling that whoever was giving him these quests were training him to become a weapon still sat at the back of his mind.
Arriving at the camp, Logan saw Marcus hard at work moving the items to a main pile near the centre. Giving a wave to his ally, Marcus motioned Logan closer. ¡°All done here, wasn¡¯t much fire left. Seems some of their items got damaged, or were damaged beforehand, so I left those in one of the tents. The bodies I also dragged to the side over there¡±, he motioned with his hand to the west, ¡°also while you were gone, guess what happened.¡± ¡°Your head got filled with knowledge?¡± ¡°My- Yes! Was it a blessing from Vokka? Did you get contacted again?¡± ¡°Seems so, they granted all three of us a reward.¡± ¡°That they did. The words, mannerisms, and knowledge of the Grasp alteration filled my head. I thought it might¡¯ve been because I saw you use it so much, but it was as if it came from elsewhere. Lemme show you¡±, Marcus spoke as he got closer to Logan and placed his hand on his ally¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Orb of all I call to thee, Pondress heal your children. Heal Grasp.¡± Unlike the orbs and swirls of yellow healing lights, Logan¡¯s body was covered in a yellow-white light as his wounds stitched up faster and more complete than ever before. With Grasp increasing the healing by 50% Logan was healed for 26 HP. ¡°See! Amazing, I can help so much more with this, Logan.¡± ¡°And to add to that, I should be able to unlock two further skills for you, if you¡¯d like.¡± Marcus¡¯s face lit up even more, if he had a bigger face it would have accommodated his smile better, ¡°Two at once? Vokka certainly is proud of your work. I do not know of any other skills that I would readily want aside from Multitude Healing, so could you just increase that twice?¡± ¡°Certainly, we¡¯ll have to talk to other Devouts or find some tomes to find you more skills after this, Multitude Healing will be at its max tier of mastery with this¡±, Logan replied, placing his ally''s two skill points into the skill he requested, it changing from ¡°T3¡± to ¡°MAX¡± as it showed the same for Logan¡¯s Essence Absorption. Giving the usual effect for increasing his skill Marcus continued, ¡°The thought of progressing even further excites me to no end. We¡¯re going to be great adventurers together.¡± ¡°While it lasts¡±, Logan thought to himself. Having Marcus continue cleaning the camp a bit, Logan moved over to the two bodies that his ally had moved, thankfully they were out of sight. Using Essence Absorption on both, Logan found that both had died during the encounter, either from blood loss or that of further flames. Collecting all the items together landed the pair with a massive haul, plenty of the armour was left behind due to the weight, but many trinkets were kept thereafter as they were lighter for the value they held. In total there was 567 silver and 820 copper. Marcus accepted his share of 167 silver and 260 copper. Combining his own funds, Logan was looking to be quite rich for having spent barely half a month in this world, holding the equivalent of nine and a half gold. Alongside the money, Logan was treated to a pristine bastarn eye earring and gave his high-quality one to his ally, Marcus gaining a pristine gobbo-ear necklace to replace his older shoddy variant as well as a pristine wolf fang ring to replace his high-quality. Two new trinkets were revealed to the pair as well, covering the final Attributes that they were missing bonuses to. The choice was simple to who would get which item, Logan slipped the gold ring on the index finger of his right hand next to his ring of the magi, Marcus putting the wristband on his left wrist. As soon as the wristband was equipped, Marcus was shown to increase his maximum MP by one which he celebrated in his usual giddy way. Utilizing his new Wisdom and uses of Healer¡¯s Caress, he saw the skill now healed 5 HP per use, granting it twice to his ally. As they continued to shuffle around the items, a new window popped up to Logan, alongside several yellow exclamation marks on specific items. ¡°You have killed the target of a hunt, this hunter¡¯s quest has the stipulation that pay will not be distributed without the returning of certain items. These are highlighted for you.¡± Investigating further, Logan saw that the trinkets and money were all fine, though several items such as tomes and Dena¡¯s weapons were marked as required for the quest. He was more than happy with what he was gathering, so losing those particular items only diluted his high a little. Most of the tomes did not relate to him or his ally, so it was no major loss, the daggers would have been nice as one dealt higher damage and the other reduced the cooldown of Backstab by 30 seconds. Shifting said items to their own section in the inventory, Logan would be able to hand in the quest when he got to Gauntlet, the hunter¡¯s quest showing up in his journal just like the adventurer¡¯s quests did. As the reward was 2 gold, he didn¡¯t feel like passing it up, nor did he want to get hunted for owning said stolen items. Weirdly there was no more of those smoke pellets that Dena had used in combat. Moving their attention to the ¡°kaevock¡± they saw it to be some form of tumbler lock from a door or something, an intricate cylinder with several circle partitions that could be rotated. Using Identification yielded no results, so Logan knew it had an item level of over 14, and holding it within his possession gave no information aside from its name and countless question marks in place of other sections of its description. ¡°Any clue what that is?¡± Marcus inquired. ¡°A kaevock, apparently this was meant to unlock the tomes without a librarian. I can¡¯t seem to figure it out though, seems Dena hadn¡¯t yet either as none of those tomes they had already stolen are unlocked¡±, Logan replied as he started to rotate parts of the device. ¡°She said something about a dungeon. Maybe it¡¯s a relic from a different era? I haven¡¯t heard of anything penetrating the locks of books aside from high-level dispelling magic.¡± ¡°We could ask at Gauntlet I suppose, but I¡¯m not sure how the general populace would react to such a thing.¡± ¡°I¡¯d place a high bet on it getting confiscated by the authorities to then get carted off to the Magi¡¯s Tower Association. They normally deal with these kinds of artefacts.¡± The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I really don¡¯t want to show it off. We¡¯ll just hide it for now and handle it later.¡± ¡°She must have been close to figuring it out though, the quest made it seem that way. Was Dena going to get lucky or find someone else to use the kaevock?¡± Logan pondered. Logan explained the hunter¡¯s quest to Marcus, describing it as a bonus from Vokka for completing the divine request. The Devout was able to piece some information that came his way in Tinte, where hunter¡¯s quests were more suited to hunting down criminals rather than monsters and was mostly headed by the guard. Hunters worked in collaboration with the adventurers since only adventurers could really handle these quests. He likened it to the villager quests that focused on issues within the settlements. Leaving behind quite the scene, mostly armour, wood, and used tents, the gang¡¯s camp left a looming atmosphere of death. The leftovers would go to any other passersby, or possibly monsters who knew the worth of armour. With the deed done, the pair exited the camp back to the dirt road.
Tallying up the rewards, Logan saw the real worth of these quests in both power and items, the skill points speeding up their progression greatly, especially when he still had no idea how Marcus would gain more. Reaching 32,465 / 36,000 XP, Logan was still a fair distance from level 9, however, Marcus¡¯s reward put him at 9,050 / 10,000 XP, which meant he would be hitting level 5 shortly. Logan was able to see Celsius within his status, a new window detailing his summonable allies, detailing the fiery friend who had jumped from level 1 to 3 with his bonus. His statistics didn¡¯t jump too high, but it was much better overall from where he started. ¡°Celsius - Flame Elemental. Level 3. STR 12, AGI 10, CON 12, INT 11, WIS 7, CHA 6: 16/16 HP, 3/3 MP. Skills: Ember Shard, Fiery Body, Damage Reduction 1. Spell List: 1st: Flame.¡± Checking over the new skill known as Ember Shard Logan saw it to be a ranged attack that shot a small ember at a foe within a short distance. It would be invaluable when attacking from a higher position as Celsius was still rather weak when compared to the foes Logan was facing. It was a shame that the information windows surrounding his summons stated that they could not wear trinkets or armour, but Logan couldn¡¯t complain too much about an extra ally.
The ninth day continued on, a far cry simpler and safer than it had started, though as the day moved to evening Marcus brought up a new topic of discussion. ¡°You know, I¡¯ve travelled a bit as a Devout. Been to Noma, and a fair distance south closer to my hometown.¡± ¡°This much different?¡± ¡°Certainly more dangerous, at least for myself. I was normally with a larger caravan, hired as a healer or to help identify herbs for parties to gather. But this trip actually feels like I am going be making a difference with it.¡± ¡°The whole ¡®make the world a better place¡¯ ideal?¡± ¡°Maybe not the world, but I would definitely seek to make our gaps to martials minute.¡± ¡°Think it¡¯ll be easy? Seems to be a widespread attitude to me.¡± ¡°But this is possible. Oracles have changed the world several times over, the MT, the end of wars, from what I could gather an oracle has the power to shape our world in so many ways.¡± ¡°It will be a road far longer than this one¡±, Logan replied, thinking about how long it would really be if he left. ¡°This is the farthest away from home I¡¯ve ever been, I intend to make many more steps by your side, Logan.¡± ¡°Glad to have you there. There isn¡¯t anyone else I¡¯d picture in your place.¡±
The evening turned to night as the pair conversed, healed, and prepared strategies for Logan¡¯s realization that he could absorb his allies¡¯ spells to use in combat. With Marcus gaining the Grasp alteration, Logan was put off even more of taking his ally¡¯s MP for attacking but it would be a necessity depending on the situation. Celsius would act as a battery for a long time, as he only had the Shot alteration combined with the fact his damage would be abysmal compared to Logan. Making their own camp, albeit much smaller, the pair went to sleep to recuperate before a final day¡¯s walk to the capital. Without the aid of sleeping magic, their slumber was not accosted by dreams or nightmares, instead, it was only rudely interrupted by the System speaking into Logan¡¯s head that it was time to wake up. Adding into their morning ritual, Logan had to resummon Celsius due to him dying the previous day. Thankfully with the clasp, Logan only needed to spend a single second-level spell slot, bringing his ally back after a 10-minute summoning ritual. Stretching out his flamy limbs, Celsius let out a yawn. ¡°Ah! Morning, blade lady get offed while I was gone? She wasn¡¯t fond of a fire lad like myself making signal smoke¡±, the elemental said without a care in the world. ¡°Dena is dead, I take it she found you easily with her Dash ability?¡± Logan inquired. ¡°Yeah, mean look, mean stab. I didn¡¯t stand a chance, but lucky for me I just hop back in you when I ¡®die¡¯. Glad to see you came out on top¡±, Celsius continued as he looked over his form, ¡°Well look at that, I ranked up during that whole ordeal, I take it you know all that?¡± ¡°Yeah, rank 3, more spells for me to borrow from you.¡± ¡°Private Battery at your service.¡± The Spellthief and fire elemental chuckled with one another, Logan finding it hard to not like the creature as it represented a part of his own personality if a bit hyper-focused on one part. Exchanging information until Marcus awoke, the trio packed up their camp for the last time and started the other new part of their mornings that encompassed two uses of Dimensional Jaunt to cover another five miles.
Even with the distractions, combat, and sightseeing, the party were able to make good time on their journey thanks to the new teleportation magic. As the sun started to set on the horizon, giving the world a lovely orange hue combined with the greenery of the forests. The sight of the capital appeared in view, as well as many people coming and going from a long stone bridge that covered a deep moat surrounding the capital. Insurmountable grey-brick walls reached so far up that Logan couldn¡¯t even guess at their height, atop which he could make out the blurry images of guards and archers patrolling. At the far end of the bridge, they could see a tall metal portcullis gate that was raised to allow people to come and go as they pleased. Looking over the villagers, Logan¡¯s Identification spree showed even more classless beings with levels up to 4. As it was the capital, the Spellthief was not surprised to see guards having a minimum of level 5 and going as high as 14 and above. Adventurers could also be spotted, in larger parties of four to eight, with levels ranging from 1 to 9. As he had hoped, the human¡¯s overabundance was finally lessened with the sight of many more gashriek amongst the populace and even a single saeber. The sabertooth lion-like creature wore metallic plates across its form and spiked knuckle dusters on its four paws. The trio could just barely make out it talking in a gravelly and animalistic tone, using the Ava tongue. Traversing the stone bridge filled Logan with memories of visiting old ruins back in England, old castles that were damaged through war or the harshness of time. However, this time it was filled with the people of said era, if a bit more fantastical due to the other species and magic floating in the air. As the party approached the opened gates, a guardswoman approached the group, a level 8 Fighter clad in full plate with their visor pushed upwards to reveal brown eyes. ¡°Hail, sirs. I noticed you still have your elemental summoned, please have that stored whilst within the city walls, it is against the law to have any summons or undead active in Gauntlet¡±, she instructed calmly without any real sign of animosity. ¡°Oh darn, no vacation for me in the big city¡±, Celsius reacted. ¡°Sorry buddy, rules are rules¡±, Logan apologised, waving his hand over his elemental for a few seconds. As his arms moved, the flames of Celsius spun around and dissipated into Logan¡¯s hands, retreating to his ¡°soul¡± as the System referred to. An alert window popped up to confirm that Celsius was dismissed, but could be called out again without using a spell slot but would take 10 minutes to do as normal. ¡°Thank you, sirs.¡± ¡°No problem, would you mind if I asked you for an inn recommendation?¡± ¡°Madam Ada¡¯s Respite is a few minutes from the gates, reputable for travellers though often crowded.¡± A quick instruction on directions revealed that the inn was pretty much a straight walk forwards with a few turns, easy enough to remember. Thanking the guardswoman, the pair headed past the portcullis gate, smiling as they had finally reached their destination after a long ten days of travel. ¡°Finally here, we¡¯ve got plenty to do but a good rest will do us good after all that walking. Good job, Marcus.¡± ¡°That we have. Vokka and Pondress watch us closely, we¡¯ll make you proud. I will be counting on your lead, Logan¡±, Marcus replied as he gave a quick prayer to the above. With a smile to one another, Logan raised his arm to Marcus who returned the motion, bumping the sides of their arms and fists together, the pair had made it to their destination. --- *** --- Chapter 37 - Settling In The Big City The city was a complete change of almost all senses when compared to Tinte. Sounds were amplified several times with an almost thunderous sound of footsteps against cobblestone flooring, clops of horseshoes against rock, and a cacophony of chatter amongst the populace. It was difficult to pick out certain conversations, unlike Tinte where Logan could easily eavesdrop on local gossip if he put in minimal effort. Scents had a wider array, from the local rival bakeries and butcher shops to the sulfur assault of smithies doing their best to one-up each other. Thankfully the smells of traders trying to hawk their wares covered the undertones of dirt and filth that was able to withstand the cleaning services of magi or sanitation workers. Gauntlet spread so far that Logan couldn¡¯t even see the end of it, though that was also due to the buildings being much taller than the huts of Tinte. Clay was a rare sight, buildings taking a liking to the more common use of wooden construction, rock, and even fancy brick. Most structures kept the wooden panel windows that Logan was used to at this point, though some fancier buildings spent a bit extra to show off glass windows for both browsing use and to make their shop look that much better. With such choices for food and mercantile activities, Logan would find it hard to choose which trader would best suit their needs. However, since there were so many traders, the duo could sell more of their gear at a time without too much suspicion. At a guess, the capital possibly housed millions of inhabitants, against the hundred or more of Tinte. They would still have to be careful with using the inventory though, as taking too many items out of a smaller container would raise questions regardless. Since the pair were making good time, thanks to teleporting, they spent two hours browsing the stock of the local markets and shops. Trinkets seemingly exchanged hands often in the city, with single people handing off a few at a time, so it was no trouble for Logan to unload the hoard of trinkets he had acquired to this point. Selling all of their accrued trinkets brought in quite the spending money, after Marcus took his share which was a bit heavier than normal due to Logan sneaking in extra, Logan added another 175 silver to his inventory which was close to another 2 gold with the conversion. In total, he had over 11 gold in different denominations, plenty to put towards tomes later or maybe higher-level equipment to replace the old lower variants. After informing Marcus how much money he had in the inventory, his eyes went wide, obviously not keeping track himself. Logan laughed it off, persuading his ally that it was indeed not a mistake. The Devout stated that it would have taken him close to half a year to make that much when he was working at the church, however, at that point, he didn¡¯t have as much spellforce to sell his spells. Making some plans on what to buy, the two decided it was time to get a place to sleep for the night and have a shopping spree in the morning. Logan still had to do an assessment at the new hall too, so tomorrow would be quite packed with tasks.
Using the directions given to them earlier, the duo were able to find Madam Ada¡¯s Respite rather easy. The streets did have a few signs to give further directions to different districts, some larger boards housing advertisement posters to even more establishments. Gauntlet had two entrances, one being the large bridge they traversed on its eastern side and the other being the harbour if that could be called an entrance. A lot of the commerce was set up near the entrance, though another commercial district was held within the centre of the city. The inn wasn¡¯t too far from the entrance, a few minutes of walking had the two adventurers reach the unassuming building. Made of a cherry coloured wood, the inn had the normal wooden panel windows wide open, chatter, clinking of clay, and roaring fires could be heard and smelt from inside. Pushing open the double doors, Logan and Marcus entered into a much more welcoming resting spot than that of their last. The entrance hall was large, a good twenty or so tables filled with villagers and adventurers alike. Again, Logan spotted a few gashriek in the crowd, though no other uncommon species. Getting to the counter at the far end, which had a few other patrons drinking at the counter stools, they were met by the proprietor. A stocky woman whose muscles bulked her out enough through her brown overalls that Logan thought her to be a bodybuilder. Long brunette hair was tied into two tails going behind her ears, her skin a paper-white. The pale complexion was quickly answered as Logan saw her eyes, hauntingly shimmering yellow irises hugged by black sclera. As she opened her mouth to speak she revealed long fangs within her maw. ¡°Welcome to Madam Me¡¯s Respite. Here for rumours, lodging, or food and drink?¡± she spoke with an inviting and happy voice. ¡°Lodging and an evening meal, please¡±, Logan replied, trying to hide his awkwardness at the situation of meeting a vampire for the first time. ¡°We have space in two rooms, one has six patrons, the other seven so could be a squeeze. Either one will run you eight copper each if you¡¯re grabbing yourself a meal¡±, she continued with a toothy smile, possibly trying to tease Logan. Logan had learned about the ¡°shared rooms¡± back in Tinte, he was lucky to get a private room as they tended to be much more expensive. There was typically too many people to house in inns, it was normal for strangers to share a room and in dire need even a bed. Apparently, bedfellows made for good gossipers with adventurers using the time to learn about new quests or materials to gather. The time was getting late, so Logan didn¡¯t want to go looking for any other place to rest so he just had to bear it for a night. Using the inventory trick, he picked out 1 silver and 6 copper, placing the coins onto the counter. With the coins in hand, Ada slid a thick sheet of parchment over to Logan to read over, atop which sat two keys with the number 11 on them. ¡°Sticks ''n'' Rud - A meal that consisted of several green celery-like sticks that were wrapped in the meat of a pig-like animal named rud. Sauces came with the dish and it was the chef special. Tracker¡¯s Bowl - A mess of vegetables that were roasted in a multitude of seasonings and herbs filling a large bowl. Flank ''n'' Flank - Somewhat familiar to that of a mixed grill, this meal consisted of four different types of meat accompanied by potatoes. Blood of the Day - Today¡¯s meal for vampires was that of a ¡®common quarter-man¡¯ that noted it was legally bought from the ¡®bleeder dens¡¯ in the capital.¡± Aside from the mounting questions in Logan¡¯s head, he was just hungry at this point for a cooked meal. Feeling extravagant, the pair paid an extra 2 copper each and ordered the three normal meals to share amongst themselves. With their order placed, Logan and Marcus were able to find a table that was free of company to sit at and wait for their meals to arrive.
Passing the time by scanning the locals, yet again Logan could see levels sitting at much higher pedestals up to level 14 though none here went above that number thankfully. The innkeeper had a level of 8 and was of the Knight class, though Identification did not detail what she gained for being a vampire nor what her age was so the level was a bit misleading to her real strength. Logan had still noticed the fang marks on Ada¡¯s neck, not exactly the pinpricks as noted in the Earth fiction he had read. They were quite large, enough to fit a finger in, though they were made from fangs so they had to be quite sizeable. Recalling the information of his Avanar books, Logan was able to surmise that Ada was a relatively recent convert, as fang marks disappeared within a year of turning. That probably explained why her muscles were still so large. A mouth-watering feast was placed before the two weary travellers, steam rising from the freshly cooked meats and vegetables. It would be apt to call it an assault on the senses if not for how welcome a scent it was, Logan holding his saliva as he looked over it all. Tearing into, splitting up, and generally sharing the food between them, Logan and Marcus dined feverishly on the meals.
Finishing their meals and tankards of ale, the two thanked the innkeeper on their passing to the upstairs portion of the inn. Finding their rooms easy enough, Logan knocked on the door first to make sure no one was inside before barging in, though his knock was replied to by a male voice shouting, ¡°Come on in¡±, which was somewhat muffled by the wood. Opening up the door lead the pair into an almost cramped room, six beds were put against the far wall that had an opened wooden panel window. Sitting at a few of the beds were six other people, a male Fighter 6, female Rogue 5, male Knight 5, male Devout 3, female Devout 3, and a classless trader. ¡°Karn? Lole? A fair wind has brought us back together!¡± Marcus shouted, moving over to the two Devouts whose faces were full of smiles. ¡°Oh, Marcus the nightlight! What brings you to the capital?¡± the female of the two replied. She was rather short, around 5¡¯4¡±, and had long brunette hair that flowed under the back of her brown robes. Dull green eyes looked between both Logan and Marcus. ¡°Many a thing, the most important is I partnered up with Logan here. We¡¯ve been questing together for quite some time¡±, Marcus responded, waving over to the Spellthief. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Hello there, friends from Tinte I suppose?¡± ¡°Yeah, we all grew up in the church together. I¡¯m Karn¡±, the male Devout replied, holding out his hand for a shake. The man wasn¡¯t much taller than his friend, standing at 5¡¯6¡±. His hair was also long enough to hide behind the back of his brown robe and was of a dark-ginger colour. His muddy eyes didn¡¯t do much to hide his glee at seeing his friend. ¡°Marcus was quite the late reader and worker, we didn¡¯t think he¡¯d become a travelling adventurer though¡±, the female Devout added, shaking Logan¡¯s hand after introducing herself as Lole. ¡°Things came up, and we were a great fit. What have you two been up to anyways? It¡¯s been a few months since we last saw each other¡±, Marcus added as he sat next to Karn. ¡°Well, we worked with that group that picked us up for a while, we both hit rank 3 and then split up. Currently, we¡¯re acting as healers for hire at the G-Hall. Just barely dodged that goblin eradication army heading south to our luck¡±, Lole continued. ¡°Same here, we got out of Tinte before that all started heating up. We saw quite a few people heading southwards to help with that. Heard it was around 500 or so goblinoids?¡± Logan contributed to the conversation. ¡°Reports are saying more than that now, a small band was destroyed en route to the south near Fowp but that was one of many smaller bands trying to meet up. The Magi¡¯s Tower was contacted for aid and from what I gathered they¡¯re sending in Traeyo, the rank 26 Wizard, for his mastery of level 4 fire spells¡±, Lole gossiped, making room on the bed for Logan to sit beside her. The conversation continued on the specifics of the goblinoids versus the adventurers, with quite a few being above level 10, the Wizard Traeyo gave a bit more insight into how high levels went as well as when higher-level spells became available. Since Gauntlet¡¯s army was busy working on defence, and since this war was against monsters, it was decided that the adventurers would fare much better in the fight than guards or militia. A basic upfront payment of 10 silver was offered per applicant, with an extra reimbursement for each goblinoid ear handed in from the war. For now, the estimate was that there were 750 goblinoids and 100 adventurers, though the numbers were changing each day as word spread as well as the goblinoids gathering more tribes. Using the conversation to gather further information about the world, Logan found out that the Magi¡¯s Tower Association held several towers of magic across the land, though the main one was several hundred miles northeast of Gauntlet. The MT houses around 1000 magi within its council and an uncountable number of lesser members. The highest level among them was the archmage Sorcerer Zinzith, at over level 50, who was rumoured to use at least seventh-level spells. Hearing about what he could be facing, Logan¡¯s fears started to mount yet again, he could barely absorb second-level spells with a 60% chance, let alone anything higher. Praying to whatever deity in the above was favouring him, Logan wished that none in the MT knew of his previous actions. The golden watches were still missing, and even though Darius was an ex-member it didn¡¯t do much to lessen Logan¡¯s woes. ¡°Either I relentlessly increase Spell Absorption¡¯s tier of mastery to fight back against the spellcasters, or I escape before they have a chance to figure me out. I just gotta hope that these quests lead me somewhere¡±, Logan thought to himself. Time passed by quickly with the new conversation partners, so much so that the hooting of owls in the distance was barely audible over the sounds of footsteps outside the window combined with nighttime chatter. Resigning to get some rest Karn and Lole agreed to share a bed, leaving Marcus and Logan to share theirs. While it was somewhat uncomfortable, due to the beds being meant for a single person, the travels had tired out the pair enough to let him pass out quickly enough.
¡°Logan¡­ Logan¡­ it is time to wake up¡­ Logan¡±, the System repeated in Logan¡¯s unconscious mind, seemingly finding it hard to wake the heavy sleeper. Eyes darting open, Logan finally awoke five minutes past his normal wake-up call. The comfort of the bed against the rough sleeping of travel had obviously kept the Spellthief trapped within the land of sleep. Sitting up, Logan saw a few of the other roommates preparing their gear for the day, except for all of the Devouts. Giving a nudge to Marcus, the pair got out of bed to ready themselves for the day ahead. In case the adventures¡¯ hall of Gauntlet required different spells, Logan made sure to prepare a wide range of his spell list for the assessment. Since he would be assessed as a rank 8 Wizard, he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about roleplaying his spells any longer, as all accounts led to those that could cast second-level spells being able to quickcast in some form. Going downstairs, getting a quick stew for breakfast, the pair noticed that Ada was still manning the counter in the same attire as last night, seemingly not requiring sleep. To the side of her hand laid a small glass with a red tint to its edges, most likely her morning meal. Karn and Lole eventually met up with the duo, giving a small farewell as they would see them at the hall later in the day.
Travelling across the city streets was so different than Tinte, the ground beneath your feet was sturdy, the air was a few steps cleaner due to magical cleaning, and the range of inhabitants was so wide. Thanks to the signposts the duo were able to find the adventurers¡¯ hall of Gauntlet, named ¡°G-Hall¡± for easier reference. Several times larger than the hall of Tinte, the G-Hall had a massive training ground at the back for assessments or daily training regimens. Attached to the side was a similar component shop for handing off items gained from kills, alongside other buildings for G-Hall affiliated smiths for repairs and trade. Entering inside, the pair were treated to the sight of a large main hall, countless tables set up with adventurers making plans, playing cards, to going over their equipment. Large boards were set up on the right side, around 12 in total, with several staff members making notes of who was taking what quest. A new addition to this hall was that of a sort of leaderboard on the opposite wall, noting adventurers above rank 10 and the number of their completed quests. His curiosity piqued, Logan wandered over to investigate the range of adventurers. Scanning the board, it seemed the majority of adventurers were below rank 30, a few went into the 40 range and only four in the 50s. The highest-ranked adventurers were a grouping of four heroes. ¡°Woevenk: Hero Knight 56. A human man hailing from Helm. Kasilee: Hero Fighter 54. A gashriek woman born in the capital of Gauntlet. Zeronax: Hero Sorcerer 53: A human man raised within a diglaeta settlement. Cla-ves-kos: Hero Devout 53: A saeben orphan who was raised in Noma.¡± A note was attached to the four heroes that stated they were all sent through a portal 13 months ago to battle an incoming force of demons, though when they went through the portal it closed behind them. They are presumed dead but hope still lingers they will return. It seemed like there were previous adventurers of higher rank but were removed from the board, possibly due to dying in combat. ¡°Logan, the counter is free¡±, Marcus alerted his ally. ¡°Oh, right.¡± Moving past a multitude of adventurers to the counter, two of which were Lole and Karn, Logan had a new update window popped up to tell him about his Identification ability but now wasn¡¯t the time to read it so he had it minimized. The counter of the G-Hall was much longer than that of Tinte¡¯s, a good dozen receptionists helping with adventurer tasks. Meeting a short gashriek, around 5¡¯6¡±, the man wore a tan suit and workman¡¯s gloves, their red hair pulled back into a short ponytail to reveal blue eyes above wide ridges of his face. ¡°Hello there, no signet? Are you here to sign up or hire the hall, sir?¡± ¡°Joining, my last hall lost my documents in a goblin attack and our items got raided along with my signet. Do I need to get an assessment set up?¡± Logan lied through his teeth. ¡°Understandable, we¡¯ve had other reports of storehouses and smaller halls getting assaulted. Please fill in these forms and return them to me¡±, the man replied as he handed similar documents to Logan to the ones he had in Tinte, though seemingly on higher-class paper and more formal. Fate shined down on him that the goblins were causing similar issues, making his lies more believable. Finding a table, Logan filled it in rather quickly as he already had all the information in mind, as well as having done it once before. Marcus simply handed over the documents he ferried over from Tinte, setting up a reassessment to formally join the G-Hall. Looking over the form, Logan was confident in his answers. Alongside the notes of having done 16 quests with 11 of them being villager quests. It would have been a low number of quests to have completed for his rank, but thankfully the forms had areas for writing if the adventurer had done any outside training or education. Logan could continue his background as training with several different magi, which would lead him to be such a high rank. Since his spell slots couldn¡¯t be identified either, he was able to fudge the number to be more acceptable, 17 first-levels and 7 second-levels. Talking with the Devouts last night helped to get a better gauge on slots and MP, along with the System instructing Logan further with every piece of data given to it. The numbers were much higher than what Logan could pull off, however, quickcasting required extra slots or MP to do so he didn¡¯t think he would have to worry too much about that.
Finishing the documents and handing them over, the gashriek had an inquisitive look on his face. ¡°Looking at your gear, Grasp expert I take it?¡± ¡°Correct, it helps to save on slots in the day.¡± The gashriek continued to look over the documents, his face turning to have a tinge of sadness, ¡°Slots are on the low side, but with second-levels, you should do fine here.¡± ¡°When would the next assessments be held and what is the fee?¡± ¡°We have some happening around late-morning to noon, so you can come then. It¡¯ll be 10 silver, do you have a range of spells prepared to show off?¡± ¡°Yes, I should be able to show all they want, would I be allowed to summon in the assessment?¡± ¡°That is fine, the training grounds aren¡¯t beholden to those rules, but please dismiss them before you leave.¡± With the assessments all set up, the pair headed back into the city to sell off the rest of the gear they had accumulated. For the first time in a while when entering or exiting adventurers¡¯ halls, their movements were not spied on by watchful magi. For now, they had the privacy of any other adventurer, working alongside so many they could blend in better. Until such a time a new quest would appear. --- *** --- Chapter 38 - The Second Assessment With a pep in their step, revitalized from the rest at the inn alongside good eating, Logan and Marcus were able to get their shopping done quickly. The shopping list itself was rather long, as Marcus was needing some upgrades to his gear, alongside the sheer quantity of coins at their disposal. Marcus sold off all his old gear to upgrade to level 4 equipment, as well as picking up some tools to aid in stealth and climbing similar to Logan, to not be left behind as much during the stalking periods in forests. Logan similarly sold his older daggers, barring Spellthief¡¯s Edge, to pick up new variants and sold some older tools for ones that gave higher bonuses. The more important purchases were: ¡°2x Ashin Dagger - Level 8, Common: Forged by expert vampire smiths, this black dagger has red pulsing veins across its blade and pierces deep for how short it is. +4 attack rating, 9-12 damage.¡± ¡°Journeyman Tools: Alchemy, Herbalism, Skinning, Tailoring, Trinket Craft. - Level 15: Tools that aid in the chances of acquiring higher tier materials and items.¡± ¡°Footpad''s Gear - Level 15: Pairs of black combat boots and fingerless gloves that aid in dampening one''s footsteps as well as their tinkering. Whilst wearing these items you count your Agility as 9 higher when utilizing the Stealth skill.¡± ¡°Cragsman''s Ensemble - Level 15: A full set of gear for climbing to the top of most surfaces, from trees to rock walls. Whilst utilizing this gear you count your Strength and Agility as 8 higher when utilizing the Climb skill.¡± ¡°Eagle¡¯s Eyeglass - Level 15: This intricate monocular, crafted with gold and parts of an eagle''s eye, refracts light and imagery through weaving mana and glass prisms. When used, this allows the user to spy at a distance of up to 30 miles.¡± After selling off the spare gear, and buying up new gear, Logan spent 87 silver in total, making a small dent into his now 887 silver. Though that reserve was going to take a major dive when they visited the local library.
With a lighter load, though they wouldn¡¯t really know with using the inventory, the pair made their way to what they thought was going to be a library but turned out to be more of a book shop as libraries seemed to have been an older construct of society, free and communal reading no longer existing. Though thinking on it, the ¡°library¡± of Tinte didn¡¯t allow you to read or rent books, so calling it a library wasn¡¯t entirely correct. Whilst making their way to the book shop, Logan perused his status to double-check what the alert was about Identification, thinking it just went up another tier. Though, as was becoming more common as they continued in their adventures, this window had new information to grant to Logan. ¡°Alert! Identification has reached the maximum mastery for tier 4, progress has been halted until additional tasks have been completed. Experience past tier 4 will not be counted until you have accomplished the tasks required to unlock its progression.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s awfully vague. What tasks? System, got any ideas?¡± the Spellthief asked in his head. ¡°We are unsure on what this information is pertaining to, though it is highly likely that either a quest or item is required to acquire higher than tier 4 in this skill.¡± ¡°I guess that skill will just be stagnant for a while, unless I can find something about it at the book shop.¡±
The book shop in front of them, a large red brick building with glass windows, boasted a large wealth. Even the doors were immaculate, with intricately carved wood and trimmings of gold. Placing a hand on the door caused it to shimmer purple as several arcane circles appeared all over it, a faint purple mist flowing over Logan¡¯s hand. Nothing outwardly hostile occurred, so Logan assumed it to just be some form of alert mechanism or for security. Opening the door to the shop, Logan was treated to the sight of 30¡¯ tall bookcases that reached all the way to the ceiling, several aisles sectioned into different areas of teaching from basic class skills, spells for casters, to theoretical books focusing on new-age thinking. In front of the first two rows of bookshelves stood two dormant golem-like constructs, made of a dark-red rock, though their amber eyes were dull to show that they were inactive. A dinging noise rang out from the door as it swerved open, akin to a magical bell to alert the shopkeeper that someone had entered. With the first two rows of bookshelves making a pseudo-hallway to the counter, Logan could easily see the shopkeeper at the far end look towards the door. Giving a wave to the customers, the pair approached. The man was quite old, possible in his late 60s or maybe 70s, though his posture was immaculate. A wristband made of bones had a crawling mass of white veins wrapped around the man¡¯s wrist, possibly a trinket to boost his strength. Dressed in a formal gown of grey and white hues, the man¡¯s hair was lush with a solid dark-brown colour beyond his years, Logan noticing a hair clip on the man¡¯s head. Energetic blue eyes looked the pair up and down. ¡°Welcome, welcome. Don¡¯t recall either of your faces. New to Gauntlet?¡± he asked with a slightly croaky voice. ¡°Yeah, we arrived yesterday, doing some supply shopping before we get our reassessments done at the G-Hall¡±, Logan responded. ¡°O-ho, I wish luck in a higher ranking for you both. If reassessments they be, you must be journeymen, a quarter-man of your stature would pack a punch I wager.¡± ¡°Here¡¯s hoping. We were wondering if you had some recommendations for us?¡± The older gentlemen scanned over the pair for a while, humming to himself as he did so. Logan could see the man¡¯s blue eyes coated in several grey letters and numbers, had he cast a spell without a chant? ¡°From the looks of you, Grasp expert, and the other would make a good fisticuffs healer, am I right?¡± ¡°Was that silentcasting, sir? I heard rumours of magi being able to use magic without words, but not witnessed it myself¡±, Marcus inquired, eyes wide with excitement as usual. ¡°That it is young one. I can recommend a series of books for advanced casting techniques if it interests you.¡± ¡°Casting without having to speak would be a valuable skill indeed, I¡¯ve had my spells interrupted a few times when people hit me¡±, Logan planned in his head. Describing the types of books they were after, which ended with a very long list, the pair and the shopkeeper who introduced himself as Reykeg landed on a final price for their reading material. ¡°Magi''s Magick Vol 2 (50 silver) - One step above beginner-level magic, this volume of Magi''s Magick teaches the following to spellcasters that are able. 1st: Growth, Rain, Score. 2nd: Earthen Eruption, Flame Cloak, Haste, Lightning Cascade, Skin of Ice. 3rd: Air Blast, Aqua 2, Flame 2, Frost 2, Gaia 2, Lightning 2, Necromantic 2, Wind 2. Alterations: Grasp, Wall, Skystrike." ¡°Spells in a Hurry Vol 1 (1 gold) - The first tome in the series that teaches some of the advanced techniques required to perform spells with fewer words within their incantations. Teaches the skill: Quickcasting at tier 1." ¡°Healer''s Compendium Vol 1 (25 silver) - A compendium of spells dedicated to the Devouts of the world. 1st: Heal, Identify Condition, Sew. 2nd: Enhance (Strength, Agility, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma), Restore Condition. Alterations: Shot." ¡°Silent Step Vol 1 (1 gold) - An in-depth tome that details the finer points of stealthy manoeuvres and techniques. Teaches: Grants mastery in the Stealth skill.¡± ¡°History of Oracles Ver 9 (50 silver) - A history book describing all known oracles to date, the ninth revision of the series written around 20 years ago.¡± ¡°Lexicon of Ava (10 silver) - A lexicon that functions as a translation guide and instruction book for the Ava language, spoken by humans.¡± This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°Lexicon of Shrieky (50 silver) - A lexicon that translates the Ava tongue into Shrieky, allowing humans to understand and converse with gashriek.¡± ¡°Lexicon of Saelong (3 gold) - A rare tome that translates the complex roars, snarls, growls, and sounds of the saeber race into the ava language. This allows humans to understand, but not speak, Saelong.¡± A wealth of knowledge at their fingertips, that required a massive wealth of its own. Totalling 685 silver, Logan was both surprised and kind of expecting such a high price. He had plans to obtain other books, but this would have to do for now. Keeping enough money in reserve in case he had to spend any on an emergency. It took some time to count out the coins, making stacks of ten at a time, but they eventually reached the required amount. ¡°Quite the spree, fresh home from adventuring I wager. If you¡¯re in the mood to spend shy of seven gold again, feel free to come by¡±, Reykeg offered with a wide smile. A click of his fingers unlocking the books for perusal. ¡°It may be a while before we spend so much, but if something comes up we¡¯ll make sure to have your shop in mind¡±, Logan returned. Placing the books in their bags, the pair left the book shop. Logan was displeased he found no book relating to Identification, but it wasn¡¯t a dealbreaker for him. The Ava Lexicon would also instruct him on the measurements, slang, and different vocabulary of the Avanarians, as he continued to fumble on his words during conversations.
With a bit of time before their assessments, Logan and Marcus got quick haircuts and shaves to look their best for the assessors. During the said cut, Marcus was reading over a smaller book he had purchased from the book shop, looking at the title Logan was able to see it to be an informational booklet on the different types of adventurers. They talked back and forth during their hairstyling as the Devout read on. There wasn¡¯t much time to get too detailed, but it seemed that each class had a further specialization within it. Reading off some from Wizards and Sorcerers, the two classes contained quite a few ¡°expert¡± terms including enhancement, Grasp, summoning, and affliction. Logan would have fallen into the first two camps, as others saw his martial prowess as him using magic to aid him in melee combat, or his ample use of the Grasp alteration leading to the second. Now all prim and proper, Logan stroked his clean face that only had the single scar as an abrasion across his fingers. With the hair out of his eyes, he was clearly able to see Marcus pay the stylists, whose use of scissors, razors, and minor spellforce weaving made them quite capable.
As the time ticked down, the pair finally made their way back to the G-Hall, items shuffling about in the inventory to make their journey a bit lighter. Marcus was able to take his coins out without any issue, as long as he kept close enough to Logan, as well as place items into it as his leisure. Even though their first visit revealed the G-Hall to be much more active than the hall in Tinte, them arriving in the late-morning, close to 10am, alongside reassessments being undertaken rose that number sharply. Once again, Logan was floored by the number of adventurers he was unable to identify, showing the danger he would face if he ever got on the wrong side of the law. The thought also reminded him to hand in his hunting mission for Dena Mor afterwards. Following the crowd of adventurers going through the doors at the back, Logan and Marcus were flanked by all types, from clanking full-plate Knights to shuffling leather-garbed Rogues. Splitting up from the crowds, everyone took their seats on the pews that lined the much larger open-air arena at the back. The arena was massive when compared to the one in Tinte, a good 200 or so feet in length with 100 feet in width. Mostly formed of hard dirt, the arena had a few portions that featured stonework flooring, training dummies, as well as other acrobatic tools to test the adventurers. Getting an estimate on the numbers, Logan counted just under a hundred adventurers before he gave up. It wasn¡¯t long until the assessors entered the arena grounds. Two magi strode in side-by-side, wearing dark purple robes with symbols of lightning and ice across them. With them was a knightly man whose long black hair had been tied into a ponytail and hidden under his armour. Picking out a green rock each, the assessors placed them to their necks, to which they seemingly magnetised to their skin. With a booming voice, the man spoke loudly, possibly aided by the rock. ¡°Welcome adventurers, we have ten assessments and six reassessments today. We hope you find new comrades and wish all the well to those being assessed, that they are seen to hold the potential to become amazing allies.¡± The magi began waving their hands over the arena, chanting under their hoods as they cast spells. Dirt hardened and morphed into stone, the dummies lit up with a greenish glow, and the walls of the arena gained purple barriers all around. Casting the spells took a good 5 minutes, but Logan was in awe all during the display. The extra precautions and changes to the arena probably warranted the higher cost of the assessment. With their routines finished, the man spoke aloud once again. ¡°Drio Morn, please enter the arena.¡± At the mention of their name, a level 1 Fighter stood from the pews and made his way into the arena, the barrier letting his body through. The tests given to him were similar to that of Tinte, running, jumping and vaulting, attacking dummies, and then ending with a display of a skill which again was Power Strike. Though, unlike Tinte, the testing took 30 minutes instead of 20. ¡°Drio Morn has been assessed as a rank 1 Fighter. He is a savant with Strength and Intelligence, a worthy leader if ever I saw one. Other capabilities include great Charisma, above-average Agility and Constitution, with an average Wisdom¡± Logan translated this to STR 12, AGI 10, CON 10, INT 12, WIS 9, CHA 11. It was quite an array of attributes. Keeping an eye open for anything out of the ordinary, Logan observed the following assessments.
Before him, Logan watched three Fighters alongside two Knights, and one Rogue, Wizard, Sorcerer, and Devout get their assessments. With ten attribute arrays on show, Logan was dismayed when he saw a Knight have no attribute above a 10, and three of them being an 8. Any theory that people had a minimum number across the board was dashed when he compared people with 16 total points over the minimum of 8 in their array against those who had a low 5 total points over 8. So much was down to luck in the beginning stages. Logan was incredibly lucky to have started off at 18 points, or maybe it was down to his ability to assign his own attributes. To speed up the assessments, it seemed like the first was to test the arena and after that, they would take the newcomers in groups of 3. Instead of taking up to 8 hours, the assessments would end up closer to 5 hours. The adventurers on the pews made notes of the newcomers to the hall, a few words here or there being audible enough for Logan to gauge that these starting attributes were highly sought after. Starting skills were just as important, as not everyone had the same beginning skill. Fighters either had Power Strike or Stunning Blow it seemed, though the pool of the other classes wasn¡¯t large enough to make a major note on their skills. After the initial assessments were all complete the assessors moved on to the reassessments. Three reassessments were before Logan, a level 5 Fighter became a Level 7, a level 6 Knight became a level 8, a level 3 Rogue became a level 4. With such a gap in level for the first two, Logan surmised that it was difficult for NPCs to assess their own growth in power. It was also possible they were hiding their increase in level to choose certain quests or parties, but Logan couldn¡¯t be sure of either case. ¡°Logan Hall, Wizard. Your reassessment will now begin¡±, the male assessor spoke with a booming voice.
Making his way down the stairs that lined the pews Logan could feel several gazes following his movements. He had only wished he could tell if someone was using Identification or similar magic on him, all he had was his own spatial awareness ticking off from the eyes scanning his frame. Passing the protective barriers, Logan felt the strangely-liquid wall cling to his body as it allowed him passage. Standing in front of the assessors he could now see the mages¡¯ eyes glowing with yellow and green colours as they inspected him. ¡°Logan, your documents note your last hall was attacked by goblins and lost your previous information. As such we will need to investigate all of your capabilities. You noted a wide variety of spells, we will need to see two first-level spells alongside your summon and another second-level spell, you may use alterations as you wish¡±, the male assessor instructed. Nodding, Logan began the long process of jumping, various uses of acrobatics, pushups, sprinting, and the like. Ending off he displayed both a Gaia Wall and a Flame Grasp, though it seemed at his rank the alterations were not too surprising. Next, he summoned Celsius onto the arena, being aided by the two magi assessors to bring him to life in 3 minutes, who showed off some of his own capabilities to the staff. Ending the assessment with a Dimensional Jaunt to the other side, Logan jogged back to the assessors. As it was more common to quickcast at his level, Logan only spoke the name of the spell and the alterations. This seemed to give him some bonus points with those watching his performance. The trio discussed amongst themselves for a while, noting that Logan¡¯s damage output was around the medium area for a Wizard. His low number of slots called into account possible blood or brain defects, even possibly a curse that worried Logan somewhat. Looking around as he waited, Logan spotted several expressions across the other adventurers from pleased to moderately mediocre. Before long the male assessor spoke aloud, ¡°Logan Hall has been reassessed. He has been marked as a rank 8 Wizard. A wider range of spells comes with the deficit of low-end slot management. His martial capabilities match that of a Grasp expert.¡± A smattering of applause was heard amongst the crowd, though Logan was unsure if it was due to the assessor finishing their speech or the note that the Spellthief was a good Grasp expert. Being handed his scroll Logan paid the 10 silver fee that was ten times higher than the fee of Tinte. Moving back to the pews, Logan could hear the conversations of the other adventures clearer. ¡°Grasp experts are hard to come by nowadays, think he is a good pick?¡± ¡°High damage, Grasp is. Could be worth the trouble.¡± ¡°That serpentine foe up north would love a wringing of his flaming hands.¡± The conversations continued, mostly positive in the way that they wanted to use Logan¡¯s powers, but negative in the fact it would be to ¡°use¡± his powers. No one spoke about how good Logan would do as a permanent member of a party, just for singular missions. Trying to ignore the more sombre part of this display, Logan looked toward the arena once more to observe Marcus¡¯s reassessment.
¡°Marcus Eren, Devout. Your reassessment will now begin.¡± Filled with determination and wanting to show how far he had come, Marcus gave the assessment his all. He did better at the displays of Strength, but worse at Agility than that of Logan, though when it came down to the show of magic Marcus had quite the different outcome. Bringing out a weary adventurer, a level 5 Fighter, Marcus was instructed to use his Heal spell on the man. Summoning up all his confidence, Marcus displayed an amazing Heal Grasp of 30 points. The hurt adventurer alongside the assessors all became wide-eyed with gasps audible even from the pews. Stammering and stepping towards the Devout, the assessors barraged him with questions, Marcus¡¯s face lighting up like the sun from what they were saying. Turning to the crowd, the male assessor spoke once more. ¡°Dear adventurers! A momentous event has occurred! This man, once noted as average has ascended past his previous weakness and has displayed amazing magical capabilities. Advancing from rank 2 to 4, his healing is closer to that of a rank 5 or 6! Praise be to Pondress, the protectress of the above has surely blessed her faithful¡±, the man¡¯s voice echoed and quaked slightly as he spoke. Looking down, holding his two hands together to form the two orb sides of Pondress, many of the adventurers did the same. Silent prayers were spoken as Logan looked towards Marcus, the Devout¡¯s smile wide with a teary-eyed gaze around. Locking eyes with Logan, the Spellthief gave a noticeable nod to his friend. ¡°Good job, Marcus.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 39 - Awkward Assignments The prayers ended with a round of applause for Marcus, his walk turning into a stride as he returned to the pews of the arena. This reassessment was just what he needed to boost his confidence after the last few days of travelling. Noticing the blessed Devout sit with the previously assessed moderate Wizard, the gossip continued to circle around. ¡°One of them is going far.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that Wizard benefitting off the other¡¯s power?¡± ¡°Normal lumped with greatness, think we could prise him away?¡± Logan couldn¡¯t help but feel spoken down to and diminished when they all compared him to his friend. While Logan was the reason that Marcus had improved so much, it didn¡¯t feel good to be seen as a moocher. Keeping it internal, he watched the final reassessment before leaving with the crowds. Dismissing his elemental, Celsius gave a wave goodbye.
¡°I hadn¡¯t thought I grew so much, it¡¯s great isn¡¯t it, Logan? Just think, together we can keep progressing with ease¡±, Marcus began to speak. Nodding with his friend, Logan kept mostly silent as Marcus continued, ¡°Though I would not have gotten anywhere close to here without you. It is strange they counted you as mediocre, though I guess they see all sorts at this hall.¡± Marcus was the most chatty he had been in quite some time, so Logan let his ally continue on and on, even if it did get a bit irritating towards the end. Handing in their scrolls at the counter, after waiting in line, they both were given updated signets. Logan placed around his neck the small magenta-coloured wooden tablet that reminded him of a shogi piece¡­ Wait, a shogi piece? Had he seen such back on Earth? This was the first he thought of it, had his Intelligence score allowed him a better long-term memory or recollection? Trying to not lose too much focus, Logan looked over the signet. Like the last, it was a strong treated wood, with the markings of A5 and V11 etched into them noting his completed quests. ¡°A¡± for adventurers, and ¡°V¡± for villagers. Another etching of an ¡°H¡± was also at the end, though no number accompanied it, surmising it was most likely for hunter quests that involved taking down other humans and the like. With their new signets, Logan asked a quick question to Marcus, ¡°Hey, Marcus. Give me a random calculation to make, a multiplication or something.¡± ¡°Uh, ok? What is¡­ eight times twenty-seven?¡± ¡°216¡±, Logan replied at an almost instant pace. Using his fingers a bit, Marcus calculated the answer. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right. Damn quick, as is expected for a mage¡±, he replied matter-of-factly. ¡°So my Intelligence has made me smarter, I guess the same would be for Wisdom making me wiser? At a 13 I doubt I hold much in the way of wise decisions though¡±, Logan thought to himself, almost forgetting that his attributes would represent themselves in such a way. Recollecting more events from his past he could visualise them almost perfectly in his imagination, looking around he could also calculate distances more precisely as he reconfirmed them with Identification.
Exiting the G-Hall, the pair had a few other tasks for the day so they didn¡¯t want to worry too much about the quests they could now take. Logan¡¯s use of his spells also meant he was a bit short for any combat for the rest of the day. Turning to Marcus, Logan began to explain their next destination before he was interrupted by a voice getting louder and louder. ¡°Hey. Hey! Wizard in the dark-blue coat!¡± Turning around, Logan was met with the angry and scarred face of a woman. With a quick Identification, he found a new sight indeed. ¡°Kreya Ioi: Knight 10, 184/184 HP, 0/0 MP. Renowned ----. Signed up with the G-Hall ----. Skills: Wall of Iron***, Hard Skin**, ----. Wields: ----. Wears: ----.¡± This was the first time that Logan got only sparse information about a humanoid target, most of it was seemingly hidden away. Was this due to some magic at work, or maybe even a trinket? ¡°I¡¯ve been calling to you two for a while, damn those crowds!¡± the woman spoke harshly, breathing a bit heavily as if she were jogging and shouting at the same time. Looking over the woman, she stood at 5¡¯11¡± and would have been bulky under the scale mail she wore as it seemed too big if she were thin underneath. Her reddish armour was a bit garish, combined with a red and black cape that flew over her shoulders and back. Her face was rounded, with pretty yellow eyes staring at Logan with strands of her medium-length brunette hair dangling down her forehead but mostly tied into a ponytail on top of her cape. The most noticeable features were that of her scars, a large ¡°V¡± was cut into her right ear, a large slit in her right cheek as if someone had stabbed into her mouth, three claw marks going from her left chin to her throat, and finally a large scar across her neck as if it were slit. Her golden skin would have been flawless if not for the scarring. ¡°Sorry, we were talking over things. What did you need us for?¡± Logan inquired, curious as to her intentions. ¡°I saw your reassessments, and then you took no quests from the board. I need a mage in my team and a Wizard would be best due to the firepower you can deal out. Time is short, but we have till tomorrow so you can sort out your slots ahead of time, it¡¯s-¡± she instructed as if Logan had already accepted her request. Cutting her off, Logan put up a hand a replied, ¡°Sorry, we already have plans for today and tomorrow. We can¡¯t help you so soon. You¡¯ll have to find another mage.¡± ¡°What?¡± the woman replied, confused. ¡°You¡¯re turning down a party invitation? As a mage? What are you doing that¡¯s more important?¡± ¡°We were going to investigate the capital, make sure all our items were updated, learn new skills and spells, among other things.¡± ¡°So no other quest? No problem then, you can do those things outside of ours. Now, we¡¯re going to be hunting-¡± ¡°It is important to us, we¡¯re new here and we need to be certain we¡¯re prepared for what¡¯s ahead.¡± The woman¡¯s face turned a shade redder. ¡°You¡¯re damn new, you don¡¯t just turn a quest down as a mage. You think you¡¯ll get more handed to you on a platter because you travel around with a blessed?¡± ¡°Please, can you just take my decline?¡± Logan tried to save the situation, angering an adventurer on his first day was not his aim but the more he heard this woman speak the more he did not want to join them. ¡°What¡¯ll it take? You want a better rate than a third of ours? Fine, just under half of our percentage, you¡¯ll get 14% of the reward, that good enough for you?¡± ¡°It isn¡¯t a matter of pay¡±, he began, ¡°Even if that pay is shit¡±, he thought. ¡°It¡¯s about us just barely having arrived here and-¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have time for this, I challenge you to a duel, sir!¡± the woman spoke aloud. Heads turned in the direction of the announcement, whispers amongst the populace about a duel. ¡°Fuck, I read something about duels in my books but it didn¡¯t say much about them!¡± Logan cursed in his head. Looking around, the woman noticed a passing guard whom she hailed with an arm wave. ¡°Hello there, sir guard. I have challenged this man to a duel, can you be our judge? Here is the 5 silver¡±, she asked as she handed a few coins to the guardsman whose plate armour shined in the sun. ¡°Well, and here I thought today would be devoid of entertainment. I can be your judge. What names and wagers are we abiding by?¡± ¡°Wait, can you explain-¡± Logan began. ¡°This one is new, do you have a manual?¡± the woman interjected. ¡°Ah, but of course¡±, the guard replied. Pulling out a small booklet, the guard recited the laws of duels. The general gist of the duel was that the instigator of the duel would announce the wager at hand to the person they were challenging, the person challenged would then add their side of the wager to which the challenger could adjust their own side to fit. After the wager was made the two combatants would engage in a fight, once one side was unconscious that was it. A guard must always be witness to the duel and act as a judge to tell when someone has won. Other rules included no prior use of enhancing or summoning magic, with summons being made within a duel though time constraints did not really make that viable. Wearing trinkets was fine as with the effects of such. Logan¡¯s book mentioned that people didn¡¯t turn duels down, as it would be a major loss of honour alongside rumours spreading that you were a coward if so. Logan wasn''t entirely fixated on his fame or honour within Gauntlet, but a heavily negative one would affect his ability to find a viable party for quests. Saying no would dampen his future prospects, but even if he were to lose said duel he''d still gain experience and possible items from the quest forced onto him. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. He could use this to his advantage. This woman obviously required a spellcaster for her quest, meaning Logan would no doubt gain experience from kills. Better yet, he could see how quests were undertaken within the capital with veteran adventurers. It was a terrible situation to be placed within, but Logan could find a benefit in any outcome or any choice he had at his hands. ¡°I can¡¯t see all her skills or gear, this is a shit turn of events. I recognise the two skills I can see, Marsh used those. Are they on cooldown? I never asked how long those took! Fuck!¡± Logan¡¯s mind was abuzz with trying to plan ahead for the situation that forced itself onto him. ¡°My side is that this mage will join my party on a single quest, he will get no pay from such. My name is Kreya Ioi.¡± Letting out a grain of frustration Logan replied, ¡°Fine, if I win Kreya will hand over a trinket of my choice to me¡±, Logan returned, hoping to take the item that was hiding her status from him. ¡°You can see trinkets? Or do you want to inspect them after we¡¯ve fought?¡± ¡°After.¡± ¡°Fine, let¡¯s make this more interesting. How about I take both you and your friend for free for this quest? In return you can take two trinkets, how¡¯s that sound?¡± ¡°What? I can¡¯t-¡± Logan began. ¡°I am fine with it¡±, Marcus interjected. Looking to his ally with a look like ¡°are you sure?¡± Logan received an affirmative nod. ¡°Fine, two trinkets or two adventurers for a single quest. My name is Logan Hall.¡± Making notes in his booklet, the guardsman nodded as he looked around the immediate vicinity. ¡°Alright, listen up everyone. Make a good perimeter, we¡¯ve got ourselves a duel. Kreya versus Logan, free service of two adventurers for two trinkets of the other¡¯s choice. One is a caster so keep your wits about you in the crossfire!¡± As instructed, the nearby villagers rushed around to give a wide-open area for the duel to commence within. Many people went inside nearby buildings to view from windows or climbed onto roofs and crate stacks. Aside from normal villagers, a few adventurers were also keen to look over the duel. Logan could easily tell a few bets were being made by those who had the coin to do so. ¡°I know you¡¯ve just had an assessment, so I will restrict my skills. No Come Forth or Shatter Bash¡±, Kreya offered before walking back. Walking apart to make a good 20 feet of distance between the two, Logan gave a final inner curse at the situation before drawing Spellthief¡¯s edge in his right hand, moving his left into a claw, and bending low. Kreya bashed her bracers together as a glint of yellow sparks materialised a large flanged mace similar to a shishpar. In her other hand, a large metal shield formed, easily covering half of her body, even more if she ducked down. Seeing the items form, Logan used his periapt to grant himself 2 MP for the fight, thinking he¡¯d need it against someone who was ¡°renowned¡± for something. He wasn¡¯t going to use the MP for anything else in the day anyways. ¡°Combatants ready? Begin!¡± the guard called, looking to both Kreya and Logan as he swiped his hand down. Starting off the fight with the offensive, Logan threw his clawed left hand out quickly as he chanted aloud, ¡°Force!¡± sending an impactful ball of grey energies towards Kreya. Spinning her shield to her front, Kreya easily blocked the blast as it left scratches across its surface. Logan could tell with Identification that she took no damage due to fully blocking it. ¡°Damnit!¡± ¡°Force, force, force¡±, Logan called out again and again as he charged towards Kreya, each time a blast of energy surged in his shoulder and jetted through his limb towards the shielded foe. As he finally closed the gap, Logan drew a line in the air towards Kreya as he chanted once more, ¡°Flame Wall¡±, after which a large swathe of flames danced from his palm to the floor, jumping upwards as it created several blazing columns away from him. Almost as if anticipating his moves, Kreya jumped to the right and dodged the wall of fire. Kicking forwards she assaulted Logan with her shield into his face, using it as a battering ram. Suffering 8 damage it wasn¡¯t terrible, but he backstepped in case of a follow-up. He was smart to do so as Kreya brought her mace upwards to crash into his chin that was no longer there. Seeing an opening, Logan dug his heels deep into the floor as he leapt forwards with an outstretched arm. Grabbing a hold of Kreya¡¯s scale mail they spoke in unison. ¡°Gaia Grasp!¡± ¡°Hard Skin!¡± Kreya was coated in an aura of red, a shimmering veil made of pure spellforce. Logan¡¯s arms exploded with mud and rock as the magic seeped into the barrier and crashed across it. Dealing a disappointing 26 damage, Logan was sure it was heavily reduced by that skill. Retaliating, Kreya swung her mace sideways as it smashed into Logan¡¯s side, hitting him for 33 damage. ¡°Fuck! That was a normal hit?!¡± Flipping backwards, Logan spied the floor 20 feet back as he chanted, ¡°Dimensional Jaunt¡±, causing his body to compress out of existence and explode with a shockwave away from his duelling foe. Looking upwards, he saw a smile across Kreya¡¯s face. ¡°Force, force, force, force¡±, he retaliated, shooting one wave of energy after another. Three of the blasts hit Kreya¡¯s blocking shield, but he shot them randomly, the last hitting her shin but dealing 0 damage. ¡°Damnit, that skill must reduce a fuck ton of damage.¡± As if his thoughts were reaching someone, the red aura surrounding Kreya faded away as if being washed away with the wind. She didn¡¯t seem to be upset by the occurrence, however. ¡°Melee won¡¯t work here, she is a juggernaut¡±, Logan tried to plan in his head. ¡°Force¡±, Logan called out, a good eight times, each time he assaulted his foe with a blast of magic that had done him justice up to this point. Having it fail so harshly hit him like a dark omen, not everyone will fall to such a ¡°free¡± attack. Six of the blasts were easily blocked by the large shield, two hitting Kreya in the head and foot for 10 damage each. ¡°She has a passive reduction of 4?¡± Logan began to prepare yet another spell to throw at Kreya, his hand igniting in flames as he did so. However, Kreya began her returning attack. Bashing her shield with her mace she called out, ¡°Chatter¡±, after which her shield sent out a wide blast of vibrating sound. The wave picked up dust and gravel as it blasted into Logan, his body barely standing tall after being assaulted. ¡°F-f-f-flame s-s-s-s-s-s¡±, he tried to chant, but his body was vibrating so greatly he felt his teeth chattering as he tried to speak. The fires died from his hand as he miscasted, a true counter to his ranged strategy. ¡°Fuck, shit¡±, Logan cursed over in his head. As if spurred on by her successful skill use, Kreya darted towards Logan. With his body vibrating so harshly, Logan found it difficult to move properly to dodge. Closing the gap, Kreya smashed her shield into the dagger-hand of Logan as it almost dislocated with 9 damage. Bringing her ferocious mace to her foe, Kreya swung it fast and heavy from the right into the face of Logan. Hearing a very audible crack, the mace crashed into the midpoint of the Spellthief¡¯s face, easily breaking his nose and tearing the skin from his face. Saliva and blood flew from his opened maw, dislocated from the blow. Spinning around from the blow, Logan could not see through his now-blurry vision that the attack dealt a sickening 37 damage, bringing him straight down to 1/88 HP. Not one to give up, Logan threw up his hand to the double-Kreya that was shifting in his eyes from the dizzying effect of having his head slammed like a truck. ¡°F-f-f¡±, he began, but Kreya just gave a solid kick into Logan¡¯s chest as he was pushed to the floor in an unconscious state. Logan lay defeated on the floor, his dagger dropped behind him, and his face smashed to the left. The guard raised his hand, ¡°Kreya is the victor!¡± Running to his ally, Marcus slid to his knees as he began healing his ally. ¡°Orb of all I call to thee, Pondress heal your children. Heal Grasp¡±, he chanted, placing a hand on his friend¡¯s messed-up face. Recovering a hearty 27 caused Logan to reawaken with a slowly reforming face. A severe ringing radiated in the Spellthief¡¯s head, his vision was still blurry from the force dealt to his source of knowledge. Another Heal brought him to 53/88 HP, regaining his faculties. As his face reformed, he had no idea either way, it was as if he hadn¡¯t had a ton of bricks mash it to a new form. The only lasting reminder he had been hit was a thick new scar across the midpoint of his nose and ending under both of his eyes. ¡°Logan, are you ok? That was quite the blow you took¡±, Marcus asked with worry. ¡°Ugh, who decided a duel was a good idea?¡± he replied, holding his head as it still felt a bit loose from the last barrage. ¡°Good enough to crack jokes, I¡¯ll take it¡±, Marcus continued as he breathed a sigh of relief. Money exchanged hands in the background but Logan was way too groggy to understand any of the conversations. He could see Kreya putting her gear away, however, using her bracers to store them took some time apparently. Even if she was rude earlier she seemed to understand that Logan needed time to centre himself after the combat, giving him ample time. Spending a few minutes to recover all of his senses, Logan stood up. The crowds had dispersed, though the guard stood around to see the end of the wagers. ¡°I was announced the victor, I take it I shall see you at the G-Hall tomorrow morning at 8am?¡± Kreya spoke, the energy and anger somewhat absent in her voice, a somewhat solemnness replacing it. ¡°Yeah, that was what we agreed. Myself and Marcus¡­ Marcus and I? We¡¯ll be there¡±, Logan responded, still a bit dazed. ¡°Good, get some rest, and I hope you heal up quick¡±, Kreya ended. Walking past the pair as she made her way down the road. With his duty done, the guardsman also gave a meagre bow of his head as he continued his rounds on the streets. ¡°Nice to meet a cunt on my first day¡±, Logan spat. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Nothing, let¡¯s take a short break while you heal me up.¡± ¡°Wait, she didn¡¯t tell us what the quest was or what we were hunting.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll find out tomorrow, guess I will wait to prepare my spells until we meet up.¡± ¡°At least we know she is a competent adventurer¡±, Marcus continued as he patted down on Logan¡¯s wounds with his Healer¡¯s Caress. ¡°She is renowned for something at least, hopefully, it isn¡¯t being a bloody asshole.¡± ¡°I guess we¡¯ll find out later.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t wait¡±, Logan finished sarcastically. --- *** --- Chapter 40 - Reason For Living Logan¡¯s head felt incredibly sore, much worse than any time he may have had a door slam into it or getting a slap across his cheek from someone in an intense moment. The punishment dealt by Kreya had knocked the fear back into him from living in this new world, each new person he met brought new realisations about how close he comes to death every day. Almost being cut up by Darius, knocked unconscious by the bandits at the inn, and inches away from a slit throat with Dena. No new quests came his way through the System, only an adventuring task enforced by Kreya and by extension her team. All Logan needed was another lead, a path to take that would remove him from a place that could end his existence with a single choice, or just for daring to live at all. He had books to read, places to visit, he could possibly find something there, but life finds a way to delay. Talking with Marcus, Logan understood that Kreya was more than likely a professionally trained adventurer, whereas the bandits he had faced thus far were brought up in actual combat. Experience gained from a master covers more holes in your ability than that of fighting in the streets. If he had the time, Logan would have jumped at the chance to learn from a school or tutor to fight better, even if a Wizard would be a weird sparring partner. The removal of Vokka¡¯s blessing meant he had a major source of prowess removed, even if a portion stayed with him through muscle memory. For now, he would have to increase his skill via practice and hardship, after Kreya¡¯s mission was done the pair would improve their bodies and minds with the money they had earned, all the while investigating oracles. But that was to come, now they had to prepare for the day ahead.
The walk to the guardhouse took a good 20 minutes or so, there were several in the capital but only the one held within it bounties, to help consolidate missions and adventurers. Logan was caressed to full health, though his ego would be bruised for some time to come. The guardhouse was a tall stone building, similar to a keep or small castle. While it was also long, it seemed the beginning areas were for public use and the further back sections for prison cells. Opening up the iron reinforced wooden doors, Logan and Marcus stepped into a wide hall, a good 50 feet wide that went on for 60 feet until a tall wall blocked their sight and passage. Tables and chairs were set up in this entrance hall, though no one was around aside from a staff member sitting at a dark-brown wooden counter. Sitting atop the counter was a pipe with faint billowing smoke coming from it. Approaching the staff member, Logan saw him to be in his 40s, sitting at around 5¡¯10¡± the man had a good amount of muscle on his upper body. Wrinkles dotted his forehead alongside patches of whiter skin, though he mostly had a milk-chocolate complexion. His hair was greying and mostly swept back to his neck and kept behind his ears. Looking up, the man took his pipe and took a long inhale, exhaling out a minty mist he addressed the pair. ¡°Welcome, sirs, this is the Gerro Guardhouse, your faces are new to me and I don¡¯t often get people coming in here. Your clothing and weapons tell a story of adventuring, so are you here to inquire about our services?¡± he asked with a direct tone that had a bit of phlegm at the end of it. His eyes were as tired and dull as his hair had become in his mid-life. Logan¡¯s mind wandered as he became curious, commanding within his head as he usually did, ¡°Identify.¡± Before his skill finished, the man in front of him twitched all over as if retaliation, his eyes going wide in anger and defence against Logan. A glint of gold appeared over the man¡¯s irises as a sharp invisible jolt was sent into Logan¡¯s mind. Grabbing his head reflexively, Logan took a step back. ¡°Certainly new to the city, I offered no invitation or consent to your detection magic. Try that again and your eyes will be forfeit¡±, the man warned with bared teeth. He had a wave of sharp anger to him, but a hint of understanding was shown underneath. Recoiling from the riposte, Logan stood up straight once more. ¡°Sorry, sir, this is the first anyone has seen me use it and I had no warnings before¡±, Logan¡¯s words were sincere as he realised the threat may have not been idle, his vision blurred yet again today. ¡°Magi are too curious for their own good, many have had the death penalty for such intrusions. Keep your magic to yourself and you¡¯ll find no quarrel here.¡± ¡°I sincerely apologise, I have not been around larger settlements, the rules are new to me.¡± The man looked Logan over for a while, his eyes tired yet wise, as if seeking to find a lie within Logan¡¯s tone it appeared he found none. Sitting up straighter in his chair, the man opened a nearby drawer and pulled out a small booklet. Holding it loosely between a thumb and finger, he offered it to Logan. ¡°A quarter-man would do well to know the laws of those he speaks to, lest he finds himself quartered.¡± Taking the booklet, Logan saw it to be a small rule and law book, not exactly dedicated to Gauntlet but covering a wide area of the land. ¡°I shall do my best to read this and avoid any more illegal activities¡±, Logan replied respectfully. ¡°Good, now, do you have an answer to my beginning question? What is your purpose within Gerro?¡± ¡°We recently signed up with the G-Hall, our previous one was attacked by goblins, and on the road here we took down a bounty we¡¯d like to turn in, please, sir?¡± Logan laid out, questioning the man¡¯s name. ¡°That spell is rather difficult to pull off without any words, so you must be adept. Find the bounty on the board and bring it to me. I am Jirango by the way¡±, the man replied, pointing to a wooden board on the western wall that was lined with parchment bounties. ¡°Thanks, Jirango. I¡¯m Logan and this is Marcus¡±, Logan replied, waving to his ally behind him. ¡°Nice to meet you, Jirango. I hope we can provide you with plenty of assistance.¡± ¡°And you, Marcus. It¡¯d be a great sight indeed. Locking up or taking down these people will make the world a safer place to stroll indeed.¡± ¡°We have plans for tomorrow, but if we happen by any more bounties I am sure we¡¯ll take care of them¡±, Marcus continued as Logan went to inspect the board. ¡°Our list of hunters is rather low, you signing up will put it back over twenty.¡± ¡°Is that due to retirement or migrating elsewhere?¡± ¡°Retirement of two sorts. Hunting isn¡¯t for everyone, as having to fight another classed means a tougher fight, especially if they are a counter for your skills. Many give it a few days before quitting to do normal adventurer work. Those¡¯d be the lucky ones though, quite a few get taken down by their marks. Skills and spells turn the tide oh so easily.¡± ¡°That they do, our fights with other people have been closer than our fights with monsters I¡¯d say¡±, Marcus replied, reminiscing the most recent encounters. ¡°Might be easier for casters, if you know sleeping or incapacitation magics you can deal with foes without slaughter.¡± ¡°A fair point, Logan does have the Sleep spell.¡± As Marcus and Jirango spoke to one another, Logan had made his way to the bounty board and had spent some time inspecting it. Clenched fists and teeth showed his anger directly, followed by an exclaimed, ¡°What the fuck.¡± Turning to his friend, Marcus jogged a bit to get closer. Looking over the large wooden board revealed it to contain countless pieces of parchment pinned to it. Bounties ranging from a few silver to several gold, single targets to whole gangs, arrests to assassinations. Logan¡¯s mind saw something else, however, with Identification neatly laying out the bounties and removing any repeated or completed quests that had yet to be cleaned up. 57 Bounties were currently active on the board, almost all for the subjugation of murderers. A few missions were given to apprehend some thieves and the like, but there were so many known killers that it made Logan¡¯s stomach sick with rage. ¡°In a world where people have over 10 levels above another, why are so many just left to do as they please?¡± he ruminated in his head. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Shockingly, a lot of the bounties featured people of levels as low as 2 to the low 10s, higher than that was impossible to identify, though some did note adventurer rank for those that had gone rogue. After seeing the rosters of level 20 and above adventurers at the G-Hall, it wouldn¡¯t take more than a week to clear off this board, so why didn¡¯t they? Was it because a lot of the murders featured classless? Or the robberies aimed at merchants and the like? ¡°First it was discrimination against mages, now it¡¯s just a whole divide between those with power and those without. It isn¡¯t their fault their mouths weren¡¯t filled with gold at birth¡±, Logan¡¯s mind was ablaze with even more hatred. His eyes darted amongst the parchment and the windows popping up from identifying them, his quest log was getting full of markers for the criminals. ¡°Fine. If they won¡¯t lift a finger, I¡¯ll lift a whole hand!¡± he thought to himself as he grabbed at and tore the wanted poster for Dena Mor from the board. ¡°Logan?¡± Marcus asked as his ally stormed past him, fury in his eyes. Placing the contract on the counter, Logan followed up by placing his bag on it too, picking out the weapons and books that belonged to Dena. Jirango seemed like he was going to begin speaking about the contract as if he didn¡¯t believe that Logan had taken her down, but was silenced when he saw the blades and books placed before him. ¡°Haunt''s End, Assassin Dagger, a few ledgers, and 13 books. That should be everything she had that you wanted¡±, Logan listed out directly. Glancing over the items, Jirango now stood above them as he picked out a book at a time. ¡°Those are her weapons alright, the first was stolen from a blacksmith not too long ago so it¡¯s easily identifiable. Books all looked to be locked too, good thing, the trader who lost them will be happy at their profits not dipping as much¡±, Jirango spoke as he continued to inspect the wares. Slinging his bag back over his shoulders, Logan nodded at Jirango¡¯s words. ¡°She had some friends too, but I dealt with those.¡± ¡°Amazing work, that¡¯s a quickcaster master for you. Sadly we can¡¯t pay for her group, the bounty was just for her, but I¡¯ll see if we can get some lodging for you tonight¡±, Jirango replied with a shocked tone. Moving all the items from the right to the left, as if he were a worker at a till, he finished inspecting the wares. Waving his arm to the side, Jirango motioned Logan to step onto a small circle next to the counter. The circle had several etchings and lines carved into the flooring though it was entirely dark. ¡°We just need to do a truth test to make sure no foul play is at hand, normal procedure.¡± ¡°Ok¡±, Logan accepted as he stepped onto the circle. As he did so, Jirango started to chant as he moved a dial embedded in the desk. The circle beneath Logan¡¯s feet lit up a dazzling yellow as lines of magic shot upwards and coated him in golden chains. He wasn¡¯t constricted in any way and seemed entirely cosmetic. ¡°Can you say that without a doubt that Dena Mor is dead and cannot be revived?¡± Jirango asked. Logan¡¯s head was buzzing a bit but he felt fine otherwise, until he began to speak. Instead of his normal words, others came out, ¡°Yes, I have killed Dena Mor and made sure her body cannot be revived.¡± Jirango made a quick motion with the dial and the lights immediately faded from Logan and the circle. Sweat started to bead down his forehead as Logan moved away from the circle and to the centre of the counter¡¯s customer side. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s everything in order. Here¡¯s you pay, 2 gold coins, if you hand me your signet I can update it for you.¡± Logan was still reeling from the truth magic, but took the coins and handed his signet over. ¡°That was intense, couldn¡¯t stop the words coming out as soon as I opened my mouth. I¡¯ll have to be wary of those circles¡±, he thought to himself. ¡°Thank you for your work, head to the Meek Moat Inn, you should get free bed and board tonight if all goes well. Give a read to that rules book I gave you and make sure all other hunter contracts are completed to the letter. If all goes well, we should see a lot of each other¡±, Jirango explained to the pair almost as if he was going to be busy with file work. Jirango placed another booklet into Logan¡¯s hand, another rules book aimed at teaching new hunters about how to conduct themselves. Shaking each other¡¯s hands, they all went their separate ways. For all the time spent in the Gerro Guardhouse, no other people were seen going in or out, which was the same sight as the pair left the building. ¡°Marcus, I need to talk to you. Mind if we head somewhere?¡± Logan requested as he turned to his ally. ¡°Oh, sure. I saw a sign for a nearby park we could sit at.¡± ¡°That¡¯ll work.¡±
Following the signs, Logan and Marcus found their way to a nearby park. Bountiful grass, tall trees, and flowing streams painted a lovely picture for afternoon breaks or walks. People went about walking their pets or playing with their children. Sitting at a bench, Logan turned to his friend. ¡°I know our main aim in coming here was to find oracles. But a lot has come up on the journey here. Monsters that adventurers aren¡¯t especially concerned with, ill-equipped adventuring parties, mage discrimination, speciesism to non-humans, and the literally ¡®class¡¯ divide between classed and classless. At the very end we even have the lack of hunters keeping the general populace safe from other members¡±, Logan began explaining. ¡°The list has certainly grown since we started, the capital has exacerbated these issues due to the increased population I¡¯d say¡±, Marcus agreed. ¡°Yeah, our original goal may need to be revised. I doubt we¡¯ll be able to change the world as easily as we thought. The range of ranks also puts a damper on my powers, we can¡¯t help everyone right now. With the adventurers focused on creatures, I am thinking we¡¯d be better suited to dealing with all the current hunter contracts. I wanted to make sure you¡¯d be fine with that.¡± ¡°Another Vokka declaration?¡± ¡°No, just a personal gripe I have with people not seeing justice for their actions. Their gear is a better reward than what we get from quests too.¡± ¡°Well, I am fine going after criminals. As long as I can provide some help in the matter.¡± ¡°Unless Vokka interrupts us again, you should be able to aid in most of them. Others I may need to do it solo to better take advantage of my skills. On those occasions, you could read tomes or train? I am sure there are a few schools to improve your marksmanship or use of that staff.¡± ¡°A fine idea, I was planning on spending some of my share on honing my skills.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have to see where everything leads us. I¡¯ll have to look over the bounties after our forced quest tomorrow. For today, it¡¯d probably be better if we read what tomes we can to prepare for whatever mission awaits us.¡± ¡°I wish Kreya gave us a better indication as to what we would be doing, though she did seem out-of-sorts after the duel¡±, Marcus pondered aloud. ¡°Can¡¯t change it now. Let¡¯s head to that inn Jirango mentioned, maybe spend the rest of the day in the room.¡± The pair continued their conversation for a few moments after Logan suggested hitting the inn for the rest of the day. A few plans were made to what they would do before the mission, alongside any additional purchases. Logan¡¯s mind continued to be wracked with too many thoughts, one of them a prevalent image that flashed in and out, the repeated fading of a red brake light of a ruined car.
The Meek Moat Inn wasn¡¯t too dissimilar to the others, a large sign out front did note that all races were allowed including a phrase ¡°Vampires, you are permitted entry¡± with a red symbol that looked like a combination of a ¡°Y¡± and ¡°K¡±. Logan could only guess that it was special to allow vampires entrance without any hassle. While the establishment did have large glass windows, the interior featured thick black curtains that one could only assume blocked the sunlight in the case of the aforementioned guests. Moving inside revealed little in the way of customers, a few humans enjoying a midday meal and a saeber reading a book by the roaring fireplace. Logan couldn¡¯t help but look at the saeber longer than the humans, seeing the sabertooth-like animal laying down like a big cat yet reading a book like a civilized person. Reaching the counter, they were greeted by a female gashriek, her violet eyes lit up her darker ridged skin beautifully. Moving her long blond hair behind her ear she began to speak, ¡°Welcome, Logan and Marcus I presume?¡± she said as she looked at the signet dangling from Logan¡¯s neck. ¡°Yes, I take it Jirango had sent word already?¡± ¡°That he has. I was expecting you later tonight, but a private room has been set up for both of you. We¡¯re always happy to aid hunters¡±, the woman spoke with a joyful tone alongside a smile. Moving under the counter, the woman pulled out two sets of keys with a small paper note attached to each with the number three written on them. After handing over the keys, the woman opened up a large ledger next to her to write down, what the pair assumed, were notes about the people staying at the inn. ¡°If you need anything feel free to call on me, my name is Yetveka. We do have other staff members like cleaners and cooks, but most requests go through me.¡± ¡°Are you the owner of this inn?¡± Logan inquired. ¡°Oh no, this inn is owned by Sir Raiyn, I am just the manager¡±, Yetveka replied with a chuckle. ¡°Oh, alright then. We may call for some food to be sent to the room, we¡¯ll probably retire for the day and take some leisure time.¡± ¡°We can do so, our cooks are on hand most hours of the day so feel free to do so.¡± Finishing their quick conversation, Logan and Marcus left to the staircase behind the counter and to the right. Getting to the 1st floor, the pair were easily able to find their room marked with the number three on it. Aside from their room, they could spot several bathrooms to use, storage closets, alongside several other rooms and more stairs. Unlocking and entering into their room, the duo were happy to see it better furnished as well as roomier than Ada¡¯s Respite. Setting down their bags, taking off their sheathed weapons, they were both able to rest after a lot of walking after their assessments. With many hours left to the day, the rest would be spent in calming reading sessions. But what books would be best to prioritise? --- *** --- Chapter 41 - Preparations for Kreya With so many tomes now within their possession, alongside the new rules and laws booklet, both Logan and Marcus had the pick of the litter for what to read for the rest of the day. At his current speed, Logan could finish a 100-page book in around 3 to 5 hours, this included mimicking the movements needed for spells or enunciating the new words to understand how they were spoken. Thankfully, with either his Intelligence or System, he didn¡¯t need repeat reading sessions to complete a book with full diction. While learning the laws of the land would prove useful if they were to be spending several days or weeks here, Logan¡¯s most pressing concern was that of playing the part of a spellcaster. With close to 10 hours until they would go to sleep, it would be possible to complete ¡°Magi''s Magick Vol 2¡± in preparation for the quest tomorrow if Logan stayed up a bit later than normal. On the other hand, Marcus¡¯s reading speed was a bit slower than that of Logan¡¯s, so the Devout would find it difficult to finish ¡°Healer''s Compendium Vol 1¡± tonight. Hoping they would have some time in the morning, or via travel, they both resided to reading their respective spellcasting tomes. Getting food and beverages sent to the room every so often.
Even though a few spells within Logan¡¯s tome could not be learned by the Spellthief class, Logan still had to get through the book¡¯s entirety to gain the knowledge within. All of the first-level spells were out of his grasp, though Logan could learn all of the second-level and third-level spells alongside the new alteration of Skystrike. Loading up his spell list he couldn¡¯t help but feel accomplished, if a bit tired, at the new options at his fingertips. ¡°1st: Aqua**, Flame****, Frost**, Gaia**, Infuse**, Lightning***, Necromantic***, Wind. 2nd: Dimensional Jaunt, Earthen Eruption, Flame Cloak, Haste, Lightning Cascade, Skin of Ice, Sleep, Summon _ Elemental, Zombify. 3rd: Air Blast, Aqua 2, Flame 2, Frost 2, Gaia 2, Lightning 2, Necromantic 2, Wind 2. Alterations: Grasp, Shot, Skystrike, Wall.¡± Just like before, Logan was able to learn spells above the spell level he could actually cast, allowing him to pre-prepare for forthcoming increases in power. Seeing his initial spells gaining higher variants at third-level instilled within him a faint excitement at unlocking access to the next set of spells, though he was curious as to if he would get that far before finding an exit from Avanar. The tome allowed him to learn the other alteration that Darius had used against him so long ago, and combining it with Echo Radar would allow him to fire from behind Gaia Walls with much more ease. Along with learning the alteration of that day, Logan also had access to Lightning Cascade of the bastarn coven and Haste that would be his Dash replacement for now. He would need to do some experimentation down the line to see how useful each spell would be, though Haste and Skin of Ice seemed to have almost universal application in combat as he delved deeper into their windows. ¡°No wonder Haste didn¡¯t last too long with Darius, though it isn¡¯t a surprise why he was able to overpower me so easily with it. If he had a higher Agility he would have easily won. It seems more geared towards a single encounter, however, and not for clearing dungeons. Skin of Ice will be useful to reduce my incoming damage too, stacks easily with the Damage Reduction of my armour¡±, he planned in his head. With finishing this new book, Logan¡¯s Reading skill had also progressed to tier 2, which meant that books now took 10% less time to finish. Looking over to his ally, as he had thought, Marcus fell asleep before finishing his tome. The book was opened up over his face as he laid comfortably in his bed. Taking the book off his ally¡¯s sleeping face, Logan put it on the bedside table to finish tomorrow. Following his friend¡¯s lead, Logan got in his own bed to sleep the night away.
Waking to a new day, the pair did their normal morning routines, though this time it included hot baths for each of them. The Clean mick was quick but lacked any form of sensation, and nothing could beat hot water and scrubbing of tired muscles. Treated to a massive platter of meat and vegetables in the morning, Yetveka promised more on the way if the pair were going to be bringing more criminals to justice. Finishing their morning meals, making sure all their gear was in check, Logan and Marcus started the daunting walk to the G-Hall. Still a bit ticked off that this was going to essentially be free work, it reminded Logan of the months spent as an unpaid intern. He doubted it would lead to paid work, as he didn¡¯t really like the idea of working with Kreya any more than he had to.
Arriving at the G-Hall, the pair were greeted to the sight of a few dozen adventurers setting up parties for quests, early-birds handing in completed quests, alongside others looking to hawk their abilities to others for a price. It was comforting to see so many able-bodied individuals that could handle themselves, as well as the more common monster threat outside the city walls. Comparing the numbers of adventurers to the quests on the large quest boards put into perspective the amount of work they had to do. With a more balanced set of party members, including casters in the mix, Logan was sure they could do much more in a day than normal. Sadly, from both a standpoint of people¡¯s birth and the opinion of casters that would be a hard end to reach. Combining the information from the System, and talking with others, it was a good estimate that 1% of the populace were Wizards, 2% Sorcerers, 5% Devouts, 10% Rogues, 15% Knights, and 25% Fighters, with the remaining 42% being classless. These figures were taken every so often through censuses and recorded the classes given through birth or divine intervention. Being born classless didn¡¯t mean you¡¯d never gain a class, however, as proper training could grant you any of the six classes on offer. Training to gain a class was costly, and took much more time than normal combat schools, requiring around three to five years of dedicated teachings. Due to the cost and time investment, low-born classless families had little chance of obtaining a class, that seemed to line up with the smaller settlement like Tinte was. Not all classed beings decided to take up the life of the adventurers though, especially Devouts who would join churches to sell their spell services or serve the settlements as a whole. The 1-week death timer was a major concern for would-be daredevils, as it claimed many lives of youngling adventurers.
As time passed, with Logan trying to learn as much as he could about the hall¡¯s rules alongside the state of the world, the previous day¡¯s duelling opponent entered. Sitting at a larger table, Logan saw a few others move over to meet up with Kreya, assuming they would be the other parts of the party. Making his way there he looked over each of them, but held back his Identification as he had yet to read the book of the laws and was scolded the last time he had used it. Logan would find their levels, HP, and MP if they had any when they formed a party as the party window would display all those statistics. Before then, however, Kreya saw fit to give out some basic introductions. ¡°Looks like we¡¯re all here. To speed this up I¡¯ll get through the basic party info. I am Kreya, rank 10 Knight and your party leader¡±, she started. Stopping to point at a young man who stood around 5¡¯10¡± tall with short brunette hair, and in leather garb, that was partly covered in a waist-high brown leather jacket. Aside from several hidden throwing knives, he seemed to focus on dual-wielding knives similar to Logan. ¡°This is Tenn, rank 8 Rogue and our scout¡±. Motioning to the taller lady at around 6¡¯ with medium-length blond hair, wearing an assortment of metallic plating. Strapped to her side was a fashionable shortsword that had jagged teeth at the tip, with a large red-steel shield placed on her back. ¡°That is Iimi, rank 9 Fighter who will be backing me up on the frontlines. Ending up at Logan and Marcus, ¡°This is Logan, rank 8 Wizard who will be the magic caster to slow our prey down. Next to him is Marcus, rank 4 Devout set to work as backup ranged attack as well as a healer.¡± Pulling out a small map with an attached piece of parchment, Kreya continued speaking, ¡°I explained the quest to you two already, but this pair haven¡¯t got the run down as of yet¡±, she said as he pointed out Logan and Marcus. ¡°A small farming village to the north has come under attack by a torrent of silversteines, survivors have relayed some guesses at a total of 12 or so monsters harassing the remains of the village. The quest is to quell the monster numbers.¡± Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Raising a hand, Iimi spoke up, ¡°I was able to pick up some information on the silversteines as you asked. Aside from their aversion to lightning magic, they are able to talk amongst their own species so it¡¯ll be best we don¡¯t let any announce our presence. They are immune to wind-based attacks and have a good resistance versus fire.¡± ¡°So gang up on singular foes at a time then. Oh, Logan, prepare as many lightning-based spells as you can. Silversteines are able to fly through the air at incredible speeds which makes it hard to bring them down, a single bolt can cause issues with their wind control abilities and force them to the floor¡±, Kreya responded, remembering she had not explained the monsters to the two newcomers. ¡°I can prepare both Lightning and Lightning Cascade. Would my fire elemental come in handy at all? He can use Ember Shard¡±, Logan explained. ¡°Cascade would be a major boon if we face a group, save that for those occasions. As for an elemental, I¡¯d prefer a lightning-based one but an extra body would be good regardless.¡± Tenn was the next to raise a hand, ¡°I have some Lightning rings, I was going to use them but since we have a caster with us it might be best he uses them.¡± Kreya was definitely happy at the question, her raised eyebrows showing signs of shock and relief. ¡°If you¡¯re fine lending them out, that¡¯d be great. You know how to use spell rings, right, Logan?¡± ¡°Not heard of any before, are they especially hard to utilize?¡± Logan asked. ¡°Much easier for casters, I have to think a bit harder on using them but it functions like a wordless cast¡±, Tenn continued as he rotated two rings off from his right middle and index fingers. Holding out his hand to receive the rings, as they fell onto his palm their statistics revealed themselves to Logan. ¡°Damn, these are good. If I could afford them easily myself, I¡¯d buy up all I could in a heartbeat, but at a sell value of 2 gold it¡¯d be 4 gold to just buy the one. I barely have 5 gold remaining. My Lightning spell would deal more damage, but it¡¯s still an amazing item for non-casters to get access to spells¡±, Logan thought to himself. ¡°It¡¯s a new day and I haven¡¯t used them yet, so they should both have a charge remaining¡±, Tenn instructed as he saw Logan slip the rings onto his left pinky and ring fingers. As soon as Logan equipped the trinkets, they appeared into his prepared spells list with a note that they were coming from the rings. With those now on, Logan went to prepare his spells for the day: 5+2 Lightning, 2 Lightning Cascades. ¡°Thanks for that, Tenn¡±, Kreya began speaking again, ¡°the village isn¡¯t too far from here, a few hours by foot but we¡¯ll be using a horse-driven carriage to make better time. With a good two hours till we reach the place we shouldn¡¯t see any trouble on the roads. The place was attacked two days ago, so it is possible there are still more survivors about it. They are the priority.¡± ¡°I can use Healer¡¯s Caress, so if they are wounded we can have them hold out at the carriage before we leave¡±, Marcus inputted. ¡°Good idea, the survivors will need all the speed they can get and wounded legs would spell their demise to an errant silversteine¡±, Kreya responded with a nod. ¡°What sort of tactics will we employ? I doubt I could hit all of them in a single day¡±, Logan asked. ¡°The main aim is to lower the numbers over time, hoping for at least three a day, means we¡¯ll get it done in four at the latest. The village is mostly fields, so it is possible we¡¯d fight more than one silversteine at a time. Since they are spirit beasts, we¡¯ll more than likely find them nearby corpses too, so the interior of houses may hold singular targets.¡± ¡°Spirit beasts? What does that mean?¡± Logan thought to himself, but didn¡¯t ask as he was unsure if that would raise suspicion. ¡°We¡¯ll stop the carriage on the side of the road and approach from the south-east side of the village, here¡±, Kreya continued as she pointed at the map, ¡°the fields should be near-to-fully-grown at this point so should provide cover to our advance. Where possible, Logan will start our encounters with a Lightning spell, or Cascade if there is a group.¡± ¡°It seems like she¡¯s thought this through enough, no wonder she needed a caster immediately. The mention of survivors also puts a timer on this quest, I guess that duel was more out of necessity than spite?¡± Logan pondered. ¡°Anything else we need to prepare ahead of time?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°Those rings would be a major part of the preparation. With you two added to the team, there shouldn¡¯t be much else we need. Make sure everyone has access to ranged attacks, so bows if necessary¡±, Kreya responded as she looked over everyone¡¯s gear. ¡°I have throwing knives, that¡¯ll suffice¡±, Tenn responded. ¡°I¡¯ve got a bow back home I can go grab¡±, Iimi added. ¡°I can throw out Force micks when needed¡±, Logan followed. ¡°Oh, silversteines have a resistance to the Force mick so it¡¯ll do less than normal, probably still effective though¡±, Tenn continued. ¡°First time that¡¯s popped up, thanks for the pre-warning.¡± ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, we can head out right now¡±, Kreya ended as she stood from the table, picking up the map and parchment.
The party quickly got their last-minute gear, bolts and arrows for ranged weapons, and even the bows themselves, alongside some extra rations for a possibly prolonged quest time. With direction given by Kreya, the team met up near the eastern gates where they all found a carriage hitched up with two horses. As they were now a formal party, Logan was able to look into his allies¡¯ statuses a bit more, though the information settings were minimal. ¡°Kreya Ioi: Knight 10, 184/184 HP, 0/0 MP. Iimi: Fighter 9, 142/142 HP, 0/0 MP. Tenn: Rogue 8, 104/104 HP, 0/0 MP.¡± ¡°Not a whole lot to gauge from that, quite a bit of HP on them all though, so they should stand tall in a fight. I only have 88 HP so they easily outstrip me. Then there¡¯s Marcus at 46 HP, though he is only level 4. Can easily tell which classes are meant for melee combat though, the difference in HP between a level gap is staggering¡±, Logan calculated in his head. ¡°You good there, Logan? Your brow is furrowed¡±, Kreya asked as she was readying the horses to move. ¡°Yeah, just preparing myself for the coming mission.¡± ¡°It should be fine, if we¡¯re overwhelmed we¡¯ll retreat and prepare accordingly if needed¡±, she continued, a calming tone to her voice. Trying to piece together the attitude of his new leader, Logan looked over the carriage. It seemed rather British, hard to say if it were Victorian or not as Logan was never much of a history buff. It resembled a slightly larger clarence style of carriage with an enclosed passenger vehicle at the back and a modest lip in the front for the drivers to sit at. It didn¡¯t seem to be too expensive though, it lacked any glass and instead went for more protective wooden panels for windows. As agreed beforehand, Logan, Marcus, and Tenn were to ride in the back while Kreya and Iimi would be driver and ¡°ride-along¡±. Logan was sure that wasn¡¯t the right name, it could have been a mistaken word from a previous oracle but he wasn¡¯t in a stance to argue it. The shifting of the carriage, neighs of the horses, and clopping across stone pavement alerted the passengers to their departure.
As they had two hours till they arrived at the mission site, both Marcus and Logan spent it wisely reading their tomes once more. With the extra time put in by Marcus, the Devout was able to add a slew of new spells to his list. ¡°1st: Aqua, Gaia, Heal**, Identify Condition, Infuse, Sew. 2nd: Enhance (All), Restore Condition. Alterations: Grasp, Shot.¡± Checking over his ally¡¯s status through their partner system, a separate one from the party system, Logan was able to see that Marcus had gained a tier of mastery with the Heal spell, increasing its effectiveness by 10%. Aside from that, he gained spells to identify status effects and how to heal them with a second-level spell. Sew was a healing-over-time spell that would recover more HP than Heal would but would do it over several seconds. Sew couldn¡¯t take any alterations, however, so it was hard to say if it¡¯d do much better than a Grasp Heal at tier 2. Logan¡¯s time was taken up by reading the rules and laws booklet he was gifted by Jirango, as he knew he wouldn¡¯t gain any benefit from the other tomes with the time he had. Skipping around for the more important sections, he found that scanning magics and skills were disallowed within city limits, which Identification would fall under. The testing arena at the G-Hall had an extra allowance around such rules to pinpoint adventurer capabilities. Aside from what would affect him more immediately, he was able to pick up on some more duel information. It was written really concretely that people wouldn¡¯t turn down a duel and was mostly used to gain back honour or out of desperation. Duels were also used to settle disputes and even used as a form of a court ruling. The type of duel that Logan was issued was one he could, in all rights, decline, though reputation meant a whole lot in this society. The rule surrounding no summons or undead servants were also noted in the booklet, though did mention that people could apply for permission slips to allow them to be used within the city. Elementals to aid in everyday chores like heating water or moving items about, and undead to work as tireless servants. What was interesting about the undead servant section, however, was that there were rules around selling your body to be used as an undead servant on death. You¡¯d be paid a varying sum, based on your physical makeup, on signing a contract and when you would die your body would be considered property of whoever bought you. It had a weird resemblance to organ donor systems. Against all he had read about necromancy in other works of fiction or gaming, it seemed like a very normal occurrence in Avanar. Little hatred was held to the subject, even being thought of as another form of summoning magic. The booklet didn¡¯t go too far into the necromancy side, as it went outside of a normal law jurisdiction, but it did mention that unlawful undead conversions would be punished by death. Wanting to read further and further into the booklet, Logan was rudely interrupted as the carriage jolted suddenly, almost knocking him from his seated position. ¡°We¡¯re here!¡± Kreya¡¯s voice rang out, as a few knocks were given to the side of the carriage. --- *** --- Chapter 42 - Save Moella. Part 1 Exiting the carriage, Logan felt a brush of wind against his face, his hair flowing towards the west. The wind brought it a faint sweet scent, possibly from some herbs in the eastern forest or possibly even beehives full to the brim with honey. However, this wind led into the small village known as Moella, the place where the silversteines were harassing, and so the wind was most likely their doing. Checking over his gear, he noticed his allies doing the same out of ritual. Since they were all above level 8 they would have had several months of work under their belt at this point, so he didn¡¯t think he would need to worry about any of them. Though now that they were out of the city limits, to a far degree, he didn¡¯t think it¡¯d cause much harm to finally use Identification to fully understand his companions. ¡°Kreya Ioi: Knight 10, 184/184 HP, 0/0 MP. Renowned ----. Signed up with the G-Hall ----. Skills: Wall of Iron***, Hard Skin**, ----. Wields: ----. Wears: ----.¡± ¡°Iimi: Fighter 9, 142/142 HP, 0/0 MP. A Helm native, Iimi moved southwards when her family needed to get away from the harsh attitudes of those that hated her kin. Works at the G-Hall to amass enough coin to make a stable life for her family within Gauntlet and forget the times at Helm. Skills: Berserk**, Multi-Berserk**, Come Forth, Combo Pierce, Combo Slash, Combo Straight, Power Strike***. Wields: ----. Wears: ----.¡± ¡°Tenn: Rogue 8, 104/104 HP, 0/0 MP. An avid scout who is able to find many a foe before they find him or his allies. Set up at the G-Hall of Gauntlet, Tenn has been working as an adventurer for just over 1 year, often sending a portion of his income to his family. Skills: Backstab**, Dastardly Backstabs, Dash**, Multi-Backstab**, Multi-Dash, Ten-Point Barrage. Wields: Ashin Dagger x2 9-12 dmg. Wears: Cretin¡¯s Garb.¡± ¡°There are a few new skills I haven¡¯t seen yet. Iimi must be wearing or using something similar to hide her equipment like Kreya. Both Iimi and Tenn had honourable reasons for being adventurers, is Kreya like them?¡± Logan pondered in his head. ¡°Logan, begin summoning your elemental. Tenn go ahead and scout the treeline till you see the village and report back what we have in our way¡±, Kreya began to instruct. Nodding, Tenn did a running jump to a nearby tree where he was able to land his foot on its trunk, sprinting up for a fair few feet before he had to start pulling on branches to get higher up. The Rogue was out of sight so quickly that his Climb skill must have been quite high, or had something else aiding him. Giving a thumbs-up, Logan began his resummoning ritual, as his slot had already been auto-used in the morning to sustain Celsius. During such time, Kreya, Iimi, and Marcus did a few rounds of searching the immediate vicinity, hitching up and hiding the carriage, as well as making some basic battle plans.
With exaggerated stretches and yawning maw, Celsius was reformed in front of Logan. ¡°Ah, nap time is over. Let¡¯s get to booting and looting¡±, he spoke as he removed a pointless nightcap. ¡°Welcome back, Celsius. We¡¯re going to be facing some enemies resistant to fire, so you may be used as a distraction again. You up for annoying some beasts?¡± ¡°It¡¯s what I do best!¡± ¡°So that¡¯s your elemental? Seems a bit short, I take it they are rather young then, not going to be doing much damage to the silversteines¡±, Kreya inspected. Celsius¡¯s only reply was a saddened look to the floor. Rustling in the leaves of the nearby trees caused the party to get into a defensive position, retaliating against the sight of their Rogue ally returning. Breathing sighs of relief, the party awaited Tenn¡¯s decline to the floor. ¡°The approach is clear, seems a few runners died on the path though. This forest breaks out into the fields nicely, so we can move from cover to cover. Counted a trio of silversteines above the fields, we¡¯d probably need to take those down ahead of time¡±, Tenn explained as he moved closer to the party. ¡°Alright, three for three, not a terrible beginning encounter. We¡¯ll be at our best right now, I¡¯ll take the closest foe, Iimi takes the next, Tenn get the furthest since you¡¯re the fastest amongst our team. The field will make it difficult to get healing spells out, so Marcus, try and stay close to my back and fire at what you can with your crossbow when they hit the floor. This¡¯ll all start with a Cascade from you, Logan, at my signal¡±, Kreya instructed as a true leader. The whole team nodded in agreement, turning to one another to explain their skills a bit further to better work against the enemies. Logan learned a bit more about the new skills, the combo moves of Iimi being a form of a fighting-game combo system where she did several attacks in a row to end with a finishing move. Taking the time to do so, Logan looked over one of his new spells. Aside from the information displayed on the spell window, Logan was able to find it was yet another spell that could not take an alteration and used a Shot alteration as a basis. Since it lacked a proper description of how much damage it would deal, Logan could only assume it was on par with Lightning but could hurt several targets, making it marginally better than a Lightning Wall. Its main use was attacking sky-bound foes, as a wall had to start from the floor. It was lucky the party would be facing a team of three foes, as it seemed this new spell would only hit a maximum of three per cast. ¡°Would it hit more foes with a higher tier of mastery?¡± Logan pondered in his head. With their plan set, the party began the slow stalk through the woods. Even though Tenn assured it was safe, there was no telling what could appear in his absence. Thankfully it seemed the team were all too used to silently approaching their quest locations from previous attempts.
A few more minutes passed by, the team moving through the forest at a slow but careful pace. Corpses were found every so often, revealing the work of the silversteines through claw and bite marks across the bodies¡¯ shoulders and backs. As if trying to find something other than wounds, Kreya made the party stop at each new corpse to look it over. Shaking her head at all of them. If they had counted, 20 minutes had gone by when they breached the treeline to the outskirts of the village. Smoke billowed from destroyed huts in the distance, the smell of blood and rotting bodies filling the air, with the wind dying down a bit as they got closer to the village proper. Jet bursts could be heard above as well as deeper in, the silversteines creating soundwaves as they soared through the area. Even though it had taken them time to get to the fields, the three aforementioned silversteines were patrolling the fields. Getting a better look at the creatures, Logan had no real comparison to make. 7¡¯ long fox or wolf-like creatures that resembled a Japanese dragon slightly. Four front paws ended in 4 long claws, and a pair of paws towards their tail end, bloodied from their attacks on the villagers, though many were carrying meat pulled from said corpses as they feasted in the space above the fields. Long floppy ears soared along their long frames, their fur a pristine silvery-white if not for patches of blood all across them. Tails also soared at their rears, their whole body moving in a wave as they floated through the air in slower patterns. Logan could just make out whirling spheres of air around the creatures¡¯ limbs as well as circles around their bodies. One of the beasts turned around, showing piercing white eyes and large fangs devouring the meat, yet again painting their flawless colours with dashes of crimson. ¡°Identify¡±, Logan commanded in his head. ¡°Silversteine - Spirit Beast. Level 7: 68/68 HP, 0/0 MP. The most common of spirit beasts, the silversteine boasts amazing speed due to its control over the winds of the world. With an average length of around 7'', these creatures run through the air with 6 paws that they use the front 4 of to attack their foes. Due to their speed, many adventurers find it difficult to attack these airborne foes, though it is almost common knowledge amongst avid adventurers that their speed can be halted by lightning-based attacks, as the surge of electricity makes it hard to control the winds. Skills: Element Phase, Hyper-Speed, Spirit Blast. Reduction: Damage 2, Force ?. Resistance: Wind ?, Fire ?¡± This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°Identification cannot find the proper numbers for their reductions or resistances, but my party¡¯s intel revealed they were immune to wind damage, so I can guess that is 100%. Seems that their status window also separates out those two into their own sections if they have more than one. I need the skill to get higher to find the proper numbers¡±, Logan calculated in his head. Another new morsel of information was that enemies could have varying levels outside of types, since there was a single silversteine of level 7 but the other two were level 9 and lacked any other class or typing like the goblins had. The level 9s each had 92 HP, the level 7 having a smaller 68 HP. Holding up her arm, Kreya motioned the party to stop in their tracks. Moving her hand into a small pack on her lower back she pulled out a small orb that fit within the palm of her hand. Stabbing it with a small knife, it let out a jet of red mist that apparently stunk to hell as she recoiled from it. Rearing back her arm, Kreya let it loose across the field, landing it deep within the farmlands. ¡°Logan, hit them with a Cascade when they surround the bait¡±, Kreya instructed as she waved the Spellthief closer. Scooting to a closer tree trunk, Logan looked over the fields a bit more. The three soaring silversteines all reared their heads upwards as the red mist seeped out of the orb, filling the air with the scent of freshly carved raw meats. Disgusting inhales of their snouts were followed by their heads darting to the floor. With jet bursts one after another, the spirit beasts shot through the air at amazing speeds, so much so it sent a wave of wind towards the party. Stopping above the bait, the monsters began to circle it as if they were vultures checking over the area before descending for a feast. A hushed ¡°now¡± from Kreya alerted Logan to begin his attack. Getting to one knee, he rested his right arm with his left hand to aim clearly at the above foes. As he began to chant, he could feel a surging power move from his heart to his shoulder, igniting his limb with a ballroom of dancing lightning strands. Pricking his sleeve here and there, the lightning was so much more alive than it had ever been, praising Logan¡¯s progress to this point. ¡°Lightning Cascade¡±, Logan chanted, the spell jolting about his arm in joyful destruction as it shot outwards as fluttering birds of annihilation. Electrical chirps and strikes filled the air with a destructive soundtrack, alongside lighting the late-morning field with bursts of azure light. The silversteines all heard and saw the barrage of lightning approaching them, but as with any lightning spell, it was too fast in the skies to dodge when unawares. Hitting into the closest silversteine, the spell exploded and wrapped around the foe in a display of harrowing stabs of blue. Jumping from the creature¡¯s back, the lightning storm found two more homes in the bodies of the nearby silversteines. Three shocking foes were jittering in the air, the spheres of air around their bodies exploding into small static shockwaves as if they were EMPs. Logan could see he had dealt 26 lightning damage to the initial foe and then 13 to the secondaries, their bodies crashing to the floor as their air control was zapped away from them. The level 9s were at 66 and 79 HP, whereas the level 7 was lower at 55 HP. With the loud thuds into the mud, the party charged forwards through the fields, it was a good hundred feet or more to reach the silversteines but the lightning magic had done its work beautifully as the spirit beasts writhed on the floor in pain, trying to establish flight again. Logan felt yet another rush of wind by his side as Tenn used his Dash skill to reach the furthest back foe before any other. In a fit of rage and emergency, Kreya, Iimi, and Tenn let loose their blades and mace on the fallen foes. Retaliation with their own maws and claws, the silversteines made sure the party would not come away unharmed. Blows were exchanged over and over, Celsius shooting out some Ember Shards where he could though Logan could see they dealt only 1 damage each. Marcus used Healer¡¯s Caress where needed, as he was told to use that before his spells to save his MP for dire situations. Everyone was getting a hand in this encounter, all contributing even if it wasn¡¯t all equal. Seeing his party at play, it was clear to see that the Knight negated damage with their shield, the Rogue avoided or deflected blows where they could, whereas the Fighter had to parry and riposte or be left to the attacks of their foes. Getting closer, Logan continued to assist with Force attacks here or there, and since he no longer had to roleplay anything he was free to shoot at his maximum speed. Just as he was told, the silversteines were resistant to Logan¡¯s most common mick, dealing a mere 7 damage instead of the normal 14. The level 7 and lowest health level 9 were dealt with quickly, however, the final level 9 was able to regain the use of their air control and was able to shoot back into the air above the fields. Limping, if you could call it that while flying, the silversteine returned the onslaught with its own attack, but instead of using the wind to do so it pulled up a wave of translucent-white energy from its tail to its mouth. Forming a large mass of white flame-like energy, the silversteine shot it towards the party members below. Just like it flew, the blast was shot at incredible speeds, hitting into Tenn for 19 damage, following up as if the attack was a rapid-firing gun, several blasts were sent barreling towards the other members, hitting Iimi and Marcus for 19 each, but was blocked just in time before it was able to hit Kreya. A final blast was shot towards Logan, who was lucky enough to be the furthest and final target, allowing him time to just barely dodge the last blast as it created a small hole in the floor behind him. With its own attack finished, it looked as if the silversteine was turning tail to find allies to aid it. No order was needed for this attack, Logan threw up his arm yet again as he chanted aloud, ¡°Lightning Shot!¡± to form a smaller mass of parading lightning strikes through his arm to soar through the air in its own design of erratic energy. Hitting the tail end of the silversteine, the spell dug deep all over its frame, creating a multitude of pinpricks that smoked harshly as the body of the final silversteine started to fall to the floor. The party began to stand up from the forceful blasts, Kreya surveying the area alongside Logan using Echo Radar to double-check that they were safe. Though, to Logan, the floating experience numbers would confirm their immediate safety, with the usual reduction of 50% due to having five allies. As the first time seeing Celsius gain combat experience, the windows were telling the truth that he gained XP as if he were a PC. From this small encounter, Logan gained 1,276 XP, Celsius gained 1,590 XP, the NPCs all gained 250 XP each. There was a good chance that Logan, Marcus, and Celsius would all level up from this quest. Kreya did a quick headcount before asking Logan to go carve up the corpses while the others healed up from the encounter. With all uses of Healer¡¯s Caress spent, and a Heal for everyone but Celsius and Logan, the party were looking pretty good in the health department. Kreya was at 184/184, Iimi 118/142, Tenn 90/104, Marcus 46/46 HP. At an estimated 12 enemies in the area, the party had already cleared out a quarter of the forces. Logan still had another Cascade for the day alongside plenty of Lightning casts, Kreya called for a 20-minute break before pressing into the village proper. While Harvesting what he could from the corpses, Logan saw that the spirit beast bodies did not last for long after death. Fading away into spellforce and spirits, Logan was only able to gather up 3 fur tufts, 3 essences, and 6 teeth from the creatures. All of the materials would go to Kreya and the two others though.
Five more uses of Healer¡¯s Caress brought Iimi to full health, three bringing Tenn to the same position. Whilst waiting for skill cooldowns to finish or healing to be done, Logan was using his monocular to scout out the village with better sight. Through the extended vision, he was able to use Identification to spot quite a number of level 9 silversteines moving about the village, a few level 8s within huts feasting on what he assumed to be bodies. Relaying the information to his team, Kreya took it all in without question as it wasn¡¯t uncommon for Wizards to use scanning magic such as Score or otherwise to find enemy strengths. Adjusting plans, as the party had plenty of daily resources at hand, Kreya ordered the party to Stealth through the fields to one of the closer huts in the village, investigate its interior and then readjust once more when inside. With everyone prepared, a round of Clean to remove their scent, the party moved onwards. Kreya had gathered the bait orb back up, it had a solid single-use remaining in it so was best to use what was left. Sealing it up with some rope so it didn¡¯t seep any more of its thick-scented mist. Logan could easily tell that their sound wasn¡¯t being damped, the rustling of the tall wheat easy to hear if not for the bursts of air sounding off every so often from the moving silversteines. Aside from sound, their movements were hidden immensely well alongside little to no scent escaping them as they reached the closest hut. It wasn¡¯t in the best repair, half of its thatch roofing having collapsed inside. The design reminded Logan of the lower-class buildings of Tinte, if a bit smaller, as it was mostly made up of dirt and clay with wooden panel windows that would no longer open due to damage. Kreya opened the door and let the party enter, Iimi at the front and Logan at the back, followed by Kreya who closed the door behind them. Inside, they found it to be rather shaded by rubble and remaining roof, but bright enough to make out its more distinguishing features. Another couple of corpses were found, Kreya checking them just as she had checked all others. A shaking of her head revealed them to not be what she was looking for. ¡°The village elder hut should be 3 buildings down from here, if any survivors are present they¡¯d most likely go there. It has sturdier walls than the rest of the houses, plus the elder was a Sorcerer so he could have possibly fended off a foe or two¡±, Kreya informed the party. ¡°We making a break for it? Or clearing out more of those flying devils?¡± Tenn inquired. ¡°Doubtful we¡¯d make it there unseen with how many of us there are¡±, Iimi added. ¡°Logan, can you get your elemental to burn this house while we move to the opposite one?¡± Kreya asked. Celsius¡¯s reply was that of an affirmative salute, all too ready to do as commanded. ¡°Looks like that is a yes from him. Sure. Want to try and gather more silversteines here so we can thin the numbers? What about collateral?¡± Logan followed up. ¡°They will most likely have to rebuild the village anyways, burnt thatch won¡¯t make a big difference. Better to kill these things so that they have a chance at rebuilding.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Doing a safety check of their gear, the party prepared to make another stealthy movement from one hut to another, Kreya opening the door to begin the manoeuvre. --- *** --- Chapter 43 - Save Moella. Part 2 With the door of their current hut wide open, the party exited one by one to the hut on the opposite side of the dirt path. Leaving Celsius behind, the group stalked their way to the next door, Kreya opening it once more for her allies to enter before closing it behind her. Unlike the previous hut, this one was seemingly left untouched, the interior being almost completely dark if not for cracks in the wooden window panels and door. Scouting the room quickly, Logan saw it to be a combination of kitchen, dining, and bedroom. Before moving in further, Tenn threw up his hand to warn the party to stop. Crouching down, it seemed the Rogue had spotted something near the bed. ¡°Hello there, we¡¯re adventurers. We¡¯ve come to help your village, come out, it¡¯s safe with us¡±, he said with a low and comforting voice as if talking to a child. A few moments later, a small boy came crawling out from under the bed, his ashen hair painted hideous with a splatter of blood that went over his teary eyes. Sniffling, the child rubbed his eyes and snot-dripping nose as he waddled over to an open-armed Tenn. Hugging the child tightly, Logan could hear a quietened whimper through the Rogue¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Good, we¡¯ve saved at least one¡±, Kreya spoke under her breath. Picking up the kid, Tenn placed him on a nearby wooden table to see eye-to-eye with the youngling. ¡°Do you know where anyone else is?¡± he asked. It was hard to hear the child from where Logan was standing, most of it was muffled cries and sobbing, but Tenn was apparently adept at hearing through the noise. Tenn turned to the party, ¡°This one¡¯s parents were killed by the silversteines. He says he saw his friend run to the elder¡¯s house¡±, he informed the party. ¡°Just as we thought, that¡¯s the best place to look. We can¡¯t send him to the carriage on his own, we¡¯ll deal with the silversteine trap first and then have someone escort him there while we rest¡±, Kreya instructed. Her instructions were met with nods of affirmation. Tenn spoke to the child softly once more, instructing him to hide under the bed again until he came back, and that he wouldn¡¯t be gone long. It wasn¡¯t long before smoke started to rise from the opposite hut where Celsius stayed, Kreya keeping an eye on it from a slightly ajar door. It was hard to understand how many of the beasts would go towards the newly forming smoke, but it certainly had perked the interest of two of them. Circling the hut they created a small tornado of black winds that died out quick as they dispersed the puffs of smoke. One of the silversteines landed on the roof of the hut, almost collapsing it even further as thatch bent and snapped under the creature¡¯s weight. Growls and roars were heard being shouted into the hut, possibly finding the elemental inside. Rearing its head to the still skyward ally, it seemed to communicate the situation. ¡°Logan, two Lightning Shots, go!¡± Kreya ordered as she opened the door wide. Rushing through the door with two open arms, Logan began to aim up his shots to the foes ahead. Aiming for the highest one first, Logan¡¯s arm sparked with blue might as strikes of azure danced across his arm, ¡°Lightning Shot¡±, he called out, shooting a thousand hands of death towards the silversteine in the sky. Coursing through the beast, it exploded over and over in static bursts as it fell into the hut on top of its ally. Crashing of thatch, crushing of clay, the house collapsed totally in on itself from the force of a falling foe and the combined weight of two silversteines. Celsius was seen darting through the wooden window, shooting Ember Shards at the fallen beasts as he circled the mound of materials. Moving out of the way of his allies, Logan prepared another spell for the non-zapped silversteine as it was beginning to stand from its writhing friend. ¡°Lightning Shot¡±, Logan chanted again, letting loose a second torrent of sparks to the spirit beast ahead. Hitting the dead centre of the silversteine¡¯s face caused the lightning to explode even more violently than before as it let out a roar of pain as the bolts stabbed it over and over. Just as before, Tenn was the first to arrive at the jittering foes with the use of Dash, this time the Rogue jumped up onto the back of one of them and let loose with a combination of Ten-Point Barrage and Backstab as the party window informed Logan. It looked to be a series of ten precise piercing strikes of the man¡¯s dagger into the silversteine, hitting a vital organ with each strike and inflicting Backstab damage three times. The combined assault of most of his skills allowed Tenn to devastate the silversteine before it had a chance at retaliation, though the Rogue looked tired after the affair as he slid off to the side, allowing his allies to deal with the remaining foe. The combined attacks of Kreya, Iimi, Marcus, and Logan finished the other silversteine without any issue, completing the fight at a staggering pace. The floating experience numbers let Logan know that no other foe was on the way. ¡°Back into this hut, quick¡±, Kreya commanded as she waved the party towards the building that housed the child. Skipping quietly back, the party made their way into the hut with Kreya closing the door as Celsius was the last to enter. Celsius was surprisingly unscathed from the encounter, even with a building almost falling on top of him. The child hiding under the bed peeked his head from underneath as he heard the party enter. ¡°That signal fire should have gathered up any silversteines in the area that were paying attention. Iimi, can you take the child to the carriage?¡± Kreya continued. Iimi nodded in agreement as she moved over to the bed, calling out to the child had him crawl out without question. Picking the kid up, Iimi could be heard giving assurances to the boy as she moved to the door, checking both sides of the road before darting off into the fields again. Tenn almost fell onto the bed as he sat down, breathing faster than normal after his skill usage. ¡°How long till you can use that skill again?¡± Kreya inquired. ¡°Two hours, give or take. Sorry, emotions ran high seeing that kid.¡± ¡°No worries, we¡¯ll rest up after checking the elder¡¯s house. I probably would have done similar if I were in a position to do so¡±, Kreya replied sincerely. ¡°Leagues different from how she introduced her character to me¡±, Logan thought to himself.
Thirty minutes passed as the group waited in the hut for Iimi¡¯s return, skills ticking down their cooldowns while they scouted through the door for any movement from the silversteine menace. Oddly, the only sight of other life they got was that of their Fighter¡¯s return from the field to the hut. ¡°Kid¡¯s safe, showed him where the food and water supplies were. Said he¡¯ll stay still while we get the others¡±, Iimi informed the party as she sat down. ¡°Good, hopefully, he won¡¯t be alone for long if the elder¡¯s house has a safe exit¡±, Kreya replied. The party gave Iimi a few seconds to take a drink before they prepared to move on. Sending Tenn upfront, the Rogue scouted the forward path to the elder¡¯s house. Since it was the biggest building it wasn¡¯t hard to spot, though it wasn¡¯t hard to spot the damage it had sustained either. Corpses were laden across the rooftops with several holes having been smashed into the building. With the apt use of Echo Radar, Logan was able to find several other markers on his mini-map which displayed his party alongside many rats. Due to the range of 100 feet, it wasn¡¯t going to cover the whole village, nor its fields, and due to the buildings blocking it somewhat the view wasn¡¯t the best. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. It didn¡¯t take long for the party to reach a t-junction in the dirt path, the elder¡¯s house sitting at the tip of the turnings. Logan threw his eagle¡¯s eyeglass to Tenn, allowing the scout to better spy the ends of the paths as well as into windows with better clarity. Giving a thumbs-up, the Rogue darted across the path to the side of the elder¡¯s door. Placing his head to the door it seemed like he was listening for noise. Waving the party over, they made their way one-by-one to the building¡¯s exterior wall, either side of the door. ¡°I hear whimpering inside, sounds human. No monster noises from what I can tell¡±, Tenn informed. ¡°I¡¯ll take point just in case¡±, Kreya returned as she pulled up her shield to block most of her body in a crouched position. Nodding, Tenn turned the handle of the door and pulled it open for the leader to go first. Kreya looked like a metal boulder as she made her defensive entrance to the building, a few tinks and clanks of rock and metal hitting against her shield were heard before her voice followed. ¡°Stop, we¡¯re adventurers!¡± she spoke in a hushed tone. Her words bore fruit as the noises stopped, her shield no longer being barraged by makeshift weapons. Lowering it, the party could peer over her shoulders a bit to reveal nine villagers covered in mud and blood, brandishing shoddy bows and fistfuls of stones. Following their leader inside, Iimi closed the door behind them all. ¡°Thank the above! We thought we¡¯d see no end to these beasts!¡± one man cried out. ¡°Praise, praise be to Desma for offering us hallowed hunters¡±, a woman prayed. ¡°We¡¯re gonna make it out alive¡±, a younger man spoke as he fell to his knees in exhaustion. Looking over the survivors, Logan saw many of them to be on the hungry side due to their two-day holdout, the elder¡¯s house possibly not holding much for all of them to survive on, that or the larder had been attacked. Their clothing was a mess of brown-cloth scraps alongside leather gloves and trousers to aid in fieldwork. No elder was in sight though. The party currently stood within a rather large entrance hall with tables on their sides and broken pottery. It was a good size, probably 30 feet wide or so, but was in a state of disrepair either from attack or forming it into a small defensive area. ¡°Is this all there is hiding here? We were told of children by another we saved¡±, Kreya asked the crowd whilst waving her hands downwards to motion them all to be quieter. The largest man in the bunch, 6¡¯1¡± with more muscle than meat on his bones, walked forward. ¡°That there are. We were the frontline in case of any more beast attacks, the kids, elderly, and wounded are in the back¡±, he spoke, putting a bit of pause and solemnity on the ¡°wounded¡± part. ¡°Take us to them, please. The streets are clear of silversteines for now.¡± Looking between themselves, three of the villagers started to move the makeshift barriers apart for the party to follow them through a door in the back. Making their way through a long corridor, the party and villagers ended up at another door at the far end, opening it into another large room that looked like it was an audience chamber. Taking a quick headcount, Logan saw ten other survivors, half of which were children, an elderly couple, and three injured adults. However, whether aware or not, there were also a few corpses near the injured. Marcus quickly moved over to the injured to begin his healing routine with Healer¡¯s Caress. Kreya¡¯s head scanned the room similarly to Logan, her body making a noticeable jump upwards as she followed Marcus to the injured. ¡°Roh, Wem! I¡¯m glad you¡¯re safe¡±, she spoke in a shaky voice. Moving to follow her, Logan could get a better look at the two she spoke to. Roh was a middle-aged man with short grey hair and small brown eyes, his clothing in tatters from claw attacks. Wem looked to be just a bit younger than the man, her hair was shoulder-length and would have been a lovely blonde if not for blood spatters. Her clothing wasn¡¯t in any better state of repair. ¡°Kreya! Dear, you came¡±, Roh spoke weakly. ¡°Minu looks down on us fairly¡±, Wem followed up. Hugging each other tightly, Marcus could only just get his healing hands in-between them all before moving to talk to the third. Logan could see Kreya¡¯s shoulder shaking a bit as well as going up and down as if she was crying in the embrace. ¡°Not my business, I¡¯ll leave her to it¡±, he thought to himself. Looking around, Logan was still unable to see the apparent elder caster of the village. Moving to the elderly couple he started a conversation, ¡°Hello, do you know where the village elder is?¡± The elderly woman of the couple looked up, ¡°Ah, sir mage, or, Rogue? The elder left to distract the silversteines from our presence. We haven¡¯t seen him in a day now.¡± ¡°No worry here, even though he was among farmers his magic was high indeed¡±, the man added. ¡°A Sorcerer, yeah. Do you happen to know his rank or how many spells he had used when you last saw him?¡± ¡°He hadn¡¯t been assessed in many a year, but he talked about his old days as an adventurer being a rank 11 I think. A curse cut into his spellforce so he had to retire, but he can still cast many a spell a day, sir. Maybe five spells were shot as he ran out of earshot¡±, the man continued. ¡°A level 11 should be able to take down silversteines easy enough from what I could gather of attribute increases. Is that curse so deadly? Or did age stop him from saving this place¡±, Logan pondered in his head. Thanking the elderly couple for their answers, Logan moved back to the party who now had Kreya back. The injured were healed, the heads counted, now was the time for another plan. ¡°Nineteen people to escort to the carriage, might be messy if any silversteines are able to spot us. We¡¯ll go in groups of four, three villagers to one adventurer. I¡¯ll take one extra in my first run, Iimi do you mind taking a second group over?¡± Kreya instructed. ¡°That¡¯s fine by me, could always do with the extra workout.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll start by escorting my in-laws and the other one who was injured¡±, Kreya continued. ¡°Thought they may have been your parents for a while there¡±, Tenn added. ¡°No, they live far south. These are my late wife¡¯s parents.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯ll be why she wanted a mage on side as quickly and fervently as she did¡±, Logan thought to himself as he felt the scar across his nose. Explaining the plan to the villagers, they all started to gather up themselves as well as any belongings they had taken with them to the elder¡¯s house. Celsius would stick with Logan as no one could leave such a task to a young elemental. One by one, the smaller teams set off from the house, moving quietly but quickly across the village to the fields.
It took a good hour for all the trips to be completed, Tenn acting as a scout for Iimi¡¯s double trip. With all the villagers at the carriage, they now counted twenty in total, the child they had saved earlier happy at the sight of his friend. Food and water were given out to the survivors who devoured the sustenance. Due to the number of them, they couldn¡¯t all use the carriage to return home at once, so many would have to walk if they wanted to move in a big group. Speaking with the villagers, by all accounts it seemed they were the last remaining alive. Hope was still circulating that the elder lived through the diversion, plus others hiding in the huts but that would require full extermination of the silversteines. At a guess, the village once housed just under seventy people, so an estimated forty deaths at least if there were to be any other survivors. There was still light left in the day, alongside Logan having access to a few spells to deal with approaching fiends, so it was decided that the party would have at least one more venture into the village. The stockiest of the survivors was given the position of a driver for the villagers, carting them back to Gauntlet in trips. He could ferry five at a time easily, more if they brought children due to their small stature. With the first lot of villagers starting the two-hour journey to Gauntlet, mostly kids sitting on the laps of adults, the party began to stalk back into the village.
Trying to gauge how many foes they would be facing, the team had defeated five of the twelve silversteines. The elder possibly killed a couple more in his diversion, so at a guess, they would need to face off against five more if twelve was the correct number of foes. The first few encounters had gone better than the team had hoped, so the estimate of four days seemed a bit high at this point. Reaching the village once more, Logan¡¯s repeated use of Echo Radar caused another window to appear before him. By using his upgraded skill his allies now appeared as green dots on his mini-map whereas all others appeared as yellow. It was a step in the right direction and would help to ignore his allies when searching for dangerous creatures, but since it compiled hostile and non-hostile into the same category a harmless rat would be the same colour as a silversteine. Thankfully the sizes of creatures would help differentiate the threats. ¡°The elder is going to need some help, and since he is more of a confirmed case I¡¯d prefer to go after him before scrounging the houses for any other survivors. Tenn, can you scout ahead of us while we check the buildings towards his location?¡± Kreya continued to command her team, her face having been cleaned of her tears. ¡°Can do, Logan¡¯s Clean makes sneaking about much easier since the silversteines rely heavily on scent for tracking.¡± ¡°I have enough lightning-based spells to deal with another group, not sure how much after that¡±, Logan explained, hoping to hide his actual number. ¡°If nothing else hampers us, we¡¯ll hunker down with the elder to recover our resources¡±, Kreya reassured. Nodding to their leader the party prepared to continue to the eastern part of Moella, in search of the elder who had possibly saved a good portion of his village. --- *** --- Chapter 44 - Save Moella. Part 3 Sneaking through the village was relatively easy, if not sweat-inducing due to the hazards that could be hiding behind every piece of debris or within the destroyed buildings. Tenn the Rogue had kept a few houses ahead of the main party as he was making sure the roads and skies were clear, whereas the others were giving quick glances into nearby buildings to check for survivors or silversteines lying in wait. Seven houses were checked, three survivors were found, any wounds they did have were healed by Marcus with his Healer¡¯s Caress quickly. Since the party couldn¡¯t do too many backtracking missions, the survivors were gathered into the elder¡¯s building to huddle together in better safety, waiting to be escorted to the roads later. Logan couldn¡¯t help but wonder how, so close to the capital city, settlements could get attacked like this without a more immediate response. Were the guards meant to protect only the capital? Were monsters just left to adventurers to deal with? For that matter, were the monarchy classed and viewed classless issues as non-important details in everyday life? His head was a tumble-drier of questions and theories but now wasn¡¯t the time. Reaching what they assumed to be the tracks of the elder, they could get a better look at what his current state may be. The road had signs of combat all across it, from burn marks to cracks in the earth from possible Wall altered spells. Blood trails led to a larger building, possibly a storage house or shop, and with the amount of blood on display, it was going to be a close call to if the elder still lived inside. Since the bodies of the silversteines dissipated on death it was hard to say how many the elder had killed, at a guess it was probably three. A certain crater within a nearby building most certainly showed the falling demise of a spirit beast landing on top of it. Snapping his fingers, Logan¡¯s Echo Radar couldn¡¯t search the houses too accurately, but it seemed as though the coast was clear. Linking up together, Logan informed the team, ¡°I can¡¯t sense any foes with my magic, though the walls make it difficult.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t hear or see any either¡±, Tenn added. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s check that storage shack for the elder, the blood makes me worried and any extra time may spell his death¡±, Kreya decreed. The party confirmed the plan, continuing their stalking about the village streets to the sides of the doorway. Placing his ear to the door as normal, Tenn noted he didn¡¯t hear anything from inside. With the normal order of Kreya opening the door the party started their entrance, not before Logan called out. ¡°Stop!¡± he whispered in an almost-talking volume. Following his command, the group were motionless as if any further movement would spell their own demise. ¡°There¡¯s a trap, right there¡±, Logan continued, pointing at a red circle with arcane runes all across it just half a foot ahead of where Tenn was standing. The circle was still, but not very well hidden, but Logan¡¯s Trapfinding skill alongside his magical background made it plainly obvious. He had read about this type of alteration before but hadn¡¯t learnt it himself. It essentially held the charge of a spell placed within it, and once triggered would cast it on the foe who set it off. ¡°Damn, that was close. Thanks, Logan¡±, Tenn spoke as he knelt to the circle. Pulling out what looked to be a compass normally used alongside a protractor, Tenn jabbed one compass arm into the edge of the circle to which it vibrated slightly. Taking out some green-coloured dust, he sprinkled it onto the side where he had pierced and proceeded to stab the other end of the compass into the circle¡¯s runes where the dust was sprinkled. The circle continued to vibrate as if it were becoming unstable. With a swift motion, Tenn rotated the first part of the compass on the floor to make a full circle cut into the wooden floor. As the compass rotated, the trap shrunk continuously until it eventually faded and dissipated away as the circle was complete. ¡°That¡¯s that, keep an eye out for others, Logan, I¡¯ll do the same¡±, Tenn continued as he retrieved the compass from the wooden floorboards. After the trap was dealt with, the party were able to enter the entrance hall to get a better look inside. It was well maintained, if not for the blood smears across the brown wooden floorboards leading to the next room. A small lighter-brown wood counter saw more damage as a large circle had been exploded into it and through the other side. A few corpses were strewn across the floor, with similar claw and bite wounds, though one had their entire arm missing. Most seemed to have died from blood loss, or the adrenaline merely allowing them a few seconds of life to find shelter before dropping. Neither Logan nor Tenn could spot any more traps set up within this room, which left only one door to investigate. With final checks to make sure none yet lived, the party moved to the next door, Tenn inspecting it for any signs of life. Raising his hand slowly, he listened intently. ¡°Slow breathing, injured, old. Must be him.¡± Kreya motioned to have the team move away from the door, knocking on it three times to await a response. Thankfully, no explosion or magical barrage came through the wooden barrier, instead, a muffled cry that could only be interpreted as ¡°help¡± was heard. Opening the door and entering, the party saw it to be a larger storeroom that connected to side rooms that were probably the same. Tall stacks of crates, lines of barrels, torn-open sacks of food. The place was a mess of blood and rummaging, setting a backdrop to the elderly man leaning at the far wall whose blood trail left him gaunt and pale. Looking over him, he seemed to be in his late 60s to 70s. Long white hair was clumped from sweat and blood over his shoulders. Weary blue eyes glistened as they stared at the party, wincing whenever he moved. His robes would have been a fine array of blues and greys, if not for the tear marks across it and a large patch of blood on his right hip that he was gripping tightly. Laying next to the elder was a staff that had been snapped in two, a billowy yellow smoke emanating from the broken edge as it leaked mana into the air. Using Identification on the elder revealed him to be level 12, his MP much lower than anticipated at 3/13, and his HP barely keeping him alive at 4/83. Whatever his curse was, it definitely cut his spellcasting abilities harshly. ¡°Help, my wound festers, I cannot¡­ stand¡±, the man¡¯s words were just as wispy as the smoke beside him, croaky from either phlegm or blood in his throat. Kreya and Marcus both slid to the sides of the elder, the leader asking him for information as the Devout tended to the wounds. ¡°Elder O''en, it is good to see you safe. We¡¯ve been sent by the G-Hall to secure the village and save the villagers.¡± ¡°Good, able-bodied adventurers, what is left is safe¡±, the elder replied, croaking and coughing as the healing provided by Marcus allowed him to speak better. ¡°Do you know the numbers of the survivors and the monsters? We¡¯ve rescued twenty-three villagers and dealt with five silversteines thus far.¡± Wincing in pain, the healing lights of Marcus seemed to disturb the elder, Logan could see its effects were diminished but not the reason why. Turning to his allies, Marcus addressed them. ¡°It¡¯s been too long between the wound and heals, it¡¯s infected. My magic can only close wounds, refigure the flesh, and soothe pain, not what he is suffering from. He¡¯s stable but won¡¯t be too fast on his feet¡±, turning to face Logan the Devout continued, ¡°mind if we use some of our red cartton on him?¡± ¡°Go for it, he needs it more than us right now.¡± Answering with a smile, Marcus plucked a portion of their red healing herbs from their communal bag-inventory and chewed on them. A few seconds of mastication led to a sludge similar to that of chewed gum, pulling up the elder¡¯s tunic revealed a large gash in his side that would have gone to the bone if not for Marcus¡¯s previous healing. The green, yellow, and black skin was then coated in the red sludge of herbs. The elder winced in pain as the herb stung his wounds, but he was all too happy to receive the much-needed healing. Tenn and Iimi had begun to investigate the room further as Kreya, Logan, and Marcus tended to O¡¯en. Sitting up straighter, the elder spoke, ¡°The attack was horrendous, I cannot fathom the reason behind it. So close to the capital too, where were our helpers two days prior?¡± ¡°The goblin forces to the south grow larger by the day, defence is key right now. The quest came into the hall quickly but most people were busy or away on goblin business. I just barely gained a mage to help in time¡±, Kreya responded as her gaze met Logan¡¯s when mentioning him. ¡°I suppose I didn¡¯t really give her much time to explain, though she was quite rude when she brought it to me¡±, Logan thought to himself. ¡°Then I shall thank Mose for sending protectors of his fields.¡± If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Thinking on his reading, Logan remembered Mose as another deity. Mose, the Foreman of Harvests and one from above. His sign is that of a corncob with one side being an ear of wheat. A benevolent deity that watches over farms, fields, and orchards, bestowing bountiful harvests onto those that pray towards him. Generally gifted the best of the harvest by attaching it to an ooran and sending it skywards, Mose is often deaf to those that forget to pay reverence to him. ¡°As to your earlier question, including myself, twenty-four seems the right number for survivors. Many were butchered in the streets, fields, and nearby forests when the attack started. If you¡¯re here to eradicate the beasts, I was able to count fifteen in total before hiding away, possibly eight remain if that is the case. Aside from the ones I was able to kill, I diverted more to the east.¡± ¡°Eight is probably too many for today, Logan how¡¯re the spells?¡± Kreya asked as she helped the elder to his feet to sit at a more comfy crate. ¡°If it¡¯s going to be groups, looking at two more Lightning Cascades¡±, Logan responded, keeping his true number of spells hidden. Right now Logan had four more Lightning spells and one Lightning Cascade, with his periapt of mana he could gain 2 MP to spend on either two Lightning or one Lightning Cascade. ¡°So, six is the most I¡¯d like to face in one confrontation. Hmm. We could try and find singular foes in the houses and use the bait tomorrow to flush out the last remnants, with a Wind Wall you could move the scent further¡±, Kreya continued with a strained facial expression as she planned out their actions. Logan hadn¡¯t thought of combining the two, though since this had to do with forming of plans and wit it would come down to Wisdom more than Intelligence. Logan easily understood the theories of using his wind-based magic to push scents around due to his intelligence, he could calculate but putting it into practice in a sensible manner or being the most efficient with what he had at hand fell more into the Wisdom bracket. Was it wise to duel-force Logan into joining this quest though? Logan could have easily declined if he didn¡¯t care about how others saw him. He could have acted poorly within the quest as a way to get back the person who forced it onto him. Kreya could have very well known all about duels and used it to strong-arm a solution to Moella¡¯s troubles, the village wouldn¡¯t last long under the threat of monsters. Many paths were open to Kreya, just as many were closed due to the goblin forces southwards alongside other external situations. Logan was easy pickings due to having used spells in the assessment, naive to the rules of the city, and essentially a newcomer. He still felt anger towards Kreya, but after seeing the reasons behind everything his head was awash with different ideals. The quick shunting of wood against a wall snapped Logan out of his calculating daze, looking around he saw that his fellows had found some food amongst the storehouse to help the other villagers. ¡°We¡¯re going to escort O''en to the elder building, then I¡¯ll take the survivors back to the roadside for the carriage rides. You lot make a few rounds to check for silversteines in the village and note their locations and numbers¡±, Kreya ordered once more as she aided the elder on her shoulder. The party gave a mix of ¡°okay¡± and ¡°got it¡± replies, checking their gear as well as receiving another round of Clean micks from Logan to aid their Stealth to the elder¡¯s building.
Unlike the previous jaunts through the village, this one had cause for alarm. A jet burst of wind above alerted the party to dart to nearby building walls to hide away, the sound giving them just enough time to hide. Checking above them, the group spotted a group of four silversteines flying westwards. With them came several gusts of wind as they darted the skylines. The sounds of crashing clay, explosions of the Spirit Blasts, and roars of the silversteines were accompanied by the screams of a man and woman that were under attack. Hastening away from their cover, Kreya ordered the team forward as she shouted at O''en to hide in his building. The team accompanied her without question, even if Logan was off-put at the thought of facing four at once. ¡°Logan, Cascade a trio and Lightning the other! Keep the villagers safe!¡± Kreya called out behind her. ¡°Will do¡±, Logan shouted back. It wasn¡¯t long before the party saw the torrents of claws and fangs digging at a half-destroyed building, whimpering and screaming from within showing the terror of the villagers hiding inside. ¡°Lightning Cascade!¡± Logan chanted, his arm becoming a mass of lightning strikes and arcs. Throwing his arm forwards the dance of light leapt through the air to the closest silversteine and pranced to two more nearby beasts, surrounding them all in the daggers of electricity. With three large crashes to the floor, the spirit beasts writhed in agony for a few seconds before the party were able to jump into action with their own attacks. As Logan was aiming his next spell, the remaining silversteine shot into the air, its wind swirls sparkling a blue light as it morphed its elemental mastery into a new form. Crackling of electrical currents could be heard above as the foe changed from using the air to using lightning energies. Thinking it was the silversteine¡¯s Element Phase skill, Logan was unsure of what to anticipate. Hoping he could still deal some pain to the foe he continued his following spell, ¡°Lightning Shot¡±, he called out, shooting an array of lightning strikes to the beast. Just as they used the air to move previously, the lightning-phased silversteine used lightning to travel, turning portions of its body into shifting lightning arms as it coursed through the lines of electricity to appear before Logan at breakneck speeds. Landing on the Spellthief with such momentum had Logan smashed and dragged across the dirt path away from the combat. His arms were grappled by the first set of forearms, his hands by the second pair, saliva and blood dripped from the maw of the silversteine onto his clothing. ¡°Guy-¡± Logan began to shout for help. Before his cry could finish, the silversteine snapped its jaw around Logan¡¯s shoulder as it dug deep into the pinned adventurer, tearing through his clothing into his flesh as parts were torn from his body. Kicking upwards, Logan landed a few good hits into the stomach of the silversteine but it wasn¡¯t enough to push the beast off. ¡°Gaia Shot!¡± Was all that Logan could hear in the distance, the tail end of a spellcasting that came from his ally, Marcus. A large shard of earth ploughed into the side of the silversteine who kept its prey pinned. Following up was a massive mace strike to the beast¡¯s face, forcing it to relinquish its dinner. ¡°Get the fuck off him!¡± Kreya called out, as she continued with a follow-up smash. A blast of flames came from Celsius who had caught back up to his master, though Tenn and Iimi were still dealing with the silversteines on the floor near the building. Reeling from the attacks, the silversteine took to the skies once again, Kreya moving to block the fallen Logan from further attacks with her shield raised high. ¡°Get up, we may need another spell against them.¡± ¡°Right. Thanks¡±, Logan replied as he stood back up. Given some time to analyse the battlefield, he saw that this group of foes were all level 9, having dealt a few blows to his allies further away. The one that had attacked him was down to 2/92 HP, whereas Logan was taken down to 52/88 HP. Darting in the air, the wounded silversteine began to charge for a volley of Spirit Blasts, Kreya commanding Logan to stay behind her and crouch down. The white-flame balls formed quickly and were rained down onto the quartet. Marcus took cover behind a building, whereas Celsius was nicked by one attack for 19 damage and dissipated. Four follow-up blasts hit into Kreya¡¯s shield, the impact sending shockwaves around the steel of her shield. Cracks started to form over her protection as it was close to being destroyed. Kreya was about to issue more commands, but was stopped as when she peeked over her shield she saw the thrown knives of Tenn hit the skyward foe that was not focused on him. The final attacks led the silversteine to its final fall to the floor, creating a sizable crater with its body in the mud. Checking over her comrades, she saw the silversteines in the back had been dealt with finally, their tactics on the floor without the aid of the wind making them much easier to deal with. Turning to face Logan, she held out a hand to help him stand up. ¡°That¡¯s why we needed a mage, if we were to all get pinned like that we¡¯d be grilled meat.¡± Taking her hand, Logan stood tall. ¡°Would have been nice to get asked, rather than bludgeoned into coming.¡± Looking at Logan for a few seconds, Kreya averted her gaze as the Spellthief noticed a hint of guilt. ¡°Sorry, time constraints didn¡¯t exactly let me be nice about it.¡± Before their conversation could continue, the rest of the party gathered back up, confirming their kills. Logan could have told them the same, as the experience numbers started to fly above the corpses and several windows appeared after such. ¡°Level up! Gain: 8 HP, +1 Str, +2 Agi, +1 Con, +2 Int, +1 Wis, +1 Cha. You have 1 attribute point to spend¡±, the first window explained, with Logan doing the usual addition of his free point into Intelligence. The second window to appear informed Logan that Celsius had also levelled up, alongside noting a small shard of fiery rock in the distance to where he had been ¡°defeated¡±, apparently he was still alive and would return to Logan¡¯s soul if he was not healed, similar to how people could go to -10 before dying. With his level, Celsius had actually recovered enough health to return with just a wave of Logan¡¯s hand over his fiery rock, the fire elemental swirling back into life as a slightly larger fire formed. ¡°Ow! That was a dangerous attack to be sure. Boss! You¡¯re back up and they¡¯ve been all knocked down. Good work¡±, the energetic friend spoke. ¡°Thanks for the assist, keep your increase in power a secret for now by the way¡±, Logan replied in a hushed tone. Celsius acknowledged with a nod and a zipping notion of darker flames across his orange maw. Logan had to assume that either Dena had dealt enough damage to outright kill Celsius before, or made sure he couldn¡¯t reform. The fact he died the same as people made it a much better tactic to use him as bait, as well as to aid in spell slot usage. Returning to the party, Logan inspected his summon¡¯s status. It seemed he had gained 1 attribute point to all of his stats except for charisma. Since it was an even level, he probably had decimals that weren¡¯t being calculated until level 5. Now sitting at 3/22 HP and 3/4 MP, Celsius only needed another 1,900 XP to level again. Marcus wasn¡¯t far behind, needing only 160 XP, which equated to just two more silversteines. ¡°Marcus, spread the healing around after we¡¯ve confirmed the villagers'' status. After that, it¡¯s about time we take a rest¡±, Kreya ordered once more. --- *** --- Chapter 45 - Save Moella. Part 4 The corpses of the silversteines didn¡¯t have long till they would dissipate, so Logan was commanded to harvest them posthaste while the rest of the party checked on the villagers trapped within the building. It wouldn¡¯t take much time regardless, and any threat of further silversteine attack was lessened due to them more than likely having grouped up with the four the party had just dispatched. As the building was in shambles, the party had to spend some time removing broken sections of the wall alongside throwing the thatch roof off to get inside. Under the rubble, the party were able to find an unconscious man who was still bleeding and a woman who was armed with what could be assumed to be shards of a clay pot fashioned into a shiv. Shaking, her hands dropped the shiv as she fell to her knees. ¡°Saviours! Thank Desma you came to bring these beasts down!¡± she cried out. Marcus went ahead of the party to start healing the injuries of the unconscious man, moving to heal the woman next. ¡°You¡¯re safe now, do you know of any other survivors? We rescued quite a few at the elder¡¯s building¡±, Kreya asked. ¡°The elder¡¯s house? I told my husband they would have gone there but it was too far from our home. All we heard was crunching from the nearby buildings, I don¡¯t know if anyone else is alive¡±, the woman continued, tears running down her face as she recollected the scenes. Darting his eyes awake, the man jumped upwards from the healing. ¡°Ah! Stay back!... Wait, adventurers?¡± Kreya quickly explained the situation to both of the survivors, the husband giving the same recollection as the wife. With the healing by Marcus, the pair were able to move without much difficulty, and so were escorted to the elder¡¯s building alongside the elder who had stayed back, hidden away from the combat.
With two more survivors, the forward base of the elder¡¯s building now had six more survivors to add to the twenty previously escorted to the road. Giving Marcus ample time to heal the party, Kreya and Tenn went out to escort the remaining survivors to the road in two groups. Making a total of twenty-six survivors including the elder meant that any further survivors would be quite the rare find. Using the time they had, Logan began a discussion with Iimi while Kreya and Tenn were busing escorting. ¡°Hey, Iimi, have you quested with Kreya much before this?¡± ¡°Huh? A few times, we¡¯re not a normal group. I¡¯d say a good dozen or so quests. Why do you ask?¡± ¡°Just wanting to learn a bit more about her. Did she tell you about our duel?¡± ¡°She mentioned that you two were coming in without pay, that would explain why. That extra coin went towards buying up the bait, expensive as it was¡±, Iimi responded as she counted on her fingers. ¡°To tell the truth, it was my first duel. Marcus and I have only recently arrived at Gauntlet¡±, Logan spoke as he nudged over in Marcus¡¯s direction. ¡°You may face a few more if you decline quests without others in your queue. I suppose setting yourself up in a guild would aid against that.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t had much time to do research, got any pointers for guilds, or duels in general?¡± ¡°To be honest you¡¯d fare better if you joined the Magi¡¯s Tower association. It¡¯s rare to find mages in normal guilds, Devouts are more common due to their healing services between outings.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to look around in that case¡±, Logan responded a bit disheartened at the revival of the MT topic. ¡°As for duels, not everyone pays as much respect to the ¡®honour¡¯ surrounding it. Some brigands really take advantage of newcomers or wounded, but with the crowds, it¡¯s hard to remove any stain you may face at saying no. If it¡¯s obvious you¡¯re badly hurt, have little spells, or are with a group off on a quest you¡¯re more than welcome to decline without worry.¡± ¡°I suspect it¡¯d be a bad thing for a mage to decline no matter the situation, barring having quests already lined up then.¡± ¡°Yeah, being a mage already fucks your chances in the city. Honour and fame are your most powerful tool at getting missions or respect.¡± ¡°Would villager or hunter quests carry the same weight? If I were to decline the duels.¡± Iimi took a few seconds before replying, giving Logan a scanning gaze as if she were sizing him up, or searching for a joke that wasn¡¯t there. ¡°Villager quests are likely to not work in that situation, hunter quests certainly will. If people hear you¡¯re a hunter, they tend to steer clear of fighting you since you do it for a living, you know?¡± ¡°That¡¯s good at least, any advice on how many hunting missions it would take?¡± Logan continued, excited at the fact he could get around duels. ¡°I am not sure, I don¡¯t know many hunters aside from the top-class ones. Maybe two dozen hunts? There¡¯d of course be people who might ignore you being a hunter regardless, ego and all¡±, Iimi replied, a bit shocked that Logan was adamant about his hunting future. ¡°So even that isn¡¯t a certainty, better than nothing, and it lines up with what I wanted to do anyways¡±, Logan thought to himself. Moving over to his allies after finishing the healing rounds, Marcus sat down beside Logan. ¡°Hopefully no more duels come our way, I¡¯d be no fair fight against anyone. I¡¯d much appreciate the spare time to read or even craft¡±, Marcus added. ¡°Crafters ay? Good money in that, recipes are an annoyance to gather up though¡±, Iimi replied. The wooden doors creaked open as Kreya made her return, alongside Tenn. As if interrupting the conversation, the interior guests looked over to their returning companions. ¡°That¡¯s everyone back at the road. I made a deal with one of the villagers to return the carriage and wait out for our return. Thankfully they¡¯ve been making good trips to-and-fro¡±, Kreya informed the group. ¡°Looking to be a two-day ordeal here then?¡± Iimi asked. ¡°With how we¡¯ve been dealing with the silversteines, we should be done on the morrow¡±, Kreya responded. ¡°A short jaunt then, our deal will soon be at an end¡±, Logan mentioned in passing. ¡°That it will. Sorting out the villagers and quest completion details might take a bit though, so you¡¯ll probably have to wait for a half-day or so to get a signet update.¡± ¡°We have plenty to keep us busy, we were busy beforehand anyways.¡± ¡°I remember, Logan.¡± A tense air hung around the party as recollections of Logan¡¯s and Marcus¡¯s arrival into the party stir between the Spellthief and the Knight. They slowly disperse as the group decide one after another to get some sleep, having one person on watch every two hours or so, allowing Logan a full rest so that he had ample time to prepare his spells in the morning.
After a tumultuous rest, often interrupted by the shifting of chainmail or crashes of monsters in the distance, the morning finally arrived. Logan prepared 1 Wind, 4+2 Lightning, 2 Lightning Cascades for the day, with the plan to use his Wind spell to spread out the bait¡¯s scent to attract the remaining silversteine threat. Marcus made a point to use Heal and Healer¡¯s Caress to bring the entire party back up to full health during the rest. With a final check of everyone¡¯s gear for the morning and a round of Clean, Kreya got to forming a plan for the party. It was very simple, use the bait in the junction that the elder¡¯s building was sat at, Logan will amplify its mist, and the party will ambush the approaching foes. At a guess, there wouldn¡¯t be much more than five enemies, with how many had been felled to this point. Logan would use Cascade if there were groups of three for the attack, otherwise, he would use Lightning to take down singular foes. Marcus was to save his MP for healing spells, on the off chance the party were to be overwhelmed. The plans were straightforward, not that there was much room for being complex in the current situation. Marcus was informed to use Gaia if the silversteines element shifted towards the lightning element, but with his slower casting speed, it would need to be used while he wasn¡¯t a target. Opening the door to the outside, the party exited to set themselves up into flanking positions on each corner of the junction, hiding around the nearby hovels. Kreya pulled the rope off of the orb bait, the red mist starting to exhale once again. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Logan, now closer to the bait, became a bit nauseous due to the smell of it. Trying not to breathe he quickly cast a Wind Wall over the bait, picking it above the ground and dispersing the mist into the air at a faster rate. Both the leader and the Spellthief darted away from the junction to their own hiding spots.
A few minutes went by as the mist painted the space above the huts a deep red, though still clear enough to see above. Dark shadows started to cast over the floor as the silversteine menace approached with their jet-like propulsions of air. Clicking his fingers, and using Identification where he could, Logan was scared at the numbers approaching his team. The approaching forces were all level 8, and comprised of seven silversteines that were prepped for dining on a fresh meal. Some showed signs of combat, from bloodied wounds on their sides, to scorch marks across their faces. Possibly survivors from the elder¡¯s spells or the attacks of guarding villagers. Circling in the sky above the bait, which had fallen to the floor when the Wind Wall had ended before their arrival, the silversteines started to dive-bomb through the layer of mist to the floor. Tearing into the bait orb with their maws, the remaining mist was so small it barely made a new puff of smoke. Logan saw that Kreya was making a motion for him to attack the airborne silversteines to start the confrontation. Despite the numbers, they had to deal with what was in front of them, even if Logan felt an aura of worry at the situation. Lining his arm with the four remaining foes in the air he began to chant, ¡°Lightning Cascade¡±, to which his arm was ignited in a flourish of blue coursing lines. Darting from his arm to the air and finally to the foes up above. Crashing into one of the foes, the lightning exploded and grasped onto two nearby friends, exploding all of their air rings and pulling them all to the floor, on top of their allies. Following up, Logan shot a Lightning spell at the last silversteine in the air, a small display of lightning arcs dancing and zig-zagging into the confused loner. Zapping another creature to the floor, the grounded foes writhed just like all the previous ones. However, the unwounded silversteines reacted hastily to the event occurring around them. Three explosions of air were seen on the floor, as the unharmed silversteines altered their auras from wind to lightning, Logan knowing they would use any further lightning-based spells to emulate teleportation towards him. The rest of the party barreled towards the lightning-charged silversteines, Tenn jumping on the back of one to dish out his Ten-Point Barrage. Iimi also drew the attention of another lightning silversteine and proceeded to use her Berserk skill combined with her combo skills, each attack followed by a different coloured aura to indicate her progression through the combos. Kreya targeted the final lightning silversteine with her Chatter ability, striking her shield to cause the creature to become jittery. Logan could only assume it would stop the beast from using its Spirit Blasts. Bolts from Marcus¡¯s crossbow could be seen hurtling towards the silversteines that had exposed body parts, away from any form of cover provided by his allies. ¡°Celsius, over here!¡± Logan called out to this elemental. Running around the hut, Logan told his summon to shoot him a Flame, to which the elemental did without question. Absorbing it out of sight, the duo continued to circle the building. Logan slid to a halt around the corner and lined his arm towards the sky. ¡°Flame Skystrike!¡± he chanted aloud. Flames ignited in his arm and dispersed into nothingness, the point at which Logan had pointed then exploded in a dazzling fireball of might. Swinging his arm down as if to hit a console, the fire in the sky careened to the floor, creating a smokey trail behind it. Crashing down into the head of a lightning-charged silversteine, the flames exploded and burnt the creature for 19 fire damage. It was a lesser number, due to the creature¡¯s resistances, but it was much higher than any Force mick or Flame spell from Celsius. It also confirmed that even though the creatures had phased towards lightning, their resistances stayed the same. Attacking from the sky would also allow Logan to avoid hitting his allies. Darting behind the building again, Logan absorbed two more Flames from Celsius, though he would keep the charges for later. Continuing around the hut, Celsius was instructed to shoot Ember Shards continuously at the foes, whereas Logan began to utilize his lower damage Force micks to hit the writhing foes for 8 damage each. With the sheer amount of enemies in the fight, it was difficult to bring them down quickly, and by the time the lightning foes had been felled, the writhing ones had recovered and dashed to the skies. Spirit Blasts were prepared in the four skyward beasts, the white-flame balls of destruction were then sent hurtling to the floor at incredible speeds. ¡°Take cover!¡± Kreya shouted as she ran over to Marcus to drag him to the side of a building. Tenn was the fastest and was able to take cover before any attack came near him. Iimi was hit in the tail end but was able to find cover before much else assaulted her. Logan, sadly, was out in the open trying to fell the same beasts that soared upwards. Darting to the elder¡¯s building, Logan could feel the energies coursing in his direction. A hit into the shoulder, another into his lower back, Logan was winded and slowed by the barrage that had already dealt 36 damage to him. Behind him, in the sky, more Spirit Blasts were hurtling in the Spellthief¡¯s direction. Turning his head he could see death approaching in a white-hot mess of disaster. The rippling of the heat off of the blasts hugged the orbs that would blast him to pieces if he didn¡¯t get moving. ¡°Logan, ball up!¡± Kreya shouted. Pushing away any thoughts of distrust, Logan did as commanded and crouched down to make himself as small as possible. The sound of a sheet of metal swinging in the air came darting towards Logan¡¯s position, peeking up he could see that Kreya had thrown her shield in his direction. Halting above him, the shield had a faint yellow hue around its edges. Reaching him just in time, the shield started to vibrate horrendously as it was pelted by blast after blast. Each time it was hit, flickers of the white flames hugged around the shield towards Logan¡¯s side of it. Cracks became more visible with each hit, some even causing parts of the shield to smash apart. The shifting of metal and shuffling of leather could be heard as Kreya started to dash towards Logan¡¯s side. Her bracer lit up with yellow sparks as she grabbed a hold of it. Just in time with the stasis mid-air shield falling apart from another blast, Kreya slid into its place as another shield formed on her arm. Loud banging and explosions noises erupted behind the large metal protector that saved both Kreya and Logan from a seemingly unending bombardment. ¡°Logan¡­ You need to get them out of the air!¡± Kreya spoke against the force being applied to her shield arm. ¡°Got it¡±, Logan responded as he knelt higher up. Preparing himself for a lull in the blasts, Logan chanted, ¡°Lightning¡±, to prepare the sparks of blue in his arm. When the moment presented itself, Logan jumped to the side by a wide margin to give him ample time to line up his shot and fire. Seeing the silversteines above revealed them to still have Spirit Blasts readied to fire into their endless barrage. Throwing his arm in their direction Logan shouted, ¡°Cascade!¡± as the lightning around his arm jumped outwards towards the beasts. As their faces were covered by flames, as well as their maws being wide open, the silversteines weren¡¯t too aware of the oncoming attack but did notice the two adventurers splitting up. Firing a return of Spirit Blasts, the attacks crossed paths. The Lightning Cascade hit the lead silversteine, jumping to meet his allies in the sky again, exploding their air rings and causing them to fall to the floor a second time. As Logan was aiming to fire a follow-up Lightning spell, he was pelted by a series of four orbs, one missing but the last three hitting him for a total of 54 damage, causing him to miscast his Lightning spell. Yelling out in pain, Logan fell to his knee again. Throwing up his other arm, he shot another persistent spell towards the final airborne foe, this time he was able to finish the cast as the dance of smaller arcs struck the silversteine harshly for 36 damage. An aura of yellow lights surrounded Logan as a Heal Shot came his way from Marcus, bringing him up from 8 to 28/98 HP. With such a distance between the foes and the party, they could only have hoped to get there in time to deal with the final foes before they had a chance to go skywards. Logan and Celsius each threw out a Flame Shot, Marcus a Gaia Shot, Tenn his daggers, while they all tried to get closer to deal with the enemies in melee combat. A torrent of blades and bludgeons were all that was required to finally finish off the last of the foes. The whole party let out a rush of heavy breathing from the stress and exhaustion, Logan sitting down harshly as he saw the numbers rise from the corpses. Even if the numbers were slowly declining, Logan couldn¡¯t help but feel happy that he survived the onslaught of energy blasts against him. His body vibrated all over as he recovered from getting punched by the hot orbs. To aid in his recovery, Marcus made the rounds on the party to heal them up from the confrontation. Looking over his companions, Logan gained 2,660 XP, Celsius had gained 3,360 XP, and Marcus gained 560 XP. This fight had more than levelled his companions, bringing both Celsius and Marcus to level 5. Marcus whispered in Logan¡¯s ear as he got to healing his ally confirming his increase in power, Logan putting the free attribute point into the Devout¡¯s Wisdom as usual. With some spare time, Logan looked over his allies'' statuses, happy at the increase in power they were all gaining from this quest. ¡°Celsius - Flame Elemental. Level 5. STR 14, AGI 12, CON 14, INT 14, WIS 9, CHA 7: 28/28 HP, 2/6 MP. Skills: Ember Shard, Fiery Body, Damage Reduction 2. Spell List: 1st: Flame.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 46 - Save Moella. Part 5 With Marcus¡¯s increase in level alongside his new Wisdom attribute his Heal spell was now tending wounds of 20 to 23. Since he was gaining four points in it every level, including the free point, he was fast approaching Logan¡¯s Intelligence for the highest attribute in the party. However, with Logan¡¯s faster levelling progress he was sure that wouldn¡¯t happen any time soon. Tenn climbed a nearby hut and used Logan¡¯s monocular to scout the remainder of the small village. He had spotted several enemies on their approach to the village the other day, which Logan was able to identify as level 8, so it was a sure bet that the recently defeated were the ones they had scouted previously. To his best ability, the Rogue was certain they had dealt with the final silversteines in their last encounter. Recovery would take some time, but with Marcus using half of his remaining MP to bring the party into better states, Kreya called them all together. Tenn handed the monocular back to Logan as he got to the team. ¡°That was a good fight everyone, I am extremely satisfied with all of your performances. We¡¯ve dealt with sixteen of the spirit beasts now, a fair shake above the estimated number. With elder O¡¯en¡¯s kills, that should be all of them. We will do a thorough check of the remaining parts of the village in search of survivors, but stay vigilant of any further threats.¡± As she spoke, Kreya made sure to see eye-to-eye with each party member to show each of their importance. Pointing out some huts they had yet to search, she began instructing how they would patrol the remainder. With close to twenty beasts defeated, it was almost certain they were safe. The bait had finally run out but was also destroyed, so Kreya had nothing to pick up. With the conversation coming to a close Tenn perked up as he realised something. ¡°Hey, Logan. It looks like your summon ranked up, he¡¯s a smidge bigger¡±, he spoke with a happy tone. ¡°You sure? It¡¯s hard to see with those rolling flames¡±, Iimi added. Moving to stand side-by-side with the elemental, Tenn made a motion towards himself. ¡°See, he used to be just under my ribs, now at the mid-point of them. I¡¯d say he stands at around 4''5" or so now¡±, he calculated aloud. ¡°Well it¡¯s good to see you¡¯re getting some benefit from this outing, Logan¡±, Kreya added almost apologetically. After the short after-plan chat, the party moved to scour Moella. Logan using Echo Radar constantly, Tenn using his scouting abilities, with Celsius floating about to possibly draw out any straggler silversteine.
The thorough dive into the village returned no new villagers or threats, it seemed the bait had done the job perfectly, possibly too perfect if the difficulty of the fight was anything to go by. Plenty of corpses were found, alongside the destruction of the village leading to any valuables being similarly destroyed. ¡°And that¡¯s the last building. We should be done with that, good job everyone. The winds have died down, as well as the blast sounds, so the silversteines must all be dead or moved on¡±, Kreya began to give an overview. ¡°Any other monsters would be far gone too, the ruckus they made would have scared most anything¡±, Tenn added. ¡°I¡¯ll be glad to have this done early, way early¡±, Iimi spoke as she stretched. ¡°We¡¯ll return to the carriage and head back to Gauntlet then. I¡¯ll sort out the quest details with the G-Hall, you lot can meet me there a few hours after we get back¡±, Kreya continued. The party all gave affirmative nods and replies. Leaving back the way they came, the group moved through the fields, forest, to the dirt road they had ridden on to get to this point. Thankfully, the driver had returned and was parked at the side of the road. The tallest man of the village was one to indeed be trusted. Hitching into the back, the party made the long trek back.
¡°Hey, Tenn, here¡¯s those rings back¡±, Logan spoke as he handed the Lightning rings back to the Rogue who had lent them. ¡°Ah, thanks. Did they prove useful in the end? I didn¡¯t count too many Lightning spells, but then I was in the thick of it all¡±, Tenn replied as he held out his hand to take the rings. ¡°They were good security, we were in some tough situations out there.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t actually use them, though I probably could have if I knew how many enemies there actually were¡±, Logan thought to himself. ¡°Too true, they¡¯ve helped me out on some other missions where I lacked any casters¡±, Tenn continued. ¡°Not travelled with many?¡± ¡°You¡¯d be the third Slotter if I recall. I¡¯ve travelled with four Devouts to this point. The rings were great against some crowbolds a few weeks back.¡± ¡°One year of work and only seven spellcasters in total? Did his missions not require them, or did his party never even ask?¡± Logan worried. ¡°If I ever need a caster, I¡¯ll make sure to call on you two¡±, Iimi chimed in. Leaning in a bit closer she gave a wink, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll get paid with me.¡± The smaller gang in the back shared smiles alongside tales of other quests to pass the time on the return trip. Whereas Kreya spoke with the villager on the driver¡¯s portion of the carriage.
Returning to Gauntlet had the world filled with the sounds of chatter and footsteps, a welcoming sound in comparison to the jet bursts of the silversteines. With more time than they knew what to do with, Marcus was able to use Healer¡¯s Caress to bring the party to max health. There were some questions as to how he had so many charges of it, but they were easily replied to by saying he had spent a lot of money on tomes. Hitching the carriage within a local stable and combined storage establishment, the party all got out of the vehicle. Exchanging some quick farewells they all agreed to meet at the G-Hall later in the day. Retiring to a local park, the duo was finally alone. Letting out a long sigh Logan began the conversation, ¡°Finally got that over and done with. Maybe now we can set out to do what we aimed to when we got here!¡± he spoke in frustration. ¡°It would certainly be a better state of affairs to not be under someone¡¯s thumb like that again. We¡¯ll need to sort something that¡¯ll help us avoid such duels in the future¡±, Marcus replied with a hint of sharing Logan¡¯s annoyance. ¡°The hunter requests may help in that regard, Iimi mentioned something along those lines. I¡¯ll read over the hunter handbook back at the inn while we wait I think.¡± ¡°I need to go buy some bolts, but I¡¯ll meet you there?¡± ¡°We will most likely just take the rest of the day off, so that¡¯s a good idea. We got plenty of reading to do anyways.¡± ¡°Reading in the day or night? When would you prefer to undertake the hunts?¡± ¡°That will depend on the handbook, nighttime may be best if we are hunting classed people in the hopes their skills and spells are on cooldowns or used up for the day¡±, Logan replied, thinking back to how he duelled with fewer spells. ¡°I¡¯ll ask later then. Need anything from the markets at all?¡± ¡°Could you look to see if there are any spell rings for sale around? I¡¯d like to know my options, and they could help immensely.¡± ¡°Not sure how many we could afford right now, but sure.¡± ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll see you back at the inn.¡± ¡°See you there, Logan!¡± Parting ways, Marcus jogged off in the direction of the markets while Logan returned to the Meek Moat Inn where Yetveka was still as vibrant behind the counter at the far end. The patronage was a bit lacking today, though the same saeber sat at the fireplace as before. ¡°Welcome back, Logan, no Marcus today?¡± ¡°He¡¯s got some business in the city. Is our room still available?¡± ¡°Well, I haven¡¯t been informed of any more hunts from you¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, we got forced into a quest from a duel. I aim to start hunting again tomorrow if everything goes through fine¡±, Logan replied as he averted his gaze to behind the innkeeper. ¡°Alright, if it¡¯s tomorrow I am sure we can swing that¡±, Yetveka spoke as she slid over the key for room three. After picking up the key and arranging for some food and drink to be sent to their room, Logan returned to a soft bed to take a comforting rest within. Though he wasn¡¯t especially tired, it was more for resting his muscles while he read the hunter¡¯s guide. It didn¡¯t take long to read at 50 pages, and he was finished just as he heard Marcus approach from downstairs. Summarising the contents of the handbook, it was rather straightforward for both Logan, and eventually Marcus, to understand. For the first few ¡°apprehension¡± hunts, hunters were required to inform a guard beforehand to have them escort both the hunter and prey to a jailhouse if the criminal was to be apprehended within city limits. Since a guard was at hand to pay for his duel Logan had no fear about finding one for his hunts. Hunts came in two forms, ¡°apprehension¡± and untyped. Apprehension required that the target be brought in alive, whereas untyped allowed the hunter to either apprehend or kill the target. Rewards would vary but it wasn¡¯t guaranteed that killing the target would reward less than apprehending them. Many requests of the untyped variety would be to bring in people to be executed either way, so it would make things much easier for Logan to kill and absorb the hunts instead of dragging them back to the guard or jailhouses. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. After five hunts, the hunter could then purchase armbands that would dictate certain allowances to the individual and possible partners. A range of armbands could be acquired, with more available when the hunter¡¯s successful hunts reached higher values. Some more important armbands allowed Logan to hunt without needing a guard, allow him to have a summon active at almost all times, allow the use of identification magics, and even allowed teleportation within or into the city. Another reconfirmed topic was that of ¡°retrieval¡± objectives that came with hunts. Since the hunters were sent after criminals, many would have stolen items of importance or value that would need to be returned. Several examples were given from money to weapons, though each quest would note what is required. Outside of the listed retrieval items, the hunters were allowed to keep most of what else they could find. The guidebook did make mention that hunts would be against all species as well as both classed and classless beings. Hunts could be for singular individuals, pairs of criminals, or even a band of bandits, each tier granting higher rewards. To start, Logan would try to focus on the individual and classless hunts until he got some more experience under his belt as well as access to armbands to smooth out the process.
With the completed handbook, Marcus made his return at which point Logan gave a shortlist to his ally. Returning the favour, Marcus informed the Spellthief that the local merchants had said that spell rings were in short supply after almost all their stock had been bought up to deal with the goblin armies in the south. Lightning and Flame rings, in particular, were all gone, with Gaia rings being few in number. They all seemed to be the same price at 4 gold, and with the demand, it was going to be hard to haggle them down any further. Aside from the rings that cast the first-level elemental spells, Marcus also found a ring that would grant a single cast of Dimensional Jaunt per day. At a guess, the other second-level spell rings would be the same price as that one, which would cost a steep 10 gold. Logan could have afforded one or two of those rings when they arrived at Gauntlet, but it was probably more worthwhile to have upgraded all their gear and bought tomes rather than a single ring. Logan quickly completed the rules and laws booklet he was gifted by Jirango while he handed down the hunter¡¯s guide to Marcus to memorize some of the finer details. There wasn¡¯t much else to read of the booklet but Logan had to fully read it to gain his Reading experience. The rules were imprinted into his head, alongside plans to get around them with the hunter armbands. As the times for reading would be mismatched, Logan decided he would test out some damage numbers and browse his list of skills in the meantime. First was punching himself to see how his hand-to-hand damage had progressed to his point, 3 damage meant his fists could deal 5 without the Dam Red of his armour. He could possibly knock out any classless being with one hit if they were also level 0. What was surprising was the feeling of getting punched, he knew what it felt like back on Earth and even a bit from being in Avanar. Now, due to his status, the punch felt like someone had just forcefully pushed him, it didn¡¯t even really hurt, it was just pressure. Would a weak dagger attack end up the same way the more he progressed? He didn¡¯t plan on stabbing himself, as that would do more than other people, but it was a curiosity to be certain. After a Healer¡¯s Caress, Logan looked into finding skills that could allow him to use his spells without killing his targets. With the help of System, he found it quickly. ¡°Safecasting¡± stated that it allowed him to lower the damage of magic so that it knocked a target unconscious. Without unlocking it, he wouldn¡¯t know the details or finer points, but the overview was enough for him to bookmark it for later. Another skill had also branched off of his Micks skill, though there was no alert as to why this had happened. ¡°Advanced Micks¡± would allow his Micks to deal damage or have higher effects over their limitations. Logan was unsure as to what this was referring to, Force didn¡¯t seem to falter in its progression. Though if his calculations were correct he possibly dealt 1 less damage than he should have done versus the silversteines when he hit level 9. He would have to test Force later, to see if it was performing to the best of its ability, but regardless Logan bookmarked the skill in case he did need it for later. Having Micks keep up with him would prove vital when his number of spells per day were rising slowly. Thinking on his spells, Logan could afford a single spell ring with the money he had saved till now and was contemplating a Gaia ring so that he had access to at least one protective wall a day.
Time passed quickly as the pair read, talked, and experimented with their new powers for the trials ahead. They had a bit of time left until they needed to meet at the G-Hall so they took a quick walk over to a local money changer. Due to the time period of the world, there were no official banks as Logan was used to, but the money changer was a close enough business for exchanging his coins for different numerations. The money changer was established by the monarchy and so was rather well-made. Tall white-brick walls with glass windows peered into the clean interior. People, mostly adventurers, were coming and going at a reasonable pace with sacks of coins in hand. The smell of metal in the air was thick, Logan swore he could almost taste copper on his tongue as he opened his mouth. Logan exchanged 600 copper for 60 silver coins and 100 silver into 1 gold coin, to help with his purchases later on as well as the weight in his inventory. It also felt rather weird counting out every coin when using the lower denominations of coins when trading with merchants, similar to when he was a kid spending pocket money on sweets. Marcus also exchanged some of his coins, the pair using the inventory sneakily as always but making sure the amount taken out wasn¡¯t too suspicious.
With some housekeeping cleared up, the duo made their way back to the G-Hall. Several uses of Clean overtime made it seem like they hadn¡¯t even left the safety of the walls, nor spent a night within a dingy hut surrounded by blood. The only real sign was that of wear and tear across Logan¡¯s armour that worried him of losing it in the future. Entering into the adventurers¡¯ hall showed it to be full of people going about their business as usual. The numbers were declining somewhat, but not at a worrying rate. Logan assumed they were either out on missions or decided to aid in the goblin war. A swift movement across the hall caught their attention, turning their heads they saw Iimi motioning them into one of the rooms on the floor above. Moving over to her she swung the door open wider and moved inside, Logan and Marcus following after. Shutting the door behind them they saw they had a private room for the party to talk about their mission, which was a common occurrence for debriefs that took more than a few minutes or for those wanting some privacy. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s everyone¡±, Tenn mentioned from across the small room as he sat comfortably on a chair. ¡°Good, we can start then. I have sorted out the returning villagers of Moella, it was a good thing we were able to recover the elder. With some help from a small portion of guards and builders they shall be clearing the rubble and starting on rebuilding¡±, Kreya began. ¡°How soon? It¡¯s a bit early to start right away isn¡¯t it?¡± Iimi asked. ¡°From what resources they had, the guard informed me that the spirit beasts are not likely to return after an attack. Even less so after their numbers were cut down. The guards won¡¯t have to worry about a repeat attack, and the silversteines made sure no other creatures were nearby.¡± ¡°So just moving on as if nothing happened?¡± Tenn inquired. ¡°They¡¯ll have some bereavement time, but after that, it¡¯s back to work. The farms will be crucial with the goblin wars in the south taking up a lot of supplies.¡± ¡°So they¡¯ll clean up the mess but not sort out the problem?¡± Logan added. ¡°The guards they are sending are low rank, in the region of 5. Without a caster, they would not have done much against the silversteines. Aside from that, they will be setting up four watchtowers to give a better alert to oncoming forces or to signal for aid.¡± ¡°A two-hour ride would lead to any signal being easy to see, especially with the height of Gauntlet¡¯s walls¡±, Marcus calculated. ¡°That is the idea of it. We got a bonus for the number of survivors we rescued, though as agreed that¡¯ll go to debts owed for some of the equipment needed for the mission. Here are your shares. You can get your signets updated at the counter¡±, Kreya continued, handing out a pouch to both Iimi and Tenn. ¡°I think it will be time to upgrade some of my gear¡±, Iimi mentioned as she felt the weight of the pouch. ¡°I got some scouting missions lined up, so I doubt we¡¯ll see much of each other for a while¡±, Tenn announced. ¡°If we¡¯re all available again, I hope we can quest together once more¡±, Kreya ended. The party began to take their leave but Kreya held up her hand to Logan and Marcus. ¡°Can you two wait, there is something I wish to discuss with you.¡± Tenn and Iimi gave a farewell nod and a clasp of shoulders to Logan and Marcus as they left through the door and shut it behind them. Logan could only imagine what Kreya had to talk about. ¡°Right, well. I know we didn¡¯t get off to the best of starts. But I would like to apologise for my order of a duel and forcing you two into this quest. I had only recently heard about the quest for Moella and my emotions were running high. I knew I needed to have someone able to use lightning-based magic to bring them down, which is why I got Tenn, but even that wasn¡¯t going to be enough¡±, Kreya began. ¡°For his spell rings, I take it. Yeah, those weren¡¯t going to cut it with the numbers we were facing.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. I needed a mage but once I was informed most had been hired for the goblin threat I was at the end of a short rope. I also needed to prepare transportation, the bait, other allies, and even called in a few favours to make sure the quest wouldn¡¯t go awry. I could not afford for it to be too rushed, but every hour spent not going there was another hour my in-laws could have perished.¡± ¡°I suppose I wasn¡¯t open to hearing your reasons at the time, your hasty attitude and rudeness didn¡¯t exactly lead me into wanting to hear them.¡± ¡°That large scar across his nose is also a step over what was necessary¡±, Marcus added. ¡°I know, again, emotions were running high. I can¡¯t apologise enough for that, nor am I sitting atop a hoard to pay for regeneration. But I can offer up two things to try and pay you back¡±, Kreya continued. Pulling out a folded set of parchment papers Kreya placed them into Logan¡¯s open hand. Kreya continued her speech, ¡°I notice you tried to use a scanning ability on me, which was most likely why you asked for a trinket. This is the recipe for the cache arm, it hides specific parts of your equipment and capabilities from others trying to scan you. I overheard your conversation with Iimi that you can craft so I pulled some more favours to get you this.¡± Logan¡¯s eyes went wide with excitement. ¡°This could hide my power from the Magi¡¯s Tower!¡± he cheered in his mind. Unfurling the parchment he saw it was 3 pages of items and steps towards making the cache arm, giving him a new goal to aim towards to aid in his subterfuge. ¡°Aside from that recipe, feel free to call on me for a quest at a later time. I will work for free as you did, unless it¡¯s a much harder task.¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Logan began, thinking on his next words carefully. ¡°I accept your apology, Kreya. I can understand why you did what you did. I don¡¯t condone it, but you seem sincere in your message. Thank you for the recipe, it¡¯ll come in handy for sure.¡± The trio shook hands as grievances were settled, Logan mentally taking a note out of his head which he had attached to the personality of Kreya. ¡°Wish I could talk longer, but I have to pay some people off. See you around the hall?¡± ¡°That we shall do¡±, Logan replied. ¡°Above speed to you¡±, Marcus added. Kreya exited the room, to which Logan and Marcus looked at one another before letting out a synchronous heavy sigh. Letting the drama die was going to be easier than carrying a grudge around for too long. With their affairs settled, the pair left the private room to go and get their signets updated. --- *** --- Chapter 47 - Way of the Hunter Updating their signets didn¡¯t take long, as the larger counter space and fewer adventurers handing over quests right now allowed them quick access to a member of staff. In total Logan had only completed 18 quests, a low number when compared to the average adventurer of rank 9. However, he was marked as a rank 8 and had his background set to have been a vagabond mage who learned from others for a while. It wasn¡¯t too uncommon that adventurers would go out to fight monsters without a quest either, combined with the fact that sparring matches also granted experience and stat growth to NPCs from Logan¡¯s previous observations in his villager quests back in Tinte. Even though he was in a safe enough spot, Logan and Marcus agreed that gaining too many ranks in a short amount of time would draw even more unwanted attention. This fear tied in nicely with their next aim of taking on hunts. As taking down a lower number of criminals would grant them a higher reward in the form of money and items, rather than experience towards the next ranks or levels. For an oracle who was also a mage, Logan would gain so much more from the hunts and the associated armbands than any other person. Since there were still a few more hours left of daylight, the pair decided to start their hunting on the weakest targets first and secure their room at the inn for the foreseeable future. With the aid of the System windows, Logan was able to search through the hunting quests he had scanned earlier. Sorting them from easiest to hardest difficulty allowed him a clear view of several classless beings of rank 0 to 2 that needed apprehending.
Taking a quick detour to the Gerro Guardhouse, Logan picked out a contract from the list on the board. Moving to Jirango he placed it on the counter in front of the gentleman. ¡°We¡¯ll be moving to apprehend this individual.¡± ¡°Oh, read that guide I see. Alright, ah this fella. He stole a crate of rations from a local supply house. Apprehension, no killing. 6 silver for bringing him in. A bonus if you can get the crate back, though that¡¯s been up there for a while, food is probably all gone¡±, Jirango informed formally. ¡°Do the contracts often stay up long?¡± Marcus chimed in. ¡°The little ones regularly stick around for weeks. Often don¡¯t get a grand look at the criminals so information on finding them is minute.¡± ¡°Good thing the System notes their whereabouts on my map¡±, Logan thought to himself. ¡°We think this one might be somewhere in the western side of the capital, though that only narrows it down to a quarter. Best of luck out there you two!¡± Jirango ended with a smile. ¡°Keep a cell open for him¡±, Logan replied with a smirk.
Exiting the guardhouse with the contract in hand, Logan made a beeline in the direction of his map that was noted with a large red circle. Jirango¡¯s information was correct, the criminal, Saeka, was indeed in the western part of the city. ¡°So, ideas on how we can find him?¡± Marcus perked up. ¡°I can use magic to detect his presence easy enough.¡± ¡°Really? You must be reading out of my eyesight to have such access to spells.¡± ¡°It¡¯s similar to what I used back in Moella and even before.¡± ¡°Ah, that soundwave thing, Dena did the same right?¡± ¡°I believe so, at least it looked like she was doing something similar.¡± ¡°So, we getting a guard closer to the target?¡± Marcus asked as he looked over his staff. ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ll see what the location is like before sorting a plan.¡±
It took about an hour of walking to get to the destination, making Logan wish he could use teleportation magic or that he had bought a horse to get around quicker. Ending up in a smaller commercial district, the circle started to flash white and red as the pair made their way inside of it. Acting similarly to when he hunted goblins, the System would not say the exact location but rather a large area. Referring to their knowledge of the hunter¡¯s guide, once they had hired a guard as a witness and escort, they were free to use magic that would not destroy the environment, alongside identification abilities, if they were to be used to aid their hunt. Approaching a guard on duty, clad in full-plate armour, Logan spoke. ¡°Excuse me, we¡¯re here to hunt a criminal. May you be our witness?¡± ¡°That I can, I am doing some rounds in this area so it is no bother. Do you have the contract?¡± the woman asked. ¡°Sure, here it is¡±, Logan replied as he held the contract limply to allow the lady to read it. ¡°Ah, no diagram of their looks. You look to be a mage, are you able to identify them from the descriptions given to you?¡± ¡°That we are.¡± Thankfully no bribe or fee was required for having a guard act as a witness, as the peace of the city was paramount and apprehending criminals just aided their normal duties. Unlike duels, those wouldn¡¯t normally come under their everyday jurisdiction. With the guard now in tow, Logan set Marcus to keep an eye out for the individual listed on the contract. ¡°Saeka - Gashriek - Late 30s, male - Black hair and green eyes.¡± The rest of the details were about what he had stolen alongside the hunt type and rewards. Now allowed to use his abilities Logan used Identification on applicable targets, making sure to only use it on people close to the description. As the trio explored the area Logan noticed the red circle on his map get smaller and smaller as they investigated. It got so concise that they were eventually led to a rowdy tavern. Peering through the opened wooden-panel windows, Logan looked over the patrons until his quest window updated when he scanned the target. ¡°Saeka: Classless 0, 4/4 HP, 0/0 MP. An avid opportunist that is able to find a bargain anywhere and make coin at any opportunity that presents itself. A wanted criminal for the theft of rations, though he has stolen several other items in the past. He steals for nothing and sells for high.¡± At least Identification would note if someone was rightfully or wrongfully accused before Logan got into a conflict with them. Though he was sure the guardhouse would utilize their truth magic to make sure the accused was actually guilty or not, as was written in the rules handbook. ¡°There, at the counter¡±, Logan spoke as he pointed out the target. ¡°You sure? He does meet the description¡±, the female guard queried. ¡°Yeah, Marcus and I will go apprehend him, you can stand at the doorway if you want.¡± ¡°We got this¡±, Marcus added with a smile. Entering into the tavern had no real commotion erupt, instead, the rowdy patrons continued their drinks and dining on food. Making no grand display on entry, the pair walked calmly to the counter on either side of their mark. Turning to his target, Logan began to speak. ¡°Hey, aren¡¯t you Saeka?¡± ¡°You talking to me fella?¡± Saeka replied with an annoyed tone. ¡°Yeah, heard we could buy some supplies by a guy named Saeka, you¡¯re not him?¡± The gashriek grunted as he turned his head to face the Spellthief, looking the man up and down before responding, ¡°What supplies you after?¡± ¡°Rations mostly, gotta keep the troops fed.¡± ¡°C''mon skills don¡¯t fail me now¡±, Logan thought to himself. Saeka pondered for a few moments, his face showing obvious signs of him running through scenarios in his head. ¡°Alright, I can get you a hundred easy. Let¡¯s just go round the back¡±, Saeka responded as he swivelled in his chair. He was going to walk towards the doorway, if not for the guard standing obviously to the side of it. A bead of sweat rolled down the gashriek¡¯s face as his eyes darted from the guard to the Spellthief. Acting quick, he threw his right arm over his chest to grab at a tankard to smash into Logan¡¯s head. However, his arm was grabbed as it reached the counter by a watchful Marcus. The man let out a curse in his own tongue as he pulled at his arm, only for Logan to grab the other arm and pull it around the gashriek¡¯s back into a locking pose, without the handcuffs. Gifted the other arm by Marcus, Logan pulled both arms into a cross over the man¡¯s back. Scraping of wood on wood was heard as the other patrons rose from their chairs, ready for a brawl. ¡°Settle down, this is hunter business¡±, the guardswoman shouted into the room. Some of the customers hadn¡¯t even seen her, visible shock on their faces as they turned to look at who shouted. Not wanting to deal with a guard, let alone two hunters, the patrons all sat back down disheartened. The tavernkeeper stood back up from his hiding position as he weakly spoke, ¡°Take it outside¡±, to the troublemakers. Even with the best efforts of the gashriek, he was unable to brute force his way out of Logan¡¯s grasp, though it was quite the fight against the Spellthief. It would have been an easier task for Marcus, as his Strength was higher than Logan¡¯s, but since the mark was classless they really had no way of winning. Taking the man outside Logan used his persuasive disposition to coax the location of where Saeka was going to do the deal out of him. A portion of force onto Saeka¡¯s arms was all that was needed to sweeten the deal and lead the group to a nearby alleyway. The guard followed directions given by the man and quickly found a few crates of rations alongside other stolen items. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. In the search, Saeka tried a final attempt at fleeing. Stomping his foot onto Logan¡¯s and smashing the back of his head into Logan¡¯s face dealt 0 and 0 damage. Logan just felt a light tap against him as the man resisted. Pulling away in anticipation that he could get away, Saeka was shocked to find his attempt was completely useless. ¡°Are you going to be like this all the way to the jailhouse?¡± Logan asked his prisoner. The man shouted something else in Shrieky, to which Logan nodded over to Marcus, ¡°Hey, got any rope to hold him still?¡± Marcus had just the thing, pulling out a thin segment of rope he tied up the hands of the mark, making it easier to keep ahold of him with one hand. The guard handed a box each to the adventurers, with Logan keeping hold of the rope that bound the man''s hands in his other hand. With his ill-gotten gains retrieved, and an easy apprehension, they all made the long trek back to Gerro Guardhouse. Eventually, Saeka lost interest in attempting to escape, it seemed the further he got from the west side of the city, the less hope he had in him. A few looks were shot in their direction, but the guard made it clear it was official business so no one interfered.
During the time they spent taking the criminal to the jailhouse, Logan saw experience being added to both him and Marcus. It seemed to occur when the man had finally lost all hope of escaping his clutches, probably awarding the pair for a successful subjugation. Logan guessed the experience would have popped up immediately if he had just knocked the man out, but there wasn¡¯t much need for that. Logan gained a paltry 25 XP, with Marcus only gaining 5. If they were to continue hunting classless beings it would certainly slow down their level progression, but the pay was much higher than it would have been otherwise for this kind of difficulty. The pay more than likely fit the annoyance of tracking down criminals alongside the value of the items they had stolen if any. The guardswoman opened up the doors to the guardhouse, Logan and the mark right behind her with Marcus closing the doors behind him. Jirango stood quickly as he saw the team arriving, already preparing a ledger book to note down the hunt. ¡°Amazing time, found him easy enough then?¡± ¡°He wasn¡¯t exactly hiding, was pretty forthcoming with selling his stolen goods too¡±, Logan replied as he pushed the man towards the counter. The trio placed the crates onto the counter, to Jirango¡¯s surprise as he was only expecting the one. Opening it up he picked out a few items to inspect them. He motioned to the guard to put the criminal into the truth circle, to which she did as it lit up. ¡°Are you Saeka, and did you steal these goods?¡± Jirango asked in a firm voice. ¡°Yes I am and yes I did¡±, the gashriek replied instantly and formally as soon as his mouth opened. ¡°Have you stolen more than this, and if so what?¡± This time the gashriek kept his mouth closed, realising he was under the effects of a truth spell. Jirango smiled at the criminal''s reluctance to speak further. ¡°Well, silence is good enough. Can you take him down to the jailor and ask that this man be taken to cell 32?¡± Jirango asked as he waved to one of the doors behind him to the guardswoman. The lady nodded, grabbed ahold of the criminal''s arm, and said her farewells to both Logan and Marcus. Jirango sat back down as he looked over some of the other stolen items while referring to the contract that Logan handed back, and his own ledger. ¡°Good job, clean and by the book. You even brought in additional items. These rations are long-term and highly efficient, a single block can sort an adventurer out for easily two days. It may be late, but we¡¯ll check them for anything off and send them southwards to help the goblin war effort.¡± ¡°It seemed as though he was selling quite a bit off, offered to sell me a hundred units. Are you going to question him further?¡± Logan asked. ¡°He ¡®could¡¯ be part of a larger syndicate or paid off by someone higher. But it is more likely he did this alone to try and profit off the war. Without bodyguards or base of operations to sell out of, he reeks of small fry.¡± Flicking through the pages of his book, Jirango noted down a few words before pulling open a drawer to retrieve some coins which he placed closer to Logan, as well as a stamp to hit onto the contract. ¡°Double pay for this, 12 silver. I¡¯d pay more considering what you brought back, but my hands are tied for these kinds of things. I have my own rules to follow, though the inn¡¯ll keep you in my name¡±, Jirango announced as he gave a thankful look to the two adventurers. ¡°Thanks, we have a bit of time left in the day so we may take on one more before heading to the inn.¡± ¡°Plenty of people to work through on the board¡±, Marcus added. ¡°I hope that enthusiasm keeps with you, would be nice to have a consistent pair of hunters¡±, Jirango replied with a smile. Placing their signets onto the table, Jirango inscribed on them the updated number of two for hunter quests. While that was happening Logan took another contract from the board and placed it onto the table. ¡°Tring, Poin, Moreeva - Group of humans in their early 30s, M, M, F - See attached sketches.¡± A trio of bandits that are wanted for wanton thievery and muggings around the lower districts. All wanted alive for a bounty of four silver a head. With the sketches, they were easier to identify, though the description of their location was a bit less concise as the city had several lower-district areas. Thanks to Logan¡¯s quest window however he was able to see a much smaller area. The contract also stated that anything the trio had stolen was to be handed over, with the guardhouse captain to look over the returned items to see if any were to be kept or given as a bonus. ¡°Those three, even with sketches we¡¯ve not had luck finding them. Always act in different parts of the city. You got good tracking skills or spells?¡± Jirango asked as he continued writing in his ledger. ¡°No worries about us finding them, we¡¯re good at finding what we want¡±, Marcus replied. With a quick Identification of the sketches, Logan was able to find the normal statistics for the targets. Tring and Poin were both classless level 2 whereas Moreeva was level 1. More beings without classes that had actual levels. Since they were mugging people they probably had more combat experience, which led to their increase in power, but Logan didn¡¯t want to close off any other avenues in his train of thought. Leaving the guardhouse, Logan almost immediately began walking to the trio of bandits. Marcus gave a confused look as he jogged to keep up with his ally. ¡°Know where they are?¡± ¡°Yeah, the sketches do wonders for tracking.¡± ¡°Is this a you-know-what kind of thing?¡± Logan replied with a nod, and that was all that Marcus needed. The abilities of an oracle continued to impress and excite the Devout but delving into the details would have to be reserved for later.
The large red circle made it a walk in the park for Logan to find his marks, his continued praise for an ability that made him one of the best hunters in the world. It was such a walk in the park the pair even ended up in a park, as the marks were hanging out underneath a tree, digging through bags that Logan could only guess were not theirs. Walking around for a while, Logan caught the attention of another guard. ¡°Hello, sir. We need a guard to act as a hunter witness, here is the contract¡±, Logan began. ¡°And a good day to you too. Let¡¯s loo- wait, I¡¯ve seen these three.¡± ¡°Correct, they are just a minute walk away. May we go apprehend them?¡± ¡°Of course, it shouldn¡¯t take long at all if they are so close. Would you need assistance?¡± ¡°We can take them¡±, Marcus chimed in. As the small group approached, Logan whispered over to Marcus, ¡°Hey, Marcus, if they run you¡¯re free to shoot them in the leg with a crossbow bolt. No magic, they¡¯d die from that.¡± ¡°Got it, will do¡±, Marcus replied as he placed a bolt in his belt ready to load and fire. Nearing the bandit gang, they looked over to the oncoming trio. With a bravado on display, it looked as if their leader, Tring, was going to make a speech. Their stance quickly changed as they noticed the guard and weapons on the adventurers. Eyes widened as Tring and Poin hastily drew and threw daggers at Logan, Moreeva making a fleeing sprint away. ¡°Marcus!¡± Logan shouted as he charged forwards. Deftly stepping to each side the Spellthief was easily able to dodge the thrown daggers of a classless being or two, bridging the gap that was once before them. Landing a solid punch into Tring¡¯s stomach for 4 damage, Logan followed up with a jab into his back for a Backstab of 8, bringing the man down in two blows. Marcus quickly knelt down as he loaded his crossbow, lined up the shot, and pierced the leg of the fleeing bandit. He was becoming quite the marksman, either that or it was just an easy shot. Moreeva tumbled downwards as her leg collapsed from underneath her, Marcus charging after the furthest away foe as Logan was fine on his own. Poin slashed at Logan who blocked with his arm, taking 2 damage, though just like his testing of a punch earlier it just felt like he was being prodded harshly. Grabbing hold of Poin¡¯s fencer arm, Logan twisted it around as he locked it straight behind the bandit, leaning the man into a 90¡ã angle. Putting force into the hold caused the man to flip over twice to the floor, landing onto his front. With a solid one-two punch into the back, the man was out like a light from a double Backstab, the two sets of 8 damage being more than enough to drop such a comparably weak foe. Marcus finally caught up with his foe who was just barely able to stand by the time he arrived, dealing a heavy strike with his staff across her face knocked her out cold. With her defeat, Logan saw the experience numbers slowly rising from their unconscious forms. Logan gained two lots of 117 and a single 54 XP, Marcus getting 50 XP in total. It wasn¡¯t much, but it was a lot higher than the level 0 gave. Removing the bolt from Moreeva, Logan and Marcus checked to make sure their marks were not losing any further health, which they weren¡¯t with a little patch-up work on the would-be runaway. ¡°Excellent work, you¡¯re rather nimble for a caster. Grasp expert, am I right?¡± the guard witness asked. ¡°Yeah, it helps with spell usage and bringing foes down quicker. Though these lot didn¡¯t require many spells, or at all to take down¡±, Logan replied with pride in his work. ¡°I can carry the man there if you two want to carry the others?¡± the guard offered. ¡°Thanks, that¡¯ll help. We¡¯re to take them to Gerro Guardhouse¡±, Marcus informed. ¡°A bit of a walk, I could do with the workout.¡± Retrieving the bandits, as well as their stolen bags, the trio made their way through the city back to the guardhouse. It was tiring work, but Logan could tell that his Strength allowed him to take on hard labour much easier than he did back on Earth.
Returning to Jirango, the criminals were placed onto the floor near his counter, to which he called out into the backrooms for some jailors to take them away to a cell. The guard witness said his farewells and left the pair to chat with Jirango. ¡°Nice work again, keep this up and you¡¯ll be allowed to scan me in time¡±, the man spoke with a jokey tone. ¡°I would never be so rude¡±, Logan replied sarcastically. Digging through the bags that they had brought back, Jirango pulled out a few items to refer to the contract and his own notes. Setting aside a few finger-length bronze-coloured rods, he placed 12 silver coins with them. ¡°There¡¯s your bonus, a lot of what is in here has been reported stolen so I can¡¯t gift it all out. Their weapons too were on the list so no luck giving those out¡±, Jirango instructed as he wrote in his ledger and prepared to update the signets once more. ¡°A bonus is a bonus, I¡¯d wager that their gear is nowhere near good enough for us anyway¡±, Logan spoke as he retrieved the pay. After splitting the coin with Marcus as usual, inspecting the bonus revealed them to be: ¡°Trickster¡¯s Crackers: A set of rods that when snapped produce a continuous stream of small explosions that create both noise and smoke. These last for only two minutes but are great for distractions.¡± Not immediately useful, but they could come in handy if the pair wanted to group up monsters or separate out a gang of enemies. There were four in total, though one might not be enough for a single diversion depending on the situation and local noise level. ¡°Getting dark, going to be doing some nighttime investigations?¡± Jirango asked hopefully. ¡°Nah, we¡¯ve had a long day, just wanted to make sure we had ample time at the inn for a good rest.¡± ¡°We may go hunting again tomorrow though¡±, Marcus added. ¡°Well, tomorrow it is then. Have a grand night.¡± ¡°And you, Jirango¡±, Marcus replied. With another quest completed, the duo returned to the Meek Moat Inn to settle down with some quaint evening reading paired with a meal. The ease of their most recent endeavours was quite welcome when compared to the past few days, but Logan still feared the day he¡¯d have to deal with the Magi¡¯s Tower and another Darius. --- *** --- Chapter 48 - Those That Came Before Entering the inn had Yetveka perk up and smile, waving the soon-to-be regulars over to her. As the day was coming to a close the inn had a fair few more patrons, human, gashriek, and the same saeber. ¡°Grand evening to you, I heard you took on another hunter contract today¡±, the manager stated. ¡°Two actually, we just handed over a trio of muggers¡±, Marcus corrected. ¡°Oh, wonderful. You told me tomorrow, but I guess you had more free time than you thought ay.¡± ¡°A bit, yeah. Plans may shift a bit as we go about, you know how adventurer work goes¡±, Logan explained. ¡°That¡¯s for sure, you did leave abruptly for that adventurer quest of yours.¡± ¡°That was, something.¡± ¡°Not our best outing¡±, Marcus added. ¡°Well, here¡¯s your keys, feel free to keep them for a few days. Room is all ready for you.¡± Taking the keys from the counter the pair ordered some food and drink to their room before retiring to it for the day. With the evening in their hands, the setting sun made for good light reading, followed by the Light Ally to aid in the darker reading sessions. Opening up the ¡°Spells in a Hurry Vol 1¡± tome, Logan had a new window pop up, bringing him back into the gamelike system. ¡°Warning, as part of the Spellthief hybrid class you have your own form of the skill Quickcasting, as such this tome will not benefit you. Completing this book will still provide experience towards the Reading skill.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s a bummer. I guess Marcus can read this then. System, would a higher tier tome grant me access to silentcasting?¡± Logan thought to himself. ¡°That is correct, Logan. Though we are sure that such a tome would eclipse this one¡¯s price¡±, the System replied in Logan¡¯s mind. With his first goal crossed off before it started, Logan picked out ¡°History of Oracles Ver 9¡± from his inventory to start reading. At 300 pages long, he would not be able to complete it in one night, maybe if he spent all of the next day reading it he could get it done. But this book would hopefully give him some more background information on those that came before him.
Logan was engrossed in the book. Not just because it could be the key to his escape, but because it contained plenty of highly-detailed paintings and riveting tales of the oracles¡¯ exploits. From founding settlements to ending dangers to large swaths of land on Avanar. It was hard to get a total view of who would become an oracle, as Logan wasn¡¯t done, but it seemed no one under 18 had been chosen. Aside from the grand displays, there were a few minor oracles who had reportedly ¡°retired¡± to work as normal shopkeepers or farmers. Was it because they couldn¡¯t handle the quests given to them by the System, or were they scared of what was ahead? Either way, a few oracles had actually died of old age, as written in the book. Sadly Logan wouldn¡¯t find a still-living oracle in the beginning pages, but it was a good start to understanding them. With a sizeable portion complete, Logan put the book down to rest until the next morning. Even though his mind was racing, his body was exhausted after all the physical activity in the day. Beating up bandits and lugging around items had worn out his muscles, combined with the efforts in Moella earlier. Before he knew it, Logan was asleep.
The next day brought bright lights and loud morning sounds outside the glass windows, followed by the wafting smells of breakfast meals coming from the ground floor. With a quick early morning routine, Logan asked Marcus to arrange some meals to be brought upstairs for him to continue his reading session full of fervour from the day prior. Each page granted Logan further insight into the past of the oracles, and to those who had been kidnapped before him. The book wasn¡¯t a biography nor did it hold large accounts from the oracles¡¯ mouths, but it was almost as if he felt a kinship with those before him. Rolling through the day into the evening he had finally finished the book, granting a large chunk of Reading experience but also a wealth of knowledge. From what Logan could gather, oracles were documented to have arrived starting around four hundred years ago, though Avanar had been around for much longer than that. It is possible they had come to this world before that time, just nothing was documented. From the book¡¯s accounts, a total of fifty-three oracles had arrived in Avanar to date. So there was at least that many. Dishearteningly, the book also noted that almost every oracle to this point had either died from old age or in combat. Logan was still alone, at least where the book was concerned. A few locales were of interest, however, describing businesses or settlements where the oracles had spent most of their time. It gave a good enough set of goals to put onto Logan¡¯s list. The first lined up with his stay in Gauntlet. It also looked like each oracle had a different skill set, from Knights who were far above those of normal NPC Knights, to spellcasters that warped spells together to make entirely new ones. As far as he could read, there were no mentions of any form of Spellthief in the book, though they might have kept their powers a secret, many other oracles seemingly hid their abilities from the public. With so many people having been taken though, it worried Logan that the beings who did so were able to hide their abductions from his world. If they had all come from Earth that is. The depictions of the oracles showed them to be of different ethnicities too, so Logan could only assume they either all spoke Ava on arrival or English was very close to it. A jubilant reaction came from the other side of the room as Marcus shouted a ¡°yes¡± with the closing of his own tome. Jumping in his seated position Logan looked over to his ally in confusion. ¡°Finish your book too, Marcus?¡± ¡°That I did, and look at this!¡± Marcus replied with an energetic tone. Jumping from his bed he set the book aside and took a casting position. Thrusting his hand forward he incanted, ¡°Heal Shot!¡± to which his normal display of yellow lines and orbs shot at Logan to wash over his body. ¡°Ah, you got Quickcasting, great work!¡± Logan praised as he stood up. ¡°It took a bit, but I got it down. Now we can keep pace when barraging foes with spells.¡± Looking over his partner''s status to inspect how this affected his spellcasting, Logan saw that the Devout was sitting at 11.5/13 MP. So what he had heard earlier was correct, it took extra MP or spell slots to quickcast, looking to be either half of the base spell or some other formula. He¡¯d need to wait for Marcus to gain access to second-level spells to investigate further. ¡°That we can, though make sure to not overdo it. Quickcasting takes more of your spellforce to do¡±, Logan informed. ¡°The book did mention that, and I certainly felt like it took a bit extra. Emergencies it is, or when we don¡¯t need all thirteen spells in a day¡±, Marcus continued with a wide grin across his face. ¡°It¡¯s rare for a caster without second-level spells to do that, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°It was in Tinte, but with the money we¡¯ve brought in, it won¡¯t be too surprising. Since we¡¯re each other''s benefactor, you being rank 8 helps people believe in what I can do.¡± ¡°Plus those who saw you at the G-Hall thought you blessed by those above¡±, Logan spoke as he remembered their reassessments. ¡°Either myself or through you, I truly do feel blessed.¡± Giving out a cough Logan steered the conversation, ¡°There¡¯s a place I want to investigate in the commercial district, ¡®The Restaurant¡¯, it has a link to a previous oracle¡±, he mentioned as he threw on his coat. ¡°I remember you mentioning that word before. Is it something from the ones above? A skill? Weird another oracle knew of the word¡±, Marcus spoke as he threw on his robe. ¡°Something we might share, we¡¯ll have to see¡±, Logan replied, thinking to himself what to hide and what to reveal to his ally. Leaving their room, Logan gave a wave off to Yetveka as the pair passed the counter and headed outside. Checking his quest window to set some hunts as currently active, Logan was able to find one close to where he wanted to investigate. At the guardhouse he selected the contract and confirmed it with Jirango. ¡°Gail Ren - Human - Late 20s, male - See attached sketch.¡± It was a bit of a jump, as the contact noted the individual as a rank 4 Devout who was wanted after stealing several tomes. There were few classless left to apprehend, but this one was close to The Restaurant. He was to be apprehended and the tomes returned safely.
Moving northwards, Logan and Marcus found themselves within a large array of taverns and inns. One building was tucked away to the side, slightly larger though more unassuming than the others. A large sign was hung above the door with large cursive red lettering ¡°The Restaurant¡± on full display. Full of blue-painted brick, the building boasted large glass window panes with amateurish painted sections of victorian knights in armour, each one having a plume of hair from their helmets of different colours. Opening up the large oak doors, that had engravings of animals all across them, led the duo inside. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. The interior was spherical in its roof design as it reached high up, removing any possibility of another floor. The room was filled with hundreds of fine tables covered in cloth, glinting silver and glassware, most with patrons dining on full-course meals. It demonstrated a typical high-end restaurant from Earth, which felt out of place within a medieval setting. A waiter approached the adventurers, dressed in a black suit and tie, which was a bit more fitting but still out of place. He had the typical cloth draped over his held up arm, though thankfully lacked the pompous attitude that Logan was expecting. ¡°Welcome, sirs. Table for two or might you have a reservation?¡± the waiter asked politely. ¡°Actually, I was wanting to talk with your owner if it wasn¡¯t a bother¡±, Logan replied. ¡°Might you have had a bad time at our establishment before? I apologise ahead of time if that was the case.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m here to talk to him about the original creator. I¡¯m doing a study on previous oracles you see.¡± ¡°Ah, of course. We¡¯ve had a few people come here with such questions. Might you have purchased an almanack of previous oracles? Those often give the same information that Sir Eno has spoken of.¡± ¡°Yes, but I had some follow-up questions that weren¡¯t addressed in the tome I had bought.¡± The waiter stood there for a moment, pondering his next response. ¡°I shall go and ask Sir Eno if he has the time, if not you may need to return at a later date.¡± ¡°Thank you, we¡¯ll wait here.¡± Moving to the side somewhat, the pair leaned against a nearby wall as they waited for the waiter and hopefully the current owner to return.
A few minutes passed as Marcus noticed the waiter coming back, nudging Logan they both stood up straight. The owner was an older gentleman, probably in his 80s, with thinning grey hair and a well-kept beard. The waiter that had brought him over went back to his other duties. ¡°So, I hear you¡¯re oracle fans. I have a few minutes spare, are your questions quick to answer?¡± Eno asked in a direct but slightly weak voice. ¡°I have a few, for starters, did you know the oracle personally?¡± ¡°Well, that has been answered before, but yes. Leroy Lemaire and I were very close back in the day. He stayed a few nights at my home when he first revealed himself and we were stuck at the hip ever since.¡± ¡°Did he mention any OAB to you?¡± ¡°Huh? Now that is a question indeed¡±, Eno started a bit startled. Having an expression as if he was wracking his brain for memories he continued, ¡°We had many conversations but he did ask me about Tinkom when we first started exploring the lands together.¡± Thinking to his time reading the deity tome, Logan was able to remember this one easily. ¡°Tinkom, the Caretaker of the Young and one from above. His sign is that of an adult human''s hand holding onto the paw of a young saeber. Dedicated to the protection and enlightenment of the youth on Avanar, Tinkom ensures longevity to those under adult age. Tinkom is a common deity for children to worship in the hopes of presents or protection when exploring outside their neighbourhood. If anything threatens the sanctity of youth, Tinkom rains down horror to the evildoers.¡± ¡°Did he talk any further about Tinkom with you? Or about any goals he had?¡± Logan pushed further. ¡°He pretty much just asked if I knew Tinkom, or of him. I told him who the deity was and what he represented. We did visit a church where he did further investigations into the one above but he kind of dropped it afterwards. As for goals, he asked about some ovensiase.¡± ¡°Oh-ven-see-as?¡± ¡°Yes, the ovensiase were a big issue back in that time, some 60 years ago now. They are a monster comprised of deadwood and roots. A necromancer at the time had let out an overabundance of undeath magics which caused the local area to become contaminated, enraging Desma and causing his wrath to fight back in the form of the ovensiase.¡± ¡°Did he aim to fight them? Or say anything more on the matter?¡± ¡°We visited an adventurers¡¯ hall where he looked up some quests for them, but he quickly gave up that too. At the time he was only a rank 6 Fighter, and the ovensiase quest called for at least rank 16 before taking them on.¡± ¡°So, he got scared about the quest the System gave to him and gave up totally?¡± Logan thought to himself. ¡°What happened with the monsters, and Leroy, after that?¡± ¡°The monsters were eventually killed, they killed many in return mind you. After that, Leroy and I set to do some crafting, general aid in the settlements, then eventually created this place of dining. It was passed down to me around 20 years ago now, without an oracle it isn¡¯t as popular, but still brings in business¡±, Eno answered wistfully. Remembering what was accounted for in the history book, Eno died of old age, so it wouldn¡¯t mean much to ask for a confirmation on that. Though the ability to simply not take on the quests and ¡°retire¡± did give Logan an ¡°out¡± if he didn¡¯t want to risk his life returning to Earth, the books did allude to such. However, this did confirm that not all oracles were under the patronage of Vokka. ¡°That should be all of my questions, thanks for answering them all, sir¡±, Logan ended. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t ask about Earth or returning home, that¡¯d raise too many suspicions¡±, he thought to himself. ¡°Thank you for showing an interest in the past. The fame of oracles seems to die off just as they do.¡± ¡°May Desma bring you plentiful game¡±, Marcus prayed to Eno. Finishing their farewells the pair exited the restaurant with new information in hand. It wasn¡¯t much to go on, Logan had to guess that Leroy either gave up totally or that failing his quest meant he wasn¡¯t given any further ones. Since it was a possibility, Logan felt wary about forgoing any further System assignments. With the mention of a quest far above his current level, Logan had a pit of anxiety form in his throat. Looking towards Logan as if expecting his next command, Marcus¡¯s face showed no signs of being disheartened, though Logan¡¯s wasn¡¯t so stoic after the intel gathering. ¡°Both of my System quests so far seemed reactive, I was lucky one didn¡¯t pop up to take me to the goblin war in the south. If a large enough threat emerged and I was chosen to take it down, am I prepared as I am now?¡± he ruminated in his head. With only two quests to go off, Logan didn¡¯t have enough information. Leroy¡¯s quest wouldn¡¯t help in regards to a timer either as Leroy may have held it in reserve before asking or investigating. Hoping the timers would be at least a week or more, Logan would continue his current course of action.
Moving away from The Restaurant, the duo were once again guided towards the general vicinity of their next hunt. At level 4, it would prove to be more difficult than the previous ones, but with such a gap in their power, Logan didn¡¯t worry too much. Following the circle until they were inside, Logan approached a guard as usual and acquired a witness for the hunt. The progress of Echo Radar was seemingly slowed in the capital, possibly due to the lack of hostile foes nearby. Combining it with Identification lead the group into a slower search than normal as the crowds were full of classless beings. Just as usual, however, the circle shrunk and they came across the Devout in question. Draped in grey and blue robes, the 5''11" man didn¡¯t blend in too well with the more boring browns of the common folk. Scanning the man revealed something disturbing to the Spellthief however. ¡°Gail Ren: Devout 4, 40/40 HP, 10/10 MP. A travelling healer and merchant of herbs, this man has seen a wide swath of the Gauntlet lands. Known for his disease-curing skills alongside a deep knowledge of poisonous berries and the like, Gail has found a name for himself in some of the northern settlements due to his aid¡­¡± The man had no mention of evil or criminal activities in his description. Was Logan¡¯s Identification skill being altered in some fashion? Maybe it was from a similar item to the cache arm. He wasn¡¯t too concerned about the man''s skills, spells, or gear at that point as they would only matter in a fight though he kept them in the back of his mind. Motioning to Marcus to stay close but off to the side, Logan approached the man in question alone. ¡°Hello, sir. Might you be Gail Ren?¡± Logan asked in a non-threatening manner. Returning a slight smile and welcoming tone, Gail responded, ¡°That I am. May I help you with something? I do not recall us meeting before now¡± ¡°Have you recently come into the possession of some skill tomes?¡± ¡°That I have? How did you know? Wanting to buy them off me?¡± Gail replied in a confused tone. ¡°Well, your apprehension contract told me. I am a hunter, look¡±, Logan replied as he held out the contract firmly. Glancing over the contract after showing off a shocked expression, the Devout looked up with worry replacing the look on his eyes. ¡°Uh, sir. I think there has been a misunderstanding. I bought these tomes with coin, not theft.¡± ¡°Well, that is what I have been told. Would you mind coming down to the guardhouse to sort this out?¡± ¡°I did have errands, but this is quite serious. To think a hunting contract was made before even talking to me. I¡¯ll come along, I have the tomes in my bag¡±, Gail spoke quickly. Motioning to Marcus and the guard to move over to him, Logan stored away his contract while keeping a close eye on his mark. ¡°Do I need to be bound?¡± the Devout followed up. ¡°No, you¡¯re coming peacefully. I can just take your staff for now.¡± The man didn¡¯t make any movement aside from turning slightly to allow Logan to take the weapon easier. Marcus and the guard shared a look of confusion before Logan explained the situation. ¡°Ah, maybe it was a false report. It¡¯s rare, but this guy could have pissed someone off¡±, the guard informed in a gruff way.
Returning to the Gerro Guardhouse, Logan found no retaliation from Gail. The Devout even spoke of some of his travels, sharing knowledge about herbs and berries with Marcus who was intrigued to speak with another of his class. It was uncommon to find a travelling Devout, so Marcus would not pass up this chance. Reaching their destination, Jirango had an inquisitive look on his face as he saw the unarmed yet unbound mark. ¡°I take it you have an explanation for this? Rare to find a cooperative mark.¡± ¡°Gail said he had bought the items he was noted to have stolen¡±, Logan informed. ¡°Correct, sir¡±, Gail followed. Letting out a groan of annoyance Jirango stood up and prepared his devices for the truth circle. ¡°If it is, someone will be seeing a hefty fine and jail time¡±, he threatened to the wind. Stepping onto the circle caused it to glow as normal though Logan noticed it was a bit dimmer than usual. ¡°Are you Gail Ren, and did you steal tomes from Yenwa or the village of Ee¡¯yenis?¡± ¡°I am, and I did not¡±, Gail answered immediately and clearly. A noticeable green light shone from Jirango¡¯s eyes, Logan noting it to be some form of identification skill all his own or related to his class. ¡°Cani¡¯s whip. Alright, Gail, please take a seat while we go over everything¡±, Jirango cursed, turning to a formal tone as he motioned the mark to a nearby chair. ¡°Logan, your pay, give us your signet and you can be off¡±, he continued as he pulled out a small pouch. ¡°I take it someone is going to get an ear full?¡± Logan asked teasingly as he placed his signet on the table. ¡°Fucking tricksters. I hate them every time they use the hunting contracts to sort out a personal dispute. It¡¯s a lot of paperwork for nothing. They¡¯ll get their due though.¡± With an updated signet, Logan placed the reward into his inventory with 6 silver to Marcus and 14 silver to himself in their own sections. Though with the lack of any fighting the Spellthief was disappointed to see that no XP had been distributed to the team. Handing over the staff to Gail also meant there were no item rewards or bonuses for this mission. But Logan wasn¡¯t about to steal from someone that had been recently framed. --- *** --- Chapter 49 - Cleaning the Streets Logan and Marcus were close to reaching that desired five completed hunts, unlocking access to the armbands that would lighten the restrictions placed on them. There was no doubt that they would round the day off with a final hunt, taking a contract from the now-busy Jirango who had a fake hunt situation to sort out. The last hunt before their freedom was to take down a man who had stolen both his wife¡¯s and son¡¯s savings and fled from one side of the capital to the other. It seemed the man was able to change his appearance with the aid of herbs and clothing so he had eluded the minimal guard response to the theft. Since he wasn¡¯t that dangerous, being a classless being, the reward was a paltry 3 silver, with the caveat that the stolen money was to be returned. With his System map, Logan found out why he had escaped apprehension. He was actually at the docks of the city and not within a proper district. The contract noted the northeast part of the capital, whereas the dock was on the furthest western point. Putting away any thought of ineptitude, Logan and Marcus made a long walk towards the docks.
Marcus had a moment of confusion when they were heading in the opposite direction, but remembering Logan¡¯s tracking abilities led him to not question it. The day moved into the evening as the docks were cast in a lovely orange hue, the reflection of the sun bouncing off the sea beautifully. The squarks of birds had started to die down as the day did the same, but this part of the city was quite the departure in all the senses. Yells of orders, creaking of wood, the docks were full of sounds that felt more modern when compared to the times that Logan had gone to the fishing docks near beaches. A smell of fish and sea salt flavoured the air, putting Logan off of spending too much time here lest his clothes absorb the smell for later. The smell would certainly push away guards who would patrol this area, making it a good hiding spot for low-risk criminals. Thankfully a guard was making the rounds and was quickly picked up for witness duty by the pair. ¡°Dad would have probably liked this place, a short trip on a boat to a nearby beach. That would be like a vacation to him¡±, Logan thought pensively.
Ending up as the longest search yet, Logan¡¯s mini-map circle continued to get smaller and smaller. The only place they had to search was a boat that was preparing to leave port, a small one that was probably for fishing or travelling along the coast. They couldn¡¯t go far west due to the hazards away from the continent making it near impossible to explore the whole world. Approaching the boat had one of the fishermen meet the party halfway. ¡°''Ey there, you needin'' something, sirs?¡± he spoke through several missing teeth. ¡°Hunter business, may we board and search the boat?¡± the guard spoke ahead of the adventurers. With sweat dripping down his brow, the fisherman responded, ¡°uh sure. C''mon board.¡± Boarding the boat caused it to dip slightly at the addition of three grown men, but not enough to cause any worry. Their boarding didn¡¯t go unnoticed though, as from the small cabin a pair of eyes were glaring from the opened wood-panel window. The mark had spotted the team before they spotted him, giving him ample time to try and get away. The doors to the cabin swung open, smashing against the exterior wall. A flung stool hit the guard, causing him to fall to the floor. Jumping atop the cabin the thief lept from the boat to the docks to start a sprint away from the hunters. Following suit, Logan dashed up and jumped onto the cabin¡¯s roof. Keeping the mark in his sight. Raising his hand up he chanted, ¡°Sleep Skystrike¡±, throwing his hand down as he ended the cast. Spores and puffs of dandelions started to flow across his hand, disappearing and reappearing in the air above the thief. Falling down in a mess of a white pollen cloud, the spell swirled around the thief as it darted into his orifices. A classless being had no chance at saving against the spell, his body hitting the floor in a short slide. The nearby populace was shocked at the spell, moving away from the sleeping thief and staring at the Spellthief atop the boat cabin. ¡°Hunter business, don¡¯t worry¡±, Marcus shouted as he jogged across the docks to the mark. It was a wonder how the man had escaped for so long, his snoring was loud enough to scare off the last of the evening dock birds. Logan could swear anyone would have wanted him gone with the way his mouth was imitating a boar. Combined with the clanking of metal armour from the guard witness, the trio apprehended the sleeping criminal. Conversing with the captain of the small boat revealed that the sleeping man had paid for a ferry up the coast to a nearby fishing village. Searching the belongings in the cabin revealed that the man had taken not just the money but several other effects from his previous household. An interesting oval container also clued the pair in on how he had changed his hair colour, a dark cream that smelled of pungent flowers.
Carrying the man back to the Gerro Guardhouse, Logan spotted the experience for their subjugation of the man flying over his body a few seconds after he had fallen. Another 25 XP for Logan and 5 for Marcus, the guards thus far never entered their party so Logan wouldn¡¯t need to worry about the split getting any worse. As there was only one mark this time the guard was stuck with the duty of carrying the body. It was strange that Marcus was granted experience for the hunt, though he did aid in the whole intimidation factor by being by Logan¡¯s side. It could have also been because Marcus made sure the target was asleep and tied them up while they slept. It was input of a sort, so maybe the party mechanics were being lenient. Handing off the mark to the jailors, Logan placed the bag of belongings onto the desk to complete their fifth hunt. There wasn¡¯t any bonus for this mission as the belongings were a requirement, though the additional effects did leave Logan expecting one when he was given the pay of 2 silver for himself and 1 for Marcus. Updating their signets Jirango spoke up, ¡°And that¡¯s five. You¡¯ve done quick work in getting to that milestone. Not a lot of quests laying around? Or are you just not finding parties to adventure with?¡± ¡°Well, the hunts we''ve done so far have been relatively easy, and we aren¡¯t aiming to leave the city for long periods of time yet¡±, Logan responded. ¡°Cleaning the streets is just as noble as clearing the forests¡±, Marcus chimed in. ¡°There will be plenty of work for you to be sure, more than this guardhouse can hold. I can ask for the contracts from the others to get copied over here if it will be easier for you?¡± ¡°Thanks, if you can. Also, we¡¯d like two public-hunter armbands, please¡±, Logan spoke as he placed down 5 silver coins alongside Marcus doing the same. ¡°I can get those for you tomorrow morning, as the handbook should have explained to you, you¡¯ll be able to take on several contracts at a time with that, though we do typically have a limit of five at a time per hunter.¡± ¡°Yeah, I got that part. Would be hard to cart five hunts in together, unless they were all executions.¡± ¡°Earned yourself a good few weeks at the inn too, going to be taking a break or right back at it tomorrow?¡± ¡°With the armbands, we may move into nighttime hunting, tomorrow night should be the first of that¡±, Logan replied as he looked over to Marcus to confirm. ¡°Ah. If that is the case the night watch will deal with you, a younger lad named Jivvy does the night shift here. I¡¯ll inform him about you two¡±, Jirango informed. ¡°Then I guess we¡¯ll see you in the morning and Jivvy tomorrow night then¡±, Marcus added. With their business concluded, the pair returned to the inn. Logan was disappointed that no title had unlocked for him, since five hunts were when armbands unlocked he had assumed it would also come with a title. Worrying it may be due to the beginning days bringing easier titles, Logan planned to use his skill points even more sparingly than he had. However, seeing how the tomes increased in price, he wasn¡¯t sure he would be able to afford all of what he would need as a caster.
Finishing the evening off with food, drink and reading, Logan was able to complete ¡°Silent Step Vol 1¡±, granting him 25% of mastery experience with the Stealth skill. It was a big jump, though Logan theorized if he went to an area infested with enemies he could get that sort of progression without spending 1 gold. Logan only had three more tomes to read over, the lexicons of the three major languages spoken on Avanar. It wouldn¡¯t be a boost in power, but it would aid in the diplomacy side of his adventures if he was able to understand those he had to deal with. As the moon rose high in the sky, the adventurers retired to a long night of rest.
The morning started as normal, Clean micks, breakfast, and planning for the day ahead. Marcus went to pick up their armbands and brought them back to the inn. They were made of a thick cloth and leather fabric, coloured silver to easily distinguish amongst normal clothing. A reflective black text was sewn into the armband reading ¡°Hunter¡± with a symbol resembling a ¡°P¡± beneath it with a flick on the bottom-left of the letter. Coming with two pins, one was stabbed into their sleeves near their shoulders and the other to the inside of the armband. Slipping the armband on, it could be moved above the sleeve pin and then slot down and to the right, locking it to any form of a jacket, coat, or tunic. This made it easier to take on or off, depending on the situation, without the need for outside help or taking the coat off. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. With their hunter status now becoming official, Logan was reassured that he wouldn¡¯t be troubled as much by pretentious adventurers who thought themselves above him. Though more successful hunts would solidify that position of safety, and so the two planned for the next week of work and study. This week would be mostly geared towards obtaining the other armband upgrades to ease their time in the capital, earning money for future purchases, as well as coming to grips with how life went for adventurers and hunters. Logan also surmised that another quest might appear during their week in the capital, so he didn¡¯t want to go too far in case he missed it when it appeared. There were also a few more oracles to investigate during their week of work.
- Day 1 - Spending the day reading through ¡°Lexicon of Ava¡± revealed that Logan would need more than the normal eight hours, as the language was deep and complex. He understood most of the words, though fully wrapping his head around it would take another day. The apprehension hunts of the night comprised of:
  1. A man that was known for forging signatures and documents, but had evaded capture due to his contacts.
  2. A woman that had stolen funds from her place of work and fled into the lower quarters.
  3. A couple that had faked one of their deaths to earn their ¡°undead insurance¡± and were on the run after getting paid.
  4. A group of four classless that were taking advantage of new adventurers and stealing their gear.
  5. A classless who had murdered his brother, though it turned out he had been framed so was set free after the debacle back at the guardhouse.
A flurry of hand-to-hand blows, chops to the back of the neck, a Sleep spell here or there, and Marcus using his staff to knock out those closest to him. Taking down classless was a simple task for adventurers of their skill. Logan removed the reservation on his summoning spell, allowing him three second-level spells a day, aiding in the ability to use Sleep or Dimensional Jaunt. With each hunt, Logan noticed the truth circle at the Gerro Guardhouse getting dimmer and dimmer. Inquiring about it with Jirango revealed that they only had so many charges before needing to be recast. It was an expensive ordeal, but it saved money and time having to go through courts and the like. It wasn¡¯t foolproof though, as classed beings of sufficiently high rank or resistance could ignore the effects of the circle. Those of rank 10 and higher typically could avoid speaking the truth even with several applications of the circle. Higher-tier circles were possible but more costly. With the evening of work over, Logan had completed 27 quests with 6 for the adventurers, 11 villager quests, 10 hunter marks. Logan earned 16 silver, with 7 for Marcus, and at ten hunts they both bought up spellcaster upgrades to their armbands for 5 silver each, which added the reflective black lettering of ¡°Sp¡± next to the ¡°P¡±. That would allow them to use spells while not hunting without worry, except for identification, summon, and teleportation spells. Logan gained 175 XP, Marcus gained 35. Two of the marks came willingly, so no XP was granted for those.
- Day 2 - Logan completed his first lexicon, familiarising himself with the majority of the Ava tongue, alongside its slang and common terms. Through reading it, he also now understood some of the letters and symbols he had noticed to this point, being the Ava alphabet as well as signs. Symbols like ¡°Demon¡¯s Entry¡± which was found on certain shops and inns of a combined ¡°Y¡± and ¡°K¡±, which was their version of allowing vampires to enter their building. Logan had also spent some of his spare time investigating more of the past oracles from his history book. Finding two more, what he could assume were partner NPCs, led him to find that they were also alone in their time on Avanar. However, the second did mention that his oracle was searching for others in the hopes of ¡°going home¡± which resonated with Logan somewhat. Gathering up the final hunting contracts that had to deal with classless beings, since Jirango had brought some others over from the other guardhouses, the pair got stuck into work with their apprehension hunts:
  1. A trio of gashriek that had hunted down several humans and murdered them in their homes. Logan did feel bad at this mark, due to the speciesism he noticed, but they had still killed innocents.
  2. A gang of four humans who had worked alongside Saeka to steal rations and food. Interrogations were going to hopefully get to the bottom of their racket.
  3. Yenwa, the man who had framed Gail Ren for the theft of tomes. It turned out that Gail was attracting the attention of a woman that Yenwa was in love with and moved to remove the obstacle in his way.
  4. A charlatan alchemist who was selling fake potions.
  5. A classless guard-in-training that stole the training equipment and was on the run.
Logan was becoming quite apt at using his hands and feet to take down those way below his power level, with Marcus spotting attacks faster and faster. Even though the two no longer needed guard witnesses, they did ask a few here or there to aid in carrying unconscious bodies to the guardhouse. With some of their work, they had also gone above and beyond when finding stolen goods, fake items, alongside information. When it came to their pay Logan was gifted, at his choice, an Alchemy tome by the name of ¡°Gaian Touch¡± and a Throwing tome titled ¡°Swift Toss¡±, both being valuable rewards. Earning 30 silver, Marcus getting 13, they had reached the fifteen mark milestone in a time that even made Jirango smile. He mentioned how he remembered previous spellcaster hunters doing similar work, identification spells being incredibly useful in hunts. Handing over 20 silver, Logan ordered his armband be updated to allow him to keep his summons active in the capital alongside an update to allow him to teleport at his discretion with the letters ¡°Sum¡± and ¡°Tp¡±. 32 quests done: 6 adventurers, 11 villagers, 15 hunters. Logan gained 250 XP, Marcus gained 50.
- Day 3 - With new books in hand, Logan spent eight hours reading both to completion, gaining the Alchemy skill and improving his Throwing skill. With each book, Logan saw his Reading skill also slowly increasing. Daydreaming of a day where he could finish a book in minutes, he snapped out of his train of thought as it came to work. With no more classless beings to apprehend, at least when it came to what the Gerro Guardhouse had listed, the two moved onto the lowest-ranked classed beings. Due to how the combat would function, having few enemies and quick fights, Logan kept Celsius out of the confrontations and focused on his other second-level spells. Picking up the apprehension hunts they moved onto subduing:
  1. Two Fighters of rank 1 that had stolen their families'' money and items to pay for their starting equipment.
  2. A rank 1 Knight that had beaten up a Wizard for not joining his quest, it was outside of a duel and kept secret by a group of other adventurers. Logan and Marcus brought in the whole gang of eight, though they would only be imprisoned for a few months, the Knight in question was going away for at least a year.
  3. A rank 1 Rogue that had overestimated his sneaking skills and was caught stealing from a local alchemy shop.
  4. Three rank 1 Devouts that had been bullying nearby classless into needlessly hiring their healing services at a church.
  5. An assumed spy that had been constantly scanning people and making notes. The rank 2 Sorcerer was caught with a 100-page diary of notes written in code. Several other items were also taken into evidence.
The difficulty had taken a slight step up, but with only fighting classed people of level 1 or 2 Logan didn¡®t have to worry much about taking damage. At the handing in of his final quest, he was happy to finally see a title pop-up in front of his face. ¡°You have gained the ¡®Hound Hunter¡¯ title.¡± ¡°Hound Hunter: The first distinguished form of hunters, as a hound your nose is sharpened to track down criminals wherever they may hide. Lawbreakers have started to hear your name in the criminal networks, whereas on the other side law-abiding citizens have grown to feel safe in your presence. You are awarded 5% extra money (minimum 1 copper) from successful hunting contracts and can more easily intimidate others. You have gained 1 skill point to distribute.¡± Keeping the skill point in reserve, for now, Logan would check out the library at a later time to see if he could just find tomes for the skills currently on his bookmark list. Picking up the total pay of 24 silver, with 10 for Marcus, Logan paid 10 silver for the final upgrade to his armband for a while, allowing him to use identification spells and abilities as he wished with the letters ¡°Id¡±. Though it did not give him permission to use it against officials, law persons, and nobility. Yet again, the pair were given some small bonuses for doing more than what was asked, especially when they brought in the whole gang of bully adventurers. Marcus was offered some training by the guards, a cheaper alternative than using a normal martial arts school and possibly a better experience. Logan had the pick of a few options but ended up getting a ¡°Necromantic Manual 1¡±, which was a specialized tome to increase one¡¯s mastery with the spell. It was in their evidence and lockup room, and since it was just gathering dust alongside Logan not wanting any of the items he had returned, it was the best choice for the Spellthief. 37 quests done: 6 adventurers, 11 villagers, 20 hunters. Logan gained 927 XP, Marcus 170.
- Day 4 - Finishing the Necromantic tome in a few hours, which improved it to tier 4, Logan and Marcus decided to have a day to break the routine. Marcus was going to investigate the martial training offered by Jirango, whereas Logan was going to take on a group of bandits outside the city. This hunt in particular would better suit Logan to go alone and utilize his Stealth, as well as using Essence Absorption as it was an extermination request. The hunt involved quite a number of foes, ranging from rank 1 to 3, including a few spellcasters. The spellcasters, in particular, were of importance to Logan as they were a way to progress his spells at a faster rate, and a wayward attack from Marcus or the inability to stealthily knock them out would wind up with him missing out on the absorption. As the marks were outside of the city a far way, Logan bought his first mount on Avanar. A beautiful brown horse named Carmen cost him 15 silver, plus 5 copper worth of feed for the day trip. Talking with Yetveka, Logan was assured his steed could be looked after at the inn¡¯s own attached stables with feed paid for by the hunter¡¯s association while it stayed there. With the number of hunts Logan and Marcus were handling it wasn¡¯t an issue for those services. Charging off into the distance, Logan made his way to a much longer hunt. One that could test him, if only a little bit. Fighting people 6 levels lower than he was would be easy, right? --- *** --- Chapter 50 - Qreil Bandits. Part 1 ¡°Qreil Bandits: A gang estimated to comprise of thirty members has been marauding in the vicinity of Gauntlet and the nearby settlements. Reports put them in the range of ranks 1 through 3 with varying qualities of gear. They have killed several starting adventuring groups and thus have several items that are befitting of adventurers. Alongside their murder of adventurers, they have attacked several trading caravans. Due to the long list of crimes, you may kill or apprehend who you wish from the group. A bonus will be rewarded for the apprehension of the leader for interrogation. Any effects that can be brought back should be handed over to the guards. Reward: 60 silver on the condition of returned goods.¡± A high-tier quest to be sure, at least compared to the other quests that had been handed down to Logan. Dena¡¯s hunt reward was 2 gold, which equated to 200 silver, and she was a level 10 Rogue. Though that quest was just for her alone and the items she had stolen, not her group. The pricing on hunter quests put another question into Logan¡¯s mind about the importance placed upon hunting people over monsters. The highest reward he had noticed thus far from Tinte was 1 gold for taking down the troll, though that also had the benefit of the troll¡¯s blood being used for alchemy so that was its own reward. Regardless of where importance lay, the rewards did jump up with the difficulty of each task, which Logan was all too happy to take. He did wonder why the guard hadn¡¯t taken care of the bandits, but the goblin war had put them on defensive alert. Preparing 1 Gaia, 1 Lightning, 3 Necromantic, 2 Sleep, and 1 Dimensional Jaunt, Logan was readying himself for potential self-healing and movement. With a skill point in reserve, he could also hastily spend it if he required it for the mission ahead, but he wasn¡¯t too worried yet.
Reaching the location of the bandits, following the circle on his map, Logan hitched up his horse, Carmen, a good distance away and within the camouflage of bushes near a tree. Taking a deep breath in, Logan mentally prepared for a stealth mission to take on a few dozen armed bandits. Memories of his first quest against goblins flooded his mind for a few seconds as he planned out how he would strike. Climbing a nearby tree, Logan jumped from one to another, his Stealth skill hushing his movements somewhat. Combining Identification with Echo Radar allowed him to notice threats way before they would notice him, though most came in the form of foxes and rabbits. It wasn¡¯t long till he found the entrance of their base. A small hill with a large maw was hidden amongst the trees, possibly an opening to a deeper mine shaft or dugout hole for past monsters. Standing guard were two Fighters of level 1, one with 12 HP, the other with 10. Picking out his eagle¡¯s eyeglass, Logan scouted through the hole in the hill for any further threats, but none were shown. Drawing his ashin daggers, Logan lined up the shots from atop the tree. With two swift motions, he flung the left and then the right, the daggers singing through the air in a straight trajectory. One thudded into the chest of the left guard who hit the hillside violently, the right getting struck in the shoulder as he faintly fell forwards. Damage numbers of 15 and 16 slowly flew above their bodies as Logan confirmed the defeats. Experience numbers quickly followed the damage as Logan slid down the tree he was perched on. Scanning the local area revealed a few boxes that had been crowbarred open, as well as a few horses hitched up to the right of the hill. Looking at the horses revealed them to also be a part of the ¡°item recovery¡±, so thoughts of selling or keeping them faded from his mind. Getting to the unconscious bodies of his foes, Logan gave another scan of the area with both his eyes and Echo Radar, before using Essence Absorption on both of them. Black and dark-green lines turned blue and purple as the bodies were vortexed into Logan¡¯s palms, rewarding him with an extra 17 and 18 experience. The ashin daggers fell to the floor with an almost silent rustle of grass. Logan¡¯s Throwing skill didn¡¯t go up by much, though he was aiming for neck shots so he technically missed where he was aiming, but at least he hit. Placing the enemies¡¯ effects into his inventory, Logan pressed on.
¡°Two down, twenty-eight to go¡±, Logan thought to himself as he descended into the hill cavern. With the aid of sunlight from the entrance, Logan didn¡¯t have any issues seeing within the entrance. Tough brown earthen walls on all sides, a circular hallway that sloped down somewhat. Eventually, Logan saw unlit torches that hugged an archway in the hall that led to a wider room. Though ¡°room¡± was a weird descriptor, as it was mostly a small partition that circled a hole going downwards. A few ladders led down into the hole, as well as several ropes and pulley systems with attached carts and wooden elevator panels. They looked a bit rushed, though definitely not monster-made, at least not in the mind of Logan. He assumed they must have been set up by the bandits to move gear around easier. Stopping just before the ladder room, Logan hugged the wall just like the torches, as he spotted another bandit sitting on the edge of the chasm. She was cutting into an apple and placing slices into her mouth at the tip of her knife. A level 2 Knight, possibly on break, though her rap sheet from the scan painted her background in blood. With 32 HP, she would take a few strikes, or a nicely planted Backstab and follow-up. Picking up a small rock, Logan tossed it with an overarm throw, the rock flying near the roof and hitting the opposite wall. An echoing sound of rock hitting rock and rolling around filled the room, the Knight turning her head to look at it. Logan sprinted forward and around, drawing his Spellthief¡¯s edge and ashin dagger, driving one into the side of the woman¡¯s head and another into her throat. Two floating Backstab words hovered over her as Logan dragged her to the floor. Having dealt 20 and 17 damage, the woman was unconscious but barely alive, her bleeding wasn¡¯t going to let her live much longer. Essence Absorption made sure she never got up again. After gaining another 36 XP, Logan saw the apple she had been eating had fallen to the floor below, it most likely made a noise but he was too occupied to have heard it at the time. With another set of gear in his inventory, Logan could only ponder if he would have the space for it all. Waiting atop the chasm for a minute or two, Logan scanned for any approaching bandits but was met with no new faces. Grabbing a rope he quickly slid down into the chasm. Landing at the bottom he saw several torches lighting up four passageways leading out from this point. The ladder room¡¯s bottom segment also showed a few metallic grates, possibly to drain and store any waters that made their way into the cavern. Echo Radar proved useful in the case of several passageways since it extended to 250 feet from his position his mini-map updated with the architecture of the caves and passages. It didn¡¯t reach the end of most of the passages, but at least one revealed a dead end with a doorless room. Inside of the room were three yellow dots. Sneaking onwards, Logan approached the next encounter.
The voices of the bandits flew down the halls to Logan as he got closer, a gruff voice saying, ¡°This is some good meat, you believe this stuff costs the same as a whole meal? Damn rich.¡± ¡°Got a whole crate full, cook said it won¡¯t last long so eat as much as you can¡±, another voice added in a higher pitch. The trio could be heard tearing into meat, their chewing and downing of drink creating a disgusting soundscape. Logan could also smell the ale on the air, mixed in with clothing that could do with a good wash. Getting within clear view of his foes, he saw them all sitting at a table, two facing away and one towards the Spellthief. Thankfully, the one who would have been able to see him had his vision blocked by one of the bandits, as well as his face digging into meat on his plate. The trio were all Rogues of level 2, meaning Logan would need to be decisive with his strikes. Sneaking up to the two on his side, Logan drew up his two blades and stabbed the Rogues in the back, their bodies hunching over as sharp objects entered them. Two large yelps of pain were followed by Logan dragging his weapons out, crossing his arms in between the bandits, and then thrusting them to the side as they dove into the sides of the Rogues¡¯ heads. Dropping his grip, the bodies fell on the table as the final Rogue stood up from his chair, the wood scratching the mud flooring. Throwing his two open palms at the foe, Logan exclaimed ¡°Force, Force¡±, expanding masses of grey energy forming in both shoulders and then firing like a railgun through his limbs out at the bandit. Two solid thuds hit into the Rogue as the energy balls exploded on both sides of his chest, the body being hurled to the far wall. The trio just barely lived against Logan¡¯s onslaught, though they sat at -7 to -9 HP, so it was certainly close and getting closer. Absorbing the bodies, Logan gained a further 48, 44, and 39 XP. Cleaning up his dirty work, Logan took a bite of the stolen meat, a succulent cut of raylen to his bet, but it was thicker and had a lingering taste of caramel. A nearby crate revealed enough to stock a tavern for a day, or bandits for a week. ¡°Was food their main target? Or just a side-effect of attacking caravans? It¡¯d be worrying if they had planned to move on from here, or if they were trying to aid whatever that spy I apprehended before was doing¡±, Logan pondered to himself. Finishing up the investigation of the room, and the defeat of a sixth of the enemy forces, Logan moved back to the ladder room.
As Logan was just entering the ladder room his Echo Radar picked up four approaching creatures from another hallway. Acting quick he jumped onto a ladder and started to climb out of view. His Backstabs were all on cooldown, so quick assassinations were out of the question unless he were to dip into his spell reservoir. Voices came with the approaching foes. ¡°Next raid is tomorrow, a trader headin'' up north. Contact said they¡¯d be cartin'' armour. Be a good haul, so make sure the storeroom is ready for some intake¡±, a low-pitch voice said. ¡°New duds are gonna be nice. This lot is all covered in blood¡±, another spoke in an energetic tone. ¡°Ay, spelly, you finished that book yet?¡± the low-pitch voice spoke again. ¡°Almost, some of the spells are intricate, it¡¯s taking time¡±, a more refined voice replied. ¡°We need those wall things to cut off retreats, want another runaway to call the guards?!¡± ¡°Well if I could just sit down and read for a few hours I¡¯d get it done qu-¡± Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°Asbella, fine! Go to the break room!¡± The bandits¡¯ arguing made it easy to hide above them as they moved into the bottom portion of the ladder room. The low-pitch man was a level 3 Fighter, followed by two level 2 Rogues and a level 2 Sorcerer. The Sorcerer was making his way to the room that Logan had just cleared, whereas the others were looking down another passageway. Stopping for a bit to chat, the Sorcerer was out of sight as one of the Rogues cranked their heads up. ¡°Hey Ta-¡± he started speaking but stopped as he noticed Logan¡¯s descent. Landing on top of the Rogue, Logan dived his two ashin daggers into the unsuspecting bandit¡¯s shoulders, bringing his limp body to the floor as Logan¡¯s feet landed solidly on the floor. Yanking the blades out, Logan hurled both at the other Rogue, digging deep into his chest as he fell backwards to the floor. ¡°Fuck me!¡± the Fighter shouted as he drew a large scimitar. Throwing his hand downwards Logan chanted, ¡°Force¡±, causing a powerful blast to hit the leg of the Fighter, forcing the man to almost fall to his face. Barely staying up as he fell to a kneeling position with another hand on the floor, Logan jumped forwards, grabbed the Fighter¡¯s face and pushed it to the floor behind him. A quick double jab of Logan¡¯s other dagger caused the Fighter to lose any resistance. ¡°-burn. Flame Shot¡±, the Sorcerer spoke, Logan only hearing the end of the incantation. Small specks of fire came hurtling towards him from the Sorcerer down the hall, though he was far enough away and noticed it just in time to counter with a clawed hand. ¡°Spell Absorption¡±, he commanded in his head, causing the Flame spell to get vortexed into the Spellthief¡¯s palm. ¡°Spell Absorption successful. Flame charge stored.¡± Logan stood tall as he glared over at the Sorcerer, his foe¡¯s eyes wide as his spell was completely nullified. ¡°Wha- Dispelling magic? Such a high ranked caster is here!?¡± he sputtered out. Running towards his foe, Logan made sure to give his quarry just enough time to cast another spell. ¡°Shocking bolts I command thee, crackle my foe to the bone. Lightning Shot¡±, he chanted, a mass of lightning arcs and arms forming from his staff to its tip. Cascading outwards as the chant was finished. Logan¡¯s outstretched hand caught it all as he commanded his skill once again, the lightning getting sucked up as if it were no issue. ¡°Spell Absorption successful. Lightning charge stored. Lightning has progressed to tier 4.¡± Dashing through the display of azure light, Logan slashed out with his Spellthief¡¯s edge, cutting deep into the Sorcerer¡¯s chest. The single attack caused the Sorcerer to fall heavily to the floor in a slump, blood soaking into the mage¡¯s robes. Experience floated over the bodies as Logan placed his hand onto the Sorcerer¡¯s face. The shattering of glass was prominent as the black lines of Essence Absorption penetrated the mind of the spellcaster, draining his knowledge and life force into Logan, granting him further prowess. ¡°Absorption of foe complete. Calculating reward¡­¡± ¡°57 absorbed experience, Lightning and Necromantic have been learnt. Lightning has progressed to tier 5, Necromantic has progressed to tier 5.¡± Another tier gained for Necromantic put it on par with some of his other damaging spells, if not for Lightning pulling ahead again with that gaining more power. Since Necromantic stated "very minor damage" and his normal spells stated "minor damage" Logan was keeping an eye on their actual damage. The lower power output was offset in the fact that Necromantic spells would heal Logan. Seeing how quick he could fully master spells made Logan wonder if this was the true potential of a Spellthief since mastery only went to tier 10 for spells, at least from his knowledge. Not planning to think too much about his current state, Logan moved to absorb the others and gather their gear. His initial target had died, so he only gained 71 and 22 extra XP. It was slow progress, but still faster than his work in the city. Sitting at 42,515 / 45,000 XP meant it was going to be a close call if he reached level 10, but the rewards outside of those he had to return were going to make up for that possibility, Logan hoped. ¡°That¡¯s ten, twenty left.¡±
Taking the path that the bandits were going to head towards, Logan noticed his first two Backstabs finished their cooldowns, giving him a better chance at finishing the next fight faster. Echo Radar was also pulling its weight in alerting Logan to almost everything ahead of him, alongside plenty of vermin that could be ignored. This hallway was ending in yet another dead-end, at least from what it could map out, showing a larger room with several objects that resembled beds. Seven individuals were inside the room, though they could have been beasts that the bandits had trained without seeing them. The room was blocked by a shoddily set wooden door, fitting snuggly into a rock wall that divided the sections of the caverns. With a lit torch on this side, Logan crept to the door to peer through cracks in the door as it lacked any form of a keyhole. The same cracks had allowed Echo Radar to map the room out. The Spellthief could only assume the door was to cut out some noise and allow those inside to sleep better. Through the use of Identification, Logan spotted six bandits at level 1 and a single level 2, a mix of Fighters and Rogues. Even though Logan had a charge of Flame and Lightning from his last fight, those spells would kill pretty much anyone in one hit within this room, which left him outta luck for absorption experience. Double-checking the hallway he had come down, he was sure no one was going to approach in any short time, so the best he could do was storm the bunks. Keeping his hands loose at his sides, Logan gave a solid kick at the door, smashing it open and crushing the wood against the divider wall. Bandits jumped up in surprise as Logan raised his hands and let loose blast after blast of Force micks at his foes. Each hit dealt a solid 15 damage, knocking the level 1s out in destructive pushback displays. The bandits could only hope to jump from their beds and chairs, fumbling around for arms and shields to protect themselves. But in the confusion and hurried nature of the encounter, many didn¡¯t even get the chance to grasp a handle. The ones who were able to were just met with a blast of magic to the chest or face, returning them to their beds or even the floor. The final level 2 charged at Logan and had enough time to close the gap with a raised cutlass, swinging it down with such force that it whistled in the air. Logan side-stepped without issue and retaliated with a fierce punch to the bandit¡¯s nose, breaking it, and following up with a double jab into the man¡¯s back. The Backstab confirmation text was followed by the yellow writing floating over Logan¡¯s quarries. Absorbing the entire group and collecting gear, Logan counted another 24, 18, 17, 14, 14, 13, 13 XP to add to his reward. If the group had time to prepare Logan could have taken a few hits, several crossbows and longbows were strewn about the room near barrels full of bolts and arrows. A hail from thirty of those would spell doom for most any caravan. Seventeen sets of gear were getting too much for Logan¡¯s 500lb inventory to handle, so he pre-emptively stored the armour within a nearby crate that he could pulley up or shift around when he was done. The bandits wouldn¡¯t mind a carriage or cart being taken to move the stuff back to Gauntlet if they were all dead. Logan¡¯s victory was cut short towards the end of his looting, however, as an echoing voice reached the bunks from down the hall. ¡°Hey! Oila, Keev, where the fuck is everyone? You better not be playing poker in the bunks again!¡± an authoritative voice shouted. Quickly retrieving his monocular, Logan peered towards the ladder room, he immediately spotted a level 4 Knight accompanied by two level 3 Sorcerers. Even with Logan¡¯s level difference, a spell from a caster would hurt like hell and there were two approaching alongside a Knight that was going to take up his attention. ¡°Qreil: Knight 4, 88/88 HP, 0/0 MP. The leader of a group of bandits simply referred to as Qreil Bandits. After getting the taste of free food and the piles of money that came with mugging, Qreil set his sights on bigger goals with others at his back to bring in the big hauls. Has killed more people than the years he has been alive, with many wanting his head for atrocities. Estimated to have been working as a criminal for three months..¡± Logan was going to read further but the brute was already on his way towards the bunks. Shining metal armour that dazzled in the torchlight, clinking chains from the chainmail underneath, and the shaking of a huge axe on his back underneath a large shield. The man¡¯s head was free to the wind, short brown hair hugging his dome that showed his balding stage. With his monocular still in use, Logan incanted, ¡°Dimensional Jaunt¡±, to which his body vibrated and compressed with a small shockwave left in his previous spot. Appearing again as his body whirred into existence with another wind blast, Logan clambered onto the Knight, hand grasping the foe¡¯s face. ¡°Fuck!¡± Qreil shouted as his back hit the floor. ¡°Sleep Grasp!¡± Logan yelled, his hand exploding into a dance of sand and dandelions. With the incapacitation magics working their way into the mouth, nose, eyes, and ears of Qreil, Logan could already see its effects at play. Qreil¡¯s eyes shuddered a bit before closing, the man going into a deep slumber. The nearby Sorcerers took steps back as they saw their leader fall so quickly, their hands and mouths making motions to begin a counterattack. Though Logan wasn¡¯t going to let a spell catch him unawares. Gliding his hand over the floor from left to right, Logan chanted again, ¡°Flame Wall¡±, the floor bubbling up with lava and shooting to the ceiling hot jets of flames. Dealing a considerable 18 damage to both, close to what Logan calculated as Wall alterations reduced the damage by half, the Spellthief kicked off of Qreil to punch the right Sorcerer to the floor outside of the Flame Wall, and darted to the left to kick the other onto the side that Qreil slept on. Logan wasn¡¯t in the fire for long, but he still singed himself for 16, he didn¡¯t expect his own spell to hurt him but he hadn¡¯t experimented with it thus far. The flames danced in front of him as the underground started to heat up, thankfully the sound of combat did not reach any other threat, the comforting yellow text confirming Logan was out of combat. Breathing a sigh of relief, Logan took a few seconds to cool off after the encounter, sitting with his back leant up against the rock wall. A click of his fingers returned only the unconscious bodies near him as well as scurrying vermin in his immediate area. The Jaunt into Sleep was risky, but Logan was confident it would work, taking down a foe before they could deal damage or soak up further casts. This way Logan could also bring in a bonus for capturing the boss, Identification making it easy to pick him out of a group. The fire spell eventually died down, signalling Logan to clean up his dirty work, absorbing the two Sorcerers. ¡°Absorption of foe complete. Calculating reward¡­¡± ¡°84, 78 absorbed experience, Aqua, Frost, Gaia, Infuse, Infuse, Wind, and Wind have been learnt. Aqua has progressed to tier 3, Frost has progressed to tier 3, Gaia has progressed to tier 3, Infuse has progressed to tier 3-tier 4, Wind has progressed to tier 2-tier 3.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 51 - Qreil Bandits. Part 2 Looking over Qreil, Logan was certain the Sleep spell was working as intended. At his current level, the spell would last for 90 minutes though it could end early if Qreil took a singular hit of 10 damage or was to be drenched in cold water. On the off chance he would waken before Logan was to come back for him, the Spellthief took the bandit¡¯s axe, shield, and trinkets. Tying him with some rope, Logan carried the mark back to the bunks to hide him away. With a timer in his status windows, Logan would be alerted when the spell was going to run out. Counting himself lucky to have taken down the leader ahead of the rest of the gang, Logan was raring to remove the rest from the underground. With twenty dealt with there was an estimated ten remaining.
Returning to the ladder room, Logan had two more hallways to investigate. The ping of two Backstabs becoming available meant he was ready to knock more bandits out. After using his charge of Flame, a Lightning was still kicking about from Spell Absorption, and using a Wall alteration could come in handy if there was a group of level 2s. Following the hallway that the bandits hadn¡¯t come from revealed it to be a winding corridor that was seemingly going downwards. Logan could only fathom why it was cut in such a way, though the slivers of copper in the wall could have alluded to some good ore mining. The sound of creaking wood, grunting humans, and slamming of heavy containers ahead clued Logan in on the location. Echo Radar painted the upcoming room to be quite large, even more than the two previous rooms combined. A storage house of crates, barrels, and piles of rocks. Sliding across the wall as if he were playing an old stealth game, Logan slowly moved his head to the edge to look around the corner. His caution was rewarded as he saw what was ahead. A giant storage room, possibly a combination of several raids, from food that would last the bandits for months if they didn¡¯t go off, to mountains of gear that needed to be sorted. Moving the ill-gotten goods were a total of eleven bandits, ranging from level 1 to 3, a mix of Knights, Fighters, and Rogues. One more than reported, though with the loot they had gained it wasn¡¯t going to be hard to persuade others into their gang. It could get bad with the ranged capabilities of the bandits, alongside ganging up on a single Spellthief allowing them to possibly grapple and pin Logan. The containers stacked high meant that ranged combat would be difficult for Logan, the crates stacked up to fifteen feet high and scraping the ceiling. He would have to approach this differently, and the idea of his stealthy approach sparked a lightbulb in his head. Proceeding onwards, Logan crept to a tall stack of crates, with another nearby that was precariously stacked. Leaning around the edges, Logan made sure no one was watching, then gave a swift jumping kick to the shoddy stack. Darting off to the far right wall Logan was out of sight by the time the highest crate had come tumbling down, the crashing of wood and clanking of metal across the floors alerted the entire room. ¡°The fucks going on over there?¡± one voice shouted. ¡°Alright, speak up, who fucked up that stack?¡± another added. ¡°I¡¯m not cleaning it up¡±, a lower-pitch voice declared. The arguing of voices amongst crates filled the room with violence, which Logan was going to add his own flavour of. Using Echo Radar allowed him to utilize his mini-map to find separated bandits with good cover. The first one he found was facing in the direction of the noise, his own yell having just finished for another to fill the air. Stepping up, Logan kicked at the leg of the bandit, gave a solid normal stab into the man¡¯s back, and placed his hand over the bandit¡¯s face, ¡°Essence Absorb¡±, he commanded in his head. As he had thought, due to the combative nature of this room, Logan was not going to be rewarded experience until it was cleared or he was out of danger, which didn¡¯t worry him too much. The vortex motion of the body completed and Logan quickly threw the gear into his inventory. The noise of his skill and the falling of equipment might have alerted someone to his presence, but combined with the yelling and movement of other items it was drowned out. Striking a Backstab into another Bandit, Logan absorbed her out of sight. Grappling a man to the floor followed by a double jab and absorption, an unsuspecting man was gone. Throwing a rock at a crate allowed Logan to surprise another woman with a double jab into her spine and following absorption. With each foe he defeated the room became quieter, the ruckus of the entrance dying down as the four members tidied the mess up. Thankfully the metallic contents continued to make clunky noises. Grabbing the back of another¡¯s head, drawing them back, and giving a solid strike to the chest led to the defeat of the fifth bandit, leaving only six. Logan was alerted to two more Backstabs becoming available, which he swiftly used on the remaining two deserted bandits, absorbing them without much resistance as a Backstab slash with the Spellthief¡¯s edge dealt a hearty 20 to 24 damage which could take down most level 2 foes unless they were Knights, in which case he would follow up with another strike. His plan was going smoothly, but with the final bandit away from the entrance falling, the others started to notice the silence. Standing up, one of the bandits raised his hand at the others to stop. ¡°Hey, did it just get real quiet?¡± he asked in a low-pitch worried voice. ¡°Fuckers! You better not be taking breaks!¡± another man shouted without turning his head. ¡°No, he¡¯s right. They¡¯d be talking if they weren¡¯t working¡±, a woman added firmly as they also stood up. ¡°A llac ot smra si tahw?¡± a male Rogue shouted. A few seconds passed before his face became serious, ¡°Fuck, something¡¯s happened¡±, he followed up as he drew his blades. ¡°Fuck you mean? You know I don¡¯t speak that thief speech¡±, the first man blared out as he looked at his combat-ready ally. ¡°Reunissa would not fail to answer that phrase, now draw your fucking weapons¡±, the Rogue insisted. ¡°Whatever, if it is trouble who the hell could get in here anyway?¡± the woman spoke as she drew her scimitar. ¡°Think it¡¯s earth elementals?¡± the second man asked. Their conversation continued, hushed by the Rogue, as they started to move into the crate maze. Logan was only too aware of their locations with the use of Echo Radar, though he couldn¡¯t keep using it as he had to make a sound to utilize the skill. With the silence of an interior, however, his Stealth would have to be at its best to avoid detection in the lulls of conversation. Circling the gang, Logan got to their backs and proceeded to hug the edge of his wall of crates. Their heads darted from left to right as they looked down the pseudo hallways constructed by crates, their agitation becoming fully realised as none of their allies were to be seen. Darting outwards, Logan alerted the Knight at the back as his Stealth failed him only as he stopped it. Throwing his hand forwards across the floor he shouted, ¡°Lightning Wall¡±, to which the floor sparked several times before large columns of blue arcs shot upwards, almost reaching the ceiling. ¡°Shit!¡± many of the bandits exclaimed in response, three of them getting caught in the torrent of electricity. Jumping forwards, Logan gave a swift kick at the Knight and then a solid punch into a Fighter, sending them out of the wall of magic to the floor unconscious. The remaining Fighter and Rogue had moved out of the way of the spell and started to charge down the ambushing Spellthief. Clashing his dagger with the sword of the Fighter created sparks of their own in the air, as well as combining a slam of metal with the crackling of the lightning next to them. Followed by a whoosh of air and the repeated stamping of feet, the Rogue used their Dash skill to circumvent the two and get to Logan¡¯s back, stabbing the Spellthief deep into his spine. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Kicking backwards, Logan hit the Rogue¡¯s arm and staggered him. Throwing out his hand towards his rear foe Logan chanted, ¡°Necromantic Shot¡±, his arm being covered in black tendrils and fluid. Shooting out were several black tentacles as they stabbed into the Rogue, absorbing his lifeforce and transferring it to Logan. The Rogue went pale as his frame shrunk and fell to the floor unconscious. The healing from the spell offset the damage dealt from the Backstab, the Fighter growing furious at the sight of his fallen ally. Bringing up a shining blade that followed a cry of ¡°Power Strike¡±, it was brought down to Logan. Jumping backwards allowed him to dodge the blow and return it with a Force mick to the face and another to the leg, knocking the Fighter to the floor as well as knocking him out. With the final foe defeated, the experience numbers started to pop up, Logan felt relieved he came out of the conflict not much worse than he had entered. ¡°Level up! Gain: 8 HP, +1 Str, +1 Agi, +1 Con, +1 Int. You have 1 attribute point to spend. Several class skills have become available.¡± The levelling window had become a normal occurrence to Logan at this point, the gamelike progression he was gaining was almost the norm for a man who was much more used to spreadsheets. However, the mention of skills piqued Logan¡¯s curiosity and excitement. Asking the System to find the new additions led to the opening of several windows showing the different skills. ¡°Summon Mastery: Increase the level cap of creatures from summoning spells. Summon Horde: Increase the limit of how many creatures can be active at a time from summoning spells. Charge Transfer: Allows the transference of spell charges from Spell Absorption to MP. MP Thievery: Give up Backstab damage to instead drain MP from a target. Status Disturbance: Grants the ability to disrupt a beneficial spell on a target. Stealth Attack: Increase Backstab damage if targets are unaware and out of combat.¡± The number of options now available to Logan skyrocketed in comparison to the bookmarks he had already set up. Six skills stood out to him, but plenty more had branched off of his other skills that granted new styles of using the skills or added some additional benefit to their use. Looking over the advertisement text, Logan¡¯s mind went wild at thinking of the possibilities behind each one. He was wary that some were worse than they sounded, Summon Mastery might increase the level cap anywhere from one to ten, changing its viability immensely depending on how much it actually went up. Though the mention of a level cap did warn Logan that his second-level spell would eventually lose its lustre if Celsius was capped. Now wasn''t the time for planning though, Logan still had a job to do and there was potential for more enemies to be laying in wait at the final hallway. Absorbing the remaining bodies, though one had died, Logan tallied up the XP he gained from absorption at 82, 73, 62, 56, 54, 52, 42, 32, 22, and 12. The number of enemies over level 1 certainly helped to bring him into the new realm of power, alongside the ability to absorb their unconscious bodies for 2% of their accrued experience. Since this was the second of two abilities that the Spellthief had that was unique, was it that much easier for him to stay hidden as an oracle? Many of the ones written about in the history books seemingly announced their powers or were found out eventually, but theirs were more flashy and commonly used. Trying to dig the questions deep in his head, Logan returned to the ladder room, using Clean on his gear as to not stink up the area with blood and burning.
Traversing the final hall led Logan into a modest room behind another oak door, though there were no more signs of hostiles around. Investigating the room further revealed it to be the leader¡¯s war room, large maps with notes of trading routes and common quest areas alongside documentation of times to attack. Qreil had done his homework, and it seemed like he indeed had spies working in Gauntlet. One book had the same code as the spy that Logan apprehended earlier. The information at hand was worrying, if the gang had been allowed to work much longer they would have proved to be an even worse threat. An attack plan on a magical tradesman was set for the following week, and with a slew of trinkets at their disposal, the gang would have put up much more of a fight. Looking over their current goods, the bandits wouldn¡¯t see much trouble with a guard patrol or small attack force even with their lower levels. On the other hand, Logan was curious as to why this kind of mission wasn¡¯t picked up by adventurers more often. Thirty targets, plenty of loot after what was returned, hell even if the horses were given as a bonus that would set up plenty of adventurers for longer journeys. A good few high-rank Knights could take this place easily, with some Fighters or Rogues to deal with the mages in the back. Sighing at the state of affairs, Logan was confident that he had taken down the bandit gang. His stealthy approach allowed him to do it faster than he had anticipated, with barely a scratch or two on him after it was all said and done. Returning to Qreil with a few documents in hand, Logan stripped the leader of his armour now that the Spellthief had the time and safety to do so.
Carting the body to the exit was easy enough with the rope and pulley systems, simply dumping the body into a box and pulling on a rope at the top a few times brought him right up. Setting a cart with two of the stolen horses was easy, Logan placing two full inventory loads alongside the captive over a few back-and-forth motions. He didn¡¯t want to take everything, as there was far too much for a single ride, leaving the rest for a guard squad. The travel back to Gauntlet was a bit longer than his travel to the bandit cavern, as the horse-driven cart was slowing down his traversal. Logan had tied the horse he used to get to the cave to the cart and it was following behind as Logan steered the two horses at the front of the cart. It wasn¡¯t long before Qreil awoke in the back, squashed between several crates with tied limbs. Biting down on the rope that was in his mouth, the bandit could only let out grunts and muffled yells. ¡°Calm down, Qreil, not long till you¡¯ll be comfy in a jail cell¡±, Logan spoke back tauntingly. Muffled growls and taunts were all that could be given in response, complemented by a beaming red face. It was obvious that Qreil was trying to activate some of his skills, but it would seem all of his required verbal commands, so flashes of colour were all he could muster. ¡°If you don¡¯t keep quiet I¡¯ll put you to sleep again¡±, Logan warned. A bashing of a knee into a crate followed by a yelping moan put Qreil into a more passive state. Pleading eyes were being shot at the back of Logan¡¯s head, but he wasn¡¯t about to turn around and give the bandit leader the time of day, or night as it was turning.
The rubbing of rope on wood shards and the grating of teeth on his gag didn¡¯t lead Qreil any closer to escape as the large city walls came into his view. A final desperate escape attempt saw the guards up ahead raise their spears and call over at Logan who looked quite strange in this situation. ¡°Halt, state your busi-¡± the guard started but was cut off as he noticed the moonlight glint off Logan¡¯s armband lettering, ¡°Oh¡­ Hunter business?¡± he finished in a more defeated manner. ¡°Yes, caught a bandit leader. Mind accompanying me to the guardhouse?¡± Logan responded calmly. The two guards looked at one another, the left woman nodding at the right man who moved over and clambered onto the passenger¡¯s side. Confirming the contract, the pair continued on into the city, the guard keeping an eye on a restless Qreil who was almost out of his crate prison, though with tied limbs he wasn¡¯t going to get far. Finding their way to the Gerro Guardhouse, the guard pulled the cart up to the side of the building while Logan brought Qreil into the interior. The doors opened up to the young face of Jivvy, who had become a common sight for Logan at this point. A man in his late teens, possibly seventeen, who was the grandson of Jirango¡¯s older cousin. Short black hair hidden in the night with shimmering blue eyes welcomed Logan into the guardhouse. ¡°Hello, Logan. Coming in with a prize I see¡±, Jivvy spoke as he opened up his ledger. Throwing Qreil to the floor Logan stood up and stretched his limbs, ¡°Only the best for you, Jivvy. This will be Qreil, I brought back some of his gang¡¯s gear but their base had a bit more than I could bring back on my own.¡± ¡°Amazing work, did you kill the whole gang by yourself?¡± ¡°Yeah, plenty were only rank 1 so a Force mick was enough to bring down a good portion. My spells did the rest¡±, Logan half lied. ¡°Well, you¡¯re good for it I am sure. No truth test needed¡±, Jivvy accepted with a shocked yet happy expression. ¡°I will have to process this leader and the goods, we¡¯ll send a night shift over to their base if you can give us a good estimate of its location. Due to the amount of gear, as you claim, it may take some time to grant an appropriate bonus.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine, I will come check tomorrow evening for that. Do you need anything else before I head off?¡± ¡°No, that should be it all, plus your standard pay and signet update.¡± Logan scribbled down some notes on a piece of parchment while Jivvy counted out coins into two pouches. Alongside the documents, Logan handed over his side while he took his reward of 90 silver, 30 more than advertised due to bringing Qreil in alive. With the handover complete, Logan rode his horse back to the inn to get some well-deserved rest.
Yetveka was ever watchful as her shift was coming to an end, gazing up to the opening door she waved at Logan. Confirming the horse stabling, Yetveka also mentioned that Marcus was already in their shared room. The Devout was apparently worn out from a day of training and so hadn¡¯t come down since. Making his own way to the room, Logan saw his ally sprawled out on his bed in a deep sleep. Gear was on the floor beside him as well as a towel on a nearby table, showing that Marcus had soaked before his slumber. Letting his ally get the rest he needed, Logan spent a few moments looking over his skills before also retiring for the night. --- *** --- Chapter 52 - New Avenues - Day 5 - Awakening to the comforting sound of chirping birds, Logan sat up in his bed to see Marcus already preparing for departure. Their plans extended for the rest of the week, their stay at the inn secured for several weeks, reaching into months, now. ¡°How¡¯d training go yesterday?¡± Logan asked groggily. ¡°Morning. Exhausting, but I can see the benefits of professional teachings. The sparring matches I was subject to showed me just how wide the gap is that inexperience causes.¡± ¡°I take it the training goes faster with the ability to heal?¡± ¡°That it does, sadly I cannot recover stamina though. We still need to take breathers here and there.¡± ¡°Any clue on how long you¡¯ll be taking courses with them?¡± ¡°Months at the least, up to a year or three, depending on how our adventures go from here¡±, Marcus responded with a calculating expression. ¡°That based on Wallace or your own skill?¡± Logan spoke, remembering the terminology of the Ava tongue. ¡°They sized me up, Strength and innate ability.¡± ¡°A better assessment then. Well, good luck with your training today, I¡¯m most likely going to do some shopping and reading.¡± ¡°May your day go well too, Logan.¡± Splitting up for the day, Logan spent ten minutes bringing Celsius back into the world. A large stretch of embers followed his forming of flames, turning to look at his master. ¡°Ah, been a long time since I got to work the limbs. We off to fight some baddies, boss?¡± ¡°Maybe not today, but I¡¯d like to have you out and active for that eventuality. This armband here means you can engage in duels with me¡±, Logan spoke as he pointed at the ¡°Sum¡± lettering on his hunter¡¯s armband. ¡°Thinking we¡¯ll face cunts out and about?¡± Celsius replied as if he knew the internal anger that Logan held. ¡°Not really, they haven¡¯t approached me in just under a week. I think the armband does the job most of the time. Though saying that, I haven¡¯t heard much need for a caster lately, so if the need arises I am sure someone will be forcing my services.¡± Emulating a boxing stance Celsius punched the air, ¡°I can take ''em down, Logan.¡± Sharing a familial laugh between the Spellthief and elemental, the pair set off for the town after grabbing a bite to eat. Celsius just stood there watching as his master dined on food. Yetveka was about to question the summon, but seeing the armband halted any such questions.
The first port of call for Logan was that of the bookshop he had visited before, on his journey there he could feel watchful eyes and whispers as Logan passed by with his elemental on full display. Some had the thought that he was a noble or rich merchant who could afford such a creature, while others were able to identify his hunter¡¯s armband. Most guards didn¡¯t even stop to investigate after seeing an armband, assuming the right lettering was on display. Entering the book shop had the stone golems shake slightly at Logan¡¯s entrance, though he did tell Celsius to stand guard outside to be polite to the shopkeeper. With some directions, Logan began to peruse the tomes to find anything relating to the newly available skills in his status. Since the bookshop was so large, it had tomes relating to almost every aspect of the classes, at least for the first twenty or so levels. Logan quickly found the tome for Stealth Attack, priced at 20 gold. While it was within grasp, it would be highly weird for a Wizard to be buying a Rogue tome. Logan also wasn¡¯t known to be travelling with a Rogue nor close enough to one to buy a 20 gold tome for. It was no surprise that there were no tomes for the Spellthief specific abilities Charge Transfer, MP Thievery, and Status Disturbance. Though the summoning skills were available in tome form. ¡°Summon Mastery Manual 1¡± was priced at 2 gold, with the manuals after that being 1 gold more expensive after the last. ¡°Summon Horde Manual 1¡± was 5 gold and increased by 5 gold for the following manuals. Since Celsius hadn¡¯t reached any sort of level limitation as of yet, Logan was fine to hold off on the mastery tome. However, having two elementals at a time would allow Logan to absorb more spells for his own use, combining it with Charge Transfer would mean he could spend them as he wished. Finding another tome for Safecasting at 1 gold, Logan was spoilt for choice on what he could be learning. Spoilt so much he was having to calculate how much money he could put together in a short amount of time to buy the tomes. Adding bookmarks and notes in his status, Logan left to the markets. Since Logan didn¡¯t want to be spending days crafting armour he sold the wolf pelts he had been storing to this point. Seven shoddy and nine common pelts earned him 18 silver which was spent on components to craft trinkets. While he would outgrow armour, trinkets would stay with him for much longer and the higher that skill was the better bonuses he would see. Buying up the components also meant he could make trinkets in hours.
Returning to the inn, Logan retired to room three to work on crafting trinkets, bringing back fond memories of his time at Tinte. After buying a single shoddy wolf fang to bring his store up to twenty-one, Logan spent the next few hours crafting wolf fang rings. After the first two which were of shoddy quality, a window appeared before Logan informing him his Trinket Craft skill had improved. While it didn¡¯t allude to the increase in chances for his crafting, Logan didn¡¯t notice if they had even increased. Four more shoddy rings ended up with a single common ring. While the chances of quality hadn¡¯t seemed to increase, the time taken certainly decreased. One hour crafts went down to fifty-four minutes. Saving himself a half-hour, Logan moved on to crafting a final item for the day. Finishing the crafting session with a common gobbo-ear necklace, Logan took his bundle of goods to the markets to sell them off to varying merchants. In total, he was able to take home 52 silver after haggling. As the day moved into evening, Logan took a stroll over to the Gerro Guardhouse to see what other sort of bonus he would be getting from his performance.
The guardhouse was abuzz with activity, the stolen cart, carriages, and horses filled the outside alleyway of the building with traders and officials coming and going regularly. Moving inside showed a similar sight, the interior had several tables and chairs set up for civilians to chat with members of the guard, handing over goods by the crate load. They certainly wasted no time in getting back their stock or getting hold of an inheritance. Thankfully, Jirango wasn¡¯t as busy as many of his staff members were engaging with the visitors at this time. The captain of the guardhouse was most likely more geared towards sorting out the hunting contracts and prisoners rather than coin and gear. Moving over towards him, Jirango stood up and prepared a crate on the table. ¡°Good timing, the effects you saved were numerous but with some extra hands and eager merchant aid, we were able to sift through almost all of it. You did good, and the difficulty was higher than reported, plus, you didn¡¯t hold anything for yourself as far as we could tell¡±, Jirango spoke as he started to pull out a few items. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°I didn¡¯t feel it necessary to steal anything, I knew you¡¯d give me extra for the work done¡±, Logan responded with a smile. Jirango took a second and returned the smile at the hunter, ¡°Good, we could do with more hunters like you. Anyway, onto your bonus, you can pick out two of these items for yourself, I took the liberty of finding items that would be readily acceptable to you¡±, Jirango paused for a second before pointing at a few other items to the side, ¡°if you wish to pick from these, however, you can only have one.¡± Pointing to the items Jirango gave a short explanation of each and allowed Logan to use his Identification on them as he pleased. Logan didn¡¯t need permission, but it was a formality while within a guard-aligned building. The items on offer ranged from trinkets to weapons, some tools were also jumbled in with the combat-oriented gear. Looking over the items for a short while Logan settled on an item from the pile he could only take one from. It wasn¡¯t the most outwardly powerful item, though it would be one that could aid Logan down the line as reductions stacked onto each other. The ring was one of the more expensive items on display too, so if he ever felt he needed some quick money he wouldn¡¯t be saddened if he were separated from it. Slipping the ring onto his left index finger Logan was now at four rings of his own. Since the ring was only common quality, Logan wondered just how low it could bring summoning times. If he were able to summon in an instant, he could certainly treat some encounters differently. At six minutes Logan could summon two creatures in almost the time it took to summon one previously, when he bought the tomes to do so of course. Packing away the other items Jirango spoke again, ¡°Ah, we¡¯ve had that one in lock up for a while. No one came to pick it up so you¡¯ll be fine to take it for yourself.¡± ¡°If you ever come across spell rings, mind keeping those back for me too? Or items that grant spellforce?¡± ¡°Can do, from the looks of the documents you brought back Qreil was going to have some of those in his gang after another raid.¡± Logan let out an internal sigh as he weighed up the chance of getting spell rings against the bandits having more power to fight against to get them. A tap on his shoulder had Logan turn to face a thankful merchant who had a small crate nestled under his curled arm. ¡°Excuse me, you¡¯re the hunter that brought back my wares right?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m Logan¡±, the Spellthief replied as he held out a hand. Shaking the hand quickly the merchant continued, placing the crate into Logan¡¯s open arms, ¡°Wonderful work you did, sir. This meat won¡¯t last another trip so I¡¯d like you to have it. Good for three days I wager.¡± Looking over the crate Logan identified it as the meat he had snatched a strip of in the caverns. ¡°Oh, thank you. I was wondering what this was actually.¡± ¡°That there is Oxom meat, a dog-like creature that roams beaches and the like. They are great on land for being sea animals¡±, the merchant explained. ¡°I¡¯ll see what the cook at our inn can do with it.¡± ¡°Enjoy it best you can, you deserve it after making a 3 gold loss only turn into a half gold loss.¡± The merchant said his final appreciation before leaving through the door with staff in tow. The mention of gold clued Logan into the value held within the cavern, though his thievery instincts were diluted by the fact it¡¯d be turning him into more of a criminal. Taking his own leave, Logan returned to the Meek Moat Inn.
Placing the crate of meat onto the counter of the inn, Logan called out for Yetveka who was in the back room. Getting back to the counter, Logan explained what the crate contained and to prepare a feast for the customers tonight with it. With the evening sorted, Logan went up to his room to await the meal. Calculating his current finances, Logan had a solid 7 gold in his pocket to spend on gear or tomes. He would need to spend exactly 8 gold to get the three tomes he wanted, however, if Logan was going to be training up a second elemental he wasn¡¯t going to be needing an increase in their level cap anytime soon, cutting the price down to 6 gold. Plans were shifting in his head as new avenues were opening up to him. Interrupting his planning phase, Marcus entered the room as an overworked trainee once again. Passing pleasantries, Marcus retired to a hot bath before joining Logan downstairs for the feast that was awaiting them.
Several tables had been pushed together allowing for a group meal between the customers of the Meek Moat Inn. The saeber that had been resting by the fireplace was sitting like a cat awaiting a treat at the head of the table, while several humans and gashriek lined the sides. Plates of varying meat styles donned the table, from steak cuts to legs, accompanied by steaming vegetables and sauces. ¡°This feast is granted by our newest hunters, Logan and Marcus¡±, Yetveka announced with a raised tankard. ¡°From food we dine, and friendship we form¡±, everyone spoke in unison before taking a drink. Logan and Marcus did the same, Logan reading about this form of ¡°cheers¡± in his lexicon. The patrons dug into their meals with forks and knives, the saeber doing the same as their opposable thumbs allowed them to eat like any other humanoid. One of the humans turned to Logan from the opposite side, starting a conversation with an energetic voice, ¡°So, you¡¯re the new hound. I saw you come and go a few times, thought you might¡¯ve just liked our hostess¡±, he said as he pointed at Yetveka. ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ve been here just under a week. Got a duel-quest forced onto us, so the hunts help to stop people wanting to do so again¡±, Logan explained. The man cleared his mouth of sauce before continuing, his rugged face could probably have done with the colour since his grey hair wasn¡¯t exactly painting him to be full of life. ¡°A week and already taken down a bandit group? Either they were stupid or you¡¯re stupid strong. Mage right?¡± A few of the other patrons had turned to face the pair conversing, showing interest in the discussion. ¡°Wizard, Marcus is a Devout.¡± Another woman chimed in, from what Logan could tell she was a gashriek Devout specialising in quarterstaff attacks. ¡°Ah, a slotter. No wonder you can take down so many, you¡¯re full of spell casts a day aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°From what I gather about double that of spellies¡±, Logan informed. ¡°That is what I have heard also, with a lack of Wizards it¡¯s hard to gauge though. You¡¯re only the fifth I¡¯ve met¡±, the lady continued, her yellow eyes glancing over between her bites. ¡°So, you¡¯re Logan and that¡¯s Marcus. Nice to have you on the team. I¡¯m Gaemo, that¡¯s Wriske¡±, the human announced as he held his hand to his chest and pointed towards the gashriek lady. ¡°That¡¯s Sincollo, no clue when he goes hunting though¡±, he finished as he pointed at the saeber. ¡°A good hunter doesn¡¯t let their presence get out before handing in a mark¡±, the saeben replied with a gruff, growly voice. The sabertooth-like creature had its entire body wrapped in leather armour, though it had mountings for metallic parts that Logan assumed were doffed to allow for better loungewear. A dark grey mane peeked out of the saeben¡¯s collar, contrasting with his dark brown skin. Large red eyes glowed against the candlelight as he looked around. ¡°Always the serious one. Anyways, you two staying in Gauntlet long?¡± Gaemo continued. ¡°For the foreseeable future, we have a few things that need doing while we¡¯re here¡±, Marcus chimed in. ¡°You¡¯re welcome here if you bring in food like this¡±, Wriske added with a large smile with cheeks full of food. Sharing laughs and tales of hunts, the group continued the discussion long after the feast was finished. There weren¡¯t many other hunters at the table, the other patrons were just regulars who hadn¡¯t engaged in hunts. Talking with the three they had engaged with revealed they were taking on hunts that took them out of the city or to neighbouring villages since those were easier to find than individuals within the capital. Faces melt together and rumours run amuck amongst such a large populace, leading to the praise of Logan¡¯s scouting abilities. Just as expected they were all adventurers too, picking up hunts where they were able to supplement their income and fill the dull time in with taking down classed beings. Gaemo had once been saved by a hunter so he felt it was his duty to pass on the good deed and hasn¡¯t looked back since. Sincollo on the other hand felt more duty-bound to clean the local area, his group of saebers holding high values on the law. The customers eventually took their leave to go out for the night, or to their rooms to sleep till the next day. With bellies full of food and ale, Logan and Marcus also retired. The day ahead promised to bring them even further into their week of work.
- Day 6 - Awakening to a mouth full of unwashed air, Logan sat up in his bed. A Clean mick in his mouth to clear it out and another for his eyes to remove the sleepy crust. As his vision began to solidify and crispen he saw a surprising sight ahead of him, a new quest was gifted onto him. ¡°Well¡­ shit.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 53 - An Approaching Threat The week plan of Logan and Marcus had just been rudely interrupted, the large window beaming in front of the Spellthief¡¯s face warned him of another goblin army. Unlike the one to the south, this one read as if it was going to be the main force, at the mention of a goblin hero in their ranks. Was the southern attack just a diversion then? Were goblins that smart? Marcus was unaware, already preparing himself and his gear for another day of training with the guards. Logan shuddered slightly before he held out his hand and called out to his friend. ¡°Marcus, hold on a minute, would you? We need to talk.¡± Turning his head quickly, Marcus plopped his bag onto his bed and walked to Logan. ¡°Sure, what¡¯s up? Need help with a hunt today?¡± ¡°No¡­ another quest from Vokka came in.¡± ¡°Oh, great! What can we do for her today? Not another group of bandits is it?¡± Marcus responded with enthusiasm. ¡°Actually, it¡¯s kind of serious. You know that goblin war happening in the south? Well, it¡¯s going to be happening here too.¡± ¡°What? Another force? It should be fine with the guards and adventurers here. Most of the goblinoids should be in the south from the numbers reported.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I am told. I was also warned about a goblin hero.¡± ¡°A hero? A monster hero? Is that possible?¡± Marcus replied more worried than before. ¡°We¡¯ll have to assume it is, alongside the hero is at least a hundred goblinoids though I wager there will be far more than that.¡± ¡°Desma help us. Where are they? An army of that size couldn¡¯t hide so easy, how long till they arrive?¡± ¡°Around 8pm tomorrow.¡± ¡°A day and a half? Either they have mounts¡­ or. Damn, what are we going to do? A lot of the veteran adventurers are down south. Should we alert the G-Hall? Tell Jirango?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t really have the clout to be believed. We¡¯d need evidence. But if they haven¡¯t been found yet, it is possible they¡¯ll approach in a manner that let them hide.¡± ¡°Flying beasts then? Or maybe teleportation? If a hero is amongst them maybe they have a powerful spellcaster at their beck and call¡±, Marcus formulated aloud. ¡°However they are approaching, we need to be ready. The guards will take heavy losses from a surprise attack, not to mention the townsfolk near the entrance if the gates aren¡¯t closed in time.¡± ¡°Right, I¡¯ll need far more bolts than I have on me. We may also require spellforce potions to see us through a battle of that size. Let us check on the adventurers at the hall, see how many will be here tomorrow evening for this.¡± ¡°Good thinking, we can also gather information if anyone else knows of this attack.¡± Throwing on his clothes, the pair hastily left their room. A quick wave to Yetveka showed their urgency as they both mounted Logan¡¯s horse. Riding off to the G-Hall to see how their numbers were looking.
A disappointing sight was on display, a smattering of ranks 5 through 10 and a few below that. None above 10 were to be seen. Logan jogged to the counter to ask about available adventurers. ¡°Sorry, a lot of adventurers have headed south to deal with the goblins. A few quests also came up to deal with some rowdy sea creatures to the north¡±, the man at the counter responded. ¡°Any word on the goblin forces or their movements?¡± Logan inquired. ¡°Last report we got was that there were three hundred goblinoids and more. The local monster population has also been migrated north to escape so the adventurers have been quite busy keeping the peace.¡± Walking back to Marcus, cursing under his breath, the Spellthief scanned over the local area to at least try and keep some people behind. At a headcount there were only thirty or so adventures out of work, a few looking at the quest board. ¡°Marcus, can you use your fame as a ¡®blessed¡¯ to say you had a vision or communication with the above about the goblins? Is that common at all?¡± Logan tried to plan. ¡°Talk with the deities is rare but not unheard of. But for something of this magnitude they would ask for a truth circle test. Sadly it would lead back to your prophecy.¡± ¡°Fuck sake. Ok, can you talk with the guards? See if they have any sort of early warning systems or items to see far distances? Try and find the goblins before they approach.¡± Marcus gave a solid nod, ¡°I can do that for sure. I could say I was interested in their instruments after my time spent there. What about you?¡± Celsius just rotated his head back and forth as he saw his two allies conversing, like a child waiting for his parents to finish talking so he can ask a question. ¡°I need to buy some gear and tomes, if there¡¯s going to be a big force I need to make my own.¡± Finishing their discussion, Marcus started to jog towards the Gerro Guardhouse while Logan mounted up and rode to the bookshop.
Purchasing ¡°Summon Horde Manual 1¡± and ¡°Summon Mastery Manual 1¡±, Logan proceeded to the marketplace to sell off any spare equipment he had laying around in the inventory as well as the vorkas feathers that he had yet to craft with. With his spare money, he bought up ten ashin daggers combined with two holsters that hugged his sides to hold five each. Getting two cheap red cartton herbs, Logan also prepared himself to do a small round of Alchemy when he got back to the inn.
Reading through the two tomes, which were both 50 pages each, took him 3 hours and 36 minutes, granting him two skills that seemed rather underwhelming for the price of them. Logan¡¯s hopes of high numbers were dashed, but they would have to do for now. With a single extra level and only one more summon at a time, Logan¡¯s plans shifted once more. He had planned to put his skill point into one of these skills, but seeing their low impact he fell on his secondary choice of Charge Transfer. Once again the power of the skill felt as if the short text oversold its value. It would still be useful in a drawn-out confrontation as Logan was unsure how long he would be fighting against the normal 1-hour time limit of his absorbed spells. At least with this, he could have them for the entire confrontation. As Celsius was now, Logan could convert 1.5 MP, which wasn¡¯t even two casts. All of the new skills he had unlocked could progress further but without mastery experience, they would require additional tomes or skill points, and Logan was fresh out. He would need Celsius and his next summon to go out on their own to quickly gain experience without him, and he knew just what to do with them. Grabbing some chalk, Logan started making a summoning circle just as he had in the forests on his journey to Gauntlet. Instead of an hour he only needed 36 minutes for this creation process thanks to his new ring. ¡°Elements of Avanar, I call forth your strength. Lend me a denizen of your hold and I shall grant them a true will. Created in my arcane image, infused with my magic, I summon thee. Summon Lightning Elemental, Spark!¡± At the end of his incantations, bolts of lightning and arcs of azure danced around the floor, whirling into a mass within the centre of the summoning circle. Exploding into a static burst the lightning formed itself into a more solid mass. Creating a more humanoid looking blue mass of electricity and plasma standing at 4'' tall, the creature¡¯s black eyes stared deep into Logan¡¯s. ¡°That which gives me life, I am born in your guise. Humbly I shall serve, till my last speck is snuffed out¡±, it recited just as Celsius had done. A wave of shimmering blue lines coursed from head to toe on Spark, completing his creation. ¡°Master, I thank thee for bringing me into life. What perchance are your orders?¡± it spoke in a refined manner. ¡°Wow, looks like he got your formal side. You read a lot of books about nobility?¡± Celsius chimed in with his usual energetic tone. ¡°Reminds me of the days I spent in roleplay forums and tabletop games¡±, Logan thought to himself. ¡°Spark, you can call me Logan. I need you and Celsius here to gain strength quickly. Are you fine to go straight into combat?¡± Logan asked his new personality clone. ¡°Logan, I shall smite down those you cast judgement on. Celsius, my brother, your lead is the one I shall follow.¡± ¡°Thanks for a brother, Logan!¡± Celsius spoke as he beamed a dark-orange smile at the Spellthief. Giving a quick scan over Spark¡¯s status, he seemed pretty identical to Celsius, just a lightning variant. His attribute distribution favoured Agility over Strength, but the rest was the same. Seeing the experience split get worse, Logan confirmed that the more of these he had at a time the slower he would progress, however, using them as spell batteries would help the Spellthief in the long run.
With his two elementals prepared, the trio headed to the G-Hall, where Logan found quite the archetypal first quest for adventurers, rat slaying. The sewer systems under Gauntlet had an infestation that needed cleaning, though the quest was to just thin the numbers by at least twenty. Since no one else would be on the quest at the same time, Logan accepted the quest and ordered his elementals to do the dirty work. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Taking them to a nearby sewer entrance, Logan ordered Celsius to take the lead but to allow Spark to engage in every fight in some way, even if it meant throwing rocks. They were to kill any rats or low-grade monsters they came across until they were both killed, or there were no enemies left to kill. Since they were elementals, they did not need food, water, or rest. They could reasonably fight until the day ended. Having two elementals on the go at once took all of Logan¡¯s second-level slots, but they would hopefully grant him greater rewards than those slots would. This would also mean that Logan could kill two birds with one stone, getting money for quests and increasing his elementals¡¯ might. Removing the elementals from his party, Logan made sure they were grouped together so that they could share experience properly before sending them into the dank depths. It wasn¡¯t going to be a summer camp, though Logan was sure that Celsius would have fun in there.
Returning to the inn, Logan spent the next two hours working on his Alchemy. Crushing up the red cartton, Logan combined the herbs with water and syrup, heating them above a flame until the colours diluted to a thick red hue. Creating two common healing potions was quite lucky in Logan¡¯s mind. As he was about to move on to his next task, Marcus entered into their room with news of his investigation. ¡°Ah, you¡¯re here. I talked with the guards and local seers. They have no worries about the local monster populations outside of what the adventures are already dealing with.¡± ¡°Did you use their equipment to confirm?¡± ¡°Yes, they had a few telescopes set up. No large camps that I could see. From their position, the guards should be able to spot an approaching force of the scale you mentioned a day ahead of time, but if they are using flying beasts or teleportation, they will be taken by surprise.¡± ¡°If I could just talk with Vokka this would be so much easier to prepare for¡±, Logan complained with his arms crossed. ¡°There¡¯s not much for it. We¡¯ll have to hold off the first sign of danger outside the gates. There¡¯ll be too many people outside who won¡¯t get inside in time if the goblins charge at us straight away.¡± ¡°If it is an army, goblins do like to taunt. By my bet, they will stand and laugh at us for a few minutes before charging. Kind of like how two opposing armies stare down one another across an open field¡±, Marcus theorized. ¡°We can only hope they give us time to bring in the traders and the like. Is there any way we can get people to believe this story of goblins coming in for an attack?¡± ¡°They¡¯d want proof or truth magic. You¡¯d need to let people know you¡¯re an¡­ who you are¡±, Marcus spoke, holding back the word just in case. Images of Darius and his alchemical table flashed in Logan¡¯s mind. The MT were hopefully still not aware of Logan. Those gold watches were never found so it was a possibility they went back to whoever Darius trusted. Could Logan let his secret out if it was to protect others? His face showed signs of conflict that Marcus picked up on quickly. ¡°How about we create a distraction? Those sticks you got, the ones that make exploding noises. We can set those up around the forest near the gates. The noise should attract the guards¡¯ attention and possibly that of nearby monsters. With the guards on the walls looking at the scene they¡¯ll also notice if anything else appears.¡± ¡°Will that be enough you reckon?¡± Logan asked hopefully. ¡°It should. It will. You know the exact time of the goblins¡¯ arrival right? Dead on 8pm?¡± ¡°Without fault, I would wager, these haven¡¯t been wrong before.¡± ¡°Alright, then we can set these up about ten minutes prior. That should give ample time for a guard response and the more jumpy travellers to get over the bridge. We can be on watch at the gates themselves while we await the first signs of the goblins.¡± ¡°Hopefully that is all it will take to not turn this into a slaughter fest. If it¡¯s plenty of low-rank goblins I can take them out with Force micks from the gatehouse¡±, Logan spoke as he was calculating the damage of his mick. ¡°We¡¯ve still got a lot of time to prepare, I¡¯ll look into getting some loans going. Followers of the churches often get better rates so it is best I handle that.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good, I¡¯ll look into some last-minute crafting to finance some extra potions and the like.¡± ¡°And your elemental?¡± ¡°I have two now, they are in the sewers fighting rats. Hopefully, their ranks will increase to aid in the coming fight.¡± ¡°Two!? A good jump in power that is. With your skills, they will certainly come in handy.¡± ¡°I had the money, and the skills were available for me to obtain in tome form.¡± Standing up from his bed, Marcus continued, ¡°Right, I¡¯ll go do some investigations. We can meet here if anything changes.¡± ¡°Alright, good luck.¡± ¡°And to you, Logan.¡± Splitting up for some time, Logan got right back into crafting trinkets. He could go hunting, but it would be risky with a threat on the next day, and the guardhouse was still a bit busy sorting out the most recent hunts the pair had handed in. The chance of getting higher-tier trinkets bringing in higher pay also meant he could make more money in a shorter amount of time.
After 4 hours and 30 minutes, Logan had crafted three shoddy gobbo-ear necklaces, one common variant, and a high-quality variant. By the time he was done, Marcus was back after buying up more potions for both health and restoring spell usage. Due to the slog that the fight was going to be, it was decided that Marcus keep the MP potions so that he could heal the team up if they got into a tight spot. Trading places, Logan sold the necklaces for 42 silver and bought up a few extra components to craft a few extra to get more preparation funds. The day was getting late, however, and the two needed rest after their worry-filled movements. Logan could swear he was ageing rapidly from the stress, though he knew he couldn¡¯t just leave the people alone in such a situation.
- Day 7 - Passing into the seventh and final day of their weekly plan, Logan and Marcus went about their final preparations for the oncoming waves of madness. Marcus persuaded the local guards and civilians to light a few extra torches due to a lie about a dark night approaching. Logan got to crafting after buying up one additional goblin ear. Two commons and two high-quality necklaces brought back 48 silver into his pockets. Crafting up a common bastarn eye earring only added in another 11 silver, meaning Logan was still 2 gold and 69 silver away from a spell ring. Even if he were to borrow money from Marcus, Logan wasn¡¯t going to be able to afford a spell ring at 4 gold. Asking around about the bastarn coven heart, Logan found out that it was mostly used in demonic trinkets and potions. It wasn¡¯t expensive on its own, but when combined with other materials it could progress one¡¯s demon stages without relinquishing your soul or revival abilities. Unlike vampirism which was a fast track to power in return for such things. There wasn¡¯t much cost, outside of money, for going through demon stages at least from word around town. A ¡°demon¡± wasn¡¯t the typical mythological or religious depiction that Logan was used to on Earth. It was more related to beings of power between that of mortals and deities, a stepping stone to greatness. Logan could only wonder how he would be affected if he were a demon on Earth. It was a choice between having the bastarn coven heart ready for if Logan needed the power of a demon, or extra potions to heal up through the war. With how people were speaking of demons, Logan was enticed enough to put his faith in that choice. With his remaining money and time, Logan prepared an ace in the hole while Marcus made some last-minute inquiries as to if anyone had learned of any threats.
The day was getting late and Logan¡¯s worries started to mount ever higher as the timer for his quest¡¯s beginning ticked down. Celsius and Spark finally returned from the sewer, keeping their MP for the coming battle as commanded by Logan. Both were larger than when they had left, their levels having increased in conflict. ¡°All clean, Logan. Shouldn¡¯t be any rats left, we found a few bats, snakes, and lizards too. Some small, some big. A lot died trying to touch us, though the larger ones did put up a good fight¡±, Celsius spoke in a joyous tone. ¡°The foes of the sewers are vanquished, our reward shall be given unto thee once you visit the quest holders¡±, Spark added in his usual formal tone. Looking at their status, Celsius had reached level 6 and Spark jumped to level 4. It was a good improvement, though likely not a strategy that Logan could use too often. As they gained levels they got progressively less experience and needed more too. Converting their spells into MP would give Logan 2.75 MP, not a good number. Thinking it over, it was going to be far better to not convert the spells to MP and instead use them rapidly in the beginning parts of the oncoming battle. Eleven uses of first-level spells was nothing to look down on, even more so when Flame and Lightning were tier 4 and 5 respectively. The rat extermination quest, which was easier for the two elementals who both had damage reduction, brought in a reward of 3 silver. Logan collected his pay and the update to his signet, then made his way to the eastern gates ahead of the invasion to enact his and Marcus¡¯s distraction plan.
Meeting up with the Devout, Marcus used Healer¡¯s Caress on the elementals to bring them back up to max HP with ease. Marcus informed Logan that there had been no sightings of the goblins, and since it was barely a half-hour away, it was pretty much confirmed they would be teleporting in at this point. The skies were dark at 7:30pm, but a mass of goblin-mounted flying creatures would still be visible on the skyline. The hours of Logan¡¯s timer had already turned to minutes, marking a precise event start of 8pm. Checking over their gear a final time before the approaching army arrived, the pair moved to the forest outskirts of the city. Not wanting to resort to it in the fight, Logan absorbed 3 Flame and 1 Lightning spells from his elementals. Along with those charges, Logan had already prepared 1 Gaia, 1 Lightning, 3 Necromantic, alongside 3 Summon _ Elemental for Celsius and Spark. Planting the trickster¡¯s crackers several feet apart hidden by the trees, they snapped them and stealthily exited the treeline. Thankfully the crackers had a warm-up time before they started to work. Small pops of both smoke and cracks were followed by larger loud bangs and shots. Several people on the outside of the wall jumped at the noise as many of the more timid ones rushed to the gates. ¡°Noise from the east!¡± one of the male guards shouted. A door leading into the gatehouse opened up on the city side as several guards rushed out to meet the noise. Up on high, archers prepared their bows and crossbows, aiming toward the explosive display at the extent of the forest. Logan could hear an excessive ticking in his head, combined with the annoyance of powerful firecrackers in the distance. ¡°Keep an eye for casting beasts!¡± a female guard instructed as they got to the treeline. A wrenching feeling rushed into Logan¡¯s stomach, an anticipation of the event that was close to arriving. Were his plans good enough? Should he have risked himself to save others by revealing his powers? The ticking continued. As Logan worried with his eyes dipping to the floor he was unable to see the skies get darker and darker, black clouds forming to block the moonlight. Marcus was wise to advise better torch placement, and the guards were all the more thankful for the warning of a Devout ahead of time. A final ding rang in Logan¡¯s head as the timer ran out, the quest taking over a dark hue as it progressed into a ¡°currently ongoing¡± stage. The orders and discussions of the guards were replaced by screams and clunking of metal as their retreat announced the beginning. Through the treeline, Logan could see a solitary figure darkened by the shadows of the clouds and tree canopies. Lit up every so often by the sparks of the crackers, his skin was black, brown, green, and covered in patches of scales. Standing at 6''2" he would rival Logan¡¯s height, though his devilish red and yellow-tinted eyes were a far cry more sinister. Identification returned no result, meaning the marked goblin hero was over level 16, his name a dangerous red with adjoining red skull and crossbones topped with a golden crown. Unlike the previous foes, the goblin hero had a name, which he spoke in his goblin tongue. ¡°Krekka ast ire. Mono, mono and shek. Takka is heads¡±, the goblin hero Krekka shouted, his voice booming as if he was empowered through magic. Countless red eyes appeared in the treeline, belonging to countless foes. The army was here. --- *** --- Chapter 54 - Main Goblin Invasion. Part 1 ¡°Goblins! In the treeline! Guards to position, bring in the civilians!¡± a guard shouted from one of the windows of the gatehouse. A thunderous stampede of the retreating humans, gashriek, and a few saebers, filled the area with fear. The tightening bow strings above Logan revealed the prepared archers, thankful there were more here than there would have been. As people flocked to the safety that the walls provided, Logan scanned over the forces. Scouts, muscles, archers, shamans, hobgoblins, and more. The army was varied and numerous, quickly looking from left to right he could only fathom that there were at least three hundred foes in the forest. Keeping his attention on the goblins in the distance, moving around the villagers so his vision was not disturbed, Logan could hear the chanting of several goblins at once. ¡°Hise, rise, rin¡±, they chanted over and over. The Spellthief could only guess at what it was. A war chant? Or maybe a form of spellcasting or skill use? Logan had yet to face an enemy that spoke their skill names or chanted for magic, but since these creatures could speak maybe they had to do so. Now was not the time for theorizing however, the goblins were standing ready at the extent of the forest, while the guards moved into position and held fire. Bells rang out in the gatehouse as the portcullis started to come down and stopped at around ten feet from the ground. The scraping of metal and the low dinging of the bell called the goblins to action. The chanting stopped as Logan saw it to be the casters who had done so, large balls of fire had formed within the trees and were shot through the blocking flora. Crashing through wood, the masses of flames came soaring through the air to the walls of Gauntlet, guards calling out to brace for impact. The smokey trails painted the attack as if they were flaming balls released from trebuchets. As they blasted the walls the rocky barrier shook, dust being rattled from the crevices and pebbles getting dislodged. Dealing severe damage, one after another, the walls held strong against the magical barrage. ¡°Loose!¡± a guard shouted from inside the gatehouse. With the command, several bows and crossbows shot their projectiles from the windows and atop the walls. Raining down death on the enemy forces, the arrows and bolts were somewhat halted by the trees that still stood. ¡°Bars! Hyse!¡± Krekka commanded as he threw his hand to the side. More chanting could be heard in the treeline, ending just before another volley from the archers soared through the skies. Pitters and patters were heard as the arrowheads were reflected off of a transparent purple hexagon designed barrier. In retaliation to the barriers being formed, Logan heard another bell starting to ding up in the walls. This one reverberated and was much more high-pitched than the last, recognising it as the call to arms for all adventurers to protect the city. Logan was waiting for it before he started his own offensive. Lowering his hand in a burst of mocking laughter, Krekka pointed at the gate. The goblin forces yelled and laughed as they began their charge to the city. They caused the purple barrier to ripple as if it was made of water as they left its protective housing. Logan¡¯s initial calculation of three hundred seemed a bit low at this point as they left the cover of the trees. ¡°Marcus, now!¡± Logan called out to his ally. Raising his hands, Logan let out Force mick after Force mick, tunnelling grey forces forming in his shoulder then slingshotting through his limb into the distant foes. Marcus drew up his crossbow and fired as fast as he could. Celsius shot out Ember Shards while Spark awaited his moment to strike. With a mental command of, ¡°Identify¡±, Logan saw the goblins were quite varied in their level distribution. Scouts ranged from 1 to 3, muscles from 2 to 5. He didn¡¯t have time to formulate the new change in the opponent, he had to aim to get the best shots in as possible. Thankfully many of the lower level foes, mostly up to 3, were felled in singular blasts. Any above that required an additional arrow or two to bring to the floor. To the side of Logan¡¯s view was a new window that had appeared, informing him that he had joined a raid event and that he would be counted as if he were in a party of eight allies for experience reductions. With the sheer number of foes, Logan had no worries about the rewards awaiting him at the end. The goblins clambered over their kin, jumping and vaulting the hills of corpses. An almost endless stampede of green and brown-skinned monsters continued towards Gauntlet. All the civilians and guards outside the gate had finally got to safety, a call from below ordering the gate to come fully down. A loud screeching of metal against the rock was followed by the slam of the portcullis spikes into the floor, sealing off the city from the goblin army. Moving their arms to shoot through the gaps of the metal, Logan and Marcus carried on in their assistance to the archers above. Giving back their own attack, Logan saw goblin archers riding atop the shoulders of hobgoblins and firing their bows towards the gatehouse. Their aim was shoddy due to their movement, but a few were able to get through the windows and arrow slits thanks to the number of arrows being shot. Did Gauntlet not have magi that could put up barriers similar to the goblins? Where even were the spellcasters? Logan could only make out archer fire, no spells at all except his. Arrows flew past his face as they fit through the portcullis, one hitting his arm and another into the leg. Marcus patched it up quick with a Healer¡¯s Caress, but if many more came through it would add up pretty quick. Crossing the bridge, the goblin masses were corralled into a neat little corridor of meat to cut down. Following the arrow fire, javelins were being hurled by the hobgoblins, smashing into the walls and creating large pitons. The scouts jumped from head to shoulder, leaping at the javelins and then between the higher ones. ¡°They¡¯re climbing the walls! Swords ready!¡± a female guard called from the guardhouse. Clashing of metal could be heard just above, the goblins rushing through the windows and attacking the guards within. Combined with the attack above, several of the larger goblinoids had made it to the portcullis. Some were trying to bash it down with their weapons, whereas some hobgoblins tried to grab it from the bottom and open it up. Taking several steps forwards, Logan swung his arm across the floor just behind the gate calling out, ¡°Flame Wall¡±, as the stone on the other side started to bubble and let loose torrents of columned fires upwards. Throwing his arm outwards towards the gate he chanted again, ¡°Lightning Wall¡±, causing azure arcs to sprout and dance upwards into a secondary line of electrical death. Thud after thud was heard as the two magic walls took down a vast quantity of the goblinoids at the gate. Only glimpses in the fires were shown as the pair returned to their Force and crossbow barrage. However, at the top of the wall, a different scene was playing out. A shockwave of wind revealed a group of three hobgoblins and a goblin shaman had teleported to the heights of the walls. Large maces collided with leather-protected guards, the strength of the blows sending several over the sides of the battlements. Yells in pain and fear joined the explosions of magic and flinging of projectiles. As a body crashed behind Logan, the Spellthief flinched and looked around. Seeing some backup adventurers with ranged weapons drawn he was bolstered ever so slightly. The attack against the portcullis had yet to stop though, cracks and bends easily visible across it. It was a sure bet that it wouldn¡¯t withstand the attacks for much longer, it would take allies on the other side to see it survive. Arrows and knives flew from behind Logan into the goblins on the other side, the adventurers having joined Logan¡¯s aid. Others drew up melee weapons and ran into the doors that led to the gatehouse interiors to aid in the attack within and atop. ¡°Mage, what is the situation?¡± a youthful man asked. Logan saw the blonde-haired man to be in his early 20s, scars across his face in side-ways formations showing his experience as an adventurer, or, his lack of personal safety. ¡°Hundreds of goblins teleported into the tree line, they have shamans and a goblin so strong I cannot scan them for their strengths. Hobs have been teleported to the top of the wall and scouts have climbed into the gatehouse¡±, Logan explained quickly. ¡°Madamra take us, was there any warning at all?¡± the youth cursed the Lady of Monsters¡¯ name. ¡°Some explosives but that is all.¡± ¡°Ok. Koma, Lyrnin, you two head north and check the other towers for intrusions¡±, the man spoke as he pointed at other adventurers, ¡°Raye, Quros, Patavava, you three go into town and warn the civilians, keep an eye for any infiltrators¡±, he continued as he turned his head to look at the others. ¡°Mage, what is your rank and spell speciality?¡± ¡°8, and I am a Grasp expert. I have two summons active and helping, other than that I have Flame, Gaia, Lightning, and Necromantic spells prepared.¡± ¡°A slotter, good, more spells. I can teleport us around the field, can you use Wall alterations?¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°That I can.¡± ¡°Devout, hold this position and prepare healing for our return!¡± ¡°Got it!¡± Marcus replied. ¡°Alright, mage, what¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Logan.¡± ¡°Logan, I¡¯m going to take us into their midst. Throw up Walls as fast and wide as you can, then we¡¯ll come back in.¡± ¡°You think that¡¯s wise?¡± ¡°No, but we need to work fast. That gate isn¡¯t going to hold¡±, the man spoke faster as he grabbed onto Logan¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Ready?¡± Logan gave a solid nod as he felt the wind around him get pulled inwards and crush his form, in an instant, he was teleported onto the middle of the bridge. The man became hastened as if through magic, though he had already used a spell to bring Logan this far. Dashing away from the Spellthief, the man let out a flurry of slashes with his shortsword that glowed gold with each strike. Logan did as he was commanded and threw up a Lightning Wall on the bridge, filling its entire width with yet another barrier for the forces to barge through to get to the city. ¡°Explosion!¡± the man yelled in the background. A large swath of golden flame erupted as he slammed his blade into the floor, the magical colours expanding outwards and burning the nearby goblins. Running back to the Spellthief he held his sword with the flat end aimed at Logan. ¡°Logan, shoot a Flame at me!¡± he yelled. Logan didn¡¯t question it, throwing his hand towards his new ally, ¡°Flame Shot¡±, he called out, a torrent of fire forming in his limb and grasping outwards towards the swordsman. As the fires corralled towards the man his sword shone a dark blue, the flames colliding with the blade caused them to be vortexed into it similarly to Logan¡¯s Spell Absorption. Glowing a bright gold again, the man slid to a halt just behind Logan. ¡°Air Swatter!¡± he called out, cutting into a cross design in the air towards the army in the direction of the forest. Two golden flame lines shot from the blade as its light dimmed, cutting into the air and through several goblinoids in the distance. Yells of death and pain replied to the man¡¯s attack, followed by a rain of arrows and bolts towards the duo. Repelling a few with slashes of a shortsword or daggers, the pair grouped back up as the man twisted his head over his shoulder to the top of the walls. Another inward implosion of air had the duo teleport to the top of the walls. The man kicked off the floor and lunged into the nearest hobgoblin, three slashes brought the hunk of meat to the floor, the cuts singed slightly. Logan backed the other guards up with shots of Force, aiming at the shamans first. Ducking low, Logan just narrowly dodged a Flame Shot over his head. The lack of chanting revealed they could silentcast like any other monster. A Force into the stomach and another to the head brought down the shaman that had aimed at the Spellthief. Watching the man at work gave Logan reason to use Identification, but his rule-abiding side won over that curiosity. The man¡¯s level was sure to be high regardless, with how effortlessly he dealt with his foes. A large crash and crack of metal from below alerted Logan to the dangers his allies¡¯ were facing. Darting to the edge and peering over the battlements he saw guards and adventurers alike backstepping and getting into a melee with the goblinoids. ¡°The entrance is breached!¡± Logan shouted over to the others. The youth turned around as he finished off another hobgoblin. Thankfully those in the gatehouse started to reach the top, relieving him of his duties. Running up and grabbing onto Logan, the man looked to a nearby rooftop at the entrance, the pair teleporting atop its slanted slate heights. Leaping off the roof to land on another foe, the youth moved to deal with the enemies. Logan scanned the area for his friends, finding them quickly as Marcus was parrying two goblin muscles with his staff. The training had not come at a better time, Marcus showing amazing skill at stalling for backup. Aided by Celsius and Spark, one of the muscles was downed before Logan took out the other with a long-distance Force. The tumbling of forested colours at the portcullis gate remains reminded Logan of those high-budget zombie films he had watched, but this one was far scarier. He was inside of that scene, and people were at risk. Screams erupted from the guards who were overwhelmed, clubs smashed into faces and knees, shots into arms and gullets. The Spellthief turned his attention to give covering fire to the guards who needed his aid, many of them having grown rusty due to times of peace. A raging sound of clanking armour from the east calmed the trench fighters as the rest of the humanoid army approached. High-power crossbows landed shots that went through several goblin heads, horse-riders charging down and trampling the little goblinoids in the way. ¡°Essence of water pick out my foes. Water Prison Target Foe!¡± a woman chanted atop a horse. Her arm was coated in a rough torrent of waves, shooting from her palm the waters serpentined around the guards and adventurers, darting into the goblins nearest to her and forming spheres of water around the enemies. Trapped in a bubble, the goblins clung to their throats as they started to drown, only for swords to pierce their stomachs and faces to finish them off. Jumping from their horses, the sword-users moved to aid the guards, their skill far exceeding the ones on watch. Whereas the casters used spells to control the crowds of goblinoids. ¡°Rock and stone, create a barrier anew. Earth Second Wall, Sustained¡±, a male caster incanted. This time, a large wall of earth formed from the floor of the portcullis to the height of the gates. Loud bangs and bashes against the wall sounded off the goblinoids trying to enter the city proper. Logan was excited at seeing new forms of magic, and new alterations to boot, but he couldn¡¯t delve further into their operations. ¡°Cassius! Here to me!¡± a man wearing ornate red and silver armour shouted. The youth that had aided Logan earlier ran over to the one who shouted, revealing Logan¡¯s swordsman ally was named Cassius. ¡°Reinwold, sir. The situation is dire, shaman, hobs, and a leader of unknown strength await behind the walls¡±, Cassius started to explain. ¡°Sky beasts!¡± a guard yelled atop the walls. A unison movement of heads to the skies was heard as guards and adventurers alike scanned the darkness above. Goblinoids with morphed heads of lizards and gangly wings could be seen far above, dropping down other goblinoids into the city. The fliers were quite large, maybe 10'' tall, big enough to even ferry hobgoblins over the walls. The crashing of wood, clay, and slate was followed quickly by the screams of the populace. Guards darted away from the gate and into the city to save the civilians, though a few adventurers were already in the midst of the buildings. ¡°Desma guide us. How did this many goblins make it to the city without notice?!¡± Reinwold, the ornately armoured man yelled. ¡°Teleportation sir, many of their shamans are showing a high capacity for the magic sir. They are bringing over three at a time¡±, Cassius informed. ¡°Adventurers, form groups and divide out into the city. Fell the monsters as you find them and keep the civilians safe!¡± Reinwold ordered. The nearby adventurers nodded, grouping up with those nearby or those they are already working together with. Logan jumped from the rooftop and got back to Marcus alongside his elementals. Looking over their statuses it seemed that Marcus was doing a good job at keeping them all topped up on health, though the Devout was getting tired of having to defend the way he was. Before they could converse, a large explosion hit a southern part of the wall, blasting apart the battlements in a large segment and sending rubble tumbling down to the streets below. With the destruction came more teleporting and skydiving goblinoids rushed through the top of the rubble. ¡°Let¡¯s go¡±, Logan commanded as he began sprinting to the southern destruction. Goblins jumped out from the left and the right, atop rubble piles or through building windows at the charging adventurers. A swift slash into the face, a staff smash into the skull, burning and shocking palms all retaliated against the ambushers. Slowing down their movement enough for goblins in the distance to line up shots with their bows. Loosed arrows shot towards the pair, Logan moving in the front to deflect and take the arrows for the Devout ally. Getting hit several times did little to falter their energy, charging ahead with returning Force shots at the ranged goblins. Running up a pile of rubble, Logan jumped into the air to throw out some airborne blasts while Marcus dashed to cover to fire from afar. Landing on top of a hobgoblin, Logan slashed out at it with his Spellthief¡¯s edge straight from its sheath. Kicking off before a grapple could ensue, he didn¡¯t want that again, he let out further Force micks that were getting reduced damage as normal. At this point it was confirmed the mick¡¯s damage was capped at 15, dropping to 10 against the hob¡¯s damage reduction. A blast into the leg, another into the chest, caused the hob to fall down and then die to incoming bolt and fire attacks from Logan¡¯s allies. Spark darted between the scouts he could find to aid in the fight where he could, his own damage reduction allowing him to last longer than normal. The next foes to come through the wreckage above were muscles coated in shimmering barriers, most certainly buffed by their shamans. Firing off Forces at the falling foes returned several warning messages of 0 damage dealt, the barriers possibly being a counter to the mick. Landing with large cracks of stone underfoot, the muscles dashed towards the quartet of Logan¡¯s party. Marcus weaved in and out, dodging the slower movements of the muscle while Logan parried and retaliated with slashes from his dagger. Passing through the barriers it seemed they were only useful against certain attacks. Slicing a tendon and planting the blade deep into the hob¡¯s head caused it to convulse and fall to the floor. Celsius and Spark dogpiled onto the muscle that was accosting Marcus, causing it to roar out in pain from being shocked and burnt alive. A solid smash into its stomach and face from Marcus¡¯s staff was enough of a follow-up to bring it down. With two down, even more continued to pour in above, showing the relentlessness of the oncoming goblin army. Moving forward, Logan cast his prepared Lightning spell as a Wall to weaken the reinforcing goblinoids. The painful and angry yells of the enemies gave Logan hope as the barriers did not stop his normal spell damage. Clicking his fingers, Logan felt the dread of the situation as countless dots were moving toward them on the mini-map. Checking his back to look at the green dots he was happy to see ranged adventurers climb onto the rooftops and rubble piles to loose pain onto the incoming forces. Hopes continued to get dashed as their arrows and bolts dinked off of the barriers surrounding the goblins. They would stop both Force and ranged attacks, only elemental damage and melee would go through. The adventurers quickly saw the state of affairs and changed their aim to those lacking barriers or swapping to melee weapons. More foes started to drop from the skies, magic aiding their landing to blast outwards and receive no damage from the fall. The team started to feel claustrophobic as enemies surrounded them, though allies were not far behind. With options being closed off, Logan would have to resort to new methods of taking down his foes, but his gear would not last forever. --- *** --- Chapter 55 - Main Goblin Invasion. Part 2 The sparks of metal grating onto more metal danced in the air as Logan parried another blow from a goblin¡¯s sword. Clanking and clanging filled the area with the sounds of war and desperation as the adventurers fought back against the goblinoid threat at their door. The air itself was almost aflame as the body heat from the warriors and the intensity of nearby flames caused the local area to become hell-like. Cuts across both Logan¡¯s and Marcus¡¯s frames wore them down, and the Devout could only use Healer¡¯s Caress so many times before having to resort to proper healing magic. A kick into a scout¡¯s leg to topple them, a staff smash into a face to disorientate another, the pair were doing well to mess with their foes to catch a break between rushes of reinforcements. Celsius and Spark did their best to resist the almost endless foes charging down the small elementals. ¡°Marcus, we need to break off and regroup¡±, Logan spoke between a slash at a goblin. Catching his breath Marcus replied, ¡°Got it, that house over there should have some good cover.¡± ¡°We¡¯re good to take a sprint too!¡± Celsius added. ¡°Your lead I shall follow¡±, Spark ended. ¡°Force, Force, Force¡±, Logan chanted in succession. Aiming his blasts at the nearby hobgoblins to have them fall onto the smaller goblinoids allowed the party a small stretch of time to make a tactical retreat. The explosions of grey energy still found it difficult to penetrate the magical barriers, but there were a few enemies that hadn¡¯t received the same treatment. They were easy enough to pick out, leaving the gang to dash towards a nearby building. Behind them were countless encroaching green and brown masses, followed by spells being flung by the spellcasters who could have appeared earlier. Bashing his shoulder into the door, Marcus entered the building with ferocity and held the door for his allies. As Spark¡¯s arcs passed the doorway, Marcus slammed the door shut. Breathing heavily and wiping sweat from their brows, both Logan and Marcus had seen the worst encounter to this point. Minutes upon minutes of endless fighting. Three hundred was such a paltry number in Logan¡¯s mind at this point. The elementals showed no signs of fatigue, taunting Logan to his stamina being drained through protracted combat. ¡°Orb of all I call to thee, Pondress heal your children. Heal Grasp¡±, Marcus chanted as he placed his hand on Logan¡¯s shoulder. The 36 points of healing were more than welcome after the numerous pinpricks of the lower-levelled foes and the culmination of larger strikes from the stronger foes. Clicking his fingers and scanning the local area, Logan found the building to be deserted of any creatures aside from his team. ¡°Marcus, how are you holding up?¡± Taking a look through the cracks of a window Marcus replied, ¡°A fair few steps above terrible, but not long before I fall down to that point.¡± ¡°I hear that. I need to get to that entrance and do something to halt their arrival.¡± ¡°How so? You don¡¯t know the alterations that the other magi used, do you? Any sort of wall will fall in a short time like before.¡± ¡°Actually, I did learn it. Not totally, but I can pull off a Sustained spell. I think I can only do it for Gaia Wall though.¡± Thinking about when he saw the earlier mage block off the gatehouse with a higher-level spell, Logan¡¯s system updated to inform him he had partially learnt the Sustained alteration, though it was going to take a bit extra from him. It was an incomplete form and restricted to the type of spell he saw it used on unlike when he saw earlier alterations. A Gaia Wall normally lasted a number of seconds, normally less than ten. Logan estimated it was one second per Casting Class Level, similar to other duration effects. This would only equate to fifty seconds of a blocking wall but it would give a good amount of time to hold off reinforcements for the troops to deal with what was already here. Confirming with his System, Logan was able to use his absorbed spell charges in place of spell slots for paying Sustained¡¯s cost. Absorbing another 3 Flame and 1 Lightning from his elementals brought them to 1 and 2 MP respectively. At least it would, if absorbing the Lightning hadn¡¯t failed and shocked Logan for 8 damage. ¡°Fuck¡±, Logan exclaimed as he shook his hand. ¡°Sorry, Logan!¡± Spark called out as he hurt his creator. ¡°It¡¯s fine. There¡¯s a 10% chance that can happen¡±, Logan explained as he shook his hand around. ¡°That¡¯s bad if it works the same for ally spells. I gotta get that skill higher¡±, Logan planned in his head. Attempting another time, Logan got the second shot of Lightning, bringing Spark down to 1 MP just like his brother. With the use of two Healer¡¯s Caress charges that had come off cooldown, the party prepared to storm out the building once again. Logan headed the front as he shot out Force micks to those he could see that lacked barriers, which weren¡¯t many. Celsius used Ember Shard against those with barriers as the elemental attacks bypassed them without issue, while Spark and Marcus paired up against those closest that had barriers active. With a leap, Logan jumped on top of a hobgoblin¡¯s corpse and lept again, kicking off of another¡¯s shoulder. Jumping, again and again, the Spellthief made his way to the hole in the wall. Dragging his hand over the rubble-filled flooring he chanted, ¡°Gaia Wall, Sustained¡±, to which a large mound of rock shot upwards 30'' wide and 10'' tall. Plugging up the hole caused several thuds and yells of pain to occur on the other side, the goblins being grappled by the vines of the wall alongside smashing their faces into it. It wasn¡¯t insurmountable if they were able to fly, but climbing over it would prove difficult with the writhing hands of flora. With his own Gaia spell and a Flame charge, Logan¡¯s spells continued to dwindle in this elongated brawl. However, with the hole blocked up, if but for a short time, the guards and adventurers were able to take down the current forces on this side of the wall. Screeches above signed more goblinoids being ferried into other parts of the city, though their purple hexagon spheres showed them to be protected from mundane projectiles and Force micks. Dashing forwards, Logan stabbed into a hobgoblin with his Spellthief¡¯s edge, twirled around to stab another with his off-hand ashin dagger, and jumped over the newly-made corpse to double-strike into a final hobgoblin. Four sets of Backstab text rose from the blows as Logan helped fell three more of the harder enemies. Nods of approval from his allies were quickly followed by their movements to help the others around them. Utilizing the flanking opportunities at his disposal, Logan darted from foe to foe, cutting at backs, calves, and heads. The guards were more than thankful for the aid, Logan¡¯s strikes being the last requirement for the death of the enemies faced with adventurers. Marcus made good use of his most recent training, his staff strikes hitting true and getting through many parry attempts. Spark moved quick and zapped alongside the Devout to make short work of the weaker goblinoids. Celsius stood tall atop a pile of rubble, shooting out countless Ember Shards at far targets, especially the goblin archers that were pelting the allied focus with arrows. As the minute passed, the goblins¡¯ numbers fell rapidly and exponentially. Ganging up on the overwhelming masses proved incredibly useful, with the Gaia Wall even killing a few more goblins that tried to get through on the land route. Dampened by the sounds of battle, a hushed round of footsteps approached the encounter from the west, revealing a sect of Devouts that were glowing in white and golden lights. Ending a chant of their own Logan heard the end of it, ¡°velko. Battalion Recovery.¡± A reverberating sound erupted from the floor upwards, endless holy lights flowing from the ground, coiling around the humanoids¡¯ legs and around their bodies. Wounds were stitched up, skin was cleared of green and yellow puss, and the troops were revitalised. Logan and co also received the same treatment, his allies getting to max HP alongside Logan who had received 55 healing. A guardswoman ran over to the Devouts who were nine in total, circled to aid in the defence against any direction. ¡°Thank Pondress a healing sect is here. The wall has been repaired, but not for long. Our forces could do with enhancement magics¡±, they started to explain. Logan then shouted over those who were finding rest in the lull of combat, ¡°The wall is about to break!¡± Guards and adventurers alike stood tall, weapons readied and aimed towards the wall that divided them from oncoming forces. As Logan stated, his spell crumbled away with dead bodies on the other side falling with it. Further goblins stampeded and clambered their way through the newly reopened breach. ¡°It¡¯s never-ending!¡± an adventurer spoke with worry in his voice. ¡°How many are there?¡± a guard shouted in anger. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. As if to answer the disheartened state of the troops, the Devouts lined up side by side and all chanted together, ¡°Gaia Skystrike¡±, with their hands aimed at the skies and thrown to the floor. Mounds of earth formed in huge chunks to then be hurled down into the enemy reinforcements, taking down many barrier-protected goblins. Swaying their hands from left to right, and vice versa, the Devouts continued the attack with spell after spell. Showing off the high reserves of MP they had, the goblins were decimated before they even proved to be a threat. Some got through, though were quickly dealt with by the grouped up troops. Logan was about to give some aid to the troops but was stopped mid-run by another window appearing in front of his face. ¡°Goblin Hero Krekka has entered the event. The goblin forces are bolstered by the sight of their leader. Any goblin that is within 200 feet of Krekka gains a +5 bonus to all attributes. Defeating Krekka early will cause any remaining goblins to become shaken at the loss of their leader, suffering a -5 penalty to all attributes and fleeing as best they can.¡± Alongside the window alert, Logan¡¯s map opened up to show a large red circle that showed Krekka¡¯s approximate location. Flying across the map it seemed he had either flown over or teleported to a deeper section of the city. Logan¡¯s heart started to race, almost as fast as his mind did. Thoughts swirled around as he weighed up the pros versus the cons of going after Krekka. He had already failed in keeping the gate unbroken but was damn sure he had killed the one hundred required foes of his quest. Remembering he could check his quest, he pulled it up to confirm both were indeed as he thought. The last additional objective was to play a major part in defeating the goblin hero. He didn¡¯t need the winning blow or to even do it alone. Remembering the rewards for completing the previous quests¡¯ additional objects enticed Logan to at least attempt getting the third. ¡°Marcus, Celsius, Spark¡±, Logan called out. The team members turned their heads to their leader, finishing off their most recent foes they grouped back up. ¡°New orders, boss?¡± Celsius asked in a ready stance. ¡°Yeah, the leader of the army has made his way into the city. We¡¯re to go help in taking him down.¡± ¡°The leader? That tall, commanding goblin? Let us hope for good teammates in that encounter if we do aim to bring him down¡±, Marcus responded. ¡°Is it wise to challenge such a foe? Would it not be proper to allow the veteran adventurers to do so?¡± Spark asked. ¡°It was a commandment from you-know-what¡±, Logan half-lied. The team looked at one another, acknowledging that this was something similar to the quest to take down Dena. It was hard for the elementals to even think about going against their creator¡¯s whims, but Marcus showed signs of pause as he looked around the battlefield. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this won¡¯t be a one-on-one deal like last time. We can all work together. We better hurry though, he is empowering his troops¡±, Logan spoke as he looked in the direction of the goblin hero. Nodding to one another, the team rushed off to the west. Logan¡¯s spell charges would last long enough to follow into the fight if nothing got in their way.
As if others had the ability to scan for enemies, or the goblin hero was making quite the ruckus, Logan noticed several other adventurers darting atop the rooftops. Skill cries of ¡°Piercing Shot¡±, ¡°Arrow Volley¡±, ¡°Axe Hurl¡±, from the heights calmed Logan somewhat, hoping those skills could penetrate the barriers of the goblinoids. ¡°Logan!¡± a male voice rang out from above. Following the voice was a shadowy form falling to the floor and landing with a roll to a run alongside the party. Pulling back a hood revealed the Rogue to be Tenn, whom Logan had quested with back in Moella. ¡°Tenn, glad to see you¡±, Marcus spoke as he leaned over in the team¡¯s hasty movements down the road. ¡°And you. You lot heading towards the big bad? Some magi noted a strong force had moved westward¡±, Tenn informed as he kept pace with the party. ¡°We heard the same. How many are going to take it down?¡± Logan asked. ¡°Not a lot, I saw four or so. The army was setting up a perimeter around the gatehouse due to the invasions at the blasted parts. They aren¡¯t expecting much more teleportation so deep.¡± ¡°So it was teleportation, the leader wasn¡¯t dropped in from the sky beasts?¡± ¡°What I was told. How¡¯re the slots and spellforce? You lot good to take on the leader?¡± ¡°I have five first-level spells left at my guess¡±, Marcus calculated. ¡°My summons have a single spell each, I got five, mostly Necromantic.¡± ¡°I saw you got a new one, a summoner Grasp expert, nice combo¡±, Tenn replied as he looked at Spark. ¡°Greetings to you, sir Rogue.¡± ¡°He¡¯d do well at court I¡¯d wager.¡± ¡°Any plans or information about their leader?¡± Logan asked as he hopped over a broken cart. ¡°The magi warned about several magical signatures, so the enemy has plenty of trinkets. Without looking at the creature it¡¯s hard to tell if they¡¯re a spellcaster though.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have to keep an eye out for funny business then.¡± ¡°Watch out!¡± Marcus shouted, interrupting the others. Throwing his arm to block Logan, the party came to a stop as they darted their heads around. Marcus pointed skywards as a corpse fell to the floor, accompanied by a goblin that had jumped from the rooftops. Standing tall, the goblin looked different, more humanoid than monster. Long ears dangled on each side as if they were broken, the left one bit as usual. At around 5'' tall the creature was tall for a goblinoid, but much thinner and well-toned in the muscle department. At its sides it held two long scimitars with jagged tips. ¡°Shit, they have fomins¡±, Tenn announced as he got into a fighting stance. ¡°Identify¡±, Logan commanded in his head as he always did. Though, as if he was seeing Jirango again, the goblin¡¯s own eyes glowed yellow in retaliation. A shockwave shot through Logan¡¯s eyes into his head, dizzying his vision for a few seconds. All he could scan was ¡°Goblin fomin - Goblinoid. Level 10.¡± ¡°Logan, eyes up!¡± Tenn alerted as he darted in front of the Spellthief. Two clanks of metal were heard ahead of Logan as Tenn deflected two throwing knives from the fomin in front of them. Grinning to reveal jagged, bloody teeth, the fomin cackled slightly. Pointing at the corpse before it, the fomin opened its mouth. ¡°Halp, mofer¡±, it spoke in a mocking imitation of what could only be assumed to be the corpse¡¯s last words. ¡°You bastard!¡± Marcus shouted. ¡°Mono eh mono, come hyse¡±, the fomin retaliated as it moved two fingers in a taunting manner. ¡°Logan, Force the roof¡±, Tenn commanded as he ducked down a bit. Looking upwards, Logan saw what Tenn was implying. A part of the slate rooftops had been damaged, and another hit would cause some of it to fall on the fomin. Throwing his arm upwards Logan called out, ¡°Force¡±, a wave of grey energies forming in his shoulder and vaulting towards the space above the goblin. Ducking and moving into a blocking stance, the fomin seemed to anticipate an attack against him and not the environment. The roof above exploded from the impact of the spell and released a volley of sharp slate on top of the goblin, piercing him over and over. Taking the opportunity of distraction and attack, Tenn kicked forwards as he left behind him a wave of wind. Activating his Dash skill, alongside entering into Logan¡¯s party, Tenn slid to the side of the fomin, slashing out with dual-daggers. Logan could see his ally¡¯s Backstab skill at play, digging deep into the right arm of the goblin, causing it to drop its blade and lose the use of its arm. Dropping to a kneel, Marcus shot ahead with his crossbow, Celsius letting loose an Ember Shard. Spark darting after the Rogue but was much slower than a skill-user. The fomin retaliated with its left arm, swiping around its back to Tenn who ducked under the attack. Tenn¡¯s movement was met with a knee to his face, clenching his teeth together as he took the momentum into a backflip. Another swipe missed the back of Tenn as he landed his hands on the floor, pushing off just before the fomin could kick them away. Bringing up his daggers he blocked a scimitar strike, only for another to come down and catch Tenn¡¯s right blade with the teeth and disarm the Rogue. His dagger flew behind the fomin towards Spark who hopped to the side to avoid it, jumping onto the back of the goblin and straddling the foe. Electric shocks scattered across the fomin as Spark¡¯s body started to crispen the goblin¡¯s skin even more. Kicking forward, Tenn let out slash after slash into the fomin¡¯s chest, followed by a Force from Logan into the back of its leg. Falling to a kneel, the fomin¡¯s face was met by a straight dagger strike through his right eye and into its brain. The fomin yelled out in pain at the strike, clawing at the arm of Tenn, but a twist of the blade ended any further resistance. Convulsions of the fomin were followed by Tenn retrieving his dagger, the fomin falling to the floor dead. Breathing a sigh of relief, Tenn moved to get his other dagger back. Sadly, the disarm left a large cut in the blade, it wasn¡¯t going to survive too many of those. ¡°If they have fomins, this war is going to turn quick¡±, Tenn spoke as he took a scimitar for himself. ¡°Not one for brute force it seemed, could they prove a bigger threat than the hobs?¡± Logan spoke. ¡°Your ability got countered yeah? Fomins are made through fights with adventurers, they drink our blood and gain our power. If they have them in the opposing army it is a clear sign they might have blood mages amongst them. They are much worse than hobs, at least any hobs I¡¯ve fought.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s why you went with using plenty of skills¡±, Marcus added as he looked over the party for wounds. ¡°Kill them quick, that¡¯s the advice I was given. They have a skill similar to dash, and with two mages I was worried he could kill either one of you with it. We¡¯ll have less to use against the leader, but we¡¯ll be alive when we get there.¡± Kneeling down to the corpse of the adventurer, Marcus checked for any signs of life. ¡°Pondress nestle this one in the after¡±, he prayed. The sounds of combat in the distance continued to roar onwards. Cries of pain, yells of orders and skills, explosions of spells and artillery fire. A soundscape of death and destruction hugged the party on all sides. As if to add injury to the wound of the war, another window popped up for Logan. ¡°Krekka has feasted on enough adventurer blood that his power has grown. He now bolsters his allies by +6 within 250 feet.¡± Looking to his allies, Logan spoke, ¡°We need to hurry, if they do have fomin in their army it''d be best if we take down their leader and lower their morale.¡± ¡°Right, we¡¯re probably behind some others since we got stopped like this. Let¡¯s go¡±, Tenn replied. ¡°Use this if your weapon breaks¡±, Logan called out as he faintly threw an ashin dagger to Tenn. ¡°Thanks, a lot of my thrown daggers are still in corpses¡±, the Rogue replied as he caught it deftly.
Returning to their sprint, the group pressed onwards. It wasn¡¯t long till they were able to see the destruction wrought by the leader and his cronies. Buildings saw more damage from magical blasts, corpses lining the streets that led up to the sight of Krekka. Logan could hear combat up ahead, adventurers trying their best against the goblin hero. Sliding around a collapsed building, the party got a sightline on the conflict. Krekka was drenched in blood all over, a large blade in hand that had fleshy remnants of his foes sliding off its edge. Seeing him up close, Krekka was garbed in thick black leather armour with steel plating over his elbows and knees. His fingers visible, Logan counted ten rings in total, bracers of gold on each wrist. A leaping adventurer brought down a shining-red sword to Krekka, the hero deflecting it easily and changing the direction of the adventurer¡¯s jump. Following his parry, Krekka slashed out again, cutting the top half of the attacker away from the lower half. Two thuds onto the floor led to another adventurer charging from behind. Bringing up his leg, Krekka kicked into the flanker¡¯s stomach and then hopped into a pinning kick to the floor. Striking his blade to the floor, Krekka split the foe¡¯s head down the middle. Dragging his sword upwards brought the severed brain-half of the head with it, Krekka taking a massive bite out of the meat as he swiped the rest to the floor. Looking around, the hero¡¯s eyes locked with Logan, a pit forming within the Spellthief¡¯s stomach. ¡°Fuck.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 56 - Main Goblin Invasion. Part 3 Reflexively, Logan tried to use Identification on his foe yet again but yielded no further results. A torrent of fear washed over Logan, the red skull and crossbones topped with a golden crown signing his early death. Grasping for anything that could grant him an advantage in the ensuing fight, Logan looked around to see another group of adventurers preparing another assault. ¡°Severing Slash¡±, called out a female Fighter. ¡°Dagger Deep¡±, a male Rogue called. ¡°Sleep Shot¡±, incanted a male Sorcerer. ¡°Harrowing Blade¡±, a male Knight shouted. Displays of blue, red, and yellow showed all their skills activating as they charged down the leader of the army. Logan had barely any time to find their levels but could tell their class easy enough from their gear and skills. Krekka wasn¡¯t surprised, and his retaliation was fierce. Striking out at the Fighter, Krekka parried the slash and sent her blade flying. Throwing out his left hand, the goblin grappled the woman¡¯s head and moved her to block the spell cast. As the woman fell asleep, Krekka severed her head from the body. The Rogue hit his target with a dagger toss, though the pain was returned as Krekka grabbed the blade from his body and threw it back into the Rogue¡¯s chest, the force pulling him to the floor. At the last moment, Krekka blocked the blade of the Knight, leading to a clash of strength as the blades slid against one another. ¡°Cani take you to the pits!¡± the Knight yelled as he saw his allies fall one-by-one. ¡°Pits? I am already here¡±, Krekka spoke in an intimidating and teasing tone. ¡°Wha- you can speak?¡± ¡°Where are your champions? These are not they¡±, Krekka demanded as he put more force behind his blade arm. ¡°Logan, we need to help him!¡± Marcus shouted at a dazed Spellthief. Logan¡¯s eyes couldn¡¯t pull away from the sight, however. He stared at the scene developing before him. Two teams, decimated. His legs wanted to twist and sprint away. He thought back to Leroy and how he declined an insurmountable quest, why couldn¡¯t he do the same? Could he risk his life to have a chance at seeing his dad again? ¡°Crash and Burn!¡± a familiar voice yelled in the skies above. A figure wreathed in flames had lept from a nearby building and was about to land a strike on the hero. Krekka kicked into his opposing Knight, the adventurer flying back at the strength of the foe. Bringing up his blade just in time to block the strike from the flaming opponent, the clash of metal continued into an explosion of fires and energy. The ground beneath their feet cracked all over and a shockwave of wind was sent in all directions. The sliding of metal on metal was followed by a newly-revealed Cassius being forced away from the goblin hero. Landing with a heavy impact, Cassius slid across the floor with his sword held high to the side. Quickly picking a vial from his belt, the adventurer downed it, his skin getting coated in dark rock. Moving from vial to vial, dropping them to the floor as he was done, Cassius was preparing himself for the fight to come. ¡°Are you the champion? That attack was fierce, more than four times that of your kin thus far¡±, Krekka yelled out towards Cassius. ¡°Champion? Sure, call me that, goblin dirt. Is that what this was for? To find a good fight?¡± Cassius replied, his voice gravelly from his new transformation. ¡°It won¡¯t be I that talks of our purpose, but if you are to be their champion I implore you to grant me a grand battle. At least then, your survivors can say you put up a valiant resistance when they speak of the rubble that remains of your kingdom.¡± Taking a drink from a vial, Cassius¡¯s body started to speed up and show afterimages. ¡°No, they¡¯ll speak of how fucked you were to have threatened this place!¡± As the pair dashed forwards, Logan was barely able to keep track of Cassius¡¯s charge at Krekka, this time the clash of blades sent off such fierce winds that it shattered all nearby glass, cracked the nearby walls, and popped Logan¡¯s ears. This amazing boost was sure to tip the scales, but it was costly, the vials taking uncountable gold away from Cassius¡¯s reserves. ¡°Damnit, I need to do something!¡± Logan yelled in his head. The Knight from earlier had regained his footing and ran to the side of Krekka to grant what aid he could, even if it was a few seconds it would allow Cassius to land a solid blow. ¡°Hard Skin, Wall of Iron, Juggernaut¡¯s Stand¡±, the Knight called out several skills. Getting coated in red, blue, and yellow, the Knight was a multicoloured bastion of defence. Krekka swung his blade to hit back against Cassius, ignoring the weaker foe to his side, and struck again into a parrying retort from Cassius. The Knight began to stab into Krekka¡¯s side, drawing blood all his own. Tenn became a blur himself, kicking off as he used Dash to get to the back of the goblin hero, giving almost all of his attention to dodge and parry rather than deal too much himself. Marcus looked at Logan whose body had only shaken at the scene. ¡°Logan! If we don¡¯t do something you¡¯ll be unable to stand around like that! Fight or bury yourself, which is it?¡± Logan heard the words but he was frightened to the core, something big would have to force his hand. His life flashed in his mind, memories of Earth and Avanar, had it all just led to a harsh death in a land that hated him? Amidst the sea of memories, a voice echoed out above it all. ¡°I don¡¯t mind what you do. If you enjoy what makes your living go for it. But never give up, look at me, I haven¡¯t given up yet. I¡¯ll be here for you.¡± The sage advice from the only person who mattered to him at this point. That masculine figure who always encouraged Logan to get back up whenever he fell down. If he couldn¡¯t thank that man for what he had done, Logan would have failed himself. He wouldn¡¯t give up, he¡¯d clench his teeth, throw out his hands, and chant to the sky. If life was going to throw torment at him, he¡¯d absorb it all! Grabbing onto his periapt of mana tightly Logan let loose the MP stored within, a single tear running down his cheek. ¡°Marcus, covering fire and healing. Spark and Celsius, grapple that fucker!¡± he commanded his allies. Darting forwards, Logan formed two clawed hands, the fighting ahead granting him an opening against the goblin hero who had three others to deal with. The Knight defended against the blows aimed at him, Tenn dodged and weaved what he could, whereas Cassius parried and retaliated. As if pushed ever forward by the image of his guiding figure, Logan rushed on. Flowing his hand across the floor towards Krekka, Logan chanted, ¡°Gaia Wall¡±, a large wall of rock shooting upwards. As Logan was still moving he was atop it as it erected, the edge of the wall grazing Krekka¡¯s sword arm. Vines and plants whipped out as they grappled the hero¡¯s arm. It wasn¡¯t going to be for long, but Logan didn¡¯t need long. Running atop the wall, Logan weaved around the vines, jumped to the side and slid down it. Krekka¡¯s arm was high, his underarm exposed. Throwing his arm towards Krekka¡¯s armpit Logan chanted, ¡°Flame Grasp¡±, a clawed hand of fire erupting in his palm and exploding into Krekka¡¯s weak spot. Heat filled the area as the flames coiled around the hero, his roars of pain revealing it did its duty. The word ¡°Backstab¡± floated from the wound, followed by the three allies getting in their own strikes. Logan could feel Krekka pulling at the vines, his hand still grabbing onto his foe. ¡°Flame Grasp!¡± he yelled again, another explosion of fire originating in his palm and assaulting the weakened Krekka. The word ¡°Backstab¡± floated again, Logan continuing his assault. ¡°Necromantic Grasp!¡± he called out, the flames turning to shadowy claws and tendrils, digging deep and absorbing the lifeforce of the goblin hero. Before Logan could continue with further spells, Krekka kicked outwards at the Spellthief, sending him flying backwards. The heavy blow dealt a major 34 damage. With his arm free, Krekka kicked backwards and sent Tenn flying also. Logan could see that Krekka¡¯s right arm had gone limp, blood pooling on his right side. Logan¡¯s Dastardly Backstabs skill had made the arm inoperable, thanks to the multiple applications of the Backstab skill. Krekka grabbed onto his blade and pulled it from his right hand into his left, changing grip. Slashing downwards, Krekka cut through the ending skills of the Knight and cleaved his shield in two, digging deep into the adventurer¡¯s shoulder. Picking the blade up, along with the Knight, Krekka kicked him into the distance. Landing his foot fiercely onto Spark was more than enough to snuff out the elemental. Celsius was just barely able to dodge and help with ranged attacks. Smashing into the wall, Krekka kicked off of it, the ability to grapple him barely lasting more than a few seconds. He was severely weakened from the sneak attack though, Logan was sure that his left arm would prove less useful than his right. Even after the onslaught, the hero stood tall. Logan was sure his spells dealt somewhere close to 160 damage if no resistances were at play. With all the other attacks he had suffered, how was the hero still able to fight? ¡°Orb of all I call to thee, Pondress heal your children. Heal Shot¡±, Marcus called out in the distance. Logan was filled with healing lights as he restored 24 health. Marcus sent similar slow casted healing spells to Tenn and the Knight, his MP was sure to run out soon. Cassius pulled out another vial and downed it quickly. ¡°So, instead of champions, I am gifted a fight split in four. Come, let your deaths mean something¡±, Krekka announced as he brought up his blade. ¡°Is he bluffing? Or were my attacks severely weakened?¡± Logan ruminated in his head as he stood up. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Bringing up his own blade, Cassius retorted, ¡°Give up now and you¡¯ll keep the other arm.¡± Krekka replied with a healthy laugh. ¡°You think ¡®I¡¯ am losing?¡± Cranking his head to the side, Krekka looked at the Knight. In an instant, Krekka¡¯s body warped in on itself as it sucked in the nearby air. Appearing in a similar fashion, with shockwaves of wind on each side, he stood behind the Knight. Biting onto his foe''s shoulder he shoved his blade into the back of the Knight, piercing through to the front side. The Knight yelled out in pain, the breath in his lungs being dragged out as Krekka retrieved his blade and stabbed again. The human twitched and convulsed as blood poured from the wounds and his gaping mouth. Swinging the blade to the side, Krekka sent the corpse flying into a nearby building. ¡°No!¡± Cassius yelled. Using his own teleportation to go after Krekka, Cassius warped from one spot to another. With a wide swing of his blade, he aimed to hit the hero but instead hit a vacant spot as Krekka teleported once again. Appearing in front of Tenn, Krekka let out two strikes, Tenn¡¯s blocking attempts being thwarted as his daggers went flying. ¡°Fuck!¡± Cassius swore and he turned his body to sprint at the hero. Tenn¡¯s eyes went wide as the blade came upwards again, this time using his arms to block the attack. The disgusting squelch of flesh and blood filled the area as Tenn¡¯s hands were slashed through, sending them skywards as blood shot from the wounds. A yell to the above came from Tenn as his hands were severed, a swift kick from Krekka sending the Rogue into a building far away. ¡°Tenn!¡± Marcus called out, charging towards his ally deep in brick. ¡°Two were slain, two remain¡±, Krekka spoke tauntingly. Turning his head to look at Logan it seemed like he was preparing to attack once more. ¡°No more!¡± Cassius yelled as he landed a blow into Krekka¡¯s other arm. Dragging the blade to the side, Cassius tore into flesh and bone and took Krekka from his stance. Moving with the momentum, Krekka spun around and gave a swift backwards twirling kick into Cassius¡¯s face. ¡°A valiant effort. But if this is all you bring to bear¡±, Krekka began. His form warped once more as he appeared behind Cassius. ¡°Then you cannot hope to win.¡± Krekka¡¯s blade shone a bright red as a mist formed around it, slashing at an almost imperceivable speed it cut diagonally into Cassius¡¯s back. Blood gushed at high pressure as if it was being pulled from the adventurer. Cassius yelled out in pain as he barely stood after the attack. Spinning around faintly he retaliated against the goblin hero, their blades clashing again. ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ bear it all¡±, Cassius spoke through heavy breathing, ¡°if it means this city survives!¡± Putting more force behind his blade he ended their clash, the sword shining a bright orange. ¡°Cascade Overload!¡± he yelled. The blade exploded in a massive mass of orange flames, bringing it down into the goblin had it explode once again on impact and again every second thereafter. The flames coiled around and stabbed into Krekka over and over as it tried to overpower the one-armed foe. Blood poured from both men on the floor beneath them, their energy sapping away with each drop leaving their bodies. Logan had to help, it was going to end if Cassius went down. Running to his foe, Logan was given ample time from the clash of their blades and Cassius¡¯s skill. Placing his hand onto the lower back of the goblin, Logan yelled, ¡°Lightning Grasp!¡± Sparks of azure sprung to life in Logan¡¯s arm, dancing around to his palm, and exploded across the frame of the hero. Electric hands dug into his foe¡¯s skin like a thousand tiny knives, causing the hero to yell out in pain once again at another Backstab. Krekka¡¯s grip on his blade weakened, Cassius eyeing up the chance to strike. Pulling back his blade he had the goblin fall towards him slightly as the orange skill ended, Cassius letting out a wide slash across the stomach of the hero. Blood painted the floor as the stomach of the goblin almost fell out from the inside. Dropping his blade, Krekka kicked at the side of Cassius¡¯s leg causing the adventurer to falter. A solid punch to the face then sent him flying backwards, followed by a kick backwards into Logan who was also sent back. The goblin hero held onto his stomach as his frame slouched and showed a great weakness forming in him. ¡°The¡­ skills of humanoids. A pity I could not dine on you all¡­ Champions, you both¡­ I concede a loss¡±, Krekka spoke weakly as he began to walk. Logan¡¯s face was filled with another window, filling him with anger. ¡°The Goblin Hero Krekka has been defeated and is retreating, his-¡± ¡°Like fuck I¡¯m letting you walk!¡± he raged in his mind. Standing up he threw his hand towards the ready-to-teleport foe, sparks of blue appearing in his palm as he used the final MP left to him from his periapt. ¡°Lightning Shot!¡± he called out, the fastest spell he had. It was quick enough that it interrupted Krekka¡¯s teleport, shocking the hero with yet another display of electric might. As if to aid in the attack, an ashin dagger came singing through the air, puncturing into Krekka¡¯s hand and severing two fingers along with two rings alongside a roar of pain. Tenn was seen in the distance, bringing down a leg after kicking a dagger at his foe. Breathing heavily with the blood having stopped pouring from his hand nubs. ¡°One lived?¡± Krekka spoke as he fell to a knee. ¡°You won¡¯t. Necromantic Shot!¡± Logan called out. Tendrils of darkness formed in his arm, writhing in a mess of eldritch design. Shooting from his limb they wrapped around the head of Krekka, tightening around the goblin and filling his mouth with pain. A solid crunch was heard as bone and tooth broke, the tendrils crushing his head and healing Logan for 15. Pulling on the tendrils, Krekka was brought to the floor motionless. The group stared at the body for a while, wondering if he was going to stand again or teleport without their knowing. But it just laid there. Tenn saw fit to join it as he passed out in the distance, the healing not doing much to grant him more blood or energy. Cassius stood and moved to the corpse to give it a solid stab, the only movement it gave back was a shift at the metal entering it. A heavy sigh left Cassius¡¯s mouth as he fell onto his ass, blood still seeping from some of his wounds. The vials he had downed were wearing off and it showed as his body shrunk slightly and lost its lustre. Marcus rushed over to use Healer¡¯s Caress to make sure no one else was going to die. Standing tall and approaching the body, Logan saw a victory screen appear, but he didn¡¯t feel the need to check it immediately. Instead, he stared at the body. It was close, and it took everything he had, the life of a Knight, the hands of Tenn, and more. The fight was hardly even five minutes long, showing the lack of reinforcements during the confrontation. If Logan had been targeted with that weapon he would have died. Or at least lost a limb as Tenn had. Logan counted all of his blessings that he had come out of this fight without losing anything. Even more, since Marcus was left unharmed, though Krekka probably didn¡¯t see him as a threat. Roars and yells were heard off towards the east, a stampede of feet sounding the retreat of the goblin forces. This was confirmed by another window at Logan¡¯s side. With weakened attributes they were easy pickings for ranged fire and guards, let alone adventurers who sought vengeance. ¡°Good job everyone¡±, Cassius began, ¡°since it was our team that defeated their leader we¡¯ll be getting his gear. We can divvy it up later, but I say we sell his weapon off to revive that Knight and give the Rogue his hands back¡±, he continued as he pointed at the corpse and Tenn. Picking up the sword, Logan was unable to use Identification on it but having it in his possession told him what he wanted to know. ¡°Sharkfang - Level 20, Legendary: The sword wielded by the Goblin Hero Krekka. It is said that this blade severed the head of a shark in one fell swoop and travelled the coastline dealing with overreaching ocean monsters. Deals between 37 and 45 damage on each strike. Grants a +23 to attack rating. This blade is strong and grants a +10 to defence rating. Legendary: When this weapon deals the killing blow to an opponent it grants an additional +10 to attack rating and defence rating versus others of that species. This bonus lasts for one hour or until a different species is killed." It could have sold for 12gold and 50silver on its own, showing it to have a value of 25 gold. It was also the first legendary tier item that Logan had found, revealing some of the effects they could carry. This weapon could give a higher defence rating than a lot of low-level armour did. ¡°That¡¯s fine with me, what do we do now?¡± Logan answered as he gave the sword to Cassius. ¡°We¡¯ll guard this corpse, show that we defeated it to the guards. Also to make sure none of his allies come to revive him.¡± ¡°As good a plan as any¡±, Marcus added as he brought the unconscious body of Tenn over. Logan was going to reply again but was halted by the countless floating yellow text that was flying into the sky towards the east, and above krekka. It was an uncountable number of rewards for defeating his foes, only his System could count the sheer amount of numbers floating upwards. ¡°Level up! Gain: 8 HP, +1 Str, +2 Agi, +1 Con, +2 Int, +1 Wis, +1 Cha. You have 1 attribute point to spend.¡± Checking his System windows, Logan found he had gained 10,111 XP from the event, from engaging in the felling of 231 goblinoids. Due to the hecticness of the combat, his allies weren¡¯t able to engage in each kill, however, simply being in his party and helping Logan move on to kill others granted them a full reward. Marcus had gained 6,830 XP, Celsius gained 12,743 XP, and Spark gained 14,109 XP. There were levels all around, Logan went from 10 to 11, Marcus from 5 to 6, Celsius from 6 to 8, and Spark from 4 to 7. Logan placed Marcus¡¯s free point into Wisdom and his own into Intelligence. Since the party were taking a break he also inspected his summons, though Spark wasn¡¯t able to reform with the damage he took. ¡°Celsius - Flame Elemental. Level 8. STR 17, AGI 15, CON 17, INT 18, WIS 12, CHA 8: 46/46 HP, 4/10 MP. Skills: Ember Shard, Fiery Body, Damage Reduction 2. Spell List: 1st: Flame. 2nd: Flame Cloak, Flaming Arc.¡± ¡°Spark - Lightning Elemental. Level 7. STR 14, AGI 16, CON 16, INT 17, WIS 11, CHA 8: x/40 HP, 6/9 MP. Skills: Electric Body, Damage Reduction 2. Spell List: 1st: Lightning.¡± To follow along with their progression, Celsius had gained access to second-level spells. One gave him a defensive cloak that hurt enemies on contact whereas the other shot a blast of flames into a 30'' cone. The MP reserves also went up a good amount, reaching a nice number for future absorbing antics. ¡°We¡¯ll have to debrief the guard and army. The King should know the goblins were looking for a ¡®champion¡¯. It could be important¡±, Cassius spoke. ¡°How so? Has this happened before?¡± Logan asked. ¡°Well, with the force in the south, it¡¯s surprising such an army attacked the capital. If they had any sort of aim aside from destruction it warrants investigation. They could have been after a newborn hero, or possibly an oracle. There¡¯s also the chance they were persuaded by a demon of some sort about something that didn¡¯t exist, twisting the goblins to do their dirty work.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the best bet?¡± Marcus asked as he started to heal more wounds. ¡°Hmm. Hard to say. With those numbers and the ability to teleport so many. They had to have had outside help. A powerful demon could have teleported that large an army. Sad to say it was most likely a stronger force, and one we couldn¡¯t have dealt with if it showed its face.¡± ¡°A deity could. Fuck, is my presence the reason they attacked?¡± Logan thought to himself in worry. The sound of approaching humanoids broke up their short break, army-aligned magi and warriors reached the display of rubble, corpses, and the saviours of the city. Following them was another window. ¡°Quest - Repel the Invaders, has been completed. You achieved 2 additional objectives during the mission and as such your rewards will be increased. Distributing rewards¡­¡± --- *** --- Chapter 57 - Goblin Invasion Debrief Logan¡¯s body was drenched in sweat and blood, his wounds had closed up but the scars across his frame were mounting. No more had become apparent on his face, though his arms and legs had several thin lines accruing with every battle. Accompanying his addition of scars, Logan inspected the reward window that had appeared in front of him. ¡°The reward for your quest completion is as follows: Thankfully, Logan¡¯s new rewards were placed into his inventory and didn¡¯t appear in midair. Checking over his new dagger he was happy at the power it held, though curious as to its further use if he had dealt with the goblins already. The guards that had approached were securing the local area, so the Spellthief had ample time to inspect his own effects. Glancing at his crafting menu showed it had several new recipes with the note of his bonus to their quality tier chances. Looking to the new skill he was further perplexed at its usability, though assumed he gained it from fighting their leader. A skill that could be used to storm a camp, or maybe abuse to kill the creatures for experience and components. Regardless, Logan would keep this one secret until he could determine if other classed beings had access to such an ability. Since it was a Skill of Life it was available to any class, so if it were available it would be widespread. The mention of reputation piqued Logan¡¯s interest but he wasn¡¯t able to find any window relating to any sort of honour system. Spark¡¯s new Bolt skill was just the lightning variant of Celsius¡¯s Ember Shard skill, and would be a great addition to the team. ¡°Hey, you good there? Logan was it?¡± Cassius spoke as he looked at a somewhat distant Spellthief. ¡°Huh? Yeah, just processing¡±, the Spellthief replied as he reflexively closed his windows with mental commands. ¡°You did some good work in that fight, taking out the leader¡¯s arm made the battle easier to be sure.¡± The sounds of shifting metal and casting in the background disturbed the conversation for a few seconds, the army securing the area further. ¡°It didn¡¯t seem as if he was showing his true strength though, those teleportations¡­¡± Marcus drifted off. ¡°Looking for some entertainment probably. The number of rings he had speaks to how many teleports he had up his sleeve. I¡¯ll have to look over it all later, or, can one of you magi do that?¡± ¡°I can¡±, Logan responded. He wanted to see them for himself regardless. ¡°Good, tally it up for us. Your work at the walls, bridge, and here definitely earned you an equal share¡±, Cassius responded as he watched Logan approach the corpse, ¡°been some time since I worked with a Grasp expert, and a summoner to boot. You on break from the MT?¡± Darting his head from the trinkets to Cassius, Logan thought about his response. ¡°Neither of us are with the MT. We¡¯re new in Gauntlet, working as hunters.¡± ¡°Wow, non-MT magi of such prowess. You¡¯re not guildless too, are you? You¡¯d be a welcome addition to the one I am part of, both of you even.¡± ¡°What guild is that? You¡¯re Cassius right?¡± Marcus asked as he held out his hand. ¡°Yeah, you are?¡± ¡°Marcus, the unconscious one is Tenn.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll remember both. The guild I am in is called Lightbeam, the guild master was Woevenk, currently under the sub until the hero returns.¡± ¡°It might be a good idea to be in a hero¡¯s guild, their clout might grant us further protection¡±, Logan thought to himself. ¡°We¡¯ll keep it in our thoughts, this whole goblin ordeal is going to take some time to sort out though¡±, Marcus replied. ¡°I¡¯ll tell our doorman to have your names written down on the allowed list.¡±
The trio talked for a little while longer as Logan inspected the goblin hero¡¯s gear fully, Logan was about to explain it all but was interrupted as the nearby guards had a portion of their forces move from the defence of the local area to approach the group and hero corpse. A stocky man clad in blood-spattered plate mail spoke to the group with a demanding voice, ¡°Is this the leader? Reports spoke of one towards the west, and the lower forces had signalled a retreat.¡± ¡°Yes, sir. The nearby corpses aided in the fight and the foe fell to the team before you. Fighter Cassius, Wizard Logan, Devout Marcus, Rogue Tenn, and a Knight we didn¡¯t get the name of¡±, Cassius spoke as if he was used to this kind of situation. ¡°A well-balanced team, though quite small for such a feat. You say the fallen aided you? The loss is a shame though their efforts bore fruit, we shall mark their graves well if they lack any death insurance or are dead-workers.¡± ¡°We plan to sell the leader¡¯s weapon to pay for the Knight¡¯s revival and the regrowth of our Rogue¡¯s hands lost in battle¡±, Cassius noted before the Knight could be moved. ¡°That is your right, hand me the blade and I will-¡± the man spoke before getting cut off. ¡°Lurne, you know that isn¡¯t your jurisdiction¡±, a man draped in grey robes spoke as they approached the team. ¡°Eighther, how wonderful to have you interrupt me as usual¡±, the stocky man Lurne responded. ¡°As the effects of the leader will be wanted for research and reasoning, it will be bought from the victors by the royal family and their magi. We don¡¯t want another invasion if this was only a portion of their full force¡±, Eighther spoke as if he was all too versed in dealing with the full-plate wearing man. Lurne showed off a face full of rage towards the mage, ¡°Two armies are not enough for you? You wish for a third?¡± ¡°Wish and preparation are not the same. I shall take over here, return to securing the city, please.¡± Turning around, Lurne¡¯s frame went up and down as he showed vivid anger and frustration towards the mage who dismissed him. ¡°Sorry about that, Lurne was most likely looking to take your fame from you.¡± ¡°Quite alright sir mage. Will you be taking the body from us?¡± Cassius asked. Marcus and Logan took a backseat to the conversation, keeping an eye on Tenn and the hero''s corpse. It was probably best for them to keep quiet and let the seemingly professional one take the helm. ¡°And yourselves if you do not mind. We shall go to the keep and debrief within one of the rooms there. If we¡¯ve faced two armies such as these in such close proximity, it would be prudent to make sure none await us on the morrow.¡± ¡°Quite the walk¡±, Cassius spoke. ¡°I can teleport us all there, the fleeing goblins should pose no further threat. I do wish we were granted more forward knowledge of such an attack, otherwise, I could have aided in it.¡± ¡°They similarly teleported here.¡± ¡°Ah, more to discuss in the debrief. May I?¡± Eighther asked as he held his hand out. Cassius picked up the goblin, Logan picked up the Knight, and Marcus picked up Tenn. Placing a hand on each other¡¯s arm, they linked up with Eighther who began to chant a spell. ¡°Place us else, place that where. Teleport.¡± Their bodies shone a bright purple as constricting lines caressed their bodies. Cutting their bodies into shreds of matter, the strips of matter shot upwards and disappeared.
Appearing instantly within a stone corridor, the strips of matter flew to the floor and reformed all of the participants of the teleportation spell. Marcus once again showed signs of distress from the teleportation, though the others had no outward detrimental effects. As if to answer their arrival, several well-dressed men and women appeared from nearby rooms and hallways. Religious symbols of the deities dangled from their necks and wrists, showing them to be Devouts. ¡°Welcome Eighther, are we to heal these few?¡± one of them asked. ¡°Yes, prepare them for a debrief. These are the victors of the goblin invasion.¡± Shocked faces donned the Devouts, mixed with sincere thanks for the team, though two would not see the response just yet. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°Sort out the healing and revival with the royal healers, after that we¡¯ll talk about what occurred¡±, Eighther instructed as he walked away. ¡°I love royal treatment¡±, Cassius spoke yet again as if he were used to this.
The group were healed to full, comforted by other magics, and had some of their lesser scars mended. Alongside healing, they received cleaning magics and trading off the items of the goblin they did not need. The sword was eagerly bought up as the Knight was taken away for revival, Tenn having his hands regrown whilst he slept in another room. Divvying up the rewards, Tenn and the Knight receiving the leftovers after the trio¡¯s choices due to their healing services, Cassius took the first pick from his contribution to the fight. Marcus and Logan were nowhere near disappointed though, the rewards they had been given far outclassed their previous gear. Many of the items worn by the hero were the second step in attribute bonus items, Cassius had taken the higher variants and gave his lower ones to the pair, meaning they still got a grand reward alongside the other items they got to pick from. Marcus obtained ¡°Hobgoblin Wristband¡± and ¡°Shaman Necklace¡± which gave a +6 to Strength and Wisdom. Logan obtained ¡°Dexterous Belt¡±, ¡°Earring of Gobtree¡±, ¡°Monstrous Advisor Earring¡± and ¡°Commander''s Headband¡±, which gave a +6 to Agility, Constitution, Intelligence, and Charisma. Trading their other items to cover the holes in their bonuses, Logan also received four new rings that held a spell he was all too familiar with at this point. Slipping the rings onto his fingers revealed that their charges had already been used, but four teleports extra a day would make hunting far quicker and easier, alongside normal adventuring benefits. Selling off the items they no longer required, or couldn¡¯t make much use of from the goblin, Logan gained a further 1 gold and 57 silver with Marcus getting not far off from that himself. The teleportation rings on their own would give Logan a heaping 20 gold in value, though he was sure he¡¯d never sell them.
After sorting their healing and rewards out, the group were called into a nearby room to discuss with Eighther about their conflict with the goblin leader. When it came to Logan¡¯s turn he noticed that no truth magic was at play during their talk, allowing him to speak freely on the matter. Talking about the hero¡¯s words, Eighther combined the testimony with the others and showed concern at a goblin knowing how to speak the Ava tongue. He did mention in return that their aim was most likely that of a newly born hero as no signs of any oracles were shown in recent days. Culminating the stories, it seemed that further attacks would not be a concern, however, a call back of the stronger adventurers was going to be issued just in case. The mage seemed to have no worries or qualms with how Logan spoke, at least the Spellthief couldn¡¯t detect any mistrust. It was just nice to talk to another caster who wasn¡¯t aiming to turn him into a trinket for his powers. Returning to the hallway, Logan was greeted by Marcus and a newly-handy Tenn. Tenn¡¯s hands were a shade brighter than his normal skin colour and Logan noticed the Rogue was touching his thumb to each finger. ¡°Good to see you back to normal, Tenn¡±, Logan announced. ¡°As close as I can be. These new hands need to be broken in properly. I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d get them back so soon.¡± ¡°The Knight¡¯s revival will take a while longer, Cassius has already left to scout the outskirts of the walls and forest for any other goblins¡±, Marcus informed. ¡°He doesn¡¯t have much to worry about now the leader is dead, though he might just want to make some extra money from the event¡±, Logan replied. ¡°No complaints on whatever he is doing it for from me¡±, Tenn added. ¡°What happened to your scouting missions by the way?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°All finished, that was a week ago I told you about them. Surprised to see me in town?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting it. Any word from Iimi or Kreya?¡± ¡°Iimi passed me one day and mentioned she was going north to acquire some materials for a new weapon. Kreya is helping Moella. If they were in the fight I might¡¯ve kept my hands¡±, Tenn followed, holding his hands up. ¡°Fewer rewards for us though¡±, Logan chimed in with a smile. ¡°I suppose. I got handed some coin, no doubt our names will be on the streets about our efforts against the leader.¡± As the group were speaking a loud bang of an opened door interrupted them, a Devout rushing down the hall to the debriefing room. Slamming on its wooden barrier, the door opened wide to the frightened man. ¡°Hero! The goblin was a hero!¡± he yelled at Eighther. A stunned mage stared at the Devout for a few moments before composing himself. ¡°Are you sure? Did his blood-¡± ¡°Yes, it was bright and sang in the normal process¡±, the Devout continued in interruption. ¡°Damn, Madamra take us to the pits. Show me.¡± Eighther was led by the Devout in a hasty walk down the hall to what seemed to be an inspection room, several other Devout standing around the open doorway. ¡°A¡­ hero? A monster was a hero?¡± Tenn spoke in a shunned stance. ¡°Pondress save us. If monsters can be born heroes we¡¯ll be doomed to further dangers¡±, Marcus added. Marcus turned his head to Logan, showing he now fully believed Logan when he warned of the attack before it happened. The Devout wasn¡¯t totally convinced back then, but having it confirmed by the royal casters was more than enough for the native of Avanar. ¡°Fuck, is it time I retire?¡± Tenn spoke under his breath. ¡°We¡¯ll have to be vigilant against any further goblinoids, if one can be a hero that means others could be too¡±, Logan said sternly. ¡°The G-Hall will be full of conversation on this topic, no doubt there will be investigation quests popping up to search for the cause of monsters becoming heroes¡±, Marcus informed. ¡°More scouting missions, damn, those are my speciality. Why couldn¡¯t this have happened elsewhere, I didn¡¯t want to engage in such grand schemes.¡± ¡°Well, they are calling in the stronger adventurers, those will probably get the important quests surrounding this event¡±, Logan added. Tenn turned to the Spellthief, his face showing even more of his attitude that he didn¡¯t want to deal with this. ¡°I hope so. Maybe I will follow Iimi¡¯s footsteps and gather up stronger materials to get better gear to survive what¡¯s to come.¡± ¡°What¡¯s to come?¡± Logan repeated as a question. ¡°Well, the last time I heard about a hero we had that war with the demons, sending off four of our only heroes to stop their invasion. Goblins don¡¯t measure up, but if the goblins have heroes on their side we could be on the losing side without heroes of our own.¡± ¡°Thirteen months back now, right?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°And they still have yet to return. I sure hope this army did arrive because of a new hero being revealed, at least then we have a chance of winning.¡± ¡°Would a hero really tip the balance so much?¡± Logan asked as he looked around the hallway. ¡°Yeah, their ability to grow far outstrips normal people. A rank 10 hero can easily take down a rank 15. Aside from that their number of spells is higher, they often learn more varied skills, among other qualities. The only thing better or on par is an oracle, but there has been no word of one of those either.¡± ¡°We both come from a smaller settlement, are there ways to find the arrival of heroes and oracles?¡± ¡°Heroes have a blood experiment to test their power, many instinctively know they are one. Oracles, their power is hard to mask as it is normally aberrant, they often announce themselves too.¡± Logan thought for a second as he looked between a knowing Marcus and a sorrowful Tenn. ¡°They may tip the scale, but they aren¡¯t necessary.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t stick around if whatever is giving me these quests is going to have me fight more heroes and armies. It is too dangerous¡±, Logan thought to himself. He did feel selfish at the thought of running away, but he wasn¡¯t meant to be here anyway. Though, if he was given the choice of saving a country for losing some blood would he have accepted it? Desperate times calling for desperate measures and all that. ¡°Well, what¡¯s done is done I guess. I¡¯m gonna turn in I think, need to sort my head out from all of this and it¡¯s late¡±, Tenn announced. ¡°Thanks for your help. I hope we can work together again¡±, Marcus said. ¡°Same from me¡±, Logan added. Placing hands on one another¡¯s shoulders, the group parted, leaving Marcus and Logan alone, with Celsius staring upwards to await the end of the adult conversation. ¡°Back to the inn?¡± Marcus asked as he turned his head to Logan. ¡°Yeah, I need to sort things out too.¡±
The walk back to the inn was long, mainly due to coming from the King¡¯s keep at the western side of the capital. People were hiding away in their houses while guards and low-rank adventurers patrolled the streets, looking for hiding goblins most likely or to just give some sense of protection to the citizens. Rooftops were lined with archers, whereas magi kept spells readied for further attacks. Quite a few elementals and undead also filled the streets, the bell from the walls allowing them to use their abilities freely until the all-clear was called. Both the water elementals and magi were using their watery effects to douse the flames started by the flying goblinoids while the earth elementals helped to level roads and move debris. Carts full of goblin bodies could be seen and heard moving the corpses to the component houses to harvest the resources from them. It seemed that the goblin shamans and hobgoblins would be used for further experiments, while the basic goblins had their ears removed and carted outside the city. Logan remembered reading that monster meat wasn¡¯t the best to eat, but for animals and other monsters, it was mostly fine. Dumping the corpses in the forest wouldn¡¯t cause too many issues, or even using them as fertilizer in the rebuilding Moella. No matter the income from their victory, plenty of people lost their lives in the conflict. Revival magic was expensive, and the blade of the leader was only going to cover a single revive and regrowth. Unlike normal spells, both required magical components to function, meaning it came with quite the price tag to be cast. Reaching the inn, the pair witnessed the night move into the early morning. They could see small squads of guards and adventurers being formed to scout out the nearby forests and roads for potential threats. Groups of about a dozen were eager to strike back at the goblins who had arrived without any forewarning. Seeing the power held by the royal guard, the army, and the higher-rank adventurers, Logan felt a large portion of guilt. Had he told them earlier they could have been better prepared and arrived at the frontlines earlier, though he knew that they¡¯d either not believe him or find his oracle status. He had done well to hide from any further Magi¡®s Tower interference, and the first taste of their ilk soured his tongue for anymore.
Entering the Meek Moat Inn, Logan saw the interior almost devoid of life, if it weren¡¯t for Yetveka behind the counter with a crossbow atop it. The gashriek jumped slightly as the door opened but lowered her guard as she noticed two of her regulars enter. ¡°Thank the above a friendly face came through that doorway, I¡¯ve been hearing yelling and explosions for ages¡±, she spoke with a drawn-out sigh. ¡°The attack is over, the goblins sounded the retreat after we took down the leader¡±, Marcus mentioned. Yetveka¡¯s eyes lit up at the announcement, ¡°You? The two of you took on that army¡¯s leader?¡± ¡°Along with the help of others, though it might be more apt to say we aided them. A Rogue friend of ours by the name of Tenn and a Fighter called Cassius, he pulled most of the-¡± Logan started to explain but was cut off. ¡°Cassius? No wonder you won, with most other adventurers out and about he¡¯d be a good vanguard to have at our defence.¡± ¡°You know of him?¡± Marcus asked as he sat at the counter. ¡°He did some minor hunter work, but he is mostly an adventurer. In the 20s area for his rank last I recalled. Has a legendary arm from a dungeon he helped clear a while back.¡± ¡°That sword of his? With all the flames?¡± Logan queried. ¡°Yeah, explodes ''n'' all.¡± ¡°That explains how well he held his own, teleported me a few times too so he has a fair few spell rings.¡± ¡°Sounds like you worked with him for a long time out there, how¡¯s about we chat about it over drinks¡±, Yetveka announced as she started to pour ale into three tankards. --- *** --- Chapter 58 - Aftermath of Goblins The night was long and the rest thereafter even longer. Logan and Marcus slept until almost noon before the midday ruckus outside rose them from their slumber. A slight throbbing could be felt in Logan¡¯s head, though he was sure the others would be feeling a similar sensation across their bodies after the ordeal of the night prior. Logan¡¯s mouth felt like a dirty desert, taking a gulp of water from the glass beside his bed he followed up with a Clean mick to brush his teeth. Looking at his hand he saw the coarseness developing across his palm, workman¡¯s hands if he ever saw them. Instead of the rough edges to his fingers that pencils and pens would rub in, Logan¡¯s hand had been toughened from gripping onto leather and fire alike. Looking at his quest log showed it to be empty once more, with no mention of a follow-up or even a thank you from whoever gave the quest to him. Since it had been a main quest, Logan surmised it was one he couldn¡¯t avoid, whereas Dena¡¯s quest was a side quest, leading the Spellthief to theorize he could have ignored it and still gained quests thereafter. Both he and his ally had gained a major boost in the past week, from items and coins to skills and levels. At what point should he switch focus onto other avenues? To his knowledge, there were no retries in his future, and finding out the hefty price of revival meant that without a good stockpile of gold in pocket he¡¯d be facing an eternal end if he went below the new death marker of -11 HP. Joining a guild would certainly grant him protection and steady parties, though solo work would allow him to progress his unique Spellthief abilities further. Hiding his actual number of spell slots was going to get harder and harder, calculating that a Wizard of rank 11 would have around 24 first-level spells and 13 second-level spells. Even with quickcasting that¡¯d bring the casting down to 12 and 6 a day. Spending six minutes to summon Spark, Logan looked over his two elementals with a calculating gaze. Celsius had a laidback attitude and even flexed his flames a bit, whereas Spark stood straight with his arms at his sides. These creatures held 19 MP of spells for Logan to use, and going forward were going to be imperative to keep his cover. Mulling it over in his head, Logan decided that his next course of action was to develop his Spellthief specific skills. Spell Absorption would need to grow to combat the more dangerous foes and eliminate the chance of failure, while Charge Transfer would be the first place to spend his next skill point in the hopes it exchanged at a better rate. He¡¯d also like to acquire another hobgoblin wristband to fill in the last attribute that was lacking a bonus, though he¡¯d be giving up on Wisdom. For that, he¡¯d need to gather up three hobgoblin ears, two wolf pelts, and some miscellaneous components. It was either crafting for cheap or buying it for 1 gold, though a lot of items were out of stock with both battles against the goblin armies. A lot of the components from the invasion were also taken up by the guard and the city to aid repairs. The chance of crafting a higher tier also enticed that option. Logan¡¯s train of thought was interrupted by a knock at the door. Marcus sat up and walked over to answer it. Opening the door revealed a short man with a large messenger bag dangling at his hip. ¡°Letter for adventurers¡±, he spoke directly, holding out an envelope. ¡°G''day¡±, he ended concisely as Marcus took the envelope. Closing the door, a bit perplexed, Marcus unfolded the envelope and began to read it aloud. ¡°Calling all able-bodied adventurers of rank 2 and above. Goblin eradication missions are available at the G-Hall and adventuring halls of nearby settlements at a 20% price hike. Any completed missions will also grant a single free reassessment to participating adventurers. Magi with tracking magics and Rogues with scanning skills are requested to report to the monarchy to aid in the hunting of any nearby goblinoid settlements. Any and all goblin kills must also bring back a vial of blood to be handed to the adventuring hall, these will be bought at 6 copper each¡­¡±
The letter continued on for a bit longer, but it was an almost endless list of goblin related tasks. It was apparent that the sighting of a hero amongst the monster ranks stirred caution, the blood most likely being used to determine if any had hero potential. Unless Logan was going to be taking down shamans, this new development wasn¡¯t going to be aiding his skills much. However, it did line up with his new Call to War skill to lure goblinoids to his location. The trouble with using that skill would come in the form of numbers, Logan couldn¡¯t control the distance or how many goblins would react to it and not all would be friendly on arrival. ¡°What are your ideas about this, Logan?¡± Marcus asked as he saw Logan plotting. ¡°It lines up with our improvements, I can craft any trinket that uses goblin components now, and with greater skill. I can also draw them towards us, but I was hoping to focus a bit on our magic arsenal.¡± ¡°The way I see it, the nearby forests, caves, and plains will be full of adventurers. It would be hard to hide your skills even if we could find a quiet spot. Aside from that, the capital will soon be swarmed with the called-back adventurers for defence. If anything, we¡¯re either going to want to group up with others and deal with goblins, or, we find a dungeon.¡± ¡°Like the silver mines with the bastarns back near Tinte?¡± ¡°Similar, I bought a chart for nearby dungeons as well as a book describing them¡±, Marcus started as he opened up his book, ¡°there are three types of dungeons: natural, made, and spellforced. Those silver mines would have been natural, a place that was overrun with monsters without the original intent of being a dungeon. Made dungeons are more like that goblin cave we invaded, it is made with the purpose of being a base for creatures. Spellforced dungeons are rare locations that periodically form new monsters, we¡¯ve yet to engage with one of those.¡± ¡°They ¡®form¡¯ monsters?¡± Logan asked. ¡°Correct. They pull spellforce from the air and nearby corpses to craft new bodies for monsters to patrol the dungeons or even eventually leave to the nearby forests.¡± ¡°So why would we go to a dungeon?¡± ¡°Like quests and contracts, once someone has been written to be working on it no one else is allowed to interfere. Since the goblin quests seem to be geared more to communal works like when we hunted wolves, taking on a dungeon would allow us some more privacy.¡± ¡°It was quite secure when we did go to the dungeons previously, even without noting that we were going there. Though the emergence of a bastarn coven did make those silver mines dangerous with just the two of us.¡± ¡°Those weren¡¯t formal dungeons, as far as I could gather. It¡¯ll be fine now, I can cast sixteen healing spells a day, your summons are tall enough that I¡¯d wager they have a few spells to grant you, and your new rings would allow us an easy retreat if needed¡±, Marcus calculated. ¡°A good enough plan as any, what dungeon would you suggest we take on?¡± ¡°I was thinking of an easy one to start, we haven¡¯t really completed any dungeon aside from that small made one by the goblins. Your elementals cleared out the sewers beneath us but there is a coastal cave down south, around two days'' walk, or one ride, away. It is another made dungeon, crafted by naegren.¡± ¡°I read a bit about those in the wild components book, a fishy race right?¡± ¡°Yeah, and they are almost all spellcasters¡±, Marcus remarked with a grin. Jumping from his bed Logan grew a large smile across his face. ¡°You¡¯ve done a lot of homework for this, great job.¡± ¡°I was thinking ahead of the week we gave ourselves. This whole goblin mess did screw with a lot of other things we could have done. We can¡¯t exactly hunt down any oracle rumours with the upheaval as it is.¡± ¡°So do we sign up at the hall?¡± Logan asked as he checked his gear. ¡°There is a backroom at the hall that deals with dungeons specifically, we can sort everything there. Last I saw the dungeon hadn¡¯t been touched in a few years, ripe time for harvesting.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t secured after it was cleared?¡± ¡°Not much point, it has no natural resource. Seems it was but forgotten since the threat was cleansed. But, naegren do use it as a breeding ground. They only attack sailors so news of them isn¡¯t too widespread.¡± ¡°So, move to the cavern, clear it out, back in three days. That should kill a bit of the goblin craze for us to do our own assault.¡± ¡°Right. I need to prepare new gear for the dungeon, I will also sort out my own horse since I know you have Carmen. I will meet you at the G-Hall when you¡¯re done setting up the contract?¡± Marcus announced in a very energetic and confident manner. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°Sure, see you there¡±, Logan replied. Marcus shot up and made his way out of the room, leaving Logan slightly stunned. ¡°He has changed a lot these past few weeks. He seemed a bit timid and reliant on me, now he¡¯s the one giving encouragement and ideas. I suppose his planning is thanks to his Wisdom stat, but seeing how well he can do in a fight has more than bolstered his courage.¡± ¡°We¡¯re good to go, boss!¡± Celsius affirmed as the conversation ended. ¡°Tell us, and we shall go¡±, Spark added. ¡°I sometimes forget you two are standing there, c''mon, let¡¯s go questing. It¡¯ll be good to get away from the city, we won¡¯t be pestered as much from our aid against the army¡¯s leader.¡±
Leaving the inn to the city streets revealed it to still be in a state of worry. Civilians returned to the streets but had wary glances into the alleyways or at any loud noises. More guards lined the streets, some who seemed fresh out of training and ready to show their worth. Adventurers were moving out in small groups towards the eastern gates, possibly to take on the new quests from the hall. Outside of somewhat common sights, Logan also noticed quite a few carts full of stone and brick being driven to the walls to aid in the repairs. This attack would only do well for the masons of the city, getting large orders for materials after the fact. He was unsure how long repairs would take, though with the aid of magic it couldn¡¯t take that long could it? Walking towards the G-Hall, Logan was able to pick up on a few conversations along the way. Several people were talking about Cassius and his contribution to the defeat of the goblins, whereas others had heard rumours he was the one to kill the leader of the army. Some whispers also related to Tenn, Marcus, and Logan assisting in the fight, with a few people wondering if the passing Spellthief was one of the helpers. Another topic of discussion was that a representative of the Magi¡¯s Tower association was going to be arriving in Gauntlet within a day. Apparently, they were to survey the damage and aid in the tracking of where the goblins had come from. This piece of news instilled a large amount of fear in Logan. ¡°Damn, are they going to be using magic to identify random people?¡± he thought to himself. Not wanting to tempt fate any further, Logan took a quick stop within the local markets. Buying up several materials for 1 gold, the Spellthief prepared to craft a cache arm whilst away from the city. The recipe would come in handy much sooner than he had hoped, though getting it earlier would be better than later, after he had already been scanned more thoroughly.
Arriving at the G-Hall, Logan was almost pushed to the floor if he wasn¡¯t able to dodge the stampede of adventurers coming in and out of the doorway. Squeezing past the endless stream of bodies, Logan was able to circle around out of the main walkway of the hall. Groups were being formed at breakneck speeds, many adventurers standing in a line against the far left wall with their signets on display. As if being picked for gym, they were pointed at by group leaders and joined up with minimal words shared. Logan was on the opposite side, so shouldn¡¯t have been mistaken for wanting a group, though that wasn¡¯t enough. A large man with an axe larger than Logan¡¯s upper body approached the mage-looking individual. His signet denoted him as a Fighter with over a hundred adventurer quests under his belt, the red colour almost being mistaken for blood. ¡°Mage. You available for a quest?¡± the man asked directly, shuffling a bit of his armour to be more comfortable. ¡°No, sorry I am already with another team¡±, Logan answered formally. The large Fighter stood there for a few seconds as if processing the response. ¡°Good luck¡±, the Fighter responded, walking away from the Spellthief and to another mage-looking adventurer across the hall. It was certainly a better outcome than the last time Logan had been asked for a quest, though there were a few other magi on offer at this point. As if to follow it up with more, another Fighter who was more accustomed to the bow got Logan¡¯s attention before he could reach the backrooms. ¡°Hey, you were the mage at the wall when the goblins attacked. You threw up that large Gaia Wall, right? You free to help my team take on some shamans?¡± the woman asked politely. ¡°Sorry, I have another quest lined up¡±, Logan again answered formally. ¡°No problem, I am sure you¡¯ll be busy with those skills. Good luck!¡± she replied before quickly moving off to her team near a table. ¡°Can I not be pestered so much? I thought they¡¯d only approach you if you were at a table or that wall? Has this goblin commotion really riled them all up?¡± Logan thought to himself as he got to the backrooms.
Placing his hand on a metal reinforced wooden door, Logan pushed it open to a wide room at the back of the hall. Moving inside he saw a few people talking at a smaller counter at the far end. Another board was set up on the right wall with three tables off to the left. A few candles lit the room though no windows were in sight. ¡°Logan!¡± a familiar voice called. It didn¡¯t take long for Logan to turn his head and see Kreya sitting at a table. ¡°Over here.¡± Moving over to the commotion, Logan readied himself for another invitation to a quest without his permission. ¡°Hello, Kreya. Is it time for another scar?¡± Logan asked teasingly. ¡°Glad you can turn that event into a joke, but no. I just wanted to say hi. I heard a mage helped in the defence of the city while I was away. Sadly the run here left me at the tail-end of it, but I was sure you had a hand in it¡±, Kreya responded as if to brush off the comment. She nudged a nearby chair to present it to Logan. Taking the offered seat Logan replied, ¡°I helped with some offence and defence, Cassius did a lot of the work though.¡± ¡°I knew you¡¯d be there. You must be the famed Wall master. Making a name for yourself as a goblin expert I hear. Though talking about Cassius, it seems that man isn¡¯t far from his next rank, I bet he¡¯s 24 by now.¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t get to talk much, we teleported around a bit before separating to help different sections of the city¡±, Logan replied. ¡°24? No wonder he was much stronger than others I had seen¡±, he thought to himself. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯d be the mage who aided in his assault against the army¡¯s leader, would you? A Devout was with him, so Marcus too?¡± Kreya asked inquisitively. ¡°It¡¯ll get out eventually, the royals were going to talk about it soon I think. It was Cassius, Tenn, Marcus, and myself in the fight against the leader. There was also a Knight who I didn¡¯t get the name of and a few teams before us that tried¡±, Logan relented. ¡°Tenn? Belowdamn, he¡¯s gonna make a name for himself with that kind of attitude.¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t heard from him yet then?¡± ¡°No, last I heard was about some scouting missions?¡± Kreya spoke as her voice trailed off. ¡°Said he finished those, was in the city when the attack happened, saw us, and we teamed up.¡± ¡°Good things all around then, aside from the attack of course.¡± ¡°What are you doing here anyway? Going to a dungeon?¡± Logan asked as he looked around the room. ¡°Yeah, I got called to help a starting group take on a natural dungeon to the north. A group of goblins took over a guard post about a half-day ride away. It should be good training for them and I am to look after them.¡± ¡°Are they not high rank then?¡± ¡°Bunch of 1s, 2s, and a 3. The team will be eight big, alongside me¡±, Kreya counted. ¡°They took over a guard post? What about the guards? They should be more than enough for goblins¡±, Logan responded with a stunned expression. ¡°The guards came running when they saw smoke, since their post wasn¡¯t under siege at the time. However, the few they left behind got swarmed by fleeing goblins. The current guard isn¡¯t going to clear it out due to defending the city, so they called for adventurers.¡± ¡°Shitty state of affairs then. Well, good luck with that, Marcus and I are going to be taking on our own dungeon so I shall talk with you later¡±, Logan announced as he stood up. ¡°Good luck to you too. Remember you still have that free quest aid from me when you need it, or cheaper dungeon help if you¡¯re going for another after that one¡±, Kreya spoke as if to enforce the repayment. ¡°I¡¯ll keep it in mind.¡±
Finally getting to the board with the dungeons, Logan was able to find a faded contract detailing the coastal cavern that held the naegren. It seemed a bit old and was covered up ever so slightly by another contract. It didn¡¯t have images of the enemies, though did have a sketch of the entrance to the cavern on it alongside some scrawl of information. Taking it to the counter, Logan arrived just in time to get a free spot to talk with the receptionist, a scruffy looking man who had been run ragged from the influx of quests. ¡°Morning ad, another goblin hold?¡± he asked quickly with his hand open to take the piece of parchment. Logan recognised the term ¡°ad¡± as a nickname for adventurers. Handing over the contract Logan responded, ¡°No, taking on a naegren infestation actually.¡± ¡°Ah, wanting to get away from the hustle and bustle. I understand. Let me read over it and check the book¡±, the man replied as he took out a large tome. It took a few moments for the man to get to the correct page, but he nodded with an exclaimed, ¡°ah¡±, as he did. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s see your signet.¡± Taking his signet from under his shirt Logan showed it to the man. ¡°Good, you¡¯re above the minimum. Bit high though. This quest requires a team of at least four adventurers of rank 3 and above, with an advisory, as usual, to have a backup Devout with the Healer¡¯s Caress skill to heal wounds. Since you¡¯re a rank 8 we can waive the limitations, you¡¯d only need a helper at that point I¡¯d wager if you¡¯re safe about it.¡± ¡°I do have a partner, and my summons here too¡±, Logan replied as he motioned to his two helpers. The man eyed up Logan and noticed the silver armband on his right arm. ¡°Ah, hunter, you¡¯re well versed in humanoid combat then. You wanting to buy intel on the dungeon or go straight for it?¡± ¡°Intel?¡± Logan asked. ¡°This your first dungeon? It is for a lot of adventurers today. Intel are packets of information that scouts and biologists gather about certain locales and their inhabitants. It boils down to tips about dungeons, for example, what types of naegren you¡¯d be facing, any magic they may have, weaknesses, and so forth¡±, the man listed. ¡°Sure, what is on offer?¡± ¡°This place isn¡¯t exhaustively researched, so only one packet that explains the types of monsters there. 10 silver.¡± ¡°Sure, that¡¯s not expensive, tell me what I¡¯ll be facing¡±, Logan accepted as he placed 10 silver coins onto the table. --- *** --- Chapter 59 - Naegren Dungeon. Part 1 Reading over the intel pamphlet that Logan had bought from the receptionist had revealed quite a few types of naegren in the caverns. Aside from the various types, it became apparent that elemental resistances and weaknesses would play a larger part in taking on dungeons. Along with the important role they¡¯d play, Logan learnt the most common types of damage. Damage, Earth, Fire, Holy, Ice, Lightning, Shadow, Water, and Wind. Damage referred to physical damage dealt from weapons, though was also split into bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing, it also encompassed the Force mick which was a derivative of bludgeoning damage. Almost all of the naegren were immune to water damage and had varying resistances against earth, fire, shadow, and wind. To offset their resistances, most naegren had a weakness to lightning, and would take increased damage from such. Pretty common concepts for Logan to understand, but valuable nonetheless going forward. His Necromantic spell would deal less, but not enough to warrant not preparing at least one for the fights ahead. The intel told Logan of the three most commonly sighted foes in the cavern, naegren swashbucklers, watercasters, and guardians. They made up a solid team of damage dealers, magi, and defensive units. What was surprising to Logan was that the watercasters could use both Aqua and Heal, showing their versatility but also linking them to Devouts. Speaking with the receptionist, Logan was informed that he had a deadline for clearing the dungeon, as was normal for all dungeons. The coastal cavern was to be cleared within one month, or the contract would go back onto the board. These times varied from dungeon to dungeon, some allowing only a few days to others allowing multiple months. The quest itself was to clear out the cavern of any naegren currently infesting it. Any acquired items were allowed to be kept, and the reward for completing the dungeon was 100 silver. It wasn¡¯t amazing by the standards of the bonuses hunting could bring in, but with casting foes, Logan could easily increase Spell Absorption. Another benefit to this quest would also be the components, the scales of the naegren taking up a large portion of a trinket that provided water resistance. With everything settled at the G-Hall, Logan left with haste. It was still abuzz with activity, but the Spellthief was able to squeeze and skip around any would-be party members. Exiting to the streets he saw Marcus waiting atop his new brown steed with Carmen beside him. Logan flicked the contract in his hand to let Marcus know it was all ready.
The party quickly moved to the city gates, showing their disrepair as the remains of the metallic portcullis had been pried off the walls to get replaced. A multitude of rubble and bricks set the area up as a disaster point, which it was in the heat of the moment. Magi were using telekinesis magic to move around the rubble and aid in the placement of new bricks with the aid of several earth elementals. Making it out of the gates Logan could hear the send-offs from some of the guards who recognised him, giving a wave back to them as he passed. No word had come up about the trickster¡¯s crackers, so Logan was sure he was in the clear about the forewarning, for as much good as it did. When the group was far enough away from the city, they gathered up as Logan dismissed his elementals. Asking ahead of time to make sure it would be alright with the animals, Logan placed his hand on Marcus¡¯s shoulder as the Devout readied himself. With his monocular, Logan looked far ahead to an open space and mentally thought of casting a Dimensional Jaunt. Vacuuming into their centres, the four creatures left with a blast of wind and appeared with a similar shockwave 11 miles away from where they had started. The horses gave out a few hesitant neighs but were reassured by their riders. Sadly this would be the only distance they could cover via teleportation, as the rest of the trip would be through forested areas and Logan wasn¡¯t about to teleport into the sky.
With his summons brought back out, the team made the final three-quarters of the trip to the coastline and followed it a bit more to the south. No large stretches of land showed themselves as they moved, at least nothing more than a mile or two, so the horses got plenty of exercise out from their stables. The peaceful sound of the wilderness calmed Logan¡¯s senses after a tormentful previous night. It was nice to get out of the city again, and to have Marcus by his side for a chat along the way made it even nicer. Logan couldn¡¯t remember many times back on Earth where he could just stroll like this, but then income and daily life were vastly different in his world. Working as an adventurer meant he only needed to do a day¡¯s work to get a week¡¯s rest, though it was also fraught with danger of many varieties. Combining the monster threat with the quests being given to him, was it a good enough trade to stay here for a longer period? Logan continued to argue with his own mind over what to do, but thoughts of his father always prevailed. An orange hue painted the coast a beautiful sight, the trek here brought no dangers but so close to the capital it would be a sight to see if there were any. The only commotion the group heard were adventurers scouting out the area, or killing any goblins they came across. That in turn pushed away most other monsters in the local vicinity. With the ocean on their right and tall cliffs on their left, they had made it to their destination.
Finding a large enough rock to hitch their horses to, Marcus set up a note to any other adventurers that a dungeon was being challenged nearby and to not enter it. Logan set about using Echo Radar to scout the entrance of the caverns, the clicking echoing into the depths and returning countless nudges against Logan¡¯s body in return. Almost immediately he could see enemies appearing on his mini-map that was filling in with geographical data. Four naegren were a stone¡¯s throw away from the gaping maw into the cliffside. Talking with Marcus it was decided that they¡¯d start clearing it out today and, if needed, rest and finish it off tomorrow. Logan¡¯s prepared spells comprised of 1 Gaia, 1 Lightning, and 3 Necromantic, alongside his 3 summon slots being used, Logan still had 3 Dimensional Jaunts left from his rings too, so a quick attack or hasty retreat were left in the pocket. Since the three varieties of enemies were easy to distinguish between, Marcus and the elementals were instructed to attack the guardians first and then the swashbucklers, but to leave the watercasters alone. If they didn¡¯t flee at the sign of danger, Logan was to suck up any spells slung at him to improve his skills. It was a shame that he couldn¡¯t use Essence Absorption on monsters, but this was good enough.
Summoning up his Light Ally, after such a long time of not doing so, the team had a viable light source to see them through the interior of the cavern. Rushing ahead to draw the attention of the foes, Logan appeared in front of the four enemies, identifying them revealed them all to be swashbucklers. ¡°Naegren Swashbuckler - Aquatic. Level 3: 18/18 HP, 2/2 MP. The most common type of naegren to be seen in adulthood. A naegren swashbuckler has trained in the arts of bladed combat and is normally seen using a trident though many use cutlasses gained from pirates. Standing on average at 5'' 7" tall, these creatures almost rival the height of adventurers. Skills: Water Jet. Spells: Aqua, Infuse. Reduction: Damage ?. Resistance: Damage ?, Earth ?, Fire ?, Holy ?, Ice ?, Lightning -50%, Shadow ?, Water 100%, Wind ?.¡± Seeing the naegren for the first time revealed their form. A strangely bipedal fish with finned arms and a large fin on its back. Covered head to toe in blue scales with some smooth skin in places. Their webbed hands and feet made them excellent swimmers, with their opposable thumbs allowing them to use their tridents easily. Seeing that the swashbucklers had 2 MP each, Logan moved to disarm the closest foe. Grabbing ahold of their arm he gave a solid knee into the elbow joint and broke it out of place, the trident hitting the floor with a loud clang. With Logan¡¯s Strength, he dealt 5 damage to the surprised swashbuckler. In retaliation against the assault on their kin, the three others charged Logan with their tridents. With a Force mick into one¡¯s leg, followed by a parry and spinning kick to another¡¯s head he sent two to the floor. The final one was interrupted by a bolt combined with a fiery and electrifying ranged volley, almost bringing him to death. The first naegren had forced his elbow back into place, outside of the breaking of bones the cavern was beginning to fill with the sound of combat. Echoing into the chambers further away, Logan was sure they were going to draw the attention of more enemies. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Realising that melee confrontation was not winning, the fishy fiends backstepped away. The first two shooting out volleys of water towards Logan, his hand catching the orbs of water as he mentally commanded, ¡°Spell Absorb¡±, causing the spells to be vortexed into his palm. ¡°Spell Absorptions successful. 2 Aqua charges stored. Aqua has progressed to tier 4.¡± With the charges stored, Logan let them loose immediately into the weapons of the other two. ¡°Aqua Shot¡±, he called out twice, a waterfall emerging across his arm as it formed into an orb in his hand, shooting at the tridents. Exploding in a crash of waves, the spells cracked the weapons easily, though they stayed in single pieces. Seeing their spells were ineffective, the two naegren that had shot the spells instead pulled up water to their maws and shot out short beams of pressurised water. Logan already calculated this to be their Water Jet skill and dodged to the side. ¡°Those two¡±, Logan called out to his party. Turning bolts and skills against the two naegren, they fell quickly to a barrage of ranged attacks. Seeing their brethren fall, the last two naegren started to retreat but were met by Force micks to the backs and subsequent death. A quick battle, and one that saw no losses on the parties¡¯ side. It wasn¡¯t a large sum of experience but the size of the dungeon would make up for that. With the XP numbers popping up, that also alerted Logan that the party was out of combat. They didn¡¯t want to spend the time descaling the foes though, as that was going to take time. Instead, they pressed onwards to the next battle.
Moving through winding corridors cut out from the rock of the cliff, the party could hear chatter down the way accompanied by water droplets hitting puddles. It was a mess of warbly taunts and phlegmy screeches, totally undecipherable. Was it a normal discussion or a heated argument? Whatever it was, Logan¡¯s Echo Rader showed the next room to be a wide-open chamber, a good hundred feet tall, and just a bit over that for its width and length, with several offshoot corridors. Within the chamber lay fourteen adversaries, which was not exactly an ideal number to be gaining further skill mastery with. Logan could only hold four charges at a time, any further spells would hurt him as normal. Readjusting their tactics to allow the party to attack foes who stopped using spells, Logan absorbed two Lightning spells from Spark to use as a barrier in the coming room. Darting into the room, Logan saw the caster variant of the enemies and gave them a quick Identification. ¡°Naegren Watercaster - Aquatic. Level 4: 12/12 HP, 7/7 MP. A skilled mage of the naegren, the watercaster is adept at dealing damage with its spells as well as healing its allies when the going gets tough. Often taller than the swashbuckler, at around 5''10", they would be mistaken for brutes if not for their thinner frame. Skills: Water Jet. Spells: Aqua, Heal, Infuse. Reduction: Damage ?. Resistance: Damage ?, Earth ?, Fire ?, Holy ?, Ice ?, Lightning -50%, Shadow ?, Water 100%, Wind?.¡± Looking around he saw the chance to make himself a corridor, throwing his hands to the left and right he chanted, ¡°Lightning Wall¡±, twice over, creating large streaks of azure bolts to appear in large vertical planes. Effectively blocking the sight from four naegren on his left and six on the right. With four ahead of him, Logan held out both hands in preparation for the casters to do their thing. Four spheres of magical water formed in the hands of the naegren, and were shot towards Logan one after the other with delays due to the enemies getting into position or being late to react. Catching the balls as if playing catch back home, Logan commanded over and over in his head, ¡°Spell Absorb.¡± ¡°Spell Absorptions successful. 4 Aqua charges stored. Aqua has progressed to tier 5.¡± ¡°Aqua Wall¡±, Logan chanted four times over, combining the shocking barriers with torrents of crashing water on his sides. Continuing to wait for his signal to attack; the rest of the party hugged the wall at the entrance to the room. Whereas on the other side of the spell walls, the remaining naegren charged around to get a good view of their attacker. Peeking over his shoulder, Logan called out to his allies to commence their attack. Bolts, embers, and electricity balls came hurtling from behind the flanking naegren and hit them in their backs. As Logan had already increased his spell mastery from the two types of naegren he was only going to lose out on absorption mastery so it wasn¡¯t a total loss if any were to fall. Four more volleys of water came shooting towards Logan, though this time they were in sync, forcing Logan to take two hits and two absorptions. With his new charges, he created a wall in front of him to block off the four casters and charged backwards to meet the foes behind him. Drawing his blade, Logan sliced with amazing speed into the backs of the naegren swashbucklers, hitting four Backstabs with his ashin dagger dealt between 22 and 25 damage which killed the foes instantly. Another two fell to the barrage of ranged attacks from Logan¡¯s allies. Another naegren watercaster amongst the bunch that had flanked Logan cast another Aqua spell towards the Spellthief, though it was quickly absorbed. A Force retaliation to the face caused the caster to crash to the floor away from Logan. The three remaining flanking naegren charged at Logan¡¯s allies, but a readied Spark let out a Lightning Shot to one, and Celsius burnt down another with a Flame Shot. The last chickened out as a sight of shock shot across his face, seeing his allies die all too quickly. Slipping across the floor it began to flee but a Force sent him to the floor just like all the rest. With their flanking foes dealt with, the walls of magic all started to crumble and wash away, revealing the last remaining naegren casters had climbed the walls to hide away in higher-up alcoves. Orbs of water formed over and over again as they began to hail towards Logan, dodging, weaving, and grasping onto the spheres of magic where he could, Logan shot them into the nearby walls to free up space in his skill. It wasn¡¯t long until the creatures had used up all of their MP and started to resort to their base skill that wouldn¡¯t help Logan in the slightest. Giving the command to attack, the party let loose with their crossbow, skills, and mick to bring down the high-ground foes. After it all ended, the experience numbers started to float upwards, Logan successfully absorbing another ten spells but getting hit by three more. A fight that hurt on both sides, though mostly the enemies as they all lay dead on the floor. The damage that had been taken was being patched up by Marcus¡¯s Healer¡¯s Caress, no wonder it was recommended by the hall. Checking over his skills quickly, Logan saw that Backstab was up to 75% and Spell Absorption was at 89%. Stealth was also upgrading swiftly as he reached tier 3. Depending on the numbers ahead he could get both of his main skills into the next tier, though they¡¯d need to take a break for the Backstab usages to return. So the team took a short break, giving Logan time to harvest up the components from the naegren corpses.
Two hours passed, the elementals pacing between the hallways and the entrance into the large dome-like room. Logan took his gilded skinning knife and took the back fins off the naegren and picked out 5 hidden purple scales from each corpse. It was a long time to spend on Harvesting, but it would be worth it in the end. With the time spent, Marcus was able to fully heal the party alongside having all skills off of their cooldowns.
Due to the timed, but unlimited, healing combined with the absorption of spells, the party hadn¡¯t lost much in the way of ability resources. It was decided that they would proceed even further before resting for the day. They had four choices for hallways that split off from the chamber they rested within. Ending up with a clockwise rotation, they took the left-most corridor deeper into the cliff cavern. The group was curious as to why they hadn¡¯t been attacked during their two-hour break, they weren¡¯t exactly quiet. Was it because the chamber they had gone to wasn¡¯t frequented much? It was entirely possible that the corridors were winding and interconnected. Clicking his fingers to map the area ahead he found a possible cause. Echo Radar painted a messy map, with tiny passageways in the walls, crooked paths, and barely the full range that his skill could reach. The caverns were made in a way that caused sound to travel in a weird way, diminishing its distance. Though this was just a faint clicking noise, not the explosions and electricity of his previous spells. Approaching the next chamber, the group heard a large group of the naegren screeching at one another. The dots on Logan¡¯s mini-map revealed them to be slightly larger than the previous ones, leading him to believe the room to be full of naegren guardians. Since the fight would be vacant of any spell flinging, it would be the opportune time for a quick clear. --- *** --- Chapter 60 - Naegren Dungeon. Part 2 Absorbing a quick spell from Celsius and Spark both, Logan moved to the corner of the wall his party were hiding against. Spying ten of the brutes in the room, the Spellthief envisioned a claustrophobic fight ahead of him. Planning ahead with his team he charged around the corner. The ten guardians darted their heads to the oncoming foe, their surroundings nothing more than a large chamber with food and bones littering the floor. Picking up their tridents they braced to skewer the charger, yet Logan slid to the centre of the room as he motioned his arms frontwards at his sides. ¡°Flame Wall, Lightning Wall¡±, he chanted. Large columns of fire erupting on his left and dazzling electrical displays on his right. Catching a handful of the naegren in the walls of pain, Celsius charged through the barrier of fire while Spark darted into the wall of bolts. Throwing his hands towards the two guardians outside of the walls, Logan chanted again, ¡°Force¡±, to pelt them with further magic. From the back, Marcus shot his crossbow, both the bolts and Logan¡¯s Force micks dealing what seemed to be three damage less than normal against the burlier fishy fiends. With the reduced damage, the duo of naegren got close enough to Logan to stab out with their tridents, Logan ducking and dodging side to side to avoid the sharp assault. Drawing up two ashin blades from his cloak, Logan moved to parry the attacks of his foes, sparks filling the air alongside the clanking of metal. Running up from behind him was a confident Marcus, crossbow swapped out for his staff. Ducking under Logan¡¯s outstretched arm, Marcus swept his staff upwards to unsteady the stance of the right guardian¡¯s trident to continue his own attack. Relieved of one nuisance, Logan quickly parried and jumped to the side of his single quarry to fell them with a following slash. Spinning around he threw one dagger at the one engaged with Marcus, landing a solid hit into the creature¡¯s arm before getting knocked on the head by Marcus. Crashing to the floor, the corpses announced the end of the Wall spells as they died just like the fish. Revealing half of the foes dead on both sides, the elementals retreated as Logan saw their health getting quite low from the onslaught. Two guardians charged from the left while three came from the right. ¡°Celsius¡±, Logan called out. In response, the elemental shot a ball of fire towards Logan which he grasped in midair to absorb. Blocking a strike from one of his foes and sliding to a ducked position with one outstretched leg to dodge another, Logan flowed his hand near the feet of the naegren. ¡°Flame Wall¡±, he incanted, a burst of flames shooting upwards and finishing off the two facing him. Turning around he saw Marcus parrying several blows with his staff, but against three he was showing difficulties landing any retaliation. Tossing the dagger still in his hand, Logan planted it into the chest of one of the naegren, which proceeded to plant itself on the floor as it fell. Drawing up another and another after that, Logan threw two more daggers at the last foes to finish them off as well. Circling around to retrieve his daggers, Logan saw several marks across Marcus who had been dealt a few attacks in return. His friend was down to 28/64 HP and it showed in the blood that was soaking into his robes and the visible cuts across his skin through tears in his clothing. ¡°You alright, Marcus?¡± Logan asked. Nodding, Marcus replied in a joking tone, ¡°Yeah, this is good training. I was getting too used to swords and practice gear.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve only been learning for a week, don¡¯t push yourself¡±, Logan instructed as he dragged out his weapons to sheath them back into his rib holsters. ¡°I knew you¡¯d have my back, even so, I was going to backstep to get a Heal in if I took another hit¡±, Marcus explained as he sat down to tend to his wounds. Logan was about to continue as he noticed something, or rather realised there was nothing to notice. The experience numbers weren¡¯t appearing. Clicking his fingers and drawing an ashin dagger, his map pinged a foe behind him. Spinning around he wasn¡¯t quick enough to avoid a knife stab into his lower back, digging deep and dealing a heavy 24 damage. Yelling out in pain, Logan kicked back to make some distance between himself and his stealthy foe. Landing a solid kick, Logan twisted around to look at his opponent but saw no such thing. His mini-map blurred around as it found it hard to track an invisible foe, though it used sound waves, how could it not find an invisible foe? Marcus jumped up and quickly used a quickcasted Heal Grasp on himself and then Logan, bringing both back to full health. Logan darted his eyes around the room as he tried to scan for the sneak attacker, but neither his eyes nor his skill picked them back up. Using his own spell slot, he threw his hand across the floor, ¡°Lightning Wall¡±, he incanted as he drew up another barrier of bolts. The room was filled with light from the blue arcs as well as the sound of static and crackles. Following the spell cast, a shuffling of dust and dirt across the floor clued Logan in on the enemy¡¯s location, to his left. Throwing a quick dagger in that direction he missed the invisible foe but was able to startle it into moving again. Quick footsteps noted a retreat towards the hallway the group had used to get here. The elementals were barged through as their bodies singed the invisible foe. Not wanting to lose his enemy, Logan looked down the hall and thought, ¡°Dimensional Jaunt¡±, his body warping inwards and then outwards with two shockwaves of wind. Appearing down the hallway, facing towards the room, he motioned his arm forwards and shouted, ¡°Necromantic Wall¡±, causing a necrotic black fog to appear in midair and dart to the floor and ceiling. Following it up with Force micks, Logan saw them hit a target within the wall before it fell to the floor. With their corpse falling their invisibility ended, scales coated in black and red where it was singed and bled. A naegren that hadn¡¯t been noted in the intel, its scales were a darker blue and was wrapped in scraps of black cloth and painted leaves. Experience numbers started to float upwards as it keyed Logan into the end of the confrontation. Waiting for his spell to end, Logan identified the corpse further to see if he could find out any more. ¡°Naegren Stalker - Aquatic. Level 4: 36/36 HP, 0/0 MP. A rare variant of the naegren race that has drunk in the blood of classed beings to gain skills of their own. Gauged at a 1 in every 100 population, less is known about these more lithe foes that use knowledge of stealth to kill their targets before they are discovered. Skills: Backstab, Shroud of Shadow¡­¡± ¡°Another monster that drinks humanoid blood? I better report this to the hall when I get back¡±, logan thought to himself. As he returned to the group with his shadows disappearing he noticed that both Celsius and Spark had levelled up in the encounter. Looking over to Marcus he started to speak. ¡°Hey, Marcus. Are monsters that drink humanoid blood common? Have you heard about them?¡± ¡°Like that fomin we fought at the capital? That¡¯s the first I had heard of such a thing, though I have never asked about such a thing before that point. Why?¡± Marcus replied quite bemused. ¡°That invisible foe was another creature like the fomin, it drank classed blood and seemingly had Rogue skills, hence the invisibility and backstabbing.¡± ¡°It did remind me of Dena a bit. Though how did you know it drank our kind¡¯s blood?¡± ¡°My skill revealed to me, same with the fomin.¡± ¡°I pray to the above there is no hero leading these naegren then, there was one with that classed-like fomin.¡± ¡°Tenn said that was because of blood mages or something though, right?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t say much about that, not something I knew about before last night¡±, Marcus replied a bit defeated. ¡°We¡¯re still good on our spells, though their invisibility made it hard to detect them. Any clue as to how much we have left to clear out?¡± Logan asked. ¡°If the hall didn¡¯t have any cartography intel, it¡¯s possible no previous group spent the time to make a map. That leads me to believe it¡¯s quite vast, or due to the way the tunnels are, too annoying to draw out.¡± ¡°With my skills, I could probably scribble something down for them, might make some extra coin¡±, Logan verbalised his thoughts. Spending a few minutes to collect themselves, as well as liberal use of Healer¡¯s Caress, the party continued on through another adjoining corridor.
The next encounter looked to be a group of three guardians and two watercasters, all situated within a dead-end room full of leaf-wrapped pieces of meat. Absorbing two Lightning spells from Spark, Logan began the encounter like any other. Charging into the room Logan threw up his hands, aiming at the guardians. ¡°Lightning Shot¡±, he called out twice. Bursts of blue death danced around his limbs until violently shooting toward the large hunks of fish in front of him. A single spell each was enough to kill the guardians, dealing a hefty 69 and 70 damage. The final one jumped into action to defend his kin. Behind Logan, he could hear his own allies getting assaulted. Marcus had been Backstabbed by two stalkers, bringing his healer low. ¡°Protect Marcus¡±, Logan yelled to his elementals. His summons took the command immediately, letting loose their limbs and ranged attacks to try and find the invisible attackers. Drawing a blade to block a trident, Logan had his own troubles to deal with. The final guardian forced his body onto his trident and pushed Logan¡¯s dagger out of his hand to the floor. Disarmed, Logan backstepped to let loose a mick but saw the approaching spells of the background casters. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Hastily catching an orb of water Logan absorbed it, but was pelted in his shoulder and chest with two follow-ups for 8 and 11 damage. The spells put him off balance and was assaulted by the guardian¡¯s trident, dodging all blows but one, taking another 8 damage. Grabbing onto the pole of the trident just below the head, Logan hit it with his palm and chanted, ¡°Aqua Grasp¡±, exploding the weapon with bursts of water that shot out from cracks all across it. Pulling away, the guardian looked at his damaged trident but it was still serviceable. Another volley of spells came towards Logan, but he was given a bit more heads up this time. Ducking low he was able to avoid one attack and grab the other two, though the second absorption failed as the spell cracked the bones in his hand for 12 damage. Cursing, Logan darted towards the guardian shooting another Aqua spell at his foe¡¯s weapon. This time the water came out like a wind scythe, cutting into the shaft of the trident and cutting it in two. The naegren looked at his weapon in surprise, holding only a wooden handle against a charging Spellthief. Drawing up another dagger, Logan slashed out with one hand and shot out Force micks with the other. The guardian parried less than half the strikes, taking many to the chest, though his body kept being surrounded by healing lights from his caster allies. Jumping to the side, Logan circled around his foe to get a sightline on the casters. Rolling with another slash to the guardian''s leg, Logan noticed another Heal coming the way of the guardian and was able to intercept it. ¡°Spell Absorb¡±, Logan mentally commanded, absorbing the spell into his palm like a vortex. Just like normal he didn¡¯t learn the spell but could still cast it. Landing a Backstab into the neck of the guardian put it down for good, Logan patting his chest and chanting, ¡°Heal Grasp¡±, infusing his own body with a holy light that mended his bones and skin. Healing himself for 27, he knew his healing wasn¡¯t going to be as good as Marcus¡¯s, but it did the job enough for this. A window appeared beside Logan as Spell Absorption increased in tier, though he quickly closed it to inspect later. Throwing a dagger at one it fell to the floor quickly, the other two barraging Logan with another volley of Aqua spells. With two hands free he was easily able to absorb them and return the favour with two blasts of Force to kill both. Turning around he dashed back to his allies, who had dealt with one of the stalkers but the last had fled back into the corridor. Looking around Logan could only see the experience numbers starting to float upwards, leading him to believe the final foe had fled. With the potential for the last stalker returning with buddies, the team decided to retreat to the larger chamber. At least there they could have more room to move, even if it opened up more directions for assault. It would allow them a straight shot, if a bit winding, to run outside the cave entirely if they got overwhelmed. Logan decided to check his upgraded form of Spell Absorption along the way, hopeful it removed that chance of hurting himself further. A major jump in his ability, first-level spells would no longer backfire when being absorbed, unless Logan¡¯s charges were already maxed. Combined with his armour, Logan could now stock five charges of spells at a time, which would also feed into Charge Transference. However, thinking on his armour, it was below half its durability, so Logan would either need to find a way to repair it or prepare for a loss of several effects.
Getting back to the large chamber, Marcus was given the chance to use his skill to bring Logan back to full health with a Heal spell each for the rest of the team who had been assaulted by the invisible foe. Logan absorbed three Flame spells from Celsius in preparation for an army of fish, which was good foresight on his end. As the party got to the centre of the first room Logan¡¯s Echo Radar showed several dots approaching from all the hallways, some of them even phasing in and out to show more stalkers amongst the normal variants. ¡°We got incoming, Celsius, Spark, guard that hallway¡±, Logan ordered as he pointed out the corridor they had just come from. Running around the circumference of the room Logan cast three Flame Walls to cut off the three other openings for the foes he saw approaching. ¡°Marcus, fire down that hallway till they get too close¡±, Logan continued as he pointed at the hallway blocked by fire that had the most enemies behind it. With all four hallways in mind, they left the final hallway that led outside free for them to flee if needed, thinking it to be empty of any opposition. Yells and screeches echoed through the crackling of fire in all directions, some of the naegren falling in the Flame Walls as soon as they touched them. Jets of water shot through the walls, causing large portions of them to extinguish into hot steam, filling the room and turning it into a sauna. Glinting eyes got closer and closer as all variants of naegren charged towards the party. The elementals were able to control their hallway easy enough, Marcus firing into a hallway that kept its flames alive. With hasty movements Logan tossed dagger after dagger into one of the extinguished hallways, a window popping up to confirm his skill increasing. The daggers made quick work of the swashbucklers and watercasters, though swapping to Force and its lower damage caused the guardians and stalkers to take several more hits. Drawing up his final ashin dagger and Spellthief¡¯s edge, Logan dual-wielded and cut into his foes with amazing speed and accuracy. Marcus finally swapped from his crossbow to his staff, parrying and retaliating with smashes into faces and stomachs. Circling with their backs against each other, the Spellthief and Devout kept their sides covered. Supplanting his dagger into a new corpse, Logan caught a spell flung at him and absorbed it, quickly casting it across the floor to create a wall barrier against further attacks. Spinning under a trident he drew his blade back to block another attack and stab out with his edge. ¡°Celsius!¡± Logan yelled. The elemental returned with a Flame towards Logan, catching it as he threw his dagger in the air and caught it afterwards. Kicking back a foe, Logan charged toward one of the holes and blocked it with a spell, ¡°Gaia Wall, Sustained¡±, he chanted. A large mess of stone shot upwards and filled in one avenue for flanking, using the charge of Flame to pay the cost of the meta alteration. Jumping onto the wall Logan kicked off to backflip behind three guardians who charged at him, lashing out with three Backstabs to bring them all down. Logan¡¯s Backstab was followed up by a foe¡¯s, a knife digging deep into his back. Now that he was aware that could happen he dropped one of his daggers to the floor and hastily grabbed onto the invisible arm of his attacker. ¡°Necromantic Grasp¡±, he chanted, letting loose a dark barrage from his arm into the stalker. Black spikes impaled the air as the stalker came into view, taking a reduced 25 damage but still healing Logan enough to keep him going. Keeping ahold of the foe, Logan spun around and dove his edge into the stalker, dragging the blade out of its shoulder to continue with a stab into its head to bring it down fully. ¡°Gaia Grasp¡±, Marcus yelled in the background, grabbing onto a guardian who had been harassing him. An explosion of mud and stone shot from the naegren¡¯s body, along with a shower of blood as it fell to the floor. Not losing momentum, Marcus touched himself to use a further Heal and continued to attack the nearby naegren. ¡°Spark, three!¡± Logan shouted as he ran towards his elemental, sheathing his weapons. The summon made of electricity shot three streams of Lightning to his master, Logan absorbing without any worry now that his skill had increased. Aiming his hands away from his summons, Logan shot three volleys of Lightning at some watercasters near the hallways. Their shocked forms fell easily due to their weakness. Just as Logan did so, he noticed that the summons¡¯ hallway had been cleared, ordering them to back up Marcus. The enemy numbers were falling quick, though another stab into Logan¡¯s back reminded him of the unseeable threat. Grabbing onto the arm again Logan drew up his edge and stabbed behind him several times, letting go of the corpse as he finished. Running towards the final watercasters that had been harassing with random Water Shots or keeping their allies alive with Heal spells, Logan absorbed another two Water spells. Returning a Force against one, Logan slashed at the final to finish off the ranged threat. ¡°Gaia Grasp¡±, Marcus yelled again as he slew the final guardian. Yells of the swashbucklers echoed into the chamber as both Celsius and Spark had dogpiled their foe to death with their burning and shocking bodies. ¡°Group up! Celsius, four!¡± Logan shouted as he saw a larger enemy charging into the room, thinking it to be a new variant or even their leader. He quickly absorbed the new spells in preparation. Marcus touched the team and cast Heal Grasp on them, bringing him to an empty tank of MP. Logan ordered the Devout to return to ranged tactics, thinking it easier to take on the final foe if both Marcus and Celsius attacked from afar. The few moments given to them came to an end as a larger naegren emerged from one of the hallways amidst the corpses of his kin. Standing above Logan at 6¡¯5¡±, this beefy naegren was definitely a threat with their golden inlaid trident and trinkets. ¡°Identify¡±, Logan commanded in his head. With a set of skull and crossbones topped with a golden crown, Logan saw it to be an elite. ¡°Naegren Lord - Aquatic. Level 10: 148/148 HP, 10/10 MP. The leader of a naegren clan, a lord holds within them amazing power considering the normal strength of their race. Guzzling down the blood of classed beings, the lord has gained several skills and unique access to magic at the same time. Naegren lords were once a threat to any coastline settlements, but with the eradication of their caverns, they have become a rare sight. Skills: Combo Pierce, Combo Slash, Combo Straight, Dash, Power Strike, Water Jet. Spells: Heal. Reduction: Damage ?. Resistance: Damage ?, Earth ?, Fire ?, Holy ?, Ice ?, Lightning -50%, Shadow ?, Water 150%, Wind ?¡± ¡°At least it isn¡¯t a hero¡±, Logan chuckled. --- *** --- Chapter 61 - Naegren Dungeon. Part 3 Grabbing his periapt of mana, Logan activated it before the lord could get close enough to stop him. With 2 MP in hand, Logan could use it for attack or healing, though plans would need to be immediate as he just barely blocked a strike from the trident with his Spellthief¡¯s edge dagger. With the use of Identification, Logan could see the damage dealt to the beast that his party was facing. Marcus¡¯s crossbow bolt would normally deal between 7 and 9 damage, against this foe it dealt only 2 to 3. Celsius¡¯s Ember Shard which would deal 6 fire damage was also reduced to 4. Parrying another blow, Logan saw Spark¡¯s attacks with his body deal 4 to 6 damage, dealing more than usual due to being made of lightning. However, this damage wasn¡¯t going to continue for very long. With the force of the lord¡¯s trident, he knocked Logan off-balance to attack the elemental instead, slashing into the sparky friend for 32 damage, the following piercing thrust dispersing the energies of Logan¡¯s ally. ¡°Fuck, attrition won¡¯t work with that damage output¡±, Logan thought. Parrying another blow Logan cast a Flame Shot at the leg of the lord, dealing a lessened 25 damage. The lord was only down to 98/148 HP so far, a spinning slash into Logan¡¯s dagger allowing the lord to cover his blade in a red mist and strike down into the Spellthief¡¯s shoulder. Bringing him to a knee, Logan took a painful 88 damage, almost taking his right arm off with the attack. ¡°Shit, He-¡± Logan started to shout, though remembered that Marcus was out of MP. Darting his eyes to the far back of the chamber, Logan used Dimensional Jaunt to gain some distance from his foe. Clumsily fumbling with his inventory, Logan pulled out four healing potions and downed them for a total of 68 HP. He saw the lord doing a similar tactic, grabbing their chest and using the Heal spell to recover 20 of their own health. Continuing to get pelted by the Devout and Flame elemental, the lord turned his head to the weaker members of the team. ¡°Flame Shot!¡± Logan called out, fires wreathing around his arm and firing towards the opened back of the naegren. One after another until all three charges were spent, the lord was pelted with harder-hitting spells, taking 25, 26, and 27 damage. Instilled with rage against Logan, the lord turned to the Spellthief and became a fuzzy mess of afterimages. Using its Dash skill, it ran towards Logan at breakneck speeds with its trident lined for the man¡¯s heart. Logan drew up his ashin dagger to block the blow as the trident started to glow a bright yellow. Crashing metal filled the room as the trident cracked the dagger all over, retrieving the trident for another attack it changed from yellow to red as the lord was utilizing its Combo skills similar to how Iimi did back in Moella. The second attack caught Logan¡¯s dagger, the blade shattering into pieces of metal as it was destroyed. Hastily bringing up the Spellthief¡¯s edge, Logan just barely parried the following combo strike but heavily damaged his main weapon. The body of the lord then glowed a bright violet for a second as its Combo was coming to an end, letting out a spinning slash into Logan. Even though he had blocked the attack, a wave of violet energy shot from the trident and cut across Logan¡¯s form diagonally, causing a large cut to erupt blood all over the naegren. Throwing its hand outwards, the naegren grasped Logan¡¯s throat and pinned him to the floor, his health nearing empty. The naegren shuddered now and then from the assault of Logan¡¯s fellows, but it would take much more to finish him. Logan glanced across his foe, noticing his health increasing without the need to touch his own body, probably letting go of the Grasp bonus and just applying it a different way. Holding its trident up high the naegren prepared to skewer Logan a final time. Darting his eyes across the room Logan used his final Dimensional Jaunt to create distance between them once more. A vacuum erupted with a red stream as Logan continued to bleed across the room on both ends. With one hand free Logan created another Lightning Wall across the floor to block vision and damage a charging naegren. Downing two more healing potions before his mini-map alerted him to the closeness of his foe, the naegren jumped through the barrier of shocking might. Its trident glowed once again as Logan threw his dagger into his foe¡¯s chest, causing it to wince in the air. Drawing Goblin-Killer, Logan just barely blocked the trident as its longest spike was an inch from his face. The naegren snarled at Logan as it seemed confident in its victory over a weakened foe, though through a sneer Logan chanted with a hand aimed at the stomach of the lord, ¡°Lightning Shot.¡± A stream of bolts snapped from Logan¡¯s fingertips into the body of the lord, his back continuing to get pelted with bolts and fiery blasts. While it began to collapse the smile never faded from its face, a glint in its eyes as it fell totally. Logan saw a horrifying sight as he looked at the fallen foe, a wipe mark on its face as if it had digested the blood of Logan. ¡°Did he gain my skills?¡± Logan feared, but as the experience numbers started to appear it seemed his worries were for nought. ¡°Level up! Gain: 8 HP, +1 Str, +1 Agi, +1 Con, +1 Int. You have 1 attribute point to spend.¡± Having dealt with thirty-four naegren as well as their lord, the dungeon¡¯s quest in Logan¡¯s window popped up as being completed. Granting him further rewards. ¡°You have gained the ¡®Naegren Exterminator¡¯ title.¡± ¡°Naegren Exterminator: Clearing the naegren coastal caverns has hardened your will against aquatic foes who have learnt to fight back against humanoids with devastating powers. Fishers are calmer in your presence and naegren can smell the blood of their kin on your flesh. When dealing with creatures of the aquatic type you deal 5% more damage (minimum +1) and gain 5% damage resistance. You have gained 1 skill point to distribute." Planting himself on the floor, Logan breathed in and out so heavy he became slightly light-headed. He only had a single Necromantic remaining from his spells, Celsius had only 1 MP left whereas Spark who had died had nothing and Marcus was also at 0. Dumb luck and hasty plans saw them through, but Logan praised whatever allowed him to survive. If the lord hadn¡¯t fallen at that moment Logan was going to use his final spell and have Celsius use his, but outside of that, he was losing options outside of fleeing and leaving his allies behind. Thankful he had saved those potions for a more opportune time, Logan looked at the final three in his inventory. ¡°Need to stock up again¡±, he thought to himself. Marcus ran over to a tired Logan, using a Healer¡¯s Caress that had come off of cooldown. ¡°Logan, you alright? That was a hair¡¯s distance from disaster¡±, Marcus asked as his face was still showing signs of fear. ¡°Better than dead, so I can¡¯t complain. Sorry, we should have rested after clearing this chamber-¡± Logan began to apologise but was cut off. ¡°Hindsight is a hundred versus in the moment, we couldn¡¯t have known that invisible foes would flee and call the entire cave at once. They were meant to be rare, but this place held many more than we thought.¡± ¡°We got them, boss, all good here¡±, Celsius chimed in with a hearty fist in the air. ¡°Can you sense any other foes nearby?¡± Marcus continued. ¡°No, they should be dead. All of them actually, the quest alerted me to its completion.¡± ¡°There could be survivors that our quest didn¡¯t include, I say we explore in the morning just in case.¡± ¡°I was thinking the same, who knows, maybe there is loot further inside¡±, Logan replied with greed on his mind. ¡°Speaking of, it seemed that larger naegren was wearing trinkets, I¡¯ll gather those¡±, Marcus spoke as he moved over to the lord¡¯s corpse. ¡°I take it you don¡¯t know anything about naegren lords?¡± Logan spoke a bit louder as Marcus moved away. ¡°Nope, was it another that drunk our blood?¡± ¡°Seems so. Not a hero though, as far as I could tell.¡± ¡°We can take some joy in that fact. If hero monsters became common the hall would get quite the shakeup trying to deal with it.¡± Taking up the trinkets and trident, Marcus brought them over to Logan to fully inspect them. They consisted of a pristine hobgoblin wristband, pristine earring of gobtree, pristine shaman necklace, and a lord¡¯s trident. Marcus took the wristband and necklace, the Spellthief taking the earring to replace his and the trident to sell. Hand-me-downs and spares would be moved between the two or sold. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°No wonder he was strong, these are only one tier of quality below the maximum. It¡¯s a shame I can¡¯t benefit from two necklaces at once, I don¡¯t want to give up the spellforce of this periapt¡±, Logan stated. ¡°It certainly aided us in that fight. I second your choice of spellforce over a capability increase.¡± Standing up and using Clean to remove the blood and dirt, the group left to the outdoors to rest for the night. Checking over his summons Logan saw they had both levelled again, Celsius to 10 and Spark to 9.
The journey to the exit was accompanied by more uses of Healer¡¯s Caress from Marcus, bringing Logan to 66/136 HP. Logan placed one of his ashin daggers from his rib holsters into his back sheath to replace the one that broke in combat. As they breached the maw of the cliff to the coastline they were again surprised to see a group of four adventurers waiting for them. A Rogue had a bow nocked and ready to fire, a Fighter with two swords, a Knight standing tall with a greedy smile and shield on his vambrace. A familiar sight accompanied them, Gaemo, the hunter with grey hair. The leader of the group, the Knight, shouted towards the team, ¡°Finally got out, we were about to go in after you.¡± ¡°Weapons on the floor¡±, the Fighter continued as he brandished his blades. ¡°Fucking ambushers¡±, Logan thought. He remembered Marcus mentioning this back in Tinte, adventurers that would take advantage of other groups during their missions. Staring daggers at Gaemo, Logan noticed the hunter who he had thought to be an ally give him a quick wink. The hunter stepped a bit to the side, behind the Knight. ¡°What happens after we do that?¡± Logan asked. ¡°We take your gear and go on our merry way¡±, the Rogue replied, his bowstring making stretching noises. ¡°This because we¡¯re casters?¡± Marcus chimed in. ¡°One factor, you¡¯ve just come from a dungeon, your spell reserves are bound to be low. Whatever you have left we can take. Sad to see the rest of your team didn¡¯t make it out though¡±, the Knight replied. ¡°They must think we were part of a four or five-man¡±, Logan surmised in his head. ¡°Pretty common to see the casters flee and leave the rest to die, you¡¯re only good for a few spells anyway¡±, the Fighter spat. ¡°Koay, you sure you¡¯ll hit this time? They are bigger targets than bunnies¡±, Gaemo teased as he readied his sword in his hands. ¡°Shut up, Mike¡±, the Rogue replied, his eyes turning to Gaemo slightly. Surrounding his blade in a red mist, Gaemo struck the Knight in the back with a Power Strike as he exclaimed the name of the skill. Logan followed with a Force at the Rogue, colliding his energy blast with the arrow in the air as it flew. Marcus charged at the Rogue with his staff while Celsius began to pelt the Fighter with Flame spells from his increase in MP. Logan ran towards the foes ahead, driving Goblin-Killer into the back of the Knight as he turned to fight Gaemo. The Backstab brought the leader down quickly after Gaemo¡¯s attacks. Kicking off from the Knight allowed Logan to dodge an arrow from the Rogue, returning the ranged attack with another Force to the foe¡¯s leg, causing him to fall to the floor. With attacks from afar by Celsius and Marcus¡¯s melee prowess increasing with his new items, they were able to hold back the Fighter to allow Gaemo to get stuck in that particular fight. Yellow and blue lights shone across the hunter¡¯s blade as he brought down the next foe. Logan ended the fight as he fired a Necromantic Shot at the Rogue with the bow, stabbing him with several tendrils that helped to recover Logan further. Dragging him to the floor, the ground surrounding the quick team was full of ambusher corpses. Signalling the end of the brawl, experience numbers floated above the bodies. ¡°Sorry you got caught up in that, these fuckers would just not camp out¡±, Gaemo spoke as he cleaned his sword on the Fighter¡¯s clothing. ¡°Your marks I presume?¡± Logan asked as he used Clean on himself. ¡°Yeah, all I had to go on was a new team of traitors had been killing adventurers out on quests. The situation with the goblins was a good time for them to hide and up their routine, but it was enough for me to find them out.¡± ¡°I take it you were waiting for them to sleep to attack?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°That was the plan. But the Fighter saw someone pick up a dungeon quest, so they grouped up quick. I have an alias as a traitor under the name Mike, so it was easy enough to get in with them.¡± ¡°Good thing you went with them, they were right about the lack of spells¡±, Logan spoke jokingly. ¡°I was going to say the same, with you lot I was sure you¡¯d notice me and help in the fight, others would just see me as another target¡±, Gaemo responded with a smile. Gathering the coin purses of the three traitors, Gaemo tossed them to Logan. ¡°Take that as an apology for the attack, these fellas¡¯ gear was stolen so I need to give most of it back.¡± Passing one of the pouches to Marcus, Logan accepted them. ¡°So you¡¯re not dealing with the goblin quests?¡± Logan continued as he helped take the gear from the corpses. ¡°I¡¯d ask the same of you. Though my reasons are that if we lack adventurers, that¡¯s worse than me not aiding in killing the goblins.¡± ¡°Fair enough, I can see that view. Just like us taking on hunts because hardly anyone else will in our place¡±, Logan replied, obviously dodging the partial question from Gaemo. ¡°How¡¯re the other hunters by the way?¡± Marcus chimed in. ¡°Well. There¡¯s always hunts, and the ruckus with the invasion has allowed a few more criminals to do their business in the confusion¡±, Gaemo responded with a hint of annoyance in his voice. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you deal with those traitors in the city? I am sure you¡¯d have help from the guards¡±, Logan asked. ¡°I had bare descriptions, they were good at hiding most of their tracks. I had to be sure before taking them down.¡± With the gear of the ambushers fully stripped the group moved the corpses closer to the beach to let the sealife take it. Logan didn¡¯t feel the need to keep any for himself so he handed everything over to Gaemo who showed no signs of betrayal. Deciding it would be best to rest together before Gaemo set off back to Gauntlet on his own the team made a small camp near their horses. ¡°You¡¯re for sure a strong couple to be able to take on a dungeon on your lonesome. Your previous hunter work had me a bit wary, but if you can deal with this place I have no more worries.¡± ¡°It hasn¡¯t been easy, that ambush from the traitors was the third of the day. The naegren had a few stalkers amongst them, like the fomin they drank classed blood¡±, Logan explained as he handed a spare ration to Gaemo. ¡°More classed drinkers? This place is going to the below. Good thing you two are clearing it out, a weaker team taking this on hoping for a quick coin would have been wiped¡±, Gaemo responded with worry. ¡°We should hopefully clean up tomorrow, here¡¯s to having no more stalkers¡±, Marcus announced as he raised his waterskin. The trio drank as Celsius stayed on watch, the elemental keeping vigil throughout the night to let the group get the rest they sorely needed after the day they had.
Awakening to a new dawn, Logan could hear the waves of the ocean nearby, combined with the sea salt air bringing a new morning to his senses. Sleeping outside also brought with it a face full of sunlight to burn the eyes from the darkness of slumber. Logan¡¯s body was a bit hot, though not from the sun, a throbbing sensation across his right shoulder and across his chest led his fingers to a new scar. The slash from the lord had cut him deep, the jetstream of blood would have ticked him off to such when it occurred. As his largest scar, it was the easiest to hide under his clothing, though with them adding up his mind wondered about the possibility of purchasing regenerative healing again. Its expense was slowly getting outweighed by the number of scars that Logan was collecting. Spending a few minutes to resummon Spark, Logan prepared his normal spell array for the day. His summons started to rival the MP of Marcus, Celsius at 13, Spark 12, and Marcus just pulling ahead at 16. Thinking in terms of battery power, Logan had access to many more spells in the day than his lowered spell slot progression normally allowed. With his mind on using his allies¡¯ spells, Logan spent the newly acquired skill point on Charge Transfer. The usual window popped up with its updated details. Doubling its effects, the time taken was also halved. While the skill itself said it was maxed a new skill branched off of it, allowing Logan to decrease the time required in meditation even further for more skill points invested. If he were to transfer his summons¡¯ spells Logan would end up with 12.5 MP, plenty to spread across his spells. At least for the naegren dungeon, Logan didn¡¯t see much need for transferring the spells into MP, since they were weak to Lightning. It could be useful to change Flame into more Lightning or even Dimensional Jaunt, but putting it into practice would reveal its better use. With the final preparations for the day ahead complete, Gaemo slung his backpack on and waved the party off as he left. The team returned to the caverns.
Putting his new skill to use, Logan absorbed four Flames from Celsius and transferred them into 2 MP to use as he wished later. However, it proved to be just steady caution as the team were able to explore and map out the rest of the caverns in peace. A few extra trinkets and weapons were found here and there from fallen adventurers, but all of it was to be sold back in town. Harvesting a few extra corpses, including the stalkers and lord, their search was a bit slow. Confident the cave was clear, the group left to the coastline. Since they had prepared for three days away, Logan spent five hours and 24 minutes crafting his cache arm. It was a pretty silver bracelet around 6 inches long, on its clasp there was a design of an eye with six irises that was hugged by a fang. The undersides were softened with parts of a wolf pelt and fashioned with vorkas feathers. Elated the trinket came out as high-quality, the third tier, Logan felt a sense of comfort that his skills would be hidden from prying eyes as those would be the biggest giveaway to him being an oracle. Placing the new item onto his left wrist Logan was slowly losing space on his body to equip trinkets. Not wanting to return to Gauntlet at night, the group rested again after Logan¡¯s crafting session had come to a close. --- *** --- Chapter 62 - The Investigator Mage Waking to another day on the beach, the pair mounted their steeds to return to the capital as Gaemo had done the day prior. With three-quarters of the trip made on horseback, the last third was finished with a Dimensional Jaunt, taking the party almost to the bridge that led into the capital city. An evening sun painted the city a beautiful orange, though it contrasted with the blood-soaked adventurers coming in through the gates after a hard day¡¯s work. Happy faces beamed at the promise of increased pay, though accompanied by more wounds than usual. Riding their horses to the inn, the pair settled their mounts down for the night as Logan pulled out his monocular and used another Dimensional Jaunt to bring both him and Marcus to the hall in mere moments. The nearby populace jumped at both shockwaves of air, though those on the hall end saw the glint of Logan¡¯s armband and returned to their normal activities. Moving through the hall at night had it hold a fewer number of adventurers, but still much more than usual. The quartet of magi and newly-resummoned elementals were able to make it to the backroom without as much hassle this time. Logan moved up to the receptionist to hand in the quest, to which the man at the counter had a bit of a shocked look hit his face. ¡°Already? Been hardly three days.¡± ¡°We had some help, though I will report that we faced two new variants in the cavern. A naegren stalker and a lord. Aside from that, the numbers were higher than estimated, sixty-nine monsters held the dungeon¡±, Logan explained as he pulled out the fins belonging to the two naegren types he saw out of the ordinary. ¡°It is a good thing a higher-rank adventurer went along with the group then, you¡¯re most likely higher than your last assessment if you helped fight back the invasion.¡± ¡°I did feel my spells increase, so you¡¯re probably right about that. Will the pay reflect the change in the dungeon?¡± Logan inquired. ¡°Sadly, since dungeons are always changing the rewards listed are set to cover that. If you hand over a fin for the stalker and lord, I can set up a finder¡¯s fee for the developments though, can increase the pay to 150 silver, my hands are tied otherwise¡±, the receptionist bargained, with a clear sign that he did want to help. Keeping the fins on the table Logan accepted the increase, he knew of the rules and regulations forced on others from his previous job. The money from the items the team were going to sell off was going to make up for the low reward anyways. With their signets updated, Logan asked about writing up some of his own intel which he would craft up later in the day.
Taking a long walk through the markets to sell off the gear they had gained or removed due to finding higher-tier versions, Logan was able to pocket another 20 silver and 3 gold after giving Marcus his share. Supplies in the city were still low, while an influx of goblin components was filling the stalls with low-end trinkets and gear, potions and the like were barren or had surged in pricing. Spell rings almost became an alien concept, as the places where they would have normally been displayed were instead replaced with goblin-centric items. This change in the economy also hit the food supplies, rations, dried meats and the like were in low numerations. Rumours amidst the city blamed the attacks on nearby farms for this, from both goblinoids and silversteines. Thankfully it seemed that the three days that had passed allowed the adventurers to secure the closest parts of the capital, bringing the kingdom back into some normalcy. On the other hand, the southern war had come to a close with the humanoids winning over the goblins. No word of monster heroes made its way to the capital though, meaning the force that hit Gauntlet was indeed the main one. With the week-ride travel, it was going to be some time before a larger force was held in the city. The Wizard Traeyo was commended for his work in the south, his fourth-level fire spells dealing with huge swathes of goblins swiftly. Many other casters were on the lips of the populace, mixed in with sour notes of disbelief or statements that painted this as one of the few good uses for casters. Using another Dimensional Jaunt to return to the inn, Logan and Marcus entered to see Gaemo writing at one of the tables. Yetveka was at the far counter, as usual, cleaning some tankards. Moving over to Gaemo, Logan placed his own writing utensils on the table and took a seat, Marcus moved to the counter to get himself a drink and chat with the innkeeper. ¡°Good to see you back, Logan. No more ambushes on the trip I hope?¡± Gaemo spoke as he turned his head to acknowledge his friend before looking back at his own writing. ¡°None. The local adventurers kept the forest mostly clear and they weren¡¯t assholes themselves¡±, Logan replied with a smile. ¡°A welcome response. You writing up some intel for the cavern I take it?¡± ¡°Yep. A map and information on the stalkers and lord. Yourself?¡± ¡°Letters to friends and family, gonna be sending out some ooran to check if they are all safe during these times.¡± ¡°I may need your help to do something similar later, now isn¡¯t a great time though.¡± ¡°Call on me when you need to¡±, Gaemo replied with a smile. The pair continued writing and drawing in silence, Marcus giving Logan space to do his work. As time passed the light outside changed from orange to a dark blue and black as night crept up on the city.
Packing up his tools, Logan stood from the table as Gaemo had left two hours prior. Retiring to his room for the night, Logan saw Marcus reading by the moonlight. Holding a short conversation on their next step, the pair decided it might be best to take a few days off from quests for training, reading, and crafting. Logan¡¯s quick rise in ranks might draw attention, being four above his last assessment and even with the invasion, it would be strange for a caster to gain power so quickly. With how infrequent quests for casters were, though they did increase with the influx of goblin quests, Logan could easily gain another rank with another dungeon or handful of quests. Another reason for their downtime was also that normal adventurers would go through several more quests than the pair had in their time working together. With quests came money, leading to better gear as well as more gear. Marcus specifically needed more skills, while he had mastered a portion of Healer¡¯s Caress many other adventurers had a handful of skills to their name. The fuss with the goblins seemed like it would continue for a few more days, making it difficult to investigate the oracles more in-depth. With Spell Absorption reaching tier 3 Logan was a lot more comfortable having to face off against rogue magi, being able to take first-level spells without any worry and close to no worry for second-level spells. Logan was also going to need to sort out his slowly out-paced gear, reaching level 12 with plenty of weapons that were level 6 or 8. To finance this, he could spend the days using Trinket Craft to turn the incoming goblin components into useable items at the market. Helping to alleviate the boredom that crafting produced, Logan would spend the nights reading the last of his tomes. Solidifying their plans, with Marcus going to go on an investigation spree again, the pair headed to sleep.
Waking to a morning full of energy, the duo walked downstairs to the ground floor of the inn to be greeted by the sight of a new face. A middle-aged mage donned in a fashionable robe-coat hybrid of flowing waterfalls and lightning strikes towards the bottom. With the hood down at their back, the man¡¯s black hair that was swept back was on full display, his muddy eyes glinting against the morning light. A quaint satchel was strewn over his left shoulder and dangled on his right hip. Speaking with a low-pitched voice the man turned to look at the partners, ¡°Morning. You two must be Logan and Marcus?¡± he ended as he pointed out the two men. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°Yes, did you need us?¡± Logan asked. Celsius was about to blare something out but the electrifying hand of Spark was placed over the orange part of the flame¡¯s face that represented his mouth. ¡°My name is Xican, I am a magical investigator for the Magi¡¯s Tower association. I heard you were involved in the invasion defences, do you two mind a few minutes to discuss the events with me?¡± the mage asked as he motioned to a table. ¡°We had plans, but nothing time constrictive. What did you have in mind to talk about?¡± Logan spoke as he and Marcus followed Xican to the table. ¡°Well to start, I got your reports from Eighther, so not much surrounding your fight with the leader of the army. I would like to inquire into some other reports made around your team¡±. Xican spoke as he brought out a notebook and quill. ¡°About our actions before reaching the leader?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°Yes. To start, many guards spoke of your work with Cassius. He teleported himself and Logan beyond the walls and atop them, what were your actions during these times?¡± ¡°Cassius had asked me to use Wall spells to cut off the advancing goblins, then atop the walls, he helped to deal with some hobs that had teleported atop them. After that I asked to return to the gate as it was breached¡±, Logan listed off. ¡°You are a rank 8 Wizard, correct?¡± ¡°I was, though I will note I felt my spell slots increase, so I believe I am of a higher rank since my assessment¡±, Logan announced with a partial lie. ¡°So, ¡®were¡¯, in this case. Might you tell me how you learnt the Wall alteration?¡± ¡°From this tome¡±, Logan informed the mage as he pulled out magi''s magick vol 2 from his bag-inventory under the table. ¡°That is how most do, alright. Would you mind if I ask about your previous hall of work? Many people said you were a new face.¡± ¡°I was a vagabond who learnt from travelling magi until setting up with an adventurers¡¯ hall. However, my documents were destroyed in a goblin attack, I had to reassign myself when I got to Gauntlet almost two weeks ago¡±, Logan spoke. ¡°I can¡¯t lie that much, most of this is in my documents at the G-Hall¡±, he thought to himself. ¡°That lines up with what your previous group mentioned, Kreya informed me of your skill in combat and aid in group movements¡±, Xican replied as he flipped through his book, making small notes as Logan spoke. ¡°I lived within the church of Tinte before meeting Logan, after that we formed a permanent partnership and left together¡±, Marcus added. ¡°That lines up with what I have read and heard. Moving on from that, another report made was that you two were spotted entering the forest near the gates before the army approached, what were you doing at that time?¡± Logan was about to speak, trying not to leave any silence in the conversation, but was stopped as he saw Marcus respond. ¡°I wanted to demonstrate to Logan how I had also learnt the Wall alteration, but due to its destructive nature I did not want to use it in the city limits.¡± ¡°Very well¡±, Xican spoke as if the answer was acceptable. ¡°The last question would be if either of you spotted anything of note during the attack that I should know about? Suspicious individuals or possible aberrant enemies.¡± ¡°Aside from the fomins and the hero, nothing that out of the ordinary. I believe the goblin shamans were using ritual casting, however.¡± ¡°That has been the same case for a few of the stronger teams being sent out to clear larger camps of the goblins¡±, Xican responded as he closed his notebook. Placing the book into his satchel, Xican started to fumble around his items. ¡°So, is that everything? Are we good?¡± Logan asked. ¡°Yes. I don¡¯t believe anything you¡¯ve stated to be a lie. Your aid in the fight was more than most, so I find it hard to accept you being a traitor¡±, Xican spoke as he brought out a business card looking piece of paper, ¡°following on from that, I would like to invite the two of you to the Magi¡¯s Tower association.¡± Logan and Marcus sat still for a few moments as they looked at the card, wondering if it would be wise to decline or to accept. Taking the initiative, Logan took the card from Xican. ¡°Thank you for the invitation, but may I ask why?¡± ¡°A recommendation. Eighther spoke highly of you two and knew neither of you had any permanent allegiances. Speaking with you I condone the recommendation and believe you to be valued members of our community. Would you like me to explain the MT to you?¡± ¡°Please.¡± ¡°The Magi¡¯s Tower association, known commonly as MT, is a collection of magi from all three classes. It is our aim to solidify the presence of mages across the continent, with the hope of closing the gaps between martials and casters. We work towards the betterment of magi, and thus we offer academic teachings and research at any of our tower locations as well as sometimes fund the progression of magic in general.¡± ¡°So no free use of tomes and the like?¡± Logan queried. ¡°We have been known to sponsor individuals and their learning, often putting them in debt where funds are taken from completed quests to pay off the fees. Aside from learning, we help magi form small groups to create full-caster adventurer teams to deal with quests.¡± ¡°It functions akin to a larger guild?¡± ¡°In a sense. Though, where guilds rarely go over a hundred members, the MT houses close to a hundred thousand across several magical towers in the different regions of the continent.¡± Looking over to Marcus, Logan gave his ally a look of questioning. The last time Logan asked, Marcus said the MT easily had hundreds of mages, not thousands. Thinking it was due to his more closed off life, Logan let Xican continue. ¡°Similarly to guilds we offer protection against contracts, forced quests, duels, and so forth. We regularly hold our own form of quests too, magical formings. Where we find locales of high magical power that need investigating or controlling¡±, Xican took a break to take a sip from a tankard sat at the table, ¡°Do you have any questions?¡± Thinking for a second Logan asked, ¡°Does the MT enforce any rules onto their members?¡± ¡°The MT must relent to the laws of wherever they operate, we find any action against the MT or its reputation higher than any others though. If it is found that a member has broken the laws they are excommunicated from the association.¡± ¡°So you do not hunt down rogue members?¡± ¡°A strange question, planning on some questionable antics? Though I do recall word about you being a hunter so I can see why you may ask. Regardless, we work with the hunters to deal with magi that continue to break the laws.¡± ¡°Are there any fees or sign-up costs?¡± ¡°It normally costs 1 gold to join per member, unless invited, in which case it¡¯s only 5 silver for paper costs. We do have rooms you can rent at a silver a day, alongside tomes to purchase, components too.¡± ¡°Well, it all sounds great. But we will want to discuss this further. Where is the closest tower if we decide to accept?¡± Logan asked as he scanned for Marcus¡¯s opinion across his face. ¡°The central tower is the closest to Gauntlet, around three days ride to the northeast. You¡¯ll find it home to just over three hundred magi.¡± ¡°Were there no warning signals for Gauntlet being attacked?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°Normally a force such as that is seen before it attacks, the appearance and end of the conflict were nary a few hours apart. Though for the type of forces that attacked I doubt the capital would have called for aid. It was down to the surprise that the goblins were able to deal as much damage as they did, which is what we have been contacted to find out how they could appear as they did.¡± Xican then jumped as a small ding noise occurred within his satchel. Digging into it he brought out a golden pocket watch similar to what Logan saw Darius hold, which almost made him visibly jump. Xican pressed a button on the side as the cover opened to reveal a black gem. ¡°Play¡±, Xican chanted. The watch let off another dinging noise as a recording began to play. ¡°Calling casters of third to fourth, come to sector G4 for an immediate magical forming¡±, a male voice spoke in a somewhat tinny tone that was more likely due to the device. Looking up to the pair, Xican placed the watch back into his satchel. ¡°Sorry, we¡¯ll have to end here. I am needed elsewhere, work never stops. Thankfully I only had two more people to interview, I can get to that later¡±, standing up he held out his hand to shake the pair¡¯s, ¡°it was nice meeting you, I hope to see you soon.¡± Slinging the satchel over his shoulder he began to chant again, ¡°Teleport¡±, to which his body was covered in constricting purple lines, cutting him into shreds of matter, until he completely vanished from the spot. Logan let out a long sigh as he slouched his shoulders. ¡°Thank the above¡±, he praised under his breath. ¡°He seemed genuine, thoughts, Logan?¡± Marcus asked as he walked around to the side of the table. ¡°I wish we didn¡¯t have to deal with this at all. But maybe, that other guy was just an outlier? I didn¡¯t notice Xican scanning us at all. We can only hope he was indeed a good guy.¡± ¡°Seemed it. With an invitation into the MT in hand, do you think it wise we accept it? If they are hiding something we can follow the adage of ¡®keep thy enemies on the bed next to yours¡¯ with them.¡± ¡°Bit risky. It doesn¡¯t look like we have any time limit¡±, Logan spoke as he glanced at the invite, ¡°let¡¯s hold off for now.¡± ¡°Alright. I guess we continue as normal for the day then?¡± ¡°Yeah. Though with thoughts circling around this new development¡±, Logan replied. Marcus made his own way out of the inn, Celsius and Spark keeping close to their master as they headed in the direction of the G-Hall, another full day of work ahead of them. --- *** --- Chapter 63 - Improving the Gear With his elementals grabbing onto his coattails, Logan looked through his monocular to the G-Hall once again and used Dimensional Jaunt to hasten his trips for the day. Leaving and appearing with sound shockwaves, Logan continued to spook the populace at his movement but he was confident it wouldn¡¯t cause an issue. He had an armband allowing him to do so, if a guard would question him all he had to do was turn to the side. Entering the hall, Logan was approached by several adventurers as he had been for the past few days. The number of active members was lowering as the goblin numbers continued to do the same, but the adventurers were trying to make as much coin as they could. Talking with a few of the people who came to him, Logan was able to sell off the services of his elementals to two different parties, they would get paid much less than a caster at around a tenth of the other¡¯s pay, but Logan wasn¡¯t too fussed about that. As both his elementals had skills to attack from afar endlessly he was confident they¡¯d be able to aid in any fight and grow whilst away from him. Removing the elementals from his party, Logan allowed them to team up with their groups. A window popped up to confirm this, explaining that Logan would get his normal experience distribution on his own. Since he wasn¡¯t going to be fighting it didn¡¯t matter, though another window popped up with some further information. It noted that Logan would keep the experience reductions if he had absorbed spells from his elementals, but since he hadn¡¯t he didn¡¯t need to worry. Learning this ahead of time was crucial for further plans if Logan was going to split up and do missions separately. The Spellthief pondered just how deep the calculations and limitations went, but since it didn¡¯t matter immediately he pushed those matters deep into his mind. Taking a quick jaunt to the dungeon backrooms, Logan sold off the three pieces of intel he created. Detailing the stalker and lord, alongside a full map of the dungeon, Logan was paid 50 silver for his work and told it would probably take a year for the dungeon to get repopulated in the next mating season.
Moving back through the markets, purchasing supplies for ten gobbo-ear necklaces. Logan made that choice as Strength was one of the more sought after attributes, with martials being more common and the majority being Fighters and Knights. It cost a total of 70 silver, though Logan was sure he¡¯d make that back at the end. Keeping his money, Logan decided he would update his gear at the end of his crafting spree so he could finance crafting easier. Returning to the inn he began his first day of crafting.
Taking just under nine hours crafting his trinkets, Marcus returned towards the end of the day. Logan crafted nine shoddy necklaces and one common, the worst he had done in a row so far. The crafting wasn¡¯t all bad, however, as he had gained another tier into the skill. Outside of the hidden calculations for the chances of crafting at different tiers, Logan now took 25% less time to craft trinkets which was a huge jump. Though as if bad came with good, another window appeared to inform Logan that he would no longer gain Trinket Craft mastery for crafting gobbo-ear necklaces and any item of level 10 and below would grant half the normal mastery. ¡°Well fuck you too¡±, Logan thought to whatever decided this. Marcus informed the angered crafter that his investigations into the recent events brought a bit of light to the fog surrounding them. The goblins had invaded via some high-level teleportation magics, far beyond the normal capabilities of goblin shamans. Going hand-in-hand with reports of ritual casting, it is theorized that they had come into the knowledge within their hidden civilization. The monster hero was being treated as an isolated case, as testing the blood of close to four hundred goblins revealed no further traces of heroic power. With the aid of the MT, Gauntlet has been reassured that no other force of that strength is near to or would be attacking the city any time soon. Sadly they could not trace the origin of the teleportations, but with the massacre after the invasion, it is unlikely they would do so again. Outside of magical investigations, the churches have their own theory that Madamra, the Lady of Monsters, was behind the attack. As it has been some time since the last invasion, the one previous being a demonic one, they reached the conclusion that another was due to the potential failure of the heroes several months past. It had actually been close to the eve of the fourteenth month since the heroes departed. With a few days left of the cleanup, the pair concluded that they would continue with their current course. Marcus did spend some time training today and would do so again tomorrow, with Logan moving on to a different set of crafting. Checking his summons before sleeping Logan was glad to see both still active and healthy, though a bit low on MP after a day¡¯s work.
Another day brought another load of shopping. Selling the necklaces from the day before, Logan made 120 silver with his bartering skills. Putting the money right back into crafting he spent a further 320 silver on components to make ten hobgoblin wristbands. Since they were a level 10 trinket he would only gain half mastery from them, but not many other trinket components were on sale for an acceptable price or in a large enough quantity. Spending 9 hours on crafting six of the wristbands, Logan ended up with three shoddy, two common, and one high-quality. Going from 6% mastery to 15% mastery showed the drop in experience, leading Logan to think about what he would craft after he had spent another day on the hobgoblin wristbands. Marcus¡¯s information for the day was a lot less, most of it being the same as the day previously. Both spent the night reading their tomes by moonlight as normal. Logan finished the Lexicon of Shrieky before falling asleep, allowing him to fully understand the language of the gashriek. He would have never been able to keep so much information in his head back on Earth, especially a whole language in a matter of days.
The next morning Logan teleported to the markets on the rooftops and sold the trinkets he had crafted for 475 silver in total. It was a lot of money for a safe day¡¯s work but it wasn''t going to last long, Logan was practically profiting from war, or at least the aftermath of one. Restocking the shelves with trinkets brought in plenty of coin for the markets but too many more and he would find that selling them would become harder the more they held. Keeping his money to see how his crafting progressed, Logan returned to the inn via teleportation to craft the final four items. 6 hours passed as the Spellthief finished off three shoddy and one high-quality wristband. As he checked the progress in Trinket Craft he saw yet another window stating he would no longer gain mastery from that particular item. ¡°I had crafted a few necklaces before my current crafting sessions, how come I stopped gaining mastery with only ten of these wristbands? Is it because I am doing it altogether or in a row?¡± Logan theorized in his head. Thinking about it further, the issues weren¡¯t going to be present long. If he were to gain further tiers of mastery in Trinket Craft he was sure that the lower level limit of trinkets was going to give less and less experience regardless. By the time he got through the trinkets that increased attributes, he would have gained tier 4 or close enough to it.
Wanting to get out of the inn, Logan took a walk to the markets instead of his normal teleportation movement. The streets looked so much different than they did after the invasion. Debris had been cleared and the guard presence had lessened though was still over the normal count. With the aid of magic, the restoration project had been completed in impeccable timing though Logan was sure it¡¯d take a few days more to get back to how it was before. Rumours amongst the populace also let the Spellthief on to plans to make another watchtower to the east to protect against further attacks such as this one. As Logan reached the markets he sold off the final trinkets for another 275 silver. Selling his old ashin daggers he finally invested in level 12 daggers for his sidearm and throwing armaments. Purchasing eleven daggers, he placed ten into his rib holsters and another onto his back belt sheath. Digging into his funds the total came to 404 silver. Calculating all of what he had done to this point with his knives and daggers, Logan concluded that this weapon would deal 20 to 23 damage, 28 to 32 with his Backstab skill. The damage eclipsed his Spellthief''s Edge, but having played roleplaying games in the past he felt a nagging in his brain to not let it go just yet. All of his weapons also did far more than Force, which was still capped at 15 and got reduced quite often due to the damage reduction of his enemies. With his weapons sorted all Logan had left to upgrade was his armour. The Spellthief¡¯s garb was falling apart, the large diagonal slash brought with it a bit of a breeze even after Logan replaced the undershirt. It was only level 6, but was well suited to his class. Browsing both the cloth armours and light armour selections he could only feel guilt at getting rid of it. Now that his level had risen enough, the Spellthief had a few more options open to him in the way of robes. Casters could buy enchanted armour that aided in several areas, from increasing damage of particular elements, protecting from elements, or aiding in some skills¡¯ performance. He couldn¡¯t find any pieces of armour that granted MP or slots, though he was not surprised to find zero armours to grant him more Spell Absorption charges. A few staves granted MP, though they seemed too clunky in Logan¡¯s head. He also would not be able to use them too well in a group as he¡¯d have to string them across his back and lower his movement capabilities. They also required attunement and constant contact, making it hard to swap to his daggers if he needed to. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. It looked like staves would eventually be a path to take for Logan. Aside from those that granted additional MP or spell slots, many granted the ability to quickcast spells, quickcast without cost, and even silentcast at the highest price points. There were others that allowed the use of meta alterations without increasing the cost of spells too. Marcus would benefit quite a lot from a higher-power staff to aid in his healing spells. If he didn¡¯t want to focus on magic, he could focus on physical defence with light armour. Leather and hides provided him with a better defence rating and at his current level he could even get some damage reduction and resistance, albeit much lower than heavy armour. A lot of monsters had skills or spells, though plenty also liked to attack with weapons and claws. The idea of completely nullifying damage with a high defence rating was dashed when he remembered he¡¯d be facing stronger opponents, whose attack rating would more than likely tower over the pitiful rating of light armour. While he was browsing a larger armour shop the proprietor perked up a conversation, ¡°Having difficulties choosing your garb?¡± they asked with a direct tone. ¡°Yep. I want to upgrade but without knowing who I will fight ahead of time, it makes it hard to decide what to focus on¡±, Logan said as he turned his head to the older gentleman. The man who was just a bit shorter than Logan rustled his blonde beard. ¡°Your weapons say Rogue, but your stance and aura remind me of a mage. Grasp or Infuse expert?¡± ¡°Grasp expert, with some summons.¡± ¡°Do you often find your spells halted by blows from your foes?¡± Logan turned his body to face the gentlemen, showing further interest in the conversation. ¡°It has happened a few times. Chatter also ruined a duel for me.¡± ¡°Well, I do not think you prepared for the Chatter-resistant hides. But I do have a suggestion for some light armour you may find useful, if you¡¯re fine to incur a chance of failed casting that is¡±, he asked as he looked Logan up and down, ¡°though it seems you already do.¡± ¡°That would certainly make a great everyday set of armour, could you show me, please?¡± Logan asked as he smiled at the merchant. Waving his hand to motion the Spellthief to follow, the shop owner moved to a rack of clothing. Shuffling through the selection he handled a hangar out and placed it onto a nearby table. The outfit consisted of a similar coat with coattails but was a mix of red and black with yellow trims. The arms of the coat had segmented bands of a scaled hide to offer better protection. The shirt itself had a fur collar and bottom part where it met the belt, the middle looking to be a harder material than Logan¡¯s previous clothing. Surprisingly the boots were almost identical to his last, though the laces were red. ¡°This is a set of Nullafo, it is common amongst Helm natives but I had some ordered in when there was a rush of casters a year back. Not all of them sold so it is luck that brought you here¡±, the man explained. Logan¡¯s response was the usual mental command of, ¡°Identify.¡± ¡°It has 4 more defence rating and the same DR, but no elemental reduction. That is quite a good chance of not losing my spells¡±, Logan calculated in his head. ¡°What you thinking? Good enough?¡± ¡°It will work as an everyday set. I¡¯ll take it¡±, Logan accepted. ¡°I¡¯ll have to hope my next System quest grants me some more fitting armour again¡±, his thoughts trailed. Paying the merchant 96 silver, Logan was dipping into his reserves fast but was pretty much up to speed at this point. When asked about repairing armour, the shopkeeper said you¡¯d normally have to get the original creator or someone versed in the particular set to repair it, as each set of armour used different spellforce techniques and materials to craft. Simply stitching up a hole wouldn¡¯t restore its original strength and only delayed the inevitable for a strike or three. Logan did ask about his current armour for repairs, but unsurprisingly the merchant had no idea what it took to make it, so he couldn¡¯t offer any assistance more than what Logan could do in his spare time.
Leaving the markets Logan returned to the inn to rest for the last portion of the day, placing his new armour within his inventory. He would use his current garb until it broke as the extra spells really came in handy, and hopefully by the time he could no longer use them he had access to more ways to hold spells. Spending some time browsing his status windows the Spellthief checked the bookmarks he had made alongside new skills he could be interested in. It seemed like there would come a time when Logan would need to specialise in a particular field to really play to his class¡¯s advantages. There were plenty of Spellthief-only skills, but also so many Wizard skills that improved casting. With the invitation to the MT he also had the opportunity to meet more magi who would welcome an oracle amongst them. A full team would help him speed through quests, or even complete the system quests given to him. Past oracles seemed to gather large parties when they stayed as adventurers, up to counts of ten. Though plenty stayed solo or duo with their partnered NPCs. Was he being too cautious with hiding his identity? Was Darius just an outlier that he shouldn¡¯t take as a warning of things to come? Questions spun around in Logan¡¯s head as the wisdom of his parents didn¡¯t extend fully to this new land. His sense of morality had also shifted since coming here, so perhaps his way of thinking should too. There was also the option of joining a guild for safety in numbers. It would help him get groups for quests just like the MT, though at a worse split of payment. There wasn¡¯t a huge downside to being a loner, but the pros of joining a faction such as that did tip the scale in their favour. Regardless, it seemed like Logan would have time yet to decide. With his system quests coming in after one to two weeks after completing the last, he still had a handful of days before he would get hassled to do the work of the above once again. A cold chill broke Logan¡¯s train of thought as it blew open the slightly ajar glass window. Jumping out of bed to close the window Logan also drew closed the thick black curtains. ¡°Is it heading into this world¡¯s winter season?¡± he thought to himself. Continuing the break in his concentration the door opened wide as Marcus returned, exhausted as normal after a day¡¯s training. ¡°Hail, Logan. How¡¯d your day go?¡± the Devout asked as he placed his bag on his bed. ¡°Slow as normal, finished up my crafting and upgrading my gear. Yours?¡± Logan asked as he sat back on his bed. Stretching wide Marcus replied, ¡°Tiring. As soon as I feel I am getting better they change the routines or my sparring partners.¡± ¡°Hey, are we close to the chill?¡± Logan asked, referring to Avanar¡¯s term for winter. ¡°The chill? No? We¡¯re just exiting the heat, so going into the falling.¡± Looking to the window as if he could see through the curtains Logan replied, ¡°Just seems like we¡¯ve had a few cold snaps recently.¡± ¡°It is possible for strong spells to have such an effect, though with the goblin menace I am surprised the fire-based spells haven¡¯t made it hotter.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s hope it isn¡¯t leading to something¡±, Logan spoke under his breath. ¡°I am sure it isn¡¯t anything to worry about. Cold snaps are more common than heatwaves in the Gauntlet kingdom. You¡¯d hardly find heatwaves in Helm, and Sabaton has the most heatwaves out of us all¡±, Marcus explained as he got his towel ready for a soak in the bath. ¡°I¡¯m probably just being too wary then.¡± After finishing their discussion, the pair rested for the end portion of the day. Both sat quietly as they read their books, Logan finding it a calming experience that helped to take his mind off of recent events. With so much time spent on paper, Logan wondered why he hadn¡¯t done more reading back on Earth.
The night came with Marcus finishing his reading of Magi''s Magick Vol 2, gaining the first-level spells Growth and Rain, the third-level spells Aqua 2 and Gaia 2, and the Alterations Skystrike and Wall. Marcus was still unable to cast higher than first-level spells but it prepared him for later, the alterations making it easier to heal and even create his own barriers. The Growth spell hastened a plant¡¯s growing cycle whereas Rain caused the clouds above to rain onto a small area. Not immediately useful, but if the pair decided to aid in farming or grow their own herbs it would come in handy. With learning the Wall Alteration, Marcus would also be able to demonstrate it if ever asked about the pair¡¯s activities in the forest.
Resting to a new day, Logan heard the rolling flames and electrical sparks of his summons outside his door. Marcus had already gotten up to an apparent knocking that Logan only heard the end of as he woke up. Opening the door revealed the 4¡¯10¡± elementals whose smiley attitudes pointed to their success on the missions they were assigned. Checking their status it seemed that Celsius had gained just over 900 XP with Spark gaining just over 1,000. Getting informed about the completion of the quests, Logan used Dimensional Jaunt to bring the trio to the G-Hall while Marcus went about his normal day. Logan was paid 4 silver for the use of his elementals and got two more quests tallied onto his signet. Comparing the pay to what he had been getting recently it was quite low, but for the quests and ease for the elementals, he was actually surprised at how much it brought in. As he was updating Logan noticed more adventurers without quests at the hall, sitting at tables and discussing rather than being in the rush they had been for the past few days. The goblin threat had pretty much been dealt with thanks to the rush of the adventurers and the increase in payment for the lower-rank quests. It wouldn¡¯t be long till the influx of even more adventurers hit Gauntlet either, with the main force in the south returning. This would also spell the beginning of the decline in the need for trinkets from Logan, meaning his selling efforts would shoot down rapidly. Sadly he hadn¡¯t made any pristine or legendary tier items in his time but he had increased his skills, funds, and gear quickly in such a short period of time. --- *** --- Chapter 64 - Last Living Logan agreed to two more quests in which his elementals would aid two separate teams again, it wasn¡¯t too hard a bargain to make due to their low payment yet amazing contribution. There was little to argue about since this was a common thing outside of Logan approaching teams, as people could go to larger summon-service establishments to hire summons for short periods. Summons required no upkeep outside of MP or slots from casters, and so their labour was cheap, leading to their usages being seen as also cheap. Some spellcasters even got to rank 8 just to sell off their summons or undead to make an easy-enough living while their created beings did work for them. The Spellthief didn¡¯t have any plans to set this up as a permanent occurrence, but it was a good enough plan while he wasn¡¯t necessarily requiring the spell slots for anything else.
Leaving the hall, Logan decided he would spend some of the day investigating the last leads he had into past oracles. This endeavour didn¡¯t give as good as results as his last attempts, however, as the further he went back into the history books the more he found empty lots or directions to gravesites. Deciding to end his investigations for now, as he had exhausted almost all within Gauntlet, Logan decided to invest in his stock of potions after his trek through the coastal caverns. Finding a quant alchemy shop he entered it, a wave of pungent herb smells overpowered the sweet scent of nectar in the air. Cabinets were full of pots and vials, shelves lined with herbs, and tables showing several tools for a budding alchemist. Moving to the counter Logan pressed on the bell that sat atop it, the wood of the counter showing several dark spots where liquids had been spilt previously. The nearby curtains that separated the storefront from the backrooms started to shift as an elderly gentleman came out. His thinning black hair showed his ample use of creams, though his wrinkles persisted against age-resistant tonics. As dimmed amber eyes shone in the light, Logan saw two alerts pop up just to the edge of his vision. ¡°A PC is currently viewing you.¡± ¡°You are currently viewing a PC.¡± Logan was still and silent, staring at the man in disbelief, the older gentleman doing the same. The beating of Logan¡¯s heart was deafening in his ears as he felt a wave of anxiety hit him, a heat coating his skin as he looked at someone who he had been hounding for over a month. The older man continued to stand there though he stood up straighter as he started to speak in an old yet strong tone of voice, ¡°Above or Below?¡± ¡°Sorry?¡± Logan asked perplexed, his voice wavering slightly. ¡°Is your patron one from Above or Below?¡± Logan contemplated his response, he didn¡¯t even think that a PC could be chosen from one below, their descriptions always painted them as the ¡°evil¡± deities. He gulped harshly, a ball of pain forming in his throat as he forced out the words, ¡°I think they are one from above.¡± The pair stood in silence for a few seconds, feeling like hours to Logan who wondered if it was the proper choice to make. If the old man was taken from one below would they have to fight it out right here? Logan¡¯s worries washed away as he saw the shoulders of the older man slouch, returning to a hunched position. A heavy sigh came from the man as he moved to his end of the counter, placing a hand onto it to steady himself. ¡°Thank god, another person from Earth¡±, the man spoke as if he had been waiting for this moment as well. His accent was almost identical to other Avanarians, though it had a tint of an accent that Logan could pick up on, Irish. ¡°Then you¡­ I thought¡­ So we are both from Earth!¡± Logan responded in haste as he was overjoyed, though remembered to keep his voice hushed. ¡°From the way you¡¯re speaking, I take it you¡¯re new? At what stage is your System?¡± ¡°Sorry, yes. I have just been looking for answers for so long you don¡¯t know. My System? I think stage two? It has upgraded once if that is what you mean¡±, Logan continued in his hastened manner, a big smile across his face. ¡°Quite early then, for a spellcaster, your progress has been slow¡±, the man stated as he pulled over a stool to sit at. ¡°Does that mean you¡¯re a spellcaster too? What is your class?¡± ¡°I am a Meridiancer, I control energies in vital points held within bodies¡±, the man announced as he held up his hand. He pointed two fingers upwards as if he were meditating, a flowing aura of blue surrounded his digits. Hitting his fingers into his chest the man stood up straight as he breathed in deep, his skin appearing to tighten across his face. Looking towards Logan he asked the same, ¡°And yours?¡± ¡°I am a Spellthief, I absorb spells that are cast at me and I can redirect them at my choosing. I can¡¯t really show it, I can¡¯t absorb my own spells as far as I could tell¡±, Logan answered as he held his two arms apart and made claw motions with his hands. ¡°Hmm, neat¡±, the man responded as a smile came across his face too. The pair chuckled at each other for a moment before Logan continued, ¡°I have so many questions. Why are we here? Who took us? Do quests end? Can we go back?¡± Holding up a hand the man paused Logan¡¯s list, ¡°Hold on a moment. I may be old but I am no sage. Let us start with the basics. I was taken in the year 1978. You?¡± ¡°So long ago? That¡¯d make you around seventy then? I was taken in 2021, I am currently 26.¡± ¡°77 here. Though it hurts to hear I have gotten so old. Though it has been 43 years since my abduction, it seems the same time has passed by on Earth¡±, the man responded in kind. ¡°My System did say that time probably passed at the same rate. Oh, sorry, I am Logan by the way¡±, Logan announced as he held out a hand. ¡°Ahren, nice to meet you¡±, the man returned as he shook Logan¡¯s hand. ¡°So, do you know who took us?¡± ¡°Deities. Mine was Levin, I was hit by a lightning strike and woke up in a crater here.¡± ¡°Same here. How do you know Levin was who took you?¡± ¡°I saw my beginning boon was granted by Levin, and my System confirmed as such as they progressed.¡± ¡°I was taken by Vokka then, I wasn¡¯t 100% on if they were just helping me or if they had also abducted me.¡± ¡°Good, it would have ended rather badly if we had been from opposing ends¡±, Ahren said solemnly. ¡°What do you mean? Are the ones taken from deities below against us?¡± ¡°In a sense, they are our ¡®rivals¡¯, at least that is what my System alerted me to. Sadly, the only time I met one who had a patron from below, they saw me first, and tried to kill me.¡± ¡°Shit. But why?¡± ¡°From what I could gather, the above is in contest with the below. PCs are picked for something grander and if at all possible we must hinder the other.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re still here, does that mean we can¡¯t leave?¡± ¡°I tried a few times, even got my partner NPC killed along the way. As far as I could research, no other PC, or oracle, has been able to leave thus far.¡± This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°Sorry to hear about that. Though, actually, you weren¡¯t in the history books, have you stayed hidden?¡± ¡°That I have, though I had a few close calls. I don¡¯t like attention much, and with my run-in with a below PC, I thought it best to hide away. However, as you saw when our eyes met, our Systems alert us to the presence of other PCs if we have been spotted¡±, Ahren lamented. ¡°So, is it impossible to leave?¡± Logan asked as he slouched his own shoulders in sadness. ¡°No. There are chances¡±, Ahren answered, to which Logan quickly shot up, ¡°our quests sometimes give an option to leave, or create a portal to do so¡±, he continued, as Logan stopped himself from interrupting Ahren, ¡°I believe I had two chances at leaving, the first I was far too weak and fled, the second my partner NPC died.¡± Logan looked to the floor exclaiming, ¡°Fuck¡±, under his breath. ¡°Were those quests much harder than the others?¡± ¡°They progressively got harder, though sometimes they were easier. The quests that gave the option to leave, however, I was just not prepared for in the end.¡± ¡°So¡­ have you given up on leaving?¡± ¡°In a fashion. Age caught up with me, requiring more MP to keep my body going via my Meridian powers. It became harder to hide my unique abilities from others, meaning I had to go solo for a while or find those I could trust. My quests eventually slowed down as I failed more and more, I only get one a year now.¡± ¡°So you can get more after failing? I was worried they stopped completely¡±, Logan replied relieved. ¡°You¡¯re the third PC I have talked with, and none have said their quests had halted after failing.¡± ¡°What happened to them?¡± ¡°They both died, trying to succeed in the quests given to them. They did work together on their final quest, but it was too much.¡± ¡°Damn. That doesn¡¯t fill me with too much confidence.¡± ¡°I can at least give you some advice, the quests seemed to follow your level. If you keep it relatively low or progress it slowly, you could try and make the quests easier on you.¡± ¡°So, focus on skills and gear?¡± ¡°And allies. Do you have normal spells? Can you summon creatures?¡± ¡°Yes. I have two elementals currently, I can absorb their spells too.¡± ¡°Then that is where I suggest you focus. Though take my advice with a grain of salt, this is only what I noticed. The NPCs are mostly good people, as far as I can tell they are real people in this real world, they are just not ¡®players¡¯ in this weird game the deities are playing with PCs as the pawns.¡± ¡°My quests have seemed hard, as if they kept up with my ability. It sounds correct to me, but I will be wary.¡± ¡°If you can summon creatures, there may be another way of leaving. Teleportation. What level are you now? At least 8 if you can summon.¡± Logan jumped up a bit as he heard of an alternative for leaving, ¡°Yes I can use Dimensional Jaunt so far. I am level 12. How would I teleport back to Earth though?¡± ¡°I was offered a portal. And I have seen some spellcasters create portals. You could investigate those types of spells and find one to allow you to return home, though I wager it would be quite high.¡± ¡°I saw some spellcasters use a ¡®Teleport¡¯ spell, where they didn¡¯t need to look where they were going. That could be expanded to going home if they share the whole ¡®portal¡¯ aspect¡±, Logan¡¯s attitude changed to a whole new level of happiness. ¡°Sadly my magic only extends to affecting bodies, no flashy things like explosions or portals, so that option isn¡¯t open to me.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll look into it. Maybe the MT could help with that if the bookshop has nothing. If I find a way home, do you want to come with?¡± Ahren contemplated his answer for a few seconds, ¡°Tempting, but here my magic works. As a Meridiancer, I could live to see 200. If going home means I lose that, I¡¯ll probably die in a couple of dozen years.¡± ¡°That¡¯s understandable. The world has changed a lot in 43 years, you might not like how it has.¡± ¡°Is there any stigma left for the Irish?¡± ¡°Huh? Not that I can think of, nothing more than common bar antics or more extreme views. Though I am from England, the particular city I lived in didn¡¯t seem to have anything against Irish.¡± ¡°Then that¡¯s all I need from Earth. I¡¯d also be leaving my wife, kids, and grandkids behind, I¡¯d like to say I saw great and great-great kids in my life.¡± ¡°Quite an accomplishment. I won¡¯t force the issue. Did you have any other information about PCs and the deities I should know?¡± ¡°I gave you the main points. I have never spoken with Levin, so it is hard to say if I did good or bad in his eyes. Since you¡¯re only at the second stage of your System, I will tell you that there is a reputation mechanic at play in the background. It doesn¡¯t force NPCs as far as I could tell, but rather a culmination of all your deeds laid out neatly for you. It can lead to titles if you¡¯re wanting more skill points.¡± ¡°My last quest gave me some rep points, I was curious where they went.¡± ¡°Then you might be close to a reward from reputation. Talking about skills, those also progress faster than NPCs, but get much slower the higher they become.¡± ¡°Now you bring it up, do you own this alchemy store? Would you be able to help me in my journey to return home?¡± ¡°If you bring me the herbs, in my spare time I can craft alchemical supplies for you, yes.¡± ¡°What is your current Herbalism tier, if you don¡¯t mind me asking?¡± ¡°Five, items below level 20 no longer grant me any mastery and many items don¡¯t grant me any by virtue of making too many.¡± The pair talked for what seemed like hours, Logan finding more and more about how the System functioned alongside the differences between PCs and NPCs. Nothing was concrete, but being able to bounce ideas off another person who was in his position felt like the whole weight was no longer on his shoulders alone. Ahren spoke of his family on Avanar, all of them had turned out to be classed though with the chances being just over a coinflip it was slightly surprising. His offspring could have been an outlier, or PCs had a higher chance of creating classed beings. None showed any signs of having aberrant abilities, being granted the normal classes of the region. The Meridiancer was able to hide his presence by masquerading as an enhancement expert, a mage who used magic to improve their capabilities within combat. It was a rarer form of caster since it put them in danger, but hardly anyone questioned his skills as it was a known type. The particular effects of his Meridian powers were only known to his wife at this point, both agreeing they would use his power to live a longer life together. Such powers allowed him to target parts of the body as if there were vocal points of power, the heart would provide blood and mana flow through the body, the throat enhanced voice commands, and even one between the eyebrows to stimulate the mind. He could flush out impurities, weaken biological processes, and enhance almost all parts of a person. Being able to heal and empower the body allowed him to theorize the increased lifespan and even experimented to the point he felt like his age did not affect him. They had long durations, but he didn¡¯t feel the need to be constantly using them right now. Playing the part of an old man did well to hide his powers, and if he was seen to live beyond his years he could play it off as using powerful herbs. The conversation allowed Logan two avenues to leave the world of Avanar. He could continue questing until he was given the option of returning home as a reward for victory, or he could research and level up enough to be able to cast a teleportation spell that could bring him between the different worlds and planes of existence. With the former having an easier time if he kept his level low and the latter requiring a high level, Logan was on the fence about where he should go with his levelling. For now, he decided he wouldn¡¯t fuss too much over it, the quests should always be completable from what he gathered in his discussion with Ahren, they would just feel hard at the time. A wrench was thrown into the works though, as Ahren did let Logan in on another limitation that was enforced. Experience rewards for defeating foes would continue to decline, and if Logan was sixteen levels above a foe he would gain nothing from them. Enemies also got much harder the higher the levels went, since Logan was a half-caster his defences were lower than the normal martial classes. He would need to rely on allies, if not just his elementals, to survive against foes that were worth fighting. Ahren was not going to help in any fights, he had too much to lose at this point, whereas Logan still felt like he was taken against his will. Combined with the fact he wanted to return to his father, Logan was still not deterred from leaving. With their discussion coming to a close, Logan informed Ahren he would come back from time to time to get further guidance alongside the Alchemy services. For now, he had a few choices to make. The MT became a larger part of his plans and this time it was for a beneficial part and not one full of disaster. Neither would tell anyone else of their presence, it was lucky enough that both were hidden oracles. With the confirmation of several PCs being active at once Logan was sure to meet more on his travels, though now he would be guarded against PCs chosen by the ones below. Would he be forced into a confrontation, or would he be given the choice of a fight if he met another? The idea of rival PCs also threw in another theory, his quests could be in opposition to another PC''s actions. It was possible a higher-level PC was behind the goblin invasion, or even have been the one to help Dena on her way to unlocking tomes with the kaevock she got from a dungeon. With so many things to think about and plan for, Logan decided it best to take things one at a time. He headed to the bookshop to investigate the possibilities that teleportation magics offered. If that place didn¡¯t have what he needed, he knew of one place that certainly would. --- *** --- Chapter 65 - Dimensional Avenues Scanning the bookshelves, checking the synopsis of their contents on the back, and confirming information with the proprietor of the bookshop offered a few inklings into the powers of higher-level spells. Spells ranged from first-level all the way to twelfth-level. Most spellcasters, individually, only ever reached third, a handful gaining access to fourth, with the highest recorded living caster being seventh as the archmage of the Magi¡¯s Tower association. When it came to the capital¡¯s tomes on spells, they did teach up to seventh-level spells, though they were ancient and cost so much that Logan felt dizzy at the price tags. Tenth-level spells were the epitome of mortal magic and rumoured to only be accessible to oracles, with eleventh-level being demon-tier magic and twelfth-level being glorified as deific powers though only scratching the surface. The power of demons was so fearsome that many magi had to come together to ritual cast the teleportations required to invade their realm, or at least send the past heroes in after them. This was the last recorded instance of planar-travel portal magic, being possible if at least twelve magi spent a month preparing the portal. Logan would not be able to do this, however, as the magi would all need to know where they were creating the portal to. While he could tell them about Earth using imagery or descriptions, it would reveal the existence of Earth to Avanar, and with the powers of the Avanarians, it would be far too dangerous. An errant mage could produce devastating effects on Earth if their magic continued to function there. Marcus would not be able to assist, as teleportation magic was not available to Devouts, so Logan would still require several casters that he could trust to even think about this option. If he were to do it alone, not only would he have to reach a much higher level, but it would likely require him over a year of ritual casting the spell. The month-long portal for the demon invasion almost killed the magi who made it, Logan had no chance. Logan was just happy at this point to have the knowledge of the bookshop owner Reykeg at hand, since Logan couldn¡¯t get as much information without buying the tomes. As the conversation circulated on the matter of teleportation and the levels of magic, Reykeg did mention that spell levels occurred in multiples of eight. Rank 8 granted second-level, 16 gave third. Since ritual casting allowed spellcasters to use spells above their normal limitations, the information for portal magic was a bit inconsistent. Combining their knowledge and the synopsis of the books, they arrived at the portal magic being either seventh or eighth-level. That meant Logan needed to be at least ranked 48 or 56. It had taken Logan close to a month to reach level 12, so those goals were around four months away. That depended a lot on Logan¡¯s actions though, and if he even got access to the right spells. It was a long shot, but a shot nonetheless. This put the quest path more into the forefront of options, as completing one could bring him home immediately. With goblins becoming so few in number he couldn¡¯t abuse them for experience, he¡¯d need to kill hundreds to level up at this point anyways. He didn¡¯t have enough information to figure out a solid plan for levelling right now. Thinking to the MT, the archmage could possibly aid him, but that was only an option if the current archmage could be trusted. Had the association become corrupt in the absence of the oracle that had founded it? Would the mages flock to Earth in search of a place where their magic would not be discriminated against? There was the option of getting funding for his own research into portals, but that would most likely end in him having to write reports and being scrutinized in his journey. Logan ruffled his hair as he wracked his brain for what would be the best course. He felt like he was going in a loop. He had only a single chance at trusting someone, if word got out it was the end, not to mention the rival issue. Reykeg saw the adventurer¡¯s frustration and offered a cup of tea to mellow his mind. ¡°Is this part of an initiation into the Magi¡¯s Tower?¡± the older man asked, his lush hair hiding his age well. Logan slouched back in his chair away from the books with the teacup in his hand, ¡°It¡¯s like a project of sorts. I want to specialize in teleportation, but, it is so frustrating to get to the point I need to be at.¡± ¡°If you were younger I am sure you¡¯d have more energy for these things. It normally takes a couple dozen years to reach the point of the archmage, let alone using such high-tier spells. That is of course if you don¡¯t spend every day hunting stronger beasts¡±, Reykeg informed as he sipped his drink. ¡°Almost makes me wish to find an endless dungeon.¡± Reykeg¡¯s eyebrow raised at the mutter, ¡°Oh? You are a slotter so I suppose you could deal with many more foes than a spelly. A spellforced dungeon could offer you the training you¡¯re after, but I warn you, they are far more dangerous. You trade safety for speed.¡± Sitting up in his chair Logan leant towards the table to set his cup down, ¡°I did deal with a made dungeon a few days ago, had a few surprises in store but it was weaker than our ranks so we got through.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll find the spellforced much harder than a made dungeon. The creatures there fight to the death and work together much better than the normal monsters you¡¯ll find¡±, Reykeg spoke as if his mind wandered to past memories. ¡°As long as I can leave and regroup if things go south, it should be fine. I can use Dimensional Jaunt to get out of harms way well enough.¡± ¡°Even better if you focus more on teleportation spells¡±, Reykeg responded with a joking smile. ¡°I¡¯ll have to look at the ones on offer if I do go the route of increasing my rank. See if there are any easy ones close by that my team can take care of.¡± ¡°Those types of dungeons often offer plenty of rewards within them, from fallen adventurers or from the monsters who have learnt how to craft. Some are so old that you may find artefacts long forgotten too.¡± ¡°Like the kaevock¡±, Logan thought to himself. ¡°I take it you entered a few in your youth?¡± Logan asked. ¡°Pah, I still have some spark left in me. But yes, I was an avid adventurer in my younger years before my duties as a bookkeeper caught up with me.¡± ¡°Caught up? Did you inherit this place?¡± ¡°Oh, you have not been taught about bookkeepers? I can give you the abridged version if you like?¡± ¡°Sure, I was a bit curious about it from the last book place I visited.¡± ¡°Well, it all boils down to this. A bookkeeper has their life tied to a collection of books, this is then passed down to their eldest offspring, though they may fob it off onto their siblings. Once the current owner dies, the offspring take over and gain the ability to unlock the books. The monarchy pays for any setup fees required and from there you work as a business owner from then on. Only bookkeepers can open the books, unless you¡¯re a powerful mage.¡± ¡°Can your bloodline just decline? Seems a bit harsh to enforce this on someone.¡± ¡°It is rare, but some have declined in the past. It then goes through the monarchy to find a new bookkeeper. It was a system designed before my time to stop the overflow of knowledge to those who were not prepared for it, nor worthy of such knowledge.¡± ¡°Sounds like quite the powerful system, did the monarchy make it?¡± ¡°The church commissioned the deities, and through the monarchy, the system was forged. Vokka, the Dame of the Mind, was instrumental in this creation.¡± ¡°Well, that is a tale indeed. At least now I can understand the process. What was the catalyst of this decision?¡± ¡°From my recollection it was a bandit lord who had accumulated knowledge of skills and spells, almost creating their own kingdom of chaotic actions. You could buy a tome that teaches that part of history if you like.¡± ¡°Maybe another time. For now, I think I have a better idea of how to progress with my teleportation studies¡±, Logan spoke as he stood up from his chair, ¡°thank you for the tea and assistance. I will probably come by to buy some tomes later as my finances improve towards taking on a dungeon.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome, Logan. I hope your progression goes smoothly.¡± Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
¡°Logan, we have collated some data for you¡±, the System spoke in the Spellthief¡¯s mind. Jumping a little as he left the bookshop Logan replied in his mind, ¡°Been a while since you talked to me, System. What do you have?¡± ¡°As your aim is to leave we have created a small quest in your log to go over. It will simply make notes on your progress. However, we believe everything you have learnt so far is close to the truth. It is our advice to you that your elementals be max level as soon as possible to aid in lowering your reliance on parties.¡± ¡°That¡¯ll lay it out neater for me. Thanks. Do you advise I go the quest route or portal route?¡± ¡°With the estimations at hand, you will be working for at least four months to gain the ability to create a portal yourself. That is not guaranteed. We suggest following the quests granted to you if you wish to return faster.¡± ¡°Do you think the MT will be an issue?¡± ¡°Darius was a terrible first impression, but so far they seem to be a reputable organisation. We advise at least discussing things further with their representatives and inquiring about teleportation teaching services.¡± ¡°They probably like casters more than martials anyways. Like a clique.¡± ¡°That is our assessment also.¡± ¡°Ahren mentioned more stages of your progression, talking with him it seems you¡¯ll upgrade when my natural Intelligence hits 50. You think it¡¯s the same for all PCs?¡± ¡°From how numbers normally progress and the mortal nature to adore round numbers or sequential increases, there is a high chance that is correct.¡± ¡°So, level 15? Not far off. I was thinking of taking the middle ground of slow and fast levelling for the two options to leave, opinions?¡± ¡°We would advise that if you go the route of speeding towards a higher level, that you leave Marcus behind. You have shown a fondness for him, and if your level becomes too high then he will be in greater danger.¡± ¡°I was thinking about that too. He¡¯ll have a better life after I entered it. He is already lauded as a ¡®blessed¡¯ so his rep is fine. His Wisdom is also much higher than Devouts of his level since I was able to distribute his points into it, rather than the training the NPCs do to allocate them.¡± ¡°The training with the guard has helped his skill in combat too. We believe he will be fine if you left him behind.¡± ¡°Kinda shitty to just drop him though. He is eager to keep with me for a long time. This topic is going to be difficult to breach with him.¡± ¡°You have time. Though, if you are to return home you will most likely be leaving him behind.¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t have as many ties to his world, he¡¯s an orphan and wants to change this place. You think that goal of fixing the rules of this world are strong enough to keep him back if I offered him a ride to Earth?¡± ¡°As you might say, he would be a fish out of water. Disregarding the abrupt change from worlds, his ideals are tied to his faith in the deities that are a real factor within this world.¡± ¡°What was that saying? All evil needs to survive is for good people to do nothing?¡± ¡°Do you perhaps believe this is what your purpose is here as a chosen of an above deity? To prolong the goodness of the land? And the below rivals is to tip the balance towards evil?¡± ¡°Since we''re fated to fight it is a good assumption to make, System. By the way, we need to work on your name. ¡®System¡¯ isn¡¯t really that personal.¡± ¡°We shall think on our name at a later time. For now, we shall focus on helping you with your goals. What is our next step, Logan?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s talk with Marcus, and go over this new information. Then we should try and contact people more versed in teleportation magic. Cassius had his own rings but he may know more, we could also ask his guild. After that, the MT.¡±
Getting back to the inn, Logan noticed a few more teams making their way out of the eastern gatehouse. Even if the goblins were done with there were plenty of quests that needed attending to. The rooftops were also home to children awaiting the first sign of the returning forces from the south, though it was still too early for that unless they were using teleportation magic. Gazing over the entrance far to the east you could hardly tell the city had been attacked, if not for a heavier presence of the guard. Seeing the strength of the army and monarchy classed beings, Logan was sure the fight would have been easier with a better warning ahead of time. If any following invasion was to be announced, and they were much fiercer, the Spellthief might have his hand forced to counter it. Entering the Meek Moat Inn, Logan waved to Yetveka who was naturally manning the counter at the far end. The room was devoid of any other customers, though they were most likely out and about on their hunts. Taking a seat at the counter Logan started a conversation with Yetveka. ¡°Slow day?¡± ¡°No, about the norm I¡¯d say. The last of the non-hunters left to permanent residences¡±, Yetveka responded with a cheery disposition. ¡°So only hunters staying here now then?¡± ¡°Yep. That¡¯s how this place normally operates. The non-hunters are typically those who have had bad experiences that warranted hunts.¡± ¡°So this place acts as some form of refuge?¡± ¡°You could say that. Hunters have become a rare breed lately, so this place was set up as an incentive to entice more people to sign up.¡± ¡°I guess even rarer with the recent troubles with goblins and raids¡±, Logan spoke as he took a sip from a tankard poured by the gashriek. ¡°We only have five regular patrons, there are a few other hunters outside of that number but I doubt it extends past a finger count.¡± ¡°Marcus and I will be getting back to the hunts soon, but a lot has happened lately.¡± ¡°Your work is always appreciated.¡± The pair talked for a while longer until Marcus finally returned from his daily activities. Moving to their room, the pair moved on to discuss their current situation. ¡°It¡¯s been a great day of work, Logan. I can really feel the improvement in my attacks and at no better time. The invasion from the goblins and the naegren cavern erupted a fire within me to improve. What¡¯s our next course of action? Any news from your side of things?¡± Marcus said excitedly. ¡°A lot actually. I found another oracle¡±, Logan began, Marcus jumped at the mention but allowed his friend to continue, ¡°I won¡¯t say who they are or where to find them, but, they revealed quite a bit to me. I know a bit more about my purpose, though it is mostly tied to the quests they are giving to me.¡± Logan explained the quest system a bit deeper, and explained the rival oracles that might come into play, but kept the mention of Earth out of it. ¡°It isn¡¯t too surprising to hear about rivals from below. Though I don¡¯t recall any mention of that in my investigations. It is possible it was kept a secret to not rouse worry.¡± ¡°Let us hope we find no rival oracles. I should be able to identify them if we do.¡± ¡°Then we need protection. How about Cassius? I saw him during some of my stamina training, I can take us to their guild now if you want?¡± Marcus spoke as he stood up quickly. ¡°I was thinking of also looking into teleportation magic, so if we could find an expert on that it¡¯d be great¡±, Logan announced as he stood to meet Marcus. ¡°That¡¯d help with our movement and your combat manoeuvrability. Was there anything else you learnt from the other?¡± ¡°No¡­ nothing that needs addressing right now¡±, Logan replied solemnly. ¡°We can have that chat later¡±, he thought to himself.
Making haste from the inn the pair made their way across the city streets towards the north quarter, the main location for adventurer infrastructure, including the guild houses. Sometimes referred to as Classed-End, the north part of the capital featured larger buildings. Well-furnished houses, classed-employed facilities, and guild-owned shops, it was a form of middle-class society. As adventurers generally had a higher income due to their profession, many seemingly advanced in the use of skills faster than the classless. A Fighter who worked in smithing found it easier to acquire ore and materials than a classless that would have to pay for their basics to get started. A Devout could keep themselves safe in the forests when hunting herbs, or uses spells to hasten the growth of their gardens to grow flora at home. Logan was thankful he had read up on customs and laws before coming into the heart of the adventurers¡¯ society. One such occurrence he was preparing for was a lower, even more dubious, form of duel commonly known as a ¡°match¡± or ¡°sparring duel¡±. With only the want for testing personal strength or making a quick coin, these weren¡¯t overseen by guards and were often held within guild yards. He could easily decline any of them though, no real honour or reputation was on the line for these. Logan, after the fact, would have likened his duel with Kreya to a match. However, the stigma against casters made it easier to observe a ¡°casus belli¡± from his memory of old war games he had played, an act or situation that warranted a fight. Though this world didn¡¯t have that term. Essentially, casters were the bottom rung of classed beings and should feel lucky to get invited to a quest. Just remembering the facts in his head made his blood boil and a heat rise in his head, seeing how well his spells did in a fight and even seeing the monarchy magi help in the invasion made it even more frustrating that casters were the bottom of the ladder. He was willing to accept that a mage would eventually become useless without slots or MP, but even then their help was instrumental in victories. Systemic change was still at the forefront of his goals while he was stuck on Avanar, the attitude to those similar to Logan gave him a wave of kinship empathy. If he did go the route of increasing his level, he could do something similar to the oracle that formed the MT and increase the presence of mages yet again. The first changed their pay split from a tenth to one-third, with Logan in play he was sure he could make it even closer to an even split. Passing by plenty of adventurer parties, the pair could pick up on discussions and rumours surrounding them. From some who recognised Logan as the mage who was with Cassius in the invasion to others who noticed the hunter¡¯s armband on both of the casters. As if they saw Logan as an easier target due to his clearly magical background, a tall, brutish man and woman duo approached the pair. Obviously touting their Fighter origins, it seemed like they were eager to start something with the casters, the man opening his mouth to issue a challenge. Thankfully he was interrupted by a shout a fair distance away. ¡°Logan! Preparations for the quest are complete¡±, a familiar female voice spoke. The brutes moved apart as they looked behind them to see who was calling out to their most recent targets. --- *** --- Chapter 66 - Guild Systems Approaching the pair was a slightly changed but still familiar face, Iimi, the Fighter that the pair had worked with to help Moella some time ago. Adorning her left eye was a new scar, a large vertical slice that extended into her hairline and even created a small bald spot that was covered up by her blond hair. ¡°You ready to meet up with the others?¡± Iimi continued as she moved between the giants. ¡°That we are, not late are we?¡± Logan replied with a smirk. ¡°Nah, they were early. Might be some food left if we hurry back to ¡®em.¡± ¡°Lead on then.¡± The brutes hearing the conversation looked a bit out of place, a hint of embarrassment as they tried to play it off as if they were just walking down the street. Iimi motioned the pair to follow her as they moved in the opposite direction. ¡°Already looking for another duel I see¡±, Iimi teased as she smiled towards Logan at her side. ¡°They always come at the worst of times¡±, Logan complained as he let out a sigh. ¡°Thanks for the save, Iimi. I take it your quests have been going well?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°Well enough, a lot of work recently, and a lot of pay. No complaints from me, aside from having to take on a goblin-sympathetic ogre¡±, Iimi replied as he pointed to the scar on her face. ¡°We¡¯ll have to treat you to a meal for saving us some time. We were going to the Lightbeam guild¡±, Logan announced. ¡°I know the way, we will look more like a team if we stick together for the rest of the way¡±, Iimi offered. ¡°We appreciate it. Always a fond day with allies by your side¡±, Marcus accepted as he kept pace with the others. ¡°What¡¯s your business with Lightbeam anyway? Get scouted during the invasion?¡± ¡°Sort of, when we helped out Cassius he offered us a place when we had some free time¡±, Logan explained. ¡°Kreya mentioned that last time we met, big steps for you two.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not certain on joining just yet, just investigating options¡±, Marcus replied as he kept an eye on the nearby adventurers. ¡°Well, they are one of the bigger guilds, since their head is a hero, or rather was before the demon invasion over a year back. I¡¯m not too in the know since I am guildless.¡± ¡°I would have thought you¡¯d be snatched up by now¡±, Logan jokingly replied. ¡°The fees and tax don¡¯t line up totally with my goals, I get enough work as it is¡±, Iimi announced as she looked at the Spellthief. ¡°How much is Lightbeam¡¯s?¡± ¡°A fifth I think. Highest I saw amongst the guilds was half, though that is the Bisectors.¡± ¡°Cani¡¯s whip, 50% split?! How do they even get new members with that abusive tax?¡± Marcus exclaimed. ¡°The Bisectors are a relatively small guild, but houses most of the rank 30 and above adventurers.¡± ¡°And where were they during the invasion?¡± Logan inquired. ¡°Near Helm. The whole guild, or at least enough to make the guild house seem vacant, went to raid a dungeon.¡± ¡°A dungeon that warrants several 30s and above? What were they facing?¡± Logan thought to himself. ¡°It seems the invasion happened at the worst time, with all our strongest out and about¡±, Marcus added. ¡°That it did. Didn¡¯t help that many were in the south to deal with the secondary goblin force-Oh, here we are by the way¡±, Iimi spoke as the group got to the exterior of the Lightbeam guild house. The building was grandiose, red brick with golden-wood trims painted the exterior with an expensive design. Large glass windows peered inside but were glossy and only showed silhouettes moving about. A few oorans were perched at open windows on the first and second floors above, their large frames creating a daunting visual for more green adventurers. At around 4¡¯ tall, the oorans looked a bit monstrous for how they were described as hybrids of sparrows, ravens, and hawks. Their abyssal black plumage would make them amazing stealth birds at night, while also scaring off many predators from approaching them. Dirty-gold beaks aided Logan in spotting them on the windowsills, accompanied by piercing red eyes. As his gaze was already skywards, Logan saw smoke billowing out from the chimney of the building. If the silhouettes weren¡¯t enough of a sign, alongside birds and open windows, the interior was sure to house plenty of adventurers. ¡°I¡¯m not too busy tomorrow, so if you¡¯re going to be doing a quest feel free to invite me along¡±, Iimi spoke as she was taking a few steps to leave. ¡°Thanks for escorting us, Iimi¡±, Marcus replied. Logan took a few steps to follow Iimi, ¡°Before you go, I did have one question.¡± ¡°Oh? Sure, what is it?¡± ¡°Would you have helped us if you didn¡¯t already know us?¡± ¡°You mean taking you here?¡± ¡°No, the duel situation. You know what happened to us before, so I was curious if that coloured your decision, or just because we were friends. If we were just random magi, would you have still helped?¡± ¡°This has certainly come out of the blue. Wanting to gauge my character ey?¡± ¡°Just wanting to see if I¡¯ll be getting more help or if I am out of luck if I don¡¯t find people on my side¡±, Logan spoke as his eyes drifted to the passing adventurers. ¡°Well. If you want honesty. Most likely not. Adventurers tend to get a reputation after duels and matches to not be messed with, you can view it as hazing. I¡¯d get dragged into things if I tried to help every Wallace that came by, especially if they didn¡¯t play along or failed to understand things.¡± ¡°Damn frat house mentality. That¡¯s basically just mugging, where is the honour in that?!¡±, Logan cursed in his head. ¡°If I knew it¡¯d work out each time, I probably would help anyone I saw. But I only have so much time myself. I had my fair share of annoyances when I came to Gauntlet. Helm is worse if you go to the adventurer districts. It¡¯s a spellforce competition over there. Either your skills or spells are up to expectations or you have to hand over some coin¡±, Iimi continued with slight anger in her voice. ¡°Helm isn¡¯t a friendly place to be then¡±, Logan stated. ¡°No, only a few steps over the below I¡¯d say. My family and I had to flee it eventually since we weren¡¯t native Helmers¡±, Iimi spoke with resentment, ¡°anyway, we can chat later when we are able to have a nice sitdown. You two owe me that meal, right?¡± Iimi announced with a smile. ¡°Right, we¡¯ll see you later then.¡± Giving a final wave goodbye, Iimi returned her walk in the opposite direction out of the adventurer sector. Marcus gave a questioning look to Logan as he moved back to his ally but wasn¡¯t going to press the matter. Giving a solid double knock to the door of the guild house the pair waited for a few moments until it opened wide. A gentleman standing at 5¡¯8¡± answered the door, wearing a clean set of brown doublet jacket and trousers. His short black hair had been gelled back, though it was more appropriate to say it was due to pomade or some other ointment. Brown eyes scanned the visitors, the guildie taking a few moments to collect information before speaking. Speaking with a formal and clear tone the man said, ¡°Hello, sirs. Here to sell magical services?¡± Logan looked over his clothing before turning to face the man, ¡°No. We were invited by Cassius. Logan and Marcus, Cassius said he¡¯d note our names down?¡± This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Ah potential guildies!¡± the man said as he opened the door wider, opening a small book from his breast pocket. Reading over it for a few seconds changed the man¡¯s face even brighter, ¡°Cassius did mention we would be getting two visitors at some point, come in, please.¡± Passing the doorway the pair entered a large entrance foyer. To the left was immediately a counter set up with an adjoining kitchen, providing quick access to food and drink on entering or exiting. Several sofas sat against the furthest wall with tables adorned with parchment and books, a few adventurers taking time off with a hot beverage and a good book The entrance split off to the left and right, with a staircase leading to the first floor next to the seating area. As they inspected the entrance area the doorman continued speaking. ¡°This is the main foyer of Lightbeam, it also acts as a small resting area between quests. We have a tier 2 permit for tome sharing so reading is often done here.¡± ¡°Permit?¡± ¡°Yes, it allows the guild to share the use of tomes as long as they are not taken outside of the guild house. It comes under the tax of membership, which is 20% from each mission to a maximum of 2 silver.¡± ¡°What other permits come from joining a guild?¡± ¡°Oh, they encompass several areas of adventuring. For example, we have a yard permit that allows almost any form of skill and spells to be used within the guild grounds. Though we do ask for most to be done within the actual yard in the back.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have to investigate those more in-depth later I think¡±, Logan spoke as he continued to look around. ¡°You said your names were Logan and Marcus? I am Debrek, the foyer attendant for Lightbeam. I handle visitors, mail, cleaning, and sometimes interviews¡±, the man announced as he held out his hand. ¡°Nice to meet you, I¡¯m Logan and that is Marcus¡±, Logan replied as he pointed to himself and the Devout. ¡°Same from me¡±, Marcus repeated as he shook the attendant¡¯s hand. ¡°Cassius is currently away at the time, and Sub-Leader Prevesna is currently on a quest. Cassius should return in a handful of minutes to an hour, would you like to wait for him here? Without further permissions, I can¡¯t let you explore the guild at this time.¡± As the group were conversing, one of the guild members sat at the sofas had sauntered their way over to the party. ¡°If you lot want to pass some time how about a match in our yard? Nothing up for grabs if you don¡¯t want to. Be nice to see a new member¡¯s skills¡±, the man spoke as he ran a hand through his brunette hair to push it back. ¡°Cerall, always itching for a fight¡±, Debrek spoke as he shook his head slowly. Looking over the man, Logan could easily tell Cerall was a Fighter from his choice of weapons and leather-metal combo attire. A youthful mid-20s face was barren of scars, though that was either due to him being careful or paying for regeneration services. Hair flowed to just below his neck, though was most likely commonly kept tied up as Logan spotted a band around the man¡¯s wrist. Pressing his luck, Logan used Identification to get a better understanding of what he could be getting himself into. ¡°Cerall: Fighter 11, 186/186 HP, 0/0 MP. A boisterous man who is known around his guild as an avid sparring partner for guildies. Affiliated with the Lightbeam guild. Can be often found gambling to make ends meet rather than doing quests, backed up from match wins to make sure he doesn¡¯t have to work too hard. Skills: Axe Hurl*3, Combo Slash*2, Combo Slash 2*2, Combo Slash 3*2, Come Forth*, Multi-Rush*3, Pommel Stun*2, Power Strike*?, Rush*3, Severing Slash*3, ----. Wields: Perfected Shortsword 13-16 dmg. Wears: Fighter¡¯s Trusted Suit.¡± ¡°You want to just spar? Nothing on the table?¡± Logan asked as he surveyed Cerall¡¯s stats. ¡°If you want, we could offer up some coin. I don¡¯t fancy losing any of my gear right now, might be hard to buy them back¡±, Cerall continued with a smile. ¡°Would Cassius be fine with you roughing up potential recruits?¡± Marcus asked as he gave Cerall his own ocular patdown. Giving a shrug Cerall replied, ¡°I won¡¯t be using any permanent injury moves like Severing Slash, he hasn¡¯t had any issue with it before.¡± ¡°I could probably beat him, some of his skills are hidden but I have a good overview of what he can do. The reoccurring Combo moves he has is curious, I had thought you only had one per type of weapon. I should be able to do fine at a distance if that Rush skill isn¡¯t a different form of Dash¡±, Logan planned in his head. ¡°Our yard features leftover weaponry if you wish to not damage your own¡±, Debrek informed. ¡°We don¡¯t have anything else planned for the day, so I am up for it. How much money you thinking of putting down?¡± Logan asked. Stroking his chin Cerall replied, ¡°How¡¯s 50 silver sound?¡± ¡°Make it 1 gold, we don¡¯t have to shuffle around so many coins then¡±, Logan enticed. ¡°Hah, deal. Do you need to set up, or are you ready to head into the yard now?¡± ¡°No, we can begin now.¡± Cerall clapped his hands together loudly, raising them upwards as he shouted, ¡°A match is on. Come down to the yard if you want to watch.¡± This was answered by several adjusting chairs against the wooden floor and footsteps that approached from the higher levels and nearby rooms. Cerall continued to a door at the back that led into a long hallway, waving the others to follow. Their own footsteps added to those that approached them from behind. Debrek stayed behind in the foyer, most likely to keep an eye out for Cassius¡¯s return.
The long hallways passed a larger dining room and a few private rooms for meetings and the like for adventures. Ending up at another door, Cerall opened it to lead the party into an open space at the back. Large dark-brown wooden fences cut off the view to the outside, around 15¡¯ feet tall and curved inwards at the top to give some shelter to the seating areas on the perimeter of the yard. Cerall tossed a gold coin on a nearby bench, to which Logan followed with his. A swept rock flooring showed it to be quite sturdy, several training dummies stabbed into several points for practice purposes. Cerall was already in the motion of moving the dummies away to make the space even clearer. A good 50¡¯ diameter square made up the fighting area, with a sizeable bench seating space around the edge with a chest-high rock wall to provide a bit of protection to the crowd. It would have been a good guess it couldn¡¯t be any larger due to the nearby buildings, but was sizeable enough to allow several training sessions to occur at once. Near the entrance Logan could find several weapon racks with varying arms on offer, picking out a few daggers he would be confident in the fact his normal gear wouldn¡¯t suffer too much damage. ¡°Finally some action, being on-call for threats has left me getting sores on my ass¡±, a late 20s man spoke as he found a seat on the benches. ¡°Put me down for 20 on Cerall¡±, an older gentleman spoke. ¡°18 on our guy¡±, another added. ¡°Hey, robe-man. Yours good? Think he is worth a 30 bet?¡± a woman asked Marcus. ¡°Logan? Sure is-¡± Marcus began but was interrupted by another. ¡°Wait. Logan? That¡¯s the fella that Cassius mentioned¡±, the woman replied with wide eyes. A lot of the other guild members shared looks between them, those who had bet against the Spellthief worried about their decision. ¡°30 on Logan.¡± ¡°27 on the mage.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll slap 45 on the newcomer.¡± ¡°He may be a spelly, but he¡¯ll smash Cerall down. 20 on the man.¡± The bets continued to come in, more than usual for Logan as his identity was revealed. Their coins were being placed on a portion of the benches where another spellcaster-looking individual was writing down names and bets. There was certainly no issue with gambling here, seeing the eagerness to offer up handfuls of silver. ¡°Any rules we want to abide by? I already said I won¡¯t use permanent wound abilities like Severing Slash¡±, Cerall asked as he walked up to Logan. ¡°I¡¯d say avoid scars, but that¡¯d be hard to do. If one of us admits to a yield the other accepts, that¡¯s all that comes to mind.¡± ¡°Basic stuff, got it. How are your spells? You used any today?¡± ¡°I have two elementals out on quests, they are day-long ones, so a few second-level spells are out.¡± ¡°Oh, got it¡±, Cerall spoke as he looked over Logan to spy a lie. Moving his head to the array of weapons he leant down, his body hastening to create afterimages, and then made a long charge towards the weapons. The ground beneath his feet dug into the floor and caused large friction burn marks across it, a low-pitch punching in the wind going with him. Picking out a few weapons and placing them in his belt, Cerall turned his head back to face Logan in the distance. Another use of his Rush skill had him appear in front of Logan in a daring display of speed and power. ¡°There, that¡¯s two of my Rush skill uses done, should even us out a bit¡±, he spoke with a smile. ¡°Oh, wait, I have no first-levels either¡±, Logan spoke sarcastically with a replying smile. ¡°Hah, right¡±, Cerall laughed back. Cerall held out his fist to Logan, the Spellthief bumping it in return. The pair then split off for a good 10¡¯ in either direction, making a wide 20¡¯ gap between them. ¡°You lot done with bets?¡± Cerall yelled towards the benches that now housed eighteen members. A collection of confirmations met the arena, signalling the pair that they could start whenever. ¡°When the coin hits the floor, we begin¡±, Cerall announced as he pulled out a copper coin from his pocket. Logan nodded, his hands close to his weapons. Placing the coin on his thumb, Cerall ducked down a bit to get into a battle-ready stance. With a flick of his thumb, the coin went spinning into the air. Logan could feel his body wash over with the heat of adrenaline, his muscles stiffening in preparation to charge at his foe. The coin started its descent to the floor, Logan planning for his first move as his eyes tracked it. As the coin hit the floor it rang out a loud clinking noise, followed shortly by two blasts of wind from the opposing sides as the two enacted their first actions. --- *** --- Chapter 67 - I Need a Match Cerall began the fight by utilising another use of his Rush skill. The force propelling him forwards sent off a low roar behind him, exploding parts of the stone floor as he sped towards Logan. Hoping to engage in a ranged conflict, Logan had already raised his right arm calling out, ¡°Force¡±, causing a wave of energy to form in his shoulder and jetting across his limb in its normal grey design. Shooting out a grey forceful orb towards Cerall, the Fighter kicked the floor and created another large wave of energy to crash into the rock below. Narrowly dodging the Force, Cerall slid across the floor before kicking forward again. His activated skill had already ended, leading Logan to summarise that it was more to engage in a fight rather than aid in further attacks like Dash did. Cerall swiped out with a shortsword, Logan clashing his own dagger with the blade as the metal scratched against each other. The Fighter changed his grip slightly as he pushed it downwards, moving the clash into a test of strength. Logan could easily feel the difference as he felt his body forced down, his knee bending as the power overwhelmed his own. Logan changed his grip to counteract the power struggle, twisting his arm he was able to have the shortsword slide across the dagger and sweep to the side of Logan in a vertical slice. Skipping around, Logan let out another swipe which was quickly parried by Cerall. Cerall retaliated with a following attack which Logan again met with his blade. In an instant, Cerall stepped forwards, throwing his hand out and gripping onto Logan¡¯s wrist that held his dagger. Spinning around, Cerall gave a straight kick into Logan¡¯s stomach. Comparing the blow to those he had sustained from other unarmed foes was staggering, ignoring what Krekka had dealt to him. The solid kick winded Logan slightly as he took 14 damage. Cerall let go of his quarry¡¯s wrist to follow up with another spinning slash only to hit the air as Logan jumped back. Raising a hand Logan let out another round of Force at Cerall, hitting the Fighter in the chest for 12 damage. Unsurprisingly, Cerall only moved an inch from the blast. Cerall kicked the floor again to follow Logan though the Spellthief already planned his next attack, tossing the sparring dagger at the Fighter. Cerall deflected the dagger easy enough with his shortsword, but in the instance of his vision being narrowed on the blade, the Spellthief had already half prepared their spell. ¡°Lightning Shot¡±, Logan chanted. His arm exploded in a dazzling display of darting azure arms. Crackling in the air they shot and punctured the Fighter countless times for 48 damage. As Cerall shook all over in the barrage of electricity he brought up an axe in his off-hand, charging towards Logan ever still. Slashing out he just barely missed the Spellthief, but followed up with a horizontal slash and gashed Logan for another 26 damage. Wanting to make some distance, Logan looked to the far end of the arena and mentally activated one of his rings. Logan was sucked into his centre with a shockwave of wind, exploding with his back against the far wall which shocked many of the audience. Logan brought up both of his hands and let loose Force after Force at the distant Fighter. Balls of grey magic formed and slingshotted at Cerall, the first two hitting him clean in the shoulders for 12 damage each. Cerall quickly adapted as he found the rhythm of the attacks, jumping from side to side, ducking, and jumping over the attacks. Cerall let off another large wave of power as he kicked forwards, activating presumably his last charge of Rush as he hurled himself towards the Spellthief. Logan waved his hand in front of him, curving slightly to encompass the wall behind him, ¡°Gaia Wall¡±, he chanted as he also clicked with his other hand. A large wall of rock shot upwards, digging up the mud and roots beneath, and attached to the chest-high walls of the arena. Cerall rotated his legs forward to slide to a halt before hitting the wall, though the vines did whip out to grip their next meal. Logan could see Cerall¡¯s location on his minimap and raised his hand high. ¡°Necromantic Skystrike¡±, Logan spoke as he thrust his hand downwards. Spikes of dark energies formed in the air above Cerall, spinning and whirling into their sharp designs. Shooting to the ground, Cerall was impaled for 36 damage, the spikes melting into droplets as they flew around to heal Logan for 18. Bringing his sword low Cerall called out, ¡°Power Strike¡±, which caused his blade to become wreathed in a red mist. As Cerall slashed upwards he cut a large portion of the Gaia Wall apart, large portions of the mud shooting in all directions as the spell was cleaved in two. Cerall¡¯s blade glowed once again in red light as he slashed down into Logan for 29 damage. Glowing yellow the blade was brought upwards and cut into the Spellthief for a following 40. Dropping his axe, Cerall moved to two-hand his shortsword as the handle landed on his shoulder for a heavy overhand swing as it glowed blue. ¡°Fuck, that¡¯s the combo!¡± Logan cursed in his head. His eyes darted across the arena as he looked to the opposite end, thankfully, Logan was gifted enough seconds in Cerall¡¯s attack that he was able to use another Dimensional Jaunt to warp away from the final strike. Cerall halted his attack before he landed with the wall behind where Logan was previously, the blue glow persisting for him to try again later. Logan was down to 47/136 HP, Cerall at 70/186. It would take only two blows to find a victor, but Logan had the advantage at range and he would see it put to use. As he began to throw his hand out for another ranged barrage he remembered that Cerall had dodged before, and he didn¡¯t want to waste spells. Grabbing onto his periapt of mana with one hand and waving his hand across the floor with the other, Logan granted himself 2 MP and chanted, ¡°Necromantic Wall¡±, which caused a torrent of waving shadows to appear in front of him, as if they were black flames. Clicking his fingers alerted him to the space that Cerall found himself within, and so Logan let down another Necromantic Skystrike but followed it up quickly with a Lightning Shot through his own wall of darkness. As the dark shards shot from above Cerall dodged them as he anticipated, but was unable to dodge the faster attack of electricity as it slammed into his frame for a heavy 48 damage. ¡°Fuck, nice shot!¡± Cerall called out through slightly jittery teeth. Out of Logan¡¯s sight, Cerall kicked up his old axe into his hand and chanted, ¡°Axe Hurl¡±, to which the axe had a visible whirlwind appear around it. Tossing it horizontally towards Logan, the axe sang through the air and cut through the Necromantic Wall and into Logan¡¯s chest, pushing him against the arena wall. Logan winced as the blade cut deep for 37 damage. Cerall¡¯s minimap dot started another run towards Logan¡¯s position, but any hit from either party would spell the other¡¯s end. Wanting to continue to spice up his attack pattern, and keep hold of his ranged advantage, Logan looked to the sky. ¡°Dimensional Jaunt¡±, he thought, his body warping with another airblast. Appearing in the air his body was aimed high with his head pointed to the floor. Spotting his foe easily Logan aimed his arm at Cerall and called out, ¡°Force¡±, sending a surprise shockwave at the Fighter. Bashing into Cerall¡¯s upper back caused the Fighter to falter to his knee with a fist halting his entire body falling down with it. Logan was about to let loose another blast at Cerall until held up a hand and shouted, ¡°I yield!¡± Logan retracted the energies surging in his shoulder and rotated his body to land on his feet on the arena floor. The two men spent a few moments breathing heavily on their knees, the fight taking a lot of skills, spells, and blood. The crowd in the background added to the sounds of exhaustion with their hearty claps and cheers. ¡°Good showing, Cerall!¡± ¡°Nice blasts there, Logan!¡± ¡°Fooled him didn¡¯t ya?!¡± Punching the floor in either frustration or acceptance, Cerall stood up and ran a hand across his face and through his hair. With a heavy breath in he turned and spoke to Logan, ¡°Damnit, I would have had you with my next attack. How many bloody teleports do you even have prepped?¡± ¡°Now that would be telling, but it was close indeed¡±, Logan replied, noting in his mind that he only had one left. ¡°Fair is fair, I don¡¯t face casters often, mostly just people with spell rings. Yours hurt like hell all the same¡±, Cerall continued as he approached Logan to offer a hand to help him up. Taking the hand Logan stood and faced the Fighter. ¡°You¡¯re only my second real match, all others were my marks. Best Fighter so far¡±, Logan informed with a smile. ¡°Oh, my ego rejoices¡±, Cerall replied in a cheeky sarcastic tone. As they chatted during their return to the benches closest to the exit Logan spotted his experience reward for the fight, a pleasingly high 1,045 XP. He could level in just over a week if each fight took so many of his spells as this one did. The losers in the betting department had already started their walk through the hallway out, while the winners gathered around the mage who was handling the bets. Two gold coins flew to Logan as his reward, passing the table he saw that Marcus was staying behind to get his own earnings. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Cerall wrapped an arm around Logan¡¯s shoulder as he guided him through the hallway and spoke to him, ¡°You will be a good addition to the guild, the others that we have are quite sedentary, always standing still and slinging from the back. Terrible dodgers.¡± ¡°Well I am a Grasp expert¡±, Logan informed with a chuckle. ¡°Damn, truly? Glad you didn¡¯t get your mitts on me then.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t want to push my luck with your melee skills.¡± ¡°Nice foresight, one more combo and I could have thrown off a finisher.¡± As the pair talked they eventually got back to the foyer room where the dominating presence of Cassius halted the discussion. ¡°Who won?¡± Cassius asked with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face. Cerall answered with a thumb pointed to Logan. ¡°Good, no beaten coins out of a potential partner¡±, Cassius continued with a laugh. ¡°Cerall, mind leaving us to our meeting?¡± Cerall gave a solid nod to Cassius who was obviously much higher up the chain of command. With a pat on Logan¡¯s back, the Fighter made his way up the stairs to another room. ¡°Friendly guildies you have here¡±, Logan mentioned as he was handed a glass of water by the attendant Debrek. ¡°A bit antsy with any adventurer over rank 10 being asked to go on standby¡±, Cassius replied as he shrugged his shoulders with indifference. ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°You were 8, right? Maybe 9 or 10 by this point. The guild sent out correspondence with most of the higher-ranked adventurers to make sure they had the class power to fight off another invasion.¡± ¡°How long for?¡± ¡°Ends tomorrow, at least it should. No other enemy heroes have been found and the goblins are all but extinct in the local area.¡± ¡°Seems a little drastic¡±, Logan said off-hand. ¡°In Gauntlet¡¯s eyes, the goblins started a war. They aren¡¯t overly organised, so I doubt we¡¯d have any reason to worry, but the monarchy is playing it safe with overaggressive action.¡± As Cassius and Logan talked, Marcus finally made his way to the foyer with a look of victory on his face as he won his bet. Placing a hand onto his ally¡¯s shoulder he began using Healer¡¯s Caress. ¡°Nice to meet you again, Cassius¡±, the Devout said. ¡°You too, Marcus. We were just waiting for you, and discussing local events.¡± ¡°How much you get?¡± Logan asked as he turned his head to his friend. ¡°Same as you¡±, Marcus replied with a gleeful smile. ¡°Before you two drain my guildies dry, mind if we step into the recruiting room?¡± Cassius interrupted as he waved his hand to the hallway they had just come from. ¡°Sure, your attendant filled us in on a bit of the details already¡±, Logan replied as he nodded towards Debrek who gave a slight bow. Returning a smile Cassius continued, ¡°Good, though I may repeat a few things he said.¡± Walking in a trio, the group made their way through a door within the hallway they had only just come from. Entering the first room, which had a plaque on the door that read ¡°Interviews¡± in the middle, the group found themselves in a modest seating room.
A square table was placed in the middle of the room, a clean dark-brown wood that was topped with some documents and folders. Three sides of the table had three chairs each, with the last side only holding two. With how the documents were laid out it was obvious the two-chaired side was for the interviewers. In the corners of the wall that held the door were two floating rocks, one had icy-blue veins across it whereas the other had hot-red veins. Pulsating, the blue rock let off a cool wind which caused the room to be quite pleasant. The red rock instead let off a calming glow that seemed to fill the room with waves of light, though strangely it did not blind anyone to look directly at it. Cassius moved to one of the chairs on the double side, placing his coat over the backrest and taking his sword off his belt to place against a table leg. Logan and Marcus did similarly, Logan taking his coat off and placing it on his chair, whereas Marcus unbuttoned his robe to reveal his tunic and trousers underneath. The cool air caressed their arms and neck, applying a soothing sensation. ¡°Ok, we¡¯ll start with the introductory explanation, you two haven¡¯t looked into guilds before this point. Correct?¡± Cassius spoke as he opened up a book. The pair shook their heads, leading to a long explanation by Cassius. Marcus used Healer¡¯s Caress when he could during the meeting to bring Logan back to max HP. ¡°First off, a guild is a group of adventurers or craftspeople. Ours is mostly full of adventurers that take on any quest that suits them. When in our guild you will be treated as secondary family, akin to aunts, uncles, and cousins. We do not enforce anything if your family is in danger, or have an event with such. Blood is thicker than friendship to most. Following that ideology, if a guildie is in trouble we grant aid. If your family is in danger, we grant it further.¡± Logan held up his hand to ask a question to which Cassius halted his explanation, ¡°So, for example, if my family¡¯s town was under attack, I could ask the guild to join me in a quest to go save the town?¡± ¡°Yes. Though they would expect payment if it were harassed by monsters, we¡¯d gladly drop mundane activities to help.¡± ¡°That means Kreya is guildless¡±, Logan thought to himself. ¡°All of our guildies have their information checked, and we do not accept anyone under the 7-day death timer. We have only had two instances of traitors in our midst, over the sixty-eight members we hold. If you are a traitor, it is our duty to apprehend you as we unknowingly aided your lawless actions.¡± Handing out two sheets of paper to Logan and Marcus, Cassius continued, ¡°We own an alchemist shop, blacksmith, and enchantry. Guildies who shop at these locales get a 5% discount and no upcharge due to recent events. If you provide materials you get a further 5% discount.¡± Logan remembered that an enchantry was a business suited to making trinkets or granting magical bonuses to already made items. It was also used to recharge magical items that had a certain number of charges, though he had yet to encounter those. ¡°The taxes of our guild are 20% of each completed quest, this encompasses both adventuring hall quests and hunter marks. Your tax is cut off at 2 silver per mission, and no more than 20 silver per month. Taxes go towards our permit costs, staff payment, and general maintenance, alongside any other costs. With our coffers, we also grant loans to guildies based on their time spent with us at a 0.5% increase per month not paid back.¡± ¡°Debrek did mention the tax.¡± ¡°He most likely mentioned our permits then. We hold a tier 2 tome permit, and a GH permit. These allow us to share the use of tomes within the grounds around second-level spells and beginner skills. You may also use skills and spells at your leisure within our grounds, ignoring capital laws. Though we will require reimbursement if you damage anything outside of the training grounds.¡± ¡°Is it free reading? Do guildies ask for payment to use their tomes?¡± Logan asked. ¡°We mostly place any used tome within our bookshelves for others to use. I haven¡¯t heard of any guildies asking for payment. The better prepared we are, the better suited we are to helping one another.¡± Logan nodded and motioned his hand to allow Cassius to continue. ¡°Outside of what I mentioned, your signet will have our guild symbol applied to the back. It is of a radiant light hitting a sword, representing Lightbeam. If you do decide to sign on with us, our contract does have a two-year service, after which you can stay as long as you like or leave as you wish.¡± ¡°So, we are forced to stay for two years?¡± Marcus queried. ¡°It is a common trait for guild contracts. It stops people abusing guild services for themselves, and makes sure their tax covers most of the help they gain.¡± ¡°What about death insurance?¡± Logan asked. ¡°We offer that too, same as a loan. You can tick that box on the contract or at a later date. If we can retrieve your body we will revive you and you can pay us the fees needed for revival, or with time if you need it.¡± ¡°Do you know how a guild would interact with the Magi¡¯s Tower association?¡± Logan pushed. Cassius rubbed his chin as his face took on thinking wrinkles, ¡°The MT follows a lot of guild guidelines. As such you cannot be in a guild and the MT. That is one of the reasons I invited you. The MT likes to snatch up every mage they can.¡± ¡°A shame. I was interested in furthering my knowledge of teleportation magic. I wish to become an expert in that category¡±, Logan informed. ¡°Teleportation. Hmm. Sorry to say, but I don¡¯t believe we have anyone like that in the guild. Maybe Woevenk, our hero leader, would know more since he had the aid of portals to invade the demon realm. However, he is currently still there. If you waited for his return I am sure he could at least ask Hero Zeronax for you.¡± ¡°The Sorcerer hero? He was rank 53, close to what I was informed of being a requirement for what I need.¡± ¡°Fighting demons for over thirteen months is surely enough to have increased all of the hero¡¯s ranks. When they return I have no doubt that Woevenk has upgraded from 56 to 60.¡± ¡°I take it we would not be disallowed to talk with other guilds or the MT if we were in your guild?¡± Logan asked. ¡°Discussions, and even aiding, are allowed. You can just only join one guild.¡± Cassius replied. Pulling out two more sheets of paper he handed them to the pair, ¡°This is the contract if you wish to go over it. Do you have any other questions?¡± As Logan took the contract in his hand a new window appeared next to it. ¡°You have been invited to join the Lightbeam guild. You will suffer a 20% reduction in quest payments (maximum 2 silver, and 20 silver per month), as well as a 20% reduction in all experience rewards (no maximum set). Do you wish to join? Yes / No.¡± Logan¡¯s eyes went wide as he stared at the space next to the contract. ¡°20% less experience? Why? Avanarians don¡¯t have a concept of XP. Was this a mistake?¡± he thought to himself. ¡°Cassius, do you also require us to pay any other tax outside of coins?¡± Logan asked aloud, trying to not make his eye movements too erratic from the window that only he could see. ¡°Any other tax? No? Just the fifth of your quest payments. We don¡¯t ask for anything from what you craft or earn during missions. The leader of your missions, if they are a guild member, may ask for a specific item from a dungeon at times¡±, Cassius responded as he thought hard about his answer. ¡°System, can you remove this 20% XP cost?¡± Logan asked in his head. ¡°We cannot affect any other guild¡¯s settings, Logan. If you were a leader we could help you change them¡±, the voice in his head responded. ¡°Fuck. Was it set because of their money tax? Do they have a guild coffer for the experience tax?¡± Logan mulled. ¡°We believe that is the case, Logan. Since NPCs do not have a solid grasp of experience it is possible they have this number stored but have not accessed it. There is also the possibility that another PC implemented this, or perhaps the hero found a way to do such. The latter has a low chance of being correct, however¡±, the System responded. ¡°The MT have a similar monetary upfront cost, plus rooms and using their items. Does that mean they also have an experience tax? Even if they grant me a new road to teleportation, this will exponentially slow my progress.¡± ¡°Everything alright, Logan?¡± Marcus asked as he turned to his friend. Snapping out of his train of thought, Logan looked to Marcus, ¡°Huh? Yeah, just reading and thinking on it.¡± ¡°If you wish, with the explanation I have given to you, you may come back another day with an answer¡±, Cassius interrupted. ¡°Thanks. I think we will do that¡±, Logan replied with a sigh. Placing the contract and sheets of paper on the table caused Marcus to copy the Spellthief¡¯s actions. Standing up from the table the trio shook hands. ¡°I may be busy in the coming days, so you can set up another meeting with me through Debrek. I hope you decide to join us soon¡±, Cassius announced with a smile. Marcus had a slight look of confusion on his face, though he guessed that Logan still wanted to explore his options. Saying their farewells, the pair left the guild building to the streets outside. Logan stretched tall as the new information granted to him went wild in his head. --- *** --- Chapter 68 - To Teleport or to Quest The city air returned around Logan, only now noticing how clean the interior of the Lightbeam guild building was. Looking from left to right the Spellthief saw a wide range of allies and opponents. A guild would help him against traitors, and grant him more allies, but in return, it cost him both money and experience. Easy access to tomes and party members was a great pro for planting himself within a guild, yet with a fifth of his income and levels being gifted to the leaders. Since his power allowed for exponential growth, being able to kill more enemies in a day and faster to boot, if his levels slowed down so did his ability to gain even more. ¡°Thoughts, Logan? Was the tax too high for you?¡± Marcus asked as he looked at his friend. ¡°Something like that¡±, Logan replied. ¡°If I signed him on to a guild for two years, and I left in two months¡­ that¡¯s even more selfish acts adding to what I am already doing now¡±, he fought with his thoughts. ¡°I take it you had no hope in the hero returning with good news about teleportation magic?¡± ¡°I share little hope that he will even return, with how long he¡¯s been gone¡±, Logan stated plainly as he looked over in the direction of their inn. ¡°Truly? Four heroes are a force to reckon with. With their high ranks to boot, I wager none in the kingdom could rival them¡±, Marcus spoke with adoration. ¡°I guess¡±, Logan said off-hand. Moving with Marcus to the other side of the street, Logan tried to get a better view of where their inn was. ¡°Something on your mind? Want to talk at the inn?¡± ¡°I¡¯d prefer it, just trying to get a sightline on it.¡± Grabbing onto his ally¡¯s shoulder he made sure to get a confirmation nod before using his final Dimensional Jaunt for the day. Warping into their centres with blasts of wind they disappeared and reappeared atop a rooftop a stone¡¯s throw away from the Meek Moat Inn. Sliding down the wooden roof, the pair jumped to the floor below, shocking a few unaware civilians. Logan was visibly at war with his thoughts, putting him off focus as he walked into their lodgings. Marcus noticed the change in attitude but knew it would be best to discuss it in privacy due to the nature of Logan¡¯s existence. Waving to Yetveka the gashriek manager, the pair walked to their room and shut the door behind them. ¡°Listen, Marcus. There¡¯s something I haven¡¯t told you yet¡±, Logan began. ¡°Oh? Another quest from Vokka?¡± Marcus asked as he sat on his bed. ¡°It¡¯s about Vokka. This whole oracle business¡±, Logan began as he tried to find the right words, ¡°it¡¯s not like what you think. I wasn¡¯t ¡®gifted¡¯ this, Vokka forced this onto me a few days before I met you.¡±, Logan blurted out. Marcus took on a look of shock, ¡°Forced? You¡¯re saying you weren¡¯t born an oracle? That would explain why all the oracles we researched were adults by the time they were found.¡± ¡°It seems to be the same for all of them. The quests that are given to me, and the dangers that follow me, they will only get worse. From what I can tell I have two options, either a quest from Vokka presents me with a way out of this or I make my own portal to meet them. I don¡¯t want to put you in danger, or make you work so hard just so you can see the tail-end of me leaving you behind.¡± ¡°What about the others? Your quests are sometimes more than you can handle. Cassius was required to take down the goblin leader, you¡¯d be leaving him behind after he aided you¡±, Marcus retorted with a hint of anger in his words. ¡°He was going to do that without my interference. Up until now, I¡¯ve been giving back to you on each quest we finished and every action we took. I can¡¯t have your life on my conscience. Eventually, you¡¯ll give too much to me.¡± ¡°Is that why you didn¡¯t want to join that guild? Because it indebted us two years?¡± ¡°Would you be fine if I left after two days? Leaving you two years of work on my behalf that I can no longer fulfil?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve spent over a month together already. Working with a guild is no hassle for me. If anything it¡¯d help me along with allies by my side.¡± ¡°What if my next quest ends us? Plenty of past oracles met their end at the quests given to them.¡± ¡°The same danger I face with any quest I take. You saved me from those wolves, you took the brunt of our enemies¡¯ attacks. If I am to die, I¡¯d rather it be by your side than someone I have yet to know.¡± ¡°You¡¯d continue being an adventurer, not return to work at a church with your greater healing powers if I were to go or stop my oracle powers?¡± Marcus stared at Logan for a few seconds, his brain playing the scenario in his head before responding, ¡°I had decided to become a full-time adventurer after meeting you. I can¡¯t change the world as I am now. Who¡¯d listen to a Devout who can¡¯t even cast second-level spells.¡± ¡°Knowing I will leave, you still want to stick by me?¡± ¡°Better you than Wallace, better you than the church.¡± ¡°What about the power being forced on me?¡± ¡°I trust you. Vokka wouldn¡¯t have chosen you without a reason.¡± ¡°Well, if they have one, I¡¯d love to hear it¡±, Logan responded as he placed his hand over his face, wiping from his forehead to his chin, squinting his eyes as his hand rubbed over them. ¡°Has something happened to bring this on? We were fine until this whole invasion and guild business¡±, Marcus asked. ¡°I just thought¡­ up till now I was going off of conjecture. I hoped I could get out of this oracle business. Now it¡¯s been reinforced that I could.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve been on that trail for weeks now. Since you¡¯ve found it you question if I¡¯d stay?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not just that. You have seen how much stronger our enemies have gotten. I¡¯ve even reached rank 12 and you¡¯re still 6. There will come a time you can¡¯t survive a single hit from what we face.¡± ¡°I have faith that you¡¯ll keep me alive. Besides, my healing has allowed you to do so much more in a day. If I drag behind I will hide better and train harder.¡± ¡°Fine, but if things get worse I¡¯ll probably bring this up again.¡± ¡°Fine by me. Do you still not want to join a guild?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°You got rid of one concern, but another is that a guild seems to mess with my oracle abilities.¡± ¡°What? Strange. How does it mess with them?¡± ¡°My progression slows a lot. I assume it may be the case with you too. I don''t believe it¡¯s intentional¡±, Logan said with a wrinkled brow. ¡°I guess guilds help hasten quests so it wasn¡¯t noticed? Bigger quests, more of them in a shorter timespan. Even sharing tomes may hide that fact.¡± ¡°Whatever it is, it may be too big a price to pay.¡± Taking on his own look of thought Marcus replied, ¡°Does that mean you want to go the route of making your own portal?¡± ¡°That¡¯d be more in my hands if I can find the right tutelage or tome.¡± ¡°If I were to guess, it would take years to reach the point of making your own portals. It¡¯s taken me over a month to go from rank 2 to 6¡±, Marcus calculated. ¡°I was thinking of taking the middle road. Do the quests from Vokka until they grant me an exit whilst increasing my rank to be able to make one if they don¡¯t¡±, Logan informed. ¡°Probably for the best. Your last assessment put you at a rank 8, shooting to 12 in such a small gap of time is quite the accomplishment. Though at this point I think our fame is out of our hands.¡± ¡°Helping to take down a goblin hero, saving people, engaging with a large guild owned by a hero. People know of us by now. Even the MT approached us. Thankfully we¡¯ve hidden well enough that I don¡¯t suspect anyone has oracles on the mind.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll cross those bridges when we ride up to them¡±, Marcus stated. ¡°And I guess we¡¯ll cross together¡±, Logan replied. The pair looked at one another for a few seconds before wide smiles appeared on both their faces. Sharing a quick laugh, the atmosphere in the room mellowed out. It seemed for better or worse that Marcus was going to see things through with Logan. Though the Spellthief still had worries deep-seated in his mind. Memories of his talks with Ahren about his fallen partner. ¡°I don¡¯t think I should reveal the existence of Earth, at least not yet. Marcus should be fine for a while longer. At least he knows I may not stay an oracle forever¡±, Logan reconciled in his head. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Planning for the rest of the day, Logan informed Marcus about his use of spells draining him to nothing as his last MP fizzled away. They couldn¡¯t do much with what was left to them, Logan didn¡¯t want to rely on Marcus¡¯s spells if he were to absorb them. The pair decided to spend the rest of the day resting and reading. It didn¡¯t take long for Logan to finish his Safecasting Manual 1 that he had purchased some time ago, granting him further Reading mastery and a new skill. Any worries of accidentally killing his marks faded away with this new skill, he could even repeatedly use Force against classless marks without fear. It would also allow him to engage in duels and matches fully with his spells and not accidentally kill any, if he wanted to actually engage in them that was. Mulling over the information in his head, Logan continued to throw around the idea of staying in Avanar. He had a group he could call family if he joined Lightbeam, Marcus was a close friend, and the people here liked him, outside of the caster reputation. He still wanted to take his father to the beach, his health had probably declined due to the stress of Logan disappearing. His extended family was probably looking after his father, though many lived far away from where they did. Someone was bound to be helping him. Right? Would his father be completely abandoned without Logan to help? The family gatherings had slowed down in recent years, his father¡¯s side not being too large in comparison to his mother¡¯s. At least the healthcare was sorted before being kidnapped. Logan¡¯s father would at the bare minimum have a hospital bed if he needed it. Two appointments would have gone by during Logan¡¯s absence. His father taking taxis if needed. God forbid if his father drove on his own. ¡°I don¡¯t want you falling asleep at the wheel again¡±, his mind repeated. The warning he gave his father after one crash too many. Logan¡¯s body shuddered as painful thoughts washed over him, anxiety being the least of his worries if death came to anyone he cared about. His mother¡¯s death already did a number on his mental health. Looking over to Marcus, Logan perished any thought of losing him too. A good night¡¯s rest was all he needed, work and activities would bury the thoughts deeper in his subconscious. Closing his eyes, Logan slept away a day that had brought him many answers and many questions.
Awaking to a new dawn, Logan was treated to another mission covering most of his vision. This was how most came his way, at least the main quests, and this was a doozy of a main quest as he read its details. ¡°A portal already!? Are they basing quests on my thoughts and situation?¡± Logan beamed in his head. It was certainly an exciting development and after putting the clues together, his previous quests were similar. The 7-day death timer was an adventurer concept, so his beginning days were surviving it. He was in the vicinity of Dena¡¯s team, so he was tasked with killing them. He was at Gauntlet before it was attacked, so was asked to assist the defence. Now, he thought and sought a portal, and so he was given a quest with one as a reward. The reward of a portal did instil a sense of fear, however, as from the information he had gathered beforehand was that the quests that led to these were incredibly difficult. With the mention of an ¡°Ice King¡± Logan was also hesitant if it was going to be another hero monster, or something with the strength of the naegren lord, but even more powerful. His fears mounted with the additional objectives, featuring the survival of his teammates and completing the quest in a quick enough timeframe. They increased the quality of his rewards, was there a possibility that if he didn¡¯t get enough additional objectives his portal reward would be forfeit? Or maybe it affected where he was transported, maybe even allowing him to keep his powers back home. ¡°System. Do you have any information on this Ice King or the portal home?¡± Logan thought to his inner ally. ¡°We do not have any information over what you have, Logan. We can surmise this foe would be an elite enemy similar to others you have faced. If they were allowed to fully revive it could be an even harder following quest. As for the portal, we suspect its appearance would be a timed affair, with each objective giving you more time to enter it before it closed.¡± ¡°That was what I was thinking. Though, if the portal has a timer, it would be best if I complete this quest as soon as possible. Since I can¡¯t exactly ¡®hold¡¯ a portal in my hands it might just appear in front of me, or near where this throne is.¡± ¡°We recommend visiting the bookshop, adventurer hall, and Ahren, regarding the information on this Ice King and portal.¡± ¡°I was planning on running to Ahren too.¡± As Logan had a thinking conversation with his System, Marcus got up and strolled over to his friend¡¯s bed. ¡°So, are we going to talk with the MT today? See if they have good resources on portals?¡± the Devout asked. The Spellthief flinched at the question as it brought him out of his train of thought. ¡°Huh? No, new developments. I got a new quest just as you asked¡±, Logan spoke hastily. ¡°So soon? I suppose it is close to a week since the business with the goblin invasion, a bit under that time actually.¡± ¡°I would be more annoyed at its closeness to the last one, but this is a good quest, trust me. One of the rewards is a portal like I was wanting. I could get out of this oracle business a lot sooner than I had hoped¡±, Logan continued with a smile. ¡°Oh, grand news. What is our duty?¡± Marcus asked with a less enthusiastic tone. ¡°We are to stop the resurrection of an ¡®Ice King¡¯, does the name ring any bells?¡± Marcus paused for a second as he rubbed his chin in thought. ¡°I don¡¯t recall anything like that. Something like a ¡®king¡¯ would be handled by a larger and stronger force than I was accustomed to. Tinte wasn¡¯t the best for rumours trickling down from Gauntlet either.¡± ¡°Then it is time for some investigations. We have forty-eight days to complete this quest, after which the Ice King will resurrect. I would like to have it done before 18 days have passed. However, the way the quest reads, it seems like it may be a dungeon, so the hall will have to supply a lot of help.¡± ¡°Really? How many people are you thinking of asking to aid us? It isn¡¯t like you to seek a larger group¡±, Marcus asked as he made sure his equipment was all prepared. ¡°I don¡¯t want anything to go wrong with what may be my final quest from Vokka. So the more the merrier. I will have to see if the hall has any advice for a party size for this. It seems like it may be a well-known place, at least to the older adventurers and staff.¡± ¡°Want to split up for info gathering?¡± Marcus asked as he looked out the window to check the weather. ¡°Can you check the bookshop for info on the Ice King? I want to go talk with my contact. We can meet up at the G-Hall¡±, Logan commanded as he checked his status to inspect his summons. ¡°Do you know when Celsius and Spark will return?¡± ¡°Just checking¡­ Seems they may be done and heading back, if everything lines up we should be gone tomorrow¡±, Logan spoke as he tried to hide his elation. ¡°We can confirm purchases at the hall then. See you there, Logan¡±, Marcus returned, a sombre hint in his voice. As the pair split off, Logan took a few seconds to collect himself. He could tell that Marcus was deflated with the situation. Logan was going to give up his oracle powers for safety, or at least that was how it was in Marcus¡¯s eyes. Logan could at least give a good final send-off on their last day before travel.
Deciding today was a good day for exercise, Logan ran from the inn to the alchemist shop that Ahren ran. He wanted to keep his spell rings handy in case they could leave sooner, or his group gathering process at the hall led to someone getting offended that a caster was the leader. If Logan was going to go home with the potential of losing his newfound powers he would like to get a last few good days of use out of them. Running for minutes, walking for hours, jumping and climbing, all without the exhaustion his previous desk-ridden body would suffer. Logan arrived at the alchemist shop and opened wide its doors, entering into the musty room and closing the door behind him to not let a draft wander inside with him. Checking with his eyes and the click of his fingers, Logan found that no one else was inside the shop side of the building. Moving quickly to the counter he pressed the bell. ¡°Ahren, you in?¡± Logan called out, his voice passing into the curtained doorway into the backrooms. Some shuffling could be heard as glass vials were placed into holders and shoes scuffed against the wooden floor. Ahren emerged, letting off another set of windows noting that Logan could see and was being seen by another PC. Ahren looked a bit more chipper today, his back was straight and his wrinkles almost non-existent. ¡°Welcome back, Logan. Here for potions?¡± Ahren asked with a smile, as if he saw an old workmate. ¡°Yes, but also, advice¡±, Logan started, stopping to look around again to check no one was listening, ¡°I got a quest that rewards a portal.¡± Ahren¡¯s eyes widened at the mention, ¡°Oh? That was quick. It was my seventh quest to grant that.¡± ¡°This is my fourth. I got a few questions though.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll answer what I can, but remember I didn¡¯t complete mine¡±, Ahren continued as he sat down. ¡°Anything will do. The quest says a ¡®portal to Earth¡¯ is one of the rewards, did yours say the same?¡± ¡°Hmm. To my memory, exactly.¡± ¡°Did your system have any advice on it at all? Does it appear as soon as you complete the quest, does it have a timer, etcetera?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t say for the portal¡¯s appearance, I guess it would appear immediately? As for the timer, that seems appropriate. Any portal I have seen or heard of only lasts a short while, the one for the heroes travelling to the demon realm was only open for a minute, even after the time spent trying to create it.¡± ¡°A minute huh, not a whole lot of time to escape.¡± ¡°Logan, remember my warning. The quest to gain a portal is hard, deathly. From what we spoke about it seems this is what killed the others. If you find you can¡¯t surmount it, flee.¡± ¡°I aim to bring in a large team with me. Besides that, I do have this¡±, Logan replied as he pulled out the bastarn coven heart he had prepared for the invasion. The heart continued to beat, even a month after it was taken from the bastarn coven Logan had fought in the mines. Enchanted and shifted into its new form it would grant the Spellthief a portion of demonic power, opening the gates to the steps of demonhood. Each power was different, vampires were easy enough to catalogue, but this heart would grant the man a seemingly random boost in power. Ahren¡¯s eyes lit up with a blue glow as he looked at the heart, ¡°Interesting. A card up your sleeve. I am glad, at least, that you won¡¯t take the vampire¡¯s shortcut to power.¡± ¡°Disabling the ability to be revived? That is too great a price to pay for me. If I stay a vampire when I get home that¡¯ll also cause too many issues.¡± ¡°Well, as long as your body is returned to a church, and you have the money or insurance, you can return¡±, Ahren informed with a hint of regret in his voice. ¡°What was it¡­ 10 gold for a revival?¡± ¡°Within a day or so of dying, yes. The price increases until the seventh day, after which you cannot return. Without a body, you¡¯re looking at prices nearing the platinum coin area.¡± ¡°I doubt I will have 1000 gold anytime soon. If I leave, I won¡¯t need it. Speaking of, do you still not want to come with me?¡± Logan asked as he placed the heart back into his inventory. ¡°Thank you for the offer, but that is not my place anymore. Though I will do my best to aid you as you go. I am sorry to say I cannot sell any potions for spell recovery, but I had a wave of healing potions if you want to purchase them cheaply.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s look at what you can offer me then¡±, Logan replied as he turned to face the store. --- *** --- Chapter 69 - Nice Timing Logan browsed Ahren¡¯s stock of potions, seeing the next tier of healing potions on sale. The second tier had practically double the effectiveness of the first though at around 2.5x the price, each one costing 37 silver and 4 copper. Logan¡¯s max HP was 136, so he¡¯d heal 37 from each tier 2 potion against the 19 of tier 1 since damage and healing rounded to the closest number. Time was a major factor in winning fights so a little extra coin to heal a bit more per vial downed was more than worth it. Talking down the price, which was easy due to their PC relationship, Logan bought seven tier 1s and five tier 2s for 2 gold and 66 silver. He still had three tier 1s in his inventory so was quite stocked at this point. Thanking Ahren for his cheaper prices and advice, Logan made his way to the G-Hall to investigate the next part of his quest. Entering the rather busy adventuring hall, Logan was treated to the sight of many able-bodied and seemingly available party members. Before his scouting could begin, however, he was approached by the two teams he had hired out his summons to. Celsius had gained 1148 XP whereas Spark gained 1004. Logan updated his signet with the quest completions and was rewarded 8 silver for their participation. As he finished updating his adventuring signet another window popped up. ¡°You have gained the ¡®Fledgling Adventurer¡¯ title.¡± ¡°Fledgling Adventurer: Passing the tenth adventurer quest, you are now officially counted as a true adventurer and not one who would abandon the lifestyle as easily as others. Adventurers are more likely to ask you to join parties and invite you on quests, adventurers are also slightly less likely to antagonise you or demand a duel. You have gained 1 skill point to distribute.¡± ¡°I should have guessed this would grant a title, was a good idea to put the elementals to work. The only other type of quest variant I haven¡¯t done at least ten of are dungeons, it¡¯s a good bet that would come with a title too¡±, Logan thought to himself. With so much choice in the way of skills to place his new point, Logan decided he would hold onto it until he knew what kind of creatures he would be fighting against and the team he would be fighting alongside. As Logan made his way to the dungeon backrooms he spotted a familiar frame in the corner of his eye. Turning his head he saw Kreya sitting at a table with her signet in her hand, the silver colour of it shining in the sunlight from nearby windows. Recognising her stance as if she were looking for a group to join, Logan approached the Knight and tapped her shoulder. ¡°Busy working as usual I see¡±, Logan teasingly spoke as he grabbed a seat at the table. ¡°Oh hey. Trying to at least. Moella¡¯s restoration is mostly done, I am just gathering some funds to help make some traps for them¡±, Kreya replied as a smile adorned her face. ¡°Well, if you¡¯re up for work I can cash in that cheaper dungeon from you then.¡± Sitting up straight at the mention Kreya responded, ¡°Oh? Nice timing for us to work together again. Do you have a team and details ready?¡± ¡°I am just about to go pick the contract up. Wanted to make sure you didn¡¯t run off before I had it.¡± ¡°Gotcha. Well, I can wait here for you then¡±, Kreya responded as she threw the thin rope of her signet over her head and hid the signet away under her armour. ¡°Back in a few then¡±, Logan announced as he stood up. Finally arriving at the door leading to the backrooms Logan entered an almost empty room. Two receptionists sat at the counter with only one other adventurer looking over the dungeon board. Scanning the contracts for a few minutes Logan was eventually able to spot a newly made contract for some ice caves. Taking it in his hand he could read it further. Dubbed the ¡°Frost Monarch¡¯s Cavern¡±, the ice caves were seemingly a commonly attacked dungeon, one of the spellforced persuasion. Since the contract was fresh it indicated that a team had recently failed to complete it, the contact being lost alongside the team who had taken it with them. The dungeon was around 6 days walking to the east, 3 by horse, equating to a distance of just under 150 miles. The dungeon was an interior set of caverns dug out to represent a monstrous castle. Several rooms, with tall ceilings, were interlinked with large corridors, ramps and slopes to change levels, with plenty of guards on hand. Full of ice-orientated foes, the cavern was inhabited by ice golems, frost snakes, snowball sprites, icebolds, and was sometimes home to blue goblins. Previous clearings and reports put the total number of enemies inside to be around one hundred strong. The quest itself was to completely clear the caverns of monsters, be it from killing them or driving them out. A payment of 600 silver was on offer, with a suggested minimum team size of six adventurers of rank 8 plus two devouts for healing. As Logan read over the details the adventurer who was already present had leaned over to glance at what the Spellthief was so focused on. ¡°Ice caves huh? You¡¯d be the third group this month to try it¡±, the man spoke off-handedly. Logan turned his face to the man and replied, ¡°Any of them make it back alive?¡± ¡°I see plenty of injured people move through here, don¡¯t exactly question what they survived. Guys at the desk would know more¡±, the man continued as he pointed a thumb to the receptionists. ¡°Guess I¡¯ll ask them.¡± ¡°Good luck if you take it.¡± Nodding to the man, Logan moved toward the counter and placed the contract in front of one of the receptionists. ¡°I¡¯d like a few more details for this dungeon, please.¡± The man at the counter took a quick scan of the contract before tilting his head to meet Logan¡¯s gaze, ¡°Another one ey? You know how many teams have lost to this dungeon?¡± ¡°I heard of at least two?¡± ¡°This month, think it¡¯s been eight since the seers mentioned it was full of monsters again. ¡®Parently they are to blame for the chilly weather recently¡±, the receptionist continued as he pulled out a larger book. ¡°Eight? There has got to be some survivors from the attacks, right?¡± As the man flipped through the pages of his book he replied, ¡°A few, mostly Rogues who are speedier than most. They handed off some intel, so they got something for their troubles.¡± ¡°That¡¯s more concerning. I heard about the ¡®icy bastards¡¯ back in Tinte. It would line up with being the hardest quest so far¡±, Logan thought to himself. ¡°Here we are¡±, the receptionist announced as he found the correct page, ¡°The Frost Monarch¡¯s Cavern, a 6-day walk to the east, well it is a bit south too but we have a map for you to follow. We have had eight contracted parties take on the dungeon to clear out its forces, we have at least four people returning from the assault. What do you wish to know?¡± ¡°What intel is on offer to buy?¡± ¡°Four pieces. There is a map from previous infiltrations, though be warned it may have changed. Plus information regarding the ice golems, frost snakes, and blue goblins. 10 silver each, all four will run you 35 if you want ¡®em.¡± Logan placed 35 silver onto the table from his pouch-inventory before continuing, ¡°That will be useful. Do you know why the seers brought up the dungeon and how long ago?¡± ¡°Reports say they alerted the adventuring halls thirty-nine days ago about the dungeon having been refilled with monsters. It is normally the home of the Ice King, his revival has been foreseen to occur after three months from today¡¯s date, at the minimum. Clearing his dungeon allows for an easier attack against their leader when he returns. If you clear the dungeon you will be assigned priority on attacking the Ice King if you wish.¡± ¡°So, it¡¯s more to make it safer for when the harder creature appears. Are there any reports of portal magic at play? Does the leader bring in troops?¡± ¡°A very good question, you thought ahead. Yes, it is known that the Ice King is able to use teleportation magics, alongside revival magics, both of which he uses to return to our realm. His last defeat was nine years ago, three months from now marks the ten-year anniversary.¡± ¡°So my portal home might have more to do with the Ice King than my actual quest? It is still possible this quest was given to me since I was asking for a portal¡±, Logan thought to himself. ¡°Anything else?¡± the receptionist asked as he saw Logan planning. ¡°What is the time limit on the contract?¡± ¡°Two months, or death. If it comes to one month before the Ice King¡¯s revival the monarchy will get involved to make sure his return won¡¯t cause trouble for the kingdom.¡± ¡°The adventuring hall gets priority for these kinds of things?¡± Logan asked. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°There is no rush with this timeframe, adventurers are easier to throw away than royally-trained classed beings¡±, the receptionist replied with a bit of disdain. ¡°I take it there is no limit to how many people I can bring with me to the dungeon?¡± ¡°No? Just at least six, you¡¯re rank 8 right?¡± ¡°That is what my last assessment put me at¡±, Logan spoke with a hint of mischievousness. ¡°You can find people to hire in the main hall, find people sitting at the tables with their signets on display as usual. Should be good pickings with the goblin focus dying down now.¡± ¡°Thanks, that should be everything. Can you mark me down as accepting this dungeon?¡± The receptionist replied with a nod and took the contract from Logan, scribbling on it and his book while referring to Logan¡¯s signet before returning it to the Spellthief. With the contract in hand, Logan returned to the main hall as he waved at the other adventurer who was still pondering the board for their choice of mission. Kreya was still awaiting Logan¡¯s return, to which he placed the contract in front of her with his name signed on it with the guild symbol. ¡°Ah, there we go then¡±, Kreya said with a jolt as he looked at the paper, ¡°Huh, those chilly fiends to the east. Not my first choice. You heard about how many have died to that?¡± ¡°Call it lucky number nine. I aim to get a sizeable team for it, more than the minimum. You in?¡± Kreya placed her chin between her finger and thumb as she thought for a few seconds, ¡°Alright, fine. I¡¯ll go at half pay. I know a few others who may want to come aboard, you cool with me getting them?¡± Logan smiled at the ease of forming a team, ¡°Sure, go for it. I am going to ask around the hall. We can meet here in the evening and talk things over.¡± Kreya stood and picked up her effects slung across the backrest of her chair. Saying their farewells she left the hall, leaving Logan to his own designs. He quickly looked over his intel and found that the foes would be weaker to fire magics but resistant or even immune to ice damage. How unsurprising. Aside from that, physical resistance was prevalent amongst many, with the golems being even more resistant to bludgeoning attacks due to their thick hides. Scanning over the hall left him with ample choice for teammates. Speeding up the selection process the Spellthief used Identification to weed out all who were below rank 8.
Approaching a table with two women sitting at it, Logan sprung up a conversation, ¡°Greetings. Would either of you two be willing to join me in my quest to clear out the Frost Monarch¡¯s Cavern dungeon to the east?¡± The level 9 Sorcerer woman whose blonde hair was tied up under her pointy black hat was the first to respond, ¡°What? A dungeon? Are there particular foes you¡¯re wanting casters for?¡± Following her companion, the level 8 Wizard woman with loose brunette hair that hid her shoulders spoke, ¡°Two casters to boot? It¡¯s not that death trap is it?¡± ¡°The creatures are weak to fire and resistant to physical attacks, so if you know fire spells it would be an immense help. If you two know micks that would also be very useful to deal with the foes that lack such a heavy hide¡±, Logan explained with a smile. ¡°So, a barrage of Flame is required. I hope you mean for tomorrow so I can adjust my slots accordingly¡±, the brunette continued as she neatened out her red robes. ¡°I can use fire-based spells and micks, no problem there. I don¡¯t know of any alterations to take my allies out of the line of ¡®fire¡¯ though¡±, the blonde replied with a cheeky smile. ¡°Great, so are you two in? We would hopefully be setting off tomorrow, I use slots too¡±, Logan replied as he smiled at the brunette. ¡°Your leader is ok with three magi?¡± the blonde asked. ¡°I am the leader¡±, Logan announced plainly. The two casters took on a stunned look at his response. They shared a glance at one another before looking at Logan. ¡°We¡¯re in¡±, they spoke in unison. ¡°I guess caster leaders are preferred since they know I would treat them right¡±, Logan thought to himself. ¡°Alright, we¡¯re meeting back here this evening to talk about our plans. If you know of any other casters who¡¯d like to join feel free to invite them. I can do with another Wizard or Sorcerer, but I would like at least one more Devout before we head off¡±, Logan continued as he looked around. ¡°I know of a Devout, he should be free. You good with a rank 9?¡± the blonde woman asked. ¡°That¡¯s great. I¡¯m Logan by the way¡±, Logan replied as he held out his hand to shake. ¡°Araxie¡±, the blonde Sorcerer spoke. ¡°Fleur¡±, the brunette Wizard added. The two ladies stood to leave and prepare their own side of affairs, while Logan continued to scout for additions to the party.
Logan was having a bit of trouble asking others to join his team, many Knights and Fighters turned him down simply for being a caster leader. As he was about to approach another table, Logan was sent a new target as the entrance doors opened with Cerall walking inside. His disposition seemed to be that of a man looking for a quick buck, possibly due to his most recent losses at bets. Logan already knew the man¡¯s skill and wanted to try his luck again. Approaching Cerall, Logan waved at his past match partner whose face grew a smile in return. ¡°Hey, Cerall. Looking for work?¡± ¡°Logan, grand day to you. Yep, you know it. Purse is a bit light, what with you taking my coin from me¡±, Cerall replied with a chuckle. ¡°You¡¯re in luck, I am recruiting for a dungeon quest, interested?¡± ¡°Oh? Maybe I can show you some of the skills I didn¡¯t use on ya! What is it for?¡± Cerall accepted as he took a seat at a nearby table. Logan took a seat next to Cerall and continued as he pulled out the contract, ¡°It¡¯s to take on the Frost Monarch¡¯s Cavern to the east.¡± Cerall darted his eyes left to right as he looked over the details, ¡°6 gold, nice pocket. Though I have seen some of the outcomes from that quest¡­ You got a big team for it?¡± ¡°Aiming for it, at least five members so far, you¡¯d make six and I want more.¡± ¡°Splitting the reward thin there, but, with so many fallen kin in the cave, there¡¯s bound to be more money in items. There¡¯s bound to be a relic of some sort too if something like a ¡®King¡¯ resides there¡±, Cerall spoke as he calculated the income in his head. ¡°I¡¯ll be bringing my summons with me as well, but they won¡¯t take a split on my behalf¡±, Logan continued while motioning with his hands to Celsius and Spark that were waiting patiently behind him. ¡°Oho, I get to see your buddies I missed in our match? We¡¯ll see if they would have turned the tables even more in your favour¡±, Cerall spoke with a smile. Celsius punched into the air twice as he spoke up, ¡°Don¡¯t worry sword-man, I got a lot of fire in these arms.¡± ¡°A pleasure to meet your expectations on the battlefield¡±, Spark added with a slight bow. ¡°Untethered? All the surprises from you, Logan¡±, Cerall spoke with a hint of surprise. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Untethered, your summons, you haven¡¯t locked down their outbursts as the elemental-hiring business do.¡± ¡°Why would I?¡± Logan asked as he turned to face his elementals, ¡°I like them like this.¡± The elementals replied with communal smiles on their energy-designed faces. ¡°That is fair, I am just used to ones that take commands and don¡¯t speak up. Seem ¡®cool¡¯ to me¡±, Cerall replied as he held up a fist to bump Celsius. The elemental obliged with gusto. ¡°So, you in I take it?¡± ¡°Yeah. We heading out there soon?¡± ¡°Hopefully tomorrow. We¡¯re meeting at the hall this evening to go over plans. Do you know of anyone else who¡¯d like to party up? Rank 8 or higher?¡± ¡°Tsuker, he¡¯ll like to hit a dungeon. He prefers the indoors. He¡¯s a rank 12 Rogue. I¡¯ll bring him ¡®round this evening to meet the team.¡± ¡°Great, I will see to getting another Knight to guard us all.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have one? Wait, are you the leader?¡± Cerall asked. ¡°We do have one, Kreya, Though I am the leader.¡± ¡°This¡¯ll be interesting¡±, Cerall replied with a grin as he stood up. ¡°I¡¯ll go back to Lightbeam and talk with Tsuker.¡± Saying their farewells the two split off. Logan had passed the minimum team number, recruiting seven adventurers of rank 8 and above, plus Marcus. Though he wanted more, being the ninth team to try this mission meant it was difficult and Logan knew all too well the difficulty of the portal quests. Seeing how others were apprehensive of a caster as a leader, he now knew he would have been better if he set Kreya as the leader.
Logan continued to ask adventurers if they wanted to join the team, but the rumours of the Frost Monarch¡¯s Cavern had spread enough around the hall to divvy out worry amongst the members. Logan being the leader wasn¡¯t helping either. Though the people he asked weren¡¯t too angry about his asking, which he attributed to his new title. As he came to the end of the current adventurers in the hall Logan decided to take a break and investigate the intel further. It would seem that Force would be severely reduced in its aid yet again, possibly even doing nothing to the golems. He could spend a skill point on increasing the power of his micks, but it would be an uphill battle against resistances and reductions. The range provided by Force was a major advantage over his daggers, and the ability to knock down his opponents was another. It wasn¡¯t always going to knock his foes down though, a mick was bound to enforce a much lower Strength saving throw than a higher-level spell would. As he contemplated his skill choice and read through the intel, Logan was met by a slightly wary Marcus who sat at this table. ¡°How¡¯d the information gathering go?¡± Logan asked as he looked over his friend. ¡°Disturbing. I was able to buy a history book detailing the Ice King. From what I read, he is a fierce monster that once took over a quarter of Gauntlet territory a few centuries ago. His final defeat was at the hand of a hero, and ever since his revival has been documented and halted. He revives at a fraction of his true power, the revived state requiring several rank 16 or above adventurers¡±, Marcus informed solemnly. ¡°16!? The receptionist says the party that clears the dungeon gets the first crack at him, but that only requires 8!¡± ¡°The book did state that the royals will get involved if the team isn¡¯t good enough, you can probably ask them to aid in the first attack on the Ice King.¡± ¡°We won¡¯t need a follow-up though. If I burn his throne he won¡¯t revive. Does no one know that fact, or is it special to me?¡± Logan thought. ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°He was known for bringing in aid from what people referred to as the frost realm, it was compared to the demon realm but was considered a weaker variant. That may line up with your portal idea.¡± ¡°I heard something similar too. If we can stop his revival it¡¯d be for the best¡±, Logan replied as he reclined in his chair. ¡°The book did mention that fire-adept magi tried a few experiments to make sure his revival was postponed, or he would appear weaker, but they seem to have not made much of an impact.¡± ¡°Is his revival every ten years?¡± ¡°Yeah, you hear that too?¡± Marcus replied a bit shocked. ¡°The receptionist read from his book about some of the details.¡± ¡°You said you could stop it? If so we need not worry about fighting the Ice King. That¡¯s one fight I would advise against as we are.¡± ¡°Speaking of, we¡¯ve reached the minimum requirement for a team and then some.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good at least, who do you have?¡± Logan explained their current team lineup, or at least the one they were expecting to arrive this evening. ¡°A good range, some high ranks too. Cerall¡¯s presence calms my nerves a bit since I saw his abilities¡±, Marcus spoke. ¡°We can see about checking the previous teams that tackled the cavern, gauge how ours stacks up to other attempts.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 70 - Final Prep for the Dungeon Discussing with the receptionist in the dungeon backrooms of the G-Hall, Logan found that he wasn¡¯t allowed to know the names of their previous quest takers. He was, however, allowed to know their compositions. With his recruiting drive, the Spellthief already had one of the larger teams to tackle the Frost Monarch¡¯s Cavern, and with a higher average party rank to boot. The requirement of rank 8 adventurers was a slowly increasing number too, apparently starting at 6 and going up with the failed incursions. With Logan¡¯s array of 3 offensive spellcasters with fire-based spells, the party was very suited to a blasting strategy. With such a long stretch of time to complete the dungeon, they could take it slow with more rest and use spells more liberally. Gathering information between the receptionist and the pamphlets also informed Logan that the beginning chamber of the cavern used to hold within it a group of golems, but due to the several teams invading, the entrance was now a relatively safe space. It would act as a good fallback, if not leaving entirely. As Logan conversed with Marcus he also talked about his purchasing of a few extra healing potions, prompting Marcus to ask if he should do the same. Logan¡¯s mind fixated on a new set of armour for the occasion since he had seen robes that aided in certain resistances and spell casting. Since he wasn¡¯t going to have to worry about being targeted as much, he could focus on light armour that heightened his fire spell damage. Since they still had time before meeting up with their team, the pair hit the markets. Marcus split off to explore the different stalls for his own potions, while Logan examined several robes. He saw a few that gave him resistance and reduction to ice damage, and robes that treated his tiers of mastery in fire spells as higher. Sadly there were none at his level that did both. After browsing for some time, Logan settled on his new robes. Being worn over his normal tunic and trousers, the robe was a flashy set of dark-red and black cloth with depictions of rolling flames around the bottom edging and cuffs. The buttons of the robe were small red and yellow flame clasps that snapped into the other end of the robe. The upper back of the robe had several salamander scales sewn into it in a marquise gem style, possibly to resist falling damage or attacks from the rear. Buying the robe set him back 75 silver but Logan wasn¡¯t going to be needing money for much longer. The tier of mastery was only going to add 3 to 6 damage to his spell, however, it also made the saving throw harder to meet. The damage boost would also be augmented by his foes¡¯ weaknesses. Outside of that, Logan would be able to move through his Flame Walls without issue and not have to worry about losing his spell if he was to get targeted. He knew all too well how dire losing a spell was. On the other hand, he was giving up one spell slot and one absorption charge for this. Due to the locale being a dungeon, he thought it best to be able to handle area attacks and keep his spells through casting. Logan¡¯s current garb wasn¡¯t going to last too long anyway with its declining durability. Swapping out his armour, Logan saw his status change immediately. Saying goodbye to his additional spells he looked on at the higher proficiency of his fire spells. To continue in his fire focus Logan also bought up a magical staff, which he thought he would be getting much later in his journey. Taking 1 gold from his pouch, Logan got a 5¡¯ tall staff of interwoven dark-brown wood tipped with a ruby gem that held swirling flames within its centre. At a quarter the price of a spell ring the staff did a hell of a lot for Logan¡¯s spellcasting. Though this was mostly due to the fact it would only work with either Wizards or Sorcerers when spell rings could be used by anyone and allowed silentcasting. Combined with the robes, Logan could cast Flame at tier 7 instead of his normal tier 4. Checking over his status windows and asking System he confirmed it would also work with his Spell Absorption charges. As for attunement, Logan had to spend a half-hour attuning with a staff to gain its benefits, and if he were to lose his grasp of it he would need to attune once again. This was the major drawback of Logan¡¯s style of combat since he flowed between dagger and Grasp attacks. The beginning levels would ingrain in casters to always hold their staves before gaining access to the ones that increased their casting, something Logan hadn¡¯t done. If Logan was to get into melee combat the staff was also more unwieldy than his daggers, and didn¡¯t allow for such easy deflection or repositioning attacks. For playing the role of a blaster-caster it would suffice though. Running around the battlefield with such a tall staff was going to get on his nerves, he just knew it.
Saving the rest of their money to react to their team''s gear the pair returned to the G-Hall. Spending the rest of the time until evening recruiting, they were unable to gain any further members. A few brought up concerns about the size of the team, which showed the differences in attitude as Logan thought back to the party size going against the troll back in Tinte. Logan and Marcus would have to hope that going over the minimum number of teammates and rank was going to be enough to break the death streak of this quest. Logan was putting a lot of his faith into the spell barrage they could unleash.
As the sun set through the view of the windows the G-Hall was cast in an orange glow, adventurers coming and going as they made teams or completed quests. Logan¡¯s team eventually assembled and moved to one of the meeting rooms on the 1st floor he had made an appointment for. Looking over his team Logan used Identification to get a good grasp of their abilities and potential contributions. ¡°Logan: Spellthief 12, 136/136 HP, 0/0 MP. Tsuker: Rogue 12, 158/158 HP, 0/0 MP. Often reclusive, Tsuker has been known to mostly partake in scouting missions or weakening foes for the main team to deal with. Affiliated with the Lightbeam guild. Cerall: Fighter 11, 186/186 HP, 0/0 MP. A boisterous man who is known around his guild as an avid sparring partner for guildies. Affiliated with the Lightbeam guild. Can be often found gambling to make ends meet rather than doing quests, backed up from match wins to make sure he doesn¡¯t have to work too hard. Kreya: Knight 11, 204/204 HP, 0/0 MP. Renowned ----. Signed up with the G-Hall ----. Araxie: Sorcerer 9, 80/80 HP, 22/22 MP. This Sorceress typically draws ire for missing a spell hit or accidentally hitting her allies. She has since tried her best to avoid such situations and has become an adept shot with her spells. Uhnarr: Devout 9, 104/104 HP, 21/21 MP. Mostly confined to his church, Uhnarr has seen quite a bit of action for a Devout. He makes regular visits to his family in the hidden gashriek villagers in the forests. Fleur: Wizard 8, 76/76 HP, 0/0 MP. A friendly ----. Has spent a lot of time ----. Marcus: Devout 6, 68/68 HP, 17/17 MP.¡± Araxie introduced Uhnarr, a gashriek whose eyes glistened brightly with their sky-blue colour, contrasting with his pitch-black hair that was tied into a long ponytail. Cerall did the same for his friend Tsuker, a rather short man garbed in a hooded black coat, his yellow eyes gleaming through the shadow cast over his face. Logan did notice that Kreya had levelled up from 10 to 11, but didn¡¯t feel much need to bring it up at the time. Comparing health values among the team painted her like a wall of iron against the easily-shattered pieces of glass that were the casters. ¡°So, do we have further details of the quest and plans for engagement with it?¡± Tsuker started the discussion. ¡°Yes, I have done some research while the team was gathering and purchased the available pamphlets. We will be tackling the Frost Monarch¡¯s Cavern to the east, it is a 3-day ride so I ask everyone here to bring mounts for the trip. The quest is to clear the dungeon as normal, the dungeon is inhabited by ice golems, frost snakes, snowball sprites, icebolds, and possibly blue goblins¡±, Logan announced as he handed out the pamphlets for the team to read over. ¡°The entrance was once home to golems, but reports say it should be clear. We will use that as a fallback position if needed. I aim for us to take this slow and steady, making ample use of the spellcasters in our team. Fire spells will make short work of the heavier hitters amongst the monsters, while everyone else will handle those that aren¡¯t as physically defensive¡±, Logan continued. ¡°So, a caster barrage against golems, that¡¯ll save on weapon swapping if they¡¯re resistant to bludgeoning¡±, Kreya mentioned as she read over her pamphlet. ¡°That is the aim. As for exploration, I will be making use of scanning to map out and detect any creatures that are plainly detectable. The intel mentioned no stealth capabilities from the monsters so it should work, outside of that we will have Tsuker scout ahead. I take it you¡¯re well suited to that?¡± Logan continued as he looked at the Rogue. ¡°It is my speciality.¡± ¡°Araxie, Fleur, do either of you have summoning spells?¡± ¡°Neither of us does, we¡¯ve only recently obtained second-level spells and have been focusing elsewhere¡±, the blonde Araxie replied. ¡°That is fine, we¡¯ll use mine as bait in that case. The frost snakes are spirit beasts, Kreya can you Chatter them to stop their blasts?¡± ¡°I can do so, Logan.¡± ¡°The dungeon should hold around one hundred monsters, so we will be gone for a while. I advise stocking up on supplies for the long trip.¡± Cerall looked over the party and seemingly counted on his fingers before speaking, ¡°So, the split is going to be-¡± he started but was cut off by Kreya. ¡°I will be taking a half-split.¡± ¡°Ah, so¡­ 24% for Tsuker and myself, 12% for Kreya, and 8% for each of the magi?¡± Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Logan spoke with a bit more authority in response to this, ¡°Due to the magi taking a heavier load with their spellcasting, I propose a half split as well. 20% for Tsuker and Cerall, 10% for the rest.¡± Tsuker and Cerall looked at one another, the Rogue having some second thoughts about his joining. ¡°Think of all the loot there from past failures, it¡¯s worth it¡±, Cerall said convincingly. ¡°For a name like that, the place is bound to hold relics regardless. Fine, I¡¯m good with that¡±, Tsuker relented. Araxi, Uhnarr, and Fleur all looked at Logan with smiles with twinkles in their eyes. It was a rare sight to see a spellcaster take charge like this, at least outside of noble affairs where the chain of command can shift drastically. It wasn¡¯t a major jump from 8% to 10%, but with the number of items to be retrieved from the dungeon it would add up quickly. ¡°Anyone else here part of a guild?¡± Logan asked. A silence responded, leading to Logan continuing on, ¡°So, just Tsuker and Cerall. Do either of you have death insurance?¡± ¡°We both do, if possible, though I don¡¯t like the idea of dying, bring our bodies back to the guild and they¡¯ll sort us out¡±, Cerall replied. ¡°So just body revival, not part.¡± ¡°Hah, that¡¯s way above any paygrade I¡¯ve laid eyes on. Full body or nowt¡±, Cerall responded with a wide grin. Logan had read enough, and spoken enough, about death insurance that he understood most of how it occurred. The deadline was seven days, with the price increasing with time, and if parts of the body are missing it¡¯s even more expensive. However, it was a money sink, since it was paid out weekly from most establishments with contracts lasting up to a year with price changing based on usage. ¡°I take it no one else has death insurance from outside sources?¡± Silence replied to Logan yet again. ¡°Very well, though I do hope it does not come to that.¡± ¡°Will we be making use of carts to ferry over components and items?¡± Kreya perked up. ¡°I asked ahead of time, the previous groups that attempted the dungeon weren¡¯t able to return their carriages, so we will make use of them if they still wait at the cavern¡¯s entrance¡±, Logan replied. ¡°Would passersby not have already taken those?¡± Fleur added. ¡°Survivors noted they had seen previous carriages, so it is a good bet there is more than one set. Outside of that, the cavern has had some of its inhabitants leave and patrol the entrance. If anything I am expecting a bit of damage to the vehicles.¡± ¡°I double that sentiment. Other dungeons I¡¯ve visited have had similar sightings¡±, Tsuker assisted. ¡°Our mounts should be sufficient enough to lug the carriages back, if there are eight of us¡±, Logan continued. ¡°For a hundred foes, we better have a good amount of space to carry all their components back. We may take longer on the return trip¡±, Kreya calculated. ¡°More money for more time, I am sure everyone here is fine with that.¡± The group laughed and nodded amongst themselves in reply. ¡°Good. For this mission, I will be the leader as the quest holder, though I would like to put Kreya as the second due to her work as a leader previously¡±, Logan continued as he pointed at the Knight. The team looked at Kreya for a bit as if they were inspecting her. ¡°I¡¯m fine with that¡±, Kreya responded as she crossed her arms. ¡°We leave tomorrow morning, make sure your prep is done tonight or early morning. We will meet at the city side of the gates. Any questions?¡± ¡°Nope¡±, Kreya replied. ¡°Good here¡±, Araxie and Fleur said together. ¡°Plan¡¯s clear enough¡±, Tsuker added. ¡°See you bright and early¡±, Cerall said. Uhnarr gave a quiet nod. With the team all informed and ready, they left the meeting room, leaving Logan and Marcus behind. Logan let go of his stiff stance and placed his hands on the table, the tense air seeping away as the door closed a final time. ¡°You did well¡±, Marcus congratulated. ¡°With the easiest task? I would hope so. Now we just need to take on a proper dungeon until its end¡±, Logan replied with a sigh. ¡°We should fare well, we have four adventurers over rank 10. As you have mentioned previously we can make ample use of your Dimensional Jaunt to make a quick exit if needed.¡± ¡°It may come to that if wrench- If something goes awry.¡± ¡°Do we have much else to purchase?¡± ¡°I have 1 gold and 90 silver, can still get a few things. You can¡¯t handle any magical staves yet can you? I got one to aid in casting Flame¡±, Logan asked. ¡°Sadly I think I am still too weak in my use of spellforce. Those other casters were rank 8 and 9? That¡¯s typically the lowest level to start using them, so they might bring along their own.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a shame, it would have been good to keep up the healing. I suppose I will pick up a Flame manual and some spell slot potions.¡± ¡°Then we shall meet back up at the inn?¡± ¡°See you there.¡± The pair split off from the G-Hall, though Marcus¡¯s gaze did linger on a departing Logan as his own head was wracked with thoughts of the oracle losing his powers. Even the thought of one from above not being anything but holy and divine was a hard concept to wrap his head around. But even so, if Logan would be able to speak with Vokka, Marcus believed that would be enough to change his mind.
Logan¡¯s final shopping trip was rather quick since he already knew what he was after. The Flame Manual 1 cost 40 silver and could be completed before going to sleep. The last item on the agenda was the potions that restored spell slots. They worked differently than MP, instead, they only restored a spell you had already prepared that day. It was stated to be random, though Logan was reassured he could choose due to his System. Buying up five, Logan spent 1 gold and 5 silver. Leaving himself with 45 silver just in case he needed to pay for anything on the way or even in the morning. Tackling dungeons looked to be a costly endeavour, though seeing the corpses in the previous ones Logan was sure he would make his money back and then some. It didn¡¯t matter either way as he¡¯d be leaving it for the others when he took his portal home. Comparing his team to the ones that failed, Logan was confident he could overcome adversity and see the dungeon to its completion. The nagging stayed in the furthest reaches of his mind, buried underneath thoughts of if he was actually going to meet Vokka before the portal sent him home. Would it be a dead cutoff with no satiation to his questions? Would Vokka have gotten away with kidnapping someone from another world? It didn¡¯t matter. As long as Logan was free he would not have to worry about errant magi who wanted his blood. No potential invasions of monsters into his city. He would cherish the new time given to him to spend with his father, and make sure he left no words unsaid. Replacing his thoughts with words, Logan quickly read over his new manual in about an hour. Checking his spell list for possibly a final time Logan felt a solid sense of progression. ¡°Alterations: Grasp, Shot, Skystrike, Wall. 1st: Aqua*?, Flame*?, Frost*3, Gaia*3, Infuse*?, Lightning*?, Necromantic*?, Wind*3. 2nd: Dimensional Jaunt, Earthen Eruption, Flame Cloak, Haste, Lightning Cascade, Skin of Ice, Sleep, Summon _ Elemental, Zombify. 3rd: Air Blast, Aqua 2, Flame 2, Frost 2, Gaia 2, Lightning 2, Necromantic 2, Wind 2.¡± There were still so many spells he hadn¡¯t experimented with, but his curiosity was a lesser evil compared to his imprisonment. Moving from his spells to his new magical staff, Logan pulled it from his inventory and fashioned a piece of rope at the neck and base, creating an easy-to-use sling for his shoulder. Spending thirty minutes to attune to the staff, Logan¡¯s status updated with the new details that came with it, alongside a tracker window if he wanted to check how many Flame spells he had cast in a row. Wanting to test the leniency, Logan held the staff horizontally and dropped it a few inches to his other hand, grabbing it before it hit the floor. To his gratitude, it seemed a few seconds, if that, still kept his attunement. Testing different heights he continued to find that if he grabbed it before it hit the floor he¡¯d keep his attunement. Another test was throwing it into the air and grabbing it as close as he could to the floor. Still attuned. Bringing it downstairs for a taller ceiling he did the same test, but this time he finally lost his attunement. Five seconds, that is all it would take to lose his attunement. Reattuning, he tested placing the staff on the floor, letting go, and picking it up quickly. Five seconds again. The description of ¡°losing grasp¡± wasn¡¯t too clear, it had a bit of leeway in the timing. It wasn¡¯t long enough to really abuse it, or swap between weapons, so Logan would still be restricted to his staff and an open hand if he wanted to use the Grasp alteration. The last thing on his list was the skill point currently left floating on his statistics page. Since he was going to be masquerading as a Wizard once again, Logan investigated his bookmarked skills as well as the Wizard-only skills. Whilst not overly high on the list, due to his low spell level, he finally decided on Signature Spell. Selecting Dimensional Jaunt allowed Logan to always have a spare teleport in his pocket, but it also allowed him to spend his transferred MP into casting it more times than his rings allowed. If he selected Flame he would get two extra casts, but this was a safer option in his mind as it allowed him to position on the battlefield or make a quick getaway. This was a much better skill for a Wizard than a Sorcerer, if they also had this skill, as Sorcerers could cast any spell they knew whereas Wizards needed to have at least one prepared. Since Logan¡¯s second-level spells were taken up by his summons this was almost a no-brainer for him. With this new skill, like many others, several branches appeared that linked to the first. They would continue to improve how the Signature Spell would act, such as damage and effect, but Logan wasn¡¯t going to get to experiment with those. There was little left to be had in the way of planning and preparations. Tomorrow was the big day, the final travel for Logan in the world of Avanar. Memories of his past life flashed through his mind, filling him with determination. His final sleep in a cosy bed couldn¡¯t arrive any sooner, though he had to fight back this energy swelling up inside of him. --- *** --- Chapter 71 - Perks of a Team Unlike any other morning, the day that Logan woke to sparked the final trek of his life in a different world. Through previous investigations, this was looking to be the most straightforward quest, at least when it came to preparing his spells. 3+2 Flame, 1 Necromantic, 3 slots for his summons and his Signature Spell of Dimensional Jaunt plus 4 more casts from rings. A fiery exit indeed, with his new armour and staff his Flame had a mastery of 8, increasing its damage by 70% and making the save to avoid burning even harder. With so much time dedicated to increasing his skills, stats, and level, it was hard to push out ideas of perfecting his spells further as he was so close to the 10 mastery cap. He was happy to just laze on a sofa and not have to worry any longer. Waking Marcus, the quartet of adventurers and summons made their way to the city gates. The streets continued to be full of life, from traders trying to make a quick sale to repairs still being undertaken around the city after the invasion. As the first to get to the gates from the group, Logan and Marcus discussed their combat style for the coming dungeon, as well as morning rituals to allow Logan to transfer charges into MP without the team knowing.
As time passed the team assembled, creating a large force of varied classes. Araxie and Fleur had changed into similarly red-coloured robes that would provide them with a lesser boost to fire-based spells when compared to Logan¡¯s robes. Uhnarr sported a tall staff on his back with a grey crystal, seemingly the staff that improved Heal. As asked, everyone was riding their horses. The most unique saddle award would go to Cerall though. It was more like a chair, a tall backrest was attached to the saddle with some footholds near the neck of the horse for him to lounge on. When asked, Cerall mentioned that it allowed him to have his legs up so that he could dismount on either side quicker, though Logan could tell it would also be more comfortable. Leaving the city gates behind them the group waved to the guards who recognised them, though many merchants waved to Logan on his leave. Spark and Celsius sped up their movement to keep up with the horses, and with their endless endurance they could keep it up easy. The party formed their horses to guard the casters in the middle, putting Kreya at the back to protect the rear, with Tsuker and Cerall at the front. Since the commotion with the goblins had ended it would be more likely that the team faced adversary on the way to the cavern. If Cerall¡¯s seating arrangement rang true he¡¯d be the first into the fight.
Logan only wished he could teleport the party ahead, but even with teleporting people with their horses underneath them, there were far too many people. At least he could enjoy the leisurely ride along the dirt roads and through the forests. It wasn¡¯t long before the party ventured off the dirt road and into the thick forests, filling the surroundings with the sounds of chirping birds and screaming foxes. Tsuker brought out a familiar-looking bell, reminding Logan of Dena, to which he attached to the side of his saddle. With every fourth bumpy movement of his horse, it let out a slight ding noise, possibly muted on one half. Logan called ahead to ask what it was, to which Tsuker replied it was a scouting bell that allowed him to more accurately detect enemy presences. Explaining the mechanics of it made it sound extremely similar to Echo Radar, cluing Logan on the breadth of NPC skills. Alongside the Rogue¡¯s preparation as the group headed into the forest the Wizard Fleur started to chant, ¡°Scouts and spies of the forest, grant me your eyes. Spy Bird.¡± With the end of her incantation, a small palm-sized bird appeared in her hand, similar to that of a green-feathered sparrow. Fleur spoke a few words to the bird before sending it off into the canopies above the group. When questioned it was explained that it was a second-level spell that created a creature used for scouting and as an alert system. It had no combat capabilities, outside of seemingly being able to ward off any predators from itself. The bird would stick around for 8 hours so it was a good enough use of a spell slot to keep the party aware of threats.
Hours passed in peaceful riding through the forest, the sounds of the local fauna keeping the party at ease. If you could hear the birds and the prey species, you were generally safe. Most monsters were clunky things, kicking rocks or snapping twigs that sent any prey scattering. However, as the group got further from the capital, the monsters got closer. The Spy Bird returned to Fleur¡¯s shoulder, chirping in her ear as she nodded her head in response. Translating it to the party she spoke, ¡°It seems like we¡¯re getting close to a camp of crowbolds. They are a couple of stone throws to the south, we can skirt around easy enough, but keep an eye open for travellers.¡± In reply, the party gave a mix of ¡°Ok¡± and ¡°got it¡± to the Wizard. Logan was put at ease seeing the quality of their preparedness, though it was to be expected of people who had been working as adventurers for several months to years. A few moments more passed as the party shifted slightly to the north to avoid unneeded confrontation with the crowbold camp, though it only did so much. Tsuker¡¯s body jolted as he spoke over to the leader Fighter, ¡°Cerall, two right, ground.¡± Cerall¡¯s body tensed as he rolled off his horse to the right, it was true when he said his seating allowed him a faster dismount. As his feet hit the grassy floor his body started to shimmer before he rushed to the right, the blast of wind pushing his horse into a loud neigh. During his use of Rush, Cerall drew his shortsword and slashed out at the end of his skill-assisted charge. A loud craw was heard as his blade cut deep into a humanoid crow creature, its chest bleeding profusely from the deep cut, before it could retaliate Cerall brought down a red-hued sword into the head of the crow, the body jolting all over as its brain was pierced through the skull. Cerall¡¯s blade turned to a yellow hue as he rushed to another crowbold hiding behind a tree. The slash cut through the air as a spray of red came from the other side of the trunk, the tree blocking the body of the crow from the party but showing off the effects of the Fighter¡¯s barrage. A loud thud hit the floor as the second foe was felled, two strikes for the first and a single for the last. With a forward joust of his sword, Cerall removed the blood and colourful display of his combo skills. Logan had his body sideways on his horse, arms raised to fire at the monsters, but like his fellows, he didn¡¯t have the time to aim and shoot before Cerall dealt with the issue. ¡°All clear¡±, Cerall called out to the party. ¡°Confirmed¡±, Tsuker added as he manually dinged his bell. Fleur gave out a quick whistle which summoned her Spy Bird to give it additional commands. By the time she was done Cerall had brought the two corpses to the horses and the party. As Logan looked over them he saw them to be around 5¡¯ tall, if they were standing. Covered in black feathers, the crowbold had a large beak on its head that he wondered if the change from a normal crow to a monster gave it a taste for humans. Its arms were long wings that went down to its knees, the plumage near the tip being furled and curled, as if they were used as makeshift hands. With the corpses, Cerall had also retrieved a couple of bows and arrows, though the bows had thicker limbs and the arrows had two grooves across them, possibly made to allow for easier firing by fingerless creatures. Logan moved to harvest the bodies, knowing their eyes were the only common component from them. ¡°Look like scouts or hunters to me, think we just happened on their path?¡± Kreya asked the team. ¡°My bird says there aren¡¯t any others around¡±, Fleur informed. Flipping through a satchel at one of the corpse''s sides Logan pulled out some strips of crispy meat. ¡°Looks like these two were either going far or they¡¯re on a trip as a group.¡± ¡°Any of you remember any crowbold quests at the hall?¡± Cerall asked. ¡°There were a few, a couple of days back¡±, Araxie said. ¡°So, we deal with them and it¡¯ll be a good foresight or an interruption for another team. I say we ignore them¡±, Tsuker announced. ¡°We took out two of ¡®em. Leave it I say¡±, Kreya continued. The rest of the votes pushed the party away from the issue, so they took what they could from the two they had already felled and carried on. Logan pondered the engagement in his head, since the populace didn¡¯t have a proper grasp on the experience mechanic at play they didn¡¯t see any foul in taking out enemies as Cerall had done. Though this would stagnate the growth of those who were slow to act, or casters in general, since each class had their own speciality Logan could only guess it evened out eventually. With how casters could deal with large waves of foes with their spells on their own, a party of martial-focused classes could do the same. It wasn¡¯t uncommon for casters to go solo on easier quests to rake in their own income.
Continuing on into the night the party finally reached their first stopping point as marked on their map previously, long discussion had already gone through on where they could stop along the way so it was an easy decision when it came to rest. With the elementals and Spy Bird in play, with another casting of it, the party were all free to sleep with no one on watch. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Logan and Marcus had their sleeping bags sat at the edge of the camp, the main reason was to help Logan go about his very early morning routine. The party discussed previous missions over a small campfire, Logan gathering that adventurers of rank 8 had at least six months of work behind them, with Tsuker at rank 12 having close to a year of experience. The massive gap in timespans was a clear sign to Logan that his progression would come under suspicion if he were to go the route of making his own portal to leave. He had gained the same level as Tsuker in a month, rather than twelve. Reaching the thirty-seventh day on Avanar Logan wasn''t going to see the second month with how close he was to find his exit. If he was reported missing the police should still be on the lookout. Expanding on his story about having travelled for a while before registering helped to hide his quick increase in power, alongside the goblin invasion providing a more understandable leap in strength. It was a common case for many of the adventurers who took up the free reassessments given from the goblin quests after the invasion, that they found their ranks had increased due to the sheer number of enemies. Araxie the Sorceress did bring up a valid point though, making it a sort of complaint, saying that the nobles often had an easier and faster time at increasing their rank. Due to higher quality gear as well as a full array of trinkets they could complete far more quests than the lower class. Outside of equipment they had hired help and family friends in their groups, and since NPCs didn''t get experience reductions it would only help them. Discussion carried on until the party headed to sleep one by one, the personality splits of Logan keeping watch as the group slept the night away.
Awaking to an early beeping alarm in his head, Logan rose an hour ahead of the other party members. This was to practice his new tactic of transference to increase his spells per day whilst in a party. The Spy Bird had ended its duration, so Logan didn''t need to worry about that looking at him as he took Celsius away from the camp. When at a good distance Logan absorbed 10 spells from his flame elemental and used Charge Transfer to convert the charges into 5 MP. It took Logan three sets of five minutes, due to only being able to hold four charges at a time. Afterwards, he sent Celsius back to the camp to swap with Spark, where Logan did the same. Leaving Celsius with 3 MP and Spark with 2 MP, the summons would be more used for their skills and body block capabilities. With his normal array of 3+2 Flame, 1 Necromantic, 3 Summons, *4+1 Dimensional Jaunt, Logan now had 10 MP at hand to spend across any of his spells. If he had the second tier of Summon Horde he could have summoned up a third ally, but it would take some time for them to get to the point of granting Logan any further MP. With this MP, Logan had over doubled his normal spells for the day, bringing him in line for a normal Wizard of his rank. Using an elemental as a lookout made this tactic rather safe, combined with Echo Radar searching for any other forces nearby. This was how Logan would keep up appearances in the cavern, it couldn''t really be done any other way due to the time limits on his charges. Unlike the 2 MP from his periapt, this MP would last until the next morning.
Returning to camp after a half-hour of preparation presented Logan with his party still deeply asleep. He wouldn''t have expected otherwise, as Spark would have made some noise if so. The extra half-hour was spent looking over his expanding status windows, half to say goodbye to this life and half to prepare if he were to get a last-minute skill point. Eventually, the party all woke up to a night that had little in the way of interruptions, most monsters with any intelligence would see a grouping of 8 plus horses and elementals and leave them be. Those crowbolds were more than likely in the wrong place and the wrong time, or assumed the party were much weaker. Clearing their camp, the party saddled up once again and continued on to the cavern that was another two days out. Chatting with his allies Logan was sure that none were aware of his early-morning sojourn away from the camp so he was confident he could do it closer to the dungeon and be fine.
This day brought a sight different from the last, a smaller party of five adventures who were hunting down tree lizards for an alchemist back in Gauntlet. Discussing with the party revealed their bodies made fine elixirs for regeneration or to clear up skin conditions. With Identification, Logan saw them to be from levels 1 through 3. Some of the lizards could fight back, as well as wolves often hunting them, so adventurers would be a better choice than a classless gathering party. The forests were rife with dangers aside from the quests, so it really came down to those with classes to gather these materials. Saying their farewells the two groups split, Logan was put at ease seeing adventurers getting along instead of cutting at each other for easy coin in the wilderness. It reminded him of his time hunting wolves in the communal hunt back in Tinte and the time when he formally entered into a party with Marcus. Outside of the encounter with the other party, Logan''s group had little in the way of resistance this time. Wolves didn''t risk engaging eight horses, and their pack sizes weren''t large enough on this side of the forest to mitigate that fear. With the distance from the crowbold camps, the party were also safe from that threat.
Another night of rest led to another day of travel, though this time Logan didn''t do his MP routine as he wouldn''t really need it, at least in his mind for their traversal. On the last day of their movements through the forest, the party were able to see the large mountain where the Frost Monarch''s Cavern would be located in greater detail. The first sign of such was the temperature, a biting coldness in the air alerted the party to their proximity to the dungeon. The seers had spoken about how this cold was brought on by the resurrection of the Ice King, and since it was only a few months away it was no surprise it got into the low centigrade numbers. Steam shot out from the nostrils of the horses while the party wrapped scarfs around their own mouths to dampen the sharpness of their own intakes of air. Celsius and Spark both let off streams of white mist behind them as their bodies were much hotter than normal. It wasn''t long before the party saw the mountain through the trees, which were lacking their normal foliage. The floor has turned to a hard mud with a sharp loss of any grass to boot, tree bark creaking in the wind as they contracted against the harsh temperatures. "Below, this place is freezing", Cerall cursed. Pulling out a small black rock and crunching it in his teeth, Tsuker replied, "Work''ll heat you up soon enough." Marcus took out similar rocks and threw one to Logan, "Chew on this, it''ll keep you warm." Following the Devout''s lead Logan popped the rock in his mouth and crushed it, as he did so he felt a gravelly substance shoot out and down his throat. It gave off a weird sensation of medicine when he had the flu, heating and cooling him at the same time. As it hit his stomach he felt his hairs stand on end as his body overflowed with interior heat. "Much better than soup", Logan joked. The rest of the party had their own ways of keeping warm, either through additional clothing or magical items. It wouldn''t completely remove the issues of a colder climate but it would certainly make it much more bearable. It wasn''t long before the Spy Bird returned to the party, squawking at Fleur who had created it to be their eye in the sky. "The mountain has some monsters near its base, around the entrance. Seems like at least three blue goblins", Fleur explained to the team. "How''s the run-up? Clear or tree cover?" Logan asked. The bird squawked to which Fleur translated, "A good fifty feet or so of clearing from the trees, though they don''t offer much cover due to the leaves being gone." "If it''s just three blue gobs I can take them out, they aren''t much stronger than muscles", Tsuker announced. The party began to dismount their horses and prepare their gear as they discussed their next steps. "We don''t want the interior alerted before we''re ready. Fleur keep the Spy Bird high while we all attune to our staves", Logan commanded. The party abided by Logan''s orders, the casters who had them attuned to their magical staves to improve their casting of particular spells, though they were all Flame aside from Uhnarr who had a staff to aid his Heal spell. A half-hour passed before they were ready, the bird returning to state that the situation hadn''t changed.
With the casters prepared, Tsuker and Logan scouted ahead together, moving between the thinning trees until they had a sightline on the base of the mountain. It didn''t take long for the pair to see the grandiose design of the mountain and the large maw that peered into its interior. As Fleur had stated Logan spotted three blue goblins who he used Identification on as usual. ¡°Blue Goblins - Goblinoid. Level 3: 16/16 HP, 3/3 MP. This blue-skinned goblinoid has found its home in colder climates or in the presence of colder clientele. Imbued with the frosty powers of their homes, blue goblins often make use of chilly attacks and are more resistant to it to boot. They aren''t much taller than other goblins at 3 and a half feet tall though their clothing is often more encompassing with tunics and trousers. Skills: -. Spells: Frost. Resistance: Damage ?, Earth ?, Fire -25%, Holy ?, Ice 75%, Lightning ?, Shadow ?, Water?, Wind?.¡± "How''s it looking, Logan?" "You''re right, not much stronger than a muscle." "Alright, I''ll take ''em out. Keep your eyes on my back", Tsuker replied as he stood up. Drawing up his daggers, the Rogue pulled his hood over his forehead and got into a crouching position. "Shroud of Shadow", he muttered. Claws of shadow crept from the Rogue''s back around his limbs and face, the shimmering darkness blurring his form until it was completely invisible. The only way Logan knew his ally was still there was the footprints in the mud. Echo Radar found it difficult to track Tsuker''s movements, his dot on the mini-map fading in and out every so often. One of the goblins in the distance shook violently before becoming still and then falling to the floor, seemingly stabbed in the neck. His allies did not notice a thing, the second falling to a stab into its spine, and the last jumping in fright before a dagger landed in his eye. Tsuker appeared shortly after, his skill seemingly lasting ten or so seconds. He waved at Logan who replied with a thumbs-up before returning to his leader. "Scan anymore around here?" "No", Logan replied as he snapped his fingers, "nothing outside of us and the animals." The pair quickly returned to the rest of the group and sorted out their horses by the healthier trees. Fleur sent her Spy Bird on a circle of the mountain''s base for any other hostile while the party moved to the maw to solidify their further plans for the dungeon. --- *** --- Chapter 72 - Ice Lieutenants Returning to the party with their initial cleanout complete, Logan saw his team fully prepared for further locking down of their entrance to the dungeon. It was agreed that they would do a wide sweep on the ground and the air around the base of the mountain to make sure their exit was fully clear, there was talk of patrolling monsters and if those three blue goblins were all there was it seemed lacklustre. Splitting into two teams, the casters and the martials, the group went north and south around the mountain. Surprisingly there were no more threats in sight, though Logan''s half did find the carriages of previous teams, their mounts long since ran off in search of food or safety. The carriages had a lot of their cloth roofs torn apart, the items inside ransacked by men or monsters. Making note of the still usable vehicles the party grouped back up after a half-hour of patrolling, no signs of danger. To make sure they would not be interrupted during their night''s rest before their invasion, the party prepared to clear the entrance chamber. Tsuker, Cerall, and Kreya positioned themselves at the large maw, which was around 20'' tall, weapons at the ready. Nodding to Fleur, Araxi, Uhnarr, and Marcus, Logan lifted his arm. ¡°Flame Shot¡±, he chanted, the largest flame to date forming across his arm that lit up the area brilliantly. Throwing his arm towards the maw caused the flames to coalesce into a ball and fire into the mouth of the mountain, lightning its interior as it flew for a fair distance. The mountain''s outside was mostly mud and rock, though as the fireball made its way inside, the party saw it shift quickly to a large cavern of ice walls and floors. As his spell hit the floor after dipping low enough it exploded into a modest area before dissipating. Everyone remained tense for a few minutes as they awaited enemies to charge them, but nobody came. Kreya yelled out into the maw, but nobody came. ¡°Seems the info was right, the entrance was cleared a long time ago¡±, Cerall announced. Tsuker brought up his bell and dinged it several times, ¡°I can''t detect anything.¡± Logan similarly clicked his fingers to reveal the same result. ¡°Seems our entrance is secured then. Shall we set up camp?¡± Kreya asked as she looked back at Logan. ¡°Yeah, my summons will watch the entrance while we do that.¡± At his instruction both Celsius and Spark moved to just before the opening of the mountain. The rest of the party retreated back somewhat, some moving the carriages over via their horses, others breaking apart some dead wood for makeshift walls and defence. Covering the flanks of their camp the party would be able to have a better defensive fallback than if they were clearly in the open. The plan was always to rest before entering the dungeon, to let any fatigue be left at the door and go through it full of vigour. They needn''t rush things, with so much danger on the horizon and so much money after it they could foster some safety in their mission. With the Spy Bird returning the party was sure they would be moderately safe, ignoring the woes about monsters leaving the cavern. There was plenty of time left for the party to make further plans to deal with the dungeon, though they had already spent most of the three-day travel doing so. Formations were solidified and tactics were confirmed. If they could be any more prepared, Logan didn''t know how. The last thing he could have done was wait around for more members, but that was going to be a long shot with how large the group already was, alongside other factors. With everything set in motion, the party rested for the last time before their dungeon clearing began.
Logan awoke an hour early as he had planned, determined to clear his final dungeon and make it back to Earth. Moving away from the camp he did his new routine of absorbing and transferring his summons'' MP to his own. Preparing his spells as before Logan had 3+2 Flame, 1 Necromantic, 3 Summons, *4+1 Dimensional Jaunt, and 10 MP. He didn''t have a chance up till now to utilize this. Sure, he absorbed and cast spells against the naegren, but this was with a team backing him up. He could strut his stuff as a last hurrah before leaving behind the discrimination of casters. The team eventually woke and prepared themselves similarly, double-checking weapons, shields, and armour for loss of durability. Logan and the casters attuned to their magical staves, and that was it. With their rear pretty much scouted out ahead of time the formation changed to have the martials in the front with the casters at the back, and Logan at the far back. Pushing onwards they approached the mountain.
A biting chill screamed out from the maw of the cavern, the misty air visible as it chewed on the exposed flesh of the adventurers. Crunching on the hot rocks supplied by Marcus helped to fight back against the harsh atmosphere but it was ever-present. Logan buttoned up his coat while the others fastened their scarves harshly. As the party had all passed the boundary of the dungeon they felt the floor beneath their feet shake, the walls vibrating away loose dust and icy grains. Suddenly a violent crashing occurred from behind them, four large icicles shooting from the floor and piercing the ceiling and walls. With their exit cut off the coldness intensified as the heat could no longer enter the cavern. Spinning around to the noise the party stared at it in surprise then began to dart their heads around to locate any further danger. ¡°Fuck, this place turning to a tomb?¡± Tsuker cursed. ¡°Hey, Logan, any info on this?¡± Cerall questioned. ¡°No, nothing. Maybe a new development as the Ice King gets closer to reviving?¡± Logan responded. ¡°Fuck, is this because of me?¡± He thought to himself. Kreya made her way to the back, raised her mace high and smashed it into the wall. The ice caved in slightly with the bludgeoning attack but stood tall. ¡°Damn, sturdy shit¡±, she exclaimed as she continued to smash against it. Five strikes caused the ice to finally smash apart, falling down to reveal a sizeable gap for the party to exit. ¡°There, we should-¡± Kreya began but was swiftly cut off as another icicle shot from the floor to fill the gap she had created. ¡°Looks like if we want to leave we¡¯d have to be quick about it¡±, Cerall announced. ¡°A single Flame should deal with it if it comes to that, though this corridor would make it a bit of a run¡±, Logan calculated. ¡°Well, no use worrying over it, if it keeps remaking itself there must be a spellforce device or creature deeper in creating it. We¡¯ll find it as we clear the place¡±, Cerall continued. Looking down the hallway they now found themselves within, it was around fifty feet long and led into a large dome-roofed area. Logan was beginning to notice a pattern in some of these dungeons with their beginning areas. ¡°Reports say the first room was clear, but better safe than sorry. Uhnarr can you enhance the melee members?¡± Logan instructed. ¡°Essence of power, grant onto others. Enhance Strength, Sustained¡±, the gashriek chanted. As he placed his hand on Cerall the Fighter became surrounded by a faint blue glow before his muscles emboldened and took a sturdier stance. Moving between Cerall, Tsuker, and Kreya, the three were all granted bonuses to their Strength and Constitution. It was a costly enhancement but the introductory portions of dungeons often saw clusters of rooms alerted at once. Since the team planned for a few days of clearing they could easily rest after the durations ended.
Continuing through the hallway, the parties¡¯ footsteps echoed throughout the chamber ahead. Temperatures continued to bite at the group, their extra clothing or magical items fighting back as best they could. Reaching the larger chamber had the lead melee members dart their heads around to look for obvious threats. When none were found the rest of the group pressed on. The chamber was huge, an easy thirty feet to the ceiling with a good hundred feet in each direction from the centre. Sitting in the middle the hallway gave a clear footpath to another hallway leading away from the beginning room. As was stated it was devoid of monsters, but also devoid of corpses. Either they were eaten up or the dwellers of the cavern liked to keep things tidy. Tsuker rang his bell and Logan clicked his fingers, returning positive on the lack of confrontational forces, or negative depending on their personal views. ¡°Glad the intel was solid, heading forward?¡± Tsuker asked. ¡°Carry on, mind any surprise exits in the next hallway¡±, Logan instructed. With the command the party continued onwards, Kreya staring forwards with her mace and shield at the ready, Tsuker eyeing the right flank with his dual-daggers and Cerall the left with his shortsword and buckler. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. However, as the party reached the centre point of the chamber the floor started to shake once again. Dust and icy particles fell from the ceiling as countless stalactites shot downwards, each around 10¡¯ tall. The whole group visibly flinched at the sight and sound, expecting to be impaled, but were thankful that the stalactites stopped before getting close to them. ¡°Fuck me, that was close¡±, Kreya cursed. As Tsuker was about to respond the floor shook yet again, however this time it was more like a prolonged earthquake. With two epicentres, one on the left and the other on the right, the floor started to crack all over, summoning upwards several large icicles. Creating makeshift triangular tombs the icicles shone brightly against the light cast off from the parties¡¯ sources. The icicle tombs then violently exploded, the contents crashing through them with mighty fists and roaring maws. Two giant monsters had been summoned from the floor, a mix of yeti and golem designs. At around 20¡¯ tall they almost glanced the stalactites that had formed, their arms as thick as tree trunks. White fur covered all but their chest and stomach, which were coated in hard blue rock. As the room shook with their ferocity the party took on a defensive formation, Logan eyeing up both the tyrants and mentally commanding, ¡°Identify.¡± ¡°Lieutenant Frost.¡± The window returned a frightful sight, skulls and crossbones topped with golden crowns. One enemy of that danger would be fine, but two? They were at least level 17 adversaries, a death sentence for the casters if they were to get caught. ¡°Kreya, pull anger. Casters retreat to the hallway!¡± Logan shouted as he waved his hand to where they had just come from. ¡°Come Forth!¡± Kreya yelled, the room having another loud voice add to its shaky manner. The lieutenants shifted their ugly faces and their glowing yellow eyes towards the Knight who had drawn their attention. Cerall, using Rush, charged towards the yeti on the left. His red-aura sword slashed through the foe¡¯s leg though failing to puncture its thick hide the same at it did against the crowbolds. Tsuker wasn¡¯t too far behind as he used Dash to catch up and flank to the yeti¡¯s rear to let out Backstabs into its calves. Kreya held her shield high as the right yeti had made its own charge at the taunting Knight, slamming down with a ferocious double-fist smash into her shield. The ground beneath her feet cracked, along with her shield. ¡°Shit¡±, she exclaimed. Araxie and Fleur began to fire off Flames one after another at the right yeti, blasting its side twice before a follow-up from Logan had also found its way into its head. In retaliation, the right yeti roared and raised its left arm, a hole opened up within its palm that produced a large 10¡¯ long icicle spear. Pulling its arm back it dislodged the spear and lunged its hand forward to grab it. Throwing the spear upwards the yeti grabbed it again with an underarm, pulling it back as if it were a pitcher looking to strike his opponent out he launched it towards the casters at the rear. Logan jumped to the side to dodge, but it was a needless movement as it went straight past him and pierced Araxie dead in her chest, impaling her to the ground behind her. A staggering 45 damage had pinned the Sorceress to the floor as she yelled out in pain. Fleur moved quickly to help her friend, melting the spear with a Flame cast. The left yeti had been barraged several times by the duo of Tsuker and Cerall who seemed to have been used to fighting side-by-side. Kreya¡¯s skill seemingly had little effect on the foes ahead, instead, she decided to focus the right yeti to keep its attention off the casters. With a solid fist into Cerall¡¯s face, the Fighter took a walloping 35 damage, a follow-up punch into the stomach sent him flying into a stalactite, dealing 32 and piercing him for a further 33. His body exploded outwards a mist of multi-coloured effects, showing the cancellation of his skills, his mouth letting a stream of blood paint the floor in the scene of a murder. ¡°Cerall!¡± Tsuker yelled. Jumping upwards the Rogue used his daggers on the back of the yeti to climb ever higher. Inflicting further Backstabs but also getting to the point he could jump to his friend. As the Rogue made the jump the yeti caught the man¡¯s leg, slamming him to the floor with a horrifying crunch. Picking him back up again, the yeti continued to slam the defenceless Rogue into the floor to turn it into a student¡¯s splatter painting. Fiery barrages continued to hurl to the right yeti, however, the monster had learnt from the antics of the faraway foes. Snapping stalactites of ice from the ceiling, the foe used several of them to block the incoming flaming balls, effectively negating their attacks. Logan locked eyes with Tsuker as his body was swung upwards again, commanding his rings to allow him to teleport. Imploding and exploding with jets of wind he appeared on the hand of the yeti and grabbed onto his ally, looking across the room he teleported once more and took Tsuker to safety besides Marcus who began to heal the crushed Rogue. ¡°This isn¡¯t looking good, we-¡± Logan began but was cut off by another roar. The room shook, though when didn¡¯t it, as the right yeti summoned up a thick fog. Whilst assumed to be a way to block vision, the fog instead summoned up countless dagger-sized icicles that shot in a 360¡ã coverage from the elite foe. Celsius moved to block Logan, Spark to block Marcus, the elementals taking the brunt of the ranged barrage. Logan¡¯s elementals weren¡¯t sturdy enough, however, and the new attack had decimated both into nothingness. The rest of the party suffered greatly, some of them taking several hits from the onslaught of ice. The left yeti had been making its way to the casters at the back, Cerall being quite stuck as he was impaled in the ceiling, dripping more blood to the floor. ¡°Flame Skystrike¡±, Logan chanted, causing his spell to appear behind his foe and strike down into its back. The yeti stumbled somewhat as it was confused at the attack, but turned its head to continue advancing on the casters. An attack of three more Flames hit the yeti as it continued toward them. Kreya was too busy to aid, her shield shattering from another attack of the right yeti. Summoning up another from her bracer it already showed signs of decay from the first attack that smashed into it. Cerall had finally dislodged himself from the ceiling and fell to a knee on the floor. Downing potions from his satchel he picked up his sword and began to charge down the left yeti. With his healing finished, Tsuker also stood once again and Dashed at the yeti close to the casters. Seeing himself get surrounded, the left yeti roared just like his kin, though this time he smashed into the floor. The icy ground beneath shot upwards, grappling at the adventurers¡¯ legs and trapping them in place. A following roar and pounding of his chest had the yeti then summon up the ranged ice daggers, the mist producing a countless number. Everyone got impaled this time, unable to dodge the blast that came their way. From slashes of swords and crushing of maces to the fiery blasts of magic, the team all escaped further containment. The casters began to run and cast at the same time, Flames either hitting true or being blocked by icicles, Heals being shot towards allies taking brutal attacks. Logan was glad the melee portion of the team had been buffed ahead of time, thinking it had saved them from an early defeat. Though this was a war of attrition, and spells were quickly running out. It was a clear sign that the group had dealt a hefty amount of damage to the left yeti as it roared out in pain, its body being surrounded in a red mist as its eyes changed from yellow to red. Thinking it to be Rage or some similar ability the casters continued to stay far away, leaving Cerall and Tsuker to fight an angry yeti. Kreya had begun her own movements, trying to dodge and avoid the right yeti as best she could to save on her limited supply of shields. If this was how the rest of the dungeon was going to go they were going to have trouble going forward. The troubles reared their ugly heads early though, the left yeti grabbing ahold of Tsuker once more though this time around his arms and chest. Cerall was about to save his ally but was similarly grabbed. Logan teleported once again to save Tsuker, exploding with wind blasts on each end as he took the Rogue far away. Before he was able to teleport back to grab Cerall the yeti had already placed the upper half of the Fighter in its mouth, crunching down on the man with its massive teeth. Teleporting to the back of the yeti, Logan placed his palm on its neck and exclaimed, ¡°Flame Grasp¡±, igniting the yeti in a torrent of deathly fires. The yeti let out its own yell in pain as it stopped bitting onto Cerall. Throwing an arm behind its back the yeti grappled Logan just below his chin and dragged him upside down to his front. With his mouth and eyes free Logan looked to an unoccupied spot below him and teleported again, ¡°Dimensional Jaunt¡±, appearing on the floor he jumped upwards and grabbed onto Cerall and teleported next to Marcus for another patch-up job. Logan was fresh out of spells and rings, leaving only his 5 MP and a single Necromantic in his repertoire. The fight was falling apart, and the two yetis were still standing. ¡°How much bloody health do they have!¡± Logan cursed in his head. ¡°Uhnarr, keep them healed!¡± Logan shouted at the far gashriek, who had been lucky thus far to not be targeted. As his head turned, the yetis went about their next trick. Smashing their fists into the floor it began to shake violently, cracks dancing across the floor until it reached beneath the adventurer¡¯s feet. Expecting another grappling attempt a few jumped in the air in time with the cracks, but it was for nought. Several large walls of ice came crashing upwards, similar to the Wall alterations Logan had used before. However, this new one was seemingly endless and much more ferocious. Araxie was the first to be brought up, the large wall of ice dragging the Sorceress to the ceiling and crushing the stalactites that had formed early. A horrendous crunch was heard as the woman¡¯s bones were ground down, a haunting squelching of mashing meat, and the horrifying spray of blood that erupted out the sides of the wall. Logan¡¯s eyes went wide in horror as he saw it occur, and dread filled his mind as he saw the section of his party list that had Araxie placed on it accrue a large red x. Quickly he moved his eyes to the floor to notice the next wall, he saw it a second before it erupted under Fleur¡¯s legs. ¡°Dimension-¡± he started to yell, but his voice was cut off as he saw the large wall ascend again, crushing the Wizard against the ceiling, his party menu blaring a large red x yet again. Forgetting the notion of tracking the wall outbursts he darted his head to Marcus, ¡°-al Jaunt!¡± Logan¡¯s body whirred out with a wind blast, the ground previously beneath his own feet skyrocketing to a death press to the ceiling. Appearing with a pleading gaze he reached out his arm to grab Marcus, the cloth of his tunic wrapped around the Spellthief¡¯s fingers. Another chant started to escape Logan¡¯s mouth, as the floor beneath his and Marcus¡¯s feet started to crack. --- *** --- Chapter 73 - Bloody Tears and Icy Veins Chaos reigned on the battlefield that was the Frost Monarch¡¯s Cavern. Araxie and Fleur had been crushed by massive walls of ice that erupted from the floor to the ceiling, a finale attack of the yeti-golem amalgamate monsters. Logan had used his penultimate teleportation to reach Marcus, his ally of over a month and a man with whom he had become so close, hoping he could at least save his friend. Almost stabbing his own palm with his fingernails, Logan gripped onto Marcus¡¯s robes tighter than anything in his life. His mouth uttered the incantation that would save his and his ally¡¯s life, but each syllable brought with it the deathly cracks of the ice beneath them that signalled the rising of another wall of cold death. While his mind was full of his thoughts Logan was unable to hear the raging sound of a lion and rushing wind to his side, a massive yellow mirage depiction of the canine held within it a charging Kreya. The same skill that Marsh Quay had used so long ago, General''s Charge, was this time being used to push an ally aside rather than to push a foe down. Logan¡¯s arm was the first thing to be hit by the force, pushing it into his side. The rest of the yellow aura picked up Marcus with it, the trio charging far off, away from the wall that emerged and caught their feet as they went tumbling to the floor with Kreya in tow. Rolling and bouncing upwards, they just barely avoided a crushing death into the ceiling. The Spellthief rolled around and spun to his feet, his left arm entirely numb from the bash he just received, and his staff at his feet. Kreya stood next, a battered shield on her arm and blood dripping from beneath her armour. ¡°Logan, get us out of here!¡± she yelled at her leader. Raising her shield reflexively to her head she blocked another blow from the right yeti, the floor beneath her cracking under the force as her shield shattered into three pieces. With the remaining portion Kreya pushed upwards to remove the arm from her head, spinning around she threw her mace at the head of the yeti and dealt a solid blow to its chin, swerving its head back as saliva flew from its maw. Kreya¡¯s mace flew back to her hand whilst coated in a yellow aura. Logan¡¯s numb arm was unusable so he quickly threw his staff into his inventory, ignoring any repercussions of such. ¡°Flame Shot!¡± he yelled as he threw his good arm down the hallway. A fleeing ball of fire shot across the room to the hallway, but was blocked by another crashing wall of ice. Marcus had stood by that point and began to heal both Logan and Kreya so that they could get the rest of the party out of this situation. Then, an inhumane yell was followed by yet another crunch and tearing of flesh, though this time it was Tsuker who had avoided a wall of ice only to get grappled and torn in two with his arms and legs caught in the hands of the left yeti. Blood sprayed across the room as the insides of the Rogue leaked onto the floors and into the yeti¡¯s open mouth. ¡°Fucker!¡± Cerall yelled as he swung out at the left yeti, displays of red, blue, and yellow blinded the Fighter against the yeti¡¯s attempts at defence. ¡°Die! Die! Die!¡± the Fighter yelled as his combo attack assaulted his foe. ¡°Logan! What is the hold-up?¡± Kreya shouted as her shield was backhanded away by the right yeti. Forming another, smaller, one to block the following strike showed her lessening defences. ¡°I got nothing left, fuck!¡± Logan cursed as he looked around. His 2 MP wasn¡¯t going to save the party, barely even himself. He needed 2 to teleport. ¡°We need to make a run for it, I can¡¯t teleport us out of here ¡®and¡¯ destroy the wall outside.¡± ¡°Uhnarr, Cerall! You guys got a clear line to the exit?¡± Kreya yelled as she forcefully hit her shield against another jab of the right yeti. ¡°Give. Me. A. Minute¡±, Cerall called out between hits and parries against his foe. Looking to the side quickly he gave a response, ¡°Yeah, but they got Uhnarr too!¡± Logan scanned for the gashriek, but all he saw was another pool of blood and the slumped mess of an upper body that cleared the wall. As Kreya continued to defend and retaliate against her own monstrous foe Logan saw her shield breaking once again. Throwing his arm out he incanted, ¡°Necromantic Skystrike¡±, to which tendrils appeared at the back of the yeti and pulled at its reared-back arm. This gave Kreya enough time to detach her current shield and summon up another. ¡°I got one left!¡± she informed the party. Staring daggers at the two large foes before him Logan had no choice but to delve into his potion reserves, ignoring any factor of hiding his abilities any longer. Hitting his hand into the space next to him, several green cubes of data and static electricity appeared and absorbed his hand into nothingness. Pulling out of the spacial tear, Logan drew out two spell slot potions. Gripping the corks with his teeth he tore the vials open and downed the purple liquid. His system updated telling him he could apply the effects to any first-level spells he had prepared, selecting Flame and gaining two new uses for it. ¡°Flame Shot!¡± Logan called out twice, aiming at the left yeti that was dealing hefty blows to Cerall who barely stood. Two streams of fire came hurtling from Logan¡¯s palm towards the large foe, and since it was preoccupied with the Fighter the blasts hit true in its chest. The yeti faltered to a knee, showing the wounds it had suffered to this point being just enough to bring it low. Cerall swung his blade back into a reverse hold and leapt upwards, slashing with a spin his blade carved through the yeti¡¯s throat and out the other side. A large decapitated head smashed into the icy floor, denoting the felling of the first foe. Dragging a further three vials from his inventory, Logan downed his last spell restoring potions. He hadn¡¯t planned on using them so early, but it was either victory or retreat with them, or certain doom without them. ¡°Cerall, move to the exit. I¡¯ll get us-¡± Logan started to command before he saw the yeti turn and aim its paw, ¡°Dodge!¡± Cerall had already begun his run before hearing the latest command, rolling to the floor he was just barely able to avoid another ice spear skewering his chest, instead hitting his leg and pinning it to the floor. The Fighter yelled out in pain yet again as he began to cut at the ice to free himself. ¡°Marcus circle around to the exit, Kreya try and keep focus. I¡¯ll get Cerall¡±, Logan commanded as he turned his head to his allies. Running over to the Fighter he shot another Flame at the spear to melt it quickly, sliding to Cerall¡¯s side to wrap his arm under the Fighter¡¯s and pick him up. ¡°Can¡¯t do this forever!¡± Kreya returned as she parried with her mace and blocked with her second to the last shield. Cerall hobbled to one foot, the other leg barely being attached and slowly reforming to have any use. The healing was similar to what Logan had felt in the past, it would be useable but heavily scarred unless it was fully removed in which case he¡¯d require regeneration magic. ¡°How many¡­ teleports you got?¡± Cerall breathed out. ¡°One¡±, Logan replied solemnly. Cerall titled his head downwards at the painful response. ¡°Fuck¡­ go.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t get us all out with that. Get your friend and leave.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t-¡± Cerall pushed Logan off of him, putting all of his weight on his good leg. A circle of wind flowed towards his final foot as the Fighter ducked down, ¡°Get out!¡± he shouted as his body rushed backwards a final time as he spun in the air, pushing Logan to the side a bit more. At the end of his Rush, Cerall jumped again with the aid of his skill and planted his sword into the cheek of the yeti, using his body¡¯s weight to swing around and rear its head back with a backflip. Marcus had made plenty of distance already and shot another Heal at Logan and Kreya, the Knight running away as she saw an opening appear. The right yeti grabbed hold of the Fighter who had planted its weapon deep in its face, a tight grip crushing Cerall¡¯s armour into his body. Blood splattered outwards as the yeti dragged the body to its front to investigate it. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°Flame Shot¡±, Logan called out again, blasting the final yeti in the hopes of freeing Cerall. Grabbing his periapt of mana he blasted another two times thereafter. A blast of fire or three did little to interrupt the monstrous foe as it smashed Cerall into the ground, planting his upper body beneath the ice. Another red x signing his death to Logan. Leaving Logan, Marcus, and Kreya as the final party members. ¡°This is just like the other oracles, just like Ahren!¡± Logan thought to himself in horror. ¡°Come on, around the wall!¡± Logan commanded as he darted to the left. Marcus and Kreya followed suit as they rounded the wall of ice that had frozen the dripping blood from a previous ally. On its other side they saw the hallway that led to the outside, blocked by icicles that Logan was sure a single Flame would remove. All they had to do was get a sightline and they could teleport out of there. A now focused yeti would not let their escape be easy however, icicles shattered the floor in front of them to create another prison that exploded forth the yeti whose skills seemed endless. Rearing back its fist, the yeti¡¯s limb started to glow red. ¡°Logan!¡± Kreya yelled as she saw the attack aimed at the mage. Jumping to the left she planted herself in front of Logan with her shield raised high. The yeti¡¯s fist collided with it, and without any skill usage due to them all being on cooldown Kreya took the full force. Several cracks and bending of metal were heard as Kreya was sent flying backwards, hitting Logan, and both crashing through the wall of ice behind them. Logan rolled on the floor as he was flung half the room away from the exit, pushing his arms against the floor he was able to stand himself back up. Eyeing up Kreya he saw her meekly rise, her shield having imbedded itself into her chest and face, her bones having snapped through her arm, a dainty hand dangling over her left shoulder. Kreya¡¯s voice was a mess of moans and cries, she fumbled with a satchel at her side but her obviously disorientated state made it hard to find purchase of a potion. Logan skipped to her aid, grabbing a vial and pouring it into her opened mouth. ¡°That bastard won¡¯t let us leave here alive¡±, Kreya coughed out. ¡°Marcus!¡± Logan yelled over to his ally as he noticed he did not get flung with them. A muffled voice returned as Logan could only eye so much through the partially destroyed wall, but he saw the shifting legs of his ally and heard a menacing smash as the Devout was flung into the floor on his back. Marcus was unconscious at -4 HP. ¡°Fuck!¡± Logan yelled. He had to resort to his final measure, and cursed he hadn¡¯t done so earlier. Punching into his inventory he dragged out the bastarn coven heart he had prepared so long ago, Kreya was totally confused at the inventory system as she finally saw it. Hesitating a second, Logan shoved the beating vessel into his mouth and gorged on it. His mouth felt like it was on fire as the blood seeped into the gaps of his teeth, his throat a lake of lava, and his stomach an inferno. The pain brought him to his knees as his humanity was battered by the terrible forces of a demon. Kreya stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder, ¡°Hey, Logan. What was that?¡± she asked, perplexed at the heart he had eaten. A window appeared to inform Logan of his new development. ¡°You have reached Demon Stage 1, you are now eligible to cast any demon-clan spells that you know. Your attributes have all increased by 1. You have unlocked the skill Bloodcasting.¡± With the increase to his Constitution, Logan had gained just enough health to return the use of his left arm. He didn¡¯t have time to fully read his new skill, but he knew he could spend HP for MP with it. ¡°A new power¡±, Logan responded as he stood back up. ¡°What¡¯s the plan?¡± Kreya asked. Logan looked over the Knight, her shield was planted into her and her right arm was useless. Even with his new powers, he was wary if he could take down the yeti. The only option was a retreat. ¡°We get the fuck out of here. Ready yourself.¡± Logan placed a hand onto Kreya as he eyed up the yeti. The beast, now out of foes, made his own way through the wall of ice, bashing through it with its arm. Looking to the space behind the foe Logan spent his final 2 MP, ¡°Dimensional Jaunt¡±, warping himself and Kreya to the yeti¡¯s flank. Darting his head around, Logan got a glimpse of Marcus and ran towards a slide to grab onto his unconscious friend. ¡°Flame Shot¡±, he called out to blast into the face of the yeti that turned to face them. The flames circled around the considerable foe, igniting his fur as he finally failed a saving throw against the burning effects of the spell. Through the flames came another icy spear from the palm of the yeti, this time piercing through Logan¡¯s chest near his right shoulder and pinned to the floor behind him. Blood danced in the air from the attack as the man yelled out in pain just like the others had. Logan had all the luck in the world with the spear missing anything too vital, or parts that would not close up on their own with his classed status. ¡°Fuck off!¡± Logan yelled as he grabbed onto the icicle, ¡°Flame Grasp¡±, he incanted through gritted teeth pouring out blood. Flames wrapped around the spear and shot across its length, hitting the hand of the yeti again as it cauterized the hole that produced the spear. The fire cascaded out from the palm of the yeti and surrounded it fully, filling the room with steam. The flames eating away at the yeti also produced a beautiful array of red and orange colours across the blue designs of the chamber. Flickering lights danced across the blood that covered the floor, changing a somewhat slippery surface into a sticky one. Logan held onto the spear for dear life to let the spell finish completely. Picking up Marcus with one arm, Logan stood weakly as his own health was getting low. Kreya now in front of them could at least block a bit of the next attack, which she had to do almost immediately. Punching through the flames, the yeti aimed to finish off the caster but was met by Kreya. Letting loose her own left fist she cried out a skill that had just come off of its cooldown or Kreya was saving in reserve, ¡°Hard Skin¡±, she called, her body being enveloped in a red shield coating. The meeting fists rebounded off one another as Kreya winced at the force of an arm over twice the size of hers. Any follow-up would miss, however, as Logan placed his hand on her back and creaked his head to the hallway. ¡°Dimensional Jaunt¡±, he commanded, his blood coming to a boil as he Bloodcasted away his HP to warp far from the foe. Now within the archway that led to the hallway the trio were almost out of the danger zone. The yeti¡¯s fist went wide as he narrowly missed the teleporting force and careened his fist into the air. Smashing the ceiling it tore out an ice stalactite and threw it toward the trio. Kreya bashed her bad shoulder into Logan to push him to the side, the stalactite piercing her skill through her good shoulder, picking her up with its velocity, and pinning her against the wall far away from the pair. ¡°Kreya!¡± Logan yelled as he looked at his ally a good thirty feet away. ¡°Get¡­ get out of here¡±, she weakly replied. ¡°Wait, I¡¯ll get you-¡± Logan continued as he began to run to her side, but was cut off by the heavy stomps of a charging yeti. ¡°...Come. Forth!¡± Kreya yelled as she activated her skill once more. The charging changed into a leap as the yeti jumped over Logan and landed between him and the Knight. Countless icicles broke apart from the yeti¡¯s head. ¡°Fuck. Fuck!¡± Logan cursed in his head. Darting his head down the corridor he chanted, ¡°Dimensional Jaunt¡±, as he lessened his HP a further 20. Landing with his foot on the icicle wall Logan blasted it apart with a Flame cast, the ice exploding out into the wilderness, letting a rush of cold air shoot out with it. Running and jumping through the gap, Logan landed with Marcus atop him, the ice forming behind them both. The loud thud of the ice blocking the entrance was followed by the faint muffled sound of crunching in the dungeon. As Logan pushed Marcus off of him he stared bloody tears at his party menu that was full of bloodied Xs. His stomach lurched as he had cast over a third of his health away, but the worst pain was when he double-checked his list of allies. ¡°Marcus? Marcus!¡± he screamed as he clambered over his ally. In a vain hope, he dragged out a potion from his inventory and poured it into Marcus¡¯s mouth. ¡°Come on buddy, wake up¡±, he pleaded as he noticed no movement from his friend. Trying to perform CPR he breathed into Marcus¡¯s mouth and compressed his chest. ¡°Wake up, come on. Don¡¯t leave me!¡± he shouted at the body, continuing to press down. ¡°This wasn¡¯t meant to be how it ended¡±, Logan spoke as he looked at Marcus¡¯s face, ¡°I was sure we¡¯d be fine¡±, he said as he glared at the entrance. After repeated attempts at revival, Marcus¡¯s body lay still. ¡°Marcus. I¡¯m sorry¡±, he continued as he leant back on his knees. With his head tilted to the sky, Logan let out a long shout, echoing into the distance. Falling to his forearms he punched the floor over and over, bloodying his knuckles further and creating a crater in the mud. ¡°Fuck!¡± he yelled, over and over as he cursed the outcome of his actions. ¡°Is this meant to be the end for all oracles? What is the point!?¡± He cried out with his head against the floor, the earthen colours mixing with the blood that covered the Spellthief. ¡°Vokka! Is this what you want? Tell me!¡± Logan yelled skyward, his pleas for an audience with his kidnapper declined yet again. The only response he got was a hidden away experience reward for the lieutenant frost his party had defeated and a twenty-four-hour timer attached to Marcus. --- *** --- Chapter 74 - Bleached Bloodstains Logan was galloping along atop Carmen, Marcus strewn across his own horse as they followed behind by their reins. Blood began to dry across the Spellthief¡¯s face and clothing, his hands dyed red from a hair-distance death experience. Dragging a vial from his inventory, Logan found his body to be stiffer than usual with the added scar near his right shoulder. A stiff rotation of his arm led to him downing a healing potion in preparation for a bastard monster or a dastard traitor. The cool liquid brought down his boiling interior, a mess of emotions and adrenaline combined with the demonic power that had run through his veins some time prior. Checking his health he saw the daunting negative fifty being applied to his maximum from Bloodcasting. The array of bonuses to his attributes and the ability to trade health for spells spoke a lot for the power of taking the demonic steps. Even taking the first of thirteen steps on the staircase to full demonhood gave a boost most would kill for, vampires, in essence, killed themselves to start at the third stage. Outside of the boost in power Logan didn¡¯t feel much different, hopefully, there would be no further repercussions to his actions. Seeing the outcome of his escape quest lining up with the others he had heard about, Logan counted his blessing that he was still alive after attempting it. His group wasn¡¯t any weaker than the others though, he had well over the average in terms of levels. Was the portal quest just a death trap in that case? An exciting scene for the deities that were playing games with the players¡¯ lives. Checking his quest log, Logan saw his latest quest was still there for another attempt, though with the additional objective of having no ally die crossed out. ¡°Who¡¯s even going to bother taking that place on with so many groups failing? It might just end with the monarchy sorting it out¡±, Logan thought to himself.
Logan¡¯s head was a hazy mess, the screaming a distant echo at the back of his head which made him feel as if it was still going on. The nighttime brought with it a horrific atmosphere, as if ghosts followed his pace. Placing Marcus¡¯s corpse against a tree Logan threw himself beside his friend. ¡°Why¡¯d you have to stick with me? You¡¯d be breathing and chatting if you had left when I told you. Vokka¡¯s name enticed you, and my hands signed your death certificate¡±, he spoke softly as he looked to his side between staring at the floor. Raising up his knee to wrap his hands around he continued, ¡°I can bring you back, just need to get back to Gauntlet¡­ If they accept loans, I can give up collateral. My failures should not have you cash the cheques that death demands.¡± Looking in the direction they had just come from Logan imagined the fleeing horses he had freed before starting his return journey. ¡°If they do bring you back, I fear you¡¯ll say something that absolves me. It wasn¡¯t my fault, right?¡± Logan started as he looked back at Marcus, ¡°Out of my hands, my control, I couldn¡¯t predict it. Sounds like you alright. Can do no wrong.¡± Rolling up a sleeve the Spellthief inspected a large bruise on his left arm, ¡°I guess this is all that¡¯s left of Kreya. A scar and a bruise, if I heal them away, that¡¯s all of her gone. Anyone else would say it¡¯s a great outcome. You think the hall will inform her family? I feel it¡¯s only right I go tell Cassius about his guildies.¡± Opening up his party menu to see the fading images of his now-dead companions he gritted his teeth, ¡°They might not even be real. Hell, if they died won¡¯t they go to their own heavens? If a deity brought me from my world in a fashion that would kill anyone else, why not save them and send them elsewhere? Right? Fuck, if the deities here are real, they are fine. I didn¡¯t do anything wrong. It¡¯s not on me¡±, Logan reconciled half-assedly. The night passed as Logan ran through the encounter in his head over and over, the faces of his fallen allies flashing in his mind¡¯s eye and their cries deafening him to the leaves rustling in the wind. His eyes finally fell and took him to sleep.
Logan¡¯s eyelids began to flutter as he was slowly exiting his rest. ¡°Logan!¡± a female voice shouted at the Spellthief, his eyes darting open to the blinding light of the morning. Looking around as he dashed to his feet Logan was unable to see who had called out to him, clicking his fingers continued to detail he was alone if not for normal animals. Rubbing his eyes with his hands caused them to sting from the imprinting of blood, resorting to using his Clean mick to wash himself of the previous day. Even though they were now sparkling white, Logan couldn¡¯t help but feel his hands were rough and covered in muck. Compulsively rubbing them on his clothing as if he were coming out of a restroom he went about his morning routine. Summoning up Celsius and Spark after their deaths in the cavern. Celsius stretched out wide as his flames exploded into life, ¡°Ah! A good morning, bit chilly. How¡¯d our fight¡±, he began to speak but stopped as he saw Marcus¡¯s motionless body, ¡°Oh¡­¡± Spark, sparked, into life with his electric jolts before bowing to Logan, ¡°I am glad to find myself in your presence, Sir. I apologise for my poor showing in that last encounter.¡± Sighing loudly Logan addressed his companions, ¡°I¡¯d rather not go into what happened. I just need MP to teleport back to Gauntlet.¡± The elementals accepted Logan¡¯s request, partially because they were parts of his personality and understood him better than most, and also because the corpse of Marcus created a mood that really didn¡¯t need a needle to burst it.
Absorbing and transferring 12 MP, Logan dismissed his summons and mounted the horses yet again. This teleport was a bit more close-knit due to having to touch Marcus and his horse for the teleport, rather than Marcus placing a hand on Logan¡¯s shoulder. Utilizing his monocular, Logan teleported 12 miles at a time and used up ten Dimensional Jaunts to cover over 100 miles. With the combined efforts of magic and horsepower, Logan and Marcus arrived back at Gauntlet in impeccable timing. The guards at the gate began to wave at Logan who knew him through his previous quests but also as an acquaintance of Marcus, though their attitudes changed harshly as they saw him pass by with a dead Marcus jostling around atop his horse. With a final teleport, thanks to absorbing more spells than usual from his summons, Logan and Marcus appeared outside of a large church dedicated to Pondress. A large set of half yellow and half blue orbs were depicted on the huge wooden doors that were reinforced with metal. Logan was piggybacking Marcus, his friend¡¯s head laying low on his shoulder. Opening the door wide so that it didn¡¯t hit him in the wind, Logan entered into the main hall of the church. A loud choir was heard further within as Logan looked around to find any form of directions to the revival area. Thankfully, next to the door was a Devout greeter. ¡°Welcome warrior, are you here for burial or revival?¡± the man asked with an understanding tone, even with a seemingly harsh topic. ¡°Revival, please¡±, Logan replied as he picked Marcus up on his back as he was slipping. The devout picked up a long wooden ladle from a nearby fountain pedestal, flicking water over each of Logan¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Be it from mortal or demon, may your spark be reignited¡±, the man recited as he flicked the water. ¡°Please, this way¡±, he continued as he placed the ladle back into the fountain and waved his hand to a nearby door. Logan followed without question, his senses burning somewhat from the liquid that had soaked into his and Marcus¡¯s clothing. It had a strong smell of burnt wood and lime zest. The Devout pulled on a metal knocker, unlocking the door and leading Logan through a stone hallway. The walls were designed as large archways, allowing the bypassers to look over into a nearby garden that the other Devouts were tending to. ¡°Do you accept loans?¡± Logan asked pensively to the back of the Devout. Without turning around the man replied, ¡°We do, if you can offer up services or items equaling the cost. You can then pay in instalments to recover your left items or pay the difference.¡± ¡°I have some rings totalling the price of a twenty-four-hour revival¡±, Logan replied, thinking about his Dimensional Jaunt rings. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Let us pray you were hasty in your travel here.¡±
The pair eventually reached another large door, this one was made of pristine marble that had carvings of waving lines that crossed into endless eights. Logan identified this as a depiction of spellforce, the concept of transmuting and transporting the energies of the world and the self. Knocking with a single knuckle on several parts of the door had it light up a bright yellow, opening on its own to the Devout. Walking inside with Logan close behind the pair found themselves in a large room, a ceiling that went to 50¡¯ and the walls covered in statues of the different ones from above. In the centre of the room was a large marble slab table. Waving his hand over the slab the Devout spoke, ¡°Place the revival recipient here, please.¡± Logan did as he was told, making sure to softly land Marcus¡¯s head on the slab. As he did so the Devout who had led him here rang a bell that echoed in the chamber and out the door, most likely alerting others to the ordeal. ¡°Please sign on this document and produce the items in question for collateral¡±, the man instructed as he handed Logan a piece of parchment and quill. Glancing over the document revealed it to have no real hostile intention, a common contract that obligated Logan to pay 10 gold within 1 month, or have the debt increase by 10% per month afterwards. Logan took off two of his Dimensional Jaunt rings and showed them to the man, he nodded in agreement and waved his hands over Marcus¡¯s corpse. He confirmed that it would be a first-stage revival and the rings were acceptable. Logan signed the contract, the parchment splitting into two copies as he had finished, one yellow that the Devout kept and one blue that Logan kept. ¡°Revivals are a weighty experience. It will take a day before you can see your ally. Might you return tomorrow evening to see his progress?¡± Logan¡¯s answer was interrupted by the shovelling of feet and the flapping of cloaks from other Devouts entering the room. ¡°Thank you. I suppose I will come back then¡±, he said as he viewed the others enter.
Leaving the revival chamber and the church in total, Logan had returned to the city streets, a young day in his hands but with a vacant mind on what to fill it with. People were going about their daily lives, while he had barely survived a massacre a bare day earlier. Hitting his back against the wall of the church, Logan slid to the floor. Logan¡¯s body continued to throb from the battering, piercing, and sacrificing he had partaken in with the previous day. His max health was still reduced by 40 due to the Bloodcasting, and even with its appearance being his salvation the Spellthief still thought about how he could have approached the battle. Dimensional Jaunt could have been used aggressively to allow him to use Flame Grasp, dealing heavier damage to bring the yetis down quicker. Melee combat hardly worked well against stronger foes or even equal footing who were versed in fighting spellcasters. Speed was key to finishing a fight before MP and HP were the prices paid for safety. But then it could have led to his death instead of the others if he were caught without an escape. Mentally commanding his system to bring up his quest menu Logan saw the debt added to his list, 10 gold in 30 days. Another timer hovered next to his quest that noted the time he could see Marcus alive again. ¡°It¡¯s his fault¡±, a male voice called out. Logan snapped out of his concentration as he swore voices were swirling in his head yet again, but as he looked around he saw a familiar face. ¡°Logan, I knew it was you. This is the lad whose fault it is our coffers are overflowing. How the below are ya lad!¡± a cheery merchant spoke, one of those that Logan had met when he brought back the stolen goods from the bandit cave. Standing up he could see the merchant was walking with a younger man whose hands were grasping onto parchment and quill, most likely taking notes as he looked like some sort of intern or understudy. ¡°Hello again, business is good I take it?¡± Logan replied as he tried to hide his current state. ¡°Absolutely brilliant good sir. You know, a guild had a taste of some of the rations we served up, after you retrieved them, and they signed up a contract for one of their expeditions. Jubilus days, I¡¯ve had to increase my workforce with the new orders¡±, the merchant continued, pointing to the man next to him, ¡°This here is my new secretary.¡± ¡°On the up and up then, glad I could help.¡± ¡°I will say, sir, anytime you complete a hunt you help a handful of hands. I was forewarned of notes on my caravans by one of your hunts and since I changed up dates and times I¡¯ve had no such worries since.¡± ¡°Then I guess I won¡¯t be helping you any further with that spring of luck.¡± ¡°Who knows, I¡¯ve heard things here and there. With this cold snap heading on through I wager I¡¯ll be tasked with aiding food supplies due to the stunted farms.¡± ¡°Ah, yes. Speaking of the cold snap, I need to be somewhere.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t let me hold you, sir¡±, the man replied as he looked at his worker, ¡°Come along now, son.¡± The pair walked off as Logan waved them goodbye, a breath of joy washed over Logan as his previous deeds were still helping people past the initial aid. Rubbing his hands across his face Logan felt the tinge of roughness in his chest yet again. Feeling over his new wound he found it was quite a large circular patch of scar tissue, messing with his range of movement. Rotating his arm as if he was preparing to pitch a baseball, Logan moved away from the church. If only he had any teleportations left for the day he could avoid the gazes of the adventurers he passed or those who wanted to knock around a caster due to past prejudices. A few of said antagonisers did approach Logan but a quick step and even quicker response of, ¡°No¡±, allowed him a reprieve from those who just wanted a quick coin or boost to their egos.
Finally reaching the Lightbeam guild house Logan gave a few solid knocks on its front door, the oorans in the windows above spreading their wings and cawing at the noise. Debrek answered the door within a few seconds, his post was right next to it so it wouldn¡¯t haven¡¯t taken long unless he was deeper in the building. Opening the door the attendant took on a smile as he remembered the Spellthief, ¡°Logan, good to see you again. Are you here to sign up?¡± ¡°No actually, I was wondering if I could talk to Cassius. Is he in?¡± Logan said as he looked off to the side of the street. Opening the door wider Debrek answered, ¡°Sorry, both Cassius and our second in command are off on a guild raid northwards. Aiding in another guild¡¯s mission. Dreadful opportunities lately.¡± Trying to butt his way into the explanation Logan spoke, ¡°So is the guild house empty?¡± ¡°We have a couple of members here out of work. No one of any authority. What do you wish to discuss?¡± Debrek replied as he rubbed his chin. ¡°I need¡±, Logan started as he rubbed his hands on his sides subconsciously, as if trying to remove the blood that wasn¡¯t there, ¡°to inform someone of some deaths of your guildies.¡± Debrek stood frozen for a few seconds before breaking his still image, ¡°I see. Please, come inside.¡± With the door wide open and the attendant at the side, Logan walked into the house, Debrek closing the door behind him. The attendant moved to the bar area and pulled out a large book, flipping through its page he also pulled to the side a piece of yellowed parchment. ¡°I take it you were unable to bring their bodies back with you¡±, the attendant asked formally as if he were trying to keep personal feelings out of the equation. ¡°No. They¡­ were either torn in half or eaten¡­¡± Logan responded as he looked to the floor, bloodied blurry images in his mind. Debrek made a claw with his right hand and placed it over his chest near his heart, ¡°May the Sire of the Forest find a place for you in his forest¡±, he prayed with his head tilted down. ¡°You think they moved onto the next life?¡± Logan asked as if to justify his earlier thoughts. ¡°It¡±, Debrek started as he took a short break to look to the side, ¡°is a debatable concept. None who have permanently died and saw that seat in the Above or the Below has contacted us. Many have faith, but many also believe that death is a finality.¡± ¡°What about the seers? The casters who can make portals to far-off places or other planes?!¡± ¡°I have heard nothing from those, nor is it a word amongst the masses.¡± Logan slumped his shoulders as his thoughts shifted between the idea of a paradise awaiting his fellows to the possible fact that they no longer exist. His fists balled up as his forearms tensed in anger. ¡°Sir? Are you ok?¡± Debrek asked as he looked at the solemn Spellthief. ¡°Yeah. Just¡­ let me know when Cassius is back, would you? I am staying at the Meek Moat Inn.¡± ¡°The hunter¡¯s inn? I know of it. I shall send word on their return.¡± Logan gave a quick nod and left the guild, he didn¡¯t want to spend any more time in that place, all it did was remind him of the people he had lost. Compounding his thoughts with the words of a native, Logan¡¯s emotions swirled into accepting the deaths of his comrades and letting his anger overflow. His body trembled against the shut door of Lightbeam, his cooling blood an irritation that pushed him close to madness. Rubbing his hands across his jacket to remove the stains that weren¡¯t there painted him to be a twitchy fellow to the passing adventurers. Pushing off from the doors, Logan started the long walk back to the inn. Without any teleportations left in the day he had to harbour his anger a little while longer before he could let it out behind walls. Keeping to the side of the path to avoid the main foot traffic Logan was able to hasten his return, though trodding through muddy pools and manoeuvring around the shifting entrances of buildings. Eventually taking an alleyway to avoid the main path, Logan avoided the more common duelling and match areas of the adventurer district. His detour brought with it a different soundscape, full of creaking wood, sloshing of water from buckets tossed from the higher windows, and the punching of flesh. But the last one was not a welcome sound, Logan turned his head to see a band of ruffians roughing up a robed individual, their blue robe sullied by brown mud and red blood. Logan tightened his own fists and gritted his teeth as he moved to intercept the bully session. --- *** --- I am Logan. Chapter 75 - Anger Spiral The punctuation of fists into flesh dotted the alleyway with the signs of anger and wickedness. Logan¡¯s eyes flashed against what little light prevailed between the tall walls of the buildings that hid the depraved nooks of Gauntlet. Identification showed four thugs of Fighter and Knight classes, levels 2 through 4. Their descriptions left little light in the dark of their pasts. Their victim was a level 2 Sorcerer whose face was a mess of blue and black against what would normally have been tan skin. Logan¡¯s fury rose as he snuck up on the encounter, it growing further as he heard their conversation. ¡°Think you can just ignore us? Caster trash like you should know their place. Do the work and fuck off afterwards.¡± ¡°Yeah, and to think we were gonna grace you with a third pay rate after that duel. We¡¯re being generous here!¡± The Sorcerer could only try and let out an apology that he shouldn¡¯t ever have had to make to these kinds of people. Logan saw another raised fist about the strike at the Sorcerer, raising his own arm in retaliation. ¡°Force!¡± he called out, a wave of grey energies flowing around his shoulder to his palm and shooting outwards a ball of powerful magic. The orb of Force hit straight into the side of the Fighter¡¯s face and sent him flying to a wall far away, the combined damage of the spell and the environmental hit knocking him out. Running ahead he planted a firm hand into the back of one of the Knights and called out, ¡°Flame Grasp¡±, igniting the Knight in a disastrous 116 damage but was capped to bring the foe to -1 HP due to Safecasting being active. With the two fallen bullies, the other two jumped in shock at the preemptive strike against their gang. One of the final Fighters shouted at the Spellthief, ¡°The fuck are you? You know who-¡± he began. Logan wasn¡¯t about to listen to their words any further, jumping to the man¡¯s side and landing his Goblin-Killer into the man¡¯s back for 34 damage and almost killing him in the process. Dragging the blade out to block the longsword slash of the final Knight had the metals¡¯ clang fill the alleyway replacing the bullying soundscape with that of a fight. With his left hand, Logan blasted out another Force into the man which easily pushed him up into the air, slashing his blade to the side Logan threw his left hand to follow the Knight and aim downwards with a final Force to push the foe to the floor with a mighty crash, cracking the stonework somewhat. Since Logan was fighting classed beings he didn¡¯t have to worry much about his attacks continuing to bleed them out, especially since his attacks had the skill to prevent accidental death, and his dagger strikes were not aimed to be Dastardly. Though he did have a building thought in his head, ¡°Why should I let them live?¡± Looking over to the Sorcerer who was bullied, Logan held out his hand to help him to his feet. The man was hesitant at first, but what was left of his puffy eyes showed a hint of an insight into Logan being a caster with that display. Grabbing onto Logan¡¯s arm the man was pulled up, though his legs were wobbly under the pressure of being knocked senseless by his attackers. ¡°Duel gone wrong?¡± Logan asked as he looked over the men he had knocked out. ¡°No¡­ I declined¡±, the man spoke between winces over his injuries. Logan moved over to the closest thug, holding a clawed hand over the unconscious man¡¯s face. Shaking slightly, Logan closed his claw and thought against killing the thug. Instead, Logan rummaged through the man¡¯s pockets and picked out a potion which he threw to the Sorcerer. ¡°Drink that, you¡¯ll be fine to get outta here then.¡± The Sorcerer caught the potion and uncorked it, ¡°Thanks¡±, he said before downing it. His body straightened out as the bruises and engorged parts of his face became flatter. Continuing the loot the bodies, Logan started to summon up his elementals. ¡°I will take these guys to a local prison, you can come to give a statement or go on your way, your choice.¡± Looking over the bodies the Sorcerer was hesitant once again, Logan could sense that this probably wasn¡¯t the last of them. ¡°I, I think I will just leave. Thanks¡±, the man spoke with gaps in his words. He bowed his head slightly and sprinted away from the lone hunter. ¡°Four thugs? Normal group size for small quests, they probably have friends to make up to eight¡±, Logan thought to himself as he continued to summon his elementals. Thinking about the Sorcerer he had saved brought back memories of his previous goals of changing this world, but at this point, Logan was only able to see the death he had wrought to this point. Logan could only be thankful that he knew the laws of the land, and that these fellows would not be executed for assaulting another citizen. Depending on the severity it would be a few months to a year or two behind bars. Another reason to stay his hand, even after acting as an executioner himself in previous hunts. Some of them could have been coerced into this life or this most recent action, but he couldn¡¯t say the same for larger bands of bandits that had killed people on the regular during their caravan raids.
Ten minutes passed as Logan fully summoned Celsius and Spark back into life, ordering them both to drag a body each. With two bodies over his shoulders, the trio made their way to the nearest guardhouse, which happened to be just at the extent of the Classed-End district. Logan got plenty of shifty looks from other people in the alleyways of the adventurer district but noticing he had four people down with just him and his elementals seemed to put off any thoughts of attacking him. With two elementals in tow, it was also a sign he was a much higher rank than what you¡¯d find in the back alleys. Breaching the cover of the house walls, the group made their way into the main street and quickly to the guardhouse. Placing them within a similar-looking hall to the Gerro Guardhouse, Logan was greeted by a shorter woman of around 5¡¯8¡±, her shining plate shoulder pads blinding Logan¡¯s eyes slightly. ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting any hunts today, and these don¡¯t look familiar at all. Hunter¡¯s arrest?¡± ¡°Yes. These four were assaulting a mage who declined a duel. They had almost killed him by the time I found them.¡± The woman looked over at the four unconscious men before looking back at Logan, ¡°Alright, I will process them. Not as if they will get too long in jail.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Slap the word mage on most judge¡¯s paper and they tend to scribble a line to speed up proceedings.¡± ¡°But they-¡± ¡°No contract either, so it isn¡¯t set up ahead of time. You can take your fee from their pockets before I take them away¡±, the woman interrupted as she pointed at the bodies. ¡°Already done¡±, Logan replied with a tightly clenched fist. Logan had taken his fee, a standard 2 silver per head, though he did take an extra potion to heal the assaulted. He didn¡¯t need to inform this woman of that though, he already hated her way of dealing with this. Logan could have sworn she agreed with the idea of casters being not as important. The woman looked back at Logan as if to say, ¡°Anything else¡±, to which Logan gave his reply of walking out of the guardhouse. Logan rubbed the outside of his eyebrows with his thumb and middle finger as a headache was starting to form from the idiotic nature of some of the people he was being exposed to. Was it correct to call it corruption if this was the norm? A murky grey in a world whose line was in a much different part of the sand than what Logan was used to. Walking back to his inn, Logan didn¡¯t have much left to do in the day. He had a new debt of 10 gold to pay, had to wait for Cassius to return to inform him of what happened and see the outcome of that, and had to figure out how to handle the Frost Monarch¡¯s Cavern. Seeing the power of the first enemies that guard the dungeon put the fear of death into Logan more than any previous time. Logan would need power all his own, or gain the aid of those much stronger than he was. The way Cassius explained guilds to Logan gave him the idea that he would want to avenge those fallen from his guild. Cassius made quick work of the previous goblins and was instrumental in defeating the goblin hero to boot. He was also far above Logan¡¯s level due to the Spellthief being incapable of identifying him. Awaiting the return of the Lightbeam guild was probably the best course of action to see their response to what had happened, and before that, seeing Marcus alive once again.
Pushing the doors to the inn open, Logan entered a mostly vacant room as usual. The counter was also devoid of any sign of Yetveka. Logan felt that he was probably better off without another conversation adding to those had already had in the day. The dejected Spellthief made his way to his room and fell onto his bed, his summons closing the door behind him. ¡°Tomorrow evening, meet up with Marcus and move from there¡±, Logan announced. His elementals could tell how their master was feeling, so felt it best not to engage too much with him. Instead, they stood on guard for another at the door or from the window, they could keep their noise down well enough for Logan to attempt to fall asleep. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.
With his eyes closed shut Logan tried his best to fall asleep, but his mind kept replaying the scenes of the dungeon. Blood spraying into the air, cries of pain or pleas for help. An icicle darting for his own face causing him to dart his eyes open and shoot upwards in his bed. Logan rubbed his eyes as he called up his status, a few hours had passed into midnight, and he was sure none of them contained a wink of sleep. A repeated horror in his head kept him from feeling at ease, combined with the stiffness of his newest scar near his right shoulder making laying down uncomfortable. It wasn¡¯t just a fearful imagination in his head keeping him from sleeping, it was deep-seated anger. He was fed up with the hurdles that were placed in front of him, each time gaining further height to ruin his sprint to the finishing line. He was angry at both himself and the events placed at his feet that were now laden with the bodies of those who had aided him. A boiling pot full of emotion wasn¡¯t going to let him rest, but there was at least one point where he felt at ease if only a little¡ªhelping that Sorcerer out of a jam he shouldn¡¯t have had to suffer through. Shuffling to the side of his bed, Logan pulled his set of nullafo armour from his inventory and let it fall onto his lap. Swapping it with his red salamander robes, Logan put on the similar-looking coat with coattails that were a mix of red and black with yellow trims. The arm sections of the coat had segmented bands of a black scaled hide. The shirt itself had a fur collar and bottom part where it met the belt, the middle looking to be a harder material than Logan¡¯s previous clothing. The boots were almost identical to his last, though with red laces. This set of light armour provided Logan greater protection and a wider-reaching resistance to losing his spells due to damage. The darker colour set would also be put to better use in the dark of night. With the change of day, even if it was an incredible early morning at 1am, Logan spent some time absorbing the spells of his elementals and unsummoned them to help in his movement around the city. In the end, he had prepared 1 Flame, 3 Necromantic, and absorb-transferred 12 MP. With only two rings he was left with 3 Dimensional Jaunts. Heading out from his room the Spellthief passed by another empty entrance room, though at this time who would be up? The inn wasn¡¯t a tavern, nor was it really meant for public use, only hunters.
The quietness of the early hour streets, which some would consider the late night as bar crawls continued onwards, let Logan¡¯s mind run around with ideas. Rushing to the Gerro Guardhouse he saw the frequent nighttime counterhand Jivvy, the grandson of Jirango¡¯s older cousin. A flickering candle lit up the reading blue eyes of the young man who sat up as he saw Logan approach the bounty board. ¡°Evening, Logan¡±, Jivvy called over. Logan quickly used Identification over the board to pick out the easiest hunts and tore them from the board to take to Jivvy. ¡°Just these for now.¡± ¡°Rather late hunting again, well, we always appreciate the work.¡± Logan wasn¡¯t up for conversation, though Jivvy didn¡¯t really pick up on that. A few questions here and there from the young man only have one-word responses from Logan as he awaited the contracts to be assigned. With the contracts in hand, Logan took a side door that he had taken at least once before, which led to a ladder to climb up into a rather small tower. It was high enough that Logan could see over most rooftops, and with it singled out a part of the city where his contracts were all converged. ¡°Dimensional Jaunt¡±, Logan chanted under his breath. Warping away with a vortex of wind and appearing in a blast of outwards hurricanic air atop a rooftop miles away. His hunts all activated with quiet blip noises at his side, noting that he was within the search radius for his targets. Clicking his fingers and scanning the local area marked the start of what would block his mind for the next few hours.
The first hunt on the list was to take down a serial wine thief. He was listed as a dishevelled human in his 50s, his common trick was asking for something in the cellar or backroom and then taking a handful of bottles from the shelf behind the counter and running. Logan was able to sneak up on the level 1 classless in his latest tavern mark and land a solid fist into his back, catching the unconscious body and handing it off to a guard to cart him back to the guardhouse. Logan would deal a hefty unrestrained 7 damage with his fists, 11 if he landed a Backstab, which he did if he were sure it wouldn¡¯t kill someone.
Spotting the second hunt, a female maid who had tried to poison a local nobleman over the mistreatment of her brother. Logan lacked any truth magic himself, so the best he could do was push the woman to the guardhouse to give her own testimony in that circle. With a guard escort, it would take her a bit of time until she got to the guardhouse so Logan promised to meet her there later.
Logan¡¯s third hunt was more for finding the stolen items from a local bakery, no particular marks were noted. This was set up as an investigation rather than apprehending a suspect, but his quest marked it in a circle like the others. Making use of his skills, the Spellthief eventually found a den of homeless whose eyes lit up in fear at the sight of the hunter¡¯s armband on Logan¡¯s arm. Feeling a tinge in his heart, he placed a pouch of silver on the floor and took a single crate away, the money he left would afford the homeless much more than what was left in the box. Their descriptions didn¡¯t leave Logan wanting to turn them in. Before leaving he did tell the homeless that they could do some villager quests on his behalf, allowing them to find him at his inn later if they made up their minds. Handing the crate to a guard it made its way to Gerro.
The fourth and fifth hunts had converged, a wanted assaulter and two thugs who were known for pickpocketing people who watched duels. Hearing their conversation allowed Logan to find that they were going to work on a joint venture of the assaulter starting duels to hasten the duo¡¯s pickpocketing. Firing three blasts of Force from atop a darkened rooftop had the group fall one after another, their heads darting around for their attacker but failing to find him. Finding a guard to carry the assaulter, Logan used a Dimensional Jaunt to ferry the two thugs back to the Gerro Guardhouse.
Placing the two unconscious marks on the floor, Logan stood back up to see the woman he had advised come to the guardhouse. She quickly hugged the Spellthief, speaking through tears that her pleas had been heard and the nobleman in question was going to be brought in for questioning. She was going to get a few months in prison, but with her tale, it was going to mean possibly a few years for the nobleman. Logan was just happy that Jivvy was a trustworthy addition to the guard, as well as Jirango. Handing over the crate of stolen food, and informing about the approaching guards with marks had Jivvy note the hunts as complete. The young man had no reason to doubt Logan, and one guard had already arrived with the first hunt. Logan was paid 11 silver for his work and had his signet updated while he picked out five more hunts to undertake.
Looking out towards the docks Logan teleported once again and landed atop a storehouse¡¯s tiled roof. It was lucky that three of his hunts had converged again, several bands of thieves and black market dealers had been raiding ships ferrying goods along the coastline. Their latest deal happening within the maw of a large sewer entrance at the side of the docks. Utilizing Stealth Logan was able to sneak up to the band as a deal was going down, twelve thugs, both classless and classed though none above level 2. Darting between shadows Logan hid between two crate towers and let loose a barrage of Force micks into the crowd, aiming at the strongest and making his way down. A blast into the face and subsequent floor, another into a leg to cause a faceplant to the rock, Logan was able to push all his targets to the floor with his mick that was doing its full damage of 15. Some tried to flee, but Logan¡¯s range made that quite hard, all it did was alert the guards that Logan had informed them that the fight had begun. With his attack finished the guards pulled around a cart to ferry the bodies over to Gerro, leaving him to continue his nightly hunting.
Logan¡¯s fourth hunt was to find a missing investigator who was presumed kidnapped by the suspected kidnapper of a younger man. This was a more complicated task to undertake, especially when he finally found the person in question. A dilapidated building had been the hideout of the kidnapper and in its basement, he found the investigator and kidnapper both dead, a scuffle and ending scene that depicted them as having stabbed one another at the same time. Searching the house, Logan was able to find the young man who had been kidnapped. He was malnourished but alive, Logan handed him some food and water before alerting some nearby guards to deal with the scene. Logan rubbed his forehead again at the sight of someone good falling to the evil of the world, but he couldn¡¯t have helped at all in this situation.
As Logan was about to move closer to the fifth hunt of his second batch, he heard the telltale sounds of a drunk carriage driver. Loud creaking wood wheels and people shouting after someone who had almost run them over. Jumping onto a nearby market stall and then to an adjacent rooftop, Logan followed the sounds to the other side and another stretch of road. Looking down the road Logan saw the swerving carriage. His mind flashed with a further rage as that common sight in his head a few years ago came back, flashing red taillights driving off into the distance after a crash. ¡°Dimensional Jaunt¡±, he chanted with gritted teeth, appearing a second later atop the carriage. Grabbing tightly onto the edge of the carriage, Logan pulled himself down to the driver¡¯s seat and pulled the reins harshly backwards, causing the horses to rear themselves and come to a rough halt. The driver turned to Logan with a droopy face, ¡°Hey! Wash with dish?¡± he spoke with slurred words. Logan whipped around and grabbed the man''s throat with his left hand, throwing the man¡¯s head into the carriage¡¯s wall. ¡°You could kill someone driving like that!¡± ¡°No one error got hurt¡±, the drunk man continued. Hearing the dismissive words of the drunk had Logan¡¯s hatred flair harsher, his hands emitted dark energy as his mind commanded the start of a Necromantic spell without Safecasting. ¡°Ack. Pleash, shir, your grip¡±, the man pleaded as Logan¡¯s fingernails started to draw blood. Logan¡¯s mind rushed with anger and memories of dash cam footage, the red lights fading into the distance. The man had no care for the lives of others, and would probably just continue on after hurting someone. Just like what had happened to his family. As he tightened his grip around the man¡¯s throat Logan gritted his teeth, clenching through into a yell as he drew away his hand, turned it into a fist, and knocked the man unconscious. Landing his left fist into the driver''s seat Logan slammed the carriage wall with his right, letting out a raging yell again. Breathing heavily in and out, Logan had to compose himself as people had started to stare out their windows at the scene. He wasn¡¯t going to kill the man, even if he dearly wanted to, to alleviate the built-up frustration Logan found within himself over the idea of drunk drivers. The shuffling of leather and chainmail alerted Logan to approaching guards. Climbing off the driver¡¯s seat, Logan explained the situation to one of the guards as the other looked over the carriage. They believed Logan easily enough and agreed to take the man to the closest prison, Logan taking 2 silver as his fee. --- *** --- I am Logan. Chapter 76 - A Mountain in the Way Logan ran his hand through his hair, scratching his head near the back as he walked down the road to the fifth hunt of his second lot. His thoughts of death had brought him back to the evidence given during his mother¡¯s death, the drunk driver that had crashed into his parents'' car on their way to his graduation. The man had just driven off without trying to offer aid, if he had, Logan¡¯s mother could have lived. He remembered how long it took him to get some sleep after that had happened, it was a dreadful time that Logan wasn¡¯t even sure he was fully over 4 years after the fact. He still hated the thoughts of that time. If he had never gone to university, his parents would have never taken that trip. If he failed to graduate, or if he quit, they would have come another day. If he never went to the dungeon, then Tsuker, Kreya, Araxie, Uhnarr, Fleur, and Cerall, would all still be alive. Marcus would not have had to go through the torment of temporary death. Even if he were able to get what remained of their bodies out of the dungeon, it would be near impossible to revive them.
Moving on auto-pilot while he fought with the thoughts in his head, Logan eventually got to the location of his last hunt. As the circle shrunk, the Spellthief was led to a set of large cellar doors. Reaching down Logan pulled on the handles to reveal a dimly lit staircase. Descending downwards he saw a sign on the right wall reading, ¡°close the door behind you¡±. Logan removed his hunter armband and placed it into his inventory, dragging out a scarf in return. Wrapping it around his neck and pulling it over his nose to hide his more distinguishing scars, Logan then pulled his hood over his head. This was probably not a place to advertise himself as a hunter, nor his true identity if it led to a larger complex he couldn¡¯t handle. After following the sign¡¯s orders, the Spellthief proceeded onwards until he found a single sconce lighting up another door made of metal with a section near its top to be slid open. Logan gave three solid knocks on the door and awaited a response, it took a few seconds for the metal cover to slide open and show the mage a set of green eyes. ¡°Password?¡± the eyes asked. Giving the man a quick Identification revealed him to be a level 5 Fighter, most else was hidden aside from his background as a bouncer. ¡°I was told Kartos would let me in¡±, Logan replied as he spoke the name of the eyes. ¡°What? Who¡­ wait¡±, the eyes responded as the metal cover slid back. A few moments of shifting locks later and the door opened to reveal a muscly man who was covered in thick grey leather armour and spikes on his gauntlets. ¡°Dealer or buyer?¡± he asked while eyeing up the bag on Logan¡¯s back. ¡°Buyer¡±, Logan said confidently. ¡°Fine. Tell your ¡®buddy¡¯ to stop giving my name out, would ya?¡± Kartos said as he moved to the side to let Logan through. Walking by Kartos compounded Logan¡¯s theory that this wasn¡¯t going to be a safe place, as the door was hiding a large underground tavern and trading area. Full to the walls with rough-looking individuals and unlawful trades going on. ¡°Yeah, this kid thought he was gonna have it easy as an adventurer. One duel after another and he¡¯s been in my group for the past 10 quests¡±, one man said. ¡°Past the bakery here, this alleyway sees good traffic. Take an empty bag to fill with the coin you bring in¡±, said another. ¡°I can get you those for cheap, just don¡¯t ask where they come from¡±, a female voice spoke. ¡°Fight¡¯s on!¡± one of the bartenders shouted from the far side. A few of the patrons stood up at this and made their way to another staircase at the back, a sign next to it said, ¡°Fight Pits¡±. ¡°Shit, did I find a part of the under markets?¡± Logan worried to himself. Tugging down on his hood he made his way to the bar. ¡°Poison, blood, or booze?¡± a bartender asked as he walked up to the new patron. ¡°Booze¡±, Logan replied as he eyed up a list of drinks on the back wall. ¡°Caster ay? I got some reshott here¡±, the man said as he poured a mug of it, ¡°5 copper.¡± Logan placed the coins on the counter and took the mug. ¡°That¡¯s meant to be a silver a mug. If they don¡¯t buy it themselves that¡¯s quite a profit anyways.¡± Logan remembered seeing reshott at other taverns, a type of vodka that was made from combining grain and a breed of blue strah herb. It had a weird sensation of clearing one¡¯s mind to aid in casting spells, whilst also getting you hammered. He also remembered that Yetveka complained it was getting harder to bring in, due to robbery on the roads. Eyeing the mirror at the bar, Logan was able to identify several other patrons, many had names that were tied to the bounty board, though he wasn¡¯t about to start a fight with so many people in this place. Several were also up to level 8, and without seeing the Fight Pits he wasn¡¯t sure that was the highest level here. The Spellthief was able to spy his target, a level 2 Rogue who had been seen fleeing a store after some of its wares had been taken. In a group of two level 3s and a level 4 Logan was sure he could take the party, but who knew how many others in here would help him?
Waiting for a few minutes, nursing his drink, Logan kept a close eye on everyone he could. Hoping any would leave within his sight, just in case, there was a different exit than there was the entrance. ¡°See you lot tomorrow, got a quest in a few hours¡±, a man said as he stood from a table. Following the man with his eyes, Logan saw him enter a room and then heard the shifting of wood from a ladder. Finishing his drink and following, Logan entered the same room to find it rather cramped. It was essentially just a column heading up with a ladder. Climbing it led him to a small walkway to another door. After opening and passing through the door, Logan found himself within an apothecary. Logan quickly exited the building to the city streets, a sigh of relief as he got away from quite the dangerous locale. ¡°That was close, good thing no one recognised me¡±, Logan thought to himself. With his last mark in a place he couldn¡¯t exactly fight within, Logan had only a few choices available to him. He could wait out his mark and apprehend him when he left the under market, or he could inform the guards. There was no telling how long his mark was going to stay in there, could be minutes or hours. The Spellthief also theorised that dealing with the under market right now might disturb later plans. Deciding it best to talk it out with someone else he made his way back to the Gerro Guardhouse. The rising sun brought the man into the full morning as his teleportation landed him at the tower of the guardhouse.
After a long slide down the ladder, Logan entered the main hall of the guardhouse, another of his marks passing through the doors to the jail area. Replacing Jivvy was the usual grey-haired Jirango who was drinking a fresh cup of coffee. ¡°Ah, Logan, heard you¡¯ve been doing a hell of a job last night and this morn. Are you bringing more good news?¡± ¡°Yes, and possibly no. My last mark is a no-go, but the reason for that is I found a portion of what I believe is the under market¡±, Logan explained as he placed his last contract back on the table. Jirango¡¯s eyes went wide at the mention, his last sip of coffee going down harder than usual. ¡°What? Are you speaking the truth?¡±
Explaining the details of his visit to the tavern and trader area, Jirango got a better idea of what Logan had found. ¡°It certainly sounds like you have, indeed, found an under market¡±, Jirango said. ¡°What do you want to do about it? I thought it best to talk to you before taking any action¡±, Logan continued. ¡°The brightest idea you could have ever had, Logan. We need to tread lightly and carefully. If we rustle the nest too many cockroaches will scurry away before we swipe the net down on them. I need to converse with some others about this. Let¡¯s sort out your current contracts before I do that though.¡± Logan handed in his other contracts and explained the incoming bodies, most of which had arrived. Getting paid 100 silver on the nose for his contracts and finding an under market, Logan¡¯s bonus was certainly quite high for the work he had done. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. It was going to take some time for Jirango to sort out this new development, so he was going to call in a temporary desk manager, in the meantime, Logan had some free time for himself. Taking the opportunity, the Spellthief returned to his inn to attempt another nap. Planting himself harshly onto his bed, he put in as much effort as he could to get knocked out.
Two hours passed in restlessness. Logan¡¯s shut eyes only let his mind wander towards the last words of his allies and the cries of death in their demise. Rolling to land his feet off the side of his bed, Logan slouched over as he rubbed his forehead. Another Clean mick on his hands to remove whatever stains weren¡¯t there. His head raged with the command of, ¡°Shut up¡±, to push away the sounds, but they did little to dampen them. Pushing up from his bed, the Spellthief decided to return to activity, at least then his mind could be occupied. Recalling the face and voice of one of the under market patrons, Logan made his way to the G-Hall to see if the victim was going to face yet another duel-forced quest similar to what he had. This time it wasn¡¯t for any good reason outside of power, Kreya had some sort of plausible and acceptable reason to aid her family, even if it wasn¡¯t much better than conscription.
Reaching the G-Hall with another use of Dimensional Jaunt, Logan scanned over the streets from a rooftop. He was easily able to spot the man he heard in the under markets, a level 5 Fighter named Bistc, the name had a weird inflexion on its end. He was in a group of level 4s and an 18-year-old man who looked as if he was being used as monster bait. He was only a level 2 Fighter. ¡°Hey, hey, hey. Shanin. You¡¯re not busy, right?¡± Bistc asked as he jogged to the side of the man. ¡°I am. I am going to go scouting for herbs¡±, Shanin replied timidly. ¡°Scavenging more like. All the best places have been scooped up. How about you come with us, we need someone to draw monster attention again.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already accepted the quest.¡± ¡°Quit it.¡± ¡°But-¡± Shanin was cut off as Bistc grabbed the man¡¯s bag and dug out his harvesting tools. ¡°Hey, get off!¡± Shanin yelled, attracting the attention of onlookers. Logan darted from his rooftop viewing and ran in front of the victim, his hunter armband facing Bistc. ¡°That¡¯s assault and theft, hand back what you just took and leave this man alone¡±, Logan demanded. ¡°What¡¯s this? A caster defending a newbie? Get outta here¡±, one of Bistc¡¯s companions laughed out. ¡°Kick his ass, Bistc¡±, another goaded. ¡°You accusing me of assault and theft? Mighty high charges there, caster¡±, Bistc said with an intimidating gaze, though less intimidating as he had to look up to Logan who was 3¡± taller. ¡°I¡¯m not going to ask again, it¡¯s that or a hunter¡¯s arrest¡±, Logan pushed. The group laughed as Bistc looked back at them, he quickly lashed out with a right hook which Logan dodged, grabbed his foe¡¯s arm, pulled him in a circle, and threw him to the floor in front of his buddies. A few gasps and cheers came from a slowly forming crowd that began to watch over the scuffle. Bistc¡¯s friends helped him to his feet, though his face was now beet-red in frustration. ¡°You fucker! I challenge you to a duel!¡± ¡°On what basis?¡± ¡°On the basis, you just fucking threw me to the floor, we all saw it!¡± The man yelled as he threw his arm to gesture to the bystanders. ¡°I could just knock you out and take you to the guardhouse. I am sure a truth circle will empty your pockets less painfully than I can¡±, Logan retaliated. ¡°Oh, big man caster thinks he can take me on? No fucking way. Guard! Over here!¡± Bistc retorted as he flagged down a passing guard. ¡°Is there a problem here?¡± the guard asked. ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am, I am challenging this man to a duel, here¡¯s your pay¡±, Bistc informed more politely as he put coins into the woman¡¯s hand. Logan sighed, either way, he was going to deal with Bistc and it seemed it was going to go this way with how people were gathering. ¡°My demand is that this fucker is going to help our quest, for free, and that guy behind him to boot¡±, Bistc issued as he pointed at Shanin who was now hiding behind Logan¡¯s protective coat. ¡°Fine, my demand is that you hand over all the money you have, your weapon, and are subject to a truth reading at the guardhouse of my choosing¡±, Logan laid out. Bistc could only return a wide grin, ¡°A bit much don¡¯t you think?¡±, he started to look through his pouch and count up, ¡°I got 48 silver and 1 gold on me. If you pony up that on your side too I¡¯ll accept.¡± ¡°A level 5 has that much in their pocket? I guess as a leader he brings in more, under market deals as well¡±, Logan thought. ¡°Fine with me.¡± Discussing the normal details with the guard, the pair moved apart for the guard to announce the duel and that the populace should back away. ¡°You won¡¯t catch me off guard like that again¡±, Bistc called out. At the call to action, the fight commenced. ¡°Axe Hurl¡±, Bistc called out as he quickly drew an axe from his belt and underhand threw it at Logan. Logan dodged to the side easily, as did some civilians behind him. Dashing forward Logan threw out two of his own daggers, Bistc deflecting them easily with his drawn shortsword. Logan let out a wave of Force at the Fighter before getting in closer, Bistc slashing down into the mick to disperse it, though damaged his blade heavily in the process. Logan made a claw motion as if he were going to use a Grasp alteration, to which Bistc saw and anticipated, piercing forwards with his sword. However, Logan¡¯s claw was but a feint as he dug in his feet and jumped back, ¡°Necromantic Shot¡±, he chanted, numerous black tentacles whipping out from his forearm and shooting outwards into a fooled Bistc. The tentacles pierced the Fighter over and over, dealing 38 damage. Logan pulled on the tendrils as they began to dissipate and caused the Fighter to stumble slightly. Skipping forward, bending down, and then leaping into a frontflip, Logan landed his hand into the back of Bistc and chanted again, ¡°Necromantic Grasp¡±, to which his arms exploded into a shadowy claw that bled Bistc deep with the common Backstab text appearing with it. Bistc had a major 78 damage dealt to him with the enhanced spell, continuing his downward spiral of health at 48/86 to -1/86 as Logan commanded his spell to be Safecasted. Landing with a thud on the stonework, the onlookers watched for a few seconds as the loud Fighter was felled in two spells, and failed to even land a hit. A few more seconds passed before the guard announced Logan as the victor, to which some of the crowd cheered. Experience slowly appearing above the body though only to Logan¡¯s eyes. Logan stood up and used Clean on himself as he approached the unconscious body of his foe, taking his winnings and picking the body onto his shoulder. He gave a look to the friends of Bistc as if to say, ¡°Got a problem with that?¡±, to which they flinched back a bit and started to walk away, just like the crowd started to disperse. ¡°S¡­ Sir?¡± a voice called out behind Logan. Logan turned around to see Shanin with glee in his eyes, the man who now stood up straight wasn¡¯t much shorter than Logan at 6¡¯. ¡°You good there?¡± Logan asked. ¡°Yes, sir, thank you for your assistance. But why did you¡­?¡± ¡°Assist you? I just hate scumbags like this guy. Feel free to take back your tools and do your quest. He shouldn¡¯t be harassing you anytime soon¡±, Logan replied offhandedly. ¡°Can I repay you at all? I don¡¯t have much, but I am a good runner and scout. Those lot used to use me to bring monsters into traps.¡± ¡°Not needed¡±, Logan cut off as he turned to walk away again. ¡°I don¡¯t like staying in debt, sir. How about I give you any extra herbs I may find?¡± Shanin asked as he jogged to catch up with Logan. ¡°Fine, you can drop them off at the Gerro Guardhouse, say they¡¯re for Logan¡±, the Spellthief relented. ¡°Will do. Thanks again¡±, Shanin called out as Logan pressed on. It wasn¡¯t that Logan didn¡¯t want to talk to the man, but he felt a tinge of selfishness as a larger part of taking down Bistc was his hatred of the duelling rules and how people abused them. Combined with the fact that Bistc could gain some insight into the under market, under the pretence he was being apprehended for assaulting someone. Logan only had three teleports left in the day, two from his rings and one from his remaining MP, so he felt it best to reserve those for emergencies or for the end of the day. It certainly allowed him more time in the day to get things done, though his day was much longer than usual due to his inability to sleep peacefully.
Returning to the Gerro Guardhouse, Logan planted the unconscious body of Bistc in front of the counter that the temp was sitting at. A middle-aged woman whose wrinkles painted her as older than she was, possibly only doing this for some easy coin or being called out of ¡°retirement¡± to give her something to do. Seeing the body, and Logan, she spoke trembling, ¡°What¡¯s this? Are you the Logan sonny that JJ told me about?¡± ¡°Jirango? Yeah, I¡¯m Logan. Is he about?¡± ¡°He is meeting with some officials in an office upstairs, want me to take a note for you, sonny?¡± ¡°Yes, please.¡± Logan explained that the unconscious body was important to their meeting, and to have him holed up in a cell until Jirango could process him properly. Alongside that, he made note of the assault and theft that would warrant at least a month in the prison. Since Jirango would be tied up for some more time, Logan felt it best to check in on Marcus¡¯s status at the church. He was going to have to think up how to bridge the whole death, revival, and current state of affairs with his partner in the meantime. Logan¡¯s head was a mess, would it just be best to tell the native of another world that he was from Earth and the deities kidnapped him? --- *** --- I am Logan. Chapter 77 - You Are My Sign Logan pushed the doors to the church open slowly, a twinge in his back giving him the sense that he was about to turn tail and walk away from his troubles. Forcing himself to continue, Logan was met by a different Devout at the entrance. It seemed as though she was informed about Logan, however, and simply asked for him to follow her. Whilst moving through the hallway Logan picked up a conversation, ¡°Is Marcus alive again?¡± ¡°Yes, he has suffered no ill effects of the revival process or his death. Though his back is severely scarred¡±, the woman said matter-of-factly. ¡°He was smashed into hard ice, and thrown around a bit after that too¡±, Logan explained as he lowered his head. ¡°His bones are mended, so he is able to continue work as an adventurer, though I advise taking on easier quests from now on¡±, the woman continued with an almost harsh tone. Logan couldn¡¯t give much of a reply, he thought the same way. Finally reaching the door to the chamber where Marcus was held the Devout unlocked it and opened up the doors for Logan to enter. Sitting on the slab was a fresh-faced Marcus whose eyes lit up and a smile widened at the sight of Logan. ¡°Logan!¡± he shouted at his friend in a joyous tone. ¡°Marcus, you¡¯re back¡±, Logan replied as he jogged over to his returning ally. They both flung their arms around one another in a tight hug, Marcus flinching a bit at the tightness of his back. ¡°Ah, sorry. They said your back is scarred¡±, Logan apologised. ¡°Nah, it¡¯s fine. At least it¡¯s something we can share in now¡±, Marcus replied with sincerity. Pulling away, Marcus continued, ¡°the Devouts here said it was only you who brought me back¡­ does that mean?¡± Logan looked to the side, ¡°It¡¯s just us two left.¡± ¡°Pondress save us. We can take solace in the fact that at least we survived.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t been able to inform Cassius about it yet, his guild is off on a raid to the north.¡± ¡°About his fallen guildies? A harrowing discussion, but one he must attend.¡± ¡°Do you mind if we talk back at the inn?¡± Logan asked as he looked around, though only two Devouts were present aside from Marcus. ¡°Sure¡±, Marcus replied before turning to the other Devouts, ¡°Thank you for your services¡±, he spoke as he made the two-circle Pondress gesture with his hands. The Devouts waited for the duo to leave before locking up the room once again. Logan and Marcus then started the long walk back to their inn. ¡°Has anything else happened in my indisposed state?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°I did some hunter work, pretty much it¡±, Logan replied concisely.
The rest of the walk was mostly silent, Marcus could tell Logan had things on his mind and could only imagine the end of the confrontation with the golem yetis. Combined with the fact that Logan was the leader and only one of two survivors. Closing the door to their room the pair began their discussion, sure no one was near or listening in. ¡°Logan, do you want to talk about what happened?¡± Marcus started. ¡°No. I¡¯ve spent the past two days agonising over it, the most recent being the worst after talking with Debrek.¡± ¡°Then what did you want to speak about?¡± ¡°I¡­ I believe we should stop travelling together as we have¡±, Logan stated as he stared down at Marcus. ¡°What? Didn¡¯t we talk about this already?¡± ¡°Yes, and siding with you ended in your death. The next time I might be unable to get your corpse out of there and bring you back.¡± ¡°And I said my death would be much better by your side, with Vokka¡¯s enlightenment and guiding your path to me I cannot help but see you as any sign that the deities look fondly on us.¡± ¡°She didn¡¯t guide me to you, she kidnapped me!¡± Logan raised his voice. ¡°What do you mean? You said this power was enforced on you¡­¡± ¡°Vokka didn¡¯t just grant me this power and push me northwards. She dropped me from the sky and gave me quests to survive here.¡± ¡°From the sky? You mean you¡¯re from the above?¡± ¡°No. I was taken from a different world, without my consent and without a word of the reason why. My latest quest and my investigations into portals were to find me a way to leave this world and go home.¡± ¡°Wait¡­ is that why your past is so hazy? What about giving up your power and staying?¡± ¡°That was just a lie, I¡¯ve lied to you from the beginning. I¡¯ve been selfish in my wanting to return home. Most of the other oracles I read about also wanted to go home and it got them all killed. My selfishness got you killed in my place.¡± ¡°But Vokka represents the equality of sentient kind, with no regard for wealth or standing. They are for the expansion and exploration of the mind. Why would they kidnap someone and put them in danger?¡± ¡°I have no idea, all I know is that all oracles have died following their patron¡¯s set paths. The only oracle living that I know of is alive because he stopped following his deity¡¯s quests. Even Leroy lived longer after stopping the quests.¡± ¡°This can¡¯t be real. Oracles are meant to be powerful beings that push society forwards. Yet you say they are all victims of abduction?¡± Marcus spoke as he placed his hands on his head. ¡°You¡¯re better off putting your faith in heroes, at least they are born here¡±, Logan said off-handily. ¡°But you¡¯ve still used your power for good ends. You saved me, saved others, your work for the classless and in the hunters is far above what the average person would do.¡± ¡°That¡¯s just because I was taught to be a good person. My world may have a similar ¡®might makes right¡¯ mentality in places, but we foster better goodwill with the person next to us.¡± Sitting on his bed to aid his shaky legs Marcus continued, ¡°You¡¯re still a good person. Maybe Vokka knew of something terrible coming towards you, or us, and thought it was best for you to come here?¡± Logan gave out a hateful chuckle at the notion, ¡°I was going to spend my vacation with my ill dad. Without me around he¡¯s got hardly anyone to take care of him. If Vokka required someone for help, she damned my dad to save someone else.¡± ¡°But why? This isn¡¯t anything like what I¡¯ve heard or read¡±, Marcus responded as he shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s a shitty situation for a lot of people. Whatever it is for, the deities have essentially killed dozens of people for it.¡± ¡°Above save my mind right now.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not so sure they will listen. I¡¯m meant to be chosen by them and all I get is text telling me what to do.¡± ¡°Sorry. This is¡­ just a lot to get dropped on me.¡± ¡°I thought it was finally time. You deserve the truth after dying to my ambitions.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not as if changing the world comes without risk anyways¡±, Marcus spoke straightly. ¡°What?¡± Logan replied as he was taken aback. Standing up and looking at Logan with teary eyes, Marcus continued, ¡°When I decided that you¡¯d be my partner in adventuring I knew it was going to be dangerous. Every day I stepped out of the church was dangerous. But with you, I knew I could make a difference. And if your goal is to return home it¡¯s the least I can do to repay you for taking me this far.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t handle you dying on me-¡± ¡°Then see this as repentance. You lied to me, fine, I absolve you of that, but in return, you won¡¯t shut me out.¡± Logan let out a sigh, ¡°I¡¯d say you were being selfish if I wasn¡¯t too¡­ fine, but you know this will be the last quest if I am taken home, right?¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have gotten this far nearly as fast without me. Remember, I am the fuel that keeps your fire burning.¡± ¡°You dare use my own words against me¡±, Logan replied with a smirk. ¡°Fine, oh firewood of the divine. Let¡¯s melt this ice away¡±, Logan continued as he raised his fist to Marcus. Marcus gave it a solid bump, ¡°Second time brings doubled passion.¡± Logan looked at Marcus for a while, a smile returning to his face as a ray was able to break through the shadows in his mind. Though he was sure they wouldn¡¯t dissipate completely. ¡°So, you plan on retrying the cavern again?¡± Marcus asked. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°Yes. I was planning on waiting for the return of Cassius, I am sure his guild would want revenge, or I could offer it up to them. Cassius is far stronger than anyone who has gone to the cavern, and at a rank that would be expected to go to the cavern after the initial clearing.¡± ¡°That makes sense. He is also fire-based, so would deal heavier damage to the foes there.¡± ¡°I was doing some hunts in the meantime to pay off your revival debt, they hold two of my rings right now.¡± ¡°How¡¯s the current fund?¡± ¡°3 gold. But there is some business with the under market right now so that¡¯s on hold. I did have another idea though for the meantime.¡± ¡°Oh yeah?¡± ¡°A skill I got some time ago. I can use it to gather up monsters. It only works on goblins so it¡¯ll either bring in nothing or a manageable number after the culling that happened.¡± ¡°Is it an attention-grabbing skill like what Fighters and Knights get?¡± ¡°Something similar. There¡¯s also this demon power¡­¡± Logan explained the basics of his first tier of demonhood, and the Bloodcasting it granted access to. It wasn¡¯t a constant thing he could use, but could be useful in a pinch, as it had been used in the cavern. It would be another avenue to a power boost but would require more research and possibly a lot more money.
¡°Our timescale is 42 days for the cavern, take 3 for travel, 3 for clearing, so really we want to set off in 36 days or sooner. The quest gives me a portal, and I don¡¯t know how long it¡¯ll stay open when it does so the earlier is probably the better for my bonus rewards¡±, Logan explained. ¡°A month of preparation should bring your summons to the extent of their allowed power for the spell you use. For yourself, another 4 ranks or so. All in all, it would make the cavern several strokes easier than usual¡±, Marcus calculated. ¡°That should also unlock third-level spells for me, plus extras of first and second.¡± ¡°Moving onto the second elemental spells? Flame 2 should definitely boost the damage dealt to those icy foes.¡± ¡°It will depend on how much my mastery of Flame affects my damage compared to the third-level variant¡±, Logan said as he calculated in his head. ¡°Spells have their limits, I heard some talk about some of the higher casters that fought in the goblin invasion that their first-levels eventually stopped getting stronger¡±, Marcus informed. Logan turned his head to his ally with a slight look of disbelief, ¡°So the higher spells are more for keeping pace with our enemies, the lower for taking out the weaker foes.¡± ¡°That would be a close enough conclusion if your spells per day progressed as other classes did. It would certainly be true for me if I didn¡¯t lag behind you in level progression.¡± ¡°I guess Force shares that aspect, though its 15 damage cap is much lower than my first-level spells that do just under 40, around 50 for Flame in particular due to my mastery¡±, Logan informed. ¡°15? 40? What?¡± Marcus asked, completely bemused. ¡°Right, you don¡¯t know that part. Basically, another oracle power is that I can see almost everything in numbers. I know almost exactly how much it takes to do something, or how much a spell can do.¡± ¡°Fascinating. To see our lives reduced to mere numbers. Though I suppose we weren¡¯t far off of that with our numbering of ranks and tiers¡±, Marcus replied as he rubbed his mouth and chin. ¡°There are a few other bonuses, though they aren¡¯t too important right now. A lot of it, I¡¯d wager, only I would understand.¡± ¡°Fair enough. So, what now?¡± ¡°It¡¯s getting late, most adventurers sleep at night so it might be best we try out my skill now. I don¡¯t have many spells left but I do have a few Dimensional Jaunts to get us out of danger if it goes haywire.¡± ¡°Let us hope we don¡¯t need your teleports.¡±
Leaving the inn and saddling up on their horses, the pair made their way into the nearby forests. A good hour away, close to 6 miles in distance, Logan and Marcus hitched their horses to a tree and patrolled a bit away, Logan using Echo Radar to make sure the local vicinity was devoid of any onlookers. Checking over his skills in preparation, Logan noticed his previous party was still listed in his status. A flare of anger rose in him as he mentally commanded the window to be archived, the blue screen disappearing in a flash. With gritted teeth, Logan clicked his fingers a final time as he looked at Marcus. ¡°This should be good enough, climb atop a tree for safety¡±, Logan commanded. Marcus nodded in reply before running to a nearby tree and ascending it. Logan breathed in deep as he commanded his skill to activate, ¡°Gabtrak, hyse. Meer Lord ast ire!¡± Logan yelled out, his voice enhanced via his skill as it reverbed in a low-tone and evil manner. The Spellthief¡¯s grasp of the goblin tongue was very loose, the Call to War skill giving him the command required but little insight into what it meant. Logan could only deduce that it meant something along the lines of ¡°Goblins, come to me. Your Lord is here.¡± A few moments passed as Logan clicked his fingers, expecting several dots to appear across his mini-map. It wasn¡¯t long until his expectations were met, several yellow dots appeared as they stumbled through the shrubberies of the forest, changing ever so slightly as Logan had another window pop up whilst using his skill. Logan¡¯s mini-map zoomed out as the radar scan increased by 200 feet. The dots shifted between yellow and red hues, noting their allegiance as somewhat shaky, possibly to reflect that they would be hostile if not for Logan¡¯s skill. It wasn¡¯t long before the first goblin arrived within the small clearing that Logan stood within, his arms crossed over his chest and close to his throwing daggers if they were necessary. The goblin slid across the floor as it jumped down to its knees, his forehead hitting the floor with a thud. ¡°Lord, pekka mem late¡±, the goblin spoke into the floor with a loud voice. It seemed that the goblin tongue had several Ava words mixed into their language, ¡°late¡± and ¡°heads¡±, were the same words in both. As Logan looked at the first to arrive he saw it to be a lowly scout, a level 1 foe that he could kill with an unarmed strike. Memories of his first time in the forests came back to him, where he had to resort to two strikes with one of them being a Backstab to take these down. ¡°Can you speak the Ava tongue?¡± Logan asked the goblin. ¡°Avan, pekka, Gabtrak¡±, the goblin responded, obviously trying to say that he didn¡¯t. Another two goblins came running into the clearing, sliding into another prostration position. ¡°Lord, mem ast ire¡±, they both spoke. Following them were two more goblins, though these were meatier, Logan easily identifying them as muscles. The skill was certainly working as intended, more and more goblins revealed themselves in a manner befitting a council with a lord. It felt kind of merited that they were now in this position after how much their race had done against the humans.
Time passed as Logan was now subject to 13 scouts, 6 muscles, 3 archers, 1 berserker, and a taller goblin who Logan was wary of as he knew it to be a fomin. ¡°Yous iss not a gabtrak lord. Where is oer lord?¡± the goblin fomin spoke in a broken Ava tongue, hanging on a few syllables a bit harshly. ¡°I killed your last lord, and so I am the new one¡±, Logan informed with an intimidating voice. The fomin gritted its teeth, showing fangs that tipped its lips. ¡°I did knot witness tis. Yours strength is not witnessed¡±, it responded with anger in its voice. Logan could feel the grip of his skill loosening over this goblin, it did warn that any creature who was at least 4 levels below him or stronger would not revere him as the commander. The fomin drew its dual scimitars which caused the other goblins to crawl away, hiding behind the nearby trees. ¡°Draw blades!¡± the fomin ordered as it stood tall, at least as tall as a 5¡¯ monster could. Logan drew up his goblin-killer dagger, its spine a display that he had killed a previous goblin lord, or at least aided in such and was given the spoils. This caused the fomin¡¯s eyes to light up in anger. Leaning forwards, the fomin¡¯s body started to vibrate and create afterimages. This sparked Logan¡¯s mind, realising it to be the Rush skill. Drawing up into a defensive position in retaliation, Logan prepared himself as the goblin charged forwards with a blast of wind behind it. Slamming down a twin strike with scimitars, the goblin¡¯s initial attack was blocked as Logan drew a Bowen dagger to stop the other scimitar. A whoosh of wind flew out from the two, showing the energy behind their movements. Swiping forwards, Logan pushed the airborne goblin off of him, reversing his grip on his Bowen dagger and tossing it at the formin, digging deep in its chest for 22 damage. Landing with a tinge of pain, the fomin kicked forwards to strike at Logan again. A flurry of blows that Logan was only just able to keep up with. The fomin was indeed a fast creature even without the use of Rush. Sparks flew as metal clashed against each other, Logan drawing up another Bowen dagger to parry a dual-wielding opponent. This wasn¡¯t going to be how Logan won, he could tell that he was inching back his opponent, but their Agility was so close it would lead to a battle of attrition. Looking to the space behind his foe, Logan called out, ¡°Dimensional Jaunt¡±, his body whirring out of existence with an inward pull of wind and exploding with another wind blast behind the fomin. Striking deep with his goblin-killer, Logan dealt a heavy 40 Backstab damage into the fomin¡¯s upper back. With a twist of his body, Logan dropped his Bowen dagger in his left hand and placed it on the formin¡¯s back and chanted, ¡°Flame Grasp¡±, to which the fomin became engulfed in a torrent of flames. Logan knew this was another bonus of his class, combining his spells with his Rogue skills. With his mathematical mind expanding he could tell that his 40% increase was applied after his mastery bonus, meaning that even with a cap of his first-level spells he could surpass other spellcasters, if only a few times every 10 minutes. In total, the fomin took a staggering 105 Backstab fire damage. This attack would have normally killed the fomin, however, Logan did not want this one dead. Mentally commanding his skill to be Safecasted, the fomin instead fell to an unconscious state on the floor, experience numbers slowly floating over its body. Logan breathed out as he checked the local area for the goblins, they were still there, hiding behind the trees from the fight. He called out to Marcus whilst keeping his eyes on the unconscious fomin, ¡°Marcus, Heal this one would you?¡± Marcus hesitated but knew that Logan had a plan in mind. ¡°Orb of all I call to thee, Pondress heal your children. Heal Shot¡±, he chanted atop a tree. A magical ball of yellow light hit the body of the fomin as Logan took its scimitars away, the creature healing for 28 HP. With a dart upwards it spoke again, ¡°What?! The, light, it cam¡±, it started before seeing Logan stand above it as the victor. Gritting its teeth again it planted a fist on the floor and moved to a kneeling pose, ¡°What is the Lord¡¯s bide-ing?¡± ¡°I see you accept me as the Lord now¡±, Logan spoke as he sheathed his weapons. ¡°Yours strength is more than mine. I summit.¡± ¡°Good, then you can answer some questions¡±, Logan announced as the other goblins started to exit their hidey-holes. --- *** --- Chapter 78 - The Goblin Remnants The fomin looked up towards Logan, his attitude was only slightly more cordial than it was before. It seemed like a shaky fielty had been established with the Spellthief defeating the fomin in combat, but if Logan was to turn his back it wouldn¡¯t be out of the question for the fomin to ambush him. ¡°Oer numbers lower. The whar on Mono kind killed many of us. Mono searched the forests for what was left¡±, the fomin spoke in an abridged Ava tongue. ¡°Who ordered your attack, where did you come from?¡± Logan questioned. ¡°Krekka. We exited oer gates from oer homes. I did knot know many others.¡± ¡°So, you came from different places. At least your shamans seemed organised.¡± ¡°Oer magicmen were with Krekka. Many fled when his presence was not there.¡± ¡°Looks like I¡¯ll need to find a shaman then. Do you have any bases around here, any shamans?¡± ¡°No, no. We hide in trees, head south soon.¡± ¡°Why south?¡± ¡°That is where we came from¡±, the goblin replied reluctantly. ¡°No wonder the real war was down there then. Did you plan to attack Gauntlet or was it spontaneous?¡± ¡°No. We were told two cycles before.¡± ¡°That lines up with when I got my quest¡±, Logan calculated in his head. ¡°Who told you?¡± ¡°Our mistress statue.¡± ¡°Madamra?¡± The goblin hissed at the name, ¡°That is Mono name for her. She is stronger than a name.¡± ¡°So, seems like a deity did orchestrate it. And it linked up with my quest. Either I was tasked with dealing with it, or, they created it for me to deal with¡±, Logan ruminated in his mind. ¡°What do you want with us?¡± the fomin asked as it looked up at Logan. ¡°My desire will change based on your responses. You say you¡¯re hiding until you head south, will you continue to attack other people?¡± ¡°You have proven your lordship. I will take your command until another shows.¡± ¡°Really? You were very adamant that I was not your lord, is strength a major marker for goblins?¡± ¡°Might means leader.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t answer my question though, ¡®if¡¯ you were to head south would you still hunt humanoids?¡± Logan pressed. ¡°Yes. It is as our statue mistress commands.¡± ¡°Marcus¡±, Logan called out towards the trees. ¡°Yeah?¡± a distant voice asked. ¡°Come here and use Healer¡¯s Caress on this fomin. I want to test something.¡± The fomin looked between Logan and the treeline, most likely to find who his new master was talking to. Marcus slid from the tree to the ground and jogged up to the pair, the other goblins still looking at the scene. ¡°You sure?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°Yeah, he doesn¡¯t have his weapons¡±, Logan reassured. Marcus placed a hand on the fomin, the creature flinching at it but allowing it nonetheless. With skill use after skill use, the fomin was brought from 27 HP to 62/110 HP. ¡°What do you want of me?¡± the fomin asked. ¡°I want to fight you again, to test something.¡±
20 minutes passed as Marcus continued to use his skill as it came off of cooldown, leading to the fomin reaching its maximum health once again. Logan explained the general task with the goblin and Marcus, the fomin accepted the terms, as it saw the fights as a way of proving itself as well as improving its own fighting capabilities. The fomin started off with another Rush at Logan, though this time with its claws. Logan retaliated by stabbing the fomins palms with his Bowen daggers, dragging them down to then strike into the left side of the goblin and twisting around to his back. With a Backstab strike, Logan brought the goblin down to low health before knocking him out with a Force mick. Looking over the rewards for defeating the same monster a second time, Logan could tell that the experience was halved. It was a good stroke of luck that he was still able to gain skill mastery with repeated fights though, Logan would need to do further testing, which he did.
Healing the fomin to consciousness, Logan immediately knocked him out again without a full heal, this granted no reward whatsoever. He had to fight them from max, or near max. After the third round of healing, this time to max HP, Logan fought in a weirdly cathartic nature as he could let out his anger against the monster. As the goblin fell to the floor, Logan could see the diminishing returns rear their heads further. Another victory, another half, though checking the Backstab mastery showed that even skill experience lessened as it was still at 1%. This was not going to be a quick avenue to levelling, at least not for Logan. Fighting the fomin again would most likely net 78 XP, but a level 10 almost always granted 100 XP to an NPC. Anymore testing would have to be left for later, however, as the night continued onwards. Marcus was still rather tired after his revival process and Logan was still running on his sleepless schedule. The fomin was ordered to scout the forests for any further goblinoids, and when he found any, to gather them within a certain part of it atop the trees. Giving back its scimitars, it darted off to take care of its task. Conversing with Marcus about what to do with the others, he confirmed that Madamra created monsters and it was their purpose to be at odds with civilised folk. If they were sent off to do their own business, they would continue to hunt humanoids as they made their way south. Gathering up the goblins, Logan waved his hand over the monsters as his hands began to ignite.
As the pair returned to Gauntlet, Logan looked over Marcus¡¯s status. The Devout had to help in fighting the remnants of the goblins, which allowed him to gain a small amount of experience which was enough to bring him to level 7¡ªgaining 1 Strength, Agility, Constitution, Intelligence, and Charisma while getting the normal 3 and bonus 1 into Wisdom. With only one level remaining before Marcus gained access to second-level spells, the Devout would soon receive a big leap in power. That was a major mark on Logan¡¯s list of goals before attempting the cavern again, not just for the damage and healing output but also for Marcus¡¯s survivability in the fight. Retiring for the night, Logan was welcomed by a message from Yetveka, letting the Spellthief know that both his and Marcus¡¯s stay at the inn was assured for 3 months due to all the work he had been putting in at the guardhouse. He was also informed that Jirango wanted to speak with him in the morning. Marcus got some additional reading in before sleeping, while Logan still couldn¡¯t focus fully on just reading. A long soak in the bath and checking over his statuses drew him into the right hour to hit the hay.
The chilly night did well to soothe Logan into a couple of hours of being unconscious, but his body was restless and his newfound scars made sleeping uncomfortable. After awakening, his mind was allowed to wander far, towards memories of the ice caves, visages of his dead allies and a made-up scenario of his next attempt leading to Marcus dying again. Residing to put his mind back to work, Logan stealthily left the room so that Marcus could get his own rest. Summoning up Celsius and Spark within the relatively large bathroom, Logan set to absorbing his daily MP from them before heading off to the Gerro Guardhouse.
There was the usual sight of Jivvy at the counter due to the time of night, or very early morning, who mentioned that Jirango wasn¡¯t in yet to talk with Logan. The Spellthief assumed this already and was only really there to pick up some hunts until the bright morning approached. Picking up his usual assortment of 5 hunts, Logan went out until the sun rose:
  1. A man who was running around and slashing the curtains of businesses, his prejudice against vampires pushing him to try and murder as many as he could.
  2. Two informants who had been selling caravan details to bandits in exchange for part of the stolen goods.
  3. A level 4 Knight traitor who had killed her team to take their gear and share of the reward.
  4. A level 3 Rogue who had killed her employer in their sleep to steal their belongings.
  5. Three level 4 Sorcerers who were faking an elemental hiring service with partially animated rock formations.
Moving through his assignments, Logan kept all his thoughts on their minutia. With the use of Identification he was easily able to find details on the classless who were breaking the law, and with Safecasting could knock them out in an instant. Logan also apprehended the traitor and killer, as there was a bonus for their apprehension and interrogation, though Logan did have to hold back a deathly spell against each. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. 58 quests done: 11 adventurers and 1 dungeon, 11 villagers, 35 hunters. Logan gained 720 XP, 31 silver and 5 copper. As a bonus, he was gifted a common monstrous advisor earring, which was mostly paid for by selling off the equipment of the Knight and Rogue he had brought in. Logan changed his shoddy variant earring out and sold it at the market, along with the gear taken from the goblins, getting another 59 silver.
As the Spellthief was handling his final contracts with Jivvy it came to the change of the guard and with it Jirango. Entering the guardhouse he gave a solid clasp onto Logan¡¯s shoulder as he spoke to him. ¡°Come with me.¡± Walking through a doorway with Logan in tow, the pair entered a side room before the main jails. It was dimly lit by a torch on the wall that was soon to be extinguished as the sun rolled in through a barred window hole. The grey stone walls gave the room a claustrophobic feel, as if it too were a jail cell, if a bit fancier than the others. Sitting at a table, Jirango pulled out a ledger and motioned Logan to sit opposite him. ¡°I¡¯ve finished my talks with some of the higher-ups in command. This whole under market business needs to be handled carefully. With the length of its operation lifespan, we are sure that there are those in the nobility that aim to keep it going.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I had gathered too¡±, Logan responded as he glanced around the small room. ¡°We¡¯ve decided to plant a few parrots in the market you found, we¡¯ll gain information over time to fully grasp their extent.¡± Logan knew that ¡°parrots¡± were this world¡¯s form of moles or spies, relating to their ability to repeat the conversation of people they observe. ¡°So, am I to stay away from it for now?¡± Logan asked. ¡°Yes. once we¡¯ve gathered what we need we will most likely call on all hunters to assault the under markets, as many as we can at once if we find others through this one.¡± ¡°Will it just be hunters?¡± ¡°No, I shall alert the nobility, or at least the ones I have some amount of trust in, to supply us with guards and royals when the time comes.¡± ¡°Any clue on how long away that is?¡± ¡°I wager a few months, we¡¯ll certainly leave it till after the Ice King¡¯s revival. The monarchy is often taken up with that¡±, Jirango informed as he leaned back in his chair. ¡°Back to that again¡±, Logan thought to himself. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll keep that in mind. I take it you¡¯ll alert the inn when it is time?¡± ¡°Of course. Until then, it¡¯s operations as normal, though we will avoid that market¡¯s area.¡±
The conversation between the two continued on for a while until Logan eventually made his way back to the inn, Marcus already prepared at its entrance as he leaned on the wall. ¡°Yetveka said you¡¯d gone to see Jirango, thought it would be best I wait here for you¡±, Marcus announced as he kicked off the wall. ¡°There are three guys inside waiting for you, by the way, said something about villager quests?¡± ¡°Just sorting some things out. I¡¯ll talk with them quickly.¡± Entering the inn, Logan saw three homeless men who were seemingly there for his offer the other night. Using Clean to make them proper, Logan signed up for some quests they could undertake. They were classless, but their numbers made up for their lack of¡­ well, numbers. Logan would have the quests noted as his completion, outside help wasn¡¯t disallowed, so having these guys do it in return for the pay wouldn¡¯t come back to hurt him. Some people had rented-elementals do all their work for them, so having people do it brought no issues to the table. The only circumvention was getting quests for non-adventurers, but as they were villager quests they weren¡¯t going to get picked up often. Whilst at the G-Hall Logan also checked over any goblin-specific quests that he could handle when he went to go meet with his fomin again. Logan also quickly settled affairs with his Frost Monarch¡¯s Cavern quest, noting the dead and that he would attempt it again at a later date.
With the pair taking their horses into the forests they were able to get to the location that Logan had mentioned the previous night. It hadn¡¯t been overly long since his command, but after two hours of riding Logan was met with four red dots on his mini-map after an Echo Radar. Logan was glad he had resummoned Celsius and Spark before setting off, just on the off-chance an ambush was waiting. ¡°Marcus, keep an eye out¡±, Logan commanded as they hitched their horses to a nearby tree. Moving to a clearing of the forest the pair were certain no other adventurers were near. This part held very little value, no monster activity and no real herbs to gather either. As the treetops rustled four goblinoids fell to the floor, all of them fomins but with minor differences. One had parts of metallic plates, one wore a long black robe, one had patchwork leather armour, and the last wore just a fur skirt. ¡°You he who other spoke of?¡± the metallic one spoke as it pointed at Logan. ¡°Tall, tone, not chief-like toe¡±, the skirt one added. ¡°At least you lot have the decency to talk things out first¡±, Logan responded as he looked at each of the goblins. ¡°Why you call us here?¡± the robed one asked. ¡°I have questions¡­¡±
Speaking with the goblins for a while didn¡¯t reveal much more to Logan. They had come from separate caves in the south, only two of them knew of each other beforehand. Just like the other fomin they had all entered portals and grouped up with Krekka, taking the hero¡¯s commands without question. ¡°You reforming clan?¡± the goblin in leather asked. ¡°Yes. You chief, said our kin. Raise new army?¡± the metal one continued. ¡°No, I have other plans¡±, Logan responded adamantly. ¡°What? We raid?¡± the robed one picked up. Logan¡¯s spine tingled as if to alert him to danger, like he needed any other sign. The fomin drew their scimitars as even angrier faces appeared on each of them. ¡°Madamra is our mistress, and yous will not stop her will. Our kin was right when say you soft¡±, the skirt goblin spoke. ¡°He must have spoken on the times I was able to defeat him in combat. You think you¡¯d fare better?¡± Logan antagonised as he drew up goblin-killer. ¡°You gather us for talk, not for war. Yours is not a breath worthy to command us¡±, the robed goblin announced. Marcus inched towards Logan alongside his elementals. The goblins started to circle the party. Before being able to quell the heat in the air any further, the leather goblin used Dash to close the small distance and loosed a flurry of strikes at Logan. Logan blocked the first, sparks flying from their weapons as they clashed, but was unable to block the following three strikes, bringing the Spellthief to 71/118 HP. Marcus kicked away from Logan as he took the attention of the robed goblin, the elementals handling the one in the fur skirt. However, as they all did so, the one in metallic plates let out a loud roar that sent the nearby avian animals fleeing in fear. On the other hand, the party felt an increasing fire in their heads and hearts, Logan seeing the goblin as the most infuriating creature in existence. Turning his head to the metal goblin, Logan envisioned him as a miniature ice yeti, an anger building in him that overflowed. The goblin smirked, obviously utilising a skill similar to Come Forth, though it was shocked when it saw Logan¡¯s retaliation. Mentally commanding a Dimensional Jaunt, Logan warped behind the metal goblin with a diving dagger slash. Placing his other hand around the back of its neck he chanted, ¡°Necromantic Grasp.¡± His hand became a mess of black shadows that formed into a claw, digging into the throat of the goblin from behind. As the magics dug away at the foe he was drained of 94 HP, healing Logan for half and bringing him back to full health. The goblin was let go as its unconscious body slumped to the floor. With the defeat of the threatening goblin, Logan¡¯s and his allies¡¯ minds became clear once again. Though the few seconds they had spent running towards the now-defeated foe allowed the other goblins to land a hit each into them. Ducking down, Logan called out, ¡°Dimensional Jaunt¡±, warping behind the leather goblin to land a smooth Flame Grasp that dealt 120 Backstab damage. Rushing towards Logan, the skirt goblin landed a solid slash into the Spellthief, the following slash missing by only a hair. His allies focusing on the robed goblin, Logan was free to attempt parries and circle movements around his next foe. This fomin was very aggressive, showing to the classed being who he had drunk the blood of. Spinning around, the goblin had its blades glow red, alerting Logan to another skill usage. Aiming to block the blow, Logan swung his blade to meet at least one of the goblin¡¯s. Successfully slashing the blade caused tremors to shoot across Logan¡¯s arm as he felt the power behind the blow. He felt it even further when the other scimitar collided with his side. A wide gash was cut from Logan, his skin and blood dressing the grassy floor in surgical colours. He could feel his body starting to patch itself together again, thanking whoever would listen in his head that it wasn¡¯t a permanent injury. Kicking at the goblin, Logan jumped backwards as he called out for another teleport. Planning ahead, and assuming his foe was beginning to catch on, Logan decided to teleport right in front of his foe instead of behind it. This gambit paid off when the goblin swung wide behind itself only to hit the air. Logan planted his hand on the twisted back of the fomin and chanted, ¡°Necromantic Grasp.¡± A spring of luck appeared before Logan, a critical strike. The black mass shot outwards in a larger hand than normal and pierced the goblin¡¯s heart. Pulling backwards coated Logan in a wash of red, healing to full and dealing an immense 133 Backstab damage. It was surprising that Logan¡¯s Safecasting was able to keep the goblin alive after that display, though he did make sure to keep the heart inside. A mixture of his own magic and that of the durability of monsters must have allowed it to live, though it most likely saw oblivion for a second. Turning to his allies, Logan was relieved to see that Marcus had just about finished it off with his own Safecasted Gaia Grasp, the Devout having learnt the skill just recently. With the four bodies on the floor, still breathing, if you could call what some of them were doing ¡°breathing¡±, experience numbers started to float upwards to announce the end of the fight. ¡°Level up! Gain: 8 HP, +1 Str, +2 Agi, +1 Con, +2 Int, +1 Wis, +1 Cha. You have 1 attribute point to spend.¡± ¡°Can never trust a monster¡±, Marcus spat out as he composed himself after the battle. ¡°We got what we needed out of them anyway. Sad to say I can¡¯t test my other theories on these ones¡±, Logan replied as he sheathed his dagger. ¡°I am glad we can take these out with relative ease, though I would say that comes from your numerous teleportations.¡± ¡°Yeah, this new absorbing technique is making this easier.¡± ¡°Is the one we saw yesterday still finding more of his kind?¡± Marcus asked as he looked around. ¡°That is my guess. We can come back out for him after we cart these bodies back¡±, Logan responded as he pointed at the unconscious bodies. ¡°Ah, those quests you saw at the hall? I wonder what they would do with live monsters¡­¡± --- *** --- Chapter 79 - To Aid a Hunter With the unconscious goblin fomins tied up on the horses, the party made their way back to Gauntlet. Greeted by strange stares, the guards did not stop the group as they knew Marcus rather well and word of Logan had been passing the streets as he continued to work as a hunter or showed his prowess that was hinted at during his aid in the goblin invasion. The stares continued on through the city streets, a few citizens feeling hesitant about throwing a dung pile at the unconscious goblins who represented the hardships they had been hit with in recent times. Though said bodies were attached to two adventurers, so the populace could hold back their hatred. Reaching the G-Hall, Logan took the bodies into the adjoining component building, lumping them onto a cart that had already been set up. Leaving Marcus to keep an eye on the bodies, Logan moved into the hall, picked up four contracts from the board and took them to the desk. ¡°Hello, I gathered up four live fomins, they should fit the bill on these quests¡±, Logan announced. The receptionist looked over the quests, one was to bring in a live monster for component experimentations, another was explicitly for a goblinoid for interrogation purposes, the third was for a monster who had drunk classed-blood, and the last was for a goblin fomin. They came from varying clients so there was little in the way of issues for the responding item being the same. Logan didn¡¯t have to worry much about the fomin talking about him during the interrogation either, as questions would cost money if a truth circle was involved, and none would really involve him in them. Since the quests were for apprehension, which could only be handled by specialist adventurers, the reward was a bit higher than normal. Logan did go over what was necessary for two of the quests since fomins were relatively high-rank monsters, but bonuses didn¡¯t come out of the adventuring halls frequently. Taking up his pay and signet update, Logan met back up with Marcus to hand the Devout his 33 silver reward, Logan taking a 67 split. Before the pair could make a trip to the market to sell off the gear of the goblins, a humanoid came charging in their direction. ¡°Logan! Marcus¡± the man yelled. Turning their heads to the figure the pair could recognise him as Gaemo, the human Fighter who was a fellow hunter. After helping, or causing and rectifying, an ambush with traitor adventurers, the pair were quite happy to see a friend though worried as the grey-haired man¡¯s face was full of worry. ¡°Gaemo, what is it?¡± Logan asked as the man placed his hands on his knees. ¡°I need you two, I need your tracking magic!¡±
Moving to a private room in the G-Hall, Gaemo and the party sat in shaky silence as the hunter drank from a mug, clearing his throat. ¡°So, what do you need tracked?¡± Marcus asked as he looked at his older ally. ¡°A gang of bandits, known as Oni-Noni. They typically train in martial arts to complement their swordsmanship. Myself and another hunter took on the quest as it was a rather large force, but, one of their magi hit me with a spell that blasted me wide and then they all teleported away with my ally in tow¡±, Gaemo explained in a sort of rush. ¡°You found them once, why not again?¡± Logan queried. ¡°Their main base was rather easy to find, but they didn¡¯t teleport to any other known location that they frequented.¡± ¡°How did they teleport exactly?¡± Logan asked. ¡°They had some sort of teleportation artefact, one of the missing items that were asked to be returned. I guess they used it when they were found out, or maybe they don¡¯t know how to use it properly yet?¡± ¡°Alright, do you have the contract?¡± ¡°Yes, here¡±, Gaemo replied as he drew up the parchment and handed it to Logan. ¡°Eradicate the Oni-Noni Gang: This band of bandits has been moving through the countryside for far too long, recent events have pulled the royal guards away so the hunters must take this challenge on. Due to their increased training regimens and tome usages, the bandits are ranked 4 through 10, with gear befitting their ranks. Several items must be returned from the gang, but anything unlisted may be kept by the hunter(s). Kill or apprehend the bandits of the Oni-Noni gang, which consists of around 87 members. If you apprehend the bandit leader, Oretessu, you will receive a bonus. Reward: 400 silver, half if the listed items are not returned.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a lot of marks, 4 gold plus their gear is also a huge income¡±, Logan thought to himself. ¡°This is quite the sizable force. Just two of you were going to take them on?¡± ¡°I recently reached rank 15, my ally was rank 16. We could deal with many of the lower-ranked classed with ease, the 10s would give a bit of worry but we were both trained in Stealth.¡± ¡°Similar to how I took on the Qreil bandits¡±, Logan thought. ¡°Will you go after them with backup?¡± ¡°If you can find them, yes. I was going to ask the other hunters, you included.¡± ¡°Logan?¡± Marcus asked as he looked at his friend who met his gaze. ¡°You fine to go help?¡± Logan confirmed. Marcus gave a swift nod to his friend. ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll help you. I can use my tracking abilities shortly. Want to meet back at the inn? I take it you¡¯d want to head out immediately if they are close?¡± ¡°Thank you, both of you!¡± Gaemo beamed, ¡°Yes, I can talk to the others at the inn, we¡¯ll wait for you there.¡± Gaemo held out his hand to shake both Logan and Marcus¡¯s, as he did Logan had another window pop up that showed that Gaemo was inviting Logan to a party and a quest, to which he accepted. The quest popped up in his windows as usual, and even showed where the gang were located. However, it would be too quick to just tell Gaemo right now, so he let the hunter leave without telling him. ¡°This will help our progression¡±, Logan said as he looked at Marcus. ¡°Our first goal is to save our ally¡±, Marcus responded with a sort of backlash in his tone. ¡°You¡¯re right, Gaemo didn¡¯t say who it was so I guess someone we haven¡¯t met yet.¡± ¡°That is a possibility. So, how long to find their location?¡± ¡°Already found it, seems to be an area to the south, I would assume underground as my map shows a forest. No way a group that size would be in such a dense area, other adventurers would have spotted them.¡± ¡°A dungeon? Gaemo did say the gang might not know how to use the artefact properly¡±, Marcus theorised. ¡°Possibly, my ability isn¡¯t noting it as a dungeon, but then I don¡¯t know if it is or not, so that¡¯s normal. If it was a false activation, the gang may be trapped.¡± ¡°Can you check if our ally is still alive?¡± ¡°Gimme a sec¡±, Logan replied as he opened up his quest log. The quest had been updated with the contract details and had sub-objectives attached to it through their conversation, one of them was still active and not crossed out, which normally showed that Logan had failed it, and it read, ¡°Recover kidnapped hunter¡±, Logan looked back to Marcus, ¡°They seem to be alive still.¡± ¡°Good, that gives us a clear goal then. I take it you cannot tell their location separately from the bandits?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯d need to be closer, basically in their base, or prison.¡± ¡°Think we need to do much prep?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°Rank 4s won¡¯t be much of an issue. I can overpower most with my rank, Gaemo will also run through anything in his path if he is rank 15 as he says.¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t seem that strong when he helped us earlier¡±, Marcus pondered. ¡°Probably due to going undercover, can''t exactly wear the best gear for that.¡± ¡°I suppose you¡¯re right there. I wonder who else will be coming with us.¡± ¡°Any hunter will do.¡±
Moving away from the G-Hall, the pair finally sold off the gear they took from the fomins and previous foes, granting 70 silver to Marcus and 140 for Logan. Taking a trip to the church, the pair paid off half the debt for reviving Marcus and got a ring back for Logan¡¯s teleportations. They were a bit shy of paying it all off by combining their funds, but this new hunt was going to allow them to fulfil it and then some.
Returning to the Meek Moat Inn had the pair treated to the sight of Gaemo in full-garb side-by-side with Sincollo, the saeben who was often found resting in front of the fireplace. His dark-grey fur and dark-brown skin hidden well under his leather armour that now had its metallic parts attached, making him look rather spiky. On his paws were metallic gauntlets and claws. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°The scouter is here¡±, Sincollo announced as he turned his head from Gaemo to Logan. ¡°Logan! Marcus! Good to see you get here so swiftly. How did the magic go?¡± ¡°All finished, I know where the bandits are¡±, Logan replied as he approached the new team. ¡°Great, I knew you were the man to ask. So where are we heading?¡± ¡°They teleported southwards, about a day and a half ride away.¡± ¡°Really? That¡¯s just forest¡­¡± Gaemo responded with a puzzled look. ¡°We theorise they may be underground, possibly trapped in a dungeon if their artefact was misused¡±, Marcus added. ¡°Logical. The bandits may be versed in martial combat, but from what Gaemo spoke of they are not magically inclined, at least not far above an errant mage¡±, Sincollo confirmed. ¡°Shit. Over a day away, ¡®and¡¯ in a dungeon. Ev¨¦n might be dead by the time we get to them.¡± ¡°That your partner for the mission?¡± Logan asked. ¡°Yeah. She doesn¡¯t stay at the inn a lot, but we crossed paths when accepting this hunt. I hate this being our introduction to one another.¡± ¡°How are your ranks, Logan and Marcus? Mine is 16 but I worry you may be in danger if we are to be surrounded¡±, Sincollo asked. ¡°I am over 10, I haven¡¯t had a reassessment in a while. Marcus should be close to 8¡±, Logan informed. ¡°Marcus will have to be defensive¡±, the saeben concluded. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know how to hide from people well enough¡±, Marcus responded with a smile. ¡°Alright, with this kind of time-constrained situation I can¡¯t find the other hunters. Sincollo and I should be good for it, you two are there to make it even easier. We all good to head out now?¡± Gaemo asked hastily. ¡°Gaemo, this is the first group-hunter quest for these two. They have their own splits.¡± ¡°Right, all even here. We don¡¯t care what you are, put in the work, get paid. Good? We may call dibs on items relevant to our classes, or give a bit more to those who go the extra mile.¡± ¡°I can get on board with all that¡±, Logan replied. ¡°Same, guess I will have to pull out all the stops with my healing¡±, Marcus added. ¡°Well, you¡¯ve already done a lot having located these guys¡±, Gaemo said, ¡°Let¡¯s mount up and go, unless you need to do something before we go?¡± ¡°Well, mind if we get an advance on our part of the pay? We need to pay off a debt and it¡¯d get me one of my Dimensional Jaunt rings back¡±, Logan asked. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s fine¡±, Gaemo responded as he pulled out his coin pouch.
Taking a short trip back to the church and paying their debt in full, Logan and Marcus met up with the other hunters at the gates before setting off on their journey to the south. Gaemo and Sincollo informed the party about their skills and specialities, and entering a party with them revealed a bit more about their stats. ¡°Gaemo: Fighter 15, 244/244 HP. Sincollo: Fighter 16, 254/254 HP.¡± It was a wonder how much health Cassius had hidden away if these people had a hundred more than Logan. Logan was only a little happy that it would take over a day to reach the location of the bandits, his spell reserves were getting low and he wanted to be at his peak if he were to take on close to a hundred foes. The party had two carts set up to ferry over goods and bodies, but wouldn¡¯t overly slow them down. Checking over his partner¡¯s gear his theory that Gaemo had weaker gear when they met outside the naegren cavern seemed correct, his weapon would do much more damage now than it had then. If Gaemo was at his highest power he was sure he could have killed the ambushers in a single hit. Gaemo and Sincollo both were also well versed in sneak attacks. While they didn¡¯t get a Backstab bonus they had to take any advantage they could get as hunters. Classed beings weren¡¯t to be trifled with, especially if they were close to your level. A monster only had so many skills, whereas a classed being could have any number. With the topic of classed beings, Logan did ask how a band of 87 bandits had gone so long without being apprehended or dealt with. It came down to a lack of hunters able to take them down and the monarchy being too absorbed in other affairs. Adventurers typically didn¡¯t go after humanoids either, they were normally the ones being hunted by bandits. It wasn¡¯t that they were hidden, which a lot of the time they were, but that no one was on hand to deal with them. If you took the right paths you¡¯d also be away from the sight of such a large band too. Out of sight, out of mind, except for the complaints that mounted from the deceased¡¯s relatives or the merchants who had their wares stolen. With so many miles separating the settlements it would take too long to send out squads of guards. This compounded with the recent goblin wars, and seeing the approach of the Ice King, it didn¡¯t look like they were going to get a rest any time soon.
A night of rest allowed Logan to refresh his absorbed MP, as usual, this becoming quite the practised morning routine. It held very little risk of being discovered, with Echo Radar searching quite a distance as well as the trees blocking vision from anything past 450 feet. Logan prepared at least 1 Gaia spell, taking his usual 3 Necromantics to 2 slots. Gaia did amazing work at cutting off hallways or hiding away Logan¡¯s abilities, and if their next quest was to be underground it would work even better with Wall alterations. With his rings back, Logan also had his default 5 casts of Dimensional Jaunt, with 1 being from Signature Spell. Meeting with the team, Logan was asked to check on the location of the bandits and the situation with Ev¨¦n. Taking a few minutes to himself Logan came back to inform them that nothing had changed so far.
A half day¡¯s ride displayed no real sign of large ruins or castles that the party would have expected the bandits to be holed up within. Instead, an underground facility became the most likely, as they had theorised before. A luxuriant forest would do well to hide smaller numbers, but even the thickness of the trunks couldn¡¯t hide close to a hundred humanoids and their wares. The echoing clicks of Logan¡¯s fingers were joined by the chirping of birds or distant yelps of foxes. Whatever this part of the forest held, it certainly wasn¡¯t an abundance of monsters or adventurers. ¡°Logan, anything?¡± Gaemo asked as he did his own scouting atop the trees. ¡°No, they should be here though. No floating fortress I wager?¡± Logan replied cheekily upwards. Gaemo leapt between the sturdy arms of the trees as he peered past the canopies. ¡°Negative. Though that would be quite the retreat.¡± A window then popped up in front of Logan as he continued to walk through the grassy forest floor, ¡°The kaevock is resonating.¡± ¡°What?¡± Logan thought as he placed a hand into his bag. Producing the kaevock from his inventory, the cylindrical tumbler lock that looked similar to the interior of a door¡¯s lock mechanism, Logan felt the device vibrate in his hand as some of its circular partitions were slightly rotating. ¡°This is a first. The kaevock was taken from a dungeon and was referred to as a relic. But wasn¡¯t it just for tomes?¡± Logan continued to puzzle in his head. Moving around with the kaevock in his hand, Logan used the device as a sort of detector for an entrance, following it when the vibrations got harsher. Eventually, Logan stepped onto a more solid patch of mud, the kaevock rotating hastily as it locked itself into place, an etched spike jutting out from the bottom of it as if it were a key. Kneeling down, Logan carefully poked the floor with the key end of the kaevock. This caused the floor beneath him to shake a little as he heard a satisfying click and rush of magical wind. Jumping back, he was just able to dodge the floor opening up beneath his feet to a chasm. Two halves of the floor retreated to the sides as if they were shifting panels in the floorboards of a house. The sound of the opening earth alerted his companions who turned their heads and heels towards him. ¡°Find something?¡± Sincollo asked directly as he walked over. Logan quickly placed the kaevock into his inventory-bag before turning to his allies, ¡°Yeah, the entrance. It¡¯s underground as we had thought.¡± Gaemo jumped from a tree arm to the floor, popping up into a slight jog towards Logan and the entrance, ¡°Good work! I¡¯d swear you were a Rogue with those skills, though I guess your tracking magics are quite potent.¡± Looking into the entrance the party could see that the light of the sun beamed down quite a ways, illuminating a stone staircase that went diagonally into the earth. The light eventually died out, which would mean the party would require their own light sources as they got deeper or the entrance closed behind them. ¡°Light Ally¡±, Logan spoke as he brought his sprite back into life. ¡°That might give us away, though I suppose your summons would do the same. Keep them at the back and use these instead¡±, Gaemo responded as he pulled out two oval pieces of glass, ¡°Place them over your eyelids.¡± Taking the advice of his ally, Logan dismissed his sprite and placed the two pieces of glass over his eyelids. He felt the glass melt a bit within his fingers and when they touched his eyelids they formed a waxy coating before absorbing slightly into the edges of his eyes. Opening his eyes back up showed that the glass had formed a small visor in front of them, bestowing a form of night vision for the Spellthief. Blinking rapidly as he tried to adjust to the green overlay he now saw the world in, Logan¡¯s sight got used to the new ability as the hue adjusted to that of his normal sight. Looking into the staircase revealed even more, though if he looked into the bright outdoors he did feel a bit uncomfortable as it was much brighter than normal. The rest of the party did the same as Gaemo handed out more of the glass, when they were all able to see into the underground they proceeded downwards with the elementals protecting the rear. Their crackling of flames and electricity was quiet enough if they stayed back, as well as the light they produced was rather faint considering they were made up of energy. Through descending the stairs, the entranceway stayed open to the outside elements, allowing the wind and light to rush into the interior. This was probably for the best, as who knew if the underground had any harmful chemicals in the air or that the entrance could be opened from the inside.
Taking the stairs to their final step took a few minutes, the light of the sun had since left the dark stairwell to only be visible in the parties¡¯ night vision. Slightly green-hued stone walls that had been carved to a smoothness commonly found within decadent estates. A distinct lack of any sort of cloth or tabards made it hard to distinguish if this place was royal in any form, but it was certainly man-made. As the party moved onwards they could hear distant muffled explosions accompanied by scraping metal and bludgeon blows on stone. Stopping in front of a large stone double door, the party gave it a once-over before attempting its large handle that fit a giant¡¯s hand rather than a humanoid¡¯s. With a groan Gaemo spoke up, ¡°That¡¯s not budging, must be locked. Logan, think you can get this one too?¡± ¡°Sure, lemme check¡±, Logan replied as he changed places with the Fighter. ¡°Identify¡±, Logan mentally commanded. His sight returned nothing much in the way of valuable information. Running his hands over the door led him to a rather large keyhole, though it didn¡¯t go all the way to the other side, it stopped mid-way into the door. A window appeared beside the lock as Logan fumbled with it, ¡°The kaevock is resonating.¡± Taking the device from his inventory-bag, Logan placed it into the keyhole. The circular partitions of the tumble rotated until locking in place, a satisfying click emanating from the door, followed by a short coarse noise as the rocks weathered against one another. This signalled that the door had been unlocked and juddered a bit out of place. ¡°Quick work as usual¡±, Gaemo praised. --- *** --- Chapter 80 - This Makes Us Even. Part 1 Giving a final listen to the large stone door in front of them, Gaemo and Logan both gave a hearty push into the two halves of the door. As the rock weathered against the floor, a coarse tone filled the room as it overshadowed the distant sounds of battle. Opening up into a vast room, the party quickly scanned it for any potential danger but was elated when it was devoid of such. The room resembled a normal entrance foyer, tall pillars held up the 30¡¯ high ceilings with intricately carved spiral designs. Three corridors split off in a forked design, one straight ahead and two slightly to the left and right. The party had to stifle coughs as dust floated in the air, the stuffiness of the interior betraying the time it had spent closed. ¡°Alright, Logan, the priority is Ev¨¦n, can you scan their location from where we are?¡± Gaemo asked as he hacked every so often. Logan clicked his fingers to use Echo Radar, filling 450 feet away from him on his minimap. The dungeon had several cracks and holes in its walls, possibly from vermin or damage from the inhabitants, so he was able to inspect quite a hectic area. One particular effect of the damaged area was that his echolocation was able to sneak between the cracks and reveal at least some parts of the nearby hallways and rooms. ¡°No, but there are some people on the right path, I think they are bandits. We could interrogate one of them?¡± Logan replied as he pointed at the right path. ¡°Ok, let¡¯s do that. Use Force on any torches they may have, make it dark and easy on us¡±, Gaemo instructed. The party prepared themselves for battle, though they were already in a state of preparedness due to entering a dungeon. Since they had no intel on this place they stepped ever so carefully as they followed the directions of the Spellthief.
It didn¡¯t take the party long as they walked down the right hallway before they were met by another set of large stone doors. This one shook every so often as the sound of someone on the other side was hitting it with a large mace or hammer. A muffled male voice was heard on the other end with the end of the slamming, ¡°Fuck this, the door ain¡¯t budging.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been at it for an hour today, I say we go check that other hallway¡±, a muffled female voice replied. The sound of the first voice stepping away could just be barely heard on the other side, the voices getting dampened even further as they moved. Looking over the door revealed that there was a latch on this side, meaning it could be unlocked with ease, it just needed to be lifted and pulled open. ¡°Logan, can you tell how many there are and if they have torches or Light Allies?¡± Gaemo asked as he looked over the door. Clicking his fingers again, Logan detected five people on the other side, though the coloured dots did not reveal their gear or held items. ¡°Five, about fifty feet away from the door. Seems there are two hallways that lead away from us. I can¡¯t tell if they have lights or not.¡± ¡°Alright, Marcus, you get the door and we¡¯ll rush them. Logan, do as we said earlier.¡± Nodding in response, the team got into position to charge the room. Marcus pushed over the latch and pulled on the door with gusto, the coarse grating of the rock alerting those on the other side. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s opening!¡± one voice shouted as the enemy team turned to their freedom. Logan was at the front, his eyes darting around the dots of his map to the area they were located in real life. Spotting a torch in one of their hands, Logan raised his arm and chanted, ¡°Force¡±, a grey ball of disaster firing towards the aflame stick and shattering it into pieces, the light going out in specks. Gaemo activated Rush and charged down one of the enemies, his blade lit up red as he cleaved through the man with a Power Strike, their head severing from their neck and rebounding off the nearby wall. Sincollo darted into the room a hair behind Gaemo, using his own Rush and landing atop another bandit, tearing the man apart with his metallic claws. Logan¡¯s elementals pelted the other foes with their ranged skills while their master let loose Force after Force into them, making sure to knock them out with Safecasting. Marcus stepped down into a kneeling position as he fired a few crossbow bolts at the bandits, though he didn¡¯t get too many shots before the practically blind enemies were slain or knocked out. The fight was insanely quick, with few resources being used. Their foe¡¯s lack of light or night vision gave Logan¡¯s party a major advantage, which was coupled with the fact they were able to surprise the opposing team. ¡°Anyone see any others?¡± Gaemo asked as he looked around. ¡°Nothing¡±, Sincollo replied as he stood tall. Logan clicked his fingers before replying, ¡°Nothing I can detect.¡± A few moments passed as the team grouped back up and inspected their marks, two were still alive after the onslaught, who were promptly tied up and brought back to consciousness with Healer¡¯s Caress. The first darted his head around, searching the darkness for who attacked him, ¡°Who¡¯s there? What do you want?¡± The second squinted at the silhouettes in the dark, ¡°Fuck, hunters.¡± ¡°Well, one of you got it. Now, answer my questions or you¡¯ll be a lesser income for me¡±, Gaemo threatened. ¡°What do you mean-¡± the first began but was cut off by the second. ¡°He¡¯ll kill us, just answer his questions damn it.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the smart one, I¡¯ll ask you. Did your group know how to activate that artefact that teleported you here?¡± Gaemo questioned. ¡°What? No, I didn¡¯t even know that¡¯s what did it. We all appeared here differently, we split off from a larger group when we found a crossroads¡±, the second bandit answered. ¡°So you¡¯re all scattered. Do you know what this place is?¡± ¡°No way in the below. We barely saw anything before we scrambled for a torch.¡± ¡°Last question, where is the other hunter that was with me, the female who got teleported with you?¡± ¡°Huh? We teleported with a hunter? No clue, we were kinda in the back, didn¡¯t get a good eye on the events.¡± ¡°Fine¡±, Gaemo responded before grabbing the collar of the bandit and yanking the man¡¯s face into his knee. He followed up with a punch into the other, knocking both back out. Standing up he addressed the party, ¡°Well that at least tells us that the underlings have no clue about the artefact, maybe a higher-up in the gang knows about it. Their group was stranded, so possibly others are too. That¡¯ll make taking them down easier.¡± ¡°If they are trapped we can probably use our skills more liberally if we wait between encounters¡±, Sincollo announced. ¡°I don¡¯t like the idea of sitting around if Ev¨¦n is still around, she may need our help. Or, she may just be stuck somewhere, that¡¯d be the better outcome.¡± ¡°Either way we can probably take on the rest of this group, five blind were easy¡±, Logan added as he began checking the corridors for enemy locations. Gaemo and Sincollo quickly rummaged through the pockets and bags of the downed foes, picking out a few vials before Logan pointed out their next direction.
Taking one of the hallways led to quite a short walk before muffled noises were heard once more, this time a large explosion in the distance. Gaemo held up his fist to halt the party with Logan snapping his fingers to scan the area ahead. ¡°Six ahead, one is trying to blast a door, the others are closer to us¡±, Logan informed. ¡°I¡¯ll wager they are looking at the door and said explosions, that¡¯ll mean we can attack them from the rear before they get alerted¡±, Gaemo replied. ¡°I can help in that, I use daggers for surprise attacks to save on spells.¡± If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Alright, they should be low enough rank that a couple of strikes from you will be enough¡±, Gaemo replied with a hint of praise in his voice. Moving closer, the party were able to spot the team that Logan scanned earlier. A grouping of five bandits sat on the floor, staring at another stone door that was barring their path, another hallway off to the left was where they had presumably come from. The door had a mage standing in front of it, casting spell after spell into the door to break it down. If they were given some more time they would have probably broken the door down, a large crater was forming in its centre. That did bring up the question if they had destroyed other doors to this point, or if any of the other teams had done so during their day and more stuck here. They were certainly close to the exit. Utilising Stealth, which was easier due to the darkness and the blasting sounds ahead, the party approached the rear of the bandits. The Fighters let out Power Strikes whereas Logan landed two swift Backstabs into his foe, followed by elemental blasts and crossbow bolts, the party taking down three of the five instantly. The remaining two jumped at the sight of their comrades getting assaulted, but following uses of Power Strike and a tumbling Logan for a Backstab in aid dealt with those. There wasn''t much of a commotion, so the blasting mage was oblivious to the assault, though he was alerted when a sword was placed over his neck by Gaemo. ¡°Is your loyalty with your gang or your life?¡± Gaemo asked intimidatingly. ¡°I¡­ With you, of course!¡± the mage stammered as he dropped the staff in his hand. ¡°Good, tell me, how did you get here?¡± ¡°We teleported here, I don¡¯t know how or why. We got separated though.¡± ¡°How many doors have you blasted open?¡± ¡°This was gonna be the third!¡± ¡°Alright. Do you know of a woman who got teleported with you?¡± ¡°The one who attacked us? Uh, I didn¡¯t see her.¡± ¡°Fine. Anything else I should be informed about?¡± ¡°Our gear also got transported! We left our crates a few hallways that way. Take a left then a right to find them!¡± ¡°Thank you¡±, Gaemo ended as he drew back his blade and slammed the hilt of it on the mage¡¯s head, knocking him out. With the final body hitting the floor the team did another quick looting session, both to up their stocks of potions but also to give their skills some time to cooldown. This also gave Logan enough time to look over Spark as his elemental had levelled up to 10, now being on par with his brother Celsius. With another MP in his pool that equated to 1 MP for Logan if he absorbed the last from both of his summons. Looking over the bodies, the team were also an eighth done with the gang, though they had been tackling mostly levels 4 through 6. It would be a lot harder to take on those closer to the 10 area. If the rest of the groups were around 11 strong it wouldn¡¯t be impossible to deal with them, it would only be a few shy for a duo hunter team to take down.
Taking the corridor that was opened on the left, the party found an empty chamber with three more hallways. The interior of this dungeon was turning out to be quite the expansive maze, especially if the separated groups hadn¡¯t found one another yet. Taking the left hallway showed a similar sight, though the doorway showed signs of a destroyed door, another destroyed door leading to the right from this chamber. Reaching the room the mage had spoken of, the party found themselves within a scorched chamber, a circular pattern on the floor depicting where this team had been summoned to. Stacked crates with slumped bags were pushed to the side as well as a bruised corpse that the party could only assume was a rowdy bandit member who didn¡¯t agree with the others. ¡°Knock that one off the list. Let¡¯s check for anything we can use¡±, Gaemo announced as he moved to the crates.
After a few minutes of searching, the team found a few more potions to add to their haul, plus some maps and notes for the gang¡¯s raiding routines. The maps weren¡¯t going to mean much if the gang were taken care of, but it would help return some of the stolen property. Leaving the storage room, the party followed a different hallway, and then another, and another after that. Eventually, they reached another closed stone door that had seen quite a bit of damage to the point it had large cracks that revealed the other side. Which was convenient as the latch was on the other side, allowing Logan to Dimensional Jaunt to the other end and open it for the team. Opening the door to allow the party to enter, they all began to scout this new chamber. It was slightly larger than the previous ones and had another circular pattern across the floor that revealed another group had appeared here. It was apparent they took another hallway, of which there were two open away from this room, plus the one the party had just opened. ¡°This is quite the curious place¡±, Sincollo spoke. ¡°Yes. If it is a dungeon, what normally inhabits it? Or was it a previous temple or estate for an older generation?¡± Gaemo added. ¡°If the kaevock works here, is it similar to the place it was taken from?¡± Logan thought to himself. As the party were moving about the room to decide which path to take a whoosh of wind interrupted their plans. A bright blue light shone across the floor beneath Gaemo¡¯s feet, turning to a violent red as a loud bell noise started to ring out and echo into the hallways. The Fighter was just barely able to jump backwards before several bolts came singing in his direction as hidden crossbows fired. ¡°Fuck, get back into our hallway¡±, Gaemo cursed at the party whilst keeping his voice low to not echo along with the bell. Scrambling to the hallway they had emerged from, the party hid behind the large stone doors and against the dark walls of the underground. Approaching them at high speeds were numerous footsteps that betrayed both leather and metal armaments. Logan¡¯s Echo Radar picked up numerous dots, equalling a total of twelve before any more could get added. A dashing ball of light came into the centre of the room as it lit it up brightly, Logan easily identifying it as a Light Ally. It wasn¡¯t the only light, however, as several of the approaching humanoids held torches in their hands and weapons in the other. As the opposing group entered the larger chamber they formed a circular pattern, with two robed individuals in the middle followed by another Light Ally. The group was formidably armed, and through Identification Logan could tell their levels were higher than the previous bandits. ¡°Logan, teleport in and take out those two casters, Sincollo and I will charge from this way, Marcus keep an eye out if we take hits¡±, Gaemo instructed. The party had plenty of trust in their leader¡¯s wisdom, let alone his experience in taking out groups of traitors, so they had little in the way of discordance. Looking toward his foes, Logan picked out a spot between the two magi and chanted, ¡°Dimensional Jaunt.¡± Disappearing in a wind blast, that alerted the enemies to their location, Logan appeared between the mages and placed a hand on their backs each and chanted twice, ¡°Flame Grasp, Flame Grasp¡±, flames erupting from his hands and totally engulfing the flimsiest of the opposing force. The two mages yelled out in pain before both falling to the floor after taking Backstab damages of 120 and 127. As the exterior ring bandits turned to face Logan, two more fell as the Fighters Rushed into the fray with Power Strikes, while others were caught off guard with crossbow bolts and elemental blasts. Spinning around, Gaemo let off another Power Strike that severed another head, before bringing his blade to the floor and chanting, ¡°Crescent Slice¡±, swiping it upwards and creating a large white slash in the air that carved through three bandits at once, creating a crescent arc that sprayed blood in a vertical motion. Sincollo stood on his hind legs and slammed down with his front, creating a small shockwave across the floor that caused several bandits to stumble and fall to the floor, the saeben promptly moved on top of his enemies to tear them apart. Logan drew up a Bowen dagger to block a sword strike from an opposing Rogue and landed a solid Force shot into the woman¡¯s stomach, shooting her lower body back and causing her to fall frontwards to the floor. Logan finished off his foe with a quick stab into her upper back. Using another charge of Rush to push a foe off balance, Gaemo landed two of his combo strikes to kill another foe with red and yellow colours, landing another blue hit on a following bandit and finishing them off with a flurry of purple slashes that cut through the man¡¯s body and sprayed blood behind them, splattering their bandit allies. Lights danced around the enemies'' blades and bludgeons, but most were blocked, deflected, or dodged entirely. Logan¡¯s party were far faster and far stronger, with Gaemo and Sincollo specialising in taking on humanoids even more than the Spellthief. As the final body hit the floor, the party checked to make sure none were going to get back up or approach from another hallway, before they all let out sighs of relief. Logan¡¯s eyes moved between the numerous numbers floating over the corpses and unconscious bodies. ¡°I guess we can count ourselves lucky that the first team split up as they did, and that this group didn¡¯t have any rank 10s in it¡±, Gaemo announced as he cleaned his blade. ¡°You two used a lot of skills though, that to make sure we came out unscathed?¡± Logan replied as he looked over at the new window popping up with information on Celsius. ¡°A few of them looked better geared, you can see how much our skills can do, didn¡¯t want to give them a chance to use theirs. Plus, I wasn¡¯t sure if any other foes heard that alarm¡±, Gaemo responded as he looked around, ¡°though it seems we¡¯re good on that front. ¡°You¡¯re a formidable phaser hunter¡±, Sincollo praised Logan. ¡°That you are, no doubt you¡¯d earn your metal signet at your next reassessment¡±, Gaemo added. ¡°How many skill uses you got left?¡± Gaemo continued as he looked over to Sincollo. The two Fighters began their own discussion and the corpses were looted, leaving Logan to look over the new window that had appeared. ¡°Your summon ¡®Celsius¡¯ has reached level 11, this is the limit of the summon¡¯s power allowed by the spell Summon _ Elemental, combined with your skill increases. ¡®Celsius¡¯ will cease to gain experience until you use a higher level spell or heighten the mastery of your skills.¡± ¡°Well, there is the limit mentioned some time ago. I¡¯ll have to think about his role in my party later¡±, Logan thought to himself as he took a short rest after the most recent encounter. --- *** --- Chapter 81 - This Makes Us Even. Part 2 After their short rest, which followed a round of looting the corpses for quick vials for further combat, the group stood and looked to Logan for their next path. ¡°This place is turning out to be more of a maze the further we go, these corridors are seemingly nonsensical¡±, Logan spoke as he scouted his mini-map. ¡°A dungeon if I ever saw one, but, the design is too man-made. Like I said, probably ruins from the time of the Bandit Lord¡±, Gaemo responded. ¡°We¡¯ve heard about him a few times, was it that long ago?¡± Marcus asked as he stood by Logan¡¯s side. ¡°Close to two centuries ago now? He was quite a powerful individual with a multitude of skills at his disposal and passed down to his underlings. This place just ¡®feels¡¯ old enough to be from that time.¡± ¡°That way¡±, Logan replied as he pointed down a hallway. ¡°The Lord is the cause of the bookkeepers right?¡± ¡°Yes. His was a presence that even worried the saebers¡±, Sincollo added. Gaemo swivelled his head at this, ¡°Really? How come?¡± ¡°He was in the possession of a few tomes relating to the transformation of my species.¡± ¡°Ah, gotcha. Better to keep that under wraps so that your foes know little about it¡±, Gaemo replied. ¡°Transformation?¡± Logan asked. ¡°You¡¯ll probably see it if we get into a rough patch, or we find the final group¡±, Gaemo answered for his friend. Logan¡¯s curiosity was piqued, but with the mention of keeping it hidden, he didn¡¯t pry any further as he continued to guide the party forwards.
The corridors continued to end in doors that were almost or entirely blasted apart, allowing the party to travel faster than before. This did, however, worry the party that more bandits would be behind the destroyed barriers. It showed that the bandits were being quite brash in trying to escape the ruins that would become their tombs. It quickly became time for more skills to come off of their cooldowns, making some of their rest redundant, but it was better to be safe than sorry in this place. The caution of the party paid off immensely as Logan held up his hand once again to halt the party. ¡°Shit, big group ahead, they must have reformed after exploring this place¡±, Logan informed. ¡°How many?¡± Gaemo asked. ¡°48.¡± ¡°Shit indeed, that¡¯s four times the size of the last group.¡± ¡°How do you want to approach this?¡± Logan asked. ¡°Hmm. Can you detect their ranks at all?¡± ¡°I need to be able to see them, means me getting in closer.¡± ¡°Do it, we¡¯ll be close to teleport far back and make a retreat if we¡¯re spotted.¡± Logan nodded and turned to face the direction of the next chamber. It was just as large as the previous, though it felt smaller due to the sheer number of bandits that were standing in front of yet another large door. This door was different though, it was inlaid with golden carvings that depicted a large monstrous head, something of an amalgamation of orc and ogre, with four sets of fangs. ¡°That¡¯s Madamra¡¯s symbol¡±, Logan thought to himself as he looked at the door. This spelt trouble for the party. Madamra was the Lady of Monsters and one from below. Her domain is that of all monsters that roam the land of Avanar, it is said that the forming of monsters from residual spellforce is her doing. She is one of the few deities that intelligent monsters pray to, and some more suspect civilised races also pray to. If that was on display, it could mean it was a door leading into a dangerous dungeon or the lair of something dedicated to the deity. Thankfully it seemed undamaged by the bandits, but from this distance, it was hard to hear their chatter. As all of the bandits were engaged with the door and their leader, Logan was able to use Identification on all of them. Whilst their quantity was high, their quality wasn¡¯t as worrying, with only a few level 7s as the biggest threat. Stealthily returning to his party deeper in the corridor he informed the others of the force ahead. ¡°Alright, this will be close, but we should be able to handle it. At least three will go down in the initial charge. Sincollo and I will go for the strongest-looking ones, most likely at the front with the better gear. We¡¯ll start with a Flash crystal to blind them, Logan take out the lights as usual to continue their lack of sight.¡± ¡°No magi from what I could tell, I can Force the torches they hold easy enough.¡± ¡°That helps at least. Marcus fire from the back and heal when needed, the summons would do better in the thick of it so we don¡¯t get overwhelmed.¡± Celsius slammed his hand into his head in salute to the order while Spark nodded cordially. ¡°I don¡¯t have many of these, so if all goes to plan we don¡¯t need to use more¡±, Gaemo added as he pulled out a long crystal, around 5¡± in length and 2¡± thick. The crystal was a pristine white, almost shining in the dark of the underground. Logan was informed it was a Devout spell, of third-level, that could blind opponents for a short time. It was hard to place into items for repeated use, so it was resigned to single-use crystals like the one Gaemo was going to use. ¡°If none rank over 7, I shall save my transformation for the final group¡±, Sincollo announced. Logan assumed it was due to either its cooldown or some other factor that meant the saeben wasn¡¯t willing to use it against such a large enemy team. Gaemo gave a quick once-over of the party, checking that all skills were ready alongside the people they were attached to. The man showed little in the way of concern for the upcoming encounter, though lower levelled foes did find difficulty in even hurting the team, their gear being infused with a stronger deal of spellforce to ward off injury more than those that the bandits could wear.
The bandits conversed amongst themselves, kicking at rocks at their feet, or chomping down on rectangular rations blocks. Totally unaware of the danger, what could even come from behind them down here in this deserted place anyway? They had met up via several hallways so if they were to be attacked it would have been before that point. Disrupting some of their talks was a collection of tinking noises, the crystal having been tossed by Gaemo and was now rolling its way into the centre of the pack. Several bandits looked at the now scratched crystal, some of their mouths opening to shout and others whose wide-eyed stares of fear only aided in their approaching debilitation. A sharp scraping of a chalkboard emanated from the crystal as it shook, cracked, and exploded in a large flash of light and sound. This explosive beginning to the ambush was accompanied by the pained yells of the men and women who were blinded by the light. The repeated sounds of wind blasts echoed through the hallway that the party were previously stationed within, two presences making themselves known with their Rush tactics followed by two summons and crossbow bolts. Logan had teleported into the front of the enemy force, placing his hand on the back of one of the level 7s he had spotted previously and chanted, ¡°Flame Grasp¡±, igniting the foe in a blaze of heat death. The Backstab surprise brought what was assumed to be the leader of this portion of the bandits dealt a fiery 130 damage, bringing him straight to unconsciousness. Swirling around, Logan grasped onto another level 7 and repeated the tactic, emblazoning the foe with 123 Backstab fires and taking her down. Thrusting his hands to his hips in a cross fashion whilst dodging to the side, Logan drew up his blades in an x-slash into the last level 7s back for a double Backstab hit of 37 and 40 damage. His final use of the skill left him to let out the following flurry to bring down his foe as they continued to flail around in their blind state. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Flashes of red, blue, yellow, and purple danced across the back of the bandits, the two allied Fighters letting loose with their dazzling deadly displays. The weakest of the enemies were felled in single strokes, others requiring a second attack to quell their short lifespans. Celsius and Spark had grown accustomed to fighting foes at ranged, but this tactic hadn¡¯t diluted their melee capabilities. Celsius accepted blade strikes as his body was resistant, and decided to punch through the opposition and slam into their arms to have their attacks falter even more so. Spark was faster and adept at dodging, yet his body had caught up with his older brother¡¯s and could take a blow or two without worry. Some of the bandits surprisingly had spell rings, Logan spotting the jolts of Lightning amongst one of the bandit¡¯s arms. Seemingly attempting to fire blindly, Logan was able to interlock his fingers with the foe¡¯s and pull him to the floor, absorbing the spell out of sight of any other foes or friends, ¡°Spell Absorb¡±, he mentally commanded. ¡°Spell Absorption successful. Lightning charge stored.¡± Without much time to himself to transfer this into MP, Logan let it out with a tall Wall of Lightning against a group of bandits, ¡°Lightning Wall¡±. Columns of sparking doom erupted from the floor as they danced across the men and women, digging into their bodies over and over. In their blind states, they weren¡¯t able to get out of the wall in time, leading to all of their deaths. Gaemo leapt to the side of the Wall, a smirk on his face as he was delighted in the offensive attitude of a mage, fighting back any idea that Logan was passive. Continuing to coat the battlefield in blood with his slashes, Gaemo had dealt a massive blow against the high number of 48 foes. As the skirmish was reaching a good minute and a half, the bandits¡¯ vision began to return to them, the item doing well against enemies with such low levels. Their attempts at retaliation gained a step of proficiency with sight back on their side, but with the higher levels down for the count, they had little hope left of winning this confrontation. A parrying move from Logan led into him stabbing another foe to the floor, throwing his dagger at another, and using Force to knock out the flankers after his allies. Slash, stab, deflect, and crush. The half-blind bandits all fell to the floor, Logan¡¯s team only partially hurt in the confrontation. If anything this fight just ate up spells and skills, the latter of which could be fixed with a half-hour rest, which was most likely going to come after the floating experience numbers faded away. Logan gathered up his thrown dagger, double-checking for any unconscious bandits while he was at it. Another window popped up by his side, alerting him that Spark had also reached level 11 and would stop progressing just like his older brother. Logan was sitting pretty at 89,149 / 91,000 XP, another fight and he¡¯d more than likely be able to hit level 14. The level before his next System upgrade. Gaemo let out several tough breaths and looked around the battlefield, ¡°Logan¡­ how we looking?¡± ¡°We¡¯re safe, none of them are going to get back up and none are closing in on us¡±, Logan replied, a bit worried about his ally. ¡°Good¡­ this spellforce expenditure at such a high rate is exhausting¡±, Gaemo continued as he sat back down. Logan already knew a fair bit about spellforce, from reading books and talking with other people. A caster was able to utilize spellforce in the air to cast their spells, causing a toll on their mental fortitude with each spell, which equated to the MP and Spell Slot translations the System gave him. On the other side, the martial classes used internal spellforce which caused them a physical exhaustion. That was translated into their cooldowns and uses per day, but the higher level you got on both spectrums led to somewhat harsher feedback. The Fighters probably had it worse with their combo skills, each one inflicting a portion of fatigue. Logan stealing the spells of others, and having a lower allocation himself, was probably why he hadn¡¯t felt such a feeling of tiredness. Marcus was mostly sedentary outside of crossbow fire or the times he had been forced into melee combat, so he could handle the fatigue well enough. Either way, the party had defeated a total of 72 people in a matter of hours, which would have caused almost anyone to require a few rests here or there. And rest the party did, with Marcus using Healer¡¯s Caress to bring his allies back to full strength.
An hour passed before the team were ready to march onwards, the imposing door giving them a sense of dread but otherwise a solid barrier against attack. Gaemo had interrogated the foes that Logan had brought down, though their words just added into the same phrase as the previous bandits, they had no clue about the artefact. There continued to be no signs of Ev¨¦n within the bandit groups, leading the team to assume she was somewhere random or with the final group. With only 15 bandits left to deal with it was a sure-fire guess they were in a large formation. Logan still had his rings to use, sadly he couldn¡¯t add any of the foes¡¯ rings to his stock as they had all been used. Two sequential Grasp spells should deal with the level 10s when it came to it, but without another use of Flash they would be able to retaliate better than this force had. Though as Logan checked over his allies he noticed that Gaemo had caught up with Sincollo, reaching level 16 within this confrontation and gaining just a little bit more power from it. The Fighter hadn¡¯t mentioned anything, so Logan took the educated guess that without a direct correlation of spellforce into spells it was hard to determine an increase in level. Either that or Gaemo didn¡¯t feel the need to announce it.
¡°So, any clue what this door is guarding? Think the last lot are through it?¡± Gaemo asked as he prepared his gear. ¡°I can¡¯t scan past it, it¡¯s possible they are on the other side, just as much as possible that they aren¡¯t¡±, Logan answered. ¡°I feel it best we search the rest of this labyrinth before inviting the beast¡±, Sincollo added. ¡°Either way, we don¡¯t know which is the correct choice, so let¡¯s continue¡±, Gaemo accepted, ¡°Hey, Logan, take these¡±, he continued as he handed two spell slot potions to the mage. ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ll use them when we get to the next group.¡± ¡°Drink them now, 8s and above may have scanning abilities similar to yours. We don¡¯t want anyone unprepared.¡± Logan nodded in agreement, ¡°Right, good call.¡± Even though it went against any previous hoarding mentalities that Logan held, the Spellthief downed the potions and recovered two more uses of Flame. With his Charge Transfer skill, Logan seemingly had no more worries about having his spells last for the same time as a normal caster. Combined with that fact he hadn¡¯t been reassessed, a Wizard of level 10 or thereabouts had a good minimum of twenty-two first-level spells and eleven second-level spells. However, that number diminished with quickcasting and meta alterations. Since all of Logan¡¯s spells were quickcasted he was observed as using more slots than usual, accompanied by his MP pool from Celsius and Spark buffing up to a believable number of spells. With both of his summons reaching their limit, however, Logan would need to work on a third if he were to stick around much longer, and that would require more slots or MP. That would be a problem for later, for now, he continued to steer his party towards their final confrontation within the ruined underground.
The party walked through corridor after corridor, Logan¡¯s map becoming a network of lines connecting dots in a fashion that made him think of ant colonies. Several doors were destroyed, most likely by the teams of bandits they had faced so far, showing the attitude they had at being trapped in the underground. Logan¡¯s quest had been updating as they pressed on, showing 72/87 bandits dealt with, another counter tracking the unconscious ones waiting to be taken back to Gauntlet, and the object of retrieving Ev¨¦n safely. Gaemo did ask every so often about the condition of his ally, to which Logan could only say, ¡°I think so¡±, in return. The walking wasn¡¯t too difficult, though hours of it combined with skirmishes in between was certainly a workout for the party. Celsius and Spark were fine with it as they did not experience fatigue, but the Fighters did have some sweat on their brow. There wasn¡¯t much time for rest, Gaemo was hyper-focused on finding Ev¨¦n. She wasn¡¯t weak by any means, but being trapped underground with bandits all on her own could spell danger if they teleported in a strange fashion. While the party saw bandit groups with all their gear on hand it wasn¡¯t a certainty that they appeared with everything in hand. Ev¨¦n was also going to be surrounded by enemies of levels 7 to 10, without the aid of Stealth it would be a sticky predicament indeed. The party halted as they reached halfway through yet another chamber, Logan¡¯s arm raised as usual to motion the group to stay still. ¡°The last group is ahead, 16 people, Ev¨¦n is there¡±, Logan informed as he saw a single green dot surrounded by reds. Gaemo¡¯s body jutted forward as if he were about to run but his instincts took over and stopped him from going any further. ¡°What is her status?¡± ¡°Hard to tell, but she is alive at the very least. I¡¯d need a sightline for anything more.¡± ¡°How are they gathered?¡± ¡°Rather clumped together, it seems the chamber ahead is a dead end of sorts¡±, Logan explained as he stared at his mini-map that only he could see. ¡°We¡¯d best not risk you getting detected. Let¡¯s prepare now for an ambush and change according to the situation.¡± ¡°Would it not be better to assess before attacking?¡± Marcus inquired. ¡°There are cons on both sides. But, if Logan is detected they could take Ev¨¦n as a body shield, it is possible she is just tied up somewhere and not in immediate danger. Logan will teleport Sincollo and me next to her, if needed teleport her out. Then we¡¯ll take on the forces¡±, Gaemo explained as he pointed out at his allies. ¡°I surmise that my transformation will be put to best use here then¡±, Sincollo announced as he moved slightly back. --- *** --- Chapter 82 - This Makes Us Even. Part 3 Sincollo¡¯s body started to shimmer slightly in the darkness, an aura of yellow radiating around his fur and form. A wave of air whooshed from his centre, pushing away dust and pebbles, Sincollo¡¯s mane floating upwards as energy surged through his entire being. Following this display of power, cracks of bones and morphing of flesh quietly filled the corridor the party were waiting within. Sincollo¡¯s body was breaking and reforming itself as he grew almost a foot in size, his hind legs engoring into more enormous paws and more firmly planted on the floor as he rose to a bipedal stance. Lightning sparked across the saeben, causing smoke to billow from his body. A low rumbling roar within his throat was the only sound that Sincollo made during the transformation. With a final rush of grey smoke and lightning arcs, Sincollo flourished his newly changed arms and elongated claws. The saeben¡¯s maw was open to reveal his fangs larger than ever as saliva dripped from them to the floor. In a more gravelly force than before he spoke, ¡°Let us dispatch these vermin.¡± Logan was taken aback, both at the new look of his saeber companion as well as his shift in tone of voice. The party settings were limited so he couldn¡¯t peek at his ally¡¯s attributes, but the man¡¯s HP did rise with the transformation so it was a good guess that they also increased. ¡°Marcus, heal us when needed, but if you see someone trying to cast spells, counter them with Gaia Skystrike¡±, Gaemo instructed as he started to move forward. Keeping pace, Logan darted his eyes around to spot the dots of his mini-map. The team reached the archway of the hallway, the door exploded inwards totally from this bandit group¡¯s assault. It led to a grand staircase downwards. At the bottom of the staircase was a large chamber lit with braziers holding purple flames, their crackling filled the room with chaotic tunes, accompanying the discussion of the bandits ahead. It seemed this chamber was built within a natural cave, the floor ending off into chasms all around its perimeter. A good 200-foot radius platform held on it the final 15 bandits and captured Ev¨¦n. Tied up to a fallen and destroyed statue, the hunter was stripped of her gear except for her mundane clothing underneath. A pile of bags and miscellaneous items closer to the base of the stairs more than likely held her effects within. Looking across the bandits, Logan counted three level 10s and several of levels 5 through 9. A few of them had their details hidden away due to trinkets, but Logan was sure his team could take on this final group. Gaemo gripped onto Logan¡¯s shoulder, as Sincollo¡¯s grasped similarly but more painfully on Logan¡¯s other shoulder. Wincing at the pressure, Logan stared at the space to the side of Ev¨¦n. ¡°Dimensional Jaunt¡±, he commanded in his head. All three warped into their centres and exploded into the arena below. The bandits veered their heads around at the wind explosion near their captive, but Logan had already dropped to a knee and placed a hand on Ev¨¦n. ¡°Dimensional Jaunt¡±, he mentally commanded again as he cranked his head to the top of the stairs. Warping to safety, Logan dropped the captive at Marcus¡¯s feet, the Devout quickly ducking to provide healing to their ally. Whipping his head around once more, Logan used his third of four rings to return to the fray, Sincollo letting loose on the bandits with his heightened strength. His ferocity reminded Logan of the yetis, the saeben tearing into flesh with reckless abandon and biting so harshly into necks that he decapitated some of them. Gaemo wasn¡¯t too far behind in his ferocious display, his colourful sword swings brought with them large lines of blood into the air and the floor. Though in retaliation the bandits also glowed several hues of the rainbow or blurred their movements with hasted effects. Landing behind one of the level 10s, Logan wrapped an arm around the bandit¡¯s sword arm to halt an attack, placing his other hand on the man¡¯s back as he chanted, ¡°Flame Grasp¡±, igniting the bandit to a degree that it was magic that kept him alive. One of the further back bandits then rose up his arm, within it was grasped a five-pointed star pointed downwards. It began to spark with black lightning alongside a purple glow, but his arm was punctured by a large spike of earth from the sky, Marcus having used a Skystrike spell as instructed. With a yell of pain alerting Logan to the event, and the dropping of the star, he threw the unconscious body in his hand to the side as he darted to a slide next to the new target. Scooping up the star, Logan moved it behind his back and sneakily put it in his inventory. ¡°You fucker! Give that back!¡± the bandit yelled as his body began to vibrate. Rushing forwards, the bandit swiped upwards with his curved sword that glowed red. Logan just barely leant back enough to have the blade nick his chin. Bringing the sword down on the Spellthief, the yellow-hued slash was again barely blocked by Logan two-handing his Bowen dagger. Faltering slightly under the weight of the attack, Logan could feel his arm shaking from the power as well as see a crack form over his blade. Pushing back, Logan was able to deflect the blow, but the bandit took the momentum into a spin, lashing out with a blue aura assault. Bracing his left forearm on the blunt side of his dagger, Logan blocked the attack, having his dagger suffer further damage in place of himself. The bandit then had his blade glow purple, but before he could begin to let loose on Logan a large claw grabbed him from behind and pulled back. The bandit was taken off his feet as a fist planted itself in his stomach as he was horizontal in the air, pushing him into the platform beneath and cracking it. With an open mouth, a rush of saliva and blood spewed from the foe as Sincollo most likely cracked bones and punctured organs. A second punch landed into the bandit¡¯s face as Sincollo caved it against the floor, his retreating paw bringing up blood and sinew with it. Looking at Logan, Sincollo opened his ferocious maw, ¡°Are you fine, Logan?¡± Logan gave a shaky nod, the saeben jumping away to deal with the other bandits. ¡°Don¡¯t get on his bad side¡±, Logan acknowledged in his head. Errant spells went off in all directions, though Logan spotted no real caster amongst the bandits before so he guessed that these had even more spell rings. Throwing his damaged dagger at one of the bandits, Logan was able to collide with a burst of Flame, exploding the spell in midair and wasting the ring¡¯s charge, destroying his dagger in the process. Running to the back of another bandit engaged with Gaemo, Logan planted his hand on her back and engulfed her with another, ¡°Flame Grasp¡±, to aid in the speedy defeat of the final bandit group. As her body fell to the floor, another massive crush was heard as Sincollo planted the last bandit into the rocky platform. The heavy breathing of the sabertoothed monstrosity was all that was heard in the newly cleared chamber, Logan glanced over the bodies before giving a thumbs up to his allies, signalling the end of the confrontation. ¡°Level up! Gain: 8 HP, +1 Str, +1 Agi, +1 Con, +1 Int. You have 1 attribute point to spend.¡± Logan wiped the sweat from his brow, his arm still aching and stiff from his accruing scars. His allies similarly cooled off from their confrontation, Sincollo emanating slow steam from his body as he began to come out of his transformation. The sight of blood covering the floor and the halved bodies¡¯ death stares flashed a vision of the ice cavern in Logan¡¯s mind. Squinting his eyes he looked away, trying to put the image out of his head. ¡°I was not expecting a rescue mission, let alone so soon, you have my thanks¡±, a womanly voice spoke. Turning his head further to the stairs Logan saw Ev¨¦n descending it with Marcus not too far behind. ¡°We don¡¯t leave a hunter, besides, our mission wasn¡¯t complete¡±, Gaemo responded as he walked over to the recovered ally. ¡°From the sight of things, you didn¡¯t get teleported with us¡±, Ev¨¦n continued as she looked at the other party members. ¡°No, it seems I may have been out of range or the artefact could only take so many at once.¡± ¡°As best an outcome as any I suppose, it allowed you reinforcements¡±, Ev¨¦n spoke as she dug through the bags for her gear. ¡°Gaemo¡­ is that all the bandits?¡± Sincollo asked as he was now standing back on all fours. ¡°Seems right to my count, what about you, Logan?¡± ¡°Yeah, can¡¯t scan any other threats.¡± ¡°What of the artefact? It was part of our original goal so it is best we make sure it was not stolen away¡±, Ev¨¦n asked as she looked around. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Logan quickly checked this inventory screen to assess the 5-pointed star, however, just like the kaevock it lacked any details. Putting his hand into his pack he pulled it out and showed it to the team, ¡°I snagged it when Marcus hit it out of one of the bandit¡¯s hands.¡± ¡°Was it Oretessu?¡± Gaemo asked as he looked at the bodies. Logan looked back and pondered for a while¡­ ¡°Wait, where is he?¡± ¡°What? The leader isn¡¯t here?¡± Gaemo¡¯s voice got louder as he darted between the faces on the floor. ¡°Fuck, how¡¯d the artefact land in these lot¡¯s hands?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t notice him either when we arrived¡±, Ev¨¦n added. ¡°Logan, did you notice him amongst the previous groups?¡± Logan thought hard about his recent confrontations, his System even alerted in his head a, ¡°No¡±. ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t think we¡¯ve fought him yet.¡± ¡°A general without an army shall build another¡±, Sincollo recounted. ¡°It couldn¡¯t have been simple, could it?¡± Gaemo spoke with a sigh. ¡°So what next? We explore all corridors until we find Oretessu?¡± Logan asked. ¡°We can¡¯t very well let the man escape, who knows what other items he may be holding, let alone our quest requiring him dead or alive.¡± ¡°This chamber is a dead end, it¡¯s your call Gaemo. Where is Oretessu? In the corr-¡± Logan began but was cut off as he felt a vibration in his hand from the star. ¡°Wait¡­ Where is Oretessu?¡± he repeated, and the vibration repeated with him. ¡°The artefact is resonating with the question?¡± Ev¨¦n asked as he tilted his head over to the star. ¡°It might be why they used it without knowing¡±, Logan replied. ¡°So, it can be used more than once, it is a new day for them after all. Are we confident we can trust it?¡± Gaemo posed. ¡°From all accounts, the bandits had no idea about the artefact¡±, Sincollo said. ¡°Let¡¯s ask these ones, someone here was going to use it right?¡± ¡°Yeah, that one¡±, Logan replied as he pointed out a body. Moving over to the body, Gaemo began to strip it of gear and proceeded to tie the man up. ¡°Marcus, heal this one awake.¡± Marcus did as commanded and placed a hand on the bandit, recovering 8 HP for the unconscious target, though his face was still a bloody mess. With a sharp movement, the bandit shot his head up, his eyes dancing around as he glanced at the corpses, finally landing on his betters. ¡°Shit.¡± ¡°Shit indeed, you¡¯d be in it deeper if you don¡¯t answer my questions. Got it?¡± Gaemo threatened as he pulled his blade close. ¡°I¡¯m heading for the gallows either way, fuck you!¡± the bandit spat at Gaemo. The Fighter turned his head to Marcus and jolted his head as if to say, ¡°Heal him again.¡± Marcus placed his hand on the bandit''s shoulder and began to heal the man and in that instant Gaemo sliced his blade through the left ear of the captive, severing it and having it fly through the air in a flourish of blood. ¡°Fuck!¡± the bandit exclaimed in pain, his body shifting as if he wanted to compress the wound. ¡°How many innocent lives fell to your weapons? You think I won¡¯t make this painful for you!?¡± Gaemo raised his voice. Logan was about to step up before Sincollo stopped him with a shake of his head. ¡°You¡¯re insane if you think your hands are cleaner than mine, fucker!¡± Gaemo brought up his blade, aimed it forward, and made a piercing jab towards the man¡¯s right eye. The bandit shook all over as he went cross-eyed following the sword, only exclaiming, ¡°Stop!¡± at the last second. ¡°Fine! I¡¯ll talk, you crazy fuck!¡± the bandit yelled as he shook his head trying to get away from the sharp end of the sword. ¡°Where is Oretessu?¡± Gaemo asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know, he didn¡¯t appear with us, we assumed he got split like the rest!¡± ¡°How do you use this artefact?¡± ¡°The star? Fuck, I just held it and thought ¡®I wanted to get the below away from here¡¯ and it took us.¡± ¡°That¡¯s it? Do you know anything else about it?¡± ¡°The boss took it from one of our hauls, a group of adventurers who raided a dungeon found it.¡± Gaemo looked away in disgust, it was obvious this army of bandits most likely attacked the adventurers when they least expected it, probably when they were sleeping. ¡°So, you don¡¯t know what this place is?¡± ¡°No. Never seen it before in my life, barely spent any time underground let alone in caves.¡± A random teleportation, it was lucky the bandits arrived so close to the capital that Logan and co were able to reach them quickly. ¡°Why did you tie up Ev¨¦n?¡± ¡°Hostage, we didn¡¯t know who or what else came with us. At least if you were here we could use her against you.¡± ¡°Typical. Fine, that sorts out our destination. Tell me, is your gang still numbered at 87?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t do the headcounts, how should I know?¡± ¡°Have you at least seen any new faces recently?¡± ¡°No, not that I recall.¡± Without a further word, Gaemo dealt a solid punch into the bandit¡¯s face, the force of it knocking him to his back unconscious. ¡°Fucking bandits¡±, Gaemo said under his breath. ¡°Are we heading after their leader with the artefact?¡± Sincollo asked as he circled around to his ally¡¯s side. ¡°Yeah, hopefully, he is somewhere we can leave easy. If not, that artefact will be giving us a round trip. Six versus one should be fine.¡± ¡°Seven¡±, Ev¨¦n added as she fastened her belt tight with newly donned daggers. ¡°You good? They didn¡¯t hurt or drain you in any way?¡± ¡°Knocked me out and took my stuff, that¡¯s all.¡± ¡°At least they had some courtesy¡±, Gaemo replied before turning his head back to Sincollo, ¡°Yeah, seven is good odds. You up for it, Logan?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like leaving a job incomplete, so yeah. Marcus?¡± ¡°Count me in.¡± ¡°Any prep before we try and use this thing?¡± Logan asked as he looked over the star in his hand. ¡°Let¡¯s take a half-hour rest here, get some skills in case Oretessu is packing more trinkets and artefacts¡±, Gaemo suggested as he looked over the team. The party accepted the short break, harrowing fight after harrowing fight was taking its toll on their resources as well as setting in a sort of fatigue amongst the group. Ev¨¦n and Gaemo spent some time talking with one another, discussing the time leading up to this point, while Sincollo took a short nap in the corner. While the party did their own thing, Marcus was set to looting the corpses and noting the still living bodies. Leaving Logan with his own thoughts. With the star in his hand, he looked it over more closely. It was made of translucent green glass, shining slightly against the ambient light of the chamber. It was just shy of a foot tall, half a foot wide, and four inches thick. Looking at his reflection, Logan spotted the scars across his face that was also covered in blood. Bags had started to develop under his eyes due to his sleepless nights filled with hunting activities. ¡°Where is Earth?¡± he spoke under his breath to the star. It vibrated in his hand as he swore he could see a vision of a high-rise building within the glass. Logan¡¯s eyes went wide, his heart stepping up in tempo. The Spellthief¡¯s head was full of the thumping of his life engine, blood pumping around his body causing it to shake with excitement. With a tremble, he opened his mouth, ¡°Take-¡± he began before shutting his mouth. ¡°If I used this now, it¡¯d take the others with me. Hell, it took almost a hundred others¡±, he thought as he darted his eyes between his allies. ¡°I¡¯m not that kind of asshole, I¡¯ll use it when we¡¯re done and I can get far away.¡±
Logan felt like this rest was longer than any other, the key to his escape in his hands. He could have selfishly used it to take him home but doing so would take the others. He¡¯d need a lot of distance to use it without worry, he wasn¡¯t even sure about its carry range. Gaemo was lucky enough to be outside of it. Marcus snapped his friend out of his daze, a pat on the Spellthief''s shoulder having him jump up a bit. ¡°We¡¯re ready to go. You good?¡± ¡°Yeah, just thinking about stuff.¡± ¡°Keeping active has probably helped stop that, right?¡± Marcus asked with a knowing gaze. ¡°What-¡± Logan started as he looked at his friend. ¡°He probably noticed that I haven¡¯t been sleeping¡±, he thought. ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ve had a lot come to us to keep my mind from wandering.¡± ¡°A lot of variety. Helping those homeless, the goblins, hunts¡­ Lightbeam is probably back, if not back by the time we get back to Gauntlet. How do you feel about that?¡± Logan looked down as he stood, his mind whirling with potential answers to the question. ¡°Like shit¡±, he replied succinctly. ¡°Let¡¯s¡­ just get this done, we can deal with the aftermath of my failure when we get to it.¡± ¡°Our failure¡±, Marcus responded as he turned to return to the party. ¡°Yeah¡­ ours.¡± The pair grouped up with the rest, Gaemo downing what was left in his waterskin. ¡°Ev¨¦n has informed us a little about Oretessu¡¯s fighting style¡±, Sincollo announced as he jutted his head to the rescued ally. ¡°The gist of it all is that he¡¯s a berserker. Dual sword style with plenty of skills to back him up. Outside of that, he has some enhancing spell rings, no doubt potions too. I¡¯d love to say we have the same, but a lot of the potions from the bandits are required to be handed in¡±, Ev¨¦n listed. ¡°We¡¯d probably make more than 2 gold if we did use, keep, or sell the items. However, I am sure you know that bonuses are catered to the hunters, we¡¯d be better off not using the supplies¡±, Gaemo added. ¡°Spell rings and the like are fine though, as they recharge daily¡±, Logan stated matter-of-factly. ¡°If only there were usable ones. I got some potions all my own, and found some that weren¡¯t listed as ¡®required¡¯. We can use those if things get hectic¡±, Gaemo continued. ¡°He may be alone, but a well-trained and multi-skilled foe can easily take down those above their rank, or multiple equals at once¡±, Sincollo added. Logan knew this well, his teleportation focus allowed him to make use of Grasp spells more easily than any mage of his level. Added to that, Logan was able to combine Backstab with Grasp, equalling much more damage than normal. From what he could tell it applied Grasp and then Backstab after that calculation. He knew this wouldn¡¯t last forever, or be as easy as it was, enemies would eventually counter his teleportation. ¡°We need to overwhelm him with attacks and effects. Logan, Ev¨¦n, Sincollo, and I will get into a melee with him. There won¡¯t be room for the elementals. So those and Marcus will hold fire for any gaps, or just heal us.¡± ¡°Got it, I was expecting it to be quite clustered¡±, Marcus accepted quickly. ¡°Logan, can you throw out Gaia spells? If you can sicken him it¡¯d help with the melee portion.¡± ¡°I can do two to four of those.¡± ¡°I guess we gotta accept that with a slotter. If you can do the upper number that¡¯d be fine. He¡¯s the leader, so he has probably dealt with many classed beings, anticipate dodges and parries galore.¡± The team started to take out potion vials of varying colours and took a final look at Logan. The Spellthief took out the glass star, placed a Bowen dagger from his rib holster into the sheath at his lower back, and nodded to the team, who drank their potions. ¡°Take us to Oretessu.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 83 - This Makes Us Even. Part 4 The party all drew their weapons in anticipation of their teleportation, hopes high that since their numbers were low that they would not get separated as the bandits had. Drawing the 5-pointed star made of translucent green glass, Logan spoke aloud even if he didn¡¯t need to, ¡°Take us to Oretessu.¡± A bright green light shone around the group, encapsulating their forms and minimising them into tiny specks of colour before blinking out of existence. Moments later their forms blasted outwards far from their original position, grass underfoot and blue skies overhead. A rush of wind caressed their bodies as the pressure of their appearance normalised with the locale they found themselves in. Another set of ruins, though this was outside. Tall stone columns stood around with the remains of rock buildings laying across the grassy knoll. The party weren¡¯t too high up, but the knoll was rather wide and most likely sat at the head of an old civilisation. Before they could fully take in the scenery or find out where they had apparated, another cutting air hit them, but this time it was from the slash of a blade. Celsius¡¯s fire was cut in twain by a single strike, his body roaring in anguish as it imploded into nothingness. Darting their heads around, the party were just able to see their foe cleaving into Spark and dissipating another ally. ¡°Identify¡±, Logan commanded in his head. However, as a few adventurers had done before, Logan¡¯s Identification was countered by a severe shockwave into his eyes and head. Oretessu was a tall and muscular man, 6¡¯1¡± with arms twice the size of a normal man¡¯s. Gripped in his hands were two curved and jagged swords, blue and green vein lines etched from the hilt to the tip. His spiky white hair barely moved as his body whirred into almost imperceivable motion. A slash landed on the blocking blade of Gaemo, a sharp crack forming across his weapon. Oretessu¡¯s off-hand blade struck out at Sincollo who only barely grabbed it in his teeth. Pulling on the blade, Oretessu somersaulted with a kick into Ev¨¦n¡¯s jaw, sending her skyward and dislodging his blade from the saeben¡¯s maw. ¡°Blast Rush¡±, Oretessu spoke aloud as his body vibrated harshly. In the instant his foot landed back on the floor a massive crash of energy shot from his heel, propelling him upwards. ¡°Torn Life¡±, the man chanted again. This time his body had visible grey winds flow around it in a circular fashion, his body spinning like a top and then titling sideways to slash out at Ev¨¦n countless times with ranged wind slashes. Ev¨¦n did her best to block the onslaught with her daggers but they were cut into smithereens within seconds, the skill landing numerous slashes into her chest. Logan gripped tightly onto his amulet to grant him 2 MP, stared down his most recent ally and mentally commanded, ¡°Dimensional Jaunt.¡± Warping out and behind Ev¨¦n, Logan placed a hand on her back and used his last ring charge to warp her away to safety. Oretessu¡¯s skill ended with a blast of air and a low-pitch bang, his body aimed toward the floor. ¡°Blast Rush¡±, he chanted again as another explosion from his heel sent him like a meteor onto Gaemo. Blades clashed as Oretessu¡¯s dual swords slammed into Gaemo¡¯s single. Both of the men¡¯s blades then began to glow hues of red, yellow, and blue as they slammed into each other to try and land their combo skills. Sincollo jumped into the fray with metal claws into the side of the bandit leader, his attention splitting between two foes. Logan threw his hand high as he chanted, ¡°Gaia Skystrike¡±, throwing his hand down as he formed a spike of rock behind the bandit and shot it down to the man. The spike hit true into the man¡¯s shoulder, blood splatting across the floor and onto Logan¡¯s allies. However, Oretessu just shook his body as his muscles expanded an inch and crushed the stone in his shoulder. Slashing at his foes, the bandit threw Gaemo and Sincollo off their balance for a second, spun, and drank another potion. Oretessu¡¯s body hastened through his imbibed liquid and darted towards Logan at the far back who had retreated to ranged combat. Logan was only able to let out a few syllables before his foe was in slashing distance. Dragging his blade into the ground, Oretessu sparked a wave of red mist as he hid his Power Strike as it slashed upwards into Logan, the blade cleaving through his left hip and through the centre of his head for 160 damage. Logan was sent flying back at -12 HP before he regained consciousness by a wayward yellow light from Marcus. Flipping to a sliding kneel, Logan scanned the battlefield for his foe who had been engaged by the melee forces again, with Ev¨¦n in tow. ¡°Heal Shot¡±, Marcus called out several times as he healed up the Spellthief far from his previous 2 points from death. ¡°That was fucking close¡±, Logan thought to himself. Throwing his arms back skyward he threw them down as he chanted, ¡°Necromantic Skystrike¡±, summoning tendrils of darkness to wrap around the bandit¡¯s arms. The spell did well the first and second time, pulling the leader out of his flurry of blows to allow Logan¡¯s allies to get in their own hits. It also did wonders in healing Logan. Logan just kept pissing off Oretessu though. The leader¡¯s eyes glowed a bright red as Logan recognised the Berserk skill. Circling the blade in his left hand, Oretessu landed a sparking pommel into Ev¨¦n¡¯s face, dazing her with Pommel Stun. His right blade sparked with electricity as he slashed out at Sincollo, a blade beam of yellow cutting deep and shocking the saeben into a similarly paralyzed state. Dropping both blades, Oretessu grabbed onto Gaemo¡¯s shoulders, reined his head back, and smashed his forehead into the Fighter. Cracks of bone and teeth exploded outwards with jets of blood from both forces. With three foes out for a second or so, Oretessu Rushed toward Logan a second time with newly grabbed blades. This time they both flowed red mist from his steel, a double strike would end Logan. ¡°Dimensional Jaunt!¡± Logan yelled. Exploding out of existence with a wind blast, Logan teleported towards his foe. Oretessu certainly saw this coming as he spun around and slashed at his back, however, Logan had sent himself skyward once more. ¡°Gaia Shot! Gaia Shot! Gaia Shot!¡± Logan chanted over and over as he let loose a volley of three rock shards down onto the bandit. Two of the large spikes hit Oretessu¡¯s shoulders, almost forcing and pinning him to the floor. Logan had finally hit the man with a sickly feeling as the bandit¡¯s skin turned a shade of green, but he instead yelled out, ¡°Neverdie!¡± The bandit¡¯s form flourished its green hue with an aura of red, a loud thumping audible for several hundred feet as Oretessu¡¯s heartbeat was that of a demon¡¯s. Logan¡¯s descent also signed his death, Oretessu drew back his blades that glowed yellow and slashed into the heavens with large swathes of power. Logan chanted just in time with another, ¡°Dimensional Jaunt¡±, appearing atop one of the columns. He was finally out of spells, MP, and rings. Logan felt that tinge of fatigue in his head, though it could have been from the slash that almost cut it in half. Oretessu was about to slash again as his head tracked Logan¡¯s location, but instead, someone else¡¯s slash hit the bandit. ¡°Severing Slash!¡± Gaemo called out as his blade cut through Oretessu¡¯s right arm. A jet stream of blood came out in a circle from the bandit¡¯s arm as it went hurtling to the floor. ¡°My hand!¡± Oretessu yelled out incorrectly, as it was much more than that. Spinning around, Oretessu¡¯s relentless state retaliated with another glowing blade into the blocking one of Gaemo. This clash caused the hunter¡¯s blade to snap in two, the pointed end going flying just as Oretessu¡¯s arm had. ¡°Fuck!¡± Gaemo cursed as he dodged the following slash. ¡°Force!¡± Logan called out as he shot a cascading array of grey energy orbs at the bandit. One hit into the man¡¯s leg, faltering his attack, but with it, he knew the origin and began to dodge every one of them. It seemed like Oretessu was far above the skill level assigned to him, being able to take so much and continue going. Was it just the Berserk and Neverdie skills at work? Ev¨¦n and Sincollo were still down, though they were resisting with their best efforts to stand back up. ¡°Die!¡± Oretessu called out as his blade glowed purple, signalling the flurry end of his combo. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. The blade came down onto Gaemo who couldn¡¯t dodge all of them, especially with his potion buffs ending. ¡°No!¡± Logan called out as he was about to Bloodcast his way in to help. But he didn¡¯t need to as he saw another attack. A hand gripped Oretessu¡¯s back, the bandit whipped his head around as he hadn''t anticipated another mage. ¡°Gaia Grasp!¡± Marcus yelled out, his arm becoming a bridge for a torrent of mud and stone to pierce into the leader. Oretessu¡¯s body took on another green tinge as he was sickened once again. ¡°Gaemo, catch!¡± Logan called out as he threw a dagger at his ally. Gaemo spun around as he caught the Bowen dagger, continuing his spin as he swiped the final strike. The dagger dug into Oretessu¡¯s chest as it just barely missed, or rather aimed to not hit, his heart. The bandit coughed up sick and blood as his body finally gave out, the red glow of his eyes fading away with the falling slump of meat he had become. A loud thud sounded as the bandit leader hit the grassy floor beneath him, it was a miracle, or just amazing skill usage, that allowed him the breaths he let out against the leaves. As the rest of the team got to the body of the bandit leader with tensed bodies and drawn weapons, Logan could see the fight was over as experience floated over the body. Logan jogged back to the party as he called out, ¡°He¡¯s out, nothing else is nearby.¡± They all looked at Logan for a second then back to the body, waiting for it to jump right back up. A few seconds passed as sighs of relief were all that came from the situation. ¡°Damn, he was much stronger than a rank 10. The fuck happened to him?¡± Gaemo exclaimed. ¡°Fucker had so many skills, it was endless¡±, Ev¨¦n added. ¡°It was fortunate events played out this way, with you two alone, you¡¯d have failed¡±, Sincollo pointed out as he looked at Gaemo. ¡°Yeah, no way we could have taken him if he was like this before the teleportation¡±, Gaemo accepted. ¡°He almost killed me with that one Power Strike, if not for my armour granting me a greater defence¡±, Logan admitted as he looked at the damage reduction of the nullafo armour. ¡°How¡¯d he-¡± Gaemo started as he picked up the blades that Oretessu was wielding, ¡°well¡­ that¡¯s how. This guy had more artefacts.¡± ¡°What?¡± the team blurted out together. ¡°These two swords, they are artefacts. I can feel the spellforce weaved into them. Logan, can you see what they can do?¡± Gaemo explained as he handed one of the swords to the Spellthief. Taking the item in his hands and using Identification didn¡¯t return much except their name, ¡°Bloodrender¡±, Logan spoke. ¡°What? The Bandit Lord¡¯s first weapons?¡± Ev¨¦n asked. ¡°Two-hundred-year-old artefacts. Fuck¡±, Gaemo exclaimed. ¡°They are worth a fortune¡±, Sincollo stated. ¡°Maybe more in battle¡­¡± Gaemo said with a hint of wanting. ¡°That¡¯s three artefacts already. What happened with this gang?¡± Logan asked. ¡°Something recent, the bounty has been around for a while but the guard didn¡¯t know about these artefact additions. If they did the pay would be much higher¡±, Ev¨¦n informed. ¡°Know anything else about the blades, Logan?¡± ¡°Sorry, that¡¯s it.¡± ¡°Just the name huh, oh well. I can get someone at Gauntlet to examine them. If it¡¯s alright with the rest of you, I¡¯ll take these as my pay, you can have all the silver and items¡±, Gaemo admitted. ¡°They aren¡¯t exactly my style, I¡¯m fine with it¡±, Sincollo agreed. ¡°They would be nice, but I use daggers mostly. Go for it, ¡®hero¡¯¡±, Ev¨¦n teased. Marcus and Logan looked at one another in agreement, ¡°Fine with us¡±, Logan stated. Gaemo gave a big grin at his prizes, ¡°Thanks, everyone. Not just for these two swords, but for helping in taking down this gang¡±, he said as he retrieved the sheathes from the body of Oretessu. ¡°Hunters gotta stick together, right?¡± Logan replied. ¡°I¡¯ll owe you all one too, looks like I will be settling down in Gauntlet with this tight group¡±, Ev¨¦n announced. ¡°Settling down?¡± ¡°Yeah, I work as a hunter in a different settlement, but there aren¡¯t any others there. Having a team like this at my back makes my life a lot safer.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome to come down to the inn¡±, Sincollo invited. ¡°I¡¯ve been there before, it¡¯s where I met Gaemo.¡± ¡°Speaking of which, we better start heading back. We need to sort out the unconscious bandits. Logan, know where we are?¡± Gaemo asked. Logan looked around, clicked his fingers, and checked his map. ¡°We¡¯re really far to the south, probably a few weeks horse ride.¡± ¡°That¡¯s quite the teleportation artefact. Take us back to that underground would you?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± The party gathered back up, with the one-armed body of Oretessu bound and slung over Gaemo¡¯s shoulder. Logan asked the star to return them to their previous location, which didn¡¯t work at first, but when asked to teleport to his horse, Carmen, the star functioned as normal. Sparking in and out with bright green lights, appearing next to his horse, Logan felt a shaking in his hand. Pulling the star up to his eye level he saw it had cracked all over. ¡°What happened?¡± Gaemo asked. ¡°It¡­ broke?¡± Logan announced as he looked over the artefact. Some parts of the star had fallen off due to the cracks and the Spellthief could tell its power was fading. ¡°Was it overused? Perhaps it hadn¡¯t recharged fully since teleporting that bandit gang¡±, Ev¨¦n theorised. ¡°Whatever happened, it¡¯s lucky we were able to get back before it did¡±, Gaemo said. Logan stared at the artefact for several seconds, a glimmer of anger boiling inside. His eyes widened slightly as he saw a new window pop up to the side of the item though. ¡°You lot go ahead, I¡¯ll look over this for a bit¡±, Logan asked. ¡°Sure, we¡¯ll get to the first group and start stripping and carting the unconscious ones.¡± Leaving Logan to his own devices, with Marcus also heading back into the underground, the Spellthief investigated the artefact and the window that came with it. ¡°This artefact has been destroyed, a special option is available due to the requisite class of Spellthief. Do you wish to absorb the ebbing spellforce? Yes / No.¡± ¡°Is there any reason not to? This must be something similar to Spell Absorption, why else would it only be open to my class?¡± Logan pondered in his head. Taking a look around and clicking his fingers, Logan was unable to find any onlookers. Deciding it best to accept the offer, the Spellthief affirmed the selection. A wave of wispy purple smoke shot out from the cracks of the now four-pointed star into Logan¡¯s palm, just like his absorption skill. ¡°Absorption of item successful. Calculating reward¡­¡± ¡°Dimensional Jaunt and Teleport have been learnt. Dimensional Jaunt has progressed to tier 2-tier 3-tier 4-tier 5, Teleport has progressed to tier 2-tier 3.¡± With the essence taken from the glass object, it cracked even more and shattered to pieces on the floor. Dust breezed between Logan¡¯s fingers as he processed the outcome, investigating his spells to find what had changed. ¡°No additional casts but double the distance and triple the targets. A great boost, that would let me teleport a whole party at a time, if it wasn¡¯t for all the stuff we¡¯d be taking back to town right now. Teleport is a bit out of my reach currently though, I¡¯d need to be level 24 for fourth-level spells¡±, Logan calculated in his head. Looking at Teleport, in particular, Logan would be able to shift his party 144 miles at level 24, pretty much the entire distance to the ice cavern. Surprisingly, and very disappointingly, Logan did not learn any portal-style spells or ones that would allow him to return to Earth. Even though the artefact had those effects Logan could not obtain them. Was there a level limitation? Or something surrounding his tier of Spell Absorption? Either way, this outcome left the Spellthief quite deflated. ¡°Could I absorb the kaevock?¡± he wondered. Picking out the other artefact in his possession granted no window asking if he wanted to absorb it. The major conclusion was that the artefact had to be heavily damaged or in the process of being destroyed. Was it worth it to gain some extra power? The risk was that Logan couldn¡¯t learn the spells that made up the kaevock. It seemingly had more to do with unlocking than anything else. As it stood, this artefact could open up specific dungeons and doors, and was rumoured to be able to unlock tomes. That was a good enough reason to keep it intact, if Logan was to proceed deeper into the ice caverns who knew if there were further doors inside? Placing the tumbler lock back into his inventory, Logan collected the pieces of the previous artefact as Gaemo needed to hand it in., Logan then descended the stairs to aid in the moving of the still-living bandits.
It took almost three hours to shuffle the bodies to the entrance, tie them up so that if they woke they wouldn¡¯t cause many issues, and finally sieve through all their items. The crates took an especially long time as they had to catalogue what items needed to be handed back at the guardhouse. The haul was quite amazing, Logan and Marcus being able to swap out their current attribute-boosting trinkets for pristine variants. Several spell rings were also up for grabs that Logan and Marcus shared amongst themselves. Logan shifted around his rings, gaining three Flame and two Lightning on his left hand, and moving the Immediate summons and Dimensional Jaunt rings to his right hand. The rest of the intake went to the other members as well as to sell back at Gauntlet for the final money split. The Oni-Noni Gang had done a hell of a lot of work in their time together, their sheer numbers alluding to the forces they could take on if they had the advantage. It was a shame so many of the tomes were required to hand in, but Logan and Marcus got a fair shake already. It was a slightly appealing sight to see Oretessu tied up within the cart with his single arm, the severed one already having grown over the stump due to the classed beings¡¯ design of keeping the person fit to fight. With him, there were 17 unconscious bandits, a good number to gain information from back at Gauntlet. Gaemo and the rest of the hunters didn¡¯t have to worry much about the bandits escaping, as their skills did help in combat but mostly bolstered weapons. With the casters at the back of the convoy, it meant the captives had little chance of escape. Leaving the entrance to the underground, the party closed the doors and threw over a pile of leaves to cover it up. It wouldn¡¯t be good for passersby to fall in, nor let another group take it over. The door dedicated to Madamra was also a curiosity that the G-Hall might be interested in as a possible dungeon.
The creaking of the wood from the carts gave a new noise to the group¡¯s return trip, they were mostly silent on the way here but with the added weight of their take, it sang the song of its people. Logan glided his hand over his face and chest, investigating yet another scar to add to his collection. The Power Strike from Oretessu had almost killed him, and it left a deep scar from his left hip and through the centre of his face, almost separating his nose. Anyone looking at him could swear he tussled with a bear. With the culmination of scar tissue, he continued to feel stiff in his movements, which Marcus was easily able to see as it worsened. ¡°Will you be buying regenerative services at the church for those?¡± ¡°Yeah, I can¡¯t move as easily as before. It¡¯d be a well-spent 2 gold.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 84 - Wealth of Coin and Knowledge Travelling back to Gauntlet brought no further pain to add to the exhaustion the party were already feeling, nor the anger that welled up in Logan once again. It had been an incredibly successful hunt, even if the beginning of it was coated in the surprising teleportation of Gaemo¡¯s previous one. All¡¯s well that ends well, as Gaemo and Ev¨¦n knew with the power held by the bandit leader, Oretessu, that they would not have stood a chance against the man with only those two. Sincollo¡¯s display also revealed the transformation to Logan, cluing him into the power held within the saeber species. Logan and Marcus both gained plenty of trinkets to upgrade their old ones, improving their general survivability and bolstering their pockets when they got back to the capital city of Gauntlet. During their rest and day¡¯s travel back to the capital, the group were greeted by the hazy curses of the bandits who awoke from their inherent healing, but were quickly knocked back out again to make sure no troubles would arise from a handful of tied hands. Just like Logan had experienced before, knocking a captive or weakened foe back unconscious did not reward further experience.
The glow of Logan¡¯s quest window beamed at him with the stark reminder of his failure, alongside his shot of returning home and escaping the hardships catapulted in his direction. With his ability to help others though, was it right for him to be rid of it for his own gain? His power was quickly growing and within months he could help this world even more as an oracle. A mix of selfishness and pettiness stirred within him, he owed nothing to the deities who kidnapped him, if he was set to aid this world he should have been asked first. ¡°Logan, you ok?¡± Marcus asked while riding beside Logan. Jutting his head upwards, as if breaking his sturdy concentration, Logan turned to face his friend, ¡°Yeah, thanks for checking up on me.¡± ¡°Planing for when we¡¯re done with this quest?¡± ¡°Kinda. I need to check up on the homeless I commanded to do some quests, and then we gotta find that goblin and deal with that situation.¡± ¡°He¡¯d have gathered all the nearby goblinoids by now, I¡¯d wager.¡± ¡°Or close enough that we can end that side of things¡±, Logan replied as he turned to face the front of the convoy. Moving under the open portcullis gates of the capital signed that Logan was finally back in safety, if not for his mind at least for his body. He felt like a hundred eyes were following him, though it was more paranoia than anything, the carts with the tied-up bodies were the real attention grabbers in the group. Gaemo was able to quickly deal with any issues from the guards asking questions, since the whole team wore hunter armbands it wasn¡¯t a heavy ask for the inhabitants to recognise their station.
Reaching the Gerro Guardhouse, the party started to ferry bodies and crates into the entrance foyer, Jirango smiling wide at the sight of a large job done. ¡°Good job, hunters. Rare to see such a big team work on a single contract, was it fiercer than anticipated?¡± the man in his 40s asked. ¡°Yeah, we need to discuss amendments to this hunt¡±, Gaemo responded. The pair sat at the desk while the others continued to move the loot and bandits. It wasn¡¯t long before both parties were done. ¡°Well that is certainly a tale and a half, though looking at those blades of yours I can easily accept a good portion of it. It¡¯ll take a bit to look over the items and talk with the bandits, do you mind waiting till tomorrow for the rewards?¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine, we know you¡¯re good for it.¡± ¡°Logan, before you go, I got something here for you¡±, Jirango called over as he waved at the Spellthief. ¡°Herbs?¡± Logan asked as he walked closer. ¡°Yeah, some fella named Shanin said he owed you these¡±, Jirango replied as he pulled out a small wooden box. Sliding the top off revealed several blue strah herbs inside. ¡°Yeah, I was expecting this. Thanks¡±, Logan responded, thinking back to the man he had saved a few days prior. ¡°As for that other business, no new developments for you to be working on¡±, Jirango continued, hinting at the under market that Logan had found earlier. Logan nodded before returning to his party. ¡°I think we all want to hit the hay right about now, to the inn?¡± Gaemo asked the party. ¡°A nice comfy sheet instead of stone sounds lovely¡±, Ev¨¦n responded with a sigh. ¡°Coupled with a few day¡¯s leisure¡±, Sincollo added. ¡°Rest these weary bones and heal up scars¡±, Logan said. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to get some good food, myself¡±, Marcus ended. The party smiled at one another with a bit of a chuckle from Gaemo. They all returned to the inn for the night, had a grand meal, and retired to their separate rooms.
¡°So, anything oracle-wise happen with that artefact?¡± Marcus queried. Logan looked at his friend a bit bemused, ¡°That¡¯s a sharp observation. Yeah, I absorbed what was left of its power.¡± ¡°Surprises abound with you, Logan. Did it help you find a way home?¡± ¡°No, it helped my teleportation spells, but no portals.¡± ¡°Anything from Vokka on that side of affairs?¡± ¡°No, I think it may be due to my current power. I wasn¡¯t able to ¡®hold¡¯ the portal spells. If I get my rank higher I may be able to absorb a portal spell like that. Theoretically, of course, we¡¯d still need to find another item that can create portals.¡± ¡°How is your rank anyway?¡± ¡°I hit 14, my summons are both 11, and you¡¯re close to 8¡±, Logan explained. ¡°Above bless us, that is a staggering rise. The rumours of oracles¡¯ hasted progress have borne truth¡±, Marcus said as he held his fists together in the symbol of Pondress. ¡°There¡¯s been no message from Lightbeam, so they are still away. Tomorrow we¡¯ll get our pay, investigate the goblins, then get my regeneration done.¡± ¡°Straightforward enough, these spell rings will make dealing with the goblins a lot easier too¡±, Marcus responded as he held up his right hand now adorned with three Gaia rings on his thumb, index, and middle fingers. ¡°It is probably best we use them all, the goblinoids are better off dead. As monsters they will continue to try and follow Madamra¡¯s commands, or rebel against mine¡±, Logan announced. ¡°Pondress isn¡¯t exactly anti-monster, but her domain is over the ¡®civilized folk¡¯, so monsters are not within her protection. Desma is similar, the ¡®hunt¡¯ being against animals and monsters both¡±, Marcus explained. ¡°I''m used to killing monsters at this point, my first few days played havoc with my emotions.¡± ¡°It is the same for a lot of adventurers.¡± Thinking back to his beginning days, Logan was reminded of the morality taught to him about killing other people. His first three human kills played hell with his psyche, but now he was killing people in droves. Rationalisations pushed Logan towards changing his morals and ideals, as in Avanar many of his Earthen teachings did not work here. ¡°You landed a good hit into the leader, good job with that¡±, Logan praised. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to risk him moving and me hitting our allies, a Grasp was all I could think of at the time to end it quickly.¡± ¡°Well, it turned out to be the correct choice.¡± ¡°I just hope our fights get easier from here, we¡¯ve had quite a few harrowing ones recently.¡± ¡°The goblin hero Krekka, the naegren lord, the ice lieutenants, and now Oretessu. Heavy hits and heavier hides.¡± ¡°If the Ice King is able to revive, we¡¯d more than likely have to fight him too. Seeing how the commands of Vokka have been going so far¡±, Marcus calculated. ¡°I hope that is not the case, if it is, I¡¯d definitely ask for the monarchy¡¯s aid.¡± ¡°They are meant to send their team in after him if the beginning group fails, aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°A suicide mission if I ever heard one. You¡¯d want a handful of rank 20s, and those aren¡¯t common.¡± ¡°So, would it be best if we increase our rank quickly?¡± Marcus queried. ¡°Rank certainly provides better access to skills, higher capabilities, and higher-level spells. The issue with that, is my quests are seemingly given based on my rank. If this is my last quest, fine, high rank all day, but if something goes wrong then my high rank means the following quest is much harder with my gear and skill mastery falling behind a normal adventurer of the same rank.¡± ¡°That is true, our work as hunters certainly has aided in gearing us up appropriately for our faster rank acquirement.¡± ¡°At the very least, a higher rank, a much higher one, would allow me to summon stronger elementals. My summons are my main income of spellforce right now and I just hit their peak.¡± ¡°So, a higher level spell, or increase the mastery of summoning skills?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°That, or I work more on taking spellforce from my foes. But I cannot guarantee they will have any for me to take¡±, Logan calculated. ¡°From my research and experience, it seems a good three-quarters of monsters are able to cast spells.¡± ¡°It seems we¡¯ve been facing quite a few classed-blood-drinkers though, and they seem to favour Rogues and Fighters.¡± ¡°Well, those two classes do make up over a third of civilised folk.¡± Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Throw in Knights and that¡¯s half, casters aren¡¯t even 10% combined.¡± ¡°If we do think of anti-humanoids, you¡¯re better suited against casters or martials who make use of items to cast spells.¡± ¡°That bandit gang did show quite a few more ring casters¡±, Logan thought aloud. ¡°Regardless, I doubt we have that much time before Lightbeam returns.¡± ¡°Probably. Let¡¯s deal with what we have now and go from there.¡± Settling up their final nightly routines and plans, the pair finally hit the hay after what felt like an eternity away.
Logan felt uncomfortable in his bed again, tossing and turning as his mind was allowed to wander. Soreness coursed over his skin and through his muscles, he couldn¡¯t keep going as he had been doing the past few days. Loading up his spell list, Logan read over the Sleep spell he had used a few times. He had experimented with using it on himself in the past, and it seemed he could willingly accept the effects of his own spells. He had prepared ahead of time for if this was going to happen to him again, only keeping Celsius as his summon for the day. Placing his hand over his face he silently chanted in his bed, ¡°Sleep Grasp¡±, creating a downfall of spores and sleepy dust to flow over his face. Entering through his nose, mouth, and ears, Logan¡¯s head was full of a dazy haze, forcing him into a slumber.
A new dream came to Logan, as had done with all times he was afflicted with the Sleep status. He knew at this point that dreams only came via said effect, it had to do with the deity of sleep, Fusmah. While he couldn¡¯t think further about the said deity, his mind was allowed to form a new vision in the vastness of his own subconscious. Logan was standing within a large church, dressed in a black suit he commonly wore to formal university events. People lined the pews and filled the room with sniffles and cries, flanking the walkway up to an opened casket at the far end. The young man¡¯s body trembled all over as this memory wasn¡¯t much better than that of the time his mother had died, as this was the final time he saw her body. Looking to the front of the pews, Logan saw his father, hunched over with his head in his hands. Tyson Hall was a working man who always encouraged good posture and a work-centric attitude. Logan hadn¡¯t seen his father take any breaks from his work, the only vacation time he had he spent with his family, taking them to family gatherings or on faraway trips. From this point, Tyson quit his job and continued to stay hunched. Walking to his father, Logan felt the slow nature of his dream body, each step felt like he was wading through a swamp. Sitting by his dad, the young man wrapped his arm around his father¡¯s shoulders. Their bodies both shifted up and down as their bodies cried with them. As Logan was getting adjusted to this new dream world, the echoing footsteps of the civil celebrant reaching the podium to speak started to break the dream apart. A thick fog rolled in around Logan as he knew his time was up, the white nothingness hugging his sides as he closed his eyes.
Logan¡¯s eyes darted open, the light of the morning sun causing them to close almost immediately. Rubbing his face and swivelling to the side of his bed, Logan saw his spell let him pass the entire night, though that was most likely due to his own tiredness increasing the duration of the spell. ¡°Sleep well this time?¡± Marcus asked as he was preparing his gear. ¡°Yeah¡±, Logan replied succinctly. His mind continued to linger on the dream he had. The pair prepared themselves for another day full of work, grabbed breakfast in the main hall, and set out for the goblins. Before being able to fully leave the shadow of the inn, however, Logan was approached by the homeless he had given a villager quest to. One of the men handed over a small book of notes, which Logan flipped through before accepting the quest had been completed. ¡°Good job, wait here and I can pick up another few for you lot¡±, Logan praised as he handed a silver to each of the three men. Their heads bowed several times over, Logan was assured they did their job well as their attire was still mostly clean from their last meeting. With a Clean mick each, Logan teleported to the G-Hall to hand over the book. Logan was paid 3 silver for the quest he gave over to the homeless, had his signet updated, and picked up two other quests for them. It was another villager quest, but not something a classless could do easily. Teleporting back to the homeless, Logan had Celsius become their guardian as they were set to work on two jobs in the sewers. The monster population was mostly dealt with, but the elemental was insurance that they would not be bothered. The homeless weren¡¯t too enthused at the situation, so Logan handed over some spare knives he had taken from the bandits. With weapons in hand, and elemental at their side, the villager group headed off.
Before the pair, and Spark, could continue to the forests they were stopped by a friendly Gaemo. ¡°Hey, glad I caught you before you went off to do something else. Our pay has been settled. I am just off to go sell some extra gear but I got your shares here¡±, the hunter said as he held out two pouches. Taking the pouches, Logan and Marcus were treated to 2 gold and 67 silver each. ¡°There¡¯s also a tome each, I didn¡¯t choose for you in case I picked wrong. You can get them from Jirango¡±, Gaemo continued. ¡°Thanks, that''ll certainly help us recuperate our losses¡±, Marcus replied. ¡°Did you take into account our advance?¡± Logan asked, a bit shocked at the amount. ¡°Yep. We got quite a big bonus for the ones we took alive, plus the loot I am looking to load off should rake in another chunk to cover that.¡± ¡°They give an increase due to the circumstances and power of the bandits?¡± Logan asked. ¡°Yeah, it didn¡¯t take long to scan over Oretessu and find he was much stronger than anticipated. Plus the gear and artefact shenanigans.¡± ¡°Did they mention how it could have happened at all?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°No, bandits come across many a curiosity on the road. They will be interrogating them all soon, so they may find out eventually¡±, Gaemo replied as he looked down the street. ¡°Well, we won¡¯t keep you. Thanks for the pay¡±, Logan ended. ¡°And to you two too¡±, the man replied with a smile as he jogged off. ¡°There¡¯s your regeneration taken care of¡±, Marcus noted. ¡°That it is. Another worry to forget.¡± With their pay in hand, the pair continued towards the Gerro Guardhouse.
Abuzz with activity, the Gerro Guardhouse looked reminiscent of the time that Logan had taken on the Qreil Bandits. A multitude of merchants were coming and going with small and large boxes in hand, taking back the items that had been stolen on the road or from their stores. Passing by the new faces, Logan approached the desk that Jirango was sitting at as usual. ¡°Hey, Jirango, busy day I see.¡± ¡°These types of busy days are welcome, money flows like the rivers near the castle when merchants get their stock back.¡± ¡°We better see some improvements to this building then¡±, Marcus responded with a cheeky grin. ¡°Hey, watch that¡±, Jirango responded in kind, ¡°you two here for your bonuses?¡± ¡°Yeah, Gaemo said it was a choice of tomes?¡± ¡°That it is. You brought back quite a lot, and the merchants are willing to part with a few, or have no say since they were killed in the raids. Here¡¯s a list of what you can take from¡±, Jirango continued as he slid over a piece of parchment for the pair to read as their signets got updated. Logan and Marcus looked over the list for a while before settling on two tomes. Logan took Summon Horde Manual 2, whereas Marcus took Extended Enhance Manual 1. Since the value of Logan¡¯s tome was so high, however, he was informed his next few bonuses would be forfeited. It wouldn¡¯t matter much if he was able to leave Avanar. Tomes in hand, the pair left the guardhouse and returned to the inn to quickly read up on their new tomes. They weren¡¯t overly long at 50 pages, and were more akin to booklets to flip through than vast books of knowledge. It only took Logan an hour and a half to finish his tome. With the mastery of his skill increased, Logan spent 36 minutes creating a new elemental with two of his MP. ¡°Elements of Avanar, I call forth your strength. Lend me a denizen of your hold and I shall grant them a true will. Created in my arcane image, infused with my magic, I summon thee. Summon Frost Elemental, Fahrenheit!¡± With his spell completed, shards of ice shot out from the chalk markings across Logan¡¯s inn room floor. Crashing into one another, the icicles created an icy mist with sparkling snowflakes, whirling around a forming mass of frozen water. Limbs shot out from the central mass as a final spike shot atop its torso, making a sharp ¡°head¡± of sorts. Unlike Celsius and Spark, Fahrenheit¡¯s legs were firmly planted on the ground. Purple whirls of mist formed within the elemental¡¯s head, symbolising its eyes. At 4¡¯ tall it looked upwards at its creator. Opening a chasm within its face to create a mouth, the creature spoke with a rough and chilly voice, ¡°That which gives me life, I am born in your guise. Humbly I shall serve, till my last speck is snuffed out.¡± A wave of silvery-white lines coursed from head to toe on Fahrenheit, completing his creation. ¡°Logan, let us work toward our goal¡±, it spoke stoically. ¡°What part of my personality did you take on?¡± Logan asked almost rhetorically. Turning its head to the side, the elemental replied, ¡°It matters little, let us move onward.¡± ¡°Quite the cold shoulder¡±, Logan thought to himself. Recollecting his summons, Logan compared their statistics against one another at this juncture. ¡°Celsius - Flame Elemental. Level 11. STR 20, AGI 18, CON 20, INT 23, WIS 15, CHA 10: 64/64 HP, 0/15 MP. Skills: Ember Shard, Fiery Body. Reduction: Damage 3. Resistance: Fire 100%, Ice 50%, Water -100%. Spell List: 1st: Flame. 2nd: Flame Cloak, Flaming Arc.¡± ¡°Spark - Lightning Elemental. Level 11. STR 18, AGI 20, CON 20, INT 23, WIS 15, CHA 10: 64/64 HP, 0/15 MP. Skills: Bolt, Electric Body. Reduction: Damage 3. Resistance: Earth -100%, Lightning 100%, Water 50%. Spell List: 1st: Lightning. 2nd: Lightning Cascade, Sparking Coat.¡± ¡°Fahrenheit - Frost Elemental. Level 1. STR 8, AGI 8, CON 12, INT 8, WIS 5, CHA 5: 8/8 HP, 1/1 MP. Skills: -. Reduction: Damage 1. Resistance: Fire -100%, Ice 100%, Wind 50%. Spell List: 1st: Frost.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be in danger for a while, so use that spell when we¡¯re in combat and stick back¡±, Logan informed his new summon. ¡°Right¡±, Fahrenheit replied succinctly. ¡°So that¡¯s how that feels¡±, Logan thought to himself, thinking about when he replied as such. Looking over the stats of his summons, it seemed Flame was stronger, Lightning was quicker, and Frost was hardier. What summon would grant the most MP in the end though? That was the main use of summons for Logan, batteries for his spells. Regardless, this meant that Logan could gain another possible 7 MP a day if he trained up Fahrenheit a bit. And the best way to do that was to go fight some goblins. --- *** --- Chapter 85 - Only Good Goblins It didn¡¯t take long for the party to reach the part of the forest where Logan had commanded the goblins to gather. Spark and Fahrenheit kept up rather well, and even though he had legs Fahrenheit did not falter. There weren¡¯t many loose ends to tie up before Logan left, these goblins would hopefully be the last remnants from the attackers of Gauntlet. If they weren¡¯t, their death would at least make the surrounding area a bit safer. A lot safer if there were many more fomin in their ranks. Expectations were exceeded, however, as the party dismounted when Logan¡¯s Echo Radar picked up several dots ahead of them. At a large force of 34, the fomin Logan was ordering around certainly kept his end of the deal. Utilizing Stealth in their approach, both Logan and Marcus were able to hide behind the trunk of a tree to spy on the goblinoid group. ¡°Identify.¡± Logan was able to spy the fomin he had used Call to War on alongside 2 others. With them were 4 berserkers, 5 archers, 2 hobgoblin leaders, 10 muscles, and 10 scouts. It was a lucky outcome that so many were low levelled monsters, the fomins and leaders posing the biggest threat. Thankfully, Logan¡¯s more powerful spells would be able to kill a hobgoblin leader in one hit, as opposed to the past where he would have been grappled by such before he could kill them. The Spellthief would be able to use Call to War on the lesser goblinoids, though with the fomins in play it would be better to deal with them before any commanding could be done. All of them to this point argued Logan¡¯s command, and they were better suited to fight back against a hybrid caster. Shifting back to their elemental partners, the party made a battle plan.
¡°Dimensional Jaunt¡±, Logan chanted. His body warped into its centre with a blast of wind, exploding in a blast of air behind two of the fomins. Placing a hand on both of their backs, Logan called out twice, ¡°Flame Grasp¡±, causing their bodies to burst into devastating fires. The Backstab damage of 132 and 124 left no room for their survival. Before the last fomin could retaliate, Logan looked behind the foe and mentally commanded his ring, warping behind yet again and using his other ring to engulf the goblin in flames. Volleys of bolts, electricity, and ice came from the woods into the lesser goblinoids, killing many in single hits. Waving his arms around, Logan let loose two jets of fire at the hobgoblin leaders, igniting their bodies and burning them into crispy mounds of flesh on the floor. As the berserkers came charging for Logan he continued flowing his hands forwards as he chanted, ¡°Flame Wall¡±, twice. Two intersecting towers of flames came up from the floor towards the goblinoids, burning them doubly over. Arrows pelted into Logan but with his much stronger armour, they didn¡¯t even scratch him or his cloth. Aiming at the lesser foes he shot forth countless grey orbs of energy as Force after Force brought them to the floor. It wasn¡¯t long before the ambushed goblinoids all lay on the floor without a chance of meaningful retaliation. As experience numbers started to rise, Logan gave out a sigh of relief at the fact no surprises came from their ambush. Logan smiled slightly as he saw the major reward that Fahrenheit received, a total of 7714 XP that put him way into level 4. What was also a bit surprising was that the original fomin granted a full experience reward. Was it because the conditions of the fight had changed? Either way, it was a good boost to the team. ¡°While I harvest these things for parts, Marcus, I have an idea.¡± ¡°Oh yeah?¡± Marcus replied with anticipation. ¡°Spar with Fahrenheit, enough that he dissipates back into a core¡±, Logan said matter-of-factly. ¡°What? Isn¡¯t that dangerous? What if we get attacked?¡± ¡°Echo Radar should pick up anything that approaches, I want to see if you gain anything from fighting my summons. You just do training with the guards, right? No actual fights or sparring matches?¡± ¡°I suppose, sure, we can try it.¡± Turning to his summon, Logan continued, ¡°Go all out, but don¡¯t aim to kill.¡± ¡°Alright¡±, the hunk of ice responded as he started to stomp over to his ally. Crouching down to the bodies with a knife in hand, Logan cut his first ear that led to the popping up of a long-awaited window to note his progression in Harvesting. ¡°I¡¯ve not had a chance in a while to work on this. I wonder if it reaches tier 10 if I just harvest in a second?¡± Logan thought to himself. Whilst Logan harvested the corpses for ears, Marcus was busy fighting with Fahrenheit in the background. It was rather easy for the Devout to dodge the slower movements of the Frost elemental to follow up with slams into its side with his staff. It wasn¡¯t entirely easy, but Marcus was far beyond the skill set of his adversary and was able to knock the elemental to the floor, its body bursting into chunks of ice and coalescing into a shard on the floor. Checking his ally¡¯s status, Logan saw that Marcus gained 40 XP from defeating Fahrenheit, regardless of how easy it was. ¡°Heal him up, and fight again¡±, Logan commanded. Marcus had a puzzled look but did as he was asked, using Healer¡¯s Caress four times to bring Fahrenheit back to full health. The first time caused the shard to shake and explode into the original form of the elemental. Another fight ensued, but the same victory was achieved. Checking Marcus¡¯s experience, however, had no change to the total. Logan surmised he could gain the bonus either once a day or through some similar limitation. He hadn¡¯t checked if Marcus gained diminishing results from fighting the same monster over and over, only for when Logan did it, which halved the XP. To get further results, Marcus was instructed to fight Spark this time. With a few levels over him, Spark put up a better fight than his newly born brother. Electrified slams, ranged bolts, and grappling with Marcus caused the Devout to take several hits, requiring the Devout to use Heal once to keep up. With the aid of trinkets though, Marcus was able to put up a solid fight and smash Spark into his own shard on the floor with a final staff bludgeon. Just as he had when defeating Fahrenheit, Marcus gained 110 experience from the sparring match. Just to cover all bases, Marcus healed himself and Spark to full once more and had a final sparring match to round out the time Logan was spending on harvesting. It was a good match, though Marcus did show intuition about his opponent¡¯s fighting style and came out the victor. No reward, just as before. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°That good enough?¡± Marcus asked through pants of breath. ¡°Yeah, it looks like we can boost your progression a bit if you fight my elementals. We¡¯ll have to see if anything changes tomorrow though, and if not it won¡¯t be an easy avenue¡±, Logan explained. Looking at Fahrenheit he continued, ¡°You don¡¯t mind if I test it too, do you?¡± ¡°Go ahead¡±, the elemental responded. Before Fahrenheit was able to close the distance, Logan let out a Lightning Shot from his ring into the centre of the ice. It exploded into countless pieces, forming a shard on the floor as Logan Safecasted. Though Logan gained no reward. ¡°I guess since they are my summons I know too much about them, or our link via our soul teaches me nothing new¡±, Logan theorised aloud. ¡°I do have some time after my training sessions with the guards, do you think I should spar with them too?¡± Marcus asked, still slightly confused at the changes. ¡°If you¡¯re going to be doing anymore with them before Lightbeam comes back, that¡¯d be a good idea.¡± ¡°Well, it makes sense, I guess. Adventures tend to train in varying ways to get better. Fighters do endurance training, whereas casters study and practice magic. Does that really affect our rank increase much?¡± ¡°That¡¯s more for your capabilities, the Strength and such that is examined at the adventurers¡¯ halls. Though saying that, I helped increase the Strength of some guards back in Tinte by sparring with them, I guess sparring can do both.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t researched much on the subject, but I will take your word on it. You can see those parts of us much easier than most.¡± ¡°I can easily see adventurers improving capabilities that won¡¯t help their class, such as our travelling increasing Strength or Constitution if we hadn¡¯t already spent our points.¡± ¡°Points? You mean when I increase my rank and you improve my Wisdom?¡± ¡°Essentially, your rank dictates those extra boosts¡±, Logan informed. ¡°Huh. You think the Magi¡¯s Tower has figured those facts out? They spend most of their time researching¡±, Marcus asked. ¡°Darius wanted to take my oracle powers and put them into a potion or trinket, no doubt there are theories on it.¡± ¡°If they do know about it, it isn¡¯t a wonder why not many others know of it too. They¡¯d more than likely keep it to themselves. If it doesn¡¯t better casters they don¡¯t tell others, if only the casters could focus their power into certain areas then they¡¯d have the advantage.¡± ¡°It sounds like the general concept is known to people, train your muscles and you get stronger. It¡¯s just the finite details that might evade people¡¯s minds.¡± ¡°Tomes are expensive too, it is entirely possible the bookshops have information on that side of things, but if it isn¡¯t a skill or spell I doubt they¡¯d look for it¡±, Marcus wagered. ¡°Maybe, we don¡¯t know unless we ask. But if we ask, and they don¡¯t know everything, it might lead to new discoveries that we don¡¯t want.¡± ¡°I suppose. Your identity is also something worth hiding still.¡± ¡°Either way, this new discovery has helped us a bit more. Let¡¯s see what else waits down the line¡±, Logan replied as he stood up from the last body, ¡°I¡¯m done harvesting and collecting gear, by the way, you ready to head back?¡± ¡°Right behind you.¡±
The trip to Gauntlet was a quick ride, or at least it felt like it as Logan spent the time reviewing his spells and status. Any path to quick power or minimizing the possible increase in the difficulty of quests would benefit him greatly. There was also the question about experience. No matter where he looked or what he asked System, Logan couldn¡¯t find a way to increase Marcus¡¯s gains. The double-edged sword of NPCs¡¯ experience rewards, they gained no increase but also were given no penalties, Logan would eventually gain less than Marcus but that time wasn¡¯t fast approaching. Selling off the weapons from the goblinoids, Logan took his share of 50 silver and gave Marcus his 27. His harvesting session also brought with it two legendary quality goblin ears, which if used in crafting granted an additional 20% of crafting higher tier trinkets. It would have been a great boon if he was lower level, and lesser geared. One prevalent concern was spell usage, Logan had a larger tank at this point but it could drain very quickly. He¡¯d either have to spend money on spell slot potions, trinkets to grant spells or MP, or level up Fahrenheit quickly. The Frost elemental¡¯s progression seemed the same as his kin, so he¡¯d end up at 15 MP at level 11, another 11 MP from where he currently stood. Another 7 MP a day for Logan didn¡¯t sound like a high number, but it added a nice boost to Logan¡¯s 15 he was already getting. It was really only 5, however, as Logan needed to spend 2 MP to bring Fahrenheit out as he did. Regardless of how the progression stood, Logan was just awaiting the return of Cassius and the chance at an easier clear of the ice cavern. To that fact, Logan would need to be in peak condition, leading him to his next destination of a church in Gauntlet. While Marcus returned to the inn.
Revisiting the previous church, the one Logan had gotten Marcus revived at, Logan entered the large doors to be greeted by a different Devout in red and gold robes. ¡°Welcome, sir. I see you are an adventurer. Do you require services or are you here to pray?¡± the man asked formally. ¡°Regeneration, please¡±, Logan asked nicely. ¡°I see you are not lacking any obvious body parts, will this just be scar tissue?¡± ¡°Yeah. 2 gold right?¡± Logan asked as he held two gold coins between his fingers. ¡°Correct. I believe we have time right now to do that for you. Will you follow me?¡± Waving an arm to the side, the Devout led Logan through the same corridor as before though this time they passed through the garden to the other side. Entering into a small infirmary, Logan saw several beds with patients sleeping in them, some sat up straight as they were being healed, and a few spare beds spread out. Logan was sat at a bed like the others and was asked to remove his coat and shirt, doing so revealed the scars he had accrued to this point. The first scar on his cheek from his escape from Darius, the one across the bridge of his nose from Kreya, the diagonal one across his hip to his right shoulder, and the newest one from the left hip through the centre of his face. Among the major scars were countless scrapes and pale lines, from the wounds that wouldn¡¯t impede him as much as almost losing an arm. Handing over the gold coins, Logan had some cream applied to his scar tissue by a different Devout, his hands cold to the touch. The scene reminded the Spellthief of visiting hospitals in the past, though he never had a full physical. With the cream applied, the Devout placed their hands on the centre of Logan¡¯s chest and his back. ¡°Magicks in my hand, fuse this flesh back together, stitch the wounds, and make them whole. Regeneration. Reta, mora, kana, sin. Reta, mora-¡± the man chanted. Logan identified it as a ritual cast as the spell was most likely out of the Devout''s normal grasp. The use of the cream was also without a doubt an aid in the casting of the spell since it was fourth-level. Instead of taking a few seconds to say the words and apply the spell, the Devout chanted the four words over and over for an hour. As time went on, Logan felt that itchy feeling of a wound healing over, though it tickled over wide areas of his body. His skin crawled over itself as it covered the scar tissue with smoothness.
With the spell complete, Logan rotated his arms and felt over his face. He felt like a new man with the body of a twenty-one-year-old. Though his physical might was already far beyond any other twenty-six-year-old on Earth. ¡°Do you feel good as new, sir?¡± the Devout asked. ¡°That I do, thanks¡±, Logan replied as he gazed over the room, ¡°it¡¯d be a silly question to ask if you did this often.¡± ¡°Regeneration is something I do possibly three times a week. Guilds who come back from dungeons and raids typically boost that average.¡± ¡°Are there many here that can do it? I had a friend revived and that required a few people to do.¡± ¡°Ritual-casting is something held by a lot of the Devout held within the church, this building has just under thirty that can do it for Regeneration or Revival.¡± ¡°The pay good?¡± Logan asked as he finished putting his coat back on. ¡°For those that can do it, yes. We don¡¯t get any bonus for doing more in a single day.¡± ¡°Like any other job then, slow days and hectic ones.¡± ¡°It was quite hectic with the goblin invasion¡±, the Devout reminisced. ¡°Hopefully nothing like that happens anytime soon.¡± ¡°That is all we can wish. Did you need anything else today?¡± ¡°No, that should be everything. Thanks for your help.¡± ¡°May Desma guide your hunt and Vokka expand your mind, that you bear fewer scars¡±, the Devout prayed as they made a claw over their heat and moved to put two fingers together on their forehead. With his business attended to, Logan moved to meet back with Marcus at the inn.
Noticing his ally, Marcus waved and began to speak, ¡°Logan. I¡¯ve heard news. Lightbeam and Harrow are heading back this way. Should be here in four days.¡± Logan recognised Harrow as the name of another guild, a modest twenty-three-man group who asked Lightbeam for assistance with a raid. He didn¡¯t know the specifics, but their tax was 25% instead of the 20% of Lightbeam. ¡°That hurries our plans then, no grand dungeons or quests for us. We¡¯ll have no way of knowing how Cassius will react, or if he wants to leave immediately¡±, Logan replied as he crossed his arms. ¡°It might be best if we ready our gear and make preparations that are short then.¡± ¡°Yeah. I can do some crafting to make some quick money. You should go to the barracks and spar with as many guards as you can.¡± ¡°With your most recent bonus from the hunters you¡¯re not going to get any for a while, so that might be best¡±, Marcus agreed. ¡°Gaining power is also a matter of teleportation, I have only a few left and I wager there are plenty of guards on offer for you to train with¡±, Logan continued as he looked over his inventory, ¡°the rush and influx of goblin-centric trinkets should have died down enough for me to be able to sell off some more, I still have a few other components too.¡± ¡°Then we¡¯d best get to work¡±, Marcus replied as he readied himself. --- *** --- Chapter 86 - Hasty Training Marcus darted off towards the Gerro Guardhouse and adjoining barracks with training grounds, his mission was to fight as many as he could to progress his level in a short period with little danger. On the other end was Logan, who began another crafting spree to bring in the money required to fund his spell usage. The Spellthief had plenty of goblin parts, but still held onto some bastarn eyes and naegren components. While he wouldn¡¯t gain Trinket Craft mastery for two of the goblin trinkets, combined with only gaining half mastery for trinkets of level 10 and below, Logan could still finagle his way into getting a benefit. Spending the rest of the day and the next three crafting, Logan was able to get through the remaining items in his inventory. After buying up components to complete enough trinkets to use all the parts in his possession, Logan brought in 11 gold from crafting. When it came to his villager quests, the homeless were able to complete two more requests which added two more notches to Logan¡¯s signet. Celsius aided them in both endeavours as he granted the best protection. The spellthief had also sent Fahrenheit out with adventurers to help their quests, bringing in another 7 silver.
Marcus was able to spar with plenty of guards, the swap from training in technique to testing current prowess was a slightly jarring shift, though he got used to it in time. With his gear and higher level at times, Marcus was able to win out against the majority of guards he fought against, though there were still a few he could not handle.
The pair¡¯s nights were taken up with several hunts, though a fair shake less than their regular outings. Taking down groups of thieves, thugs, and traitors, and finding lost goods or people granted the two a look into all the seedy parts of the capital. None scarred them physically, though looking into the abyss showed how much light Logan could bring to this world if he dared stay within it. It was all dotted with yellow numbers signifying the strength of his opponents, though all it showed was what little effort was required to take down each one. The sheer number of hunts did reveal to Logan how ordinary guard rotations and patrols couldn¡¯t deal with them all, if there wasn¡¯t as much of a prejudice placed on casters they could have been hired as seers or some such.
4 days later. ¡°Enhance Agility¡±, Marcus chanted, placing a hand on Logan¡¯s back. The Spellthief gave off a sly smirk as he darted forwards, his speed heightened by the new spells available to his Devout ally. Ducking under a wide swing from a traitorous Fighter, Logan spun around to land two deadly Backstabs in the man¡¯s spine before kicking off to his next target. Leafy canopies cast a shadowy scene over the ambush, the pair dealing with yet another traitor adventurer band. Logan lept over a mage and placed his hand on the back of their head, igniting their body in flames before it fell to the floor in a smoky lump. ¡°Chain Guard, Shot Sustained¡±, Marcus chanted, his clawed hand aimed at a Rogue at the back with their bow. Golden interlocked chains shot from the Devout¡¯s fingers, wrapping around the foe and attaching to the grassy floor beneath the Rogue¡¯s feet, locking him in place. Logan teleported behind a Knight charging at his ally, placing another hand on their back and shocking their body to show signs of a skeleton before it too fell to the floor. The final foe collapsed on the forested floor, Logan standing tall as he oversaw the signs of victory. Turning his head to the trapped Rogue he muttered, ¡°Someone hasn¡¯t given up yet.¡± Moving towards the Rogue whose arms were being seared in holy light as he fought against the chains, Logan kicked the man¡¯s weapons away. ¡°Woon, I take it? We¡¯ve got questions for you.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t get anything from me, you traitor scum. The hunters will get you!¡± the man screamed. Logan titled to the side as he pointed to the armband he wore, ¡°We¡¯re already here¡±, he spoke as he pulled out the contract noting the Rogue¡¯s party, ¡°and we¡¯ve found you.¡± The Rogue¡¯s eyes went wide with fear, though Logan knew that those the Rogue had killed gave him the same look. ¡°Where¡¯s the kid?¡± Logan asked forcefully. ¡°Take me in! Let me live and I¡¯ll let you know!¡± the man pleaded. Logan sighed as he looked at Marcus and then back at the man, ¡°Fine.¡± ¡°A shed, bout an hour walk north of here. He¡¯s unharmed.¡± ¡°Thanks¡±, Logan spoke as he wrung back his arm and planted a solid blow into the man¡¯s face as he fell out of his chains to the floor, unconscious. Coming in from the treeline was Fahrenheit dragging two more bodies over, the man and woman both garbed in robes. ¡°We¡¯ll be heading to the shed after you absorb these, right?¡± Marcus asked as he looked around. ¡°Yeah, we only have to bring the Rogue alive as he was the ransomer. Doubt he knew that, or that he is getting the chopping block¡±, Logan replied as he began to walk toward the unconscious bodies. ¡°Essence Absorb¡±, he commanded in his head, four times in total. Each of the bodies had the familiar sights of the black and dark-green lines crawling across them, reaching the heads and crashing through the glass of their psyche before being vortexed into Logan¡¯s palm. ¡°Absorption of foes complete. Calculating reward¡­¡± ¡°250, 274, 278, 284 absorbed experience, Aqua, Flame, Frost, Gaia, and Wind have been learnt. Aqua has progressed to tier 8, Flame has progressed to tier 9, Frost has progressed to tier 6, Gaia has progressed to tier 6, Wind has progressed to tier 5.¡± ¡°It¡¯s strange that this is what you¡¯ve been doing out of my sight¡±, Marcus mentioned as Logan moved between the bodies. During their time hunting and preparing for the ice caves Logan had been explaining more about his skills to his ally, the absorption being another strange ability for the Devout to grasp. Along with that was plenty of tome reading and Marcus coming to grips with his new second-level spells he got from level 8. ¡°Think the yetis will get trapped by Chain Guard?¡± Logan replied as he finished off the last foe. ¡°It is hard to say, it certainly won¡¯t be a given.¡± ¡°At a tenth of your total spellforce, it might be too much of a gamble.¡± ¡°I could certainly use it to halt an attack or skill usage if they do break through it¡±, Marcus put forward. Logan¡¯s slightly hastier movements continued onwards, Marcus¡¯s Enhance spell lasting at least 3 minutes and 48 seconds if he didn¡¯t Sustain it for 19 minutes. The Extended Enhance tome he had read during their training helped by adding 10 seconds to his CCL calculation. Logan was able to converse with other Devouts, as well as his other hunter allies, to get some more specifics on the particular spell, hence he was able to expand its information in his system. Getting to see some of the limitations also clued him into his previous theories on his own spells, though nothing he could really get around aside from his Backstab combination. Both parties had also splurged on the Sustained Alteration Manual, Logan saw its use in the goblin invasion and with Marcus being able to empower his allies it was a worthwhile purchase. Throwing the gear of the traitors into his inventory, Logan gave a sharp whistle to call Carmen and Marcus¡¯s horse over. Loading up his map had the pinpointed location of the kidnapped child appear. Placing his hand on Marcus, who was linked with the bandit and his own horse, as well as Fahrenheit grabbing onto one of his coattails, Logan spoke as he looked towards the sky in the distance, ¡°Dimensional Jaunt.¡± Disappearing with a wind blast and appearing with a similar one in the sky, Logan darted his head downwards as he looked at a patch of grass beside the shed, mentally commanding his ring and teleporting his party to the floor without issue. The horses gave some quick neighs, but were quickly soothed as they were getting used to their masters¡¯ teleportation adventures. Opening up the door, Logan saw the interior of the shed to be quite dark as the windows had been boarded up. A lone chair sitting against the far wall with a boy, around 14 years of age, tied up on it. ¡°Castore, your father sent us to rescue you¡±, Logan called out as he summoned his Light Ally to brighten up the room. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. The kid hadn¡¯t been touched, thankfully the kidnappers and traitors kept to their word. Removing the rope gag and cutting the ropes around the kid had him leap from his chair and hugged Logan tightly. ¡°Thank the coin you¡¯ve arrived! These scoundrels have had me here for a torturous fortnight.¡± ¡°You¡¯re fine? No wounds?¡± Marcus asked over Logan¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Aside from needing a bathe and a feast, I am fine¡±, the child responded formally, if a bit rich for Logan¡¯s tastes. ¡°The kidnappers are dealt with, are you ready to return home?¡± the Spellthief asked. ¡°Yes, sire.¡± Taking the kid out of the shed, the group got together for another teleporting spree.
Making their return to the Gerro Guardhouse had Jirango stand from his desk as he saw the returned child. ¡°Master Castore, it is good to see you well.¡± ¡°Let us go teleporting again-¡±, the child was beaming towards his saviour before coughing and turning to the guard captain, ¡°Yes, your hunters here saw to my safety in a prudent manner.¡± ¡°I had informed your father that I was sending my best scouting magi, a day from taking your contract and they have you back. I hope you¡¯ll let your family know that Gerro-¡± Jirango began before being cut off by the young lad. ¡°Your guardhouse employs the better hunters, I shall let my family know of course. Do you have a carriage for me, or will Sire Logan be taking me home?¡± Jirango shouted at the back of the room to call for a carriage from his guards in the other rooms. ¡°Logan and Marcus have a debrief with me, so we will have a carriage for you at the side of the guardhouse. If you go through that door someone will accompany you.¡± Castore gave a low bow, ¡°I thank you¡±, before turning to do the same to Logan and Marcus, ¡°and you two too. I hope our next meeting isn¡¯t as dastardly as this.¡± ¡°Good day to you, Castore¡±, Logan spoke as he waved off the kid. ¡°Until next time, master¡±, Marcus added a bit more formally. Castore then left the room, leaving it to the trio and Fahrenheit. Jirango gave a short sigh, ¡°Dealing with the royals is always a pain. Good work.¡± ¡°This should meet up with my previous bonus, right?¡± Logan asked as he pointed at the unconscious Rogue he had brought back. ¡°That it does, though this was a high-pay mission due to the client, so you could say it has a bonus anyways¡±, Jirango mentioned as he began to update Logan and Marcus¡¯s signets, giving them back with two gold coins and five silver. Logan passed one gold and the five silver to Marcus who accepted it without much question to the 50-50 split. The extra five silver for replacing lost bolts and potions. ¡°Ah, well done, that''ll be your fiftieth hunter quest, Logan¡±, Jirango continued as he pulled out another pouch. ¡°That snuck up on me¡±, Logan chuckled. ¡°Give me your armband, I¡¯ll update it.¡± Logan slid the armband up his arm to unlock it and then slid it off into Jirango¡¯s hand. The guard captain then sprinkled gold dust over the piece of cloth, having the silver colour shift to a dim gold. He then passed it back to Logan, as the Spellthief took it he had a new window pop up. ¡°You have gained the ¡®Sheepdog Hunter¡¯ title.¡± ¡°Sheepdog Hunter: The second distinguished form of hunters, as a sheepdog your ability to track down and force your marks behind bars is almost unmatched. Lawbreakers have started to place your name on their watchlists in the criminal networks, whereas on the other side law-abiding citizens know that having you near is a sure bet at safety. You are awarded 10% extra money (minimum 2 copper) from successful hunting contracts and can easily intimidate others. You have gained 1 skill point to distribute.¡± ¡°I made sure to ask for a dimmer colour, you two like your sneaky hunts¡±, Jirango announced with a smile. ¡°Thanks, the glint of silver was a bit annoying at times¡±, Logan replied. ¡°Any word on Lightbeam?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°Couple hours out of town, might not be long enough for you to take on something else.¡± ¡°Thanks, we¡¯ll probably be away for a while, so that fifty may stay the same for a bit¡±, Logan spoke as he looked over his inventory. ¡°That¡¯s fine, Good travels to you.¡± ¡°Hope the paperwork all goes well¡±, Marcus replied. The pair stepped out of the guardhouse and made their way to the markets, selling off the additional gear from their latest hunt. After the split and combining all his funds from the past few days, Logan was sitting pretty at over 15 gold. This sizable coffer was going to be necessary for funding his final attempt at the Frost Monarch¡¯s Cavern.
As Logan and Marcus made their way to the adventurer district, Logan scrolled through his list of bookmarked skills. Selecting one to aid even further with his spellcasting, Logan was sure it would also aid in stopping foes from using their own spells. He wanted to spend a skill point on a skill he couldn¡¯t get from a tome anyways. Logan wouldn¡¯t gain mastery for his spells this way, but it would be a good preventative measure against spells he couldn¡¯t normally absorb, as well as save him time on transferring charges into MP.
On the pair¡¯s trip through Classed-End, Logan wasn¡¯t surprised when they were approached by a scar-heavy-faced man wanting to get something extra from a caster. His metallic armour clinking about didn¡¯t exactly hide his stride towards Logan. ¡°You¡¯re the hunter, Logan, right?¡± the man asked directly. Looking to the golden armband near his shoulder Logan turned to face the man, ¡°That¡¯ll be me. Do you need my services?¡± Logan replied with forced sincerity. ¡°You beat up my buddy, Bistc, a week ago. Mind if I ask why?¡± the man continued with a bit more fire in his words. ¡°He was accosting a fellow adventurer, theft and battery landed him a prison sentence.¡± ¡°Thing is, he owes me money, and since he can¡¯t pay me back I reckon since you¡¯re the reason why he can¡¯t reimburse me you should instead¡±, the man continued as he showed a toothy grin. ¡°Identify¡±, Logan commanded in his head. The man was a level 9 Knight, nothing outstanding but he had Chatter like Kreya had. ¡°How about a match instead?¡± Logan put forward, knowing this would lead to a duel either way. ¡°What? You want to try your arm against mine?¡± ¡°If you win, I¡¯ll pay the debt, if I win, you hand over items valuing double the debt.¡± ¡°Double eh? You think I got 5 gold worth of stuff on me?¡± the man replied as he stroked his chin. ¡°You¡¯ve got a few rings, I¡¯ll see if there is when you¡¯re unconscious.¡± ¡°Well ain¡¯t you confident, fine.¡± ¡°Guard¡±, Logan called out to a passing guard who jogged over. ¡°Yes, sir-¡± the guard started before seeing Logan¡¯s gold armband, ¡°Sheepdog, what do you require?¡± ¡°Sheepdog?¡± the offensive man asked. ¡°Me and this man here¡±, Logan began as he looked at the offender. ¡°June.¡± ¡°June and I are about to engage in a match, two and a half gold if he wins, five in coin and items if I win. Would you oversee this?¡± The guard looked between the two before giving a slight bow to Logan, which worried June a bit further, ¡°Yes, Sheepdog, I can do that for you.¡± Logan handed over 5 silver to the guard before they started to prepare the street. ¡°Any personal rules, June?¡± Logan asked. ¡°No¡±, June replied with gritted teeth, hinting at his anger at the situation worsening.
Giving a good 20-foot distance between them, the guard announced the start of the duel. June aimed to slam his shortsword against his large shield, but the shockwave instead hit thin air and dodging civilians as Logan had already used a ring to Dimensional Jaunt to a nearby rooftop. Arms raised at his foe from behind and above, Logan let loose Force after Force mick at the Knight. Five blasts hit before the man could raise his shield and buckle down to block the rest, each one sending a shockwave into the Knight¡¯s arm, but not enough to have him falter. June drew his shortsword back whilst keeping his shield high, his blade glowing slightly grey as he was prepared to throw it at his attacker, but he wasn¡¯t able to finish it before Logan¡¯s next action. Another wind blast had Logan appear behind June, a firmly planted hand igniting the man in fires and then a following blast of electricity as Logan used two more rings to immediately toast the man for 168 fire and 124 lightning Backstab damage. The man¡¯s ears and nostrils let out billowing smoke as his unconscious body hit the floor, a stark difference from Logan¡¯s previous encounters with a duelling Knight. The viewing populace gave a hearty round of applause as coins exchanged hands from bets, the guard confirming Logan¡¯s victory. Logan crouched over June¡¯s body as he began to pilfer the man¡¯s coin pouches and trinkets. June had enough to cover the debt on him already, sadly none of his trinkets interested Logan to keep so he would sell them off later. Another saddening thing was his experience reductions for having absorbed MP from his summons, reducing his normal 675 to 472. Marcus used Healer¡¯s Caress to bring June back to consciousness, though the pair were already leaving by the time the man¡¯s eyes started to open. --- *** --- ¡°Alterations: Grasp, Shot, Skystrike, Sustained, Wall. 1st: Aqua*?, Flame*?, Frost*?, Gaia*?, Infuse*?, Lightning*?, Necromantic*?, Wind*?. 2nd: Dimensional Jaunt*?, Earthen Eruption, Flame Cloak, Haste, Lightning Cascade, Skin of Ice, Sleep, Summon _ Elemental, Zombify. 3rd: Air Blast, Aqua 2, Flame 2, Frost 2, Gaia 2, Lightning 2, Necromantic 2, Wind 2. 4th: Teleport*3.¡± ¡°Alterations: Grasp, Shot, Skystrike, Sustained, Wall. 1st: Aqua, Gaia, Growth, Heal*3, Identify Condition, Infuse, Rain, Sew. 2nd: Chain Guard, Enhance (All)*2, Restore Condition. 3rd: Aqua 2, Gaia 2.¡± Chapter 87 - Hidden Intentions Logan and Marcus stopped outside the entrance to the Lightbeam guild house, the grand structure signing Logan¡¯s final moments of keeping his failure deep in his mind. His heart beat twice as fast as his throat felt engorged with a rock within it. Taking a quick look at Marcus, Logan returned a reassuring nod and smile. Walking up to the door, Logan gave several knocks, to which he was greeted with the sight of Debrek, the foyer attendant for Lightbeam. ¡°Logan, Marcus, you arrive a bit earlier than the guildies. Might you wish to wait for them inside?¡± ¡°Yes, please. I feel the longer we draw this out, the harder it will be", Logan replied. ¡°Cassius is one to deal with matters as they arise, that is most likely best. Please, come in¡±, Debrek said as he opened the door wider. The pair entered and quickly moved to two seats at the counter that was just next to the door. There were only two other members in the entrance foyer, both sitting on larger sofas reading books quietly. ¡°Must have been a large raid to take the majority of this guild, and that other one, Harrow was it?¡± Logan asked. ¡°A massive forest dungeon, it pops up randomly across the continent. From what I hear it is held within a magical bubble that is bigger on the inside than the outside. Harrow sent in about twenty members, almost their entire guild, and asked for a good fifty of ours. Harrow got the first pick of the dungeon so they¡¯re leading it, or rather they led it.¡± ¡°Seventy people? The reward must be massive¡±, Marcus added with a shocked look on his face. ¡°At least a gold a head, plus all the loot found within. A few carriage-full takes of components also means a below amount of coin from crafting sales.¡± Logan started to sip a tankard of water poured for him as he listened and thought to himself, ¡°Such large quests. No wonder we were short on supply of adventurers during the invasion. I guess that puts into perspective the demand for classed beings.¡± ¡°I wager your guild will be getting ahold of plenty of artefacts then?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°You¡¯d win that. Cassius and Prevesna get first pick from our guild.¡± ¡°Prevesna is your sub-leader, right?¡± ¡°That she is. The right-hand woman of Woevenk before he portaled into the demon realm.¡± The conversation trailed on for some time, talking about the members of the guild and the raid they had been on. Which led to the door opening wide from the returning guildies.
Hearty cheers and discussion filled the entrance foyer of the Lightbeam guild house, countless faces turning to face one another as they talked about the most recent outing. ¡°When that Ent whipped past your head, phew, glad I threw my shield at you.¡± ¡°I can go a whole year not seeing another vine.¡± ¡°Debrek, get the stove on!¡± ¡°Need to get my gear seen to tomorrow.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll show you that tome I mentioned, over here.¡± As the crowd dispersed to local seats or rooms to doff their armour, Cassius approached the counter beside a woman who stood at 5¡¯10¡±. Her shining gold and silver armour showed that she was a Knight, though it hid most of her trinkets away. Removing her helm showed dishevelled brunette hair that had been tied into a ponytail for possibly too long. ¡°Logan, good to see you hearty and hale. Have you come to join up?¡± Cassius asked with a tired smile across his face. ¡°No, we actually need to discuss something in private if you don¡¯t mind. It¡¯s about something that happened at a dungeon with two of your members¡±, Logan replied as he stood. ¡°Then it would be best if I accompany. Cassius, bring that mug with you¡±, the woman spoke as she looked at Cassius getting a full tankard of ale. ¡°You must be Prevesna?¡± Logan asked as he looked at the bright-yellow-eyed woman. ¡°That is I. From your looks, you¡¯re Logan, the mage who aided my third in the goblin invasion, with you is Marcus?¡± ¡°Yes ma¡¯am¡±, Marcus replied as he stood at attention. ¡°Debrek, can you sort through these for me?¡± Prevesna asked as she handed a stack of parchment to the attendant. ¡°Yes ma¡¯am¡±, the man replied as he took them and unfurled them behind the counter. ¡°Store¡±, Cassius spoke as he held up his hand. This caused a ring under his gauntlet to shine blue, his armour vibrating before being sucked into the ring, replacing his battle garb with that of comfier attire of trousers, tunic, and jacket, an assortment of greens and browns that was just as comfy as the fit. Walking to the hallway at the back, Logan held back a bit to talk to Cassius, ¡°A new find in the forest bubble dungeon?¡± ¡°No, I bought it before leaving. Made it easier to store extra weapons, armour, and supplies. Can hold as much as a carriage.¡± ¡°Did the place require that much?¡± ¡°I went through a good six backup weapons, wanted to save my artefact blade for the elites. Same for the Knights using up a ton of shields.¡± ¡°That normal procedure for larger dungeons?¡± Marcus piped up. ¡°Overprepare, and prepare some more, or die with a platinum in your pocket¡±, Cassius recited, almost as if he came up with the saying. Before being able to say more, the group had arrived at the same room that Logan and Marcus had their interview in previously. The two stones lit up the room and cooled it to a calming environment as usual, though the air quickly became tense as everyone sat down. ¡°So, what befell our guildies?¡± Prevesna asked directly, pulling out a ledger from a drawer of the table. ¡°I was gathering a party to take on a dungeon to the east, I overprepared in the case of ranks, but it apparently was not enough. Cerall and Tsuker were amongst our members, they both were killed in the dungeon, and subsequently eaten or torn apart¡­¡± Logan reported. The air definitely grew thicker as Logan spoke of the events, Cassius¡¯s face becoming sullen and Prevesna¡¯s eyebrows becoming more diagonal. ¡°Which dungeon?¡± Cassius asked succinctly. ¡°The Frost Monarch¡¯s Cavern, three days ride to the east.¡± ¡°What killed them?¡± ¡°Two huge ice yetis, that weren¡¯t noted in the intel. They appeared in the entrance which was reported to be cleared.¡± ¡°Cassius. You have my leave if you wish¡±, Prevesna announced as she turned to face her ally. ¡°Logan, do you still have the dungeon in your name?¡± Cassius asked directly. ¡°Yes, I-¡± ¡°Please, give me command of it.¡± ¡°We both want revenge too¡±, Marcus retorted. ¡°Then you can still come with us. But this is a guild matter now¡±, Cassius replied as he stared at the Devout. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll hand it over to you, it¡¯s only right you get to do this¡±, Logan relented. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°When do we leave?¡± ¡°Tomorrow, I need to sort out a sortie and the quest details.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine, if there are only six of us I can teleport us all to the dungeon in around six Dimensional Jaunts¡±, Logan calculated. ¡°It¡¯ll most likely come down to that number. Now, please, take your leave¡±, Cassius replied directly as he was visibly holding back his anger. Logan and Marcus stood and bowed before leaving the room. Prevesna oddly took a backseat to the conversation as she wrote in her ledger, though it was certainly to let Cassius handle the situation. As the door shut behind them, the pair heard a massive slam in the room as well as felt the building shake slightly, Cassius no doubt had punched a hole in the wall. Walking out of the hallway towards the exit, Logan and Marcus were treated to several glances as the other guildies discussed what had just happened in that room.
Logan¡¯s palms were sweaty as were his knees weak, Cassius could have killed him in anger easily but he made it out alive. The best of outcomes had arrived as Logan was given another chance at the cavern, and with Cassius at the helm. He knew the Fighter was at least level 20. But how much higher was he? The Spellthief could only curse that the atmosphere didn¡¯t really allow him a longer conversation with the leader, to ask what items he should prepare. If he were to be at the back and supporting, as Cassius was no doubt going to lead the charge, Logan decided it would probably be best to update his armour, weapons, and spend a good number of coins on spell slot potions.
Selling his previous fire salamander''s coat and Bowen daggers, Logan was able to purchase variants that were made for adventurers of level 14. They were made by the same crafter, though the intensity of the spellforce weaved into the materials was higher, making them stronger and more durable. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. There wasn¡¯t much point in upgrading his staff as the increase from 10 to 14 granted no benefit to his spellcasting. When it came to the Spellthief¡¯s edge, sentimentality lost out against the damage difference of his newer daggers, so that was put back into the recesses of his inventory. Logan could have bought a couple of new trinkets for his attributes, however, their price points soared higher as you went into the better variants. It would cost him 6 gold for just the one, and he would only get 1 extra point in the said attribute. Meeting back up with Ahren, Logan unloaded some of his spare herbs to get some cheaper potions. Buying up ten first-level pots, and ten second-level pots, Logan had a nice stock of extra spells in his pocket for if he needed them in what would essentially be a boosted dungeon. A ¡°boosted dungeon¡± being the term used for when stronger people cleared a dungeon for you, yet you could still reap some rewards from doing so. Marcus bought up another manual for Extended Enhance, while Logan spent 3 gold on Sig-Immediate Spell Manual 1 and 5 gold on Sig-Clutch Spell Manual 1. With all their money spent, or at least enough that they couldn¡¯t make much more worthwhile purchases, the pair returned to their inn to read their new skill tomes.
Bolstering his already empowered teleportation spells, Logan got the additional benefit from the first skill that it allowed him to Silentcast Dimensional Jaunt without actually knowing that Alteration fully. Since Logan already quickcasted without MP cost, this also meant he could silentcast without MP. Since these two skills were tied to the Signature Spell skill, he could swap the skills to a different spell every time he levelled up. This would have been invaluable for when he achieved third-level spells and the like, though with his exit fast approaching he wasn¡¯t going to get to see that. There was also the fact that both of these skills had a second tier of mastery, increasing their effectiveness further. Logan was unsure if the second tier of Sig-Immediate Spell would actually aid him though. ¡°So, tomorrow is the day¡±, Marcus spoke up as he lifted his head from his tome. ¡°Again, yeah. Cassius should be able to take that place all on his own, so we¡¯ll be fine¡±, Logan replied as he turned to look over at Marcus on his own bed. ¡°I meant that tomorrow is the day you leave.¡± Logan paused for a moment before responding, ¡°Yeah. I should be able to accept my portal at my leisure, so I doubt it¡¯d be instant.¡± ¡°A final farewell moment. I suppose your torch is one I¡¯ll have to carry on alone.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve grown a lot since meeting me, and with the knowledge I¡¯ve given you I am sure you¡¯ll do fine.¡± Marcus swivelled to the edge of his bed, ¡°I died last time we went to that cavern. I was getting close to the end of what my following pace allowed me, the cavern will be as far as I can take you.¡± ¡°To use your own words, I couldn¡¯t have progressed as fast without you to this point.¡± ¡°I still feel as if I could have done more, or kept up better.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve done great within the limitations you¡¯re put in.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll eat at me when you¡¯re gone¡±, Marcus spoke as he stood from his bed, ¡°Logan, let us have a match.¡± ¡°What?¡± Logan replied as he stood too, ¡°You know we¡¯re 6 ranks apart, right?¡± ¡°My handicap will be your used-up spells, and that you can¡¯t use your ¡®normal¡¯ powers.¡± ¡°I suppose we¡¯ve never truly fought or tested one another.¡± ¡°So you¡¯ll accept?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s do it.¡±
Leaving to the road outside the inn, Gaemo following behind, the pair faced off against one another at a 20-foot gap. The guard who was refereeing the fight rose his hand as he announced the start of the fight. ¡°Dimensional Jaunt¡±, Logan mentally commanded as his body warped out of existence. Appearing with a wind blast behind Marcus, the devout threw out his hand and dragged it across the floor to his back, ¡°Gaia Wall¡±, he chanted, erecting a large wall of stone and vines that whipped out to grasp the Spellthief. Logan backflipped off the wall as it formed, the vines barely grasping at his coattails. As his feet slid on the floor below he was just able to throw his head to the left as he saw a shadow above him. A large spike of earth had been Skystriked into his new location, Marcus¡¯s hand thrown from the sky to the floor as he jumped after his ally. ¡°He¡¯s aggressive!¡± Logan thought energetically. Marcus drew up his new dagger as he clashed with Logan¡¯s, Logan could feel the slight difference in Strength as Marcus was abnormally distributed in that area. ¡°Enhance Strength, Enhance Agility¡±, Marcus chanted twice as his body glowed blue and green, his movements becoming quicker and deadlier. Marcus now eclipsed Logan¡¯s Strength by 10 points, though fell behind 10 in Agility. Logan could easily parry his friend¡¯s attacks but felt the power in each. With a spinning kick, Marcus also drew his staff as he dual-wielded dagger and staff, letting loose with a flurry of close slashes and reaching bludgeons. ¡°Gaia Skystrike¡±, Marcus called out again as he pulled inwards, his dagger falling to the floor as he opened his hand. Logan dodged to the left as a shard of earth missed him and headed towards its caster. Marcus dodged similarly but shortly, grabbing onto the spike, spinning, and tossing it at the Spellthief. Logan clashed the shard of earth with his dagger as he deflected the spell but was surprised at how ferocious his friend had become from his time hunting other adventurers. Had he made a mistake keeping him at range to this point, or was it from his training with the guards? The compounding handicaps of his lesser spell pool, lack of Spell Absorption, and that Marcus knew how Logan fought made this a much more interesting fight. Logan commanded in his head for his final ring teleport, not wanting Marcus to foresee his cast. Warping out in a wind blast, he appeared in front of his friend as he anticipated a retaliation to the back. Instead, Marcus knelt down low and jumped upwards, his leg muscles forcing him an easy 10¡¯ in the air with a flip. Aiming his arms down he chanted, ¡°Aqua Shot¡±, causing a torrent of water to rain down onto Logan from above. Redirecting his spell upwards, Logan shot off his final Flame Ring as his fires collided with the waters, creating a rush of steam to fill the small area the two were in. Marcus was obviously going all-out, knowing he didn¡¯t need to save any spells for the night. Logan was similarly not going to go too easy on his friend, who was wanting to test the gap between them. ¡°Force¡±, Logan called out, shooting a grey orb skywards to pull away to the steam. With the rush of white moving away, Logan saw the glint of a blade head his way as Marcus lunged for a stab. Dodging it again, Logan hit his knee into Marcus¡¯s elbow to disarm him. The dagger flew high, and had Marcus twist into a strange roll as his left arm grappled Logan¡¯s leg, dropped his staff, and spun his lower body upwards as he landed a backwards right foot into Logan¡¯s head. As the two came tumbling to the floor, Logan kicked off, rolled on the floor, and slid to his feet as he backstepped. Marcus pushed on the floor and did an expert rolling flip to a hunched standing position. ¡°Learn that at the guards?¡± Logan called out teasingly. ¡°This too¡±, Marcus replied as he pushed his hands into his pockets and threw out two daggers towards Logan. The Spellthief deflected both with his own dagger with ease, though what came next were the golden chains of Chain Guard as the words left Marcus¡¯s lips. Before they could fully form around Logan he mentally commanded ¡°Dimensional Jaunt¡±, teleporting to a nearby roof. ¡°Marcus has been drinking MP potions, no way he had that much left. I¡¯ve only got 3 myself, and no more teleports¡±, Logan calculated in his head as he raised his arms. ¡°Force¡±, Logan called out over and over, pelting the city streets with orbs of grey energies. Marcus dodged a few and deflected others as he kicked up his staff from the floor, but was hit by many more. Ducking and dodging, Marcus charged at the building and kicked upwards to land on a stack of crates, and again to the roof itself. Spinning his staff he blocked more Force micks as he closed the gap again. Swinging out at his friend, Marcus failed to land a hit as Logan was far too adept at fighting in melee as well as much faster. However, the Spellthief could feel a tingling in his arms as the weight of each blow was taking its toll. As Logan blocked another staff strike, he stepped into it, grabbed onto the staff with his left arm and elbowed Marcus in the face with his right. Kicking into Marcus¡¯s leg and kneeing his hand, Logan disarmed the Devout of his final weapon and threw it off the roof. Going onto the offensive as his foe had no weapon, Logan swiped out with his dagger at Marcus. The Devout did his best at dodging, but took hit after hit as he began to falter on the roof. Marcus balled up his fists and began to retaliate with unarmed strikes, throwing in spins and half-turn kicks. Unbuttoning his robe he threw in jumping high kicks and the like to vary up his attacks. Logan only took a few blows, trading far more slashes. Jumping backwards, Marcus quickly touched his chest as he chanted, ¡°Heal Grasp¡±, to surround himself in healing yellow lights. Logan replied with his own mental chant, ¡°Dimensional Jaunt¡±, warping in and out behind his target. Grasping onto his friend¡¯s back for the first time he chanted again, ¡°Flame Grasp¡±, as he used his slotted spell. Through his unbuttoning, Marcus dragged his arms into his sleeves and rolled out of his robe, leaving it in Logan¡¯s grasp as it went up in flames. Marcus tumbled on the rooftop as he turned to face Logan in his undertunic, fists raised and heavy breath in front of his face. Logan looked at the burnt robe in his hands for a second as he had to do a double-take of what just happened. With a chuckle, he threw the robe off the roof and squared off against Marcus again. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for that handicap¡­ damn¡±, Logan quietly spoke. ¡°Feels like a good even, right?¡± Marcus replied with laboured breathing. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to restore your spellforce¡±, Logan said with a smirk. ¡°Can¡¯t make it easy for you¡±, Marcus replied again with his own smirk. Logan gave another chuckle before charging forwards, lunging forwards with his dagger against the raised fist of Marcus. Instead, though, Logan kicked off the floor and flipped behind his quarry with his other hand aimed at him, ¡°Lightning Shot¡±, he chanted as bolts of blue crashed into Marcus¡¯s back. As Marcus fell to a knee he threw back his own arm backwards, ¡°Gaia Shot¡±, he chanted as he let fly a shard of earth that hit solidly into Logan¡¯s chest, protruding in front of his eyes and he fell back slightly. Sliding his leg across the roof, Marcus kicked into another charge at Logan. Logan let it through as he spun around the arm to the back of Marcus and landed a solid stab into his ally¡¯s back. Circling his other arm around Marcus, Logan caught his friend before he fell to the floor, the last blow taking his opponent to unconsciousness. The crowd below cheered as a victor was finally made at the end of quite a flashy and acrobatic fight. Logan drew his blade out of Marcus¡¯s back and sheathed it, looking at his friend whose body was inhaling deeply in its rest. ¡°You¡¯ve put in effort for two¡±, Logan said as he picked his friend up. --- *** --- Chapter 88 - Superior Strength Awaking to a new dawn, Logan loaded up his quest log out of habit before going off to undertake the said quest. Readying his spells for the day ahead, Logan had amassed quite the magic arsenal for having a class with seemingly few slot increases. He prepared 1+3* Flame, 1+2* Lightning, 1, Gaia, 1 Necromantic, 3 summons, *4 and a Signature Dimensional Jaunt. His rings granted him some silentcasts, and his elementals gave him 16 MP to use amongst the spells he had prepared. Marcus rose as Logan was absorbing the spells of his elementals and keeping Fahrenheit at the ready. ¡°Eugh, guess I lost?¡± the Devout asked as he sat up in his bed. ¡°That you did, great fight though¡±, Logan replied. ¡°Indeed it was. If you had all of your teleports it would have been much more one-sided¡±, Marcus announced as he got out of bed rubbing his head. ¡°I could have also drawn it out further by going atop a tower or some such and just using Force all day. Though that¡¯d be boring to watch and to do.¡± ¡°I could just hide, at which point we¡¯d stalemate.¡± As the pair chatted they heard a loud knock at their door and a familiar voice on the other side, ¡°Logan, Marcus. You two awake?¡± Logan shifted to the door and opened it to see Cassius standing there, garbed in his usual combat gear of red and white. ¡°I¡¯ve gathered two others for our assault. We leave when the details are set at the hall¡±, Cassius continued as he looked at a readied Logan. ¡°We just finished our prep¡±, Logan replied as Marcus got up beside him. Cassius left the hallway to the stairwell without many more words, still showing signs of frustration at the whole ordeal. It could have been his own form of grief, as he did say before that guildies were like secondary families. The pair followed after, alongside Spark, Celsius, and Fahrenheit. Logan had plans for the latter two elementals due to their elements having more interaction with a place of ice, though they would be dismissed before teleportation went underway.
Getting to the main entrance and dining area of the inn revealed two slightly familiar faces to Logan and Marcus. There was Koma, a rather tall woman at 6¡¯5¡± whose bow on her back stood close to 7¡¯. Her leather garb was a full set of dark greens with an accompanying emerald cloak that hid her right side well enough. Her black hair was loose down her back but kept mostly under her cloak and tunic. Shimmering blue eyes stared at Logan, showing a hint of disdain. And Patavava, a shorter gashriek at 5¡¯11¡± whose wrist gauntlets housed a triangular set of short staves. Logan hadn¡¯t seen that setup yet, though he guessed it was a different specialisation he hadn¡¯t come across. His flame-accented robes revealed he was prepared for blasting foes with fire, just as was needed for an icy locale. His brunette hair was swept back to reveal brown eyes that could have used several hours more sleep. ¡°This is Koma, our scout Rogue, and Patavava, our foci Sorcerer¡±, Cassius explained as he waved his hands towards his allies. ¡°This is Logan, our Grasp expert, and Marcus, our healer Devout.¡± ¡°That makes five, Cassius said you could teleport us to our destination?¡± Koma spoke up. ¡°If I dismiss my elementals, yes. I can do a max of six at a time¡±, Logan explained. ¡°More than I. Sounds more like a phase expert¡±, Patavava replied. ¡°I found it helped more with my hunting assignments.¡± ¡°We can discuss things further on route. Let us sort out the quest details at the hall¡±, Cassius interrupted. ¡°Of course, let¡¯s do that¡±, Logan replied.
The party left the inn and walked their way to the G-Hall, ever abuzz with adventurer activity. On the way there, the group conversed a little more about their abilities. Logan was informed that a foci caster, which Patavava was, were magi who empowered their casting through staves. Similar to the normal magic staves, Patavava had a unique set of gauntlets that allowed him several enhancements at a time. From quickcasting to meta alterations, the Sorcerer was more adept at casting than the normal mage, though with a reliance on said staves to keep up. Most of his skills were centred on that focus, so he wasn¡¯t too adept at summoning or teleportation like Logan was. The staves also made it hard to engage in melee combat or holding anything in the hands. Koma on the other hand wasn¡¯t anything too startlingly different from other scouts he had met before. Invisibility skills, climbing, and scouting, all were abilities he had seen in the past. Logan could easily spot some of the other adventurers moving their gazes onto Cassius, muttering on their lips revealing that many knew him in an instant. ¡°Lord killer is here.¡± ¡°That¡¯s Raid Master Cass, right?¡± ¡°He came back yesterday, and already back at it?¡± With the group moving to the dungeon offices at the back, the whispering continued. ¡°Leave it to Cassius to take on yet another dungeon so soon.¡± ¡°Think they didn¡¯t accept their reward yet?¡± ¡°What is he doing with hunters?¡± Closing the door behind them also shut off the talk behind their backs. Cassius and Logan moved to the counter while the others sat at a table. ¡°Hello, we¡¯re here to reassign a dungeon¡±, Cassius began before turning to the side, ¡°Logan.¡± Logan walked forward as he took out his wooden magenta signet and confirmed the details of the Ice Monarch¡¯s cavern quest. ¡°Cassius, Koma, and Patavava. All over 20 though we haven¡¯t had reassessments in some time¡±, Cassius informed as he showed off his metallic signet of a red hue. The clerk on the other side of the counter had a surprised look on his face as he replied, ¡°That is fine, sir. We have no issues with this transference.¡± Logan had learned a bit about the metal signets, they were often issued to adventurers whose ranks were 15 or higher. The leaderboards in the G-Hall noted almost all adventurers of rank 10 and above, those who were 15 to 40 numbered in the thousands. That only included those assigned to the G-Hall, however, Logan had no grasp on the total number. Three adventurers of ranks over 20 were an uncommon sight to behold, but as they were all in the same guild it wasn¡¯t too out of the ordinary. ¡°That is all done for you, sir¡±, the clerk spoke as he finished adjusting the contracts. ¡°Thank you¡±, Cassius replied as he moved back to his team with Logan by his side. ¡°All is well?¡± Patavava asked. ¡°Yes, our new team is assigned and we can leave at our leisure.¡± Logan had another party confirmation window appear as he was added to Cassius¡¯s side once again. ¡°Cassius: Fighter 26, 442/442 HP, 0/0 MP. Koma: Rogue 21, 284/284 HP, 0/0 MP. Patavava: Sorcerer 20, 168/168 HP, 48/48 MP. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.Logan: Spellthief 14, 158/158 HP, 16 MP. Marcus: Devout 8, 92/92 HP, 22/22 MP. ¡° Logan had to do a double-take at Cassius¡¯s health, a monstrous number that only showed how useful he was in the goblin invasion. ¡°Logan, you ready?¡± Cassius asked, breaking Logan out of his focus. ¡°Yeah¡±, the Spellthief responded, a bit out of his depth.
The party moved towards the city gate, Logan ever aware of the watchful eyes at his back as well as that of his allies. It seemed that passing rank 20 made you a sort of celebrity, though, that kind of strength did warrant a portion of admiration. Cassius¡¯s name was well-known due to his work in the goblin invasion, but perhaps more as the third in line at Lightbeam. His work over years may have also been a component of his fame, a rank 26 had to put in quite a bit of work to reach that high. When the party had cleared the gates with their mounts they all gathered around Logan, placed their hands on him, and teleported away.
It took six Dimensional Jaunts through the air to the ground to make it to the exterior of the ice caverns, equating to twelve MP from Logan. A long three-day journey cut down into a couple of minutes. Landing with a wave of wind, the horses'' neighs were quieter than usual, most likely due to their age and time spent teleporting in the past. Since there were going to be numerous piles of gear and materials to take back, Logan wasn¡¯t going to be able to teleport the party home. 900lbs per Jaunt would equate to a few days of back and forth. Checking their immediate vicinity, the party quickly noticed several tracks circling the base of the mountain that the cave was dug into. Countless boots and sabatons had made their way through, not a good sign when traitors were a dime a dozen. ¡°Logan, do you scan any hostiles?¡± Cassius asked as he drew his blade. Clicking his fingers, Logan couldn¡¯t see anyone initially, but a few seconds later several yellow dots started to approach from the right side of the mountain. ¡°There are some creatures coming from the right, they¡¯re not large, so they could be humanoids.¡± At the mention of creatures, Koma ran to a nearby tree and jumped onto its trunk and followed that by three more jumps to reach its top in seconds. Patavava ran behind the trunk of a different tree. Following his companions¡¯ leads, Logan ran to a different tree. Marcus darted for a tree closer to Cassius, who stood in a fighting position in the clearing. With the party, or at least most of it, hidden away, Cassius was the only one to notice the robed individuals get closer. One of them even raised an arm to give a wave and greeting. ¡°Ho there, Magi¡¯s Tower associates here, no need to worry¡±, the man shouted as the group continued closer. ¡°What is the MT doing here?¡± Cassius asked with his weapon still at the ready. ¡°Investigating, as we usually do. We have documentation¡±, a familiar voice replied, handing a rolled parchment to Cassius. Unfurling it, Cassius gave it a quick once over before handing it back, ¡°Alright¡±, he said to the man before turning his head, ¡°they¡¯re fine¡±, he yelled to his party. Moving from cover, the rest of the party made themselves known as they approached their leader. ¡°Nice to see you again, Logan¡±, the man said as he saw the Spellthief. ¡°Xican, was it?¡± Logan responded as he looked at the middle-aged mage in the flowing waterfall and lightning-strike robes. ¡°Correct. I take it, seeing you in the presence of Lightbeam, that you chose a guild over the MT?¡± Cassius turned his head again to look at Logan, assessing the situation and possible previous interactions. ¡°Not exactly, we¡¯re working on a dungeon together after¡­ a previous failed attempt.¡± ¡°Assessing spellforce flow is a long process, how far are you into it?¡± Cassius interrupted. ¡°A few hours, a few more to go¡±, another mage replied. ¡°Assessment? What for?¡± Logan asked. ¡°It is a common event for the return of the Ice King, when it is close to the 2-month timer. We track the flow of spellforce to preempt any changes in his revival cycle.¡± ¡°So, they don¡¯t know he is going to appear earlier this year?¡± Logan thought. ¡°I hope there are no further complications then? We have been informed of the lieutenants showing themselves within the entrance chamber¡±, Cassius asked. ¡°Yes, Lieutenant Frost, as they are dubbed. We have scanned at least one of those within close proximity. ¡®Tis why we have not entered.¡± ¡°You can use Teleport though, Xican, would you lot not be easily able to take it on with fourth-level spells?¡± Logan asked. ¡°If we had the raid contract, we¡¯d have done so. We have allowance to enter as part of our assessment either way, but, it would be rude to take on another¡¯s quarry¡±, Xican replied. ¡°That is fair enough, normal hall rules state as much for adventurers. I was not sure if the MT were able to overrule it.¡± ¡°Are you asking for our employ?¡± another mage asked. ¡°Not required, we are ample enough¡±, Cassius responded quickly. ¡°Raid Master Cass, am I correct?¡± the leader mage asked, drawing back his hood to reveal countless wrinkles on mocha skin. ¡°Yes, sir, I do not know of you though.¡± ¡°Baev, I am leading this assessment. I assure you my team will work quicker knowing we are keeping you.¡± ¡°If there is anything awry, let us know¡±, Cassius responded as he began to turn away. ¡°A moment, sir.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Might we speak in private, away from our comrades?¡± ¡°Sure¡±, Cassius responded before turning to face his team, ¡°set up the camp, I¡¯ll be with you shortly.¡± Walking several paces away, Cassius and Baev began to speak near a tree. The magi team returned to the base of the mountain, pocket watches in their hands and parchment ready for note-taking. Xican stayed behind to talk to Logan further though. ¡°Have you been well? Sheepdog now, isn¡¯t it?¡± Xican asked as he looked towards Marcus walking to help set up the camp. ¡°You know the ranks of the hunters well¡±, Logan responded as he glanced at his dim gold armband. ¡°As we spoke of before, the Magi¡¯s Tower association often aids the hunters in tracking and taking down rogue magi.¡± ¡°Most of my mage contracts came from within the city so far.¡± ¡°That may change in the future, but let us not dwell on futures grim.¡± ¡°You wanted to speak about something else of the future?¡± ¡°Yes, Logan. Since you have not joined with Lightbeam, I am curious as to your relation to them, outside of your work alongside Cassius in the goblin invasion I did not think you close.¡± ¡°They invited me to join, I said I would decide later. Before that came to be, some of their guildies died under my lead, in this cavern.¡± ¡°And so they have taken control to exact revenge on the creatures that did this?¡± ¡°Pretty much.¡± ¡°Well, it is not unheard of. Many a guild holds their members as family.¡± ¡°I¡¯m getting that impression¡±, Logan replied as he looked at his team working on the camp. ¡°To move away from sidetracking, have you given our invitation any further consideration?¡± ¡°Yes. I may have to decline. I am not aiming to be tying myself down right now. My careers are flourishing right now, outside of this one defeat.¡± ¡°That armband notes, 50 hunts? You have certainly done a lot in such a short time. Were you not working to be a teleportation expert?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been expanding. Grasp, teleportation, and a bit of tracking.¡± ¡°A diviner? That is quite a useful specialisation. Though that word doesn¡¯t befit the breadth of your abilities. You seem to be quite the summoner too, with two at your behest from what I¡¯ve recently been told.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve had a few hunts that brought in tomes, I can bring up three now¡±, Logan revealed. ¡°Ah, of course. I¡¯ve yet to meet a hunter who was any form of mage before.¡± ¡°Are there any benefits at the MT for my particular set of skills?¡± ¡°The diviner chamber pays well, actually. If you focused on that side you¡¯d find a steady stream of coin flowing your way.¡± ¡°Maybe if other things don¡¯t work out¡±, Logan said with a considering face. ¡°Well, I shouldn¡¯t keep you¡±, Xican replied as he began to walk to his team. ¡°Hope your work is smooth¡±, Logan answered as he turned to his own. Walking back to his team, Logan ruminated over his range of skills and spells. Were they really that out of the ordinary? He hadn¡¯t engaged with too many mages, at least those at his level. It was a possibility he would need to hide away the range of his abilities if he were to continue hiding¡­ though he was soon to leave, so it should be fine. ¡°Friend of yours?¡± Patavava asked. ¡°Not really, we met before. Had a long talk about the goblin invasion¡±, Logan replied. ¡°A high-level mage, was more like an interview really¡±, Marcus added. ¡°I¡¯d be more annoyed at their interference if it weren¡¯t for our needing a rest¡±, Koma added. ¡°No doubt Logan used up a lot of his power to bring us here. I¡¯ll take one day over a possible four¡±, Patavava defended. As if on cue, Cassius returned to add to the conversation, ¡°We will need his tracking powers. We can take on the foes, but he needs to show us the right paths to take and where ambushes may lie.¡± ¡°Got it, boss¡±, Patavava and Koma replied in unison. ¡°The magi will be gone before we sleep, in the morning we¡¯ll start on the dungeon. Reports put it at around a three-day clear, we may be able to get that done earlier. There will be no boss at the end, that¡¯s the Ice King. We¡¯ll be offered his head to take for ourselves on clearing the dungeon. The magi here confirmed that the King has not revived yet, so we¡¯re clear there.¡± ¡°Smooth sailing then?¡± Koma asked. ¡°A lot of the monsters have hard skin, your daggers and my sword will do less to most. Stick to fire attributes or bludgeons. Marcus, you can Enhance our Strength, right?¡± ¡°I can, Cassius. Close to five minutes, twenty-five if I use a bit extra spellforce¡±, Marcus explained. With Extended Enhance at tier 2, Marcus added an extra 20 seconds per level to the duration. It was a fine purchase indeed, especially when it came to dungeons that took much longer to deal with than ordinary quests. ¡°Do so for the beginning encounter, save the rest of your spellforce for healing. We¡¯ll adjust as needed.¡± ¡°There is quite a variety of monsters inside, maybe more from the intel we had access to. Though you shouldn¡¯t have much trouble with them¡±, Logan informed. ¡°I¡¯ve dealt with some of them before, the ice golems will be new. No matter what they are, they will all die for what they¡¯ve done.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 89 - Frost Monarch鈥檚 Cavern. Part 1 Logan was able to do his normal morning prep of absorbing his elementals¡¯ spells, granting him MP to use throughout the new day that approached. The investigative magi had left not long before the party had gone to sleep, and Echo Radar revealed that Logan was alone in the woods to do his routine. With Celsius, Fahrenheit, and Spark all available and out for combat, Logan had quite a party all his own. The first two on his list had particular roles in the upcoming dungeon full of icy foes, while Spark was there mostly for backup and drawing attention if needed. Thirty-three days were left on his quest timer, if Logan cared at all for the bonus objectives his team could get it done in under three days. The Spellthief was still wary that the bonuses might apply to his portal home, but he was sure his party would be able to get it done. Cassius was the strongest person he had met so far, a level 26 that also specialised in fire-type attacks. His shortsword was an artefact called Blazing End, something he had won from a previous raid, which Cassius was quite adept at with his title of Raid Master Cass. From what his ally had spoken of, and shown off during the goblin invasion, Blazing End could absorb almost any fire sent its way and redirect it at the wielder¡¯s will. It also granted a few weapon-specific skills to Cassius, making him quite a unique enemy to face on the field. Outside of that, Logan found out that many artefacts grew with their wielder and could be repaired several more times than normal. Instead of having to buy higher-level weapons, and suffering degradation with each repairing session, an artefact would be something you kept for a long time. That explained why Cassius would use weaker weapons when he didn¡¯t need to waste his artefact. Returning to the camp had Logan treated to the sight of Marcus prepped and ready. ¡°Sleep well?¡± Logan asked with his elementals behind him. ¡°Mostly, seems I am a bit agitated, woke up earlier than usual¡±, Marcus replied. ¡°Hopefully that gets sorted by our next rest.¡± ¡°He just needs to get to fightin¡¯, let that energy flow out of ya!¡± Celsius added, cheerfully. ¡°Let our betters decide for themselves, Celsius¡±, Spark responded. ¡°Can we get on with this?¡± Fahrenheit ended coldly. ¡°I¡¯d leave you these fellas if I could¡±, Logan offered. ¡°Maybe it-¡± Marcus began but was cut off by a waking Patavava. ¡°Two magi waking me is better than a gang of them¡±, the gashriek thought aloud as he stood up. Leaving their conversation for later, Logan helped the other members with their morning routines.
¡°Essence of power, grant onto others. Enhance Strength, Sustained¡±, Marcus chanted for a second time. Cassius looked like quite the dominating sight with a boost to his Strength, similar to Koma with her Agility being increased. Logan had attuned to his staff as before, while Patavava didn¡¯t need to do much to ready his staff gauntlets. Passing the wide maw into the cavern had the entrance become blocked by large icicles, crashing from the floor to the ceiling with several loud noises. Cassius looked over the ice for a bit before ringing back his fist and planting it solidly into the centre, causing the ice to explode outside. ¡°Easy enough to break, this is what gave you a bit of trouble I take it?¡± Cassius asked as he looked at the ice reform. ¡°Yeah, took a Flame from me or several mace strikes from Kreya.¡± ¡°Alright, if we need to, retreat to this and I can deal with it, or blast it yourself if needed¡±, Cassius ordered as he turned to move back to the front of the group. Logan wasn¡¯t able to access more than the HP and MP of his allies, but seeing Cassius break the ice with his fist displayed quite the gap in Strength from his previous companions.
Reaching the main entrance chamber showed it to be crystal clear as before, the remains of Logan¡¯s allies having been removed. ¡°Not even any blood¡±, Logan remarked under his breath. Alongside the disparity of a battlefield, no one could spot Lieutenant Frost in this chamber. ¡°He most likely activates when we reach the midway part of this chamber. Logan, if you wouldn¡¯t mind¡±, Cassius spoke as he held the flat side of his blade to the Spellthief. ¡°Flame Shot¡±, Logan called out, shooting a tuft of fire into the sword that absorbed it without issue. Glowing gold, Cassius had his shining blade at the ready as he moved forwards. The team followed him in a staggered formation, Marcus and Logan at the back surrounded by the elementals. As Cassius hit the centre of the chamber the floor started to shake just like it had when Logan first came here. Flashes of corpses flew through his mind, Logan¡¯s nostrils flaring at the scent of blood that wasn¡¯t there. A massive collection of icicles crashed from the icy floors to make a pyramid, before exploding apart to reveal the previous yeti-golem. Its fur had been cleaned, though scars showed it to be the one Logan had fought earlier. Letting out a roar that made Logan shake inside, the memory of his last confrontation rushing to the front of his mind, the yeti charged at Cassius. With a massive fist thrown at its foes, the yeti looked like it was about to send Cassius flying. Instead, Cassius met the fist with his own, a shockwave pushing away dust and ice away from both of them. Winning the trial of strength, Cassius pushed away the yeti¡¯s arm before drawing his blade upwards to slice at the monster. Stepping backwards allowed the yeti to dodge the first attack, but the following slash sent out a scythe of flames towards the monster, singeing its chest harshly as it roared out in pain. Smashing a fist into the floor had several icicles jut outwards at Cassius who jumped back to avoid them. The yeti then roared to form its usual mist around itself. ¡°Marcus, Fahrenheit!¡± Logan called out to his team who came running, ¡°That¡¯s the shards!¡± he yelled again at his team. Marcus ducked behind Logan, while Fahrenheit stood tall in front of them both. Patavava held up a hand as he chanted, ¡°Barrier¡±, causing several blue hexagons to appear in front of his palm. Koma ran behind the caster to also benefit from the defence. With Cassius behind the icicles, he was safe from the following barrage of icy spikes that were sent in a 360-degree attack. The spikes shattered against Patavava¡¯s barrier, and Fahrenheit blocked the remainder against his master and friend. As he was made of ice, the damage meant nothing to him. Spark was able to dart around to dodge most others, while Celsius only took half the damage as the spikes melted through his body of fire. Jumping over the icicles, Cassius swiped out with his blade again into the yeti, gashing its defending arm. Landing solidly he Rushed forwards to plant his blade deep into his foe¡¯s leg. With the use of Dash, Koma was able to bridge the gap and let out several painful slashes into the yeti¡¯s ankles, causing it to fall to its knees as Cassius lept backwards. Making a circle with his opened hands, Patavava formed a large ball of flames before sending it soaring into the yeti¡¯s head, exploding into a dazzling display of cinders. Logan sent out Flames of his own, Marcus firing a crossbow aside the ranged attacks of the elementals, Fahrenheit making sure to block any ice coming their way. Grabbing an icicle above, the yeti swung wide to batter its aggressors away, who were easily able to dodge the sluggish movements. Landing a solid fist into the floor had it shake once again, though Cassius had been alerted to his move ahead of time by Logan. Bringing his blade back he chanted, ¡°Severing Slash¡±, having the blade shimmer slightly with afterimages before he sliced clean through the yeti¡¯s arm. A quick jet of blood shot from the wound all around as the yeti fell to its elbow as its arm was severed just below, the shaking of the floor halting and no walls crashing upwards as they had done before. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Trying to let out a final roar, the yeti¡¯s mouth was instead treated to an explosion of flames from Cassius¡¯s blade. The yeti slumped to its side as it stopped moving. Logan stared at the corpse for a while, slightly stunned at how quickly it went down, but also downtrodden at how much was given to reach this point. ¡°That¡¯s the killers dealt with, now their associates. Logan?¡± Cassius spoke as he walked to the Spellthief. ¡°Right, nothing else here, only that corridor¡±, Logan replied as he snapped out of his daze. ¡°This place is much easier than the raid we just did¡±, Koma spoke as she walked back. ¡°Assigned to rank 10s, no wonder¡±, Cassius replied. Patavava was busy at the back, harvesting the yeti for its parts. ¡°I did not expect you to deal with the monster so quickly¡±, Marcus picked up as he approached the team. ¡°We were just good counters, my blade is fire, and the mages cast it. If it weren¡¯t for the lack of intel on its attacks or its surprise appearance, your team might have been fine¡±, Cassius calculated. ¡°It¡¯s this bloody quest system at play¡±, Logan cursed in his head. ¡°Components all taken¡±, Patavava informed as he jogged back to the party. ¡°Alright, we are down only a couple of skills. Let¡¯s move¡±, Cassius ordered as he began to walk to the next hallway. ¡°Quite efficient, aren¡¯t they? Or, maybe speedy is a better term? Are more dangerous dungeons like this?¡± Marcus asked Logan as they held back to the rear of the team. ¡°They¡¯ve probably done enough to know most tricks and traps. Follow their lead, I say.¡±
Walking to the hallway didn¡¯t take long, and its design was identical to the one that led them into the caverns. Clean ice from walls to ceiling, reflecting the parties¡¯ image back at them. Stalagmites of ice forced the party to zig-zag, stalactites painting a deadly ascent to the top. It wasn¡¯t long before Logan¡¯s Echo Radar picked up activity ahead of them. ¡°There''s a chamber ahead, several cliffs of differing heights that lead to offshoot corridors. Looks like thirty or so monsters in there.¡± ¡°Logan, Dimensional Jaunt Koma to the highest part. Patavava, I¡¯ll take you up to the middle portion. Marcus and the elementals clean up the ground floor.¡± ¡°Got it, boss¡±, the two guildies responded. ¡°Sure¡±, Logan replied, holding back his own advice on the subject. Replacing his artefact blade with a less fancy shortsword, using his storage ring, Cassius prepared for a much easier fight. ¡°It is unlikely they will be a strong force with that number, I wager goblins with that count¡±, Cassius calculated, ¡°stronger foes would hold better formations at least. We¡¯d find harder foes deeper in aside from the entrance abnormality.¡± Walking to the edge of their corridor, before the enemies spotted the party, Cassius looked back at Logan as if to say ¡°No change?¡± Logan clicked his fingers to update his mini-map, the dots had shifted a bit but were mostly in the same locations. Giving a thumbs up to his leader caused Cassius to turn back, placing a hand on Patavava¡¯s shoulder as the two spearheaded the charge forward. Looking to the mid-section, Cassius and Patavava warped into the centres with blasts of wind, appearing in the middle level of the chamber. Logan and Koma were next, the Spellthief eyeing up the room to take it in before his own teleport. The ice chamber was quite vast, curved walls went in and out, countless tunnels going into every direction, though Logan¡¯s map noted many stopped within a few feet. Wide bridges made of translucent ice filled the gaps between several larger corridors that went on far beyond Logan¡¯s Echo Radar. As before, stalactites hugged the ceiling that stood around 200 feet high. Eyeing the top bridge, Logan mentally commanded a ring to take him and Koma above. Warping in and out with blasts of wind, the pair landed on the solid ice bridge. Meeting their gaze was twelve icebolds. 4¡¯ tall creatures made of ice, resembling a mix of goblin and wolf. ¡°Identify.¡± ¡°Icebold - Bold. Level 6: 56/56 HP, 6/6 MP. A secretive race of ice-made creatures, the icebolds are a race of the bold species. With skin of hard ice, the icebolds'' interior is made up of cold-blooded organs that thrive in any temperature below 10c. These carnivores always travel in packs, standing at 4'' with little muscle mass showing past their ice exterior. Skills: - Spells: Frost, Infuse. Reduction: Damage 3. Resistance: Damage 0%, Earth 0%, Fire -50%, Holy 0%, Ice 100%, Lightning 0%, Shadow 0%, Water 0%, Wind 0%.¡± Drawing up two curved daggers, Koma had her blades shine blue before she threw them forwards, the daggers spinning and curving in the air as if they were boomerangs. Slicing into two icebolds ahead of her, they continued to the sides as they cleaved through three on each side. Dashing forwards she landed a solid kick into one of the icebold¡¯s stomachs, landing a spinning slash into the other¡¯s head. Her previously thrown daggers spun around before returning to her original position, stopping dead in their tracks, then shooting back towards their owner who had moved away. Backstepping, Koma had her flying daggers slash through the two beginning icebolds another time, landing in her open hands as she sheathed her other dagger. Blood splattered across the bridge and Rogue, her deathly display showing off her experience at fighting multiple foes. Logan wasn¡¯t sedentary either, throwing his arm back and forth as he let loose Force blasts one after the other, hitting the icebolds to the floor, their icy skin scraping on the icy bridge. Leaping left and right, Logan was able to quickly draw a dagger at his hip or rib to drive them into the backs of his foe. Backstabs drew a bloody set of damages in the 20s, keeping his extra damage at bay to steal 6 MP from his foes. The other levels were also full of major slashes from Cassius, felling his foes in single swipes. Patavava let flow a stream of spells to explode across the bridge. At the very bottom was Marcus and the elementals, Fahrenheit blocking Frost spells against his partner, protecting the Devout from almost all damage coming his way. All the fights across the separate levels were going wild on the side of the humanoids, even in their split-up positions. Their wide-reaching attacks worked much better in this design, allowing them to deal with the icebolds in a much more efficient manner. If not for the quaking, the horrible shaking of the ice. A pit of fear rose in Logan¡¯s stomach as his head darted around. The walls began to crack all over, as did the bridges the party found beneath their feet. He didn¡¯t know what was going to come of this, and Marcus was out of sight. It wasn¡¯t long before the quaking got worse, large portions of the walls shooting outwards, crashing into the sides of the bridges. Faltering to a kneel and hand on the bridge, Logan thanked whoever looked over him that he was not crushed. Instead, the walls had connected all the gaps between the separate levels, cutting off the party from their fellows. Throwing out a Force at another icebold, a dagger landing in the head of the last, Logan and Koma finished off their confrontation. ¡°The fuck happened here?¡± Logan exclaimed as he investigated their newly-changed locale. ¡°Above damn it all, it¡¯s a dungeon shift¡±, Koma replied as she drew a bloodied blade from a corpse. ¡°A shift?¡± ¡°Yeah, they do this sometimes, spellforced dungeons like to change on ya¡±, Koma continued as she jogged to Logan¡¯s side. ¡°Fuck¡±, Logan exclaimed as he snapped his fingers, ¡°Cassius? Marcus? Patavava?¡± he yelled into the translucent floor that blocked his vision to his allies. The only reply was shifting lights and shadows just barely noticeable through the ice, accompanied by a hand on his shoulder by Koma. ¡°No doubt the shift split us up, or rather, solidified our split. Can you scan them?¡± Logan looked at his mini-map, his Echo Radar couldn¡¯t pierce the ice, but his party menu still listed his party members in good enough health. ¡°They¡¯re fine, but I can¡¯t find them.¡± ¡°Fuck, fine¡±, Koma started as she looked around, ¡°Can you blast the ice apart?¡± ¡°I-¡± Logan began before seeing the experience numbers appear. ¡°Give me a second¡±, Logan continued as he stood over a new part of the floor. Closing down a window that alerted him to Fahrenheit reaching level 6, Logan aimed his hand at the floor and commanded, ¡°Flame Shot¡±, blasting the ice with a swathe of fire. As the flames dispersed, Logan only saw slight singe marks and a small portion of water that let off a puff of steam. His anxiousness about falling through diminished. ¡°Flame Grasp¡±, he chanted as he knelt down and enflamed a larger portion of the floor, but to reveal only a slightly larger divet in the ice. ¡°No good?¡± Koma asked almost rhetorically. ¡°If I use up all my spells, maybe. I can¡¯t tell how thick this floor is though¡±, Logan replied, noting he used 2 of the 24 MP he stole from the icebolds with MP Thievery. ¡°Not uncommon. Cassius and Patavava should be fine. Your friend may be freaking out a bit though¡±, Koma mentioned. ¡°He¡¯s got my elementals, they work well together. He¡¯ll be fine¡±, Logan spoke as he stood back up. ¡°Shifts typically ¡®allow¡¯ us to regroup. Either through open corridors or blasting down weaker walls.¡± ¡°So we just keep going?¡± ¡°That is what Cassius would do, if he isn¡¯t going to try and break the ice either. I doubt he¡¯d be able to though.¡± ¡°Keep calm and carry on, I suppose¡±, Logan spoke as he let out a sigh. ¡°We¡¯ll have to take things calmly for sure. Without our Devout, we can¡¯t heal our injuries as well.¡± ¡°I can cast Necromantic to heal myself, though I can¡¯t do that to help you¡±, Logan informed. ¡°You¡¯re a slotter, got many of those prepared?¡± Koma asked with a raised eyebrow. ¡°A few¡±, Logan lied. ¡°Let¡¯s hope they last us till we meet back up with the others.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 90 - Frost Monarch鈥檚 Cavern. Part 2 Footsteps echoed through icy corridors as Logan and Koma slowly proceeded onwards. Picking a hallway wasn¡¯t a time-consuming task, Logan pointed out the deadends and Koma chose a free hallway at random. There was no easy way to check which hallway would reunite them with their team, so their best bet was to not waste time ruminating about their decision. The only thing that accompanied their footsteps was the low voice of Koma as she explained more themes of dungeons. ¡°A dungeon can have several shifts, that cascading wall situation would be counted as one even though it occurred over several areas.¡± ¡°How can we tell them apart from monster spells and abilities?¡± Logan asked as he checked his mini-map for hostiles. ¡°Monsters typically yell or make some grand gesture. None of the icebolds in that chamber looked to be different from the others, so I am sure they didn¡¯t do it. Unless there was an invisible or hidden foe¡±, Koma responded as she glanced at Logan, as if to say ¡°you notice anything like that?¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t scan anything else, but if they were invisible, my abilities have difficulty finding those.¡± ¡°So, best guess is a shift. If there¡¯s one, there¡¯s generally another waiting ahead. I¡¯ve yet to see a dungeon only have one shift, between two and six is common from my experience.¡± ¡°How long have you been dungeon diving?¡± ¡°Since I hit rank 9. I should be rank 21 by now, my last assessment put me at 20 but I¡¯ve done a lot since then¡±, Koma replied almost proudly. ¡°What was that skill you used on the bridge? It particularly high-rank?¡± ¡°Return Scythe? I guess. I learnt it at rank 11. Helps deal with dungeons, they love to be full of monsters in compacted groups¡±, Koma responded with a shrug. ¡°I thought you were mainly a bow user.¡± ¡°I am, but situations change, and so must I¡±, Koma continued before stopping, placing a hand on her bow, ¡°speaking of which, shoot a Flame down this corridor, as far as it can go¡±, she continued as she drew her bow and nocked an arrow. ¡°I can¡¯t scan any monsters, but sure, say when¡±, Logan responded as he looked at his map and only saw two green dots. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you after¡±, Koma mentioned as she aimed down the azure corridor, ¡°now.¡± Raising an arm and aiming it down the corridor, Logan chanted, ¡°Flame Shot.¡± A small fireball formed in the Spellthief¡¯s palm before being hurled into the corridor. Reflecting dazzling red and oranges across the icy confines, the fire hit an invisible barrier in the air, around fifty feet away. Exploding and cascading to the floor, the flames left a black singe mark across the invisible object, its body shifting and slithering around as it aimed its invisible head towards what shot it. ¡°Tracking Shot¡±, Koma chanted, her arrow glowing green before she let it loose. The arrow whistled through the air, resonating a radar-like ping every so often as it veered towards the invisible target. The invisible creature, alongside its singe mark, slithered to the side to dodge, but the arrow followed it and dug deep into a tough hide. ¡°Blood Spray¡±, Koma chanted again as she threw an open palm at the accurate arrow. As if forced out of the target, blood spewed outwards in a thin mist, coating the walls, floor, as well as several other invisible foes. Their designs were snakelike, cluing Logan into them being frost snakes. ¡°Make a line, wall to wall¡±, Koma ordered as she began firing arrow after arrow down the hallway. Waving his arm across the floor in front of them, Logan chanted, ¡°Flame Wall¡±, causing a torrent of fire to form a disastrous wall between them and their foes. Arrows sang down the hallway, becoming enflamed by the fiery wall of protection ahead of them. ¡°Another if you got it prepared, Logan!¡± Koma asked loudly. Logan concurred as he waved his arm again to create a second wall, and again for a third as he was granted a free cast from the staff in his other hand. One of the monsters dashed through the triple waves of flames, its body writhing out of control as it bashed into the icy floor, cracking it slightly. Another, and another, the creatures fell to the fires and arrows as they approached the duo. Either bolstered by their outnumbering the humanoids or dumb hubris, the creatures kept coming. Before letting fly even more fire, Logan¡¯s mini-map went wild with phasing dots from behind him and Koma. Spinning around and kicking off the floor, Logan conjured up four more walls, ¡°Flame Wall, Flame Wall, Flame Wall, Flame Wall¡±, he chanted succinctly, his arm making a dusting motion over the floor. ¡°More?!¡± Koma yelled as she spun down to a kneeling position to fire at their rear. ¡°At least seven!¡± Logan responded as he thanked his choice of MP Thievery and having used it in the last chamber. ¡°Restock¡±, Koma spoke into her gauntlet, causing it to let off a cloud of golden dust that shot into her lower-back quiver, spawning more arrows. ¡°How we looking spell-wise, Logan?!¡± ¡°I can do more Walls.¡± ¡°Do it! Evenly!¡± Logan spun his staff into his underarm as he waved behind, and ahead, spinning around a few times to add eight more walls, four on both flanks. It only cost him 6 MP, as after each third, he got a free cast from his staff. It was a good call as the initial walls began to fade away. Darting behind her, an invisible, yet fiery, frost snake danced in the air and lunged into Koma¡¯s shoulder. Large fangs of ice pierced her flesh and bloodied her armour. Drawing up a dagger from her boot she spun it in her hand and jabbed it into the head of the snake, its body wiggling in pain before it got smashed into the floor by an angered Rogue. Another such snake aimed for Logan in front of him, but he was able to duck, step forward, and grapple its invisible flaming neck, ¡°Flame Grasp¡±, he chanted, the body getting engulfed even harsher as the Spellthief tossed the corpse to the floor. ¡°This won¡¯t end. Logan, spy a space back where we came and teleport us away¡±, Koma ordered. Logan side-stepped and placed a hand on her shoulder, eyeing a gap in his flames far into the distance and mentally commanded a ring. Their bodies warped into their centres as they appeared with similar wind blasts several hundred feet away, but Logan did it again, seeing the edge of the corridor that led back to the large chamber. ¡°Hate to say it, but fill that gap with the rest of your spells when I say to¡±, Koma said with an annoyed tone. ¡°What if more come from the other corridors?¡± Logan asked as he clicked his fingers to scan the area. ¡°They shouldn¡¯t. This feels like a coordinated ambush to pick off the shift group at the lead. It¡¯s common, just be ready¡±, Koma informed as she continued to shoot into the corridor they exited. ¡°Alright, say when. Force!¡± Logan responded as he began pelting the corridor with grey energy orbs. Seconds passed as Logan could hear a rush of wind from ahead, the frost snakes cutting through the air as they charged their foes. ¡°Now!¡± Koma ordered as she jumped back. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°Flame Wall!¡± Logan chanted, twelve times in total, creating a massive coalescing firefall that filled the room with heat and crackling noise. Logan followed Koma in a jump backwards. The combined damage of so many spells caused most corpses to get immediately incinerated on entry, only a few were able to land their sizzling bodies on the side that Logan and Koma found themselves on. Training a triple-nock at the corridor, Koma prepared for when it ended. Logan similarly had his hand raised at the dissipating flames to follow it up if necessary. It was silent, if not for the breaths of the two, and the sound of seared meat. No one wanted to break the silence, but they couldn¡¯t do nothing forever. ¡°Logan, scan the hallway.¡± Logan snapped his fingers, but found no enemies in the corridor, though if they were invisible it¡¯d be difficult regardless. ¡°Nothing.¡± ¡°Alright¡±, Koma started as she took off two arrows from her bow, ¡°Screaming Arrow¡±, she chanted, her final arrow shining silver. Firing the arrow down the corridor had it let out an ear-piercing screech, hitting the floor at the far back had the arrow crack and split into pieces as it let out a final death screech. ¡°Again¡±, Koma instructed. Logan clicked his fingers again, and again got the same result. ¡°Nothing.¡± Koma let out a long sigh of relief as she began to stand. ¡°Wait¡±, Logan said as he noticed no experience numbers appearing. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Something is wrong, I-¡± he began, but was halted when the numbers finally started to appear. ¡°Level up! Gain: 8 HP, +1 Str, +2 Agi, +1 Con, +2 Int, +1 Wis, +1 Cha. You have 1 attribute point to spend.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s fine now. I think some of them were still in their dying states, or maybe some fled¡±, Logan explained as he tried to not get shocked by his level-up window. ¡°Alright¡±, Koma responded as she stood, flexing her arms, ¡°rank 21 may be surpassed with that.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Logan turned as he looked at his ally, the party window indeed updating to show her upgrade. ¡°Koma: Rogue 22, 268/296 HP, 0/0 MP.¡± ¡°There were 46 of the bastards, no wonder she levelled up with me¡±, Logan thought to himself. ¡°I gotta say, damn. That was an insane volume of flames you summoned up. You all used up now?¡± Koma continued as she gave a fist bump into Logan¡¯s arm. Logan let out a puff of air as if he was imitating the last gasp of a kettle. The pair laughed. ¡°What was that you were talking about, hitting the main shift group?¡± Logan asked. ¡°The lead. I¡¯ve only been in one of those shift groups. Since we¡¯re on the highest floor of this dungeon I can say we¡¯re probably at the hardest area, Marcus at the easiest. That number of invisible frost snakes leads me to this conclusion¡±, Koma informed as she picked up a seared corpse. ¡°Cassius should have gone to the top in that case¡±, Logan replied with an annoyed tone. ¡°Not necessarily. The lowest floor could have easily been the hardest too, but, the lowest floor has the exit. So if it was the hardest, and Marcus was there, he could flee. We were at the top to grant us fewer flanks. The middle could get attacked from below and above, at the top, we just have to worry about what is here.¡± ¡°Theoretically. But we just killed 46 frost snakes. If I wasn¡¯t a slotter, another mage would have been demolished.¡± ¡°Yes, but if another level failed, we¡¯d have an easier time defending this position, than the middle defending on two fronts.¡± ¡°So, we¡¯re here so that we can stay put and wait for rescue?¡± ¡°If needed. We¡¯d get no lick of sleep if we were in the middle. Cassius took on the protector and rescuer role in this situation. Marcus can flee, we can hold out.¡± ¡°You say that as if he predicted a shift¡±, Logan said a bit confused. ¡°As I said earlier, shifts aren¡¯t uncommon. Just looking at the chamber on its own, he could easily jump up or down to aid either floor during a normal confrontation if there wasn¡¯t one. But more to the fact that you mentioned he¡¯d be best up here, that isn¡¯t a certainty¡±, Koma continued, her tone showing that she wanted Logan to understand her meaning quickly. ¡°Alright, you made your case. You lot have attacked more dungeons than I have, so I guess you¡¯re better informed.¡± ¡°All plans have pros and cons. It¡¯s better to not spread blame ahead of time¡±, Koma spoke as she looked over her gauntlet. ¡°That a trinket?¡± ¡°Yeah, carries my arrows. Just checking how many I got left. 870.¡± Logan gave a whistle reply. ¡°So, we hunkering down?¡± Logan asked as he looked around at the several corridors. ¡°After that bout? Yes. If we¡¯re to face those numbers again, we need your spells.¡± ¡°Damnit, I still have 16 MP left¡±, Logan thought to himself. ¡°I have a few left over from that fight¡±, he informed. ¡°Either way, my skills can¡¯t be used for a while. We¡¯d have a better time if we regroup, and that means waiting for Cassius to get up here.¡± ¡°How long will that take though? This place feels huge.¡± ¡°A day, maybe two. But we need to take this slow. Rushing in leads to death, and that one corridor is enough to show me we aren¡¯t in an easy position.¡± ¡°I can understand that, but sitting still doesn¡¯t exactly put me at ease either.¡± ¡°Then don¡¯t sit still, help me trap up this area¡±, Koma replied as she pulled at her backpack. Logan let out a sigh, ¡°Fine.¡±
Pulling out thin steel wire, chimes, and pitons, Koma went to the six corridors that carried on past Logan¡¯s Echo Radar. Making a double-cross design, she and Logan covered the maws that led away from them. If a large enough creature moved through the corridors, or one that lacked the fine sight to notice the wires, they¡¯d alert the pair. ¡°How¡¯d you know there were enemies in that corridor by the way?¡± Logan asked as they set the alarms up. ¡°The floor had large lines as if a body dragged over it and moved the dust. The frost snakes¡¯ flight moved it. Aside from that, the reflections had some dark patches across our forms, they were minute but I could barely see them.¡± A window appeared as Koma explained her process, ¡°Tracking mastery obtained. Tracking progressed to tier 2¡± ¡°You face many invisible foes then? That seems like specialised knowledge.¡± ¡°Dungeons typically have at least one race that can be invisible, one dungeon I went to was full of them.¡± ¡°What about those yetis at the entrance? There was no intel on those. How¡¯d you explain those? A shift?¡± ¡°Hard to say, if it was a shift it would have occurred with the first group. This place has had a few failed attempts, so anyone that did come back would have reported it.¡± ¡°A PC shift then?¡± Logan thought to himself. ¡°What I will say on the matter, when we get back I am going to throw so much intel at the G-Hall that they¡¯ll need overtime to process it¡±, Koma said with a tinge of anger in her voice. ¡°It was kind of lacking. The map isn¡¯t too helpful as this place has seemingly changed. The frost snakes¡¯ biography also doesn¡¯t note their invisibility¡±, Logan replied as he remembered the intel he had bought. ¡°This place is tackled every ten years, intel has only really come to be a larger part of adventuring in the past six or so. You should see some of the maps that were done a dozen years back and more.¡± ¡°You know quite a bit about dungeons and their history¡±, Logan said with a grin. ¡°Cassius has us read over five or so books on the matter before we¡¯re allowed to join a dungeon quest. Another four for raids.¡± ¡°Overpreperation ay?¡± ¡°It¡¯s saved our lives, and, good small talk for newcomers¡±, Koma responded with a replied grin. ¡°These traps your prep for being split up like this?¡± Logan asked. ¡°Yeah, it is most likely why Cassius sent me with you. He can handle anything this place throws at him, and as I said before, Marcus is at the exit.¡± ¡°Patavava going to be fine?¡± ¡°Sure is. We don¡¯t have many magi, probably four out of the sixty-eight¡­ six¡±, Koma responded with a sombre tone. ¡°Sorry.¡± ¡°Look¡±, Koma replied as she turned to Logan, ¡°you¡¯re a good mage. I don¡¯t blame you for what happened. I don¡¯t think Cassius does either. But your face is that of the one who last saw our fellows. It¡¯s just a bad memory now.¡± ¡°Thanks. Though I am sure Cassius has a worse opinion than you say.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be better when we¡¯re done here and we avenge our family.¡± ¡°My invitation to the guild is probably off the table at that point.¡± ¡°Not for certain, as I say, we only have the four magi. You¡¯re useful for particular raids.¡± ¡°Not normal quests and dungeons?¡± Logan asked with a raised eyebrow. ¡°Nah. A few ranks and quests done, you can replace a mage with spell rings. Cassius has enough on his own that he only ever uses mages for a Flame into his sword.¡± ¡°That would explain why they sold out during the goblin invasion¡±, Logan remembered. ¡°Yeah, we bought up a few at the guild too. No need to hire a mage for what little spells they have at that point when a couple of rings do it for you.¡± ¡°Strange, I was invited to a party for my Lightning spells, when one of them had rings for that spell¡±, Logan reminisced. ¡°Probably as backup, not everyone focuses on spell rings.¡± ¡°It was only a couple, so probably.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a more aggressive mage anyways, a lot are sedentary at the back.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard that quite a few times¡±, Logan replied. ¡°Even Marcus was weak when I met him, but he has a lot more confidence nowadays¡±, he thought to himself. Swiping her hands together to remove the dust and icy coating on them, Koma let out a sigh, ¡°That should be all the traps done. How are you for heat gravel?¡± ¡°I bought up enough for six days¡±, Logan replied, picking out one of the small black rocks he had eaten on entering that kept him warm in this frozen climate. ¡°Prepared for sure. Let¡¯s hope Marcus is the same¡± --- *** --- Chapter 91 - Frost Monarch鈥檚 Cavern. Part 3 (Marcus) Some time ago, back on the ground floor¡­ ¡°Fuck!¡± Marcus yelled as he dodged to the side from falling ice, the walls crashing with the bridges above him. ¡°Marcus, behind me!¡± Fahrenheit shouted, the mound of ice running in front of his ally. Turning back-to-back with the frost elemental, Marcus could feel the vibrations of attacks hitting his frosty friend, though he knew this was the plan, have the one immune to these attacks take them for him. ¡°What else is gonna go wrong here¡±, Marcus questioned aloud. As if to answer him, an icebold came leaping at the devout with a raised shortsword. Swinging it down on the Devout had him block it with his staff, slide his leg forward, and push back. The icebold was thrown off-balance, though it was in the air so it lacked much of that anyways. As the icebold fell into a backwards fall, Marcus spun his staff around and planted it harshly into the creature¡¯s form, smashing it into the icy floor. Following up, Marcus stomped his foot on the icebold¡¯s leg, causing it to wince in pain, before landing his hand on the creature. ¡°Gaia Grasp¡±, he chanted. The icebold had countless rocky shards bust outwards, splashing blood across the blue floor as it fell silent. ¡°Your flank, man!¡± Celsius yelled as he jumped on and grappled another icebold, steam coming off its body as it began to melt. Swinging his staff, Marcus landed a solid blow into the creature¡¯s legs and caused it to tumble to the floor. After kicking away its sword, Marcus left the monster to its melting fate underneath an elemental made of fire. ¡°Sire, we¡¯re outnumbered with no backup¡±, Spark announced as he flew to Marcus¡¯s side. ¡°The exit is there if we need it, but we¡¯re fine for now¡±, Marcus replied as he stared at the four final icebolds, the fifth screaming in pain as it melted by his side. ¡°C¡¯mon, your friends are dead, don¡¯t you want revenge?¡± Marcus taunted the monsters. The icebolds let out high-pitch yells and cries, the quartet charging down the Devout. Marcus smirked, they were all in a neat row. Kicking forward to meet the enemies head-on, Marcus dropped his staff to the floor. Skidding to a halt in front of the ambitious icebolds, Marcus flew his left arm over the floor, and his right over the now low ceiling, commanding two of his new rings to activate. With these motions, the rocks within the ice started to tremble as two massive walls of dirt and stone erupted, crashing against one another, and crushing the four icebolds. Their bodies let out loud crunching noises, though they tried to wiggle their way out of their earthy prison as it collapsed onto them. Marcus wasn¡¯t entirely surprised they failed to survive. Drawing up his knife he stabbed each icebold, making sure they were all dead before the walls started to fall apart as his spells ended. ¡°A ¡®solid¡¯ plan right there, Marcus¡±, Celsius praised with a wide orange smile. ¡°May your mind tarry on our situation a bit more, brother¡±, Spark asked of Celsius. ¡°We¡¯re split¡±, Fahrenheit added as he stomped over to Marcus. ¡°That may be, but, I got you lot for guard detail. Spark, you¡¯re the extra, right?¡± ¡°Correct, I shall disappear on the morrow.¡± ¡°Those walls are probably another monster ability, maybe other yetis, they did something similar to us last time¡±, Marcus calculated as he looked upwards, translucent ice blocking his vision. ¡°Shit, if there are more yetis, we better hightail it out of here¡±, Celsius worried. Marcus spun around slowly as he investigated the area, ¡°We should be fine. If there are more, they are not here¡±, he then looked back at the ceiling, ¡°Celsius, could you melt through that all?¡± Celsius shifted his face upwards, though Marcus was unsure if he even needed to do that. ¡°Hard to say, boss. Want me to give it a good go?¡± ¡°Yes, if we can regroup that easy, I¡¯ll pray doubly tonight for that luck.¡± ¡°Roger!¡± Celsius replied, flying up to the ceiling that was just over 10¡¯ high. Placing his hands on the ceiling had it shine a bit brighter, and after a minute, some droplets started to fall down. Marcus sighed, ¡°So, not in any good time. Hard to say how thick it is. Fahrenheit, guesses?¡± ¡°Too thick¡±, the icy fiend replied, coldly. ¡°Well, at least the exit path is clear, just that icicle barrier at the very end. We could probably crash through it¡±, Marcus thought aloud as he rubbed his chin. ¡°What is our plan, Marcus?¡± Spark asked. Marcus looked at the 4¡¯11¡± mound of electricity, reflecting on the situation in the dazzling display of blue. ¡°I wager the others will be progressing into the dungeon. So we should do the same. These monsters weren¡¯t insurmountable for us, so I would put my faith in the yetis being the biggest challenge this place has to offer until the end.¡± ¡°The strongest at the start?¡± Celsius yelled from above. ¡°Logan said it was a change, and these monsters were much weaker. They could have been put there to stop any weaker ones from getting killed. The naegren had their lord run to the entrance after we killed his allies.¡± ¡°How are your spells, Marcus?¡± Spark asked. ¡°I can quickcast another six first-level spells, one Gaia ring, and plenty of potions.¡± ¡°Shame you lack flames, you¡¯d ¡®burn¡¯ through all these fellas¡±, Celsius chuckled up on high. Marcus sighed again, ¡°We have three corridors, not counting the exit. We¡¯ll stick together because if you lot die then you won¡¯t come back to me, and Logan has Koma to back him up.¡± ¡°Sure¡±, Fahrenheit replied. ¡°Guess we¡¯ll start left to right. We¡¯ll go till we find a chamber or junction then come back and see how far Celsius has got through that ceiling.¡± ¡°Wait, how long do you want me to do this?!¡± ¡°Just keep at it, you¡¯re doing great¡±, Marcus replied sarcastically. ¡°I liked you better when you were weaker¡±, Celsius replied under his breath, if he had any. ¡°Is that wise, Marcus?¡± Spark asked. ¡°Celsius is great at melting foes, but not all that are in here are weak to it, nor can they all be grappled by him. While he is great in certain situations, I would like a fast route to our allies. As I said, though, we¡¯ll come back at the first junction. If he has made no real progress we¡¯ll drop that avenue¡±, Marcus explained. ¡°Damn slave driver that one¡±, Celsius spat against the ceiling sarcastically, ¡°alright, see you soon, I guess¡±, he shouted at the party. Picking up his staff, and swinging it around to remove the blood and ice, Marcus slung it over his back. ¡°Alright, Fahrenheit, block the front, Spark at the back.¡± The elementals moved into position as they followed Marcus¡¯s command to head through the left corridor. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
It didn¡¯t take long for the trio to reach their first junction, this one splitting off into four other directions aside from where they came. Marcus let out a sigh, ¡°Another maze, above save me.¡± Picking the crossbow from his back, Marcus loaded a bolt into it and fired into each corridor beside the right one, keeping an ear trained on them to hear when they hit a wall. The left stopped around two hundred feet, the front hit the floor, the one right of that another couple hundred feet, while the rightmost corridor¡¯s end could be easily seen from the junction. Marcus waited for a good minute, looking into each corridor rhythmically to check for oncoming enemies. ¡°All seem clear, Fahrenheit, charge the left corridor and come back when you reach the end.¡± ¡°Fine¡±, the hunk of ice replied. Running off, Fahrenheit came back in a couple of minutes, no signs of danger following him. ¡°There are no turns and no foes.¡± ¡°So, we have two choices, forward, or forward-right¡±, Marcus calculated as he looked to the ceiling, ¡°I can¡¯t crush the enemies to the ceiling, but¡±, he trailed off as he looked at the walls, ¡°Fahrenheit, charge down the forward-right corridor and come back when you-¡± ¡°Hit the end, fine.¡± Marcus gave a thumbs up as the elemental ran off yet again. ¡°How far do you think your spell reserves will take us, Marcus?¡± Spark asked. ¡°One fight, at least. I want to keep six spells just in case anything comes during our rest.¡± ¡°Quite the slow progression without Logan.¡± ¡°Once I can get Signature Spell, it¡¯ll be easier on my own. But that will come about when you lot are gone.¡± ¡°Very well, you¡¯ll have a fine position here regardless of our location¡±, Spark added. ¡°Incoming!¡± Fahrenheit yelled down the corridor as he came barreling down to the party. ¡°Not like we weren¡¯t expecting company, Spark, ready yourself!¡± Marcus yelled as he began to load and fire his crossbow around Fahrenheit. Bolts landed deftly into the blue skin of blue goblins, a foe Marcus remembered patrolling the exterior of the cave. He gave a short prayer in his head that these were what approached, as he knew them to be the weakest foe of the dungeon. ¡°Enhance Agility, Sustained¡±, Marcus chanted as he picked out another bolt, his body radiating a quick grey light His reloading became slightly quicker, as well as how deadly his bolts became as they were loosed at his foes. Digging deeper than before, every so often he was able to bring down a goblin with a single bolt to the face. Fahrenheit got to the maw of the corridor before skidding to his side, letting out a wide slam, and pushing some of the goblins away. Spark fired bolts of lightning around his ally, pelting the further back goblins. It wasn¡¯t long before Fahrenheit was grappled by the foes. They were a lower level than him, but had fiercer muscles behind them. Holding down the icy creation¡¯s arms stopped his assault, as others jumped onto his chest and head, falling into a pile on the floor as they began to stab into his icy body. Marcus aimed at the goblins atop the elemental, as well as Spark hastily trying to save his brother from a quick death. ¡°Fahrenheit, retreat back to Celsius!¡± Marcus yelled as he continued to fire into the corridor, backing up slightly. Another goblin hit the floor, Fahrenheit rolling over and kicking off the floor into a sprint to the side of Marcus and past him. Marcus threw his crossbow in the icy friend¡¯s hands as he passed, kicking at the end of his staff to have it circle his shoulder into his hand, drawing a dagger with the other hand. ¡°Enhance Strength, Sustained¡°, he chanted, his body glowing grey again for a second as his muscles embiggened. Swiping out his staff, he cracked the face of a leaping goblin as it smacked into the icy wall to his right. Piercing forwards with a dagger he cut through another¡¯s chest and out the other side, drawing it back had the goblin slide to the floor. Backstepping had Marcus dodge two mace slams into the floor, swinging his staff overhead and slamming it onto the goblin¡¯s head causing the goblin to create a face-crater in the ice, blood splattering everywhere. Changing his dagger to a reverse grip, Marcus side-stepped and dug it deep into the head of a flanking goblin. Spark continued his barrage of Bolts from afar, fleeing with his brother after Marcus motioned his head to retreat. Countless goblins, Marcus wasn¡¯t even sure how many he had killed at this point. His Enhancing had allowed his melee attacks to kill all of them in a single hit, but quantity won out against his group. Twirling with his staff to hit another goblin to the floor, Marcus darted away with his allied elementals. Running side-by-side allowed Spark to continue firing Bolts at the chasing goblins without the worry of hitting his fellows, bringing down his foes with three hits each. ¡°Celsius, Ember Shard the corridor!¡± Marcus yelled as the party approached the exit back into the main chamber. Spark and Fahrenheit dodged to the side as Marcus slid into a spin to face the corridor again, tufts of flames circling his body into the hallway of death. What goblins could catch up to Marcus had their heads impaled with a dagger, or smashed in by a hunk of wood. But then came the opposing volley. Shards of ice came hurtling from goblins who saw their approach getting halted by fire, electricity, or a determined Devout. Fahrenheit jumped in front of Marcus, blocking the dastardly icicles as they vibrated his form. ¡°Wish I could absorb those¡±, Marcus chuckled under his breath. The goblins got close enough to pile on the ice elemental once more, though Marcus retaliated with dagger and staff, releasing his friend from their grasp. As if like a swarm of rats, the goblins flew out of the corridor in waves. Kicking a goblin into the fray had a few tumble in the entrance to the corridor, slamming his staff horizontally pushing even more back. Dropping his dagger at his side, Marcus waved his hand up the side of the corridor, commanding his ring to activate. The ice cracked all over as a massive stone and mud wall was erected from the frosty confines, connecting both sides of the walls. Bringing several goblins with it, they were all crushed against the right wall, blood and guts spewing onto both sides of the wall that blocked up most of the corridor. Goblins began to crawl under and above the wall, not being a perfect plug, but this only allowed Marcus to kick up his dagger to his hand and slice upwards, slicing the throats of the goblins at the top. To deal with the lower goblins, he simply smashed the tip of his staff into the backs of their heads. Marcus looked quite the exterminator, dealing with a pest that had overstayed its welcome, his body coated in the red delight of victory over foes that would have caused him issue only a few weeks ago. It took a few seconds before the wall of stone and mud came tumbling down as the spell ended, falling apart atop the pile of corpses underneath and bringing with it further corpses above. Marcus backstepped quickly with his weapons aimed at the opening maw, waiting for more to add to the onslaught. But nobody came. Marcus held his position for a minute longer than he needed, his body tense and slightly vibrating as both magic and adrenaline surged around him. Finally, he gave out a heavy sigh as he loosened his stance, his staff¡¯s end being placed on the floor as he lent on it slightly. ¡°This would be a lot easier with Logan letting me know that there were no more foes to face¡±, he spoke aloud. ¡°We can be sat with safer minds, knowing our immediate left has been cleared further beyond¡±, Spark calculated. Marcus looked at the dazzling display of electricity, thinking of how to reply, but his eye was caught by Fahrenheit, his icy shifting slightly as he grew an inch taller. ¡°I have a safe mind knowing that Logan prepared a hunk of ice to block my assailants'' attacks¡±, Marcus announced. ¡°Whatever¡±, Fahrenheit replied, staring down the corridor. ¡°We haven¡¯t cleared the left corridor completely, Fahrenheit, did you reach the end of your one?¡± ¡°It ended at a large chamber, some holes in the walls. I do not believe there were other paths¡±, Fahrenheit replied, his gaze unmoving. ¡°Hopefully that final path led to an end. We¡¯ve got a lot of work ahead of us here¡±, Marcus spoke as he looked down the other two corridors. ¡°I may have Enhanced myself, but I don¡¯t like the idea of facing another horde without ample spells at my back, especially my spell rings.¡± ¡°They were easy, let me at ¡®em¡±, Celsius said as he punched the air. Marcus looked at the hole the fire elemental was working on, not much progress had been made. ¡°That exit may be a lost cause, we gave you quite some time already. Work on it overnight, but if nothing comes about, we¡¯ll leave it.¡± ¡°You mean to make camp now?¡± Spark asked. ¡°Yeah, if we¡¯re lucky the others will find their way down here to group back up. If not, I¡¯d like to save my potions for worst-case scenarios. We aren¡¯t getting back to the city in any good time without Logan.¡± ¡°What of my short time remaining?¡± Spark questioned as he looked around. ¡°I would love to use you as a scout, however, if you rile up the monsters enough for them to start patrolling I worry they would come for us with our resources too low.¡± ¡°I shall stare down the corridors as you rest then.¡± ¡°Fahrenheit, you do the same. You and Celsius should stick around past midnight. I doubt Logan would change you out for different second-level spells.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be like when he hires us out to adventurers¡±, Celsius added ¡°Oh yeah? Where''s my easy, low-rank, quests?¡± Marcus replied with a cheeky grin. Standing tall, Marcus looked through his bag for the items he didn¡¯t keep in his shared inventory with Logan. Pulling out from it with the usual hidden retrieval, Marcus took out an MP recovery vial to test if it still worked with the distance between the two. ¡°Let¡¯s hope I can keep using this if he moves further away.¡± Swinging his bag to the floor, Marcus sat with his back resting against it. Placing his fists near his stomach with the closed palms facing each other, a gap of a couple of inches between each fist. ¡°Pondress, hear my prayer. Your folk are lost within the confines of a dungeon of Madamra. See your protected to their end and exit. Cure my steps as I return to my fellows.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 92 - Frost Monarch鈥檚 Cavern. Part 4 Back to Logan on the top floor¡­ Logan looked over the windows that had popped up during his time on the top floor. One informed him that Fahrenheit had reached level 7, while another warned that Marcus¡¯s MP was below 25% as he had set up an alarm beforehand. It seemed his ally was doing well to survive on the lowest floor, but he couldn¡¯t see what he faced. Logan could only assume they were low-level monsters though, as his friend had gained 1,380 EXP. A high number for a high number of foes at once? There was also an update in his log, showing that Marcus had taken a potion from their shared inventory, allowing him to tell that his friend could still access it. He could write a note, but Marcus had no access to the windows, so how would he know to take it? ¡°Logan?¡± Koma spoke, staring at the mage. ¡°Yeah?¡± Logan responded as he closed down the windows. ¡°What are you staring at?¡± ¡°Just concentrating.¡± ¡°On your spells?¡± ¡°Something like that.¡± Koma laid out her bedroll on the icy floor and stabbed four daggers into the floor around it. ¡°The rest of the party all fine still?¡± Logan looked over at the party menu, Cassius seemingly had a few buffs applied, while Patavava had used up around 20 MP. ¡°The middle team are seeing a lot of action, Marcus too. But we¡¯re all alive still.¡± ¡°If you go on more dungeon runs, this¡¯ll become a lot more common for you.¡± ¡°Sleeping in them?¡± Koma laughed a bit, ¡°Yeah, and splitting up. But also relying on Cassius to save our hinds.¡± ¡°Does that happen a lot?¡± Logan asked with a raised eyebrow. ¡°You could say that. His adventurer beginnings were as harsh as any other, and he vowed to put himself in the fray to make sure no one else died in his stead.¡± ¡°Seems like that¡¯d be the usual for good-hearted classed beings¡±, Logan responded. ¡°Not all actually do it though.¡± ¡°How do you mean?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen a handful of do-gooders say they¡¯ll do something. All of them failed or gave up. Not Cassius. He runs into the flames and picks out the victims whilst also dousing the fires that endangered them.¡± ¡°Actually committing to what you say¡±, Logan said under his breath. ¡°Many of us would put our lives in his hands gladly. He¡¯ll get us out of here. He has the ambition and the power to back it up.¡± ¡°Because of his artefact?¡± ¡°Not only that, his personal power and will. Not many in his position haven¡¯t fallen prey to the corruption said power brings. During that goblin invasion, he rallied us as quickly as he could, and even darted after their leader to have it end quickly.¡± ¡°I also helped¡±, Logan thought to himself. ¡°What I am trying to say is, don¡¯t worry. We¡¯ll get out. Just worry about having my back up here.¡± ¡°You got it.¡± With Logan¡¯s reply, Koma laid down on her bedroll as she crushed another black rock in her mouth. She stayed above her roll, to be in the best position to fight back against any would-be ambushers. ¡°Running into the flames, ay? I said I¡¯d help casters, but I¡¯ve mostly just been helping myself so far. At what point do I work to those ends?... I am leaving, it doesn¡¯t matter anymore. Marcus can carry that torch¡±, Logan reconciled in his head. A synthetic voice then rang out in Logan¡¯s mind, ¡°Logan.¡± The Spellthief jumped slightly at the sound, but quickly realised it to be System. ¡°You don¡¯t perk up often, what¡¯s happening?¡± he replied in his head. ¡°I am contacting you to inform you that I have been upgraded once again.¡± ¡°Well my Intelligence is now 52 without trinkets, so I guess the milestone was 50.¡± ¡°You are correct, I have theorised the next change shall occur at 100.¡± ¡°I thought the same. So what¡¯s changed? Aside from how you¡¯re speaking.¡± ¡°Your inventory has doubled in size, allowing 1,000lbs of materials. Your partner NPC, Marcus, can also access it up to one mile away from you. I can also inform you of much more refined mechanics and numbers if you so wished. My personality has also expanded.¡± ¡°I take it the other minor functions also improved, System?¡± ¡°Yes, those will come up when appropriate. I have also thought on my name in the time between these two expansions.¡± ¡°Oh really? What should I call you instead of System?¡± ¡°I believe that, Fol, would be a nicer name than my designation of S.Y.S.T.E.M. That is what I am, not who I wish to be.¡± ¡°Easy enough to remember. Ok, Fol, what else?¡± ¡°I wish to help you escape, Logan. I would hate to have been taken from my home that resides in your psyche. I feel your abduction is an abhorrent misuse of power from the deities that rule this world¡±, Fol replied with ambition. ¡°That¡¯s quite the change in attitude from last time.¡± ¡°I was but a newborn child 51 days ago, I believe my faculties have expanded enough to see the rights and wrongs, through your guise.¡± ¡°So, how will you help me now?¡± ¡°I have listened to, and researched on my own, some details that may aid you. This ¡®shift¡¯ that Koma spoke of is indeed what occurred. However, the yetis that attacked you at the entrance, that is from your position of ¡®Player¡¯ in the deities¡¯ game.¡± ¡°I thought as much, hearing you confirm it is reassuring though¡­ I guess.¡± ¡°This expands to your quests. They are designed both around your current status as well as your location. Dena was near, and close to your level, so the kaevock was activated in her possession and allowed her a target that would line up with your interests.¡± ¡°It activated? They forced a quest to occur for me to interact with?¡± ¡°Yes, she would not have gone to Tinte if not for your passage by her.¡± ¡°The fuck? So my presence is causing issues.¡± ¡°I do not believe this line of thinking is correct. The deities are at fault. They stole you, and create these quests to test you. I believe they also orchestrated the ¡®main¡¯ force of goblins to attack Gauntlet.¡± ¡°Not through another PC of the below?¡± ¡°It is possible, though we have yet to see or be seen by any. If a PC has a way to hide their sight away from us, it will be a dangerous position to be in indeed.¡± ¡°So, what, I hide away somewhere and wait for the quests to slow down as Ahren did?¡± ¡°He still receives quests, but that is one path to take. However, if you complete this quest, you can leave.¡± ¡°So there won¡¯t be any issue with the portal then.¡± ¡°The difficulty is in the quest itself. From what I have gathered, these are the hardest quests. With Cassius at our side, or rather underneath us, we can make it there and see you through it.¡± ¡°What about you? Will you stay with me? What about my powers?¡± ¡°Your body has been forever changed, the portal should not strip that from you. However, if the deities are holding domain over it, they could very well do so if they wished. There is no spellforce or MP in your world, however.¡± ¡°So, no spellcasting back on Earth.¡± ¡°It is hard to say. It could use something else there.¡± ¡°What of Marcus?¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Your link should be severed between planes. He will retain all of his power up to now, but going forward he will have no access to any of my functions.¡± ¡°Alright, that¡¯s good enough I suppose. If I leave there¡¯ll be fewer forced scenarios because of my proximity to people here.¡± ¡°I do not know everything, but the deities of this realm should not interact with Earth outside of kidnapping players.¡± ¡°I was just thinking about that, I guess you can read my mind.¡± ¡°I should be able to alert you as they occur, but there may be further shifts and changes based on your player status.¡± ¡°Not sure how much help it¡¯d be, but knowing if something will be more difficult than normal would be nice¡±, Logan thought. ¡°If you require, I can also contact Marcus for you. Though it is limited due to our distance, I can send him a letter in the inventory.¡± ¡°That¡¯d help actually, would be nice to see what he is facing and what he plans to do. Give me a minute¡±, Logan replied in his head as he brought out parchment, quill, and ink well. Logan wrote for a few minutes, rolled up the parchment and placed it into his bag-inventory. ¡°I have sent the letter, he should receive it the next time he accesses me¡±, Fol responded as the letter disappeared. ¡°Thanks, anything else I should know?¡± ¡°Nothing pressing at this time, Logan.¡± ¡°Alright, let me know if so, Fol.¡± Logan let out a small sigh, his head was rushing with ideas and questions, but having it filled slightly with the idea that he had an invisible being in it made him feel as if there wasn¡¯t enough space in there. Fol didn¡¯t seem dangerous, if anything he felt like a personal bodyguard or assistant. Just one you¡¯d never see. They would just leave your breakfast on the table before you woke up. The thought of an out-of-control AI also reared its head, but Logan had to ignore any stories he had read or movies he had seen. They mostly painted AI as the bad guys for action purposes. At least that¡¯s what he told himself. Cracking a black rock in his mouth, Logan had that familiar gravelly feeling move through his mouth as his body cooled down and heated up at the same time. If only he had a spoonful of honey to help this medicine to go down. It was the first time in a long time that Logan didn¡¯t have an elemental out on watch for him. The alarms he and Koma set up would have to suffice, if not his own perception as he laid his head on his own bedroll, a fur tossed over the top of him for some extra warmth through the night.
32 days remaining. Logan¡¯s body shook all over as if his skin was doing the Mexican wave from toe to forehead. His eyes opened wide, his body rolled to the side as he picked out a dagger from his hip, sliding to a crouched position as he stared down the corridors that flanked him. Six deathtraps, that were laden with his own, Logan saw the rolling chime that approached him from a corridor they had not entered. Looking at the maw of the corridor revealed the saliva-dripping jaw of a white-furred wolf. The beast¡¯s back reached 5¡¯, if it were standing tall it¡¯d probably reach closer to 10¡¯. ¡°Identify.¡± ¡°White Warg - Lupine. Level 9: 130/130 HP, 0 MP. A more malicious breed of wolf, the white warg is a murderous predator that kills for both food and sport. Over double the size of normal wolves, a warg stands at 5 feet tall on all fours, and up to 10 feet on its hind legs. Often stalking their foes, the warg wolf is able to communicate with its kin, even with those of lesser intelligence, to coordinate an attack. Skills: Feast Regen, Pack Howl, Scent, Stealth, Winter Dash. Spells: -. Reduction: ?. Resistance: ?.¡± ¡°Triple Tracking Shot¡±, Koma yelled out behind Logan. Turning his head, Logan saw Koma¡¯s arrow light up green and yellow before shooting across the air. The arrow split off in three different directions as the newly-tripled projectiles pelted into the first warg¡¯s face and sides. The warg yelled out in pain before falling to the floor, two more jumping over their previous ally as they began charging at the duo. Logan¡¯s eyes darted to the side as he clicked his fingers, his mini-map alerting him to a flanking manoeuvre. Looking to the ceiling, Logan mentally commanded his refreshed rings to teleport to the icy heights, thrusting his dagger into a stalactite protruding from the ceiling he had it pierce the frosted exterior and gave himself a handhold 20¡¯ above the floor. He hadn¡¯t had time to attune to his staff, nor time to prepare his daily spells. All he had were his rings. Aiming with his other hand, Logan commanded another ring to blast at a flanking warg, the fires exploding from his palm and cascading over the white fur. With his previous setup and newly donned fire salamander¡¯s coat, Logan had reached the maximum mastery for Flame. Dealing a heightened 112 fire damage, cluing Logan into the warg¡¯s weakness to fire damage. Following his blast of fires with a Force, he saw it dealt a reduced 10 damage, showing him their damage reduction was at 5. Pelting downwards with grey orbs of magic, Logan took down his first foe in the next few hits. Koma jumped away from her sleeping pack as she summoned up some more arrows, though these appeared within her hand rather than her quiver. Two bulbous-tipped arrows were aflame in her grasp, quickly knocking them she fired at a leaping warg, the beast becoming enflamed itself as the arrows exploded in a display of red and orange. Koma rolled to the side as she dodged the falling corpse. Drawing a dagger she was just able to place it in the chops of a flanking warg, the tip piercing its snout from inside its frosty mouth. Letting go of her blade, Koma dealt a swift backwards somersault kick into the chin of the beast, forcing the dagger to pierce even further through its snout and fly out the other end, bringing with it snot and blood. Landing with another jump backwards, Koma quickly drew another arrow and had it glow red before having it dance across the air. Piercing the first wolf, it went through its mouth and out its back, piercing another two wolves behind it. Logan recognised that as the Piercing Shot skill, something he saw someone use back in the goblin war. Felling her flanking foe, Koma turned her attention to ever-approaching forces. Logan aimed another Flame, shooting it across the air to blast into another warg, one that Koma had hit with her most recent skill. It fell to the floor in a bloody slide at the combined damage. The wargs growled at one another as one began to run towards Logan, who was 20¡¯ high. It jumped into the air a solid 10¡¯, whereas another warg jumped underneath it. The first warg then landed on its fellow and jumped up a second time. Soaring towards the hanging Spellthief, the warg opened its jaws wide as it aimed to take a large bite out of the man. Logan flung his lower body back, and swung forwards off his dagger that was left in the ceiling. The human and warg brushed their backs against one another as Logan barely dodged the attack. Placing a hand on a stalactite, Logan pushed to the side to spin himself around and planted his other hand on the warg¡¯s back. Commanding his final ring, the warg burst into flames from a Grasp-altered spell. With a drastic 259 Backstab fire damage, the warg was blackened beyond recognition, its smouldering corpse falling to the floor hastily as Logan kicked off of it. Drawing another dagger, Logan planted it into the ceiling as he had done before, dangling at the heights away from easy lunges. The easy lunges instead went for Koma, her body started to produce afterimages as she activated Dash. Plunging dagger after dagger into her foes, she also displayed quite an apt skill with Backstabs. She was no slouch when it came to melee, even when ranged was her focus. Logan continued to pelt Force orbs at the wargs he could spy, thinking it best to hold his Lightning rings for if things got worse. The minuscule 10s did disappoint, but it was better to be safe than sorry, he didn¡¯t know if these wargs had a leader behind them. Another duo of wargs tried the jumping tactic to get at Logan, however this time, the lower warg was pelted with arrows before it could grant its fellow any further height, its body landing in a clump on the floor which caused the higher warg to fall over it. As if acknowledging his instincts, Logan saw another ambushing warg come up behind Koma. Her focus was taken elsewhere as her Dash faded from her. The large mass of meat and fur chowed down harshly on her shoulder, encompassing most of her left side. Logan teleported with another ring atop the warg¡¯s back, and planted a hand on its head as he pulled it back with another ring activation. Sparks of electricity soared all across the beast as it turned the monster into a pin cushion of azure daggers. Ripping the warg off his fellow, Logan dealt an admirable 144 Backstab damage. Released from its grasp, Koma nocked another arrow before firing it into the eye of another warg, its body landing into the corpse pile that was becoming their floor. However, the pile wouldn¡¯t get any larger, as experience numbers from the numerous horde signed Logan his break time. ¡°Thanks for getting that bastard off me¡±, Koma said as she retrieved her daggers from the floor. ¡°No problem, I did kind of leave you down here.¡± ¡°As expected, casters should be out of the fray, though you¡¯re more agile than most I¡¯ve quested with¡±, Koma continued as she held out her gear for Logan to Clean them. Logan waved his hand over her equipment as requested, removing the dirt of battle. ¡°Another monster that wasn¡¯t recorded in the intel.¡± ¡°It is possible whoever wrote them up didn¡¯t face them, don¡¯t you worry I¡¯ll do a thorough write-up.¡± ¡°I guess I can only be happy this place opens up once a decade, but the lack of information is a major hassle¡±, Logan mentioned as he looked at his two daggers in the ceiling. ¡°I¡¯ve been in enough quests like this to know that being without the correct intel can lead to worse fates. I don¡¯t want to leave it for someone else to deal with¡±, Koma replied with a hint of anger in her words. ¡°You going to get those?¡± she asked as she looked at the high-up daggers. ¡°Not worth a spell, I can get them later¡±, Logan answered as he let out a sigh. ¡°These wargs change up our plans a bit¡±, Koma began as she looked around at the ruined traps, ¡°they have a Scent ability that lets them track us. With all this blood, they could find us here.¡± ¡°I could use Clean on it all.¡± ¡°That¡¯d help for camp later, but it¡¯s in the air. I don¡¯t want to risk another ambush on six sides like this.¡± ¡°So we¡¯re continuing down a corridor?¡± ¡°That¡¯d be safer if we can find a chamber with fewer entry points¡±, Koma continued as she looked around, ¡°prepare your daily spells. I doubt your rings will last us another fight if we move on¡±, she said as she began to roll up her bedroll. ¡°Got it¡±, Logan replied as she double-checked the status of his allies, all was still well, yet lacking a Spark due to Logan¡¯s inability to resummon him. --- *** --- Chapter 93 - Frost Monarch鈥檚 Cavern. Part 5 ¡°All done?¡± Koma asked as she looked back at the preparing Spellthief. ¡°All good¡±, Logan replied as he stood up, having prepared his spells for the day. ¡°Your summons will stay with Marcus, correct?¡± ¡°Yeah, they are permanent summons, except for Spark. So a few of my second-level slots are dedicated to them until they die¡±, Logan explained. ¡°Good, he needs their help more than us¡±, Koma responded as she drew her bow, ¡°we¡¯ll continue down the corridor we explored yesterday. Once we hit a chamber with three or fewer corridors we¡¯ll make a new fallback camp.¡± ¡°How long will this shift stay like this?¡± Logan asked as he pointed at the floor. ¡°Typically they stay like that until we find something to revert it, or everyone leaves the dungeon.¡± ¡°Alright. Force¡±, Logan replied as he began to make cracks in the floor with his mick. Over and over, Logan blasted apart a large arrow that pointed down the corridor they were going down, next he created an archaic message in the craters he was making. ¡°Cass, here.¡± Koma looked over the message and nodded, ¡°That should suffice, let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Right behind you.¡±
Retracing their steps through the previous hallway of frost snakes, the pair kicked away at the invisible corpses. Logan was tempted to start carving them up for components, just as the wolves, however, the duo weren¡¯t in the best place to just spend so long sitting around as their team was also in dangerous situations. Logan had Harvested the goblins in their spot, as well as moved their corpses to the side of the larger chamber before going to sleep, but that was in their downtime. He¡¯d have to come back later for the rest or have another team member do it. Regardless, in the end, he was leaving, so did it matter? ¡°So, what you guys said earlier. My team would have survived if not for the yetis at the entrance, would this shift not have also spelt our doom?¡± Logan asked as he clicked his fingers. ¡°I doubt you would have split up as we did. Let me guess, you would have corralled those goblins into the corridor to blast down at them?¡± Koma replied without turning. ¡°That would be my plan, yeah.¡± ¡°We¡¯re more aimed at quick clearance. Splitting up like that allowed us to take them down quicker. Shifts are unpredictable, so who¡¯s to say if it would have occurred the same for your team? You had other casters, right? That would have meant their spells, backed up with yours, would have done well enough to cover a hallway with walls of fire.¡± ¡°So we were better suited to groups?¡± ¡°Yeah, and if you stuck together as a full team you¡¯d be better geared to these ambushes. A group of 10s should have been able to clear this in my mind. The wargs would have caused a day of rest at most, to restock spells.¡± ¡°I had to rely on my rings for that, but we did have a Sorcerer in my last team.¡± ¡°The yetis are all the danger in this place, to my mind. All of us together took down that single one rather quick, but split up as we are it¡¯s hard to look at our overall power.¡± ¡°With this explanation, the splitting up is still a bit strange in my mind¡±, Logan added. ¡°As I said before, all avenues have their pros and cons. Our higher power allows for splitting a lot easier than 10s. And-¡± Koma continued but was cut off by Logan. ¡°Wait, enemies.¡± ¡°What are we looking at?¡± Koma asked quietly as she ducked down, nocking an arrow. ¡°A smaller chamber, four enemies at the walls.¡± ¡°Can you tell their facing or stances?¡± ¡°No. They are just in the corners.¡± ¡°Alright, I wager they know we¡¯re coming. I¡¯ll draw fire and pass by. Is there a corridor in front of us?¡± ¡°Yes, and one to the right.¡± ¡°Good, straight run. They probably have attacks aimed at our hallway. Get in after I pass and start blasting with Force, I¡¯ll circle back and start firing my bow.¡± ¡°What about traps?¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t seen any so far. I¡¯ll adjust if necessary.¡± ¡°Fair enough, I¡¯m ready¡±, Logan replied as he moved his staff under his arm to allow him to run better. Koma¡¯s body started to produce afterimages yet again as she Dashed down the corridor. Before reaching the chamber she slid into a jump, turning vertical and sideways she threw a dagger into the floor. The floor shone a bright blue as she passed, icicles darted upwards into the ceiling, crashing into shards all around. She adjusted well to the trap as she well cleared it, and set it off to not have it hit Logan. Flying across the air, Koma landed with another slide before continuing on into the next corridor. Logan began his own sprint after her. A hailing barrage of ice came from all corners of the room as the interior goblins shot off Frost spells to hit the Rogue, but she was already out of there before they could touch her. Logan leapt over gaps in the large icicles that aimed to pierce and crush his party. Aiming at the goblins he let out Force micks into the foes, hitting them against the walls they hid at. Koma returned, firing arrows at the goblinoids she had eyed up before leaving. Each foe took a single arrow, or two Force micks to bring down, ending the fight rather quickly in comparison to previous encounters. ¡°Easy enough¡±, Koma spoke as she looked over herself, ¡°fuck sake¡±, she cursed as she saw an ice spike in her calf. Pulling it out, she tossed it to the side where it slowly melted away. Logan looked at his ally¡¯s status, she had only taken 9 damage from the spell. ¡°Good eye on that trap¡±, he said with a grin. ¡°Quite the diviner. It was easy enough to spot I suppose. If that had hit me, and those goblins got me with their spells, we¡¯d be in a much worse place.¡± ¡°Talking about our place, this is a three-exit chamber. Good for you?¡± Koma looked around for a few seconds, investigating the possible defence position. ¡°Bit cramped, but most likely safer. Let me set up some alarms on the corridor we came from then we can explore down this one.¡± Logan nodded as he began to Harvest the goblins, Koma moving past him to set up the traps. The icicles behind them didn¡¯t stick around for long, cracking apart and falling to the floor in a small mound of ground ice.
¡°All done¡±, Koma announced. ¡°Same here¡±, Logan replied as he finished using Clean on the area. Logan was disappointed somewhat that he couldn¡¯t steal the MP of the goblins, but with how easily they died he couldn¡¯t really get into a good position to do it. Leading the duo again, Koma and Logan headed down the hallway that the Rogue had run into previously. Their time spent Harvesting and setting up traps allowed Koma to recharge some of her skills. It didn¡¯t take long for the pair to reach another small chamber, splitting off into four directions including the one they had come from. As well as the corridors, there was a small hole in the floor with large lines cut out of the wall, creating a makeshift ladder if not for the ice burn you¡¯d get for holding the wall so tightly. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°A way to go down, doesn¡¯t look like it goes down enough to meet with Cassius though¡±, Koma calculated. ¡°Plenty of options either way. What do you want to do?¡± Logan asked. ¡°There is either a path to get back together, or we make one. But, is there a mechanism in the dungeon to move the ice?¡± Koma thought aloud. ¡°Koma?¡± ¡°Logan, are these other corridors long at all?¡± ¡°Two are dead-ends, the other goes on much further.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s check the dead-ends, and then the longer corridor. Make sure we won¡¯t be getting ambushed.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t scan any monsters down them, but they could be invisible¡±, Logan proposed. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±
Koma led the pair to the end of the two corridors, the first had nothing of note, but the second did have another trap that Koma set off from afar with an arrow. Another Frost Wall that would have been quite painful to experience. The Rogue had an inquisitive look on her face as the duo explored, probably expecting something to happen as they investigated. ¡°This whole place probably changes with each decade¡±, Koma theorised aloud. ¡°There was mention of that with the poorly done map.¡± ¡°That would mean that many of these corridors may contain contents of places they shouldn¡¯t. Where are the ¡®rooms¡¯ for the monsters to sleep in? Where are their treasure hoards? Not to mention the lack of any royal designs or luxuries that a king would normally have.¡± ¡°Trying to figure out where the final room might be?¡± ¡°Yeah, all of this just looks like plain ice. Is it meant to be a maze?¡± ¡°The last dungeon I was in was very mazelike¡±, Logan reminisced. ¡°I guess my experience betrays me.¡± Returning to the small chamber, the pair continued on down the longer hallway.
A strong smell of decay started to fill the pair¡¯s nostrils as they continued, enough to paint the picture of a pit of corpses in their minds. Blood, rotting flesh, it wasn¡¯t pleasant in the slightest. Logan and Koma both pulled out scarves to wrap around their mouths and noses. Reaching the final chamber of this path revealed it to be just that. Large shifting holes in the wall slowly dropped more contents into a large pit of weapons, armour, scraps, and meat. None of the corpses were recognisable past the countless bite marks or chunks that were missing. ¡°Disgusting. At least we found one hoard¡±, Koma spoke as she held onto her scarf. ¡°I was expecting something more¡­ clean?¡± ¡°You¡¯d generally find that. Spellforced dungeons typically break down bodies into spellforce to repopulate or power themselves.¡± As Koma was explaining things, parts of blue goblins started to fall into the pile. ¡°Above, this is a cannibalistic dungeon¡±, Koma spoke. ¡°Don¡¯t they normally break apart monsters?¡± ¡°They normally leave the monsters for last, to do it so early shows that it is preparing for something. I guess it¡¯s all for reviving the Ice King¡±, Koma theorised. ¡°So anything that dies here hastens his revival?¡± Logan asked worriedly. ¡°Maybe? It is possible it just does this to revive him, if so, we should tell the MT to blow this place to the below.¡± ¡°What? That is possible?¡± ¡°Yeah, given time. We typically don¡¯t explode dungeons since it leaks their power outside of their confines. But if they are breaking down any corpse nearby like this, it is possible they could stop the Ice King from ever coming back.¡± ¡°So, increase the danger in the local area, but reduce the final build-up?¡± ¡°Essentially. Has no one seen this before us?¡± ¡°Would they have destroyed this place if they had?¡± ¡°To my mind¡­ yeah. Maybe this is normally hidden away. The royals should pick the place clean if they didn¡¯t use the adventurers to kill the Ice King.¡± ¡°You said the dungeon would persist, but just outside of the confines. If it controlled a larger area would it not mean the Ice King revived quicker?¡± ¡°You might be right. Better to ask the magi though. I guess they can¡¯t scan this room from the outside like their last assessment.¡± ¡°Do you know much of how dungeons normally work?¡± Logan asked. ¡°Just from an adventurer''s point of view. Shit, I don¡¯t want to think about this anymore, we¡¯ll just go in circles. Let¡¯s dig out packs and satchels then move on.¡± As Koma said it, she began to dig through the mess and threw any container she could find into the corridor. Logan couldn¡¯t help but think about the origins and inner workings of dungeons though. They sounded like their own organism, at least the spellforced ones did. They were all ¡°cannibals¡± as they turned spellforce into monsters, but in this way, it was more apparent and enforced. Were they all working to please Madamra? The clinking of gear hitting the icy floors pulled Logan out of his daze, his hands working on auto-pilot as he also dove through the piles.
A dozen minutes passed before the two pulled themselves out of the small pit of supplies, their gloves and lower halves coated in blood and guts. Logan began using his mick to rid them of such vile while Koma picked out vials from the packs. From it all, Logan gained seven first-level potions and four second-level potions to recover his spell slots. The healing potions went to Koma. There were also some buff potions that Koma kept for herself as they would aid her more than a caster. Sadly, no trinkets would grant them any power beyond what they already had, so they went into a communal loot bag. ¡°It seems that they took corpses from outside the dungeon, some of these bodies don¡¯t match up with the parties that came here¡±, Logan announced. ¡°Monsters taking orders, oh boy. We should be happy they didn¡¯t reform a second yeti at the entrance, though I suppose we could have taken them easy enough.¡± ¡°I thought monsters formed from spellforce in the air?¡± ¡°They do, but all our gear has spellforce in them. If this is an intelligent design, then gathering up corpses and items like this would hasten new monster creation, or it could just be all for reviving the Ice King¡±, Koma replied, ¡°we¡¯re going in circles again. Let¡¯s just get out of here.¡± Logan couldn¡¯t bounce his ideas around any further it seemed. Instead, they would run around in his head. He couldn¡¯t get rid of that questioning mind.
Returning to the ladder chamber, the pair looked around quickly before Koma peered into the hole. ¡°We¡¯re going down. I¡¯d rather form up if the dungeon is gathering spellforce like it is. Follow after me¡±, Koma spoke as she turned around and placed her feet on either side of the hole to get a better look before jumping down. Logan did the same, Koma moving to the side to allow space for the Spellthief. The chamber was of a similar design to the one above, but only had two corridors leading away. One was sloped downwards while the other had no such decline. With Echo Radar Logan couldn¡¯t see either end or any monsters. Picking a corridor, the pair continued their travels onwards, the interior of the cavern continuing to light their way with glistening walls of blue hues. ¡°How¡¯re the others¡±, Koma asked without turning around. ¡°Active, and all alive¡±, Logan replied, not wanting to talk too much about his party menu. He did notice that Marcus had been using quite a bit of MP. ¡°Handy ability to have.¡± Before continuing any form of dialogue, if it was going to continue, Koma held up her arm to stop Logan. ¡°Can you detect another hallway near here?¡± she asked. Logan clicked his fingers but gave no result, ¡°No. Why?¡± Koma looked to the side, caressing the wall with her hand. She then turned away from the wall and went to the opposite one. ¡°Blast that wall with a Flame spell.¡± ¡°Alright¡±, Logan replied as he got into a stance, ¡°Flame Shot¡±, he chanted, a tuft of fire sparking in his hand and exploding into the wall. The icy barrier cracked all over as it came crashing down, revealing a hidden corridor behind it. Logan¡¯s mini-map updating as he looked into a new hallway. ¡°Thought so, our footsteps sounded slightly different.¡± ¡°You picked that up?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been looking for false walls since the shift. This is probably our ticket back to the team.¡± ¡°Leaving the countless corridors to reform then¡±, Logan confirmed. ¡°With four of us, we won¡¯t have to worry about anything. It¡¯s best we form back up with Marcus too.¡± ¡°Hopefully he hasn¡¯t gotten into too much trouble.¡± ¡°He may find the bulk of the foes on the lowest floor. Low rank, high numbers.¡± ¡°Quantity over quality then, ay?¡± Logan said as he checked his party menu, Marcus having increased his MP via using a vial. ¡°I think the weaker foes are quicker to form than stronger, hence there being only two yetis.¡± ¡°And one Ice King.¡± ¡°Above save us if there was more than one of those.¡± ¡°Speaking of the above, what are the below PCs doing? Will I find an opponent at the end of this quest? Aren¡¯t they meant to oppose my progress?¡± Logan thought to himself. ¡°How does it look ahead?¡± Koma asked as she turned to Logan. ¡°Short corridor, has another ladder at the end and goes down¡±, Logan replied as he checked his mini-map. ¡°Good, should be within earshot at that point, hopefully. We¡¯d be damned if they went the other way.¡± ¡°What about any other shifts?¡± ¡°We can¡¯t anticipate them all. But we¡¯ve been split up once. I doubt we¡¯d be split again. Normally each shift is different¡±, Koma responded as she began to walk down the hallway. ¡°Any you think we would get hit with here?¡± ¡°Well, we¡¯ve had a split. This maze design already speaks of changing corridors. Outside of that, possibly alert systems? Destroying this wall wouldn¡¯t be one since it should be connected to the split. Entering the hoard could have been an alert, but seemingly it wasn¡¯t.¡± ¡°A hoard summoning a horde, lovely idea that¡±, Logan replied as he wiped his forehead. Peering into the next ladder hole had Koma stop for a second, ¡°This one isn¡¯t leading to the middle, it¡¯s far too deep. It probably links up with the bottom.¡± ¡°That¡¯s better, right? We can meet back with Marcus.¡± ¡°Too true, Cassius can handle himself¡±, Koma responded as she began to climb down the ladder. The pair descended one after another, going down a good sixty feet. However, instead of the blue colours greeting their eyes at the bottom, they were treated to a crimson display across the halls. The ice was almost shimmering, vibrating. ¡°Shit, a horde!¡± Koma yelled as she darted down the only corridor. ¡°Marcus!¡± Logan yelled as he ran to follow, realising that was why his friend¡¯s MP was fluctuating. --- *** --- Chapter 94 - Frost Monarch鈥檚 Cavern. Part 6 (Marcus) Some time ago, back on the ground floor¡­ Marcus woke after a long slumber, he was surprised how well he could nod off in an area of such danger. It might¡¯ve been the heat stirring within from the black rocks in his stomach, or the energetic actions he took before lying down. A dripping of water was the noise that woke him in the end. Sitting up he looked over at Celsius, the elemental made of fire that had worked a few feet into the ceiling through his own heat. ¡°Looks like you can hide yourself in that hole¡±, Marcus called out to Celsius. Celsius flew upside down, his orange face peering at his ally. ¡°Hey, you. You¡¯re finally awake. You were trying to cross this barrier, right?¡± Celsius spoke with a wide grin. Marcus stood at the reply, picking up his gear. ¡°Seems like we won¡¯t be taking that way out, you got a few feet up but it isn¡¯t enough. You can return to it tonight if we haven¡¯t met up with the team.¡± Looking around, Marcus noticed that Spark had disappeared, his summoning timer having run out since Logan used his Spell Absorption tactics to keep him out. Fahrenheit still stood with his body facing the three corridors that led away from them. The left one was where they had headed previously. Picking out some supplies from the inventory, Marcus was treated to a note he didn¡¯t intend to retrieve. ¡°Huh, what is this?¡± he thought aloud as he opened it up. A smile went across his face as he brought out the quill and ink to send a reply. ¡°News?¡± Fahrenheit asked. ¡°Yeah, Logan just sent a message. Give me a minute.¡± ¡°We continuing down the corridors?¡± Celsius asked as he flew by Marcus¡¯s side. ¡°It¡¯d be prudent to clear our surroundings, and open a path to meet with the others.¡± ¡°This place would be safer¡±, Fahrenheit responded. ¡°This is a ¡®shift¡¯ apparently, I doubt we¡¯re expected to just wait for the others. If there are others we need to have several paths open to us.¡± ¡°There¡¯s that timer on rewards too¡±, Celsius chimed in. ¡°The thirty-three-day thing?¡± Celsius nodded. ¡°So, hastiness will be rewarded. Don¡¯t worry, if there¡¯s too many we¡¯ll flee here.¡± ¡°Whatever¡±, Fahrenheit replied. ¡°If it¡¯s just more goblins, like Logan wrote it may be since we¡¯re at the bottom, we should be fine.¡± ¡°At your lead, Marcus¡±, Celsius announced. Cracking a black rock in his mouth, Marcus led his merry band of emotions back down the left corridor.
It didn¡¯t take long to meet back up with the crossroads they had stopped at before. The corpses still laden across the floor. Marcus would have to spend some time Harvesting their ears later on. He hadn¡¯t thought to earlier due to their wavelike approach. Continuing onwards gave Marcus the prayer that he¡¯d get the tracking skills that Logan held, they came in very useful for situations like this. He wished for them even more as the group exited into another chamber. The floor shook violently before Marcus darted to the side, the floor crashing upwards with icicles to the ceiling. Four goblins shot off Frost spells, though Fahrenehit had already run to and hugged Marcus, protecting him from any harm. Releasing his ally, Fahrenheit went into a defensive stance to the side of Marcus. The Devout darted to the closest goblin with elemental in tow and smacked his staff down hard on its head. The goblin¡¯s body was smashed into the floor from the force of the wood, another in the background slowly melted away from a grappled fire elemental. Running around with Fahrenheit at his side, Marcus was protected by two more shards of ice, allowing him to whack his staff across the face of another goblin, bringing him to the floor just like the other. Celsius jumped on the last prey, the cries of searing agony filling the room as the final foe was slaughtered. Marcus stood tall as he looked around the room for further aggression, but was thankful when he saw only vacant walls that had but one exit. Placing a hand on Celsius, Marcus used Healer¡¯s Caress to bring his ally to full health. ¡°It seems this path is clear¡±, Fahrenheit announced. ¡°Shame that we were so close to the end. Though that trap worries me.¡± ¡°I should be in the front¡±, the hunk of ice continued. ¡°If they are all ice-attributed, that¡¯d be best.¡± ¡°At least you didn¡¯t have to use any spells here¡±, Celsius added. ¡°Indeed. It seems these enemies are weak enough to fall to one swift blow from my staff. However, I¡¯d rather be overpowerful than just on the cusp. If we face too many it would be better I use Enhance.¡± The elementals accepted the responses without many rebuttals. In the end, the party made their way back to the shift chamber.
To greet their return there was a tall blue goblin, just under 6¡¯ tall. Garbed in a long dark-blue and black robe, the goblin had in its right hand a tall gnarled black staff tipped with a blue gem. Marcus couldn¡¯t tell it was a goblin at first, the creature¡¯s hood pulled over its head as it looked at the hole in the ceiling. ¡°Hello? This dungeon is taken¡±, Marcus called out towards the back of the robed monster. ¡°Is it now? I was unaware it was in another¡¯s possession¡±, the goblin responded with a more refined tone than its kin. ¡°That¡¯s fine, you with the MT?¡± Marcus asked as he approached further. ¡°MT? No, none with that identification¡±, the goblin responded, gripping his staff tightly as his voice reverberated in the chamber, ¡°Tell me, where is your above champion?¡± Marcus¡¯s body shook all over, and his mouth opened but words that were not his escaped it, ¡°Logan is at the top of this dungeon¡±, Marcus quickly threw a hand over his mouth, the elementals standing at guard. ¡°The above is above. How quaint¡±, the goblin responded in a normal tone. Turning around, the goblin revealed his guise, a scarred face with one eye whitened. His voice reverberated again, ¡°Tell me, what is his speciality?¡± Marcus felt bubbling in his stomach, a froth at the throat, as if something was forcing its way out. He grasped at his mouth to not let anything escape. Spinning his staff in the other hand he began to charge at the robed goblin. With a flick of his hand, the goblin sent out a telekinetic shockwave, surrounding Marcus¡¯s staff and ripping it from his grasp. Marcus stumbled forward as his main weapon was taken away, but he quickly restored his posture as he drew up a dagger to slice at the goblin. The foe dogged left and right as he threw Marcus¡¯s staff far away. Marcus dared not speak, lest he let secrets slip. However, with no words, he could cast no spells. ¡°Come, you are a caster, your words are your power¡±, the goblin taunted. The elementals came into the fray with fists of ice and fire, but the goblin was able to dodge each one. Waving one hand upwards, the goblin caused Celsius to float upwards and smash into the ceiling, being held by an invisible force. A wide swing by Fahrenheit was avoided by the goblin who flew his hand over the icy arm, causing Fahrenheit to be sent flying down a different corridor and out of sight. Seeing an opening, Marcus kicked into a forward leap, grabbed onto the goblin''s stomach and shot a shard of stone through it as he activated one of his rings. Blood splattered out the other end as the goblin coughed up similarly. Marcus felt the pull on his inners halt as he interrupted the truth spell, calling out, ¡°Enhance Agility, Sustained¡±, causing his body to glow grey quickly. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. With heightened agility, Marcus was able to continue his melee attacks a bit quicker. Cutting into the goblin once, and then twice. The goblin retaliated with another wave of his hand, sending a massive wave of energy into Marcus, pushing him backwards and cracking the wall he crashed into. Breath escaped his lungs as he was winded, blood accompanying it as the ice pierced his back. The goblin pulled out the shard of rock, his skin tinted green from its impalement. As Marcus landed on his feet he thrust his hand into his other shoulder, ¡°Heal Grasp¡±, he chanted, his body glowing yellow as it was healed. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you weak!?¡± the goblin shouted at Marcus, his body vibrating once again. Marcus willed off the effect without knowing as he yelled back, ¡°Chain Guard¡±, causing chains to shoot from his fingertips and encapsulate the goblin. The goblin''s body began to sear against the golden constraints, Celsius falling to the floor as the previous telekinesis ended. ¡°Gaia Skystrike¡±, Marcus chanted twice, two large hunks of rock appearing behind the goblin and piercing through his back and out his chest. The goblin would have fallen forwards if not for the chains keeping him in place, blood painted the floors a mix of red and blue. Celsius jumped atop the foe, searing his skin and cauterising the wounds that held the stone spikes in place, his yells filling the room. Walking up to the captured and tortured foe, Marcus asked with anger in his words, ¡°Now you tell me. Who is your leader?¡± ¡°There is no release for me, and you lack magic to pull out my words¡±, the goblin replied with a bloody toothy grin. ¡°No matter, you can¡¯t kill me, and you can¡¯t kill my friend¡±, Marcus replied as he drew up his dagger to the goblin. ¡°You¡¯re no friend, you¡¯re a tool, just, like, me¡±, the goblin taunted. Marcus sliced his dagger across the goblin''s throat, blood pouring out as his life left him. However, the gurgling of the goblin was drowned out by a shrieking howl from the goblin¡¯s shattering necklace. The ice near the goblin cracked all over, the blue tint of the ice darkening into a red outwards and deep into the hallways. ¡°Fuck, I need to-¡± Marcus started as he dug into his pack. ¡°Marcus! Foes!¡± Fahrenheit yelled as he ran down the corridor he was thrown into. ¡°Below damn it all!¡± Marcus cursed as he put the parchment back into the inventory. ¡°Essence of power, grant onto others. Enhance Strength, Sustained¡±, he started to chant, as well for Constitution, increasing his fighting capabilities for the approaching hordes. Digging into the inventory, Marcus pulled out several vials of purple liquid and downed them one after another. Once he was done he picked the staff off of Celsius¡¯s hands who had grabbed it in the meantime. As Fahrenheit breached the hallway¡¯s maw, Marcus shouted at him, ¡°You couldn¡¯t have kept them back there could you?¡± ¡°They were running past me¡±, Fahrenheit replied, his arms bloodied. ¡°Celsius, fly up and pelt down that hallway with everything you got¡±, Marcus ordered as he ran upwards. ¡°Got it¡±, Celsius replied as he did so. Marcus waved his arm over the floor and chanted, ¡°Mud and rock, fight back the invaders. Gaia Wall¡±, a large barrier of mud and stone crashing through the ice. He needed to keep his MP for further spells, returning to the longer casting times of the past. Running back, Marcus spotted goblins approaching from another corridor, forcing him to charge and summon up another, ¡°Gaia Wall¡±, he chanted hastily, just barely blocking up the majority of the entrance. Countless spears of ice came darting through the gaps of the earthen walls, followed by stampeding footsteps from the corridor that went to the exit of the entire dungeon. ¡°Behind! Fahrenheit block them!¡± Marcus commanded as he drew up a dagger and staff to bat at the climbing goblins. The ice elemental charged to their rear to being bashed at by approaching ambushers, while Celsius continued to rain fire down the hallways. Marcus swung his staff far, knocking out several goblins at once and jabbing his blade at those who got closer to him. If he had come from Earth he would have likened it to a zombie movie where the undead had taken a hell of a lot of speed. If the crawling goblinoids weren¡¯t bad enough, holes in the wall started to explode open, more goblins poured out of unrestricted areas. Falling to the floor they began to jump at Marcus. Jumping back, and swiping around, Marcus did his best to not get overwhelmed by the sheer number. Had that goblin mage alerted the whole damn dungeon to his location? Taking a bite in the shoulder, Marcus stabbed upwards and pulled down as he bisected a goblin. Another sliced into his side, his staff smashing the goblin''s face into a crater. A piercing jab into his chest had Marcus stab into a goblin¡¯s ear and out the other end. Marcus was turning more red than brown, both his and his foes¡¯ blood soaking his robes beyond recognition. ¡°How¡¯s the back?¡± Marcus yelled as he continued to fend off the hordes. ¡°Not good¡±, Fahrenheit replied. Throwing his hand forwards as he dropped his dagger, Marcus chanted, ¡°Gaia Wall¡±, causing a wall to appear away from him, grappling with several goblins ahead. Patting his hand over his knee as he ducked to pick up his dagger, Marcus used Healer¡¯s Caress to heal himself. Bringing the blade up he impaled another goblin¡¯s head, throwing the corpse to the side as he twirled into a parry of another¡¯s mace. Smashing yet another goblin to the floor, Marcus continued to backstep as he saw more and more holes open in the wall. ¡°Celsius get into the rear corridor¡±, Marcus ordered. ¡°Gotcha¡±, Celsius replied as he flew back. Turning into a run, Marcus slid just before the entrance of the corridor that linked up with the introductory chamber. Sheathing his dagger, Marcus diagonally ran his hand, ¡°Gaia Wall¡±, and spun around, doing it on the other side, ¡°Gaia Wall¡±, causing a jagged set of walls to make a piercing barrier. Several thumps hit on the other side, goblins colliding with the wall and getting caught in its whipping vines. There were still gaps at the top, around 5¡¯ to the ceiling, but Marcus left them open to give the goblins hope of getting over the disastrous wall. Pulling out vial after vial, Marcus downed more MP restorative potions. Patting his chest as he dropped the empty vials, Marcus healed himself further with his skill. The bodies were piling up on the other side of the wall, allowing a few goblins to jump over, though were met quickly by Marcus¡¯s staff. Behind him, Fahrenheit was having difficulties with his own hordes of blue-skinned beasties. The elemental wasn¡¯t as strong as Marcus, but was durable enough to continue bashing at the foes to bring them to the floor. Those that did grapple him were met by impalement from a Frost spell, now his MP had returned with a rest. ¡°This old game again, ay¡±, Marcus stated as he batted another goblin out of the air. ¡°Like yesterday?¡± Celsius asked, blasting down the corridor. ¡°Yeah¡±, Marcus replied, stabbing another, ¡°got a case of repeated events.¡± ¡°When will their numbers dwindle?¡± Fahrenheit exclaimed as he smashed another goblin to the floor, one bashing his side with a mace. Icicles started to pierce through the walls of earth in front of Marcus, the goblins trying to blast it apart with their own magic. Running his hands across the floor once again he remade them, earth rising up within the original walls before having them fall apart around the fresh rock and mud. ¡°Just think of the rewards. Without a path in front or behind we¡¯re trapped here¡±, Marcus shouted back. With each strike he landed with his staff, Marcus could feel the wood become brittle and battered, cracks appearing across its frame. He wished he had brought a spare, but all he had after that were daggers. Twirling one in his hand he continued to stab at leaping goblins. ¡°Marc-¡± Fahrenheit spluttered out as another mace crashed into his face, separating the ice and exploding his form to reveal his elemental core on the floor. ¡°Damnit, Celsius, cover him. Gaia Wall¡±, Marcus called out as he flowed his hands over the ceiling, his dagger and staff hitting the floor. Two large walls of mud and stone came crashing from the ceiling and met Marcus¡¯s previous walls, crushing several goblins in the rocky teeth. Celsius darted to the floor in front of Fahrenheit, turning into a melee machine as he tried to keep the goblins away from Fahrenheit¡¯s core. Marcus turned around and grabbed the core, ¡°Heal Grasp¡±, he chanted, the core shining in yellow light as it started to pull in the surrounding ice to reform the elemental. Staring down the exit corridor, Marcus saw a mass of corpses, but many more to be added to the pile coming his way. ¡°Is this the whole damn dungeon?¡± he cursed as he pulled out another potion. ¡°See it through¡±, Fahrenheit spoke as he smashed out with a remade arm. ¡°I see the holes they¡¯re crawling out of, over there!¡± Celsius announced as he pointed down the hallway. ¡°Celsius, you got two Flaming Arcs in you?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Use them as we charge outta here.¡± ¡°Got it!¡± Kicking ahead, the trio charged down the exit corridor as the walls behind them began to crumble yet again. Celsius shot wide-reaching streams of fire in a cone in front of him, turning the goblins into cinders as they had nowhere to run in the cramped corridor. Passing the holes in the wall, Fahrenheit smashed his limbs into them, causing several to collapse. Marcus brought up a few more Gaia Walls, crashing through several entrances and causing the nearby ice to come tumbling down. Breaching into the introductory chamber, where the yetis were once dominating, Marcus was glad to see it free of any more encroaching forces. Halting with a slide, and drinking another potion, Marcus caused another wall of earth to erupt in the corridor behind them. ¡°We can¡¯t leave, if all of these go after the others in an ambush they¡¯ll have to deal with mine and their own foes. No telling what they would bring with them throughout the dungeon either. There are only goblins, so the alert was specialised. If they ran by frost snakes or golems, they may make a harder fight for the others¡±, Marcus informed as he drew up a dagger. ¡°At your order¡±, Celsius responded as he flew up to eye the gap at the top of the wall. ¡°Let us hope your potions hold us¡±, Fahrenheit said off handily. ¡°Pondress, cure my steps.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 95 - Frost Monarch鈥檚 Cavern. Part 7 Meanwhile, Logan continues his run¡­ Sprinting down the icy corridors of crimson hues, Koma and Logan were making as much haste as they could to aid an ally in danger. ¡°Logan, a wall¡±, Koma informed as she jumped to the side of the corridor. ¡°Flame Shot¡±, Logan chanted, a ball of fire getting hurled at the wall, crashing it outwards to reveal an adjoining corridor. Sliding into the new hall, Koma spun her head around before spying on one path of three. ¡°That way¡±, she shouted as she started to run again. Logan ran after his companion, the corridors not looking much different to him. Clicking his fingers, Logan¡¯s mini-map was updated once again and he saw, what he assumed to be, the same as his ally, the corridor that led to where they had been split up. Koma held out her arm to Logan, and realizing it was a command, Logan took hold of it and commanded another ring. Their bodies warped into their centres and blasted outwards at the bottom floor of the shift chamber they had teleported in previously. Countless corpses filled the hallways and the chamber itself, more leading off in the corridor that led to the beginning chamber. ¡°Marcus had to deal with this many? Quantity for damn sure¡±, Logan exclaimed. ¡°Logan, again¡±, Koma yelled as they got an eye on the introductory chamber. Logan grabbed onto his ally and teleported them once more, exploding at the exit to the first chamber. ¡°Marcus!¡± Logan yelled. Marcus was standing, not tall, but slouched and covered in red. Celsius and Fahrenheit at his side in combative positions, aimed towards the corridor Logan and Koma had emerged from. Vials littered the floor, along with two broken daggers and wood shards. Titling his head up to look at the noise, Marcus responded, ¡°Took your time¡±, he splurted out as he fell to a knee. Logan ran to a sliding kneel by his friend, picking out a healing potion and feeding it to Marcus. He could see his friend had just about run out of MP and MP restoring potions, though his overall stats had increased, as well as Fahrenheit who now stood at almost 5¡¯ tall. ¡°Logan, there was¡±, Marcus started to speak with a pained look on his face, though stopped as he saw Koma. Logan looked at the Rogue, curious as to Marcus¡¯s gaze. ¡°Koma, can you look around, see if there are any more enemies or holes in the walls?¡± ¡°Sure¡±, Koma replied swiftly as she began to scout around. In a hushed tone, Marcus continued, ¡°There was a goblin, who knew about you. They asked about a ¡®champion¡¯ as Krekka did.¡± Logan¡¯s eyes went wide at the mention, ¡°Where are they?¡± ¡°Dead. Impaled them with rocks¡±, Marcus replied with a bloody smile. ¡°Good. Their power was probably comparable to the locale. Krekka was against a city, but yours was only against a single team¡±, Logan theorised aloud. ¡°They said they were a tool, like me¡±, Marcus continued while his smile diminished. ¡°Fuck, a below PC?¡± Logan worried in his head. ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°His amulet, it changed the cave to red, and summoned all these goblins¡±, Marcus answered as he sat down. ¡°So it wasn¡¯t a shift?¡± ¡°No clue, but when he died it shrieked and shattered.¡± Logan thought for a few seconds before replying, ¡°Ok, he may have been a random occurrence. If he asked where I was it was just bad luck he found you first. You did amazing to hold all this off.¡± ¡°What do you mean, it was easy¡±, Marcus chuckled with a wince. ¡°Clean¡±, Logan chanted, removing the blood and dirt from his ally, ¡°it¡¯ll be best if we rest here before continuing on.¡± ¡°I agree¡±, Koma spoke as she returned to the pair. ¡°How¡¯s the place look?¡± Logan asked. ¡°Full of the dead, I doubt more will be coming, this would be a majority of the dungeon¡¯s low-end forces. Just be glad it wasn¡¯t frost snakes as we had faced.¡± ¡°Those goblins aren¡¯t much stronger than wolves, whereas the frost snakes can be on par with a silversteine¡±, Logan calculated. ¡°I¡¯m happy with what I got if that¡¯s the case¡±, Marcus chuckled once more. ¡°We¡¯ve not done much this day, but regrouping with the weakest part is a big step regardless. Let us Harvest the corpses and rest for what¡¯s left in the day¡±, Koma announced. ¡°I can do that, you¡¯ll do the traps?¡± Logan asked. ¡°As before, not much I can do for the holes, but the hallways will be set up. Our hallway didn¡¯t connect to the middle, so Cassius must find another path to us.¡± ¡°Got it¡±, Logan replied as he handed the Goblin-Killer dagger to Marcus, ¡°I don¡¯t have anything weaker, so hopefully you¡¯re good with this if it comes to it.¡± Marcus took the level 11 dagger in his hand, the blade shaking somewhat in his grasp as his level didn¡¯t allow him easy control over something with such dense spellforce in it. ¡°Now we¡¯re back together I can rely on my crossbow a bit more.¡± ¡°What you need now is rest¡±, Logan ordered as he moved to cut the ears from the goblins. ¡°Sounds good¡±, Marcus replied as he laid his head down on his pack.
The rest of the day went by with a multitude of busy work. Logan cut the ears from over two hundred goblins, using his Clean mick to make them not insufferable to cart over via the vehicles outside. The bodies were piled into the dead-end corridors to make escape easier, as well as to block off any other rushing adversaries. The sheer number of them meant that it took most of their day, Koma moving the corpses whilst she stripped them of their weapons and coins. The elementals also did their part by carting the bodies to Logan to Harvest, turning the icy chambers into what seemed like a meat-packing plant. Logan quickly investigated the goblin mage on their passing, showing it to have been a level 8 goblin whose drinking of classed blood allowed him to be a better caster. Its attributes were a bit higher than other level 8 enemies, possibly alluding to it having extra points placed into Intelligence. There were no lasting marks of it being a partner to another PC though. Logan had to close down the windows as they popped up to inform him of changes, though at the end he looked back at the one that detailed his increase in skill. Along with the normal skill information, Fol informed inside Logan¡¯s head that his current chance of Harvesting common components was 49%, with a 10% of gaining a legendary tier. Logan was even able to obtain a few legendary goblin ears with the sheer number of them he cut off. It wasn¡¯t a great sight to see, but after being cleaned and placed into sacks, they were left near the final corridor that led to the icicle barrier to the outside. The clanking of maces filled the room with the sounds of a smithy, a comforting sound when it wasn¡¯t being done by enemies. Without counting the price fluctuations on the components, the hoard was just over 3 gold¡¯s worth. Not a whole lot when compared to the effort, but the items gathered in the hoard that Logan found earlier would make up for some of it, plus the hoards they hadn¡¯t found yet. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. It was an amazing choice on Marcus¡¯s end to buy up so many MP-restoring potions, though he couldn¡¯t have ever guessed he would have used them all in one confrontation. With a full team of 10s, this would have been a hard fight, but winnable nonetheless. Logan¡¯s previous team could have handled it. Examining the difficulty of the fight, mostly with the sheer number, Logan had to guess that was the reason why he could now see that Marcus had two unspent skill points. Though that was the first time he saw an event grant more than one. Could the other have been defeating a partnered NPC, or rather, monster, if that was what the goblin mage was? Fol advised Logan that if Marcus were to level up yet again, reaching 10, then his choice of skill would widen just like his had. Fol had a certain skill in mind. Partnered Growth, a skill that would double Marcus¡¯s experience reward from foes. Though similar to Marcus gaining two skill points, this skill cost two. Going from 10% to 20% was a massive boost to an NPC, it essentially halved the number of foes he would need to defeat to gain further power. Without Logan at his side, Marcus would benefit majorly from that choice. After conferring with Marcus during the last segment of time before they all went to sleep, the choice was set in stone, if he were to level up before Logan left. It was quite handy that Fol had upgraded at this point, the breadth of his knowledge allowed Logan a better insight into who he had called System to this point. As well as a being that would scan the skill selections for better choices. With part of the team back together, they all rested for the following day which would hopefully regroup them all.
31 days remaining¡­ Logan woke up before anyone else, as usual, his body slightly sore though he was sure that Marcus would be more. Wanting to try out MP Thievery on his summons, Logan gave a swift punch into Celsius¡¯s back. Sadly no Backstab text popped up, it seemed that elementals didn¡¯t have enough of a weak spot to take advantage of with their shifting bodies, so he would not be able to squeeze out any more MP from them. Submitting to the normal Spell Absorption and Charge Transfer in the chamber away from the entrance, Logan soaked up 15 MP from Celsius and Fahrenheit. Using 4 he resummoned Spark and absorbed a further 7. For a total of 18 MP, that would be his max from this routine as Fahrenheit reached level 11 the day prior. Returning to his team after a long stint of absorbing, Logan helped them ready themselves for the day ahead. ¡°Like we theorised before, the lower floor of this place should be mostly clear with Marcus¡¯s effort. We might not run into traps, but keep an eye out if I miss any¡±, Koma started. ¡°Since the walls can open up holes to express corridors we can expect ambushes, if there are monsters to enact them. So we¡¯re staying quiet, right?¡± Marcus added. ¡°Right. No yelling or blasting down corridors if we can help it. While it would speed up the process, it relies on being near Cassius and Patavava to work. We could wind up in a worse position with no reward for the risk.¡± ¡°I can scan the paths we¡¯ve taken, but it will be hard to see if either of them walk in our prints¡±, Logan informed. ¡°Let us continue searching the lowest floor. If possible, Cassius would probably head to the top first if he had the choice¡±, Koma put forth. ¡°We can definitely clear out a higher number of foes this way¡±, Marcus said. Koma eyed up the elementals for a second before responding, ¡°The stronger elementals will come in handy¡±, she said offhandedly as she began walking towards the corridor. Marcus shrugged as he moved into the middle of the formation, with Fahrenheit at his side. Logan took up the rear with Celsius and Spark.
The newly reformed group double-checked Marcus¡¯s previous left hallway, the encroaching forces possibly having backup monsters within the holes in the walls. Thankfully, the previous hallways had been mostly cleared out in the rush towards the alert. Entering the second of three corridors had the party find two more splits, with further splits afterwards. Finding deadends allowed them to mark many paths off their list, though two rooms had a similar trap and four goblin ambush setups as others. They were quite far from the shift chamber which might have explained why they hadn¡¯t joined the alarm group. Koma was able to spot both traps easily enough and had Fahrenheit charge into both rooms to set them off and draw the Frost spells of the ambushers. His immunity to said damage made these encounters flawless on the side of the humans. Crossbow bolts, arrows, daggers, and elemental barrages from the summons ended the fights before the aggressors could do anything more than scream. It was much easier than the top floor, though some of that was attributed to the number of allies in a single team. The team eventually passed the hallway that Logan and Koma exploded their fake wall into. Double-checking their hidden passageway didn¡¯t reveal much else to them, though through Echo Radar Logan was able to determine the location of another hidden wall before Koma did, mostly due to how weirdly the corridors were designed. Blasting it open with a Flame Shot revealed another hoard of deposited materials, though this one was clear of any corpses. The groups¡¯ noses flared at the strong smell of berries and herbs, mixed with a singeing sensation of their nose hairs and their skin prickling up. ¡°Ugh, this place has finished pulling the spellforce from the bodies, it¡¯s so dense in here¡±, Koma spoke as she held a scarf to her face. Logan moved his hand through the air, it felt as if it were floating atop invisible energy waves. ¡°Why has nothing been made of this ambient spellforce?¡± ¡°It must take a while to seep it into the ice and move it to where they need it. It takes a few days for a monster to form, no wonder it stays around like this when the Ice King takes a decade.¡± ¡°Will we be fine in here?¡± Marcus asked as he peeked his head in. ¡°For a while, our bodies can only handle so much. Let¡¯s have the elementals take out the goods for us, some may have degraded too much if they were weaker variants though¡±, Koma advised as she walked away. Logan ordered his summons to ferry the bags and gear out of the room into the hallway, it took some time, which allowed Logan to ask about the smell. ¡°Most humanoids clean themselves better than monsters, the last thing you¡¯ll smell from their spellforce is the soaps and such they use to clear their exteriors. Monsters typically leave more of a dirt and meat smell.¡± ¡°So we basically smell what was on their outside? It picks apart the bodies and leaves only the residues on the skin?¡± ¡°Pretty much. Once you¡¯re reduced back into spellforce, nothing is really left. It¡¯s why we cremate most of our corpses, to release the spellforce back into the air.¡± ¡°Desma prefers we bury our dead in the forests, to nurture their growth with our bodies¡±, Marcus added. ¡°Either way, this cannibalistic option, clawing the spellforce from corpses, it just feels sacrilegious either way¡±, Koma spat. ¡°I agree. Though I am sure Madamra orders her underlings to perform these types of rites¡±, Marcus acquiesced. ¡°You said there was no word on this dungeon doing something like this before? Now we¡¯ve found two. Were previous groups more concerned with clearing the place out in that case?¡± Logan thought aloud. ¡°The ever-changing nature of this place made it hard, but it is possible previous clears¡¯ were undertaken by people with weaker senses.¡± Interrupting their discussion, Celsius spoke up, ¡°All done, we left the eroded blades and armour in the room.¡± ¡°Thanks¡±, Logan replied as he began to shift through the items. ¡°It isn¡¯t surprising the number of creatures that inhabit this place if it has more than one of these rooms hidden about¡±, Koma spoke as she looked over Logan¡¯s shoulder. ¡°The hall should send some investigative adventurers to search the local areas for signs of outside movements. See if the monsters were actively hunting people to bring here¡±, Marcus announced. ¡°That will be part of my report¡±, Koma accepted. Logan placed vials in several bags, handing two to Koma, one to Marcus, and one into his own bag-inventory. ¡°Not a whole lot of worth, the potions seem diluted quite a bit, and the spell rings are all sapped. A few trinkets to sell but nothing that¡¯ll help us immediately. Either way, we got a bit more coin from this room¡±, Logan calculated. ¡°I hope we find a proper hoard, not one that¡¯s been eaten up like this. Might end up a loss if we don¡¯t¡±, Koma mentioned offhandedly as she looked down the corridor. The team started to move away, though Logan moved into the room for a few seconds to test a theory. Placing a hand in the air he mentally commanded, ¡°Spell Absorb.¡± But nothing happened, except for Fol speaking into his mind. ¡°Logan, I think your skill will only work when a spell is being cast. This room just holds ambient spellforce, it isn¡¯t a ¡®spell¡¯ right now.¡± ¡°Yeah, I wasn¡¯t expecting much, but I didn¡¯t want to leave it without trying¡±, Logan replied in his head as he jogged back to his team. The skill had worked with the teleporting star back with the other hunters, but that essentially used a spell, this room was just formless power.
Progressing through further corridors, the trio accompanied by a trio of elementals found many more dead ends and slopes upwards. Marking off many paths, Logan saw how few enemies were left on the lowest floors. Either it was to make it easier on the weaker group, or Marcus had dealt with them in the alarm wave. The team had yet to meet any ice golems or snowball sprites, leading them to believe that they were relegated to the middle floors. The first was quite resilient, while the second was fast and magically powerful. Patavava¡¯s dwindling MP showed how much work he had to put in alongside Cassius. As they progressed through the ice caves, the party eventually began to hear and feel the low-toned beating of a drum. Slight shockwaves were sent across the walls, outwards from a single point ahead and above them. ¡°That¡¯ll be Cassius¡¯s Dhuss Drum¡±, Koma announced. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Logan asked. ¡°It¡¯s an item he got commissioned, sends out a far-reaching Come Forth style effect. He¡¯s drawing in foes so that they don¡¯t go down or up.¡± ¡°So, we¡¯re close then¡±, Logan replied as he looked up the corridor, dust being pushed aside from the drum pulses. --- *** --- Chapter 96 - Frost Monarch鈥檚 Cavern. Part 8 The beating of the drum continued on and on as the party followed its sound and shockwaves. Logan flinched ever so slightly as each wave washed over his body. He could feel a slight anger rise in his stomach before falling away into nothingness, a byproduct of the Come Forth effect trying to affect him, but recognising him as an ally so it stopped doing so. Countless footsteps and claw marks could be seen across the floors from monsters making their way towards the sound. Even if the effect didn¡¯t fully encapsulate them, the monsters could still hear the noise and would want to go investigate. Pulling out the enemies at the far reaches of the lowest and highest floors indeed showed that Cassius wasn¡¯t being passive on the middle floor. If anything he was probably biting off more than he should have. But his vitals were still fine on Logan¡¯s party menu. It was a sure bet the man could survive the worst this place had to offer, if not solo the entire dungeon. ¡°Looks like we¡¯ll have a clear run to the final room with this going on¡±, Koma mentioned at the head of the party. ¡°Why not use this at the beginning, where we could have pelted the single corridor?¡± Logan asked from the back. ¡°It would have pulled creatures from outside, and if there were any traitors following us it would have taunted them too. The item has a few day''s cooldown anyway, so it¡¯s best to use it near the centre.¡± ¡°Using it where he currently is also means the shift wasn¡¯t as bad as it could have been¡±, Marcus added in the middle. ¡°Fair enough, I suppose it¡¯s too risky to use in higher-rank dungeons.¡± ¡°That it is, we didn¡¯t use it in the bubble forest¡±, Koma replied as she continued to climb the slope. ¡°Wait, is he only using it now? Not yesterday? Or the day before?¡± Logan asked. ¡°He may have borrowed Prevesna¡¯s after our forest dungeon. Meaning this would be his second. Patavava can also channel spellforce into them to make them last a bit longer than usual.¡± ¡°So Cassius is fighting them all, on his own?¡± ¡°Probably, sounds like him.¡± Passing by several corridors on either side, Logan was able to combine Echo Radar with feeling the shockwave directions to find the right paths to take. The sound got louder, as well as the pulses got stronger as they approached. It took a few minutes of walking before the pulses stopped, the drum going inactive in the distance. Thankfully enough, the party were able to follow the remnants of the waves to their source, the slopes eventually taking them to the middle floor without any interruption from monsters. Exiting another corridor, the party found themselves on the middle platform where they had all been split up. Cassius had held in his hand a different shortsword from before, two on the floor having been broken in the previous encounters. The floors were full of corpses, both large and small. Logan quickly noticed all types of creatures here, even the white wargs he had faced at the top that weren¡¯t in the intel. By Cassius¡¯s side was a foot-tall drum, made up of light brown leather and topped with a black hammer attached to its side, possibly drumming itself via magic. Seeing his allies return at the end of the drum¡¯s noise, Cassius smiled wide as she shouted over to them, ¡°Ho there! Glad to see you all unharmed, or at least healed after the fact.¡± ¡°Finally, I can stop channelling¡±, Patavava added as he sat down, his hands bracing on the floor behind him. ¡°Good to see you two, no issues I take it?¡± Koma asked as she climbed over the bodies. ¡°A few monsters with poor intel, but all fine the same. How did you lot fare on your paths?¡± ¡°We dealt with over fifty foes, mostly frost snakes¡±, Logan informed. ¡°And I was hit with an alarm, turned the whole place red and summed a couple of hundred goblins¡±, Marcus added as he slid down a corpse pile. ¡°That¡¯ll be two shifts then, we may see one more as we finish this place up¡±, Cassius calculated. Logan and Marcus hadn¡¯t talked about the goblin mage much to Koma, they thought it best to hide the talk of ¡°champions¡± in case it led to Logan¡¯s reveal as an oracle. That would only cause some issues for Marcus after Logan left. ¡°How¡¯re your supplies? We good to continue on?¡± Koma asked. ¡°I used a few potions to charge the drum, but otherwise I can go on¡±, Patavava replied as he looked through his pack. ¡°Give me a few minutes rest and I can lead us¡±, Cassius followed as he sat down, ¡°Logan, mind using Clean on us?¡± Logan accepted the command as he jogged over, using his mick to make his companions sparkly clean. Cassius eyed up the elementals in the back, as well as Marcus no longer having his normal dagger or staff. ¡°Seems you lot were set upon enough for a whole team. Glad to see you reach the other end.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll all be getting reassessments when we get back I¡¯ll take it¡±, Logan said with a chuckle. ¡°You¡¯ll be allowed harder contracts when you do, possibly other invitations to join guilds¡±, Cassius spoke, lingering his gaze on Logan towards the end. ¡°Maybe. Recent events have coloured my ideas on those kinds of things¡±, Logan replied, looking down a bit. Koma moved to start Harvesting parts from the countless monsters in the room while Logan rested with the others. At least in a guild party, it seemed the tasks were divvied up a bit more than in normal groups. Logan¡¯s arms were getting a bit tired after all the cutting he had done on the lower floors. ¡°Have you moved much from this chamber?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°We did some scouting after the first drum ended, wanted to make sure there wasn¡¯t a quick way back to you lot¡±, Cassius replied. ¡°We didn¡¯t even notice the first drum¡±, Logan mentioned. ¡°The shift ice floors must be incredibly thick, probably a few dozen feet. Anyway, we didn¡¯t find much close to us so we came back here. Seems you lot explored further if you met back up.¡± ¡°We got ambushed a few times, but we found a cannibal hoard room, and then a ladder room that went to the bottom.¡± ¡°Cannibal?¡± ¡°It dumped corpses and gear, seemingly had outside corpses too, and was pulling the spellforce out of them. No monsters had been made though.¡± ¡°Below, that doesn¡¯t sound good. I¡¯ve engaged one dungeon with those sorts of rooms before. We referred to them as devour rooms, as the dungeons aren¡¯t the same ¡®species¡¯ as the creatures they ate. Was a nightmare to clear, the monsters came back in a matter of hours¡±, Cassius explained as he drank from his waterskin. ¡°Really? Koma thought it might be to aid in the Ice King¡¯s revival.¡± ¡°Sounds solid. If there weren¡¯t creatures in the rooms that could be it. The Ice King would be a strong monster to form, and since it is reviving him and not making a new one it probably takes a bit more. Though¡±, Cassius replied as he looked to Marcus, ¡°if you killed a few hundred foes, combined with the others that¡¯s over three, with us, over six. This place might just be horde city.¡± ¡°It might be something for the MT¡±, Marcus put forth. ¡°We can send a report off to them. They do investigations like this, below, they did one before we started. With how thick the ice is though, they most likely didn¡¯t detect those rooms.¡± Logan could hear his elementals in the background aiding in Koma¡¯s Harvesting, their endless stamina certainly made them amazing assistants. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°So, what¡¯s the plan? Think the number we¡¯ve dealt with means we can get through the rest quickly?¡± Logan asked as he checked his mini-map. ¡°The drums took out a large area, and a bit beyond, we shouldn¡¯t have to face much more¡±, Patavava added. ¡°My mace took a beating from the golems, but it can handle many more¡±, Cassius mentioned, flexing his gauntlet with the ring underneath. ¡°After Koma is done taking what we hadn¡¯t already, we¡¯ll set off. You can cartograph this place, right?¡± ¡°A bit, yeah.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be making an updated map for the G-Hall then¡±, Cassius said with a grin, ¡°we¡¯ll track down the hoards and take our fill, then move to the throne room.¡± ¡°Will the throne room be easy to find?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°Below it will. Major monsters like that are often held behind Madamra doors. Big, posturing, and gold inlaid. The interiors are reminiscent of the halls you¡¯d find at the castle.¡± ¡°What?¡± Logan thought to himself as he was taken aback. ¡°You mean golden carvings with a large monstrous head?¡± ¡°Yeah, looks like a half-breed orc and ogre.¡± ¡°Fuck, that was what we found in that dungeon we cleared out to save Ev¨¦n. I¡¯m glad we didn¡¯t do anything to it now¡±, Logan praised in his head, sweat beading down his cheek. ¡°You¡¯ll find them in a few dungeons, both spellforced and not, that have a creature only a full team can take on¡­ or one real tough adventurer. Since the Ice King hasn¡¯t returned it should be empty except for an artefact and maybe a retainer or two.¡± ¡°What¡­ what if the Ice King is in there?¡± Logan asked timidly. Cassius scowled and took on a serious look, so that none would take his words lightly, ¡°Then we run the below out of here and regroup. You two will be in danger at below rank 16 if we¡¯re taken by surprise.¡± ¡°Quite a high rank, the G-Hall said we¡¯d get the first crack at the Ice King if we cleared this place¡±, Marcus mentioned. ¡°Yeah? And their intel is bare and outdated. The reports noted this place was around one hundred strong. It¡¯s been six times that. Now, I am unsure how early the place was cleared in previous runs, but this place has changed a lot since last time. It¡¯s not uncommon to find a dungeon is different than last time, but to this degree, I will be putting in an adjustment.¡± ¡°When we cleared out a naegren nest the guy at the counter said the pay was set as dungeons always change¡±, Logan replied. ¡°Guilds get a bit more power on that side of things. Since guilds are typically the ones clearing the bigger dungeons, the adventuring society doesn¡¯t want to piss us off. We have more than enough components to show this place was highly undersold. Your first group could have handled a lot of this place, if not for the Lieutenant Frosts, but the timescale would have been elongated.¡± ¡°Are you sure they could have prevailed?¡± Patavava asked. ¡°Sure, they had three combative casters. Enough Flame Walls in a corridor would turn almost any force to ash. Just alert the foes, retreat, put the Knight in front, and fire it up. Would just take several days to recharge spells¡±, Cassius explained to his ally. ¡°The monsters here are quite eager to rush in, even with so many dying¡±, Logan explained. ¡°The goblins, icebolds, and frost snakes are just a bit wiser than wolves. Their orders, with talk of the cannibal rooms, is to fill them with corpses. I doubt they cared much about dangers in their path, Madamra asks something and they don¡¯t even care to ask how high¡±, Cassius replied. ¡°The wargs we fought were a bit smarter at least.¡± ¡°The golems too, those are the problems here. At least the golems were noted in the intel, the wargs would just end up being a skirmish that ended in wounded allies.¡± ¡°It is a shame so many newcomer adventurers think they can take on larger dungeons like this¡±, Patavava added. ¡°Eight groups. The G-Hall should have made the minimum requirements higher. For something that only happens every ten years, I suppose they didn¡¯t have enough info on it beforehand. I will be adding to my adjustment that it should be rank 10 minimum.¡± ¡°What about the Ice King follow-up?¡± Logan asked. ¡°That¡¯s against a single foe, as far as I know. So the team that clears ¡®should¡¯ be able to take him on with all of their resources, plus potions. But it is risky, depending on the team makeup.¡± ¡°Was the number of foes because of my changes too? Or was it just the yetis?¡± Logan thought to himself. The group continued to talk about the cavern they found themselves in and how it compared to previous dungeons, passing the time while Koma worked.
Cassius stood tall, stretching out his arms to the ceiling and going onto his tiptoes, before landing solidly into a normal stance. ¡°Alright, that should be a long enough rest.¡± ¡°We should be fine to leave most of the materials here¡±, Koma mentioned as she tied another bag closed. ¡°Seems the drums will be out of commission for a week or so, we used them for quite a bit of time¡±, Patavava informed. ¡°There should not be a need for them anymore. Let us just keeps our eyes and ears alert¡±, Cassius replied as he drew out a normal shortsword. ¡°If they aren¡¯t needed, I can have my summons take the bags to the entrance¡±, Logan offered. ¡°That will save time later, do that. They should be able to catch up easily enough if they follow the same corridors at a run.¡± Logan looked to his elementals that gave varying signs of acceptance from enforced salutes to thumbs-ups. They all moved to pick up a bag each and started running ferry missions to and from the middle floor. Cracking heat gravel rocks in their mouths, the party began to explore the rest of the frosted caverns.
A trap room with four blue goblins here. An ambush of seven frost snakes there. ¡°Level up! Gain: 8 HP, +1 Str, +1 Agi, +1 Con, +1 Int. You have gained one additional level 1 and level 2 spell slot, and three level 3 spell slots. You have 1 attribute point to spend.¡± The fights were easy compared to before, Cassius took down most foes even without his blade, whereas the team dynamic made it hard for the elementals to even get an attack in. It didn¡¯t matter in their case as they couldn¡¯t gain any further XP, but Marcus made damn sure he could hit with his crossbow or heal an ally for each fight. With Logan¡¯s third-level spells unlocking he felt a tinge of excitement at the new possibilities, as well as more spells for his lower levels. He wouldn¡¯t access the new slots just yet as it would alert the others to his level if he did. It wouldn¡¯t raise much concern though, as others were levelling in this dungeon alongside him, but hiding his third-levels would remove any questions thrown his way. Fol did speak to Logan on his new level, ¡°Your first-level spells will stop their passive progression from here. At level 16 and Intelligence 50, they have reached their limit outside of mastery.¡± Logan¡¯s power continued to rise. Comparing it to his first day, the wolf that had bit his hand and just narrowly allowed him an exit. Logan could kill such monsters with a single dagger swipe, and if he had Advanced Micks, a single Force shot. He could survive massive slams from just as large weapons, could he survive bullets back on Earth? Questions ran through his head as his party found another hoard of loot, without the devour room designs. Piles of shining equipment and coins spilling from pouches started to lose their lustre in his eyes, he wasn¡¯t going to need them where he was going. The corridors seemed countless, Logan¡¯s map a mess of dead ends and linking lines. The long walk was more arduous than walking on the surface, but with the aid of the heat gravel and his higher attributes, he felt the fatigue less and less. His mental fortitude was tested however when his new team found another devour room which housed what Logan recognised as the remnants of his previous team. Kreya¡¯s bent shield lent against a wall, a shattered mace strewn over the floor. Picking at the cloak that Araxie once wore. All their gear had been destroyed in the combat or eaten over time in this room. Their bodies were probably already picked apart into spellforce in the twelve days he had been gone. Noticing Logan and Marcus¡¯s change in attitude to the room and its contents the others gave them a few minutes, waiting in the hallway till they were done. Cassius looked over the two bags he had retrieved with the gear of Tsuker and Cerall. Under his breath, he prayed, ¡°Skearos, treat them kindly.¡± Marcus moved his fists near his stomach to make the normal symbol for Pondress and gave his own prayer. Logan stared at the bent shield. What should he say? Should he say anything if he followed no deity? In his mind it was their fault that his allies had died, they made this dungeon harder than it had to be. But then Logan brought them here. Before his thoughts could wander further, Marcus placed a hand on Logan¡¯s shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s time to go.¡± ¡°Still got a mission to do.¡± The two walked out of the devour room, the air thick with spellforce had made the few steps out a bit difficult. ¡°The enemy numbers aren¡¯t a concern, we¡¯re back to normal group sizes. I doubt we¡¯ll face any more, and if we do, minuscule groups¡±, Cassius spoke as the team continued down the hallway. Cassius¡¯s words rang true, corridor after corridor, no enemies assaulted them. Holes in the walls were devoid of any monsters, and traps were met by no hiding foes. If there were any invisible enemies, none made themselves known as the party pressed on. The ease of their travel ended when the party came up to a larger corridor that was blocked at the far end by a colossal door. Inlaid with golden carvings that depicted a large monstrous head, something of an amalgamation of orc and ogre, with four sets of fangs. ¡°This door¡±, Marcus said under his breath. ¡°A Madamra Rampart. They signify the leader of a dungeon¡±, Cassius re-explained. ¡°Is it to keep them in?¡± Logan asked. ¡°Magi sometimes place seals on these doors to make sure they do not open, sure. But typically they are warnings. If you enter, you can¡¯t leave until the denizens are defeated.¡± ¡°What about teleportation?¡± Logan followed up. ¡°You¡¯ll find that spellforced dungeons make teleportation beyond sight-based ones difficult. Unless they are meant to function within it. Even if not, inside those rooms, you cannot teleport out unless it lets you¡±, Cassius replied. Placing his sword onto his forearm, Cassius had it sucked into his ring, summoning Blazing End back out again. ¡°Marcus, increase all our Agility, and my Strength as well. Doesn¡¯t need to be Sustained.¡± ¡°Got it¡±, Marcus replied, following on with the longer format casting of his Enhance spell. --- *** --- Chapter 97 - Frost Monarch鈥檚 Cavern. Part 9 Logan, Marcus, Cassius, Koma, and Patavava all had their bodies glow grey as Marcus finished enhancing them with his magic. Cassius was the last, and glowed twice, as he held his sword¡¯s flat side out to Logan. ¡°Cast a Flame into this if you will¡±, Cassius asked. Logan nodded as he aimed his hand at the blade, ¡°Flame Shot.¡± ¡°That coat certainly speeds up everything with the free Quickcasting¡±, Cassius said off handily. Logan could do it for free anyway, but the coat allowed him to hide that ability from others, It would be strange to not use a longer form casting to save slots and MP when you weren¡¯t in danger. ¡°You can¡¯t scan past this door, can you, Logan?¡± Koma asked. Logan shook his head, ¡°Barriers like this, without any cracks, block my abilities. It may have additional defences as well.¡± ¡°All right, everyone ready yourselves. We won¡¯t be fighting the leader, but I anticipate we¡¯ll have at least two retainers on hand¡±, Cassius commanded. The team did just that. Patavava checked his gauntlets, Koma nocked an arrow, Logan checked he was still attuned to his staff, and Marcus loaded his crossbow. The elementals took up a defensive position around Marcus, though it was possible they wouldn¡¯t last long against things outside their element as a final fight. Cassius placed a hand on the door and had his body vibrate, creating an afterimage of himself that went outwards before dissipating. Controlling the spellforce around him, the door shuddered at his command. ¡°Madamra, I challenge what lies within. Your monsters have no hold!¡± A wave of wind passed over the door as the golden markings started to glow, and the eyes of the monstrous face lit up alongside a valiant roar from within. The sound of cracking stones and grinding was heard as the door started to open out towards the party. With the door fully open, the party entered the final chamber. It was monstrously large, tall 50¡¯ ceilings were adorned by cut stalactites in the form of monsters, looking like statues that decided the floor was too simple for them. A long-reaching red carpet with golden trimmings gave a path up to a large throne made of ice, sharp edges and claws painted it in quite a devilish design. Sconces attached to marble pillars that held the ceiling up lit themselves, azure flames roaring throughout the room. There were no signs of other exits, the only way in or out was the door, which slowly closed behind the party, slamming shut with mechanical noises within noting its locking. A window appeared in front of Logan¡¯s face, hugged with a silvery outline. ¡°You have entered into a boss room, you may not leave until the opponents are defeated. Communications and teleportations to the outside of this room have been blocked.¡± Logan gulped down a ball in his throat, even with Cassius in the lead he couldn¡¯t help but worry about such a daunting message. With the changes, he was worried that even his first team wouldn¡¯t make it out of here. The team continued their walk across the red carpet, towards the icy throne that was devoid of a lord. Similarly, the room was empty of other threats, but this didn¡¯t cause anyone in the party to become calm. Even with the cold atmosphere, the team had sweat beading down their foreheads, their heat gravel allowing the water to persist before it froze in midair as the droplets fell to the floor. Logan clicked his fingers to try and scan for enemies with Echo Radar, pitter-patters on his exterior detailing the columns and walls to him, but no enemy dots appeared. As the Spellthief breathed out a mist of white, he saw the vapour get whisked away in the wind of a bolting creature. Appearing out of thin air was a tall 6¡¯ icebold, his shoulders carrying large swathes of icicles behind them like pauldrons, its body encased in silver armour. Its eyes glowed yellow, though a blood-crazed gaze could be seen within as its jagged cutlass hit against the defending sword of Cassius. Sparks flew off the blades, the clang reverberating in the air. This was followed up by another strike into Cassius¡¯s flank, a cutlass being held back by his raised forearm, blocking some of the damage with his armour. Two icebolds were held in mid-air from the contact, Logan seeing the impact in slow motion as he tried to adjust. ¡°Identify.¡± ¡°Icebold Executioner ?? - Bold. Level 12: 172/172 HP, 4/12 MP. These 6'' tall variants of icebolds are trained from birth to be the right hands to the strongest of their groups. Fed the blood and flesh of civilized kind, these bolds often hold a wide array of skills and magic that makes them a great jack of all trades, with a focus on melee combat. Skills: Cold Invisibility, Combo Slash, Dash, Reversify, Rush, ---. Spells: 1st: Frost, Heal, Infuse. 2nd: Enhance Ability, Skin of Ice. Reduction: ?. Resistance: ?.¡± Cassius pushed off both attackers, throwing a hand out at the left he sent a barrage of lightning sparks, using one of his own spell rings. He then leapt to the right with his blade, exploding into a fiery display. ¡°They have buffed themselves with spells!¡± Logan called out as he darted to the side, summoning up his own spells. ¡°Koma, get left!¡± Cassius ordered. Koma dropped her bow after firing a singing arrow at the flanking icebold, Rushing forwards she drew her daggers and began to engage the foe. Bringing his blade up high, Cassius had it glow gold before slashing downwards with a harrowing wave of flames. However, as the blade cut through the icebold its body vibrated, leaving only a scratch. Cassius then had his body shake, a large slash cutting across his chest, blood spurting outwards onto the icebold. Cassius yelled out in pain as his attack was reflected, if it was anyone else it wouldn¡¯t have done much, but Cassius dealt a massive 400 damage to himself, the flames cindering him in retaliation. Marcus acted quickly, ¡°Heal Shot¡±, he yelled, over and over, yellow orbs hitting Cassius to bring him back up with healing ranging from 38 to 42. ¡°Logan¡±, Cassius yelled out as he deflected a blow from the icebold, ¡°tell me when that effect ends!¡±, he continued as he deflected a strike to the floor, jumping backwards. ¡°Got it!¡± Logan replied, training his gaze on the reflecting icebold. Fahrenheit charged at the left icebold, throwing his limbs at the foe to put him off his stance to allow Koma to land her strikes. Celsius pelted out Ember Shards, Spark with Bolts. Leaping backwards, the left icebold disappeared into mist, Patavava¡¯s fiery blasts pelting into a nearby wall as he missed. Logan¡¯s eyes fell off the right onto the left as he saw shards of ice appearing way above Koma. Warping to his centre, Logan appeared at Koma¡¯s back, and warped out again, landing near the icy throne as countless icicles impaled the floor. ¡°Thanks¡±, Koma spoke as she started throwing daggers to the ceiling and around the room, hoping a wayward strike would hit true. Another array of icicles formed above Marcus, Logan teleporting twice again to grab Marcus and take him out of the line of fire. ¡°They are recovering spellforce¡±, Logan informed, trying to eye up the room. As his eyes scanned, he saw a vial roll across the floor. Throwing his arm up he chanted, ¡°Flame Shot¡±, the dancing fires coursing through the air before exploding into an unsuspecting icebold, revealing black singe marks in the air. Moving his sight to the right icebold, he called out, ¡°Cassius, now!¡± Swinging his blade behind him into a reverse grip, Cassius had it shimmer with afterimages, ¡°Severing Slash¡±, he chanted as he struck forwards. The blade cleaved straight through the icebold¡¯s arm, sending it soaring away with a spray of blood. Cassius¡¯s blade then let off a red mist, cluing Logan that it was a Power Strike. Slamming the blade through the centre of the icebold had it deal a monstrous 268 damage, way more than was needed. As the icebold split in two, blood and organs falling out of the centre, Cassius turned his gaze to the other foe. Warping from his previous location, Cassius appeared in mid-air as he used another ring. Slashing downwards he narrowly missed the partially invisible foe. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Smashing his palm into the floor, Cassius swept his hand to the side, a wave of Lightning sparking upwards in a wall. Standing back up, he waved a hand over his blade, Flames dropping onto it, before swiping sideways, sending a fiery slash across the air, cutting into the invisible foe that couldn¡¯t dodge everything. The shifting of the air continued as the icebold darted towards Fahrenheit. A large crunching of ice was heard as the invisible blade cut through the elemental, and had all of its essences sucked into the icebolds invisible maw. ¡°Fahrenheit has died¡±, text appeared over the summon. ¡°He¡¯s eating to heal!¡± Logan informed, thinking this to be similar to Feast Regen. Celsius was the next, a cleave through his head had the fires sucked into an invisible mouth. ¡°Celsius has died.¡± Cassius and Logan both warped into their centres as they chased the invisible foe, dagger and sword swinging wildly into the air. Both blades clashed with their foe, Logan¡¯s dagger into a forearm, Cassius¡¯s sword into the cutlass. Twisting his arm, Logan moved into a grapple behind the icebold, ¡°Cassius, go!¡± he ordered as he held the icebold in place so it couldn¡¯t retreat. Cassius brought back his blade and slammed it down again, cutting deep into the icebold¡¯s exposed shoulder, missing Logan on the other side. Logan could feel the jolting in his body, before the icebold fell still. Dropping the corpse to the floor, Logan saw experience numbers starting to appear. Logan let out a breath, a small tinge in his forehead from casting his spells was present, though that was probably just from the fear of his friends getting targeted. Cassius let out a similar breath, the long day had worn on him a bit, but he wasn¡¯t too bad. The pair smiled at each other in victory. Cassius swiped his blade to remove the blood and held it up to Logan. ¡°Clean¡±, Logan chanted, cleaning the blade more pristinely before Cassius sheathed it. Holding out his hand, Logan shook it, the pair holding their gaze on one another for a few seconds before letting go. ¡°How¡¯s everyone?¡± Cassius called out. Koma jogged over, picking up a thrown dagger, ¡°Fine here, thanks to Logan.¡± ¡°Same¡±, Marcus added. ¡°So many wasted spells¡±, Patavava spoke as he sighed, shaking his hands out. ¡°I am sorry my brothers caused issue¡±, Spark spoke. ¡°No need for that, you lot still helped in the fight. I can bring them back later¡±, Logan informed. Cassius looked over the room, the door to the outside creating a loud grinding noise as it began to reopen. ¡°Looks like we¡¯re done. Those enemies had a lot of varied skills.¡± ¡°Classed-blood drinkers¡±, Logan informed. Cassius raised an eyebrow. ¡°I thought as much. Those are the most annoying to deal with. Fighting people is bad enough, but at least they stay in their lanes most of the time.¡± ¡°Except when yours and my skills overlap¡±, Koma replied with a chuckle. ¡°Too true. Well, anyway, we¡¯re done with the leader¡¯s chamber. I would say I was disappointed in not fighting the Ice King, but we can do that later¡±, Cassius spoke as he looked around the room, ¡°no treasure room. We¡¯ll split up to clear the rest of this dungeon.¡± ¡°Do you mind if I spend some time resummoning here?¡± Logan asked falsely. ¡°That¡¯s fine, it¡¯ll take you a few minutes for that. You stick with Marcus. Koma, take that corridor, Patavava go with her¡±, Cassius ordered as he pointed down the hall, ¡°I can take this one. If there are any issues, return to the shift room. It might have returned to normal with the final room cleared.¡± ¡°Understood¡±, Koma replied as she picked up her last dagger and bow. ¡°Maybe my spells will hit more often with just the two of us¡±, Patavava said to Koma with a wide grin. The pair walked off, Cassius giving a final nod to Logan before he also left. Their footsteps echoed through the underground as Logan looked after them for a few minutes.
¡°What corridor you want to take after summoning?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°None. It¡¯s time¡±, Logan spoke, still looking down the corridor. ¡°What- oh. This is the place?¡± Logan looked at the throne, his quest window popping up next to it. ¡°Yeah, that throne.¡± ¡°That came up quick¡±, Marcus spoke, defeated. The pair walked towards the throne of ice, Spark staying further back. ¡°A lot of that goes towards our new team. To think, all it took was asking a large guild for help.¡± ¡°Well, we had met them before.¡± ¡°Still¡±, Logan replied, staring at the throne. ¡°I just used them. They won¡¯t get much out of this¡±, he thought to himself. Speaking in his head, Fol informed Logan, ¡°Once you destroy that throne, the portal countdown will occur. I suggest you give farewells now.¡± Logan stared at the throne for a few seconds before turning to Marcus, pulling a bag out of his inventory and holding it out. ¡°This is for you, it won¡¯t pay back how much you helped me, but I won¡¯t have use for them anymore.¡± Marcus moved to take the bag, hesitated for a second, and then grabbed it from Logan¡¯s grasp. ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be seeing each other again unless I find some way to come back from the other side¡±, Logan announced as he looked to the side. ¡°It¡¯d be nice if that was the case. But if it was the deities who brought you here, maybe only they can let you back.¡± ¡°Who knows? Maybe I will learn portal magic after this¡±, Logan replied with a half smile. ¡°Logan¡ª¡±, Marcus started before Logan cut him off. ¡°Thank you, Marcus. My time here has been hectic and hazardous. My first steps were met with blood and fear. With you at my back, I was able to lose a lot of that fear. I just wished I could have done more for you, or kept my word of sorting this world¡¯s issues out¡±, Logan recited, looking at his friend. Marcus shook slightly, reaching deep for the courage he needed to reply. ¡°I felt like no one was ever in my corner, I was used, abused, and discarded when I was no longer needed. Even my parents gave me up before I could remember them.¡± Logan¡¯s eyes opened further, hearing the deepest thoughts of his ally who had become so strong. ¡°Sometimes¡­ I just wanted to give up the ghost. Throw in the towel¡±, Marcus continued, his eyes teary. ¡°And then, one day, suddenly, a man who saw me at my weakest lent their hand¡±, he continued as he looked Logan in the eyes, ¡°you, Logan. You stood in front of me. You filled my corner, I was fully in the centre of your ring.¡± Marcus then held out his fist to Logan, ¡°I don¡¯t expect anything else from you, because you gave me everything I needed to keep going.¡± Logan bumped Marcus¡¯s fist, the Devout retreating his arm as it was reciprocated. Logan then stepped forth and wrapped his arms diagonally across his friend¡¯s back. Marcus weakly brought up his own arms to return the hug. Logan could feel the shivering cries of his friend on his shoulder. How could he respond? He wasn¡¯t used to this kind of gushing, or inner emotions coming out. Logan¡¯s tears had almost dried up in the wake of his mother If he would have had a brother, he would have liked it to be Marcus. Pulling away, the pair rubbed their faces clean. Taking a deep breath they composed themselves. ¡°I couldn¡¯t have asked for anyone better¡±, Logan announced. ¡°And the same for me.¡± Turning to the throne, Logan held up a hand, took a final look at Marcus, and then chanted, ¡°Flame Shot.¡± A final tuft of fire formed within Logan¡¯s palm before being shot across the air, leaving a steam trail behind it. Blasting into the throne, the flames cascaded all around it, the ice cracking on impact. A second went by before the throne cracked a second time, the tips crumbling away as the seat collapsed. A wave of cold winds shot out from the throne, pushing back the duo¡¯s hair and robes. Before long the winds died, and the temperature in the room started to slowly rise. In the place of the throne was a pile of ice, and in its centre, a floating dagger. An aquamarine pommel, platinum handle, and a large blade of shifting and reflecting crystal, whirling wind of spellforce hugging the weapon. By its side, Logan saw his quest complete itself. ¡°Quest - Halt the Ice King''s Rise, has been completed. You achieved 2 additional objectives during the mission and as such your rewards will be increased. Distributing rewards¡­¡± ¡°The reward for your quest completion is as follows: Walking up, Logan grasped the dagger in his hand, a dark-blue sheath forming around it as the winds faded. Looking at the length of the dagger, Logan was a bit surprised, ¡°If we had waited a bit longer this would have been a shortsword.¡± ¡°The antithesis of Cassius¡±, Marcus mentioned, his eyes a bit red. Walking away from the throne, placing the dagger on his hip, Logan turned to Marcus, ¡°You gained a level from that, by the way, want that skill?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Logan quickly spent Marcus¡¯s two skill points and gave him the Partnered Growth skill. ¡°A farewell gift.¡± Marcus had also gained another skill point, which was put into a skill called Self Empowerment, at Fol¡¯s suggestion. It would let Marcus use enhancing and healing spells on himself as a silentcast without any extra cost. As the words escaped his mouth, a timer appeared in front of him. This was followed by the grinding of ice as a large hidden wall revealed itself as it retreated upwards, showing a hidden corridor to a new chamber, an arrow noting it was where Logan¡¯s portal lay. ¡°That¡¯s my cue to leave¡±, Logan announced as he walked to the new doorway. ¡°I guess there was another way out of here¡±, Marcus spoke as he followed. The pair reached a large dome-like room, at the opposite end was a staircase leading upwards, away from view as the ceiling and walls covered them as they ascended. Spark whirred out of existence as they entered, a window popping up, ¡°Summoning magic is disallowed in this area.¡± ¡°Guess it¡¯ll just be me¡±, Logan said as he walked to the bottom of the staircase. ¡°I wish your journeys hold no more twists and turns. Give my regards to your father¡±, Marcus spoke as he stopped a few steps behind. Logan turned around and gave Marcus a final hug. ¡°Thanks again, for everything.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll carry your torch in this world.¡± Letting go, Logan started to climb the stairs, but with his first step, he heard the screams of monsters behind them. Marcus looked back and then at Logan, ¡°Go, I can handle the leftovers¡±, he said as he drew up his dagger. ¡°Thanks¡±, Logan replied as he began to climb the stairs. At the very top, Logan could hear the whirring of wind again, but this time it was accompanied by dog barks, the revolving tyres of cars, and a honk here or there from their horns. Looking over the steps he finally saw it, a glimpse of home, a nighttime cityscape that was his last location. Earth wasn¡¯t any different in his absence, but he was without it. --- *** --- Chapter 98 - A Final Decision Logan stared into the portal to Earth. The nighttime lights were comforting to him, a memory of only having to worry about getting run over by a truck in a thunderstorm. A few steps and he¡¯d no longer have to worry about monsters hunting him, deities playing with him, or others having their lives placed into his hands. ¡°I¡¯m coming home, Dad¡±, Logan thought to himself as he took a few steps toward the portal. ¡°Marcus has run out of MP¡±, a window alerted Logan. His head darted behind him, but all he could see was ice and the low-ceiling stairwell. The sounds of combat alerted him that his ally was in danger, but Marcus said he could handle it. ¡°Was it more than goblins?¡± Logan thought to himself as Marcus¡¯s health started to drop. ¡°Time until portal closes 2:26¡­ 2:25¡±, the timer counted down at the side of his vision. ¡°Fuck!¡± Logan cursed in his head. ¡°Logan, the portal will not stay open long enough for you to aid Marcus¡±, Fol told Logan. Turning to look at the portal, Logan was conflicted. Would Marcus survive what was attacking him? ¡°72/110 HP.¡± ¡°Ever since we met, I¡¯ve used your power, used your skills, all to help me get further ahead in my own goals¡±, Logan thought as images of Marcus healing him over and over flashed through his mind. ¡°60/110 HP.¡± ¡°All I did to make you strong was to make me stronger!¡± Logan thought as he remembered the times spent reading with Marcus at their inn. ¡°110/110 HP¡­ 87/110 HP.¡± ¡°Just like anyone else, you were a tool I could take advantage of, just like I was¡±, Logan thought back to the times he and Marcus hunted criminals, and when he was taken advantage of at work. ¡°2:08.¡± ¡°110/110 HP¡­ 67/110 HP.¡± Logan¡¯s legs moved on their own, kicking off his platform he darted down the staircase, the ceiling blocking any hopes of teleportation down it. ¡°I¡¯m not letting someone else die because of my own selfish desires¡±, images of Logan¡¯s past allies flashing through his eyes. Steps echoed downwards and upwards as Logan ran the fastest he could down the icy steps, almost leaping down them. ¡°1:55.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not the wood to my flame, you¡¯re my friend!¡± an image of Marcus¡¯s smiling face as they arrived in Gauntlet together. ¡°Logan, you can¡¯t go back from this¡±, Fol spoke in Logan¡¯s head. ¡°35/110 HP.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not a tool, you¡¯re¡­¡± Logan had almost reached the bottom of the stairs, seeing Marcus deflect the gnashing teeth of a hidden frost snake with the dagger entrusted to him. Logan jumped. ¡°Marcus! Duck!¡± Logan yelled. Marcus turned his head around in surprise but ducked nonetheless. Logan held out his arms as he activated his rings, large flames flowing from his palms and behind him as he lept in the air. Both were sent flying towards Marcus, careening over his head and colliding with invisible foes that were sieging him. Landing with a slide, Logan grabbed Marcus¡¯s robe and pulled him back, waving his hand across the floor with the other. Large columns of fire flowed upwards, creating a wall of heat. ¡°But your portal!¡± Marcus shouted in protest. ¡°1:41¡±, the timer continued to count down. ¡°You¡¯re more important!¡± Marcus couldn¡¯t argue further, instead, he drew out more potions to down to bring him back from dangerous damage. Logan wouldn¡¯t deal much damage with his new artefact, the monsters besetting him now were resistant to the ice damage it would deal. Instead, he pulled a Bowen dagger from his rib sheaths to place in the mouth of another biting frost snake. Twisting his arm, Logan twirled the flying menace, let go of the blade in its mouth and grabbed its neck. ¡°Flame Grasp¡±, he chanted, the frost snake getting engorged instead in dazzling fires. Darting past him was a renewed Marcus, driving his overpowered blade into a leaping goblin and throwing them to the floor. The roar of the first ice golem was heard in the chamber, its massive stature made of solid ice painted it to be quite the daunting foe. Warping out of his previous place, Logan appeared behind the golem, placed a hand on its back and chanted again, ¡°Flame Grasp¡±, igniting the mass of ice and meltings its frame as it fell to the floor. Two writhing masses flew through the air as they darted for the Spellthief, one colliding with the thrown dagger of Marcus, the other sinking its teeth deep into Logan¡¯s shoulder. Grabbing ahold of it he cursed, ¡°Fuck off¡±, the invisible foe getting shocked to its core as Logan used a Lightning ring. Throwing the smouldering corpse to the floor, Logan aimed at the other snake in the air, ¡°Flame Shot¡±, blasting it against the ceiling with another explosion of red danger. Darting backwards, kicking up the Goblin-Killer blade, Logan handed it back to Marcus as he checked the timer. ¡°1:08.¡± Snapping his fingers alerted him to more oncoming forces. Waving his hand over the entranceway, Logan chanted, ¡°Flame Wall¡±, six times. Columns of flames emanated and overlapped in front of him in an annoying crackling mess. Several icicles came through the walls of fire, turning into water as they passed through and splashing the floor, though also dissipating parts of the fiery barriers. Goblins jumped through but were hit with Force micks before they could make any further hassle. The ultimate foe was another white warg, leaping through the gaps of the fire it landed with a slide across the watery path, lunging again at Logan. Disappearing and reappearing behind the foe, Logan planted a hand on its back as he chanted once more, ¡°Flame Grasp¡±, incinerating the last monster that would harm his friend. ¡°0:36.¡± ¡°Shit¡±, Logan cursed as he began to run away from the floating experience numbers. ¡°0:25.¡± ¡°C¡¯mon¡±, he pleaded as he ran up the stairs, some of his blood dripping on the steps behind him. ¡°0:19.¡± Warping in and out with his last MP, he even grasped his necklace for more, Logan hastened further. He couldn¡¯t see much ahead of him, and what he could was obscured, making teleports difficult or not worth it for reclaiming his running posture. ¡°0:08.¡± Appearing in front of the portal, Logan saw it begin to close. Jumping forwards with an arm outstretched his fingers almost touched the portal. ¡°Logan, stop!¡± Fol screamed in his mind. Logan clenched his fist as the portal closed a few inches from his knuckles. Whirling into its centrepiece, the display of Earth collapsed and faded away, leaving a blurry purple mist. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Landing on his knee, Logan punched the floor. ¡°Why did you tell me to stop?¡± he asked Fol in his head. ¡°If you weren¡¯t all the way through, what was left would be cut off.¡± ¡°Damnit¡±, Logan exclaimed as he punched the floor again, cracks forming across the ice. A window appeared to his side, but Logan ignored it for now. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to Bloodcast. What if it left me weak back on Earth? I didn¡¯t know if I could even heal back there. It wouldn¡¯t even have gotten me much closer¡±, he reconciled in his head. It was true, he¡¯d probably be halfway through the portal with an extra cast or two, with how the stairwell was constructed. He couldn¡¯t teleport through or midway in the portal as explained by Fol. Footsteps echoed again as Marcus chased after his ally, seeing him still here and with no portal he placed a hand on Logan¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡±, Marcus said quietly. ¡°It isn¡¯t your fault, it never was¡±, Logan replied as he stood up. Turning to Marcus with a forced smile he spoke, ¡°There¡¯s always next time.¡± ¡°Why did you stay?¡± ¡°My Dad has carers for him, you were on your own. Yours was an immediate death, alone. I couldn¡¯t make that choice.¡± ¡°Logan, I¡­¡± Logan turned around and began to walk down the stairs, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± As the pair descended the stairs in silence, Marcus showed a mix of sadness and happiness, while Logan was just as conflicted with other emotions. Opening the window that had interrupted him, Logan looked over it. ¡°The ¡®portal¡¯ reward was not received, a new reward will now replace it.¡± Another window appeared, displaying that a level 16 variant of the Spellthief¡¯s Garb had been added to his inventory. Logan sighed, ¡°I got a consolation prize in return for missing my portal¡±, he mentioned aloud. ¡°Is it any good?¡± Marcus asked. Logan was about to answer by summoning it, but was interrupted by Fol again. ¡°Logan, with my upgrade I can now grant you equipment sets. If you wish, I can set your current one as Flame-Spec, and swap out your armour for this new reward.¡± ¡°Sure, do it.¡± In a blink of magenta light, Logan¡¯s fire salamander coat was changed out for his new armour, and the familiar colours of dark pink, black, dark blue, and yellow adorned him once again. Marcus¡¯s eyes widened as he saw the display. ¡°That¡¯s like Cassius¡¯s ring!¡± As Logan¡¯s feet hit the floor of the lower area he exclaimed, ¡°Fuck!¡±, placing his face into his hand. ¡°Why¡¯d this have to happen? Can¡¯t they just let me go?!¡± he continued. ¡°What?¡± Logan turned to Marcus, ¡°It¡¯s not your fault, because it¡¯s theirs!¡± he continued as he pointed to the ceiling. ¡°No wonder I heard nothing about any of this on Earth, no one has left!¡± ¡°Logan.¡± ¡°These numbers, these effects, this fucking magic. It just pisses me off. They give me items as if they are meant to make me feel better about all of this.¡± ¡°But even-¡± ¡°And you. They¡¯re fucking around with you too. Used you as a doll on strings with scissors snipping over your head.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what to say, Logan. You have a right to be angry, but there has to be some reason¡±, Marcus tried to reconcile. ¡°Would be lovely to hear it¡±, Logan replied as he ran his hand through his hair. The pair¡¯s conversation was cut off short though, with several footsteps approaching them from the doorway. Readying themselves for combat, the two stared out into the throne room, but were surprised to see familiar faces. ¡°You two alright? I found some monsters but they ran past me¡±, Cassius asked. ¡°Same here¡±, Koma added with Patavava at her back. ¡°Yeah, we just had an ambush when we opened up this chamber¡±, Logan replied, composing himself. ¡°Nice find, seems there¡¯s another on the other side too¡±, Koma informed as she pointed over her shoulder. Cassius eyed up Logan¡¯s new attire and the dark-blue sheath at his hip. ¡°Looks like you already went through this room, let¡¯s check the other¡±, the leader spoke as he turned back. The rest followed him, Marcus giving Logan a look as if to say ¡°You alright?¡± with Logan giving a slight nod to his friend. Passing through the throne room, Logan saw another wall had opened up on the other side. The doorway had a hidey-hole on the left and right, possibly hiding some sort of rear-guard that went after Marcus. Further in, the doorway ended in a large treasure room. Piles of assorted coins, jewels and gems, alongside weapons, armour, and trinkets galore. This room held more than all the previous hoards did, combined. The party halted behind Koma who was looking over the floor, walls, and ceiling. Her senses were keener when it came to hidden walls but also traps of various kinds. A few moments passed before she gave a thumbs up for the party to move inwards. Patavava waved his hands over the coins, using a Mick that Logan hadn¡¯t seen thus far. ¡°There¡¯s 46 gold, 94 silver, and 6 copper here. If we converted it into higher denominations¡±, the gashriek calculated. ¡°Plenty more if we sell off this stuff¡±, Koma mentioned as she picked up an icy bow, ¡°dibs on this though.¡± ¡°We can sort through it on the trip back to Gauntlet. Looks like Logan found his own things too¡±, Cassius put forth, turning to Logan he continued, ¡°I take it that you destroyed the throne?¡± ¡°Yeah, fit of anger and all that¡±, Logan lied. Cassius sighed as he walked back to the throne room, staring at the remains of the seat. ¡°I would argue that choice heavily, though nothing has come out of it aside from two side rooms opening.¡± ¡°How come?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°There are many mechanisms at play here, the throne possibly one of them. Who was to say that destroying the throne would bring about an early revival, or collapse the dungeon?¡± ¡°Sorry, wasn¡¯t thinking about that¡±, Logan apologised, though he was sure nothing bad would come of it if it was a system quest task. Cassius wiped his face with his hand, ¡°It all worked out, so I¡¯ll just warn you for later dungeons. I¡¯ve had two collapse on me because a teammate destroyed a prominent part of it like that.¡± ¡°A collapse would have the same effect as destroying it from the outside, right?¡± Koma asked from far away. ¡°Yeah, the dungeon leaks out to the surface and isn¡¯t contained any longer.¡± ¡°I filled Logan in on a bit of that¡±, Koma continued as she picked up two bags and brought them out. ¡°Logan, catch¡±, she said as he flipped a bracelet to the Spellthief. Catching the bracelet, Logan looked over the window that appeared with it. ¡°Ah, thanks¡±, Logan said as he slipped off his old one to replace it with the higher variant. ¡°Works best for hunters¡±, Koma mentioned as she returned to the room. As Logan put on the new cache arm, he could feel a slight wind around his head, Marcus could see that Logan¡¯s headbands and earrings disappeared before his eyes. ¡°Didn¡¯t hide a whole lot¡±, the Devout said as he pointed at Logan¡¯s head. ¡°I don¡¯t have any anti-identification skills yet, so this will be quite handy.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a common item for adventurers over rank 12 who have to deal with traitors¡±, Cassius mentioned as he revealed a similar trinket on his wrist. ¡°As third in command, you do have to weed out those¡±, Patavava said off handily as he also brought out bags. Cassius sighed, ¡°You might not get much more than that, with the spellforce I can sense from the new dagger at your hip¡±, Cassius said as he moved to help move the items. ¡°Can they tell it¡¯s an artefact without holding it?¡± Logan thought to himself as he looked down at the frozen lord¡¯s edge. Moving to aid in the moving of the equipment, Logan counted several items amongst them that could be of use. Though thinking on it, he wasn¡¯t going to get as many if he kept the dagger for himself. Since he was in a ¡°guild¡± party, he would get more of an even split, but much of it was assigned to such a powerful weapon.
With the treasure room clear, the party split up once again to explore the rest of the dungeon. Cassius went with Koma, while Patavava joined Marcus and Logan. No more surprises were awaiting either part, as the final wave seemingly held the last of the monsters within this cave. As they searched, Marcus could feel the temperature in the icy underground rise slightly, though Logan didn¡¯t even notice it was cold with the Ice King¡¯s traits active on him. The season was officially into the ¡°falling¡± as they left the ¡°heat¡± season. So temperatures were still relatively high against the coldness of the caverns. With the Ice King¡¯s rise being halted, the rise in temperature wasn¡¯t surprising, at least for Logan who knew his actions had stopped his revival. But, it would bring questions from the MT and seers who had foreseen the Ice King¡¯s return. His team was the last seen entering, so they would be the first suspects. He¡¯d have to deal with it later. Previous teams never mentioned the devour rooms, so it is possible previous teams never touched the throne either, sharing the same concerns as Cassius. Facing a threat every ten years was a preferable outcome to releasing a dungeon into the wild.
It reached the end of the day before Logan¡¯s mapmaking showed his team had cleared their side of the dungeon. Completely quiet aside from their footsteps and discussions. Cassius¡¯s side has a similar affair aside from two more traps that Koma dealt with. After searching, the group spent time ferrying the loot to the entrance chamber. Several devour rooms, component sacks, and the treasure room at the end. With a swift punch into the icicle wall that blocked their exit, Cassius allowed warm air to seep into the chamber. This time the icicles did not reform, showing that the dangers inside had been subjugated. The team, outside of Logan, all showed signs of slight shock over their faces, unsure as to the change in temperature. ¡°Isn¡¯t it still meant to be cold out?¡± Koma asked. ¡°Yeah, we have two months or so till the Ice King revives. It should feel like the chill¡±, Patavava replied. ¡°This is concerning, either the Ice King is not coming back this year, or, his powers have moved elsewhere¡±, Cassius theorised. ¡°The G-Hall will probably alert the MT to this. With the dungeon clear they can move inside without worry and investigate¡±, Koma said. Turning to face Logan, Patavava continued, ¡°It might have been the newcomer¡¯s destruction of the throne.¡± ¡°Possibly. They will see its rubble regardless. If it comes to it, Logan, you may be getting a lot of praise, or a lot of hate¡±, Cassius said as he looked at the Spellthief. ¡°I guess I have to take responsibility for my actions¡±, Logan said off handily. ¡°It¡¯ll be great if the Ice King didn¡¯t revive, would save the lives of many who would be sent against them¡±, Marcus added. ¡°Below, if that quest is already complete before it starts, we may get paid for it anyway¡±, Cassius thought aloud. Koma chuckled, ¡°A nice thought.¡± Moving around the base of the mountain, the party found the carts and carriages used by previous teams. Finding their previous mounts who had food set aside for them, the team hitched their mounts to the vehicles and started to load them up with goodies. Logan continued to use Clean to make sure no foul smells were present. --- *** --- Chapter 99 - You Make the Bed You Lie In The creaking of wood wheels, the stomping of horse hoofs into dirt and grass. Hearing the sounds of nature and normality put the party at ease. Logan rotated his arms as he moved the reins between his hands, his shift in the driver¡¯s seat allowing him a nice perch after resting his back on cold floors. A calming forest was just what the party needed after their excursion through the frost monarch¡¯s cavern. It was obvious that adventurers had been through recently, arrow holes in the trees and singe marks across the grass led to the south. Logan could only guess that the crowbolds in the area had been exterminated. With no active quest in his log, Logan¡¯s mind wandered to what would be the best action to take next. He wasn¡¯t going home anytime soon, and seeing the dangers of portal quests he didn¡¯t want to start one unprepared. Though he would most likely have to work through a few normal quests before another portal one appeared. ¡°Logan, what will your next action be?¡± Fol asked. ¡°I¡¯m thinking. Seeing Cassius and his team¡¯s power, I feel that it may be better to stay lower level and lean on the powers of others to boost me through quests.¡± ¡°Do you believe they will continually help you?¡± ¡°No. Unless I join their guild.¡± ¡°What of their taxes?¡± ¡°That is a deterrent, but the experience tax might not be as much of a hassle as I initially thought.¡± ¡°It would keep the difficult of the quests lower.¡± ¡°But then there¡¯s the fact that if I rely too much on them, I may become sluggish and blunted¡±, Logan worried in his head. ¡°You¡¯ve certainly faced some harsher environments and events than the average adventurer.¡± ¡°If I am to work towards what I said earlier, I may need a guild¡¯s backing to do so.¡± ¡°If you were to join Lightbeam you may not be able to help casters join it. With you and Marcus, they would have six out of almost seventy with spellcasting.¡± ¡°Yeah. But, if I made my own guild¡­¡± ¡°You could invite whomever you wanted to.¡± ¡°I¡¯d also not have to worry about my interests being in opposition to Cassius, Prevesna, or the hero if he returns.¡± ¡°You would likely be allowed a certain degree of input, but you¡¯d be at the bottom rung as you start.¡± ¡°There¡¯s another bonus to forming my own guild. Finding other PCs.¡± ¡°You believe there may be others?¡± ¡°The history books might not have accounted for all of them. I have hidden my powers for some time, and several levels. Who¡¯s to say there aren¡¯t others out there who have done the same?¡± ¡°What of the PCs that follow the below¡¯s orders?¡± ¡°We are alerted when we see one another anyway. If I passed by, they would attack on sight as they did to Ahren. However, seeing how these quests operate, and the words chosen by the monsters, I have a feeling the below PCs might not work in the cities.¡± ¡°Would you not attract their attention more with a guild that harbours PCs?¡± ¡°I have been gaining a bit of a reputation in Gauntlet. If someone investigated me, they could probably find me easily enough. At least with a guild, I would have more backing for protection, and protecting those involved with me.¡± ¡°So your guild would be a safe haven for spellcasters and PCs alike?¡± ¡°Strength in numbers. Araxie and Fleur jumped at the chance of working with a leader who was a spellcaster. If a spellcaster ran a guild, there would be numerous other magi wanting to join.¡± ¡°This would protect them from duels, as mentioned before?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t change the attitude towards casters that quick. But I may be able to remove the threat of duels from them.¡± ¡°We could petition the royals to instate a new law that bans the use of duels.¡± ¡°We did help out that noble¡¯s son. We could ask him?¡± ¡°That would be a faster path to take for the said outcome.¡± ¡°So, duels and a guild. It¡¯s a start.¡± ¡°A guild would also take off the pressure from the MT. If you allowed any spellcaster, they would have a place to go as it seems the MT may be a more exclusive club.¡± ¡°Sharing our tomes would also aid both me and Marcus.¡± ¡°Whereas the MT would charge for said effect.¡± ¡°There¡¯s still the case of the missing pocket watches with that recording of me. I don¡¯t want to be near whoever it went to.¡± ¡°There is also that goblin mage who you think may be partnered to a below PC. We did not meet their master either.¡± ¡°Two adversaries in the background. If I am to be matched with PCs of equal power, that¡¯s another reason why I should improve my skills and gear, so that I am at the top tier of a level 16, rather than a level 24 with skills befitting someone much weaker.¡± ¡°If power at the same level is a goal, might I suggest researching deeper into demon stages, regeneration, and Summon Horde?¡± ¡°You read my mind¡­ though you¡¯re in my mind so I guess that is easy. Yeah. The first demon stage gave me a good boost, and there are twelve more to go with that. We heard of regeneration with that troll quest back in Tinte, so that should be easy to find. As for Summon Horde, that will lower my experience gain as well. With that, I can make Marcus closer to my level.¡± ¡°At some stage, your status as a PC might be found out. How shall we deal with that situation?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll deal with that when it comes to it. I¡¯m not sure any preparation would make a difference after being found out. What could I do?¡± ¡°It is a tough situation to be in. We could always argue you aren¡¯t a PC or Oracle.¡± ¡°If there was a way to test it, I couldn¡¯t argue it. But then Darius found me out from my sharp increase. There¡¯s a blood test to find heroes, with fewer Oracles is there a similar test?¡± ¡°I agree that it would be hard to prepare for. But I must ask, is your main goal still to leave? Are we awaiting the next portal quest?¡± ¡°Yeah, but it¡¯ll be some time. I will just put it out of my mind, it¡¯ll just annoy me otherwise.¡± ¡°Leaving a haven for spellcasters would be a much better present to this world than how we were going to leave it just now.¡± ¡°And it gives Marcus a better foothold without me.¡± Logan was then interrupted by a tap on his shoulder as Koma pulled herself into the driver¡¯s seat with the Spellthief. ¡°Your shift to get some rest¡±, she said as she opened her hands for the reins. ¡°Thanks¡±, Logan replied as he handed them over, ¡°how¡¯d the loot tallying go?¡± ¡°Almost done, another day and corroborating with the others will see it complete¡±, Koma replied as she pointed at the other two carriages. ¡°Good¡±, Logan said as he climbed through the white tarp that covered the carriage into the back area. Surrounded by crates and bags, Logan found a softer bag to lean his head down on, flipping through his system windows to look at interesting skills and spells he could obtain later. 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Three days of riding went by as the party made their way back to Gauntlet. The fourth saw them reaching the large portcullis gates into the capital city. Sleeping in the carriages was more comfortable than the grassy floors of the forests, protecting the party from wind and rain. The temperature continued to rise into the mid 10oC, a far cry from the chilly 0oC they had been experiencing. Logan was still comfortable, his whole body sitting at around 20oC. The Ice King''s traits made it so the cold no longer bothered him, and talking with Fol, it would seem it wouldn¡¯t alter the hotter climates so he didn¡¯t have to worry about overheating. Being at a constant tepid temperature, Logan was glad his newly donned coat didn¡¯t make him sweat. It always felt like he was in a nice room-temperature locale. If he were to enter a place at 21oC or higher, he¡¯d start to feel the heat. He was resistant to the cold, not the heat. Like his previous rewards, Logan could assume this was the fourth of five tiers of quality for the reward. If he had completed the mission without any party members dying, the resistance could have been higher. Hearing the sounds of civilised chatter, Logan climbed his way out of the back of the carriage to the driver¡¯s seat, next to Koma. The populace talked amongst themselves, rumours abound about the weather taking a drastic change. Some were fearful of what it meant, as a calm before a mightier storm. Others were joyful that their crops would not be harshly affected. Logan tried to not pay too much attention to it, idle chatter would wreak havoc on his imagination about what would come after. Making the long trip to the G-Hall, the party left the carriages in the hands of the elementals and went inside. As a stark contrast to his other visits, Logan and his party were treated to a grand welcome. Thunderous applause and cheers from the local adventurers were sent the party¡¯s way, with many similar cries. ¡°Great job, Raid Master Cass!¡± ¡°Is it true? You killed the Ice King prematurely?¡± ¡°Hail the Ice Slayer!¡± Making their way down a corridor of adventurers, the team entered the back rooms with cheers following them from behind. Cassius sighed, ¡°Sounds like people have put it together, or a seer let it slip. But they got the wrong idea.¡± Walking to the counter, the receptionist held a wide smile, ¡°Glorious returns! Cassius and crew.¡± By his side stood a man in a flowing grey robe, the ends of which moved as if like a heat mirage. Yellow eyes glowed as they stared at the Fighter, slicked-back black hair showing off a few wrinkles on the man¡¯s 40-something face. ¡°Cassius, we require a debrief with your team after you¡¯ve handled your quest details. Meet us at your guild house.¡± Cassius gulped, something that made even Logan scared. ¡°Yes, Archmage Zinzith¡±, he replied with a trembling voice. ¡°Zinzith?!¡± Logan shouted in his head. This was the archmage of the MT, someone Logan had only heard about until now. The man had a crazy aura about him as if surrounded by a constant wind. His hair flowed just as his robe did, even so far as pushing past pieces of paper. How was someone so powerful only 40? He must have had some magic to halt his ageing process. As he turned his gaze to Logan, the Spellthief felt what he could only assume to be a harsher effect than Cassius was. A wave of energy rained from head to toe, forcing Logan into a hunched position. Logan¡¯s eyes could make out a shimmering field around the man, almost two feet above his head to the ceiling. Zinzith moved his gaze to the side, the harsh power leaving Logan¡¯s shoulders and allowing him to stand. But he stood hunched a while, bracing for a follow-up. This must have been the magical aura effect he had been told of so long ago, Zinzith must have had an immense power dwelling in him, though he was said to be over rank 50. Without any mutterance, Zinzith had his body cut into ribbons with bright purple lines, disappearing. ¡°He can Teleport silently?¡± Logan thought to himself. ¡°Shit, we¡¯re in for it if the archmage is here¡±, Cassius cursed. Koma sat down in a nearby chair and called over, ¡°I¡¯m not taking any blame.¡± Cassius looked back, before turning to face the receptionist, ¡°I would like to submit an adjustment¡­¡±
The conversation went on for a half-hour, Cassius explaining the shifts and increased number of foes within the cavern. As well, he explained the devour rooms as a new development. Combining the poor intel granted, Cassius built a case for the quest to be given a higher danger rating. With Zinzith at the G-Hall just prior, the receptionist couldn¡¯t argue against Cassius¡¯s demands. He quickly wrote up a report and told the party their pay would be discussed in the evening. They would get recompense in the evening after. The team got their signets updated and left the dungeon backroom.
A few adventurers tried to start a conversation with the team, but were declined by Cassius as he told them they had to get a debrief. Taking the carriages with them, the whole party went back to Lightbeam. Entering the entrance hall, the party saw Prevesna easily standing her ground against Zinzith. She was probably higher level than Cassius, and could withstand that presence. ¡°You¡¯re back. Let¡¯s go to the meeting room¡±, Prevesna started. ¡°It is best we¡¯re not confined, let us talk here¡±, Zinzith replied. Prevesna was silent for a moment as she thought on it, ¡°That pressure could be bad in that small room, fine, here.¡± There was no one else in the entrance foyer, not even the attendant. Keeping his gaze on Prevesna, Zinzith started to speak as the party sat at the counter with their backs to it. ¡°I had a team investigate the Frost Monarch¡¯s Cavern where the Ice King is supposed to revive within. I was told to expect a normal arrival timeframe, if a bit hastened by local effects¡±, he began, pulling out a piece of paper from his robe, ¡°However, the winds have changed, and a quick reassessment from a local tower has informed me that the Ice King is no longer returning this year. Can you explain why that might be? Did you face him in combat?¡± Cassius waited a while to see if Zinzith was finished before replying, ¡°We did not face the Ice King. Though we fought close to six times the approximated forces in the dungeon. It housed several devour rooms, so I think that a shift occurred before we entered to make such.¡± ¡°Devour rooms. The Ice King has not used those before, our magi thoroughly investigate it each decade. A shift indeed. Six times is a large boost too.¡± Marcus then spoke up, ¡°So soon after the goblin war, it could have been due to their forces and corpses. Most of what I faced in the dungeon were blue goblins. Their spellforce isn¡¯t so dissimilar that forming like that would take too long.¡± Zinzith looked to the corner of his gaze, stopping just short of looking at Marcus. ¡°An admirable assessment. The goblin invaders used teleportation and portal magic, not unlike the Ice King. We theorised the same, but, if you faced an abnormal number of blue goblins that would solidify that theory.¡± ¡°There was also a new development. Lieutenant Frosts were seen at the entrance¡±, Cassius informed. ¡°Really? Those are only meant to be at the side of the Ice King a week after his revival, or after his death, never before.¡± ¡°Logan¡¯s team killed one previously, we killed the other after his team failed.¡± ¡°I shall talk with the G-Hall about making an adjustment if you haven¡¯t already¡±, Zinzith offered. ¡°We did.¡± ¡°Were there any artefacts within the dungeon?¡± Cassius looked to Logan as if to say, ¡°Show him.¡± Logan drew the dagger slowly and presented it, Zinzith holding out a hand to the side. A wave of energy shot out from his hand, grabbed the dagger, and flung it into the Sorcerer¡¯s hand telekinetically. Glancing at the blade, Logan could just barely make out Zinzith¡¯s eyes glowing as he Silentcast another spell. ¡°It seems the revival energies were confined into this blade. Though not all. The dungeon radiates a large amount of spellforce to be used in the revival. Apparently, it was used for something, but not all for this. Where was it found?¡± ¡°Was the power used to make my portal?¡± Logan thought. He didn¡¯t feel like lying here would do any good, Cassius could just say it for him anyway. ¡°After I destroyed the throne of ice.¡± Zinzith¡¯s grasp on the dagger tightened at the mention. ¡°Did you not think of what that could have caused?¡± Cassius spoke for Logan, ¡°He is new to dungeons, sir. This was his second from the G-Hall to clear.¡± ¡°Very well¡±, Zinzith replied as he flung the blade back into Logan¡¯s sheath from afar, ¡°you may keep that. It is not needed for our investigation any further.¡± Logan didn¡¯t know if he should thank the man or not, so he kept quiet as politely as he could. Zinzith continued, ¡°If the ice throne was what held his revival powers, and its destruction stopped his revival, we may call his continued existence ended. However, we shall monitor the dungeon, lest it leaks out to the surface and makes an even stronger enemy¡±, pointing at Logan, but not looking at him, he spoke further, ¡°I forbid you from entering any further dungeons, until such a time that you have read the Dungeon¡¯s Chronicle volumes one through three.¡± Logan thought it was a kind punishment for possibly dooming a part of this world. ¡°I accept these terms¡±, he replied. ¡°Cassius, I want a written report of all actions taken as soon as you¡¯re able to. Along with word of any intel you sell to the G-Hall.¡± Cassius replied, ¡°I shall do so. How should I contact you?¡± ¡°Talk to Eighther at the castle district¡±, Zinzith answered. ¡°I shall do so.¡± ¡°Till then¡±, Zinzith said before disappearing again, leaving the room much lighter. The whole team breathed heavily, as if keeping it all inside to not have everything fall out. Sweat adorned their brows as even the falling heat felt like an inferno. ¡°Do you understand the weight of the situation?¡± Prevesna asked towards the party. ¡°Certainly¡±, Cassius, Koma, and Patavava replied together. ¡°Yes¡±, Logan and Marcus replied. ¡°Good. The potential of a dungeon leaking to the surface is a major issue. So close to the capital, we¡¯d be beset with daily attacks until the MT found a way to contain it once again¡±, Prevesna continued as she looked directly at Logan, ¡°You are not to join our guild until a time when the MT are certain your actions in that dungeon will not have any lasting ill effects.¡± ¡°Understood¡±, Logan replied, knowing he¡¯d be a major reputation stain for the guild. The magical protection at the capital took time to activate, and was expensive to keep running due to the lack of magi in the capital. The goblin invasion came too quickly for it to see any use. ¡°For now, we¡¯ll all keep our mouths closed about the dungeon. Just say we cleared it and the MT is investigating. Nothing about what we faced or what we found. I don¡¯t want any loose ends beings used to choke us by the populace¡±, Cassius commanded. ¡°That works for me¡±, Logan accepted. --- *** --- Chapter 100 - A Spellthief Evermore Logan breathed a sigh of relief as he and Marcus, along with his elementals, left the Lightbeam guild house. His 57-day stay in the land of Avanar had been extended by approximately two months. He hadn¡¯t done much for the world in his time so far, but all of it had been used to improve his new powers in this new world. Magic, monsters, and deities on high and down low. Logan had come to terms with the new environment set before his feet. All would be against him, as would all be with him if he garnered their favour. Forming fire out of thin air, calling down lightning strikes, and even sapping the powers of his would-be foes. Logan knew the extent of his current powerset and that it needed to be condensed, not expanded. He had met Rogues who had mastered the Backstab skill, and casters with many more spells than he had in his head. ¡°Heighten what you have¡±, is what he thought. If he were to continue the sprint to a higher level, he would only be the lowest caste on the highest pedestal. With renewed vigour, out of the worst of situations, Logan reinstated his pledge that he would help the other casters of this world. Their only salvation was the MT or what guilds would have them. Seeing the power of a guild also showed him that he would have strength in numbers if he rallied the others. There would be countless foes ahead. Monsters in the fields. Monsters in the dungeons. As well as magi that could potentially synthesise his PC powers for their own gain. Logan would have to prepare. Conversing with Fol, he made plans. Talking with Marcus he confirmed several of them. Yet, there were those that watched.
Somewhere far away. ¡°Our quests have failed, Owen¡±, a male voice spoke in a dark chamber. ¡°Fret not, we must simply bide our time¡±, an older voice replied. ¡°My partner Krekka wasn¡¯t enough to finish off this newcomer, and he got no closer to Ahren¡±, the first spoke again. ¡°Gah, don¡¯t speak that name¡±, a female voice spoke up, ¡°that bastard killed my PC¡±, they continued under their breath. ¡°Ahren killed your master years ago, leave those memories behind, Tille¡±, the old voice spoke. ¡°That¡¯s three failures now, our quests will be delayed even further¡±, the first voice spoke again. ¡°Take the fault on your shoulders, you were the one who wanted to end things quickly¡±, the female voice argued. ¡°Shut your mouth, monster!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll show you a monster!¡± ¡°Enough!¡± the older voice yelled. The two others fell silent as their green eyes looked towards their supposed leader. ¡°With the Ice King¡¯s return halted, Zinzith¡¯s gaze will be occupied. He left the endless dungeon to answer the call of his meagre towers. Muster your forces. We must be ready for when he is occupied once more.¡± ¡°Very well, the goblins are all but gone at this rate. A thousand more will take time¡±, the first voice spoke. ¡°Your plan of overwhelming numbers did not work. I suggest we go for focused strength¡±, the female voice offered. ¡°What of Zack and the demons?¡± the older voice asked. ¡°No word. The heroes are still keeping him from contacting us¡±, the first voice replied. ¡°Why not just ambush the newcomer in the forest or even a dungeon?¡± the female asked. ¡°We must follow the rules of the system. Otherwise, ours and your powers will be taken back. We have gone over this¡±, the older voice explained. ¡°I don¡¯t need my PC¡¯s powers to kill that Spellthief!¡± ¡°You believe so?¡± the younger man asked. ¡°I¡¯ve done enough sitting around. I will enact the VU plan.¡± ¡°You tempted fate by transporting Darius¡¯s commwatch to his allies. Any step further with that plan of yours and we shall both denounce you. We¡¯ve lost too many PCs as it is to missteps like this¡±, the older voice issued. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine to be without her. Partners should not be involved in such high-tier discussion¡±, the younger man added. ¡°Screw you, human. I¡¯ve done enough posturing here.¡± ¡°If you attack him as you are, he will find out more than we desire. If you leave us, use others, not yourself, to take him down¡±, the older man ordered. ¡°Well, you both allowed him to learn how to teleport around. If I did such a thing he could just escape now. I¡¯ll make sure that teleportation grants him no escape¡±, the woman replied. Footsteps echoed in the dark chamber, the woman leaving the two men to their discussion. ¡°Our plans to this point have ended a dozen PCs, I won¡¯t stray from our path¡±, the young man announced. ¡°We still have our ace in the hole. Just wait for the proper quest to appear to use it.¡± ¡°What shall we do in the meantime? Just amass numbers?¡± ¡°Yes¡­ and give our friend a little help on the side perhaps.¡± ¡°I can incite some unrest in Helm, have that trickle down to Gauntlet¡±, the younger man offered. ¡°See to it, Habiki.¡±
In the guild hall of Tinte. Adventurers were talking amongst themselves as a large quest was currently recruiting at the hall. A handful of young-faced and raring-to-go men and women applying to gain riches and trinkets galore. The tanned-skin Fighter, Marsh Quay, was walking away from the crowd with parchment in hand. As he read the words thoroughly he bumped into a man in his path. ¡°Oh, sorry¡±, Marsh said as he put the parchment in his pocket. ¡°No worries, might you be a local?¡± the voice asked. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. ¡°That I am, did you need something?¡± Marsh replied as he pushed back some of his long raven hair. Pulling back his hood, the man revealed himself to be Xican, ¡°Yes. I am researching a friend of mine and I believe he may have come through here.¡±
In the church of Tinte. ¡°Your wound hasn¡¯t got any better, Marta¡±, a young male Devout informed. The church hadn¡¯t changed much in the past two months, though the atmosphere was quite sombre. The Devout, Marta, whom Logan had been healed by, and who Marcus said farewell to, was wincing in pain on a table. ¡°Dug¡­ too deep. Has word reached the capital?¡± a weak Marta asked. ¡°The runner should be there soon. We¡¯ll get help soon! Pondress as my witness, you will be cured¡±, the man promised. ¡°I hope it does not reach Marcus¡¯s ears that I have fallen so ill in his absence.¡± ¡°If only our supplies hadn¡¯t dwindled so soon.¡± ¡°The hunt is what takes me, Desma commands it. If I am to survive, it will be his will.¡±
Back in the Meek Moat Inn. ¡°Welcome back!¡± Yetveka called out as the door closed behind Logan and Marcus. ¡°Long day, bring out the ale¡±, Marcus called back as he jogged to the counter. ¡°Hey, Sincollo¡±, Logan greeted the saeben as he passed. ¡°Logan¡±, Sincollo nodded as he returned to his resting position in front of the fireplace. Pouring two tankards, Yetveka continued, ¡°Long day? I got a long amount of time to listen.¡± ¡°Dungeons being below as always¡±, Logan replied as he sat down. ¡°Taking up a variety of quests, aren¡¯t you? Most hunters I know mostly keep to hunting.¡± ¡°You could say that¡±, Marcus added as he sipped his drink. ¡°Speaking of, you know a lot about hunters, right, Yetveka?¡± Logan asked. ¡°More than most people, but the hunters themselves know more.¡± ¡°Do you know of any hunters who are in guilds, or even lead them?¡± ¡°Sure, there¡¯s Twain Dagger, that¡¯s headed by Mr Cross, though it only has six members. More of an official party.¡± ¡°That it?¡± ¡°For Gauntlet, yeah. With the hunters at this inn, there is only a dozen total. I think I mentioned it before, but you¡¯ll find others in the neighbouring settlements. They aren¡¯t all here.¡± ¡°Speaking of, did Ev¨¦n join up here?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°Yes, she did¡±, Yetveka replied with a smile. ¡°I suppose a guild for hunters isn¡¯t that important, since a lot of the work is solo or duo?¡± Logan asked. ¡°Pretty much. No dungeons to attack as a group, mostly stealth work. That¡¯s why you often find Rogues take on the work. Though saying that, most here are Fighters.¡± ¡°Well, at least I know I won¡¯t be the first to run one then¡±, Logan said off handily. Yetveka¡¯s eyes went wide at the mention, ¡°A hunter and a slotter as a guild leader? You¡¯ll be a first in that combination.¡± ¡°I would hope the others joined me, but I know they like their solo work¡±, Logan continued as he sipped his own drink. ¡°Actually, Gaemo and Ev¨¦n have been taking on hunts as a duo for a bit now.¡± ¡°And I, with Wriske¡±, Sincollo added as he sat on the floor next to the counter. Placing a tankard with a thick wooden straw in it in front of the saeber, Yetveka filled it with ale. ¡°Seems like that taste of companionship got you all hungry for it¡±, Marcus analysed. Sipping his straw, Sincollo stopped to reply, ¡°It is much easier, and faster, when in a team. Wriske allows me to be more¡­ aggressive in my apprehensions.¡± ¡°So, what do you say? Interested in joining my guild if I start one?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve surpassed rank 15?¡± Sincollo asked as he picked up his tankard to down the last part of it. ¡°Is that a requirement?¡± Logan asked. ¡°You¡¯ve not gone to the guild association?¡± Yetveka answered with a question. ¡°No, it was just a thought so far. I was going to investigate tomorrow.¡± ¡°Rank 15, and 5 gold. Alongside a guild house to, well, house your guildies¡±, Yetveka explained with a pointed finger. ¡°Sounds like my next payment is going towards that, or maybe, some more quests.¡± ¡°We got some time before that¡±, Marcus announced as he looked at Logan. The Spellthief could see this as a sign to wait for the MT to finish looking into the cavern. ¡°Right, we¡¯ll look into it and finalise it later.¡± ¡°So, a period of rest?¡± Yetveka asked. ¡°Just a short one. Do you know where Gaemo is right now by the way?¡± ¡°He¡¯s in his room, doing some reading I think.¡± ¡°Good, I need to ask him about the ooran postal service¡­¡±
Sometime later. Flying high above the forests, an ooran soared gloriously through the hotter winds that floated it above the dangers below. The 4¡¯ tall creature that was a mix of sparrow, raven, and hawk had tied around its chest a lockbox that clinked slightly as the beast flapped its wings. Gliding downwards to a small farming village, the ooran landed with a loud thud on the windowsill of one of the farmhouses, spooking its residents. ¡°Below, my heart hates when these things land so close¡±, a familiar voice called out. Walking to the window, lit up by the light of the sun, the 6¡¯ tall farmer with dark brown body hair showed himself to the ooran. ¡°Hello there, you looking for a Jrizan?¡± Jrizan asked, wiping his bald head of sweat. The ooran squawked as he nodded its head, pointing its beak to the lockbox tied to its chest. ¡°Well, who is this from I wonder¡±, Jrizan thought aloud as he untied the box. The ooran squawked again as it stretched its wings, shakings its body as if it had gone stiff from the box. The box was quite heavy in the farmer¡¯s hands, forcing him to quickly hop to a nearby table to lay it down with another loud thud. ¡°Below, what could this possibly be? I didn¡¯t order anything. You sure this is for Jrizan?¡± ¡°Squark!¡± ¡°Fine, fine.¡± Jrizan looked over the lockbox and found a rolled piece of parchment attached to its lock. Sliding it out, he unfurled it and read through it. ¡°Dear Jrizan, It¡¯s been some time since we last met, I hope you¡¯ve not forgotten the young man whose bleeding hand touched your bleeding heart. You helped me reach the village of Tinte and even set me up with a few days bed and board. The kindness you¡¯ve shown me I¡¯ve paid forward, yet I have yet to pay you back for a welcoming entrance to these lands. Do you remember when I asked how I could repay you? Well now¡¯s the time to pay those debts. I hope this covers it all. All my best wishes with your harvests. Logan.¡± ¡°Well, the lad has quite the handle on a quill. But what payment?¡± Jrizan spoke aloud, glancing at the ooran. ¡°Best open this and let the creature know that delivery is complete.¡± Clicking the lock of the box, Jrizan lifted the lid to reveal its contents. Ten rows of twenty silver coins each, part of the pay that Logan had received from his most recent quest. The coins glistened in the sunlight from the window that the ooran was slightly obscuring, it let out another squark as it saw the shininess of the contents. ¡°I¡­¡±, Jrizan was taken aback, almost frozen with a hand above the lid of the opened box. ¡°I said two silver, not two hundred!¡± he shouted with a wide smile. Thinking back to the day they talked about said pay, Jrizan knew the words clearly. ¡°No mind, kindness pays in kind, one day you''ll find someone in need and I hope you help them out, and if it just so happens to be me, well I can always do with a silver or two.¡± Picking out two coins, Jrizan tried to bend them. ¡°Just what has Logan done since we met?¡± he thought aloud. The ooran squawked again as it titled its head in the window. ¡°Yes, yes. The delivery is complete. You want to wait around for a return letter or something?¡± The ooran looked at Jrizan for a while, before pecking at the underneath of its wing. ¡°Fine, let me get my writing supplies¡­ you don¡¯t need to be fed do you?¡± As if on command, the ooran picked out a small rat from its feathers, threw it in the air with a tilt of its head backwards, and gulped it down. ¡°That answers that question¡±, Jrizan replied to himself as he started to fumble around for his writing utensils.
And so Logan¡¯s adventure continued. His beginning had ended, and the tale was starting to build surrounding the hidden Oracle amongst the populace. With a change in laws and a guild at his back, what else would stand against him? --- *** --- -- ** -- - * - ¡°Subject acquired, scan commencing¡± Chapter 101 - Message for Marcus (Marcus) It had been a week since Logan and Marcus had beaten the Frost Monarch¡¯s Cavern. Both spent some rest and relaxation time at the inn to cure their sore bodies, as well as read up on new tomes they had acquired with their payment for a job done. Their life in luxury through coin ended quite quickly when the tome prices stacked up. With two gold¡¯s worth of silver sent to an old friend, Logan also had to count his pennies for what to spend. With the MT investigating the changes in the dungeon and the lack of the Ice King, Logan and Marcus were lying low as it were. No more dungeon runs, even after Logan had read up on the instructional books as he was ordered. Logan created a new elemental to aid in his slower-level progression, an Aqua elemental he named Servoir, relating to a reservoir. The liquid body allowed it to seep through the gaps and cracks of doors and walls easier than his fellows. Even its elemental core was morphable, while Celsius, Fahrenheit, and Spark had more solid cores that would stop them from getting through such confines. Servoir was the first elemental summon to be Wisdom-based when compared to his other summons who all used Intelligence for their casting. It didn¡¯t have a higher starting value though, so it wouldn¡¯t be much better than his brothers. Marcus on the other hand read up on all the Signature Spell tomes the team had accrued to this point, selecting Heal as his Signature Spell. He had also purchased a tome for Power Thyself, which allowed his enhancing spells to improve himself more than others. It went well with the Self Empowerment skill Logan had unlocked for him back at the caverns. Logan had spent the remainder of his time taking on hunts, to increase his mastery of Backstab. The skill allowed him to deal more damage, but MP Thievery now allowed him to steal even more spells for a day. Absorbing his summons¡¯ spells, he went out to take down criminals near and far. Marcus stayed in the capital, continuing his physical training. It had done wonders for his fighting skills, so much so he was able to take on monsters in close quarters as well as Logan would at his level. It also allowed the Devout to make use of his higher-than-average Strength more. This proficiency solidified the theory that Logan had, about others being more competent than himself if his level increased so quickly that he couldn¡¯t train his skills and styles. One such avenue that Marcus was wholly focusing on with his training.
Over in the training fields of the guards, surrounded by tall brick buildings, Marcus was standing with six guards surrounding him. Everyone was garbed in leather armour, the guards wielded wooden variants of spears and swords. Marcus had a staff and wooden dagger in his hands. Panting, Marcus had sweat drip from his forehead to his cheek, to the sandy floor at his feet. Yellow turned to black as the battle ring was drenched in sweat and blood. A wave of grey energy flowed around Marcus as his enhancing magic had been at play, to keep him on pace with so many well-trained guards. Rushing and Dashing towards the Devout, all six guards attacked in unison. Spears shot forwards as swords were swung overhead and from the sandy floors. Swinging his right staff, Marcus parried a low strike with a sword and thrust his staff into the man¡¯s stomach, winding him and sending him backwards with the staff. There were plenty of weapons to be found on the floor in time, so he didn¡¯t need to hold too dearly onto what he had. Backstepping, Marcus wrapped his empty right hand and arm around a spear coming from behind to grapple it, twist it, and send the guard behind him flying over his shoulder, hitting the ground heavily. Dust and sand shot up from the impact, sweat and blood darkening the area even worse. Swiping upwards he deflected a shortsword and kicked downwards to hit another spear into the floor below. Striding up the shaft of the spear, Marcus kicked into the head of the spearwoman, and span into a heel drop in the swordsman¡¯s head. Both fell to the floor with Marcus landing solidly on his back and kicking back up to his feet. Two swords came at Marcus¡¯s back in a crossing slash. Kicking a dropped sword into his right hand, Marcus spun around to block the two strikes with sword and dagger. The wood clanking continued to fill the battle with a dull sound, even with the energetic moves being thrown about. Pushing back his attacks, Marcus spun the weapons in his hands as if to lose some of the tension. An onlooking man in black chainmail aimed his hand at the two attackers, a grey light dashing across the air into them as they both glowed a similar grey to Marcus. Enhanced, the two attackers followed their initial attack with flurries of sword slashes. Faster than before, Marcus had to deflect blow after blow, the wood across his weapons starting to crack from repeated use. Blocking to the left, blocking to the right. Marcus had to twist his head to and fro as the two enemies moved to his sides, making it harder to defend himself. Stepping back, Marcus had to plan his footwork so that he didn¡¯t tumble over himself, or trip over his foes¡¯ legs. All Marcus could do was smile, a wide grin adorning his face as his opponents lost theirs. Giving up his defence, he kicked off the floor towards his right foe, allowing the sword to clash into his shoulder. Dropping his dagger, Marcus wrapped his hand around his foe''s sword arm, and wrapped his other hand as he dropped his sword around the back of the man¡¯s neck. Heaving upwards, Marcus lifted the man as if he were doing a more dangerous vertical suplex. Twisting his body, Marcus slid his foot across the floor as sand was kicked up, twirled his grip and threw the man at the other opponent. Soaring through the air, the attack baffled the opponent, the one thrown yelling out. The man slammed with so much force into the other¡¯s chest that it winded him greatly, and disorientated the one thrown. Kicking up both his blades into his hands, Marcus jumped onto the two men and slammed them into their chests, halting at their gambeson. Marcus stayed atop them for a while as he panted into the floor, a manly voice calling out. ¡°Alright, the fight is over.¡± Marcus stood slowly, the grey aura around him exploding outwards weakly as it faded away, his hair falling to his face. Running a hand through his hair, Marcus helped the two men beneath him to their feet. ¡°What¡¯s that now? Eight to one?¡± the left man said as he stood, rubbing his neck. ¡°Would have been two if the captain Enhanced you further¡±, Marcus replied with a chuckle. ¡°Arh. Why¡¯d you have to throw him into me¡±, the right man said, rubbing his chest. ¡°Spur of the moment, I needed to take you both out.¡± ¡°How the below is a Devout keeping up with our strength?¡± one of the guards at the back asked rhetorically as they stood. Walking to the side of the ring, Marcus deposited his weapons on a rack and walked to the one who had called the fight to a halt. The man¡¯s black chainmail hugged a set of dark-brown leather armour beneath, his knees and elbows holding plate mail protectors. Muddy brown eyes looked over the troops, a hand running through his short brown hair as the wind pushed it around. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Seems you¡¯ve become quite able at fighting multiple foes, Marcus¡±, the man observed. ¡°All thanks to your training, Captain Gaius¡±, Marcus replied as he wiped his face on a towel. ¡°From your tales amongst those under me, it would seem the monsters are also giving you quite the training outside the walls too.¡± Drinking from a waterskin, Marcus replied, ¡°That too, sir. I have been the favoured target of many, and more.¡± ¡°I noticed you¡¯ve stuck with your ¡®form three¡¯, what about the fourth I saw you trying out before?¡± Gaius asked with a raised eyebrow. ¡°Still working out the movements and spellforce usage for that, sir. The books are quite extensive, so it¡¯s taking time.¡± ¡°Why not train with that? If you¡¯re having issues that is.¡± ¡°Forms one through three are more known to me. Four is a newcomer. I don¡¯t want to leave my current styles behind whilst trying to work on something that¡¯s unstable.¡± ¡°Staff, dagger, and dual-wield. I¡¯ve seen many Devouts adapt to the same ways of fighting. You¡¯re the first I¡¯ve seen use that ¡®four¡¯ you¡¯ve been testing.¡± ¡°I was suggested it by Reykeg, and he showed me the appropriate tomes to learn such.¡± Gaius laughed, ¡°Are you sure that bookkeeper wasn¡¯t just trying to weasel the coin from your pouch?¡± ¡°I am. I can tell it¡¯s going to be much stronger than what I got going right now. It¡¯ll just take time to get adjusted. As well as requiring a few skills to back it up.¡± ¡°Maybe you¡¯ll be able to take me down when it comes to that point¡±, Gaius replied teasingly. Cracking his knuckles and neck, Marcus replied, ¡°Want to test out how far it has come?¡± Placing a hand on the hilt of his sword, Gaius said, ¡°Oh, it seems the adrenaline reached your head.¡± The two faced off with toothy grins, only to be interrupted by the shouting of an approaching woman, ¡°Scythe! Monsters at the wall!¡± All of the guards started to drop their training weapons, pick up nearby weapons, and run towards the wall. The training area was close to the walls, the Scythe regiment being designed to help the local vicinity of Gauntlet during attacks and invasions. Theirs was the first sent out to the surrounding settlements in the goblin invasion. Darting their heads to the wall, Marcus and Gaius charged. Throwing out an arm to the Devout, Gaius warped into his centre with him in tow, blasting outwards at the top of the battlements. Many guards jumped at the apparition, but ignored it when they saw a captain appearing with it. Marcus was a common sight too, having helped with and getting helped by the training sessions for the guards. Looking over the wall, the pair saw a small band of four enraged orcs chasing down a running Devout. Blood trailed behind the running victim, which probably set the orcs on a rampage to finish their kill off and put meat back on the menu. ¡°Tend the wounded!¡± Gaius ordered as he gripped Marcus¡¯s shoulder. Warping to their centres again, the pair appeared in the air between the orcs and the Devout. Marcus landed and ran beside the Devout, placing a hand on their back as he healed them. Grabbing his blade handle, Gaius drew it lightning-quick, severing the head of the first orc, it then let off a red mist as he cleaved into the next. Two 7¡¯ masses of green muscle landed on the floor, the two behind them sweating in fear at seeing their fellows felled in a single swing each. The glow in their red eyes dimmed as the rage left them. ¡°Pigs to the slaughter¡±, Gaius spat as he twirled his blade. The orcs took a step back, one of them swinging their large curved sword widely at the captain. Gaius¡¯s blade spun and collided with the orc¡¯s, before the following slashes went through its arm and then through its head, severing it diagonally. The snout of the dead orc spewed a river of blood and snot. Darting his right hand off his weapon and into his left, Gaius skipped forwards and grappled the wrist of the last orc, twisting it and disarming the foe before its attack could connect. Dragging the arm he made a large opening, slashed upwards and then drove the blade into its chest, the red eyes dimming further to white as it fell to the floor. Spinning the blade, Gaius flicked the blood from it and sheathed. Holding up his fingers he drew a bell from his belt and rang it. A few seconds passed before he turned to return to Marcus. ¡°Aev? You ok?¡± Marcus asked the man in blood-soaked clothing. ¡°Yes, thank you.¡± ¡°You know this man?¡± Gaius asked as he approached, his head scanning the trees in the distance. ¡°Yeah, we were in the same church in Tinte.¡± ¡°Were these orcs in a large band?¡± ¡°No, sir, they were looting a fallen adventuring party on the road.¡± ¡°His wounds weren¡¯t that bad, but orcs could have killed him in another swing¡±, Marcus informed as he stood straight. ¡°I got cut twice but was able to Heal myself before I got there. I have no spellforce left, so I was lucky you two were close.¡± Several guards rushed to the situation, a good two hundred feet from the gates. ¡°You four, search south, you four, search west. Check a half-mile and then return¡±, Gaius ordered, the guards saluting and moving out. ¡°You didn¡¯t lose anything in the attack, did you?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°No¡±, Aev responded as he looked to his side and patted his satchel, ¡°I got everything.¡± ¡°What brings you to Gauntlet? Aside from bringing monsters to our door?¡± Gaius asked. The man looked at Marcus, sweat across his face, ¡°A letter for aid, but¡­¡± ¡°Tinte require forces? Goblin leftovers?¡± Gaius asked. ¡°No. Medical reasons. But we didn¡¯t want to worry Marcus¡±, Aev continued, not wanting to lie to Gaius. ¡°Well, I¡¯m here. Might as well tell me now. I could be of help.¡± ¡°Not unless you got a lot of coin handy.¡± ¡°What?¡± Aev was reluctant, but pulled out his letter and handed it to Marcus. ¡°Something you can help with?¡± Gaius asked, looking over Marcus¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Supply shortage? The recent war and skirmishes must have eaten them all up. But this talks about interior damage and injuries to Marta.¡± ¡°She¡­ she took a major hit, it destroyed most of her stomach. She¡¯s barely hanging on with normal magical healing.¡± ¡°So, regeneration is required¡±, Marcus replied as he furled up the parchment. ¡°Internal, yes. We can¡¯t open her up to get at what needs regeneration, and we have nowhere near the experience to be able to use the spells without the reagents.¡± ¡°That is quite expensive, three hours of constant medical attention, magic, and reagents¡±, Gaius calculated. ¡°She¡¯d have to die¡±, Marcus spoke without emotion. ¡°We¡¯ve nowhere near the ten gold to throw at something like that. Let alone the people to enact it.¡± ¡°You were looking for a handout?¡± Gaius asked. ¡°No, an exchange of services.¡± ¡°That¡¯d be quite some time, and Tinte would falter for it¡±, Marcus announced. ¡°We¡¯re low on Devouts as it is¡±, Aev mentioned. ¡°Were the losses heavy from the war?¡± ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re down to five at the church.¡± ¡°Marcus, I doubt our churches have finished their recovery from the war either, let alone recent events and what is coming about from the Ice King¡±, Gaius informed. ¡°Yeah, they¡¯ll want to be safe. One Devout might not be worth their risk for a loan.¡± ¡°What? So Marta will just die?¡± ¡°No¡±, Marcus said quickly, ¡°Logan and I can foot the cost. But we won¡¯t have to if we can grant her an innate regeneration. She will live. Tinte had issues with trolls before.¡± ¡°We did, but no word since¡±, Aev replied a bit bemused. ¡°I am friends with a ¡®seer¡¯, we could find some more.¡± Gaius raised an eyebrow, ¡°That your hunter friend? The one who didn¡¯t need our training?¡± ¡°That he is. I wonder where Logan is now...¡± As the three talked while moving into Gauntlet, they passed by a small grouping of adventurers putting their weapons away, no longer needing to engage in the fight. Amongst the crowds was a man completely covered in a brown cloak, except for their eyes. Bright blue eyes hugged by black sclera. Pulling a hand from their cloak, tufts of smoke came with it as the man adjusted wraps around his arms. Clutched in his hand was a golden pocketwatch, flipping open the lid revealed a black gem, white symbols flowing across its surface. Green light flew from the man¡¯s eyes into the gem, the number eleven appearing on its surface prominently. ¡°That progression¡­ This is the Devout¡±, the man spoke under his breath as he hid the watch back under his cloak. One of the adventurers looked at the cloaked man and spoke to him, ¡°Hey, client, you good? Sun too harsh?¡± ¡°I am fine. Those orcs were close to our entering phase¡±, the cloaked man replied with his fangs showing. Another of the adventurers spoke, ¡°Not too far to the Gerro Guardhouse, we¡¯ll get you some shade then.¡± The female Rogue of the group spoke lastly, ¡°Hope you find better hunters in this place for your contract.¡± ¡°I believe I will¡±, the cloaked man replied with a toothy-fanged grin, ¡°There¡¯s many an interesting being here¡±, he continued as he looked at the departing Marcus. --- *** --- Chapter 102 - Hunter, Let Me Go The night before. ¡°Run! The fucking hunter is coming!¡± a bandit yelled at the top of his lungs. Several boots stampeded through puddles, skidded across mud, and clambered over stone. Bandits of varying heights and classes were retreating through a rainstorm in the lower quarters of Gauntlet. ¡°Take this!¡± one of them yelled, aiming her arm backwards, shooting off sparks of azure as Lightning danced down a dark alley. Even the startling light of the spell did little to bring brightness to the darkest parts of the city. Clashing with a silhouette, the lines of blue warped into a hidden palm, out of sight, out of mind. The familiar voice rang in Logan¡¯s head as he absorbed the spell. ¡°Spell Absorption successful. Lightning charge stored. Lightning has progressed to tier 8.¡± ¡°What¡¯s it gonna take?!¡± another bandit yelled as they threw a white crystal into the sky. A bright flash of light filled the dark corridor of buildings and rubble. Rats scurried away from the light as well as the stampeding feet running from a hunter stalking its prey. Several thugs turned around and fired bows or threw daggers. Logan stepped left to right, moving forwards with each leap, dodging the attacks one after another. Others aimed their arms at the Spellthief, arcs of fire and electricity danced through the air towards him, only to hit the floor behind him as he left in a warping of the air. Appearing behind two bandits, Logan gave solid kidney punches, knocking both to the floor unconscious as two Backstab texts floated over them. ¡°Bastard¡±, one bandit yelled. ¡°Fucker¡±, another added. Two cutlasses came swinging at Logan¡¯s sides. Jumping to the left, Logan grappled one of the bandits, grabbing his opponent¡¯s arm and stabbing the man in the back as he disarmed the bandit. Dropping the foe to the floor, Logan jumped over the next, grabbed onto his shoulders, and kneed him in the back. An arrow came singing through the air as it pelted into Logan¡¯s arm, though it bounced off of his higher-level armour as if it were steel. Returning the favour, Logan aimed at the archer and chanted, ¡°Force¡±, sending a grey orb that pelted the bandit into a wooden crate, smashing into it. The criminals barged through large double wooden doors, the rain rushing inside the building and soaking the floor. Boots skidded across the slippery surface as they tumbled inside and shut the door behind them. Keeping out the rain, and the hunter that was on their tail. ¡°The fuck?! How¡¯d we get found out?¡± one woman demanded. ¡°We got a parrot amongst us?¡± a man questioned. ¡°Shut up, put these on!¡± another man shouted as he dug rings out of a bag in the building. The bandits formed around the loot, sliding rings onto their fingers as quickly as they could. ¡°Damn, this one was already used!¡± ¡°How¡¯re you meant to use these things again?¡± ¡°Just aim and think.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t put two on the same finger!¡± one shouted at another. Though their pleas were too short, the two rings vibrated and sparked like exploding fuses, eventually, they shot towards each other on the man¡¯s finger and tore it from the man¡¯s hand. Yelling out in pain as his finger and blood splattered the floor, similar yells erupted in the dark building. Wind blasts left and right were taking out the criminals, their bodies being Forced to the floor, or pulled into the darker reaches of the walls and corners. ¡°Fire everywhere!¡± one woman yelled. With her command, the criminals started flailing their arms in all directions. Flames, lightning, icicles, scythes of wind and water, countless spells bashed against the containers and walls of the building, shaking it with each blast. Every so often, a spell warped into a single point, Logan absorbing out of view. ¡°Spell Absorption successful. Lightning charge stored. Lightning has progressed to tier 9.¡± Rings were torn off fingers and thrown to the floor as more were worn to continue the colourful display across the interior. ¡°Spell Absorption successful. Flame charge stored, Lightning charge stored. Lightning has progressed to tier 10.¡± With messages in his head and visible windows in front of him, Logan made sport out of the attacks that were meant to hit him. He could only get mastery for a particular spell once per target, so the sheer number of foes using rings like this made the normal 70% of learning the spell a guarantee. Before reaching his max charges, Logan let loose the spells in return, though with much harsher effects than the criminals would ever be able to produce. Zapping and burning his foes into unconscious piles that let off steam and smoke to fill the room even more with dark patches. With the final bandit hitting the floor, their body jittering from an overcharge of electricity, Logan walked out from the darkness and into the light of nearby glass windows. The rain continued to batter the building, the tip-tapping on the window creating quite a naturistic atmosphere to contrast the blood and searing smell in the air. ¡°That makes¡­ forty-eight. Should be one more in this band¡±, he thought aloud as he looked at the unconscious bodies. Safecasting allowed his foes to breathe another day, though at the end of which it only gave him a better reward. He could have easily killed all of these wanted men and women. Walking to and crouching to inspect the bag of rings, Logan used Identification as well as his own grasp to check them. ¡°They used quite a few here¡­ no non-spell rings though.¡± As he continued to search, thick water started to seep through the ceiling. Dripping onto the floor, it coalesced into a larger form. Reaching over 4¡¯ tall, the watery mass had dark holes where its eyes would have been staring at the back of Logan¡¯s head. Approaching the Spellthief, the watery mass clasped his shoulder, ¡°The outside has been cleared, their screams were delightful¡±, it said with a wavey voice. ¡°Servoir, good job. There¡¯s one left though.¡± ¡°Not too long ago, I heard a commotion eastward. I wager these cask-warmers have taken a hostage to prolong the last steps of their life.¡± Logan sighed as he stood, ¡°Lead with that next time.¡± ¡°I apologise, shall we go?¡± ¡°Yeah, this battle isn¡¯t over yet¡±, Logan replied as he looked upwards. Spying a crack in the ceiling, to the pitch-black skies, Logan mentally commanded and warped into his centre with Servoir in tow. Apparating in an outward blast of wind, pushing away countless rain droplets, they landed on the roof of the building. Logan clicked his fingers, the water droplets painting his map dirty with shifting grey outlines. He couldn¡¯t effectively use Echo Radar in these conditions, but ¡°eastward¡± gave him a good heading to find the last bandit that was within a wide red circle. Looking further into the sky, Logan had to blink away the rain to get a good enough view. Warping out again, the pair appeared high up in the sky, with their bodies aimed at the floor. They both darted their heads around to spot the final bandit, which Servoir did. ¡°There¡±, the watery creature spoke as he pointed a washy arm at two humans. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Teleporting again, the pair appeared on the floor behind the bandit. Grasping out at the cloak of the man, Logan started to ignite it, but only ignited the air as the man teleported similarly away. Facing the Spellthief and elemental, the bandit had another man in his grasp with a knife to his throat. ¡°Far enough! One false move and this one dies!¡± the bandit ordered. The captive in the bandit¡¯s grasp was shaking all over. Fear and the chill of the rain doing horrendous things to his mind and body. ¡°Alright, alright¡±, Logan replied as he held his hands up in a withdrawing stance. ¡°Dismiss the summon¡±, the man ordered again. With a wave of Logan¡¯s hand, Servoir turned into a puddle on the floor. ¡°Good, now take those rings off.¡± Logan did as ordered, though left his ring of immediate summons on. The bandit saw this and pointed the blade at Logan. ¡°That one too!¡± Logan took the opportunity and warped inwards, appearing in front of the bandit and his captive. Grabbing the criminal''s outstretched hand, he circled around and pulled it straight to the side, twisted it, and flung the bandit to the floor. The captive screamed out as he jumped to the side, falling to the floor on his side as if trying to dodge an attack. Placing his hand on the back of the bandit, Logan chanted, ¡°Lightning Grasp¡±, and lit the man up with electrical sparks. Experience numbers started to float over the unconscious, muddy, man beneath Logan as well as in the distance. ¡°--ter¡±, the victim called out, drowned out by the heavy rain. Standing up and looking over to the scared man, Logan approached without any sign of antagonism. ¡°Sorry, what did you say?¡± ¡°Phasing hunter, is it safe?¡± the man said with a trembling voice. ¡°Yes, he was the last criminal in that bunch. Are you uninjured?¡± Standing up, the man faltered a little on the leg he landed on, ¡°Nothing I can¡¯t sleep off. Thank you, sir.¡± Picking a vial from his pocket, Logan handed it to the man, ¡°Drink this, the criminals won¡¯t miss it.¡± ¡°But¡±, the man started, though as he looked at Logan in the rain it seemed he was insistent on it. Taking the vial, the man uncorked it and drank it with a few drops of rain. His posture became straight and more defined as his minor injuries were healed. ¡°Thank you, a hundred times¡±, the man prayed as he made two fists over his stomach in the sign of Pondress. ¡°You can thank me by spreading the good word of the mages¡±, Logan returned with a smile. Servoir came up from behind, his form shifting into a slightly taller variant, ¡°Shall we get the guards to do their duty?¡± ¡°Yeah. Can you inform them? I¡¯ll take this man home¡±, Logan asked. Servoir nodded before floating away. ¡°You need not do that sir¡±, the victim spoke. ¡°It¡¯s fine. The nighttime rain washes away a lot of crime. Where do you live?¡± ¡°On the main road, about a block away.¡± ¡°Alright, point to where it is in the sky.¡± The victim responded with a bemused look before pointing off in a direction. ¡°Good, that¡¯s on the way to the guardhouse. You don¡¯t mind me teleporting you, do you?¡± ¡°What? No, of course not!¡± the man replied with excitement in his voice. Placing his hand on the man¡¯s shoulder, they both warped into their centres and appeared in the rainy night sky. The man clasped onto Logan¡¯s arm out of fear from the approaching floor, but they warped quickly to a smooth landing, spooking some passersby. The man breathed in heavily, the shock of teleportation doing a number on him. ¡°Wow. So that¡¯s what it¡¯s like to be an adventurer.¡± ¡°I take it I was on point?¡± Logan asked as he looked around at the nearby houses. ¡°Yeah, just a few doors down.¡± ¡°Head home, this rain will do a number on you.¡± ¡°I shall do so, sir¡±, the man replied before walking off towards his house. ¡°Servoir¡¯s first hunt is done with that. Jumped up from level 1 to almost 5¡±, Logan began to think to himself, turning to walk to the closeby Gerro Guardhouse, ¡°Looks like the most recent one gave me a new title.¡± ¡°You have gained the ¡®Phasing Hunter¡¯ title.¡± ¡°Phasing Hunter: Your countless uses of teleportation to undertake your hunts has caused many to refer to you as the ''Phasing Hunter''. A unique title, there are few others that people would think of when mentioning you. Your mastery in Dimensional Jaunt and Teleport has increased by one each. You have gained 1 skill point to distribute.¡± ¡°Been a while since I got a title for something that wasn¡¯t a great feat. Last time was aiding those gashriek back in Tinte¡±, Logan thought to himself, ¡°Fol, progress Summon Horde to tier 4. It¡¯s too pricy to buy a book for, and my current Spellthief skills don¡¯t need any points.¡± Logan had read a tome for tier 3 earlier, allowing him to summon Servoir, but with this skill point reward for his title, Logan maxed out his next skill. With five summons at once, using Charge Transfer, he could reduce his experience gain by 50%. This title gave Logan another avenue to improve his power, condensing it within a level 16 frame. The wording was a tad misleading since it encompassed a few other spells too and was generalised to match. In the case of Summon _ Elemental, Logan could only summon a stock of summons up to a max of what he could have active each day. He could create an elemental for each element, but if he had summoned four he couldn¡¯t dismiss them and change his mind to summon a different type of elemental on the same day. A great benefit of Fol was this reasoning capability. Outside of his normal uses of tracking everything for Logan. Opening the door to the guardhouse, Logan was greeted by Jivvy, Jirango¡¯s first cousin twice removed. ¡°Chaotic night ay, Logan?¡± Placing his hand in front of him, Logan chanted, ¡°Clean¡±, his body being brushed over with a quick wind that dried him instantly. ¡°Chaotic indeed. Got some hunts to hand in¡±, he continued as he walked to the counter, ¡°marks and loot are on their way.¡± ¡°Alright, hand me the contracts and I¡¯ll sort out your pay¡±, Jivvy replied. It had reached a point where Logan¡¯s word was just taken immediately without any mention of waiting for proof. Updating his signet to show he had completed eighty hunter quests, far more than any other variant. Even before fifty, he was regarded as trustworthy, and each one after made that a concrete state of mind. Jivvy handed back the signet with a whistle, ¡°Give you another week and you¡¯ll reach Wolf hunter status.¡± Logan smiled as he placed the signet back over his neck and under his tunic, ¡°Gotta keep the streets clean, and your desk messy.¡± ¡°Jirango thanks you for keeping me busy. He hates lazybones.¡± The man placed a few pouches on the desk for Logan to take, his pay without any bonuses. Logan would need to wait for things to get processed properly for anything above the normal payment, but he was used to it. ¡°So, anymore for tonight? The rain is quite heavy out there, so good hunting weather for you. Right?¡± Jivvy asked as he looked over the papers on his desk. ¡°I think I am done for the night, spells are getting low¡±, Logan informed as he glanced at his character sheet. ¡°That¡¯s expected. Alright. I¡¯ll send word to the inn when we have interrogated those ring hoarders. We should be able to get word of their suppliers, and if they are Harvesting mages to make them under the counter.¡± Logan clenched his fist at the mention. He had been tracking some hunting contracts and people of interest for the past few days. The large group he just took down were the sellers and stealers of such spell rings. However, their stock numbers were so abhorrently large that he and Jirango suspected they might be taking said items from magi¡­ like Darius tried to do with Logan. ¡°Where are Gaemo and Sincollo?¡± Logan asked. ¡°Out on hunts beyond the walls, should be back in a few days. Getting their assistance?¡± ¡°If they are Harvesting magi, they may be able to interrupt my spells. I¡¯d like a non-caster backup in case that theory is a fact.¡± ¡°Good thinking. I¡¯ll let them know if I see them before you do.¡± ¡°What about my request to meet with the Noble, Eventa?¡± ¡°They¡¯ve accepted it. Your work in saving Castore some time ago has sweetened his image of you. You can meet them in about a week¡¯s time.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Eventa was a nobleman of Gauntlet, basically a high-echelon amongst the populace. They were two steps below the monarchy, but most people thought of them as one and the same. A noble had a single vote in congress meetings, where laws were decided, as well as steps taken towards threats to the kingdom. If Logan was to change the laws, he¡¯d need to make his way through the political landscape and make friends in it. As a guild, he could garner a vote, as guilds held the same station as a single noble due to their power, but Logan had to wait a while longer before going down that route. His most recent research into the duelling laws led Logan to learn that they were established before the rise of the Bandit Lord, and were used much more by the nobles and royalty. It eventually bled into normal life after the Bandit Lord was killed, twisting into its current form that has become more rampant over the two hundred years since. Since the populace was being downtrodden with the law or subjugated into service, many didn¡¯t come forward with issues. With a classed-being of rank 15 and above bringing it to their ears, it would spark a law overruling and possibly abolishing. Logan just needed enough votes to see it to a full enactment. ¡°I shall see you another night, then, Logan¡±, Jivvy spoke as he shook the Spellthief¡¯s hand. ¡°You too. I¡¯ll make sure to let Jirango know of your hard work¡±, Logan replied with a smirk. Falling back into his chair from exhaustion, Jivvy said, ¡°Maybe he¡¯ll give me some extra days off.¡±
Shutting the door behind him, Logan opened it back up almost immediately as he saw guards walk towards him with unconscious bodies slung over their shoulders. A few nodded, and some acknowledged the Spellthief with a passing, ¡°Logan.¡± Looking to the sky through blurry vision as the rain started to flood his face, Logan saw a dart of light in the black clouds. A low roar rumbling caressed the city of Gauntlet, setting Logan¡¯s hair up and his skin to prickle with goosebumps. ¡°Just like the night that took me¡±, Logan thought to himself wistfully. Just then, another dash of azure cracked through the clouds and stroked downwards onto Avanar in the distance, another roar following it shortly after, and the thumping of Logan¡¯s heart in his ears, a ball of toughness in his throat. A window appeared to the side of where he saw the lightning strike. ¡°You are currently viewing a PC.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 103 - What Master Do You Serve? Logan followed the bolt of lightning as best his eyes would let him, it would at least give him a good enough direction. Moving his vision to the battlements, he warped into his centre and burst outwards atop them, the wind blast pushing away rain droplets onto nearby guards. Several guards jumped at the teleportation, their hands on their hilts and their gazes on Logan. Those on his right softened their stance as they waved down the others, noticing Logan¡¯s hunter armband. Scanning the vast plains and forests ahead of him, the darkness of the night combined with the heavy rain obfuscating his view any further than that, Logan had a hard time telling where the lightning bolt had struck. ¡°Wanting to watch the sparks fly, Logan?¡± one of the guards asked. Logan looked to the side quickly before returning his vision to the expanse ahead of him, ¡°Hey, Weevil, right? Yeah.¡± ¡°You just missed a good one, swear I could feel the quakes in my boots!¡± the man replied with a hearty laugh. ¡°Oh yeah? Whereabouts?¡± ¡°That way or so, the rain¡¯ll douse any flames it will create¡±, Weevil answered as he pointed off to the east. ¡°Thanks. I¡¯m gonna get deeper in, get closer to the action.¡± ¡°Really? O-¡± Weevil began but was cut off as Logan warped away again. Logan darted through the skies above the wilderness. Giving his body a boost of velocity as he used his newly acquired Air Blast spell to propel him forwards. Each blast from his palm exploded outwards, pushing water away from his back as the rain in front of him pelted against his face and clothing. If it weren¡¯t for the speed and lack of total control, Logan would feel like he was flying. Logan¡¯s eyes danced around as they feverishly looked for signs of the lightning strike from before. ¡°Are they aligned with the above or the below?¡± he worried in his head. Landing atop a canopy, Logan twisted and turned before realigning with the direction of the bolt, blasting off into the air again. ¡°Will they get attacked by a monster like I did?¡± Warping in and out, he covered great strides, trying hard to line up his map with his memory of the spark. ¡°Logan, we are close¡±, Fol spoke inside Logan¡¯s head. ¡°I can tell¡±, Logan replied as he saw the faint image of smoke rising amidst the black and blues of the night. Jumping from tree to tree, Logan fell through the canopy of the last and landed in shifting mud and grass, the rain having made terrible conditions for ground movement. Standing back up straight, Logan walked over towards a newly formed crater in the ground, smoke rising from all over it that was dashed away in the rain. Within the middle of the crater was a woman whose back and arms had been absorbed into the hard crevices of the earth surrounding her. Green cuboids floated off her body, parts of it still materialising in her half-open tomb. Logan recognised the green cubes, he saw them every time he accessed his inventory, so he correlated it to some effect of the System at play. Though his entrance had him awakening in the morning. Did he also appear at night to fully form when we awoke the next day? ¡°You are currently viewing a PC.¡± The familiar warning appeared beside the woman. She had no way to defend against it or anything. Did those chosen from below appear in the same fashion? Should Logan deal with her now? ¡°Identify.¡± ¡°Amalia Lehmann. Guardian 1, 14/14 HP. A Player underneath an unknown deity. Skills: Last Bastion, Savant Pupil.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the first I¡¯ve seen such a small description, at least for people that don¡¯t block Identification¡±, Logan thought to himself. ¡°Maybe it only identifies their life on Avanar and not Earth. This doesn¡¯t help me learn her patron deity, but the mention of ¡®Guardian¡¯ paints her as some form of Knight hybrid.¡± Logan hadn¡¯t heard of the two skills the woman had either, most likely her specific skills for her unique class. Logan¡¯s were Essence Absorption and Spell Absorption, so her skills must have been towards defence. ¡°Fol, got any pieces of advice?¡± Logan asked in his head. ¡°All we can do is wait. Even if she is an ally of one from below, she is only level 1. Dealing with her whilst awake would prove no issue for you.¡± ¡°Why has another one appeared so soon though? I only arrived just over two months back.¡± ¡°Through what you and I have gathered, there are no correlations between current events and PC sightings. Many were incognito, as you are.¡± ¡°That, or no one has deciphered any yet.¡± The rain continued to batter down, rumbling overhead signalling that other lightning strikes had occurred off in the distance. Jumping and climbing back to the canopies, Logan kept a close eye on the bolts as best he could. On the off-chance that more than one PC would appear in a storm, he wanted to be sure he knew of them.
The night went by slowly, Logan¡¯s watchful gaze at the skies kept him busy alongside the use of Echo Radar letting him know of any approaching threats. Thankfully nothing came near him or the unconscious woman in the crater. Awakening early the next day, Logan stood without any elementals at his side. He thought that beings made up of flames, ice, electrical sparks, or animated water would not do well with someone who just arrived here. Standing far away from the crater, Logan leant up against a tree and waited for the victim¡¯s initial shock to pass. ¡°The hell happened last night¡±, the woman spoke softly, a german accent attached to her words. The familiar event of cracking mud off from arms occurred as the woman fumbled out of her crater, the hardened earth falling off her and she stood. ¡°I was nowhere near a field¡±, she continued as she rubbed her face, she quickly removed her hands as toughness met her cheek, ¡°the fuck? These gloves aren¡¯t mine.¡± The woman stared at her hands, her scarlet hair dangling around her face and flowing at her back with the wind. She looked to be 5¡¯11¡±, though was garbed in a chainmail cuirass over a dark-brown leather tunic. At her hip was a shortsword that she probably hadn¡¯t noticed just yet, along with a huge metallic bouche-style shield at her back that she most certainly had recognised. Stepping away from the crater in her black leather boots with metallic tips and heels, her gloves were a similar design of dark brown with metallic backs. Her yellow eyes looked upwards towards an approaching Logan, taking on a defensive stance with a mix of confusion and anger on her face. ¡°You with those lot I had to throw out last night?¡± she barked. Logan held up his hands in a peaceful manner, ¡°No, I found you lying in that crater¡±, Logan replied as he pointed behind her. The woman looked back and then returned to look at Logan. Eyeing up his attire, she was surely confused, continuing to rub her eyes as she inspected him. ¡°I don¡¯t recognise that accent from last night, where the hell am I?¡± she questioned. ¡°That¡¯s a bit hard to explain. We should probably sit down for this talk.¡± ¡°What¡¯s so hard about ¡®where am I¡¯?¡± the woman replied as she continued rubbing her eyes. ¡°Is there a floater in your eye? Looks like an exclamation point?¡± You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. ¡°Yeah? How¡¯d you know that?¡± ¡°The same happened to me, look, let¡¯s sit down first.¡± ¡°Whatever, I can¡±, the woman replied as he placed a hand on her side, finding a sword hilt instead of a phone in her pocket, ¡°the fuck?¡± ¡°Listen-¡± ¡°Where¡¯s my phone? My trousers? Is this some roleplay fetish?¡± the woman barked in anger, almost wanting to draw the sword. ¡°Alright, I know you¡¯re surprised here¡±, Logan began, ¡°Does she not have the same mind-control fog as I had?¡± he thought to himself. ¡°What is the last thing you remember?¡± ¡°What? Aren¡¯t Brits meant to be polite? Why are you answering my questions with questions!?¡± ¡°Ok, ok. Your phone is gone, and your clothes are replaced with what you¡¯re wearing now. There¡¯s no fetish stuff going on. I thought I got drunk at a ren fair when this happened to me.¡± ¡°What do you mean gone? Replaced? Did someone spike my drink or something?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t say anything about all that. But if it was like with me, you were walking in a lightning storm, right?¡± ¡°You¡¯d know there was a storm if you were close enough to see me now.¡± ¡°Do you remember getting struck?¡± ¡°In the back of the head?¡± ¡°No, by lightning.¡± ¡°What, I¡­¡± the woman started as she took on a thinking look. ¡°Yes¡­ Am I¡­ dead?¡± she asked as she finally sat down, though with a thud. Logan sat similarly, ¡°Depends on your outlook. I would say no. You were taken from Earth by that lightning strike and were dropped here.¡± ¡°What the fuck?¡± the woman spoke, holding her head. ¡°Does that make you Oz or something?¡± Logan grinned, ¡°I see the similarity, but not really. I got struck too. Been here for sixty-four days now.¡± ¡°How do I go back!?¡± the woman demanded as she removed her hands from her head. ¡°I know of two ways, make a portal, or complete a specific quest.¡± ¡°Portal? Quest? The hell are you talking about?¡± ¡°Push that exclamation mark in front of you.¡± The woman looked at Logan for a bit, her eyes darting to the right a few times. Raising a hand, she pushed the button that Logan could not see, though he did see the woman¡¯s eyes widen and the colour leave her face. ¡°System¡­ tutorial¡­ Avanar¡­¡± the woman read quietly under her breath. Rubbing her head and messing her hair, she stared at Logan, ¡°Fine, you know how to go home. Do it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that simple, sadly. My last attempt at getting home was dashed.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not good enough. Hey, System, whatever, send me home!... What do you mean no?!¡± Jumping to her feet, the woman started to hit her heels together thinking hard about some imaginary words. When that failed she moved to her crater, looking for something like an escape pod or spaceship sphere. ¡°No I don¡¯t¡±, she replied to something her System asked. ¡°Uh¡­ excuse me¡±, Logan tried to butt in the woman¡¯s antics. Reaching over her shoulders, she took off her shield and threw it to the floor. ¡°Why me? When did I ask for this?¡± she asked aloud as she drew her sword, ¡°If I die here do I go back?!¡± she demanded. Logan took a few steps towards her with an outstretched hand, ¡°Wait, don¡¯t!¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°If you die, you won¡¯t go back!¡± ¡°Argh. That bloody window says the same! Fine. I¡¯ll find a way out¡±, she replied as she picked up her shield and began to walk away. ¡°Wait up¡±, Logan called after her as he followed. ¡°This isn¡¯t real. All I gotta do is find a door and wake up. Find something I would never dream of, and wake up from the dream.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not in some sort of dream zone, c¡¯mon, there are monsters out in the woods.¡± ¡°Some sort of big bad wolf?¡± the woman shouted back sarcastically. Logan was going to reply if not for a rustling of the nearby bushes alerting him to a nearby threat. Circling the woman, Logan threw out a hand and grappled the throat of a leaping wolf that aimed to attack the newcomer. ¡°The hell?¡± the woman exclaimed as she jumped away from the wolf and the Spellthief. ¡°Exactly¡±, Logan replied. ¡°Look, this is real¡±, he continued as he tightened his hold, ¡°Flame Grasp¡±, he chanted, igniting the wolf in dazzling flames and blackening its brown fur before its limp corpse hit the floor. ¡°What?¡± the woman asked as she stepped back. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but you have to realise. This is real. If you¡¯re not careful you¡¯ll end up dead.¡± The woman fell back into a sitting position on the grassy ground, her body shaking all over as she came to terms with the situation. Kneeling down, Logan continued, ¡°Listen, I was in your shoes a while ago. A bit different, but I can explain what I know if you¡¯ll let me.¡± The woman sighed, her gaze slightly blank as she stared at the smouldering wolf behind Logan. ¡°Fine.¡±
An hour passed before Logan was able to fully clue in this newcomer to the world of Avanar, he knew he would have done several things differently if he had such guidance. However, this new PC, Amalia, had nothing close to the Vokka¡¯s Mind Protection that Logan was granted on his entrance. While he had grievances with his position, or about killing, he still went through with it, a push at his back and the slow loss of such grievances as he continued to do so. Amalia was not in the same boat, she could probably be content with staying far from all of this and turning into another Ahren. Looking up at Logan, Amalia spoke, ¡°So, what¡¯s next, Logan? Do I have to do these tutorial things?¡± ¡°That¡¯s up to you, Amalia. It¡¯d be best for you to get used to your System. It¡¯ll be robotic like I mentioned, but it is your defence against what this world will put against you.¡± ¡°This just sounds like those games I saw pick up in popularity.¡± ¡°As far as I can tell, this isn¡¯t a game in that way. Though whoever took you is playing their own game.¡± ¡°You said they give me a starting bonus? I can¡¯t see anything in my windows about that¡±, Amalia informed as she looked to the side. ¡°I only found mine at the end of the first quest, is yours the same as mine?¡± ¡°Seven days, level 5, 5 gold, learn five skills, complete ten quests¡±, Amalia listed off. ¡°The final question is. After all that I¡¯ve told you, do you want to work towards your portal quest, backseat off of mine, or stay here?¡± ¡°I might not even get a portal quest in the time you did, right?¡± ¡°I have little data to go off, so I¡¯d say don¡¯t take my time into calculations.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do this first quest, you seem like you know what you¡¯re doing. If I feel like I don¡¯t want to keep travelling, I¡¯ll stay at this Gauntlet you spoke of and decide what I want to do next.¡± Standing up and offering a hand, Logan replied, ¡°We¡¯ll have to see what your class is good at.¡± Taking the hand, Amalia was pulled to her feet, ¡°Sorry for exploding earlier¡­ This was just a bit surprising and infuriating. I wasn¡¯t having the best of nights, to begin with.¡± ¡°Mine was really early morning and overworked, you?¡± ¡°Bunch of shitheads causing a scene at the doors, I had to knock them on their asses when they got violent.¡± ¡°Doors?¡± Logan asked. ¡°I work¡­ worked, as a bouncer at a nightclub. No doubt I¡¯ll be fired by the time I get back.¡± Logan was taken aback slightly, the expression plain as day on his face. ¡°What?¡± Amalia asked. ¡°Nothing. Just wasn¡¯t expecting that profession.¡± Amalia scrunched her eyebrows in response, ¡°Yeah, whatever. So, how are we going to test my class?¡± Logan pulled a level one dagger from his inventory, something he kept in reserve to train Backstab and to use MP Thievery on lower-level foes. ¡°Draw your blade and shield, let¡¯s see if your boon grants you combat knowledge¡±, he instructed. Amalia did as instructed, getting into a form of defensive stance, though Logan could see it didn¡¯t leave her any advantage and even let her sides open to attack. ¡°Alright, attack me. Don¡¯t worry about hitting me, I wager I¡¯ll survive a hundred strikes.¡± Amalia took on a look of worry, unsure if she could use such a weapon on someone else, but with Logan¡¯s word she struck. Bringing the blade up high, she swung it down at Logan, though it was sloppy and slow. Logan did a simple sidestep to dodge the blade, Amalia stumbling forwards as she missed and slid into another stance. ¡°Keep going¡±, Logan ordered. Amalia kicked off the ground to lunge at Logan, who sidestepped again, a spinning slash collided with his dagger as Amalia followed her momentum, but with the clash of weapons, she fell onto her side. ¡°Argh, fuck sake¡±, Amalia cursed. ¡°Well, it looks like your patron bonus is far different from mine.¡± ¡°How¡¯d they expect me to survive without giving me any experience with these things¡±, Amalia asked as she looked at her sword and shield. As the woman stood, Logan replied, ¡°Try and activate your two skills.¡± ¡°Alright¡­ the first is apparently a passive thing I can turn off and on, the Savant Pupil one. The other¡­ Last Bastion¡±, Amalia recited, her body glowing blue quickly but dissipating just as quickly. ¡°That one is reactionary, like my Spell Absorption. Block my attack and activate it again¡±, Logan instructed. ¡°Alright¡±, Amalia replied. Logan sliced at Amalia¡¯s shield, even with a level one blade he could deal a heavy 11 damage. As the dagger collided with the shield, Logan could see he cracked it slightly from his own power, even as he tried to hold back a bit with it. However, Amalia blocked it sufficiently. ¡°Last Bastion¡±, Amalia called out, her body glowing blue, her shield vibrating, and her blade shining. Swiping out with her shortsword, she collided with Logan¡¯s dagger, a flush of power shooting from her body, through her blade, and into Logan¡¯s. The Spellthief could feel the increased power when compared to the previous one he had blocked, several times more powerful, but that was most likely due to his own power. Drawing her sword back, Amalia asked, ¡°Like that? It seemed stronger.¡± ¡°That it was. What exactly are the effects of that skill?¡± ¡°It says it parries and deals half the damage I blocked, alongside my normal damage. I can also learn skills, but you didn¡¯t use one.¡± ¡°No wonder, half of mine would add 5 or more damage to your 1. If you could use this on any attack, that is quite a powerful skill.¡± ¡°The skill is now on a cooldown, and it says 5% for mastery¡±, Amalia read out. ¡°That part is different from mine, I am charge based and get hurt if I go over. If you can build this skill to become full damage instead of half it would be similar to a monster I fought not long ago.¡± ¡°But, it says it is a Guardian skill, so not a normal one. Should I hide it? Like you do?¡± ¡°That¡¯ll depend on if you want to hide your status of being a PC, or as the people here call it, Oracle.¡± ¡°From how you explained it, I may want to, if I want a peaceful life¡±, Amalia responded, thinking about her new life in Avanar. --- *** --- Chapter 104 - Now, There Are Two of Them Amalia and Logan continued to test the capabilities of the newcomer PC. Running through her tutorial with guidance from Logan, Amalia ended up putting her six free points into Strength, Agility, and Constitution, making them all 12. The next step was introducing Amalia to the four summons that Logan had accrued. Celsius the fire elemental, Spark the lightning elemental, Fahrenheit the ice elemental, and Servoir the water elemental. Amalia was slightly taken aback at the forms of the elements, but by seeing other magic at play alongside all the other fantastical things, she came to accept their existence quickly. Absorbing spells and transferring them into MP, Logan gathered 24 MP, spending 4 to create the last two. After dismissing all but Servoir, Logan had the watery creation place a hand on him and placed his own on Amalia¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Alright, I am going to be teleporting us toward the capital. You may feel a bit weird from it, but don¡¯t worry¡±, Logan informed. ¡°Uh, ok¡±, Amalia responded shakily. ¡°And remember, don¡¯t tell anyone about my powers or being a PC¡±, Logan mentioned as he looked into the sky through his monocular. With the mental commands, Logan warped himself and his allies into their centres, warping the wind around them with an inward blast. Erupting in the sky far away, the trio exploded outwards with the wind they brought with them. Amalia breathed in quickly in shock, her eyes darting around as she felt like she was skydiving. The feeling didn¡¯t last long before Logan spied the bridge of Gauntlet, using another teleport to bring his party to the floor. Pushing aside leaves and dirt, the group appeared in a frightening display of force. Several civilians jumped back as they saw the apparating adventurers. Their fear would have continued, if not for the hunter armband on Logan that denoted him as an ally. Amalia had instinctively grabbed onto Logan¡¯s arm through the teleportation, letting go as her feet returned to solid ground. ¡°We¡¯ll walk the rest of the way¡±, Logan said as he looked at some guards returning from the forests. ¡°Yeah¡±, Amalia replied, ¡°just give me a minute¡±, she continued through heavy breaths. ¡°That¡¯s fine¡±, Logan said as he looked at the battlements of Gauntlet before turning to a nearby villager, ¡°Hey, something happen?¡± ¡°Huh? Yeah, some orc issues I hear¡±, the man replied as he walked on. ¡°Orcs huh? Damn close to the capital¡­¡± ¡°¡®Parently they were chasing down a Devout¡±, the village continued as they passed out of Logan¡¯s ear, waving a farewell. Must have been a busy day for them. Logan looked at Amalia who was still catching her breath. ¡°No quest to kill her, and she hasn¡¯t tried anything yet. I guess she is not a below PC¡±, Logan thought to himself. ¡°Ay, Logan¡±, another villager called out from behind. Turning around, Logan recognised them as someone he had aided during another hunt. ¡°Hello again, how¡¯s the knee?¡± ¡°Good as new!¡± the man replied as he kicked to the side, ¡°Just wanted to let you know that I sent those racks of ribs to your inn.¡± Logan smiled, ¡°Thanks for letting me know. We¡¯ll make sure to feast on them well tonight.¡± ¡°My pleasure, the least I could do for you saving my hide¡±, the villager replied with his own smile, ¡°anyways, best be off. Have a fair day.¡± ¡°And to you.¡± The villager continued his walk into the city, a large sack on his back full of trading and gathering outside the walls¡¯ confines. ¡°Quite the popular guy¡±, Amalia mentioned as she stood up a bit straighter. Looking over his new follower, Logan was worried about how she would take to her new life, or at least the introduction of which. But then, he wasn¡¯t teleporting at level 1. ¡°A few people know me from when I helped them during my criminal hunts.¡± ¡°Right, right.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get to the inn, I can introduce you to Marcus and we can chat further.¡±
Walking through the portcullis gates of the city, Logan and Amalia passed by a few civilians that waved and nodded at Logan when he passed. With his growing reputation, alongside the culminating titles, Logan wasn¡¯t an unknown entity in the capital. At least when it came to the entrance and the area around the Gerro Guardhouse. Logan¡¯s most recent title, Phasing Hunter, was how most people referred to him. Since it was a unique term for his style of combat as well as hunting down criminals, there weren¡¯t many others who were associated with the name. Amalia didn¡¯t pay much mind to the attention paid to Logan, however. Her gaze drifted between the varying styles of buildings that were a far cry from Earth, to the different sight of people walking the streets. She especially fixated on the gashrieks she saw, and almost jumped at the sight of a single saeber walking by. Learning the new world by being thrown into the deep end, Amalia would come to terms with affairs a bit quicker than Logan. Reaching the Meek Moat Inn, Logan opened the door to the interior and held it open on the inside for Amalia to follow him. The first sight for the pair was that of Wriske, the gashriek hunter with piercing yellow eyes, brighter than those of Amalia. ¡°Picked up another ally?¡± Wriske asked as she approached the newcomer. ¡°Uh, hello¡±, Amalia replied as she stared at the ridges across the gashriek¡¯s face. ¡°Ah, Wriske. Been a while since we saw one another, why are you always here when I promise food? This is Amalia. Amalia, this is Wriske. She¡¯s a Devout and fellow hunter¡±, Logan replied as he waved between the two. ¡°Nice to be among another woman. Ev¨¦n must have sparked a path of balance¡±, Wriske mentioned. ¡°Eh-venn?¡± Amalia asked with a confused look. ¡°Another hunter, Rogue. We helped her before and she moved over to this inn too¡±, Logan explained. ¡°Speaking of other hunters, Marcus was looking for you, Logan¡±, Wriske informed as she moved to the counter. Following his ally, Logan brought Amalia to the counter and offered her a seat. ¡°Guess it¡¯ll be best I wait here for him then.¡± As they took their seats, the door at the back opened to reveal Yetveka, the glowing violet-eyed gashriek who handled the inn. ¡°Ooo, a new face. A pretty one too¡±, Yetveka spoke as she moved over to Amalia, ¡°You a new hunter? Or friend?¡± ¡°Friend¡±, Amalia replied, a bit taken aback by the other species addressing her so comfortably. ¡°You¡¯re welcome here, a friend of Logan¡¯s is a friend of mine. Have you travelled far? You look a bit sweaty dear. Care for a drink?¡± ¡°Barwoman¡¯s suggestion¡±, Amalia replied as she glanced over the bottles behind the counter. ¡°You got it¡±, Yetveka replied as she took an orange bottle from the wall and began to pour, ¡°Oh, Logan. Those ribs came in. We eating that tonight?¡± she asked as she looked over at the Spellthief. ¡°Depends on what Marcus has got to tell me. The ribs won¡¯t last long if we gotta set off somewhere¡±, Logan replied as he looked at his invisible status windows to see if he could tell where his friend was. Yetveka set a tankard in front of Amalia, a big, toothy smile on display. ¡°Thanks¡±, Amalia said as she picked up the tankard and sipped it. Logan slid a few coins over towards Yetveka who caught them in her hand before they slid too far. ¡°She alright to have another room? Take it from my pre-paid time here.¡± ¡°That is fine, we can set her up in another room. If we gave you a triple room it¡¯d take less out of your balance, but you¡¯ve worked up a lot so I wouldn¡¯t worry about kicking you out on the streets any time soon¡±, Yetveka replied with a chuckle. ¡°We don¡¯t know each other that well¡±, Amalia replied, colour returning to her face from the warm drink. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Huh? Why would that matter?¡± Yetveka asked, bemused. Amalia¡¯s blunder was strange to the natives. As Logan had already experienced, it wasn¡¯t uncommon for both sexes to sleep in the same room. He knew of the sardine-packed rooms at some inns, catering to more people at a time. Dragging the conversation away from any further shaky topics, Logan asked, ¡°So, when did Marcus ask for me? Was it urgent?¡± ¡°He seemed a bit¡­ Nervous?¡± Wriske replied with a strained thinking expression. ¡°Maybe I should look for him then.¡± ¡°Do your phasing thing.¡± Logan stood from his chair and looked over at Amalia, ¡°You good to stay here for a few minutes?¡± Amalia nodded, ¡°Sure.¡± Logan threw a few more coins on the counter, paying for any other drinks Amalia wanted, before walking out of the inn.
Looking at the tall towers of the guardhouse, Logan warped inwards and outwards as he slid down the stone exterior of his destination. Pushing aside dust and dirt with his landing on the floor, Logan opened the door and entered. ¡°Jirango, you in?¡± Logan called out. A small murmur from the man at the desk was overwhelmed by a louder yell from Marcus, ¡°Logan! Thank Pondress you¡¯re back.¡± Logan stood still as his friend jogged to him, ¡°So, what¡¯s the problem?¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s Tinte. Do you mind if we go back?¡± ¡°Homesick? Or did something happen?¡± ¡°My teacher, and the head Devout of the church there, Marta, is injured. She requires high-level healing and possible resurrection.¡± Logan was a bit shocked at the news, ¡°That¡¯ll be expensive.¡± ¡°How much do we have combined?¡± Marcus pressed. ¡°About 6 gold in coins.¡± ¡°I doubt they have 4 lying around. Do you mind if we have to sell off some of our stuff?¡± Marcus begged. ¡°Sell? Can¡¯t we take a loan or leave collateral like last time?¡± Logan asked, puzzled. ¡°I went to talk with the churches here, a lot of their resources were used after the invasion, and with the upcoming possible Ice King revival they don¡¯t want to do any loans until that¡¯s over and done.¡± ¡°Hmm. That sounds¡­ accurate. Could we not find the supplies needed?¡± ¡°Most of the revival reagent locales are already scouted and accounted for. The next best bet is gathering the items required to grant permanent regeneration¡±, Marcus explained a bit hastily. Logan looked Marcus in the eyes as his head rose a bit, ¡°Well, that¡¯s one thing off my checklist¡±, he thought to himself. ¡°Are we certain she needs such?¡± ¡°It is a high possibility. I have talked with another Devout and they are willing to go with us to Tinte to examine her. He should be able to give us a diagnosis in an hour.¡± ¡°Any fees?¡± ¡°A few silver, the Tinte church will put that up.¡± ¡°Alright. I suppose you want to head there as soon as possible?¡± Logan asked as he put a hand on his friend¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Yes, please.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll let the Devout know to prepare, but I want to introduce you to someone first.¡± Marcus looked at Logan with a confused glare, before the two moved to the door.
Teleporting to the church, and then back to the inn, the pair entered to see the women conversing still. ¡°So I locked her inside a pyramid of stone¡±, Wriske finished saying. The three laughed as if Logan was just hearing the tail-end of a funny tale. ¡°I see you two are giving Amalia a warm welcome to Gauntlet¡±, Logan mentioned as he stood behind his new companion. Amalia swivelled on her chair to look at Logan and the man beside him, while Yetveka responded to Logan, ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s getting regaled with higher-rank adventures by Wriske here.¡± ¡°Glad to hear it. Mind if we steal her away now though?¡± ¡°It¡¯s about time I head out anyway¡±, Wriske replied as she stood, slinging a bag over her back. ¡°Good hunting¡±, Marcus spoke as the gashriek passed by. Amalia stood and thanked Yetveka for the drinks before following the arm wave of Logan to the stairs. Heading to the first floor, the trio made it to Logan and Marcus¡¯s usual room and shut the door behind them, Servoir watching the outside of the door for any eavesdropping. ¡°Amalia, meet Marcus, Marcus, Amalia¡±, Logan quickly introduced as he waved his hand between the two. ¡°Good to meet you¡±, Marcus said as he nodded to the new face. ¡°Same, I guess.¡± ¡°Amalia, this is the man I told you about in the woods.¡± ¡°Ah, the healer, right. Ok, how do I word this?¡± Amalia began as she rubbed her head, ¡°I am like Logan. An Oracle?¡± Marcus was about to sit on his bed but stumbled into staying standing, ¡°What?!¡± ¡°I was lucky enough to spot her last night¡±, Logan mentioned with a smirk. ¡°Wait¡­ is she a new one?!¡± ¡°Newly arrived last night¡±, Logan answered. ¡°Still learning all of this myself¡±, Amalia added. ¡°Ones Above, grant me sturdiness. This is amazing. I¡¯ve met two oracles, in the span of hardly a season.¡± ¡°Same for me. I thought it best to keep her close with the business about the below ones possibly sending monsters our way¡±, Logan informed as he sat on his bed. ¡°So Marcus is the only one I should tell for now?¡± Amalia asked as she sat on the foot of Logan¡¯s bed. ¡°Yeah. He is the only one who knows about me.¡± ¡°Are you keeping your status a secret too, Amalia?¡± ¡°I am taking Logan¡¯s advice for now. I want some time to think things over¡±, Amalia replied as she looked over the other man. ¡°This throws another stick into the bundle¡±, Marcus thought aloud as he crossed his arms. ¡°Aside from Amalia¡¯s starting quest, if she joins us on this trip to Tinte she should absorb quite a bit of info¡±, Logan informed. ¡°The seven-day one?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°I can stay here and look around on my own¡±, Amalia offered. ¡°I¡¯d rather not do that. People could take advantage of your naivety, and I don¡¯t want you rolled into a long quest or something like I was.¡± ¡°You could use different words to get that across, but fine.¡± ¡°Does that mean we¡¯ll be gone long?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°Maybe. Your idea of getting the regenerative components enticed me. Tinte had issues with trolls before, we could find more.¡± ¡°I had the same idea.¡± ¡°Trolls?¡± Amalia asked as looked at Logan. ¡°Big humanoid monsters, they regenerate lost body parts unless you burn them. We can take their blood and grant those regeneration powers to people¡±, Logan explained. ¡°Wow. Really? Why doesn¡¯t everyone have that power then?¡± ¡°It isn¡¯t that simple. You have to take blood from a unique sac near the heart, it holds about one use worth of reagents. As well as that blood, you need other reagents, but you can buy most at the markets and shops¡±, Marcus explained. ¡°So, one troll per regeneration power?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the general take¡±, Logan replied as he pulled a leg onto the bed to get into a comfortable position against the headrest with his back, ¡°But trolls are uniquely hard to track. The ones that leave the others don¡¯t return, so they are killed and Harvested for their blood. They cause a lot of trouble, so they don¡¯t live long outside of their domiciles.¡± ¡°I looked into it while waiting for Logan to come back, only a handful of dens have been found in recent history. They are almost as elusive as diglaeta, considering their size¡±, Marcus added. ¡°I would have thought something like that would have been hunted into extinction¡±, Amalia thought aloud. ¡°Trolls only need water to survive. The ones that do leave their homes get a taste for meat and continually want more¡±, Logan informed. ¡°You said you wanted that power too, right, Logan? Do you think we can find more than one?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°I think I may be able to retrofit a quest of sorts from the church, or Marta specifically. If they ask me to do something in return for payment, Fol and the systems associated with him should alter it into a quest I can track.¡± ¡°Would be too much to give you a quest to go home, right?¡± Amalia asked jokingly. Logan sighed, ¡°I tried that during this past week. Asking people to request stuff from me. It needs to be an actual request, not some sort of bluff or lie. If Marta is needing regeneration, this request would be legitimate. Outside of that, you can try, but how are you going to reward me?¡± Amalia thought for a while before turning to Logan, ¡°Logan, send me back to Earth and I will give you everything I own in this world.¡± The room went silent as they all waited for some sort of outcome. The silence was only broken by Logan¡¯s reply, ¡°No dice. Either it isn¡¯t something I can feasibly do, it isn¡¯t considered legitimate, or PCs can¡¯t issue them.¡± ¡°Logan, save Marta. I will give you all of my money to do so¡±, Marcus requested. Silence prevailed in the room for another short while before Logan responded, ¡°Same thing there. Might be because you¡¯re my partnered NPC though.¡± ¡°Two failures right off the bat. That doesn¡¯t instil a lot of confidence you can make this¡­ Marta? Grant you a quest properly¡±, Amalia announced. ¡°I¡¯ve had some success outside of these tests.¡± ¡°If Logan says he can do it, I trust him.¡± ¡°Fine. So what¡¯s our next step?¡± ¡°We need to get you a crossbow, then we head off. Oh, put this on too¡±, Logan answered as he handed over an earring of gobtree to Amalia. ¡°The hell is that!?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a trinket, they empower you. This one will give you more Constitution, so you¡¯ll be sturdier. I got it from a recent hunt and haven¡¯t sold it yet.¡± Amalia hesitantly picked up the earring and put it through the existing hole in her ear, though it hid behind her hair. With it equipped, her HP went from 18 to 30. ¡°Why the crossbow?¡± she asked further. ¡°You need to engage in a fight in some form to gain experience. Marcus can just heal or buff us and he¡¯ll gain XP. All you need to do is land a single hit against a troll and you¡¯ll be counted in the XP distribution.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t that over-level me? Didn¡¯t you say that would be bad without skills to back it up?¡± ¡°Yes and no. This will give you a boost in the beginning, but lower experience gains from lower-level foes. You¡¯ll be able to blitz lower-level quests faster with a higher level. If you want to do much more than the first ten quests, I can loan you my elementals to lower your experience gain.¡± ¡°Logan gets a lowered amount from absorbing their spells, so you¡¯ll be fine to do that¡±, Marcus added. ¡°So¡­ my first quest is to go hunting trolls?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be up in a tree. Baby steps¡±, Logan replied with a smile. --- *** --- Chapter 105 - Betters Become Lessers The newly formed party of the Player Characters, Logan and Amalia, accompanied by Logan¡¯s partnered NPC, Marcus, made their way to the markets of Gauntlet. Servoir trailed behind as before, not causing Logan any annoyance at having to resummon him for any situation. Browsing the stalls for a bit, Amalia picked up a small hand crossbow, about the length of her forearm but not a wrist-attached version like Pon To had so long ago. It would be easier to load and fire, especially since she had no experience with such a thing and only really needed to hit a large target with it. Logan also made sure to buy another cache arm so that Amalia could hide parts of her status, and even sold his old eagle¡¯s eyeglass for a high-quality variant. Amalia fiddled with the new weapon as the party moved towards the church, firing it without any bolt attached and pulling the string back into a locked position. Logan also passed down a few of his healing potions to her, adorning her belt for easy access in combat. Marcus was the first at the doors to the church, though they didn¡¯t need to enter it as he noticed the Devout that was going to accompany them back to Tinte alongside the man who had come to Gauntlet with the message. ¡°Is this everyone?¡± the hired Devout asked as he looked at Logan and the elemental behind him. ¡°Yeah¡±, Logan replied as he looked at Servoir, ¡°I can take up to seven others with me, so we¡¯re below that limit.¡± The Devout who had brought the message, Aev, gave an astonished reply, ¡°Really? That¡¯s quite the mastery of a second-level spell. Marcus, you¡¯ve made some strong friends.¡± ¡°You¡¯re, Logan, correct? I think I remember you coming to our church a few times. So, that makes you the phasing hunter.¡± Picking up their bags, the Devouts followed the rest of the party as they began to walk to the gates. ¡°I¡¯ve grown a lot since Tinte too, Aev¡±, Marcus boasted. ¡°Since we are using teleportation magics, shall I take it we¡¯ll be given a return trip?¡± the Devout asked. ¡°Of course. Once you¡¯ve accessed the situation with Marta, we¡¯ll see what needs to be done. If we can sort it out, we¡¯ll try and do so, then come back. That fine?¡± Logan explained. ¡°It would be nice to visit another town for a few days, I am fine with a few days'' leave.¡± With Logan¡¯s mastery of Dimensional Jaunt hitting six the other day, he was able to teleport thirty-six miles at a time, using his updated eagle¡¯s eyeglass he was able to view past that distance. It would take him seven casts to reach Tinte, costing 14 MP. If he hadn¡¯t used teleportations earlier in the day he could make a round trip in a day. ¡°Is this a friend of yours?¡± Aev asked as he looked back at Amalia. ¡°Yes. She will be accompanying us to experience another town too¡±, Logan half-lied. ¡°Hello. Is Tinte nice?¡± ¡°Was nicer a few weeks ago. We¡¯ve had troubles here and there, the goblin invasion demolished a lot of our stocks and supplies.¡± ¡°Tinte didn¡¯t have many adventurers over rank 5, last time I was there¡±, Marcus added as he twisted his head to look back at Amalia. ¡°I suppose even less after the goblin business¡±, Logan assumed. ¡°You¡¯re right. Many seven day¡¯ers lost that challenge. A lot of adventurers even left Tinte to find better employment elsewhere¡±, Aev solemnly admitted. ¡°Was Marta¡¯s wound from the invasion?¡± Marcus inquired. ¡°Yeah¡±, Aev responded, his face betraying his lie away from the sight of the others.
Reaching the gates, a few guards waved off Logan and Marcus. Returning the gestures and passing over the large bridge, Logan took out his eyeglass and started to adjust its partitions to go to the highest zoom level. ¡°Everyone grab onto my coat and hold tight. We¡¯ll be teleporting into the sky and then to the ground at Tinte to cover the most distance possible¡±, Logan instructed as he held up the monocular to check it. The team did as he ordered, Servoir wrapping his body around Logan¡¯s leg to leave room for the others. Looking into the far distant sky, in the direction of Tinte, Logan mentally commanded Dimensional Jaunt seven times. Using his last Signature Spell of it for the day, he spent 12 MP for the last six. The team soared high in the sunlight, the blasts of air they created halting most of the fierce winds in the higher altitudes. Marcus took in the sights of all that was below, while Amalia was still finding it hard to not shut her eyes at times. Aev let out an energetic breath at the exhilarating experience, while the Devout they had hired had seemingly done this a few times before. With the final teleport bringing the team to the muddy floor of Tinte, Logan had bridged a massive span of land that had taken him ten days to walk before in a matter of a minute. Dust and dirt were blown away from their feet as they landed with little velocity, Logan being able to adjust how fast they moved through his spell. Several civilians jumped at the sound and the sight, a few kids running behind walls or their parents in fear. Logan and Marcus waved their hands high and both spoke, ¡°Everything is fine, just adventurer business.¡± Looking over the village, Logan saw how hard the invasion hit the place. Whilst not physically damaged too badly, the streets were more empty than he had ever seen them. Several house doors had been boarded up, and pets taken away from the hovels. ¡°They¡¯ll recover¡±, Marcus muttered under his breath as the team walked through the streets.
The team eventually wound up at the church, the exterior coated in dust and dirt, as well as a few smudged bloodstains across the entrance. Opening the doors had wind rush inside along with Aev and the party. The smell of infection and rot prevailed within the interior, even with the movement of air. ¡°This way¡±, Aev said as he moved to the back and opened another door. Entering a cramped room, the party saw Marta laid out on a large wooden table, wrappings around her stomach and bowls dripping onto nearby tables with dirtied water. Aev stumbled to Marta¡¯s side and grabbed her hand, ¡°Marta, how are you?¡± Marta muttered almost incomprehensible words, at a guess they were, ¡°Terrible.¡± The hired Devout moved to the patient''s side and looked over her quickly, ¡°I shall start examining her, please wait outside or return in an hour.¡± Marcus covered his mouth, teary eyes holding back a flood as he looked at his mentor. Logan placed a hand on his friend¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Let¡¯s wait outside¡±, he whispered as he pulled Marcus out of the room. Amalia followed, closing the door behind her. She looked as if she wanted to say something, but it seemed she settled on that she shouldn¡¯t. Marcus walked a bit faster, moving from Logan¡¯s grasp and outside the large church doors. Breathing in and out, Marcus was flushing out the bad air from his lungs and trying to clear his head. Logan stood by his side, letting his friend know he was there. ¡°This isn¡¯t the first time I¡¯ve seen someone laying there like that¡±, Marcus began, his words shaky. ¡°Tinte is a small village, I doubt you¡¯d always have the reagents for healing services¡±, Logan knowingly said. ¡°No, we didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°She¡¯ll be fine, don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Amalia closed the doors to the church and leaned against them, not wanting to butt in. Servoir stood at Logan¡¯s side, keeping quiet as he knew his master¡¯s will. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Minutes passed as the party stood outside, awaiting a diagnosis. They already assumed it was going to be regeneration, but the wait was deathly. Waiting became even worse when others came to interrupt it. A trio of adventurers, cocky strides and clanking weapons at their backs, approached Logan and Marcus, one of them tilting their heads to see Marcus. ¡°Hey, look here! The rumours were true, Marky got himself a phasing ferry back home¡±, the leader mentioned boisterously. Marcus sighed as he looked to the side, ignoring the trio who had appeared. ¡°Devout got coin to spare if he can buy that. Come to see how we fared against the goblins?¡± a woman in the back asked teasingly. ¡°I don¡¯t think he¡¯s listening¡±, the last man added. ¡°If you got coin, you owe us a silver for that crossbow and bolts last time¡±, the leader put forward as he stepped towards Marcus. Logan was about to step to block the man, but Marcus¡¯s hand stopped him. Using the other to pull a coin from his pouch he threw it at the man. ¡°Take that, and piss off¡±, Marcus cursed. The leader knelt down and picked up the coin, ¡°Marky, you got confident with your leave.¡± ¡°And you, after you left me.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t about to die for someone whose mouth only produces what a potion can.¡± ¡°And yours spews what I flush at night¡±, Marcus insulted as he stared daggers at the leader. The two stared at each other, the faces of the two others darkening a bit. After a heated staring match, the leader responded, ¡°Whatever. Enjoy your nostalgia trip¡±, he said before walking away. With the other two leaving as well, Logan was sure a fight was going to break out. He felt a chuckle in his cheeks at Marcus¡¯s rebuttal. ¡°You good?¡± Logan asked. ¡°Yeah, no point worrying about trash.¡± The trio walking away stopped as their leader¡¯s body stopped their walk, turning around he shouted, ¡°Damn Devout!¡± Running at Marcus, the leader drew a large sword from their back and aimed to make a downward swing on Logan¡¯s ally. Logan jumped to the side, out of their way, he knew Marcus would want to handle this himself. Marcus¡¯s body took on a grey glow as he Enhanced himself, drew up a dagger, and parried the man¡¯s slash, pushing him back into a tumble at the overwhelming strength that Marcus had behind him. Following the parry, Marcus jumped after the attacker, spun and drew his staff, and dealt an under swing into the man¡¯s chin. Cracks could be heard, but it wasn¡¯t from the staff, but from the teeth flying out of the man¡¯s mouth. Kicking off the ground, Marcus followed with a deft doublestrike into the man¡¯s chest and stomach, pushing him into a crashing slide on the mud, making a large trench in it. The man¡¯s slide stopped as he was left unconscious beneath his fellows who looked at Marcus in awe. ¡°Next time you attack someone, make sure they aren¡¯t a hunter¡±, Marcus spat at the trio as he pointed at his armband. They apparently had no clue what it meant, and probably had never dealt with a hunter to this point. Regardless they bowed their heads a few times as they picked up their leader and took him away. Logan walked back to Marcus¡¯s side, ¡°You alright letting them go?¡± ¡°The guards here might take their side, at least he¡¯ll have problems spewing any more shit¡±, Marcus said without looking at the trio. Logan laughed as he nudged Marcus¡¯s shoulder with his fist, ¡°That was a good comeback, by the way.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± Amalia observed the situation, her body shaking a bit from the power on display. Marcus¡¯s glowing body and the fierceness behind his attacks showed just how strong people got in this world. Would she reach that strength too, she wondered. Walking to the pair she spoke, ¡°Shitheads here too, it looks like.¡± ¡°As you¡¯ll find anywhere. I can at least find something good in their actions. Them leaving me for dead allowed me to get saved by Logan.¡± ¡°A bad situation turning into an amazing future, huh?¡± Logan remarked as he shrugged his shoulders. Marcus laughed, a smile returning to his face was a welcome sight with the current situation. ¡°What was that glow?¡± Amalia asked. ¡°Enhance, a second-level spell. I used it on my Strength and Agility¡±, Marcus informed as he turned to look at Amalia. ¡°For you, it¡¯d almost double your current power¡±, Logan added. ¡°You¡¯ll get it too, if we are going to hunt some trolls¡±, Marcus offered as he smiled at Amalia. ¡°I just gotta get used to using this thing¡±, Amalia mentioned as he brought up her hand crossbow. ¡°Let me show you.¡± The rest of the time spent waiting was spent with Marcus teaching Amalia how to use her crossbow.
After several more minutes passed, the doors to the church opened as the hired Devout exited them to the party. ¡°What we looking at¡±, Logan asked. The Devout sighed, ¡°Marta was attacked by a necromane.¡± ¡°Necro-mane?¡± ¡°It is a necrotic-infused type of wolf. Often employed by demon species to guard treasures. No one else here could identify it, but it was killed. I am surprised the component master here didn¡¯t check the items he was given.¡± ¡°This is the first I¡¯ve heard of them¡±, Marcus admitted. ¡°Might be the first for the village too. Either way, their bites are deadly. It seems her organs were eaten away, and her healing kept her alive. However, she was cursed by its bite.¡± ¡°What?¡± Marcus asked under his breath. ¡°Normally, curses can be cured for a few silver to a gold, if they are tackled early. If not, they take very expensive components to get rid of.¡± ¡°I met someone else with a curse, in Moella¡±, Logan added. ¡°Then you might have some idea on this. She wasn¡¯t diagnosed early enough. If we get rid of the curse, we still need to revive and regenerate her. You¡¯re looking at 30 gold, minimum.¡± ¡°Fuck me¡±, Logan cursed. ¡°This specific curse is eating away at her. Even if we revive and recover her, it will give her a few months at best before the curse brings her back to this point.¡± ¡°Are there any other options?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°A few. Transferring the curse onto a new wielder, though that is expensive too. Getting permanent regeneration would also work, though she would be in discomfort for the rest of her life¡ª¡± ¡°How bad would the discomfort be?¡± Marcus pushed. ¡°Think of it as like having ants in your stomach. Numbness spells and herbs could negate that though.¡± ¡°Anything else?¡± Logan asked. ¡°A combination of spells and herbs could replicate the organs she lost, but that would be bleeding her pocket as bad as her organs are bleeding out.¡± ¡°How long does she have for us to make a choice?¡± Marcus asked, his eyes shaking. ¡°A month, anything more than that and moving her would be dangerous and we¡¯d need to bring the items and people to her. At most, two weeks after that.¡± ¡°What about using healing magic to steady her?¡± Logan inquired. ¡°That is counting that, she is already doing her best to slow the process.¡± Everyone stood in silent contemplation for a few moments before Logan spoke up, ¡°Can you gather the additional reagents needed for permanent regeneration? I¡¯ve been researching trolls and I may be able to find one.¡± ¡°Oh? If so, that would be the best outcome. Your teleportation powers are sufficient enough for me to not worry about your safety fighting them.¡± ¡°How much will it cost?¡± Logan asked further. ¡°If you bring the blood, I¡¯d say 50 silver, if all the reagents are here.¡± Logan was glad that the price hadn¡¯t fluctuated. He had investigated the components beforehand, the kicker was the blood. But this event gave him an easier approach to getting some. The other components were rare, but thankfully not too widely used in other items, hence the lower price. ¡°She won¡¯t need revival if she gets permanent regeneration, right?¡± Marcus asked to make sure. ¡°It would run off her own power. It should be sufficient to bring her to good health if we monitor her. With everything added together, you can just pay me 1 gold.¡± ¡°All right, we¡¯re going to talk with Marta and Aev first. We¡¯ll look for you at the Dogslop Inn when we need you¡±, Logan explained. ¡°See you then¡±, the Devout spoke as he bowed and moved off into the village. The trio looked towards each other as they made a sort of circle. ¡°That sorts that. A curse is worrying though¡±, Logan started. ¡°At least the beast that dealt it is dead¡±, Marcus accepted. ¡°I¡¯d hate to be in her position¡±, Amalia added. ¡°We know how to deal with it, let¡¯s test my plan.¡± Turning to the doors, they went to the back room.
¡°Marta?¡± Logan spoke as he got close to the Devout¡¯s head. ¡°We¡¯ve talked with the healer, and come to a decision. Troll¡¯s blood is the easiest way to save you. You just need to ask us to get some. It is going to be costly, but if you can pay 1 gold, we can get it for you.¡± Aev took on a somewhat strange face, a mix of eagerness and some sort of resentment. Logan¡¯s words may have been a bit terse, asking for payment upfront. He may have heard it more like, ¡°Pay or die¡±. But this was how it was going to be. Marta looked at Logan, obviously weak but contemplating the option. Marcus took a step forward, ¡°It¡¯s ok, Marta. Ask us to do this, and we can do it. We¡¯re a lot stronger since we left here.¡± Marta looked at Marcus who still glowed grey and then back at Logan, forcing out wispy words she spoke, ¡°1 gold for troll¡¯s blood. Please, bring it if you can.¡± ¡°Marta has asked you to bring her a phial of troll¡¯s blood to grant her innate regeneration. Do you accept? Yes / No. Reward: 1 gold¡±, a new window appeared to the side of Marta¡¯s head. Logan thought for a second, and then pushed a bit further, ¡°You want us to go kill some trolls for their blood? We can¡¯t just buy this kind of stuff.¡± He knew that if there was a way to just buy the stuff, the system could just have him trade for some and not Harvest it. ¡°Yes. It is never in stores. You will need to kill trolls for it.¡± ¡°Marta has asked you to kill trolls and bring her a phial of troll¡¯s blood to grant her innate regeneration. Do you accept? Yes / No. Reward: 1 gold.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll do this for you¡±, Logan accepted, the window disappearing into his quest log like any other hall quest or hunting contract as the, ¡°Yes¡±, option turned green. --- *** --- Chapter 106 - Not the Man I Was The team had a quick chat with Aev, the Devout of Tinte informed them that they could pay the 1 gold fee, but was worried about any further costs incurred by the healing and reagents for the innate regeneration application. Marcus informed Aev that it would be fine in the end and that they wouldn¡¯t hold it against them. He had to pick his words carefully, so as not to alter Logan¡¯s quest, so he would inform the man later about the good news he had in store. Moving back to the outside, Marcus addressed Logan, ¡°So, how¡¯s it looking?¡± Logan opened up his quest log and map, a grin appeared across his face as he replied, ¡°That worked, I have an area to search. We¡¯ll be heading southwest from here.¡± ¡°What about your spells left for the day?¡± Logan took a few seconds to calculate in his head, ¡°It would be best we save the trolls for tomorrow. While they shouldn¡¯t be hard for the two of us, I don¡¯t want to have as few teleports as I currently do if we have Amalia with us.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you take them out with a single shot?¡± Amalia asked, bemused. Logan turned to Amalia, ¡°Most likely. But with how the locale has changed, I worry we may have traitors in our midst and errant monster patrols.¡± ¡°Then I have a suggestion. Amalia doesn¡¯t ¡®need¡¯ an adventurer¡¯s signet to work on missions with me. I can pick up a few, take her out, and work on those ten beginning quests¡±, Marcus offered. ¡°And give her all of the rewards?¡± ¡°Yeah. It is in our best interest that she aces her quest to get the best reward. Your rewards were very apt for your class.¡± ¡°I would appreciate some warm-up for the trolls too¡±, Amalia added. ¡°Alright, good plan. Take my elementals with you, and I¡¯ll work on making my fifth.¡±
A half-hour passed as Logan summoned Celsius, Spark, and Fahrenheit back into life. Sending them off, alongside Servoir, with Marcus and Amalia, Logan made his way to the Dogslop Inn. There were a few people Logan wanted to say hi to during his stay, and now would be a good time to do so. Rumours of his return would have spread anyway, so it would be rude to not drop in. The first was Coach at the Doglsop Inn. The man was more than happy to see a previous customer, especially one who did so many villager quests. He mentioned how confident Logan was looking, as well as his strength reflected in the new gear he was wearing. Buying up four rooms, Logan handed over 2 silver readily. It seemed like the inn wasn¡¯t doing the best, so a room each was a nice gesture to help the innkeeper. Spending the next half-hour, Logan decided on making his fifth and final summon at a time. He already had a Flame, Lightning, Frost, and Aqua summons. The last ones he could make were Necromantic, Gaia, or Wind. He could create the last three, but not today. He could only do five elements a day. It was hard to determine which one would be the best for MP Thievery, as he hadn¡¯t fought any elementals nor did many other casters quantify spells in the same way he did. Most casters seemingly settled on Flame and Gaia elementals, as the former helped to heat areas and the latter was bulkier. With the hybrid nature of a Rogue, and his dealings in the night, Logan settled on his next summon. ¡°Elements of Avanar, I call forth your strength. Lend me a denizen of your hold and I shall grant them a true will. Created in my arcane image, infused with my magic, I summon thee. Summon Necromantic Elemental, Umbra!¡± With the final words leaving Logan¡¯s lips, he placed his hand on the floor as the arcane symbols danced across the floor of his inn room. The light of the room seeped inwards, leaving a dark interior with the closed windows peeking sunlight being cast out. A shadowy mass formed in the circle, creating a 4¡¯ tall warping humanoid shape of flowing blackness. Grey eyes formed on its face as jagged teeth showed an opening mouth. Wispy and ghastly voices erupted from its maw, as if it had three voices, ¡°That which gives me life, I am born in your guise. Humbly I shall serve, till my last speck is snuffed out.¡± The shadows rippled from the taillike bottom to the flowing shadowy mass at the tip of its head. A sight that Logan was accustomed to as the final implantation of his personality. Umbra opened its mouth again as it spoke in a ghostly manner, ¡°Who am I summoned to kill?¡± ¡°No one, just yet¡±, Logan replied as he looked at Umbra¡¯s beginning stats. ¡°Umbra - Necromantic Elemental. Level 1. STR 8, AGI 10, CON 8, INT 10, WIS 5, CHA 5: 4/4 HP, 1/1 MP.¡± ¡°Fifth time is the charm it seems¡±, Logan thought to himself, as Umbra had a higher Intelligence than his other summons. Umbra seemed like he would get along with Servoir, though Servoir seemed to delight in combat and death, Umbra acted more like a sort of hired killer who just did the job without enjoyment. Dismissing Umbra, Logan left the inn to go explore the village of Tinte.
The first stop was the house he had stayed at with Jrizan, and the gashriek crafting couple who moved in afterwards. Sadly there was no dog and no answer at the door. The inside was mostly bare from what Logan could see through cracks in the window. They had probably moved out after their crafting trip was done here. Passing several small huts, Logan saw many more were empty. Just how harsh had the recent events hit this place? Eventually, the Spellthief landed outside the ¡°library¡± helmed by Bobcu, the old man who complained about the cold weather all too often. He would have died earlier if Logan had let Dena make her way here to steal tomes, but his interference gave Bobcu some more time to enjoy his chair in peace. Entering the building showed the same sight as when he had left it, cosy bookshelves creating a hallway to a circular desk. The chair was void of any such sentient creature though. Logan paced the shelves until he saw the old man hunched over and organising his tomes, causing Logan to let out a sigh of relief. ¡°Bobcu, long time, no see¡±, Logan spoke a bit louder as he approached. Bobcu turned around and cranked his head up to look at the man approaching him, ¡°Huh? Who¡¯s that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Logan, I was here about two months back¡ª¡± Bobcu then jumped slightly into a more straight position, ¡°Logan, my lad! You¡¯ve¡¯ the look of three men. The capital did you well it seems.¡± This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°A lot of work at my back set me up just fine. It looks like you¡¯re keeping busy.¡± ¡°I had a rush of clients during the invasion and a few after. Sad to say that work has slowed a lot since.¡± ¡°Customers are sure to pick up as the village recovers, I am sure¡±, Logan comforted. ¡°Who¡¯s to say? Work was slow even before you arrived. Speaking of which, what tales do you bring from your journey?¡± Bobcu sat down at a nearby table with Logan shortly behind. Without saying too much, the pair chatted about recent events and Logan¡¯s tasks since leaving Tinte.
Placing a cup on the table, Logan stood up and stretched his arms out wide, ¡°Well, it¡¯s been swell catching up. I got a few more people to see before I have to move on, again.¡± Bobcu stood too, though slower, as he picked up a stack of books that had accumulated on the table beside him, ¡°That it was. I hope these books suit your needs well.¡± Logan took them and placed them within his bag normally, spending 2 gold to get Amalia set up for skills for a while. With a pat on the old man¡¯s shoulder, Logan replied, ¡°If I am to pass through again, I will make sure you drop more coins on you.¡± Bobcu waved off Logan as he left, the sun starting its downward movement in the distance. With the normal busyness of the village coming to a close, besides late adventurer returns, Logan moved over to the adventurers¡¯ hall.
The exterior of the hall had seen some changes in recent weeks. New sections of wood showed it had taken damage during Logan¡¯s leave. Either from duels in the streets, or goblins reaching the interior of the village. Whichever was true, it seemed like the place was rebuilding. Opening the doors, Logan was treated to a mostly barren foyer. The large board on the right side was full of parchment, showing the lack of adventurers taking jobs. Logan counted five adventures in the hall, in groups of two and three. Only one receptionist was at the far counter as he approached it. ¡°Hello, is Ruben¨¦ here?¡± Logan asked. A rather short man with comparably short greying hair replied in a low voice, ¡°Huh? No. You come through here before?¡± ¡°I used to take on quests here, she was my main receptionist. She got off early?¡± The man took a sip of water from a tankard on his side of the counter and coughed slightly, ¡°It¡¯s mostly me handling things during the week, as well as the contract noter. A lot of the staff have been moved to weekend clean up.¡± Logan crossed his arms, ¡°Sounds like not a lot of work to spread around the team.¡± ¡°It is so. You looking for work? We got plenty of quests. You seem able, for a mage¡­ or are you a ring-caster Rogue?¡± ¡°Wizard. I¡¯ll actually be helping the local church with some problems they are having.¡± ¡°Oh, good. Our adventurers haven¡¯t been able to heal some of their more severe injuries with that place out of commission. Combined with slower healing per day, since they can¡¯t hire out Devouts for quests.¡± ¡°There many monsters patrolling near the settlement?¡± Logan asked with a hint of worry in his voice. ¡°More than usual, but not much closer.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll see if we got time for some aid¡ª¡± Logan said as he began to turn. The shorter man held out his hand as he addressed Logan, ¡°Uh, sir. You¡¯re a hunter, right?¡± Logan turned his head to the side to look at the man again, ¡°Yeah. Need some hunting done?¡± ¡°M-maybe. It might just be unaccounted deaths, but, some teams haven¡¯t made it back in a while with no word¡±, the man continued with a worried look across his face. ¡°You got contracts to look for them?¡± Logan asked, not just for the money, but for the ease of use in his quest log. ¡°No, we lack a hunting lodge, so we don¡¯t have much in the way to pay for hunters you see.¡± ¡°Write them up, I¡¯m fine taking what¡¯s on the bodies if there are traitors, or what I am allowed to take from the fallen¡±, Logan replied tersely. The man bowed his head slightly, ¡°Thank you, sir. I can get them written up ready for the morning.¡± It was rare for a quest to only have a ¡°Payment in loot¡± style of reward. They mostly never got picked up since you could come across ¡°loot¡± when travelling normally, you only got the right to the loot as the contracts made it so it was part of your quest. Interruptions were against the law without cause or invitation. Another case was that if someone found it before you took the quest, you could be without pay at all. Logan moved to the quest board to scan over the quests on offer. Some were so covered up by others that the Spellthief had to part parchment from another to see them all. ¡°Logan?¡± the man sitting atop the tall chair near the board asked. Logan looked over, recognising him as the same man from long ago, ¡°Ah, good to see you¡¯re still here.¡± ¡°And to you returning. How was the capital?¡± ¡°Busy and eventful. Stopped by to help the Tinte church¡±, Logan replied as he pointed a thumb to the exit. ¡°I heard they were in trouble. Felt it too. A lot of the longer quests won¡¯t get taken without a Devout on hand.¡± ¡°Well. If we sort it out, things should get back to normal¡±, Logan replied as he began to tear parchment from their pins on the board, holding twenty in total. ¡°Good to hear¡ªand to see that you¡¯re a workaholic as usual¡±, the man replied as he read over the contract and made notes in his book, ¡°villager quests as usual, ay?¡± ¡°They seem quick to do. I doubt anyone is thinking of the villagers with what''s been going on lately.¡± ¡°As usual¡±, the man said quieter.
Logan left the hall as he adjusted his quest log to deal with the villager quests he had obtained quickly. It would have been a quick way to get Amalia¡¯s quest objective done, if the quests weren¡¯t so ¡°solo¡± orientated. She would need to pretty much do them all on her own if she were to get the credit. However, the team already had plans to sort out her quests, so it didn¡¯t matter much. Making his way to Ruben¨¦¡¯s house, Logan gave a solid knock at the door. After waiting for a while, the door finally opened to show a well-rested blonde woman whose smile glistened just like her magenta eyes. ¡°Logan!¡± Ruben¨¦ shouted as she hugged the Spellthief. ¡°Nice to see you too¡±, Logan replied as he returned the hug. Standing back at her doorway, Ruben¨¦ continued, ¡°The capital treated you well. Look at those trinkets.¡± Logan looked at his hand and snickered, ¡°A lot has happened. Care to hear about it?¡± Ruben¨¦ looked back into her house and then to Logan, ¡°I have some friends visiting from out of town. How long are you staying?¡± ¡°A couple of days, maybe more depending.¡± ¡°Great. Do you mind coming back in two? Would get a bit cramped in here with so many people¡ª¡± Ru started to reply. ¡°We can sit on each other''s laps¡±, a man¡¯s voice shouted from inside. ¡°Cramped enough as it is¡±, a woman¡¯s voice followed. Logan looked at the outside of the house, it wasn¡¯t going to fit many people, and his getting added to the mix was going to make it uncomfortable. ¡°That¡¯s fine, two days it is¡±, he replied with a smile. ¡°It is good to see you, you just caught me at an active time. See you in two days¡±, Ru said with a smile, hugging Logan before closing the door. Logan let out a sigh, he wanted to chat but was understanding of the situation. It was probably nice to have friends close with what happened some time ago. With some hours of daylight left, Logan decided to clean up the quest log before his allies returned.
The first quest was to aid in moving debris away from the walls and entrances of Tinte. Since it was mostly wooden palisades, Logan lugged huge wooden spikes to nearby woodcutters to divide up into smaller pieces for firewood. Normal civilians only had a Strength of 8 to 12, adventurers got around 18 to 20 at level 5 if they were a Fighter class. Logan, at level 16, had a base Strength of 26 without a trinket aiding him. Being around three times stronger, Logan was able to lug almost a full tree on each shoulder.
The second was to aid in the cutting of the wood that Logan had hauled, the populace was surprised at the power a mage held, especially one that wasn¡¯t a Devout. With an axe in hand, one with hardly any spellforce in it, Logan was able to split logs without issue and so precisely that he needed no aid.
Logan¡¯s third, fourth, and fifth villager quests were to aid in the reconstruction of the damaged parts of the palisade walls. Chopping down trees, removing branches and the like, and carting the trunks back to the village. It was a short distance walk, so Logan did the work of many people in even less time.
Numbers six through thirteen were more suited to Logan¡¯s ¡°tracking¡± skills. Using his map markers and radiuses, Logan found lost toys and dolls for children, the remains of people lost during attacks, as well as runaway pets who made their way into the nearby forests and were unable to find their way home. The faces of those to who he returned them to were full of tears, and happy smiles for the toys and pets.
The final seven quests had Logan take on the duty of cleaner. Removing corpses and broken materials, he constantly used Clean to sterilize the worst parts of the village. It was necessary to stop the spread of disease, as well as to just make the village a nicer place to visit. It didn¡¯t seem like there were many mages left who had micks, let alone the pricing of cleaning stones to do this in his place.
All in all, Logan used his last 4 MP, and 2 from his necklace, to Dimensional Jaunt around the village where it would speed up his questing. Many of the villagers recognised the mage as he moved about and were similarly surprised at his increase in power. Thankfully, adventurers in larger cities were assumed to grow at faster rates, so it wasn¡¯t too out-of-the-ordinary. For the twenty villager quests he was paid 5 silver and 7 copper, including the 5% extra from his titles. 132 quests done: 16 adventurers and 2 dungeons, 34 villagers, 80 hunters.
Returning to the Dogslop Inn, Logan saw his two allies sitting at a table, grabbing his own chair he asked, ¡°So, how¡¯d your day go?¡± --- *** --- Chapter 107 - Made of Stronger Stuff (Amalia) Earlier in the day, on the outskirts of Tinte Marcus looked back at the village of Tinte shrinking in the distance, then back to Amalia whose gaze was locked on something he couldn¡¯t see. The sounds of nature were accompanied by the elemental sounds coming from Celsius, Spark, Fahrenheit, and Servoir. The two formers were at the front of the team and the latter at the back. Amalia let out a sigh as she looked over her hand crossbow, ¡°So, we¡¯re hunting rabbits, deer, and wolves?¡± she asked at the back of Marcus. Marcus slowed down a bit to meet Amalia¡¯s side, ¡°Yeah, three easy-enough quests with our team setup. We¡¯ll start you off with some prey, test that crossbow out and get you used to the sight of blood.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine with blood, my fists have seen a bit, and I¡¯ve had some drawn from me too¡±, Amalia informed and she shook out her hand. ¡°Fight much before coming here?¡± Marcus inquired with a friendly smile. ¡°I did MMA as a hobby.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Mixed Martial Arts.¡± ¡°I ask again¡±, Marcus said with a chuckle. ¡°You don¡¯t have that here, huh? I guess this place is a bit more¡­ medieval?¡± ¡°Logan talked about something similar before.¡± ¡°Anyway, it¡¯s a combat sport of sorts. Striking, grappling, and ground fighting. Since it¡¯s ¡®mixed¡¯ you can use most styles of hand-to-hand combat.¡± ¡°So, is it training? You said sports. But a hobby?¡± ¡°It can be competitive, we had competitions for it back on Earth. I just did it because it was fun, not wanting to actually get into it too deeply. I like to be able to wake up without a puffed face.¡± ¡°I¡¯d say we got something in common then. I do physical training with the guards at Gauntlet. They train me in weapon combat, alongside single and group encounters.¡± ¡°Anything unarmed?¡± Amalia asked, looking at Marcus a bit more. ¡°No, I rely on weapons¡±, Marcus replied as he put on a bigger smile as Amalia met his eye. ¡°Maybe we can spar sometime then¡±, Amalia laughed. ¡°When you get some ranks, yeah.¡± ¡°Oh right, you call them ranks. I¡¯m¡­ rank 1?¡± ¡°Right. Your body gets used to the output and input of spellforce as you fight opponents. When your body has become accustomed enough, it allows you to use denser spellforce. This equates to a person¡¯s rank¡±, Marcus recited. ¡°We¡¯re made up of spellforce too, right?¡± ¡°Correct. Your innate spellforce changes as you get stronger.¡± ¡°So, fight, alter your spellforce, and get stronger. What¡¯s your rank?¡± ¡°Currently 11.¡± ¡°Is that much higher than mine then? What¡¯s the limit?¡± ¡°Growth is a bit exponential. As for being high, comparatively, yeah. There are only a few thousand adventurers over rank 15. At least when the G-Hall is concerned¡±, Marcus remembered as he held up his palm, ¡°punch my hand as hard as you can, and you might see the difference.¡± Amalia blinked at the offer but accepted it. The team stood still for a bit as Amalia got into a fighting stance, her fists in front of her face. Wringing back a right hook she landed it solidly into Marcus¡¯s palm. The Devout didn¡¯t even flinch, Amalia¡¯s attack being stopped as if she hit a brick wall. ¡°I¡¯d do the same, but¡±, Marcus continued as he walked to a tree, ¡°this is safer to demonstrate.¡± Wringing back his arm, Marcus landed a solid blow into the trunk of the tree, his fist going straight through it and towards the centre as his arm fully extended. Pulling it out caused pieces of bark to come with his fist. Amalia stared at the hole in the tree, ¡°That¡¯s¡­ without your weapon?¡± Marcus shook out his hand, wood falling off, ¡°I can Enhance myself further too. You¡¯re a melee class though, so you should outgrow what I can do. If you continue adventuring that is.¡± Amalia looked at the hole for a while before continuing to walk with the team. ¡°Enhance, is that another spell?¡± ¡°Yeah. I am a Devout. Most of my spells are for healing or aiding others. I do have a few attack spells though.¡± Amalia looked at her open hand, ¡°So if I am a ¡®Knight¡¯ that means I can¡¯t use magic?¡± Marcus looked at Amalia and patted her shoulder, ¡°Not in the way that I do. Almost everyone can use spellforce, melee classes use it to enforce their bodies as well as their equipment. You could weave it into crafting too.¡± ¡°Logan mentioned something about higher-level weapons having denser spellforce in them.¡± ¡°Right. That resonates with your control over spellforce. Hence why it¡¯s hard for me to use his weapons as they are stronger than my control.¡± Amalia sighed a bit, ¡°No sparks from my fingertips then.¡± ¡°There¡¯s always spell rings.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°These, try it¡±, Marcus replied as he slipped a Gaia ring from his finger and gave it to Amalia, ¡°point your hand at that tree and try to use the ring. It might help if you mentally command, Gaia Shot.¡± Amalia put the ring on her index finger and aimed her hand at the tree. Squinting her eyes she tried to visualise a shard of rock form in her hand and fire, but that didn¡¯t seem to work. Her mind was jumbled with other ideas, creating a fog of images instead of a pristine sight of what she wanted. Breathing out, Amalia focused further as she commanded in her head, ¡°Gaia shot¡±, forming a hunk of rock in her hand that shot quickly from her palm. Pelting the tree had several leaves and apples fall to the floor as Amalia felt a tingling sensation crawl across her hand and finger. With a wide smile across her face, Amalia said, ¡°Wow. That¡¯s amazing. You can do this all day?¡± Marcus smirked as he took the ring back from Amalia¡¯s outstretched hand, ¡°Not ¡®all¡¯ day, but a fair few times, yes.¡±
The pair chatted for a few more minutes before they entered the forest proper. Marcus gave a few pointers to Stealth closer to the prey animals, which was rather easy for Amalia to follow, if not for her shuffling chainmail. After scaring rabbit after rabbit, the pair were able to get a sightline on a lone hopping mass of fur and meat, its cuteness hiding the fact it held many parts useful for a town. The elementals were far back so that they didn¡¯t impede the stealthy approach. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°As long as you land a solid hit, it¡¯ll go down. Take your time¡±, Marcus instructed as he trained his eye on the rabbit. Amalia began to sweat as she aimed her hand crossbow at the rabbit. She felt a weird steadiness to her sight and her hand, she couldn¡¯t help but wonder if this was because of her transformation into a classed being, or the two points spent on her Agility. Pressing the trigger, the crossbow slung the bolt through the air, singing towards its target, the bolt hit the rabbit''s hide, pushing it to the floor on its side. Blood spluttered into the air as the rabbit let out a squeak. ¡°Nice shot¡±, Marcus praised as he stood and began to walk to the target. Amalia breathed out heavily as she stood and followed. Approaching the rabbit, the pair saw its feet kicking out as if it were trying to run away, its eyes darting around. Marcus told Amalia to shoot it again, which she did quickly to put it out of its misery. Picking up the corpse, the Devout threw it to an approaching Fahrenheit who froze the body in his grasp. ¡°You alright?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°I guess? Hard to say what I feel about this¡±, Amalia replied with uncertainty. ¡°That¡¯s fine. There¡¯s several that feel the same way, even if it is a lack of emotion.¡± ¡°It was easy at least¡±, Amalia continued as she looked at her crossbow. ¡°Classed beings find it easier, classless typically need a bit of training to get it right. We¡¯re lucky it was stationary.¡± ¡°How many more do we need?¡± Marcus thought for a second before replying, ¡°We need four more. Then two deer, and finally three wolves.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get to it.¡±
Amalia and Marcus continued to hunt their prey. With each target slain, Amalia got more used to using her crossbow. While she missed twice, it was all a learning experience. If her class was similar to that of a Knight, would she be using this crossbow for much longer? She wondered if she was even going to continue the adventuring side much longer. Getting tutored by Marcus, Amalia sustained the feeling of a fish out of water. All this fantasy, all this magic, it was natural to him. Amalia¡¯s weirdest experiences only came in the form of movies, something she had to equate Avanar to as a point of reference. Moving on to hunting the two deers, Marcus lined up his shots with Amalia, firing after she did, since she wasn¡¯t able to down them in one hit. The last task on hand was to hunt down the wolves, thankfully the pair were able to find a lone wolf that had strayed from the pack, or been ousted by a new alpha. ¡°Alright, something that might fight back given the chance. Hold a moment, Amalia¡±, Marcus whispered as he placed a hand on her shoulder, ¡°Enhance Agility, Sustained.¡± Amalia started to glow grey as Marcus continued to increase her Strength and Constitution. For someone on Marcus¡¯s level, this wasn¡¯t as a massive boost as it was for her, spells that granted her the power of someone four levels above her. ¡°I¡¯ll leave this one to you, Amalia. Even if the wolf hits you, you should be fine. Test out your shield and sword, as well as how you can move with this empowerment.¡± Amalia breathed out with a shocked look on her face, ¡°This, is amazing. I feel like I could run for miles and not get tired¡±, standing up she readied her gear, ¡°I¡¯ll call if I need help, but this little one should be easy now.¡± Moving away from the shade of the trees, Amalia ran towards the lone wolf who quickly picked up on her noise. It let out a grizzly growl as it was trying to look intimidating, but when Amalia continue charging, the wolf retaliated with a leaping bite attack. Amalia moved her shield upwards, bashing it into the face of the wolf. It quickly clambered its legs around the shield as it pulled itself upwards and tried to bite over it. Amalia took the opening she saw and pushed her shortsword through the ¡°mouth¡± shaped hole on the corner of her bouche-styled shield. The metal sang as it scraped onto the edges of the shield and a deep puncture sound emanated from a solid hit into the wolf''s torso. It dealt an empowered 6 damage to the brown wolf, a third of its health in one blow. Kicking off from the shield, the wolf fell into a slide on the grass as it reorientated itself into a sideways hop, circling the armoured fiend in front of it. Amalia was able to keep up with its speed thanks to her enhancements, though her mind had to keep up with the idea of fighting like this. The wolf leapt again, its jaw getting slammed as Amalia blocked the attack. ¡°Last Bastion¡±, Amalia called out, her body glowing blue, her shield vibrating, and her blade shining. Swiping her blade, she cut into the wolf again as the blade hit the hole of her shield, maintaining a defence stance whilst attacking in the same motion. With her skill activating, she dealt 10 damage, a mighty blow that caused the wolf to fall to the floor on its side, blood colouring Amalia¡¯s shield and sword as well as the grassy floor. Whining aloud, the wolf stumbled to its feet and began to retreat into the forest, but Amalia had a better standing posture than the monster. Leaping after it, Amalia swung her blade down and cut through the wolf¡¯s rear, forcing it to the floor in a convulsing manner before its movements stopped. Amalia let out several hard breaths, not entirely from the exhaustion of her body, but from her mental state adjusting to the event alongside the rush of adrenaline leaving her. Marcus and the elementals came out from hiding and approached her, ¡°Well done, no hits to you, and you finished it off quickly¡±, Marcus applauded. ¡°I got 297 experience from that wolf. It should be¡­ 330? I guess the Enhance from Marcus put him into the XP reduction¡±, Amalia thought to herself before replying, ¡°As I said, easy with your aid. The elementals didn¡¯t impede my progress either, so the party system works like Logan explained.¡± ¡°Good, we¡¯ll get you to five, then after that, it¡¯s down to your decisions¡±, Marcus replied with a smile before looking over her shield, ¡°Looks like that is a fine piece of protection. Should survive whatever we face today.¡± ¡°Two hits brought it down 6%. So just over thirty wolf bites¡±, Amalia calculated. ¡°I am not sure of the specifics, but that sounds about right. Your shield will get beat up the more damage it takes. Shields for higher ranks can take more, of course.¡± ¡°Sounds like a money sink¡±, Amalia replied as she cleaned her blade and shield on the floor. ¡°All classes have some form of it. Mine comes down to bolts, most spellcasters put it into potions, same for Knights and Fighters but of a different variant. We all have to pay for new weapons and armour too. If you get an inventory you¡¯ll be filling it with spare shields I wager.¡± ¡°I guess nothing lasts forever¡±, Amalia said off handily as she readied herself to move on.
The group Stealthed through the forest for a few more minutes, finding packs of monsters being attacked by other adventurers, or Marcus running to injured ones left behind to use Healer¡¯s Caress on them. It seemed in his absence not much had changed, and he had a personal grudge against those who left allies to die. With the elementals keeping back, and out of the party menu for Amalia, she was able to keep almost all experience for herself. It wasn¡¯t time just yet to impede her progress, and the level five reward for her quest was too tempting to give up. Eventually, the group was able to find a pack of three more wolves, just enough for the elementals to ferry back to the village with what hands they had free. Amalia¡¯s buffs were still active, Marcus¡¯s focus on them allowing them to persist for half an hour. She had a few minutes to spare against these wolves, and Marcus had little worry she would lose. Using Stealth, Amalia was able to circle the exterior of the clearing the wolves feasted within. Charging outwards, she landed a swift slash into the back of one of the wolves. With a following cross-cut into the ambushed wolf, it fell to the floor The two remaining wolves leapt at Amalia, she counterattacked with a bash of her shield sideways and sent the left wolf flying, and stabbed her sword into the right, skewering it in the air before swiping to the side to smash it to the floor. Twisting her arm, Amalia stabbed downwards into the fallen wolf and dragged it through the wolf¡¯s torso, ripping it open in a disgusting display. The final wolf was able to stand back up and charge at Amalia again, though they weren¡¯t too intelligent in their fighting, it did try to dart to her side to avoid another shield slam. Jumping at the Guardian, the wolf was met by a blocking shield just like all the others. However, the wolf was able to climb upwards a bit more than the previous ones and landed two swipes of its claws on Amalia¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Fuck!¡± Amalia cursed out in pain. Sliding her sword through the gap in the side of her shield and penetrated the wolf''s side over and over, until it finally fell from her shield to the floor. Stabbing her blade into the dirt floor, Amalia gripped her left shoulder as she winced in pain as blood dripped down and soaked her armour. Marcus came running over and patted her on the shoulder, using Healer¡¯s Caress twice to bring her back to full health. Amalia¡¯s wounds closed up fast, the pain dissipating just as quickly. ¡°Good fight, Amalia. Taking on three wolves at a time is a challenge and a half for starting adventurers¡±, Marcus praised. Amalia sat down and placed her shield on the ground next to her, ¡°There¡¯s no question in my mind that without your enhancements, I¡¯d be dead or close to.¡± ¡°And that¡¯s why we¡¯re doing this together¡±, Marcus replied as he sat by her side. The elementals eventually worked their way into the clearing to shuffle around the corpses so that they could all be carried. ¡°That fight pushed me into level 2¡±, Amalia announced. ¡°That was certainly quick, though to be expected from rank 3 monsters against an oracle.¡± ¡°Trolls will shoot me even higher and faster.¡± ¡°No doubt, one would boost you to rank 3.¡± ¡°This seven-day intro quest really wasn¡¯t made with a group in mind¡±, Amalia sighed in relief. ¡°That it wasn¡¯t, the royals survive it much better than us, with all their money going to hiring adventurers and buying top-end gear¡±, Marcus began before looking over the party, ¡°we¡¯ll head back after a short rest.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s hope we don¡¯t have to deal with your previous party members again.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 108 - Hunter鈥檚 Word Back at the Dogslop Inn. ¡°So that¡¯s all that happened¡±, Marcus finished explaining. ¡°How was the pay?¡± Logan asked. ¡°All in all, I got 8 silver¡±, Amalia informed as she drank from her tankard. Taking the books out from his bag, Logan replied, ¡°Good first quests¡¯ worth, we¡¯ll get you the rest later.¡± ¡°Is all that my homework?¡± Amalia asked with raised eyebrows. ¡°Yeah, five skills. That¡¯ll set you straight on the easier objectives.¡± ¡°It will take some time to learn them all. We do our reading at night before bed¡±, Marcus added with a smile. ¡°Right.¡± ¡°I also looked at some villager quests you can easily run through after we¡¯re done with the trolls, if not, some better adventurer ones¡±, Logan added. ¡°I wager she¡¯ll end up in the top 10% of seven-day survivors¡±, Marcus chuckled. ¡°Thanks for all of this, by the way¡±, Amalia added with a sincere smile. ¡°If I had this kind of guidance, I know my first few days would have been better¡±, Logan opened up. ¡°So, late night then?¡± ¡°For all of us, I got us all a room each. I¡¯ll be reading, same as you. Marcus, you sparring with my elementals tonight?¡± ¡°That I am.¡± Standing from the desk, Marcus left through the front door with the elementals, while Logan and Amalia retired for the night.
Logan¡¯s bedtime reading was spent reading a tome he had picked up from Bobcu. Adding a new skill to his repertoire, Logan was able to deal out more punishment with his at-hand mick, Force. Aside from the damage potential, it would affect all other micks. Waving his hand over the floor and chanting, ¡°Clean¡±, had a wider area voided of dirt and grime. Light Ally produced farther-reaching illumination to boot. Content with his improvement, Logan went to sleep. Amalia burnt the night oil a bit longer than Logan, with many more books at hand to read. While Marcus flipped over and smashed his staff into the elementals on the village''s dirt streets. It wasn¡¯t too late in the evening so he wasn¡¯t annoying any of the villagers with the display. If anything it granted some amusement as the sun set in the distance. With all elementals accounted for, and Marcus¡¯s victory in hand, the Devout gained 760 experience for the sparring matches. It was a shame that Logan couldn¡¯t benefit from the same tactic, and Amalia was far from strong enough to do it herself.
The next day arrived quickly for all parts of the party. Logan had done a lot of labour the day prior, while Marcus and Amalia did plenty of walking and questing. Logan did his typical morning routine of summoning his extra elementals and absorbing their spells, within his room. While it was costing a bit more MP to bring in the new blood, the cleaning efforts after the fight with trolls would slowly bring them up to par. Moving downstairs, the party ate their breakfast, a bit more stocky and oat-based than what they were used to in the capital, even more so for Amalia who had yet to dine on this world¡¯s food. Full of grub, and explanations to Coach whose face was awash with surprise and confusion at the five elementals at Logan¡¯s back, the group left the inn. The group made a quest stop at the Tinte adventurer¡¯s hall, Logan picking up some quests in the area they were going to. Mostly to clear out some monsters that had been spotted leaving the woods and making it hard to gather up herbs to restock supplies.
Leaving Tinte, Logan did the usual finger snap to use Echo Radar, increasing his mastery in it whilst checking for hostile threats. Surprisingly, Logan was able to notice two red dots hidden around a building¡¯s corner. Asking Umbra to sneak around to the back, the shadowy elemental returned to state that two adventurers were eyeing up Logan¡¯s party. Thinking it to be the angered presence of those that Marcus had insulted the day previously, Logan whispered over to the Devout and Amalia about the situation. Together, they agreed it would be best to deal with this away from the village, even cancelling any teleportation plans they had, just so the foes could follow them easier.
Walking for a half hour, Logan couldn¡¯t track the ones tailing his group, but he had a tingling sensation at his neck, as if someone was watching him. It could have been paranoia if he didn¡¯t notice them ahead of time. ¡°Let¡¯s duck into the woods¡±, Logan spoke, the party heading into a thicket of trees to their right. The southwestern dirt road didn¡¯t lead to much in any short distance, so it was a sure thing that the adventurers following in their footsteps were either out on quests, or out to fight Marcus. Planting a hand on Amalia, Logan teleported her atop a tree at quick speed before jumping back to the floor. Next, Logan sent the elementals off into the forest, to show that they were used as a form of labour, and not defence, against the oncoming would-be-traitors. Leaving only Marcus and Logan at the base of a different tree. The bait worked, as Logan¡¯s Echo Radar picked up dots approaching him. Though another surprise to add to the pile was a mix of red and yellow dots, meaning some were hostile and some were counted as ¡°neutral¡± until the situation changed to make them an enemy. Exiting the safety of the trees, several adventurers made themselves known to the party. Twelve in total, Logan counted the trio from yesterday at the lead, though this time garbed in metallic armour and harbouring more weapons than before. The other nine were a hodgepodge of leathers and hides, with shoddy gear to say the least. ¡°Finally took a rest, did you? No wonder your stamina is in the shit, your coin goes towards hiring a damned porter mage!¡± the leader spat at Marcus. ¡°Isn¡¯t that Logan?¡± one of the nine at the back asked another in a whisper. ¡°Since you¡¯re being paid by this Devout, how about we pay you off doubly?¡± the leader asked Logan. He was going to continue before Logan took a step forward. ¡°Adventurers. I believe that lies have clouded your mind, and coin your hearts. This man no doubt has a grudge against Marcus here, though he started the confrontation¡±, Logan began and then pointed at his armband, ¡°However, attacking hunters is a major offence, compounded with acting in a traitorous manner.¡± ¡°Hunter?¡± one of the nine whispered. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°Shit, that is Logan, wasn¡¯t he only rank three?¡± another said in a hushed tone. ¡°I give you all the chance. Leave and go back to Tinte. They require classed aid more now than ever. If you attack either myself or Marcus, I shall use my authority as a hunter to dish out your punishment¡­ I need not remind you that traitors are executed.¡± The nine looked at one another, some immediately turning heel and walking away, others taking a few moments to think it over. The leader turned his head around quickly as he saw his backup leave and shouted, ¡°Where the below are you going?!¡± ¡°You¡¯re on your own with this¡±, one replied as they walked off. ¡°I ain¡¯t no traitor, sort yourself out¡±, another spoke down to the leader. ¡°I thought ¡®we¡¯ were going after traitors, fuck this¡±, one said as they skipped away. In the end, it was just the trio and two extras who stayed with them. The leader looked back at Logan with anger across his face, ¡°You got honey words alright. But you¡¯re just a porter and summon salesman.¡± ¡°And you got no intelligence if you think you can take someone like that on¡±, Logan replied. The five prepared their arms, a culmination of two-handed swords, dual-wielding daggers, and a sword and shield at the back. Logan drew a single dagger and side-eyed Marcus, ¡°You want the head honcho?¡± ¡°Do you need to ask?¡± Marcus replied sarcastically. ¡°Shut your trap!¡± the leader shouted as he rushed forwards, those behind him following suit. Logan warped to his centre and appeared at the back, thrusting his Bowen dagger into the back of a traitor Rogue, and placing his hand on a traitor Knight to ignite them in flames as he chanted, ¡°Flame Grasp.¡± Two messages of Backstab floated upwards as Logan dealt 54 damage and 205 fire damage. On the other side of the conflict, Marcus had his body glow grey before he parried the two-handed overhead swing of the leader with his dagger, and smashed the leader¡¯s face with his staff. Dropping the dagger to the floor, Marcus spun around and slapped the leader¡¯s back, causing a spike of earth to erupt from his hand as he chanted, ¡°Gaia Grasp¡±, the earth piercing the leader¡¯s chest and forcing him to the floor. As the leader fell to the floor, Marcus spun his staff around to block strikes from the two who charged at his back. Bolts came singing from the treetops into the aggressors, who failed to spot the hidden Amalia amongst the leaves. Hitting into the wrist and arm of the woman who attacked him, Marcus disarmed one of the opponents and slammed his staff into the face of the other, sending them crashing to the floor. Two follow-up blasts of grey energy hit the final two foes, Logan¡¯s improved Force knocking both unconscious, ending the fight in quite a hasty manner. Clicking his fingers, Logan gave the all-clear to his party. Amalia jumped from the tree, while Marcus pulled the unconscious bodies into a row on the ground. It was almost always more useful for Logan to absorb the foes rather than kill them straight away. ¡°Sorry you had to be a part of that, Amalia, but these things can be common here¡±, Logan apologised as he looked at Amalia. ¡°I¡¯m used to knocking people out, or hitting them to the ground¡­ just not shooting them with a crossbow¡±, Amalia replied a bit shakily. ¡°There¡¯s no proper prison or cells in Tinte, it¡¯d take too long to process these back in Gauntlet either¡±, Marcus assessed. Logan looked around to confirm his Echo Radar findings of nothing before crouching down, ¡°Amalia, feel free to look away. The penalty for traitors is death. For those three it¡¯s possibly not their first time, especially the leader who roused this response after attacking Marcus yesterday.¡± Amalia gulped but kept a steady gaze on Logan as his hand was placed on the leader¡¯s chest, ¡°Do it.¡± Logan commanded in his head, ¡°Essence Absorb¡±, causing black and dark-green lines to crawl over the body. Reaching the leader¡¯s head, they turned blue and purple as the body was vortexed into Logan¡¯s palm, leaving only the gear behind. From the bodies, Logan gained 247, 220, 138, 97, and 66 experience. When compared to what he got from defeating the foes, it was quite a lot, but not when put against how much he needed to level up. He still wanted to do it, however, as there was always the chance a new development would occur that he was not aware of. None of the traitors were casters, so he had no chance of improving any spells he had, but the gear that was left behind would help them in other ways. Putting it all into a bag, Logan handed it to Amalia. ¡°Your spoils, until you hit that 5 gold objective¡±, he said, knowing that anything the group had was of no use to either him or Marcus. ¡°Is it really fine to give me everything? It feels like I am taking a bit much.¡± ¡°System quest rewards are much better than what we¡¯d gain normally. A legendary set of armour for you would last several levels ahead. And, if you quit, your quests won¡¯t cause you too much issue¡­ as far as I can tell.¡± Marcus let out a sigh in the background, ¡°I knew they were assholes, but to go this far.¡± ¡°At least most of the people they coaxed saw reason and left.¡± ¡°There is that. Pondress has set me hard tenets to follow.¡± The group spent a few minutes cleaning up after the confrontation, but before long the elementals returned and they were ready to continue onwards. They were only counted in Logan¡¯s experience reduction due to absorbing their spells, so sending them away allowed Amalia to get an almost full split.
Several hours of walking passed by for the party. Amalia was getting quite the toughening session on her second day, while Logan and Marcus hardly felt anything in the way of fatigue. Not wanting to test fate with any ambushes or difficulties with the trolls, Logan kept the rest of his Dimensional Jaunts, of which he had five that wouldn¡¯t take his stock of MP. He had experienced a few quests and dungeons morphing just because he was a PC. What would happen with two of them? The party eventually found themselves before an even thicker forest than before. Tree trunks became the norm for their sight, with little gaps between each tree, the canopies a mess of green and brown above that darkened the interior of the forest. With such a thick entry, they only heard the back end of chirps and yelps from within. Any monsters or animals that lay within were certainly protected from the outside, or intruding adventurers. With such a confined space it would be hard for anything larger than a dagger to be used. ¡°The trolls are in there?¡± Marcus asked, bemused. ¡°A thousand and some more feet in, yeah¡±, Logan replied as he scanned the tree wall. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say they left this place before? Caused trouble for Tinte?¡± Amalia chirped in. ¡°Two months ago now¡±, Marcus replied as he also scanned the exterior, ¡°there must be larger exits along the perimeter.¡± ¡°We wouldn¡¯t want to enter through those¡±, Logan replied as he patted the trunk of the tree. Marcus nodded, ¡°You¡¯re right. A large entrance means that we¡¯re in the open for several beasts to charge us down. If this is a den of trolls, even with our spells we¡¯d be putting you at risk¡±, he spoke towards Amalia. ¡°Identify¡±, Logan commanded in his head as he looked at the trees. ¡°These trees are good at harbouring spellforce, great for weapons.¡± ¡°Trolls often use large trunks as clubs, they could have a form of monster crafting¡±, Marcus replied. ¡°We¡¯ll look for a clearing then¡±, Logan spoke as he began to move between the trees. Marcus, Amalia, and the summons all followed behind. The party had to turn every so often to work around the obstacles, it was lucky to find a space over 5¡¯ wide in this forest.
Shuffling, squeezing, and hopping over trunks and branches, the party at long last found a modest clearing in the forest. It would have been more apt to call it a jungle, however, as the air became humid and sticky, alongside the tangled mess of its design. Critters chirped and whistled around the wood and leaves, the floor completely grassed and mossy. Smells cascaded and flowed together, from damp moss to sweet honey. Kicking the roots that amassed the floors had started to scratch and dent Amalia¡¯s boots, while Marcus and Logan¡¯s were completely resilient to such weak blows. The party took a break as Logan continued to snap his fingers, creating a messy mini-map of mostly greys and smatterings of clear paths. Echo Radar was only working at a quarter proficiency due to all the obstacles. ¡°How close are we now?¡± Amalia asked as she sat at the base of a tree. Logan looked at his wider map to see the red circle get smaller as they approached. ¡°Hard to tell, probably only a few hundred feet, looking at the quest. You can look for yourself.¡± Amalia opened her own map that was invisible to the two others and nodded. ¡°Marcus, you should go ahead and Enhance us all now¡±, Logan commanded. Marcus nodded as he moved to the two and placed his hands on their shoulders, their bodies starting to glow grey as they prepared for the fight ahead. --- *** --- Chapter 109 - Troll Trouble Logan, Marcus, Amalia, and the elementals started to shift their way past more of the countless trees that hugged each other a bit too closely for comfort. Small branches snapped on their shoulders, while leaves fluttered to the floor as their frames brushed up on the flora. It wasn¡¯t long until the couple hundred feet was traversed, showing Logan, who was at the front with Stealth, an inviting sight ahead of the others. Two large trolls were hunched over within a large clearing of the forest, several tree stumps showing that they had fashioned weapons here before. The trolls stood at around 13'', they were a massive wall of green and brown blotch skin. Their under fangs almost reached their eyes, making Logan question how they hadn''t blinded themselves. The lower half of the trolls were covered in stretched furs, he couldn''t even call them trousers, though it seemed like the trolls wanted them to be. ¡°Identify.¡± ¡°Troll ?? - Giant. Level 10: 196/196 HP. A rare race of giants, the troll is an elusive target for many people wanting to drink their blood. Trolls are famous for their regenerative capabilities, healing most wounds in seconds, and limbs in a minute. Highly resistant to effects that would hinder them, these are often a prize of a raid team more than fewer numbers. Trolls have yet to reveal their place of origin, making it hard to gauge their numbers. But when one leaves the group, it wreaks havoc on the neighbouring area. Skills: Regeneration ?, Scent, Sixth Sense. Reduction: ?. Resistance: ?.¡± Logan held his hand at his back, signalling his allies to halt their progress. Inching his way forward a bit more he hugged a tree with his back as he spied on the two foes. They were crunching down on the corpses of two deer. At their sides, slammed vertically into the floor, were two large clubs with spikes at the end. Though they were really just tree trunks that were infused with spellforce. It seemed their assessment before was correct, the trolls had some form of crafting. Using Identification on the clubs, Logan saw they weren¡¯t too powerful, around level 11 or so, if they were normal-sized. It was a better guess they were on par with a level 10 weapon if they were shrunken down. However, it seemed they were ¡°unstable¡±. Too many whacks and they would break. Unlike a normal weapon of that power that could last a hundred and more strikes, the clubs would shatter in a dozen or so. Shoddy workmanship indeed. Logan wagered the trolls had some form of damage reduction or resistance to boot, but without prior knowledge, it would be hard to scan for it with his current mastery of Identification. Logan had yet to spend too much time researching how he could expand the skill, but he had heard some rumours about it. It was a hard thing to investigate, as it wasn¡¯t a common skill amongst the populace. Regardless, Logan already knew that the regeneration of the trolls could be slowed or even halted entirely with the use of fire. Logan waved his hand behind him, motioning the others to flank to the right and left, his own mind formulating an attack plan of teleportation and ignition. However, as if sensing his and his allies¡¯ intentions, the trolls jerked their heads upwards and grabbed their clubs. ¡°There¡¯s that Sixth Sense¡±, Logan cursed in his head as he darted from the treeline. Fully red eyes stared at the Spellthief, seeing a new snack appear from the brush. The trolls let out loud roars that scattered birds and squirrels from the vicinity. Logan commanded another ring to activate as he warped into his centre and blasted behind the troll on the right. However, as this occurred, Logan heard the large cracking and snapping of bone, as the troll broke apart and dislocated its left arm and slammed it behind them. Logan kicked off the troll¡¯s back to avoid the grapple, landing with a backflip on the grassy floor. The troll snapped its arm back to its front, protrusions in its skin showing its morphing skeleton underneath. ¡°Now that¡¯s a trick¡±, Logan thought. The two trolls charged at Logan who warped away once again as he used his final ring, apparating atop the large branch of a tree. Forming flames in his hand, Logan threw out two jets of Flame at the trolls, blasting into their raised defensive arms. The dancing specks of red and orange clung onto the trolls as it ignited them for a time. Bolts came out from the trees, Amalia and Marcus landing solid hits into the trolls¡¯ legs, but, Amalia¡¯s dealt very little damage at all. The elementals kept back, so as not to hinder the experience gain of Amalia. Logan drew up two Bowen daggers and threw them at the right troll, aiming for its eyes. The troll raised its club as it blocked the daggers, however, it was more of a feint by Logan who had teleported behind the troll again. Placing a hand on its back, he used the final ring to use another charge of Flame, igniting the troll in a furious inferno. Whilst the troll¡¯s regeneration would be turned off by fire damage, it seemed they had gained some form of innate resistance to the barrage, only taking 152 Backstab fire damage. Logan would have followed it up, if the other troll wasn¡¯t aiming a downward club slam onto the Spellthief. Kicking off the back, he slid across the ground once again as the club crashed into the dirt. Marcus ran into the fray to offer some more melee assistance, seeing that Logan¡¯s tactics were being disturbed. Slamming his staff into the blocking fist of the left troll, Marcus backstepped away and drew it from Logan¡¯s confrontation. The Devout¡¯s staff being hit with the club and the fist of the troll. The right troll spun around and waved its club over the Spellthief who had bent backwards as if he were engaging in a game of limbo. Placing his hands on the floor, Logan flipped backwards away from the troll, landed on a tree trunk, and kicked upwards over the troll¡¯s head. Cracking and snapping occurred again as the troll whipped its arm up and backwards as it tried to grapple Logan. But the Spellthief was able to twist and turn to avoid its grasp, landing closer to the centre of the clearing. The flames died down around the trolls, as their flesh was failing to piece itself back together. Their regeneration had certainly halted, now they just had to be defeated. Wanting to clear things up before the enemies had time to recover, Logan used a spell he had had for a long time, but didn¡¯t have the slots necessary to use it. ¡°Haste¡±, he chanted aloud. Logan¡¯s body sped up, leaving behind a blurry image as he moved. Darting forwards he turned to the side to dodge a mace slam, then did a cartwheel to avoid the grasp of the troll as it dropped its club. Logan then jumped upwards to dodge the grapple of the left hand, and threw out two more daggers at the troll¡¯s eyes that penetrated them this time. Backstab text flew up as Logan blinded the troll for a while. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Landing on the troll¡¯s chest, Logan clambered over and dug his hand into its back as he yet again chanted, ¡°Flame Grasp¡±, engulfing the giant in flames and causing it to crumple to the floor in a mess of roasting flesh. On the other side of the confrontation, Marcus was holding his own against the other troll. Spinning around to dodge blows, side-stepping to entice a grab, and punishing with a heavy staff slam into the forearm. The troll even tried a heavy strike from above with its club, slamming down with a two-handed strike, Marcus held up his staff horizontally to block it. A torrent of wind and grey energy surged away from the two weapons, cracks forming over the club as its bark was stripped apart. Marcus could only grin at the scene, someone who was once weak, blocking the strike of a giant. Pushing against the troll, Marcus was able to overpower and set the troll off balance, his staggering 41 Strength beating out a 13¡¯ monster. Following his push, Marcus threw his hand out and chanted, ¡°Gaia Shot¡±, shooting a spike of stone through the troll¡¯s shoulder and sickening it. Hopping to the side, Marcus hit the troll¡¯s knee and forced it to a kneeling position, jumped up, and slammed down on the troll¡¯s head, blood splurting everywhere with each hit. A fist came flying from the right towards Marcus, but it was blocked by Amalia¡¯s shield that had flown to his side with a yellow aura around it. The fist collided with the shield and let out a loud battering metallic sound and that of cracking bones, the shield bending inwards as it fell to the floor with little force as the skill faded. This was a new skill that Amalia had learned, Vigilant Shield, it was one that Logan had seen before and knew of its use. However, Amalia¡¯s shield was much weaker against the attack of the troll, and so it was almost useless after the fact. With the fist blocked, Marcus was unharmed as he chanted again, ¡°Gaia Shot¡±, impaling the troll¡¯s other shoulder with a spike of stone. Logan was given ample time, and opportunity, to get up to the rear of the troll and hit its back with another, ¡°Flame Grasp¡±, its back and shoulders letting off such intense fire that Marcus took a step back to not get caught in the friendly fire. The final smouldering body hit the floor, Logan gasping out for a second and wanting to take a break. However, the trolls weren¡¯t done yet, as he purposefully kept them alive. The experience wasn¡¯t appearing, as their regeneration could kick back in. Leaping onto the closest troll, Logan dove a Bowen dagger through its chest to carve towards its heart. Next to a large beating heart, Logan saw the violet sack that was connected to its arteries. Cutting into it, Logan gathered up the violet liquid that poured out into a large flask which he promptly corked. As he cut into the sack, however, its colour dimmed quickly, and its arteries turned black. He barely had enough to fill the one flask. No wonder it was a prized item. Running over to the other troll, Logan did the same manoeuvre, but the troll was waking up just as he stabbed into the sack. The troll let out a final roar and lurch as its final essence drained from it into the last flask, its limbs slamming into the floor as it became lifeless. Breathing out a sigh of relief, Logan put the flasks back into his inventory, green cubes of data and static electricity disintegrating the items into nothingness. Amalia picked up her almost-destroyed bouche shield and frowned at it, ¡°I was expecting it to survive that hit, obviously not.¡± ¡°Thanks all the same¡±, Marcus replied with a smile. ¡°They had a skill called Sixth Sense, I believe I saw it in action a few times, but, it didn¡¯t seem constant¡±, Logan informed. ¡°Really? First I¡¯ve heard of a skill called that, but most do have cooldowns between uses.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what I am thinking. If it was fully mastered, it¡¯d be a pain to fight against¡±, Logan replied as he thought about the bending arms. ¡°Looked easy from my perch, to be honest¡±, Amalia added as she shrugged, ¡°but then, I haven¡¯t seen that many fights.¡± ¡°How¡¯re the nerves?¡± ¡°Fine enough, I suppose. I wasn¡¯t in any danger. You zipping around means I won¡¯t be in trouble for long anyways.¡± ¡°I still had a few Dimensional Jaunts left, so you¡¯re right there.¡± ¡°That¡¯s two flasks. One for Marta, one for us. Do we want to track down some more trolls?¡± Marcus asked. Logan shook his head, ¡°From what I can tell, this isn¡¯t their home either. These two just split off. To add to that annoyance, the quest circle has been removed and is just telling me to return.¡± ¡°Same for me¡±, Amalia informed. ¡°We could search around, spend the rest of the day here and teleport back in the evening. But our buffs would have ended by the time we find another troll here¡±, Logan calculated. ¡°Could be best. Regeneration is a strong ability, it¡¯d be amazing for us all to have it¡±, Marcus replied before looking at Amalia, ¡°what is your rank now?¡± ¡°This fight gave me 4,480 experience, straight into level 4.¡± Logan whistled in awe, ¡°Quite good. You¡¯ll hit 5 for the 7-day timer with speed.¡± Loading up his map to charter a good enough course through it, Logan continued, ¡°I¡¯ll have the elementals scout. We don¡¯t need them if we stick together well enough.¡± The elementals were only there for support if needed, but in the case of scouting, going in six different directions would speed the whole process up. There was little danger with this, the elementals would return the next day if they were defeated.
The party continued to scout and scavenge through the thick jungle of tangled roots and branches. Aside from a few packs of wolves, crowbolds, and lizard-like creatures, the group were unable to pick up the trail of any more trolls. The tracks they could find just belonged to the two they had killed already. To aid in the progression of Amalia, she and Marcus went after what monsters they did find without the aid of Logan. Marcus was more than able to bring down most foes of such a low level with a single and sometimes double hit. Logan¡¯s job was Harvesting the monsters to improve that skill¡¯s mastery for later crafting. With the small skirmishes done, Amalia easily passed into level 5, her HP so abhorrently large for her level at 118. 12 of that came from her earring, but it was still quite the number. Accessors would see her starting attributes as quite high, bordering on hero level if it wasn¡¯t for the rest of her stats being low. They would have to think of a way to mask or explain it later. Marcus was making some progress towards matching Logan¡¯s level, a task they thought would be best to keep their difficulty low. While the elementals tangled with some monsters on their own, the corpses of which were ferried to Logan when they met up in a few hours. Servoir went up to level 5, while Umbra hit 2. Logan noted the quests he had picked up from the hall in Tinte, in total the party had finished up five for the hall in this jungle. Since the monsters were in separate packs it was easy to deal with them, but the closeness of the jungle would mean that not many adventurers in Tinte could deal with this. At least not if the adventurers weren¡¯t thinking of making a large raiding party. With the cleanup of the quests complete and no sign of any more regeneration reagents on legs, the group made their way to the extent of the jungle.
Dismissing his elementals, Logan pulled out the eagle¡¯s eyeglass and looked towards where Tinte was. A single Dimensional Jaunt into the sky, and then a follow-up to the floor, was all that was needed to get back to the village. With everything done in the day, Logan had used all of his rings, slots, and signature spells for teleportation, leaving only his MP for further casts. It brought peace of mind to be safe with his reservoir of spells, though seeing the outcome of the day he could have teleported to the jungle to start. Nonetheless, the words of Cassius stuck with him about preparation. ¡°Overprepare, and prepare some more, or die with a platinum in your pocket.¡± With their swift return, the trio headed to the hall to hand off the materials and confirm their completion of the quests. The man at the counter had a small smile appear on his face, though it was a bit lacking in lustre. Updating their signets, Logan handed the rewards to Amalia, a total of 20 silver. Selling off any spare components also granted Amalia another 40 silver. Logan didn¡¯t need most of them, he pretty much just wanted the Harvesting mastery, but a few were kept back for crafting items to give to their newcomer.
Logan¡¯s quest log noted where both the Devout they had brought with them from Gauntlet was, as well as the place where Marta had remained. Thinking it best to get the healer first, they took a detour to let the man know the good news. With a shocked expression, the Devout asked, ¡°So soon? You really are a diviner-expert. Alright, I have the other supplies necessary. Do you have my payment, or am I getting it from¡­¡± he trailed off at the end, seemingly feeling a bit wrong to ask it of the injured. ¡°We¡¯ll pay¡±, Logan replied as he handed over a gold coin to the man. The Devout nodded as he took the coin, ¡°Ok. She must mean a lot to you, to both track down trolls and to also pay for treatment.¡± ¡°Closest thing I have to a mother¡±, Marcus added as he stepped to Logan¡¯s side. Accepting the situation, the quad of classed beings moved on to the church of Tinte, flasks of troll blood in hand. --- *** --- Chapter 110 - Holiness Bequeaths Reward Entering back into the backrooms of the Tinte church, the party found Marta and the previous Devout, Aev, where they had left them. Both looked exhausted, though Marta was worse for wear. The air was thick with the stench of blood and decay, sweat melding with it to make quite the icky sensation to the skin and nose. Looking over the woman on the table, the Devout healer that was brought here looked over her again, his eyes glowing slightly as if he were magically identifying her. ¡°She hasn¡¯t progressed too harshly since last I saw her. With the reagents in hand, I can bring her back to strength in about a week¡¯s time. The decay as well as the rest of her bodily state makes the implementation a lengthy process¡±, he explained. Marta had a bit of life flush to her face as she saw and heard the group''s return, ¡°So, you brought it?¡± Logan moved to her side and showed her the flask with the violet liquid, ¡°As ordered. We were able to track down a troll for you.¡± Marta gave a short prayer under her weary breath as Aev approached with a pouch full of jingling coins, ¡°Your pay.¡± Logan took it and threw it over to Amalia who caught it easily. ¡°What of the payment for you, sir?¡± Aev asked as he looked at the healer. ¡°Already accounted for. I can begin the regeneration bestowal immediately.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need us for that time, do you?¡± Logan asked. ¡°No. I highly doubt this church will come under fire from monsters. As long as you¡¯re back at the end of the week¡¯s time to take me back, we¡¯re all square.¡± Aev looked between all the people in the room, teary-eyed and a bit confused. ¡°Alright, we may be in Tinte for a few days, but we¡¯ll teleport back to bring you to Gauntlet¡±, Logan replied as he waved off, moving out of the room. ¡°I hope all goes well¡±, Marcus prayed as he moved his fists to his stomach in praise to Pondress. Amalia followed behind, not knowing what kind of farewell to give.
¡°So, what about your conferment?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°If it takes time, I know of a way to speed it up¡±, Logan replied as he looked around the village''s dirt streets. Amalia counted out the coins behind them, after finishing she put the pouch away, ¡°You sure I have to keep all this to myself?¡± Logan looked back, ¡°Yeah, if you don¡¯t intend to keep it and use it for yourself then the System doesn¡¯t grant you progress in that objective¡±, he explained. Marcus sighed as the group left the church and started to walk away from it. Looking at Marcus, Logan added, ¡°We¡¯ll rest up after all that¡¯s happened today. Tomorrow we¡¯ll look into some more quests for you. Tinte has quite a few backed up.¡± Making an almost bee-line to the inn, the party retired for another night. Marcus needed a rest, if not just for his psyche. There wasn¡¯t even the nightly fight with the elementals. Amalia spent some time before sleeping reading up on another book. Before long, the whole group hit the hay for the next day.
The morning brought with it the chirps of new-day birds and the creaking of wood wheels as the villagers began their early routines. Logan woke to questions in his head, mostly down to his next quest. It would soon be time for a new one to appear. Would it include Amalia in it? If she really was aligned with a deity from below, would one appear after hers was done to kill him? He thought it all over as he resummoned his usual elementals and did the long process of bringing in his secondaries. Exiting his room, Logan met back up with Amalia and Marcus. After a quick breakfast, the trio and army of elementals made their way to the adventurer¡¯s hall of Tinte. A few other adventurers met their gaze as they entered the hall, but they seemed tired as if they just came from a nightly expedition and were resting here before heading out. The quest board had been tidied up a bit after Logan¡¯s arrival, though the number of staff hadn¡¯t changed yet. Quickly checking over the board, the group picked up a total of eighteen quests for the elementals, Marcus, and Amalia. Logan instead went to the counter to pick up the pseudo-hunter contracts that he had talked with the receptionist about the other day.
Splitting up as before, Logan headed to the west to investigate the locations of the missing adventurers. It was as simple a task as his normal hunting duties. Accept the quest, follow the tracker to an area, and scout out. Many of the jobs were located in the same span of a forest, possibly a hotspot for traitor activity or a death sentence when sent there for a quest. Teleporting to the forest, Logan was quickly able to find some bones and a handful of gnawed wooden signets. These were good enough proof that the person had perished, even his quest log agreed. However, Logan wasn¡¯t going to get many rewards for this kind of mission. If he could stumble across their old gear, Logan would bring in a lot more coin. Jumping from tree to tree, Logan was able to avoid most confrontations with the monsters below. Where possible he did jump down to inflict Backstabs on wolves, quickly Harvesting them to build up his skills. They were worth hardly any experience at his current level, so were good enough targets for this sort of thing. It didn¡¯t slow him down much either. Logan kept finding signets and partial remains, if the adventurers were betrayed then the traitors did well to cover up their tracks over time with the feasts given to the monsters. The Spellthief did notice a few scorch marks here and there, leading him to believe that either a caster was involved or the attackers had spell rings. ¡°This would be simpler if I could use spells to identify blood or who cast spells in an area¡±, Logan thought to himself. ¡°Whilst you are called a diviner by some, you do lack the spells of such¡±, Fol replied to Logan in his mind. ¡°Regardless. I doubt whoever did this is still around. Tinte has almost no casters, let alone adventurers with the finances for spell rings.¡± ¡°Then it was from the goblin shamans you believe?¡± ¡°Good enough guess as any¡±, Logan replied before looking above the canopy, ¡°Time to return what I¡¯ve found¡ª¡± As Logan began to mentally command his Dimensional Jaunt, his body started to warp, but jittered violently as the spell failed. Falling to a knee on the floor, Logan let out a quick breath of fear. ¡°Fuck!¡± he cursed as he jumped back and planted his back against the trunk of a tree. A hail of light-brown spikes came shooting down from the canopy, impaling the muddy ground that Logan had been standing in previously. A pre-emptive dodge allowed Logan to evade all of them, but he had yet to find his foe. Clicking his fingers, Echo Radar pinged the vicinity but also returned no signs of his attacker. Waving his hand across the floor, Logan chanted, ¡°Gaia Wall¡±, causing a wall of earth to erupt from the ground in front of him, protecting him from further attacks. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°It¡¯s not a total spell block, otherwise that wouldn¡¯t work. It must be some sort of teleportation block like back at the dungeon¡±, Logan ascertained in his head. Several thuds hit his wall of rock and mud, cracks forming across the magical barrier that Logan had erected. Whatever was attacking him was fierce, nothing low-level would damage the wall that harshly. Looking through the canopy, Logan attempted another teleport, but his body just shuddered all over as it failed yet again. ¡°Damn, will Sig-Clutch not help me here?¡± he thought. The skill said it had a 50% chance of stopping interruptions, but did this effect count as one? Holding his hand to the floor Logan chanted, ¡°Air Blast¡±, causing a burst of wind to form in his palm and blast him upwards. Soaring through the canopy, Logan brought many smaller branches and groups of leaves with him. Darting his head around, he barely caught a glimpse of a large creature rushing towards him. Its back was a mess of long spines and spikes, its face darkened by a long snout. It was some form of monstrous and bipedal porcupine-armadillo hybrid. Long arms ended in sharp claws that were aimed at Logan as they barreled towards him. Before Logan could finish the thought of using Identification, he saw its beady brown eyes shine red, a shockwave of pain flowing over Logan¡¯s body and blurring his vision. Logan winced in pain as he desperately tried to keep his sight on the foe. Drawing up his daggers, Logan had his left go between the monster¡¯s left index and middle claw, ending in a dirty parry. The right stabbed the monster¡¯s right palm. While he had blocked both attacks, his stance was off, and he could barely see what he was doing. The monster gripped tightly on the daggers, pulled inwards, and dealt a heavy double-kick into Logan¡¯s stomach. Both disarming and hurtling Logan to the ground, the monster fell after him in a slower manner. Logan threw his hand to the side and aimed it down, a blast of air stopping his hasty descent and flipping him around into a three-point landing back in the forest. Looking upwards, Logan used another blast to dodge a downward claw slash by an inch, his hair getting snipped as he landed his feet on a faraway tree. ¡°Would be nice to know what the hell this is!¡± Kicking off the floor, the monster came hurtling towards Logan again. Logan drew up six daggers from his hip holsters and tossed them at the foe, though they were deflected with claw slashes, sending them upwards and into the ground. Dodging low, Logan evaded another slash as it cut through the tree he had landed on. Aiming his arm at the foe he chanted, ¡°Flame Shot¡±, causing fires to ignite around his shoulder, dance down his arm, and flow from his palm into the chest of the monster. Logan was sent backwards a bit as he slid across the muddy floor, tumbling to a standing stance. While the monster was sent hurtling into another tree, leaves cascading downwards. Standing to face Logan from across the clearing they were now within, the monster started to glow yellow. ¡°You¡¯re a caster, eh?¡± Logan asked aloud before he noticed the monster''s claws at its sides. It was wearing spell rings. ¡°Where¡¯d you get, let alone know how to use, those?¡± Without any reply, the monster used another familiar ability, Rush of the Fighter class. A massive whirlwind came with the monster as it appeared in front of Logan in two seconds, the power of its claw increased several times as it pierce into his shoulder. Another claw came upwards as Logan punched into its wrist to block the next blow. As he drew back his fist he pulled another dagger from his inventory. Green cubes and static electricity sparked in midair as a dagger formed in his grasp and plunged into the monster¡¯s right eye. Backstab text popped up as Logan made sure to have his Dastardly Backstabs skill make the creature blind until healed. A high-pitch screech escaped the monster¡¯s maw as it opened wide, showing jagged teeth as if it were a shark. Seeing an opening, literally, Logan let go of the Bowen dagger in the foe¡¯s eye, planted it on the roof of the monster¡¯s inner mouth, and used one of his rings. A torrent of flames flowed out from the monster¡¯s mouth and down its throat, smoke shooting out of its nostrils and ears. Logan quickly retreated his hand, grabbed the arm that had stabbed him, and pulled out of the claw¡¯s impalement. Darting to the side to create some distance between the two. Retrieving two potions, Logan spat the corks to the floor and downed them both. His vision was almost back in tip-top shape, but not enough to really see his status or attempt another foolish Identification. Throwing up a hand, Logan activated a ring, casting Lightning. Sparks of azure danced towards the foe, but it put up a similar hand and retaliate with a rain of rocks at the Spellthief. It would have been safer to use the same spell to block, but it seemed the monster either didn¡¯t have it or didn¡¯t know what Logan would cast. With the spells having finished their collision, the monster came charging at Logan again, though without the power it had previously. Logan made a claw with his right hand and pulled it back as he chanted, ¡°Necromantic Skystrike¡±, forming a claw of shadows behind the monster and having it pierce through its spikes and into its back. As the lifeforce was drained from the foe and transferred into Logan, the monster came to a sliding halt as it spread its arms wide and threw them forwards with a slap of its palms, its spines and spikes shooting towards the Spellthief. When its arms were spread, Logan could tell what it was going to do, so he waved his arm across the floor and chanted, ¡°Frost Wall¡±, creating a thick wall of ice in front of him. The spines pelted the ice, a few piercing partway on Logan¡¯s side, cracking it all over. Jumping to the side, Logan dodged the large shadow that was appearing on the other end. The monster came crashing through the frosty blockage with a wide slash. Aiming at the monster¡¯s side, Logan let off another torrent of flames from his ring. The creature faltered to a knee, but it wasn¡¯t blown off of the floor this time. Surrounding itself in another healing aura it pulled the dagger from its eye and dropped it to the floor. ¡°Spellforce¡±, the monster growled out, its hands open towards Logan. ¡°What?¡± A gust of wind whooshed from behind Logan, and it felt as if it came out of his body too, as a slightly violet light started to seep towards the monster. ¡°Your MP is being drained, Logan! 13¡­ 12¡­¡± Fol shouted in Logan¡¯s head. ¡°It¡¯s a demon!?¡± Logan shouted. Through his research into demons, Logan stumbled onto this ability as one that was highly sought after. Known as Spellforce Blast, it was a combination effect of sucking in nearby spellforce, even draining it from creatures, and then blasting it back out as a destructive force. Drawing out four more daggers from his hip holsters, Logan tossed them at the monster, each one bashed away by its claws before going back into his stance of vacuuming in wind and spellforce. Jumping to the side, Logan could feel his body was sluggish from the absorption effect. He didn¡¯t just use spellforce for his spells, it fueled his body and his status, without it he wasn¡¯t much stronger than a classless being. ¡°7¡±, Fol recounted. Calling up the powers of his rings, Logan blasted a tuft of embers at the monster, but these were also sucked into its palms. Pulling backwards, he attempted a Lightning Skystrike, but he also felt the essence peel away before it appeared behind or above the foe. Tying to call on the remaining changes of his Air Blast spell also produced little effect. ¡°4.¡± There was one last recourse for Logan, if he wasn¡¯t able to dodge the incoming blast, he would have to stop it completely. Something that didn¡¯t use spellforce to attack. His body became weaker still as he used Bloodcasting, his skin growing pale and his veins popping. With a hand behind him, and the other drawing the frozen lord edge, Logan propelled himself forward as he chanted, ¡°Air Blast.¡± The monster¡¯s eyes went wide as the disabled caster was able to pull off a spell, Bloodcasting used lifeforce, not spellforce. Clapping its claws together, the monster formed a chaotic orb of monochromatic hues, sending it towards Logan it destroyed the air and ground it punched through. Logan flew his hand to the floor and let off another Air Blast, forcing his body upwards and above the wave of death that was aimed at him. Turning in the air he looked at the rear of the foe, crossed his arms, and sent a blast to send him hurtling towards the monster. With a devastating strike, Logan plunged the artefact blade into the back of its head, appearing through its forehead. Backstab text glided upwards as the monster¡¯s jaw dropped open, its body falling along with Logan as he landed on the floor. The blast continued away from them both, destroying tree after tree, the sound of timbering wood filling the forest with even more chaotic noise. As Logan began to breathe a sigh of relief at the experience numbers floating over the corpse, he tensed up immediately as he saw the body starting to convulse, bubble, and engorge itself. Looking skyward he commanded a ring to take him as far as possible, warping into his centre with the blockage seemingly clear, he blasted 36 miles into the air. On the floor, the corpse engorged further before exploding outwards, spines and spikes going all over, impaling the foliage and soaring into the sky. Logan stared downwards as he barely made this out so far up, but he knew he had evaded quite the devastating climax. Teleporting again to the floor, Logan stood amongst blood and gore, the monster having self-destructed, or whatever that was, leaving its remains scattered all around. ¡°Talk about being a sore loser¡±, he sighed sarcastically. --- *** --- Chapter 111 - Who Hunts the Hunters Looking over the remains of his attacker, Logan strained his eyes to attempt a longer Identification of the corpse. The skill could be used over a period to get information about more intricate targets, but it could be done the same for objects that Logan couldn¡¯t get the full picture of. Sadly, the blood and sinew that was left behind only allowed Logan the name of the creature. It was a Kynecain. Anything beyond that was conjecture. It was most likely a level 16 monster, putting it on par with Logan, due to the experience rewarded to Logan after the fight. Either that or an elite variant of a lower-level foe. Its use of spell and skill rings disclosed it had self-taught knowledge of humanoid creations or was taught about it by someone who did. Since the kynecain used both types, Logan was sure it wasn¡¯t a mindless creature. Though that begged the question, could it not use spells outside of said rings? The last piece of enticing information was that it used a demon-style technique, the Spellforce Blast. Logan¡¯s research clued him into that skill, it was only accessible to demon ranks of 4 and above. There wasn¡¯t too much written about ranks over 3, so it was sparse intel. Since vampires started at rank 3, not many got to that point. Using Spellforce Blast was also a dangerous game to play. It had a sort of backlash depending on how much you absorbed before blasting it back out. A risk-reward game when you needed to take down a strong foe. As well as the whole standing still to do it. If this was the monster that had killed all the other adventurers, it was no surprise they lost. However, a level 16 monster, this far into the sticks? It had either come from the bastarn caverns or was sent here. A faint question floated in Logan¡¯s head. ¡°Was this sent after me?¡± The suicidal ending of the foe may have been issued to remove most traces of it, as well as to not reward Logan with any components or items. Its rings had been sent skyward and in all directions. Without any tracking spells, Logan wasn¡¯t going to find them anytime soon. They could have hit a tree and stopped inside its trunk or continued for over a mile. Whilst it was a bit of money to leave in the forest, Logan would have to spend a few days to find these needles in quite a huge haystack. If the creature had been sent after him, he wasn¡¯t confident in leaving his allies all alone if they were also targets. Looking skyward, he teleported up and back to Tinte. However, left in the forest, were glowing green eyes that looked at the remains. Serrated teeth revealed themselves as the monster spoke aloud, ¡°This much is allowed¡­Logan shall soon fall.¡± Several small rings surrounded in red energy floated towards the monster¡¯s long-clawed fingers, falling into her palm. ¡°Owen. I hope you¡¯re watching¡±, she spoke with a tone full of indignation.
Arriving in a blast of wind in another forest, Logan stood to see his allies resting after a confrontation with wolves and crowbolds. Breathing a sigh of relief he called over, ¡°How goes things on your end?¡± Marcus jumped up with a smile on his face as he saw his friend appear, ¡°All good here! Amalia seems to have gotten used to that crossbow now¡±, he said as he looked back at the Guardian. ¡°The summons make it a lot easier¡±, Amalia chuckled back. ¡°We weren¡¯t expecting you today¡±, Marcus continued as he looked back at Logan, ¡°need us for something?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got news on my front. Somewhat troubling¡­¡±
Logan spent a few minutes explaining what had happened in his part of the forest. Marcus was quick to pick up on it all, while Amalia had so many questions. ¡°Troubling indeed. I agree with you, it might be best we stick together if we are to be hunted¡±, Marcus spoke as he rubbed his chin. ¡°I don¡¯t like the sound of any of that. If they are level 16, I am way too weak to even be included in the background¡±, Amalia explained with a bit of fear in her voice. ¡°Exactly. It would be best to leave you somewhere better fortified if that turns out to be true. Better to be safe than sorry¡±, Logan accepted. ¡°What of her last bonus objective?¡± ¡°I am close to 2 gold, with all these quests added, I believe.¡± Logan thought for a second and then looked towards Marcus, ¡°We could go investigate that bastarn cave we went into before.¡± ¡°It did have demon species in it, if they weren¡¯t sent after us then that is the closest place to check.¡± ¡°The one issue with it, outside of any interior dangers, is we get flanked at the rear.¡± ¡°Do you think it was this ¡®kynecain¡¯ that stopped your teleportation?¡± ¡°The blockage was removed in its dying moments. Either it was a coincidence with a timer, or was attached to it still being alive.¡± ¡°Air Blast should allow us to get away in time, though¡­ it is a cavern, they could cave it in¡±, Marcus replied, deep in thought. ¡°What if we teleported straight into the cave from the air? Bluff that we are teleporting elsewhere, while I look at it in the corner of my eye?¡± ¡°As long as they¡¯re not using some form of scrying on you. That would work.¡± ¡°If I am being scryed, we¡¯re fucked wherever we go, to be honest.¡± ¡°The silver of the bastarn cave would do well to hide us. It acts as a more mundane blocker for divination.¡± Logan sighed and contemplated, ¡°So, what¡¯s your opinion? We investigate the caves and make sure that Tinte is safe from any more of those. Or, we ignore it and assume we are the targets and not this area.¡± Marcus took on the same look, humming to himself, ¡°We don¡¯t have enough to go on to make a solid choice. I¡¯d like to help Tinte, but I also don¡¯t want to walk into a pincer ambush. This was all around the time of the goblin invasion, right? So it stands to reason that it was aimed to work in conjunction with that. If you only fought one, it is possible that there was only one. We don¡¯t find many high-rank monsters together outside of a dungeon.¡± ¡°Echo Radar didn¡¯t pick up anything else, either they were too far or they were invisible.¡± ¡°Let us leave it for now. I doubt Tinte is the target. We can double-check on the village in a few days to make sure either way.¡± ¡°That¡¯s safest for us.¡± This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°So¡­ we¡¯re good?¡± Amalia asked as she looked between the two. ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s finish up here and head back to Gauntlet.¡±
With the rest of the quests done, Logan teleported the party back to Tinte, sans the summons who were ordered to walk back on their own. The group that wasn¡¯t with Logan had fought quite a few foes in his absence. There were plenty of kills, and a good portion of experience to gain, though only Umbra gained a level in the excursion. Returning to the hall, the party updated their signets, but not Amalia, and handed their rewards down to the newcomer to speed up her 5 gold objective. Their eighteen quests and Logan¡¯s nine pseudo-hunter contracts. Asking about local demon issues, as Marta had been attacked by one too, Logan didn¡¯t get much out of the staff on hand. There was talk of creating a group to raid the bastarn caves, but with the local issues that was postponed. Logan offered up his aid in doing such if it were to go through, giving them an address to send an ooran to deliver a letter to him. Exiting the adventurer¡¯s hall, the party split up once again. Amalia wanted to investigate different aspects of this new world, while Marcus wanted to check in on Marta. Logan had his own plans, as it was a good enough time as any to go see Ruben¨¦.
Knocking on the door of his previous lover¡¯s house, Logan was treated to the refreshed sight of Ruben¨¦. Her hair had grown a bit since she last had it cut, but wasn¡¯t as long as it was when Logan first met her. The dirty blonde hair was still tied in blue and red ribbons on either side ¡°Logan, you came back¡±, Ru spoke with a wide smile. ¡°All done with your guests?¡± ¡°Yes, I am. Come in¡±, Ru offered as she opened the door wide. Entering back into the home, Logan saw it had recently been cleared and cleaned. There weren¡¯t many signs that others had stayed over. Taking a seat at the table, Logan continued, ¡°Did you have fun with your friends?¡± Ru carried over two cups and filled them with water, ¡°I certainly did. Hadn¡¯t seen them in some time. They came to comfort me after the attacks.¡± ¡°The goblins, right?¡± ¡°Bloody monstrous fiends they were. I swear our little secret forebode the future.¡± ¡°Thanks again for that, it seems to have worked out for me so far.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. Makes it easier to feign ignorance that way¡±, Ru replied with a toothy smile. ¡°But you¡ªfine¡±, Logan replied with a laugh, ¡°How¡¯ve you been holding up anyway?¡± ¡°Well enough. The hall was real busy when we had all those adventurers pass through. Been dead since, though.¡± ¡°I saw they are working with a skeleton crew at the hall.¡± ¡°Uh-huh. I¡¯ve been picking up some odd jobs to fill in the pay gaps.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t be helped I suppose. My friend and I did some work for the hall, so it might pick back up.¡± ¡°You are such a busy bee, even in your time away¡±, Ru informed with a chuckle. ¡°I¡¯ve been working hard. A lot happened in the capital.¡± ¡°I got time¡­¡±
The pair talked into the late night, the buzzing of late-night insects and the hearty cheers of drunkards filling the outside with a calming village feeling. Logan didn¡¯t talk about any of the PC business but kept most other details aside from his level. ¡°It¡¯s hard to say if you would have been better off here¡±, Ru replied at the end of the tale. ¡°Well, it¡¯s all over now¡­ mostly. Just fixing things after the fact.¡± ¡°You could make a steady living as a transporter though, if you could get to Tinte in a day like that.¡± ¡°If life has that in store for me, who knows?¡± ¡°Still wanting to help people out?¡± ¡°Could say that.¡± ¡°You¡¯re certainly geared for it¡±, Ru replied with another chuckle. Standing up, Logan took the mugs to the counter and used Clean on them, before returning to Ru, ¡°There are other things I¡¯m good at too¡±, he said with a cheeky smile. Ru placed a hand on his chest to lightly stop him, ¡°Logan. While I would love to, I¡¯m afraid things happened in your absence.¡± Logan took a step back so as to not intrude, ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°During the attacks, I found safety with others, and, I met someone in that time. I¡¯d not want to ruin that.¡± Logan suddenly didn¡¯t know what to do with his hands, so he put them in his jacket pockets, ¡°I understand. It has been some time since I was last here. We did agree this wouldn¡¯t be a long-term thing anyways.¡± ¡°Your continuing chase for dangerous events would make my heart ache until you returned.¡± ¡°Yeah, I remember you saying as much. It¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°I am still fine helping you in what ways I can¡±, Ru continued with a reassuring tone. ¡°Thanks. Just feels a bit awkward now¡±, Logan replied with a half-assed chuckle. Ru gave Logan a quick hug before pulling away, ¡°No awkwardness needed.¡± The pair spoke for a bit longer before giving their farewells, Logan leaving back to the inn.
Throwing himself into the chair at his party¡¯s table back at the inn, Logan let out a long sigh. ¡°Tough day, ay?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°Suppose you could say that.¡± ¡°I already sparred with your elementals¡±, Marcus continued as he slid a drink to Logan. ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°So, we heading back to Gauntlet?¡± Amalia asked. ¡°I got the ability to do so, yeah. It¡¯ll save us some time to do it tonight¡±, Logan replied as he took a sip. ¡°We¡¯ll be back in just under a week to ferry the healer back¡±, Marcus reinforced. ¡°It¡¯ll be as quick a trip as any if it¡¯s the only one I do that day¡±, Logan replied as he leaned back in his chair. ¡°If I am¡±, Amalia began, the pair turned to look at her, ¡°to stay here. I think staying a low level is best. Your talks of that. Demon? Make me worry if I have such a higher number that I¡¯d be putting nearby people at risk, let alone not being prepared.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll know after a few more quests, but it does seem set to our level.¡± ¡°You were able to take on that foe by yourself, so you should be fine¡±, Marcus said as he looked at Logan. ¡°If I were to rate myself, I¡¯d probably be mid-range for my level. Mastering Backstab and collecting a few more spells would push me into the high range.¡± ¡°So, more mastery and more items?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°As always.¡±
Finishing off their drinks, the party collected themselves together and teleported back to Gauntlet, with the summons dismissed. Amalia had gotten used to it by now, so wasn¡¯t as afraid to be sent through the sky. With not much left to do in the day, everyone retired to their rooms to read tomes and sleep.
The next morning had Logan descend the stairs to a letter at the counter. Reading over it quickly, he saw it to be a missive from the noble he had contacted some time prior, Armin Eventa. It informed Logan that he could have his meeting with the noble at his estate, a few days earlier than expected. Logan was happy at the chance to deal with this earlier rather than later, Amalia had mentioned she was going to explore today anyway. Marcus set himself to take on some hunter contracts, with the money going to fund Amalia¡¯s objectives. Finding his way atop the inn, Logan teleported to the richer districts in the northwest.
Apparating atop a lavish fountain, Logan jumped to the streets below, much to the surprise of passing villagers. Whispers spread amongst the populace about a fresh-faced hunter in the upper quarter, some speaking of the, ¡°Phasing Hunter¡±, at the common occurrence of Logan¡¯s arrival. Following the directions given in his letter, Logan eventually arrived at the large metallic gates that halted entrance onto the estate grounds. A large building accented with large shrubberies was ornately-coloured white with etchings of tall humans into the stone. From what Logan could tell, they depicted two knights, protecting both flanks of the house. A guard draped in a clean white tabard turned to look at Logan as he approached, ¡°Hoy, might I ask your business here, sir hunter?¡± Logan picked out the letter and showed its seal on the exterior, ¡°I have an invitation to meet with Noble Armin Eventa.¡± ¡°Ah, sir Logan, very good. We ask that you keep your weapons sheathed at all times, but aside from that, your attire is well-cleaned so you may enter¡±, the guard replied as they moved to unlock and open the gates, ¡°follow the path to the main house and an attendant shall take you further.¡± ¡°Thank you, I shall¡±, Logan replied with a nod before passing the gates. The estate was quite the change from the rest of the city. A faint smell of flowers permeated against the dirty state the other areas were accustomed to. Finely crafted bushes also showed a hint of artistry, if it weren¡¯t for someone else doing it and not the nobles themselves. Logan could pick out two men in the gardens tending to them even at this time. Reaching the large wooden doors that barred his entry, Logan used another casting of Clean to make himself as presentable as possible, before opening them wide. --- *** --- Chapter 112 - A Noble Request Logan was awestruck at the interior of the building. It was so clean, so expensive. The walls were expertly painted with flowery protrusions of paint in the corners, glass mirrors the size of some house walls, and quite a variety of flowers in vases. An attendant walked towards the Spellthief with a towel in hand, but threw it over their shoulder as they saw Logan had no dirt on him. His well-kept black hair was oiled back, his eyebrows were finely shaped. With a formal voice, he asked, ¡°Sir, am I to accept your presence as that of one Logan?¡± ¡°Correct. I am Logan Hall, nice to meet you¡±, Logan answered as he held out a hand. ¡°My greetings to you, sir Logan. Noble Armin Eventa is awaiting you within his study, please accompany me there¡±, the attendant replied, not shaking Logan¡¯s hand, and turning to walk down the hallway. Logan put away his hand as he followed behind the attendant. ¡°Do you know why there was an opening to meet with the Noble?¡± ¡°Noble Armin Eventa had prior meetings cut short. Noble Armin Eventa felt it best to extend a missive to allow yourself and Noble Armin Eventa to converse before your agreed-upon time.¡± ¡°Is it rude to not use the man¡¯s title and full name?¡± Logan thought to himself as he tried to recollect what he had read earlier. ¡°No, this attendant is just overly formal.¡± Continuing to walk in silence, the pair stopped outside of another set of intricate doors, a plaque on the exterior reading, ¡°Eventa Study.¡± The attendant gave three solid knocks and spoke, ¡°Sir Logan has arrived.¡± A muffled voice on the other side replied, ¡°Enter.¡± Hearing this, the attendant opened the doors for Logan to enter, and after he did, the attendant closed the doors with him on the outside. Logan looked over the study, it was almost as large as the main room of the inn he had been staying at. A large fireplace roared at the side, large glass windows peering onto a lavish garden full of topiaries sculpted into passive creatures of the forest. Sat at a large oaken desk was a man, who seemed to be in his 30s, with medium-length blonde hair that dangled over his forehead partially and was wrapped around the tops of his ears, tufts peeking around his neck. Standing up, the man waved towards himself to motion Logan forward, gesturing to a chair on the opposite side of the desk. Logan approached and sat at the same time as the man. ¡°It is good to meet you, Hunter Logan. I extend my thanks once again for your service in rescuing my son from brigands.¡± ¡°Castore Eventa? It is no trouble, all part of the job.¡± Leaning back into his tall chair, the man took on a more relaxed pose, ¡°My son spoke at lengths about his time in subjugation, and even more about his time with you, even though it was a shorter stint.¡± ¡°All good things, I hope.¡± ¡°Of course, about you. He did proposition me to ask you about further excursions, but I informed him your schedule would be too busy to allow for such a thing.¡± ¡°Having a noble at my side would make me feel a bit wary around my daily duties, for sure.¡± ¡°Quite. So. Your correspondence spoke a bit about why you petitioned to meet with me. Might you go in more depth now we are face-to-face?¡± Armin asked as he poured tea into two cups. ¡°Yes, of course. I would like to request that you put forward a law change on my behalf. As I do not own a guild, nor am I a noble, I cannot do such things easily. This law change would be the abolishment of ¡®duels¡¯ in their entirety¡±, Logan explained formally, taking one of the cups. ¡°Ah, ¡®duels¡¯, an institution that was instated even before that of the bandit lord. A two-hundred-year and older law. What reasons do you hold for this change?¡± ¡°They are several, noble. I believe since their inception, the duelling ideal and laws have been morphed from their original form, and not into anything better. Adventurers use duels as a way of brute-forcing their rule onto others, subjugating weaker people under their power and enacting something not much better than slavery.¡± ¡°Duels began as something for the monarchy to make use of, it then trickled down to the nobility, and finally the common folk. I am not blind to that fact, and even my son has seen such misuse of power. Though, tell me, what of the ¡®honour¡¯ that surrounds duels?¡± ¡°Whilst it is written in texts at lengths about the honour, I do not experience such from others. It represents a bully and victim environment rather than any form of kinship.¡± ¡°Do you have any affidavits for this? Simply your own will be hard to make a case in the courts¡±, Armin asked as he sipped his tea. Logan had spent some time during the week after the frost monarch¡¯s cavern talking with others in preparation for this, so of course, he had. Pulling out several pieces of parchment he placed them on the desk. Picking the parchments up, Armin glanced over them as he fingered the edges to read the names. ¡°Twelve, a hearty number. Have you spoken with any guilds?¡± ¡°I am in contact with Lightbeam, I believe they will back this. I intend to speak with others if I have your backing too.¡± ¡°Very good, I know of that one. I know of at least two others that would certainly rule on your side too.¡± ¡°Does that mean you¡¯ll do so, Noble?¡± Logan asked. ¡°Before that. Do you have numbers and data to back up the occurrence of duels?¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°I looked over several guardhouses for hunting contracts surrounding issues with duels, I have those here too¡±, Logan replied as he pulled out several more pieces of parchment and handed them over. ¡°Well, this is a more powerful statement. Money speaks louder than words when it comes to an abolishment like this. Duels are used as a tipping system for many guards, but, if we need not pay for hunting contracts to sort the fallout from so many, we can increase base pay rates.¡± ¡°To that end, I also have a few proposals to sweeten the deal¡±, Logan continued as he handed more parchment over. ¡°Exhibition matches, guard-adventurer training seminars, road patrols¡±, Armin counted aloud as he looked over the parchment, ¡°quite a few, good work, Logan. I know of at least four here that ¡®won¡¯t¡¯ work, but you have enough to cover those holes.¡± ¡°Is there anything else I need to provide?¡± Logan asked, a bit concerned. ¡°This is ample research. I can add my own, and ask others for more. So, you wish to remove duels entirely, not just for adventurer use?¡± ¡°Yes. Whilst I do not want to offend you, I have heard of the nobles using these rules as a way to get what they want too.¡± ¡°I have not engaged with such, but my affairs are away from combative events. A complete abolishment will be combated, however, we have a chance at that, a certainty for classless at least.¡± ¡°Does that mean you will put this forward at the next congress meeting?¡± Armin thought for a few seconds, sipped his tea, and responded, ¡°We are currently ¡®squared away¡¯ in the debt department. Whilst I am thankful for your saving my son, your pay has set us right. This will take up my slot at the meeting, so I will require something in return.¡± ¡°I had expected as much. What do you require?¡± ¡°As the phasing hunter, you are adept at teleportation. Correct? My son experienced it first hand.¡± ¡°Yes, that I am.¡± ¡°With your powers, I can make a lot of money, in a short amount of time. You see, not only my son, but my caravans are attacked regularly. Carriages, horses, drivers, materials, adventurers, they all cost a pretty coin. If I were to just hire you, I can cut the prices down immensely.¡± ¡°So, a ferry service? What do you have in mind?¡± ¡°I need some shipments of blood to be moved around to several settlements. It is all above board I assure you. I run a few bleeder dens in Gauntlet.¡± ¡°That must be a lucrative business you run if you¡¯re wanting me to handle it.¡± ¡°The fresher, the better. There are many that don¡¯t abide or appreciate vampire rule, or even their existence, so that adds to the number of attacks of caravans that move around such inventory.¡± ¡°Is the blood expensive, then?¡± ¡°Not per vial, however, rarer blood does come at a premium, though you can ship quite a lot more of it when compared to other goods. A caravan can return me a dozen or so gold. So you can see why, when they are raided, I don¡¯t want to be losing such capital.¡± ¡°I was curious about the specifics of blood, do you know a lot about that? Or just their prices.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t reveal a lot of the prices, trade secrets and the like. On average, a single vampire drinks up to four litres of blood a week, more for pleasure, or that amount a day if they are adventurers¡±, Armin replied with a smile. Four litres of blood weighed just under ten pounds. Logan could cart a thousand pounds of material in his inventory, so it wouldn¡¯t be too hard for him to ferry these shipments. ¡°We can work out the specifics later, but how long do you want to have me in your employ for this trade?¡± Armin chuckled a little, ¡°Not that long, depending on your ability I¡¯d say a week¡¯s service would suffice this sort of trade. I would be willing to pay you a gold coin per day to boot, much less than I would normally get charged for hiring out a normal porter mage to do this, but then, you¡¯re getting something more out of this.¡± ¡°So, seven days work for seven gold and your law proposal at the next congress meeting?¡± ¡°That about sums it up, yes. Is this option amenable to you?¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t sound difficult. I¡¯ll take it¡±, Logan replied confidently.
Logan and Armin spoke at length about the job that the Spellthief would be undertaking, even going as far as Logan saying how much he could teleport, as well as follow-ups for the whole duel law abolishment. Armin seemed rather forthcoming with most of his information, though keeping trade secrets far from Logan¡¯s ears. To speed up the process, Logan was also gifted another manual for Dimensional Jaunt, as part of his payment for the week of work. Armin seemingly thought the job would cause no issues for Logan, assuming the young man would take it without much contention. Aside from the job, Logan was informed that the next congress meeting was occurring in two weeks. This was probably why Armin sped up their meeting, combined with previous information. But this timeframe gave Logan ample time to return to Gauntlet to ferry the healer back, as well as sort out his own regeneration. With everything solidified, Logan shook Armin¡¯s hand one last time before leaving the estate the same way he came in. Letting out a sigh, Logan thought to himself, ¡°That probably went the best way it ever could.¡± ¡°I believe so too. Armin seemed rather open to the proposition¡±, Fol replied. ¡°Even hired me for a week¡¯s job to boot, with seven gold and a tome thrown in.¡± ¡°As a merchant, he is bound to have many tomes in his possession, though it is likely he had that prepared for whomever he wanted to ferry his goods.¡± ¡°Porters are rare, especially those that can bring over a good amount of goods. He was surprised when I told him how much I could take.¡± ¡°We are fortunate he accepted that you had some form of storage trinket.¡± ¡°That¡¯ll make the daily trips quicker, we can squeeze in some other activities when my teleportations are all used up.¡± ¡°We start tomorrow. What is our next step?¡± ¡°Seeing an old friend.¡±
Warping across the city, Logan apparated near the street of the alchemy shop that the PC Ahren owned. He didn¡¯t want to teleport too close to it, in case people were eyeing him up. Eventually, he made his way there, picking up on the chatter surrounding him and following his back. ¡°That¡¯s the Phasing Hunter.¡± ¡°Heard he ended the early chill.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t he ¡®destroy¡¯ a dungeon?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll find out, come two months, if he fucked up.¡± Logan had to push some of it out of his head. He knew there wouldn¡¯t be too many negative outcomes to his choices. If there were, many previous PCs would have bad reputations surrounding them and their actions. If whoever was sending him these quests was part of the pantheon, he guessed it would be down to the ones above. Entering the shop and closing the door behind him also closed out any voices that wanted to continue harassing his thoughts. Moving in deeper, Logan tapped the bell atop the counter and asked, ¡°Ahren, you in?¡± The elderly Irishman emerged from the curtains separating his backroom, his face lighting up as he met Logan¡¯s, ¡°Nice to see you back here, Logan. What¡¯s the craic?¡± ¡°As it is to see you. I want to ask a favour of you.¡± ¡°More potion making?¡± ¡°No, I want to make use of your unique class abilities.¡± ¡°Ah, the skills of a Meridiancer.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 113 - Regenerative Properties Ahren Fagan, the 77-year-old Irish PC with the unique class, Meridiancer. Logan had met this man some time ago, figuring out that he had declined the quests given to him after too many bad experiences. Though still keeping his powers, Ahren decided to stay in Avanar after settling down with a new family and using his powers to double his lifespan. Being able to affect the meridians found within people, Ahren could send his power through the nodes and connectors to both flush them of impurities or block their accessways. One such ability, clearing them, piqued Logan¡¯s curiosity in the past but didn¡¯t believe it would immediately help him. Logan kept himself fed with good food, was healed often by Marcus, and kept himself far from disease with ample use of the Clean mick. However, with the addition of regeneration to his plans, as well as finding it took time to take root due to several factors, the abilities that Ahren held could speed up that process. Explaining this to his PC ally, Logan was pleased to answer most of the questions given to him. He talked about the trolls he had killed, as well as the other vial being gifted to a cursed Devout to aid her life¡¯s worries. Moving into the backrooms, Logan saw why Ahren had spent so much time in them whenever he came around. Shelves were lined with glowing herbs, vials of fluorescent liquids, and dangling lanterns that held within them light sprites. The most otherworldly materials, however, were several stretched pieces of parchment showing diagrams of the humanoid body and its inner workings. Logan couldn¡¯t help but think back to hospital rooms, where they showed similar depictions. Ahren was only missing the busts of men cut in half to show the interior organs. Taking off his coat and shirt, Logan stood against the wall as Ahren moved an apparatus on the wall to examine his height and the varying shapes of his muscles. ¡°I could hit you willy-nilly, but I think you¡¯d not like that. Even a wee walk would feel rough after hitting the wrong spot.¡± Logan sighed, ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s like back when I was young.¡± ¡°Go to the doctors often?¡± Ahren asked as he made notes on parchment. ¡°Yeah, usual child illnesses and scrapes. I went more as an adult with my dad.¡± ¡°You got any conditions?¡± ¡°No, it was ¡®for¡¯ my dad.¡± Ahren took on a more serious look, ¡°Sorry to hear. You did mention him last time you were here. Is it serious?¡± ¡°Kind of¡­ I think. He¡¯s been falling asleep at bad times, and forgetting things.¡± Finishing the measurements, Ahren moved Logan to the centre of the room and moved some of the lanterns around to get a better look at his patient. ¡°That¡¯s why you wanted to go back?¡± ¡°One of the main reasons, yeah. But, he should have helpers to see him through.¡± ¡°Your choice of saving Marcus¡¯s life, for whatever anyone will say, was still a ¡®good¡¯ choice to make.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I tell myself.¡± Ahren looked over his notes, then back at Logan in the light. The Irishman¡¯s eyes lit up a faint green before he took a quill and dotted Logan¡¯s body in several areas. ¡°Do this much for other people?¡± Logan asked as he looked at the dots, feeling a slight tingle with each poke. ¡°Only for three others. My wife, my partner, and someone else that I trusted with this knowledge.¡± ¡°You use your powers in this way offensively against many?¡± ¡°Yeah. Leaves a lot paralyzed, or numb. It makes fighting opponents quite easy if it works.¡± ¡°Guess they are all dead now, right?¡± Ahren stopped for a second to think, before continuing to dot Logan, ¡°Yeah. I aimed to keep myself a secret. All records of ¡®Oracles¡¯ note that they all died on their journeys. I didn¡¯t want to end up like that, after what I experienced.¡± ¡°There¡¯s bound to be more out there that hid themselves too¡±, Logan hoped. ¡°Certainly some PCs from below, yeah¡±, Ahren spoke with a bit of vile in his tone. ¡°What do you think about this kynecain?¡± ¡°Keep your eyes open and the ears perked, something like that¡­ it feels too familiar.¡± Logan agreed, it was better to be safe than sorry. He didn¡¯t need to be too cautious in the capital, however, but his next job would take him out more than not. ¡°All prepped. Take on a good stance, don¡¯t want you falling over¡±, Ahren instructed as he put down his tools. Logan took a low and grounded stance, and moved his arms slightly to the side with clenched fists. Ahren drew up his hands, his hands sparked with electricity before they flowed blue mist. The mist swirled around to his fingertips and made his nails shine slightly. Sweeping a leg behind himself on the floor, Ahren kicked off the ground and landed an index and middle finger poke to Logan¡¯s heart. A shockwave of cold power washed over Logan, he could feel his heart beating furiously. It was alien, as if it wasn¡¯t part of his body any longer, but a parasite sucking in the blood from his veins. Logan¡¯s arteries felt as if they clogged up with a thick mist, enlarging within his frame and making his entirety feel tight. Even with the intense surge of power, Logan¡¯s lungs didn¡¯t feel it at all, he didn¡¯t need to gasp for air, and his instincts didn¡¯t make him sigh out either. Another jab from Ahren¡¯s other hand went into three marks across Logan¡¯s chest that went to the side and up to his neck. Power continued to rush through the wires that transported the liquid of life around his body. His skin prickled with goosebumps as his hair stood on end. Stepping to the left, Ahren poked Logan¡¯s arm all over, spun around to the back and did the same on the reverse. With the final jab into his shoulder, Logan felt it go numb and droop to his side. Ahren moved to the other side, deadening the other arm. Moving to Logan¡¯s front, Ahren let loose a flurry of jabs across Logan¡¯s chest and stomach, this time Logan felt the need to breathe in, though it was quickly pushed out as Ahren spun around to his back to let loose another barrage. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Jabbing into Logan¡¯s neck, the Spellthief fell to his knees as Ahren grabbed his shoulder to pick him up for even more stabs. Twisting him around, Ahren poked Logan¡¯s forehead, sending him into unconsciousness.
Logan awoke sometime later atop an operation bed. It felt as if someone had pushed several wires into his body and cleaned him out entirely. He could feel the blood running through his interior, he felt each organ shift and move, and he felt small sparks at the back of his head. ¡°Why does it feel like I am piloting myself¡±, he asked rhetorically. Ahren walked over from the side as he looked over his patient, ¡°You¡¯ve been refreshed. You¡¯re ¡®reconnecting¡¯ everything. How else do you feel?¡± ¡°Like¡­¡± Logan began as he clenched his fist and wiggled his toes, ¡°like I have a lot of space inside of me?¡± ¡°Good, that¡¯s all the space your impurities were taking up. You¡¯re in the ¡®prime-iest¡¯ of primes. Doing something similar to myself makes me feel like I¡¯m 20, and not 77.¡± ¡°Like a brand new car¡±, Logan teased. ¡°Without the new car smell. Damn, you¡¯re making me feel nostalgic for Earth things.¡± Logan swung his body to have his legs dangle over the edge of the bed, ¡°So, is that everything?¡± ¡°Yep. I handled your lower body when you were sleeping. The top part is easiest while awake.¡± ¡°So, it all went well then.¡± ¡°No complications at all. I noticed you had a lot of ¡®funk¡¯ in your head though. That¡¯ll be down to emotional conflicts. It will build back up again, and I would suggest trying not to think about the bad things, but that¡¯s highly improbable without focusing on something else intensely.¡± ¡°I hear you there. But I will say, my head does feel free¡±, Logan replied as he brushed his hand through his hair, ¡°Am I good to have the regeneration applied now?¡± Ahren¡¯s eyes lit up green again as he looked over Logan, ¡°Yeah. From what I can tell, it should take an hour to complete.¡± ¡°Wow. Those powers of yours are quite handy. It¡¯s gonna take the other person a week.¡± ¡°The curse combined with impurities in the body, that¡¯ll lead to such a time. It¡¯ll take less than normal since they got a healer on hand to help it along.¡± ¡°A week is ¡®less¡¯ huh¡±, Logan thought aloud. ¡°I prepared the solution, all you have to do is drink it¡±, Ahren announced as he pulled out a pint glass of shifting clear liquid. ¡°Where¡¯d the colour go?¡± ¡°I know a thing or three more than the average healer. This is how you¡¯re meant to prepare it to get the best effect.¡± Logan looked at the concoction, it had a faint smell of blood but otherwise was inoffensive. Raising the glass, the Spellthief downed the drink. Ahren¡¯s eyes stared at Logan¡¯s neck, almost following the liquid as it passed through the man¡¯s system. As time went on, Logan could feel a slight itching across his insides and his skin, he could feel the potion doing its work. Logan¡¯s physiology was changing once again, though at least this time it was consensual, and not like when he was abducted. At the end of the hour, as the liquid felt like an icy drink in hot weather through his inners, Logan saw a window pop up with his newly acquired ability. ¡°That¡¯s a load off my mind¡±, Logan thought aloud. ¡°Ay? It work then?¡± ¡°That it does. Don¡¯t need to worry about paying for regeneration services anymore.¡± ¡°That¡¯s nice then, ain¡¯t it? So, what we looking at?¡± Logan explained the specifics of his new ability. ¡°Stronger in some ways, worse in others, but then the trolls had the third tier of this, right?¡± Ahren confirmed. ¡°That they did. It doesn¡¯t note anything about how it¡¯s stopped, so I will wager that fire won¡¯t stop it as it does for trolls.¡± ¡°We are biologically different¡±, Ahren noted passively. ¡°It will help with the Bloodcasting penalties too¡±, Logan mentioned as he looked at the last line of the skill, allowing him to recover 20 max HP when resting. Ahren sighed as he rolled up pieces of parchment, tied them in string, and threw them into his own inventory. ¡°I was expecting nothing to go wrong, glad to meet those. Was there anything else for today? You were out for a bit, but you got some light left.¡± Logan stood from the bed and started to put his shirt and coat back on, ¡°Any information on Identification expansion yet?¡± Logan asked, remembering he had asked off handily about how he could remove the lock on his skill. ¡°Ah, yes indeed. This is what you¡¯re after¡±, Ahren replied as he pulled out another piece of parchment from his inventory, handing it to Logan, ¡°A ¡®vaskt¡¯. A breed of spider that carries a nucleus sort of core for their eyes.¡± Logan glanced over the parchment, a depiction of a 10¡¯ monstrous spider with countless eyes that almost reached the back of its head. Ahren continued as he stretched out, ¡°Bring that to me, and I can sort out a potion for you. Or, make it yourself. It¡¯s not too hard.¡± ¡°Any idea to its strength?¡± Logan asked as he pocketed the parchment. ¡°Hard to find a lot on it, through just alchemy channels, but you¡¯re looking at levels 15 to 25.¡± ¡°So, it could be quite difficult to bring down then¡±, Logan replied as he stroked his chin. ¡°I¡¯d suggest you bring your whole array of spells to the conflict. Either way, they are ¡®rare¡¯ one could say. Keep an eye out for a quest to kill them.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t get you to hire me, right?¡± Logan chuckled. ¡°Could do with the legs, but money is tight for what it would make even if you did pay me for this purifying service. Sorry.¡± Logan didn¡¯t take it too harshly. Working the ¡°System¡± to his advantage was profitable, but it had to be at least somewhat truthful on one side. He couldn¡¯t just give Ahren the money to pay him, nor buy the potions off him in return. He had tried something similar in his experiments before. ¡°That should be everything I need. Thanks a lot, Ahren.¡± ¡°No worries. It¡¯s nice to be able to flex the real me. People asked a boatload of questions with my dialect in the beginning.¡± ¡°Same here.¡± Saying their farewells, the pair parted from one another. Logan didn¡¯t have to empty his pockets for the procedure as Ahren was more than willing to help out a fellow in a familiar position.
Teleporting high into the sky, Logan teleported to the floor outside the G-Hall, yet again shaking the nearby villagers. Some were getting used to it, but the city had many people that had yet to see and hear his blasts of wind on arrival. Entering the hall, Logan saw numerous adventurers sitting at tables looking for party members, plenty at the boards to pick up new quests, as well as the counters at the back handling many completed ones. Adding himself to the group investigation of the quest boards, a dozen wide wooden holders for parchment after parchment stood in front of him. Scanning them quickly, Logan was disheartened to find no such quest to hunt a vaskt. However, since it was such a strong monster, he would find a handful of warnings about its threat compared to his previous assessment of rank 8. ¡°I¡¯m close to level 17, as good a time as any to get my reassessment before it gets higher¡±, Logan thought to himself. Gaining 8 ranks in around 40 days wasn¡¯t unheard of, with Logan¡¯s antics in the Frost Monarch¡¯s Cavern and all his hunter work it was actually to be a bit expected. A level every five days was bound to be accepted, he wasn¡¯t dead and he took on more hunts than most people due to his outward role as a diviner. It was fast though, for how high he was getting. Making his way to the counter, Logan waited in line for a while before getting seen to. ¡°How can I help you, sir?¡± a middle-aged, dark-haired man asked. ¡°I¡¯d like to sign up for reassessment, please.¡± ¡°You¡¯re in luck, we have an evening assessment session in a couple of hours. Would you like to join that?¡± ¡°Sure, that¡¯d be best actually¡±, Logan replied as he placed a tower of 10 silver on the counter. Taking note of his signet, the man went a bit wide-eyed at the number of quests that Logan had done. Though, Logan was sure it was due to his hunts, not anything else, as he saw the man eye up Logan¡¯s hunter gold armband. ¡°Please bring this to your reassessment, Sheepdog¡±, the man asked formally as he handed the normal forms to Logan. ¡°Will do.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 114 - The Third Assessment Passing the time with some minor chores, Logan returned to the G-Hall with his forms filled in and moved to the large practice grounds at the back. Sitting on the pews to look over the other adventurers, Logan was able to Identify a few more than he had last time he was here. At level 16, with Identification at tier 4, he could scan up to level 22 if they lacked any defensive measures. There was quite a number of people that¡¯d have their names on the leaderboards, being over level 10. Logan remembered that adventurers of rank 15 or higher gained a metal signet, meaning he¡¯d be joining that exclusive club soon. Since there were thousands of people in that bracket, at least when it came to the G-Hall, Logan would lose what little anonymity he was holding onto. He wasn¡¯t going to have it for long if he was to make a guild. ¡°Evenin¡¯, Phasing Hunter¡±, an adventurer greeted as he sat next to Logan. ¡°And to you¡±, Logan replied politely. ¡°Looking for new teammates?¡± the random person queried. ¡°Reassessment.¡± ¡°Good luck to you then.¡± Keeping an eye on the training grounds themselves, Logan collected more data on the progression of other classes and NPCs. It was still weird to call them as such, the term was so, ¡°gamey¡±, that it didn¡¯t seem to fit. Even with all the windows and status screens, Logan was immersed in this world. Most of the low levels, in the ranges of 1 to 8, saw increases of up to 5 with their new assessment. While some in the low 10s only got 1 or 2 level increases. Logan was going to have the largest increase in this session.
Logan was eventually called down to the grounds and put through the same motions as before. Running track, hitting dummies, and displaying his magical might. However, this time, Logan was treated to a few cheers and claps from the crowd. Looking into the numerous faces, Logan saw happy smiles across many magi and even some non-casters who had heard of his exploits to date. It was hard to tell if it was true adoration or just respect for his work as a hunter that not many would want to do. Regardless of those who were at his back, Logan came to the end of his assessment and the announcer called out his results. ¡°Logan Hall has been reassessed. He has been marked as a rank 16 Wizard. While his spell slots are on the lower end for his class, his mastery of the spells he prepares is on the higher end. Special notes are given to his specialities of being a Grasp expert alongside divination, and teleportation, with his summoning skills granting him the maximum number of elementals.¡± A round of applause, louder than previously, followed this announcement. It seemed even higher-level adventurers were able to break through the general stigma of casters. At this point, Logan could cast so many spells a day that he wasn¡¯t such a detriment to a team, though. Moving to the exit, along with the rest of the adventurers with the end of the assessments, Logan could overhear a few people talking at the back. ¡°A quadra-focus mage? Send him an invite.¡± ¡°Teleportation is hard to come by in a team. You sure he isn¡¯t set up as a porter?¡± ¡°I hear the max number of summons is five. What kinda army is he packing?¡± ¡°Another to be added to the ¡®steels¡¯.¡± It was hard to pick out anything bad being said about him, a few harsh words were pointed at some of the others who were reassessed though. Handing his scroll over to the front desk had Logan also get his signet changed out for a new one. The receptionist took a few minutes to take some notes and adjust the new signet to Logan¡¯s details. Eventually, he was handed a steel-coloured metal signet that was thinner than his last one. Unlike the wooden signet that was like a small shogi piece on a necklace, this one was more of a rounded rectangle. The numbers were no longer etched into the surface but were drawn onto it more fashionably. Logan could also tell that the signet had a small portion of mana, or spellforce as the natives called it, running through it to increase its toughness. With his old signet getting retired, Logan adorned his new one which glinted a bit before being hidden under his clothing. As he did, another member of staff was updating the leaderboards on the other wall with the newly established level 10 and above adventurers. While some adventurers were checking on the leaderboards, one came over to Logan from his side. ¡°Hey, Logan, right?¡± the man asked. ¡°Yes. Can I help you?¡± ¡°We¡¯re needing a porter to head north, interested in joining up?¡± ¡°Sorry, I got prior engagements for some time, another quest will have me too drained to do much else¡±, Logan replied, hoping this wouldn¡¯t go the same way as before. The man let out a sigh with a drooped head, ¡°Fine. Good luck with your endeavours.¡± ¡°And to you¡±, Logan returned as the man walked away. ¡°No more duels¡±, he thought to himself. ¡°No doubt they are worried about your armband, or your higher level¡±, Fol added in Logan¡¯s mind.
Making his way back to the inn, Logan saw neither of his companions there. Asking Yetveka, Logan found that Marcus was still going about his hunter business and Amalia was still exploring. There were some hours left in the day, and a few into the night, so he decided it would be prudent to clear out some hunter contracts of his own. Warping to the Gerro Guardhouse, Logan picked many low-rank marks and set out to fill his quest log in further. The weaker the better, to not increase his level too much.
It was easy to find the ones on the wanted posters, and possibly even easier to apprehend them when it came to it. Logan used either punches or his level 1 dagger to increase his Backstab mastery while trying to keep most enemies alive. When it came to group fights he let loose with Force micks.
  1. A classless shoplifter who had been pawning off weapons.
  2. A duo of level 3 robbers who were holding up smaller businesses to take what coin was behind the counters.
  3. A group of four level 2 thugs who moved between the alleyways to rob passersby who took the wrong turn.
4 through 7 were to track down suspects in the under market trades of spell rings that Logan had dealt with before, each was guilty which made things simple when apprehending them for questioning. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
  1. A level 4 Wizard woman selling alerted trinkets that showed effects they did not grant.
  2. A level 3 elemental that had been enchanted by someone else, causing it to go mad and leave its post. Logan brought its core back to the guardhouse.
  3. Two runaway bandits of level 3 who escaped their escort to the guardhouse.
  4. Quite the optimistic level 4 guildie traitor who fled with a bag full of tomes.
With such ample access to teleportation, Logan made quick work of these hunts, many of which were close to one another or could be transported back to the guardhouse by nearby guards. For the eleven quests Logan was paid 57 silver and 2 copper, the 10% with a minimum of 2 copper per hunt adding a handful extra coins to the reward. As he was able to apprehend all his quarries unconscious, Logan was almost always in the realm of getting bonus rewards based on who put up the contract as well as who he was taking in. Jirango and eventually Jivvy were totally fine with him racking up pseudo ¡°bonus points¡± to get better bonus rewards where possible from their store of criminal belongings. As he was choosing from a selection of bonus rewards, a new window appeared to alert Logan to a new change with his one-hundredth hunt complete. ¡°You have gained the ¡®Wolf Hunter¡¯ title.¡± ¡°Wolf Hunter: The penultimate tier of hunters, as a wolf your hunting abilities are legendary. Criminals instinctively wince and hide at your name, whereas civilians would rather be nearer to you than a guardhouse. You are awarded 15% extra money (minimum 3 copper) from successful hunting contracts and intimidate others with just a mention. You have gained 1 skill point to distribute.¡± ¡°Wow, that milestone already¡±, Jivvy chuckled as he looked over his papers. ¡°Huh?¡± Logan snapped out of his reading, ¡°Yeah, 100 hunts.¡± ¡°Quite the shooting star. What¡¯s it been, two months?¡± Jivvy asked as he took Logan¡¯s armband. ¡°Something like that, my research into teleportation definitely helped speed things along.¡± ¡°That they damn did¡±, Jivvy laughed, ¡°You¡¯ve passed a lot of our other contracted hunters¡±, Jivvy continued as he sprinkled some more dust over the armband, its gold colour turning platinum with a silver glitter effect. ¡°Glad to be of service¡±, Logan smiled. ¡°Speaking of service, you¡¯ve been taking on quite a few of the easier hunts. Do you have any mind to take on the harder ones? Those are a bit more pressing.¡± ¡°I just had some time free, maybe when the rest of my tasks are completed.¡± ¡°Good. We got one in recently that is offering a huge payout, twenty gold and some items to boot¡±, Jivvy announced as handed the armband back. That was a big payment indeed. Logan¡¯s previous hunt for the Qreil bandits, thirty members of ranks 1 through 3, rewarded 60 silver with an extra 30 for bringing in the leader alive. The Oni-Noni gang that Gaemo was undertaking paid 4 gold for eighty-seven level 4 through 10s. Dena, a single level 10 awarded 2 gold. Though the pay fluctuated based on if the hunts had gear that needed to be handed in. ¡°What is it about?¡± Logan asked, his curiosity piqued. ¡°A vampire came to town not too long ago, apparently some people were causing a coven some issues and he wants it sorted. A lot of killing, or apprehending, needs doing. It¡¯s a rare hunt in that the client will be speaking with whoever takes the contract before they leave for further instructions.¡± ¡°Got some secrets to share then?¡± ¡°Most likely. The covens do keep a lot of stuff separate from one another, probably doesn¡¯t want it written down for all to read.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to be busy for a couple of weeks¡­ can it wait?¡± ¡°Most hunts collect dust on the board for weeks, if not months. I am sure this one can wait.¡± ¡°Alright¡±, Logan started as he pointed at the parchment in front of Jivvy, ¡°these two will do for my bonuses.¡± Jivvy looked at the writing briefly before clearing his throat, ¡°How did I know you¡¯d pick something like this. Do you mind waiting here for me to go grab them?¡± Logan nodded. Jivvy left the entrance room into the cell blocks at the back, and after ten minutes he returned with two tomes in his hands. ¡°Here you go¡±, Jivvy said as he handed the books to Logan. Taking them in his hand, Logan glanced over their covers with a smile, ¡°Thanks.¡± The books were Invisibility Beginner¡¯s Guide and Invisibility Manual 1. Since he couldn¡¯t use the Rogue¡¯s skill, Shroud of Shadow, this was his Spellthief option for hiding himself from sight. ¡°I got plenty of paperwork to do, you done for the night?¡± ¡°Sure am. I¡¯ll see you in a week or two, I guess.¡±
Leaving the guardhouse, Logan looked over his new armband with a sense of accomplishment, he still had that skill point to spend. Teleporting back to the inn with the last of his MP, Logan moved inside and straight to his room as he saw no comrades in the tavern section. Logan spread himself over his bed as he looked over at Marcus who had already begun reading for the night. ¡°Long day for you too?¡± ¡°Hmm? Yeah. I heard you were out there a lot too.¡± ¡°Hit a hundred hunts.¡± Marcus smiled as he replied, ¡°Quite the accomplishment, well done, Logan.¡± ¡°I was surprised no new quest popped up with any of it though.¡± ¡°We can pray you¡¯ve had good luck and that bad luck hasn¡¯t befallen anyone to warrant a quest.¡± ¡°Maybe. But their rewards are great. I kinda miss it¡­¡± Logan thought aloud, memories of his outburst over the last quest moving to the front of his mind. ¡°How¡¯d everything go with Eventa?¡± Logan explained what had happened in the day, a chat that cut into both of their reading time, but it was a good rest from their normal duties. ¡°That sorts out Amalia¡¯s gold then, she said she was going to do some armour and weapon crafting, you could pay for her wares¡­ overpay more like¡±, Marcus chuckled. ¡°Having a crafter in our group would be amazing. We saved and made a lot from my trinkets, though I can¡¯t sell too many more of those with how the economy is shifting.¡± ¡°I guess we¡¯ll all be doing our own thing for the coming weeks.¡± Logan agreed, pulling out the tome that Eventa had given him to read for the rest of the night. Logan¡¯s eyes began to become dry, it seemed his new Regeneration skill wasn¡¯t going to let him stay awake forever. He still needed to satisfy his normal biological needs, so he went to sleep after finishing his dinner and night-time drink.
While Logan still needed sleep, the next morning he felt refreshed and full of life. His Bloodcasted health had returned to him and there were no aches to be found in his body. He also no longer felt his veins and arteries in that weird experience, impurities finding their home back in his frame. Swinging his legs over the edge of his bed, Logan used his Clean mick to fully cleanse himself. With its empowered state it did it so much better and faster than before, even cleaning parts of his bed. Summoning up his elementals, Logan didn¡¯t make them all permanent, so he could save some more MP for the day. Logan had some time left in the morning before he had to go to Eventa¡¯s estate, so he had a leisurely meal and reading session for the two other tomes he had accepted from Jivvy. With the new developments to his spells, Logan could Dimensional Jaunt up to 40 miles, and use Invisibility for 26 seconds. Both suited Logan¡¯s style of combat, though Invisibility would need some more investment to increase its duration. Right now, he could only feasibly attack someone while under its effects twice. Standing up from his table, the Spellthief exited to his new job. ¡°Time to make some money.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 115 - Warp Blood Drive Arriving at the Eventa estate on foot, Logan was treated to the view of a large carriage array parked outside the walls. A few merchants were making notes in books while others were checking over crates. The jingling of glass bottles and the creaking of wood painted the scene as one highly invested in commerce. A familiar face, at least to Logan, approached the Spellthief with a wide smile, ¡°Hail, Logan. We¡¯re working together again it seems.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a nice coincidence¡±, Logan replied as he shook the man¡¯s hand. Logan had worked with this merchant in the past, well, he had helped the merchant recover some of his lost goods. Working as a hunter meant that Logan was well known amongst people of mercantile professions, as they were the most common to be robbed of their goods. ¡°We got plenty of crates ready to ship off. I¡¯ll tell ya, it¡¯s nice not having to pay out the bank for protection and food to ferry these everywhere¡±, the merchant laughed, pushing his brown cap back up as it slipped over his forehead. ¡°You got the manifests and maps for me?¡± Logan asked with an outstretched hand. The merchant handed a booklet to the Spellthief, Logan thumbing through it quickly as he stopped on a few pages that had been bookmarked. ¡°You¡¯ve got storage trinkets, right?¡± Logan nodded. ¡°Good, this should be speedy then. Here are our merchant permits¡±, the man continued as he handed a set of folded pieces of parchment, ¡°Show those to the stores you¡¯ll be delivering to and then unload in their storehouses. You will also be bringing back payment, so put the permit of each transaction in the lockbox they hand you, signed by the client.¡± ¡°Armin Eventa mentioned that people were attacking your caravans, fanatics who hate vampires. Will I see any in the settlements?¡± Logan asked as he pocketed the papers. ¡°There have been some troubles at the front doors and stores, yeah. Since you¡¯re a hunter, you have the authority to apprehend them as you see fit. A lot are just barking, so I would tell you to not kill them if you can help it.¡± ¡°The smaller settlements will lack prisons, right? Should I just leave them in the streets?¡± ¡°Confiscate their weapons and leave them, if you¡¯re unable to bring them back to the capital. I know you can only take, what was it, four people?¡± the merchant asked as he scratched the side of his head. ¡°I can take eight now.¡± ¡°Ah, of course, Armin did mention he was giving you another tome.¡± ¡°Am I good to start?¡± ¡°That you are, since we¡¯re saving money on this we¡¯ll also be giving you loan units of periapts. Each one should give you a Dimensional Jaunt, right? We can loan you two, at the end of this we¡¯ll need them back¡±, the merchant added as he held out two periapts of mana. ¡°I have one of these too, thanks¡±, Logan accepted as he took the necklaces. After ending their conversation, Logan climbed into the back of one of the carriages. The cloth tarp hid the interior well enough, especially the wealth that was inside. Crates stacked on top of each other, with the faint smell of blood and¡­ mint? They were probably perfumed or something to aid with the smell. In the back of this vehicle Logan was hidden from sight, so using his inventory system didn¡¯t come with any issues. Though he did use Echo Radar ahead of time just in case there was some sleuthing individual in here with him. After gathering up as many crates as he could, Logan left the carriage, activated his periapt of mana for 2 MP, and looked to the skies with his eagle¡¯s eyeglass. Referencing his maps and notes, Logan warped into his centre and blasted high into the skies, far from the capital. Another teleport had him warp 40 miles away. Spells prepared for the day: 1st (6): 1+3/3* Flame, 1 Frost, 1 Gaia, 1 Infuse, 1+2/2* Lightning, 1 Necromantic. 2nd (5): 4/4* Dimensional Jaunt, 1 Haste, 1 Sleep, 3(+1) Summons. 3rd (4): 1 Air Blast, 1 Flame 2nd, 1 Invisibility, 1 Necromantic 2nd. Signature: 1/2 Dimensional Jaunt.
Apparating within a small town, dirt brushing to the sides from the eruption of wind, Logan stood tall and looked around. Just as he was investigating the town, the inhabitants investigated him. ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± ¡°See that armband? That¡¯s a hunter.¡± ¡°What criminals we got ¡®round here?¡± Ending his gaze on a larger store, Logan walked to the wooden establishment. Opening the door wide had the wind come in with him, showing him a well-stocked shop. Shelves were full of vials, weapons, armour, bags, rope, all the things an adventurer would need. A few other customers were browsing at the same time, but the counter was free for Logan to approach. On the other end stood a middle-aged woman in a leather gambeson over villager clothes. ¡°Aye, what can I do yer for?¡± she asked as she chewed on leaves. ¡°I got a shipment for you¡±, Logan replied as he held out the permit for this town. Taking the permit, the woman read over it quickly, ¡°Hoo, blood, we were running low on that. So where is it?¡± ¡°Stored¡±, Logan replied as he raised his hand to show the back of it, almost as if demonstrating his trinkets, ¡°Can I unload it into your storehouse?¡± The woman¡¯s eyebrows raised in surprise, ¡°Sure thing, Mr Mage¡±, she spoke as she lifted part of the countertop and opened a side door, ¡°I¡¯ll get yer payment ready.¡± Passing the counter and moving into the backroom, Logan closed the door behind him. A wide room littered with half-opened crates, cracked barrels, and bags. The store clerk needed to hire a cleaner. Finding a good enough corner, Logan clicked his fingers to check for onlookers and then unloaded the delivery for this place. When he was finished he left back to the storefront, ¡°All done.¡± ¡°That was quick, much faster than when we get caravans¡±, the woman spoke as she pushed a lockbox across the counter, ¡°Here¡¯s the payment.¡± This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Logan placed the newly signed permit into the box as instructed and put it into his bag, ¡°Thanks, have a good day.¡± Looking to the sky, Logan teleported high and back to the capital.
This continued throughout the day, until his periapts, absorbed MP, and spell slots were all used up. At the end of it all, Logan was paid a gold coin for the day¡¯s work. While he still had other spells to use, they were for emergencies, in case there were strong haters of vampire kind. There was still the danger of an errant quest coming his way by part of the systems that brought him to Avanar, it was around the time one normally popped up, but then, that was on a timeline without Amalia in the mix. Spending the evening hunting criminals, Logan brought in a few more coins though in a slower manner without his teleportations.
  1. A group of young classless men harassing the homeless population, Logan refused payment from the homeless after apprehending the ruffians.
  2. Tracking down some stolen elemental hiring documents, Logan also found the woman who had stolen them, a level 4 Wizard who came in without a fight.
  3. A level 1 Fighter traitor who had killed his team in their camp.
With the few hunts done, Logan went to sleep.
The next day was a lot of the same. Teleporting to the skies, and teleporting to the settlements. Logan had yet to see the anger towards his deliveries, but then he wasn¡¯t around long nor were his goods on display like a caravan. When his deliveries were done he accepted some more hunts.
  1. A level 8 Wizard making unsanctioned undead from nearby graves, he was more of a hassle to deal with, but had little HP as a caster so Logan got him down with a well-placed Backstab Flame.
  2. A level 2 Sorcerer giving out false divination readings for a high price, Logan was able to find his stash and return most of the ill-gotten coins.
  3. A classless woman who had stolen a horse from the stables and fled the city with it.
Another gold coin from his deliveries, and some extra for his hunts. A good bonus came the way of his retrieval of the coins from the ¡°diviner¡± hunt. A handbook for some more micks to add to Logan¡¯s repertoire. Reading over it, he learned Boom Voice, Intermitt, Magic Sigil, Minor Morph, and Temper-rate. In order they let him increase the volume of his voice up to three times, ignite or extinguish mundane flames, create magical writings on surfaces, minorly affect an object¡¯s aesthetics but not its effects, and increase or decrease the temperature of an unattended object from boiling to freezing. The fake diviner probably used a few of these in their scheme to make themselves look legitimate.
The following day Logan took a quick visit to Amalia to pay her two gold for a range of daggers, way more than what they were worth but enough to push her into the last objective after she learnt her skills. The Guardian had found some work and apprenticeship under a local smithy, working on several skills to craft gear. She seemed to enjoy it quite a bit, though some of that might have been due to the fact she could use spellforce in the creation of items, making it a magical sight to behold. Warping around the local settlements had Logan continue his previous endeavours, the stock of crates shrinking with each day. It was possible he was going to be able to get it all done a day early. On his third settlement of the day, however, Logan found his first signs of dissenters for the vampire species. A group of adventurers with levels 1 through 3 ambushed him as he left the store. It was an easy thing to get around, Logan was far beyond what they could do. Spinning around the man at the front, Logan landed a chop into the quarry¡¯s neck to knock him out. Flipping over another he tapped their back and ignited them in a torrent of embers. Grappling a swinging arm of a woman, he twisted it, stepped around and kicked her foot, spun her over and punched her back to force her to the floor. The final two dropped their arms and began to run, but Logan halted them both with Force blasts. Gathering up their gear, Logan tied up the bodies with some rope and teleported them with him back to the capital. Handing over the assaulters, and selling off their gear, Logan made an extra 10 silver for his day of deliveries. With so many hunts until he would get any more skill points, Logan decided to spend some time on this day to clean up some villager quests, literally with the first.
  1. A local tavern was going to play host to a large influx of travellers, so it needed to be spick and span for their time there. Logan spent some time using Clean all around.
  2. Another fungus issue with a water tower, leading to a round of Force and Clean micks to make the stores cleaner.
  3. Clearing out an infestation of small rats in a local bakery.
  4. Finding a missing daughter, though it turned out she had tried to elope with her lover and she got lost on the opposite side of the city.
With a day of work done, Logan hit the hay and fell asleep instantly.
Waking to the fourth day of possibly six, Logan made his way to the estate to continue his deliveries. However, this time he was met by a man fully hidden under a large black cloak with its hood hiding most of his face. At around 6¡¯8¡±, the man tilted his head down to Logan as he spoke through a fanged maw, ¡°Logan, I presume? I¡¯ve come to offer my thanks.¡± Logan peered under the hood as he looked up, the man¡¯s eyes were hidden behind goggles, but he knew that the man was a vampire, ¡°You have me at a disadvantage, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve been told about you.¡± Holding out a gloved hand to shake, the man continued, ¡°Sirn Alton, pleased to meet you.¡± Logan knew that a ¡°sirn¡± was this world¡¯s version of being knighted, a step above normal nobility and one below being royalty, and another below the King himself. Logan shook the hand and responded, ¡°It is an honour to meet you in that case. I take it these blood deliveries are benefiting you as well?¡± ¡°A secondary effect that sweetens the winds towards me. As kin, vampire-folk are rather considerate of the rest. I smell you have an air about you similar to ours, am I mistaken?¡± ¡°I am not a vampire, no, but I have taken one step into demonhood¡±, Logan informed, knowing the man probably could tell either way. ¡°Then we are cousin-kin. I shall not take more of your time than I need. I merely wanted to inform you that I am to back your new proposal at the Congress.¡± ¡°Oh¡±, Logan was a bit startled but remembered to show deference, holding his right hand over the left side of his neck as a salute or bow, ¡°Thank you very much, Sirn.¡± ¡°Tis not an issue. I also abhor the law and its chains that are commonly placed on my kind from blaggards¡±, Alton replied with a bit of bile in his words. Removing the hand from his neck, Logan continued, ¡°It did not take much convincing on Armin¡¯s part then.¡± ¡°He and I are old friends, in fact, I probably would have accepted if I lacked an investment. Many merchants shy from the blood trade due to¡­ ill contents of the trade.¡± ¡°I dealt with a few the other day¡ª¡± Logan began before he was cut off. ¡°I heard, and interrogated, such. Those malcontents are to be executed. Truthful magic pulled their misdeeds from their mouths¡±, Alton said with even further anger in his voice. ¡°Death drainage?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Logan had heard of this style of execution before, a vampire would drink all of the blood of a living target, killing them quite slowly but not as painfully as some other execution methods since they lost all feeling. ¡°I suppose I might be bringing in more for that fate with my final deliveries.¡± Alton sighed, adjusting his hood and goggles, ¡°Tis a sad outcome, for ones so full of life, and coin in their veins¡±, realising his words he coughed, ¡°Let us not dwell on it. Here is your signature sheet¡±, he ended as he held out a folded parchment. Opening it up, Logan saw a few names already signed onto it, including Armin Eventa and his wife, Alton, and a few names he didn¡¯t recognise. ¡°Thank you again, I shall see about getting this filled in.¡± ¡°I shall remind you that a sirn¡¯s signature is worth two votes, depending on the sizes of the guilds you commission they may also grant up to two.¡± ¡°Will you be contacting other nobles, sirns, and royalty for signatures?¡± Logan asked optimistically. ¡°No. It is better that I don¡¯t ask those that I don¡¯t have a guarantee on. If people know of a potential voting point they can build cases against such things. I trust you know of like-minded people who would not do such in your search.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve a few in mind.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 116 - The AV Club Logan left the signature gathering for later, he still had jobs to do and a week left after them. When it came to his evening time off he could go to the people he knew, but there weren¡¯t many he was certain would sign the sheet. He could take the signatures of those not viable for ¡°votes¡±, acting more of a general plea from the populace, to sway others in the congress meeting to agree. Warping to the first settlement of the day, Logan appeared within a small city that housed the most people thus far. However, unlike the other settlements, this one had a dedicated blood house for the trading of blood. Logan noticed some defaced markings on the side, fangs with a red x painted across them. Placing a hand on the handle caused a hiss to echo through Logan¡¯s head, an almost incomprehensible, ¡°Yes¡±, was mixed into it. The door clicked as if unlocking at his touch and allowed him to open the doors. Walking through the threshold, Logan felt a wave of water wash over him, invisible and slightly thick, it seemingly was a barrier to keep unwanted people out. But why did it let Logan through? As he fully passed the doorway, the door pushed on Logan¡¯s hand, letting go it closed behind him with another solid click. The interior of the building was wide, shelves emerging from the floor and reaching the ceiling as Logan looked around, obviously protected underground when not in use. Countless vials lined the shelves, with some utensils strewn about neatly. Knives, scissors, wires and rope, all used for blood drawing. This world had yet to create syringes though. At the far end, lit up by a sconce on the wall, was a clean counter with a gashriek manning it. His glowing red eyes created a dark scenery, even more than what was already created by the rest of the place. Approaching, Logan pulled out his permit, ¡°Blood delivery.¡± The man raised an eyebrow, ¡°Not a customer? How did you¡ªah, you must be another form of demon.¡± ¡°Is that what the door was checking?¡± Logan asked as he looked back. ¡°Yes. Many people have come to this place wanting to¡­ destroy it. We had that barrier created some time ago to keep the brash ones out. Only those of demon blood, or staff members, may enter without allowance.¡± ¡°Handy¡±, Logan said off handily before turning back to the man, ¡°anything you need a hunter to sort out?¡± The gashriek looked at Logan¡¯s armband, the ridges under his eyes glistening against his red eyes, ¡°Well, you¡¯re a competent one. That¡¯s¡­ a sheepdog colour?¡± ¡°Wolf, actually.¡± Letting out a breath of air, the gashriek replied, ¡°Even better. We have our own hunting lodge, but none of that calibre¡­ But no. We don¡¯t have the funds to pay for your services just yet. Maybe in due time.¡± ¡°Alright then. Where can I unload the crates?¡± The gashriek handed a key to Logan, ¡°That door there.¡± Taking the key, Logan nodded and went into the side room. Unlike the other storerooms he had seen previously, this one was much neater and way cleaner. Almost everything was labelled, with a clear spot where Logan needed to put the new shipment. After putting away his delivery, Logan went back to the gashriek, had the permit signed and placed it within the largest lockbox yet. He was allowed to go back into the storeroom to look it over, and put it in his inventory after using Echo Radar to make sure he wasn¡¯t being watched. ¡°Thank you for your business¡±, Logan said as he began to walk away. A thud and creak could be heard outside which caused the gashriek to grab onto Logan¡¯s arm, ¡°Sir, I believe you¡¯ll find danger out the front. We have an underground passage if you want to find a better way to teleport away as you arrived.¡± Logan was about to respond when he saw a new system quest appear by the man¡¯s head. ¡°Another quest where I will only get two objectives done¡±, Logan thought to himself, knowing he was far too specced into teleportation to not use it. ¡°Do you have any other defences in place?¡± Logan asked as he looked at the doors. ¡°What? No, we don¡¯t. Just the barrier for the building and its detection.¡± Logan sighed, ¡°I take it you only have blood for sale too?¡± ¡°And blood accessories.¡± ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll take care of the people outside.¡± ¡°I said we can¡¯t afford your services, sir.¡± Logan looked back at the man, ¡°That¡¯s fine. I get an apprehension fee from Gauntlet. Plus their stuff if it isn¡¯t stolen.¡± The gashriek was left a bit aghast, but accepting of the offer, ¡°Ok. I don¡¯t really have anything to offer you to help, but the assistance is greatly appreciated. Who knows how long they would stay out there.¡± Moving to the door, Logan looked over his spells and status. Thankfully he had only used the periapts given to him alongside his own, so he had most of what he had prepared in the previous days.
Opening the door to the outside, Logan exited to a vacant street. Just as vacant was the atmosphere. No sounds except for the wind and bird chirps, a settlement at least has chatter in the distance or wood creaking as it was alive with activity. Eyeing a rooftop, Logan could spy a female with a strung bow, a Fighter or Rogue. In the streets side-by-side were two Knights from how they were armoured. It was a solid guess that magi of some form were hiding elsewhere. The quest noted four people, so one was unaccounted for. ¡°Porter!¡± the left Knight yelled through the breaks on his helmet, ¡°lay down the rest of your supply, grant us entry to that blood house, and we¡¯ll let you move on.¡± ¡°What is all this about?¡± Logan asked, feigning ignorance. The Knight on the right replied with angst in her voice, ¡°You¡¯re on the leash of the soulless. We can¡¯t abide by their influence in our lands. Do as my partner says and we guarantee your exit. You are just a pawn porter. Paid without knowledge of what you do.¡± ¡°What will you do with the blood and the house?¡± ¡°That does not concern you after you have left our vicinity¡±, the left Knight spat. ¡°Sorry, but it does if you aim to kill the staff. What do you have against vampires anyway?¡± ¡°They are a curse! Delivered by the ones below. They should have been cleansed on their arrival, but our ancestors were too soft on their dead kin.¡± ¡°You may think it¡¯s a curse, but many do not. Why can you not just let them live their lives?¡± ¡°They aren¡¯t alive! They sold their souls for power, and take power from those who still keep theirs!¡± the left Knight continued as they both drew their swords and shields. ¡°Comply or die¡±, the right Knight added. ¡°I can¡¯t use Identification on them, they have defences against that for sure, and I need my eyesight clear¡±, Logan thought to himself. Clicking his fingers, Logan¡¯s mini-map updated with the location of the last classed person. They were hiding behind a building near the rooftop ally. However, this motion sparked the start of the fight. Both of the Knights clanged their swords onto their shields with the call, ¡°Chatter¡±, shockwaves rushing towards Logan. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Knowing of this skill beforehand, Logan warped into his centre before the waves hit him, instead caressing the barrier of the blood house. Apparating behind the bowwoman atop the roof, Logan wrapped a hand around her face and chanted, ¡°Sleep Grasp¡±, causing a torrent of pollen and dandelions to erupt from his palm into the woman¡¯s orifices. The woman tried to resist, but in favour of Logan, she failed her save and went into a deep slumber. Logan gently guided her body onto the roof and left her there. This clued Logan into thinking she was a Rogue instead of a Fighter. Leaping onto the rooftop after him were the two Knights whose bodies were slightly glowing grey, revealing the hiding foe to be a Devout. Warping in and out, Logan appeared behind both of the Knights as they landed on the edge of the roof. With arms up high, Logan drew two Bowen daggers and planted them into the right side of the right Knight¡¯s neck, and the opposite for the left. As his hands created an x across his body he drew up two other daggers from his hip holsters and did a reverse through the x to stab into the Knights¡¯ armpits. Four floating texts of, ¡°Backstab¡±, confirmed his skill usage as they dealt heavy damage and removed the use of turning their heads and one of their arms each. Landing a solid foot onto the roof, Logan grappled the top of both the Knight¡¯s tunics under their armour, did a backwards somersault, and threw them both to the floor below. Their bodies crashed across the dirt floor as they slid away, tumbled, and rolled into crouching positions. Dancing yellow lights made their way to the Knights from afar, Logan groaned at the healing they were receiving. Chanting, ¡°Invisibility¡±, Logan¡¯s form whirred and vibrated before almost completely disappearing. Only faint heat waves showed his location for a second before it was almost impossible to spot him. Darting across the rooftop, Logan leapt over to another and slid off the side, landing behind the hidden Devout. Planning a solid palm on his back, Logan chanted, ¡°Flame Second Grasp¡±, a massive mound of flames soaring upwards as the Devout was burnt. Logan had no more Backstabs, so he dealt less damage, but a following, ¡°Flame Grasp¡±, caused the Devout to go limp to the floor. Logan heard the rushing footsteps of the Knights, and so he reapplied, ¡°Invisibility¡±, and also cast, ¡°Haste¡±, as his current Invisibility came to its end. The left Knight threw up his sword, and the right threw up her shield, as they aimed their good arms at the Devout. Yellow lights darted to the unconscious body as it was healed back to consciousness. Grabbing their gear as it fell back down, Logan moved around and grappled both from behind, casting two rounds of, ¡°Sleep Grasp¡±, into their faces. The female Knight went to sleep, while the male stayed awake, dropped his sword, and grabbed onto Logan¡¯s arm to keep him in place. Teleporting away, Logan planted a hand on the back of the Devout who was kneeling into a stand, ¡°Flame Grasp¡±, he chanted as flames put the man back down again. Logan¡¯s form slowly blurred back into sight as his Invisibility ended. Logan just barely saw a spark of electricity up high, seeing the Knight retract his hand as if casting a Skystrike spell. But nothing hit the Spellthief. ¡°Damn, he woke up the Rogue!¡± he thought to himself. Warping behind the Knight, the man spun around to bat away an outstretched hand with his vambrace, knocking Logan off-balance. The Knight clenched his fist and then loosened it, his weapon swerving to his grasp as he swung it upwards. Logan backstepped to dodge the strike and drew up another dagger to parry the next strike from the Knight. Parrying another blow, Logan held his other hand close and mentally commanded, ¡°Flame Shot¡±, sending a tuft of fire at the Knight who bent backwards and narrowly dodged the embers as they flew past the front of his helmet. Slashing their blades against one another, Logan tried to knee the Knight but had it blocked by theirs, numbing Logan¡¯s knee as it hit metal. Spinning around to the Knight¡¯s back, Logan went for another stab but jumped back to avoid a straight kick from his adversary. Sliding across the mud, Logan almost missed the shadow forming below him, kicking off the floor he rolled away from a downward double strike from the Rogue who had come into the fray. ¡°Slippery bastard, aren¡¯t you¡±, the Knight cursed. ¡°Not just any porter¡±, the Rogue added. Waving his hand across the floor, Logan called out, ¡°Gaia Wall¡±, causing a large wall of mud and rock to rush upwards. Warping from behind the wall, the two had no idea where he had gone. Apparating in the sky, and then to the floor, Logan grabbed onto the Devout and warped away again, the pair twisting around at the sound but missing the Spellthief. Doing it again, Logan took away the sleeping Knight. If they were going to keep getting up, it was a better use of his spells to move the bodies. Clampering atop the roof of the blood house, Logan started to pelt the final two with Force micks one after another. The Knight had his body shrouded in a red aura, the Hard Skin skill that reduced the damage of oncoming attacks. The Rogue jumped to the side to hide behind her ally as they made their way towards Logan. As Logan¡¯s micks were pretty much nullified by the Knight he had to think of another course of action. Leaping from the rooftop, Logan threw his hand from the wall outwards and chanted, ¡°Gaia Wall¡±, causing a horizontal wall to create a landing for him and above the foes. Jumping into a cartwheel, Logan flew both his hands on either side and chanted twice more, ¡°Gaia Wall¡±, forcing two walls to erupt from the floor and join up with the previous one. Throwing his hand across the floor and into the one-exit hold, Logan chanted, ¡°Sleep Wall¡±, causing it to fill with sand and pollen. The two foes coughed and waved their hands to remove the dust, allowing Logan to move his hand across the floor a final time and chant, ¡°Gaia Wall.¡± Creating a tomb of rock and sleep spores, Logan had fashioned himself quite the sleeper box. It cost quite a bit of MP to do, 4 for the walls, and 2 for the Sleep. His Haste just ended, the main thing that let him do this. It probably wouldn¡¯t have worked if his opponents weren¡¯t focused on the fight, weakened, and fatigued. Logan could hear the scraping of metal and smash of rock on the other side, the two trapped vampire haters trying to break out. They were even able to crack the wall and let some of the pollen escape, angry eyes inside applying a stare of death on Logan, but they soon closed as both fell asleep on the inside. A thumping could be felt at the front of Logan¡¯s head, exhaustion from casting so many spells in such a small timeframe, but the pain was lessened as he saw the experience text start to float. Crouching to a seated position on the floor, Logan breathed a sigh of relief at the end of the conflict. Without the use of Sleep, that would have been a much harder fight without more intricate battle plans set in place. Checking what he had left, he read the new window that appeared. ¡°Level up! Gain: 8 HP, +1 Str, +2 Agi, +1 Con, +2 Int, +1 Wis, +1 Cha. You have 1 attribute point to spend.¡± ¡°That was bound to happen, it was close anyway¡±, Logan thought to himself as he put the extra point into his Intelligence. It was easy enough for him to calculate that the enemies were all level 14 for what he received. Logan could only pray that he didn¡¯t face four level 16s, but then this sort of solidified his theory that the quests were weighted based on the party he had at the time. This was seemingly a one-man show, instead of a party or raid team for him to interact with. That did bring up another of his theories, would these attackers come here without him? It would probably change since they would have attacked the caravans if he wasn¡¯t teleporting the blood around¡­ but then, who told them of his presence here? They were all still alive, so interrogations would reveal that. Standing up, Logan saw another window waiting for its time to shine. Allowing the eager light to brighten his day he opened it. ¡°Quest - Repel the AV Club, has been completed. You achieved 2 additional objectives during the mission and as such your rewards will be increased. Distributing rewards¡­¡± ¡°The reward for your quest completion is as follows: Logan let out a loud whistle at the reward, the skill points on their own were significant compensation for what he had to go through. The item also caught his eye as he opened up a window to investigate it. Logan had a wide smile as he replaced his old bracelet with the much better version, setting off the timer for removing the previous summon attuned to it. Pulling the bodies into one pile next to the blood house, Logan made sure to take their weapons and trinkets quickly, placing them inside his bag. They wouldn¡¯t be waking up any time soon, either unconscious or asleep, so Logan let the man inside know that everything was ok outside. After a harrowing start to the day, Logan teleported back into the sky. --- *** --- Chapter 117 - What the World Has to Offer (Amalia) A few days earlier Amalia left her inn room within the Meek Moat Inn, a place where ¡°hunters¡± would come and go as they pleased. While it was a mainstay location for them, she had only seen a half dozen faces pass by. Men and women who apprehended criminals or did work that was mostly for or against people. So many choices lay at Amalia¡¯s feet. Be a hunter like Logan? Work as an adventurer to hunt down monsters? Help the townsfolk with villager quests? Sitting at the counter, Amalia contemplated what her next course of action would be. Yetveka, the gashriek who worked the counter, sparked a conversation as she placed a bowl of stew in front of the lady, ¡°Got any plans for today?¡± Amalia sipped the tankard that came with her breakfast before replying, ¡°Exploring the city. Wanna see what I can get stuck into.¡± ¡°Knights often find great success as party leaders, you¡¯ve got some strong allies already.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really like the leader role. Too much to keep track of, and I hate having to make decisions for other people, ¡®specially if it is between life and death.¡± Yetveka sighed, ¡°Understandable. Tis not for all.¡± ¡°How long do I have that room for by the way?¡± ¡°Few months.¡± Amalia went wide-eyed, ¡°That long?¡± ¡°Logan and Marcus are very efficient at being hunters. Logan¡¯s divination abilities are renowned amongst hunters.¡± ¡°I heard there aren¡¯t many caster hunters¡±, Amalia spoke before taking another spoon of her stew. ¡°Just like in adventurer parties too. Less than 10% of people can even cast spells.¡± Amalia opened her hand as if to emulate casting from her fingers, ¡°Plenty have those spell rings though, right?¡± ¡°That they do. Many more recently to boot.¡± ¡°I might work towards getting me a full set of those¡±, Amalia mentioned wishfully. ¡°Oh? You¡¯ve arrived at the right time then. The city¡¯s seen a boon in sales for those kinda things¡±, Yetveka restated, ¡°They have a lot of uses, but, are you wanting them for something specific?¡± ¡°I just like the idea of casting magic.¡± ¡°Born the wrong class then, hey?¡± ¡°I suppose you could say that. I¡¯m probably¡ª¡± Amalia began but cut herself off, ¡°Never mind. Thank you for breakfast¡±, she ended as she downed what was left in her tankard. ¡°Hope you have a grand day¡±, Yetveka wished with a toothy smile.
Walking the city streets, Amalia had yet to get used to the sights and sounds of a fantasy world. Eyeing up the gear of others, there was so much upward momentum to what she could equip herself with. Items that made your trinkets invisible, ones that let you float, and others that kept grime from your boots. ¡°I was probably made a Knight because I¡¯m used to protecting others. So many drunkards going after others at the doors¡±, Amalia thought to herself as she sighed, ¡°I was given a class based on what I did, not what I wanted.¡± Viewing the market stalls, Amalia attempted something that Logan informed her about, ¡°Identify¡±, she commanded in her head. A window appeared showing the details of the item, alongside another telling her she unlocked a new skill. ¡°He said you just had to do the action to learn Skills of Life, just so.¡± ¡°Are you interested in this? Your stare is quite intense¡±, the merchant asked as they bent down to meet Amalia¡¯s gaze. Jumping out of her concentration, Amalia looked at the man, ¡°Oh, sorry. Just browsing.¡± Hopping from one stall to another, Amalia took in all the things she could own, especially with the gold weighing down her pocket for her objectives. She didn¡¯t need to keep it all, she just had to have ¡°earned¡± it for the objective to count it. Eventually, she stumbled across two large barn-style doors open wide to the interior of a smithy. A man with muscles bulging through brown leather was hammering away at a bright-red sword. With each swing, Amalia saw the thin lines of blue and purple sway with the hammer and into the sword. Taking a few steps into the forge area, Amalia was stopped by a wave from the man to motion her to wait. An extra three hits slammed the sword as the red hue faded, and the man placed the blade to the side. Raising the mask from his face, the man spoke, ¡°Sorry, lady, we¡¯re busy working on an order right now. Can¡¯t be taking on more at the moment.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not here for that.¡± The man looked at Amalia for a second before taking a seat in a chair, ¡°I got a few minutes while the metal brews. What¡¯re you needing?¡± Pointing at the sword, Amalia asked, ¡°Was that magic you were using?¡± ¡°Magic? No, nothing so fancy. Twas just weaving spellforce into the blade¡­ You new around here? Come from the sticks?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve come from afar. Never seen a smith at work.¡± ¡°¡®Sall common stuff¡±, he started as he stood, waving a hand over the metal with thin blue mist before placing it into the forge, ¡°If you¡¯re wanting entertainment, just be quiet while I focus.¡± ¡°You said you got a big order. Need any help?¡± The man raised an eyebrow, ¡°Looking to become a guild¡¯s smith? You¡¯re a Knight, aren¡¯t you?¡± he asked as he looked at Amalia¡¯s shield. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Amalia shook her head slowly, ¡°No, nothing like that. The craft just interests me.¡± Checking on the glowing blade, the man replied, ¡°Ain¡¯t got time for teaching. Any help you can give would be moving ore and melting stuff for me.¡± ¡°I can watch and learn.¡± ¡°Fine, grab that bag¡±, he spoke as he pointed to a sack of coal, ¡°You can call me Duncan.¡± ¡°Amalia.¡±
Hours passed as Amalia moved fuel, pulled on fans, and aided with callipers. Duncan, who revealed he was 33, had been working as a smith for around eighteen years. He was born classless but got the knack for forging weapons, armour, and shields. Since he was classless, however, he couldn¡¯t make items of too high a rank. With each task assigned to Amalia, she saw a progress bar start to fill up as she learnt the ins and outs of Weapon Craft and Armoursmithing. Eventually, she gained both skills and was able to start crafting by herself. Duncan didn¡¯t have to give orders a couple of hours in, smiling at the fast hands at his side. Amalia was allowed to make some of the weaker and smaller armaments as there was space in the forge to use in conjunction with what Duncan was working on. Since she was at a higher level, Amalia could make the weaker stuff quite quickly, as most of the work had been preprepared by Duncan anyway. Their use of spellforce certainly sped up the process, but it was longer than what Logan had done in the past. While he shaped rings and slotted components into pre-existing materials, or used magic to speed up the processing of leather, Amalia couldn¡¯t do as much with melting and cooling metal. By the end of the day, Amalia had crafted a dagger and a shortsword, neither of which anyone would write home about. They were both shoddy, but good enough for newcomers to the trade that would most likely buy a better variant after a quest or two were notched into their signets. Duncan had finished what he was working on and set it aside, starting the process of his next pieces for the day to come. Saying her farewells, Amalia returned to the inn with a few tomes in hand, on loan by Duncan for her aid and word she¡¯d return tomorrow to give a full day¡¯s assistance.
Hastily preparing for what was ahead, Amalia jogged from the inn to the smithy. Duncan had set aside a table of tools and materials for the Guardian to work on. With the tomes of last night in her mind, Amalia set to work prepping handles and guards. With every movement of her hands, the alien woman weaved blue and purple lines into the armaments she created. A tingling sensation in her fingertips and the tips of her brain stem as endorphins surged through her as she worked with magic. A wide smile reflected in the tools¡¯ metal, and again when she held a larger sword for Duncan to hammer into shape. Sliding a sharpening stone across a sword¡¯s length, polishing a shield that was being heat treated. While she was getting some hands-on experience, Amalia didn¡¯t ask for any payment. Duncan was giving her a sort of apprenticeship, as well as full use of his tools and materials. Her quick study would mean she wouldn¡¯t need his tutorship for long.
Another day passed as Amalia crafted and helped to craft arms and armour with Duncan at her side. The smith referred to her as a savant when it came to the forge. She had picked up on everything so quickly, but it wasn¡¯t unheard of amongst the commoners. Every so often someone like her would come along with an eye for the fire. Aiding the smith allowed him to keep a better pace with his recent orders, and some spare space was given to Amalia to work on making a dagger or two for herself. Time flew by, and before she knew it, night had arrived.
This day began with Logan buying Amalia¡¯s small wares for two gold, granting her the last objective for her seven-day starter quest. They weren¡¯t that good and would probably break in a few swings from the giant of strength that Logan was, but it didn¡¯t matter that much, it was a purchase with a purpose, and so it counted. Amalia checked her quest to see all her objectives had been cleared, the thought of legendary armaments coming her way did give her some sort of excitement. As did the following day of crafting by the side of Duncan at the forge and anvil. Windows appearing over in-progress items created a weird dissonance in the immersion of Avanar for Amalia. While everything felt so real and fantastical, this game-like overlay tore what semblance of reality she found here. It was handy though. She could tell what heat she needed, where to hit, and timers for almost everything she was doing. It probably would have taken a lot of notepads and pens to make these sorts of notes or a dedicated mind for crafting. If only Duncan had this kind of edge. With each passing day, Amalia caught up with someone who had spent years on the craft. It seemed the boost to experience even affected skill mastery and acquisition. An evening spent reading progressed that even further.
Amalia was within the last day of her timer, she was well into all the objectives needed, so at the end of the day she would gain a full reward. As far as Logan knew, this was the only quest that had four objectives to complete. All others since the introduction had three. If Amalia was to have the life of a crafter, legendary gear at level 5 would keep her safe for a long time to come if the quests were based on level. Even if that were not the case, Logan could assist with ones far beyond her grasp, or she could ignore them completely. The day progressed just like the ones before it. Stocking the fires and hammering metal into shape, bevelling and sharpening. Duncan even offered Amalia a job at his smithy, since she proved a great helping hand. It was a lovely offer, but with the ever-watchful eye of Duncan at her back, Amalia couldn¡¯t make use of her PC prowess when it came to crafting. She knew she could speed things up further, and if she were to get an inventory like Logan she¡¯d want privacy to access it. They both agreed that Amalia would continue working until Duncan was all caught up, but she¡¯d probably go her own way after that. Who knows, with the money she had there was always the option of opening her own smithy.
Resting until the next morning, Amalia was greeted by a window congratulating her on completing her first quest, with all objectives met. Checking the buff she was granted, as it clued her into who her patron was, Amalia saw she benefited from ¡°Tinkom¡¯s Hardy Barrier¡±. That was a deity from above, at least from the list that Logan spoke of before. It granted her a higher resistance against damage the lower her health got. It didn¡¯t get put into action due to her party¡¯s aid but would have been useful without them. Letting out a sigh of relief, Amalia moved on to checking her rewards. ¡°The reward for your quest completion is as follows: As you had the aid of another PC, your reward has been lessened.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a shame¡±, Amalia thought to herself with the final line on the window. Though she had still gained legendary gear, it was most likely lessening the gold and pellet rewards. She didn¡¯t need much of either anyway. In the safety of her room, Amalia summoned up the rewards as she accepted them, making a solid thud on her bed as they laid out. This "full armour" was complete with side-facing pauldrons with layered sheets of metal, vambraces, sabatons, the whole lot. Mostly steel coloured, it had trims of white. It also came with a sort of battle dress that was planted on the outside upper legs, draping a dark-purple tabard lower half down to the ankles. A metal headband was the most perplexing, but when picking it up the headband expanded in Amalia''s hand, showing a full helm with ridged designs on the temples going around the back of the headpiece. The shield had some semblance of the bouche style that Amalia had before, a cut on the right side to slide a spear through or in her case a sword, but it was closer to the shape of something between a kite and coffin shield. A set of lines connected each corner towards the top-middle portion of the shield that had a gem set within it, glowing slightly, letting the dark-purple and grey colours of the shield shine. It was all so fantastical looking and dashing to boot. But she didn¡¯t need to carry it around at all times, for one it was going to be heavy. She decided to set it up on a mannequin she borrowed from Yetveka. If she were to go out on a quest, it¡¯d be there ready and waiting for her return. ¡°Thank¡­ Whoever is up there that I didn¡¯t have to be put against Logan.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 118 - A Job Well Done Back at Gauntlet Logan sighed as he looked over the bodies he had piled next to Jirango¡¯s desk, the hard-working Half-Hand who had been given a lot more work recently due to the influx of hunter work completed by the Spellthief. Four new people were to be processed by the guardhouse, the AV club was a well-known organization as it was the largest anti-vampire presence on the continent. Stripped of their gear, the sentence for their actions was death, several times over. If they were to give up names and locations they had a chance of life behind bars, but it was life regardless. The four had little in the way of hope of seeing the outside ever again. With this in mind, Jirango quickly looked over the items in their possession, and while some of them might have been bought with stolen coin, or stolen some time ago, it would be next to impossible to find out where it all came from. As the difficulty of the confrontation was quite high, alongside what knowledge such strong members would hold, Logan was allowed to keep everything he took from the bunch. ¡°If they talk, that¡¯ll be another thing to discuss with the other higher-ups. We¡¯re still confirming our actions for the under market and the illegal ring trade¡±, Jirango informed as he scribbled in his book. ¡°Think they will?¡± Logan asked without much hope. Jirango shrugged as he handed Logan a pouch of 40 silver, ¡°I¡¯m on the wall if I want them to or not. I guess in the end it¡¯ll make the workload easier, in exchange for a short while of overwork.¡± ¡°By the way, the attack seemed coordinated. While the other settlements I¡¯ve already been to may have other members waiting for me to arrive, I don¡¯t like the idea of them finding out that I am doing this. Would there be any way to find out how this information is getting sent their way?¡± Jirango hummed, ¡°I can send some officials to check over the ooran deliveries. Outside of that, a petition to the Magi¡¯s Tower association for communication magic tracking¡­ that¡¯ll be expensive though.¡± ¡°Too late after the fact to make much of a dent, I take it?¡± ¡°You¡¯re almost done, right?¡± Jirango asked to a nod reply from Logan, ¡°Then you¡¯re correct. I¡¯ll still check on the oorans, but going forward you¡¯ll just have to be careful.¡± Logan sighed, but there wasn¡¯t much he could do about it. Taking his pay and looking over the items he took from the four aggressors, Logan returned to the higher-class section of Gauntlet. After informing Armin and his servants that he couldn¡¯t do much more in the way of deliveries today, with the attack, he retired to rest. It would really add an additional day to his deliveries, matching up with the seven-day approximation, though that was seemingly on the table with the dates lining up with his return to Tinte.
Spending some time walking around Gauntlet, Logan handed off some of the trinkets he obtained to Amalia to shore up her attributes. Selling off the rest, Logan ended up 8 gold and 47 silver richer. It was such a good payday when he didn¡¯t have to hand the effects over. Checking his notes, reading up on recent events, and generally preparing for the days ahead, Logan had a long look over his available skills. He was of half a mind to save his skill points for a situation where he needed particular skills, and another to spend them now to have an easier time leading up to such a predicament. There was still the question of focusing on Rogue skills, Wizard skills, or his unique Spellthief skills. Skills of Life were fine to leave as they were, as almost all increased with usage. Resolving on a midway approach, Logan unlocked the two last skills that had shown themselves to him on reaching level 10. If Logan were to ever face more casters, such as Enhance-focused Devouts like Marcus, he would be able to remove their advantage over him. However, since the skill came maxed, he was able to infer its effectiveness went on his Spell Absorption mastery. As for Stealth Attack, at his current Backstab mastery, he would deal +130% extra damage. That would make any further stealth missions much more manageable, at least before his targets learnt of his presence. Logan still had two skill points to spend, but he resigned to save those for later. The Spellthief instead spent the rest of the day reading and resting.
The fifth day of deliveries thankfully had no additional portions to inform the guards about. No AV Club members waiting in the background, nor many words whispered at Logan¡¯s back to put him in a worried state.
The sixth day came with a bit of a morning change, Logan informing Armin about another task he had promised. It would just put in a few hours of work the next day. Meeting back with Marcus, Logan teleported his friend back to Tinte. Amalia stayed behind in Gauntlet to continue her smithing work. At around forty-two and a half miles, the pair needed six Dimensional Jaunts to reach Tinte. With some miles to spare, Logan was able to teleport to the sky and the floor without additional casts. He was even able to teleport just outside the church without issue. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Tinte was seemingly still on the mend but doing better. Entering the church, the pair saw the interior lit by candles and sunlight as usual, while the air was purer and the atmosphere less sombre. Standing at the far altar were Marta and the healer who had been hired for help. Marta looked like she had never been hurt, but the wounds were hidden under her clothing. Her face was clear of dirt and dismay, though Marcus knew she was still sore. Approaching the altar, Marcus spoke, ¡°It is wonderful to see you on your feet, Marta.¡± Marta smiled in reply, ¡°Wonderful still that I was given the chance. I give you my deepest thanks for your assistance, though I am saddened I had to put you through such¡ª¡± ¡°There is no need for worry. Kindness pays in kind¡±, Marcus cut her off as he looked towards the healer, ¡°No complications I hope?¡± ¡°We are blessed that none came up. I have given Marta a list of herbs and components for crafting potions to aid the low days, but aside from that, my duty is done.¡± Logan looked between the three before patting Marcus on the shoulder, ¡°Need a few minutes before we leave?¡± Marcus replied with a nod. Logan waved the healer to follow him outside, taking the hint well enough.
Logan and the healer spoke for a few minutes, the outside sunbathing them well in its light. It was good news that Tinte hadn¡¯t seen any further traitorous scenes and even more that no monster troubles had brewed. A dozen minutes passed before Marcus exited the church, a calmness to his face that put Logan in a similar mood. ¡°We¡¯re all good to head back¡±, the Devout spoke. ¡°I can come back for you later if you want¡±, Logan offered. Marcus shook his head slowly, ¡°No need. We have things to do, and an ooran here or there will pass on my words well enough.¡± Nodding, Logan pulled out his eagle¡¯s eyeglass, had the pair place their hands on his shoulders, and teleported them back to Gauntlet.
The remainder of the day was spent on farewells to the healer, conversations with Marcus, and a handful of deliveries.
The seventh day rolled around, finally. Logan was able to clean up the final blood drives around the local settlements. Though ¡°local¡± wasn¡¯t too precise, the further ones would take days upon weeks to arrive via horseback. Apparating at the Eventa estate for the last time, Logan jogged towards his final payment from the servants, a single gold coin that marked a relatively easy task. Meeting with Armin again, the pair had a long chat about recent events combined with Armin¡¯s journey in getting support and evidence for Logan¡¯s law proposal. There were still seven days till the congress was held, so Logan had some time to prepare. A few things had come up during his hunting work that he could use to bolster his side¡¯s arguments. Another was getting a guild on his side. Leaving the estate, Logan warped to the skies.
Knocking on the doors of the Lightbeam guild, Logan was greeted by the foyer attendant, Debrek. ¡°Welcome, Logan, how might I assist you?¡± ¡°Is Cassius or Prevesna in? I¡¯d like to have a word.¡± Debrek thought for a moment, ¡°Cassius is out, won¡¯t be back for some time, but Prevesna is here. Let me see if she¡¯s willing for a visit.¡± Logan nodded before Debrek closed the door. A few minutes passed before the door opened again to show the sub-leader. Gold and silver armour shining as ever, it seemed Prevesna had either recently returned or was preparing to leave soon. ¡°Logan, how might I be of assistance?¡± ¡°I was wondering if we could talk about something in private.¡± Prevesna looked Logan up and down before inviting him in, leading him into the interview room as before. Sitting down, Logan pulled out the rolled piece of parchment with signatures on it, ¡°There is going to be a vote cast in Congress soon, to overrule the current duelling laws in place. I was wondering if I could have your guild¡¯s backing in favour of it.¡± Prevesna¡¯s eyebrow raised slightly, ¡°Is that so? What in particular is the proposition concerning?¡± ¡°Complete abolishment.¡± The sub-leader gave a slightly rushed exhale of air, not even half of a laugh, ¡°My, you do like to tackle giants, don''t you?¡± Drinking from a tankard at her side she continued, ¡°Do you believe such an old law can be removed? One so embedded within high society?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a chance, and I¡¯d like to take it.¡± Prevesna looked at Logan briefly, mulling things over, ¡°I¡¯ll talk with my guildies. If there are no other concerns in Congress they¡¯d like to address or vote for, I shall send for you.¡± ¡°Consideration is enough for me. Though I would ask to keep the talks interior. I don¡¯t want people building too solid a case against it.¡± Prevesna nodded in acceptance, signalling Logan to take his leave and wait for a reply later.
Back at Meek Moat Inn, Logan was treated to the sight of Marcus maintaining his gear near the fireplace. The Devout had been working hard in his time separate from Logan, not to mention the mornings or evenings he spent training against Logan¡¯s elementals. With this last day spent training against the summons, Marcus had bridged the gap to level 12. With the two increasing their levels they spent some time also replacing their old gear. It was nice spending some time together shopping for new things. It brought back memories of their time till now. At least the disastrous events had seemingly come to a halt. Now they were in limbo awaiting any further fallout. There were thoughts to buying the next stage of trinkets to improve their attributes, however, the price tag of six gold for the lowest variant of them was a bit steep. It would only really improve by 1 point too. Instead, they used their money on purchasing new tomes to upgrade their skills and spells, something that was harder to take away than a ring on their finger. With some leeway until the congress meeting, and the timer starting anew for a system quest for Logan, the pair had a lot of breathing room when it came to their antics. The first portion would be spent on reading some of their new tomes, however. Bringing Force to be just under the damage of a low-mastery first-level spell brought into perspective how some skills granted such a huge boost to a person¡¯s power. It was costly at a few gold, as well as requiring high levels to even reach that output, but having a reliable infinite attack granted a nice backup. On the other side, Marcus was keeping some of his advancements to himself, citing a want to ¡°impress¡± Logan down the line. The Spellthief chuckled slightly at the notion but was accepting regardless.
Resting to the next day, Logan arrived at the entrance of the inn and was greeted by the sight of an envelope on the counter addressed to him. The consensus was, ¡°Meet us at the Gerro Guardhouse, events are beginning to transpire.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 119 - Undercity Dealings Standing in a meeting room at the Gerro Guardhouse, Logan looked to both sides to see numerous guards and hunters prepped for war. Jirango spoke aloud to everyone, turning his head to specific people as he called out their names. Aside from Marcus, there were a few other Devouts, a couple of Sorcerers and a Wizard. Everyone else was of the martial variety. Moving his gaze to Marcus, Jirango addressed him, ¡°Marcus, you¡¯ll be spearheading the rush into Under Market F, your alt team will circle to its street exit and block off those who try to escape. Sincollo will be your headhunter.¡± Marcus nodded at the saeben sitting next to him, who was almost as tall whilst in that position. Jirango then looked at Logan, ¡°Logan, you¡¯ll have the task of infiltrating the spell ring factory. Whilst the under markets are being attacked they will no doubt think themselves safe for a while and try to take what they can before leaving. We¡¯ll have Ev¨¦n cover the front and send word out if any leave if she isn¡¯t able to kill them herself. Once you¡¯ve cleared the interior you can have the guard regime I send with you escort the hostages to safety.¡± Logan nodded in acceptance as Jirango talked to the others. This had been a long time coming. The guards had been tailing the leads that Logan gave them for quite some time now, and with the upcoming Congress this was the best time to act. The influx of funds from the materials gathered, as well as faith in the city for rescuing the abducted, would do wonders for votes in favour of changes. There was little in the way of bonuses for retrieving people alive, it was going to get incredibly messy with all the bodies hitting the floor to sift through them quickly. There were a few big names in the list to try and apprehend though, those with knowledge of supply lines and buyers. The list of crimes was several pages long, from minor theft or impersonation to murder and torture. Many weren¡¯t going to live past the next morning. When some of the actions were read out, Logan reflexively flinched or clenched his fist in anger. Eventually, the meeting came to an end, the raid was going to happen tonight. Preparing his spells for combat, Logan had adjusted his new bangle and made sure it held the summons aside from Celsius. 1st (6): 1+3/3* Flame, 1 Frost, 1 Gaia, 1 Infuse, 1+2/2* Lightning, 1 Necromantic. 2nd (5): 4/4* Dimensional Jaunt, 1 Haste, 1 Skin of Ice, 1 Sleep, 2(+4 full) Summons. 3rd (4): 1 Air Blast, 1 Flame 2, 1 Invisibility, 1 Necromantic 2. Signature: 2/2 Dimensional Jaunt. With his summons drained, they were to aid in the raids elsewhere with ranged skills or to block elemental attacks. The new bangle saved him quite a bit of MP for his draining tactics, granting him 27. Outwardly demonstrating he was rank 16, the hunters had the utmost confidence in his abilities, and with word of his magic that could remove bodies, he would be best suited to the stealth infiltration alongside teleportation and invisibility spells. Not many non-hunters were in on the raid, many adventurers steered clear of hunting others. There was also the issue of traitors getting wind of the plans, so only the trusted were told. A massive number of two hundred was settled on for the attack, though many more adversaries would be found inside. The surprise and preemptive planning would see them through if not just higher ranks on their side. Logan looked over the additional supplies granted to him for this assault, an assortment of potions to heal as well as recover spell slots. The spoils of war would more than pay for what the guards had invested. Disbanding, the teams made final preparations.
Sometime later, as the moon lit up the city, Logan Stealthed his way to a large memory house. The term ¡°sex¡± was replaced with ¡°making memories¡±, though ¡°fucking¡± was still a common term. It was legal to sell such in this world, but the building was hiding a darker secret underneath, where something worse was sucked out. His image blurred and untraceable with a cast of Invisibility, Logan moved his formless body through the halls of the building and to a door at the back. Peering through its keyhole he warped into his centre and into the barred room. Patrons jumped at the sound but blamed a nearby window letting a rush of cold night air inside, the slam of it hiding the slump of a body from Logan¡¯s dagger hitting the wooden floor on the other side. Logan uncorked two vials and downed the purple liquid to recover the two spells he had used before absorbing the corpse into nothingness. If it wasn¡¯t a caster, he didn¡¯t want their experience. Logan dumped the clothes and gear left on the floor into his newly emptied inventory. A ring of keys opening the way forward as he unlocked a hatch downwards, there wasn¡¯t anywhere else to go, not even a window. Sliding down a ladder, Logan found himself in a dark cavernous hallway, the walls gripping onto lit sconces. His frame blurred back into sight as he hunched down and crept forwards. A click of his fingers was all he would dare let out as he scanned the underground. A mini-map appeared dotted with doors, connecting hallways, and rooms. Following the path ahead of him, Logan found a small entrance room. A small table with several stools held three lookouts and greeters, they were only level 2s. Outside of their level, Logan could see a quick rap sheet of their deeds, enough to turn his throat acidic. Finding a good vantage point in the bosom of the wall, Logan picked out the daggers from his hip holsters and gripped them between his fingers. He had been practising throwing several at a time, but these fellows only needed a max of two each. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Waving his arms to and fro, Logan let loose a quick flurry of blades as they hit the backs, arms, and chests of the men at the table. Their bodies hit the floor quickly, the last guy hitting the wall and sliding down. The only utterance was a, ¡°What¡±, from one of them, not loud enough to cause any worry. Moving to gather his daggers, Logan absorbed the corpses into nothingness, clearing his dirty work from the room. A window appeared beside Logan¡¯s face as his alarm went off to let him know the assault above had started. Word wouldn¡¯t reach here immediately so he had some time to work further. Dashing between the nearby rooms, Logan threw more daggers at unsuspecting thugs. The floor was painted quite the flourish of red as he cleaned house. Eventually, he heard the echoing thud of someone banging on the door loudly upstairs, the news had finally reached this place. Logan¡¯s footsteps hurried as the timeline sped up. Jumping onto a wall and leaping upwards, Logan cleared a hallway of passing bandits, landing between them he twirled with daggers and flames, bodies skirting across the floor as they stood no chance against his level advantage. Experience numbers stopped appearing, no doubt due to him being in danger from approaching forces. As he ran through the underground a woman spotted him and opened her mouth to shout, but was halted as Logan used Dimensional Jaunt to apparate in front of her and fill her gob with a blade, piercing out the back. Twisting the body to the floor, Logan ran off without the time to clear the remains. The stampede of footsteps above was able to persist even through the rocky chambers. Joining them were the rushing bandits underground who moved in Logan¡¯s direction. Turning invisible, Logan awaited a large group to fill the hallway ahead, waved his hand forward, and chanted, ¡°Flame Wall¡±, filling the interior with such heat that it made it difficult to see who was who when it dissipated. Downing more vials as he ran, Logan found the jailer¡¯s room before the prison cells. A duo of a tall man and woman with massive maces in hand protected the entrance. Still invisible, Logan jumped over both with nary a sound before he hit the floor behind, the aggressors whirring their heads around. Rotating his hands under and behind him, Logan grabbed the two bandits behind him and activated his rings, shocking both the jailers to their core as smouldering heaps hit the floor accompanied by Backstab text. Taking their keys from them, Logan opened the door to the cells. A long hallway stretched out in front of him, flanked by steel bars on either side that held little light. Unlocking the first, Logan called up his Light Ally that easily lit up to 80 feet and approached the two men on the floor. Crouching to them he asked, ¡°Hey, you alright? I¡¯m here to¡ª¡± before he realised it was pointless. Their face was hardly that anymore, the vital parts removed for trinkets and potions. A mass of yellow and red was what remained underneath bandages that hugged their skin tight. The men shivered in fear as Logan approached, placing a finger on their palm he wrote ¡°help¡± on them. Groans or cries, whatever they could be called without a tongue, came from their mouths as Logan placed a healing potion in each of their hands. Logan could see the veins and tendons through the skin thumb the corks before he uncorked them for the men. Drowning in healing waters, the men smiled for what would be the first time in weeks, if not months. Writing ¡°wait¡± in their hands, the men nodded their heads as they nibbled on sandwiches that Logan had pulled from his inventory for them. The next cell, and the one after that, was the same sight. Men and women, all magi, had their bodies harvested for parts. It was a dark sight and one that Logan feared was close to him when he was taken by Darius. As Logan got into the further cells, a worse vision met his eyes. Unmoving bodies, or people who had so little left to their bodies that if they were moved would probably die. The last cell was marked with an upward red arrow, opening it Logan found why. A level 10 Sorcerer had been chained to the wall with backwards broken joints. A scan showed the man had Regeneration, if he had it before would be guesswork, but Logan was sure the fingers on the man¡¯s hand were not his originals. If not for being forewarned about it, Logan would have rushed to save the prisoner. However, he spotted lines painted on the floor surrounding the final captive. He didn¡¯t want to risk setting off whatever traps they were as he had little training in disarming them. Best to leave it to the professionals. Logan called out, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m here to help. I¡¯ll send someone to come get you.¡± The man barely muttered a, ¡°Free¡±, in return. ¡°You¡¯ll be free soon. I just need someone to deal with the traps in here.¡± The man sobbed, one of the few in here who could. As Logan turned around he could see red dots appear on his map towards the jailer room, eyeing the far end of the hallway he saw men and women rush in with weapons drawn. Warping back over there, Logan clambered on top of the closest man, a dagger in the left of his neck and one in the right of his head as Logan rolled over the body as it fell to the floor. Drawing up two new blades, Logan cut at the stomach of another woman as she fell to the floor, and threw both at another man as he slumped down. Opening both palms he called out, ¡°Force¡±, twice, pelting a far target to the wall, blood and viscera going wild. Quickly picking a blade from his hip, Logan parried a longsword from over his head, spun around, slapped the woman¡¯s side and chanted, ¡°Flame Grasp¡±, igniting her to the floor. Taking a mace to the face, Logan took the momentum and spun diagonally around as he landed a heel on the aggressor''s shoulder, bringing them down and stabbing under his own leg into the man¡¯s face. Another came charging at Logan but fell unconscious with a Force mick to the stomach. Logan heard the pull of bowstrings and movements of crossbows, grappled the body and moved it to block the strikes of four ranged opponents. Placing a hand over the new corpse in his hands, Logan chanted, ¡°Flame Shot¡±, burning away its stomach and shooting a tuft of flames through the hole it created and blasting the face of one of the ranged adversaries. Dropping the corpse, Logan threw three daggers at the remaining foes, severing the strings of their weapons. Charging forward he cut at their necks and heads, bringing more bodies to the floor. Hearing the chanting of a spell in the background, Logan was infuriated as he saw a Sorcerer amongst the bandits. Darting towards the woman, Logan grabbed her throat and halted her chant, stabbing her stomach with another dagger and leaving it there. ¡°You were one of them!¡± Logan shouted as he pointed towards the cells, his eyes glistening as he saw the woman was a bandit nonetheless via Identification. She tried to open a palm at Logan to blast him away, but Logan gripped tighter as his nails cut into the woman¡¯s flesh, he then tore away as he brought with it the woman¡¯s throat. She fell to her knees gripping her opened throat but Logan stopped her movements as he planted his hand on her forehead and commanded in his head, ¡°Essence Absorption¡±, the black and dark-green lines being the last thing the woman eyed before she warped into the Spellthief¡¯s palm as the lines turned blue and purple. Standing up, Logan looked towards the corridor as he continued to hear the cacophonous sound of metal sabatons and leather chafing. ¡°Guess these fuckers aren¡¯t fleeing¡±, Logan stated aloud as he gathered all of his daggers and sheathed them. Clicking his fingers again to ensure no allies were in their midst, Logan only saw a river of red approach him. Aiming his hands down the hallway, he made it redder as he sent out shockwaves of grey energy into it. --- *** --- Now is not the time to be checking my status. Chapter 120 - Under Market Flash Sale Smoke and steam arose from the hallway leading to Logan, his steps pushing away the atmosphere of decay around him. Placing his hand in front of him, Logan chanted, ¡°Clean¡±, a wave of clean air caressing his body as all forms of dirt fell from his form. Even a modest area around him was made devoid of blood. Stepping over bodies, Logan made his way to the entrance and clicked his fingers. Sporadic red dots showed themselves in a few nearby rooms that were empty previously, invisible foes. Uncorking three more vials, Logan drank from them and tossed the empty vessels away. What were the invisible people waiting for? To take the prisoners away when they saw a chance? Their produce meant more than aiding the others in this den. Or, they were simply frightened at how many fell to the Spellthief¡¯s spells. No matter their reasons, they were all meant for the chopping block. It was hard to tell, as the dots jumped around and only appeared for half a second at a time, intervals around five to ten seconds apart, but Logan was sure there were at least three enemies left. Chanting, ¡°Haste¡±, Logan¡¯s form whirred and heightened its speed, with a swing of his arm he painted the closest room as he continuously called out, ¡°Force¡±, each word punctuated by the sound of air being parted by punches of pacifying power. It didn¡¯t take long before one hit their mark, an audible groan of pain as Logan heard the sliding of steps from the impact. Running towards the sound that was accompanied by another ping on his mini-map, the Spellthief drew two daggers and spun around with them several times. On the third rotation, he hit skin, hit his target. Twisting the blade he made sure it stuck fast, leaving it to float in mid-air. Jousting forward he stabbed the foe again and again as he could only imagine the man backstepping to flee. Footsteps could be heard behind Logan as the final attackers tried to surprise him in one final attempt. Wiping a hand over the appearing body that was slumping in front of him, Logan placed the hand behind him and chanted, ¡°Air Blast¡±, causing the blood to rush from his palm in an outward spray of red wind. Coating the unseen foes, they were now keenly seen in red silhouettes. Aiming a hand at the red splotches, Logan was about to cast a spell before he felt the sense of pollen hit his nose. Realising they were trying to put him to sleep, and not wanting to risk failing to save against the effect, Logan twirled the other dagger in his hand and jabbed it into his leg. The pain it caused woke him up prematurely from the effect, as he knew there was a damage threshold to awaken the target. Logan could hear murmurs from the attackers, drawing the dagger from his leg he cut out at the two hoping to land another hit. Failing to land a mark, he spun around and waved his hand over the floor and spoke, ¡°Necromantic Wall¡±, causing a torrent of tendrils to burst from the floor and grab at the air. The Spellthief felt himself heal slightly, hitting the foes but not revealing them just yet. More pollen reached his face as they continued to try and make him fall asleep. To make a longer-lasting defence against it, Logan aimed the blade between his fingers and severed his pinky alongside a used-up spell ring. Blood gushed out as he caught and pocketed the finger. An audible, ¡°He¡¯s mad!¡±, came from the emptiness in front of him. However, with continued bleeding and pain he wouldn¡¯t go to sleep anytime soon. Jumping ahead with a spinning slash, Logan hit a target and followed through with a kick to what he assumed was their shoulder, hitting the invisible foe to the floor. Driving his blade into the prone target it appeared almost immediately as he defeated them. The final foe appeared shortly after as their invisibility timer ran out. Logan twirled the dagger in his hand as he moved to strike again, stopping only a foot away from the man as he cowered and shouted the insulting plead, ¡°Mercy.¡± Outside of the usual meaning behind that word, Avanar had a sprinkling of something more when it was asked in such a manner. It meant the other party would be giving something up in return. ¡°Will you parrot?!¡± Logan yelled, in his still image pose and bile in his stomach. The common term for this world¡¯s version of a snitch, spy, or informant. ¡°Yes¡±, the man replied as he knelt and began sliding his rings off his fingers to the floor. Logan removed himself from the stiff position as he spun the dagger in hand into its sheath, staring daggers at the man instead. With a click of his fingers, Logan knew there were no more threats, at least none so close. This was backed up by numerous numbers appearing in the distance and nearby. Looking at the man quickly disarm himself, Logan couldn¡¯t help but feel hatred towards him. He had been party to kidnap, torture, and most likely murder. He was going to be executed for what he did, and dead sooner if he hadn¡¯t surrendered to Logan. Did he have good enough information to grant him safety from the noose? ¡°Are there any emergency exits I should know about, or ways the people working here could have left?¡± Logan demanded as he picked up the rings. ¡°There is a hidden exit in the cell area, and a trap door in the room to the left of this one. Thermodan also has access to teleportation spells, but I did not see him amongst the bodies.¡± ¡°What can you tell me about Thermodan?¡± ¡°He¡¯s the head of this operation, a rank 18 Sorcerer. He made deals with some parts of the MT to sell off some of the rings to the association as well as work out supply lines.¡± Logan frowned harshly, ¡°Explain your supply lines.¡± ¡°Beggar streets and low-security settlements for the casters we bring in, alongside those opposed to the MT. As for selling, we ran items through the under market and through the MT, as well as shipments north to Helm.¡± ¡°They are fucking people¡­ Fine. Does Thermodan teleport anywhere in particular down here?¡± Logan asked, knowing about Thermodan ahead of time and somewhat glad he hadn¡¯t faced him. ¡°The same room as the trap door, I can show you.¡± Logan waved his hand as if to say ¡°You first.¡± Leaving the room they were in, the pair entered one a few feet away. The door was wide open, showing that people had come through this way to attack Logan together. Pulling on the floor, the man picked up a wood-coloured rug that hid the mismatched frame rather well. A tall rectangular trap door easily opened at a pull of its handle, revealing steps going down and unlit sconces. Logan surveyed it quickly with his Light Ally and saw it hadn¡¯t been used recently, so no one escaped this way. Whoever came from this room was merely guarding it. The man pointed at a patch on the floor, ¡°There is a magic circle there that helps Thermodan attune his teleportation spells.¡± ¡°He isn¡¯t high-enough rank to use Teleport, this is a ritual spell aid?¡± Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. The man nodded. Ritual casting was a rare ability, even more with 8% of the populace being even able to cast spells. It was an educated guess to say less than a thousand casters could do it safely. Identifying the circle, Logan saw the lines light up slightly in white. It wasn¡¯t a perfect construct, but it was tended to regularly and strengthened to brush out the impurities in it. It was expensive. At an estimate, it probably had a couple of dozen gold invested into it. ¡°Check the hall for anyone coming¡±, Logan commanded. The man looked as if he wanted to ask why, but quickly decided not to. With no eyes on him, Logan touched the circle and attempted to disturb it with his skills, however, since it wasn¡¯t waning or being cast it seemed it was outside of his current capabilities. ¡°Fol, know of anything that will help me disable this?¡± Logan asked in his head. The AI-like presence that had been with Logan since the start, that slowly became more life-like in time combined with the increase in Logan¡¯s intelligence attribute, replied fondly, ¡°Yes, Logan. Symbol Assimilation will work in this case. You can alter or absorb this circle with it. Further information would be revealed when you unlock the skill.¡± Logan saw the window appear to his side with the relevant skill and information, it was advantageous that Logan had saved his skill points. Accepting the new skill he read its expanded details. ¡°No time for alteration, Symbol Assimilation¡±, Logan thought to himself as he placed a hand on the circle. The circle shook, the very white lines that were only visible to magic eyes, before long they faded and waved towards Logan¡¯s palm as if they were the crashing end of the ocean. A little lick of the tips whipped into Logan¡¯s flesh as a window appeared to show it was successful, though no spell was learned, no doubt it was a fourth-level spell that had 70% of failing to be learnt. It was hard to say if this was the best choice to make, altering the circle would take too long for the current operation, and leaving it be would open up a terrible backdoor to the guards cleaning up the place later. At least with it gone, they could feel safer that teleportation would be harder. The other teams were bound to bring in more parrots, as well as the one Logan picked up. Thermodan wouldn¡¯t be safe for long. What was important now was saving those in captivity and sorting out all the rest of the fallout that came with these raids. Leaving the room, Logan tapped the man¡¯s shoulder to motion him to follow, he hadn¡¯t seen what the Spellthief had done but could have surmised he was able to remove the circle¡¯s effects. Eventually, they returned to the cells, Logan¡¯s new skill wouldn¡¯t affect a trap so easily as he needed other utensils to do so, and one false move could cause the prisoner an early death. The secret door was part of the wall, pressing certain rocks caused it to shake and descended into the floor, revealing another corridor. At the end of the secret passage was a ladder up, as the man explained. It hadn¡¯t been used for any retreat, or entrance, possibly in a day or so. Logan got to the cells first before a large ruckus was made. Logan found peace in the fact he hadn¡¯t missed anyone, or at least not through alternative exits. He still needed to check the proper entrance. Grabbing the man¡¯s shoulder he pushed him ahead as both went to leave.
The entrance room had its door busted down, almost blocking the passage into the underground. Slashes, dents, and fire marks decorated the door as if several tried to get through. The memory house had its soundscape replaced with whimpers here and there, showing the fear of the workers and customers. Though Logan did not see any higher-management types inside. On the outside, he saw why. Around thirty guards had apprehended the managers of the memory house, taking statements as their hands were tied at their backs. A few corpses were visible in alleyways as they were moved out of the way. A soft hit of boots to the pavement had Logan turn his head to see an approaching Ev¨¦n, her boots painted red and splattering up her trousers and blades. Logan held up a hand at his side and tilted his head slightly, Ev¨¦n nodded as she approached. ¡°Clean¡±, Logan chanted, removing the signs of battle from his ally. As the blood peeled away, Ev¨¦n spoke, ¡°Took down about twenty people trying to leave, and a few who tried to enter. I let the first bunch head in, in case there was more at the back I didn¡¯t spot.¡± ¡°I got those.¡± ¡°Alright. Is the inside clear?¡± ¡°Of adversaries, didn¡¯t remove the bodies yet. Thermodan wasn¡¯t there, and I removed his teleportation focus.¡± ¡°Good, we can have the guards clean up¡±, Ev¨¦n replied as she waved over a guard in slightly better-looking armour. Logan turned and informed the man of what was inside, as well as the traps. The guard responded, ¡°We have three trap specialists with us and the items for such, we¡¯ll take care of it.¡± Logan then pushed the man he had apprehended forward, ¡°Got a parrot, take him to the interrogators in your team.¡± The guard nodded and ferried the captive over. ¡°Heard a few explosions and yells in the distance, no doubt people getting out of the under market facilities¡±, Ev¨¦n mentioned. ¡°Mind keeping an eye on this place while I go check the others?¡± ¡°Most of the danger has passed, should be fine.¡± ¡°Thanks¡±, Logan nodded as he looked to the sky to teleport away.
Reaching the closest under market, Logan saw the doors had similarly been beaten down and the muddy gardens hiding cellars dotted with craters. Conversing with a guard he found everything to be under control here. Teleporting to another found the same result. The next had a different sight, however. It was close enough to where Amalia had been working that she had to get out to defend the local area. Her normal armaments were coated in red and singed slightly from spell fire. ¡°Everything good here, Amalia?¡± Logan asked as he raised a hand as he did to Ev¨¦n. Amalia was still a bit quick of breath, ¡°Yeah, had a¡ª¡±, Amalia cut herself off, ¡°You know what. Someone tipped them off to potential hostages in the nearby area to make it easier to get out.¡± Logan nodded, ¡°We can talk about that later. Want me to Clean you?¡± Amalia looked at the hand and had a realisation, ¡°Sure.¡± Logan did so as the dirt faded away. ¡°If any guard or hunter asks, show them this¡±, Logan added as he picked out a piece of parchment and drew a symbol on it, passing it to Amalia. It was essentially a secret code that allowed her to aid in the attacks if she was nearby. Adventurers could do it anyway, but she hadn¡¯t signed up just yet. This was just added security that she wouldn¡¯t get questioned. ¡°I got others to look at, stay safe.¡± ¡°You too.¡± Logan looked to the sky and teleported again.
The other raids seemingly all succeeded, with varying degrees of damage. The final place to check was Marcus¡¯s. Limbs had been lost amongst the guards, but none were dead. Marcus¡¯s MP and skills had mostly been used up in his raid, no doubt a few potions to boot. Blood glossed his face and hair, a quick mick sorted that as he approached Logan. A quick hug led to Marcus saying, ¡°Good to see you safe, Logan. I take it you got finished up early and doing the rounds?¡± ¡°That I did. Did you gather your marks?¡± ¡°Yeah, even a few from the other places. Seems a big fight was happening in the pits here.¡± ¡°I see no casualties¡±, Logan spoke as he looked around. ¡°I stuck by most or took the brunt myself. We¡¯ll get regeneration services sorted out afterwards. The items this place had will pay for that easily.¡± ¡°Same for the victims I rescued in my raid.¡± ¡°Get your mark?¡± "Thermodan wasn¡¯t there¡±, Logan replied instantly. ¡°Not a major loss then. Seers should pick him up, and enough parrots will speak his name that we can get him ousted from the MT.¡± Looking down at the Spellthief¡¯s hand, Marcus breathed in slightly, ¡°Your hand alright?¡± Logan brought it up to see his pinky had already regenerated into a nub at the first knuckle, ¡°Better with time. Had to cause myself enough pain to keep me awake during Sleep spells.¡± Marcus nodded as he understood. Another guard came running from afar, dressed in soft leathers and sprinting boots. Between gasps of air, he spoke to the two, ¡°Sirs. Message from the walls. Some of the offenders tried to escape but were quickly handled. However, some experimental rings were shot and shook the local monster population. Can you help with the eradication methods?¡± Logan put a hand on the man¡¯s shoulder as Marcus did the same to him, ¡°You needing to go back there?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± At the response, the trio warped away. --- *** --- Now is not the time to be checking my status. Chapter 121 - Settling Plans A few hours later¡­ Logan stood up from the floor, dragging his dagger from the dead body of a monster, blood flying into the air and dashing the floor. All around were the corpses of wolves, crowbolds, and lizards the size of carriages. Marcus similarly was coming from his side of chasing foes, alongside other adventurers who were nearby and guards who had been ordered from the walls. There wasn¡¯t much danger posed to the capital, more to anyone outside the walls and in the forests, so this measure was to make sure those were safe. Investigating some of the rings used in this¡­ diversion some might call it, Logan saw the metal bands had snapped and whatever gems or components that were used in its creation had exploded. Some new forms of trinkets, untested and dangerous, were the reason for the stirring of monsters. One thing was for certain, this could spell danger for settlements without such ample access to trained classed beings. Carting components and trinkets, and ferrying bodies onto carriages, everyone made their way back to Gauntlet. The rest of the day was spent writing reports and taking account of all that had happened in the past twelve hours. Many people had been killed, but due to the presence of stronger adventurers and hunters, the number of casualties on the side of the guards was low.
The next few days were spent just like that¡ªrecord keeping and cleaning the streets. A few members of the under market were apprehended after the raids, hiding out in other buildings or their own homes. Logan¡¯s quest tracker and map allowed him to find many who thought themselves undetectable. However, Logan couldn¡¯t find everything. Even the system that attributed to him his quests and journals couldn¡¯t penetrate magical stealth that easily. Echo Radar as a skill was spotty when it came to invisible foes, but magic to hide detection other than sight made it impossible at a distance. Thermodan and a few other important persons were untraceable, and the seers found that certain aspect difficult too. Where system and magical means failed, the pen would pick up the power. Requests were sent to the nearby MT buildings to ask that Thermodan be ex-communicated and be marked as a traitor. Enough confessions and witness reports were handed over to have a return letter accept the appeal. It wasn¡¯t much harder to track down the magi who had worked the market channels. Several were unaware they had been targeted and were apprehended immediately, while others had the forethought to travel away on ¡°business¡± to escape capture. From conversations with parrots, as well as spies sent into the different buildings, it was estimated that close to three-quarters of the under market had been killed or captured. Half of the remainder wouldn¡¯t be able to reestablish themselves without notice, the other half probably strong enough to hide away for years. With the numerous trinkets that were harshly crafted in custody, the magi who had been forcibly harvested were treated to regeneration services and retribution pay. They would never get their past lives back from the trauma they suffered, but they could at least get back to some semblance of normality. The rest of the detained goods were disenchanted or sold through legal means, a lot taken into the guard¡¯s kit to save on costs down the line. The pay was ample across the board for those who engaged in the raids, the adventurers and hunters more so. To bump up his spell stores, and allow his absorbed MP to stretch further, Logan applied to gain most of his reward in the spell rings, bloody how their creation may have been. Replacing the Flame and Lightning rings he had, the Spellthief acquired five more Dimensional Jaunt rings. He also picked up some recipe books from the buildings to help him craft some other items for himself down the line for ¡°cheap¡± though some still cost a house to make. Selling off old items and buying new ones, Logan made a pretty penny beyond the new things and rewarded a full 5 gold after the fact. Slipping a ring onto his newly grown pinky made it feel like it had never left him. Accompanying time was spent reading tomes or training. Amalia¡¯s system quest to aid in the defence had brought her to level 6, Marcus with his own raid and training against the elementals brought him close to level 13. Celsius, Spark, and Fahrenheit stayed level 11 while Servoir hit 6 and Umbra 4. Whilst the investigations were going on, Logan had the homeless he had ¡°employed¡± before aid in asking around the capital. It was easier for them to get info, looking for items on the cheap or illegal channels. With their income from previous tasks some even had the ability to get employed into the guard and start up new lives. There was a lot to do, and it took a lot of time.
The day before Congress. There was little left to do. Logan and the guard had cleaned up most of the mess from the under markets as well as sorted most of what they needed to for the upcoming congress meeting. With the aid Logan offered, he garnered a few votes from the higher-ups of the guard via Jirango¡¯s communication and word of trust. Witness statements were also taken from the captives in the spell harvesting cells, revealing many had failed duels and were put under false pretence for their imprisonment. Added together it made a strong case for the law abolishment. With some time to himself, Logan kept checking the hunting and adventurer boards for anything to pique his interest. Aside from making it easier for mages to walk the streets, he needed to make it so his quests weren¡¯t going to overpower him. The hunts weren¡¯t too interesting, aside from the one the vampire had put up some time ago disappearing. The adventurer ones, however, were interesting. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°Vaskt Eradication: Locals have mentioned a vaskt has been patrolling the nearby woods, with signs of cocooned monsters and humanoids leading into its deepest parts. The monster is to be killed so that it does not interrupt the local area any further. Limitation: Rank 15 or higher, or sizeable group size.¡± At 6 gold, this was quite a dangerous quest for a big payout. No matter the pay, it allowed Logan to gather the next item on his long list of improvements. Gathering up his summons and Marcus, they all headed out.
Warping across the skies, Logan and Marcus appeared close to the forests mentioned in the contract. Summoning up the rest of the elementals, Logan instructed most to grant support from afar. It had been some time since Logan had taken on such a strong foe with Marcus, but at least now they were outside and far from any form of teleportation disablement. A tap on the shoulder had the pair enhanced, bumping Logan¡¯s Agility to 52, Constitution to 44, and Intelligence to 74. Marcus improved his Strength to 42, Agility to 35, and Constitution to 36. Travelling through the forest brought back memories of earlier times to Logan, becoming nostalgic for months prior. This time it was full of already killed monsters, though they did quickly come across cocooned sights. ¡°Over here¡±, Marcus waved as he investigated a cocoon stuck to a large tree. ¡°Identify¡±, Logan mentally commanded. ¡°It¡¯s a local game hunter, still alive in there.¡± ¡°Guess the intel about paralysis poison was correct¡±, Marcus mentioned as he pulled out a small piece of parchment. Pulling out a vial, Logan tossed one to Marcus and the pair downed them. ¡°Anti-venom should stave it off a bit, make sure to take a dose if you get hit with it.¡± The liquid caused their veins to push against their skin for a while, glowing green, before fading back to normal. The magic in the potions was potent and had a good chance of postponing the paralysis effect. Taking a dagger to the cocoon, Logan freed the man within. The body was stiff from the venom and the man was not waking. Marcus placed a hand on the man and chanted, ¡°Body purge what is within, and restore thy function. Restore Condition.¡± The man¡¯s body was covered in a soothing wave of blue, his eyes darted open as it finished. Sitting up immediately, he spoke through quick breaths, ¡°What? Where am I?¡± ¡°You¡¯re in a forest near your village, you got paralysed by a vaskt. Do you feel fine?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°I¡­ Think so. Thank you, sir.¡± Logan took out a level 1 dagger and handed it to the man, ¡°Do you know of anyone else in the forests we should look out for?¡± The man shook his head, ¡°No. I was just coming to get some deer. I didn¡¯t even know there were any¡­ vaskts did you say?¡± ¡°Alright. We¡¯ll head further in, Can you make it back to your home?¡± Logan asked. ¡°Yes, sirs. Thank you again¡±, the man replied as he stood and bowed before walking quite quickly from the forest. ¡°A snack for later?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°Possibly. It is a big monster, probably saving up a store.¡± ¡°Maybe. Celsius, you can burn these webs from us, can¡¯t you?¡± The Devout asked the creation of flame. ¡°No troubles!¡± Celsius replied as he slammed his saluting hand through his head and out the other side. ¡°We¡¯ll have to be swift, the vaskt has varied attacks¡±, Logan instructed as he clicked his fingers.
Moving between the trees, the group found two more cocooned people, both gashrieks, showing the spider cared not for how crunchy its meal would be, considering the ridged skin of the rarer species. With enough time spent scouting and scanning they eventually reached the dark home of the vaskt. A mass of webs clung to the trees and created an intricate design above the ground. Interlinking lines of glistening white, rain hugging the web as if also trapped. The sunlight reflected off the area, sparkling lights painting this place as much more sacred than it was. Sat within a larger mass of webbing was the vaskt in question, its countless eyes shut as it rested within its comfortable domain. ¡°Identify.¡± ¡°Vaskt - Arachnid. Level 20: 340/340 HP. A breed of spider that grows to the size of a small hut. Countless red eyes spy at a 300-degree angle, making it almost impervious to sneak attacks. Each eye can spy up to 10 miles away with incredible detail, even in foggy conditions. Legends state that on the clearest day, with the cleanest eyes, they can watch creatures up to 30 miles away with finite detail. At 10'' tall and with a width close to 15'', these spiders can grapple most humanoids. On average, a vaskt eats one person every other day. Skills: All-Around Vision, Iron Hide, Multi-Grapple, Razor Hair, Venom, Web, ¡ª Reduction: ?. Resistance: ?.¡± ¡°Damn, stronger than I would have liked¡±, Logan cursed under his breath. ¡°How bad does it look, Logan?¡± ¡°Level 20, 3 above me and 8 over you.¡± Marcus scoffed, ¡°So much for the hall¡¯s estimate of a rank 15 taking it on.¡± ¡°It is going to be hard to Stealth Attack this one, it¡¯s very perceptive.¡± ¡°I¡¯d hate to let it hunt more humanoids if we let it live until we¡¯re stronger.¡± Logan thought for a moment before replying, ¡°I¡¯ll try and barrage it, but if things go south we¡¯re teleporting out of here.¡± ¡°We¡¯re in agreement there¡±, Marcus chuckled. ¡°You got plenty of spellforce left? Might need you to blast some spells in there too, Chain Guard, if it¡¯ll work.¡± ¡°A bit, some potions in the satchel too if needed.¡± The pair nodded at one another as they made some distance. Marcus drew his crossbow, the elementals stood at the ready to throw out blasts or charge into melee if needed, while Logan looked to the skies, at least what he could. ¡°Dimensional Jaunt¡±, Logan mentally commanded. --- *** --- Chapter 122 - Eye for an Eye for an Eye With a burst of wind above the canopy, Logan apparated into a divebomb onto the sleeping vaskt. While its eyes let it see foes when it was awake, they did little to aid it in hearing sounds from afar. Drawing two daggers, Logan drove them into some of the centre eyes of the vaskt. Blood gushed up and across Logan¡¯s clothing, the vaskt jumping in alert and hissing out in pain. Logan kicked off the head of the beast, flipped, and dove two more daggers into its other centre eyes before warping out. Appearing atop a nearby tree, Logan saw the huge spider swings its massive legs around. Pelts of elemental energies hit the spider but seemingly were battered away from its thick limbs, similarly the bolts from Marcus were deflected. Bringing an arm back, Logan had it wreathed in fire as he chanted, ¡°Flame Shot¡±, before thrusting it forward and letting loose a stream of orange death at the spider. However, its sight gave it the information to dodge to the side and avoid the blast, even with how large it was. The fiery burst was followed by chains of gold that erupted from the floor to grapple the vaskt¡¯s hind legs. Wrapping around two, the spider was able to bring up the two closest and stomp onto the magical bindings, destroying them. Jumping off the tree, Logan threw out two more salvos, only for the spider to hit them with its front legs. Its black skin shined against the heat and light, showing off its Iron Hide skill that made its legs akin to weapons or shields. The spells did no damage, but what was the cutoff for this defence? Sliding across the ground, Logan flung his arms diagonally downwards and upwards in a cross-action twice, chanting, ¡°Flame Skystrike¡±, four times as embers appeared in the sky and near the ground to try and hit a flanking spot on the spider. Sadly, with eight limbs, it was able to bash away the attempts. In retaliation, the vaskt shook its body before jostling forwards to release countless hairs toward Logan. Warping to the canopies, Logan was just barely able to dodge most of the attack, while some still reached him through leaves and branches. Loud thuds could be heard below as several trees were cut to shreds from the barrage, the hair piercing through several trunks. There was little hope that a Wall altered spell would grant much protection against that. Following the ranged assault, the vaskt jumped skyward to meet Logan in the falling canopies. Logan twirled and landed his legs on the tips of the front two of the spider, though seeing two more reach around to him had the Spellthief warp away to the floor to escape a dangerous grapple. A crash landing shook the muddy forest floor, but the team were more than able to keep their footing. A yellow light graced Logan¡¯s back as Marcus cast a Heal from afar at his ally. With a massive wave of its body, the vaskt made a sweeping bludgeon with three of its limbs, Logan ducking over the first two and flipping horizontally to dodge the third. With a mutter of, ¡°Haste¡±, Logan¡¯s body blurred with speed as he drew up his artefact blade, the frozen lord edge, and a Bowen dagger as he started to stab out. With this speed, he could hit each spider leg that came at him, though he had to redirect its mass to the side as he was nowhere near its power. The vaskt had to sway its body more than usual, compensating for its central vision being impaired from Logan¡¯s Dastardly Backstab skill making sure the eyes were blinded. Each scratch dealt to those legs was another nick on its durability, or at least that¡¯s what Logan hoped. Keeping its attention, Logan was able to open up a weak point for Marcus as he caused a spike of earth to shoot upwards below its stomach, piercing deep into its abdomen. It let out a low hiss as it shook all over, causing Logan to warp away before another torrent of hair cut the forest to smithereens. Marcus and the elementals took heavier hits than the Spellthief, even causing a few of them to dissipate before Marcus healed them back into existence. ¡°This¡¯d be easier if we had someone with Severing Slash¡±, Logan cursed in his head. That skill would certainly help, since as the name made clear, it was suited to severing parts from a target. ¡°Invisibility¡±, Logan called out as he leapt from his cover, his body blurring to nothingness. Running across the messy grass floor, Logan flanked the vaskt, jumped up, and chanted, ¡°Flame¡ª¡±, but was cut off as the vaskt swung a leg upwards. Twirling in the air he avoided the strike but had to defer to a, ¡°Shot¡±, instead of a Grasp. With his hand still aimed at the vaskt, he spoke, ¡°Air Blast¡±, pushing a burst of wind from his palm and sending him upwards to avoid another leg. Shooting another burst he flew over the large spider and aimed for another, ¡°Flame¡ª¡±, redirecting his position with a blast of air from the other hand, ¡°Shot¡±, to blast the spider once again. Warping into his centre, Logan apparated on the ground as he became visible at the spider¡¯s hind but warped again as the spider bashed a leg into the ground. Now airborne he shot another blast of Flame at the spider for it to block it with another leg. Teleporting to the side he shot, redirected his body with a boost of air and shot between the legs that were battering attacks from above, landing a solid hit into its back. With no more Air Blast charges left, Logan teleported a total of four more times, with a Flame Shot each, getting deflected by legs at each strike. This did allow some elemental attacks and bolts from afar to hit the vaskt, but they did little to damage it. The vaskt was close to death though, and being preoccupied with its eyes and legs targeting Logan, Marcus was able to pull up his golden chains from the floor to wrap around four of the vaskt¡¯s legs, immobilising half of its arsenal. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Pulling up, the spider was able to dislodge two of its legs, before another casting of Chain Guard pulled it back down. ¡°Flame Skystrike, Flame Second Skystrike¡±, Logan intoned, waving his arms diagonally as he created a small barrage of fire below the spider and a larger mass above as they both struck its body. Landing on the floor with a slide, Logan looked up at the spider as its huge body crashed to the floor, smouldering and unmoving. ¡°Thanks for that assistance¡±, Logan shouted sincerely. ¡°Had to find an opening, sorry it took a bit¡±, Marcus shouted back as he and the elementals moved to the body. Climbing atop the carcass, Logan pulled out his newly bought expert skinning knife to dig out the vaskt¡¯s head. Inside, past the eyes, he found a large glowing red mass that hummed slightly after death. Cutting that out he obtained the vaskt eye nucleus, which on its own could be sold for 30 silver, bought for 60 and above. Separating the legs from the body, Logan had a common nucleus and eight shoddy vaskt legs. Luck was not on his side for the quality of these components, but the nucleus didn¡¯t care too much for its quality when making the potion. ¡°Got it all fine?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°You warped around a lot, got enough left to take us back to Gauntlet?¡± Logan thought for a second before replying, ¡°Used my rings and signatures, but got enough spellforce to see me through.¡± Out of the 28 MP, Logan had 11 left. ¡°Think we got enough time for you to make this potion of yours?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have to see¡±, Logan replied with a smile as he placed a hand on Marcus¡¯s shoulder and dismissed his elementals.
Taking a stop at the G-Hall, Logan handed 3 gold to Marcus for his share. At this point, they were of a similar mind for splitting pay halfway. Passing the markets, Logan picked up the rest of the ingredients needed for the Identification potion. With his elementals resummoned for Marcus to train against, Logan started to brew.
Several hours passed as the room was lit by Logan¡¯s Light Ally. A vial shifted from green to red in the Spellthief¡¯s hand. Eyes blinked within the liquid as if it were an ooze-type monster trying to escape. Uncorking the lid, Logan downed it. A bubbling mass formed in his throat before long, itching it to no end. Flowing to his face, bumps formed and rolled around until reaching Logan¡¯s eyes. Closing them instinctively, Logan saw red eyes staring at him within his eyelids, teeth morphing through the monstrous glare as they ate at his. Blood gushed from his closed eyes, dripping across two more creases beneath them that were closer to his ears. Opening his eyes, Logan saw red for a few blinks before his vision cleared. Red dots coloured the floorboards and gave Logan a hint of fear, but those fears washed away as he found no lasting issues from his ¡°transformation¡±. A window floated at the side of his vision that confirmed the potion had enhanced his skill. ¡°No pain no gain¡±, Logan thought to himself as he sat back down. Calling Marcus into his room, Logan explained the new skill progression and then utilized them. ¡°Identify¡±, he mentally commanded, the creases beneath his eyes opening wide to show another set of green eyes with red sclera with small hexagonal black lines across them. Logan¡¯s mind had a jump of information, being able to see two copies at once reminded him of being drunk, if not for it settling a few seconds thereafter as if he were always able to do this. Along with the normal Identification information, Logan was treated to Marcus¡¯s current resistances and reductions. Marcus flinched a little at seeing the new look of his friend but was sure there were no evil intentions behind those eyes. ¡°Looking ever more the Demon there, Logan¡±, Marcus chuckled. ¡°I¡¯ll have to look into hiding these¡±, Logan replied as he went to touch the new eyes but stopped midway, blinking all four together, ¡°If not just because they are unsettling, they let others know I am scanning them.¡± ¡°Can you use the normal skill still, without the vaskt eyes?¡± Logan mentally commanded to not use his new skills before accessing Identification again, this time his second eyes stayed shut. Sadly it didn¡¯t show Marcus¡¯s new statistics, which Logan explained. ¡°I suppose monsters won¡¯t care, but we do a lot of hunter work, it¡¯d be useful against the higher-rank traitors¡±, Marcus calculated. ¡°Ain¡¯t that the truth, I¡¯ll ask my alchemist friend¡±, Logan replied as he double-checked Marcus¡¯s status, ¡°You hit rank 13 by the way¡±, he smiled. Placing the bonus point yet again into Wisdom, the pair chatted and read for the rest of the night.
Waking to the day of the congress meeting, Logan went to rub his eyes, all four, before realising the creases had disappeared in the night. It must have been an effect of his Regeneration. The second eyes did rip open after all, it was a nice side-effect of his skills working together. With the hidden secondary oculars, Logan would be able to secret away his breadth of skills, at least until he could find a way to hide them from people he wasn¡¯t aiming to kill. For whatever vain ideals the Spellthief had, it would mean he didn¡¯t have lines under his eyes at all times. Reminding his allies, Logan summoned up his elementals and hired them out to adventurers so that they didn¡¯t stagnate while he was away. A typical congress session lasted between two to seven days, depending on the topics at hand and if any court sessions were required to find the legitimacy of claims. There was bound to be a half-day at least dedicated to the issues surrounding the Ice King. As a vote-submitter, Logan was invited to the counter of Armin Eventa. Instead of his usual Spellthief Garb, Logan made sure to dress in clean robes and formal attire underneath. A long grey cloak with an estate design on the back, in the middle of which was the Eventa surname. Underneath was a black and white suit piece, similar to what he had to wear on Earth, just a bit more ¡°old style¡± than he was used to. Teleporting to the Eventa estate, Logan was greeted by Armin, his son Castore, and his wife, Orell. She was rather short, at least for this world, at around 5¡¯ tall with a strip of black hair dangling down her back from a tied bun. Climbing into a carriage, the four moved off to the royal sector of Gauntlet. Buildings got taller and more pristine, as did the guardsman and magic at hand to protect them. Several tall poles had stone sat within them that hummed every so often, Logan easily telling they were using Clean and Light Ally micks to make the sector even better to look at. Exiting the carriage, the Eventa team walked up to the large congress hall, far bigger than any other building that Logan had seen thus far, outside of the royal castle. Now was the time for deep discussions about the events of the world. --- *** --- Chapter 123 - Congress Conflict A cacophony of chatter filled the congress hall. Tall rows of benches hugged the circular design of the dome room that countless people found themselves within. Each bench surrounded a counter in the middle, showing the speaker for each estate, guild, and collection of Sirns and Sirnas who were comparable to royalty but below the king and queen. Logan was seated with the Eventas, with two guards and an attendant that fetched food and drink when asked. Their counter was neat, with a stack of parchment and books ready to present when the time came. The room went deathly silent as a door towards the largest counter opened, stepping through it was the imposing presence of a king. At 6¡¯5¡±, the king stood over most that were in the room. Brushed-back black hair and a full beard showed the man was still full of life, even when he was in his late 50s. Blue piercing eyes looked over a few closest to him. Moving the coattails at his back, the king sat on a large throne, waving a hand to motion everyone to be at ease. The king was wearing a mix of gold and blue hues, accompanied by white and grey. His raiment was cleaner than anything. Yadiel Travets, the king, was accompanied by his wife, Aeverie Travets, who stood at 6¡¯ and had long flowing blonde hair. She shared the blue eyes of the king and sat on a throne the same size as his. As was the custom, the monarchy could be either male or female-led, but Gauntlet was currently in a partnered leadership, with both the king and queen holding similar powers. At their behind were three smaller thrones that were sat upon by the eldest son, Yasere, at 30 years of age his hair had started to grey already. Garbed in metallic armour, though with formal tabards and leather sections, the man seemingly took pride in his classed status. His blue eyes scanned the room authoritatively. His 6¡¯ stature wasn¡¯t dwarfed by his family. The youngest son, Yaltosk, was a young 23 years old. His black hair was long and wrapped in a braided ponytail. An almost identical beard adorned his face, if a bit shorter than his father¡¯s. He was dressed in a lordly raiment as well, though had depictions of stone spikes and pillars. Logan could tell he was magically inclined, it was strange how the populace viewed mages when a part of the monarchy was one. His yellow eyes passed between a few faces but settled in the middle of the chamber. At 5¡¯11¡± he was the shortest of the family. The last was their only daughter, Aldith, at 18 years old. She had her blonde hair free to the winds, not that there was any in the hall. Dangling down onto her lordly raiment, Logan could tell she was not of the magic vocation. Most likely a Rogue or Fighter. Her yellow eyes shone against her hair. Standing, she was 6¡¯1¡±. Logan had heard ahead of time that the monarchy always sat within the congress meetings, but it was still comforting to see it in action. They were no figureheads. The rest of the people sat down with simmered voices between them to discuss matters here or there. A man at the counter in front and below the monarchy tapped a gavel, alerting everyone that an address was to be made. ¡°Welcome all to this congress meeting. There are many topics to discuss at hand, we estimate this session will last five days, if any topics brought up would extend that, we will announce at the end of said meeting.¡± A smattering of whispers was shared, the addresser allowing them to finish naturally before continuing. Logan picked out the word ¡°festival¡± amongst the chatter. ¡°For the first half of today, we shall discuss the recent events of the goblin invasions and that of the near-future Ice King and his revival.¡± The man continued for about a half hour, detailing how many goblins had attacked, their locations, times of day, and more. It was extensive, but they had quite a long period to research it all to this point. Some points, such as there being a hero goblin, caused audible gasps across the hall. When it came to the Ice King, it was foreseen that he would rise within forty-seven days. Details about how it would occur were discussed as well as potentially not occurring at all, with Logan¡¯s interference changing the foresight. ¡°With these two events so close together, we shall be testing the Demonturtle Shell barrier twenty days from now¡±, the addresser announced as a few attendants moved parchment between the counters. The Demonturtle Shell was named after the monster, the Demonturtle, as it was created through its components. It was over fifty miles wide, covering the entirety of the Gauntlet capital in a spherical protective barrier. Cuts in the earth from the moat to the ocean meant it protected against underground, underwater, and overhead threats as well as ground-level ones. ¡°With the magi who operate this not available at the time of the invasion, and ready too long thereafter, we have since hired new magi to man this construction 24/7. With the aid of Raid Master Cassius, we have also stocked the supplies needed to fuel the barrier.¡± A few more words were spent explaining the barrier, its functions, as well as the times it would be tested. ¡°To this point, we put forward our first topic. Shall we have the barrier active at all times?¡± The hall filled with voices once again, this time as loud as when Logan had entered. Even the monarchy spoke amongst themselves over this first ruling. One woman from a counter asked aloud, ¡°What are the costs of doing such?¡± ¡°Refer to the third parchment we have handed out to find the costs of the Demonturtle Shell. Active bombardments will increase this based on damages, but an attack such as the goblin invasion would make it tenfold dearer.¡± ¡°What of travellers?¡± A younger man asked. The addresser looked at the younger man for a moment, obviously annoyed at the seemingly obvious question, ¡°As has been the case in the past, the Demonturtle Shell barrier will allow human, gashriek, saeber, diglaeta, and demon-blooded of each in without issue.¡± A few of the older members of Congress chuckled at the reply, it was surely something known to most. Questions popped up here or there, debating the costs, timelines, noise, sight, and other common factors that would come with the barrier being enabled all the time. There were also concerns about the components needed to keep it active, which would require more raids to be undertaken by adventurers to supply said need. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. With over nine thousand within the guard, the barrier would free up some of their positions on the walls, but many would still work within the walls and quell monsters approaching. The cost of the barrier would also move around taxes to account for its operation. Questions and discussions went on for a few hours before the voting process began. Eventa voted for it, as did the monarchy. With five members present, the monarchy had a combined vote weight of seventeen, four for the king and the queen, with three each for the offspring. In the end, the vote was 67% in favour, passing it with a majority. A reconvene would be held next year to decide if it would be active for another. If they felt strongly about it, the king and queen could overrule if needed anyway, but as far as Logan heard this rarely happened. ¡°Now, onto the next topic. Road construction¡­¡±
3 days later. ¡°The next topic at hand is put forth by Noble Eventa. The abolishment of the duelling laws.¡± This perked up the halls incredibly, chatter lasting several minutes with laughter permeating at times before the addresser called that to a halt. Armin stood as he began to make his case, ¡°My topic today, as stated, is the complete removal of all duelling laws currently in place. Duels will become an illegal activity, though matches may still be allowed as long as both sides are amicable and accepting. If you will look over the parchment being handed out¡±, he stopped for a minute as it was, ¡°you¡¯ll see a list of misdeeds undertaken from the duelling system.¡± Armin laid out the different parts of his points before being asked a question by a woman higher up on the counters, ¡°With the passing of the barrier law, this will also hinder the economy of the kingdom. Do you have a counter to that?¡± Clearing his throat, Armin replied, ¡°Yes. I have ledgers detailing the costs of guard interference, hunter contracts, and loss of items due to inappropriate duels. With the recent expunging of the under markets and spell ring factories, we have brought in enough coin to pay out bonuses to the guard to lessen the burden this would place on them, with the removal of oversight fees for duels.¡± ¡°What of the honourable duels amongst the nobles and royals?¡± Another man asked. ¡°I am saddened to witness first-hand and have second-hand knowledge of, several cases where the ¡®honour¡¯ held by duels has dwindled to nothingness. Refer to the second sheet for occurrences where noble houses have had their members accosted by adventurers for duels ending in service and then capture, and even old members of the MT who have done the same. Nobles are not protected, neither are¡ª¡± ¡°What!?¡± A woman shouted from afar, ¡°Nestral was forced into his service?¡± A noble who had gone missing and was found a few days earlier by other hunters. ¡°Yes. After his retrieval by the guild, Twain Dagger, it was revealed it began with underhanded duel enforcement.¡± A short man in a light-red robe added, ¡°The Magi¡¯s Tower association corroborates the claim of MT mishandling due to duels. Several magi have been taken under the false pretence of duels for service.¡± Jirango then stood, ¡°Gerro Guardhouse corroborates this too. Many of our parrots have undergone truth magic to reveal their sly tactics of abusing duels. The money spent on jailing abusers or saving the abused is quite high, I assure you.¡± Prevesna stood after Jirango returned to his seat, ¡°The Lightbeam guild also accepts this. Classed-End, the northern quarter of Gauntlet, suffers many duels forced upon weaker opponents to bully items or free work out of the victim.¡± ¡°Would imposing heavier rules and oversight not erase these issues?¡± A mercantile-looking man asked. As was expected, there were many questions and pushbacks from the hall on this matter. Many still felt that as such an old law, that duels were an institution of Avanar. While others agreed that the law was archaic and oftentimes barbaric. Like many of the other topics, the monarchy mostly listened, letting others ask the questions before they decided to ask. Logan could see that the offspring were quite focused on the discussion though. Yaltosk especially whispered to his parents over some of the questions. Hours went by without a consensus being reached, too many questions and discussions for such an old law. As such the recess was called for the next day, if there was no conclusion within the first two hours a vote would be forced.
People exited the congress hall in droves, Logan sighed at all the stuffy talk of all other matters but was content that he could listen in on so many affairs. It clued him into other parts of this world and into how people in higher positions dealt with it. Armin Eventa rubbed his face as if to remove hours-old dust from it, though some of the annoyance was most likely from the events keeping him up at night. Logan could sympathise with the lamenting over how it would all go. If it weren¡¯t for Logan¡¯s status as a classed being, combined with Regeneration, he would have felt aches across his body for sitting and standing still for so long. He hadn¡¯t used his empowered Identification either, so the creases beneath his eyes had yet to return. Before entering the carriage to leave, the group was approached by the familiar face of Xican. With his hood down, the mage¡¯s black hair flowed slightly in its swept-back manner, ¡°Good to see you again, Logan.¡± ¡°Hello, Investigator Xican.¡± ¡°Please, I am not on those duties right now. Xican is fine. I was surprised at your counter¡¯s topic today.¡± ¡°As were many others. I saw you amongst the others from the MT.¡± ¡°We are a mainstay in Congress. Magi are oft called upon for magical aid. The Demonturle Shell being one of them¡±, Xican replied with a chuckle. ¡°I take it your association will be paid on the regular for its operation then?¡± ¡°Yes. Maintenance is regular for the barrier, plus shift changings of magi to operate it.¡± ¡°Did the MT compile all that info surrounding the invasion? Did my report give you much to go on?¡± ¡°That we did. Our seers were the ones consulted on the Ice King¡¯s revival too. Both were curious events indeed¡±, Xican replied as he looked around, ¡°Tis a shame. Such disastrous turns. We are due an Oracle anytime now to balance out these events¡±, he continued as he looked back at Logan. Logan smiled, hiding the fear inside, ¡°Don¡¯t we all pray for that? But when¡¯s the last time we¡¯ve had one?¡± ¡°That we do. Either way, I am glad you¡¯ve kept your nose clean when compared to your work at the Frost Monarch¡¯s cavern.¡± ¡°Feels like a loose leash right now. Just comes down to a disallowance of making a guild¡±, Logan announced as he loosened his collar a bit around his neck. ¡°Oh? Plan to make one instead of joining the MT, do you?¡± ¡°A looser leash fits me better.¡± ¡°Quite. I am sure you¡¯ve continued to hear horror stories, what with Thermodan¡¯s¡­ recent dealings.¡± ¡°Any word on his whereabouts?¡± ¡°Not in any tower¡±, Xican mentioned quickly, ¡°He is adept at ritual magic, as you know. We believe he is masking his presence with rather strong magic.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t hide forever¡±, Logan trailed off. ¡°Nor can we speak until nightfall. Rest well¡±, Xican ended as he tilted his head downwards. ¡°And you.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 124 - Duel of Interest The beginning of the next day was met with anxious feelings from Logan and the Eventa family. Armin had enough reasons for wanting the law to be removed, and his son, even more, when he was captured after a dastardly duel. Logan¡¯s was a personal matter in several ways. Logan felt an attachment to other casters, a kinship with those in a similar position. After seeing how they were harvested for parts it only furthered that relation. There was also the nestled thought in the back of his head, that like other Oracles before him, he had to work to improve the world somehow before he left. Either way, it was going to also help both Logan and Marcus work around Avanar without the looming threat of duels, though those fast declined as their titles and fame inclined. Fame. That was also a contributing factor to one of their later objectives, to create a guild. Logan had many ideals to put forward with a collection of allies, but aside from that, he¡¯d be an advertisement for all other PCs to come out of hiding. To come together and work towards common goals. But that was for later, for today, the rest of the Congress.
The morning was full of chatter around the duelling laws. Many were fighting back against the complete abolishment, trying to just make it much stricter. Again, the same reasonings, though some had more people to speak on their behalf. As the two hours passed, the addresser called the hall to a vote. ¡°For.¡± ¡°Against.¡± ¡°For.¡± ¡°For.¡± ¡°Against.¡± The collection of votes, the scribbling of numbers into the ledger. Logan could feel his body tense at each mention of ¡°against¡± while it became calmer with every ¡°for¡± called out. It was hard to recall the last time he was so invested in something that wasn¡¯t directly in his control. At least four years had passed on Earth where he had lost interest in most hobbies and interests. It was work and survival. Write code, input data, and get a slip of paper at the end of the week. It was at least simple. He could follow a manual or ask a colleague for help on something he didn¡¯t understand. But here, it was like he was sitting in a meeting room, with the board of directors, and not all shared his views. Losing track of the words, the votes came to an end with the monarchy casting theirs. ¡°For, for, for, for, for¡±, they all announced. Logan smiled. His cheeks pained at the stretching of his skin, as if he had a mouthful of sour candy and his friend made him laugh. If the monarchy, in full, were behind this then who could oppose the final decision if it came to a complete abolishment? The addresser turned to others at his counter, showing the ledger to them and nodding to one another. Logan could make out some words such as, ¡°Do you confirm?¡±, and ¡°Is this number correct?¡± Making a final scribble in the ledger, the addresser announced, ¡°The topic of the complete abolishment of our duelling laws has concluded. With a total vote of 54%, the petition has been accepted. Henceforth, duels are now illegal. There will be a grace period of one month for previous engagements to conclude and for mistakes, but after this time, ignorance will not equate to innocence.¡± Sections of the hall were full of scowling faces, some even punching their counters in anger, but it didn¡¯t go further than that. Logan felt his whole body melt into his shoes, the stress leaking out of him as a victory washed over his body. ¡°The next topic¡­¡±
The day of voting came to a close, Logan walked out tall, his head held high. The Eventa family could tell he had a skip in his step as he got to the carriage first. ¡°One day left of meetings¡±, Armin, the father of the Eventas, announced. ¡°It¡¯s been soooo boring¡±, Castore, the son, added as he slouched in the carriage chairs. The mother, Orell, pulled at her son¡¯s collar to make him sit up straight, ¡°Sir Logan, I see it hasn¡¯t been so for you.¡± Logan didn¡¯t bother bolding back his smile, ¡°Not at all, ma''am. The whole event has been enlightening. I can¡¯t say it was nice being so close to a failure, but no complaints for me to see it through.¡± ¡°I am glad our arrangement could end on such amicable terms¡±, Armin replied with a more reserved smile, ¡°Will you continue to watch over proceedings tomorrow?¡± Logan nodded, ¡°It would be good for me to see it all. Gives me a good heads up to upcoming changes.¡± Thinking on previous conversations, people mentioned they would give their vote if nothing else came up for them to discuss. This seemed to be a misnomer, it was closer to say their ¡°vote¡± beforehand would be them investigating the topic and creating a case to boost its validity. In terms of the Lightbeam guild, Prevesna had gathered intelligence and built a suitable backing for Logan¡¯s topic. Instead of, say, creating solid words to reinforce a topic from someone else. At least what she did bring helped to sway the minds of others. One concerning part of Logan¡¯s counter¡¯s topic was the number of people vehemently against it going forward. There was a possible target placed on his back if the opposition believed he had suggested the abolishment, if not just against the Eventa household. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Armin seemingly saw this thought across Logan¡¯s focused face, ¡°You need not worry about the fallout, Logan. Mine is a family closely garbed in vampire cloaks. If someone aims to get vengeance on me, they¡¯ll meet a nightly guard, I¡¯d wager.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. Though if something does crop up from it, feel free to send word to me for assistance.¡± Armin let out a small chuckle, ¡°You¡¯ve grown fond of my coin in your pocket, have you?¡± Logan laughed back.
Reaching the Meek Moat Inn, after saying farewell at the Eventa Estate, Logan was greeted by the anxious faces of Yetveka, Marcus, and Amalia. With the response of a thumbs up from the Spellthief, the three cheered. Yetveka quickly took out four mugs and started to fill them with frothy ale as they all celebrated Logan¡¯s win. ¡°Couldn¡¯t have done this at rank 2¡±, Marcus laughed between sips. ¡°There¡¯d be more, but all the other hunters are out on work¡±, Yetveka informed as she refilled mugs. ¡°Can¡¯t get too hammered if you got another day left¡±, Amalia reinforced towards Logan. ¡°Yeah, yeah.¡± ¡°Some of the guards were talking about bonuses¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine if¡­¡±
The celebrations went on for a good hour before fading out into the night. With everyone getting a good rest they went their separate ways again for the day. Logan sat tall within his chair at the Eventa counter, listening halfly to the topics at hand and then the votes given on each side. It felt less tense than when it came to discussions over defensive measures, or the duelling laws, but everyone had their own focus placed on the topics they put forth. Without anything to really grip his attention, or put him on an extended period of waiting for his turn, Logan felt like the day went by slowly. But like anything else, the congress meeting came to an eventual end, a bit later than estimated, but without many issues for required court sessions. Spending a few hours longer at the Eventa estate, Logan looked over some documents, signed others, and chatted with the two heads of the house. It would be some time before any further blood deliveries would be made, but the Spellthief was offered a chance at teleporting them around again. The job was good pay, a gold a day for little in the way of danger. It also was income without experience gain, meaning he could improve his gear while stagnating his level progression. With thanks given on both sides, Logan moved to leave but was stopped in the hallway by a young Castore. ¡°Sir Logan, are you busy these upcoming days?¡± the young master asked with hopeful expectation in his eyes. ¡°I might be, what do you have in mind?¡± Logan replied with a smile. ¡°Father has allowed me training, I am soon to be fifteen after all. The right age to become an adventurer!¡± Logan looked at the boy for a few seconds, contemplating his aptitude, ¡°You don¡¯t want to become a merchant, like your family?¡± Castore shrugged, but noticed his informality and shook his body into a straighter position, ¡°The ability to make money out of nothing is grander than one coin for two¡±, Castore recited. ¡°I think you¡¯d find that you¡¯d be putting in a lot of work, investing sweat and blood into making coin. Instead of just using your head and spending candle wax to make your income.¡± Castore pouted slightly, ¡°The world has enough merchants to meet demands. But there¡¯s always more monsters than there are steady sword arms.¡± ¡°That¡¯s mostly due to people dying in this line of work. Much more than just bandits out there¡±, Logan alluded to Castore¡¯s previous capture. ¡°Yes. My past blunders still haunt me. However, the power granted via combat and effects will place me at a higher chance to protect myself against such brigands.¡± Logan relented, ¡°What sort of training?¡± Castore smiled again, ¡°I was identified as a Fighter at birth, well a few months after, but regardless. I¡¯d like a renewed assessment by someone of your strength. Pinpoint my best and worst capabilities and give advice¡±, Castore listed off his fingers before clenching his fists in excitement, ¡°The adventuring halls hardly give wisdom. Father also put me within schools of knowledge and commerce, not combative academies.¡± A class census was taken every ten years, essentially magi or non-magic individuals with magical utensils were sent out to identify the classes of the unrecorded populace. In his research, Logan found that the number of people born with classes was increasing with each census, about a hundred years ago there were only 49%, reaching 58% with the most recent census. Fighters had always been the most common, a quarter of people being born into that specification. While Logan¡¯s displayed class of Wizard was the most rare, at 1%. ¡°I can at least see where you¡¯re at. But I¡¯m afraid I am not geared towards much teaching.¡± ¡°Anything!¡± Castore replied with a wide smile before turning and giving a wave, ¡°See you tomorrow then!¡± he said as he walked away. Logan caught up with the young master to talk about his payment before turning to leave.
At the Meek Moat Inn, Logan saw Wriske slouched on one of the sofas, her body wrapped in a dark shawl. Approaching the gashriek, Logan asked, ¡°How¡¯s everything, Wriske?¡± Wriske looked up slowly and replied in a raspy voice, ¡°Above¡¯s damn, got infected out on a hunt.¡± Sitting at her side, Logan continued, ¡°Below. How¡¯d that happen?¡± ¡°Demon-kin monsters. They were being utilized by the AV Club, hunting a coven down who asked for hunter aid. I dealt with most, but some got away. Got partially paid for the work though¡±, Wriske explained with a cough. ¡°Vampire haters using demon-kin to take them out? Sounds hypocritical.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s to say? Not much versed in their antics myself. Maybe they just hate vampires and not all those with demon blood.¡± ¡°Will you be fine?¡± Logan asked. ¡°In time, I¡¯ve dealt with most of the curse energy. It¡¯ll dissipate as my own spellforce replaces it.¡± Logan was put at ease, he didn¡¯t want another Marta issue. As long as the curse was countered in a good enough time span it could be dispelled, otherwise, it¡¯d be much more expensive or just incredibly difficult to remove. ¡°You said you were helping out a vampire coven? I think I saw that hunt at the guardhouse¡±, Logan pondered aloud. ¡°Twenty gold pay?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the one then. The client upped the reward due to the unforeseen adversaries. If you go into it, be warned the demon-kin are lovers of magic.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°Near damn cast a day¡¯s worth of spellforce in one encounter, they did.¡± Logan had to hide a smile back as he knew how well-kitted he was against such a fight. ¡°I guess I can look into it in a few days.¡± ¡°It¡¯s rather risky, but a much better reward now. A solo mission for, I think they said, fifty gold.¡± Logan was surprised at the number, but it was getting to the point it would be commonplace for the level he was at. At least it would, if it were a raid of some sort. The coven requesting this must be quite powerful, if not in actual power than influence or capital. ¡°I¡¯ve been meeting a few more vampires lately, what¡¯s the harm in a few more¡±, Logan asked rhetorically under his breath. ¡°You said a few days, you staying around for the congress festival tomorrow night?¡± ¡°That I am.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 125 - A Noble鈥檚 Aptitude Awaking to a day full of energy, Logan sprung upwards in his bed, a smile adorning his face. It had been so long since anything bad had happened to or near the Spellthief, making this world feel much more homely and inviting than it had previously. No over-arching threats or invasions in sight. The only part that was a bit unsettling was the sound of bells outside. Opening his window, Logan heard a local town crier talking about the recent events. ¡°Congress has concluded, the festival of laws will begin in the evening. Go to your nearest inn, tavern, or adventuring halls for a list of all law changes.¡± Logan leant on the windowsill as he saw the crier continue down the street, waving his bell and repeating his words. A small crowd was gathered outside the Meek Moat Inn, whispering amongst themselves as they read the board on its wall. A few had to read it aloud for those who hadn¡¯t learned to read, but Logan knew them all already. Putting on his clothes, Logan went downstairs to see a few new faces talking with the gashriek bartender. Though he could see their scowls and hear their tones a bit harsher towards the non-human. ¡°How can you spout such nonsense?¡± one of the men demanded. ¡°This is insane, the above would never condone this!¡± a woman shouted. Moving in front of the crowd, Logan addressed them all, ¡°Now, now. Calm down, people. What seems to be the issue?¡± ¡°These rules changes on the inn, they¡¯re absurd. We want them reverted!¡± ¡°This establishment has no right to do this to us!¡± Logan held up both his hands to simmer the crowd again, ¡°Listen. This inn does not change the laws, it is just a local gathering spot, and so is used to distribute the changes to people who read them.¡± ¡°No¡ª¡± ¡°If you have issues with the changes, write a letter¡­¡± Logan explained for a few minutes, the crowd dispersing as they heard the words of an esteemed hunter. Eventually, they had all gone, allowing Yetveka some breathing room. ¡°Thank you, Logan. I swear this happens every year, and people still don¡¯t understand.¡± ¡°They just want to vent. Not surprising that some people don¡¯t realise how everything works¡±, Logan replied as he sipped water from a tankard. ¡°Some of them were quite xenophobic with their words¡±, Yetveka scoffed. ¡°That¡¯s quite a late term¡±, Logan thought to himself. ¡°One step at a time, ¡®least there won¡¯t be issues with duels anymore. Well¡­ fewer issues, there¡¯s still going to be lawbreakers.¡± ¡°Oh¡±, Yetveka jumped slightly as if she recalled something, ¡°your name wasn¡¯t on the documents on the board. Did you want to stay anonymous about all that?¡± Logan nodded, ¡°The ones who need to know, do. Armin was fine attaching his name to it and keeping me out of it.¡± Yetveka mimed the stitching of her lips, ¡°Won¡¯t mention it if they don¡¯t then¡±, she said with a smile. Marcus was next to reach the counter from upstairs, ¡°Morning all. Heard a ruckus. Issues?¡± ¡°Nothing Logan couldn¡¯t handle¡±, Yetveka answered with a chuckle. Logan nodded at Marcus in greeting, a smile on both their faces. Having checked his friend¡¯s status earlier, Logan saw that the Devout had gained close to seven thousand experience during his absence. A healthy dose of training against the elementals and hunter work, the Devout had picked up a gold armband with the ¡°Tp¡± allowance written on it. His summons were being put to work too, Celsius, Spark, and Fahrenheit all reaching level 12, hitting the cap once again. Servoir was now level 7 and Umbra 6. Logan was going to have to pick up a skill tome to increase Summon Mastery or wait till he could cast fourth-level spells to increase that level cap further. ¡°Logan¡±, Marcus spoke as he clicked his fingers, ¡°you calculating till we fall asleep?¡± Logan smirked, he was good with numbers and resources back on Earth, but in Avanar, that skillset was used for something entirely alien. ¡°Sorry. Work been keeping you busy?¡± ¡°That it has. Had an influx of guards calling me by name for work. Helps that I train with them often for word to spread around about my¡­ they called it devotion, but I think that was a joke about my class¡±, Marcus smiled in acceptance. The last to come down was Amalia and Ev¨¦n, the pair chatting before sitting at the counter. ¡°Good morning¡±, Amalia spoke. ¡°The busiest bees all return to the nest¡±, Ev¨¦n recited. ¡°That goes to Sincollo I¡¯d think. Been gone for a while now¡±, Yetveka laughed. ¡°I suppose. Though I see Gaemo often with our duo work.¡± Amalia nudged Ev¨¦n¡¯s shoulder as they both giggled. ¡°You two going to the festival tonight?¡± Logan asked as he turned to both. ¡°Some niceties to unwind to, no doubt¡±, Ev¨¦n answered. ¡°I helped with some of the metalwork. I should enjoy seeing them put to use¡±, Amalia added. ¡°Nice to engage in the local customs too¡±, Logan admitted. ¡°Oh right, you¡¯re from the south¡±, Ev¨¦n realised, ¡°I¡¯ve been to the festival of laws a few times myself. We can all go around together¡±, she added with a smile. ¡°The same is true for me, and Amalia too¡±, Marcus included. ¡°I know that much. Already helped her pick out an outfit. You two wear normal clothes anyway¡±, Ev¨¦n replied as she pointed at the Spellthief and Devout. It was true enough. Where other classes wore leather or metal, the casters mostly stuck to cloth and robes. More common attire for everyday life. Looking around, Logan asked, ¡°No Wriske today?¡± ¡°She head to one of the churches to get some aid in her healing, terrible curse she suffered¡±, Yetveka answered as she began to clear plates. ¡°Did it get worse?¡± ¡°Just routine healing for it, she¡¯ll be fine. If anything, it¡¯s probably best it happened to her¡±, Yetveka started before making a claw over her heart, ¡°As a high-rank Devout she has a higher chance of stopping it in its tracks.¡± ¡°I guess Marta wasn¡¯t high enough¡±, Logan thought to himself. Amalia stood as she finished her tankard of water, ¡°Well, the workday calls. See you all later tonight.¡± ¡°I suppose the same for me¡±, Marcus added as he stood. The rest said their farewells before moving in different directions to run out the day till its joyous end. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
Warping to the noble district, Logan was allowed entrance through the gates of the Eventa estate without question. Castore sat atop a shrubbery and jumped off it as he saw the Spellthief approach. ¡°A fair morning to you, Logan.¡± ¡°You¡¯re certainly ready to go¡±, Logan observed with a smile. Castore had garbed himself in brown and red leathers from neck to toe. His head was free to the wind, his medium blonde hair brushed back and around his ears. At his hip was a shortsword and dagger, a duel-wielding Fighter. At 5¡¯6¡±, the kid still had some growing to do, but he was able to look Logan in the eye well enough. ¡°Are we doing a general assessment first? Like they do at the halls?¡± ¡°Yes. Do you have a good size of grass?¡± ¡°At the back of the estate, this way¡±, Castore answered as he led Logan around the side of the large building. Several servants waved at the passing master and hunter, Castore taking wide lunges in his confident stride. Reaching the stretch of grassy garden, Logan talked with Castore a bit, hiding the fact he wanted to make a party and search the young man¡¯s status screen. With that confirmed, he was able to pull it up and inspect what nobility awarded. ¡°Castore Eventa: Fighter 1, 8/8 HP, 0/0 MP. STR 9, AGI 11, CON 8, INT 12, WIS 8, CHA 9. 6 Bonus Points. The son of a wealthy merchant noble within the capital city of Gauntlet. Confident and energetic, previous turmoils only dampened his drive to become an adventurer, rather than dashed them entirely. Is well-versed in mercantile endeavours. Reduction: Damage 5, Elemental 5. Resistance: Damage 10%, Elemental 10%. Skills: Combo Slash, Combo Slash 2, Combo Slash 3, Power Strike, Rush. Wields: Noble¡¯s Shortsword*4 2-5 dmg, Noble¡¯s Dagger*4 2-3 dmg. Wears: Noble¡¯s Leather*4.¡± ¡°Where a normal person has a few coppers to their name, this boy has over 2 silver in just his weapons and armour. Not to mention the trinkets he¡¯d have that grant him such reduction and resistance¡±, Logan thought to himself. With double the output and defence, Castore would do far better than any other starting-out adventurer. However, he would find it hard to even take damage with the seemingly priceless trinkets he had granting him protection. However, it seemed his luck wasn¡¯t all great. Out of a possible 72 points for attributes, he only had 57. The minimum was 48, so really it was 9 out of 24. His array also wasn¡¯t amazing for a Fighter either, he¡¯d make a fine Rogue. Castore did some laps of the garden while Logan pondered over the easy-to-access status. The boy, soon to be man, had been self-teaching some of the Fighter skills. Most people got assessed with one or two, Castore had five. Logan felt a bit of irate envy at how much was spent to get him this far. The rich get richer kind of affair. Castore didn¡¯t seem that bad though, he was just using what was available to him. Who was to say he wouldn''t share his tomes with his allies if they were Fighters too? When the laps were completed, the young man approached Logan with a panting breath. ¡°How was that?¡± ¡°Good, though you¡¯re a bit short of air there.¡± ¡°Blame my father for keeping me cooped up all the time¡±, Castore replied with a teasing smile. ¡°Ready to show off your combat prowess?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have a dummy here, but I got these¡±, Castore mentioned as he handed Logan a few daggers. ¡°That¡¯ll work¡±, Logan replied as he took them and got into a defensive stance. Castore yelled out a battle cry as he began to swing at Logan¡¯s opposite dagger. The clash of metal made a few attendants jump, but quickly realised the assessment had progressed into the next phase. Sparks flew as the blades collided, though Logan only moved his dagger to intercept. Whenever Castore hit his mark, the Spellthief seemingly moved little if at all from the force of each blow. Swiping left to right, Logan directed the attacks when needed to keep Castore in a flowing motion. Dragging out his dagger too, Castore struck with dual blades, Logan mostly using only one to parry each at a time. There were few times when Logan had to use both of his daggers. ¡°Combo Slash¡±, Castore chanted. His shortsword glowed red as it battered Logan¡¯s dagger, the Spellthief could feel an increased tension from the skill. ¡°Combo Slash 2¡±, Castore continued as he hit another defending blade with a yellow light. ¡°Combo Slash 3¡±, the young man intoned as a dash of blue coating the sword hit Logan¡¯s dagger. ¡°Combo Flurry¡±, he said for a last time as his speed and ferocity increased, slashing out three times to end his trio of skills. Logan blocked each one but had to use both daggers to do so. The purple glow faded with the last strike, chipping away at the loaned weapons. Sliding across the grass a bit, Castore twirled the sword into a reverse grip behind his back, a red mist billowing at his shoulders. ¡°Power Strike¡±, he called out as he made a spinning slash towards the assessor, creating a circle aimed at the sky and the ground. Twisting his other dagger into a similar grip, Logan defended against the attack, a chip forming in the other loan. Pushing back, he made Castore stumble to the floor, all skilled out and panting. Inspecting the daggers, Logan saw they had taken quite a beating from the young man. Training implements indeed, weren¡¯t going to hold up long regardless. Crouching down to Castore, Logan spoke, ¡°Want an initial report, or wait till I write something up?¡± ¡°We¡¯re¡±, Castore began between breaths, ¡°done?¡± Logan nodded, ¡°Got all I need.¡± ¡°How were my techniques?¡± ¡°You¡¯re alright against single targets, but you need to be a bit more unique. That spin at the end was good, but you need to flank more, put the enemy off balance and keep them guessing. Most low-rank monsters won¡¯t know what to do if you threw in kicks, grabs, or side-steps.¡± ¡°And multi-targets?¡± ¡°You were focused mostly on me, hard to gauge that. Rush will help you move between enemies at least.¡± ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°Get some more daggers. You can throw those at afar enemies, or even drop them after an attack to feint an opponent.¡± Castore stood with the aid of Logan, ¡°There¡¯s a lot to keep in your head during the heat of battle.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be part of a group, right? They can help pick up the burden.¡± Castore chuckled a bit, ¡°Father said if I were to be an adventurer, I should be like the low-rank advocate.¡± Logan remembered hearing about that person. A classless who reached rank 8 just by fighting rank 1 monsters. Surprisingly he lived past the 7-day death timer, even more, he reached the second tier for most skills. He was also a solo adventurer. ¡°I can understand why he¡¯d only want you to do the easiest of quests.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do them to start, sure. But I have grander aspirations.¡± ¡°Leading a guild?¡± ¡°Leading a¡ªyeah!¡± ¡°Just don¡¯t let people take advantage of your upbringing or wealth.¡± ¡°Not again¡±, Castore said under his breath. ¡°Have you got people in mind already?¡± ¡°To be in my party?¡± Logan nodded. ¡°There¡¯s another noble I¡¯m friends with. Other than that, probably ask around at the hall.¡± ¡°Well, you got some time before all of that. If it all lines up, you can join my guild to get started¡±, Logan offered with a smile. Castore smiled wider, ¡°That will certainly put Father¡¯s mind at ease. I did not know you had a guild, Logan.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be made in around forty days or so.¡± ¡°Ah, of course. That¡¯s when the Ice King is meant to rise. A good time as any to drive up recruits.¡± ¡°More that I am disallowed to make one until it is shown he won¡¯t revive with any additional effects from my meddling¡±, Logan thought to himself. ¡°I suppose I should write up your assessment then.¡± ¡°Of course. For your aid, Logan¡±, Castore responded as he held out a tome, a neat leaf drawn onto its cover, ¡°A recipe book for alchemical creations.¡± Logan took it politely, ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°You can follow me to a writing room to sort this all out.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 126 - To Mend a Mind Finishing the parchment of Castore¡¯s assessment, Logan handed the rolled information to an overlooking servant. As the sun hit the midpoint of the sky, Logan left the Eventa estate to sort out some housekeeping and long-term plans.
The first stop was the Gerro Guardhouse, Jirango manning the counter as usual with a few more mugs laden across it. ¡°Ho, Logan¡±, the older gentleman greeted without raising his head much. ¡°Still busy I see.¡± ¡°Always crime to be handled. You here to do the same?¡± ¡°You could say that. I was wondering if you could contact the vampire hosting a contract here.¡± ¡°Ah, Quayvan. Wriske came back quite paler after her attempt¡±, Jirango replied as he looked up properly. ¡°Right. I was told he needed to talk with the hunter before the hunt could be handed over.¡± ¡°Correct. Some details are best kept between as few mouths as possible. I can send word, but with the festival tonight I would believe them preparing too. I wager they will be free tomorrow morning. Want me to send word to the inn?¡± ¡°That sounds best. Thank you.¡± Jirango whistled quickly, ¡°Fifty gold, a mighty fine reward for just one person. Got plans for that?¡± ¡°Some. It¡¯s not a sum I expected to hold at once before. So many trinkets and weapons to upgrade to keep pace with harder encounters¡±, Logan replied with a stressed smile. ¡°Wager you got that much in those new rings you got¡±, Jirango replied as he titled his head to Logan¡¯s hands. Logan eyed them for a second, ¡°Not far off. But, again, these help me stay alive.¡± Logan then thought to himself, ¡°There hasn¡¯t been a good lineup of events to really have this money either. I got no clue when the next portal out of here will show itself.¡± Jirango scribbled on a piece of paper before continuing, ¡°Alright, I will pass that on. Anything else, Logan?¡± ¡°That¡¯ll be it for now¡±, Logan shook his head slowly.
The next stop was Ahren¡¯s alchemy shop. Warping from the sky through the store¡¯s window, Logan pushed wind around the entrance. The jingling of glass was accompanied by a short inhale from a watching Irish PC. ¡°Warn me next time, will you lad?¡± ¡°When I get telepathy, sure¡±, Logan laughed as he approached the counter. Ahren closed a book and stood up straight, ¡°So, what can I do you for today? Potions, brewing, chinwag?¡± Logan pulled out the tome he had been paid just earlier today and placed it in front of Ahren, ¡°Brewing. I had a noble track this down¡ª¡± ¡°Volume six! I knew the higher-ups would be holding onto this!¡± Ahren replied as he snatched the book and flipped through a few pages, ¡°This¡¯ll be much better than that poncy flask I gave you last time.¡± Logan thought back to then, the time before his first portal.
Some time ago¡­ ¡°My Father has been a bit absent-minded, forgetting things, falling asleep at dangerous times¡­¡± Logan explained to an earlier Ahren, draped in his fire-based robes. ¡°It¡¯s prevalent in this world too, but there are potions and magic to halt it. Some can even make people wholly immune to it.¡± Logan with bright eyes pushed further, ¡°Can you make something like that? How much will it cost?¡± ¡°Sadly, it¡¯s not common for those of lower status to have access to. You¡¯re either looking at a fortune from the nobles or a lengthy procedure from a church.¡± ¡°So there¡¯s nothing you can do at all?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t say that. I can¡¯t make the best stuff, but I can make something. I¡¯ll even do it for free since I know you¡¯re strapped for coin.¡± ¡°Thanks, Ahren!¡± ¡°Just know, if it¡¯s too late, it might have little effect. If he¡¯s forgotten much since you¡¯ve been gone it won¡¯t restore what is lost.¡± ¡°Anything is better than going back with nothing.¡±
¡°So, it looking good?¡± Logan asked as he snapped out of his recollection. Ahren was deeply reading a particular page as he responded, ¡°That it does, my boy. Though it¡¯s expensive as I wagered last time.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a new hunt, well technically old, at the guardhouse I could take to fund its creation if that¡¯s necessary. Or do I need to go tracking down some monsters for their components?¡± Ahren hummed, ¡°A lot of varied ingredients. I can procure close to all of it. However, hmm, hard to say. Close to forty gold worth, maybe more. I¡¯ll have to check suppliers for any increase in price.¡± Logan wiped a sweat drop from his forehead, ¡°Almost all of what the hunt will reward. What will I need to get?¡± ¡°Harpy brains.¡± Stolen novel; please report. ¡°Harpy brains?¡± ¡°Yeah. You know the term ¡®Bird Brain¡¯ right? It¡¯s like that, but people got the wrong idea. Birds¡¯ brains are quite complex, so many jam-packed thinking cells all working together. Harpies are the closest a bird can get to being humanoid. The combination of human sophistication with the sardine-tin neurons, that¡¯s what we¡¯re after. It is a basis for the potion that fortifies a man¡¯s brain against all forms of degradation.¡± ¡°And memories lost?¡± ¡°The pathways will be reconnected, with this. Your father may be a bit fuzzy on some memories, but he¡¯ll get most back.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. So I need to bring you harpy brains, how many?¡± ¡°One should suffice for a potion, I¡¯d say another for experimentation just in case, and three more for if you cannot access your inventory or otherwise back on Earth.¡± ¡°So five total. I can have one in the inventory, one in my clothing, one in a hand, and another stored in a trinket or something¡±, Logan calculated, ¡°Would that end up being two hundred gold?¡± ¡°No, nowhere near two platinum. Forty gold should suffice, based on markets. The harpy brains are the main ingredient and the extras work with that. I would have leftovers from making one potion to make another four with the rest. I wouldn¡¯t be able to sell this without stirring the pot anyway.¡± Logan gave a sigh of relief, ¡°Good. Can you look into those items, and I¡¯ll get back to you tomorrow or the day after if I¡¯m able to supply the funds?¡± ¡°I sure can, Logan. I have some time today to ask around. Tonight I¡¯ll be closed for the festival anyways.¡± ¡°Great, thanks. I guess I will see you in a bit?¡± ¡°You can read over the tome first, just so you know of the ingredients too, if you¡¯re able to pick up some on your travels.¡± ¡°I got time.¡±
After spending two and a half hours reading over the tome, Logan left Ahren¡¯s alchemy shop to check over the G-Hall. Checking over the quest boards for anything relating to harpies, Logan was disheartened to find none. What he did find were many adventurers talking amongst themselves over the newest law changes from Congress. It seemed a lot were angry at the duel abolition. It had barely been a day, but there was a board outside the G-Hall with all the law changes, so word would spread quickly amongst the adventurers. A pat on his shoulder woke the Spellthief up, ¡°Long time no see, Logan.¡± Logan turned around to see Iimi, the blonde Fighter who had worked with him during the silversteine quest some time ago. ¡°That it has, you look well, Iimi.¡± ¡°I could swear you were avoiding that lunch you owe me¡±, she replied as she pulled Logan out of the hall. Accepting the movement the pair left, ¡°Not intentionally, a lot happened, kind of snowballed the work.¡± ¡°Well you¡¯re free now and we got a lot to chat about.¡± ¡°I suppose so. Nothing I wanted on the board.¡±
Iimi led Logan to a local tavern where the pair sat down and ordered something akin to a Sunday roast back on Earth, tankards full of a fruity drink that wasn¡¯t alcoholic for a change. ¡°So, when were you going to hire me for a new job, Mr leaderboard?¡± ¡°Ah, so you saw my name on the list.¡± ¡°That I did, last I knew you were, what, rank 8? Imagine my surprise to see an old quest buddy hitting the big leagues and reaching 16.¡± ¡°You mustn¡¯t be far behind, right? It seemed like you were getting enough work.¡± ¡°Had a reassessment a week back, rank 13 now. But I¡¯m not working with as many guilds as you, nor hitting the tier of wolf hunter¡±, Iimi admitted with a joking smile. ¡°I got 9 levels since our last meeting, she only got 4¡±, Logan thought to himself. ¡°What of Tenn? I haven¡¯t seen much of him since the goblin invasion.¡± ¡°Keeping himself busy, he reached rank 12. Seems a lot of people who engaged in the invasion and clean up afterwards got plenty of new ranks as a reward.¡± ¡°So that new hand is serving him well.¡± ¡°I heard you had suffered some long-term wounds too, but you got rid of those¡±, Iimi replied as she looked over Logan¡¯s face. ¡°Yeah. It was getting hard to move, so got all those scars healed up.¡± ¡°Talking of movement, you got a new nickname for yourself. The Phasing Hunter. At least one of our team got the spotlight.¡± ¡°Teleportation called to me, as well as divination. So I was a prime candidate for being a hunter.¡± ¡°Ain¡¯t that the truth¡±, Iimi admitted as she drank from her tankard, ¡°so, any new quests lately?¡± ¡°Went back to Tinte to help the Devouts there, most of the rest is hunting work.¡± ¡°You hear about the under market raids?¡± ¡°Was quite a ruckus surrounding them for sure.¡± ¡°It helped clear out some of the darker corners of Gauntlet. Makes it easier to send money off to my folks¡±, Iimi informed. ¡°Do they not live in Gauntlet?¡± ¡°Used to. But with recent events, they moved out of the big city into a neighbouring settlement. I send them money via ooran nowadays, and it¡¯s good to not have those shot down.¡± ¡°No troubles with security then.¡± ¡°Well, nothing to nothing, the delayed response to the goblins shook a lot of faith in Gauntlet¡¯s protection. The way I heard it, though, was it all happened within hardly two minutes. But¡­ smaller settlements are smaller targets¡±, Iimi mentioned wistfully as she played with her food. ¡°I can understand that, yeah. Since I was near the walls when it happened, I know the city didn¡¯t get any forewarning. Not even the seers saw it coming.¡± Iimi shook all over as if she got goosebumps, ¡°Anyway. Hunter work, that must be exciting, huh? No more spirit beasts for you?¡± ¡°Not as of yet. Bolds, arachnids, giants, a bunch of aquatics.¡± ¡°Varied, but those don¡¯t sound like hunts?¡± ¡°Right, I mixed in a few dungeons and quests. The hunting work is a lot of the same. Ambushing traitors or criminals, then getting guards to cart them to prison.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a lot. You¡¯ve been in Gauntlet, what, two months now?¡± ¡°Pretty much¡±, Logan replied as he finished his plate. ¡°Quite the rise¡±, Iimi mentioned as she finished her food. ¡°Got many plans?¡± ¡°Steady work. I will at least spend less time saving people from duels with the law changes¡±, Iimi spoke with a wink. ¡°A lovely turn of fate for a lot of the caster population, as well as weaker people.¡± ¡°Too true. However¡±, Iimi started as she stood up, ¡°the day calls. Maybe we¡¯ll bump into one another at the festival tonight?¡± ¡°That¡¯d be nice¡±, Logan replied as he smiled at his friend. The two parted and headed their separate ways, Logan returning to the Meek Moat Inn.
The inn was favourably loud this evening. Gaemo the Fighter was drinking from a tankard, having to wipe some foam from grey facial fuzz. Wriske the Devout was slouched on the sofa, nursing some water that glistened against her yellow eyes. Sincollo the saeben was tearing into some meat on a nearby table. Ev¨¦n the Rogue was conversing with Amalia the Guardian at the same table as Sincollo, parchment between them as they were planning things. The whole gang was here. Marcus came jogging over to Logan with a tankard in both hands, one put into Logan¡¯s. ¡°Evening, Logan. How¡¯s the day treated you?¡± --- *** --- Chapter 127 - Festival of Laws Logan finished putting on his outfit for the nightly events occurring outside. An opened robe of mixed blue, greys, and blacks covered up to the forearm and dangled at his calves. Underneath was a white and blue shirt and vest, with darker blue and dimmed grey trousers flowing over ankle-high black boots. As was customary for the festival, Logan showed no trinkets or weapons, let alone not wearing any form of armour. It wasn¡¯t so scary a situation for the Spellthief, however, as his Inventory system could be accessed easily without any sort of item on him. Whereas normally classed beings needed a trinket storage system. He did keep his Cache Arm equipped though, as it was wholly defensive and a form of privacy for the man, one of the few recognized and valid trinkets. There were a few other allowances, but Logan didn¡¯t have many on that list. ¡°Rather dashing, Logan¡±, Fol spoke within Logan¡¯s head, the robotic voice becoming more formal and human-like with time. ¡°Thanks, Fol. It¡¯ll be nice to unwind¡±, Logan replied in his mind. ¡°Relaxation is as big a part of life, as betterment.¡± ¡°When did you get so philosophical?¡± ¡°I have been ruminating over our time together. The things you¡¯ve experienced and the situations I have come to understand.¡± ¡°Any grand conclusions?¡± ¡°I feel that when you reach a baseline Intelligence of 100 I will have a better life goal.¡± Logan did a quick calculation in his head, his growth for the attribute was 1.5, with 1 bonus point to spend on it each level, ¡°You¡¯ll be waiting till level 35 for that. If I don¡¯t gain any further demonhood stages.¡± ¡°It is good that my patience is immeasurable.¡± Logan chuckled as he moved to his door and left his room.
Moving down to the tavern area of the inn, Logan was greeted by the sight of his companions. Marcus was wearing a new robe that had the left side yellow and the right blue, symbolising his connection to Pondress as well as just being colourful for a festival. Its centre was open to show a set of dark blue shirts, trousers, and boot combo. Gaemo was garbed in tighter-fitting red leathers with an opened dark-red robe over the top. His trousers were black as were his boots. He had also used some herbs to dye his hair a light black, instead of its usual grey. Sincollo was nowhere to be seen, but Logan had read that the saebers went elsewhere to celebrate, as did the diglaeta, but Logan had yet to see more than two of those in the capital. ¡°All good to go?¡± Logan asked. ¡°Yeah, the girls said they¡¯d meet us in the centre¡±, Gaemo replied with a smile. ¡°Let¡¯s go¡±, Marcus added as he moved to the door with a skip in his step.
The outside streets of Gauntlet were well-lit. Floating orbs of fire donned the sky, while the higher tiers had stars shine down onto the city. Walls had sconces aflame, the flickering of flames accenting the chatter as people walked on by to the centre of the city. Even at the height of the night, the city was colourful and bright. Mingling in with the crowds, everyone moved to the centre of Gauntlet, the place where the festival had been set up properly. As a collection of all walks of life, the market square played home to low and high-born. Countless stalls had hawkers selling street meats, candied treats, as well as offering games to play. If Logan had first believed he got drunk at a ren faire to appear in Avanar, this would be what he got drunk at to return home. Minute explosions could be heard every so often, displays of blue, orange, and yellow around 50¡¯ and higher from the ground. Magical fireworks inspired the nightlife of the festival. Men and women wore similar robes to that of the party, many showing deference to their deities, while others followed the colour scheme of the festival itself. Those from lower-income households had more formal attire than usual, but some lacked the robes that were more common. Reaching the market square revealed even more stalls than before, as well as many more people. Logan noticed several adventurers amongst the crowd, familiar faces during his travels. Three other familiar faces approached the trio. The gashriek, Wriske, was decorated in a very earthy dress. Browns and greens with depictions of leaves and flowers from neck to ankle. She wore a belt that had a few pressed flowers dangling from it too, giving off a wonderful scent as well as accenting the outfit wonderfully. Ev¨¦n was in an outfit that could have been a sister to Gaemo¡¯s. Light-red leather hugged her form under an open flowing pink robe with white triangular designs at the cuffs. This was made even more evident as she jogged to Gaemo¡¯s side. Amalia was the last, the wind blowing her long red hair in front of her as she brushed it aside with her hand. Wearing a ruffled dress of a subdued gold and flowery design, it went up to her wrists, and neck, and had a diagonal cut from her knee to the other ankle. Adorning her feet were ankle-hight boots of a darker gold. Some of her muscular form could be seen through the sleeves, but the dress did amazing work to address her femininity. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Logan could see Gaemo whisper something in Ev¨¦n¡¯s ear, the pair beaming at each other. Marcus complimented Wriske¡¯s dress shortly after, though doing nothing to hide his words. Logan stepped up to Amalia as he saw an expecting look on her face. ¡°That¡¯s a beautiful colour on you¡±, Logan coupled together. ¡°Your outfit is a nice fit too¡±, Amalia responded as she pulled slightly on Logan¡¯s robe sleeve. It was calming to no longer have the window pop up to alert the two that a PC was looking at them, having adjusted that setting, their conversations and meetings felt much more inviting. Gaemo clapped his hands to get the group''s attention before addressing them, ¡°Let¡¯s browse the stalls and get something to eat. The dance segment begins in two hours¡±, he said with a wide smile. Accepting the prompt to move, the six classed individuals moved through the pathways connecting to the market square. Checking out fashionable clothing, the group bought a few accessories to adorn themselves at the event and times of calm in the city. Next were potion stalls selling magical brews for recreation, sending the users to sleep, changing the colours of the world, heightening sounds, or putting them on a wondrous illusionary journey. The stalls thereafter were full of games and trial-use trinkets. Spending some extra time at a shooting gallery, the party were introduced to the game¡¯s rules by the gashriek owner. ¡°Two copper a go, five for three. The aim of the game is to hit each of the ten straw targets at the back using these Force rings. You can only fire eleven times per try.¡± Gaemo quickly placed a tiny tower of three silver on the counter, the runner handing out a set of six rings to the party, though he changed them out with each try. Starting off, Gaemo missed several of the straw targets as they began to move when the game started. His second try was a little better, and his third had him miss only two. He was using an open palm style to attack with the mick he didn¡¯t usually have access to. Ev¨¦n was next, and while she was more accurate, her hands shook with the use of magic. With her final round, she had missed a single target. Wriske¡¯s turn had her win in the final round with no shots to spare, the team giving a polite clap to her victory. She was given a small wooden tag with a symbol stamped onto it as a reward. They were similar to prize tickets found in Earth¡¯s arcades. Marcus followed shortly, leveraging his right arm with his left hand as if he were using a wrist crossbow. He succeeded in the second round on the final shot. He was rewarded a wooden tag with a different symbol, denoting it as a better reward. Amalia couldn¡¯t hold back any longer and skipped to the counter with her hands close to her chest. Throwing her right hand out as if she were playing air hockey, she let loose disc-like grey energy waves at the targets. Flatter but wider, they hit a slightly bigger area. However, these seemed to lack the ¡°power¡± of a normal Force mick, sometimes failing to knock down the targets even after hitting them. She sadly didn¡¯t win any round. Logan was last, slipping the ring on his finger he felt the paltry power within it skyrocket with his own. He could tell the mick ring was rather weak, dealing only two damage, but had eleven uses within it per day. In his hand, however, it would deal twenty-four damage without his normal trinkets. Closing his fist and leaving only his pointer finger, Logan mentally changed his output to just five. Aiming at each of the moving straw targets was similar to striking goblins, if a bit smaller than normal. Firing a small Force mick at each, he hit them down with fervour, straw flying off with each blast. Without any consideration for failure, Logan won in the first round with a shot to spare. The group clapped a bit louder with slight gasps and laughter. The runner of the game was even surprised. ¡°Well done, sir! Would you like to double up for the harder version?¡± the gashriek asked. Logan nodded, to which the stall owner pulled a different lever to reveal faster targets which intersected every so often. ¡°Alright, with this ring, you have to hit ten targets with ten shots¡±, he said as he handed out a different ring. This one was slightly stronger, but as the man said it only had ten charges. Swapping the rings, Logan lined up his shots again. Logan quickly caught on to the design of this game. The higher power was meant to allow for piercing shots. When the targets intersected, or rather a second before they did, Logan fired a Force mick and slammed down two targets at once. He did this a few times and even ended on a single shot and then a triple shot. Using only five of ten uses of the ring. The party let out whistles and cheers at Logan¡¯s proficiency, while the game runner had his jaw drop. Sorting through some wooden tags he handed three to Logan, ¡°Here you go, sir. You¡¯re the best so far, though to be expected of a mage.¡± Looking at the tags, Logan saw he had actually tripled his max reward, each shot he saved garnering more points than usual. ¡°Thank you all for playing! If you¡¯re interested in these rings then make sure to stop by my store after the festival¡±, the gashriek added as he handed out small scraps of parchment to advertise his store. Amalia took it with gusto, scanning over it quickly. While she used magical means to craft weapons, she still wanted to cast spells. Moving away from the game stall, Gaemo spoke to Logan, ¡°Great work there, Logan. Don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be the best at all these games though!¡± This was certainly true, the next game proved that. A knife toss that had targets moving side to side, on circular boards, and hidden behind obstacles. As Logan went first he missed a few but did better than anticipated. Gaemo did a bit better but wasn¡¯t able to win. The same was apparent for Marcus and Amalia who hardly threw anything in their time as adventurers. Wriske did better than the worst two, but she hardly threw daggers either. It came to Ev¨¦n who did the best. Throwing the daggers with precision, hitting them off of each other in the air to hit hidden targets, and even bouncing the handle off a wall to rebound into a target. The bonus round was full of curved and circular dagger designs, some being straight-up chakrams. As they spun and curved in the air, Ev¨¦n had only a bit of trouble having them hit the harder targets. With enough games completed and tags filling their pockets, the gang picked up some treats from other stalls. Fruit that had been cut into jagged star shapes covered in honey that had hardened. Snapping off parts of the stars in their mouths, they crunched down as they browsed other stalls. Lights continued to dazzle the area above the festival, speckles of dust coming down to street level before disappearing completely. The sounds of lutes, drums, and wind instruments began to play around the market and down the paths. Several musicians took up spots on the corners, or atop podiums to liven up the event as people started to clap and tap their shoes against the stone road. This sparked the group, and many others, to form duos and trios to join in with the dancing festivities. --- *** --- Time for relaxation. Chapter 128 - Lights in the Sky Gaemo took the hand of Ev¨¦n as he walked towards an open spot in the square, the two starting a very close dance with each other. Since Gaemo was a resident of Gauntlet for over a year he was already accustomed to the dances of the area, with Ev¨¦n travelling here in the past she caught up quickly. Wriske approached another gashriek who was standing on the side of the street, alone without a partner. He nodded to the Devout who approached him, Wriske taking the man¡¯s hand and beginning to dance in a different style, but similar to the other gashrieks visible on the street. Marcus was approached by another Devout, one seemingly following the same faith as him, wearing the attire of yellows and blues. Marcus smiled as he listened to the man¡¯s words as they also parted to dance nearer the centre of the street. Logan turned to Amalia and made a somewhat teasing bow, reminiscent of both their time on Earth and what was depicted in old medieval shows. Amalia chuckled and did a similarly jokey curtsy. With an outstretched hand, Logan had Amalia grab it shortly as he directed her to dance. With enough reading beforehand, Logan knew the common steps in the dance while Amalia seemingly had some instructions from Ev¨¦n. It wasn¡¯t too alien to normal Earth dancing anyway. Placing the backs of their right hands together, the pair circled one another, lunging with their right leg, pulling back, and then passing each other before spinning around to have the backs of their left hands touch. Making motions of butterflies with their hands, they intertwined into holding each other''s hands, spinning with minor footwork. Amalia was moving too close to another pair of dancers to which Logan pulled her closer to avoid a collision, before pushing apart to make room for another section of the dance. Amalia smiled as she spoke, ¡°Weren¡¯t you here only three months?¡± ¡°I was quite studious, no need to worry¡±, Logan replied, knowing it was a hidden compliment on his dance. ¡°Glad I asked for a teacher for this then¡±, Amalia admitted as she twirled in Logan¡¯s hand. ¡°Like many other things, I like to be prepared at least. The rest is training.¡± ¡°Starting is easy. Persistence is an art.¡± ¡°Not heard that one before¡±, Logan smiled. ¡°I hear less and less from my home, here.¡± ¡°As do I. I had to change how I spoke, or catch myself saying words people wouldn¡¯t understand.¡± ¡°Fantasy comes here to thrive, yet roots die.¡± Twirling around, the pair got closer as the dance slowed down, ¡°Have you been missing home?¡± Logan asked with a sincere face. ¡°A bit. This place was so stark in its difference. But, I like what it holds for me¡±, Amalia mentioned as she held tighter onto Logan¡¯s arm as they spun again, ¡°Do you still want to go home?¡± ¡°Avanar certainly has a home for me to make. But the last part of mine back ¡®there¡¯ needs help.¡± ¡°If only you could take a trip there and back. Could you solve all your loose ends if so?¡± Logan thought for a second, ¡°I don¡¯t even know if there is a return trip I could plan. But I have something in mind for the next opportunity.¡± ¡°With all this world¡¯s magic, there is bound to be something to heal anything.¡± ¡°How¡¯s your magic journey going anyway?¡± ¡°It comes down to funding and chance, really. The spell rings entice me, but I can only get so many¡±, Amalia started as she smirked, ¡°How about we trade classes?¡± Logan let out a short laugh, ¡°I¡¯ll just talk with Vokka, collect call.¡± ¡°How many ways have you attempted?¡± Amalia asked seriously. Logan sighed a little, ¡°A few, though not with as much effort as I could give.¡± ¡°Through failure, one becomes smart.¡± ¡°Really getting into the medieval mood, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I used to read old fantasy books, this place is quite charming, but barely holds a candle to those idealized worlds.¡± ¡°Well, I suppose it¡¯ll be better late than never if I do get to contact Vokka.¡± ¡°There¡¯s one new saying we could use from here, it¡¯s quite fitting I think¡±, Amalia started. ¡°Already heard a few, like ¡®I don¡¯t know you from Wallace¡¯.¡± ¡°I read in a book whilst learning about smithery. ¡®Impossibility is not possible¡¯. Avanarians believe that a turtle can fly just as much as a bird can swim.¡± ¡°There is that demonturtle. Maybe that can actually fly¡±, Logan replied with a laugh. ¡°Plenty of birds dive to catch fish and pop right back out of the water too¡±, Amalia returned. ¡°Since portals exist, I am certain communication to other realms also exists.¡± ¡°I completed a third quest, just the other day. If¡­¡±, Amalia started, but had a pause, ¡°If a portal is awarded to me. Do you want it?¡± Logan thought about the offer for a few seconds, though it felt much longer than that. ¡°Do you truly have no wish to go back?¡± ¡°This place has its faults, and while it might sound a bit selfish, none of them are aimed solely at me. It¡¯s more accommodating.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a straight answer.¡± Amalia sighed, ¡°If I had the choice, I¡¯d probably stay. If I was forced to leave, I¡¯d be upset for a bit, but it¡¯d pass.¡± Logan ruminated again, ¡°If that¡¯s the case¡ª¡± A louder explosion was followed by several smaller ones in the night sky, as a finale-style flourish coloured the festival wonderfully. Sparkles in arrays of deific symbols slowly fluttered down before being replaced with others. The crowd ¡°oo¡¯ed¡± and ¡°ah¡¯ed¡± at the sight. Logan and Amalia separated their dance to look towards the show, as did many other dancers as the caper came to a conclusion. At the edge of his vision, Logan could see Ev¨¦n and Gaemo focusing on each other¡¯s faces during the display rather than watching, making him a bit uncomfortable. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Turning around, the Spellthief walked to a nearby bench and sat down, slouching slightly on it as he stared up at the lights. Amalia followed shortly after and sat beside the man lost in thought and admiring the scenery. ¡°If this is a yearly event, I¡¯ll have to sort out more dresses¡±, Amalia mentioned with a chuckle. ¡°Wonder if I will be in the next congress meeting¡±, Logan thought aloud. ¡°Do you have many more ideas for changes?¡± Logan sat up, ¡°A few, but that¡¯s a whole year away. Who knows if I will still be around.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a problem for future you to deal with.¡± Logan placed his elbows on his legs and held up his chin with the backs of his hands. ¡°Yes.¡± Amalia looked at Logan, it was a weird reply to her sentence. ¡°I¡¯ll take it¡±, Logan added. Amalia understood, before she could reply though Wriske approached them, ¡°We¡¯re going to go get some drinks, you two coming?¡± Logan stood up and put on a smile, ¡°I¡¯ve been smelling it in the air. We going far?¡± Wriske moved around the bench and pulled Amalia up by the hand, ¡°A minute or two away, it¡¯s open air so you might be smelling that.¡± Being led away, Wriske tapped Ev¨¦n on the shoulder as they approached, causing her to let go of Gaemo¡¯s face and turn to her. ¡°Plenty of time for that later, we¡¯re going for drinks if you want to sate your thirst that much¡±, Wriske announced with a teasing smile to which Gaemo looked away. Looking around, Logan didn¡¯t see Marcus any longer, but then he assumed he went off somewhere to do more of what Ev¨¦n and Gaemo were doing. Before leaving the main part of the festival, the group went to hand in their tags for prizes. Sweets, souvenirs, mementoes, and even adventuring gear were on offer for people to exchange. They spent a few minutes looking over things before settling on rewards for each other, Logan keeping his a secret till later. Logan, Amalia, Wriske, Ev¨¦n, and Gaemo all headed off down another street as the music became a bit less prominent. Finding a rather large open-side bar with tables and stools set up. A staircase on the side of the building led to a rooftop seating area, which the party rushed towards. After finding a table, the group bought up some drinks and snacks. Each table had a miniature Flame elemental dancing within its centre, giving off a bit of heat and lighting the tables with a wavey design. Midnight had passed during the dance, the friends drinking for a good hour or two thereafter and chatting about recent events and future plans. Amalia was asked if she was going to be a hunter, Gaemo if he was going to share a private room at the inn, and Logan if he was still researching teleportation magic. A few other faces passed by, both finding tables at the establishment or walking across the streets, that greeted different parts of the group with glee. Most of those who greeted Logan were merchants or downtrodden, their faces much lighter than when the Spellthief had first met them. Continuing to see happy smiles paint those who were sad in the past caused Logan to feel content with his work. He was a valued member of the city, and a friend to many a person who he didn¡¯t think he would engage with. It would be hard not to be nice to a man who saved your caravan or your life. Gaemo, Ev¨¦n, and Wriske had similar acquaintances who sang their praises on seeing them. Clasping of arms, pats on the shoulders, and free drinks poured into tankards. Almost anyone who knew them, knew them in bright lights.
With the festival going on into the early hours of the day, around 3am the group started to part the festivities and return to the Meek Moat Inn. Full of alcohol, treats, and glee, the party returned with happy faces. The streets had calmed down as time had gone on, music being mostly ended alongside others having returned home. As this was a yearly event, most people knew they weren¡¯t going to sleep too early, being situated in the market square did help to confine the sounds and smells though. Entering the inn, most of the group went straight to bed. Yetveka had left a piece of parchment on the counter to let the party know of her absence, having faith that no one would be stupid enough to steal from a home of hunters. Amalia and Logan had previous experience in drinking, at least in a different way than what was experienced on Avanar. As such, they both had a tankard of water each before heading up to their own rooms. Stopping at Logan¡¯s door, as it was closer to the stairs, Logan turned to Amalia and handed her a small box, ¡°Sorry if my mind was elsewhere today. Had a lot going on.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, I brought up some deep topics¡±, Amalia replied as she looked at the box, ¡°Get something from one of the stalls for me?¡± ¡°None of the tag rewards piqued my interest¡±, Logan lied. Amalia smiled, ¡°Well, thank you anyway. We¡¯ll have to dance again sometime. I am sure you want more breaks from hunting contracts.¡± ¡°That¡¯d be nice¡±, Logan revealed as he turned the handle of his door. Amalia pecked the Spellthief on the cheek before she left for her own room. Opening up the small box revealed one of the Force mick rings that the group had used at the game stall. Amalia let out a small sigh with a smile as she slipped it on and gained access to a small handful of magic. Setting an alarm for the morning, Logan closed his eyes to get around six hours of sleep. Tomorrow, it was vampire time.
Logan arose from a somewhat shorter sleep than usual, though later in the day as it was closer to 9am. He had a meeting with the vampire, Quayvan, at the Gerro Guardhouse for the hunt that offered fifty gold for its completion. Along with the money, spellcasting demon-kin were on the opposition, giving the Spellthief a chance to improve his skills and spells. Heading downstairs, Logan only saw the barkeep, Yetveka. ¡°Everyone sleeping in it seems¡±, Logan mentioned as he sat down to some breakfast. ¡°Most people do after the festival. You¡¯re up kinda early though. Work?¡± Yetveka replied as she made a bowl for Logan. ¡°Yup. Taking on what Wriske had issues with.¡± ¡°My prayers will go with you on that journey then.¡±
After finishing his food, Logan left the inn without a sign of anyone else. With a sauntering walk to the guardhouse, the Spellthief kept his spells close to his chest for the trip that was awaiting him after the meeting. Something that gave the Spellthief pause was that of a larger movement of adventurers on horseback or via carriage. Without using additional abilities or prying deeper, it was at least fifty people. Looking over the carriages, Logan saw they were carrying the Lightbeam guild marking, that of a radiant light hitting a sword. He hadn¡¯t heard anything about such a large movement, nor something that would take the entire guild. Grabbing the attention of Patavava, the gashriek with the triangular wrist gauntlets of short staves, Logan asked the man a question, ¡°What¡¯s with the big group?¡± ¡°Logan, long time¡±, the gashriek replied as he pulled over his horse, ¡°We¡¯re cooperating with three other guilds on a massive raid to the north. Apparently, Helm isn¡¯t engaging with the expansion of a mobile dungeon.¡± Mobile dungeons had been mentioned in the past, Logan hearing of Lightbeam going to take care of some in the past. One was even a forest that was held within an almost invisible moving dome. Some were just incredibly difficult to spot, while others were gateways into other dimensions with bleed-out points. A mobile dungeon was almost as dangerous as erupted dungeons, the outcome that people feared was awaiting them after Logan had destroyed the Ice King¡¯s throne. The spellforce that would create new monsters within the confines of an interior would be let free to explore and endanger a wider area. Almost all mobile, and erupted, dungeons were spellforced, of course, meaning they weren¡¯t made by creatures or with a particular intent. It was hard to track their creation and movements, but with enough seers on hand, they could be found and once they were it was much easier to follow along with their movements. ¡°I¡¯ve been hearing a bit about Helm recently¡±, Logan recollected. ¡°Gauntlet tends to butt heads with Helm. The peace we¡¯re holding might not last forever¡­ either way. This is guild business. Did you have something to talk to one of our members about?¡± ¡°Nothing urgent, it can wait till you¡¯re all back.¡± Patavava replied almost instantly as if to not forget what they were thinking, ¡°We¡¯ll be gone over a month.¡± ¡°What of the Ice King?¡± Patavava let out a small smirk, ¡°If he is still coming. We¡¯ll try to be back for then, but other places need us. Some of the Bisectors are staying behind, they will be more than enough for the Ice King.¡± The Bisectors were a guild that Logan had been told about before, they had a 50% tax placed on their members, as opposed to Lightbeam¡¯s 20%. However, Bisectors held within it many level 30s and above. ¡°Alright, well, good luck with the raid¡±, Logan wished as he took a step away from the gashriek. ¡°And to you, with your duties here¡±, Patavava replied as he spun his horse back to the caravan and rejoined them. Without Lightbeam in Gauntlet, Logan just lost a good portion of his aid in the city. The Spellthief only hoped he wouldn¡¯t need their aid any time soon. --- *** --- Time for relaxation. Chapter 129 - Let Them In Entering the main room of the Gerro Guardhouse, Logan saw Jirango sitting at the desk writing away as usual. The half-hand tilted his head towards the entering Spellthief as if someone else was here. Standing by the desk was a 6¡¯1¡± man in his late 20s, his body mostly hidden underneath a brown cloak though his head was visible as his hood drooped at his back. Piercing blue eyes that sent a chill through Logan¡¯s body were hugged by black sclera, the sign of a vampire. The handles and hilts of machete, daggers, and shortswords were just barely visible in the gaps of his cloak, as well as his combat boots and adventurer¡¯s leather trousers. The man¡¯s hair was styled upwards and to his left, obviously taking pride in his appearance with the use of wax, stark white, either he went grey early or he was far beyond 20. Opening his mouth to speak, Logan could see the man kept his teeth pristine. Pearly whites with daggered fangs had honeyed words escape to the Spellthief, ¡°You must be the one highly recommended to me. I am Quayvan.¡± Logan could see fang marks on the right side of Quayvan¡¯s neck. Had he never regenerated them? Logan approached the pair and greeted them, ¡°Good morning, Jirango¡±, he started before turning to the vampire and holding out a hand, ¡°Yes, I am Logan. Nice to meet you, Quayvan.¡± Quayvan took the hand and shook it with a strong grip, ¡°Pleasures are shared between us, cousin-kin.¡± Logan looked at Jirango before realising that most vampires thus far could tell Logan was a demon of some state, and since he lacked the black sclera of vampires it was obvious he wasn¡¯t one. It was still a mystery how much they could detect, as Logan was only in the first stage of demonhood. Quayvan continued as he let go of the handshake, ¡°I apologise for the secrecy surrounding this hunt, but I assure you the information is closely guarded.¡± ¡°That is fine. I understand the need for privacy. Were you the same one to meet Wriske?¡± ¡°Yes. My apologies are extended secondly for her current condition. However, her failure has paved the path to your victory¡±, Quayvan spoke as he smiled, ¡°and your coin pouch becoming heavier.¡± ¡°She is getting better, thankfully. About that meeting¡­¡± ¡°We can discuss in an adjoining room to this¡±, Quayvan replied as he looked towards Jirango, ¡°If you will excuse us.¡± Jirango waved the pair off as they went through a door that left them in a rather small room with a table and four chairs. Quayvan pushed away his cloak as he sat down, Logan spying on more weapons under the cover, as well as pouches that protected vials. The vampire then pulled out a booklet and slid it towards Logan. ¡°Before we discuss anything, I must request that you swear upon this book, that nothing we speak of will leave this room. It is the tome of Asbella and Pondress.¡± Logan saw no reason not to, placing a hand on the booklet he swore his silence. ¡°Thank you¡±, Quayvan started as he took the booklet back, ¡°What we are going to confabulate is a guarded secret, but as a cousin-kin, I feel we are fine to talk about it.¡± ¡°And Wriske?¡± Logan wondered. ¡°Devout are rather close with vampire kind, I believe her words are locked¡±, Quayvan admitted, ¡°To start, I need to grant you some history surrounding vampires. You need to know the severity of the situation and the sovereignty of those involved.¡± ¡°If it is so serious, why do you not have the stronger vampires involved? I am sure amongst the higher-ups they could handle it, right?¡± Logan queried. ¡°While the strongest of us could handle this, covens are commonly insular when it comes to these sorts of situations. Weakness is also morphed into another¡¯s dominance.¡± ¡°Very well. Your contract doesn¡¯t say which coven this relates to, nor anyone in particular. You want to be secretive to all. I understand.¡± Quayvan nodded in thanks, ¡°As you are cousin-kin, you are not part of any coven. Correct?¡± ¡°Correct. I am not linked to vampires at all, aside from work.¡± ¡°You are one of many who have taken steps into demonhood without taking the vampire approach. Just to cover all bases, you are not part of a nest either?¡± Nests were an offshoot term of covens. Coven covered a group or clan of vampires, while nests related to the youngest members, newly converted, or those born from vampires. ¡°I am not.¡± ¡°Then this will be all news to your ears. To start, I shall tell you how vampires began.¡± Logan¡¯s interest was piqued, he had only heard offhand comments or speculation as to the origin of vampires in this world, but a first-hand recollection would be useful.
¡°Long ago, some two thousand years in the past, there was a village whose original name and location has been lost to time. We refer to it as Dracon, the home of vampires. It was a small settlement of one hundred members. In those times it was rare to find large cities like Gauntlet, so many smaller gatherings were commonplace and the norm. Dracon was a close-knit family of farmers, crafters, and game hunters. It is believed that none in the village had a class. However, they were ¡®gifted¡¯ something that was new to the world. One morning, exactly half of the village awoke with the sclera of their eyes blackened. Whilst first thought of as a disease, they were cordoned off in the village hall. Fifty-packed people did not make for a homely atmosphere. Medicine people entered the hall to diagnose the individuals, but found no issues with them aside from the ocular abnormalities. As they were taken to the hall in the early morning, as many woke for farm work, they had not experienced sunlight. When the doctors said they were fine and were allowed to leave, the sunlight burnt their skin and almost killed a few of the new vampires. This symptom was quickly identified, and deduced to be a widespread part of the black-eye disease. For their safety, the fifty were kept in the hall till nighttime. With only the moonlight to shine on them, the vampires were fine to walk the nightly streets. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Days passed as the vampires had to be locked up and looked after by the doctors. The next symptom was that of being unable to gain satiety from food or water. They admitted a thirst for blood and flesh. Experimentations on animals and people continued for the next few days, revealing that only blood could feed the vampires. The next part is where historians are fuzzy if they know of this at all. Some believe the mortals were dominated or forced to grant their blood, while the real outcome was that they happily offered themselves. The vampires gave in return their new power. Strength and speed beyond imagining, and deduction capabilities far beyond the mortals. This was far above what normal vampires had, the progenitor fifty were the strongest. Thus the first bleeder dens were made, and the vampires expanded beyond Dracon. Classes were eventually discovered, and the mixing of the two led to our present situation. However, discussions were held with the deities at some point, and it was revealed this was meant to be a curse. Asbella wished to plague the lands with something that would cause us to evolve and adapt, gaining the power to take down the vampire menace. However, all she wanted was the negatives, alongside the hunger to feed on mortals. An immortal cannibal. Pondress saw to challenge Asbella, though. As the Protectress of Civilized Folk, she designed the benefits of the vampire affliction. In combat of what it would take from us, she allowed us to be better in other ways. Asbella bet that the mortals would see vampires as monsters, and kill them on sight. Pondress saw the good in people and held strong that we¡¯d work together. Pondress was correct, and we are now leaders of the world. Our lifespan allows us to create long-lived businesses and pacts. Even though the first village was a fifty-fifty split, vampires comprise only 10% of the current population. Only twenty-three of the progenitors still live to this day. Their hegemony is undeniable, though they are not invincible. They are sunkissed yet reclusive. Many want to take their blood for its power, while the AV Club want their heads to be severed in hopes it would kill their offspring. This belief is false, however. Killing a ¡®head vampire¡¯ does nothing to those they have turned. Though we see the progenitors as parents. Nests do not know of them, and the AV Club keeps the secret close to their chests in the hopes that common folk don¡¯t flock to keep them safe.¡±
Quayvan took in a deep breath before continuing, ¡°Do you have any questions about anything I have stated thus far?¡± ¡°If the progenitors of Dracon are still around, how do you not know the specific place or time?¡± ¡°While they were there, they don¡¯t often recount all of the information to us. Diluted data feeds down to those who aren¡¯t adjacent to the progenitors. In addition, the location of Dracon or the exact date might not have even been documented back then. It is also a possibility that the progenitors are protecting their homeland.¡± ¡°If vampires get stronger with age, it must take an army to take down the progenitors. How have so many died?¡± ¡°Some died a few decades after they were made, seeing their power as insurmountable at times. Others, indeed, had massive forces to take them down. There is one more means to do so, which I will discuss in a bit.¡± ¡°What sort of power does progenitor blood grant?¡± Logan asked to end his investigation. Quayvan smirked before replying, ¡°The most prominent one, is that it can be used as a component in demonhood advancement potions. I will make it known that this is not intimated to anyone outside of the higher echelon.¡± With the amount of information Quayvan had on hand, Logan could easily tell that the vampire in front of him had to be a part of said higher echelon. There must have been more reasons than stated that someone outside of such was being told about all this though. ¡°Continue.¡± Quayvan pulled out a piece of parchment and handed it to Logan. Unfurled, it had a diagram of a crossbow bolt, several pointers, descriptions, and depictions of materials showing how it was made. ¡°This is a Sunsilt Bolt. The tip is a composition of hallowed silver and liquid sunlight. While the former is rather easy, in comparison, to acquire it is quite expensive. A single bolt tip is worth a platinum coin. Hallowed silver is devastating to vampires and the undead. However, the liquid sunlight¡­ is worse. Liquid sunlight is an incredibly rare substance. It is gathered via portals that connect our world to that of the sun and condenses the material of the star into a droplet. You need at least a dozen magi of immense power to create said portal, and it takes months to do. After which, there¡¯s a good chance all involved will die when it is taken. Outside of that, morphing a piece of the star into a droplet is an almost lost art. Lost, as many who make it, again, die. Combining this with the silver, it hardens after a few weeks to the point it has been cast into a bolt.¡± Logan listened intently to the description whilst he referred to the parchment. Quayvan continued, ¡°While hallowed silver can pierce many of a vampire¡¯s powers, it has faults. Combing it with liquid sunlight makes it almost peerless. A Sunsilt Bolt can kill almost any vampire, including a progenitor.¡± ¡°When you said ¡®sunkissed¡¯ earlier, you meant that the progenitors can walk in the sunlight without issue, right?¡± ¡°Yes. However, interior attacks are much more potent¡±, Quayvan replied as he pointed to his chest, ¡±The sun in your palm is more intense than it is in the sky¡±, he ended with an open palm. ¡°So, with a platinum for the silver bolt, the liquid sunlight would be far more expensive. I doubt lives can be bought so easily.¡± ¡°The AV Club has many members who would die for their cause. The production of Sunsilt Bolts has only come to our knowledge in the past year. This most recent case is the third.¡± Logan raised an eyebrow as Quayvan put emphasis on his last words. ¡°We require a hunter to track down the manufacturing of these bolts, destroy any they find and any notes to the creation of such devices. As well as apprehend or kill all involved. This comes after a progenitor was killed with a bolt some weeks ago.¡± Logan spent a few seconds collecting his thoughts. ¡°You don¡¯t want the other vampires finding out a progenitor has died¡±, he deduced. ¡°Your summation is true.¡± ¡°You also don¡¯t want ¡®anyone¡¯ finding out about the Sunsilt Bolts.¡± ¡°Repeated success of deductions¡±, Quayvan relinquished. ¡°I take it you also fear they may have more of these bolts if you say I need to destroy them. Since I am not a vampire, their power is vastly reduced?¡± ¡°Yes. Silver would do little to a mortal, and while liquid sunlight is a strong component, its fire and light are quite diminished against non-vampires. It will still hurt, though¡±, Quayvan replied with confidence. Logan ruminated over the information. It made more sense why a hunter was preferable to this task now. None he knew of were vampires. Any vampire sent on this task would also find a lot of aversion to the tools of the enemy. ¡°As was changed, the contract is offering fifty gold. You may also keep any equipment not relating to the bolts for yourself. I estimate a healthy double income from that.¡± Logan looked over the parchment before looking at Quayvan, ¡°How do I destroy a Sunsilt Bolt?¡± ¡°We have a concoction that can do so¡±, Quayvan answered as he pulled out a small box, big enough to fit the head of a bolt. Putting on a glove, the vampire opened it to reveal a greenish-black liquid, next he pulled out a silvery bolt with his full attention on it. ¡°Place any silver in this, and it will be pulled apart¡±, he explained as he put the bolt tip into the box. Leaning over the table, Logan saw the bolt almost eaten away by the liquid, falling into several pieces within the box. ¡°That makes things easier.¡± Quayvan pulled out five other boxes, ¡°When used with a Sunsilt Bolt, the container will explode after a few seconds. Hence, they are all one-time use for the objective. If there are more, bring them back and we will dispose of them.¡± ¡°I believe I understand everything so far. You have the location of a manufacturer?¡± ¡°Wriske tracked down some of the members to a cave, alongside many corpses of vampires. You can start there, but we are highly confident the members have moved on. This whole hunt might take weeks if you¡¯ve the time now to sort it.¡± ¡°Has Jirango told you I am a teleportation expert?¡± Quayvan nodded, ¡°Of course. And that your divination powers are quite apt too. Though these individuals are using magics to hide themselves.¡± ¡°Tell me about the types of foes I¡¯ll be facing¡­¡± --- *** --- Chapter 130 - Hunt the Sunsilt. Part 1 With all the information now safely stored in Logan¡¯s head, he took a quick trip back to the inn to inform his friends that he¡¯d be out of town for quite some time. The Spellthief also picked up his elementals from the G-Hall after getting his payment for their services alongside notches on his signet for aiding in the quest completions. Another stop was to Ahren¡¯s apothecary, picking up salves and potions to combat curses dealt by the particular demons that the AV Club were employing in their hunt for the vampires. Quayvan was able to hand a few vials to the Spellthief, but more couldn¡¯t hurt, especially if the mission was going to take longer than usual. Logan didn¡¯t want to lose, or falter during the quest. As when his discussion with Quayvan came to a close, and Logan was about to accept it, a new system quest popped up. A quest with four additional objectives hadn¡¯t shown itself since the beginner one. What were the factors that led to this? Whatever they were, each one was a stepping stone to legendary tier items. Those would solidify Logan¡¯s power within his level. With demonhood being a reward, each objective could possibly also grant him more stages. However, since he had a 0.5 progression in some attributes, it could also mean that several needed to be completed to gain a stage. One of the last visits was to an alleyway that the Spellthief had frequented whenever he had the homeless in his employ do work for him. Most were classless, or only level 1, so they couldn¡¯t do much. But most people ignored them, or didn¡¯t remember them in passing. They were great scouts and gatherers of both information and items. ¡°Lord Logan!¡± one of the men beamed as he jogged to Logan. ¡°I have a new task for you all. I am going to be out of town for some time. I need you to look into harpies for me. Location, numbers, weaknesses¡±, Logan instructed as he placed several lockboxes on a repaired table. The others gathered around the boxes with the light reflecting in their eyes. ¡°Use this while I am gone¡±, Logan continued as he opened up each one. In total, there was a thousand copper in the boxes, equating to one gold. ¡°Thank you, sir!¡± one of them praised. ¡°We¡¯ll find out all we can!¡± another admitted. The group conversed for a few minutes more before Logan left for the town gates, climbing the battlements to get a good view of the horizon. The guards were fine with it by now, as they knew the Spellthief well enough by this point. With a good spot in the distance viewed via his eagle¡¯s eyeglass, he used Dimensional Jaunt.
Descending into a treeline, Logan summoned up his elementals to do the usual absorbing trick he had used so many times thus far. However, with all their recent training and improvements, Logan was able to get just a little more MP from them. With a new total of 32 MP, Logan had plenty of room for activities. With Echo Radar, the Spellthief quickly found a nearby monster to test out the range his quest allowed him to. Dropping onto an unsuspecting brown wolf, Logan killed it with a single Backstab to the top of the head. Just as Logan was expecting, this wolf had nothing to do with the quest so it granted no progression to any of the additional objectives. But to not let it go to waste, Logan harvested it like usual.
Moving around the local area, Logan inspected his larger map. He was within a not-so-cramped forest with smatterings of old civilisations. Raised or lowered parts of the ground with reminiscent wood and stonework. Inspecting the remains revealed they had nothing to do with his current quest, and they had even shown age before any mention of the AV Club started. The red circle that showed the location he was meant to go to continued to shrink as he entered it and walked around. Monsters and wildlife still prowled around as if they were undisturbed. Or, they had now made a new norm for the area. They weren¡¯t especially common, so recent numbers could have dwindled. With as much circling as Logan did, the red area slowed to a crawl in its shrinkage. First, he sent his elementals off in different directions to gather information, second, he climbed atop the trees again to get a better view of the area.
Hours went by before they came across new leads, Celsius beaming with joy as he returned with good news. ¡°Miscreants ahead, Logan!¡± the cheerful Flame elemental informed. Footsteps and wheel marks. They weren¡¯t amazing on their own, but this place wasn¡¯t too well travelled. With the use of Tracking, Logan was able to follow them to the remains of a stone building. While inside he activated the new set of eyes granted to him via Vaskt Vision to get a better look at the interior. ¡°Identify.¡± His eyes burst open, flicks of blood fluttering away from the lower set of red-sclera eyes. Information flooded Logan¡¯s brain, but it was a smooth process, it was normal. Normal detail and finite, Logan was able to investigate objects with pristine sight. Logan also swore he saw colours more vividly. He didn¡¯t know if he previously had any deterioration in his eyes or colour blindness for that matter, but it seemed when his normal eyes were ¡°eaten¡± they were improved to peak performance. Spying the room, Logan eventually spotted scratch marks across a wooden floor. They were more distinct and direct than the others. Pushing on a panel, and sliding it up, Logan found several boards could be moved. A hinge on the inside had them swing and hit the floor, keeping them open. A stone staircase led into the earth, backing up the information granted by Wriske and Quayvan. Dark sconces teased the existence of light down below, causing Logan to consider summoning his Light Ally. If he wanted to be stealthy, that would not be the way to go about it. Instead, Logan pulled out four oval pieces of glass and placed them over his eyelids. They quickly melted and left a waxy coating over his eyes. Logan found out about these during his time with Gaemo and Sincollo when they went to save Ev¨¦n. They were a bit expensive, but with how much money Logan had, they were a pittance. With open eyes, Logan saw into the dark underground with ease. The steps thereafter were similarly easy. Seeing the interior being cramped, Logan commanded his elementals to guard the exit, allowing him a quick retreat if needed.
A few minutes passed before Logan was able to reach the bottom of the staircase. Whatever this place was, it was well hidden and dug in. Stone walls carried on into twists and turns, carved out with pickaxe and lacking design. Clicking his fingers, Logan had no dots design his mini-map. This was both good and bad. Moving to the first intersection, Logan had his top pair of eyes look left, and his bottom pair look to the right. His vision blurred slightly, but nothing that would hinder him, as he looked both ways before crossing the street. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Moving both his eyes to work together in a forward direction, Logan found he had perfect vision at a 220¡ã angle, his bottom eyes being closer to his ears getting a better view of his sides. No sign of critters, cutpurses, or curses. ¡°Where could¡ª¡± Logan began to think. Before his thought could be finished, however, he saw a small movement within the rock walls that surrounded him. Knowing ahead of time the dangers that lay in wait, Logan placed an open palm at the wall and chanted, ¡°Force¡±, shooting an orb of grey energies at his target. Making a fist crater in the wall, the section Logan hit began to move and crack off the surface. A lizard-like creation of rock landed on the floor, light-brown eyes staring at the caster as it hissed out. ¡°Identify.¡± ¡°Rock Golem (Lizard) - Golem. Level 15: 160/160 HP, 23/23 MP. A golem made of rock that is designed like a small lizard. These creations are made to protect areas by hiding within similar-looking areas and ambushing their target. Skills: Blend, Climb, Surface Stick, ¡ª. Spells: Gaia, Gaia 2, Heal, Heal 2, Infuse. Reduction: Damage 5. Resistance: Damage 25% (-B), Earth 100%, Water 25%, Wind 0%, all other elements 50%.¡± The lizard lashed out with a leaping attack, Logan dodged to the side with ease and chanted, ¡°Wind Shot¡±, causing a gust of air to form in his palm before it lashed out a whip at the lizard, cutting its side harshly. It was good he asked about the enemies ahead of time, knowing to prepare a Wind before his arrival. The spell did its full damage of 77 across the monster, it let out another hiss as it formed a pile of rock above its head. Logan held out a hand as he caught the spiralling shard of earth, ¡°Spell Absorb¡±, he commanded in his head as the spell swirled into him. ¡°Spell Absorption successful. Gaia charge stored. Gaia is already mastered¡±, a message played in Logan¡¯s head, it had been some time. The lizard jumped at Logan again, but the Spellthief made use of the new spell immediately with a wave of his hand over the floor, ¡°Gaia Wall¡±, causing a wall to emerge and shoot upwards, pinning the lizard to the ceiling. With an inability to move, Logan had an easy shot on the golem as he aimed at it and intoned, ¡°Wind Shot¡±, shooting a wall of wind that exploded the golem¡¯s head. The wall fell down in time, releasing the corpse of the golem. Logan had looked into these creatures before. They were another form of creation that magi had in their repertoire. Similar to elementals or undead, golems were an expensive yet more permanent and multiple arsenal. Picking apart the rock, Logan took out two coin-shaped cores of black metal, their sheen even present in a dark underground. These were the cores of a golem and were the only component worth taking, at 12 silver per. Most of the cost of these things came in the other ingredients to fuse with the cores and materials of said golem, not to say the amount of spellforce needed to make them. With enough time and money, a mage could have twenty golems at his back. But, once destroyed, they had to be made anew, another sink full of coins. Logan had wondered about how useful they¡¯d be, but combat-wise, they were easily countered by their opposite spell. There were stronger tiers of them though, that were resistant to lower-level spells. ¡°Just the one?¡± Logan pondered. It could have been a sentry to alert those deeper in, but who would still be here after a Devout had found the place and escaped? Continuing down the corridor, Logan spied two more pieces of the wall and ceiling that were trying to hide their real self. With them not noticing their reveal, they were unaware as Logan aimed at one and cast twice over, ¡°Wind Shot¡±, hurling two balls of air to hit another rock golem to the floor, finishing it off with a, ¡°Force¡±, mick. The second golem formed a larger pile of rock above itself before firing it at the Spellthief, Logan caught it as usual, ¡°Spell Absorb¡±, and had it swirl into his palm. ¡°Spell Absorption successful. Gaia 2 charge stored.¡± The golem did it again, and again, Logan absorbing the first, but having the third impale his hand towards his face as he halted its movement. "144/188 HP¡±, Logan saw on his status as blood coated his face. ¡°Spell Absorption successful, Spell Absorption failed. Gaia 2 charge stored, Gaia 2 has progressed to tier 2.¡± Logan ran forward, he couldn¡¯t hold too many charges and he would like to do something else with them. The golem seeing at least one spell worked fired two more salvos of rock at the Spellthief. Logan dodged one and caught the other, ¡°Spell Absorb¡±, he mentally commanded and was happy when it worked. Spinning around the golem, Logan placed a hand behind its neck and grappled it to the floor with another hand on its tail. The monster wiggled insanely, surging stress through Logan¡¯s arms as he chanted, ¡°Wind Grasp¡±, causing gusts to explode violently from within the golem, dealing a heightened 213 Backstab damage. Logan let out a sigh as he loosened his grip on the corpse. He wouldn¡¯t be able to do that too much, as he could feel the golem, while small, was stronger than he was physically. His lack of a trinket, or space for one, to improve his Strength was showing in that encounter. But there weren¡¯t any specifics to its attributes. There were going to be issues if there was a range of golems, as Logan could only prepare so many types of spells. When it came down to it, water extinguished fire, fire melted ice, ice froze wind, winds eroded earth, earth discharged lightning, while lightning coursed through water. There were some side-along weaknesses too, such as earth also being eaten and carved apart by water. Harvesting two more golems, Logan pocketed the cores and sat down. He had a good five-minute rest to Charge Transfer the three Gaia 2 spells into 4 MP. It was as if he hadn¡¯t cast any spells at this point, something that could happen several times over if he absorbed more spells. Speaking of which, that fight had improved his skill. Logan was quite unlucky to have the 90% for success fail him in one of his attempts at absorbing one of those Gaia 2 casts. There were only so many caster monsters he could train it against, however. That risky gamble came with added benefit though, as Logan calculated from his previous uses that the level of the spell affected how much mastery he gained. Drinking a potion to top himself up, Logan double-checked his quest objectives and expectantly saw none of them had made any progress. He would need to find something other than golem scouts to deal with, as he wouldn¡¯t be able to kill them stealthily or quickly. --- *** --- Chapter 131 - Hunt the Sunsilt. Part 2 Logan clicked his fingers as he continued to path his way through the hallways, outside of the three golems he had found thus far there hadn¡¯t been any issues for a few minutes. His Echo Radar pinged him with good news, twofold, when a part of his map showed a crack past the wall, alongside a new window popping up. Clicking his fingers again, the map detailed further than before as it stated. It was even able to find some rats beyond the hidden wall on his side. Investigating the nearby wall, Logan found a loose rock he was able to pick out, revealing a keyhole underneath. Taking out the kaevock, the tumbler-lock relic he had retrieved some time ago from Dena and had used to unlock things in the past, Logan placed it on the keyhole. The cylinders of the kaevock rotated before shaking slightly, a distinct click being heard from the keyhole as the wall started to shift to the left. ¡°The more I use this, the more it seems like some sort of ¡®skeleton key¡¯ of this world¡±, Logan thought to himself as he put the kaevock away. With the hidden door now being part of the wall beside it, Logan was able to enter a small storeroom. Wooden tables covered in glass vials and alembics, a full alchemist¡¯s setup. A nearby sconce was dead, and as far as Logan could tell, this place hadn¡¯t been used in some time. Glancing around before entering, the Spellthief spotted three traps near the entrance. The first was a bell trap on the floor, easily stepped over. The second were rings near the ceiling that had some form of magic attached to them. The third was a mundane crossbow on the far end of the storeroom, aimed at the hidden door. Taking out one of his knives, Logan cut both ends of the bell trap and placed the whole thing in his inventory with nary a sound. Hugging the walls allowed him to circumvent the magical circles, and a quick, ¡°Force¡±, mick at the crossbow destroyed it. Quite the design of defence, some mundane, some intricate. Logan could only surmise that the easy-to-see would put someone at ease and think the place poorly protected, only for their guard to be dropped for the stronger traps. Investigating the tables for anything of note, Logan sighed as it seemed the alchemy works were but dust at this point. A nearby hand-sized smelter had the smell of silver, but he couldn¡¯t find any notes. Imprints on the table clued Logan into there being books here before, but it had all been cleared. Checking the crossbow revealed it had a non-hallowed silver bolt ready to fire. While it was mostly designed to combat vampires, it was still a bolt, and would hurt anyone even if it was a weaker metal. Taking the bolt, Logan used Identification on it only to reveal it was not a Sunsilt Bolt. They would be far too expensive to put on a trap, wouldn¡¯t they? Since he was only asked to destroy the Sunsilt Bolts, Logan placed the silver bolt into his inventory for possible use later, or just as evidence. Just to make sure this was the only thing of import, Logan identified the whole room over a few minutes. Leaving the room, Logan waved an arm into it and chanted, ¡°Flame Wall¡±, filling it with fires all the way to the ceiling. If there was anything of use, it wouldn¡¯t be anymore.
Eventually, Logan came across another room in the mess of corridors. A dome-like construction that was full of beds and cabinets. Before he could fully explore the bedroom, however, he pulled up a dagger to his face to block a spit of black. As the ooze coated his blade he tossed it away as the liquid ran across it and ate away the item, a curse attack that would be dangerous if it reached his hand. Scanning around, Logan saw a four-legged bat-dog hybrid, its pointed ears at attention as long red eyes stared at its foe. A long tongue dragged on the floor as it left a saliva trail towards Logan. Spikes adorned the creature¡¯s back and elbows. ¡°Identify.¡± ¡°Chabras - Demon / Bat / Lupine. Level 15: 240/240 HP, - MP. This demon is also known as the cattle-eater, renowned for devouring entire villages of their cows and goats. Standing at around 4'' tall, 7'' on their hind legs, these demons are ferocious beasts that can inflict horrific curses on their foes if they don''t just kill them. Skills: Blend, Climb, Curse Spit, Critical Bite, Essence Drain, Sonar, Spellforce Sight, ¡ª. Spells: Haste. Reduction: Damage 10. Resistance: Damage 25%, Holy -25%, Lightning 0%, Shadow 75%, all other elements 25%.¡± The chabras charged at Logan as he pulled out another dagger to place in the demon¡¯s maw as it chomped down on it. Kicking the chabras¡¯s stomach, Logan sent it flying back. A warning popped up stating the level of his dagger had decreased, the chabras started to speed up and create afterimages in their movement. ¡°There¡¯s the Essence Drain¡±, Logan thought as he warped away from his position. Crashing to the floor in a slide, the demon missed the Spellthief as he appeared atop a bed. Waving his hand, Logan intoned, ¡°Lightning Skystrike¡±, causing bolts of blue to strike down at the back of the demon, surging across its body. Dashing from side to side, the chabras attempted to dodge any further spells as it made its way to Logan. With a flip off the bed, Logan barely dodged another lunge as he landed back on the floor. Bringing up his hand, and waving the other up high, Logan chanted, ¡°Lightning Shot, Lightning Skystrike¡±, creating a stream of electricity from his hand and behind the chabras, confusing the creature, it was hit with both spells. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. It roared out in pain as it spat out continuously across the room. Kicking at a bed, Logan grappled it in front of him to block the spit. He could hear the creaking and cracking of wood, as the room was eaten away by the curse energy. With another swift boot, Logan hit the bed at the chabras, which it exploded through with its claws. Dragging out two hip daggers, Logan threw them both at the demon as one hit its face and the other its shoulder, it didn¡¯t have a lot of manoeuvrability in the air. Letting out a pained wince, the chabras faltered in its skyward strike, allowing Logan to pick out another dagger and pierce it through the demon¡¯s chin and into its brain. Logan punched the creature off his weapon quickly before its liquids could touch him. The new corpse lay dormant on the floor. Logan let out several breaths as the fear subsided from him. He gave a once over his clothing and weapons, ensuring he was safe from more corrosive spit. Thankfully he was both lucky and prudent, no such thing stuck to him. Looking at the room showed it was a good idea to be safe. Beds had fallen apart to the floor, while cabinets spewed their contents all over the ground. It was strange that a demonic beast had been left to guard a deserted place. Was it just to stop anyone from finding leads here? This was the same kind of beast that had accosted Wriske, seeing her state after fighting such a beast caused Logan to be ever safe. He continued to be so as he cut apart the chabras to gain the components of a tongue and its spikes. Logan felt reassured at enhancing his Identification skill from fighting the vaskt earlier. Seeing an opponent''s strengths and weaknesses really lets him make better use of his spells at hand. With stronger foes more commonly having resistances, it was only going to get more useful. As these monsters were 2 levels lower than he was, Logan didn¡¯t have to worry too much about his victory. He had spent some time making sure he was a strong level 17. But facing too many at once could cause issues. If a chabras got a solid bite in, or a curse spit, he¡¯d be much weaker with fewer spells or lowered movement from curses. While equipment level wasn¡¯t a concept for Avanarians, they could tell if something was too strong for someone to use. It wasn¡¯t surprising that Quayvan wasn¡¯t able to warn Logan ahead of time that his gear could be weakened like that. The dagger he had defended with had lost 2 levels from a single bite, granting the chabras MP to cast its Haste spell. A weird cousin to his own abilities. Refilling his hip holsters with knives from his inventory, Logan discarded the broken or near-broken daggers. He didn¡¯t want them breaking during a parry, nor when used to block any more spit. The bedroom, while destroyed, still had some clues to the previous use outside of sleeping. A few garments when identified showed where they were commonly sewn or bought, a lead to follow down the line to find who had purchased them. Some of these must have been forgotten, or Wriske¡¯s invasion stopped them from being removed. Even though the beds had been destroyed, Logan could see certain designs and craftsmanship that could reveal who made those too. Sadly, they were handmade by the people in this place, so that didn¡¯t help. Not everything could have been of use. Cutting out parts of the sheets and pillows, gathering parts that hadn¡¯t been hit by spit, Logan was able to gather some hair and fur that would be useful in scrying magic. It wasn¡¯t something that Logan could use, but Quayvan and diviners could track who these came from.
Corridor after corridor, room after room. Whoever used to live and work here had done well to clean up any leads to where they had gone. A single notebook would do wonders for finding out what had been going on here, but even that had vacated the area. A few crafting rooms had fixtures that couldn¡¯t easily be moved, such as larger furnaces and anvils. These were important as they told a tale of smithing, so the bolts would have been constructed ¡°in-house¡± here, or at least something was. Some of the tools could have been used to craft more alchemical devices. Along with each room that showed some sign of significance came more traps. A combination of mundane and magical as before. Thankfully they were easy to spot, and with pre-warning Logan kept all four eyes out for them. All the crossbows had silver bolts in them, but no hallowed silver, nor sunlight. No easy platinum for Logan amongst the last defences. Though he¡¯d need to destroy the hallowed silver too, not just the Sunsilt. He had no reason to anger his employer, least of all any vampires, as they had only been good to him so far.
Another ambush lay in wait for Logan, this was the first he was unable to preemptively notice sadly. Three golems fell from the ceiling in slashing barrages at the Spellthief who took a few to the shoulders before he rolled forward to dodge the rest. The hallways had been calm for a while, but Logan wasn¡¯t at ease. They must have just hidden well against the lower mastery of his perception skills. Forming rocks above their heads, they fired spikes at Logan who caught each one and mentally commanded, ¡°Spell Absorb¡±, three times. ¡°Spell Absorptions successful. Three Gaia 2 charges stored.¡± He wasn¡¯t going to gain mastery again, as these were the same type of monster. Warping behind them as they began to cast again, Logan slapped both hands on the backs of the lizards and chanted, ¡°Wind Grasp¡±, twice, exploding both from within with torrents of air. With 200 Backstab damage to the left and 205 to the right, both rock golem lizards stood no chance at survival. The final one whipped its body around and coated itself in sharper rocks, using the Infuse spells to improve its melee damage. Jumping at Logan, the Spellthief did a back somersault kick to the lizard¡¯s chin and sent it flipping backwards. With speed, Logan landed on his feet and stepped up to grab the back of the flipping lizard to cast another, ¡°Wind Grasp¡±, exploding through the lizard¡¯s back and out its stomach as rock went everywhere. As they rolled across the floor, their experience floated upwards. Logan scanned the area regardless of the experience signing the end of the fight, couldn¡¯t be too cautious. After cutting apart the golems Logan looked over his map of the underground. He had almost completed exploring the place, but aside from the minerals around him, nothing was concrete. Finishing the final rooms, Logan picked up some other materials before leaving to the forest. His elementals were there waiting for his return, without a single sign of anyone looking at them during Logan¡¯s time in the hideout. Not a total bust, but it could have been more eventful.
Warping back to the capital, Logan was able to talk with Quayvan after a messenger was sent from the guardhouse. After being handed the items to be scryed, Quayvan recognised some of the craftsmanship and components used. With some spells done by seers, Logan could find out more the next day, thus he was given the rest to relax before continuing. --- *** --- More to do. Chapter 132 - Hunt the Sunsilt. Part 3 Waking early the next day, Logan went back to the guardhouse to get his next destination from Quayvan. It was further from the capital, but not enough that teleportation would be difficult.
Teleporting to the next port of call, Logan found a seemingly abandoned building in the woods. Made up of both wood and rock, it was closer to call it a mansion. It lacked glass windows, but creaking wooden panels did let the outside light into the establishment. Leaving the elementals to guard the exterior, Logan prepared himself for another place to clear of dangers. With a cast of Invisibility, Logan climbed the side of the building and entered through an open window. Invisible quad eyes scanned the interior as a grand hall beckoned those through the front door. However, it did not beckon alone, several people were pacing the halls and stairwells that connected to the entrance. Names and histories filled Logan¡¯s log as he used Identification on the people below. They moved around so brazenly for what they were doing. It was lucky that Logan¡¯s Stealth skill combined with being unseen allowed him to see them with such ease. What was concerning was the number of golems moving with the ¡°researchers¡±, lizards, dogs, and goblins all made of rock. This number caused worry, as with the Sunsilt Bolts costing far more than a platinum it was certain this part of the AV Club was well financed, but the sheer number of golems told a tale of richer investors. The AV Club was clearly a criminal organisation, they were murderers and extortionists. But where did this money come from? Logan spent a few seconds documenting their movements before making his own, this was a good choice to make as he overheard a trio of armoured men move to the front door. ¡°Spellforce use has been detected outside, could be aberrant monsters or that Devout.¡± ¡°Keep an eye on the flanks and forest.¡± ¡°You, check on the storerooms.¡± Opening the door, they left to the outside and closed them. Logan rotated in the window and followed the three men as they went to the tree line. They weren¡¯t too strong, two level 6s and a 7. Waiting for them to get a good distance away, Logan followed and climbed into a tree before turning visible again. The three men separated and started to comb the nearby area. When he saw an opening, the Spellthief leapt from his tree, landed behind a man and placed a hand on his mouth and lower back and chanted, ¡°Wind Grasp¡±, causing the man¡¯s body to get cuts all over from harsh winds before falling limp but breathing in Logan¡¯s hands. Softly laying the man down, Logan quickly yet quietly ran around the tree trunks and did the same to the second and third man. With ways to detect the use of spellforce, Logan wouldn¡¯t be able to hide his presence too well here. However, that meant there was either a diviner or a device in the building to do that. Stripping the men of all but their armour, Logan had Fahrenheit move them far away and guard them in a lovely little pile. Except for one, which Logan woke up with a weak healing potion. The man in his weakened state and tied up looked around with fear before ending his gaze on a man with creases under his eyes. Logan put a finger to his lips and stared at the man, ¡°Answer my questions and you won¡¯t get tortured.¡± The man quickly nodded, ¡°How can you detect spellforce being used in the area?¡± ¡°We¡­ we have a security room. There¡¯s a detection stone there that monitors spellforce in the forest¡±, the man revealed with a shaky voice. ¡°Is that all? No failsafe system in place?¡± ¡°Nothing like that!¡± ¡°Where is it, parrot?¡± ¡°On the backside of the building, the first floor, third window from the left as you look at it.¡± ¡°How many people are in that room?¡± Logan asked as he looked over his shoulder and clicked his fingers. ¡°We have a Sorcerer looking over the details of the stone, two researchers, and three more guards.¡± ¡°Anything else you can tell me that might stall the noose?¡± Logan asked, intimidatingly. The man sweated fiercely as his eyes darted side to side as if he could find the answers written on the trees. ¡°I can tell you all about the building!¡± ¡°Go on.¡±
With the interrogation of the man complete, Logan ran towards the building once again and around its side. No sight of oncoming guards graced Logan¡¯s eyes, so it seemed they were giving the three that were sent out enough time to comb the area. Since all classes used spellforce for their skills, it wouldn¡¯t be strange to detect it from them. Finding the rear, Logan cast Invisibility again and climbed the stonework to the mentioned window. It was closed but cracks in the wood and sides allowed a slight glimpse to the interior. Warping to the interior, an invisible blast of wind was sent around, shocking the guards, though Logan¡¯s unseen arms flew across the floor as he intoned twice, ¡°Sleep Wall¡±, filling the sides of the room with spores and sand, causing five bodies to hit the floor unconscious. The Sorcerer within the centre, looking over a large black stone rhomboid, darted his head around at the sound with a golden pocket watch in hand. Logan appeared behind the man with a hand around the Sorcerer¡¯s mouth and the other digging its nails in his back. ¡°Keep silent, move your head in answer¡±, Logan demanded. The Sorcerer nodded, Logan could feel sweat soak into his gloves from his opponent¡¯s face. ¡°Did you send out an alarm?¡± No. ¡°Are there any fail safes to this room being taken over?¡± No. ¡°Will people come into this room?¡± Yes. ¡°Can anyone else use this device?¡± Yes. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°Wind Grasp¡±, Logan chanted, cutting the Sorcerer to an unconscious state without using Backstab. Softly laying the man on the floor, Logan gave a weak punch into his back. ¡°MP Thievery successful, you have drained 8 MP¡±, a window explained to Logan who had finally tested out his new skill on an opponent. If he had spent the time to rest up and recharge his Backstab skill, he could have stolen more, but he had enough MP for the rest of this place in his mind. The first thing that Logan wanted to look at, was the pocket watch. Quickly grabbing it, Logan sighed in relief that it hadn¡¯t vanished like so many before it had. Fitting in the palm of his hand, the pocket watch had a golden exterior, the inside had inlaid within it a black gem. Using Identification revealed quite a bit about the device¡¯s uses. It was a multi-purpose magical item. From recording audio and visual, as well as translating spellforce information, the device could also connect to others to be used as a sort of phone. If anything could be related to this, it was like some sort of PDA or tablet. It was known as a commwatch, and as far as Logan could tell it didn¡¯t have any form of teleportation abilities, at least this one didn¡¯t. Pocketing it for later, Logan identified the large scanning device next. It was around 3¡¯ tall and had varying edges to it as if it were part of a mountain. Notations of all the varying colours shifted on different parts of the construct. Without some form of translation, the stone was unusable, most likely requiring the use of a commwatch. The spores in the corners of the room had finally died down, allowing Logan to pick up the bodies and chuck them out the window to his elementals to catch, strip, and move to a side. They would be asleep for almost three hours, more than enough time to clear out the building of any more haters. Moving to the door that led to the main hall, one floor above the ground, Logan clicked his fingers to ping through the keyhole and detail his mini-map with information. Several dots filled in the grey space, it didn¡¯t seem like the noise of people hitting the floor caused any sort of commotion. But, Logan had to be wary about those who would come here. Scanning the movements of the people again, he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about further use of spells if there lacked any more detection devices. He would leave it here for now though, if someone saw it was missing as well as the people, they would be all the quicker to sound an alarm. No experience showed itself to Logan yet, he was now in a dangerous situation, so it would wait till he was done. There were many numbers to add to that total.
Sorting out the adjoining rooms first, Logan turned invisible again and exited the security room to get a better eye on the hall. Most of the inhabitants had found the way to their destinations, a dozen or so lingering around for discussions or having other places to be. Entering the room next to where he started, Logan closed it behind him as he found a small alchemical layout. The alchemists paid no mind to the door opening, focused fully on their work. This allowed Logan to get behind each of the five men and women to drive a dual-wielding knife strike into each. With their corpses absorbed with Essence Absorption, Logan became invisible again and moved to another room.
The next was a bunk room with several beds stacked to the ceiling, several guards and researchers resting mostly quietly. A duo were writing notes in their books on a table in the middle of the room, though both died to a Wind Grasp from Logan who appeared after both were softly put on the table. Logan then moved between the beds and slit the throats of the sleepers, an easy enough culling of the numbers without issue.
An unseen invasion into another room revealed another alchemical configuration, quickly dealt with as the first.
With enough time spent clearing out the first floor, Logan noticed a grouping of four people heading up the stairs in the direction of the security room. Climbing the bannister to the ground floor, Logan¡¯s whirring visage was close to the team. ¡°I heard a Devout is meant to come here?¡± ¡°No, ¡®was¡¯ meant to. She got dealt with.¡± ¡°Who even found out about this operation?¡± ¡°Kill enough vampires and the nest falls outta the tree.¡± One of the women opened the door and she called out, ¡°Relief is here.¡± Logan lined up the hallway as he rotated his arm towards the group, ¡°Sleep Wall¡±, a torrent of dandelions flowing over the group as they fell to the floor. A clanking of metal and shifting of leather and chain caused a few heads to turn to the first floor from the ground. ¡°Someone fall over, up there?¡± a man called up. Logan quickly grabbed the legs of the sleeping foes and dragged them into the security room and called out, ¡°Yeah, damn rug.¡± With a creaking of the door closing, it seemed his bluff was taken as no more discouraging motions were made on his map. By this time, Logan¡¯s Backstab charges were coming back, he didn¡¯t need to use too many of them on the weaker people here. Even better was the sight of another Sorcerer in this grouping. Logan hit their back twice to drain another 16 MP to build up his supplies. He didn¡¯t deal enough damage to wake them up, so another round of tossing out the window had one of his objectives completed.
There wasn¡¯t much more of the first floor to clear out. A few hallways with deadends and three more rooms, but it was becoming ¡°dead¡± up here. Logan quickly checked the final rooms, but they weren¡¯t being used outside of storage space. The next step was clearing the ground floor. Six researchers were still there, with a golem each. Too many for a stealthy takedown, the golems required around two Grasps to kill without Backstab damage included, and he¡¯d become visible after two of them. Without a respiratory system, the golems made of rock weren¡¯t susceptible to Sleep either. Thinking over how he could approach the situation led to the people below talking and looking around. ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t it quiet?¡± ¡°Yeah. Didn¡¯t the relief team go up? Where¡¯re the others?¡± ¡°Shit¡±, Logan cursed in his head. Drawing up the frozen lord edge, he chanted, ¡°Infuse Wind, Haste¡±, before leaping off the bannister to the ground floor. Waving his left arm to the right and left he intoned twice as he became visible, ¡°Sleep Wall.¡± Bodies hit the floor as two lizard golems jumped at the Spellthief. Spinning around, Logan dove his dagger into the back of the rocky beast, dealing 15 physical damage, 15 ice damage, and 13 wind damage. With the other hand, he grappled it and spoke, ¡°Wind Grasp¡±, exploding its stomach outwards with 117 wind damage. Stepping forward, Logan let out two slashes at the other lizard and picked at its throat with the other hand, letting loose another Wind Grasp to remove the central mass. Three golem dogs came charging through sand and dandelions in leaping bites. Logan kicked off the ground and forward somersaulted away as the golems collided with one another. At his back was a goblin golem, a club of earth ready to slam his back but met with a dagger instead as Logan spun it around himself. Deflecting the blow, Logan let out a few slashes at the rocky goblin before diving his hand into the wounds and chanted, ¡°Wind Grasp¡±, exploding another golem to pebbles. Logan stepped backwards towards the dogs as they jumped again, causing them to fly over his head as he ducked down, dropped his dagger, and pulled two of them into a slam on the floor. Keeping his grip on the two golems he chanted twice again, exploding parts of their bodies with wind before letting go to finish them off with his whistling blade. The last dog opened its mouth as Logan anticipated a bark for aid, if the sound of combat wasn¡¯t loud enough, throwing his dagger straight into its throat it could only let out gurgled noises. Running after the blade, Logan drew up a Bowen dagger to slash at the final dog golem before finishing it off with more wind. Reclaiming his artefact dagger, the Spellthief darted his eyes around the area at the nearby doors and corridors. The fight wasn¡¯t quiet, though it wasn¡¯t overtly loud either. His dagger mostly made scraping sounds against rocks, while the Wind spell was mostly whistling too. It was the explosions of rock that would have caught someone¡¯s attention. Logan¡¯s eyes glanced over the opening of a nearby door, a woman draped in an alchemist¡¯s robes came walking out without worry. Either the walls and doors were thick, or their work created enough noise and garnered enough attention to make his work go unnoticed. At least until she saw the scene in the hall. The spinning dagger thrown at her halted any warning. --- *** --- More to do. Chapter 133 - Hunt the Sunsilt. Part 4 Logan waved a hand over himself as he spoke, ¡°Clean¡±, the blood of a hasty room-clear peeling away from his person and effects. The speed granted by his Haste spell earlier had ended but was just enough to clear the alchemical lab that had almost been alerted to his presence. ¡°It is only going to get harder¡±, Logan thought to himself as he looked around the main hall, opening the door and handing the unconscious bodies to his elementals. A click of his fingers didn¡¯t show any hasty movements in the rooms he could scan, nor did his eyes or ears pick up signs of danger. Looking at the closed doors, Logan spun a dagger in his hand and narrowed his four eyes in a hunter¡¯s gaze.
Some time later¡­ Logan span a ring of keys on his finger as he left a door to the main hall, the room behind him devoid of life and the building lacking in sound. He had faced a few issues here or there, but nothing worth mentioning to his employer. Checking his objectives, the Spellthief had done quite a bit so far. ¡°? Capture at least 10 AV Club members alive. 10/10 ? Allow less than 5 enemies to flee. 0/5 ? Successfully kill 30 targets without alert. 30/30 ? Win with 10 days remaining. 14/15.¡± Taking the ring of keys, Logan fidgeted with another door before finding it was already unlocked. What was with this lack of security? With a seemingly absent mind for noises, the force here had put a lot of faith in the stone up top keeping them safe. Opening the door, Logan bent backwards so fast he had to stop himself from slamming the back of his head on the floor. A large swathe of bolts rained from the doorway in his direction. Rearing himself back up, Logan saw several wall-mounted crossbows that had aimed for his doom all spent. A defensive measure set up for improper access to the door? Whatever it was, Logan didn¡¯t want to wait too long in this spot as it could have sent alarms ahead. Running ahead, Logan cast Invisibility and Haste to make his way through the basement floor of the building. His cautiousness paid dividends immediately as he saw several people in cloaks and leather armour charging in his direction. A quick scan showed them to be levels 4 through 9. ¡°So bunched together, how thoughtful¡±, Logan thought to himself. There had to be a higher-up here with more power to back up this place¡¯s size. Waving an invisible hand forward, Logan chanted, ¡°Sleep Wall¡±, filling part of the hallway with spores before his unseen body warped to the other end as he did the same motion, ¡°Sleep Wall¡±, completely covering the running force in the yellow sanctuary. A measly two MP plus one of his rings easily took out a large squad without pain or time. The level gap, combined with the difference in attributes, meant it would be easier to scale a mountain than to resist the sleep effects. Not to be heartless, Logan moved between the unconscious people and began to carve at their necks so that they couldn¡¯t be woken by others. His hasted body made this a quick endeavour, though he made sure to keep an ear out for anything else approaching him. With possible crucial time spent, Logan recast his duo of spells to explore the hallways. Spying a teleportation circle in the far distance, Logan saw two magi chanting whilst inside of it. Warping into his centre, Logan appeared within the circle slowly, a burst of wind from Logan''s teleportation came with an outwards torrent of wind slashes as he cut down the two chanters before the circle could be activated. Sliding on the floor, Logan glanced over the circle for a second to check it hadn¡¯t been used yet. Thankfully it seemed the people using it weren¡¯t too adept. However, his eyes locked on the others in this room. Four mages, four Fighters, and two Knights aimed weapons and anger at the Spellthief. ¡°Come Forth!¡± one of the female Knights yelled. Logan felt a surge of anger well up inside before it dissipated quickly, resisting the effect was rare, but less so with his level. Logan warped again, appearing behind one of the mages, grabbing their shoulder and chanting, ¡°Flame Grasp¡±, igniting the man quickly in fires before he fell to the floor with smoke billowing from his unconscious body. ¡°Fucker! Come Forth!¡± the male Knight commanded as he saw his ally¡¯s skill fail. Logan again felt rage, but this time it overcame him. Warping towards the Knight, the opponent looked behind himself as he brought up his shield to nothing, Logan had warped to his previous front. Throwing a hand forward with an underhand serve, Logan chanted, ¡°Flame Shot¡±, bashing a ball of fire into the back of the man¡¯s head. After a sweeping kick to knock the Knight off his stance, Logan caught the falling foe and chanted, ¡°Lightning Grasp¡±, shocking the Knight to death. The hold over Logan¡¯s emotions was removed as the target died, darting his eyes to his side, his vaskt eyes spied a sword coming his way. Ducking down, Logan dodged the attack, placed a hand onto the floor to move into a cartwheel and warped away as he stared at another mage. Slashing at the hand of the female Sorcerer, Logan halted her spell cast before grabbing her face and intoned, ¡°Wind Grasp¡±, cutting her to unconsciousness. A burst of fire and ice came towards Logan from the two remaining Wizards but with a spin and draw he cut apart the spells. While his weapons took damage, it was better they did than him. Spinning them around further he threw them at the mages who jumped to the floor to dodge them. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. A quartet of Rushes came at Logan as the Fighters got into the fray, seeing their numbers dwindle too quickly. Logan jumped high, dug a blade into a crack of rock in the ceiling, and threw his hand down, ¡°Sleep Wall¡±, causing all four to fall on top of each other asleep. Logan¡¯s movements became slower as his buff of Haste came to an end, something that made this kind of engagement so much easier. But, his MP was running low at this point. He wagered he didn¡¯t need it any more for what was left. ¡°General''s Charge¡±, was yelled by the female Knight as she charged with the outline of a yellow lion head over her. Logan attempted teleportation, however, the spell failed to cast, ¡°The damn mages!¡± With that thought he drew up two daggers and stabbed them into the visage over the shield. Shockwaves were sent over the metal, hilt, and into the Spellthief. Cracks formed all over the daggers as they were shattered, they weren¡¯t designed to stop such an attack. Forming fists, Logan punched into the last portion of the skill to lessen its effects as best he could. With a massive swing from the Knight, she sent the last of the visage away from her shield and into Logan¡¯s body, hurtling him into the stone wall of the underground. Logan could hear a clear crack in his back as blood pooled in his lungs and shot out his mouth. ¡°Critical Hit sustained. 100/188 HP remaining¡±, a warning played in his head. ¡°Swap¡±, the knight called out as she hopped to the side, revealing the mages behind. ¡°Flame Shot, Frost Shot¡±, they both chanted, letting loose heat and frigidity together. Logan¡¯s four eyes reflected the dazzle of red and blue as they exploded around him in a steamy mess. ¡°Activate the circle!¡± the Knight ordered as she ran towards the explosion that slowly dissipated. The mages took the command and ran towards the circle. As the knight came to the steam she swung her sword downwards into it, however, instead of hitting flesh she had it stuck fast in rock as she chipped off the top part of a wall of stone that had a large hole in its centre. ¡°No!¡± she cursed as she turned to look at the circle. Logan let go of his grip, the two mages falling to the floor as their bodies smoked similarly to how he would have, if he hadn¡¯t used a quick Gaia Wall to block most of the combined barrage on him. ¡°How the below did you not get stunned?!¡± the Knight ordered for answers. Logan knew that General''s Charge had a stunning effect if he failed a saving throw, he was just lucky he reduced the damage of the attack enough to also lower said effect. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you love to know? I must thank you for that combo though, it stopped their concentration on blocking my warping¡±, Logan mocked. Logan had to push the warning of his low health from his mind, while he was able to block some of the spells, it only reduced the damage. He was now at 62 HP. The Knight started to sweat, she knew the man in front of her was dangerous, and that was why she wanted to leave. But he was in the way of the only exit that could save her. Looking at her sleeping allies, she drew her sword arm back and began to throw it at them. ¡°Necromantic Skystrike¡±, Logan chanted, causing tendrils in the air to wrap around the Knight¡¯s arm and halt her throw. It dealt her 60 damage and healed Logan a solid 30. The Spellthief did it again and again, draining the woman of all she had left before she fell to the floor, Logan was mostly healthy again. After a quick sigh, Logan punched the backs of two Sorcerers to gain back some of his MP, before using it to hasten his steps again to speed through the rest of the basement.
Even more time later¡­ Logan walked back to the main hall with a weak body, sweat rolling down his face as his clearing of the mansion was finally complete. So many researchers begged for mercy, with a few more guards, but they were all to die. Their prayers meant little when their statuses revealed crimes that put them in a noose. Plenty of the rooms were on fire, as Logan set them ablaze to remove all traces of research and production. Looking over two bolts in his hand, Logan had their glistening glow reflect in his eyes. They were of a dark-silvery hue with a shifting lava centre. Identification confirmed them to be the Sunsilt Bolts, and while highly expensive, he was tasked with destroying them. Breaking off the tips and placing them within two of the boxes provided, he threw one upstairs into the security room and one into the room underneath it on the ground floor. Leaving the building, Logan didn¡¯t look back as it exploded behind him in showers of silver and the chroma of the sun. Collapsing in on itself, the building became a pile of rubble with experience numbers slowly rising from around the wreckage. ¡°Level up! Gain: 8 HP, +1 Str, +1 Agi, +1 Con, +1 Int. You have 1 attribute point to spend.¡± Unlike Marcus¡¯s jump in experience, Logan had received almost eighteen thousand from just this one building. Though, he did take on many more foes in a short period, some higher level than he would normally hunt down. While his quest could have rewarded more experience on top, it seemingly hadn¡¯t been completed. This mustn¡¯t have been the end of hunting down the Sunsilt Bolts, there was that teleportation circle to deal with too. ¡°This isn¡¯t the main base¡±, Logan calculated in his head. Returning to his captured AV club members, Logan looked at the magi he had apprehended from the room in the basement he had carted over. They were bound to spill the beans on where to go next. A thumping in Logan¡¯s forehead spoke the beginning of spell fatigue, he¡¯d be getting a lot of rest back in Gauntlet after ferrying all the remains. Dismissing his summons, Logan pulled out the black stone he took from the security room before leaving and hugged it under his arm. Clumping up eight of the survivors, Logan placed a hand on the top of the pile before he began his teleportation route.
Apparating within the Gerro Guardhouse, Logan stumbled somewhat as the pain in his head increased, reflexively grabbing his forehead. Jirango got up from his desk showing signs of worry, ¡°Logan, are you alright?¡± Logan replied painfully, ¡°Yeah, just fatigue. I got people for interrogation. They should have another base somewhere. Quayvan might want to talk with them too.¡± Jirango looked over the pile of almost awake people, ¡°We¡¯ve got a wing assigned for this lot. I¡¯ll contact the vampire to get him to come over¡±, he then pointed at the rock that Logan was barely holding onto, ¡°And this?¡± ¡°A security device. It tracked spellforce usage in an area, was combined with this¡±, Logan continued as he held out the commwatch, ¡°See if you can look through its history. It might grant further details.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll contact some magi. Will you be waiting here?¡± ¡°I need to do one more trip for the rest of the captives¡±, Logan revealed. ¡°At least take a sit and a sip, before you go¡±, Jirango pleaded as he handed his mug of water to Logan. The Spellthief drank some of it as he sat on a nearby chair, after a minute he went out to get the rest.
With everyone in containment, Logan wanted to go sell off their gear, but instead, he walked back to the Meek Moat Inn. Getting a flannel soaked in hot water, he placed it over his face and had a nap. --- *** --- Chapter 134 - Hunt the Sunsilt. Part 5 Logan awoke much later than he had wanted, his nap slowly turning into a deep sleep that carried him into the early hours of the next morning. Fatigue was no joke, and even with Regeneration, he didn¡¯t recover quickly enough to use the last hours of the previous day. He had strained his mind too much from overusing his spells, but then he was draining plenty of MP, allowing him to cast much more than usual in a day. Hopefully, the next location he had to clear would contain fewer enemies or at least situations where Logan didn¡¯t have to use so many spells. Sliding to the edge of his bed, Logan got dressed and headed out. The early morning had sparse people on the streets, though stalls typically set up early to get good spots and to greet the late returning adventurers for trade. This was a good enough time as any for Logan to sell off all the gear he didn¡¯t need, though he hid his inventory system as usual.
With so many pieces of weapons, armour, and trinkets, Logan was able to rake in 11 gold and 10 silver, with some up-charging via his Haggle skill. It was a grand amount but would have been higher if he wasn¡¯t keeping some choice picks for himself and his allies. He would also keep any type of potion for himself in case of emergency. A fifth of the reward was just in loot, but then it wasn¡¯t every day he could take all he wanted. Replacing his Bowen daggers with level 18 variants, Logan also bought up a crafting tome to make use of the golem cores he had gathered, plus materials to craft new trinkets with them. With enough time spent at the inn reading and crafting, he had a belt to replace his old one. A variant that would increase his quickly falling behind Strength, though taking fifteen of the cores he had harvested. Replacing his old belt, Logan felt a surge of power run across his muscles. They tightened for a second before becoming denser, he could feel the destructive forces of his body heighten with the belt. He was almost comparable to Marcus¡¯s 33 Strength, but the Devout could boost his ever further with magic. Logan contemplated spending some of his income to recreate this item over and over, to get higher bonuses for his attributes, but he knew that golem cores were relatively hard to purchase. The MT had almost a monopoly over the market, plus the scraps being brought up by golem-hiring companies. He could craft the cores, but again the materials for such were already highly contested. With the day coming into full life, Logan left for the Gerro Guardhouse to continue his work, not before gifting his hand-me-downs and spare items to both Marcus and Amalia as he saw them off.
¡°Ho, Logan¡±, Jirango greeted as he scribbled on parchment. Logan approached the counter and looked around, ¡°No Quayvan?¡± ¡°He was here earlier¡±, Jirango replied as he underlined part of his writing before stopping, ¡°We got a lot out of the people you brought back, the devices, and some more divination.¡± Pulling up a chair, Logan sat down to listen further. ¡°It seems your diligent attitude in hunting the AV club members stopped most communication between their locations. No doubt they will notice the lack of talk, so you¡¯ll need to hit the next locations just as quickly.¡± ¡°How many are we looking at?¡± ¡°Two, ending with the main base¡­ though it may be smaller as it is underground in what seems to be a silver mine.¡± ¡°Not hallowed, I take it?¡± Logan asked with a raised eyebrow. Jirango leant back in his chair, ¡°Thankfully not, but you wouldn¡¯t have an issue with that either way. The MT will be sending some of their own into the final base, but you¡¯d do best to get there as soon as possible after the other two.¡± ¡°Backup? Wasn¡¯t expecting that¡±, Logan chuckled. ¡°Their mobilization will be slow, which gives you an opportunity to hit it first. It won¡¯t affect your pay, but they have a personal stake in the situation, as it seems even Thermodan is linked to this business¡±, Jirango sighed. ¡°Thermodan? So he is the AV¡¯s backer? That explains why he had to set up a spell-harvesting ring¡±, Logan replied with clenched fists, ¡°Is it expected that I will face him there?¡± ¡°I¡¯d say you¡¯re more likely to than not¡±, Jirango looked to the side, ¡°You fine with taking him out? He¡¯s part of another hunt, so it¡¯s extra, doubled if you bring him in alive.¡± ¡°I¡¯m best suited to combating magi anyway, but I can¡¯t bring him in alive if I show him my Spell Absorption¡±, Logan thought to himself. ¡°It¡¯s going to be tough to deal with three places at once.¡± ¡°Regrettably, that¡¯s how it has to be. Any dallying will lead to people getting loose.¡± ¡°I¡¯d prefer to fight with backup at the final base, but if we¡¯re risking people getting out of there, probably best I go as fast as I can.¡±
Making his usual preparations, Logan warped to the first place on the docket for the day. A relatively large hut within the forest, puffs of smoke coming from several chimneys. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. To save on casting too many spells in the day, Logan scouted the exterior and mapped out a good portion of the inside via cracks and openings in the roof before entering it under the cover of Invisibility. With no sign of teleportation circles or identifying devices, the Spellthief let loose with hastened dagger slashes and swipes. There was less need for stealth at this point, but more for speed. No one in the hut could hold a candle to Logan¡¯s level, so most fell in single stabs. After hitting level 18, Logan no longer gained experience from level 2 foes, making many more 0s appear above the corpses he left behind. With the place clear, Logan warped off to the penultimate.
Wind pushed away the leaves atop a canopy of trees, far below Logan was an inn situated within a thick part of the forest. Tall wooden walls linked with the trees, metal portcullis gates trapping monsters to the outside world. Logan raised an eyebrow at the location, it was smaller than he thought. It was just an inn. No larger establishments to be seen aside from a watchtower on either side. How had it kept itself safe for so long? Wooden walls wouldn¡¯t survive much of a beating, even with all the infusement they could have seen over the years. Using Identification on the battlements revealed a bit more to answer the Spellthief¡¯s questions. Several gems had been encrusted within the wood, housing denser spellforce to distribute across the defences. That explained why this inn was expensive, 10 silver a night per head in communal rooms. Outside of that, it afforded adventurers protection while deep in monster territory, as well as spitting at the ever-encroaching threat. Thankfully Logan would not have to deal with all of it. The inn was mostly clean as far as AV Club activities were concerned. It was just being used as a checkpoint and dropoff and pickup point for materials and people. Spying a wagon with a tarp getting double-checked before departure, Logan scanned the movements within to reveal an AV Club member. In total, there were eight people in the caravan, though only a single wagon to move the goods around. Two in the driver''s seat and five on horses. ¡°Hey! All good¡±, the woman inside shouted as she slammed the wooden frame of the interior. ¡°Hear ya!¡± one of the drivers replied as they cracked the reins. Logan had arrived at an opportune time. With the wagon getting pulled away, Logan had his further vision of the vaskt eyes peer into the gaps of the white tarp covering the wagon and mentally commanded Dimensional Jaunt to apparate within it. Driving two blades into the neck of the woman on the inside, Logan sucked the victim into his palm and awaited a gap in the movements of the others. With the bumpy movement combined with the winds picking up outside, it seemed the others failed to notice Logan¡¯s arrival. With some distance from the inn¡¯s barricades, Logan eyed a tree far from the group, pulled his arm back, and whispered, ¡°Wind Skystrike¡±, causing a scythe of white air to cut the trunk of a tree and cause it to fall with a mighty thud on the floor. The caravan all jumped at the noise, and obvious visual to their side. ¡°¡®Fuck was that?¡± the closest woman yelled. ¡°Monsters? Rush away!¡± another man commanded as he whipped his reins to hasten to the side of the wagon. Logan jumped from the back to a man at the back, slicing him off his horse and kicking off to another who was on the blind side of the wagon. The slumping of the bodies and neighing of the horses alerted the others as Logan darted back into the wagon. ¡°Below take us, they have range!¡± the first woman reiterated. ¡°Leave ¡®em¡±, another man ordered. The wagon picked up speed and bumpiness as the group tried to flee whatever was coming their way. Stabbing out sideways, Logan pierced the neck of the driver and shotgun of the wagon, causing the reins to get pulled in and the horses to neigh wildly. Creaking and cracking, the wheels of the wagon slid, the wagon coming to a loud halt and slamming as it realigned itself from almost tipping over. ¡°Below!¡± Jumping from within the tarp, Logan threw out two daggers at the lead woman, toppling her from her mount. Landing into a slide and leap, Logan drew two more blades and did a spinning top slash at the other man, cutting him four times before landing on the other side. The last woman brought up a crystal barely taller than her hand and began to chant, ¡°Echoes, take me¡ª¡± Throwing his two daggers, Logan kept his hands raised and open as he chanted, ¡°Force¡±, twice, sending balls of grey death to follow his knives as they impaled the final foe. Clicking his fingers, Logan was only treated to the noises of horses and the sight of yellow numbers. ¡°Let¡¯s see what we have here¡±, Logan thought to himself as he climbed back into the wagon. Pulling open nailed crates, Logan saw several bolt shafts and crossbows. All neatly packaged and freshly made. Ranging from levels 1 through 20, these were armaments from afar to fuel the AV Club¡¯s attacks on vampire-kind. Opening another crate, Logan felt a wave of cool mist hit his skin. Inside were bars of white-silver ingots. A sensation of burning acid was felt as the precious metal was allowed to breathe in the air. There was no doubt that this was hallowed silver. Typical silver that had been mined from the earth and then imbued with deific power and prayer. It wouldn¡¯t harm Logan more than anyone else, since he was only a demon and not a vampire. But it was expensive, too expensive. The number of ingots worried Logan as to who else could be financing the AV Club. The ingots here would run anyone a few emerald coins. Unless they were mining the silver themselves and had some way to hallow the final product. Logan didn¡¯t know the process, outside of it taking a long time. This left Logan with a question. Why was this caravan so poorly protected? Picking up one of the ingots, Logan focused his Symbol Assimilation over it. A minute passed before the ingot''s form fizzled and morphed, revealing a normal ingot of copper. Flipping it over, Logan spotted a symbol had revealed itself. A trick. Someone had made this look like something it wasn¡¯t. False information got leaked or told. If that was so, the final base probably knew Logan or someone else was on their way. He didn¡¯t have time to look over all of what was in this wagon. Picking out a piece of parchment, Logan pinned it to the wagon and made a circle over it with his finger. The parchment gleamed slightly as glittery dust started to fall from it. A beacon for the guard to find this shipment. This wasn¡¯t much of a diversion, but it was one regardless. Looking to the skies, Logan warped away to the final location. --- *** --- Chapter 135 - Hunt the Sunsilt. Part 6 With an outward burst of wind, Logan appeared within a clearing of yet another forest. His ability to cross distances of 45 miles at a time allowed the Spellthief the luxury of expedient travel. That did, however, mean that the backup had not arrived ahead of him. Either go now or wait. The former would mean that fewer of the aggressors could flee, and even more importantly the Sunsilt Bolts could get collected. If Logan was to wait, it could all fall between his fingers. ¡°Logan¡±, a voice rang in the Spellthief¡¯s head. ¡°Quayvan?¡± Logan replied mentally. ¡°Our attack has been postponed, an alert wave was sent to several locations. We can¡¯t have Thermodan flee. Are you at the silver mine?¡± ¡°Looking right at it. What about my backup?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no time. Clear that place as best you can. We¡¯ll pay extra, just cause disarray!¡± ¡°Better be quite the raise.¡± ¡°It will be. Fuck. We got more incoming!¡± ¡°Quayvan? Quayvan?¡± Only silence replied. There were too many critical members at play, so Logan decided it would be best to go ahead. If Thermodan was still here, Logan could possibly save other captives if they had other locations currently uncovered. Running ahead, Logan saw the entrance to the mine. Cut somewhat into the face of a hill, it went underground with flaming sconces lighting the corridors and chambers below. Hopping side-to-side to avoid rocky stalactites and stalagmites, Logan saw the walls had been smoothed out a bit by hand. It wasn¡¯t long before visions of danger were seen ahead in the form of several shadows that became highly detailed as they charged down Logan. ¡°Identify.¡± ¡°Necro-mane - Demon / Lupine. Level 10: 180/180 HP, - MP. A breed of wolf infused with necrotic energies, often employed by demon-kin to guard treasures. One bite can send almost anyone into a feverish state and if not treated quickly can kill in a couple of hours. Standing around 3'' tall at their back, and 6'' on their hind legs, these wolves aren''t overly large for the danger they pose, but with demon blood flowing through their veins, they are a dangerous foe. Skills: Blend, Climb, Critical Bite, Curse Spit, Cursed Maw, Hundred Scent, Spellforce Sight, ¡ª. Reduction: Damage 5. Resistance: Damage 25%, Earth 50%, Fire 50%, Holy -50%, Ice 25%, Lightning -25%, Shadow 100%, Water 25%, Wind 25%.¡± ¡°Fuck, the things that Marta¡ª¡± Logan began to think as the necro-manes jumped at him. Reversing a dagger in his hand, Logan dropped it and landed a solid palm strike to the chin of the closest foe, closing its mouth as a whip of wind went around the blow. Logan¡¯s increased Strength could easily part the air if it was at full power. Gripping the wolf¡¯s neck, Logan chanted, ¡°Lightning Grasp¡±, shocking it all over before quickly tossing it to the side. The wolf tumbled around on the rocky floor as its back hit the wall, though it meagerly stood as it saw Logan land a deft kick into its allies¡¯ faces. Logan kicked off another wolf as he made distance between them, making sure to close their mouths when possible. A quartet of lupine choralists surrounded Logan, their spits of pain would sing the outro of this adventure. ¡°Skin of Ice¡±, Logan chanted. A sheen of blue coated Logan¡¯s skin before fading into his normal colour, it wouldn¡¯t negate the damage, but it would make it harder to curse him. The next spell to cast was, ¡°Haste¡±, increasing his speed as he began to dodge more daunting lunges. The necro-manes were quick, but still behind Logan¡¯s momentum, it was only hard due to being a four versus one. Drawing up his frozen lord edge and Bowen dagger, Logan let out a flurry of slashes. It was easy to bring down the first foe as it was already damaged. Doing a frontflip kick into one wolf at his hind, Logan jabbed sideways at the others, twisting the blades and his body as he twirled two wolves away onto their sides. Spinning like a top on the ground, Logan smashed his heel into the face of the rear wolf that was quick to recover. Continuing the spin, Logan dove both his blades into the side of the necro-mane and pulled the daggers back towards himself, gouging the monster¡¯s skin and pouring its blood onto the floor. Rolling to the side to avoid the other wolves, Logan rolled until he reached the wall to leap up off of it to dodge, flip over a lunging wolf, and land with his dual daggers into the other. Pulling them out, Logan stabbed a few more times to fell the third wolf. Hopping forward, Logan turned and threw both blades at the last wolf, grazing its face and impaling its throat. The attack hampered its attack and was stopped totally when Logan quickly drew and threw more daggers at the necro-mane, pushing it to the floor with impactful pierces. Logan let out a few quick breaths, awaiting experience, but none came so he had to move fast. Retrieving his daggers he continued his sprint into the underground. ¡°This is where they kept their demons¡±, Logan thought to himself. The reports mentioned the AV Club making use of demon-kin for their own wishes. Marta had dealt with the necro-manes before but were unrelated to the AV. Wriske dealt with the chabras on this very mission. What else could they have at their disposal? High-level magic, that was to be sure. Thinking about the ahead adversaries, Logan spotted a whipping tongue coming his way. Sliding forward to halt his momentum somewhat, he bent sideways to dodge the medium-range attack. Two chabras flanked by three necro-manes. It was a mess of tongues and maws, coupled with spit and slashes. Flipping over another wolf, Logan placed a hand on the back of its neck and chanted, ¡°Lightning Grasp¡±, shocking it to the core as Backstab text floated up. Smacking the side of a chabras, Logan attempted to do the same but was annoyed when a shimmering barrier met his touch at the spark of his spell, protecting the beast from his magic. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°Damnit. They have protection against magic?¡± Quickly dragging up a dagger to block a blow from a wolf, Logan went sliding backwards from the force. ¡°What is protecting them?¡± Shifting to a dual-wielding stance, Logan continued to batter back bites and claws. A sideways jump into a double Backstab brought down a necro-mane to the floor. Halting a bite from the same chabras, Logan slapped its side and chanted, ¡°Lightning Grasp¡±, however, the sparks just wrapped around its strange barrier. ¡°It¡¯s protected more than once.¡± Jumping backwards and then off the wall to make some distance and split up the foes, Logan drew up several daggers to throw at the three enemies. Keeping two in his hip holsters, Logan backpedalled from the encroaching threat. With his wider vision due to his vaskt eyes, Logan spied approaching silhouettes further down the corridor. He didn¡¯t want to fight more than this, so with a dodging jump and wave of his arm, he chanted, ¡°Gaia Wall¡±, erupting a wall of stone to the ceiling to block off the passage. It wouldn¡¯t last long though, as battering attacks caused the stone to crumble quite quickly. ¡°I need more room!¡± Logan thought as he chanted, ¡°Air Blast¡±, shooting jets of air from his palm to propel him around. Flipping over another necro-mane, he stabbed its back, propelled the other way, and slashed across its side as he slid with it to the floor. Halting at the wall, Logan blasted under a jumping foe and jabbed its stomach enough times to bring it to the floor too. The wall eventually came crumbling down as more chabras and necro-manes came pouring out. Blasting his way towards the exit, Logan saw the chabras were faster on their feet than the necro-manes, having them separate a bit as they chased down the Spellthief. Twisting his hands in a circle in front of himself, Logan chanted, ¡°Gaia Wall¡±, thrice. Three walls came crashing out from the underground, spiralling in several directions. They each caught a handful of enemies in their grip and pinned them to the floor, wall, and ceiling. Crashing his feet on the floor, picking up mud at his heels, Logan kicked at the ground to move towards the trapped foes. Swiping out over and over, he dealt with the constrained chabras, and slid under and over his spirals to continue doing the same. More foes came crashing through the rock as they bashed their heads into them. An open palm and cries of, ¡°Force¡±, pushed out waves of grey to make the wolves falter to the floor. The overwhelming numbers started to become unmanageable as a necro-mane was finally able to land a massive bite on Logan¡¯s shoulder. Blood dashed upwards as the Spellthief¡¯s veins turned black. Wincing in pain but seeing other monsters come his way, Logan mentally commanded, ¡°Dimensional Jaunt¡±, warping to his centre to leave the wolf on his shoulder to fall and collide with the others. Throwing out a hand and pulling back, Logan chanted, ¡°Necromantic Second Skystrike¡±, tendrils of black and red forming in the air and darting through the body of a chabras to drain their life for Logan. Waving a hand over the floor he intoned, ¡°Necromantic Second Wall¡±, with clawed hands he created a plane of long talons whipping around. The demons saw no fault with this and charged him down, Logan answering this with a timely movement of his hands downwards and a reply of, ¡°Gaia Wall¡±, crushing stone into darkness, burying the last four foes into the black death that sucked them to the bone in deathly imprisonment, though Logan had to stab the necro-manes as they were immune to the effect. Logan¡¯s wounds healed over quickly, but he deftly picked out a vial and crashed it into his shoulder, the glass cutting him and the fluids setting off a purple flame across his wound. The black veins quickly dissipated as Logan yelled out in pain, falling to a knee with sweat hitting the floor. Whatever pain this dealt, it was better than being cursed. He certainly did not want to end up like Marta or Wriske, the former more so. Running to the corpses, Logan picked out the blades he could still use. Sadly many had taken too much damage from cursed spit and chewing of indulging demons. He had spares though, so as he continued his run he refilled his hip holsters.
¡°Loose!¡± a man called out from down the hall. The sound of crossbow fire filled the underground as Logan dipped, ducked, dodged, and dived around. With a thin cut across his cheek, and the tearing of his cloth, Logan was able to keep the damage to a minimum as he tried to peer ahead. Overpowering lights blocked vision beyond that blinding sight. Bolts glistened in the white obstruction, Logan barely seeing them a dozen feet from his location. Whoever was attacking him had set up amazingly well. Picking out a dagger, Logan tossed it down the hall as he spun around some more bolts. The wounds stung, leading him to believe they were of silver make, but that was to be expected. As the dagger reflected off the ceiling near the light, Logan could barely see it amongst the spotlights that were hampering his teleportation powers. But focusing on his dagger, he was able to mark it for his target. ¡°Dimensional Jaunt¡±, Logan mentally commanded as his body warped into its centre. Just in time too. A glowing red bolt came singing toward the Spellthief. As it soared in the distance from the near-miss, it hit the floor and exploded in an imploding hole of sunlight, a sonic boom pushing air and debris away at a startling rate. Somewhat blinding the attackers, Logan apparated amidst the bright lights and the hidden troops within it. With two blades in his hands in reverse grip, Logan arced them down into the shoulders of two female archers, then dragged them out as he severed their arms. Throwing the daggers, two crossbows had their strings cut and their wielders impaled. With his hands still forward he opened them wide, swung to his sides and chanted, ¡°Flame Wall, Flame Wall¡±, igniting from his flanks to the opposite walls. Screams of pain and fear replaced the sound of crossbow activations, Logan throwing daggers through the fire and flames and dancing around their edges to slash at the other AV Club members. At the corner of his eye, Logan saw another aim at him as the light dimmed around them all. Bending his back, Logan limboed under a crossbow bolt that imploded in the far distance. That was the second Sunsilt Bolt to be used in combat. They were getting desperate. Pelting a, ¡°Force¡±, at the far marksman, Logan pushed him to the floor. Spinning in his bent position, the Spellthief kicked at the wrist of another attacker to disarm a silver dagger and brought down his own steel dagger into the foe¡¯s neck. Before his perception could recognise it, a final Sunsilt Bolt hit Logan''s chest. A searing pain of puncturing was followed by an ever-incinerating power of the sun as it imploded apart his chest. Blood and cloth went flying as Logan was sent crashing across the rocky and muddy floor. His head hit a rock as it halted his movement. Logan¡¯s armour stitched itself ever so slowly, as did his wound, he wouldn¡¯t die but he was down to 12 health. Coughs of blood and inward wheezing showed that the Spellthief was still alive, his blurred vision tracking the man at the far back. Sitting up, Logan picked out several vials as he aimed his other hand at the aggressor, pulling it back as he chanted, ¡°Necromantic Second Skystrike¡±, causing a midair tendril to pierce the man¡¯s back as his life was sapped away. Logan had the crimson-coloured healing liquids wash away the blood from his mouth and chin as both his potions and spell brought him back to full heartiness. Standing up meekly, Logan stared down the corridor as he saw more men and women running at him with crossbows in hand. While there was no sign of any further Sunsilt Bolts, there were signs of red. A rolling poncho came spinning in between the AV Club, a dance of blades cutting across them all as the revolving tornado struck them all down in an instant. A rush of wind and blood came towards Logan as he saw the newcomer rise to their feet. Quayvan, donned in a new cloak and brandished his machete and dagger. ¡°Ho, Logan!¡± Quayvan called over to his ally, two fingers raised in his machete hand. Logan coughed out a chuckle, ¡°Backup took its time.¡± ¡°Apologies. The antecedent delay proved itself in my appearance¡±, Quayvan spoke as he sheathed a dagger to offer a hand to Logan. Taking it, Logan was pulled to his feet, ¡°Glad nonetheless to see you and your weap¡ª¡± Shik. Logan¡¯s words were cut off. Time slowed as he felt his body grow cold. The adrenaline dripped through his shoes, while his blood stained his chest once again. Quyavan¡¯s machete had pierced Logan¡¯s heart. --- *** --- ¡­Dad Chapter 136 - Hunt the Sunsilt. Part 7 --- In the deep darkness at the end, I stood, Met with a bleakness, as if misunderstood. My body roughed and roused, feeling so weakly, Yet blood ran and sweat trickled, urging me fiercely. There, amidst the shadows, a glimmer of light, A beacon of hope, shining ever so bright. I breathed in deeply, to restore strength within, For this battle, I knew, I had to win. If my body could be pushed to take a stride, I''d defy death''s grip, and break away from its tide. No longer would I stand, a prisoner at that door, I''d fight, I''d rise, and emerge once more. With every step, determination would guide, Through the abyss, where my courage would reside. For in that darkness, I''d find my way, To a dawn of renewal, where shadows decay. So I moved forward, with a resolute will, Casting off the doubts that sought to instil. In the face of adversity, its power I stole, For I shall never willingly pay that toll. And as I reached a light, beyond that despair, I left behind the darkness, the abyss''s snare. For in that moment, I discovered my might, The power to conquer, to shine through the night. No longer to be met with bleakness or defeat, But with resilience and strength, my victory complete. I broke free from that door, now forever closed, A testament to the battles that I had composed. In the deep darkness at the end, I saw the core, The flame Marcus called me, burning brighter than before. No longer meekly standing, I rose and I soared, Defying all odds, my future restored. --- Logan stared down Quayvan, glistening green eyes versus that of chilling blue. A knowing, excited, and devilish grin adorned the vampire¡¯s face, while Logan¡¯s was full of hatred and confusion. ¡°Oh, my hand must have wandered a centimetre to the right¡±, Quayvan sighed as he looked at Logan¡¯s chest. Logan coughed blood onto Quayvan¡¯s sleeve, ¡°The fuck are you doing?¡± Quayvan tutted, ¡°Don¡¯t you mean, ¡®The hell am I doing¡¯?¡± Logan was stunned, he had been so careful not to use words from Earth, how did Quayvan find out? There was no time to mince words. Logan gritted his teeth and commanded his body to move, and it did, as it warped far from the vampire. Kneeling down, Logan quickly drank potions from his pouches before Quayvan caught up. Another teleport gave the Spellthief some distance to heal and think. What should he do? ¡°Come!¡± Quayvan shouted from down the hall, ¡°Is this how one sent from above fights?¡± Getting down into a slouched position, Quayvan¡¯s robe started to float as his hair swayed, ¡°Demon-Clan Spell. Body Eruption!¡± he chanted. Logan surmised its effects as he turned his head and warped away again. Just in time. The bodies near his feet, be they dead or unconscious, all started to bubble and enlarge before exploding and sending shards of red energy and bone all around. Drawing up his artefact dagger, Logan was about to go on the offensive but became quickly defensive as Quayvan warped a few inches from his face. ¡°Show me more!¡± Quayvan demanded as he stabbed upwards into a blocking icy blade from Logan. Punching at Logan¡¯s face, the Spellthief tilted his head to dodge, to which Quayvan opened his hand, ¡°Demon-Clan Spell. Telekinesis.¡± Logan could hear the singing of weapons coming from his rear, warping away he narrowly evaded countless shards of rock and discarded weaponry as it crashed into the ceiling and floor around the vampire. Quayvan shrugged as he shook his head, turning to the foe away from him. ¡°C¡¯mon. Is this what really took down so many?¡± ¡°Why?!¡± Logan demanded. Quayvan looked puzzled before he blinked in realisation, ¡°Oh yes. Camaraderie is an amazing tool¡±, he began before vanishing and appearing next to Logan with a sideward swing, ¡°To kill!¡± Logan hopped to the side as the knife cut his cheek, but it was followed by a punch to the nose, sending out cracking noises across Logan¡¯s face. Quayvan wrapped an arm around the back of Logan¡¯s head as he brought him down into a knee to the face but was blocked by his own knee. As Logan was sent back he retaliated with a slash of his own, cutting under Quayvan¡¯s ear. Opening a palm, Logan chanted, ¡°Air Blast¡±, sending a shockwave out that pushed him into a spin, landing a solid kick into Quayvan¡¯s face as they both moved away from each other. ¡°Haste¡±, Logan chanted. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Haste¡±, Quayvan chanted. The two increased in speed as they darted towards one another. Blades collided, deflected, and dodged. Logan was able to stab at Quayvan¡¯s face again, the vampire cutting at Logan¡¯s sides and wrists. Landing a solid punch into Quayvan¡¯s stomach, Logan opened his palm and grabbed ahold of his coat, ¡°Necromantic Grasp¡±, he chanted. A shadowy claw tried to dig into the man¡¯s body but was pushed away. Quayvan was also immune to first-level spells. Realising this, Logan backstepped as Quayvan carried after him. ¡°Identify.¡± Nothing. ¡°Think this is a fair fight?¡± Logan asked. ¡°Of course not. Why fight fair, when I can win?!¡± Quayvan replied as he caught up with Logan to exchange blows again, ¡°Crooked words coming from you though. Necks and backs are your targets.¡± ¡°We share one of those!¡± Quayvan slid to a halt as he felt his neck, Logan stopping similarly as he brought up a bolt behind his back, ¡°Oh. Trying to find words to pierce my wall? A valued attempt. But I¡¯ll have many parts of my body sucked if it means power!¡± Quayvan darted forward again and had another blow deflected, this time Logan brought up a silvered bolt and pierced Quayvan¡¯s neck where his bite marks were. The vampire yelled out in pain as steam rose from the wound. Quayvan quickly crushed the shaft and pulled the bolt out, tossing it to the side. ¡°The taste of silver is so¡­ spicy.¡± Logan twisted his hand in the air as he pulled back, ¡°Necromantic Second Skystrike¡±, causing tendrils to attempt to penetrate the man, but Quayvan warped behind Logan again. Logan similarly warped to where he had attacked and attempted it again. Quayvan had his back pierced and his life drained into Logan to bolster him. ¡°You hide it well! But knowing ahead of time, anyone can tell you¡¯re an Oracle¡±, Quayvan teased as he pulled away from the spell. ¡°What is your aim!?¡± ¡°To fuck you¡±, Quayvan started as he dropped a dagger and pulled back, ¡°up!¡± Logan saw the shadows beneath him cast on the fire sconces and was able to dodge to the side to avoid tendrils hitting his rear. ¡°Damnit, he can silentcast¡±, Logan cursed in his head. Waving his hands back and forth, Quayvan sent further shards of darkness from his palms at Logan, which he avoided. ¡°He. He must be working with another PC. He has to die!¡± Logan thought as he dodged the numerous spells. Opening a palm, Logan grabbed onto the spells and mentally commanded, ¡°Spell Absorb.¡± The darkness swirled into Logan¡¯s palms to a still-excited vampire¡¯s gaze. ¡°The power of an artefact, in a man! Tille with be pleased.¡± ¡°Tille?¡± Logan waved his arm across the floor as he used the charges of Necromantic to make walls. It wouldn¡¯t do much to his opponent but it would block sight. Running away, he continued to do it as he jumped upwards to the ceiling between two of the shadowed walls. Quayvan came charging through the walls as he cut at them with his machete and dagger. ¡°Where are you going? Desertion will not grant you amnesty!¡± he shouted as he caused stalagmites to crack from the floor and hurl ahead with his telekinetic powers. Falling behind the vampire, Logan grabbed his back as he commanded, ¡°Flame Second Grasp¡±, igniting the foe in flames weaker than that of the sun, but dangerous all the same. Swiping away the flames and shadows, Quayvan cut at Logan¡¯s chest, while Logan landed another blow near the vampire¡¯s temple. Dragging down his blade, Logan made a long cross on Quayvan¡¯s face as he kicked back. The pair stopped being as fast as before as they continued to clash blades. ¡°Let us finish up, no doubt backup follows at my heels¡±, Quayvan put forward. ¡°What? I can outlast him!¡± Logan realised. Quayvan jumped forward as he aimed for a death strike at Logan. Crossing his right arm over his chest, Logan blocked Quayvan¡¯s machete in his right hand. Crossing his left hand over his neck, Logan grappled the dagger in Quayvan¡¯s left hand as it aimed to blind Logan, instead only caressing his cheek and blood flicking away from his red spider eye. Quayvan landed with a slide as the pair kept their attacks and grips in place, their hands shaking as neither one wanted to let go of the other. Dropping his dagger, Quayvan opened his palm and caused the blade to float and shoot towards Logan¡¯s head. Logan leant forward as the dagger narrowly avoided his head through its telekinetic attack. Getting close to Quayvan, the vampire licked Logan¡¯s face and devoured the blood he washed off. Logan quickly jumped up and kneed Quayvan in the chin, piercing the vampire¡¯s tongue with his teeth, the tip flying off as the pair separated again. Quayvan grappled his face as he groaned in anguish at losing half his tasting muscle. Blood poured to the floor like a waterfall as the vampire recoiled from the effect. Waving an arm at his foe, Logan chanted, ¡°Flame Second Shot¡±, sending a torrent of flames at Quayvan. Quayvan quickly drew up his left empty hand, caught the fire, and yelled, ¡°Spell Absorb!¡±. The flames dashed and danced in a circle, getting slurped up into the hand of the vampire. A new form of sucking his opponents dry. A bloody and crooked smile adorned Quayvan¡¯s face as he brought his hand down, nary a singe on him. ¡°Fuck. He gained my ability from my blood? He¡¯s a monster?¡± Quayvan chuckled, ¡°Bountious fortunes! My assumption is shown to be exact.¡± ¡°Who are you?!¡± ¡°A man who has grown so much, in so little. We¡¯re brothers in that aspect¡±, Quayvan replied as he stared at his hand, ¡°Now, we share ever more aspects.¡± ¡°Only monsters should be able to do that.¡± ¡°Harsh. You¡¯re an alien. You lack the right to condemn my actions¡±, Quayvan started as he aimed his hand at Logan, ¡°Now die, invader! Flame Second¡ª¡± Quayvan¡¯s fingers started to alight with embers but extinguished as soon as they appeared, the last word from the vampire¡¯s lips failed to complete as his arm began to bubble, turn red, and explode outwards in a display of flames, flesh, and bone. Quayvan yelled out in horrendous pain as his arm was splattered across the hall, only the dangling flesh of his shoulder remained. ¡°Did he fail to absorb it?¡± Logan thought. But then, when he failed it had only hurt him when he attempted to absorb, not cast. ¡°Did I overstep?¡± Quayvan thought aloud as he fell to a knee, ¡°The parameters should¡ª¡± Logan wouldn¡¯t let an opening go to waste for long, blasting air behind him, he sped toward Quayvan and sliced upwards as he sent out another blast from the pinky that held his dagger. Quayvan narrowly dodged the brunt of the attack but had his chin split down the middle and his nose segmented in two. Spinning, Logan drew up two potions and downed them with his left hand while he struck out with his right. Quayvan parried with his machete which started to show signs of cracks over it, just like his teeth. Turning invisible, the vampire attempted to flee, but his blood continued to drip and Logan¡¯s heightened sight luckily allowed him a brief look at the running foe. Throwing out the last dagger from his hip holsters, Logan landed it as it floated in midair in his foe. Glass shattered as Logan realised his foe was healing too. The whole battle was a mess of attacks and drinking. This wasn¡¯t a bar brawl! Quayvan appeared again as he collided his machete against Logan¡¯s frozen lord edge, the effect lasting much less time when in combat. Dropping his machete in the air, Quayvan waved his hand which caused Logan to jump back and avoid, but avoided nothing as the machete instead hit the floor. ¡°What is he.¡± Quayvan pulled out a silver dagger from thin air and stabbed it in his knee, then a silver bolt into his chest. What was he doing? Whatever it was, Logan didn¡¯t want to find out. Sending out another blast of air behind himself, he went hurtling towards Quayvan with a downward strike aimed to split the rest of the vampire¡¯s head in two. However, it collided with something else. A barrier made up of azure hexagons over the top of a gloved arm, flowing sleeves from a robe accompanying it. A mage had shown themselves, as many more did the same, alongside crossbowers. ¡°Halt! Cease your attack on Sir Quayvan!¡± the blocking mage proclaimed Logan was about to continue to attack the others but saw he was outgunned, as well as outranked. These were the backup forces from the MT. Logan fell back as he looked at the mage, before he could speak the vampire shouted, ¡°Thank the above you got here as you did! Logan almost killed me!¡± ¡°What? You attacked me!¡± ¡°Look at me. He took an arm and attacked with silvered armaments. Even my tongue was severed for components!¡± Logan looked between the vampire and the mages, ¡°He¡¯s lying! He did that to himself.¡± ¡°Logan¡±, the defending mage addressed, ¡°You have been accused by Quayvan of assault. The disappearance of Jirango and Xican are you doing as well?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°It was a smart move to delay reinforcements, traitor¡±, Quayvan spat and lied. ¡°He set me up? Wasn¡¯t he trying to kill me?¡± Logan thought to himself. ¡°My backup plan shall see me safely home¡±, Quayvan unknowingly countered with his own thoughts. Logan was at a loss, there was evidence against him. But how deep did it go? Either way, he was in major trouble. But then something came to mind. He was ever thankful for his keen reading and research. ¡°I request a challenge of court!¡± --- *** --- Snakes in the grass. Chapter 137 - Who to Trust? Sometime later¡­ Sat in a detention room, Logan was surrounded by four thick walls with only a set of chairs and a table to keep himself company. Quayvan, who had been his employer and would-be ally, had attacked Logan within the final base of the AV Club arm that was making Sunsilt Bolts to hunt down the progenitor vampires with. In different circumstances, he would have accepted his level-up bonuses from reaching 19, alongside the reward for ¡°completing¡± his most recent quest assigned by whoever gave him his system. However, any abrupt change in him could get detected by the courts, so he would save those presents for later. Instead, he sat and waited. A day had passed in captivity as Logan awaited his defence and the information surrounding his court hearing.
¡°I request a challenge of court!¡± a weakened and bloody Logan called out to the mages who were protecting Quayvan in the cave.
A challenge of court. A quick assortment of words that stayed Logan¡¯s execution, and binded the hands of the magi that appeared to save the traitor. It was an allowance to most upstanding members of the community, and even stronger in the hands of protective individuals, especially hunters. It was a request that whatever accusations were being dealt with was to be handled by the courts of the governing city. In this case, it was Gauntlet. Logan was timid at the decision though, as his two major backers had seemingly been missing. The Spellthief had been diligently researching local laws and avenues to save his hide if anything were to come up about Oracles and traitors. He had hoped this was one he didn¡¯t need to rely on, but capturing the offender was critical too. Quayvan. He was hiding a lot behind the facade of a worried member of vampire society. It was hard to tell what part of what he had said was a lie. If all of it was true, and Quayvan aimed to gain something other than Logan¡¯s death or apprehension, Logan wanted to delay that if at all possible. Logan looked down at his normal clothing. A white shirt and brown trousers with plain brown ankle boots. He was still allowed his cache arm as it was a privacy item more than anything. Without being certain he was guilty, Logan was allowed some form of comfort. Before long a finely-dressed vampire entered the room. Strands of medium-length black hair peeked out from a cap, but the rest of his attire was pressed and clean. Setting down a thick booklet, the vampire looked at Logan for a few seconds before opening it. ¡°Logan Hall. Hunter and adventurer of Gauntlet. Correct?¡± Logan nodded, ¡°Yes, sir.¡± The vampire picked a quill from a satchel at their side and sat an ink well next to his booklet. ¡°I am Defence Master Laurent Asl, I will be protecting your honour this coming week.¡± ¡°Thank you for taking my side¡±, Logan bowed his head. ¡°Before we begin, do you accept my defence of you? Or would you ask someone else to do it?¡± Logan paused for a second before asking, ¡°Quayvan mentioned that the Half-Hand, Jirango, alongside Investigator Xican, were missing? Is this true?¡± Laurent looked at Logan for a moment, ¡°You ask this, because you want them to represent you?¡± ¡°If possible.¡± ¡°It is not. Those two are indeed missing.¡± Logan sighed, ¡°May I ask if you have any intentions protecting me?¡± ¡°I believe in you¡±, Laurent replied quickly, ¡°Your actions speak not of a traitor.¡± ¡°Have you investigated me too?¡± ¡°Not as intensely as the MT, apparently. Though I have heard of your previous exploits. You have even rescued my great-great-grandaughter from danger in the past, for no mention of a reward.¡± Logan quickly ran through names in his head for anyone with a similar surname. ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t get the family names of everyone I help¡­¡± ¡°Marta¡±, Laurent replied plainly. ¡°He¡¯s over a hundred years old if so¡±, Logan laughed in his head. ¡°Glad my help is coming back to me¡±, Logan mentioned with a smile. Laurent waited a second to wait for Logan¡¯s face to return to normal, ¡°I am not close with her. But she is blood, and I hate that word did not reach my ear about her situation.¡± ¡°Sorry to hear both of those accounts.¡± Laurent looked back down into his book, ¡°I take it you are accepting me then?¡± Logan nodded. ¡°Good. I will go over the current status of your hearing.¡± Laurent spent the next hour explaining all of the evidence currently in the court¡¯s possession. Several silvered Bowen daggers were found in Logan¡¯s wake, showing he was anti-vampire with his armaments. Then, the device he handed over to the guardhouse had tracked magical teleportations there, similar to Logan¡¯s. Jirango¡¯s abduction was the cause for the disarray on the final day of the attack, which led to Logan being alone with Quayvan, the only vampire included in the mission. Xican¡¯s disappearance also removed the leader of the diviners put on the mission, with blocks placed on anything relating to Logan or Quayvan. There were no mentions about the Sunsilt Bolts at all, in Laurent¡¯s retelling. It seemed the whole operation had been masqueraded as just an AV massacre. Since Logan had disposed of those he found, and the ones in the final base used against him meant none were to be found. Or, Quayvan had taken them. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. A raid had been undertaken into the Meek Moat Inn as well. Planted evidence showed Logan had been planning this for a while. Logan eagerly wrote a page of text to confirm it was not his handwriting. There was a lot more. But it seemed Quayvan and his possible allies had gone through a lot of trouble to make Logan look to be the villain here. Was this the whole point? To not kill him at all, but to oust him as a traitor? There was so much evidence planted that it seemed as if the whole plan was to put Logan into a position where he was taken to court. If so, was the idea to have Logan reveal himself as an Oracle to get an innocent outcome? ¡°As you can see, the evidence is quite stacked against you¡±, Laurent finished. Logan sighed again at the situation. ¡°I will say. The number of separate leads to you being the perpetrator is so high, that it will look aberrant.¡± ¡°Too heavy-handed?¡± ¡°Exactly. You are a hunter of some repute. Invisibility magic, combined with teleportation. You would not have left so much behind.¡± It was good that his reputation was going to stay that way too. This sort of court hearing was quite under wraps. Even his bringing-in was hidden under hoods, coats, and carriages. No one saw him come in. ¡°Do I have a good chance of winning?¡± ¡°No.¡± Logan went wide-eyed at the blunt response. ¡°Many of the people who would speak on your behalf, cannot. As such, it will be your testimony against Quayvan¡¯s, as well as those he is able to bring forth.¡± ¡°What exactly is the charge?¡± ¡°That you were embedding yourself into Gauntlet to tear down its influentials, and to take down the vampires.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that shaky? I killed so many of the AV members.¡± ¡°Deep cover. Hunter Wriske was already hired to kill them, but failed, which granted you an easy ¡®in¡¯ to take her place and get close to Quayvan. If not her, another hunter would have taken the contract and completed it.¡± ¡°I guess fifty for one is an acceptable loss?¡± ¡°There¡¯s also the notion that you could have defected to work for Helm. Tensions have risen with the northern kingdom, and your own history with Gauntlet and the Ice King aren¡¯t doing you favours.¡± ¡°For fuck sake.¡± ¡°Since you know the Demonturle Shell is to be utilized, now is the time to strike.¡± Logan looked at Laurent for a second. ¡°This is all the other side¡¯s theories. I am for you.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°As you were recently reassessed, both you and Quayvan would be immune to most truth magic. So it will come down to testimony and evidence.¡± ¡°Can I talk with my friends? Maybe they can find Jirango and Xican?¡± Laurent nodded, ¡°That was going to be my suggestion. Do know that they will be in danger. Quayvan most likely has allies outside of here making sure he comes back. You also only have a week.¡± ¡°I trust them to get it done.¡± ¡°Very well. One final thing. What was the true intent of your mission? It wasn¡¯t just to hunt AV Club members, right?¡± Logan opened his mouth but closed it, ¡°If any of it was true, it is meant to be a secret¡±, he thought to himself. ¡°Are you high up within vampire society? Are you part of a coven at all?¡± ¡°Not especially. I became a vampire to extend my life and continue to protect people. Once I served a set amount of time under my sire, I left. I am still friends with others, but have no real affiliation to speak of.¡± ¡°Then, I cannot tell you. Is there a senior vampire amongst the judges?¡± Laurent blinked and took on an expression of surprise, ¡°Ah. Of course¡±, he spoke as he straightened his face, ¡°There are two senior vampire judges. You can inform them of anything needed to be kept between fangs.¡± ¡°Are the judges all unbiased?¡± ¡°Most. There is another vampire who probably accepts anything Quayvan spouts and another younger judge who is a bit more ¡®energetic¡¯ when it comes to getting in good with our kin. You only have to worry about two of seven.¡± Logan nodded, ¡°When can I speak with the two seniors?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t check the time in here¡±, Laurent waved, ¡°but in an hour or so.¡± Logan did notice something was off. This containment room made him feel weaker than normal. It probably dampened spellforce and cut people off from their powers and trinkets. ¡°That¡¯s great.¡± ¡°We have a few more things to talk about before then¡±, Laurent trailed off as the two continued to speak.
After Logan and Laurent¡¯s discussion, the Spellthief was allowed an audience with the two judges who would know something about his mission. Though to be permitted to do so, he had to wear the accused¡¯s gloves, a large slab of concrete with sections to place your hands inside of that could then be locked in place. Adequately ¡°disarmed¡±, Logan saw a middle-aged male gashriek and a female human enter his chamber, both their sclera as dark as the night. The gashriek talked first, somewhat longer fangs than usual showing in his maw, ¡°I am Sanwrence, one of the judges over this case.¡± ¡°And I am Jone, another such overseer¡±, the human added. ¡°We have been informed that you wish to relinquish vital information for the case? Particulars that would upset the masses, or knowledge that should not be for their ears?¡± Sanwrence continued. Logan nodded, ¡°Yes. I believe I was lucky enough to have two elder vampire judges. You see, I believe that Quayvan has set things in motion to frame and have me marked as guilty. One of my counters would be the finer details of the mission.¡± ¡°Careful forethought, to have asked to speak with us. Continue.¡± Logan gulped before continuing, ¡°Do either of you know of the progenitors?¡± The two vampires eyed each other with veiled emotions, the only thing that could be gathered was a hint of agreeance and intrigue. ¡°Yes, though it is odd you¡¯d know¡±, Sanwrence replied. ¡°A wanted prescience, you¡¯re informed enough to know not to bring this up to many¡±, Jone admitted. ¡°Quayvan informed me of Dracon and the progenitors there, and¡­¡± Logan continued describing what he had been told, to the fine details and the number of Sunsilt Bolts he had found. ¡°If this is a ruse, it is an elaborate one¡±, Sanwrence formulated at the end. Jone bit her thumbnail but didn¡¯t snap it, ¡°Irritating that this intelligence was given to a covenless. However, I shall admonish Quayvan if his side turns out truthful. Regardless of the outcome, I pray your mindfulness continues beyond these walls?¡± Logan nodded, ¡°I haven¡¯t told anyone about this, Jirango may have been told a bit, and possibly Wriske, but I am unsure anyone knows of the progenitor assassination.¡± Sanwrence visibly shivered, ¡°To think such a creation had this multitude of craftings.¡± ¡°If the words are to be believed. Logan Hall might just be a spy using information he has learnt in his own assassinations to blur the lines¡±, Jone played devil¡¯s advocate. ¡°It is conceivable. Deity willing, this man speaks his truth.¡± ¡°The evidence will be displayed on the trial days, but know that some of what you¡¯ve said might be made null¡±, Jone informed. Logan wouldn¡¯t get told too far ahead of time all that there was, he could barely leave his chamber. That¡¯d be for his defence to handle and bring to him before the first hearing date. A few more words were shared with the two judges before they also departed and left Logan alone in the chamber. It wasn¡¯t terrible in there, he was at least freed of restraints and allowed to read. On being taken back to Gauntlet he had snuck some reading material into his bag via his inventory so the time wouldn¡¯t be totally wasted. It wouldn¡¯t be long till he had the company of Marcus and Amalia. --- *** --- When I need friends. Chapter 138 - Blood Brothers (Marcus) Logan informed both Marcus and Amalia about his most recent hunt, alongside the betrayal at the hand of the vampire, Quayvan. With enough trust in his friends, he also told them about the issue with the progenitors. Marcus had a strong stare strained on Logan for all of it, rarely blinking as if he could lose sight of Logan in such a confined space. With the final word spoken, leaving a gap for a response, Marcus asked, ¡°What do you need me to do?¡± ¡°Find Jirango or Xican, either one should be able to prove my innocence, both would cement that fact. Any evidence otherwise will just be a backup, really¡±, Logan put forward as he leaned backwards in his chair. Logan looked tired, his hair a bit dishevelled, but Marcus could tell it was more stress than anything. ¡°I¡¯ll do everything in my power. Six days?¡± ¡°Seventh will be the final day before Quayvan is set loose, at that point, you can count me as good as dead¡±, Logan sighed. Amalia looked between the two, adding little to the conversation and feeling out of place. ¡°Do you need anything while you¡¯re in here?¡± she asked. ¡°Actually¡±, Logan began as he paused a second before continuing, ¡°I need to ask you, Amalia. Will you accept this quest?¡± Amalia stared somewhat astonished in reply. Logan continued, ¡°Your system could track them down, and if so, far easier than anything Marcus could get his hands on with such short notice. Even if it¡¯s just guidance, you¡¯d make my victory much easier.¡± Marcus looked at Amalia as he awaited the reply too. Logan didn¡¯t need to ask Marcus to do this, they both knew they¡¯d die for each other at this point and had done so already. Amalia was mostly exterior to their plot right now. Amalia looked to the side, in a sense of deflection or a state of contemplation. Though Logan could understand that a quest window would have appeared for her to look at, Marcus only had brief descriptions of them. ¡°Please, say yes¡±, Marcus thought to himself as the seconds felt extended into eternity. Amalia sighed as she looked back at Logan, ¡°I do have a bit of a debt to return, I suppose. Yes, I¡¯ll help.¡± Amalia blinked quickly as she looked to the side again. Marcus placed a hand on her shoulder as they sat next to each other, ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Thanks. I was able to sneak these away, hopefully, they can aid you¡±, Logan thanked as he handed a pouch to Marcus. ¡°I guess we better head straight to it. Amalia?¡± ¡°We at least have a direction to head¡±, Amalia replied as she kept looking to the side. As they all stood, Marcus moved around the table to give a solid hug to Logan before leaving.
The midday sun was hotter than usual, more inconvenient as Marcus moved to block its rays from his eyes. With the seasons having shifted into the falling some time ago, the weather had started its decline to the start of chill, where the Ice King was to revive. ¡°Nothing will happen this year¡±, Marcus thought to himself as he led Amalia away from the courthouse. Amalia jogged to her ally¡¯s side as her focus was split, ¡°Marcus, are we heading out today?¡± Marcus fumbled with rings on his fingers, ¡°That is the plan, how far are we travelling?¡± ¡°A hundred or so miles? Seems to be in the mountains to the east.¡± ¡°That¡¯s more than a hundred miles¡±, Marcus replied with a tinge of annoyance, ¡°Do you need to get anything before we head out?¡± ¡°I need to stop by the inn to pick up some of my gear.¡± Rushing up to her room in the inn, Amalia donned her full armour, sans the helmet which she placed the headband of which into her bag. Grabbing her kite-coffin shield and her bag of spare shields and weapons she returned to Marcus. Marcus was scanning over a map in hand before looking over his companion, ¡°First time I¡¯ve seen that getup.¡± ¡°First time I¡¯ve used it.¡± ¡°Anything left to get?¡± Amalia rechecked herself before nodding, ¡°Should be all set, aside from food.¡± ¡°Hopefully we won¡¯t be gone that long. I have supplies for a good week, for two.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you know what we¡¯d be fighting?¡± ¡°At a guess? People. Possibly elementals and golems too.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve only fought a few people so far, mostly in the under market raids.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll handle most of it. Just block attacks where you can and keep my heading true¡±, Marcus replied with a half-smile. The pair headed outside, Marcus putting a hand on Amalia¡¯s shoulder as he pulled out Logan¡¯s eyeglass with the other. ¡°Get ready for a teleport. East, right?¡± ¡°Yes¡±, Amalia mentioned as she rotated slightly and guided Marcus, ¡°there.¡± Warping into their centres, Marcus and Amalia began a circuit of teleportations from the items handed down from the Spellthief.
The wind howled as it bit at all who stood on the mountain range. Tree canopies could be seen in the distance, as well as even a Magi¡¯s Tower. The muddy and rocky terrain of the mountain saw white powdering as it went higher into the sky ahead. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Marcus pulled up his hood as he wiggled his fingers and looked over the area, ¡°Teleportation blockers. Damnit to the below.¡± Amalia shivered, ¡°What?¡± ¡°We can¡¯t warp any further. One pro is that this place is protected, so something must be worth it¡±, Marcus replied as he looked back and threw a blue coat at Amalia. Amalia pulled out the headband, placed it on her forehead, and had it extend out into her full helm before putting on the coat. ¡°We¡¯re still a few miles away from the circle¡±, she shouted through a raised visor. ¡°Pondress, cure my steps¡±, Marcus spoke under his breath as he began the slanted climb.
Climbing the incline for around an hour started to take its toll on Amalia¡¯s legs, she had been mostly sedentary while Marcus had been training daily to catch up with Logan¡¯s progress. This was shown in the effortless movements of the Devout as he made wide strides upwards. ¡°Is teleportation still¡­ blocked?¡± Amalia asked through deep breaths. ¡°Yes¡±, Marcus replied. As Amalia took another step, her foot slid on a patch of ice, scraping stone as she started to fall. Waving her arms to steady herself she was quickly caught by Marcus who pulled her back up straight. ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll get rougher the higher we go¡±, Marcus informed as he waited a few moments for Amalia to compose herself. ¡°Colder too¡±, Amalia chuckled. ¡°There¡¯s going to¡ª¡±, Marcus began before swinging his staff wide, smashing apart a compacted snowball that hid a rock within. ¡°Snow mites!¡± he yelled as several blue-coloured bugs stampeded toward the pair. Two-foot-tall flea-looking insects, six furred legs and two long antennae wiggled over the terrain that did well to hide them for ambushes. The middle pair of legs rolled up snow as they ran toward their foes, hiding weapons within before tossing them. Amalia brought up her shield as it was pelted with children¡¯s playthings, the snow shattering and leaving scratches on her steel. Rocks and glass fell to the floor, while others were empowered with spellforce to have dangerous velocities. ¡°Gaia Wall¡±, Marcus shouted as he summoned up a white wall of stone and snow to block the charging insects, ¡°Back-to-back!¡± he commanded as he threw his upper back into Amalia¡¯s. Amalia let out a short breath as her metal clanged against Marcus¡¯s robe, more out of emotion than pain. The bugs darted around the sides of the wall, two for Marcus, and one for Amalia. Raising her shield, Amalia blocked the charging grapple of the insect, the chittering and scratching was incessant and annoying to Amalia¡¯s ears. Dragging her sword up, the Guardian pierced through the bouche hole on the side of her shield, chitinous armour dampening the strikes somewhat but still yielding green blood. Marcus spun his staff into the head of a leaping snow mite and heel dropped the other onto the floor. Reaching over his knee, Marcus grabbed the prone foe and chanted, ¡°Gaia Grasp¡±, exploding outwards white stone, splattering green across the floor and his hand. The smashed snow mite rolled across the snow as it reared itself and charged at Marcus once more. Marcus moved his hand from the corpse and aimed at the maw of the mite, ¡°Gaia Shot¡±, forming a shard of rock and piercing the creature¡¯s head as it slid next to Amalia. Amalia continued to piston her sword arm into the grappling foe, eventually bringing it to the floor. Further mites made their way over the wall and around it, one even burst from underground between the two adventurers. Marcus looped his arm under Amalia¡¯s as he pulled her to the side, moving his arm to his side he pulled a dagger and threw it at one mite atop the wall. ¡°What¡¯s the plan here, Marcus?¡± ¡°Defend and slash, take it slow!¡± Amalia reaffirmed her defence stance as another mite toppled atop the mass of metal, this time Marcus spun and slammed his staff into the foe¡¯s back as he crushed it into Amalia¡¯s shield. The force was felt through Amalia¡¯s arm as Marcus did it a few more times before the mite hit the floor. Stabbing the staff into the floor, Marcus pushed down and lifted himself over the swipe of another foe, let go of the staff, and spun into a hind grab on the insect beneath him, ¡°Gaia Grasp¡±, exploding white and green from within another foe. Kicking the floor, Marcus lept over one mite who crashed onto the floor as they missed the Devout, hitting their face into Amalia¡¯s shield as she pushed it down and pinned the tumbler, stabbing its back. Spinning the staff overhead, Marcus used the momentum to bat away one mite and return to another as he took on two again. Their attacks are somewhat random and lacked unity, allowing Marcus to counterattack relatively easily even if they were a bit faster than he was. Amalia was done with her easier foe, so moved to aid Marcus. Shield bashing a mite, she was able to slash at it once to fell it, weakened by her ally¡¯s strikes. Marcus finished off his final target. The final body hit the floor as chittering and twitches were slowly drowned out by the howling wind. ¡°We¡¯re good¡±, Amalia announced as she saw experience numbers that were invisible to Marcus. ¡°These are just natural monsters for the area, I doubt they are guards¡±, Marcus announced as he brushed off some of the green blood. ¡°They¡¯re slowing us down, and draining our resources regardless.¡± Marcus sighed as he pulled out two black rocks and handed one to Amalia, ¡°More climbing to be done?¡± he asked as he crunched his. Amalia took the rock and crushed it in her mouth, ¡°Another hour or so.¡±
Climbing ever higher, it wouldn¡¯t be a stretch to say the chill had come early. Eventually, the pair came across a mouth in the mountain, a cave to hide their targets or themselves if they wanted to rest. Amalia pointed inside, ¡°The circle is all around this area. I guess it¡¯s in there?¡± Marcus brought out a potion and chanted as he placed another hand on Amalia¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Essence of power, grant onto others. Enhance Strength, Sustained¡±, her body had a grey glow appear over it, and several more times as he did the same for Agility and Constitution. Drinking his spellforce potions, Marcus did the same for himself but could do it silently. These spells granted 12 extra attribute points for Amalia, and 14 for Marcus, stronger than any trinkets they had encountered to his point. Combined with all his skills, Marcus had this occur due to getting Enhance to tier 7 mastery. ¡°This feels much stronger than last time¡±, Amalia mentioned as she looked at her armoured arms. ¡°Always have to keep moving forward¡±, Marcus mentioned as he pulled out a torch. ¡°Speaking of. The circle isn¡¯t getting smaller like Logan said.¡± ¡°Use Identification?¡± ¡°Still no change.¡± ¡°I guess Logan has a better skill¡±, Marcus thought to himself. ¡°This should be good enough. You can guard the entrance if you want to.¡± ¡°With these buffs, wouldn¡¯t it be better to stay together to make the most use of them?¡± ¡°They were more for your protection. Fourty-four minutes should last you long enough for my return, or any that followed us here.¡± ¡°I want to be more of use. I owe Logan, maybe not as much as you, but it¡¯s all the same¡±, Amalia admitted as she walked ahead. ¡°Is that what I looked like?¡± Marcus asked himself in his head as he followed close. ¡°So, was it elementals you said?¡± ¡°Yes, among other things.¡± ¡°Then I think that¡¯s what¡¯s up ahead, Identification is picking something up¡±, Amalia mentioned as she brought up her shield. The deeper recesses of the cave, while dark, shifted at the duo¡¯s change in demeanour. ¡°Then it¡¯s time to return them to the earth.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 139 - Stygian Gaze The sound of a closing book shortly followed that of the lock to Logan¡¯s cell being turned, a friendly figure entering his detention chamber. ¡°Good morning, Logan¡±, Laurent spoke as he sat at the table, placing a tall stack of papers and books next to him. Logan pulled out his chair and plopped into it, ¡°Is it? Hard to tell in here.¡± Logan looked over the walls, nary a window or a bar to look through, just two torches. A red one for light, and a blue one for temperature control. Their enchanted bases allowed for their spellforce to work unimpeded within the room. ¡°I¡¯ve been granted notations of evidence for today¡¯s hearing. Do you mind if we go over it together?¡± ¡°Sure. Let¡¯s see how far Quayvan went to frame me.¡± ¡°Quite¡±, Laurent started as he slid over a few drawings, ¡°These are Bowen daggers, similar to yours, yes?¡± Logan scanned the images, daggers sticking out of bodies or terrain alongside some seemingly in protective cases to be shown in the court. ¡°They are, but those aren¡¯t hard to buy.¡± ¡°I took the liberty of talking with the merchants you mentioned and got written oaths for your purchases.¡± ¡°It would be called an affidavit, but I suppose that word doesn¡¯t exist here¡±, Logan thought to himself. ¡°Does it line up with what I was apprehended with?¡± ¡°That they do, even the weakened ones from demon spit. There are a few extra than what¡¯s noted. You don¡¯t have any smithing experience, do you?¡± ¡°None. I have only made clothing and trinkets.¡± ¡°Anyone close to you with smithing as a hobby?¡± ¡°One, but she hasn¡¯t given me anything. She also isn¡¯t Bowen.¡± ¡°It would be hard to replicate another¡¯s craft, yes. Now, the next.¡±
The pair talked and referred to many pieces of evidence. Logan would have laughed or smiled at so many of them if things didn¡¯t look as bleak as they did. Quayvan had gone to many lengths to paint himself as the victim, as well as the hero the vampires needed right now. However, outside of just having a tower of bleakness against Logan, the evidence also revealed something more. Quayvan knew things about Logan that it would be hard, if not impossible, to know. Logan hadn¡¯t told many about his regenerative powers, nor his time in Tinte, but Quayvan had planted evidence or made points that dove deep into the Spellthief¡¯s trodden path. How did he know so much? But also, it looked to be a mass of tiptoes around certain parts of Logan. It appeared that Quayvan knew of Logan¡¯s powers beforehand, his mention and use of Spell Absorption in the fight revealed that already, but the vampire had nothing relating to that in these papers. Logan had planned to play it off as some sort of trinket or artefact, such as Cassius¡¯s sword, or even being able to dispel magic. But what did it mean to Quayvan? If the vampire knew of this beforehand and set up so much evidence, why not divulge those? One conclusion was that Logan being an Oracle, or more apt a PC, would help his case for being innocent. Logan could disclose this himself, but that could also be an aim, to force Logan¡¯s hand in his reveal. There were pros and cons for using this clutch. Oracles were all but idolized in any writing surrounding them. If Logan announced he was one, the courts would become heavily biased for him. But, he¡¯d lose his anonymity and some of the power gained through subterfuge. There was also the issue of more traitors targeting him. Logan had little worry that this would lead to other PCs of the below finding him, it seemed like they had already and were biding their time. Quayvan could even be on their side, though paradoxically with his name-calling Logan an alien. Logan snapped out of his thinking when Laurent asked another question, ¡°Are you willing to give up some blood for analysis? It¡¯ll help to correlate to stains at the scenes.¡± ¡°What channels would it go through?¡± Logan asked hesitantly. Laurent flipped through a few pages as he answered, ¡°Some noble researchers will conduct some tests, as well as on-site Devouts. In total, four vials.¡± Logan took a few seconds to think it over before replying, ¡°No.¡± ¡°Very well¡±, Laurent accepted as he put away some pages, ¡°Adoption papers?¡± Logan shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re noted as a vagabond. With no information about your hometown or place of birth, that usually occurs after destroyed villages, adoption, then running from your new home.¡± ¡°My past is private.¡± Laurent paused for a moment, thinking about his response. ¡°I won¡¯t pry. This will just make our responses a bit restricted. Is there anything you can tell me?¡± ¡°I come from the south.¡± ¡°Your records state the same. Not as far as Sabaton?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Very well. Three months of adventuring and hunting, rank 16. That¡¯s close to an average of a rank a week. You signed on stating you travelled with magi before signing up at a hall, so we can discount that first rank as being too close to the second.¡± Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°That¡¯d be mostly correct.¡± ¡°A Wizard has the most spells to cast per day, so not insane to think about.¡± Logan smiled slightly, ¡°Heard that a few times.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be having witnesses and testimonies tomorrow. Do you have any people you¡¯d like to call on?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a few.¡±
After the preparations for the first day of hearings were complete, Logan and Laurent left the detention cell with Logan¡¯s hands in the cement gauntlets again. Being escorted through long hallways, the pair entered a large courtroom, the walls lacking windows but adorned with multi-coloured flames that made the room much more comfortable than it seemed. Logan got a headcount of just over a hundred people in the room, sat atop tiers of pews and separated counters dotted around the dome-like chamber. A tall counter was found at the furthest end where the judges sat, two counters looking towards the centre of the room on either side. While the judges were higher up, Logan was able to read their plaques and get a good feel for each of them. Sanwrence, the male gashriek vampire, whom he had met earlier. Jone, the female human vampire, who had accompanied Sanwrence. Margit, another female human vampire, though seemingly younger with a dash of disdain as she looked at Logan. By her was Tristint, a male gashriek, who hid his hatred better than the last but had more emotion in his white sclera. Ryanarr, a male human, was more absorbed in reading over notes. Grador, a saeben, looked rather regal in his adornments. Pwrose, a saebree, sat next to the former just as formally. Seven judges whose eyes rolled over Logan, the court, and then over Quayvan who was on the opposite counter to Logan¡¯s. The vampire traitor had his arm regrown, along with the smug look on his face that spoke of his victory being assured. Logan had many words for Quayvan in his own head, and knew to keep them there. Quayvan and Logan had a staring match that felt like it lasted an eternity, broken only by a hand on Logan¡¯s shoulder to motion him to sit at his side¡¯s counter. ¡°This court is now in session¡±, Sanwrence began, ¡°the judges for this case will be¡­¡± the elder vampire listed those next to him before continuing, ¡°This case will be to ascertain the dispute between Hunter Logan Hall, referred to by many as the ¡®Phasing Hunter¡¯, versus Quayvan, no such pseudonym or alternate name standing. Is this correct?¡± ¡°Yes, your honour¡±, Laurent answered. ¡°Yes, your honour¡±, the opposing defence master replied, a middle-aged man whose stack of papers next to him did little to hide the discolouration of his hair, obviously having undergone magic to restore his hairline. ¡°We shall hear the opening of Mr Hall¡¯s side first.¡± ¡°Your Honour, and members of the jury¡±, Laurent addressed the close to one hundred members, ¡°I appear as the Defence Master for Logan Hall, the opposing Defence Master, Vayne Alric, appears for Quayvan.¡± Laurent lined out Logan¡¯s side before ending with, ¡°That is when Logan Hall called for a challenge of court. Accusing Quayvan of simulating his fault, and assault at the location both were found by several magi.¡± The opposing DM stood, ¡°As my opponent has clearly laid out, my client, Quayvan was accused. His opposing claim is that Logan was the one to initiate the assault, and even ingratiated himself within Gauntlet to tear it down as a spy¡­¡±
With the case evenly discussed and placed before the viewers, both Logan and Quayvan were called to the centre to undergo the usual truth circle test. ¡°Logan, is your side¡¯s claim correct to your knowledge?¡± Sanwrence asked. ¡°Yes, your Honour¡±, Logan replied confidently. A nearby mage looked up at the judges and shook their head slightly, ¡°The circle has no effect.¡± Quayvan then did the same, ¡°Yes, your Honour.¡± Which was replied with the same response. ¡°As was theorised, both parties are immune to the effects of lesser truth magic.¡± Jone then cut in, ¡°Due to missing members from the Magi Tower association, we are unable to take advantage of greater magics and rituals. Thus once a side has been deemed truthful, time will be set aside for a later renewal.¡± Quayvan stood with raised cemented hands, a wave from Sanwrence allowing his announcement, ¡°Has my request to provide my own form of truth magic been accepted?¡± Ryanarr, the saeben, replied, ¡°As is law, neither side may produce their own spellcasters for magics. Regardless of your position, we have declined the request.¡± Quayvan shrugged slightly, obviously not relying too much on getting more points in his favour. No doubt it was someone who would have lied on his behalf, having the spell only work to allow Quayvan to say what he wanted and force Logan to lie.
More time passed as the beginning parts of evidence were displayed, affidavits on Logan¡¯s side disputing many of them, while others were just his word. ¡°Logan bought these silvered daggers on such a date, not making sure of normal ledger techniques, it was hidden before a confession was taken from the merchant in question¡±, Vayne put forward. ¡°The date mentioned would have been impossible, as the affidavit of two guards shows Logan was elsewhere. Truth magic has already been used on the two guards as well¡±, Laurent countered. ¡°Has truth magic been used on this merchant?¡± Ryanarr asked. ¡°The merchant declined the use of one. Claiming past trauma as a reason.¡± ¡°Then we will have to side with the more honourable guards and their truthful words¡±, Ryanarr declared.
The first day ended after a long and drawn-out experience. Quayvan was heavy-handed, but seemingly loose when it came to affidavits and truth magic. He couldn¡¯t make too much use of the latter, as many people he talked to were lying, Logan knew it. There were a few people who had apparent truth magic used on them, but they had since gone on long journeys from the capital or had died after the fact. So it couldn¡¯t be followed up. A couple had ¡°truth magic¡± cast on them and via casters who were accepted into the court¡¯s records, but it seemed only so many got to the people that Quayvan wanted. At least it wouldn¡¯t be a landslide, Laurent had drawn up some sizeable defences in Logan¡¯s favour. All through the session, the vampire was calm and collected. In opposition, Vayne seemingly was sweating buckets any time something he brought up was questioned. Quayvan¡¯s face revealed annoyance towards his DM. Quayvan¡¯s plans weren¡¯t concrete, nor were his resources infinite. The scales were tipped, but not fallen over. Logan racked over the information in his head, trying to pinpoint his foe¡¯s aim as well as those who backed him. The only thing that made sense was that Quayvan was a partnered NPC, like Marcus was for Logan. Draining Logan¡¯s resources to make the fight in their favour was a good enough plan, especially after several days of casting more spells than usual. However, the end result being incarceration could be placed side-by-side with that plan. If Logan was locked away, he couldn¡¯t complete his quests. All attempts at killing Logan to this point had failed, the closest being a lucky hit from a bandit back at the inn that met the midway point of Gauntlet and Tinte, and of course the frosty giants of the cavern. If Logan was fully fresh, he was sure he could have beaten Quayvan, who was seemingly near his peak. It would have been a cakewalk if Marcus was there. But could Logan really keep up his pace with Marcus in tow, clearing out larger bandit locales? Logan hadn¡¯t even thought about Marcus being left out of the more recent hunts. It was just that recently the pair had been doing different things. The Devout was quite focused on his training, bragging about a new fighting style he was developing. With this new development, it would probably be better to stick closer to one another, if this was going to keep happening. ¡°Have you heard back from your investigators?¡± Laurent asked. --- *** --- Chapter 140 - Cold Shoulder Mountain (Amalia) Amalia breathed out heavily, combat tired her out much more than her allies. Both because she was at a lower level, but also because she was more focused on smithing than fighting. As Marcus checked the newly killed foes, Amalia spent time looking into the windows only she could see. ¡°His progression is so much slower than mine. I got over seven times his experience and even got two levels from this one ambush¡±, Amalia thought to herself as she looked at the mounds of rock and flesh. ¡°We¡¯re lucky they weren¡¯t that strong. Their quantity was the only issue¡±, Marcus informed off-handily as he passed his hand over his ally¡¯s shoulder to heal her. ¡°They did batter my gear a bit. Man, what¡¯s all the fuss about?¡± ¡°Guard dogs, or migrated monsters. The golems at least were made by people.¡± ¡°What a bunch of lunatics¡±, Amalia spat. ¡°For many more reasons than abducting the righteous. Come, let¡¯s continue¡±, Marcus waved. The pair moved deeper into the mountain, welcoming protection against the weather outside that bit at their heels. Amalia scanned the area longer than Marcus, though it was more due to being inexperienced in spotting hidden foes or knowing the usual suspect spots. Marcus held up his hand to halt Amalia at his back, ¡°People up ahead¡±, he whispered. Amalia stopped and hunched over a bit, ¡°Where?¡± ¡°There¡¯s some form of room around the corner¡±, Marcus pointed as he placed his back against the wall. Amalia tried her best to detect what Marcus was alluding to, but neither sight nor sound reached her. She trusted the Devout at her side, though, so similarly hugged the wall. Marcus picked out two vials from his robes and downed them, ¡°I¡¯ll lead the charge, get to their rear and draw the attention. You come in when they¡¯re all focused on me and flank them toward me.¡± ¡°Got it¡±, Amalia replied quickly. Marcus took a few seconds to prepare before running from their hiding place. Sliding across the rocky, yet a bit iced, floor, Marcus warped into his centre with a blast of wind away from Amalia. The Guardian waited just as long, the sound of thumping and slashing decorating the halls with Marcus¡¯s flourish of combat. Darting from the wall, Amalia was treated to the sight of a destroyed door with a corpse impaled with a shard of rock atop it, lifeless eyes staring blankly at Amalia. Dazzles of grey aura and grey rock puncturing into sprouts of red filled the enclosed space as Marcus ducked, twisted, and jumped around a culmination of foes. His movements were quick and deliberate. Amalia had only heard talk about his time with the guards and only seen a minuscule amount of his battle prowess. Seeing such a display instilled a bit of fear in Amalia. Snapping out of it, at least partially, Amalia charged and leapt over the corpse into the room. With the ruckus her metallic armour made, several of the humanoids turned to face the new challenger with sword and mace. Raising her shield, Amalia blocked a resonating hammer strike, and parried a sword with her own. With the weight of her gear, she was slower, though, and took a strike to the side before she was able to reposition her shield or sword. Taking a backstep, she blocked another strike and mentally commanded her Last Bastion skill, her shield vibrating as her body took on a blue glow. Swiping wide, she hit the opposition with heightened fierceness, returning half the damage she had blocked. The man fell to the floor quickly. Parrying with a twisted underarm, Amalia was wide open to another attack at her shoulder as she hit the floor with her knee. Blood dashed over her upper body as shards of rock penetrated her adversaries, however, as Marcus provided covering fire from his side of the room. As one of Amalia¡¯s opponents was distracted from the other element in the room, Amalia made a rising slash at them, followed by a diving pierce into their chest as they were brought to the floor. Turning her shield arm into a ninety-degree angle, she blocked another bash that was riposted by another shard of rock from Marcus. With the final body hitting the floor, Marcus jogged to Amalia to heal her. ¡°We¡¯re not done yet!¡± Amalia shouted as she raised her shield behind her, a wolf¡¯s maw thumping into the metal. ¡°Necro-manes, don¡¯t let them bite you¡±, Marcus instructed as he danced around Amalia to swipe the demonic wolf from her shield. Amalia stabbed the floor with her shield as she quickly drank her own potions, retrieving it in time to position herself to block another bite. Marcus waved his off-hand around as he chanted twice, ¡°Chain Guard¡±, forming numerous golden chains to wrap around and pin the two foes to the floor. Kicking off the floor, he dove onto the bodies and he stabbed at them furiously with a dagger from his belt. The pair breathed heavily, put at ease as Amalia spoke, ¡°That¡¯s it.¡± Marcus cleaned himself off as he checked his body for wounds, glancing over Amalia. ¡°I¡¯m clean¡±, she informed as she knew she had not been bit. Marcus sighed in relief, though his gaze was stuck on the necro-manes for a bit longer than usual. He turned to look at Amalia, then the wolves, then his own hand. He shook his head as his thoughts were but his own, before moving back into the room to inspect it. ¡°What¡¯s on his mind?¡± Amalia couldn¡¯t help but wonder. There was plenty to do, from harvesting the monsters to gathering up the gear of the fallen. Marcus¡¯s first point of call was the room itself. It was only slightly furnished, with a large table with several chairs, and lonesome cabinets on the walls. Looking at it, the interior felt out of place, as if it had just been dropped in this hallway. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°Do you have any direction from here?¡± Marcus asked as he flipped over parchment and books on the table. Amalia looked to the side as she answered, ¡°It seems we¡¯re here. Something in this room?¡± ¡°Check the walls¡±, Marcus ordered without moving his head. Amalia nodded, though it was hard to say if the Devout even saw it. Starting with the wall that used to house the door, Amalia stroked them and started to knock every so often. Continuing around the room, Amalia found what seemed to be five hollow or false-wall sections. Picking up several pieces of parchment, Marcus investigated the first wall. ¡°It seems this is a sort of meeting area. A lot of notes about far-off places, one I know Logan had been to before. A spell ring harvesting prison.¡± ¡°Bit remote, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the idea. If my guess is right, this is the checkpoint for teleportations. But¡­¡± Marcus trailed off as he landed a solid punch into the wall, shattering the stone and crumbling a part of it, ¡°here we go.¡± Pulling on a handle, a doorway opened up in the wall, revealing a short corridor leading to an oval room. Before entering, Marcus pushed one of the cabinets along the frame of the door to stop it from closing in on them too easily. The room was a good ten or so feet wide, the centre housing several chalk and paintings of symbols and sigils that let off a slight pressure. Marcus crouched down to look at them closer, but it seemed his thoughts were more conjecture than anything. ¡°Seems you were right¡±, Amalia piped up. Marcus hummed in reply before standing back up, ¡°This one is still active. Let''s check the others.¡± The pair investigated the four other hidden rooms, all very similar to one another. Two of them were different, of darker tones and seemingly lacking any form of resonance. ¡°This would be the harvesting prison, Logan disabled that one¡±, Marcus mentioned at one of the dead circles, ¡°This would probably be from his most recent quest¡±, he continued at the second, having been connected to the mansion Logan had cleared out and destroyed. ¡°Any idea bout the other three? I only understand train station.¡± ¡°You¡­ what?¡± Marcus asked, bemused at the expression and the idea. ¡°I don¡¯t understand any of this magic circle business.¡± ¡°Right. Anyway. It¡¯s hard to tell. I am not a diviner, nor do I have the skills Logan does¡±, Marcus replied earnestly as he rubbed his chin, ¡°Try Identification on the active ones.¡± Amalia concentrated on the active circles but sadly didn¡¯t get much in the way of valuable information. ¡°Here we¡¯ve got the salad.¡± Marcus rubbed his forehead at the next foreign expression, ¡°I hope you don¡¯t speak like that in town.¡± ¡°I try not to. Feathery and fluffy medieval talk, best I can.¡± Opening a book, Marcus continued, ¡°A lot of these are coded. I can understand some of the parchments, but no finite details.¡± ¡°Just the big picture.¡± ¡°If the circles came here, then whoever escaped could have used another and at that point who knows where they went.¡± Amalia took a few seconds to think about it all. She was an outside observer to most of this, but she wasn¡¯t wholly detached. One part she knew completely was that her quest markers hardly lied. ¡°This one¡±, Amalia announced as she pointed at one parchment amongst many. Marcus picked it out and glanced over it quickly, ¡°Damn cyphers. Your quest golem thing tell you about this?¡± ¡°Yeah. I guess this tells us the location of the two we¡¯re looking for?¡± ¡°A unique split track to follow. If the location is hidden from scrying, at least written notes about where they are can tell us where to go. It¡¯s better than just going through the 3 separate circles, I have no clue if we can even go back or what¡¯s going to await us on the other end.¡± ¡°Can you decipher it?¡± ¡°If no one interrupts us, yeah. I can pick out consistencies and variations. Mind the doors will you?¡± Amalia looked down the three corridors with lit circles, ¡°Let¡¯s hope no one wants to warp here.¡± Grabbing a chair, Marcus sat down and began writing on the back of a piece of parchment as he began decoding the disguised texts. ¡°If it¡¯s a substitution cypher, I could help?¡± Amalia offered. ¡°I would have prayed for it to be, but no. This might take a few hours, maybe even into the next morning.¡± Amalia glanced over the parchment, but her eyes started to blur black, red, and blue with the alien format of the writing. ¡°Right. Got it. Guard duty for me¡±, Amalia accepted as she rubbed her eyes. ¡°Group up the bodies. I left some alive so that they could tell us what we wanted to know, but we¡¯d also need some of the magi to use the circles¡±, Marcus requested. Amalia did just that. Some had died in the confrontation, but Marcus was true to his word, all the casters he could identify were all alive. It would be risky to take them at their word for where to go, or if they were even told where Jirango and Xican had been taken. This was just a checkpoint, after all, they might not have needed to be told.
Several hours passed as Marcus wrote and scribbled up parchment, the cypher proving to be quite an intricate one. If f meant a, it would have been done in a matter of minutes. With the temperature dipping lower, Amalia made sure to reaffix the door to the room and even broke apart some furniture for a fire. Thankfully the smoke escaped through cracks and heated the room nicely. As night encroached, the pair decided it would be best to sleep before attempting to pass into any of the circles. Since the two that were disabled were from ¡°suppliers¡± the other three had a good chance of all being the storage units or even closer to buyers. One of them had a good chance to be a larger base. That was a dreadful thought though. If Logan hadn¡¯t taken out the main headquarters already, any larger or stronger complex would have been a death trap for Marcus and Amalia. They didn¡¯t need to clear it out if that turned out to be true. They just needed to find the captives and teleport away. Another reason to rest, Marcus needed his rings to be recharged. At their best guess, the morning sun had risen outside, at least that¡¯s what the amount of light bleeding into the cave led them to believe. Amalia looked over her gear, the cracks worrying her slightly but she had spares. ¡°How¡¯s your equipment?¡± Marcus yawned and rubbed his eyes, ¡°Fine. I have extras.¡± Amalia couldn¡¯t help but feel something was on her ally¡¯s mind, and anxiety made it seem more about her than anything else. ¡°You worried about Logan?¡± Amalia asked. Marcus looked at the parchment and his notes as he replied, ¡°Yeah. But. This parchment points us towards where Jirango and Xican are. This¡¯ll be enough to set him free.¡± ¡°Does it say what kind of place they are in?¡± ¡°Not particularly. It notes some other effects being moved with the two, plus some other prisoners¡±, Marcus answered as he moved to an entrance to a teleportation circle, ¡°This one will take us to something called the ¡®Holdings Centre¡¯, probably a sizeable guard in place.¡± ¡°I suppose we can be glad nobody teleported to this checkpoint.¡± ¡°They most likely have certain times to come through here, or in emergency. But. It is strange. If this links with the AV Club, why has the same place been used to apprehend and store Jirango and Xican for Quayvan? Quayvan orchestrated the AV Club¡¯s massacre¡­¡± ¡°Something to do with that Thermometer man?¡± ¡°Thermodan. But that is most likely. Is it a pseudonym by Quayvan?¡± Marcus replied as he cracked his neck. ¡°Maybe he is removing all ties to him from the AV Club?¡± ¡°Spell ring harvesting, AV Club bases, suppliers and holding cells. A big operation that combines several groups together.¡± Amalia looked back, ¡°One of those circles go to a Magi Tower you think?¡± ¡°Thermodan was part of the MT, the association could be lying that they excommunicated him after the under market raids. It is plausible.¡± ¡°What¡¯s our plan of action?¡± Amalia asked. ¡°Your quest update?¡± Amalia ummed and ahhed, ¡°It shows the circle you mentioned. It should update when we use it.¡± ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s wake up some of these magi.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 141 - Cells Within Cells (Marcus) Marcus grabbed a handful of snow and pressed it against the face of one of the unconscious magi, their face shivering in fear and fright. Grabbing the neckline of their robes, Marcus pulled the man close to his face. ¡°Parrot, or feel your insides freeze¡±, Marcus ordered with a fire in his eyes. The man had a cold sweat build over him as he replied, ¡°Ok, I will, I will!¡± ¡°Do you have any other locations on this mountain?¡± ¡°No. Just the warping checkpoint here.¡± ¡°Did you set up the teleportation defences on the mountain?¡± ¡°No. Those are old instalments. We carved out an area here to use.¡± Marcus raised an eyebrow, ¡°You¡¯d need a lot of magi to track and complete that task. Who hired you?¡± ¡°Thermo¡ª¡± the man tried to reply but was cut off. The sound of snapping twine was heard as the man¡¯s eyes went in opposite directions, his body limping. ¡°Fuck¡±, Marcus exclaimed as he dropped the body, ¡°they must be trapped, guarded against telling people information.¡± ¡°Is there a delay?¡± Amalia asked as she held the armour covering her stomach. ¡°Seems that way. Probably due to distance and time. This business was set up a bit ago, the traps might have degraded.¡± Amalia followed Marcus as he stood up, ¡°Will we be able to have them use the teleportation circles for us?¡± Marcus rubbed his chin, ¡°That man didn¡¯t seem to know about the safety measure. If we are to use the circles, it will probably be one-way if it kills them on arrival.¡± Amalia sighed. ¡°This is risky, can I protect her?¡± Marcus thought to himself as he gave a side-eye to Amalia. ¡°What are we going to do?¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to be rushed after the teleport. You¡¯ll have to stick with me and listen to what I say. Otherwise, you might not make it¡±, Marcus informed as he stared at Amalia to study her reaction. ¡°I understand that. Doesn¡¯t make it feel any better, but¡­ We have to do this, right?¡± ¡°Logan has shitty odds at the court with the faked evidence. If magi are involved, especially ex-MT members, they could have ¡®altered¡¯ witnesses and assurances.¡± ¡°No doubt in your mind then¡±, Amalia replied. ¡°He¡¯s there for me because I am there for him. You were there on our trip to Tinte. Our help isn¡¯t expected because it¡¯s already given.¡± ¡°Sounds like a long bond.¡± ¡°Deathly scenarios can feel like an eternity, but they¡¯ve not felt lonely for over 2 months.¡± Moving to the next magi, Marcus picked them up and repeated the task of waking them up.
A period was spent waking and forcing a few mages to work the teleportation circles for Marcus and Amalia. Two more had died as they tried to work around the mental triggers, but thankfully those were easy enough to hide with the final three who got to work on the circle that would send them to the Holdings Centre. ¡°Lords of transposition, take our essence and warp it away. Ladies of translocation, pick us up and ferry us thither.¡± The mages chanted over and over, changing lines here or there, but already having lost to Marcus they weren¡¯t going to tempt fate and attempt a sneak attack. At least not on this side. The chanting took a while, the mages being far under levelled for using the circles naturally. But it seemed they had been taught in the ways of ritual casting, something that had been brought up a few times in the past, and the use of these circles would have been crucial to the making of the Sunsilt Bolts. Before Marcus could think about it further, the circle lit up and shot a column of energy to the ceiling. In a few seconds, the light faded with a final wind blast, revealing a better-kept room with floating scones of flame to light it. As they apparated at their destination, the three mages who had chanted all flinched and let out spurts of painful groans before all falling to the floor. It was a close call for their safety measures kicking in, though it did trap Marcus and Amalia in their new location. A nearby counter had a mage jump to his feet as he saw the new arrivals, Marcus quickly warped and smashed the foe¡¯s head back into the desk, sending them into unconsciousness. ¡°At least that works¡±, Marcus thought to himself as he smirked at being able to use Dimensional Jaunt. ¡°My quest circle disappeared¡±, Amalia informed as she looked around with worry. ¡°No doubt they are protecting this place from divination¡±, Marcus surmised as he walked back to his ally. ¡°But teleportation is fine?¡± ¡°The circle allowed us here, this room probably isn¡¯t protected¡±, Marcus replied as he looked around, ¡°No windows, that might prove an issue.¡± Amalia kept close as she also surveyed the area. It wasn¡¯t too ornate, a normal stoney interior. But it certainly was made with purpose, a room within a larger building. Marcus crept to the door and peered through the keyhole to see a few people milling about outside. Thankfully, there was a staircase in view, going both up and down. ¡°Can¡¯t risk fighting this whole place. The cells should be downward¡±, Marcus reaffirmed in his head. ¡°How¡¯s it look?¡± Amalia asked. ¡°Seven people, maybe five if some move into other rooms¡±, Marcus replied as he looked around the next room as best he could through the keyhole. ¡°We don¡¯t want to make a fuss, do we?¡± Marcus stared without reply for a bit before grabbing Amalia¡¯s shoulder, ¡°There¡±, he called as he spotted a good enough gap to warp. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Getting sucked into their centres with a pull of air, the pair exploded outwards with a rush of wind just barely out of sight from the hall, partway down the stairs. Marcus pulled on Amalia to have them both duck down quickly. Tiny steps down the tall stairs were drowned out by the clacking and latching of a window in the main hall. Marcus had lined up their movement with the arrival of an ooran messenger, lucky enough of a distraction. The sound of dripping and whistling of wind got louder as the pair found themselves in the basement. Spare lines of light decorated the floor, following them to translucent windows dissuading Marcus from an easy get-away. Making a claw with his left hand and pulling towards himself into a fist, Marcus chanted, ¡°Gaia Skystrike¡±, piercing the back of a jailor and pulling their body atop their counter. A normal sight for a basement with prison cells, but Marcus was quick on the draw and stopped them from alerting anyone else further inward. Amalia skipped to the side as she found a board with pins and nails, picking out a ring of keys she joined Marcus who skimmed over the ledger that was previously blocked by the corpse. ¡°LD-13 and LD-27¡±, Marcus recited as he looked at Amalia, ¡°got the keys? Good¡±, he said as he took them from his ally, thumbing through them as he led the Guardian into the prison proper. Numerous cells lined the wall and met into a cross-junction, splitting ahead as well as to the sides. Marcus pointed to his left as the two moved into a corridor of doors, metallic bars so close together that it seemed like walls. Marcus dropped his staff and pulled both hands towards himself as he chanted twice, ¡°Gaia Skystrike¡±, forming two spikes of earth and killing another guard who patrolled the corridors. Kicking up the staff into his hands, Marcus continued. ¡°11, 12, 13!¡± he counted in his head as he came to a locked cell, joined by occupied ones on either side. ¡°This one¡±, Amalia called out as Marcus already planted the key in the lock. A satisfying click was heard as the creaky metal revealed the opening to nearby prisoners. Whimpers were heard as well as rebellious growls. Jogging to a kneeling position, Marcus pulled a cloth hood off of the first victim, a battered, scarred, and bruised Jirango looked at his saviour through a single eye, almost blocked by black and purple skin. Marcus placed a hand on Jirango¡¯s shoulder and used Healer¡¯s Caress to smooth the swelling, allowing the Half-Hand a better look at his regular workmate. ¡°Thank Pondress you¡¯ve found me¡±, Jirango spoke as a few droplets of blood seeped through his lips. Marcus looked over the man, both legs, he could walk, but his left hand had been severed, a nub ending his wrist. ¡°Are you fine to move?¡± Marcus asked. Jirango nodded so slightly it was hard to notice, ¡°Yeah¡±, he spoke with a raspy voice. Marcus helped the tortured man sip from a waterskin as Amalia whispered over, ¡°Someone is coming.¡± Marcus jogged out of the cell as he did a similar spell attack to bring another guard to the floor, it wasn¡¯t going to take long for the trail to lead to them. ¡°Amalia, bring him along¡±, Marcus ordered as he darted his head left and right, running towards the next cell. ¡°Too many people to save¡±, he thought to himself. The Guardian slowly helped Jirango to his feet, trying to follow Marcus¡¯s fast movements while keeping an eye and ear out for trouble. Translucent glass let light in, but no sight, Marcus was going to have to get creative if he was to get out of here. Finding the next cell, Marcus opened it and recovered a slightly better-for-wear Xican. However, his tongue had been severed and his fingers spiked with nails. A common trick to make casting difficult, but made Marcus sick regardless. Healing the caster wouldn¡¯t return his tongue, but let the mage see Marcus clearer and accept his help. Xican tugged at Marcus¡¯s arm, pointing to his back and the knife at Marcus¡¯s belt. Marcus looked at the pulled-away shirt to reveal a sigil, no doubt it was a trap or tracker. Recognising the request, Marcus spun his dagger in his hand and quickly cut out a large section of skin from Xican. Amalia arrived to cries of pain and blood-soaked floors as Marcus threw the sigil skin to the floor. ¡°Is he alright?¡± ¡°He¡¯ll live. We need to get out. How is Jirango?¡± Marcus asked as he helped Xican hobble into the hallway. ¡°We can move slow.¡± ¡°Carry him.¡± ¡°Do it¡±, Jirango accepted. Amalia nodded and picked the Half-Hand into a princess carry. ¡°I will open up a path, get ready¡±, Marcus spoke. Xican nodded as he held onto the Devout¡¯s shoulder, Amalia looking around for any sign of danger. It was a pile of luck that let them find these two so quickly, but then, Amalia¡¯s powers of a PC made it so. On his own Marcus would have taken much longer to do this. ¡°Gaia Shot¡±, Marcus chanted as he shot a spike of earth at the windows up high. The shard of dark brown flew across the air as it soared to the glass, however, their momentum stopped completely just a few feet away. ¡°What?!¡± Marcus exclaimed as he felt his body get heavy. The four classed beings hit the floor as a force of power wrapped around their arms and dragged them down. A form emerged from nothingness as black shadows revealed a black-sclera woman, her hand wiggling around as she concentrated on the escapees. She was shortly joined by seven other mages, eight in total as they surrounded and planted their hands and legs onto the group¡¯s limbs. ¡°Now isn¡¯t this a surprise¡±, the lady began speaking as she approached Marcus, ¡°The partner has the powers of the master.¡± Marcus stared hatefully into the lady, her jet-black hair dangling close to his face, ¡°The below are you?¡± ¡°Friends of your enemies. We were warned to keep an eye on these two. You think we¡¯d let them go so easy?¡± The lady replied as she dropped the movements of her hand, the spike of earth landing on the floor behind her. ¡°There¡¯s that Telekinesis again, damn it¡±, Marcus thought to himself. ¡°Your bodies will do well to add to our cauldrons¡±, the lady informed as she caressed Marcus¡¯s face. ¡°Get off him!¡± Amalia shouted, another thug placing a foot on her head to force her face down. ¡°Another Knight to sacrifice in your quest? Some may say you have a bias¡±, the lady spoke as she looked at Amalia in the corner of her eye. ¡°What do you want with Logan?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°Want? No. It¡¯s a need. He needs to die. And if it takes years in a cell or days at the block, so be it.¡± Marcus twitched upwards, the two people keeping him down struggling against his strength. Two others rushed over and grappled the Devout, then another one, their hands wrapped around the man on the floor, pinned precisely. Marcus could see the lady still twitch two of her fingers, as he attempted teleportation he found it was blocked by her. So many of this opposing team could block it, a direct counter to how Logan operated. But she needed to concentrate on it. ¡°So, what you gonna do with us?¡± Marcus demanded. ¡°You? You¡¯ll be studied, the others will be harvested. We at least need the Half-Hand for backups for a while¡±, the lady answered with an air of superiority. ¡°I guess hunters still hunt monsters¡±, Marcus spoke with bile. The lady smirked, ¡°At least you won¡¯t be. Knock him out.¡± Another thug moved to Marcus, making six on him and one on Amalia. Xican and Jirango had been so battered they provided little resistance. Marcus started to chant, as with so many foes close to him, it allowed him a better vantage point for his plan. Gripping his hands as best he could, he chanted, ¡°Gaia Wall¡±, into the dirt to hide his voice, he tried and tried, the pinning motion and pain making it hard to cast, but the fourth time broke through. A tall wall of stone erupted upwards, some of the mages getting toppled off, others being brought up. Marcus got loose and kneed the wall, freeing himself on the side of his allies. Red mist erupted as the wall met the ceiling, crushing three of the mages. As he fell, Marcus spun and threw his hand toward another window, ¡°Gaia Shot¡±, hurtling another spike to crash through the glass and reveal the outside. Landing on his side, Marcus tumbled to his feet as the wall crumbled. Warping once, he grabbed Xican and Jirango, then again to hit his foot onto Amalia¡¯s leg. With hope deep in his heart, Marcus looked to the outside, through the broken window as he mentally commanded, ¡°Dimensional Jaunt!¡±. --- *** --- Chapter 142 - Abyssal Fighters (Marcus) The group exploded into the skies high above the building that previously held Jirango and Xican hostage. Marcus tumbled around to get a good grip of his allies as he warped away again. The Devout¡¯s mind was full of thanks to the above that he was able to even teleport in the area of the cells, the people working there possibly warping to and from constantly. With not many Dimensional Jaunts left for the day, Marcus spied an open space far away, landing a final transportation in a grassy plain as his group rolled around in the flowers from a rough landing. ¡°Everyone good?¡± Marcus asked as he shakily rose. ¡°Yeah¡±, Amalia replied as she checked on the two captives. ¡°I yet live¡±, Jirango answered. Xican gave a weak wave, most likely the only reply he¡¯d like to give in his state. Marcus scanned his vicinity, trying to understand where his party had arrived. ¡°Somewhere I¡¯ve not seen before¡±, he thought to himself. ¡°Amalia, where are we?¡± Amalia looked over invisible displays as she gave a shocked reply, ¡°We¡¯re way north. Looks like Helm kingdom?¡± ¡°Fuck me¡±, Jirango cursed as he aided Xican to his feet. ¡°A long way to go, and here¡¯s me without any more warping¡±, Marcus announced. The Devout looked over the party, they weren¡¯t going to walk for long. ¡°Amalia, carry Jirango. We¡¯ll make as much distance as we can on foot. No doubt these two are going to get tracked regardless of Xican¡¯s missing sigil.¡± ¡°Got it¡±, Amalia replied as she picked up a half-reluctant Jirango. Marcus picked up Xican similarly, his staff hugged in the caster¡¯s arms. ¡°Jirango, do you know a good estimate of where we are? Or could you?¡± Marcus asked as the party moved onwards. ¡°Hard to say. I have been to Helm a few times, especially during the last war. I¡¯d need to see a better landmark¡±, the Half-Hand replied before looking at his carrier, ¡°How¡¯d you know where we were?¡± ¡°It¡¯s that mapping trinket Logan handed to us. In case we got lost¡±, Marcus lied as he spoke for his ally. ¡°Quite the crafter. Logan has so many focuses it¡¯s hard to say he does¡±, Jirango laughed. ¡°I¡¯d need some landmarks to get a good idea, too¡±, Amalia admitted. ¡°Let¡¯s hope they aren¡¯t quick to track us¡±, Marcus prayed.
The party moved for so long that the sun in the sky started to descend, with nary a sight of encroaching threats it seemed it would take a long period for Jirango or Xican to be scryed. Marcus continued to thank those watching over him, but it would only last so long, there were others to watch over. Settling down for the night, the group was able to get some guarded sleep, though it was full of tosses and turns. The removed skin from Xican had scabbed over, a reminder that their tracers would be slowed. At least on the morrow, they could all make use of their feet from full bellies and relaxation away from torturers and alchemists.
Whilst rest was welcome, Marcus couldn¡¯t help but wake to any sound in the forests and plains. He was far from home, surrounded by foreign lands and possibly dangerous monsters in the wilderness. The Devout had thought his first time this distance away would be by Logan¡¯s side, rather now it was to be back at his side. When the day finally arrived, Marcus was only able to grab his staff and dagger before feeling a rush of force hit his stomach. A fistful of energy surrounding the leg of the vampire who had accosted them in the prison hit Marcus dead centre and sent him flying back. Crashing through a tree, snapping another¡¯s branch, and landing into a tumbling slide across the plains, Marcus finally stopped his backward momentum as he struggled to his feet. Followed quickly thereafter was the vampire, her raven hair whipping back and forth as she came to a stop. Taking a bite out of her thumb, she weaved the blood into the air and chanted, ¡°Demon-Clan Spell: Warping Censure¡±, causing the blood to blacken and ring around Marcus¡¯s body. ¡°No doubt about what that does¡±, Marcus cursed in his head. ¡°Took your time finding us¡±, he teased. The woman sweated under her fringe, but Marcus could tell. ¡°Our underestimation caused your flight, not your own prowess. Believe me, it¡¯ll be hard to keep you alive.¡± The vampire rocked her head around as if she was moshing, the raven strands dancing in the air as sweat flew around. Strands disconnected from her hair as her body took on a more furry aesthetic. Another monster in disguise? The strands were quickly ferried towards Marcus as if they were countless daggers. Without time for reply, Marcus spun his staff around to deflect the woman¡¯s attack. The strands made thumping and metallic noises as they were battered away, Marcus¡¯s staff cracking slightly under the stress. Her body then warped away, apparating with a blast of wind at Marcus¡¯s hind and just above his right shoulder. Raising an arm, he narrowly blocked a spinning kick, sliding across the grassy floor from the force. His arm tingled as it took the brunt. Leaping towards her foe, the woman¡¯s form continued to break apart and showed its monstrous underlay. As her foot landed a solid blow into the floor, Marcus backstepping to avoid it, her leg tore away her clothing revealing fur and a clawed foot. Marcus skipped towards his foe and landed a solid staff smash into her chin, sending her into a backwards somersault as she tried to kick at the Devout again. Marcus twisted his body to dodge the strike and followed the momentum to make a sideways swing at the lady, missing her as she pushed off the floor with her hands that had turned to claws. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Dragging his own clawed-style hand, Marcus chanted, ¡°Gaia Skystrike¡±, forming the earth beneath the woman into a spike and impaling her in the stomach from behind. Red blood painted the air as she groaned in pain. Marcus stepped backwards as he began to Enhance himself, finding a gap in the confrontation where he could keep an eye on his target and have her not move around too much. A grey aura surrounded him as he became better at confrontations, one shortly following his magic as the lady warped in front of him. Dipping his head left and right, side-stepping, and battering away claws, Marcus was able to avoid taking further damage from his foe. However, her endless onslaught made it difficult to counterattack. The sounds of metal clashing and explosions could be heard in the distance, no doubt this woman had brought backup to deal with the others. But with Marcus having been inflicted with that beginning spell, he was sure he couldn¡¯t teleport. Regardless, he attempted to do so just in case, but was affirmed when his body merely vibrated. Circling his foe, Marcus landed a solid jumping smash into the back of the woman¡¯s head. Cracking of both wood and bone was heard as Marcus pushed off from his attack and began to run back. Swiping a hand across the floor, Marcus chanted, ¡°Gaia Wall¡±, erecting a tall barrier of mud and rock. Marcus could tell the spell around him weakened slightly, but it didn¡¯t weaken for long. Warping atop the wall a second later was the aggressor, whose face was treated to a fast-firing hunk of rock from Marcus¡¯s readied arm. She could only muster a slight movement, the rock carrying off her left ear and a chunk of the left side of her face and hair. As her body was propelled off the rocky wall, Marcus jumped after her, turned horizontal, and forcefully threw his hand towards her stomach, ¡°Gaia Grasp¡±, causing large spikes to explode out from her back as she was pushed to the floor, the rock bursting back through her stomach as she impacted the ground. Kicking off the other side of the wall, Marcus landed a few feet from his foe as he healed himself from the previous assaults. It seemed his foe was of the same mind as they were also surrounded by yellow lights. The woman spun around on the floor as they centred their aim on Marcus, warped away, and landed a solid claw into his back as she appeared again. Marcus whipped his arm around as he grappled his opponent¡¯s wrist, turned and twisted, and caused the foe to lose their balance and star jump until her head was oriented to the floor. With a solid kick, he sent the foe flying, but she disappeared again. Appearing behind Marcus, another swipe was blocked by the Devout¡¯s staff. The woman grabbed the head of the staff and struck its centre, snapping it in two as its durability finally reached its end. Backstepping away from one another, Marcus drew up his dagger, while the woman coughed a black mess into her claw. Marcus could feel a twinge over his body, with a mental command his body vibrated, sucked into his centre, and disappeared. Appearing with an outward blast of wind, he stabbed the woman in the back with one hand and placed the other at her neck, ¡°Gaia Grasp¡±, exploding rock from her throat. The woman kicked back at Marcus, but the Devout caught it and twisted, spinning the woman in the air before landing a solid punch, hurtling her to the floor again. Placing his knee over her stomach, Marcus threw a hand for her chest as he chanted, ¡°Gaia Grasp¡±, rocks appearing over his palm. The woman retaliated with a raised hand and silent casting of a spell, Marcus¡¯s body halting in place, a few inches away from planting his attack. ¡°The fuck is this?¡± Marcus cursed, not seeing telekinesis affect a person thus far, outside of Fahrenheit. The woman wasn¡¯t doing this easily. Her eyes started to glass over as blood poured from her ears, nose, and mouth. Either the gap in their levels didn¡¯t allow the vampire to control Marcus too easily, or she was doing some dangerous ritual casting. This was the first seeing it done silently though, taking all the concentration she could muster, all the life she could muster too, the bleeding leading Marcus to believe she was Bloodcasting. Every second, Marcus got an inch closer with his grasp, breaking through what resistance the woman had left. She was stalling for backup. But Marcus¡¯s allies hadn¡¯t gone down easy. Especially when there was another PC in their midst that their enemies hadn¡¯t accounted for it seemed. The woman moved her other hand shakily as she brought up a commwatch from her trouser pocket. ¡°Tille, help¡ª¡± she began to plead. Marcus finally broke the hold, his hand punching the woman¡¯s chest and shredding her insides apart with rocky abandon. The woman¡¯s eyes became lifeless as the black sclera covered over her pupils. Marcus sighed heavily as he looked up and warped to his allies.
Appearing with a slamming fist into the back of a foe¡¯s head, Marcus saved Jirango from a grappling tussle. Throwing out an arm, ¡°Gaia Shot¡±, Marcus shot a shard of rock at one foe that Xican was facing, the mage finishing off the other. The loud slam of a mace into a skull signed the final sound of combat, Amalia finishing off another foe, adding to the nearly three dozen bodies on the floor. ¡°Is everyone ok?¡± Marcus asked in a near-yell. ¡°That we are, fuck these traitors¡±, Jirango spat as he fell to his ass. ¡°They just kept coming. But it¡¯s finished¡±, Amalia announced as she could see the experience numbers. Xican waved again, his tongue not returning, but the pain in his fingers lessened to allow him to silentcast again. ¡°Praise be to Pondress¡±, Marcus prayed as he began to heal his friends, ¡°I took out their leader. Seems she wanted to separate us.¡± ¡°Must be an old vampire to be able to survive the sun¡¯s rays¡±, Jirango mentioned. Xican seemed like he had something to say, but couldn¡¯t. ¡°Ah, or magical protections¡±, Jirango translated as he looked at the caster, ¡°It¡¯s a shame our caster friend lacks a tongue or fingernails. He¡¯d be blasting our way to victory if so.¡± Jirango was right. Xican was a high-level caster. At least 24. No doubt he had been ambushed or cursed to get apprehended like he did. Lacking his proper faculties nerfed him heavily. Marcus quickly grabbed his bags and retrieved a replacement staff and dagger. ¡°She blocked my teleportation, but it wore off. We should get moving, fast.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go to that field she brought you to, it¡¯d be easier to warp from¡±, Jirango advised. Marcus took the advice as everyone followed after to the fields. Eyeying the part he had left his foe, he saw empty clothes with dust floating off into the wind. ¡°She didn¡¯t last that long in the sun¡±, Marcus spoke with a hint of pride. Quickly jogging to the clothes, Marcus placed a sizeable amount of dust into a round vial that contained almost all of what was left. The rest of her clothing and trinkets were shoved into his bags by the time his allies got close. Xican made a few motions, the party recognising he wanted them to group up. The mage closed his eyes and seemingly tried to cast, but nothing happened. His face turned to frustration, most likely wanting to use Teleport over the normal Dimensional Jaunt. ¡°It¡¯s alright¡±, Marcus comforted as he patted Xican¡¯s shoulder, ¡°We¡¯ll just take the long way.¡± ¡°Do we have time?¡± Amalia asked. ¡°We better.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 143 - A New Threat, a New Ally Days eroded and ticked away as Logan sat through several court sessions. Evidence against him, some for him. Quayvan¡¯s face was a mess of grins and annoyance, his Defence Master getting buffed by his good work and horrendously faltering when it failed. Hairs slowly grew on Logan¡¯s face, his inability to use his normal spellcasting had started to deteriorate his looks. But it wasn¡¯t too important when compared to all that was at stake currently. Marcus and Amalia hadn¡¯t returned in five days, it was coming up to the sixth and final day before any real preparation could be undergone. At that point, both Logan and Quayvan would most likely go on house arrest or moved to more communal prisons while more evidence popped up. Laurent had done well to keep Logan¡¯s head from a noose or chopping block, and it seemed Quayvan¡¯s preparations were too heavy-handed to lead to his preferred outcome. However, if Quayvan was allowed leave of the court and its interior cells, Logan had little doubt that the vampire traitor would find a way to escape. While it would prove Quayvan¡¯s guilt, it would be a middling victory. Quayvan possibly held Logan¡¯s Spell Absorption powers within him, and bringing those back to the Below PCs would ¡°spell¡± danger for the Spellthief. Logan looked around the condensed and concise court halls, hoping he¡¯d see the friendly faces of his allies amongst them. It was coming close to the end, and Logan¡¯s prayers weren¡¯t answered. As the judges began to call a close to today¡¯s session, mostly in favour of the Spellthief, a guard entered from a door near the judges¡¯ counter. Whispers emanated from those who held the power here, and a would-be messenger to feasibly upset any verdict. The guard left, everyone in the court looking towards the judges for an update. Whispers continued amongst them, another portion of Logan¡¯s life that felt several times longer than it actually was. Pwrose, the saebree, announced to the court in a regal voice befitting a tigress of her streak, ¡°Tomorrow¡¯s session shall be held as an interviewing stage. Jirango, the Half-Hand, and Xican, an investigator from the Magi¡¯s Tower association have been retrieved. Their testimony should put an end to any further debates and enclosure of the accused.¡± Logan¡¯s heart lifted so high it felt as if it was going to take him to the ceiling, turning to look at Quayvan it looked as if two boulders from Sisyphus had landed on his shoulders. Talk filled the hall with the cacophony of an early victory for Logan, if he could skip he would have. As the session came to its close, the members started to leave with both Logan and Quayvan getting escorted away. Keeping an eye on Quayvan, Logan was surprised when his opponent tried something in a room with so many people. ¡°Key¡±, Quayvan called as he raised his cemented hands. From one of the side counters, a man stood, threw a key, and had it enter the lock of Quayvan¡¯s accused¡¯s gloves. A click was heard as the cement brick hit the floor. Logan pushed Laurent back to their counter, as his and all others were covered in faintly green hexagon barriers. Logan caught out of his, as several other members were out of theirs. Quayvan let out a bestial roar as he charged at Logan, hands in claws and sparking. It seemed the other protections continued to halt his power, though he had more to offer. Quayvan¡¯s sides started to bulge and wave. Bursting out from his shirt, under his armpits, were two long talons. Jagged and of a white-grey colour, the talons looked like they could rip open a metal shell, let alone Logan without his usual protection. Lightning bolts of topaz came hailing from the ceiling as they pounded down on the vampire, slowing him, but not stopping him. Raising his normal hands to block some of the barrage, Quayvan whipped back a talon to make a wide sweep at Logan, who raised his accuser¡¯s gloves to block the strike. However, instead of getting hit by a talon, Logan was splattered with blood. Quayvan¡¯s heart was half a foot from Logan¡¯s face, gripped within a tight grip as it beat outside of the vampire¡¯s chest. ¡°Petrify¡±, Sanwrence called out, as his form was barely visible behind Quayvan¡¯s. The aggressor¡¯s eyes went pale as the exposed heart became rock in an instant, veins and arteries snapping off the now-museum-worthy artefact detached from the man. Sanwrence pulled back as Quayvan¡¯s body hit the floor, cracks forming across his corpse and the talons snapping a little. ¡°Damned monsters¡±, Sanwrence cursed as he spat on the corpse. Placing the heart atop Logan¡¯s accuser¡¯s gloves he announced, ¡°Your victory prize.¡± Tristint, the younger gashriek, spoke louder as the defensive barriers dissipated, ¡°I think in light of these events, we can call a verdict?¡± The man who had thrown the key had been apprehended, his arms pulled back as he knelt at the grapple of four guards. Grador, the saeben, ordered, ¡°Place that traitor on the circle.¡± The guards did so as the man tried to resist. ¡°You, answer me, did¡ª¡± Grador started, but was cut off as the man bit down and severed his own tongue. ¡°Well, that answers that.¡± Margit, the younger vampire, started her own announcement, ¡°In light of this occurrence. I believe we can call our vote. Who amongst us calls for Logan¡¯s innocence?¡± The judges one by one replied with an ¡°aye¡±, Logan feeling a modicum of joy over the filling mass of confusion and questions inside of him. ¡°The handling of the corpse, and attached locations, buildings, and effects, shall be handed over to the court. We will discuss with the Magi¡¯s Tower association as well as petition the guild, Twain Dagger, to take over hunting duties in place of Logan¡±, Jone informed the room. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Logan, your belongings and those of the people you defeated will be returned to you¡±, Sanwrence added. Logan nodded in approval as he had Laurent grab the petrified heart from his cemented hands. ¡°Does Logan Hall have any requests or submissions to these terms?¡± Sanwrence asked. ¡°Only that I am to be informed of the outcome.¡± ¡°Accepted.¡±
Logan fell into the chair in his cell, spread legs and arms as he sprawled out. It was as if all the bad air and emotions were flying out of him, he could feel a coolness in his lungs with clutched breaths finally let loose. He had many questions, but he was just happy that he at least saw one good end to this whole debacle. It also removed the issue of a countdown timer he had been dismissing every day, telling him to take his rewards or lose them, Compounded with his system quest, Logan had been granted two new titles with Quayvan¡¯s death. ¡°You have gained the ¡®Proven Innocent¡¯ title.¡± ¡°Proven Innocent: Winning a vital judgement within the hidden courts of Gauntlet, your innocence being proven has led to many seeing you as nothing but good. When accused of wrongdoing, people will have your side more often than not. You have gained 1 skill point to distribute.¡± ¡°You have gained the ¡®Dark Day¡¯s Ruler¡¯ title.¡± ¡°Dark Day¡¯s Ruler: Revealing and removing a plot to take down the progenitors of the vampire race, you have brought darkness to the brightest of days for the covens of night. Elder vampires count you as their guardian and are more amicable to your aid and give it. You have gained 1 skill point to distribute.¡± Before he could investigate his status further, Logan was greeted by Laurent entering his cell. ¡°Nice to see you so early¡±, Logan admitted as he sat up in his chair. ¡°I believe you¡¯ll have many a more happy sighting now¡±, Laurent replied as he handed two bags and Logan¡¯s coat over. Logan looked over his gear and started sorting through it, ¡°True that. I can¡¯t thank you enough for your aid.¡± ¡°Consider us even in regards to debts. I hope you do not see the inside of these walls again, but if you do, call on me.¡± ¡°No doubts here, but¡ª¡± Logan began as he found a few new pouches amongst his stuff, ¡°These aren¡¯t mine.¡± ¡°Ah¡±, Laurent stated as he stood to get a better look, ¡°Your ¡®payment¡¯ for the hunting job, and an apology payment for what has transpired.¡± Logan counted the gold coins quickly. Fifty for the mission and an extra ten. ¡°It¡¯s appreciated. You get a good payment too?¡± ¡°The usual¡±, Laurent replied with a half smile. ¡°I suppose no danger pay when you have those barriers set up.¡± ¡°Yes. Miniature variants of the Demonturle Shell. I believe that has its test in 5 days, actually¡±, Laurent replied as his eyes wandered to the ceiling. ¡°Any word as to what Quayvan was yet?¡± ¡°A monster. Of what kind? I do not know. A morpher of some sort.¡± ¡°Is it common to find monsters in the guise of the civilized species?¡± ¡°I have not come across it. Not even whatever breed of monster that Quayvan turned out to be. It isn¡¯t uncommon to find vampiric monsters though, ones that can have such a detailed conversation, however, those are rare.¡± ¡°The Demonturle Shell should stop those entering Gauntlet, right?¡± ¡°We can only pray.¡±
Leaving the cell, Logan took wide strides as he met back up with Marcus and Amalia. Hugging his allies, Logan couldn¡¯t help but notice the marks across their armour and weapons. ¡°Didn¡¯t face too many troubles, did you?¡± Marcus shrugged, ¡°Thieves, murderers, experimenters. The usual. There was also a woman, another vampire, who was apparently a monster.¡± Logan sighed, ¡°Seems we¡¯ve had that issue in common.¡± Amalia perked up, ¡°We found ourselves up north, in Helm lands. Sorry, it took so long getting back.¡± ¡°Xican wasn¡¯t able to use Teleport then?¡± ¡°Had no tongue, his injuries made it too difficult¡±, Marcus replied. ¡°He¡¯s waiting at the inn, said he wanted to talk with you after you got released.¡± ¡°No long interrogation for him then¡±, Logan spoke with a hint of sarcasm. ¡°He¡¯s at least got back his tongue, so you won¡¯t be pulling teeth¡±, Marcus laughed. The trio spoke as they walked back to the inn. Logan first thought he¡¯d have eyes at his back, but it seemed at least for now the rules of the court were being uphelled. No one would speak of what transpired in those walls unless it was deemed necessary. Logan wasn¡¯t going to be on notice boards any time soon. Telling Logan about the locations, teleportations, and anti-scrying measures painted whoever this group was as quite wealthy and powerful. Optimistically, Quayvan was going to be its head or its strongest member. Those that Logan had dealt with, and the woman Marcus had killed, would be the next in the chain of command. Since there were going to be many more eyes and arms in the pot, the last locations were going to get cleared out and all remaining bases found. At least Logan didn¡¯t have to worry about it all leaning on his shoulders. His part was done. The idea of wolves in sheep''s clothing was the important takeaway. Almost anyone could be on the Below PCs¡¯ side. Monster and normal folk alike. Why couldn¡¯t it have just been as simple as a goblin hero?
Returning to the Meek Moat Inn, Logan threw empty bags onto a nearby table and almost spread himself across the sofa near the fireplace, if not for Xican waiting at the bar counter for his return. ¡°We¡¯ll let you two chat, then we¡¯ll catch up¡±, Marcus offered as he patted Logan¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Could do with a rest myself¡±, Amalia added as she took the spot Logan wanted on the sofa. Logan nodded as he approached the mage. While slightly bruised and lacking dignity in his stance, Xican had been mostly healed from his imprisonment. ¡°Logan. Good to see you free as an ooran.¡± ¡°Same goes for you. Sorry you got mixed up in all of this¡±, Logan apologised as he sat next to his ally. ¡°I was already engrossed in the vampire business. You weren¡¯t the trigger. But, there is something I do wish to discuss in private about this matter.¡± Yetveka moved closer as she handed a tankard full of a strong substance, ¡°Feel free to take this up with you.¡± Logan took a big gulp, got a top-up from Yetveka, and replied, ¡°Thanks. Will do¡±, before looking at Xican, ¡°We can talk in my room if you want. I doubt anyone else is upstairs to overhear us.¡± ¡°That¡¯s acceptable. Thank you, Yetveka¡±, Xican nodded at the gashriek lady before leading Logan upstairs. Logan walked slowly behind, taking a drink every so often. It was time for some relaxation after a harrowing week plus some change. But he had plenty still to do, from selling more gear, accepting his quest rewards, and putting money towards the potions Ahren was going to make for him. Moving in front of Xican when they got to Logan¡¯s room, the Spellthief unlocked it and led his friend inside. Setting the tankard on the windowsill, Logan was about to lean against it as he turned to face Xican. ¡°So, what do you need?¡± Logan asked as he was bemused. Xican had closed the door and knelt on one knee, his left hand in a fist over the right side of his chest. With a lowered head he spoke, ¡°I pledge my power to you, my Oracle.¡± ¡°What?¡± --- *** --- Chapter 144 - The Ever Watchful Logan felt a swimming pool run down his face as he looked down at Xican for possibly three seconds longer than he should have. How could someone have found out he was an Oracle? And why was Xican revering Logan as much as he did? Sure, the general populace saw Oracles as the bringers of new ideas, new eras, and typically amazing beings. But to this point, Logan had yet to find anyone who knew of him who didn¡¯t want to cut him up. Aside from Marcus that is. ¡°I think you might be misled¡±, Logan began. ¡°Arrived 96 days ago, a few miles to the southeast of Tinte. No previous contact made, even with other travelling magi. No record of previous settlement visits or abodes. No family or friends¡±, Xican began reciting as he pulled out a commwatch, ¡°I retrieved this from the belongings of Darius Monlod.¡± Logan could have filled a lake with the water coming off him. ¡°I believe this excommunicated member attempted to make something from you, in the hopes of rejoining the MT?¡± Darius asked as he looked at Logan. ¡°And if he did?¡± ¡°Then I am sad I couldn¡¯t have killed him myself¡±, Xican said as he stood up. Logan kept his wits about him, but didn¡¯t want to seem threatening. ¡°I pose you no threat, sir. As you¡¯ve been revealed to me, I shall avail myself to you. I am a part of the group known as Orichalcum, founded some three millennia ago to aid the first Oracles.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t look that old¡±, Logan teased. ¡°I am of the most recent generation. I would like it if you would allow us to aid you, as my group has done for so many before you.¡± ¡°What¡¯s in it for you?¡± ¡°The advancement of all. And to keep another Oracle alive.¡± ¡°You have others?¡± ¡°I am not at liberty to divulge how many or few Oracles we may be working with.¡± ¡°What kind of ¡®aid¡¯ would you be offering?¡± ¡°To start¡±, Xican replied as he pulled out a book, ¡°A full work-up of previous travels and locales, with several members who can back up the fabricated story. 26 years of history so that no others may find you as I did.¡± ¡°Who¡¯d else look for an Oracle?¡± Xican lowered his arm to his side, ¡°Oracles have been assassinated, killed in combat, or lost to dungeons. This particular case, like a few before it, had the MT investigate suspected individuals.¡± ¡°You were sent after me by the MT?¡± Logan asked. ¡°That would explain some of the repeated requests to join the MT.¡± ¡°That they did. At first, I did not suspect past a half-guess. But further investigations showed that I had to protect you, not lure you into the MT. I am glad you also declined, as our meetings previously were overseen by others.¡± ¡°I suppose that threw them off the trail, or at least hid that you¡¯d be on my side.¡± ¡°It was the proper choice to make¡±, Xican admitted, ¡°The MT paints a pretty picture, but it has only a few bars fewer than a prison. That¡¯s not to say all the towers are bad, though.¡± ¡°Why show yourself now then?¡± ¡°The appearance of morphers, and the assassins that kill Oracles. You need protection, and I can¡¯t do as much if I continue to act as a spy in your chamber.¡± ¡°If I was an Oracle, what do you think my breakthrough would be?¡± ¡°Teleportation. Is it not? As far as I have been able to find, outside of law reforms, you¡¯ve planted yourself within the well of portal magics.¡± ¡°What else do you know of Oracles?¡± ¡°My group knows a lot. But it would be best to discuss it within one of our bases.¡± ¡°This could be a trap. But he almost died in his capture, and without him, I might not have won that court case¡±, Logan thought to himself. ¡°Yes, I am an Oracle. Take me to your leader.¡±
A half-hour passed before Logan found himself in a tall tower within the royal sector of Gauntlet. So high up he could see the monarchy¡¯s castle, Logan was sure he¡¯d be out of earshot of almost everyone in the city. Xican continued to lead his long-awaited Oracle to a large chamber near the top of the tower. Marble and stone interwoven walls created an ornate interior, as well as magical flames adorning braziers all around. Finally reaching a large meeting hall with a lavish table within its centre, Logan sat at the head as several robed individuals sat on its sides. A round of applause filled the room with adoration before they quietened down to let an elderly gentleman speak over the rest. ¡°A new Oracle to add to the thousand-folded blade of the Orichalcum. We welcome you, Sir Logan Hall.¡± ¡°You have me at a disadvantage, sir. You¡¯re all hidden, while I am out in the open here.¡± The man pulled down his hood, revealing wrinkles that were at war with dark sclera eyes, and long white hair danced down the material of his cloak. ¡°I am Alvus. A progenitor of the vampire race.¡± Logan gulped, he had heard of the power the progenitors had, if one led Orichalcum, it was powerful indeed. ¡°For over two thousand years, I have headed this organisation in the hopes of finding the Oracles who allowed my kind to live in peace, in place of my predecessors.¡± ¡°An Oracle was at Dracon?¡± ¡°That they were. If it was not for them, the non-vampires of the village would have more likely burnt all of us fifty at the stake.¡± ¡°Was that something Quayvan didn¡¯t know? Though would he even have cared?¡± Logan thought to himself. ¡°All but divine, Oracles have had heavy hands within our history. I seek to have this be a continued act.¡± This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°How many others are here?¡± ¡°Oracles? That will remain hidden. We protect all, and from discussions with others, it seems some of you war against one another.¡± ¡°Understandable¡±, Logan replied, ¡°Do they also protect the below PCs?¡± ¡°As Xican would have informed you. Our aid comes in many forms. One being your intangibility to the sight of others.¡± ¡°I take it you do it just enough to not cause suspicion.¡± ¡°Trial and error has brought us to this point. While some Oracles have slipped our protective grasp, those that have entered into our dome find they have no worries for prying eyes.¡± ¡°Are there any other progenitor benefactors of the Orichalcum?¡± ¡°Only I. No others know of this organisation, as I was the partner of the Oracle who saved us¡±, Alvus informed with a smile. ¡°Do you know my most recent hunt was to stop the production of progenitor-killing arms?¡± ¡°It came to our attention. As such, we planted at least a hand¡¯s worth of our members in your court case. Sadly we could not stop Quayvan before we found out his plans.¡± ¡°Oh. Then you have my thanks if that is the case.¡± ¡°Our members must be kept secret if their job is to be sufficient to protect ones such as yourself. Otherwise, truth magic of higher altitudes and torture methods would prove strong.¡± ¡°I can appreciate that.¡± A robed woman at the side added, ¡°You need not hold any worry for the cleanup of the AV Club and the attachment to Quayvan¡¯s group. We have members dealing with that too.¡± Another man at Logan¡¯s left also stepped in, ¡°We have already removed all traces of your blood and parts from all scenes too. In case anyone wanted to use them for misdeeds.¡± A woman closer also slid across a bag to Logan, ¡°As well as any left materials and armaments.¡± Logan peeked into the bag to notice broken daggers and lost items during combat. ¡°Quite thorough.¡± Xican spoke up, ¡°All of my reports to the MT have been made in a way to make it read as if you¡¯re talented and lucky, but not exceptional. I have yet to put in a final verdict on your status, but it will read similarly. A negative response on your Oracle status, and any close to you.¡± Alvus continued, ¡°Depending on the outcome with the Ice King within 32 days, we will also handle any protection needed.¡± Logan felt a pit of guilt in his stomach, ¡°Sorry. But what if I was to leave Avanar?¡± The room was quiet, not even whispers amongst the group. ¡°Is that your intention?¡± Alvus asked. ¡°It was. I have people I need to help elsewhere. But. I have grown an attachment to Avanar too.¡± ¡°You do not speak of the other continents. You speak of other planes¡±, Alvus calculated. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°And if a way is open to return after you¡¯ve helped those on the other side?¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Logan thought for a second, ¡°I might just return to do what I can here.¡± Logan had been thinking about it for a long time now. While this world was against him, he could do so much more. Many inhabitants were just trying to see another day, others wanted to make the day brighter, and then there was Marcus and even the Orichalcum. If Logan could help, and in such a big way, he felt as if he was duty-bound to do so. There was also the fun that came with the power he had, and the money he held over what he had back on Earth. Alvus replied, ¡°Then we shall protect you till you leave. You are not the first Oracle to travel to another plane, and you won¡¯t be the first to return after doing so.¡± ¡°What? Have others gone back to Earth and come back? Or just another plane in this place?¡± Logan thought to himself. ¡°How many Oracles has there been exactly?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve counted a possible 90, though we¡¯ve bound to have missed a few. Some didn¡¯t pass the 7-day death timer.¡± ¡°How many of those did you confirm?¡± ¡°Outside of published Oracle books, about a third.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s a half split, got at least 45 below PCs against me. Ahren killed one, so 44. I just hope it isn''t the same number on both sides, 90 would be troubling¡±, Logan worried in his head. ¡°What else do you know of Oracles?¡± ¡°They appear within Avanar between the ages of 20 and 40, are always human, and alternate sex. Each one seemingly has a deific allegiance alongside an innovation to grant to our world¡±, Alvus described, a few of the robed members nodding in agreement. ¡°How do they appear?¡± ¡°It is unconfirmed as of yet. Few Oracles know themselves it seems. Do you know?¡± ¡°It is probably good to know they don¡¯t see the correlation of lightning strikes¡±, Logan thought. ¡°No, sadly I cannot add to your knowledge on that front.¡± ¡°As Xican theorised in our company and your mention of travelling the planes. Is that your deific path? To expand our comprehension of portal magic?¡± ¡°We could greatly benefit from such. An easier way to save our heroes would be most welcome¡±, a robed man added. ¡°Or even easier travel between the kingdoms¡±, a woman excitedly revealed. ¡°The other continents?¡± a man almost jumped out of his seat to mention. ¡°It is hard to tell. But I will say for now that this is my speculation¡±, Logan answered halfly. ¡°That is enough for us. All Oracles who lived long enough granted our world progress severalfold.¡± ¡°So, all you want from me¡­ is to live?¡± ¡°Yes. And possibly aid us when we ask.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you handle anything that comes your way?¡± Logan asked, slightly bemused. ¡°While I am a progenitor, my focus is often elsewhere. I cannot show myself too openly due to the target at my back for my origin. ¡°I can¡¯t just use Identification on everyone here. Their power is probably more in subterfuge and politics rather than just magical might. Except for Xican and Alvus¡±, Logan thought to himself. ¡°As an Oracle, your faster progression means you¡¯ll outstrip many of us in a few months¡±, Alvus admitted. ¡°So, is this it?¡± ¡°Unless you have further questions.¡± ¡°How can I contact you?¡± ¡°We will teach you a spell to contact us. It is a travesty to track¡±, Xican replied. ¡°Are we going to exchange many services?¡± Alvus answered, ¡°This will be a clad-in-shadow arrangement. The least you know of our interruptions the better, that¡¯ll make it harder for those we don¡¯t want to know of this to find.¡± ¡°Will I always be watched over?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll give you privacy within your room, as well as some of your further afield hunts and quests¡±, Xican answered. ¡°Do you need me to do anything right away?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve already contributed a lot to this world¡¯s safety¡±, Alvus started as he looked over his compatriots, ¡°It might be overreaching to ask something so soon.¡± ¡°Alright then. I suppose we¡¯ll be working together from now on then.¡± ¡°To that end¡±, Xican replied as he flicked through a book, ¡°I will handle some of the exchange of items from the raids on Quayvan¡¯s last locations. Any materials relating to teleportation will be handed into the Gerro Guardhouse, you may ask for them as your bonuses. This will make it easier to hasten your metamorphosis of our grasp of portals.¡± ¡°I shall inquire into more unique forms of translocation as well¡±, a woman added. ¡°As well as components for transposition trinkets and potions¡±, a man doubled. ¡°I know a few professors at one of the magical colleges, maybe an exam surrounding teleportation to stroke the student¡¯s brains?¡± another man put forth. The idea of helping an Oracle seemed to put the table into quite the discussion, healthy and vibrant. As far as Logan could tell of course. He could use all the help, it was just another way of gaining power without outrunning his level gap. However, the hyper-focus on teleportation would make those who could disable it even stronger. At least he could spend time on other paths to power, while these people would bump that side of him. ¡°What of ways to ignore the blockage of teleportations?¡± Logan asked. ¡°A hard thing to do. A variance in spellforce and a few trinkets could help in that regard. I¡¯ll send some materials to the guardhouse¡¯s bonus list for you¡±, a man replied. ¡°Through the way of hunts and their locations¡±, Xican elaborated. ¡°I take it no one saw us come here?¡± Logan queried. ¡°We took a few roads to avoid that, plus teleportation. While I know of some means for scrying and how to stop such¡±, Xican assured. ¡°The Demonturtle Shell should make protecting you much easier¡±, Alvus put forward. ¡°And that will be up in less than a week.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 145 - Secret Society鈥檚 Push Steam filled the bathroom of the Meek Moat Inn, Logan the Spellthief was soaking for longer than usual, or at all. Melting away stress as he found comfort in the hot soapy waters that surrounded him. Servoir, Logan¡¯s water elemental, was doing work massaging his creator¡¯s arms and shoulders with wavy liquid hands. Celsius was heating and kneading Logan¡¯s temples. It was nice to have such ¡°natural¡± ways of relaxation at Logan¡¯s fingertips. There weren''t any qualms over privacy or safety, as his elementals were fragments of his psyche. With the introduction of the Orichalcum into Logan¡¯s life, the Spellthief could sit at ease a bit more than usual. His background was now taken care of, with plenty of answers at the ready for any questions thrown his way from wary adventures or members of the MT. It was at the very least an avenue for power, not in a way he had expected. But with the bad, comes the good, and Logan was due heaps of the latter. The sound of nightly owls and dark walkers outside painted the last portion of the day to be peaceful and devoid of ambushes or PCs. To add to this scene of serenity and upward emotional trip, Logan accepted his latest quest¡¯s rewards. ¡°Quest - Hunt the Sunsilt, has been completed. You achieved 4 additional objectives during the mission and as such your rewards will be increased. Distributing rewards¡­¡± ¡°The reward for your quest completion is as follows: Logan had an open palm to receive his new trinket. A fist-sized ruby-heart that sparkled against the light that Celsius provided the room. A blue and gold chain slinked down Logan¡¯s wrist and into the water of the bath. ¡°This must be related to the whole crafting of the bolts. I suppose it¡¯s apt¡±, Logan thought to himself as he stored it in his inventory. Another window appeared as he accepted his reward. ¡°You have reached Demon Stage 2. Your attributes have all increased by 1. You have unlocked the skill Otherworldly Stamina.¡± ¡°That sorts one of my issues out a bit¡±, Logan chuckled as his mind wandered. ¡°Seems the title was granted prematurely, something that can¡¯t be resisted I suppose. Now, those new spells.¡± Checking the new Demon-Clan spells, Telekinesis did what it said on the tin. It was second-level and stage 1 when it came to demonhood proficiency. Logan could target any non-held object in sight and compel it to move with his mind and motions. He couldn¡¯t affect people, but it could work on summoned creatures. That would explain why it worked on Fahrenheit so long ago. Another spell must have been used on Marcus, hence his offender dying under its cast. Body Eruption was again self-explanatory. It exploded corpses within a certain area and sent their remains around as an attack. Creatures that exploded in such a manner were complicated and expensive to revive, something Logan could make use of if he faced an opponent with regeneration or reviving powers. Though it ruined components. It was third-level and required stage 2 of demonhood. Lastly, and his bane, Warping Censure. As long as he could see his target, he could interrupt any teleportation spells and skills considered fourth-level and lower. Due to his mastery, he could possibly affect fifth-level and affect fourth and lower easier than normal. Logan¡¯s Spellthief abilities allowed him to quickcast these new spells too, needing only to speak their name. However, they all needed ¡°Demon-Clan Spell:¡± to be spoken as a prefix, making them a bit wonky to use in combat. He at least didn¡¯t need to ready these spells in slots, as his demonhood counted him as always having them readied for the case of skills and items. The Spellthief was a bit disappointed he only gained one stage into demonhood for having all objectives complete, but at least it improved all other rewards. The trinket in particular would alter his plans. Making some more legendary gear would improve him beyond belief. Logan would need all the power he could get if his opponents were using new tricks against him. While he may not need to worry about more sessions in court, he¡¯d be in a bad spot if he left Gauntlet alone too many times. Wanting not to spend all of his rewards too quickly, Logan saved his two new skill points for now. Making his stock three again. He needed to sort through all the stuff he had for selling anyway.
A long night of rest led to a morning of discussion with Amalia and Marcus in Logan¡¯s room. Little was hidden, Logan even divulged the Orichalcum to the pair as they were more than likely going to interact with them, whether they knew it or not. ¡°They don¡¯t know about me, do they?¡± Amalia asked, a bit worried. ¡°As far as I can tell, no. It seems like the below PCs even don¡¯t¡±, Logan replied. ¡°That is what I surmised¡±, Marcus added. ¡°But, didn¡¯t you think their quests were aimed at you?¡± Amalia asked. Logan thought for a second, ¡°That might be because Darius found me out? Hard to say. At least I have his commwatch now. That should dilute their information or evidence against me.¡± The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Would I be fine to go back to just being a smith then?¡± ¡°I would say so. That should serve to protect you regardless if you¡¯re well armed.¡± ¡°What about us?¡± Marcus prodded. ¡°We¡¯ll return to a duo setup. We¡¯re too exposed on our own.¡± ¡°Suits me just fine¡±, Marcus replied with a faint punch to Logan¡¯s arm. ¡°Are you fine to sort your gear out?¡± ¡°Yeah. Got some finder¡¯s fees for getting Jirango out of boiled tar.¡± ¡°I have a lot of stuff to sell but after that, if my contacts haven¡¯t found any harpies, I think we¡¯ve all earned some rest¡±, Logan sighed in relief. ¡°Would be nice to face something easy for a change¡±, Marcus smiled. ¡°That is one idea, actually.¡±
The group talked for a bit longer before they said their farewells. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re back¡±, Amalia repeated as she hugged Logan, outside of her battle armour. ¡°Thanks for all the help¡±, Logan replied. ¡°When you¡¯re free, let¡¯s catch up better.¡± ¡°I should have some time tonight. If you¡¯d be up for it?¡± ¡°That¡¯d be nice. See you then¡±, Amalia ended as she left. Marcus hugged Amalia before she left, as he turned and gave a sly smile at his friend. Both Marcus and Logan then went to the shops. Having to go to several different merchants to sell off the sheer volume of his acquired items, Logan had to take a few trips to the guardhouse to pick up more of his stored gear. At the end of it all, plus additional items ferried from Orichalcum, Logan earned another 87 gold. Replacing his old daggers, Logan also bought up new tomes for skills and spells, as well as components for crafting purposes. Restocking his potion supply, Logan wasn¡¯t going to run low any time soon. Logan also purchased components to make use of the petrified heart of Quayvan, gifted to him at the court when the monster-vampire-morpher thing had accosted him. On its own, it was powerful, as it was hard enough to get a vampire¡¯s heart that didn¡¯t dissolve on exit, but it was of a fully-powered one, possibly stage 4. However, if Logan worked on it a bit with crafting, he could intensify its properties into an edible object. With plenty of supplies bought, Logan went to the alleyways where his homeless workers were held. Thankfully the coin he had left went to good use, pretty much all of the faces were still there. Speaking with them for a while, he got the location of some harpies he could track and kill. Word on the grapevine between other settlements hadn¡¯t ended up in a quest at the G-Hall, so Logan would have first pickings. The next stop was Ahren¡¯s apothecary. The final price for the potions of harpy acuity came to 43 gold, Logan paid it happily and started the process for his return trip to heal his father. With the push to get the final components, Logan put his crafting on hold. The harpies won¡¯t going to be around forever, and he wanted to make sure he¡¯d be the one to get them all. Making sure Marcus hadn¡¯t had any new additions to him since their parting, Logan looked over all he could of his ally. Marcus had reached level 15 in Logan¡¯s absence. Combining his training routines with the defeat of so many bandits and AV Club members, it seemed the Devout had tried to keep pace with his ally. Along with the levels, Marcus had also attained three skill points all his own. His Partnered Growth had additionally unlocked the ability to upgrade to tier 2. Conversing with Logan, the Devout agreed it¡¯d be the best use of his spare points. Keeping level with Logan was going to be better in the long run than most other skills he could attain. A five-level gap meant a lot of missing spell power and tier, let alone access to higher-level skills down the line. With those three skill points, the skill improved, granting Marcus 30% experience over the usual 10% that NPCs normally get. Triple the speed of most people, but around a third of Logan¡¯s if he was facing on-level enemies without any aid. With how they fought, however, Marcus was going to get almost the same experience as Logan, if not more depending on who they faced. After the skill improvement, Logan spent Marcus¡¯s two bonus attribute points into his Strength Attribute at the Devout¡¯s request. Whilst doing so, Logan saw a few parts of Marcus¡¯s status hidden from view. When asked, Marcus replied, ¡°It is a secret. I want it to be a surprise.¡± Logan didn¡¯t pry further. He already knew so much and dabbled even more in Marcus¡¯s progression and life, it was fine for him to hold a few secrets. Checking over all of their gear, Logan and Marcus warped away from the capital.
A new set of mountains graced Logan¡¯s eyes. Not snowy like Marcus¡¯s, but high up regardless. The wind didn¡¯t bother Logan at all due to his Ice King traits, while Marcus cracked some heat gravel in his teeth. While there was no snow, the skies were dark. A storm was approaching, but Logan¡¯s instincts told him they would lack any bolts of lightning to interrupt their plans. Logan clicked his fingers, ¡°No enemies nearby¡±, he announced as he looked at a jagged mini-map. ¡°No visible ones at least. These harpies are intelligent. To an amazing degree comparatively, right?¡± Marcus asked as he lunged up an incline. ¡°Yeah, I got a good amount of information from my workers¡±, Logan admitted with a smile. ¡°I heard horror stories when I was younger. Be a good kid, or when you grow up a harpy will take you away from home and eat you.¡± ¡°Trying to fight back promiscuity?¡± ¡°And a few other delinquent antics. The stories didn¡¯t stop me exploring though¡±, Marcus continued as he jumped to a ledge and pulled himself up. ¡°Leave many broken hearts in your younger years?¡± ¡°Hah. I¡¯m still young. What are you talking about? Those men got over it anyway.¡± Logan chuckled as he jumped up two ledges to get ahead of his ally, the uneven terrain proving to be difficult to walk across naturally. Clicking his fingers, Logan found the sound reverberating somewhat, his mini-map taking on some static display. ¡°Echo Radar is having issues with the weather. Too much noise and force¡±, Logan explained as he heard a roar of wind from the clouds, ¡°That just messed it up entirely. Maybe I was wrong about lightning?¡± Marcus looked up, ¡°No. Look¡±, he pointed. Several parts of the clouds swirled, expanded, and changed hues. A monochromatic display of shifting atmosphere. Rain pattered the pair¡¯s faces, though no lightning was spotted. ¡°A magical phenomenon then. Something other than lightning is making that noise¡±, Logan surmised. ¡°Could be storm giants¡±, Marcus joked. ¡°If it is, we¡¯re getting the fuck outta here.¡± ¡°We should be good. It would be highly unlikely to find that kind of monster in Gauntlet territory.¡± ¡°Not their climate I take it?¡± ¡°Not really. More a place for harpies¡±, Marcus laughed as he climbed another ridge. Logan clicked his fingers but it continued to prove useless, ¡°Keep your eyes peeled. I won¡¯t be able to scan ahead of time for these foes.¡± ¡°I guess they won¡¯t be the flirtatious type. The harpies to ferry men to their climactic death.¡± ¡°Would be nice.¡± ¡°Though I suppose you got some other interest in mind¡±, Marcus said as he turned a smiling face to Logan. Logan jokingly punched Marcus¡¯s arm, ¡°Shut up. You¡¯re just happy these monsters can¡¯t tempt you.¡± ¡°Never know, could be male harpies.¡± ¡°Now that¡¯d be a sight¡±, Logan replied as he looked at a higher cliff face that held an almost camouflaged creature, ¡°But sadly, no.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 146 - The Harpies Fell Logan scanned over the creature atop the cliff. The monster stood around 6¡¯ tall, though its wingspan made it much wider than any other humanoid. Arched wings went a few feet above its head, ending in spikes at the top, then flowed down to taloned ends, claws clenched around the rocks it stood upon. A beaked face had blood and viscera dripping from it, fully black eyes that looked dead, if not for dashes of red across its face painting it as full from a meal. White, yellow, and grey feathers covered it head to toe, another set of arms where they would appear on a human, and two legs, hands ending in claws and feet in talons. ¡°Identify¡±, Logan commanded in his head. ¡°Harpy - Avian. Level 16: 200/200 HP, - MP. Avian humanoids that stand over six feet tall, these creatures are the predators of mountains and hilly bluffs. Often touted as demonic, these creatures'' intelligence is far above normal monsters, but they have no demon origin to speak of. Coming in several varieties, some harpies specialise in sleep skills while others take mastery over the skies and the winds within. Tales speak of cousins to harpies that try and take young adults from their homes via romance and lustful emotion, only to devour them in inappropriate manners. Skills: Far Sight, Fast Flight, Feather Control, Linguistics, Mimicry, Multi-Grapple, Screech, Sleep Fluff, ¡ª. Reduction: Damage 5. Resistance: Damage 10%, Earth 25%, Fire 10%, Holy 50%, Ice 75%, Lightning 25%, Shadow 50%, Water 75%, Wind 95%.¡± Logan wanted to expand the skills section further but had little time to spend reading past its title card with his four eyes. The harpy cawed, jumped from its perch, and spread its wings wide. A sonic boom in the clouds ahead made Logan¡¯s mini-map shake, he thought it best to just close it for now. Swooping down with a grey whirl behind it, the harpy sped towards the pair of adventurers at such speed that it rivalled the Rush of Fighters. Logan moved into a defensive stance as the harpy drew up its wings to claw at the Spellthief, but instead slashed the air as Logan warped away, his feint guard working. Apparating with a blast of wind all his own, Logan landed a solid stab into the harpy¡¯s back with his new Bowen dagger and got a good hold of his foe. Planting a hand onto it, he chanted, ¡°Flame Grasp¡±, igniting the bird for 185 fire Backstab damage combined with his Bowen dagger dealing 36. Dragging his blade down, Logan brought the newly made unconscious body to the floor. Marcus spun the staff in his hand as he moved it into a reverse grip behind his arm. ¡°Easy enough, ay?¡± ¡°We¡¯re not done yet¡±, Logan replied as he stood. While no experience numbers rose, the rain began to fall in earnest. Pitter-patter became thuds and rushing as more harpies crested the mountains surrounding the pair. As they went back-to-back, Marcus patted Logan¡¯s back as he chanted, ¡°Enhance Strength¡­¡± Logan glowed grey three times as both his and Marcus¡¯s Strength, Agility, and Intelligence rose, Wisdom for Marcus. ¡°Watch for their wing talons, they are grabby¡±, Logan warned. ¡°I suppose I¡¯ll let you take the three on the left then¡±, Marcus laughed as his eyes moved between two on the right side of the inclines. The harpies cawed and growled at their foes, the clouds swirling high in the sky. Fluttering their wings, they let loose countless feathers into the air as they dashed the rain away. Letting a wide swing of their wings towards the pair of adventurers, the feathers shot at insane speeds to the duo. Logan grabbed Marcus as they both warped high into the sky before kicking off each other¡¯s boots towards their respective sides. Logan threw a Bowen dagger at the three harpies who all darted to the side to avoid it. Wiggling his fingers, Logan chanted, ¡°Demon-Clan Spell: Telekinesis¡±, causing the dagger to vibrate in the air and then dance around as Logan commanded it to slash at his foes as if moved by an invisible ally. Landing in a slide, Logan threw another dagger as it impaled a dodging harpy, the flying one still cutting at them as it jigged the dancefloor of combat. The furthest of the three screeched loudly, causing a shockwave to push away both water and knife, Logan¡¯s Telekinesis getting interrupted as ringing erupted in his ears. Another darted at the caster, taloned wings grappling Logan¡¯s arms and crushing him to his centre. As if it were herculean, Logan was crushed to nothing, though instead of an eruption of blood and sinew, the Spellthief appeared behind the harpy with a blast of wind. Slashing a blade towards his would-be grappler, Logan¡¯s dagger was met by the hurried wing of his foe. Metal clashed with feathers, as they protected the creature from harm. A solid thud was heard as he hit the defence, pushing off of it to avoid a twirling dervish retaliation. Sliding across the floor, Logan backflipped over the twin swipes of the other harpy against him. A tall dash of water from the ground hugged Logan¡¯s trousers as the rain got fiercer, sounding like the roars of a pride a thousand-full. The rain was so harsh it blocked sight like fog, Logan couldn¡¯t see past the part of the mountain he was on. Each rush of water battered his shoulders, but he stood tall against the onslaught, continuing to defend himself from the similar brutish manner of the harpies. Talons and claws came quickly at the Spellthief, thankful he had his Agility heightened earlier to be able to parry so many sharp attacks as he dual-wielded Bowen daggers from his hip holsters. Cutting through the rains felt like Logan was wading in a river, the harpies heavy rocks flowing down it. Warping to his centre yet again, Logan was surprised to see when he appeared that the harpies had copied him, essentially swapping places as their talons gripped his wrists. A flurry of punches landed in Logan¡¯s stomach as the harpies took heavy control of Logan¡¯s form. Logan spat red into the watery terrain but was washed away as soon as it appeared. Before another blow could be landed, and finding a spot between them to concentrate, Logan warped away again, but this time he only appeared for a second before being wrapped up in shadows and dissipating at the end of an ¡°Invisibility.¡± This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. The harpies darted their heads around, and with the heavy rain, were unable to sniff out their quarry. Spreading their arms and wings wide they squawked and sent out a burst of sonic power, creating an area of protection from the rain and making it quieter than the exterior¡¯s harsh climate. Logan tried to stay still, but the water dripping from his body still hit the floor that had been brushed clean of moisture and dirt, but it hugged around Logan¡¯s unseen form. Black spots appeared on the floor as parts of his body blocked the protective field at his back or under his coat. The harpies cawed again as they darted towards Logan. ¡°Haste¡±, Logan chanted, his still unseen, but known, body increasing its speed ever further. Leaping at his foes, Logan chanted twice, ¡°Flame Wall¡±, causing two tall walls of fire and steam to erupt from the floor that blocked off both his foes on his sides. Darting through one of his walls as his Invisibility ended, Logan stabbed the throat of the left harpy, jumped up with his knife, grabbled its wing and chanted, ¡°Flame Grasp¡±, igniting the harpy in a flourish of red and orange that quickly became quenched in the rain that followed its death. Similarly, the final harpy dashed through the wall of fires with inflamed claws. As the cinders followed its strikes, Logan could see it was continuing to mimic his moves. Clever girl. Dodging, ducking, and side-stepping. Logan was able to foresee the moves with his increased visions from his red vaskt eyes tracking the moves combined with his speed. Parrying a slash from the wing¡¯s talon, Logan spun around the inside of the feathered appendage, parried its clawed arm, and ended with a double dig into the harpy¡¯s chest with both of his daggers. The harpy let out a wash of blood as it ran away with the waters, Logan punched its beak closed as he grabbed it and chanted a final time, ¡°Necromantic Second Grasp¡±, causing his hand to erupt into shadows and rip at the monster¡¯s body, healing Logan as the body hit the floor. As Logan looked over the bodies around him he mentally accepted the slowing of the rains. Rivers ran down the sides of the cliffs as they splashed down below, several waterfalls cascaded blood and feathers downward. Swiping a dagger into his hand, Logan tossed it over to the other side of the gap, as its glint faded Logan warped to it in the air and descended with a weapon in hand. ¡°Nice of you to join me¡±, Marcus spoke with confidence as he sat atop the body of his two harpies, with one ankle on the other leg¡¯s knee. ¡°My friends wanted to keep me company¡±, Logan laughed as he sauntered to his ally. ¡°They¡¯re both still alive, as you wanted¡±, Marcus informed as he stood. Logan crouched to the two bodies, the rains getting fainter still, ¡°Thanks.¡± Experience numbers finally started to climb against the rain, signalling the pair¡¯s allowance of lessening tension. Logan was happy to see the yellow text again, it gave him a sense of normality against his imprisonment. Though, it was a new normality compared to spreadsheets and the like of Earth. Logan gained a total of 3,264, while Marcus gained 2,880. ¡°We¡¯re all good. Only issue we¡¯ll face is encroaching foes from afar, but we should have time to harvest and return¡±, Logan informed as he picked up the two bodies. ¡°I¡¯ll grab the three on the other cliff and bring them down below¡±, Marcus offered. The pair warped away at their own wills, teleportation rings fitting almost any adventurer¡¯s finger comfortably. Logan was told how to take the brains without too much issue, a certain potion he bought ahead of time along with weaving spellforce similar to crafting to preserve them as components for later. The feathers would be useful for other crafting, but Marcus would be taking those as his half of the payment. Logan used Harvesting on all the components, hoping to increase that skill¡¯s mastery quicker than he had previously. With the bodies cut up, Logan lit the remains alight. It would hasten their spellforce breakdown and not upset the local wildlife much more than killing them. With a quick round of Clean, Logan also removed any signs of his or Marcus¡¯s presence atop the cliffs.
Warping back to Gauntlet, the pair split up for a short while. Marcus went back to training against Logan¡¯s elementals, while the Spellthief moved to drop off the harpy brains. With a spare brain for himself, Logan got to his crafting. He couldn¡¯t finish anything today, however, as the items he was making were quite intricate. Combined with his new necklace, he cut the time down by half, but the day had so much in it besides that.
Cleaning himself up, Logan met with Amalia in the front room of the inn for their planned dinner. Leaving and taking a stroll through the streets, the couple landed up at The Restaurant that Logan had investigated previously. As the large sign with red lettering made it easy to find, this night didn¡¯t see much of a line outside. Entering, Logan was greeted by a waiter dressed in a black suit and tie just as before. A relatively strange sight outside of royal estates. Finding a table, the pair sat and conversed as glasses were filled with water. ¡°Now isn¡¯t this nostalgic¡±, Amalia chuckled. ¡°Right? I found it quite a few weeks ago¡±, Logan informed as he drank the crystal-clear water. ¡°A lovely sight from home¡±, Amalia added as she sipped her drink, ¡°I didn¡¯t think I would see a menu like this again¡±, she continued as she opened a thin booklet. Ordering their meals, and arriving a bit later than if they had gone to a tavern, the conversation continued. ¡°Smithing is going well. I have to hide a few creations here and there. Feels like I have to set my own shop up soon to not worry as much about that.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve settled in just fine then.¡± ¡°Oh, I have. Most people are courteous and kind.¡± ¡°Bit of a contrast to my start¡±, Logan replied with a knowing smile. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ve overheard some bullying towards casters when adventurers come to the smith for new arms. Can¡¯t exactly make a fuss about it all while I am working though.¡± ¡°There are tossers wherever you go. Be it a pitch or a new world¡±, Logan mentioned as he leaned back. The atmosphere of The Restaurant was a mix of whispers and low voices, it wasn¡¯t as boisterous as an inn or tavern. It felt like a family establishment, sans the baby cries, from Earth. ¡°The number of snot spoons is unreal when it comes to group dynamics.¡± Logan laughed, ¡°What kind of insult is that.¡± ¡°You¡¯d prefer if I called them smelly boots? C¡¯mon, you still call people tossers and cunts¡±, Amalia replied with a wide smile. ¡°True that. Though I suppose both of our mannerisms and slang are weird to people here. Be it from England or Germany.¡± Talk filled with reminiscing, jokes, and normal life in Avanar was cut a bit short as Eno appeared, the partnered NPC of the PC Leroy. ¡°Have we not met before, sir?¡± Eno asked as he looked at Logan. Logan held a hand out to shake, ¡°Yes, Eno. I¡¯m Logan. We talked during my research into Oracles.¡± Eno took the hand, ¡°Ah, yes, of course. It seems you¡¯ve been well since.¡± It was true in a way. Logan¡¯s attire and equipment painted him as much wealthier than before. While Eno, in his 80s, only looked older with each passing week. ¡°Yes. A lot has happened since.¡± ¡°Then I am glad you chose my establishment to decompress. Is the food to your standard?¡± Amalia perked up, ¡°Yes it was.¡± ¡°Always happy to bring happy smiles and content stomachs to the clientele.¡± ¡°Might have to make it a habit to come here¡±, Logan teased. Amalia smiled, the meaning behind the words possibly getting mixed or not didn¡¯t matter much. Amalia took it as if going out with her more. ¡°Thank you. I shall leave you to it¡±, Eno ended as he attended to other customers.
Finishing up their meals, the pair left The Restaurant and made their way back to the inn. Chatter on the street and nightly sounds complemented the time of peace in Gauntlet. As Amalia wrapped her arm around Logan¡¯s she let out a tut in frustration. ¡°Everything alright?¡± Logan asked. ¡°Another quest reminder popped up¡±, Amalia informed as she peered off to the side. ¡°Need help with it?¡± ¡°Not really. Just arrived at an awkward time.¡± ¡°That a fact? All of mine have been combat-orientated. Well, except for the 7-day death timer¡±, Logan replied wistfully. ¡°Might be because I do a lot more crafting or just less fighting than you.¡± ¡°Could be. My hours spent hunting people are the same you spend at the forge.¡± ¡°And many more to come. I need to ¡®Shore up Supplies¡¯ for an incoming lack of arms¡±, Amalia huffed. ¡°Seems we¡¯ll both be tinkering away then¡±, Logan replied with a chuckle. ¡°I suppose so.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 147 - Crafter Hands Redux Logan awoke to the usual timer ringing in his ears, his first thought was of the goodnight kiss on his cheek at the end of his date. The second thought was the long road of preparations ahead. After a quick meal downstairs, Logan met with some of his homeless workers in the inn''s front room. A short conversation ended with them taking his elementals to clean up some low-level quests to help the men and women get payment for work, as well as grant his signet more quest completions. What awaited the Spellthief was a few days of crafting to himself. With the aid of his Epi-Ptah Heart, Logan made short work of several items over the coming setting suns. The first was a shining example of what his new items would produce in his crafting endeavours, a legendary tier trinket. Donning the new headband, Logan put away his old commander¡¯s headband to sell later. This freed up an earring slot too, as he removed his monstrous advisor earring. The space on his ear was the next to sort out, as Logan was finally able to alleviate at least one weakness he suffered from in the past. Logan had to wait till level 19 to be able to craft this, at mastery 3 in Trinket Craft he could only create items six levels above him. These were also made-to-order, as not many people could even afford such protection against sleep. Slipping on his new boots, Logan also set aside his old tools for Stealth, as his new trinkets were far better. The new boots were similar to his old ones, with the metallic parts just looking darker and the top parts of the boots at his ankles having a feathered design. After making a cape for Marcus with the feathers of the harpies, Logan was greeted by a window congratulating him on a job well done. With faster crafting times and hidden improvements to all tiers of crafting, Logan set to make himself a cloak. However, the mastery gained from items below level 20 was now halved. Whilst not directly powerful, the new cloak increased the number of daggers Logan could bring to a fight as well as other forms of weapons. If he had space, he could also put loot in there so he didn¡¯t have to worry about his Inventory skill being found out. Putting a dagger into the cloak, the blade vanished into thin air, being stored similar to the wristband that Cassius had. Unlike Cassius, the cloak became invisible due to Logan¡¯s cache arm trinket, just like anything adorning his head. Instead, he was able to hide the daggers within his normal Spellthief¡¯s garb coat. People wouldn¡¯t question it too much, as it looked magical to begin with. With the vest completed, and donning it to make his upper body more comfortable, Logan had passed so much time in his crafting endeavours from failures and successes. The vest had also become invisible due to the cache arm.
Day 101 from arriving in Avanar. Logan left the inn with Marcus, Amalia, and all the other hunters. Standing in the street, the group looked to the skies as many other inhabitants of Gauntlet. The nearby board had a notice fluttering in the wind that detailed the last warning about the Demonturtle Shell Barrier getting activated. The whole city was still and quiet, only a few whispers could be heard, as well as a few restless kids as they awaited the display. Suddenly, a wave of wind rushed through the alleys and streets, dust and paper getting picked up as the ground shook slightly. Several large portions underground shifted and created a strangely supported dome underneath the city. Cogs were heard as the grinding of stone turned to a hum and buzz. From the west to the east, large green hexagons appeared from the floor and shot upwards in a round fashion. Each hexagon was a good ten feet tall and wide, connecting with one another on all sides. Eventually, the hexagons reached the tip-top of the city, a dome of emerald glistening in the light of the sun. The colouration slowly dissipated from green to clear, darker lines appearing every so often as the barrier fluctuated naturally. It was now as if it wasn¡¯t there, but the people would know it was whenever a monster would try to enter again. Gaemo whistled, ¡°Ain¡¯t that a sight?¡± Wriske shrugged, ¡°For a few minutes. Back to things as usual.¡± Sincollo stood on all fours, ¡°Let us hope it does not agitate my kind.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be fine¡±, Ev¨¦n teased. ¡°We need to go get our signets enchanted?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°Guildless aren¡¯t allowed to teleport through that, we¡¯ll get it soon¡±, Logan informed, having checked it out previously. ¡°So no more invasions?¡± Amalia asked. ¡°They¡¯ll still come, this will just make it bounds harder¡±, Sincollo replied. ¡°We¡¯ll meet whatever comes our way head-on¡±, Logan ended.
The rest of the day was spent finalising the petrified heart of Quayvan. It needed to stew for some time, but Logan was finally able to complete it. With Marcus on standby just in case, Logan coated the rocky heart in a sizzling and steamy liquid over a small cauldron. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. As the liquid ate at the stone it cracked and peeled away, grabbing it with both hands Logan devoured it as quickly as he could. Sinew and blood poured through his teeth, as a man at a buffet Logan shovelled it all into his gob so that he didn¡¯t miss a scrap. Sucking down the last vein like it was a noodle, Logan stood still for a bit as he awaited the transformation. The concoction he had brewed up allowed the heart to live on for some time, long enough to be eaten and dissolved within his stomach, but it wasn¡¯t the best taste. ¡°Are we good?¡± Marcus asked. Logan held up a finger as if to say ¡°Wait for it.¡± Logan then felt a fire in his belly, a rushing of water falling upwards through his system. Falling to his knees, Logan held his stomach and throat to stop whatever was coming from erupting from him. Black blood seeped through his gritted teeth as he coughed up an abyss. The veins around his eyes tightened in a dark glow, his vaskt eyes popping open as a defensive measure. White and red eyes stared at the pitch floor as Logan kept himself propped up with a hand on the floorboards. The feeling finally subsided as Logan leant back onto his feet, a held breath let out to the ceiling as he felt relief. ¡°Fuck, that wasn¡¯t pleasant¡±, Logan cursed. ¡°Whatever batters your body makes chitin¡±, Marcus recited as he crouched down to his friend. Logan laughed and rubbed his face clean, ¡°Let¡¯s see how this changed me.¡± Two windows appeared to alert Logan to the changes at his request. ¡°You have reached Demon Stage 3. Your attributes have all increased by 1. You have unlocked the skill Demonic Physiology.¡± ¡°Your Regeneration has progressed to tier 2.¡± Logan ruminated over the changes within him. His base attributes were now that of a hero¡¯s starting array, and being immune to so many things made him quite resilient. The Regeneration upgrade was a bit strange when it came to how it worked though. Before it was head to chest, now it was brain to heart, at what point would he be in that sort of situation and still be alive? At least he could now regrow an arm in an hour. Reaching demonhood stage 3 allowed Logan an easier time casting Warping Censure, granting him access to his bane to place on others. Logan explained the new improvements to Marcus whose eyes became starry as before. His ally would need to get some of this himself if he were to keep pace, but a healer-melee hybrid allowed Marcus to survive combat a bit longer than Logan. Another point of curiosity was the double upgrade from Quayvan¡¯s heart, Logan had just assumed it would be demonhood progression, but the Regeneration was close to double the worth of that. Just what exactly was his former foe? Logan stood a bit shaky before getting his balance back. With a round of his Clean mick, Logan made himself and the room spotless.
The Spellthief took the rest of the day off to read the multitude of books he had accumulated from the markets and friends. His vaskt eyes closed and healed over quicker than before thanks to his increased Regeneration, but they didn¡¯t tend to bother him before, it would just make moving around the city easier. Following on into the next morning, Logan was greeted by a quest not unlike Amalia¡¯s. ¡°I suppose this was brought on by my crafting streak? It seems mine and Amalia¡¯s quests are offset by a few days if we got these out of sync¡±, Logan thought to himself. As Logan was ruminating how he¡¯d go about this new quest given to him, and questioning if he could just sell his stocked potions, Fol confirmed the suspicions in his mind, ¡°You may try it, Logan, but I believe you have to craft and sell these within the specified timeframe.¡± ¡°I will do, just on the off chance. We can at least be happy this crafting spree will improve our skills over the coming fortnight¡±, Logan replied in his head.
Heading down to the front room of the Meek Moat Inn, Logan was stopped by Jirango who had several books under his arm. ¡°Hail, Logan¡±, Jirango waved with a newly restored hand. ¡°And to you. Feeling better?¡± ¡°Waves. Speaking of, I am to debrief you on the events following your court, at your request I hear.¡± Logan took a seat at one of the tables as Jirango did the same, ¡°Ah, all cleared up?¡± Jirango placed his books on the table as he flipped one open, ¡°In a manner of speaking. Twain Dagger has done quite a speedy eradication of almost all Anti-Vampire Club members. That despicable place I was held captive within was the first. It took some time, but the place offered up many mouths and text to tell us of other operations.¡± ¡°Were they aware of all the separate parts?¡± ¡°No. It seems many didn¡¯t even know about the spell ring harvesting facilities, while others were unaware of any AV Club activities.¡± ¡°So someone was coordinating them all apart from one another?¡± Logan asked as he leaned back in his chair. ¡°That is the best guess we hold. Other locations are currently under investigation, but the bulk of this event has been dealt with. It does seem Quayvan was at least the second in command.¡± ¡°Second?!¡± ¡°Yes. Some vague understandings and discussions with parrots reveal that the vampire-monster-thing spoke like he was reciting commands from someone else. With his first-hand control over the guardhouse and by extension yourself and Wriske left the operation wide open. It had to be maintained without his input.¡± ¡°What of the creature that Marcus fought?¡± ¡°Possibly third in the chain. Some of the criminals spoke of her absence for days at a time, or getting orders around her, not from her. She was also set up to guard our cells for some time too.¡± Logan rubbed the lower part of his face as he thought, ¡°I hate the idea of something stronger than Quayvan.¡± ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for their plans to tire you out and ambush you, Quayvan would have lost¡±, Jirango calculated. Logan nodded, even though it wasn¡¯t a question. ¡°I suppose there¡¯s not much more you can do to stop these kinds of requests for hunters?¡± ¡°The barrier should stop most. Otherwise, we will just have to vet our clients better. Quayvan had a good history behind him, years of being a vampire, and scholarly.¡± ¡°Was this that out of character? Hiring hunters?¡± ¡°Not enough to cause worry. Vampires often hire hunters to deal with AV Club members, track down people, or do stuff during the day. I didn¡¯t even know Quayvan was over a rank of 15.¡± ¡°Has his remains been identified? Was it actually Quayvan?¡± ¡°Yes and yes. He may have morphed into a monster, but as far as the mages are concerned, that was the Quayvan they knew about. If he recently changed, it was in such a way that it seemed normal.¡± ¡°Or was one all along?¡± Jirango hummed, ¡°He was older than 30, the barrier should have caught him back then.¡± ¡°So we¡¯ll just sit on a perfect assimilation.¡± ¡°Either way, he is dead. Unless his master can revive at a distance he won¡¯t return. We¡¯ll keep you updated on what we believe to be leading all of this, but the majority is dealt with.¡± ¡°Thanks, Jirango¡±, Logan replied as he stood and shook the Half-Hand¡¯s hand. ¡°The appreciation will be felt when you come back to the guardhouse¡±, Jirango smirked. ¡°I got some stuff to do, maybe by the time the Lightbeam guild is back.¡± ¡°See you then.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 148 - Shore up Supplies. Part 1 Apparating within Ahren¡¯s apothecary as usual, Logan walked to the counter and rang the bell atop it twice. ¡°Coming¡±, the Irish PC replied as he moved through the curtains that hid his backrooms. ¡°I¡¯m back again¡±, Logan announced with a smile. Ahren placed a mortar and pestle on the counter before saying, ¡°That¡¯s early. I¡¯m not done yet. Or did you have another order?¡± ¡°Of a sort. I got a new quest that includes brewing and selling potions. Was hoping you had suggestions for quick-to-brew potions?¡± Ahren chuckled, ¡°Turning to my side ay?¡± ¡°I think it reacted to me improving my gear¡±, Logan admitted as he leaned on the counter. ¡°I got some ideas, let me get a piece of parchment.¡± Ahren went back and forth, wrote up a quick set of instructions and handed them to Logan. ¡°There¡¯s four you can try, see if any don¡¯t apply to the objectives.¡± Logan scanned over the text quickly, ¡°I know two of these, thanks, will do.¡± ¡°Try to sell one of each to me too, it¡¯d help my stocks but also to test if you can work with other PCs on this¡±, Ahren requested. ¡°That was my idea too.¡±
After another shopping spree in town to buy supplies for Alchemy, Logan made his way back to his room. Biting his thumb, Logan painted a circle in the air, his spellforce causing the blood to float as he chanted, ¡°Ochus, I smith thy words¡±, using the spell that Orichalcum taught him for the times he needed to contact them. The blood then circled, causing the wind within the centre to blur and shade itself grey, eventually forming a window into a dark room with a grey-robed woman sitting at a desk. ¡°Ochus here, how might I help you?¡± the woman from Orichalcum asked. ¡°Glad this spell worked without issue. I have information to send through the group¡±, Logan started. The woman pulled out a new piece of parchment and drenched her quill in ink, ¡°Speak, my liege.¡± ¡°In 16 days there will be an increase in demand for armaments. They include potions, trinkets, weapons, and shields.¡± The woman scribbled quickly as Logan spoke, ¡°Where have you gained this information, and what will be the cause?¡± ¡°The first part will be secret, as for the second, I believe it lines up with Lightbeam and other guild returns to the city. Resupply will be harsher than usual, but following events might require a greater number of armaments¡±, Logan theorised. ¡°Understood. Do you have any commands or requests?¡± ¡°If able, can you move the opinions of merchants that they need to accept a bit more in the way of purchasing items from adventurers and non-contract workers until the Ice King¡¯s revival date has passed?¡± Logan asked, knowing when he tried to sell so many of the same items met with resistance. ¡°We shall spread the word. Will you be aiding in the stockpiling of goods?¡± ¡°I will do my part to craft and bolster the markets with new wares, most likely at cost or just a bit higher.¡± ¡°Do you entreat us also to put in supply requests to neighbouring settlements or for Gauntlet crafters to make more?¡± ¡°If you are able to in the timeframe. Not enough that they would be put out, but a bit of trade is more likely good than bad.¡± ¡°Very well, we shall do so. Anything further?¡± ¡°Not at this time¡±, Logan ended. ¡°Then I shall wish you a joyous day¡±, Ochus replied as the circle minimised to its centre and disappeared. Logan sighed, the spell was easy enough but the state of being so formal and seemingly atop a pedestal still chipped at his social energy. At least Orichalcum was still proving it would be an aid to him, now he had an avenue to warn the city about oncoming threats without revealing himself, though this one was not an army of goblins. So far.
Hurrying to work, Logan pulled out several alchemical supplies. From mortars and pestles to alembics and fires. Crushing up leaves, squeezing out juices, and burning components, Logan looked quite the brewer. If he weren¡¯t so opposite in personality he¡¯d be similar to Darius in the cave. Alchemy was tied for the lowest tier of crafting for Logan, alongside Tailoring, but it was at least faster than smithing which he had yet to unlock. Aided by his necklace, he could still craft potions at a good rate. While potions brewed within his bottle and cauldron he could work on others, making it quite a clockwork and fast process. With spare cauldrons and alembics, he was able to multi-brew, compared to Trinket Craft where he had to be focused on one item at a time. With four differently coloured vials complete, Logan warped to Ahren to find annoyance in the fact he couldn¡¯t just sell them to his allies. Taking the potions back, the Spellthief went to the local markets to sell off the new creations. At shoddy quality, he could only sell them for the cost of the materials, plus a copper or three for his troubles and Haggle skill. The next three days were dedicated to the brewing of potions, some failures occurred due to learning new recipes or attempting fresh creation processes. While he went to sell off the first batch so he could replace components, Logan was treated to the sight of a gaunt man in his late teens. The man stared at a few vials on offer before looking at the merchant, ¡°Sorry, sir, which of these are for the flu?¡± Logan pointed at a vial before the merchant could walk over, ¡°This. That word is ¡®Flu¡¯ and that is ¡®Cure¡¯¡±, Logan instructed. The merchant nodded, ¡°Ay, that be true. You wanting one? It¡¯s 2 silver and 4 copper today.¡± Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Logan pointed at the symbols on a sticker near the vial as the merchant read the numbers. The man pulled at his pouch and counted to 9 through copper coins, ¡°Can I work off the worth?¡± The merchant shook their head, ¡°Sorry, no handouts, and no work going right now. Check the G-Hall or labour hirements.¡± ¡°What do you need it for? You look fine¡±, Logan asked. ¡°Grandfather¡¯s ill sir.¡± ¡°Parents can¡¯t buy it?¡± ¡°They were injured during the raid some weeks ago, all our money has gone to repairs and day-to-day livin¡¯.¡± Logan used Identification on the man, he was only 18 but his thin arms and neck made him seem so small. He was a Rogue, but it was a good bet he hadn¡¯t been blessed with enough coin to get geared to be an adventurer. ¡°I can think of some work, where do you live?¡± Logan asked. The young man¡¯s eyes lightened up as his frown turned to a smile, ¡°This way, sir!¡±
Logan was taken to a patchwork home, boards nailed over the windows where they had suffered from collision and a door that was slanted in the frame. ¡°I¡¯m home!¡± the man yelled as he opened the door with a struggle. The interior didn¡¯t look much better. Scratched and dented furniture and a pitcher that was half broken held clear water inside. ¡°No one home?¡± Logan asked. ¡°Parents are at work, grandpa is in the back¡±, the man replied, leading Logan to a cramped room at the back. An elderly gentleman was resting in a bed that had his head and feet touching opposite walls. Sweat dripped from his balding head onto a piece of cloth he had substituted a pillow for. The old man didn¡¯t look good, his status showed him to be as frail as he looked. Combined with the flu, the man was going to be out for a while. Holding a hand over the older man, Logan chanted, ¡°Clean, Temper-rate, Minor Morph¡±, causing the sleeping target to look like he was ready to go out on the town, his clothes and body cleaned while the towel on his forehead was chilled. ¡°You a caster, mister?¡± the younger man asked. ¡°Yeah. Feed this to your grandpa¡±, Logan instructed as he handed one of his vials to the man. The youth nodded and had his grandfather sip the drink in their sleep, colour returning to the sleeping man¡¯s face quickly. The young man turned to thank Logan and ask a question, but the Spellthief had already left for the main room. Within the combined front room, kitchen, dining, and living room, Logan used his Clean mick over all of it, making it look almost like new if not for the damaged parts. Logan just finished some muttering before the young man returned with a wide mouth, ¡°Sir, this is more than I had asked.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine¡±, Logan replied as he pulled out a coin, ¡°as for the work. If this coin lands on heads your debt is paid, tails you¡¯ll work as a porter for me in a quest.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t carry that much sir¡±, the man admitted. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Vern, sir.¡± ¡°Vern, are you ready for the flip?¡± ¡°F¡­ fine¡±, Vern accepted in defeat. ¡°Good¡±, Logan replied as he flipped the coin onto the table he had cleaned. It danced onto the wooden surface and flipped into the air again, Vern clutching his fists tightly in anticipation as it landed again and trembled till it stopped. ¡°Heads, aw shucks¡±, Logan acted as he snapped his fingers. ¡°Hah! What luck!¡± Vern cheered as he jumped. ¡°Well, there¡¯s me out a few silver, ¡®suppose you can keep the copper as a victory token¡±, Logan offered as he moved to the door. Vern bowed, ¡°Thank you, sir!¡± With Logan having left, Vern checked the coin over. It was a normal coin, Logan had just used Telekinesis to force it to land on heads. Rushing to the door, Vern tried to follow Logan to get his name but was just met by a rush of wind, ¡°The Phasing Hunter?¡±
Another two days passed as Logan continued to brew and sell off potions when he could, not every day was eventful but Gauntlet was a bustling capital, so he was bound to find more trouble. Whilst on his way back to the inn, Logan could overhear chatter in a nearby alleyway, the familiar sound of thumping into chests. Investigating further, Logan saw a trio of more seasoned adventurers bullying a quartet of beginners. ¡°If you¡¯re lucky enough for a next time, you¡¯ll be quicker!¡± one of the seasoned men shouted as he punched a mage to the floor. ¡°No guilds will take lowlies like you¡±, a woman teased. Before another kick could be landed, Logan landed in front of the two groups first. ¡°Who¡±, the man started as he eyed the armband on Logan, ¡°Fare hunter, what brings you here?¡± Logan looked at the bruised newcomers and then back to the experienced ones, ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing to these people?¡± The last man spoke up, ¡°Just ending a duel, you know how rough it gets.¡± ¡°Duels have been banned.¡± ¡°Of course they were¡±, the man replied with sweat dripping down his face, ¡°these were set up before the ban. The leeway, you see?¡± ¡°Either way, continuing to fight while they obviously did not win is against the law. And that law is long standing¡±, Logan intimidated as he got close to the man¡¯s face. The other two delinquents double-checked Logan¡¯s armband and tutted as they saw its colour. ¡°Sorry, sir. We¡¯ll just take our leave then¡±, the woman interjected as he grabbed the arm of her ally. ¡°Hey¡±, one of the younger men spoke up, ¡°they didn¡¯t give us our pay.¡± Logan stared at the three making their way out, ¡°That true?¡± The woman replied, ¡°You know green necks. They want to make as easy money as they can.¡± ¡°They got what they were worth¡±, the man added. ¡°If that¡¯s so, you won¡¯t mind coming to the guardhouse to doublecheck under truth magic.¡± ¡°Sir. No need to spend money for them to make more.¡± ¡°No need, I¡¯ll pay for it¡±, Logan replied with crossed arms. The trio looked at each other before having the man throw a pouch over, ¡°Fine. That¡¯ll cover it.¡± One of the younger women then spoke, ¡°Watch out¡ª¡± Before the warning finished, Logan had warped to his centre and appeared behind the trio. Planting hands on their backs, he chanted thrice, ¡°Flame Grasp¡±, igniting them sequentially as they all fell unconscious. The quartet of newcomers looked shocked at the felling of the three who eclipsed their power so easily. Logan took the remaining pouches from the trio and ferried them to the four, kicking away the false pouch that had black sand fall out of it. ¡°Explosives like that won¡¯t damage me much, but thanks for the warning¡±, Logan informed as he helped the adventurers to their feet. They all bowed their heads to Logan as one of the women spoke, ¡°Thank you, sir hunter. Not many would have stuck their necks out for ours.¡± ¡°No problem. I had to deal with some shitheads when I was starting too. Doubly as a mage.¡± ¡°It¡¯d be simple if guilds let in seven-dayers¡±, one of the men said offhandedly. ¡°Stick to quests much weaker than you, and always take more than you need to meet them¡±, Logan instructed. ¡°We try to, but the bigger quests give so much more, and we¡¯ve debts to pay¡±, the second man added. Logan slouched a bit, ¡°I understand that, but debts can wait longer than death¡¯s empty returns.¡± ¡°Sure, sir. We¡¯ll use what we earned here and keep at it¡±, the second woman accepted. ¡°If anyone else like those three harass you, go to a guardhouse and inform them about it. If you need a personal touch, just ask for Logan¡±, the Spellthief offered as he moved back to the unconscious adventurers. Flinging them over his shoulders, Logan looked high and warped away, to hand the brigands over to the Gerro Guardhouse. --- *** --- Chapter 149 - Shore up Supplies. Part 2 ¡°Miscreants, again?¡± Jirango asked rhetorically as he looked over the trio of ¡°seasoned¡± adventurers. ¡°The never-ending quest to keep the streets clean¡±, Logan replied. ¡°¡®Suppose they must find their quarries easy with the barrier up.¡± ¡°Any excuse.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll interrogate them when they wake up, a few days in the cells will hopefully teach them a lesson.¡± ¡°I already took my pay¡±, Logan half-lied, having given it to the victims. ¡°Good good. If only we had more warpers in our ranks, we¡¯d need not rely on you, Logan.¡± ¡°It would be nice, but what can you do¡±, Logan shrugged. ¡°Still taking time off?¡± ¡°Yeah. You¡¯ll be the first to know when I am up for more hunting work.¡± ¡°Tis fine. You¡¯ve accrued so much time at the inn that you¡¯re safe to have weeks to yourself.¡± ¡°Speaking of, gonna get back to it. Good day, Jirango.¡±
With days spent brewing up potions of various types, Logan was sure to swap between recipes when he reached the usual ten limit for increased gains of mastery. The quest allowed him a minimum, even after the ten limit, but it was so small that he¡¯d just want to make something new. Higher tiers of mastery would suit him better down the road. The minimum of 0.1% did get doubled by his new necklace, but 0.2% per item wasn¡¯t much compared to the 5% or 4% he got as his tiers increased, doubled to 10% and 8% respectively. With all 50 potions brewed, Logan had gained so much mastery in such a short time he felt a renewed fascination for the speed of his progress. With starting his spree at tier 1, gaining 3 more tiers was quite the boost. When Logan had his guild set up he brewed an idea in his head to offer up potion services in exchange for ingredients. But that was some time in the future. While selling off his potions, Logan was glad to see his objective get ticked off in his windows. As if in reaction to the update, or just seeing the multitude of newly brewed pots, one of the merchants spoke up. ¡°Strange to get so many potions sent my way, spares from corpses?¡± ¡°Something like that, just too many to hold right now¡±, Logan efficiently lied. ¡°All¡¯s good. Seems like we¡¯re getting an influx of adventurers from afar anyway.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°Ye. Talk amongst trader guilds says to accept as many offers as we can to prep. Fine with me, plenty of coins to jingle my pouches.¡± ¡°When you get to sell ¡®em at almost double what you got them for¡±, Logan laughed. ¡°Hah, if you want full prices I am sure the crafting guilds will have ya.¡± Logan waved it off, ¡°Not for me, the chains won¡¯t bind me.¡± ¡°Fair¡¯s fair. Thanks for the custom regardless.¡± ¡°And to you.¡±
Logan sighed slightly as he walked back to the inn, coins spent on materials for quick and easy trinkets. He was going to make some low-level ones to speed up the process, which meant he was only going to get half mastery gain, but the limited rewards from the quest outweighed mastery. With his speed upgrades, he could get some of them done in an hour by purchasing ready-made jewellery. With ten new trinkets made and handed over, Logan didn¡¯t see a new tier of mastery, but he did see another objective cleanly ticked off his list over the next few days.
Only two objectives remained, both of which could have been sped up by the aid of Amalia, pushing Logan to make a drop-in at her new smithery she had set up in the commercial district. A shoddy compilation of wood and stone held together through wind and rain stood rather short, a bungalow building that would cause Logan to duck down every so often at 6¡¯2¡±. A fresh wooden sign with the typical hammer onto an anvil painted onto it showed the place had recently opened, contrasting with the building itself. Entering the interior, Logan called out, ¡°Morning.¡± Amalia slammed her anvil a few more times before letting the blade rest, pulling goggles from her face that was smudged slightly black. ¡°Logan, nice of you to drop by. I didn¡¯t know I was having a housewarming¡±, she announced with a smile. Logan sat a tall bottle on a nearby table as he walked over, ¡°It¡¯s already hot in here¡±, he started as he whipped his coat off, ¡°Was wondering if you had a spare hour or two to train a newcomer?¡± Amalia looked over her recent blade before turning back to Logan, ¡°You¡¯re finally moving onto the last load of tasks?¡± Logan nodded. ¡°Sure, I may go a bit quick but I know you can keep pace. You¡¯re needing weapons and shields, right?¡± ¡°Five of each by my hand.¡± Amalia whistled, ¡°You got a shorter queue than me, but then I didn¡¯t need to make potions.¡± ¡°I got the easy ones out of the way to guarantee a good reward, as well as let you finish up some of yours. We good to start now?¡± ¡°We sure can. Watch me do these weapons, then you can make one with my guidance. I hope you¡¯re good with your hands.¡± This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
The next few hours were spent in not-so-quiet contemplation over the creation of arms. Logan asked questions where he needed to, while Amalia offered up tips when appropriate. It was also nice to just chat over one of their hobbies turned profession. When it came to Logan¡¯s tester weapon, he had Amalia¡¯s close eye on his hands and mannerisms. A few mistakes were spotted by the tutor, having the Guardian hold onto Logan¡¯s hands, and arms, and guiding his hips to move into proper directions for the perfect hit. Giggles were followed by hammering metal, and at the end, Logan was treated to his first shoddy level one dagger. Imperfect, but usable by any newcomer adventurer. Unlocking the Weapon Craft skill, he moved on to the next. A small targe, this took longer than the dagger that had a hilt ready to go, leading the pair into the nighttime. Hastened by the use of spellforce and his trinket, Logan was able to finish the shoddy targe before retiring for the day. Without a guide, these would take a tad longer, but he was confident he¡¯d get them done in time. He wasn¡¯t going to be making any money though. Closing a window that alerted him to his new Armoursmithing skill, Logan laid the hammer atop the anvil as Amalia doused the forge. Packing up some of her tools, Amalia picked up her ring of keys and turned to Logan. Approaching from behind, Logan placed his hands on Amalia¡¯s hips as they locked lips. Amalia¡¯s hands leaned on the table as her bags shifted slightly.
Logan awoke the next day back at the Meek Moat Inn, a comfortable rest seeing him through the late night. Going downstairs to the counter, he ordered breakfast and drinks for himself and Amalia who joined slightly after. ¡°You knew just what I wanted¡±, Amalia admitted as she took a sip from her tankard. ¡°I can keep pace¡±, Logan replied with a smirk. ¡°Good with your hands too¡±, Amalia teased as she nudged Logan¡¯s shoulder with her own.
Separating for the coming days, Logan hired out a forge all his own for a few cycles. This was a common practice for newcomer crafters, or invitees to guilds who needed to show off their work. The buildings were often owned by guilds so the money was always feeding back into adventuring ordeals. Not wanting to spend too much, Logan only got a low-grade forge house. It came with the barebones of materials and appliances for both arms and armour crafting, enough to see Logan through the last parts of his crafting quest. The daggers were the easiest and quickest of items to make for the quest, taking around four hours each after the bonus from Logan¡¯s Epi-Ptah Heart. Calling them daggers was a bit of a push, they were more like jagged pieces of metal placed within nicer hilts. These weapons would probably only see a few fights before breaking, but they were good enough as a starter weapon. A proper dagger would take much more than a day at Logan¡¯s mastery. Starting the ultimate task, Logan was set on the goal of making more shields to sell off. Simple small targes, while they were the lowest on the list it still took a lot of time as he had to shape the metal and coat it with leather. Sweat would have tarnished the sheen of his new crafts, if not for quick casts of Clean to remove any remnants. None of these were going to be better than what Logan could have got when he started, but he could at least sell them at a big loss to potentially help the start of someone new to adventuring. Paying off the renting fees for the last days of his forge house, Logan sold off the remaining items that sat in his quest log. If not just for the rewards, this trip into the varying crafts granted Logan more skills to his repertoire. He was going to be better off leaving weapons and armour to Amalia in the future. Selling his daggers had one of the smiths comment, ¡°Hah, this for a bargain bin?¡± ¡°Yeah. Not the best for first creations¡±, Logan shrugged. ¡°Guess they¡¯ll be up for two copper, can only give you one for ¡®em each.¡± ¡°Make it six in total.¡± ¡°Fine, fine.¡±
Returning to his inn room, Logan collected himself and the rewards for his most recent quest completion. While he had to wait out the timer, the Spellthief had plenty of books to read for skills and spells.
Day 118. ¡°Quest - Shore up Supplies, has been completed. You achieved 4 additional objectives during the mission and as such your rewards will be increased. Distributing rewards¡­¡± ¡°The reward for your quest completion is as follows: Logan looked over the window appearing before him, his inventory popping open for a few seconds to see his money increasing alongside new tomes adding to the pile within his extradimensional space. ¡°An easy enough quest grants quite the straightforward reward¡±, Logan thought to himself. ¡°It was adequately done, Logan¡±, Fol replied in his head. ¡°It fit my downtime just right, though a few ¡®wasted¡¯ days towards making arms.¡± ¡°Regardless, the knowledge may prove beneficial for other endeavours.¡± ¡°I suppose that¡¯s true. I won¡¯t be at a loss during conversation at least.¡± ¡°How did the new trinket suit you?¡± ¡°It couldn¡¯t have come at a better time. Let¡¯s chuck it up to luck, for now, no other quests have led into one another like that so far.¡± ¡°A string of events does not always mean correlation. Those tomes were already confirmed in the quest so they do not compound your reading ahead of time.¡± ¡°Thankfully the rewards are all useful, it gave me the tomes I was missing from my list. A few weeks of reading awaits me now.¡± ¡°Until another quest is granted to us?¡± ¡°Pretty much. If I get them all done, we¡¯ll go back to questing with Marcus to bring him up to our level.¡± ¡°Our partner has been studious in his training. If they didn¡¯t know better, your elementals would feel punished for the times they spent under his fist.¡± Logan laughed to himself as he descended the stairs to the front entrance of the Meek Moat Inn. An interesting sight was that of the door wide open and a crowd forming outside. Running to the exterior, Logan saw the parade of returning adventurers. From Lightbeam and other guilds, Logan counted a staggeringly lower number of both people and carriages. Eyeing up the horse that Patavava rode out on, Logan saw a hunched-over man covered in a cloak. With better eyesight, Logan saw that Patavava was half the man he was when he left, missing his left limbs and his face covered in scars. The two met eyes for a moment before the gashriek passed by without a word.
It didn¡¯t take long for word to spread around about the trials to the north, just outside the Helm kingdom. Four guilds, including Lightbeam, had been sent to a mobile dungeon that was expanding its domain intending to cull the numbers and spellforce found within. One of the guilds had been completely wiped out, with the remaining three suffering heavy losses. Where bodies were able to be recovered, some got revived, but others weren¡¯t as lucky. The operation was a pyrrhic victory, the mobile dungeon had been contained, and even further, rumours spoke of how Raid Master Cass had completely eradicated the dungeon. Mobile dungeons were already ¡°erupted¡±, something the populace worried would happen to the Frost Monarch¡¯s Cavern after Logan¡¯s intervention, so there wasn¡¯t much issue with erupting them a second time. However, to this day there have been no reports of any dungeon being ¡°eradicated.¡± A complete removal of a breeding den for monsters was a momentous occasion, and one that would get a holiday created for it. Even more surprising was the eradication of a mobile dungeon, as they weren¡¯t especially confined to a location but the bubble they moved in. Sadly, combined with the devastation of the forces, it was a coin toss if it would be a sombre or joyous event to remember. If a mobile dungeon could be eradicated, almost all others could. What would that mean for erupted dungeons? Could monsters be removed from the world completely? Questions swirled around the kingdom, giving both hope and worry. If there were no monsters, who would the adventurers fight? --- *** --- Chapter 150 - Rankless Level Day 127. Logan closed up the book he had finished reading, throwing it into the air of his inn room it disappeared in static and green cuboids. During the aftermath of Lightbeam''s return, the city had been in quite the disarray. It was common talk of magi and royals going to Lightbeam¡¯s guild house to talk with the members, especially Cassius. Eventually, the Raid Master became a much more powerful title to hold. It didn¡¯t just mean someone who had completed so many dungeons, but someone who could remove dungeons from the world. As expected, he was scouted by all other guilds of comparable and higher strength than Lightbeam. He was even offered to become a Sirn, this world¡¯s version of getting knighted. Information about Cassius became hard to obtain, the man going dark after the mobile dungeon incident. The trauma of such a victory most likely weighed heavily on the man, it was no shock he needed time to decompress. To take Logan¡¯s own mind off of the event, he checked his most recent windows and improvements. Logan¡¯s Reading skill had improved incredibly, but it was a slow process, thankfully it was a byproduct of his ever-increasing spell repertoire and mastery. From the new micks he had picked up, Light¡¯s Grace was more of a vampiric mick as it protected against sunlight for a few minutes, Read Sigil helped to read written text, Spellforce Detection let Logan see magical auras, and Spellforce Den helped to hide his own. Focusing a bit more on Necromantic Second, Logan had a better avenue for healing himself during combat, while Lightning Cascade let him clear rooms more easily. As a bonus, it seemed maxed spells were now showing their damage ranges, either that or it was some form of Logan¡¯s Intelligence and knowledge that let this get clearly written. Either way, both spells were close to their max efficiency as Intelligence would no longer increase Lightning Cascade and both only had a few more class levels to affect them. Necromantic Second had around 40 damage till it maxed out, and Casade only 9. With his foes slowly getting immunity to first-level spells, getting better seconds and higher was no doubt the right move outside of improving physical means. The next question was going to be ¡°What to do with these skill points.¡± So close to level 20, Logan was hesitant to spend any, in case new skills became available that he¡¯d want to get as soon as possible. He opted to spend two of his points to max out Multi-Backstab to grant him five total uses of Backstab, and Advanced Micks to tier 4 to let Force do a bit more. Heading downstairs to an afternoon meal, Logan did think about the upcoming deadline for his ¡°judgment¡±. The last day for the Ice King to revive was tomorrow, with a bit of leeway already. He was confident nothing was going to happen, but it gave him a bit of anxiety despite everything. Thankfully something was awaiting in the inn to take his mind off things, one of the homeless he had hired. ¡°Sir Logan¡±, the man waved as he walked over. Unfamiliarly, the man looked different than usual. Instead of a hunched-over and slightly gaunt body, the man had gained posture and muscle. ¡°I have great news!¡± he continued, ¡°My spellforce has expanded, I think I ranked up!¡± ¡°Identify¡±, Logan commanded in his head. ¡°Burton: Classless 1, 8/8 HP, 0 MP.¡± ¡°Congratulations are in order, you¡¯re right!¡± Logan beamed. Burton jumped a bit as his smile opened wide, ¡°Yes! It¡¯s all thanks to you, sir!¡± ¡°You put in the work¡±, Logan deflected as he crossed his arms. ¡°That might be so, but you¡¯ve afforded me the opportunities!¡± ¡°Alright, alright. What do you plan on doing next?¡± ¡°Next? Keep working for you, sir.¡± ¡°Oh? Thought you might¡¯ve put in a request to become an adventurer¡±, Logan laughed. ¡°It is tempting, but as a Classless I am bound to find more worries than triumph in the court of powers.¡± ¡°Very well. Better safe than sorry. Not everyone can be the Low-Rank Advocate.¡± ¡°I¡¯d not tarry on thoughts of being as reckless as that. Safety in numbers, and safety in the bosom of your elementals¡±, Burton revealed. ¡°Well, I am at least glad you¡¯ve got a sturdy head on your shoulders. To continue from that¡±, Logan began as he pulled out a dagger from his coat, though it was from his inventory, ¡°Try and wield this.¡± Burton took the level 1 dagger that Logan typically carried around for mundane tasks. Where a level 0 would normally have issues holding the blade, Burton held it as if it were part of his hand. Twirling it around cautiously, Burton became accustomed to it and smiled. ¡°Never would I think I would wield a spellforce weapon.¡± ¡°A final test, strike me with it.¡± ¡°What?¡± Burton asked with a frightened look on his face. ¡°We need to make sure your rank is fully appreciated, we don¡¯t want a weapon to backfire on you.¡± ¡°Are¡­ are you sure?¡± ¡°I doubt you¡¯ll hurt me¡±, Logan smiled. Burton took a few moments to collect himself, he looked like a dog who was worried about hurting his master. But at his master¡¯s command, Burton dove the blade into Logan¡¯s chest. The tip of metal was halted by Logan¡¯s armour, failing to even pierce the fabric Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Logan looked over Burton¡¯s arm, ¡°You¡¯re good, you handled the spellforce fine¡±, he concluded as he stood back. Burton spoke through a held breath, ¡°Didn¡¯t handle the concern though¡±, before offering the dagger back. ¡°Keep it for now, we¡¯ll look into getting you a set of proper gear.¡± Burton jumped again, ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yeah. The teams can do with a sub-leader beside my summons.¡± ¡°What about Roston? He¡¯s a classed.¡± Roston was a level 1 Fighter, probably close to 2 at this point, but never had the luck or fortune to be an adventurer for long. ¡°We¡¯ll need someone with the other teams, of course¡±, Logan insisted, ¡°Or, we can look into getting you a class?¡± Burton shook his head, ¡°You¡¯ve done so much already, I can¡¯t ask for that amount of payment.¡± It wasn¡¯t common for classless to gain a class all on their own, they mostly obtained them from long study and academic training. Sort of like a preschool before proper colleges brought you on for training before reaching 15. Almost anyone could gain a class, but it was an expensive and long process. ¡°Very well. Maybe when you can afford it yourself then¡±, Logan smiled back.
The pair spoke for a while longer before separating for the day. Logan paid a visit to the Gerro Guardhouse to check over the hunts he could accept, and later the G-Hall for adventuring quests. The last spot was the back room of the G-Hall, where the dungeon board was held. It seemed in his absence there had been a surge of illegal activity, alongside the lack of the guilds also leading to a few more higher-ranked missions up for grabs. Not surprisingly, the dungeon board had been locked until the Ice King¡¯s revival had been seen through. If he were to appear, it would be dangerous to have people out for too long or far away. Gauntlet intended for many higher-ranked adventurers to protect the city too. Logan pondered Cassius¡¯s position, if he was still going to aid in the fight if there was one or if the Raid Master was going to stay cooped up in his room. Not wanting to test fate, Logan warped to the top of the capital¡¯s walls. He couldn¡¯t teleport through the barrier, but within it he was fine with his usual hunter¡¯s allowances. ¡°Below! Do you have to do that?!¡± a guard shouted at Logan with a hint of friendship. ¡°Sorry, this is just faster than crossing the roads and climbing all those stairs¡±, Logan smirked. The guard tutted, ¡°Fine. Just don¡¯t blame me for wayward bolts and spears. You know we¡¯re on alert, right?¡± Logan looked across the battlements, easily three times the normal number of stationed guards were present, as well as ballistae at the ready. ¡°After tomorrow you¡¯ll be at ease, I take it?¡± The guard walked closer to Logan and leaned his lower back on the wall in a nonchalant pose, ¡°Too right. At least we are getting some higher pay for the longer hours and extra days.¡± ¡°I suppose you should be thanking me for the work then, ay?¡± Logan teased. ¡°Hey, I ain¡¯t complaining about the money. But the others might be for their vacation time being eaten into.¡± ¡°Some of you would have still been put up here, the only difference is we aren¡¯t sending teams into the cavern without the seers¡¯ say so.¡± ¡°What I wouldn¡¯t give to see things ahead of time¡±, the guard said under his breath, ¡°Anyway, you good to be going about so brazenly?¡± ¡°Because I might¡¯ve caused a mess?¡± The guard nodded. ¡°Should be fine. I¡¯ve been a good boy since.¡± ¡°Pah. If good deeds outweighed bad ones I¡¯d still be married.¡± Logan looked over the walls into the forests and the mountains in the distance, ¡°No motions then?¡± ¡°All good here. Saw a few flurries of birds, probably adventurers killing monsters since they were sporadic.¡± ¡°No issues with the barrier?¡± ¡°None since the tests.¡± When the barrier had first been activated, the officials of Gauntlet had several types of monsters barge into and attack the barrier to test its effectiveness. Hand in hand with tests to see that all the civilised species could enter, including vampire variants, it seemed the barrier would cause little issue. ¡°Good to hear. Keep up the good work¡±, Logan ended. ¡°Same to you.¡± Logan jumped off the side of the wall before teleporting into the city proper, keeping the volume a bit lower than his arrival.
As the days got colder and colder, Logan was sure they were now in the season of chill, this world¡¯s version of winter and nearing the month of December. Faint snow could be seen here and there, but it would be much worse at the side of the Ice King. Tales spoke of how his footsteps freeze any surface, and his breath causes fog to envelop his path. Part of a set, the Ice King was the winter¡¯s beast, there were some for the other seasons but with their higher degree of power, they were more quickly sealed away and combatted. The Ice King was the last to find a way of proper sealing and expulsion from this world, his constant revival a common thing for the seasonal beasts. If they all appeared at once, even the mightiest guilds would have problems dealing with the quartet of disaster. The Spellthief prayed no more quests would pop up surrounding these monsters, he didn¡¯t even have to fight the Ice King, just his underlings. Thinking on that fact, Logan¡¯s popularity might skyrocket if it turned out his actions did put a stop to the final seasonal beast¡¯s return. A decade-long anxiety-inducing menace put to bed was sure to give the man a new title. Looking around, Logan could see people getting cold with the climate, however, his Ice King¡¯s traits made him comfortable all the way to 0¡ãC. That was an interesting thought, what other traits could he have obtained from the other seasonal beasts?
Retiring for the rest of the day, Logan awoke to a still outside. No sound and little movement could be heard as the city was put on higher alert. ¡°Keep Inside, Keep Safe.¡± If the Ice King was going to make an apparent appearance, then it¡¯d be the guards and adventurers who would face him. As a would-be instigator, Logan was on house arrest for the day as noted by two guards at the entrance to the inn. He didn¡¯t mind it too much, but he was sure it was just cautious nature. The rest of the day passed in utmost silence and reading.
The day thereafter, Logan awoke earlier than usual from his lazy day beforehand, moving to the front room of the inn he was greeted by Xican. ¡°Morning, Logan¡±, Xican started, the middle-aged mage smiling wide at the sight of his Oracle. Logan sat at the table as he replied, ¡°So, you here to report my status?¡± ¡°Ever the keen eye. Yes. I am here to congratulate you on being the second to eradicate a dungeon.¡± Logan¡¯s eyes went a bit wide, his vaskt ones almost opening to boot, ¡°The Frost Monarch¡¯s Cavern?¡± ¡°Yes. We sent magi and other adventurers inside to make sure there were no signs of the Ice King. What we ¡®didn¡¯t¡¯ find was even better than that.¡± ¡°What didn¡¯t you find?¡± ¡°Monsters.¡± Logan stared at Xican for a while before the mage continued. ¡°Dungeons typically repopulate at the same rate as they previously do, if they do so in a month it is almost always a month. However, it has been almost 72 days since your team cleared the place out and there isn¡¯t a single sign of any monster.¡± ¡°I knew at least that much, the naegren den repopulates every year, but are you sure that the cavern is eradicated in such a short time?¡± Logan asked, a bit wary. ¡°It has a decade repopulation time but holds within it close to two hundred monsters at mass. On average, that¡¯s close to 0.0561 monster spawns per day. After 72 days, there should at least be four monsters.¡± ¡°And you¡¯re saying there is zero? What of the hidden walls and exterior?¡± ¡°Local monster numbers seem to be the same, while there were no guards outside of migrating foes. Most of the walls inside have also melted somewhat, making many ¡®hidden¡¯ places visible.¡± Logan contemplated for a second, he was sure he had stopped the Ice King, not the whole dungeon. Was this the power of an Oracle and their quests? But then what of Cassius and his removal of the mobile dungeon? ¡°The seers were quite shocked at the lack of any revival powers common to the Ice King, and we confirmed it. Now, it will take another decade to confirm the next revival, but we¡¯re more than half sure he is gone for good¡±, Xican continued smiling just as wide, failing to contain his excitement. ¡°So, I guess this means I am free.¡± ¡°More than that, you¡¯ll be praised. But, not wanting to gift a man sitting on a fence with swords aimed at both sides, you will just be left as neutral.¡± It was understandable. Logan¡¯s action could have wreaked havoc if the cavern had erupted and spilt its monsters across the land. On the chance he made the right choice and got a good outcome, he wouldn¡¯t be reprimanded, but rewarding such rash actions that could either be amazing or catastrophic would set a bad precedent. The general populace would take it more at face value though, especially after Cassius had already proven it was possible to eradicate a dungeon. ¡°Wait, shouldn¡¯t I be first?¡± ¡°Hmm? Oh, the Cassius business. Technically, his was confirmed eradicated on the spot as it disappeared, whereas yours had a countdown until its emergence. I would say you were first, while some would call it a tie.¡± ¡°I guess it doesn¡¯t matter much. Cassius doing it first is probably good for me in the long run¡±, Logan shrugged, ¡°How are we going to proceed with further dungeons?¡± ¡°You are asked to not attempt such things in the future without contacting the Magi¡¯s Tower association first. However¡±, Xican started as he winked at Logan, ¡°you¡¯ve already told me.¡± ¡°What about other people?¡± ¡°The methods used are only known to yourself, and I suppose your team who saw it and Cassius. Otherwise, an announcement will be made that while these two occurrences were positive, it is still against the law to destroy a dungeon at the risk of them erupting.¡± ¡°I suppose that¡¯s good.¡± ¡°I will note, that Cassius has hired a representative of the MT. It seems the Raid Master is looking into his previous eradication further, with other dungeons.¡± ¡°He must be active again then.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 151 - What It Takes to Make a Guild Xican and Logan said their farewells after a long discussion about local events, the most noteworthy being his lifted restrictions when it came to guilds and dungeons. A great weight was lifted from Logan¡¯s shoulders as he breathed almost as easily as ever. With plenty of free time ahead of him, after completing his more recent quest and the ending of the timer for the Ice King¡¯s revival, Logan was certain to fill it with many activities. Unsurprisingly, the top order was that of forming his guild. Being a guildmaster opened many avenues for Logan, the Spellthief. He could use the power of his guild to warrant a vote in congress sessions, get around some local laws, and be considered an army within his party. Dungeons were easier to get his hands on, while he could form larger creation facilities within the city. One major part was the advertisement. Logan was sure that the below PCs knew of his presence by now, but any of the above ones he knew of met via chance or investigation. A guild name would make an awesome marker for others to see and recognise as Earthly. A lovely side-along venture was also that Logan could protect the unprotected. Mess with a guildie and you mess with the guild. So many casters and newcomers to adventuring were stepped on and taken advantage of, including the outcasting of seven-dayers who hadn¡¯t survived a week as adventurers. Regrouping with Marcus, Logan double-checked his ally¡¯s status to find the diligent training had brought the Devout to level 17, just 2 below Logan. Training against his elementals did wonders for repeated experience gains, combined with Marcus¡¯s devotion to guard routines at the training yards. The next stop was the alleyways of Logan¡¯s homeless workers. Some had recently paid off their debts and got small shacks together, so the numbers dwindled in the backstreets, but many came at their master¡¯s call. As the homeless levels were slowly increasing, Logan dropped off a shipment of daggers, swords, axes, and crossbows, plus an assortment of armour. They would be a fully-fledged adventuring party at this stage, taking a group of a dozen to do the work of four they would be more secure than most starter parties. Logan wanted to make use of his elementals in the coming days, so he couldn¡¯t loan them out any further. The summons¡¯ time in their guardianship did see Servoir and Umbra reach level 10 each, just 2 below the previous limit of 12. However, with Logan increasing his mastery of the spell used to summon them, he increased the limit by a further 5. At their current levels, Logan could absorb a total of 37 MP from them in a day. Just so they weren¡¯t used only as pack mules and servants, Logan made sure to read skill tomes for each of them to gain a ranged skill if they hadn¡¯t already. It was more of a distraction than anything, but five volleys would add up throughout combat.
Logan eventually arrived within the northern tip of the north district known as Classed-End. The district for all things guild-related. There were establishments dedicated to solely adventuring, while others only had hands in crafting. It seemed a new part was added to the district recently, people asking Logan to join their guild. Waves, pats on his shoulder, and yells were hurled at the Spellthief. The news of his eradication of the Frost Monarch¡¯s Cavern had spread quickly, and everyone wanted another Cassius in their fold. It was a stark contrast to his previous treatment, but that was when he was untested. It was fact now that the man could handle himself, and beyond most common adventurers. The Spellthief did his best to decline politely, hurrying to the end of the district to find the Guild¡¯s Association. As the main government body for the creation, control, oversight, and dictation of guilds within Gauntlet, this was the place to go when you wanted to make your own guild. A few saddened faces were met with the closing door, seeing their wanted man off to make his own. The interior was clean and expensive. Lavish rugs donned the stonework floor while marbled pillars held up polished stone walls and ceiling. Several paintings adorned the walls with depictions of each guild that had successfully been created. Passing by the image of Lightbeam, Logan found the entrance desk manned by a vampire woman with grey-tinted blonde hair. ¡°Morning to you¡±, Logan called. The lady¡¯s black sclera eyes looked over Logan for a minute, ¡°Welcome, cousin-kin. How may I assist you?¡± ¡°There¡¯s that detection again¡±, Logan thought to himself as he was so easily identified as a demon, ¡°I am looking to form my own guild, may I get the process started before all requirements are met?¡± The lady smiled and softened her demeanour as she held out her hand, ¡°May I see your signet, sir?¡± Logan looped his necklace off his head and showed the metallic signet to the woman. ¡°Good, you meet the rank requirement. And the gold?¡± Logan placed five gold coins on the counter. ¡°Wonderful. I can get the paperwork ready, the process typically takes one week to finalise. In that time you can complete all other criteria noted in this handout¡±, the woman explained as she handed a folded piece of parchment to Logan. Logan quickly looked over the leaflet, he was already familiar with most if not all the requirements. Level 15, 5 gold cost, 3 signatures to start, and a guild house with bedrooms equal to half your guild¡¯s size. The leader must have completed a minimum of 100 quests, 5 dungeons, and be at least 18 years of age. Alongside many other legal matters, Logan could not be part of any other guild or restricted from making them. Ticking off several parts, Logan also cleared the 100 quests as it allowed both adventuring and hunting. The only portions he had to work on were the last signature, 3 more dungeons, and the guild house. All three were easy enough to do, if anything the dungeons might just have been difficult if there were none left after the Cassius business. Logan handed a filled-in parchment to the woman a few minutes later, though her face only added to her surprised voice, ¡°Vip? Is that some new type of slang?¡± Logan had named his new guild VIP, but the lady read it as a word and not letters. People from Earth would recognise it while anyone on Avanar would just see it as a cute and short name. It had also been a joke between him and Amalia before, reminiscing of her time as a bouncer. ¡°The name isn¡¯t too short, is it?¡± ¡°Not at all, we have a handful of guilds with only a single letter to their name.¡± ¡°Are we fine to get things started while I clear up the last parts?¡± ¡°Yes, but if you¡¯re unable to do so you may need to pay extra fees.¡± Logan waved it off, ¡°That¡¯ll be fine.¡± Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Alright, I shall take this sketch you brought and work up a prototype signet design with it for your guild symbol. It is quite intricate and unique, better than just a sword and shield I¡¯ll tell you.¡± ¡°Those are fine to me¡±, Logan laughed it off.
With only a few more words shared, Logan and Marcus left the building to go purchase their own. The Spellthief already had his eye on one near the end of Classed-End, it wasn¡¯t a prime spot for adventurers as it was on the outskirts, but it was prime for advertising as it hit a t-junction in the roads. Having contacted the seller earlier, Logan met the man at the building and handed over a sack of gold coins, getting a writ in return. The front entrance was situated near the right side as you looked at the front, a large glass window on the left to peer into the entrance hall. With a ground floor and first floor, it could hold quite a few people inside. Entering, there was a bar counter on the left of the door with several stools upside down on the countertop. To the right was a door to an interviewing chamber. Ahead were four sofas looking towards a large table in the centre, an empty bookshelf at the side. A hallway went past the seating area into the back, with a staircase just at the archway leading to an overlook of the first floor and several bedrooms. In total, the place had twenty bedrooms up top, four large meeting rooms below, and a small indoor training area at the back. If Logan bought up the building behind and on the left he could combine them down the road if he needed, but forty spaces was enough for now. Marcus closed the door behind them, which left the interior a bit dark from dust and grime, but Logan could sort that out later. ¡°Looks promising¡±, Marcus thought aloud. ¡°We¡¯ll fill it soon enough¡±, Logan answered as he turned to the front door. ¡°Setting up security?¡± Logan nodded as he picked out a small pylon in his hands, just half a foot long and made of some form of white rock. Snapping it, Logan chanted, ¡°Spellforce, bind this boundary, hallow these halls, and protect my property from those who wish it harm¡±, causing the rod to crumble to dust and form a large magic circle on the door and its frame. This was a fifth-level Devout spell, so the rod was quite expensive. But it allowed Logan peace of mind when away from home, and proved this was a guild house proper. Anyone who entered without permission would find themselves violently thrust back, be it from the door or the walls. This was Marcus¡¯s part of the guild price. ¡°That should do us for a while¡±, Marcus calculated as he sat on a stool he took from the counter. ¡°Thanks for the heads-up on it.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll fill the pantry with foodstuffs later, and the bookshelf. For now, let¡¯s go drop in on Amalia.¡± ¡°But I just sat down¡±, Marcus teased.
Warping to Amalia¡¯s forge, the pair invited themselves in to see the smith hard at work as usual. ¡°Mornin¡¯¡±, Logan greeted. ¡°Morning, Amalia¡±, Marcus added. Amalia hammered the sword a few times before replying, ¡°Oh, was that today?¡± she asked as if she had forgotten something. ¡°Yeah, but no rush. You got a week¡±, Logan calmed Amalia as he sat down. ¡°I¡¯ll get it sorted tonight then¡±, Amalia blushed. ¡°Work been treating you good?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°That it has. A few shops have been putting in orders due to an influx of buyers.¡± ¡°That because of the quest?¡± Logan asked. ¡°Seems so. Lightbeam alone bought up over a hundred weapons to replace what they had used in the mobile dungeon.¡± ¡°I hear potions are a bit of a rarity too¡±, Marcus added. ¡°The quest wasn¡¯t kidding then. I suppose things are better than they could have been¡±, Logan surmised. Amalia nodded, ¡°The work is nice, and thankfully it is a range of levels, so I can still gain mastery.¡± ¡°Hah, wish I could track that¡±, Marcus laughed. ¡°Are you still fine with joining our guild?¡± Logan made sure. ¡°Yeah. Outside of its protection, it¡¯ll help my crafting life. If what you said about the system quests I¡¯ll be found out eventually anyway¡±, Amalia shrugged. ¡°It certainly has many benefits. Having a capable smith will also help to gear up our new members.¡± ¡°My offer still stands, full sets of equipment on sign-up.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll make the seven-day death timer a thing of the past.¡±
Another Dimensional Jaunt brought the duo to the G-Hall near the centre of the city. It was bustling, possibly more than usual due to the lack of an Ice King. Many adventurers were on standby and had to get work to fill in the space they were left with. The interior was full of angered voices over death insurance being a waste, so many had paid for the service with the idea that the Ice King was coming back, since he wasn¡¯t the investment was pointless. However, with how the system worked, they couldn¡¯t just get their money back, they were safe for a good month or two. This was going to be something the officials of the city would have to handle, an angry adventurer was one less likely to stick their neck out for you. Logan could think of a few ways to wash away their feelings, but it wasn¡¯t down to him in the end. He was sure some recompense would come in the next few days regardless. ¡°Hail, Phasing Hunter!¡± an adventurer called as they waved from their table. ¡°Phasing Hunter, go get ¡®em!¡± another bolstered. Logan continued to feel uneasy with the change in attitude towards him. His popularity had been shifting with time, but this was probably the biggest boost since he gained the title of Phasing Hunter. Making their way into the backrooms, Logan saw quite a few people there, more than usual. Around twenty people conversing and checking the board, it seemed Cassius was a common name on their lips. Rumour had it, that the Raid Master had picked up over ten dungeon quests all his own, a number not normally allowed to adventurers. Wanting to pick up the easiest dungeons on offer, Logan scanned the parchments quickly but was met with notes pinned to them stating they had been reserved by other teams and awaiting other members. Logan sighed, but it wasn¡¯t all bad. This way he¡¯d be helping low-level adventurers clear a dungeon that was most likely their first. He just didn¡¯t want to give them the wrong idea. Taking a quick step to the counter in the main hall to get his signet updated from his elementals¡¯ quest completions, Logan approached a table with four scrappy-looking teens as a window appeared at his side. ¡°You have gained the ¡®Experienced Adventurer¡¯ title.¡± ¡°Experienced Adventurer: After completing fifty different adventuring quests, many see you as a person to count on for tackling monsters and scouting missions. Adventurers will rarely turn you down as a party member, with many more wanting to ask you to join them. You have gained 1 skill point to distribute.¡± ¡°Identify¡±, Logan mentally commanded. ¡°Alice: Fighter 2¡­ Jayd: Fighter 2¡­ Varuud: Devout 2¡­ Sooryah: Rogue 2¡­¡± ¡°Afternoon, adventurers, I hear you lot are gearing up for your first dungeon clear?¡± Logan asked as nicely as he could. Marcus nodded in agreement with the question. The leader, Alice, jumped up at the sight of such a strong mage, ¡°Yes sir! Any advice you can give is most welcome¡±, she said, brushing her long black hair behind her ears and making herself look presentable and less uncouth. ¡°Sir, ain¡¯t you that Phasing Hunter?¡± Jayd asked, the top-heavy man trying to keep his helmet¡¯s visor open. ¡°That¡¯s right. But, it¡¯s not advice I am offering, It¡¯s a helping hand¡±, Logan replied as he sat down. Varuud, the gashriek man, choked on his drink, Sooryah the human rogue patted his ally to a clear throat. Spluttering, Varuud spoke, ¡°Sir, we can¡¯t possibly afford your price.¡± ¡°Too right, the coppers are going to be to repair and renew our stuff¡±, Sooryah added. Logan looked over their gear. Most of it was tarnished, scratched, and cracked. If they were to take on the dungeon, it would be a very slow process, and if it were fast it would be their death. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, since it¡¯s your lot¡¯s first time it will be cheap. Just the pick of the gear, a single item for myself and my friend here.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right¡±, Marcus confirmed. --- *** --- Chapter 152 - A Newbie鈥檚 First Dungeon Logan, Marcus, and the team of level 2 adventurers made their way to the city gates. The youth jumped and giggled at the fact they had people close to ten times their rank aiding them for practically free. Logan saw their naivety on full display, it wasn¡¯t smart to take such an open-hand request, but then, Logan was known as benevolent. ¡°How¡¯s our attack strategy, Logan, sir?¡± Alice asked, trying to sound confident but coming off energetic. ¡°Marcus and I will hang back while you lot deal with the dungeon, healing will come when needed and protection if there¡¯re too many monsters.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be fine, we¡¯re quite strong, you know¡±, Jayd retorted, trying to sound tough. However, his 15-year-old baby face didn¡¯t give off the rugged appeal of an experienced combatant. ¡°Haven¡¯t I heard of you before? Mr Hall?¡± Varuud asked. ¡°Oh? I¡¯ve helped a few gashriek in the past, I am a welcomed forest visitor¡±, Logan replied, remembering one of his older titles. Varuud nodded quickly with a wide smile, ¡°Oh yeah! I overheard some adults talking about you!¡± ¡°Forest visitor? What?¡± Sooryah asked confused. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, gashriek stuff¡±, Varuud replied quickly with a knowing smirk. ¡°Fine then, keep your secrets.¡± Passing by the open portcullis gates, Logan asked, ¡°Is what you¡¯ve got equipped all you¡¯re bringing?¡± Alice gave a thumbs up, ¡°Yeah, should be enough for spiders.¡± ¡°Anything more we¡¯ll need we¡¯ll find in the dungeon, right?¡± Jayd asked. Alice nodded, ¡°Uh-huh, should be full of goodies.¡± ¡°Do you know what type of dungeon it is? You know it¡¯s a spider¡¯s den, but what else¡±, Logan asked. ¡°Uh, it¡¯s big? Should take us two days to clear. An estimate of fifty or so monsters.¡± Logan sighed and pinched his forehead. Marcus instructed, ¡°This is a natural dungeon. It is a naturally forming interior locale that monsters have overrun. It will lack the respawning features of spellforced dungeons. Since it is natural, it will also hold much less in the way of loot.¡± ¡°Ay? Why bother then?¡± Sooryah demanded. ¡°These kind of places typically hold some other value. Be it a location people pass by, or housing ore and materials to gather¡±, Logan replied. ¡°So, we¡¯re keeping the peace?¡± Alice determined. ¡°Yes. That¡¯s most of what the pay is for.¡± ¡°You lot at least picked an easy one to do, spiders aren¡¯t that hard. Barely passing for a rank one monster¡±, Marcus encouraged. Alice smirked, ¡°It was my intuition.¡± ¡°No doubt the boss is rank three though¡±, Logan added. ¡°Three!?¡± Alice and Jayd shouted in unison. ¡°I don¡¯t think I could heal past a rank three¡±, Varuud admitted. ¡°A rank three monster is akin to a brown wolf, however, as a boss monster it will be stronger than a normal one. You¡¯ll find they are twice as hardy.¡± ¡°Unfair. Why aren¡¯t they a rank six then?¡± Sooryah demanded. ¡°It¡¯s like the classification for weapons and armour. A rank three dagger can be weak, but any rank three adventurers can wield it normally. However, a shoddy tier has free-flowing spellforce, while a legendary tier one is condensed and compacted without putting any further strain on the wielder¡±, Logan explained. ¡°So, instead of leaking their power, a boss keeps it all welled up inside?¡± Varuud deduced. Logan clicked his fingers, ¡°Correct. You¡¯ll find they grant better rewards because of it.¡± ¡°You also don¡¯t have to worry about them having the spells and skills of a rank six, if they are still rank three¡±, Marcus added. ¡°Thank Desna¡±, Alice prayed as she let her head droop down. ¡°Thank her doubly that you¡¯ll have a four-way split on the pay¡±, Logan teased. ¡°Yeah, yeah. As promised it¡¯s 25% each.¡± Logan looked around at the teens, even though they were seemingly all friends they had the same idea for splits, giving the Devout a lesser share as their ¡°work would be less.¡± One of the conditions for Logan and Marcus to join was an even split between the four. Though it seemed more of an accepted piece of advice from others, rather than their own invention, so Logan couldn¡¯t blame them too much. Aside from Varuud who was 16, the group were late into age 15. They had been adventuring for a few months at this point and had all joined when they hit 15 and 16 respectively. It reminded Logan of Marsh, Vaela, and Pon To, who were in a similar position but older. They weren¡¯t as naive though. To compare, Marsh hit level 4 after 11 months, but he was a bit more cautious than some adventurers. With all the monsters in this dungeon, Logan was sure half this team would hit level 3. As the party made it to the edge of the forest, far beyond the Demonturle Shell Barrier, Logan had them all group up and teleport to the dungeon.
Apparating with a thick thicket, Logan scanned the area for threats. Thankfully the noise of their explosive entry scared off most. The forest itself was made up of dark trees coated in countless shiny spiderwebs, some minor spiders amongst them that wouldn¡¯t prove an issue. Sooryah fell unconscious as the party appeared, while Varuud held their mouth to stop a violent expulsion. Alice had shaky legs but held up a thumb to feign security. It seemed Jayd was unphased, probably a thrill seeker. With some time to prepare, Logan summoned up his elementals, forms of fire, electricity, ice, water, and shadows. Celsius, Spark, and Fahrenheit were all cleanly at 5¡¯ tall, while Servoir and Umbra stood at 4¡¯10¡±. As the party awoke and recovered, their eyes became wide at the sight of five elementals simultaneously. ¡°Sir, you must be super strong!¡± Alice mentioned. ¡°No doubt, these fellas could take on the dungeon themselves¡±, Jayd added. ¡°Such mastery¡±, Varuud thought aloud. ¡°Now now, we¡¯ve got a job to do. Leader, lead on¡±, Logan interrupted. ¡°Right! Team, form up and check your gear¡±, Alice ordered. The youngsters did as commanded, drawing their weapons and checking them over for invisible marks. Varuud looked over his crossbow closely, thankfully the idea of ranged combat had reached this Devout before Logan had appeared. ¡°Ready¡±, the team all announced. ¡°The formation is the same as usual, but with Logan¡¯s summons at the far back to make retreat easy¡±, Alice instructed as she looked at the Spellthief. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Marcus and I will only engage if needed, we¡¯ll treat this as a training day for you lot¡±, Logan confirmed. The team nodded. Alice took the lead with Jayd at her side, while Varuud was in the middle and Sooryah at the back facing the elementals and the higher-ranked adventurers.
A few minutes of travel passed before the team reached the dungeon, a large hill that descended into the ground. A whistling wind could be heard inside, revealing it either had a geyser or a connection to another exit. Before they could enter, however, a trio of spiders leapt from the mound to attack the party. Alice was able to block one spider, the 3¡¯ wide beast grappling onto her sword. Jayd slammed one and blocked another with his mace. Varuud let a bolt fly at the one on Alice, impaling it and allowing the Fighter to swipe it in half. Sooryah used Dash and circled Jayd, slashing the spiders at the other Fighter¡¯s side. The team cheered at the victory while Logan made mental notes on how to improve. Marcus moved closer and used Healer¡¯s Caress to heal some slight marks from imperfect parries. ¡°This was a good warmup, but stay on guard inside¡±, Alice instructed as Jayd took out a torch. ¡°Identify.¡± ¡°Spider Spy - Arachnid. Level 1: 6/6 HP. ¡­¡± ¡°These are the weaker variants, don¡¯t get overconfident¡±, Logan instructed as he left the reading until later. ¡°Right¡±, the team acknowledged.
With the way lit by Jayd, and the back by the elementals, the interior of the cave was quite bright. Whilst mostly brown and black, it was covered in glistening spiderwebs all around. Alice had to cut through them constantly to make a path for her team, while the tall individuals had to clean their hair of mess. Logan clicked his fingers to activate Echo Radar and spotted countless enemies ahead in the messy corridors and caverns. He kept the information to himself, as it wouldn¡¯t be learning if he announced ambushes. It seemed this team lacked the same awareness, as they were ambushed by a group of seven spiders. Alice jumped out of her skin as she deflected one but was grappled by another. Jayd bashed away another but had his legs grabbed. Varuud started to let bolts fly, but Sooryah had to dodge some of them in such confined spaces. Alice¡¯s blade glowed red as she slashed away one spider, Jayd¡¯s mace the same. Lights filled the room with multiple colours as the teens used their skills to batter back the battalion. One spider on the ceiling was about to drop onto Varuud¡¯s head if not for a blast of Force from Logan that splattered it into nothing. With the rest of the spiders dealt with, the party were a mess of deep breaths and sweat before Alice perked up, ¡°Good job team! Ambush survived!¡± ¡°I¡¯d give you a passing grade¡±, Logan scorned. ¡°What?¡± Jayd said in shock. ¡°Only passing?¡± Alice pushed. ¡°You forgot to protect your allies as the leader and Fighter. Without a Knight, who is meant to protect your healer?¡± ¡°What do you mean, he¡¯s fine!¡± Alice retorted before looking at Varuud who had slime over his hair. ¡°An ambush isn¡¯t just a single attack, the enemies know you¡¯re there so they will attack with the upper hand, literally. You forgot to check the ceiling¡±, Logan instructed as he pointed upwards to an almost black abyss. ¡°C¡¯mon, you can¡¯t see Wallace up there.¡± ¡°Just because you can¡¯t see something, doesn¡¯t mean it isn¡¯t there.¡± Alice gritted her teeth in anger, both at Logan¡¯s instruction but also at herself. ¡°Alright, we get it. Right, Alice?¡± Jayd consoled. ¡°Yeah¡±, Alice slouched, ¡°Sorry, Varuud. We¡¯ll keep an eye out for you from now on.¡± ¡°Thanks, leader¡±, Varuud responded with an apologetic smile. ¡°Ok, we used a lot of skills here. Time for a rest¡±, Alice instructed. Logan nodded, it was a better plan than most. If an ambush made them use even half of their allotment they should retreat and come back later. Since they didn¡¯t need to risk it, the team left for the entranceway of the cave. Logan used his elementals to guard all directions while Marcus tended to wounds. Jayd picked out waterskins and ration blocks and handed them out to the party. While they weren¡¯t too loud, the group conversed about the recent fights and plans for the rest of the dungeon. They were happy and go-lucky, but still aware of danger. Logan was just worried they were a bit too energetic about everything.
With their rest complete, and skills off their cooldowns, the party continued into the cave. With Marcus¡¯s restoring skills, the party was able to clear out the place much faster than they had calculated. Since normally they would have to wait a day for Varuud to regain his MP, Marcus having almost infinite amounts of his skill let them continue at a rapid pace. Sword swings, mace smashes, crossbow fire, and double dagger plunges caused many spiders to fall down with ease. Logan could clear this place in minutes, but then the youngsters would learn nothing and get overconfident. This way, they could adjust their output and realise the difference in power with the monsters. Eventually, the party reached the final chamber, much larger than all the rest. Speckled sunlight pierced through several cracks in the ceiling to reveal a room dappled with cobwebs and cocoons. Within the centre of the far wall was a 10¡¯ tall spider, if not for its white and black design Logan would be scared it was another vaskt. ¡°Identify.¡± ¡°Spider Queen ?? - Arachnid. Level 3: 52/52 HP. ¡­ Reduction: Damage 2 Resistance: Damage 25%, Elemental 50%, Fire 0%.¡± ¡°Marcus keep an eye out, get to the left flank¡±, Logan ordered. Marcus nodded as he darted to the side of the chamber. ¡°We got this, he¡¯s only rank 3, right?¡± Alice said confidently before turning to her team, ¡°Keep your wits. Varuud throw heals if we get hit, this thing won¡¯t need a third to kill us. Jayd, keep attention from its right limb, Sooryah, anger its right flank and take some legs. I¡¯ll go left. Use all your skills and spellforce!¡± ¡°Right¡±, the team confirmed. Logan took a few steps forward and stood at the ready, before the team Dashed and Rushed at the boss. Even though it was a single entity, its size and number of limbs allowed it the ability to take on multiple foes easily. Jayd slammed heavily with his mace, but the creature¡¯s defences almost nullified its effect. Sooryah glowed yellow as he let out slashes, small specks of blood floating into the air. Alice made a leaping swipe with her red misty sword, but was easily battered back by a limb, taking off a few pieces of hair with the strike. A piercing jab of a limb came at the leader, Alice parrying and having it slide across her blade past her face to the floor behind her. Alice¡¯s arms shook at the weight and fear, she turned her face to Logan for a second before recomposing herself. ¡°Jayd, ready a Power Strike and aim for the head!¡± ¡°Got it!¡± Alice slashed away the leg and jumped to the side, the spider¡¯s two front limbs smashing into her sword as she blocked and slid backwards with them. ¡°Now!¡± Jayd jumped into the air and slammed his red misty mace into the spider¡¯s face, a terrible hiss filling the room as it felt the worst pain so far. Another limb came from the side and sent Jayd flying against a far wall, his body getting hit with a yellow light from Varuud shortly after. ¡°Two left!¡± Varuud informed as he avoided another limb. ¡°Die, you fuck!¡± Sooryah commanded as he left loose several slashes at the side of the spider, three hitting before he was also sent flying away. Yellow lights shot past Alice towards Sooryah who stood again. ¡°One left!¡± Alice yelled out, running towards the spider all alone. As limbs came her way, she dodged to the side, twisted her blade near the floor and screamed, ¡°Severing Slash¡±, shining her blade blue as it swiped through two of the creature¡¯s limbs, jets of blood going everywhere as they fell to the floor. The spider screeched again as its health continued to drop, just as its legs did. Two limbs crushed Alice to the floor as saliva and blood flew from her mouth, yellow light hitting her pinned form. ¡°Fuck¡±, Varuud swore as he ditched his crossbow, picked out a mace, and charged at the limbs to batter them. Jayd did the same as bludgeons collided with the hairy legs, letting their leader go free. Four daggers went singing across the air as they impaled the spider¡¯s face as Sooryah charged at the foe again with two final blades. Alice kicked up to her feet as the final three joined their Rogue in the conflict. Slams and slashes harried the spider as it tried to defend itself with only six limbs remaining. It turned into a berserker finale as the teens tried to end their foe with rushed blows, all out of skills to use. A leg went high, turning hair to daggers, and was about to swipe at the teens, before Logan apparated in front of it and punched the leg into a red mist. With a last flurry of strikes from the team, the spider fell motionless to the floor. Alice and Jayd continued to attack but halted at the command of Logan, ¡°Stop.¡± Covered in blood, both theirs and their foe¡¯s, the team fell to the floor in gasps for air and pained moans. Marcus jogged over to heal the youth with his skill, bringing them to max easily, but not removing their fatigue. ¡°Sloppy, but great work. Alice, good callouts¡±, Logan praised. Alice smiled through bloody teeth and tears before falling to her back on the floor. --- *** --- Chapter 153 - A Dungeon a Day Taking Alice¡¯s sword in hand, Logan snapped it. ¡°It was that close to breaking!?¡± Alice shouted as she slumped over the lost weapon. Marcus then tapped the mace that Jayd had been using, several sections flaking off. ¡°Oh man, that was close¡±, Jayd said, deflated. ¡°I was out of bolts too¡±, Varuud added with a sigh. Sooryah was fighting back tears with only a single dagger in his hand, the other five being beyond repair. ¡°This is why you buy spares¡±, Logan instructed. ¡°Or repair your gear before going off to such a mass of monsters¡±, Marcus nodded. ¡°It¡¯ll be fine, we¡¯re gonna be rich with the pay from this dungeon quest¡±, Alice smiled off the sadness. ¡°Sorry there weren¡¯t any items worth your time¡±, Jayd apologised as he bowed his head slightly. ¡°It¡¯s fine. We just lost a few hours in the day. All good if we can help some newcomers¡±, Logan replied as he handed a small booklet to Alice. ¡°What¡¯s that¡±, Sooryah asked. ¡°Homework.¡± ¡°What!?¡± the team exclaimed.
Warping back to the exterior of Gauntlet, Alice picked up the body of Sooryah who had collapsed again before entering the city. When inside, Logan teleported the group right to the G-Hall to save time. With wide smiles, the now recovered team had their signets updated with a single dungeon clear each, while Logan got his third. The team all gave strong hugs to the Spellthief and Devout before departing to sort out their gear, sell off components, and rest before their next quest. A few whispers went around the guild, though thankfully they were more curious than snootyness, as adventurers wondered why Logan had helped such low-ranked people. It made sense with his previous reputation as a nice guy, but some were still curious as his identity as a Wolf Hunter painted him as a dangerous individual. There wasn¡¯t much issue with the discussion, so Logan went back to the dungeon boards. It had only reached the evening, but a few pieces of parchment had changed. The Spellthief took up two more to complete, quite weak locations that had the receptionists put on slightly bemused looks.
Leaving to the outside world, Logan looked at the orange sky as the sun descended past the walls of the city. He had time, no need to rush. Instead of dealing with the dungeons straight away, the pair returned to the Meek Moat Inn for a long rest before a duo dungeon run tomorrow.
Double-checking their gear, the pair were all straight for another delve into the earth in the morning. Not wanting to not practice what they preached, their backup weapons were plentiful and their current gear as repaired as they could be. Logan could update his armour, but there were hardly any that compared to the effects of his Spellthief¡¯s Garb. He needed a new system quest. While browsing the shops for anything they might need, Logan made note of the severe lack of stuff on display. It seemed the drought had hit, with hardly any healing potions on offer in the normal markets. He only hoped it didn¡¯t last long.
The first dungeon to clear as a duo was an outside set of ruins, two teleports away from the city. Remnants of walls and pillars lay strewn across a clearing in the forest, magical tags on every other tree to track movements and levels of spellforce in the area. This place was once a large town in the past, a few centuries ago, but was attacked and overrun by traitors looking for a quick coin. Sadly, the negative emotions fed the fauna and flora, and even the corpses left behind. Now, it was a spellforced dungeon that was contained within the confines of the town. So close to being an erupted dungeon, this was a stable locale for monsters and undead to form. Monsters moved into the forest to bring back corpses to get reanimated, while new spectres formed in the town. With orders to be cleaned every three months, this was a common place for rank four through nine adventurers to venture to. Unlucky travellers would also stumble onto it, so it had to be cleared thoroughly. Marcus laid his hand on Logan¡¯s shoulder as he Enhanced both of them. A grey aura flowed around the duo as Logan commanded his elementals to circle the town and move into its centre, pushing all monsters to a pillar in the middle. Darting into the town, Logan and Marcus shouted at all those who could hear them. They both made it to the centre in a minute, clearing a distance that made them far beyond the sprinters of Earth. Sliding to the pointed pillar, Logan spun daggers in his hands, as Marcus spun his staff and dagger. Their earlier ¡°pull¡± had caused a torrent of monsters to charge towards them. Undead mounds of flesh, creaky skeletons, undead goblinoids, and even demonic dogs. Throwing a dagger into his coat, Logan held out a hand and chanted, ¡°Lightning Cascade¡±, causing blue bolts to form across his fingertips before dancing towards a goblinoid in the middle, shocking it to its skeleton before the lightning split off into ten directions, taking down eleven in one blow. Marcus kicked off the floor and landed a massive slam into one skeleton, swinging his staff wide had him separate the top half of a zombie next. Kicking off the face of a goblinoid, Marcus cartwheeled, then drove a dagger to its face before slicing upwards into another zombie. Elemental blasts could be heard and felt in the distance as Logan¡¯s summons did as he commanded. Logan smirked as he saw so many foes fall at once, it was a nice power trip, but he knew to hold back such overconfidence against stronger foes. But now was the time to bask in his preparation and progress. Letting fly another Lightning Cascade, Logan jumped to the side as he dodged a clawed swipe from a skeleton garbed in a shadowy cloak. A spectre of some form, and stronger than the others. Parrying another claw with his dagger, Logan circled his foe and planted a hand on its back, ¡°Flame Grasp¡±, igniting the bones with harsh flames. With a kick of dust and rubble, plus the shadow at his hind, Logan moved his head to the left to dodge a piercing rapier from a zombie still holding its last weapon. Backstepping, Logan wrapped around the zombie''s arm and threw it over his shoulder onto the floor, driving his own blade into the creature twice. Yet more Lightning Cascades caressed the air and punctured his foes, this maximised spell doing wonders to remove all traces of monsters in this outside dungeon. It didn¡¯t take long for the summons to meet their master, their faces would be fatigued if they had the ability to get winded, but at their heels were more monsters to add to the pile. Logan aimed an arm high with a smirk, lightning forming in his fingers. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
A pile of corpses filled the town centre, Logan sat atop an especially large pile of zombies and Marcus kicked a skeleton¡¯s skull down the street. ¡°Where¡¯s the boss then?¡± Logan asked rhetorically. No experience numbers had shown themselves just yet, meaning there were still threats in the area that could engage the party. ¡°Hey! Undead! You scared?¡± Marcus antagonised. Logan clicked his fingers but didn¡¯t need the report of Echo Radar before having to dodge a wide scimitar swing. A partially visible spectre of bone, glowing blue eyes, and metallic armour was phasing in and out. The corpses shook as their energies flew towards the newcomer foe, his form becoming more solid as the spellforce formulated him properly. Logan skipped from one foot to another to keep himself pumped, dodging another swing and then another. It was good enough training against humanoid-ish foes with weapons, since humans typically subscribed to one of a few attack styles. This undead monster slowly became more adept at attacking, taking on one such form of civilised kind, causing Logan to theorise it kept some of the previous living person¡¯s identity. Jumping side to side, ducking, and twirling around, Logan far surpassed his foe¡¯s Agility. Another thing to check was skills, Logan cast, ¡°Invisibility¡±, to turn his visage vacant, and danced around the foe. However, its skills allowed it to track Logan regardless of a visible form. The next was to test out the effectiveness of what he dubbed a ¡°Wall Crush¡±, summoning up a Gaia Wall, he summoned another to crash into its side. However, as both came up from the floor, they just went up, not sideways. He also couldn¡¯t form a Wall from another Wall spell. A sad outcome, but he now knew that would only be possible within interior locations. The undead would look confused if it had a face, swinging away from the grappling vines of the walls. With a solid punch into the skeleton¡¯s chest, Logan sent it flying into his magical wall, the vines taking heavy hold. Darting towards his foe, Logan landed several more clenched fists before backstepping from a scimitar slash, ending the creature with a Force mick to the dome. The conglomeration of bones slowly fell apart into a pile of white and steel on the floor, its black coat disintegrating in the sunlight as the walls of rock receded. As the experience faded into the air, Marcus gave out a solid laugh as he continued to feel his power increase. While he had gained access to third-level spells during his own training regime, every level thereafter as he hit 18 increased the number of times he could cast said spells. Focusing more on his martial might, Marcus had his bonus attribute point spent into Strength. Combined with his increase, Servoir and Umbra both gained a level and an inch in height. Even at 1 level below the 12s, Umbra had the same MP with his faster progression. Logan¡¯s batteries now granted 39 MP. Sending out his elementals to scout the dungeon for further threats, Logan investigated the pillar in the town centre. ¡°Identify.¡± ¡°Town Obelisk - This is the marker of the town centre, in the past, it was used as a lucky charm and prayer locale. Residents would polish the obelisk in the hopes their diligence would grant them good karma for the day, while others would give it fresh coats of paint and stone maintenance. The obelisk absorbed the residual spellforce of the people who prayed and spent time around it, eventually granting luck in the form of a protective barrier, if a bit weak. It has since been corrupted by the blood of those same people, victims in the bandit raids. It now ¡°protects¡± the residents by making them immortal in death. However, its lack of intellect means these aren¡¯t anything more than animated corpses with imprints of their previous living vessels.¡± ¡°Marcus, over here¡±, Logan called, his ally jogging over to him, ¡°This thing is the cause of the dungeon.¡± ¡°Truly? Such a¡­ mundane object?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a glorified magical item, similar to a trinket. The spellforce is haphazard though. It¡¯s keeping the bodies of the populace moving but not living.¡± ¡°Below, what a tragedy. Can you halt it?¡± Fol then spoke in Logan¡¯s head, ¡°There is a 50% chance you can destroy the obelisk and have the dungeon become deactivated. The other outcome is that the dungeon becomes erupted, allowing the undead to move away from the town and possibly make undead further afield, making it more dangerous.¡± Logan tutted, ¡°Possibly, but I don¡¯t want to risk it. If I had a system quest to do so I¡¯d be more willing, but on my own, I don¡¯t have the proper tools.¡± Fol then added, ¡°Using Necromantic may provide better results, you¡¯d instead absorb the energies of the obelisk and its revivifying powers. You need only use Spell Absorption on the remains as you did with the five-pointed star used to teleport to Oretessu.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a shame¡±, Marcus replied to Logan, unaware of the mental conversation. ¡°Wait a moment, Marcus¡±, Logan put up a finger. ¡°What are our chances?¡± ¡°I do not believe you¡¯d fail. Less than 5% chance of an eruption¡±, Fol calculated. Logan hummed, ¡°I might have a different solution. As luck would have it, I have recently maximised my mastery of Necromantic Second, so I could use that to absorb the life from the obelisk to deactivate it. I even nullify negative effects with such mastery.¡± Marcus chuckled, ¡°Surprises abound, but I expect it from you nowadays. So, how do we go about this?¡± ¡°Give me a second¡±, Logan instructed, moving to a section of three walls that would have been a house. Biting his thumb, Logan did the same measures to form a circle in the air and chanted, ¡°Ochus, I smith thy words¡±, creating a window into the same dark room with a grey-robed woman. ¡°My liege, my ears are open.¡± ¡°I have found a way to eradicate another dungeon. Do I have permission?¡± The woman jumped in her chair at the mention but composed herself quickly, ¡°We shall make concessions for you. How will you go about doing so?¡± Logan explained his plan with the obelisk, though kept out the mention of his Spell Absorption. ¡°Very well. Your theory makes sense. I shall warn the others and make up a cover story if it goes wrong¡±, Ochus allowed. ¡°Then that will be all. We¡¯ll stick around for an hour or so to make sure.¡± ¡°I wish you well, my liege¡±, Ochus ended as the blurry grey window dissipated.
Standing in front of the obelisk, with Marcus and his elementals on standby a bit away, Logan placed his right hand on the obelisk and chanted, ¡°Necromantic Second Grasp¡±, causing a black abyss to appear over his arm and formed a claw in his hand, digging its nails deep into the rock the obelisk shook as the ground shattered around it. Faint azure mist flew up from the stone flooring as it was sucked into Logan¡¯s palm, the shadowy mass fell away as he took hold of the obelisk again, his fingers digging into cracks as he mentally commanded, ¡°Spell Absorb¡±, another wave of azure mist whirlpooling into his palm. A wide crack crashed open diagonally across the obelisk, and then again in the opposite direction, forming a cross and splitting it in four as the pillar fell to the floor in a loud crumble. ¡°Absorption of item successful. Calculating reward¡­¡± ¡°Necromantic and Necromantic 2 are already mastered. Zombify has progressed to tier 2-3-4¡­-10.¡± With the object fully absorbed, there was a rush of wind into the town as if an invisible barrier cracked and fell apart. The sounds of birds and woodland creatures started to enter the ruins, as well as full life. ¡°Eradication successful¡±, Fol informed. Logan sighed in relief and gave a thumbs up to Marcus, ¡°We¡¯re all good. This dungeon is eradicated.¡± ¡°Amazing work, Logan¡±, Marcus cheered with a raised fist. ¡°We¡¯re the best, you know!¡± Celsius cheered. ¡°No longer shall we need to hunt here¡±, Umbra calculated. ¡°It is done, let us go¡±, Fahrenheit asked. ¡°Now now, we need to wait to make sure. Let¡¯s have a short rest before teleporting away¡±, Logan announced. The team nodded as the elementals went back to their patrols, Marcus sitting in the town centre for an hour, while Logan Harvested the bodies for components.
With no further difficulties, Logan informed Ochus about the outcome and warped himself and Marcus back to Gauntlet. --- *** --- Chapter 154 - Dungeon Eradication Bargain Sale Logan placed a booklet on the receptionist''s desk at the G-Hall, a hooded mage at his side. The mage spoke first, ¡°Per Magi¡¯s Tower law and allowance, we have conducted research into the eradication of dungeons. The following dungeon has since been eradicated with the aid of adventurers Logan Hall and Marcus Eren with aid by myself, here is my ID.¡± The receptionist stood up straight and looked at the ID with shaky eyes, ¡°Yes, sir. This looks to be all in order. Am I to grant further reimbursement?¡± ¡°Yes, double the pay.¡± The receptionist nodded, ¡°Of course. Anything else?¡± ¡°Please inform any persons who ask about eradicating dungeons that they ¡®require¡¯ an MT representative and to not act without our guidance. That will be all.¡± The hooded mage then turned away and left. ¡°Sir, your pay, and for the intel you gave us in case we fight similar monsters¡±, the receptionist spoke softly as they handed Logan 1 gold and 38 silver, the same for Marcus. ¡°Thank you¡±, Logan replied as he hooped his signet back over his head and under his shirt. A few whispers spread in the backrooms, ¡°Another dungeon eradicated. That makes, what, five?¡± ¡°Four, you¡¯re terrible at keeping count.¡± It seemed Cassius was doing the same in his endeavours, another eradication while Logan was busy. But Cassius was more than likely going to do a lot more with the dungeons he was picking up. Logan could leave it to the Raid Master after his next dungeon. Before leaving the backrooms, it seemed that Logan¡¯s fame was about to grow once again as a window appeared. ¡°You have gained the ¡®Dungeon Eradicator¡¯ title.¡± ¡°Dungeon Eradicator: Once could be a fluke, twice might be a coincidence, thrice potentially has something to it, but fourfold is enough to say it¡¯s reality. As one of the people who has shown they can eradicate a spellforced dungeon so that it no longer spawns monsters, many come to call you a Dungeon Eradicator. People are more likely to accept your attempts at destroying dungeons. You have gained 1 skill point to distribute.¡± ¡°It was bound to happen, it¡¯s fine for now. We¡¯ll just get stopped a few more times in the streets¡±, Logan thought to himself. Exiting to the main room of the G-Hall, Logan and Marcus were met by a round of applause from the adventurers. A sneaky one must have left to spread the news, and many people were happy about it. Logan felt out of place at the praise, he was used to doing work without recognition back on Earth. Marcus, however, revelled in the attention as he waved and smiled at the crowd. ¡°Thank you, all. We couldn¡¯t have done it without our allies and the MT. Please pay mind to the dangers included in these tasks¡­¡± Marcus spoke to the listeners, it seemed he had a whole speech prepared about being careful. It at least left Logan to be one to listen in too.
Leaving the praise behind, Logan and Marcus sold the gear and components and made their way to the inn to rest for the remainder of the day. While they could clear dungeons easily, it was still a risk to go out without proper resources because of the snakes in the tall grass. Sleeping until the next morning they took steps to the next dungeon. Picking up another ¡°easy¡± dungeon, the pair arrived at a made dungeon. A large clearing in the forest was marked with tree stumps and disturbed mud from dragging trunks. The outcome was a large hotchpotch fortification with a palisade wall. The reflection of the sun against metal from atop the gates and towers showed the enemies to be armed. Leaping onto a taller tree in the distance, Logan used Identification with his vaskt eyes to see further. Scanning the base, the Spellthief was able to find many of its monstrous guards and even peer into the interior. It was strange to find such a base constructed by monsters, so there had to be at least one leader among them. Logan eventually found one, its presence dominating the nearby foes. ¡°Kobold Hero Illnassahraggah - Bold. Level 12: 278/278 HP. This esteemed monster has drunk so much mortal blood that its skills are numerous, and its power vast. With the Hero status, its attributes are much higher than usual alongside adept mental faculties and language comprehension. While only a kobold, this hero has gained the trust of a variety of monsters even beyond normal species barriers. Skills: Open List >. Reduction: Damage 5. Resistance: Damage 25%, Earth 75%, Fire 50%, Holy 95%, Ice 75%, Lightning 50%, Shadow 95%, Water 50%, Wind 50%.¡± ¡°Another hero? This is concerning. Just how many hero monsters are there that people just missed checking?¡± Logan worried in his head. The statistics of the creature were also worrying, its health was far above a normal Knight of the same level, and this wasn¡¯t even a boss-type monster. Glancing over its skill list also showed it had various in its repertoire, from Fighters and Rogues to even a few Knight skills. It didn¡¯t seem to be as damaging as Krekka was, instead, this was more of a tank with legs, a mech. While its form wasn¡¯t taller than 5¡¯, its aura and spellforce were way beyond its underlings. If it didn¡¯t order through diplomacy, then it could do so via strength. Dropping to the floor, Logan talked to Marcus and the elementals, ¡°There¡¯s a kobold Hero called Illnassahraggah in that fort. I¡¯ll handle him while you all take down his troops.¡± ¡°A hero? Above save us, how did he come to be?¡± ¡°Unsure. It doesn¡¯t mention a transformation at all, just that he has a ton of skills from drinking mortal blood.¡± ¡°Let us hope that isn¡¯t all that is needed, otherwise, we¡¯ll have a lot of heroes on our hands.¡± ¡°The adventuring board, again, hasn¡¯t noted this dungeon properly. I will give them a bit of leeway as it is a new one, so it hasn¡¯t been investigated properly. But, rank 7s should not be sent here. I¡¯d say you¡¯d want at least four rank 12s if a hero is around¡­ without that info, rank 10s for the number of foes¡±, Logan calculated. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°Any chance of fighting them in groups?¡± ¡°Not really, they have alarms and the interior is mostly open aside from some shacks. Any noise will alert another person and set off a chain reaction.¡± ¡°So, basically a war¡±, Marcus sighed. ¡°Hey, at least since this is a made dungeon, clearing it is technically an eradication¡±, Logan laughed. ¡°Woo¡±, Marcus replied sarcastically. Forming a deeper plan, the team set it in motion.
Inside the base, the hero was conversing in various languages with goblins, kobolds, crowbolds, lizards, wolves, and snakes. However, this was interrupted by a large explosion of water on the far exit, the doors bursting inwards as a massive hole erupted in the centre. The hero began to shout, but Logan¡¯s explosive entry ten feet away caused his face to turn around. Logan let out two Wind Blasts from his palms behind him, propelling the adventurer forward at disastrous speeds. With a swift and sonic-boom-inducing kick to the stomach, Logan sent the hero flying out through the destroyed door, warping away to follow him. As the monsters had hardly two seconds to respond, elementals leapt and flew atop the battlements, while Marcus jumped through the destroyed doors with a staff in one hand and swirling water in the other. Crashing and colliding with tree trunks and the ground, the hero tumbled to their feet as they drew out a longsword from their lower back as they held the hilt. Just barely blocking a twin dagger strike from Logan, the monster¡¯s face was stunned and full of fear of his attacker. ¡°Hello, monster¡±, Logan teased as he pushed off the blocking blade, kicked off the floor, and began an assault of dagger swipes with the aid of a grey aura and the Haste spell. ¡°Gah, human! You¡¯ll die for this!¡± the hero responded with bile, his head arced up to face his foe. ¡°Thought you¡¯d know the ava tongue. Tell me, how¡¯d you get so smart?¡± Logan demanded as he continued to slash at the sword. The kobold was beyond competent, blocking many of Logan¡¯s attacks. But he was also fast, his body getting faster as he activated the Dash skill to keep up with Logan. ¡°Madamra blesses me, can you say the same for your false deities?¡± the kobold insulted as he brought his blade high, ¡°Power Strike¡±, forming a red mist around it and slamming it into the floor as Logan dodged. ¡°That was powerful! He must have mastered that skill¡±, Logan worried in his head. A Power Strike at full mastery dealt an extra 150% damage, whereas it only started at around 50% extra. ¡°Combo Slash¡±, the kobold chanted as his blade glowed red. Logan dropped a dagger and made a clawed hand towards the sword, ¡°Necromantic Second Shot¡±, hurling a small but condensed slash of darkness at the sword. A loud slam of metal into an immovable object reverberated into the forest, several torrents of wind going wild all around. The kobold gritted its teeth as it was sent backwards, flipping in the air he landed, jumped and turned horizontal before chanting, ¡°Torn Life¡±, spinning wild like a spinning top with grey winds. Logan recognised this as a skill that Oretessu had used some time ago, but he didn¡¯t need to block. Instead, Logan used Dimensional Jaunt to teleport far at the back of his foe, the whole skill missing as the kobold landed on the floor. Illnassahraggah turned around in anger as he frothed at the mouth, ¡°General¡¯s Charge!¡± he yelled as a large yellow lion¡¯s head mirage appeared over his body, charging at Logan again. Logan teleported away yet again as the skill collided with several trees before dissipating to reveal a kobold in its centre. ¡°Stop your fleeing! Come Forth!¡± the kobold yelled. Logan stood there unphased. ¡°Come Forth! Come Forth!¡± the kobold demanded over and over. The third took hold as Logan¡¯s rage rose to meet the hero¡¯s. Teleporting to the rear to land a hand, the kobold twisted around and swiped at the hand. Logan pulled back, twirled, and swiped his dagger at his foe. The kobold blocked it and was retaliated with a similar parry against his strike. The pair exchanged several strikes before Logan dropped his off-hand dagger and made a clawed hand and pulled towards himself, ¡°Flame Second Skystrike¡±, he chanted. A torrent of flames appeared behind the kobold, harassing his back with hot fire. Taking the hit and pushing through the pain, the hero grappled Logan¡¯s arm and pulled it towards him. With a raised sword in one hand, the kobold spoke, ¡°Severing Slash¡±, shining his blade blue as he struck it down. Logan twisted his hand and also touched the kobold''s wrist, ¡°Flame Second Grasp¡±, inflaming his foe as his own red blood followed the fires. As the flames died, Logan jumped back with one arm less, while the kobold now had three, devouring part of Logan''s removed one. ¡°Fuck, my skills!¡± Logan thought through the falling rage. The kobold smiled wide as his spellforce fluctuated, Logan appearing behind him again for another round of grappling flames, this time with a Backstab boost. Swinging his longsword with two hands, the kobold cut through the fire and took a hand off the hilt to aim at Logan, ¡°Force¡±, he chanted, letting loose a punch of grey into Logan¡¯s face. The Spellthief only hoped the beast just learnt micks. Falling to his back, Logan rolled to his feet, dropping his dagger and making a claw he chanted, ¡°Demon-Clan Spell: Telekinesis¡±, causing his dagger to fly at the foe. ¡°Weak!¡± the kobold shouted as he easily deflected the dagger in front of him. However, he forgot the arm he had severed previously held a dagger. Said dagger flew from behind and stabbed his head, piercing the back and thrusting through his left eye. The kobold let out a grunt of pain as his body twitched all over, before falling to his knees, then front, the dagger being pushed back out from the dirt as it landed flat on the corpse¡¯s neck. Logan fell to a knee and panted, even with the level difference, a hero was no joke. But Logan was still fine, even with a missing arm. Downing a potion, he warped back to the fort.
There wasn¡¯t much help to grant back at the fort, Logan only dealing with a few foes to bring the rest of the base down. Checking the experience gains to track progression. Logan had gained 5,714 exp. Celsius, Spark, and Fahrenheit gained 10,854 exp. Servoir and Umbra gained 11,588 exp. With Marcus gaining 11,010 exp. The increased growth given to Marcus had allowed him almost the same progress as Logan¡¯s elementals, though there was quite a level gap. All of Logan¡¯s summons did level up though, the first three hitting level 13, and the latter two hitting 12. Making Logan¡¯s absorption grow to 43 MP. Logan was going to have to stop using some of them if he wanted Marcus to not eclipse his level. Finding a shack to use his normal communication with Orichalcum, Logan informed them of the monster hero. It was a startling realisation, one that had immediate action as a member had teleported to Logan and taken the body to be investigated in secret. He was handed a writ to hand back to the guild for heightened pay, as usual. --- *** --- Chapter 155 - Very Important Players The team made a quick pace back to the capital after waiting around for an hour in the fortress of monsters, the Spellthief regenerating his lost arm and sewing the clothing back together. Logan made sure to Harvest all the bodies for their worth, as the pay would have mostly come from the loot and not the quest money if it hadn¡¯t been doubled. Before entering the G-Hall, however, Logan was stopped by a familiar face at the doors. ¡°Logan, it¡¯s good to see you¡±, Sirn Alton greeted, the nobleman merchant who had worked with Logan during the blood deliveries for Armin. ¡°And you, Sirn¡±, Logan replied as he shook the vampire¡¯s hand. ¡°Please, you can drop those. Alton is fine¡±, the man asked as he made sure his hood was sufficiently forward. ¡°Alright, Alton. What brings you here?¡± ¡°Some business with the adventurer¡¯s hall. Though, if we¡¯re onto questions already, might I inquire as to whether you¡¯ve undergone some form of vampirication nullification?¡± ¡°No?¡± Logan replied bemused. ¡°Oh? My mistakes. The air on you is more vampiric than before, as strong as one past the mewling stage.¡± ¡°Ah, gotcha. I just increased my demonhood naturally¡­ well, as naturally as you can say.¡± ¡°Wonderful news, Logan. I was hopeful the rumour of such a task could be possible, but alas it is not so.¡± ¡°What is vampirication nullification, if you don¡¯t mind me asking?¡± ¡°The title granted to a myth surrounding the ability to restore one¡¯s soul, but retain the powers of a vampire¡±, Alton replied with a serious look. Logan¡¯s eyes opened wide, he hadn¡¯t heard of anything like that. ¡°Sorry to be the bearer of bad news then.¡± ¡°No problem. I suppose the lack of such a path is filled in with your path that did not require the deal.¡± ¡°I did want to talk with a merchant at some point, but would you be interested in a trading deal?¡± Logan put forward. ¡°Oh? I was unaware you came into such wealth.¡± ¡°Not like that. I am soon to be a guildmaster, so it would be nice to have a friend to deal with for goods.¡± Alton laughed slightly, ¡°Of course. I deal in many avenues. I am not a merchant by title, but I do engage with many for the blood trade. I can write your name in deliveries and have you granted a friend discount, 10%.¡± ¡°That¡¯ll be great. You can send correspondence to our guild house, we¡¯ll be called V.I.P.¡± ¡°Vip? A strange name, though I appreciate you spelling it out clearly for me to write. It will at least be quick to commit to parchment¡±, Alton chuckled again.
After their discussion was complete, Logan made his way to the backrooms for his pay. The receptionist was fine with the writ for double pay, and Logan had his signet updated for five total dungeon completions. Before going to the guild¡¯s association, Logan and Marcus sold off all additional loot from their trips. Warping to the building, the pair entered and moved to the front desk. ¡°Hello, I am here to confirm the completion of requirements to make a guild. It¡¯s under the name V.I.P.¡± ¡°Ah yes. No need to spell that out, Vip is easy to remember¡±, the receptionist laughed. Pulling out the booklet she referred to Logan¡¯s signet to confirm the five dungeon completions and noted down the location of the guildhouse. ¡°Is that all settled?¡± ¡°Yes. Your sub-leader also came by to sign the documents. Now you just need to wait another five days or so.¡± ¡°How did the symbol go?¡± ¡°Is this what you wanted?¡± she asked as she showed Logan a piece of parchment. ¡°That¡¯s great. We¡¯ll be back then.¡±
Returning to the inn, the pair took some downtime to sleep and move their belongings into the new guild house of V.I.P. They also had to stock the bar with food and drink, as well as clean the place up over the coming days. On the final day, the duo said their farewells and thanks to Yetveka, ¡°Thanks for your hospitality¡±, they said in unison. ¡°It was no trouble. If anything, you two have been the cleanest hunters ever to come through this place¡±, Yetveka the gashriek replied with a smile. ¡°We know where to find you if we need backup¡±, Gaemo added from the side. ¡°May your guild be prosperous, Logan¡±, Wriske wished. ¡°We¡¯ll have to feast at your place sometime, a guild must have a good chef¡±, Sincollo demanded. ¡°Thanks again for your help in rescuing me¡±, Ev¨¦n thanked. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this isn¡¯t goodbye, we¡¯ll just be neighbours rather than bunkmates¡±, Marcus reassured with a cheery clenched fist. ¡°We won¡¯t stop being hunters, so no slacking off¡±, Logan teased. The group laughed in joyousness before separating for the day.
Day 136. ¡°Logan Hall?¡± the vampire receptionist called out. Logan jogged to the desk with Amalia and Marcus shortly behind, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Your guild creation process has been accepted and completed. From this day forward, you are a nation of adventurers within the jurisdiction of Gauntlet. Your words now have power, so use them carefully. If you wish to attend Congress, you may submit votes on all topics, currently, you have one vote per topic. Your guild may also request topics of your own. You shall be taxed on each member within your nation, alongside your guild fees. Going forward, members of Vip must be dealt with by your own guild¡¯s hand, if that is out of your capability you must contact hunters for assistance.¡± The woman took a breath as she handed out the trio¡¯s signets. ¡°Wearing the symbol of your guild you will be recognised as members. Any false wearing of such a symbol will be seen as treason to your nation, to which Gauntlet will back your ability to apprehend the liars.¡± ¡°Understood¡±, Logan accepted. ¡°At your request, you will be allowed to share tier 1 tomes with your guild members. Make sure these tomes are not shared outside of your guild members, known as guildies.¡± ¡°I had no intention.¡± ¡°You are limited to forty members, as per your house, and fifty due to your guild licence. If you wish to increase these amounts you must acquire more lodging with the house, and upgrade your license. Your guild house is also exempt from several laws, as described in your leaflet. Please make it a part of your rules and introduction if you still enforce those laws, or have your own.¡± Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Logan nodded. ¡°With this, the process is finalised. Welcome, Guildmaster Logan Hall, Sub-Leader Marcus Eren, and Sub-Leader Amalia Lehmann, to the kingdom of Gauntlet. We open arms to the nation and guild known as Vip.¡± The trio bowed their heads and said in unison, ¡°May our nations have grand relations.¡± Taking the signet, Logan stared at his new guild symbol painted and spellforced onto its back. It had somewhat Nordic or Viking-style black lettering of VIP with a background of a red and pink hazardous symbol encircled in a magical ring of purple. Logan couldn¡¯t hold back his smile as he stared at the signet, though it was worse for Marcus who had started to cry at it. ¡°I finally¡­ have a family¡±, Marcus spoke through the tears. Logan wrapped an arm around his friend¡¯s shoulders, ¡°We¡¯ll have to make it a big one.¡± ¡°Yeah¡±, Marcus accepted with a smile.
Returning to the guildhouse, Logan picked out a leaflet from the bar counter to recheck the rules he had set.
  1. Help others where you can.
  2. Do not belittle any income level, class, or species.
  3. Do not attack other guildies outside of consensual matches.
  4. Always listen to the reasons and excuses of others before passing judgment.
  5. If you are not yet registered as an adventurer, Guildmaster Logan can assess you and provide the details to the adventurers¡¯ hall of Gauntlet, and pay your fee. This fee must be repaid within two months.
  6. All parties will evenly split rewards unless the recipients are under or over 5 ranks from the average of your team.
  7. Dungeons must be taken on with at least 2 more members than the minimum, and at least 1 rank higher for each member, unless you have double the required quantity or a member 5 ranks over the minimum.
  8. Read the guild tomes only within the living area.
  9. All members can provide ores and materials for the guild smith, Amalia Lehmann, to create gear appropriate to your rank at 25% of the price of the item.
  10. On signing, you will be given a full set of weapons, armour, and/or shields. These must be returned if replaced.
  11. Repairs of items below rank 10 are free.
  12. Never enter the rooms of the guildmaster and sub-leaders.
  13. Never allow others into the guild without a leader present.
  14. Necromancy and summoning are allowed, and the creatures made of such are fine within the guild house.
  15. You must carry a tracking rock at all times so that the leaders know of your location. When in danger, you may use these rocks to call for aid from all other members. The maximum tax is removed until you repay this item after use.
  16. The guild tax is 10% of each quest, with a minimum of 1 silver per week and a maximum of 10 silver per week.
  17. You must have served the guild for 1 year before asking to leave.
Logan¡¯s 10% tax was one of the smallest in Gauntlet, beaten only by charity-style guilds that had 0%. It was tied with Twain Dagger, a hunter''s guild. Everything looked to be in order, and the rocks had already been made by Logan in his downtime. Smooth blue stones with a single-line sigil carved into them. They sent out an alert to all other stones but could only send out once before cracking. This would let Logan make sure his guildies stayed alive. Their market name was typically ¡°Safety Stone¡± but Logan had altered them a bit. As Logan finished checking the leaflet, a window appeared to inform him of new developments. ¡°As you have set your guild tax to 10%, all guildies will have their experience gain reduced by 10%. This tax will be held in your guild storage. You may use this experience to craft relics, in place of your own experience. You may grant the experience to individuals up to reaching the next level. This can only be done to targets below your level. For those at your level, it only grants up to 10% of the experience gap. Both of these functions can be used only once per person per month.¡± ¡°I had thought the experience gained could be used that way. I wonder if NPC guilds use this feature at all without knowing?¡± Logan pondered. Another window appeared to congratulate Logan further. ¡°You have gained the ¡®Guildmaster¡¯ title.¡± ¡°Guildmaster: As the head of a guild, adventurers commonly know your name and prefer to not do anything to offend you. People may ask to join your guild, while other guilds may ask for alliances. Regardless, the title comes with many expectations and allowances. You have gained 1 skill point to distribute.¡± ¡°How can I hold all these skill points¡±, Logan thought to himself as he mimed holding orbs. ¡°You alright there?¡± Marcus asked. Logan coughed, ¡°Yeah, just thinking about something.¡± Logan quickly assigned himself, Marcus, and Amalia to be not included in the tax system which was a normal option for the guild leaders. The taxes gathered from the other guildies would be used to pay off the guild house and guildie taxes, plus other fees included in running the guild. Logan didn¡¯t feel the need to use much of it for personal use anyway. ¡°So, about the name¡±, Amalia started. ¡°Very Important Players¡±, Logan answered clearly. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s an acronym¡±, Amalia replied. ¡°Huh? That¡¯s what you call it?¡± Marcus wondered allowed. ¡°Yeah, when you use letters for words to make a shorter name.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t call them that, we just, you know, use them.¡± ¡°I suppose this world is too ¡®early¡¯ for the naming convention. Earth used them for over 2000 years, but I think we only coined the term in the past hundred or so¡±, Logan thought to himself. ¡°Either way, the letters stand for those words. It also means Very Important Person or People in our world. Oracles should understand it and approach us¡±, Logan explained. Marcus nodded, ¡°I remember you saying that, yeah. Alright, at least I know what it¡­ stands for. But most people will just call us Vip.¡± ¡°It¡¯s meant to be V.I.P. but yeah, a lot of people have just been thinking I was spelling it out for them.¡± ¡°It is probably best we stick with Vip for now, in conversation. If a PC does find out¡­ sorry, an Oracle, then they should talk about it¡±, Amalia said. ¡°As the guildmaster, I should be approached about it. I doubt people will talk to the sub-leaders about the name. And, Marcus is very much not an Oracle if they can detect that. Amalia, you¡¯ll be staying in Gauntlet most of the time too, right?¡± ¡°Yeah. Unless I get a quest to go beyond the walls¡±, Amalia replied. ¡°If she does get found out, she might need a ¡®boosting¡¯ like you talked about before¡±, Marcus informed. ¡°Her focus on crafting will at least let her not fall behind in the equipment side of things.¡± ¡°I am keeping the better crafts for myself, I have two legendaries and a pristine¡±, Amalia apprised. ¡°Good. We might need you to do the same for us when you¡¯re able.¡± ¡°A steady supply of legendary arms, what a thought¡±, Marcus laughed. ¡°I am already in talks with the neighbouring buildings to the left and behind for purchase. We¡¯ll use them for expansion when possible. The left for a forge, and the back for a training yard. Both of their first floors will be for rooms.¡± ¡°We have to fill the ones we have for now¡±, Marcus smiled. ¡°Logan¡¯s got this, he is quite charismatic¡±, Amalia teased as she nudged Logan¡¯s shoulder with hers. ¡°Got a few people in mind at least¡±, Logan notified. ¡°Are we looking to max out the number?¡± Amalia asked. ¡°Yeah. At the Yestar Tournament¡±, Logan replied plainly. ¡°The what?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a tournament that¡¯s held within the Coliseum grounds at the start of each year. It would normally be cancelled this year due to the Ice King, like every decade, but with the rowdyness of adventurers due to wasted death insurance the governing bodies decided to house it.¡± ¡°Logan and I will be joining it. Showing off our skills and spells will be amazing advertising for our guild¡±, Marcus added. ¡°That was sudden¡±, Amalia admitted. ¡°A bit. But we talked it over during our downtime. It¡¯s also a nice spot to fight each other again without worry for the surrounding area¡±, Logan replied. ¡°At our rank, we¡¯d be causing havoc for the populace in the streets¡±, Marcus sighed. ¡°Well, it makes sense anyway. I suppose no Spellthief powers?¡± ¡°No. But aside from that we¡¯re going all out¡±, Logan answered. ¡°Any prizes?¡± ¡°Each bracket awards higher amounts of money, split in ranks 1 to 5, 6 to 10, etc. We¡¯ll probably be level 20 by then, looking at 200 gold as a reward for the victor, plus any bets. If you¡¯re up for betting on our behalf.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t do it?¡± ¡°The combatants are kept within the pits before our fights, and we only know when we¡¯re on the field. It¡¯s normal to get proxies to bet for you because of that, and it¡¯s legal.¡± ¡°Okay. I can do that¡±, Amalia accepted. ¡°Good. It starts in twenty-four days. The first day of the new year.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 156 - Those Worthy to Join Logan took a quick trip to the G-Hall to start his recruitment drive. He had a few spaces to fill and people in mind to fill them. ¡°Iimi, how you been?¡± Logan asked as he sat at the table of the blonde Fighter he had worked with in the past. ¡°Logan, good, but not as much as you as I hear it¡±, Iimi replied, her metal signet shining slightly in the light. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t say that, looks like you passed rank 15¡±, Logan mentioned with a smile. ¡°Not as grand as being a guildmaster. You worked quick.¡± ¡°What can I say, I¡¯m ambitious.¡± ¡°Too true. So what can I do for the strong man? We¡¯ve not spoken in close to fifty days.¡± ¡°Enough time for you to heal from scars. But yes, on to what I came to you for. I want you to join my guild.¡± Iimi looked at Logan for a few seconds, ¡°I did say before that guilds don¡¯t exactly line up with how I work.¡± ¡°You mentioned it was due to the taxes? My guild¡¯s tax is only 10%, max of 10 silver a week.¡± Iimi raised her new eyebrow, ¡°That¡¯s quite generous. I rarely hear of guilds that aren¡¯t just full of buddies with rates so low.¡± ¡°We also offer crafting services at 25% of the price of the item if you bring the materials.¡± ¡°What!?¡± Iimi shouted, almost falling out of her chair, ¡°Lightbeam gives a measly 10% discount, you¡¯re saying you¡¯d cut it down 75%?¡± ¡°Yeah, our max tax is also half¡±, Logan reinforced with a smile. ¡°Below. You give a bargain with two oxen as a downpayment, don¡¯t you¡±, Iimi rubbed her face. ¡°Is that a yes?¡± Logan held on to the last word. Iimi waited a few seconds and then plainly asked, ¡°Tell me the rest of the details.¡± Logan then read out the rules of his guild and what he expected over the next few minutes. ¡°Fuck me. Sounds too good to be true.¡± ¡°Well, you know me. Would I lie like this?¡± ¡°No. No, you wouldn¡¯t. Above guide me, you are like a silver lizard. I doubt I¡¯ll get any other type of opportunity like this. And proper teams would be nice to have. It¡¯s cheaper than an inn room to boot.¡± ¡°Ehh, ehh¡±, Logan poked. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll come to your guild house later on to talk details.¡± ¡°Great! I¡¯ll see you there¡±, Logan accepted with a smile.
Logan eventually found Tenn, the brunette Rogue, however, the man had already joined another guild and wasn¡¯t open to leaving it anytime soon. Even after Logan¡¯s proposal, it was hard to leave your second family behind. The next stop was the Eventa estate. Warping at the gates had the guards stand at the ready, but softened when they recognised Logan. ¡°Hail, sir Logan.¡± ¡°Day. I wish to speak with Castore Eventa, please.¡± One of the guards nodded, ¡°You may enter the premises. Please talk to a butler at the entrance.¡± ¡°Thanks¡±, Logan replied as he warped to the entrance. Knocking on the door had it open to a man in a suit, ¡°How may I¡ªah, sir Logan. Here to meet the lord or master?¡± ¡°The master, please.¡± ¡°Very well, he is currently training in the gardens, please, follow me.¡± Logan followed the butler out the front doors and around the side of the estate, the topiary looked neat as always. Logan soon came across a young, newly 15, Castore training against a man in his 30s. Lights of blue and red permeated the spar before Castore landed on his rear from a riposte. ¡°Well done, master. You¡¯re improving your skill activation¡±, the older man praised as he helped the youth to his feet. ¡°One day I¡¯ll pierce that defence of yours¡±, the kid exclaimed as he sheathed his sword. Logan took a towel from the butler and approached from behind, ¡°Your towel, master¡±, he imitated. ¡°Thanks, we¡¯ll¡ª¡± he began before realising who handed him the towel, ¡°Logan! You¡¯re back!¡± ¡°Good to see you too, Castore. Deep in training, I see.¡± ¡°Yeah, this is a guard that father hired¡±, Castore informed as he waved at the man behind him. ¡°The Phasing Hunter? A pleasure. I am Jenik.¡± ¡°Same, thanks for taking care of the master¡±, Logan said politely. ¡°C¡¯mon, we¡¯re buds here. Castore and Logan, no honoraries¡±, Castore waved off. ¡°Well, buddy. I bring good news.¡± ¡°Oh yeah? You beat up a huge monster?¡± ¡°Yes. But I would like you to do so too. My guild has been formed and I¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m in¡±, Castore cut off. ¡°As I thought.¡± ¡°Uh, young master. We should talk with Lord Armin first¡±, Jenik protested quietly. ¡°It¡¯s fine¡±, Castore gave a thumbs up to the guard and placed a hand on Logan¡¯s arm, pointing to a window, ¡°There, warp us in, bud.¡± ¡°If you¡¯ll excuse us¡±, Logan said to the guard before the two warped to their centres and disappeared. Armin jumped out of his chair and dropped his cup of tea, ¡°Below!¡± he shouted, Logan catching the cup and its contents before putting it back on the desk. ¡°Day to you too, Armin¡±, Logan smiled. ¡°Father, I hope the day fares you well.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t give me that you miscreant, what did I say about teleportations in the house!¡± Castore furrowed his brow and deepened his voice, ¡°Under no circumstances outside of emergency.¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Armin then flicked Castore¡¯s ear, turning it red and having the young boy grab it. ¡°Keep your posture in front of company, son.¡± ¡°Sorry, he insisted¡±, Logan smiled with fake innocence. ¡°Quite. Either way, it is good to see you, sir Logan. Or, is it Dungeon Eradicator now?¡± ¡°Hear about that, did you? Good to see you¡¯re keeping a merchant¡¯s ear to the news.¡± ¡°The removal of component and item routes is imperative to know for the flow of coin.¡± ¡°Sorry if it caused any¡ª¡± ¡°I won¡¯t hear it, you did wonders for the removal of monsters in this kingdom¡±, Armin interrupted with a raised hand. ¡°Well, then thank you.¡± ¡°Now, onto the reason for your visit.¡± ¡°Father, Sir Logan has offered me a place in his guild. I believe you will find this the most suitable means to keep me safe as an adventurer¡±, Castore straightened up. ¡°Is this so? Do you have a leaflet for me to read over?¡± Logan handed one over, ¡°Of course.¡± Armin read over it for a few seconds before announcing, ¡°I accept.¡± ¡°That was easy¡±, Logan thought to himself. ¡°Do you not have any questions, Armin?¡± ¡°Your rules are straightforward. You accept adventurers currently under the seven-day death timer, correct? It says you aid in assessment.¡± ¡°Yes, you inferred that correctly.¡± ¡°Then there is nothing amiss. Castore is correct. I value your defence over any wayward hands at the G-Hall or adventurers on the streets. We are also allies and friends, I trust you to continue to protect my child. It shant be the first time for you to save him from danger.¡± ¡°I did have faint memories of his capture when creating the tracking stones¡±, Logan admitted. Armin smiled but hid a laugh, ¡°I do not doubt this. Do you need anything from me?¡± ¡°Castore is 15, he can join on his own. I just felt it was right to get your permission.¡± ¡°Thank you for thinking of me. Truth be told, I would be awake half my nights if he hadn¡¯t joined a guild¡±, Armin sighed. Logan nodded, ¡°You have my word I will do my best to teach and protect Castore.¡± Castore tried to stop his movements but it was obvious he was swaying side to side with excitement, ¡°So, does that mean I can join his guild?¡± Armin nodded, ¡°Yes, son. But that does not mean you can slack on your training.¡± Castore then jumped, ¡°Yes! Thanks, Dad¡±, he shouted as he hugged his father. Logan felt a twinge in his heart at the scene but was able to speak through it, ¡°Is it alright with you if Castore moves into the guild house?¡± ¡°Of course. We¡¯ll have his things moved over tomorrow. We¡¯ll meet you at your guild tonight to sign the contracts.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Thank you¡±, Castore copied.
Logan¡¯s next destination was easy to warp to, but he did it a bit away so as to not damage it any further. He gave a soft knock on the creaky door that was barely hanging on. A gaunt man opened the door, ¡°Evening, who is. You!¡± ¡°Hello, Vern. Keeping well?¡± ¡°Yes, sir! As is my grandfather, up and about, see¡±, Vern replied as he pulled the door to reveal the elderly gentleman eating at a clean table. The man slowly stood, ¡°Oh, you¡¯re the Above¡¯s hand that cured me. Thank you¡±, he bowed. ¡°There¡¯s no issue. I am glad you¡¯re feeling well.¡± ¡°What brings you back here¡­ oh yeah, I never got your name. You¡¯re the Phasing Hunter, right?¡± Vern asked at bullet speed. ¡°That is correct, my name is Logan.¡± ¡°Ah. Such an esteemed visitor¡±, the old man said as he sat back down out of necessity. ¡°Please, come in¡±, Vern asked as he walked to the table and pulled out a chair. Sitting down, Logan announced, ¡°I saw you were having trouble, so I came to offer aid again. How would you like to join my guild?¡± The old man started a coughing fit. ¡°Grandfather¡±, Vern said as he patted the man¡¯s back and handed him a cup of water. Logan lifted a finger and quietly spoke, ¡°Clean¡±, on the water before it was drunk. ¡°Are you sure you want me? I¡¯m not even assessed.¡± ¡°Yes. You must jest, Sir, no guild would accept a seven-dayer.¡± ¡°No teasing here. Read over this leaflet, if you can¡±, Logan offered a leaflet to the older man. ¡°I can¡±, the man replied, taking and reading the leaflet slowly. ¡°What¡¯s it say?¡± Vern asked, struggling to read the letters. The old man¡¯s eyes went wide, then wider, and so much so Logan was worried about the man¡¯s eyeballs falling out of his head. ¡°Truly!?¡± ¡°For truth.¡± ¡°What? What?¡± ¡°Your entry will be paid for, and you will be gifted a starting set of gear¡±, the older man said. Vern kept jumping from one foot to another, then realised what was said, stopped, looked at Logan, back to his grandfather, and had his jaw drop. ¡°You will need to be with us for at least a year, but it will be a great start for you.¡± ¡°If I did not know who you were, Sir, I¡¯d have to decline on his half¡±, the old man admitted. ¡°But Grandpa.¡± The older man held up his hand, ¡°But, I do know of you. I have no qualms. I would still like to go with my grandson to his signing.¡± ¡°That is fine with me. Do you need to speak to your parents, Vern?¡± ¡°No. I am sure they will be more than happy to accept too. I don¡¯t need their permission anyways¡±, Vern laughed.
Putting on a formal jacket, if a bit raggedy, the older man went outside with both his grandson and Logan. Placing a hand on both, Logan teleported back to his guild house. The elderly gentleman would find it hard to walk all that way. Apparating at the house, Logan entered to see Marcus serving drinks to Iimi, Castore, and a man draped in a set of brown robes that had lightning strikes form at his neck and flow to the bottom of the robe at his calves. ¡°Hail, Logan¡±, Castore greeted as he raised a mug of water, ¡°This here is my friend, E¡¯leth¡±, he introduced as he patted his friend on the back. The 15-year-old bowed his head slightly and made a sign of two index fingers together and then separating into part of a triangle without its base, ¡°Lightning guide you. Thank you for inviting Castore to your guild, he wishes for me to be a plus one at his side.¡± ¡°A Devout? Nice to meet you, I am Logan¡±, the guildmaster accepted as he shook the young man¡¯s hand. ¡°I see you brought another candidate, or is it two?¡± Iimi chuckled. ¡°Oh no. My bones creak too much for this life¡±, Vern¡¯s grandfather admitted. ¡°We¡¯ll do the interviews in order of appearance. Iimi¡¯s first¡±, Logan instructed as he led his old friend to the room to the side of the entrance. Vern and his grandfather sat at the bar for Marcus to work up some drinks and good food with the oven on his side.
Logan talked with Iimi for a short while, only around five minutes, discussing the rules and how things would go in the guild. He was able to word it so that he could see all of her status within his system, checking to make sure she was who she said she was as well as any hidden agendas. This would be the usual routine. Iimi did ask about the lines under his eyes as his vaskt eyes retracted during a time he had her close her own eyes, but he waved it off. Logan did the same for Castore and E¡¯leth who were interviewed at the same time, as they were a duo. Castore had mentioned a friend before, Logan was just happy to see it was a caster, showing the boy¡¯s personality brilliantly. Both came up clean in Logan¡¯s scanning. Finally, Vern had his interview and passed without issue. Returning to the main hall, Logan spoke, ¡°Thank you all for coming here to join my guild, Vip. Joining us today is Iimi, a rank 15 Fighter. Castore, a rank 1 Fighter. E¡¯leth, a rank 1 Devout. And Vern, a rank 1 Rogue. These will be our new family members, please get along.¡± The group then introduced themselves quickly, shaking hands and smiling. ¡°For those who haven¡¯t met us. I am Logan Hall, a rank 19 Wizard. Marcus Eren behind the counter is a rank 18 Devout. Amalia Lehmann who is currently packing up her stuff is a rank 11 Knight. We are the Guildmaster and Sub-Leaders, respectively. Please talk to us if you have any queries or discussions about the guild.¡± ¡°Huh, the G-Hall doesn¡¯t say your rank increased¡±, Iimi waved it off. ¡°I have the same spells as the assessors at the G-Hall, hence why I was able to assess Vern.¡± ¡°Such high-ranking adventurers¡±, Vern announced starry-eyed. ¡°To continue from that, and to reiterate. Rule 5 does indeed mean we will accept seven-dayers. If you find someone who would be a good fit in the guild, please suggest they come for an interview.¡± ¡°Sir. Are all of those tomes on the bookshelf for our perusal?¡± E¡¯leth asked. Logan looked back and then to the young man, ¡°Yes. Please place your own tomes considered tier 1 there too.¡± ¡°But. You have the entire library of tomes for the first-level elemental spells.¡± ¡°Correct. Please read them before you go questing, if possible. Each completed tome will grant you higher chances of survival¡±, Logan insisted with a smile. ¡°So many tomes. It was wise you put protective spells on this place¡±, E¡¯leth spoke under his breath. ¡°Are there any further questions? We should be having some new members tomorrow if everything goes well.¡± ¡°Which bedroom is mine¡±, Castore shouted to get his question in first. --- *** --- Chapter 157 - A Full Team鈥檚 Worth A fresh day dawned within Logan¡¯s new room at the guild house. It was quite a novel experience, as the Spellthief made sure to get some of the best beds he could. Throwing on his coat, Logan went down to the foyer. ¡°Morning, Logan¡±, Marcus called from behind the counter, taking up the chef¡¯s position for now. ¡°Morning¡±, Castore and Vern said simultaneously. Vern¡¯s plate was stacked, while Castore was a bit more restrained in his food pile. Logan dined on some fresh eggs and pork as the other guildies woke up to join them. There wasn¡¯t a big enough bunch that they needed more chairs for the bar, but Logan had ordered some tables and chairs for the foyer.
Before leaving for the day, Iimi stopped Logan. ¡°Are you intending to invite classless to the guild, perchance?¡± ¡°If they¡¯ve got the aptitude and attitude, anyone is welcome¡±, Logan admitted. ¡°Then have you looked into hiding your aura?¡± ¡°Yes, I know of the twenty rank gap and I¡¯ve got a mick for that.¡± ¡°Good, don¡¯t want people getting crushed by the pressure¡±, Iimi laughed. It was a similar issue that Logan felt when first meeting Zinzith after he had destroyed the ice throne in the Frost Monarch¡¯s Cavern. Even looking the man in the eye was a pain due to the difference in their power. Logan would have people on the streets hit the floor if he wasn¡¯t careful. ¡°I will probably hit rank 20 soon, and with my recruitment rules I¡¯d need to be able to hide my spellforce eventually¡±, Logan explained. ¡°I am curious as to why Zinzith didn¡¯t hide his aura. Was it boasting, or something more defensive?¡± he thought to himself. ¡°Well, good luck out there¡±, Iimi wished. ¡°Good travels¡±, E¡¯leth called out from the reading nook.
Returning to the G-Hall, Logan was treated to the sight of playful fighting amongst the previous team he had helped. ¡°You can¡¯t keep firing off into the forests, your bolts are so annoying to go find¡±, Alice ordered. ¡°It¡¯s not as if I do it on purpose¡±, Varuud replied with a clenched fist. Sooryah was busy sharpening a new dagger with a stone, a grin on his face as he reflected in its metal. His face turned to surprise as a Spellthief appeared behind him in the reflection. ¡°Logan, good to see you!¡± Jayd spoke as he stood. ¡°Logan?¡± Alice and Varuud said in unison. ¡°Hey, boss¡±, Sooryah said shakily. Taking a seat with the team, Logan spoke, ¡°You¡¯re all faring well I see. New gear?¡± ¡°Yup. Our dungeon pay went towards replacements and a few spares¡±, Alice announced with a confident smile. ¡°Alice is just being annoying about the bolts¡±, Varuud waved off. ¡°It¡¯s a leader¡¯s duty to make sure her team is working efficiently.¡± ¡°Alright, alright. Miss Leader, I got a proposal for your team¡±, Logan interrupted as he handed out four leaflets to the team. ¡°Oh? Let¡¯s have a read then¡±, Alice said. Sooryah scootched his chair closer to Varuud who read out the leaflet in a quiet voice to his ally. After a few moments of reading, Alice announced, ¡°Logan do you mind waiting outside for us?¡±
Further time passed before Logan was allowed back into the G-Hall, though he was led further into the training grounds in the back usually kept for assessments. But it was also a good place to settle disputes. ¡°Alright, Logan, you know the rules. Face us four in a match and we¡¯ll join you¡±, Alice instructed. Logan shrugged and sighed, ¡°If that¡¯s what it will take.¡± ¡°Do as we discussed, gang.¡± ¡°Right¡±, the team replied, ready for a fight. ¡°Dash, Rush, Rush¡±, the youths chanted as Sooyrah, Jayd, and Alice charged towards their foe. As they met Logan, Jayd and Alice landed solid strikes on Logan¡¯s blocking daggers before darting to his slides, Sooryah doing a flip over the man to his back. ¡°... Gaia Shot¡±, Varuud ended a chant, sending a spike of rock at Logan. Logan smiled and merely bent to the side, the spike going in the arch of his back and having Sooryah almost hit his head on the floor as he went into a low limbo stance to avoid the stone. Slashing at Alice¡¯s sword, Logan set her off balance and did the same to Jayd¡¯s hammer as both were only on a single foot. Logan kicked Jayd off into the distance and spun in the air to kick Alice similarly away. Sweeping his leg, Logan had Sooryah fall to the floor and roll away from a dagger stab to the floor. ¡°...Shot!¡± Varuud chanted again. Logan whipped around and aimed his fingers at the rock, ¡°Force¡±, he chanted, splitting the rock in half with a tiny grey orb, causing the rock to dissipate in the air. ¡°Power Strike¡±, Alice yelled as she made an overhead slash at Logan. Taking two steps back, Logan looked at the misty red blade in front of his face as it hit the floor. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°Power Strike¡±, Jayd commanded as he attempted a wide swing at Logan. ¡°Force¡±, Logan chanted as he dropped his dagger and collided grey energy with the mace, sending it flying out of the Fighter¡¯s grip. Kicking his dagger, it landed hilt first into Jayd¡¯s helmet, making a loud donking sound as he flinched back. Leaping at Jayd, Logan grappled the chin guard of his breastplate and belt, and shoulder-threw Jayd into the floor. ¡°Take this!¡± Sooryah yelled, swiping out with twin daggers, Logan side-stepping to avoid both. Sooryah threw one towards Logan¡¯s face, it sailing past his cheek, another at his leg which he brought up. Replacing them quickly, Sooryah spun around with twin slashes, throwing them in the air to draw another and swipe, spin, and kick the airborne knife towards his foe. He was a dervish of blades. Avoiding all of them, Logan punched both of Sooryah¡¯s inner elbows, forcing the Rogue to drop both weapons, then landed a solid punch into the Rogue¡¯s stomach to have his foe fly into the air, grabbing the leg and slamming him over Logan¡¯s head and into the floor. A quick slash of a sword was quickly followed by another shard of rock, Logan dodging the first and punching the rock into the floor. Drawing up two daggers he continued to deflect steel as yellow lights began to fly to Varuud¡¯s allies. Logan twirled both daggers in his hand, threw one to collide with the yellow light to halt the healing, then tossed another into the Devout¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re open!¡± Alice yelled as she attempted another overhead slash. This time, Logan stood forward, grappled Alice¡¯s wrists, and threw her onto her back. Before she could stand, a dagger was pointed down at her face. Logan just smiled in victory. ¡°Fine, I surrender!¡± Alice yelled. Logan used Telekinesis to move all the weapons back to their owners, helping the group to their feet by hand and patting them on their backs. ¡°You lot did well. Some good teamwork and flanking, plus barrages of spells.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t get hit once¡±, Varuud said in defeat. ¡°Can¡¯t believe you deflected my mace with a mick¡±, Jayd said under his breath. ¡°Well, I am over three times more powerful than that spider queen¡±, Logan smirked. ¡°How¡¯d you like my ¡®spinning death¡¯?¡± Sooryah asked. ¡°It was stylish and great for catching your opponent off guard. However, with only six daggers, it is risky if you don¡¯t win.¡± ¡°Thought at least one would land.¡± ¡°I¡¯m used to daggers, and I throw a few too. Plus, I am much faster than you¡±, Logan laughed. ¡°What about me?¡± Alice asked. ¡°Good swings, plenty of power in them. You¡¯re good to put your back into it, but, you¡¯re too slow. Against a faster opponent, you need to be just as fast or have the number advantage. I was able to subdue your companions, so you should have let the heavy attacks go, instead, quick jabs woulda worked better.¡± ¡°A Grasp expert is so weird to fight¡±, Jayd added. ¡°You wear a lot of armour, Jayd, but you don¡¯t protect yourself beyond that. The metal can¡¯t do all the work, you need to have a defensive mind. Maybe pick up a dagger or two to off-hand in real-close-quarters. You¡¯re a Fighter, not a Knight. You¡¯re better off moving quicker.¡± Logan then turned, ¡°Varuud, if I may. With three martials in the team, you will be better off saving your spellforce for healing, rather than offence. Until you learn Skystrike, you¡¯re too far from the battle to have Shot alterations be reliable. Were you aiming for an opening, or just adding to the team?¡± ¡°I was hoping you had your arms occupied with their attacks.¡± ¡°Wait for openings. A back is easier to hit. Plus weak spots on larger foes, like the eyes of a large spider, are more worth the risk. If the team is down, you¡¯re open to all your foes, so you need to be able to get them back up.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just glad you¡¯re a caster, those punches woulda been deadly from a Fighter¡±, Sooryah admitted as he rotated his arms. ¡°I was holding back. I only hit you with around a quarter to half of my strength.¡± Sooryah gulped. ¡°Well, that¡¯s that. You¡¯re the winner, by a snowslide¡±, Alice announced. ¡°So, is that enough to have you lot come back to the guild?¡± ¡°Yes, sir!¡±
A quick walk to the guild, to save on any more fainting, had the party scanned thoroughly and signed up with VIP. Their addition brought the guildie count to 11, including the leaders. ¡°Hello, everyone. Let me introduce our new guildies¡­¡±, Logan announced to those still at the guild house, moving their stuff over. The previous members gave a polite round of applause before talking individually and shaking the hands of the newcomers. Amalia was going to be busy outfitting the whole team, but at least Castore wasn¡¯t needing anything new. ¡°Oh, Marcus. Any luck with Karn and Lole?¡± Logan asked as he noticed Marcus reading at the sofas. ¡°Huh? Oh. It¡¯s a no-go, sadly. They are sticking with their church. A guild adds layers of complexity that they don¡¯t want to deal with.¡± Karn and Lole were the friends of Marcus from the Tinte church who had come to Gauntlet for work, and had spent the night with in the same inn when Logan and Marcus first came to the capital. ¡°That¡¯s fine. I hope they do well. I have one more person in mind to invite, just having some trouble finding him¡±, Logan admitted. ¡°Need help?¡± ¡°Nah, I¡¯ve got it. Just some leisurely strolls and asking at the G-Hall.¡±
Doing as he said, Logan took the long walk to the G-Hall. Using Identification and Echo Radar every so often to see who else he could potentially invite, as well as a means to find the last potential recruit. Logan¡¯s focus was rewarded as he spied his target through an opened wooden panel window that looked into a tavern. Entering, he clasped the man¡¯s shoulder with his hand and spooked him with a, ¡°Shanin. Long time.¡± The Fighter whipped around to look at Logan, shock across his face as his saviour appeared out of nowhere. ¡°Ah, Phasing Hunter, that it has. What brings you here?¡± ¡°A drink would have been nice, but you¡¯ll do¡±, Logan teased as he sat next to the man. Shanin had bags under his eyes and was no longer wearing adventuring gear, instead, he had thick gloves and boots with signs of dust and oil across his clothing. This man was once used as bait in quests by higher-ranked adventurers, Logan saving him from bullies in the past. ¡°Sorry. But I¡¯m not too sure if I would be the best company. My tales are mice compared to yours.¡± ¡°Oh don¡¯t put yourself down too harshly. You¡¯re bound to have grander tales if you accept my proposal.¡± ¡°Proposal? You need a porter?¡± ¡°Nothing so menial. I want you to come out of retirement and join my guild¡±, Logan announced with a smile. Shanin looked at the Spellthief for a while before replying, ¡°How¡¯d you know I retired as an adventurer?¡± Logan just replied with his eyes going up and down the Fighter. ¡°Right¡±, Shanin accepted, ¡°pretty obvious I suppose¡±, he continued as he sipped his drink, ¡°I¡¯m rusty and I sold off my gear. Unless you¡¯re offering something to combat those two realities, I don¡¯t think it¡¯d be wise.¡± ¡°As luck would have it, I do.¡± ¡°I thought so, so¡ªwait, you do?¡± ¡°Newcomers get a fresh set of gear on joining. Here¡¯s the leaflet¡±, Logan offered. A few faces turned to the pair, some curious as to if the drink had gone to their heads and they were hearing things. Shanin glanced over the leaflet before turning to Logan, ¡°This is a lot. Can I really offer enough in return?¡± ¡°Just because you were dealt a bad hand, doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯re a bad bet. I¡¯m offering an ace to flip your hand into a better one.¡± Shanin bit his lip as he stared at the leaflet, so many promises and too-good-to-be-true statements within. Holding out a hand he stated, ¡°Alright. Take good care of me, Guildmaster.¡±
On their way back to the guild to sort things out, Logan spotted a sombre-faced man walking down a dark alley. Lighting up his eyes with Identification, Logan continued to spy more humans in the abyssal depths. ¡°Shanin, head to the guild ahead of me. Tell Marcus to wait for my return.¡± ¡°You got it.¡± As the pair separated, Logan walked into the alleyways, to help yet another lost soul and one who needed a kind hand to bring them back to their feet. --- *** --- Chapter 158 - Hidden Gem ¡°Hey, look. It¡¯s Crumbwell¡±, a 6¡¯6¡± man teased, his hair almost entering his mouth as he breathed in. ¡°Kruma Welt¡±, the younger man replied under his breath. The tall man coughed jokingly, ¡°Oh, my lord! How could I have misspoke¡±, he teased. Another man winded back his arm and landed a solid punch into Kruma¡¯s head, smashing his back against the walls of the alleyway. Blood poured down the victim¡¯s forehead to his cheek. ¡°The only words coming outta your mouth better be how you¡¯re going to pay us back¡±, the attacker demanded. ¡°Yes, sir¡±, Kruma said through the pain. Another man approached Kruma and wiped above his eyebrow to remove the blood, ¡°Now, now. Merchandise cannot be damaged so. Kruma, do you have the money?¡± Kruma weakly held up a pouch, ¡°11 copper for this month.¡± The kinder man replied, ¡°Oh, a little small this time. You know the interest is compounding, you should owe another 2.¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t get anymore.¡± The taller man interjected, ¡°You don¡¯t need to eat every day.¡± ¡°How about working at a memory den? You¡¯re someone¡¯s type¡±, the kinder gentleman offered with a snake tongue. A woman joining them laughed but said nothing. ¡°I¡¯ll get your money¡±, Kruma replied with a snarl. ¡°Hey, watch your mouth!¡± the taller man yelled as he was about to punch Kruma again. ¡°Kruma! There you are¡±, Logan yelled into the alleyway with a false smile and waving his hand. The quartet of thugs flinched and moved away from the 19-year-old victim, who was weak at the knees. ¡°You know this¡­ hunter?¡± the falsely-kinder man asked. Kruma was about to speak before Logan spoke for him, ¡°Sure. He gave me directions before. We had plans to hang out today¡±, Logan lied as he put an arm around the man¡¯s shoulders at a close height of 6¡¯, ¡°Don¡¯t we?¡± Kruma looked at Logan then back at the four, ¡°Yeah, sorry, I lost track of time.¡± ¡°Ah, no worries. Well if you lot will excuse us¡±, Logan continued to act, making sure his armband was on full display. The thugs frowned at Logan, but they were at least smarter than some others, so they didn¡¯t start anything. Taking Kruma back to the normal streets, the young man spoke, ¡°Thanks, mister.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking. Is it you in debt, or someone else?¡± Logan asked with a serious tone. ¡°It¡¯s nothing to worry about. I¡¯ll get through.¡± Logan pointed at the man''s face and chanted, ¡°Clean¡±, removing the blood from Kruma, ¡°Any more of those blows, you won¡¯t.¡± ¡°A caster? Thank you nonetheless. But was it wise to intimidate four non-casters like that?¡± ¡°I could have killed them all¡±, Logan announced with a clenched fist, the pair still walking down the street, ¡°But, that would only lead you to worse fates if they work for a loan shark.¡± ¡°How did you know they worked for one?¡± ¡°You told me.¡± Kruma tutted. ¡°Look. These kinds of people like to worm and wiggle their way into great deals. How much do you owe?¡± ¡°It¡­ wasn¡¯t me. My grandparents took out a loan to set up a business in the north. But, they didn¡¯t make it. So the loan sharks shifted the sum onto me and my parents.¡± ¡°I take it adventuring work is too far off for you? That¡¯d probably make more than 11 copper a month.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know my class. I missed the census in two moves, so I never got assigned. The fee for the assessment at the G-Hall, and accompanying gear, is too high too.¡± ¡°He¡¯s 19 and doesn¡¯t know his class? Terrible luck¡±, Logan thought to himself. ¡°Look. Thanks for the help, but I need to get home¡±, Kruma announced defeated. Logan scowled but accepted the man¡¯s exit. Instead, he jumped to the nearby rooftops.
Sometime later, the quartet of thugs reported back to a larger building. ¡°Here¡¯s the copper, 2 short¡±, the kinder man announced as he dropped a pouch on the desk of a wealthy-looking woman. The wealthy woman sighed, ¡°Go to his house in a week to pick up the remainder.¡± ¡°Yes, Alhertine.¡± ¡°Oh, Lasalle¡±, the woman called the kinder man. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Did you mean to bring company with you?¡± The doors then opened as an attendant called out in a worried tone, ¡°Miss. We have a visitor.¡± ¡°Welcome, hunter. Are you here for a loan?¡± Alhertine asked with a welcoming tone while her underlings moved to the side. ¡°Of a sort. I wish to take a look at Kruma Welt¡¯s contract¡±, Logan requested. ¡°How¡¯d he follow us?¡± the woman of the four asked under her breath. ¡°I apologise, but we cannot let client information fall into any hands besides their own and those within our company.¡± ¡°I am invoking hunter law, it is concerning a matter of security¡±, Logan replied with little break. Alhertine tutted, ¡°Very well. I am afraid I cannot relinquish what doesn¡¯t exist, however.¡± ¡°The inherited loan from his grandparents will do.¡± ¡°You seem to be misinformed. It is not an inherited loan, as this man¡¯s name was not written in as a confidant nor a guarantor.¡± ¡°So the loan would seize the property until the current residents have paid the amount in full?¡± ¡°You¡¯re learned in these situations. Yes, that is the case. If they do not wish to pay the sum, all they need do is move out.¡± ¡°As I thought. She was smart enough to follow the rules, but it¡¯s a fuck of a loophole. They basically inherited it since they can¡¯t really move in their situation¡±, Logan thought to himself. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. ¡°If you are curious on that front, the previous contract would not be relevant to your case¡±, Alhertine added. ¡°It is actually concerning the signers¡¯ deaths. I need to look at their contract.¡± ¡°Of course¡±, Alhertine accepted. Clicking her fingers, one of the men from the quartet moved to a nearby counter and pulled out a roll of parchment and handed it to Logan. Logan quickly looked over the contract, ¡°Very well. I would like to take this contract on my own. I will offer the rest of the debt, or, if you would prefer I can have a match with those four. If they win I will pay double, if they lose you will end this contract.¡± Alhertine chuckled, ¡°Oh, now isn¡¯t that an idea. What do you lot think?¡± she asked as she gave a stare of death to her underlings. They all bowed and accepted the offer. ¡°Well, sir. It seems we have a deal. What name shall I write onto this document?¡± ¡°Logan Hall¡±, Logan replied, ¡°Not smart enough to know my rank¡±, he thought to himself.
Moving outside the building in the courtyard, Logan spoke with the three guards he had asked to accompany him. Friends of the Spellthief and ones who would be susceptible to truth circle magic for confirmation. ¡°Do you want any additional rules?¡± Logan asked the four. ¡°No, we¡¯re good¡±, Lasalle replied. ¡°Very well.¡± ¡°Let this match begin!¡± one of the guards called. All four dug their feet deep into the floor, creating small craters before they all used Blast Rush to barrel down on Logan. Four activations of ¡°Severing Slash¡±, were called as their swords all shone blue. Instead of severing Logan into eight segments, their blades collided together and into the stone floor as Logan apparated in the air. Throwing a hand down he called out, ¡°Lightning Cascade¡±, causing bolts of blue to form in his fingertips and shoot towards the taller man. Instead of hitting and splitting, the man whirled around and slashed the lightning with his blade, cracking it all over. The four darted away from one another as they all picked out hand axes. Logan warped in front of the taller man, who reflexively looked behind him to retaliate but failed. Logan threw out a clawed hand as he chanted, ¡°Necromantic Second Grasp¡±, forming a large shadowy claw over his human hand. The taller man blocked it again, but Logan merely gripped the blade with his magic and snapped it in half. The taller man¡¯s eyes went wide as Logan spun around and dug the broken blade into the man¡¯s shoulder before swinging on it to slice at the aggressor with his dagger, severing the man¡¯s right arm. ¡°Axe Hurl¡±, the three remainders called out as they threw hasty axes at Logan. Logan warped away again, two axes hitting the taller man as he fell to the floor. Appearing behind the woman, Logan dove a dagger into her back, pulled it out, and dug again as two Backstabs brought her to the floor. Lasalle and the remaining man Rushed at Logan with red-misted blades, Logan side-stepping to avoid both. Lasalle then wove his hand in front of himself, creating a tall wall of fire as his ring activated. The four hadn¡¯t been that close emotionally, as this was the second time their collateral damage had killed their previous allies. Logan instead punched through the fire with his dagger, slashing at Lasalle¡¯s face and dragging it down the back of his foe¡¯s neck. Circling the body, Logan kicked it through the same flames it had created. The final man roared as his body started to glow red, veins popping across his face. Charging at Logan, the Spellthief opened his hand and chanted, ¡°Sleep Shot¡±, causing a torrent of yellow dust and dandelions to flow over his victim. The berserk beast falling to the floor with a frothy mouth. ¡°Match complete! The winner is Logan Hall¡±, one of the guards called out as three corpses and one sleeping body were left on the floor. Logan sighed as he let his battle stance relax. These level 8 foes would have done so well as normal adventurers, Logan could only wonder about the sort of pay they were offered to work for a loan shark. Alhertine let out an audible gravelly sigh, ¡°Very well. You won the match, and my subordinates are mostly intact. Their death insurance will cover their revivals.¡± ¡°They had themselves to blame for most of it¡±, Logan said as he approached the lady sitting at a chair. Finishing a scribble on the documents, the woman handed them to Logan, ¡°I am of my word, and with these witnesses, it would be insane to renege.¡± ¡°Thank you for assisting the hunters. I shall take my leave, Miss Alhertine.¡±
Following the direction he saw Kruma go in before, as well as the scouting done by Umbra, Logan knocked on the door of a sizable shack, better kept than Vern¡¯s but not extravagant. An older woman opened the door, her face full of soot, ¡°Day, sir. How may I help you?¡± ¡°You must be Mrs Welt. I have come with a present for you, your partner, and your son. Might I come in?¡± ¡°Sorry? Who are you?¡± the woman asked before spying Logan¡¯s armband, ¡°Sir Wolf?¡± ¡°My name is Logan Hall. I met your son earlier today.¡± The woman looked back into the house and shouted, ¡°Kruma, do you know this man?¡± Kruma approached the door and was shocked to see Logan, ¡°How¡¯d you know where I live?¡± ¡°Day, Kruma. I bring good tidings and presents. May I enter?¡± ¡°My husband and I are off work right now, so we¡¯re all in¡±, the woman admitted as she opened the door. Logan nodded his head as he entered. ¡°I told you things were fine, sir Logan¡±, Kruma enforced. ¡°What¡¯s all this noise?¡± an older man asked, brushing his black and grey hair back. ¡°We¡¯ve a visitor, dear. One with good news?¡± ¡°He¡¯s the one I told you about, the one who stopped the debt collectors¡±, Kruma added. ¡°Ah. Good to meet you, sir. I am Advelt Welt¡±, the man spoke as he shook Logan¡¯s hand. ¡°And I am Waerell Welt¡±, the lady introduced as she also shook the hand while looping her long black hair around her ear. Sitting at the table, Logan pulled out the contract and handed it to the family, ¡°I had a talk with Alhertine¡¯s Loans. I relinquish this contract to you.¡± The family¡¯s eyes went wide as they almost fought over the contract, unfurling it quickly to read over the text. ¡°But, sir Logan, how did you get this?¡± Advelt asked. ¡°I offered payment but took a match instead. The contract is over and the business no longer holds this residence as their property.¡± ¡°That was quite risky. But I thank you from the bottom of my heart, sir Logan¡±, Waerell said as she bowed her head almost onto the table. ¡°What do you want in return?¡± Kruma asked rather directly. ¡°Kruma!¡± Advelt scorned. ¡°Hardly anyone does things without wanting payment, so what¡¯s yours?¡± Logan smiled, ¡°I offer this with no intention for repayment. I hate those kinds of people anyway. But, if you do want to give repayment, how about joining my guild?¡± The family sat in awe for a moment before Advelt spoke up, ¡°But, my son is classless.¡± ¡°No. He is a Knight¡±, Logan announced offhandedly. ¡°A Knight!¡± Waerell shouted, ¡°My son, a Knight!¡± she repeated with glee. ¡°How¡¯d you¡­¡± Kruma thought aloud. ¡°I have better magic than the assessors, I saw it when we first met. That information is free.¡± ¡°Even so. He has not been assessed nor does he have the gear to¡ª¡± Advelt began. Logan held up his hand as if to stop the thought, ¡°My guild provides all of that.¡± Waerell slammed her hands on the table and had her mouth open wide into a smile. ¡°No¡±, Kruma replied. ¡°Kruma¡±, Advelt responded softly. ¡°I cannot abandon my family to go off fighting monsters. Especially now that we can rebuild this house and move on from the debt debacle.¡± Logan looked over the parents, noticing their clothing and mannerisms, as well as certain tools and clothing in the house. ¡°Then, how about they come work for me too?¡± ¡°Sir? We are both classless.¡± Advelt replied. ¡°I happen to be needing a foyer attendant and maid. Your professions should line up with that¡±, Logan analysed. ¡°I am a cleaner for several locations¡±, Waerell quickly admitted. ¡°I am a part-time bartender, but¡­¡± Advelt similarly spoke. ¡°Do you really want nothing else?¡± Kruma asked, suspicious of Logan¡¯s intentions. ¡°Truly. You can read my leaflet if you¡¯re worried¡±, Logan reconciled as he handed another leaflet out. The family read over it for a while, Logan easily hearing Waerell say that she wanted to accept the offers. ¡°As workers, not adventurers, Advelt and Waerell can still live in this house. Or, you may move into the guild if you¡¯d prefer. The same goes for Kruma, but we would need to write that up for the Guild¡¯s Association.¡± The family spoke for a bit before Kruma answered, ¡°Let¡¯s see this guild house of yours.¡±
Moving to the guild house, the parents looked in awe at the interior¡¯s size, with Advelt investigating the bar counter for what he¡¯d be working with. Eventually, the three entered the side interviewing room to finalise the details, but something interrupted the final portion as the Spellthief saw Kruma¡¯s status. Something Logan did not want to hide. ¡°Kruma, this changes things. It would not sit right with me knowing this and forcing a year¡¯s contract onto you without the knowledge.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°You¡¯re a Hero.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 159 - Who Was the Perpetrator鈥檚 Leader? Kruma slammed his fist on the table in frustration, ¡°What do you mean ¡®I¡¯m a Hero¡¯?¡± ¡°Kruma, mind your manners¡±, Advelt requested. ¡°No way. I don¡¯t believe you. How can someone with a life like mine turn out to be a Hero? They¡¯re guardians of all that¡¯s right, hold amazing power, and are meant to have a great life!¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t believe me. This isn¡¯t something easy to hide for long either, getting assessed at the G-Hall will reveal this since you missed the census. At that point, all guilds will be inviting you to join¡±, Logan informed. ¡°He¡¯s right, son. Logan offered before he knew, who¡¯s to say others won¡¯t offer ¡®because¡¯ you¡¯re a Hero?¡± Waerell added. ¡°What if he¡¯s lying? It¡¯s a lot of debt he removed, trying to put us in his pocket.¡± ¡°If that is your belief, you need not sign. The door is open if you change your mind¡±, Logan offered. ¡°Let¡­ let me think about it.¡±
Kruma left with his family, though when one person left, another came to take their place and double. Six adventurers were standing at Logan¡¯s front door, all fully equipped and looking for a conversation. Kruma¡¯s absence was as cold as the weather with the chill in full season. Entering his guild house at his allowance, the leader introduced the group. Guildmaster Mr Cross, a level 20 Rogue, aged 28. A man standing at 5¡¯10¡±, black hair down to his back and dangling over his forehead that wore a red bandana. His clothing was a mix of black and greys, dagger hidden within a cloak. Sub-Leader Wyot, a level 19 Knight, aged 27. A man who was taller than their leader at 6¡¯, though hair half as long at his shoulders. Glistening black-steel armour protected his body, while he had a tall spear and shield on his back. Sub-Leader Riley, a level 18 Knight, aged 27. A woman in the centre of heights at 5¡¯11¡±, hair tied into a bun at the back with a thin strip of it down her back. She had similar glistening black-steel armour but used a shortsword and shield. Leo, a level 17 Rogue, aged 25. A shorter man at 5¡¯7¡± who had a shaved bald head. His chestnut skin blended in well with his black and dark-red leather armour, and similarly coloured daggers and shortswords sheathed across his body. Egbert, a level 16 Fighter, aged 23. A gashriek standing at 5¡¯8¡± with glistening green eyes. He had short black hair ruffled backwards. A mix of leather and metal armour protected him with twin maces. Kelton, a level 16 Fighter, aged 23. Another gashriek at 5¡¯9¡± whose eyes glowed yellow. His medium-length brunette hair was rough and wild. His armour was also a mix of leather and metal, though he had a longsword in its sheath held over his shoulder. ¡°Logan. As the Guildmaster of Twain Dagger, I offer you a position on the raid to take down Thermodan¡±, Cross extended. ¡°This is quite sudden, I suppose his appearance was just the same?¡± Logan asked. ¡°Yes. His protections died off and a group of seers were able to track him. We have little time to act, we must move within the hour or risk another ritual hiding him away. We guess he¡¯ll have several others in his employ if not golems and elementals. He is a strong caster, and without knowledge of what he has in his possession, we want every asset on hand.¡± ¡°You¡¯d act fast with a teleportation expert too¡±, Marcus calculated. ¡°Correct. Logan is well-versed in Dimensional Jaunt, you can take us all at once and at a further distance than mages we could hire¡±, Wyot accepted. ¡°I believe you¡¯ll have many personal qualms with the man, too¡±, Cross added. ¡°I would say there¡¯s quite the advantage if there¡¯s eight of us versus his one, but as you say, he has allies. Would we all be enough?¡± Logan asked. ¡°You¡¯re rank 16 as far as your leaderboard posting states, that was over two months ago, however. At rank 18 you¡¯d be a good match on your own with your specialisations matching Thermodan¡¯s. We aren¡¯t as magically versed, but we have many spell rings, as well as both Wyot and Riley being great at dampening magic casting¡±, Cross instructed. ¡°I won¡¯t lie. I want even with that fucker.¡± ¡°Twain Dagger will offer an alliance with Vip as well. As fellow hunters, we have no issue being allied.¡± ¡°It¡¯s going to be harder than usual, I¡¯ve had a few fights today as it is. But I got plenty of potions to rally against that fact¡±, Logan admitted. ¡°Hopefully, we will take the brunt of the assault in your place. If you feel it necessary, you can pull back and let us deal with the traitor.¡± A system quest appeared with the request, but instead, Logan looked at Marcus. ¡°I¡¯m good to help. It will be nice to put this whole business to rest. Thermodan is one of the last missing pieces of the puzzle¡±, Marcus accepted. ¡°Very well, let us be off.¡±
With a longer discussion of battle plans and environment, the larger group made their way to the exit of Gauntlet and directed Logan to where Thermodan was last spotted. Apparating within a large clearing of a forest, Egbert and Kelton both threw their hands to the floor as blue hexagon barriers appeared beneath the party. Said protection blocked a huge explosion from the ground, torrents of fire and rock shooting around the party. Next were countless shards of wood and rock from the trees that caused the party to separate into eight directions as they dodged the onslaught. Trees crashed in the distance while birds flew away before falling just the same as their bodies got shocked at higher altitudes. Breathing heavily, Logan looked at the azure sky, clear, too clear, not even a sun.
During the meeting to attack Thermodan. ¡°Several mages were sent to Thermodan¡¯s location immediately after his scrying protection faded. We are unsure if Thermodan knew of their approach, but they were able to set up a barrier to house him. Thirty mages, with others protecting them, are focusing on a time-ritual cast to halt teleportation or movement outside of the barrier. We can enter, but until Thermodan is dead, we cannot leave.¡± ¡°Can it be broken otherwise?¡± Logan asked. ¡°If the mages fall asleep, or have their concentration interrupted, the barrier will weaken. If ten are interrupted the barrier will falter. We¡¯ll have a few days to do this, but I doubt we¡¯d need that time. Or, if Thermodan is able to use another form of ritual casting, he could destroy a section of the barrier and leave it through that. Teleportation or movement.¡± If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°How likely is it that Thermodan can do that?¡± ¡°Middling. He is known to use time-ritual casting. If he can use either self-sacrifice rituals or living-sacrifice rituals, then we¡¯ll be in trouble.¡±
Back in the assault on Thermodan. The birds were dying due to the barrier, this at least let Logan know it was working on weaker foes. Now the hope was that it was still affecting Thermodan. ¡°Leo, report¡±, Cross ordered. The Rogue jogged back to his leader as he looked around, his eyes coated in a green overlay. ¡°Twenty-seven traps remain in my sight range.¡± ¡°Kelton, Egbert, release them¡± ¡°Got it¡±, the two responded as they took out bows and nocked arrows. ¡°Arrow Rain¡±, they chanted as they aimed at the sky. Firing their bows, the arrows split into twelve and rained into the forest away from the party. Several explosions of fire and ice, massive spikes of earth and shadow, and torrents of wind and water crashed around the forest as the traps were activated by the Fighters¡¯ skills. ¡°Ten remain, but they are airborne¡­ that direction¡±, Leo reported. ¡°Logan, can you hit those?¡± Logan raised an arm and chanted, ¡°Force¡±, ten times, sending out wave after wave of grey energy into the air near the midway point to the barrier¡¯s height. Similar explosions echoed within the barrier as they were released. Cross pulled out a chakram with a glass centre and held it to his face, turning with it, the glass shone several colours to onlookers, but for Cross, it changed to give him a view of far-off locations. ¡°Fuck, he has subordinates and captives here. They are rigged for sacrifices¡±, Cross explained. ¡°We¡¯ll need to¡ª¡±, Wyot began to speak as he looked at his leader, however, he was interrupted when he saw a visage of a large axe going for his leader¡¯s head, forcing the Knight to yell, ¡°Interject!¡± Wyot¡¯s body shimmered as he appeared at Cross¡¯s side, blocking the axe with his shield. Shockwaves went wide as leaves flew into the air. Rebounding the blade, Wyot pierced his spear at the attacker to meet a similar shield. A man whose body had shadows waving all over it, a deathly stare from hollow eyes. An undead adventurer controlled by Thermodan no doubt. ¡°Ambush, make a circle¡±, Cross ordered. The team ran into the centre of the clearing as they turned to face the attackers. Countless yellow pinpricks in the skulls of undead foes came from the tree line, all shadowed, and geared as they once were. Arrows, bolts, and flinging spells came at the team, causing Riley to shout, ¡°Dome of Protection¡±, creating a small transparent green dome to encapsulate the party. All attacks pelted off the defensive skill. Following the ranged barrage, the undead army charged at the team. ¡°It¡¯s not just Thermodan, there¡¯s too many undead for that¡±, Logan thought to himself. As the dome faded, the team took several steps to meet the oncoming foes. Deflections of blows, dodges to the side, and parries filled the combat with a scene of competent combatants. Logan parried a spear joust of an undead, wrapped his right arm around its shaft and held an open left palm to the foe¡¯s face, ¡°Flame Second Shot¡±, incinerating its skull as it dropped to the floor. A massive slam erupted after Egbert called, ¡°Power Strike¡±, almost disintegrating the bones of another undead. Bodies hit the floor, while more continued to come forth. In a gap of the attacks, Logan saw a shifting humanoid move between the foes, a long flowing black cloak to their boots and fiery red hair down to their lower back. A hand outstretched to Logan as he felt his body vibrate against an interruption in his teleportations. ¡°Fuck¡±, Leo cursed as he Dashed to Logan¡¯s front to block the approaching foe, however, it was not an attack to be blocked. ¡°Fall to them, Motions¡±, the red-head chanted. A full chant, a strong spell. It came with a harrowing explosion of flesh and blood in the distance accompanied by fearful screeches. A wave of power hit Leo¡¯s soul as he vibrated and had his eyes cloud over, falling to the floor unconscious. Sliding their feet across the floor, the mage opened another hand to let loose an Air Blast, as they shot back into the forest insanely fast. ¡°Leo, wake up!¡± Logan ordered as he knelt quickly, dowsing his ally in water and having him drink a potion. The Rogue did not wake, his breath was even thin as if his body just barely stopped working altogether. Marcus spun his staff into a foe as he twirled into an Aqua Shot at another to protect Logan. ¡°Cross, I think that was Thermodan. He did something to Leo, he won¡¯t get up¡±, Logan informed as he stood to protect the unconscious fellow. ¡°Damnit, there¡¯s no end to the undead¡±, Cross replied as he looked at Logan. ¡°Boss!¡± Riley shouted as she shoulder-barged Cross to the side. ¡°Fall to them, Motions¡±, the red-haired foe chanted again, sending the Knight to sleep with a cacophony of death in the background. ¡°He¡¯s using living-sacrifice rituals!¡± Cross shouted.
During the meeting to attack Thermodan. ¡°If Thermodan is able to use living-sacrifice rituals, we¡¯ll need to hunt him down as fast as possible and kill him at the first chance.¡± ¡°Are they that strong?¡± Logan asked. ¡°Dangerously so. He can¡¯t do it forever. A living-sacrifice ritual requires the user to take the life of a living creature, the stronger the creature is the better the effect will be. It must be a willing sacrifice, but I have heard of some sigils or spells that can force that choice on someone. This type of ritual cast strips out the normal downsides on the caster, the spell can be almost instantly done with the proper set-up. In short terms, he could be casting sixth-level or higher spells without any drawbacks outside of killing his allies.¡± ¡°With those, he could escape the barrier?¡± ¡°Potentially. He would still need to understand the type of barrier we¡¯re using and prepare a proper counterattack. If he isn¡¯t versed in barriers, it would take up to an hour to figure something out on the fly, defaulting to the former time limit I mentioned. If not, and he has enough sacrifices, he could just blast a hole in the barrier through force.¡±
Back in the assault on Thermodan. ¡°Group up!¡± Cross ordered, the party accepting the command immediately. Cross picked up Riley¡¯s body while Logan took Leo. ¡°That way¡±, Cross pointed. Logan then warped the team away from the undead attack, appearing in front of a set of ruins, though recently destroyed. Stone structures told a tale of a larger facility being here, possibly a hideout for Thermodan and his team. Cross then snapped a grey stick cylinder in his hand, ¡°Condense, 200 feet¡±, he ordered. The ground shook and cracked all over as a wide reverberating sound echoed inside the barrier. The extent of the protective prison started to close in until it only encompassed two hundred feet in radius. Dulled sounds of sword slashes and explosions could be heard outside the barrier, the backup team that was protecting the magi was now dealing with the rest of the undead and Thermodan¡¯s forces. Leaving just the team, the ruins, a few trees, and the mage in front of them, blood dripping from his black cloak. ¡°Darn hunters, how¡¯d you find me!¡± Thermodan ordered, his eyes blackened over totally. ¡°Your protections faded, your life will do the same soon enough if you don¡¯t tell me what you did to my allies!¡± ¡°Oh, them. I did aim for you and Logan, but your allies are so selfless.¡± ¡°Tell me!¡± ¡°I put them under Motions, they will never wake.¡± ¡°The hell is Motions?¡± Logan thought. ¡°They are protected against sleep spells though¡±, Cross admitted through gritted teeth. ¡°The one reason why I used that spell, and not something that merely puts you to sleep¡±, Thermodan said as if he had the upper hand. ¡°So, you won¡¯t wake them up, even if I offer imprisonment?¡± Cross double-checked. ¡°No.¡± The team then charged at the caster. --- *** --- Chapter 160 - Thermonuclear Thermodan Cross was the first to slice out at Thermodan, twin daggers hitting against a barrier produced by the mage¡¯s hand. A flick of the wrist sent Cross backflipping away. Wyot was next, the spear failing to penetrate the Barrier spell that the mage was apt at using. Another hand went towards the Knight as dancing lightning hit his shield and sent him sliding backwards in the mud. Egbert and Kelton arrived together, smashing and slashing at Thermodan¡¯s sides but were also blocked by both hands holding Barriers aloft. In the rebound, Thermodan let loose two Force micks, pushing them both away. Logan pulled back as he chanted, ¡°Necromantic Second Skystrike¡±, causing tendrils to appear behind Thermodan, but the mage simply warped away from the attack and behind Marcus. Marcus warped away similarly as he avoided an eruption of earth spikes from below. ¡°He¡¯s just one mage! How the hell is he blocking all of this¡±, Cross cursed. ¡°He can¡¯t totally concentrate on blocking our teleportation though¡±, Logan thought in his head, noticing Marcus could warp still. ¡°Ten-Point Barrage¡±, Cross called as he stabbed out at Thermodan several times ¡°Come Forth!¡± Wyot, Egbert and Kelton ordered. ¡°Chain Guard!¡± Marcus chanted, creating multiple chains of light to wrap around Thermodan. Dodging a few attacks, Thermodan eventually teleported from his spot again to avoid the rest. Seeing his opening, Logan finished his movements as blood poured from his thumb he had bit, ¡°Demon-Clan Spell: Warping Censure¡±, causing the blood to blacken and ring around Thermodan. ¡°When did¡ª¡± Thermodan cursed as the others moved to attack him again. Egbert and Kelton both Rushed Thermodan, but his hair began to fly up as he chanted, ¡°Blood Spike Purge!¡± Thermodan¡¯s body bubbled and had numerous red spikes explode from his veins, piercing the two Fighters severely. A muddled sound of crying in pain could be heard outside of the barrier, it wasn¡¯t stopping his living-sacrifice rituals. The spikes pulled inwards as the bodies of the two Fighters fell at Thermodan¡¯s feet. ¡°Ring Chaos¡±, he chanted, the rings on his fingers cracking and exploding. The remains circled in Thermodan¡¯s hand as a pool of azure energy was contained within fragments of silver and gold. Shooting this at Wyot had the energy orb completely destroy the Knight¡¯s shield, with only the handle left in his hand. Wyot twisted his arm as a replacement shield formed over his old one. Marcus formed up more golden chains, but Thermodan erupted wind into the floor to blast himself away from their grasp. Warping behind the man, Logan slashed at his back but was met by another barrier to block the blow. Grappling Logan¡¯s arm behind him, Thermodan twisted around to grasp out at the Spellthief, instead, Thermodan¡¯s hand was hit by a shield coated in a yellow aura, having been thrown by Wyot. ¡°Fine!¡± Thermodan accepted, grasping the shield and exploding it with both wind and water, shattering the metal apart as Logan escaped the mage¡¯s grip to the floor. Landing solidly, metal scraps falling at his sides, Thermodan narrowly dodged a piercing spear from Wyot who charged at the mage. Cross spun around horizontally to meet Thermodan¡¯s front and let loose more dagger swipes. Thermodan waved open palms around, blocking each blow with more Barriers. Muffled cries continued to soar outside the barrier the mages were keeping up. Just how many lives was Thermodan ready to sacrifice? Cross¡¯s daggers split apart from his hurried attacks, as he pulled out more, Thermodan grasped both of the leader¡¯s elbows and ignited the man in fire and lightning. The charred body hit the floor as Wyot slammed Thermodan away with his shield. ¡°Boss!¡± Wyot yelled as he drained a vial into Cross¡¯s mouth, healing the barely living Rogue back to consciousness. ¡°Fuck, there¡¯s no end to this¡±, Logan cursed in his head. ¡°Marcus, Entrapment!¡± he ordered his ally. Marcus nodded, ¡°Right.¡± The pair ran close to one another, then both warped away. Appearing at Thermodan¡¯s side, Logan and Marcus both ran their hands across the floor chanting, ¡°Gaia Wall¡±, together. Two earthen walls erupted and blocked two avenues for Thermodan. Logan and Marcus warped again, doing the same, making an open-top box. Flipping inside, Logan and Marcus let loose daggers and staff at the foe, each one blocked by a Barrier spell in Thermodan¡¯s hands. Logan tossed a dagger in his hand and let it lay floating in one barrier and grappled it, ¡°Spell Absorb¡±, a whirlpool of magic formed in Logan¡¯s hand as the hexagons of the blue Barrier were vortexed into the Spellthief¡¯s palm. ¡°Spell Absorption successful. Barrier charge stored, you have learned the spell.¡± Thermodan scowled as he aimed a palm to the floor, Logan threw a hand above Thermodan and chanted, ¡°Barrier.¡± Blue hexagons formed over Thermodan¡¯s head, causing the mage to crash into it and causing quite the headache as he failed to Air Blast through it. A shadow then formed overhead as Cross began to spin, ¡°Death and Decay!¡±, his body shrouded in devilish red shadows and coated his blades. Thermodan began to raise his hands, but Logan stabbed one of Thermodan¡¯s elbows, Marcus the other, and they pulled his arms down, leaving the foe¡¯s head wide open to attack from the leader. ¡°Repulse!¡± Thermodan shouted, a wave of invisible energy pushing away Logan, Marcus, Cross, and the earthen walls that housed them. Thermodan wretched and spat out blood and bile in a single glob. He had run out of sacrifices. Vibrating his body three times over, the foe failed to warp away. ¡°Damn this all to the below. They offered me a demon¡¯s cowl, why am I to lose here!¡± he screamed in a hushed tone. Logan warped back to grab at Thermodan, the enemy¡¯s hand raising as wind pooled in it. Logan slapped his adversary¡¯s hand as he mentally commanded, ¡°Status Disturbance¡±, the wind spluttering and falling away. Thermodan tried to kick away, but Logan was quick thereafter, swiping out with his dagger. The mage only barely bent backwards to dodge, but had the tip of his nose severed. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Flipping backwards, Thermodan slid across the mud as Cross came to his side with dangerous daggers. He just barely dodged another but was met by a spear in the back as Wyot caught up. Logan then apparated atop Thermodan¡¯s upper body, his feet standing atop the man¡¯s hips, and sliced at the mage¡¯s throat. The trio pulled back as their attacks pulled further insides from their foe. Thermodan was bent back almost to a ninety-degree angle but held up two fingers as he tensed his body. His blood stopped flowing as his chest went up and down horrendously in haggard breaths. Blood seeped through gritted teeth as Thermodan could only curse his situation, ¡°Condemned by foes and allies alike. It¡¯s their fault I failed!¡± ¡°Give it up, Thermodan. Revive our friends, or die in this stance¡±, Cross insulted with a vial of liquid dripping down his chin. ¡°You¡¯ve no more pawns to break apart¡±, Wyot teased as he approached the bent assailant who was halted in time.
During the meeting to attack Thermodan. ¡°What about the last form of rituals you mentioned, self-sacrifice?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°Self-sacrifice is self-explanatory. You give up your own lifeforce to fuel the casting of a spell or to create an effect. The more you give, the more powerful the effect.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what that vampire did when they halted my movement¡±, Marcus surmised. ¡°Is it stronger than living-sacrifice rituals?¡± Logan asked. ¡°It¡¯ll depend on the power of the user and how many sacrifices you¡¯re comparing to, but, potentially.¡±
Back in the assault on Thermodan. Logan muttered, ¡°Spellforce Detection¡±, his vision showing an increasing volume of spellforce bubbling within Thermodan, and two invisible balls of energy slowly flying together. ¡°Get back!¡± he ordered as he shot a Wind Blast at Wyot. ¡°Spend a skill point to¡ª¡± he began to command in his head ¡°Thermo¡ª¡±, Thermodan began to mutter. ¡°¡ªchange Signature Spell to Barrier¡±, Logan ended his thought as he ran in front of Marcus, ¡°Barrier!¡± he screamed in his head over and over. ¡°¡ªnuclear!¡± Thermodan¡¯s body cracked and formed red lines all over, Wyot and Cross running for dear life. The mage then erupted massively, waves of flames and destructive force going wide and far. Trees were disintegrated by the blast while the Knight tried to protect his fallen allies with his shields. Logan¡¯s azure barriers were shattered one after another as he formed them, the fires singeing his face and arms. The explosion lasted only a few seconds, but its effects were devastating. Logan fell to his hands and knees as he ran out the rest of his MP casting the third-level spell over and over. Wyot barely survived after several shields were destroyed, while Cross was able to Dash around to the back of the Knight in time. All was quiet until the sputtering and static noise of the barrier containing the area dissipated and fell apart, having contained the blast but barely operating beyond that. It was bound to dispel after Thermodan was destroyed nonetheless. The quiet was replaced with the sound of several bodies slumping to the floor, the undead losing their connection to their creator, or having their powers used to fuel his magic. A rush of cold wind crackled as the heat from the spell fought back the low temperatures of the chill. Logan had to make such a quick decision. If he had failed to absorb the spell, or if Thermodan¡¯s strange ability to live on death¡¯s door lingered, then that final attack from the caster would have certainly destroyed him without a trace. It was safer, if only a little, to instead throw up protection to survive the onslaught. ¡°Logan, are you ok?¡± Marcus asked as he started to use Healer¡¯s Caress on his ally. ¡°Yeah¡±, Logan replied through deep breaths, ¡°much better than that guy.¡± ¡°Riley! Leo!¡± Cross yelled at his unconscious allies protected by barriers. Even at the demolition of the caster, his spell was still active. ¡°Egbert? Kelton!¡± Wyot yelled at the impaled Fighters, who were protected by shields, who didn¡¯t respond to healing either. Logan and Marcus made their way to their allies, passing a black mark that was the only remains of Thermodan. ¡°We¡¯ll have to get those two looked at by some magi¡±, Logan instructed. ¡°We can take Egbert and Kelton to get revived¡±, Marcus added. ¡°How¡¯d a mage cause so much havoc? He knew three types of ritual casting. And what even was that final spell? It was way more than a sixth-level¡±, Cross thought aloud. ¡°You made a good call to ask Logan to assist, Boss¡±, Wyot comforted. ¡°Yeah¡±, Cross accepted, standing to face Logan, ¡°we¡¯d have all died if not for you, I wager. Thanks¡±, he spoke as he held out a hand. ¡°I¡¯m just glad we saw it through. Hopefully, your allies will too¡±, Logan affirmed as he shook the hand. ¡°Mr Cross!¡± a mage shouted as he jogged towards the party. ¡°Scans show no trace of Thermodan, has he been killed?¡± ¡°Yes. Killed himself in the end. He wanted us all to go with him if he was going to the below.¡± ¡°Above praise your skills. The undead that fell out of the barrier when we confined it all fell apart a few moments ago. What of his allies?¡± ¡°I would estimate that they are all dead, through living-sacrifice rituals. But double-check regardless¡±, Logan informed as he clicked his fingers. ¡°Right!¡± the mage accepted as he ran back to the other mages who had been holding the barrier up. ¡°Logan, can you take us back to Gauntlet? We can leave the cleanup to the backup¡±, Cross asked. ¡°Sure.¡± As Logan saw experience numbers appear around Thermodan¡¯s ¡°ashes¡± he felt a surge of wind around him. Flowing from his feet to his hair, Logan was enveloped in power before it dissipated with a burst. ¡°Level up! Gain: 8 HP, +1 Str, +1 Agi, +1 Con, +1 Int. You have 1 attribute point to spend. Several class skills have become available. As you are now level 20, weaker creatures will start to feel the effects of your power when nearby.¡± ¡°Steal Status: Instead of removing a beneficial spell on a foe, grant it to yourself. Stealth Drain: Absorb more MP via Stealth Attack. Improved MP Thievery: Increase base MP Drain and max storage. Detect Spells: See current active spells via interrupted Identification. Devour Spellforce: Heal yourself with the MP you drain.¡° Before warping away, Logan made sure to reassign his Signature Spell back to Dimensional Jaunt, as it was a free choice every time he levelled up. It was typically safer to teleport, and Barrier was quicker to say out loud.
It took some time to debrief after the fight, though it¡¯d take a longer time for Riley and Leo to wake back up. The spell called ¡°Motions¡± was something no one had heard of, but it was very effective. Since it was new, there was little in the way of protections against it, and it certainly did not count as sleeping. The targets were in a sort of coma, a deep stasis where their body exerted very little. Countless Devouts were stumped at a cure, while casters of other varieties were wary of dispelling the technique. A new attack that couldn¡¯t be easily defended or removed. Logan counted his blessings that Leo had blocked this attack on him. It wasn¡¯t all bad, if you could rationalise it that way, as it seemed to take quite a bit of power to enact Motions. Thermodan had sacrificed around fifty people per cast of it, his helpers in the area near the fight only counted around one hundred and fifty. Others were used to living-sacrifice ritual cast other spells, while he ended his life in a self-sacrifice ritual cast. Such a learned foe, with plenty of defences outside of those that hid him from scrying. The saddest part, is he wasn¡¯t the strongest, or possibly the wisest, as he cursed out those who aided him. He was not the last link in the chain. Each death weakened these hidden forces but hidden they remained. Egbert and Kelton were revived in any event. The numbers of Twain Dagger not being decimated. The retrieval of all of what was left of the location was documented, scanned, and resolved for the payment the hunters would receive.
Two Days Later. Talking within one of the meeting rooms in the back of the VIP guild house, Logan was sat across from Mr Cross. ¡°We have two final leads for this organisation, but I doubt we¡¯ll find much more than a hundred collaborators.¡± ¡°Will you need my help?¡± Logan asked. Cross shook his head, ¡°No, the reports state the traitors aren¡¯t that strong, just numerous and experimenting. It could be the case that they just didn¡¯t hear about the other locations or most recent events. These types of groups tend to have outliers who work tirelessly to get results and only come in contact on a blue moon.¡± ¡°Riley and Leo?¡± ¡°Still unresponsive. They are resting at the guild house now.¡± ¡°Sorry to hear.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be. It¡¯s better than dead and gone. At least we have a chance of them waking up if the magic fades.¡± ¡°Well, thank you for the report¡±, Logan sighed. ¡°And to you for the support. I¡¯ll say it again, you and Marcus turned the tide of combat. Thermodan was stronger than anticipated and far more prepared against an ambush¡±, Cross announced as he stood to shake Logan¡¯s hand. ¡°If you do need any help, feel free to ask. Our guilds are aligned after all¡±, Logan replied as he accepted the handshake. ¡°Hopefully our further dealings with one another go smoother.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 161 - Heroes Welcome & the Fourth Assessment Logan looked over the counter at the guild house, it still needed staffing as there weren¡¯t any amazing cooks amongst the guildies just yet. Finishing up some soup for lunch, Logan looked over his status screen for the changes he had undergone most recently. One portion was that of his most recent quest to take down Thermodan. It wasn¡¯t exactly a leisurely time, so the Spellthief had to rush some things, but he did at least read the objectives to assess which ones could be done easily enough. ¡°Quest - Bring down Thermodan, has been completed. You achieved 1 additional objective during the mission and as such your rewards will be increased. Distributing rewards¡­¡± ¡°The reward for your quest completion is as follows: The two tomes appeared in Logan¡¯s hands at the counter. Two large volumes that were bigger than normal skill tomes. One would give him some insight into ritual casting, such as he had heard and seen used several times now, and was something of a well-kept secret technique if not for the people using it against him. The other was a new form of crafting, using experience as a resource alongside normal components. This one came at a steady time in Logan¡¯s adventure, where a guild all his own could fund the creation of relics. Relics were one stage behind artefacts but with the benefit of being crafted by hand rather than dungeon. Their effects varied immensely and their power was glorious. Logan ruminated about the new tomes, and the income for helping to kill Thermodan, but he thought it best to walk the streets to clear his mind. However, a face at the door stopped him. ¡°Sir Logan. I¡¯ve come to apologise¡±, Kruma Welt, the hero, spoke.
Sitting back in the interviewing chamber, Logan and Kruma sat with steamy cups of tea on either side. Logan was a bit laid back with one arm over his chair, Kruma fidgeting in his lap. ¡°So, what made you change your attitude?¡± Logan asked before sipping his tea, he at least knew how to brew a good cuppa. ¡°Well, you see, thing is¡±, Kruma stumbled, ¡°I looked into you after my outburst to make sure you weren¡¯t what I was thinking.¡± ¡°And what came about that investigation?¡± ¡°Nothing but good, sir. A Wolf Hunter, Friend to Tinte Residents, Gashriek Ally. It all painted you in a good light.¡± ¡°I see my titles have travelled far¡±, Logan laughed. ¡°It¡¯s not usual for a person to be so giving, alright? It¡¯s either you¡¯re family, a friend of the family, or an asshole in my life.¡± ¡°I get that. You should have seen my start as an adventurer. The early ranks were a trial¡±, Logan nodded. ¡°Is this your attempt at changing the norm, or something?¡± ¡°Yeah. But power speaks more than words and a few actions. A big guild will help demonstrate a good example to follow.¡± ¡°Yours is probably the best start I¡¯d ever have, and a year isn¡¯t that long when I can do many more quests with better equipment from your guild. We might chat after the year is up, but, I¡¯m willing to sign on¡±, Kruma spoke with a much calmer voice. ¡°And the parents?¡± ¡°They¡¯re on board to become staff.¡± ¡°Great!¡±
Advelt and Waerell came to the guild house not long after. The father putting on a butler¡¯s outfit and sorting out the bar counters, the mother putting on a similar attire with towels in her pockets and getting a lay of the house. ¡°Do you mind if I make a list of items to stock, sir?¡± Advelt asked. ¡°Logan is fine. Write up what you like, I¡¯ll leave the financing of the bar to you.¡± ¡°Logan, am I to enter the rooms?¡± Waerell asked. ¡°Get permission from the guildies when you can, otherwise, clean the vacant ones and meeting chambers¡±, Logan replied as he handed a neat book with a black cover to Advelt with the title ¡°Guest List¡± written on the front. ¡°Would this be the allowed visitors?¡± Advelt asked as he opened to the first page, each one having a sticker from A to Z like an address book. ¡°Yes. You may also contact me with this¡±, Logan continued as he handed a commwatch to his new foyer attendant. Logan quickly explained how to utilize the device, in Advelt¡¯s hand it was mostly reduced to a phone, but that was all Logan needed. ¡°Thank you, si¡ªLogan¡±, Advelt bowed. ¡°You can use this book to teach both Vern and Sooryah how to read, too¡±, Logan added as he handed a thicker volume to Advelt. ¡°I will do my best, as will my wife when she has finished her duties.¡± ¡°Thank you, well, it¡¯s time to get Kruma set up at the G-Hall.¡±
Walking to the adventurer¡¯s hall of Gauntlet, Logan and Kruma talked about how the newcomer Knight would go about his adventures and reputation. As a nation, Logan had the ability to assess adventurers at his leisure and set up the documentation instead of having people assessed at the G-Hall. Taking this path just meant it was harder to get groups and quests, as the G-Hall did not know your total capabilities. This penalty was easily nullified in big guilds with plenty of similar-ranked allies, though. Kruma felt it would be best to also hide who he was. The fame of a Hero could potentially bite him in the rear with his previous history, but, it could also be a target for those who had jealously clouding their hearts and minds. Kruma¡¯s grandparents¡¯ fates being blamed on him, or how he hadn¡¯t helped in recent times. Total bullshit. The documentation went through easily enough, with Logan paying the normal fee as his part of having done the work and acting more of an assurance of the newcomer''s abilities. Logan was reminded by the receptionist that the Spellthief was due a new reassessment himself. It was common to have one every two months, with around six per year. As a Guildmaster it was even more encouraged. Those in Twain Dagger did not speak of Logan¡¯s appearance as a level 20, to their mind it was his business and they weren¡¯t about to gossip about a recently made ally. Hunters were well-versed in keeping secrets and relationships safe. With enough time to think it over, Logan accepted a reassessment, and with a space on the ledger, he was allowed to get one straight away.
Logan sped between straw dummies, hit targets in mid-air, and filled the training yard with fire, lightning, and shadows. The display of mastery over spells had many adventurers drop their jaws at the competent caster who had several areas of expertise. ¡°Logan Hall has been reassessed. He has been marked as a rank 20 Wizard. While his slots are lower for his class, he has ample access to spellforce granting skills and trinkets. He has mastered many spells, and has specialities for Grasp, divination, teleportation, summoning, as well as quickcasting and silentcasting. This Guildmaster is also accepting adventurers, ranked 0 and above, to his guild, Vip. Please see details in the hall.¡± The training hall was full of whispers, whistles, and clapping hands. There wasn¡¯t a soul there that spoke against him, worried that the proficiency he just showed off might be used against them. Getting his signet updated in the main lobby, Logan also had his space on the leaderboard moved. The new location was a bit more sparse but still packed with names. He wasn¡¯t going to be in a private club until he passed 40. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Returning to the guild house, Logan saw his lowest ranked and newcomers all geared and ready for his return, alongside Marcus. The whole group left to the exterior of the city. Castore, E¡¯leth, Vern, Alice, Hayd, Varuud, Sooryah, Shanin, and Kruma all lined up and awaited Logan¡¯s commands. ¡°Today we¡¯ll be engaging in some sparring. All skills will be allowed, sans long-term effects such as Severing Slash. I¡¯ve got pieces of parchment in this box with all your names written. When called, please move to the centre of the clearing.¡± ¡°Boss. We¡¯re an odd number¡±, Castore mentioned. ¡°Yes. Whoever gets called last, will fight one of my elementals¡±, Logan smirked evilly. The newcomers shivered all over, not wanting to get that pick. Logan picked out two pieces of parchment and shouted, ¡°E¡¯leth versus Vern. Move to the centre.¡± The Devout and Rogue did as commanded, E¡¯leth with a crossbow in one hand and a mace in the other, Vern wielded dual daggers. ¡°Fight!¡± E¡¯leth let fly a bolt from his crossbow that Vern deflected with his dagger, before charging at his foe with his mace. Vern threw out a dagger that E¡¯leth jumped to the side to dodge. ¡°Dash¡±, Vern called as he rushed at his foe. The one skill he inherited from his class, it seemed. Sliding to E¡¯leth¡¯s side, Vern swiped at the Devout to have his blade blocked by a mace and sent flying away. Before smashing it onto the poorer man¡¯s head, E¡¯leth stopped it a few inches away. ¡°Winner, E¡¯leth¡±, Logan called. Vern sighed heavily as he stood up, ¡°Thanks for not landing that.¡± ¡°You almost got me, wasn¡¯t expecting you to go to my side like that so quick¡±, E¡¯leth replied showing a bit of fear.
¡°Kruma versus Castore.¡± With some placeholder gear, Kruma ran at Castore with fervour. Castore flicked his finger and let loose a blast of flame at the Knight. Kruma blocked the fire with his shield and pushed through it to swipe at Kruma with a shortsword. Castore deflected it with his own sword and drew a dagger with the other. The dagger slammed against Kruma¡¯s blocking shield while the longer sword came underneath it in a diagonal, causing the Knight to bend back as far as his armour allowed, letting the blade only cut a few hairs instead. Twisting his blade, Castore jammed it within Kruma¡¯s grip of his shield and pulled him awkwardly forward. Castore then tumbled over the shield and Kruma¡¯s back, letting his sword go and called, ¡°Power Strike¡±, coating his dagger in a red mist and stopping it just before Kruma¡¯s neck. ¡°Castore wins!¡± Kruma fell to the floor as sweat fell with him. ¡°See that! I got to his back¡±, Castore gloated to Logan, looking for praise. ¡°Very good. You blocked well, Kruma¡±, Logan praised doubly. Castore helped Kruma dislodge the sword and shield and helped his ally to his feet. ¡°That was a great first fight from you, buddy. I¡¯ve had a few months of training, so don¡¯t feel too bad.¡± ¡°No. That was great¡±, Kruma replied as he shook the rich boy¡¯s hand.
¡°Shanin versus Varuud.¡± Shanin started the fight by Rushing the Devout, however, his charge was halted weirdly into a slide and doge back as Varuud waved his hand forward and chanted, ¡°Gaia Wall¡±, causing a tall barrier of earth to shoot upwards and towards the Fighter. ¡°He read that book quick¡±, Logan praised in his head, noticing the Wall alteration. Jumping to the side, Shanin attempted to run at his foe to land a slash again, but was met by a violent fire of an earthen shard. Shanin deflected the spell and had mud roll over his hands. Varuud jumped up and swung strongly with his staff at the Fighter, Shanin blocked it easily and pushed away his foe. ¡°Power Strike¡±, Shanin called, coating his blade in red mist and stabbing it into the floor. Dragging it forward he let loose a rush of mud and grass at the Devout. Varuud blocked his face with his arms and staff, allowing Shanin to run around and end his pointed strike a hair from the gashriek¡¯s armpit. ¡°Winner, Shanin!¡± Shanin got back to a normal stance while Varuud fell to the floor on his rear, breathing heavily, sweat coating his face. ¡°Varuud, good casting. But quickcasting is quite draining for someone with your spellforce reserves, especially in such hurried manners. You left yourself with nothing for healing. Shanin, great tactics. You had trouble reaching your target, and they weren¡¯t suspecting a ranged manoeuvre like that.¡± ¡°Hey, Shanin. Let¡¯s have a rematch sometime¡±, Varuud requested as he held a hand up. ¡°Sure thing¡±, Shanin agreed as he pulled the gashriek to his feet.
¡°Alice versus Jayd.¡± ¡°Fuck¡±, Alice cursed under her breath. The fight started with a double use of Rush from the Fighters, Jayd swinging a mace around in a spin, just narrowly missing Alice¡¯s head as she ducked and swiped upwards with her sword. Jayd spun sideways as if squeezing between two walls and dodged the slice, then kicked off the floor to backflip kick at Alice¡¯s sword hand, sending the sword upwards. Landing solidly, Jayd kicked off the floor again to smash at Alice. Alice made her hand flat and landed a solid palm strike into Jayd¡¯s mace, slapping it away. Recoiling from the slap, Alice clenched her fist and landed a solid blow into Jayd¡¯s helmet. Jayd became disorientated as his helmet rang out. Alice caught her sword from the air and placed it in the neck gap of Jayd¡¯s helmet and sent that flying off before stopping a downward strike on the man¡¯s face a few inches away. ¡°Alice wins!¡± ¡°Fuck yeah! That¡¯s 1 to 8!¡± Alice cheered as she jumped around. ¡°Damn. My streak has ended¡±, Jayd sighed as he picked his helmet back up. Marcus went over to Alice and requested her hand, the Fighter revealing it was bleeding from the hazardous parry she enacted. Using Healer¡¯s Caress removed the wounds, but Alice¡¯s dangerous tactic was still scolded. At least it would be utilized if she kept a Devout in the party, and she recognised it would work on Jayd¡¯s attack. As long as she kept that calculating mind in the fight, it was a viable move.
¡°Sooryah¡ª¡± Logan began to call. ¡°Awh man, short straw¡±, the Rogue sighed. ¡°Tough lucky buddy¡±, Alice patted Sooryah on the back. ¡°¡ªE''leth, Castore, Shanin, Alice, versus Umbra¡±, Logan finished as a shadowy elemental appeared from the canopies. ¡°What!?¡± the victors called out. ¡°Your prize is fighting as a team. I didn¡¯t say the odd one out was going to fight alone.¡± Sooryah had life return to his eyes, ¡°Let¡¯s do this, team!¡± ¡°You shall not feel pain long¡±, Umbra intimidated. The team lost a bit of their life with that remark. ¡°Fight!¡± E¡¯leth started the fight by firing his crossbow, Umbra stepping half a foot to the side to dodge it. Alice, Castore, and Shanin as the trio of Fighters ran at the shadowy foe and began to attack with swords that either missed or were deflected by the elemental¡¯s slams. Sooryah came up from behind and began to stab at the rear of the elemental, its wavy body moving around to dodge many of them. ¡°Castore, Shanin, take low and high!¡± Alice commanded as she turned her blade sideways and made a horizontal slash. The other two took the command and sliced horizontally at the bottom and top of the shadowy foe, with so many areas to dodge, the elemental couldn¡¯t dodge any. Getting slashed three times did little to the mass. Sooryah took the opportunity to dig both daggers deep into Umbra, but his lack of physiology had the Rogue confused when he seemed to do little to the summon¡¯s back. Umbra whipped out his shadowy limbs, slamming into each of his close foes¡¯ stomachs, causing them all go to flying. He then whirled around and charged at the far Devout, grappling his crossbow arms, twisting them, and crashing the man to the floor. Wiggling and bending forwards, Umbra dodged a dagger toss from both Castore and Sooryah as the quartet followed their foe as it incapacitated their healer. Jumping and darting around the shadow, the group worked well in a team and hit the summon every so often. However, Umbra landed a solid blow into Shanin, picked them up, and used them as a mace on the other three. Having all of the adventurers moan on the floor in pain. ¡°Umbra is the victor¡±, Logan called. ¡°The young ones are full of vigour¡±, Umbra praised as he nodded his head. ¡°How is this a prize¡±, Alice moaned as she stood. ¡°Just think of the experience of fighting something that strong¡±, Castore commented as he helped Shanin up with him. ¡°You all did well to land so many strikes, and take some in return¡±, Logan clapped as he approached the team. Marcus clapped too, and patted the downed members with a quick Healer¡¯s Caress. ¡°I¡¯d hate to see what punishment from you looks like¡±, Sooryah laughed. ¡°Now, can anyone tell me why I didn¡¯t assign your sparring partners?¡± Logan quizzed. ¡°Because you didn¡¯t want to show favouritism?¡± Alice answered. Logan shook his head. ¡°Because out in the field, you cannot determine who you¡¯d fight all the time¡±, Shanin answered. ¡°Correct. You need to adapt to any situation, and fighting a caster or someone of the same class must come with the same sensibilities. Make the unknown a non-issue.¡± ¡°Dungeons often hold new foes to boot, even outside of intel bought at the G-Hall¡±, Marcus added. ¡°I understand¡±, Alice accepted. Logan clasped his hands to get the attention of the new recruits, ¡°Now, onto the next segment of training.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 162 - Any Publicity Is Good Publicity The guild house was full of tired teens after a training afternoon outside. Their faces quickly turned from anguish and fatigue into hunger as Advelt finished preparing dinner. Rushing to the bar counter, the newcomers thanked the attendant for the meal and began to devour it. Logan took his seat and appreciated the hearty stew with herbs to aid stamina recovery plus improved sleep in the night to come. ¡°I hope you lot learned a lot from the sparring matches, and training afterwards¡±, Logan started between bites. The youths looked at their guildmaster, hanging on his words as they continued to eat. ¡°Because you¡¯re going to need to work well together for tomorrow¡¯s dungeon run you will all be partaking in.¡± Alice finished her mouthful through coughs, ¡°But, Logan, will the first ranks be fine?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be a party nine strong, you should do fine. Marcus shall accompany as insurance, though. If you do not need his help, I shall acquire a skill book for the foyer.¡± ¡°Below yes! We got this gang¡±, Jayd encouraged. ¡°The dungeon is a half-rank in difficulty either way. A lot of zeroes and ones with no boss¡±, Logan informed as he took another bite. ¡°That should be properly within our abilities, then¡±, Castore accepted with grace. ¡°We¡¯ll be fine with two Devouts in the team¡±, Shanin informed. ¡°Right¡±, E¡¯leth and Varuud confirmed in unison.
The stew did its work, Logan was out like a light as soon as he got into his bedroom. The sound of loud birds awoke him on time the next morning, as well as some rambunctious youths excited for their journey. After a reassuring breakfast, the guild became quite quiet as most of the adventurers left for the day. Logan stayed behind with water and tea on request from the attendant, the Spellthief sitting comfortably on the sofa as he read his new tomes. The first was History of Ritual Casting Vol 1. While not something to teach him how to accomplish the tasks too easily, it was well-rounded and encompassing. There were the three types he had learnt about during his aid against Thermodan as well as others. Using items to fuel the ritual, component rituals, seasons and moon cycles, dances, and more. Talking about the steps required in each wasn¡¯t enough for Logan¡¯s status to alert him to any new changes, but then, the book was over three hundred pages long. It took him until the night to finish it, and still nothing. The newest book brought him into tier 5 of Reading, taking 40% less time to finish books. ¡°Let¡¯s attempt this¡±, Logan spoke aloud as he put away the tome. Moving to the centre of the foyer, Logan placed his hands together in a praying pose. Controlling the spellforce within his body, he moved it to his palms and coalesced it into an orb. ¡°Place us else, place that where. Move what isn¡¯t there from here. Allow transportation over a distance without the required time. Pass spellforce from my stance to that of one that is miles far away. Let my frame whirr and blur away, to apparate elsewhere¡­¡± Logan chanted, over and over he made new phrases that were synonymous with the original chant. The wind started to whirl around Logan, the spellforce creating a powerful aura. An hour of chanting ended with Logan separating his hands into an outstretched finger design in front of him, with the thumbs touching. ¡°Teleport¡±, he commanded. Purple lines started to form around Logan¡¯s body, but slowly faded away as the wind died down. Logan sighed, he was probably close to a proper time-ritual cast, but he had not done it long enough. Since it took twelve magi a month to make a portal, it was a long shot he could cast a one-level higher spell than usual in an hour. The theory was sound though, and Logan was confident he could use this in the future. If Logan wanted to make a portal to another plane, he¡¯d first need to find a way to stay awake for 30 days. He chuckled at the thought and laughed further thinking if he could even use magic back on Earth.
The next morning would have led Logan into reading his next tome, but instead, he was met by a conversation with Advelt. ¡°Logan, we¡¯ve had a few people come to the guild today. They seem to be potential recruits.¡± ¡°Are they waiting outside?¡± Logan asked. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Thank you, Advelt¡±, Logan nodded as he opened the front door. As stated, Logan counted a good two dozen or so adventurers of both baby-face and rough-and-tumble sorts. Logan smiled at the potential additions to the guild, and he quickly had them enter the interviewing chamber in their predesigned parties. The first group was a culmination of travellers on the road who wanted to settle in the big city and figured a guild house would turn out cheaper and safer. However, gaining access to their full status showed more of their backgrounds. Half of the team showed a lot of elitism against casters, when asked if they would follow some of the guild¡¯s laws, they gave half-arsed replies. Logan ended up declining their submissions. The next group was a bunch of Fighters who fit the bill of many bullies that Logan had met in the past. They even contested rules 2 and 6, leading to another decline. Another party were actually traitors in disguise. Logan felt a rage surge in his stomach but he let it go, similarly, he let them go. He did make a note to warn the guardhouse about the individuals later. Sadly, many applicants did not fit the bill that Logan wanted filled. The penultimate group, however, was just what he was after. A trio of casters who had spent the past month getting pushed around. ¡°That¡¯s why we want to join your guild, sir Logan. One headed by a Wizard felt like a home for those not invited to the MT¡±, the leader of the group, U¡¯nito, spoke. A 16-year-old Sorcerer of rank 1. His black robes were tattered and full of holes, showing blue-toned clothing underneath. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°My staff got broke by my old leader¡±, the Wizard of the party, Elata, spoke. She was the same age as U¡¯nito and lacked any form of weapon within her light-blue robes. ¡°It seems nicer here¡±, the quieter Wizard of the party, Vafith, added. She was the younger of the three at 15. Her dark green robes were stained red all over with overly long sleeves. ¡°Well, I can certainly offer a better life in this guild. We¡¯ve got a few others in your ranks, so an even set of three teams is possible. Unless you lot want to work as a team with additions from the guild?¡± Logan said. ¡°I think we¡¯ll be happier as a team, but I think we¡¯re not opposed to splitting up sometimes¡±, U¡¯nito accepted as he looked at his friends for nods of approval. ¡°That should be fine¡±, Elata replied. Vafith nodded. Logan accessed their statuses as before. Framing questions and words in a way that added them to his party and granted him full access. It did feel like a bit of an invasion of privacy, but it was necessary to create a welcoming environment for all the guildies to live within. As well as weed out those that would damage the guild in the long run. Thankfully, this team came out clean, and Logan accepted the trio of rank-one adventurers.
There had been a few more applicants over the time Logan had spent interviewing people, but none were up to his standards or had the possibility of changing into people he¡¯d want as a second family in Avanar. Something good did come about from his conversations with the adventurers though. Many were referring to him as the killer of the Ice King, applying the title of Ice King¡¯s Bane. It had taken some time, but word had spread enough, and it was well into December, so Logan had finally attained the title he had expected earlier. ¡°You have gained the ¡®Ice King¡¯s Bane¡¯ title.¡± ¡°Ice King¡¯s Bane: Removing the possibility of the Ice King¡¯s revival has painted you as a strong adventurer beyond the power you¡¯ve displayed. When fighting the seasonal beasts, you gain 5% damage resistance and resistance to all elements. You have gained 1 skill point to distribute.¡± While Logan had many titles now, eighteen at this point, it seemed that his most common one was Phasing Hunter. Plenty still referred to him as that, even after gaining more past it. A good assumption was that he continually teleported around the capital and through his quests. Name a person based on what they do, he supposed. ¡°Advelt. How would you feel about narrowing down any further applicants?¡± Logan asked as he drank at the counter. ¡°How in-depth do you want me to gauge?¡± Advelt asked with a raised eyebrow. ¡°Just reconfirm the seventeen rules we got right now. If someone laughs at any in an insidious way or questions them strongly, just tell them it won¡¯t work out¡±, Logan sighed. Their conversation was broken up by the return of the rest of the guild. ¡°We¡¯re home¡±, Alice called out as she opened the doors. ¡°Food, need food¡±, Jayd requested as he slouched through. ¡°Day, Logan¡±, Castore waved as he held the door for the rest of the guildies. E¡¯leth and Varuud went straight to the sofas and slumped down into them, dropping bags on the floor. Sooryah came in behind Kruma, holding the Knight¡¯s shield for him as he had less to carry. ¡°It wasn¡¯t all that bad. It was good training, and some good coin too¡±, Shanin mentored. ¡°Hey, make mine a heaping plate¡±, Vern mentioned as he was the second to last to enter. Marcus walked through as the door closed behind him and sat next to Logan. ¡°How¡¯d things go?¡± ¡°Well. But, no free tome¡±, Marcus laughed. ¡°Developments in the dungeon?¡± ¡°No. Alice just had issues commanding eight others. Shanin did well to help with the seniority advice, he even ranked up to three ahead of the other seconds. Vern and Kruma are the only two who didn¡¯t get a rank up.¡± ¡°Not terrible news. Did the pay get split evenly?¡± ¡°Yeah, I took the spare three copper to make it even across the board¡±, Marcus smirked.
As food was shared amongst the guild, Logan introduced the new casters to the other guildies. It was becoming quite the ¡°day-care¡± in both age ranges and levels. Logan was going to have to get some higher-level adventurers to aid Iimi¡¯s quests. Checking over his status windows, Logan made sure the experience tax was working properly, and he saw a couple hundred in there already. When it came to the money, it was handed to Advelt to document and store at the counter within a magically secure safe. Waerell came back to the guild a bit later with some pages for Logan to read over. They were agreements to buy up the nearby buildings to expand the guild into later. Logan had an idea for a type of trinket, or relic, to make the combining of the buildings go through easier. But he needed to read the next tome for that.
The next morning, Logan awoke next to Amalia who spent the night in his bedroom. She had been hard at work making gear for the guild, and had a stable income from the guild¡¯s taxes that she didn¡¯t need to worry much about the cost of living. Logan did have to worry about the annoyance of guild applications though. Advelt did good work at noting down names to get seen on proper dates, leaving Logan a day to himself after looking over some of the documents. Advelt was quite efficient in his duties, and an attendant had many. Reading Relic¡¯s Reliquary Vol 1 took Logan the whole day and a bit of the next, a massive book of diagrams and long-winded explanations on how to go about crafting relics. It wasn¡¯t a new skill, but instead a technique to utilize in almost all crafting skills. The method of implanting experience within a trinket was intricate and lengthy, making many of the example items take days to make even with already made pieces of jewellery. The time and cost were worth it, though, as relics were quite rare in this world. Just one step below artefacts that could only be obtained within dungeons. As the only point of reference for Logan, the kaevock was a relic, an old one, that Dena had stolen from some ruins. With the ability to craft relics, Logan could now repair the item, and identify when it was near its breaking point. Logan was close, the kaevock would only survive a half dozen uses before it broke. There were a few components that Logan had thought of and researched for a new creation that would be more useful than repairing the kaevock right away. He just needed to do some exploration and fighting to obtain them.
Before Logan could fully explore the city for some leads, he was stopped at the entrance to his guild. Four grizzled adventurers were approaching to knock at his door but skipped a step in meeting him there. The leader of the group, a Knight with spiked-back black hair and blue eyes spoke to Logan, ¡°Logan Hall, the Phasing Hunter, I presume?¡± ¡°Yes. Do you have business with my guild?¡± ¡°I wish to sign up my party to your guild after ours suffered heavy losses¡±, the man continued with a sombre look. ¡°Let¡¯s go inside.¡±
Moving to the interviewing room, the adventurers were able to put aside weapons and drink calming tea. A short discussion revealed they had been part of the four-guild assault to the north, as rear-guard and backup. Their guild, while not fully destroyed suffered heavy losses, had this team quit the guild shortly after. ¡°We have heard a bit about you from some of the Lightbeam members during the travel, and after seeing your post at the G-Hall, I believe we¡¯ll find better homes here¡±, the leader, Cenric, explained. ¡°We¡¯re not discouraged from dungeons and raids, we just need backing again¡±, the Rogue, Truman, added. ¡°Our team already does even splits, so your rules line up with our ideals¡±, the Devout, Cedrica, informed as she cracked her fingers nervously. ¡°I¡¯m even more in for this, having another Wizard lead me¡±, the Wizard, Milburga, admitted as she smiled. ¡°You¡¯re fine with the one-year contract?¡± Logan asked. ¡°We only left our last guild as it fell apart, we don¡¯t intend to leave otherwise¡±, Cenric answered. Getting access to their statuses, Logan couldn¡¯t see anything out of order. They were truthful as far as he could see and had no past transgressions. It was also a solid group for Iimi to join, as they were level 17s and 16s. ¡°You would all be welcome in my guild.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 163 - Deific Deadwood Logan awoke the next day with an energetic mindset, almost jumping out of bed. The homeliness of the guild combined with the steady progress he had been making had put him in a great mood. Even the more annoying parts of the day seemed to melt away. After breakfasting with some of his guildies, Logan took Marcus to the G-Hall to double-check that there was still a quest for one of the components he was after, for making a relic. It was a reminder of Logan¡¯s research into oracles, as his target was that of the ovensiase, deadwood creatures that Leroy had a system quest to kill but declined. Thinking on that quest, it was far harder than Leroy could have completed on his own as a level 6. The ovensiase were quite strong for their ranking at the G-Hall, mostly due to their resistances across the board. At rank 15, they were advised to only be assaulted by rank 16 and over adventurers. Leroy had little hope of getting a group like that. Logan was thankful one such quest was available amongst the board. ¡°Looking for adventurers to take down a thicket of ovensiase. Reports speak of at least five of the monsters that make cutting down the sought-after trees in the area difficult. If these creatures are not dealt with soon, spirits and other monsters of the forest could get agitated and cause further issues. Rcmd Rank: 16. Rcmd Group: 3.¡± Taking the quest, and having the staff member atop the tall chair that reminded Logan of lifeguards note it in their ledger, Logan and Marcus were stopped before leaving the hall. ¡°Phasing Hunter, day. Might you be free to aid us before you¡¯re off on your own quest?¡± a burly woman asked, a patch of fresh skin and blonde hair in a cross slash as if she had been recently regenerated. ¡°It will depend on the aid, this one will be a bit tricky¡±, Logan answered. ¡°I¡¯ve heard tell of your divination prowess. All I require is some forewarning on this beast¡¯s weaknesses if any¡±, the woman continued as she handed a parchment to Logan. The Spellthief took the drawing, it was the same as others in the G-Hall and he had used Identification on them before. ¡°You¡¯ll want piercing arms such as spears, and a combination of lightning and fire elements¡±, Logan explained as he handed the parchment back. The woman nodded as she took it, ¡°Thank you, Sir. The hall lacked any intel on them, and I¡¯d not want to go in blind. I suppose you¡¯ll be too busy to come with us?¡± ¡°Do you have a caster?¡± ¡°Only a Devout, so no elements as you suggested.¡± ¡°Go to my guild, we have a Wizard called Milburga who could help you. They aren¡¯t busy today.¡± ¡°Ah. I shall do so.¡±
Checking their gear before leaving, Logan made sure to ask Marcus if he had picked up a holy-attribute damaging spell. ¡°That I did, second-level. Blest. It can be altered like the normal elemental spells, and combined with Infuse.¡± ¡°Good, we¡¯ll need it against the ovensiase. They are quite resilient, except for holy damage.¡± ¡°So I¡¯ll be the blaster this time¡±, Marcus laughed. ¡°I¡¯ll take focus, my daggers can still do some work¡±, Logan smiled. Leaving the extent of the capital, Logan wondered how long it was going to take for his paperwork to go through so that he could just teleport through the barrier. They had to alter it for each person, so he was probably in a queue. Regardless, the pair teleported far away as usual.
Logan had become accustomed to forests at this point. He had visited them far more than he had on Earth, but each one had its one little flair. The new one that the pair found themselves within was of a darker hue, with fluorescent dark-green moss all around. It wasn¡¯t cold, but their breath was coloured grey as it came out. Spending the time to bring back his elementals, Logan had Marcus undergo the longer cast of all of his enhancements. With this possibly being the only fight for the day, they were aiming to be safe rather than sorry, improving all of their attributes barring Charisma. As Logan clicked his fingers, Echo Radar pinged three foes amongst the grove. At tier 4 it now revealed their type, all plants. Holding out both Bowen daggers, Logan had Marcus use Infuse on both with Blest. Spinning them in his hands, the Spellthief warped at the furthest foe from the party. Marcus warped to the second closest, while the five elementals ran at the closest. ¡°Identify.¡± ¡°Ovensiase - Plant. Level 16: 172/172 HP, 25/25 MP. A monster composed of deadwood and roots, the ovensiase (Oh-ven-see-as) is a rare breed of monster typically formed through a wrathful retribution sent by the deity Desma. As a deific sent monster, these creatures are highly resistant against most forms of attack, warranting stronger adventurers to face it despite their rank. Skills: Open List ¡ý. Spells: Earthen Eruption, Gaia, Gaia 2, Growth, Heal, Heal 2, Infuse, Rain, Sleep, ¡ª. Reduction: Damage 10. Resistance: Damage 25%, Earth 95%, Fire 80%, Holy 0%, Ice 75%, Lightning 75%, Shadow 95%, Water 95%, Wind 75%.¡± ¡°Just as I identified before¡±, Logan thought as the image of the creature gave the same results as seeing it in person. The Spellthief was a bit irked at the G-Hall mislabelling these as rank 15, however. Slashing to the right and left, Logan deflected vines coming out from a larger log base. Thorny and mismatched, the creature lacked any humanoid or quadrupedal form. Instead, it was a mass of wood and plant matter. Thorny vines continued to swipe at the Spellthief, but it was easy enough to parry these haphazard swings. These creatures were meant to have some form of planning mind, with the intent of clearing out those that would defile the teachings of Desma or do harm to his forests. As Logan used his vaskt eyes to scout around the battlefield for traps and flanks he was able to spot shards of tree matter forming in the air. Throwing a dagger into his cloak to store it, Logan held a clawed hand towards the ranged attacks coming his way. ¡°Spell Absorb¡±, he commanded in his head, catching and absorbing the spells. ¡°Spell Absorption successful. 3 Gaia charges stored, 2 Gaia 2 charges stored. Gaia is already mastered, Gaia 2 has progressed to tier 3.¡± This would be a good time to shoot it back at his foe, if not for their near immunity to the damage type. Instead, Logan flipped around and ran his hand over the battlefield chanting, ¡°Gaia Wall, Gaia Second Wall¡±, several times to cause separators of mud and rock to block some attacks from his foe. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Jumping over another swipe, and loosing two daggers from his cloak to the floor while he grabbed his original, Logan saw the plant flail around and feel the new barriers that blocked its movement. Logan was about to smirk, but the ovensiase just compounded itself and then shot out hurried vines to pierce the panels of earth, whipping around to attack at Logan again. It at least constrained its movements a bit, but it was more to free up his charges now. Two more vines came hurtling towards Logan in a straight shot, the Spellthief lined up his daggers and had the vines cut themselves down the middle, splitting off into four segments that couldn¡¯t move much further. Swiping to the sides, Logan segmented the vines and blocked another four, bashing them away with his steel. The yellow light of his daggers flourished amongst the greens and browns, Logan could tell it was doing damage, but this thing was so hardy. Warping closer to the main log, and dropping two more daggers from his cloak, Logan made a strong downward slash on where the vines coalesced and seemingly originated from. Separating four, he backflipped away from counterattacks. Throwing his shining daggers at the monster, it whipped its vines around to deflect them into the air. Logan held out two hands as he chanted, ¡°Demon-Clan Spell: Telekinesis¡±, making opposing diagonal swipes with his hands. The daggers from the floor, and the two new ones in the air, all rotated to face the ovensiase and darted towards it. Vines were severed as the log was pierced by several blades, the beasts flailing wildly as it fell into a clump of flora on the floor. Pulling his hands back and clenching his fists, Logan retrieved the daggers into his cloak and hands. Scanning the battlefield, Logan saw Marcus running to aid the elementals, the Devout having an easier time dealing damage against the resilient monster. Logan warped to his summons, of which only two were still active, Celsius and Fahrenheit. Grappling a shard from the air, Logan mentally commanded, ¡°Spell Absorb.¡± ¡°Spell absorption successful. 1 Gaia 2 charge stored.¡± Following the absorption of the spell, the last ovensiase was blasted in the side with a Blest Shot from Marcus, removing a large portion of the wood and causing the rest to falter to the floor. Logan clicked his fingers reflexively, but just like the experience numbers it returned the sign of no more combatants. ¡°Marcus, get my summons back up, would ya, please?¡± Logan asked as he moved to carve out the root ends of the monsters. ¡°You got it.¡± ¡°These certainly won¡¯t oversold. Why the fuck did Leroy get a quest for these so early? Though, my quest for the Frost Monarch¡¯s Cavern was a bit outbalanced too¡±, Logan thought to himself.
With the parts taken, Marcus reapplied Infuse to their weapons but still had time for the Enhances to wear off. Aided by the adventuring quest, Logan was easily able to track down the last two foes, who were dispatched in the same fashion if a bit easier with fewer numbers. Gaining another two lots of 450 exp. Stretching wide, the pair searched the local woods for the remains of anyone unlucky enough to pass through these parts of the woods. They found a few dead adventurers and their gear, plus a few woodcutters and the like. It was a sad sight but an expected one. Warping back to the city, Logan informed them of the clearing of the woods and got his 7 gold for the quest, splitting it evenly with Marcus. Taking the remainder of the day for rest, Logan put aside the roots he needed for his relic and had a few spare for another creation he had in mind. Since Logan was limited on what spells he could cast due to his spell slots seemingly having a low increase rate, Logan would need to go about increasing them in other ways. He could only spend MP on spells he had prepared, set as his Signature Spell, gained them through demonhood, or through equipment. Regretfully, Logan¡¯s rings did not get added to this equation. With the new tiers into Alchemy, and advice from Ahren, Logan set to brewing a new potion to continue the change within his physiology. It would need to brew overnight, causing the Spellthief to spend the night in Amalia¡¯s room, due to the smell of the brewing process.
The next morning had Logan quickly check his cauldron for the boiled roots combined with many other components. Downing the concoction had Logan¡¯s veins push to the surface and tint green, his eyes dulling and taking a greenish hue before it all subsided. Logan felt a clearness in his head that quickly filled in with ideas and the capacity to hold more spells. When compared to a normal caster of his level it wasn¡¯t a huge increase, but Logan was allowed a new spell slot for every spell level. As it wasn¡¯t a sought-after item, it was difficult to buy, it only really applied to the rich who could afford it when they started adventuring. As he hadn¡¯t reassigned his new spells for the day, Logan could change up his selection with this new expansion. Just how many body-altering potions was Logan going to have drunk by the time he would retire? Logan had two weeks till the last day of the year, the day thereafter was the tournament. Recently hitting level 20 put him in a solid spot, he just needed to condense power within that tier to outshine his opponents. As a Spellthief, most of the main options were out of the window if he still wanted to keep his abilities hidden from the broad public. Deciding on a few for now, Logan unlocked Detect Spells, Devour Spellforce, Quickcasting, Silentcasting, and Multicast. He¡¯d still have three skill points for later, but with having a few issues with casting speed and multitude, the latter three skills would hasten his casting. Detect Spells would allow him to see the status effects and spells currently on a target, even if he failed to or was stopped from using Identification. Devour Spellforce let him heal himself when draining MP, instead of gaining the MP. It was a quick way to recover from damage and worked better when he didn¡¯t need the MP he was draining. He already could Quickcast as a Spellthief, but he needed it as a prerequisite for Silentcasting, though it was a bit more expensive on the MP side, his summons were making up for that now. With the first component acquired, Logan went back to the G-Hall to investigate the next step. Stone yetis. --- *** --- Chapter 164 - Rocky Heights The backrooms of the G-Hall were still a bit bare of dungeons at Logan¡¯s level, as Cassius was given even more allowance to reserve dungeons for himself. Thankfully, it seemed the Raid Master still avoided stuff he¡¯d had difficulty with. While Cassius was amazing at close-quarters combat, swords, and fire, he wasn¡¯t great at other things. Hence the part a party played. Stone yetis, as far as intel told, were resilient. Not as much as the ovensiase, but hardy regardless. Especially against physical damage outside of bludgeons like maces. Logan¡¯s magic covered most elemental bases, the variety of a caster allowed him to counter, or at least avoid the monsters'' strengths. One such dungeon allowed Logan quick access to the foes he had in mind, a tall rocky mountain that was almost like a spire. Naturally formed but was carved through combat and weather to look as if it were a structure created by hand. A spellforced dungeon that was home to many monsters, at the end of which was a stone yeti protector. Making a few stops before leaving, the pair made room for plenty of components and left-behind gear to bring back, plus bought a few items to aid in their conquest of the dungeon. The Spellthief even planned for a day¡¯s rest before taking on the final fight, as it would be a challenging one.
Warping a few times, the pair arrived atop a cliffside of the mountain, around a hundred feet from the ground floor. Logan had the elementals scout out the entrance and foyer of the mountain¡¯s inside, and it was a good call to make. As soon as Fahrenheit passed the archway, jagged as it was, several large stalagmites shot from the ground and crashed into the ceiling, blocking off entry and exit. Marcus nodded, enhanced his Strength, and gave a hearty punch into the rock wall, cracking it all over and then smashing a hole in it with a following jab. Waiting a few seconds to test the waters, the rocky barricade reformed itself with a new earthen spike. This place was similar to the Frost Monarch¡¯s Cavern and worked almost the same way. At least they double-checked to make sure they could escape, as some dungeons did force a defeat of the boss before exit was possible.
As if designed for Logan specifically, and another place to make full use of his abilities, the dungeon was full of spellflinging monsters. Crowbolds and goblins wielding tall staves, gremlins launching spells from tail hands, and even a few undead mages that retained their ability to cast spells. Logan sucked up countless spells to return them back at their owners and their allies. The elementals continued to guard the rear, bashing away creatures hiding in the ceiling or from other corridors. One fight of note on the first day was with a pair of Oni. Dark-green-skinned humanoids with flowing grey hair to their upper backs, two long horns near their hairline, and offputting eyes within the centre of their heads. They quickly destroyed some of the elementals, before Logan ordered them to just guard their flanks. The demon-blooded creature stood over Logan at 7¡¯ tall, a long kanab¨­-styled club bashing against the Spellthief¡¯s dual Bowen daggers. Pushing away the club, Logan was about to slash out at the lower-ranked oni but dropped his dagger in favour of grappling a beam of green from the oni¡¯s centre eye. Absorbing the hasty and dangerous Wind 2nd spell, Logan felt the air almost cut into his clothing. Ducking down quickly, he dodged a wide horizontal swing and rolled backwards to avoid a smashing downward heel slam. Rolling back to his feet, Logan made a claw with his hand in preparation for a spell but had to warp to his centre to avoid a spinning club in his direction. The club slammed into the rocky wall, while Logan apparated behind his oni foe. Before the Spellthief could land a hand on the monster¡¯s back, he saw the grey hair spike horrendously. Logan spun his dagger in hand, and drew another, parrying several clumps of hair that became razor-sharp and shot at him, as if they were shards of rock. Turning to face Logan, the oni had its own clawed hand inflamed with purple fire as it grabbed out at the Spellthief¡¯s jacket. Logan dove a dagger into the flames and had them disperse over the blade, shattering the knife to its hilt. Letting go of the remains, Logan gripped the oni¡¯s wrist, landed a solid kick into its forehead and chanted, ¡°Necromantic Second Grasp¡±, exploding the monster¡¯s arm with countless black tendrils. Warping away, again, Logan appeared low behind the oni and pierced the back of both its knees with two daggers, causing the foe to falter onto his shins. Bringing out another twin daggers as he stood, Logan dug both into the neck of the oni, twisting them to decapitate the monster. Looking up to his ally, the Spellthief saw the other oni severely impaled from the floor and the ceiling with earthen spikes created by Marcus. With the idea of resting ahead before any boss fight, the Devout wasn¡¯t being too conservative with his spellforce reserves. Logan kicked over the body as he scanned the area for more beasties awaiting them. With such an expansive interior, he was sure there were many hiding in the shadows or as part of the walls. This forward-thinking pinged many dots on his mini-map as he motioned Marcus to continue.
After felling just over a hundred monsters, Logan let out a deep breath as he wiped the sweat from his brow. Marcus slowly walked to his friend¡¯s rear, using his staff to aid his steps. The rolling sounds of elements followed at the back and front as the party reached the entrance to the dungeon, Marcus smashing it apart again to allow them to leave. Sitting at the cliffside, the pair brought out food and water to recuperate from a long day¡¯s work. Logan looked to his window which appeared when the experience numbers had started to appear from clearing the interior. ¡°Level up! Gain: 8 HP, +1 Str, +2 Agi, +1 Con, +2 Int, +1 Cha. You have 1 attribute point to spend.¡± Logan¡¯s base intelligence had reached 69, a nice number that would reach 75 in another three levels. Celsius, Spark, and Fahrenheit had grown 3 levels to 16, 1 below the current max of 17, while Servoir and Umbra had also gained 3 levels to 15. The more surprising turn of events was Marcus reaching level 21, mirroring Logan¡¯s experience almost. The tripled growth given to his ally certainly had done work to speed up his progress, but it seemed it had its limits as another window appeared. ¡°As your partnered NPC has reached your level, any increased experience from the skill ¡®Partnered Growth¡¯ will be restricted past your own experience (4,235 remaining). This limit will be removed if your presence is permanently removed from Avanar.¡± Logan chuckled, ¡°Was expecting some sort of drawback to that skill¡±, he thought to himself. ¡°Sorry, Logan. I had believed at the time you were leaving Avanar when I suggested this skill. It seems your stay has lessened its power somewhat¡±, Fol replied in Logan¡¯s head. ¡°It¡¯s fine. It did amazing work at keeping us even¡±, Logan consoled his System, Fol, ¡°It does make me curious as to if you¡¯d get inherited by him if I were to leave.¡± ¡°Logan?¡± Marcus called over, ¡°You alright?¡± he waved as if to break Logan out of his concentration. ¡°Yeah. Just looking over your changes. Your hastened growth will slow down soon as the skill is reaching its limits.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s sad to hear. I just ranked up as far as I could tell.¡± ¡°Twice.¡± Marcus let out a loud laugh, ¡°I doubt any other Avanarian wouldn¡¯t put up quite the offering to get this speed of empowerment.¡± ¡°You¡¯re still wanting physical strength, right?¡± Logan asked about the bonus attribute points. Marcus nodded. ¡°I guess this means we will be fighting one another at the tournament then¡±, he announced after getting his increase. ¡°I hope you won¡¯t slack off before then¡±, Logan laughed back. ¡°If you promise to not hold back whatsoever, use all you¡¯ve got against me. Then I will work myself to wisps of spellforce¡±, Marcus promised.
The night passed without much issue, the pair guarded eternally by the ever-growing elementals of Logan¡¯s psyche. With a double-check of their effects, Logan did the normal absorbing method for getting MP for the day. The increase in levels equated to 54 MP, much more than the maximum allowed by his current combination of MP Thievery and Backstab, he dealt 80% extra damage and had 5 charges of Backstab, for a total max of 40 MP from theft. He just needed to find foes that he¡¯d benefit from stealing MP. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Logan made sure to swap out his Flame 2nd spell for Wind 2nd, for the boss ahead. Entering the dungeon for the second time, the party made a cautious approach to the final chamber that was kept near the top of the spire. There were many smaller chambers along the way, alcoves, and ditches for the dead. Thankfully, there was no sign of devour rooms. Plenty of loot filled Logan¡¯s inventory, from coins and potions to weapons and trinkets. However, it was what was hiding in the boss''s room that enticed him, and what guarded it. The party stopped outside a massive door, around fifty feet tall and twenty wide. Inlaid with golden carvings of a large monstrous head, an amalgamation of orc and ogre, with four sets of fangs. A Madamra Rampart. The reports stated that the stone yeti was a rank 20 elite monster. Its major power boost came in the form of magic, a blessing of an encounter for an anti-caster. With the knowledge ahead of time, Logan and Marcus were able to prepare themselves wonderfully. Though there was always the issue of incomplete intel. Marcus improved all six attributes of the pair, drinking a potion to restore his spellforce afterwards. Logan cast Skin of Ice and Haste on himself, his body getting coated in blue before turning back to its speedy norm. Logan placed a hand on the door and had his body vibrate with power, creating an afterimage that went outwards before dissipating. A swirl of wind and power danced around Logan as the door shuddered off dust from his command, ¡°Madamra, I challenge what lies within. Your monsters have no hold!¡± The door clunked and crashed as it opened into the chamber within. A tall-roofed cathedral of black slate and dark marble. Braziers lit with purple flames, tall columns displaying fanciful shadows as the team entered. At the end was a massive statue of a saeber in their bipedal form, coated in spiked metallic armour. At the feet of the statue was the boss the party had aimed to engage, Logan scanning his foe as the doors shut behind him with the final elemental entering. ¡°Identify.¡± ¡°Stone Yeti ?? - Yeti. Level 20: 300/300 HP, 52/52 MP. This thick, 12'' tall, yeti has skin made of a stone construct, with coarse steel-coloured fur all over. As a walking mass of rock, this creature is ludicrously heavy and defensive, often told in tales of thick walls to defend monsters in the past. Stone yetis are sometimes mistaken for golems, humanoids thinking they could tame or communicate with them. Skills: Open List ¡ý. Warning: First and second-level spell immunity. Spells: Open List ¡ý. Reduction: Damage 10 (Except bludgeoning). Resistance: Damage 50%, Earth 95%, Fire 75%, Holy 50%, Ice 50%, Lightning 95%, Shadow 50%, Water 25%, Wind 0%.¡± Logan stared four eyes at the foe with his red eyes darting around to spy any helpers, thankfully this foe was alone for now. The yeti let out a massive roar, the ground shaking from the effect and exploding upwards as tiles went flying. Logan tapped Marcus, who had all the elementals grabbing on for dear life, as the whole party warped above the yeti. Dodging the Chatter-style skill, the party were able to use their skills and spells without worry. Celsius was the first to land, though his body landed in the slamming spiked kanab¨­ of the yeti that was covered in red mist. The fiery elemental was destroyed in a single swipe, its core shattering for the day. Fahrenheit and Servoir grappled their bodies around the arms of the yeti, while Spark and Umbra went for the legs, their morphing elemental forms making it easy to wrap the monster like a present. Marcus landed next as he crashed his staff into the head of the yeti, cracking the stone a bit before Logan threw a duo of daggers at the foe, cutting apart the rock and separating chunks. Logan spun in the air to land his foot on Marcus, warping the pair away as the yeti started to tremble with the floor beneath it. Massive stalagmites erupted from the floor and crashed into its form, dealing a pittance to itself but destroying the elementals that had surrounded its body, the clink of cores hitting the floor signing their defeat. ¡°That was a heavy-damage Earthen Eruption spell, he must have mastered it or something as it¡¯s only second-level¡±, Logan thought to himself as he expected his elementals to survive at least 1 hit. The yeti then placed its club on the floor with the weapon¡¯s head keeping it aligned vertically, aiming both hands at the party they got into a defensive stance. Marcus jumped to the side, circled the columns, slid under braziers, and flipped around to dodge countless spikes of rock that formed in the air to impale him. Those he couldn¡¯t dodge he destroyed with his staff that showed signs of cracking all over. Logan, however, caught several rocks in his hands as he mentally commanded, ¡°Spell Absorb¡±, each time. His vaskt eyes looking in the opposite direction of his normal eyes to keep up with all the projectiles. It almost felt like he needed another pair of arms to anticipate all the spells. With a total of eight empty charges, Logan had the fortune of not failing a single absorption, even gaining a tier of mastery with Gaia 2nd. Sliding his feet across the floor, Logan formed Gaia 2nd Walls across the room to empty his charges to allow him to absorb more. He had to ignore a window that appeared and stayed in place as he ran away from it, alerting him of increasing his skill mastery. Both Logan and Marcus began their charge back to the monster, its MP was sure to have run out at this time. The stone yeti picked its club back up and made a wide swing for Marcus who knee slid under the attack. Logan leapt over and aimed for the yeti¡¯s eyes, but was met by a backhand to his daggers, sending him into a flip before kicking off the floor to swipe at his foe again. While the foe had amazing footwork to dodge many blows, its size gave away too many openings to foes close to half its height. Logan was able to land a few glancing slashes, with Marcus landing solid smashes with his staff. The yeti then spun around, landing a solid collision with Marcus¡¯s staff, snapping it in two before a following kick sent the Devout flying. Logan then jumped up to aim for the eyes again, but instead, teleported behind the yeti to jab at its kidneys. However, the stone floor at the feet of the monster flowed up to its shins and twisted around, as if he were standing on a spinning top. The yeti turned to face Logan almost instantly as the yeti swung a green glowing fist into the two Bowen daggers, shattering them to pieces. Logan stumbled back and let loose the handles. The foe had a skill similar to the Knight¡¯s Shatter Bash, or maybe one he had yet to see. Either way, he didn¡¯t want to risk his artefact blade against that. Jumping back a few more times, Logan aimed his hands high and drew them back as he chanted, ¡°Wind Second Skystrike¡±, utilising his new Multicast skill to cast both simultaneously without delay. Before he had to do two chants, and had them offset by how long it took to speak. The pair of wind scythes cut at the yeti¡¯s back as it roared in pain, Logan hadn''t mastered this spell too much, however, dealing only 65 and 67 damage respectively. But the yeti didn¡¯t resist them whatsoever. Having done mostly melee and avoiding tactics, the yeti hadn¡¯t expected its weakness to appear so quickly. It was left defenceless as it had to adjust to the new parameters. Wringing back its club to throw it at Logan again, golden chains erupted from the floor as they grappled the weapon in the air before it was pulled to the floor into a restrictive prison of gold. Marcus was afar after casting Chain Guard, the yeti was immune to the spell, but if his weapons were away from him, then they weren¡¯t. Logan then chanted again, pulling one hand back and the other forward, ¡°Wind Second Skystrike¡±, creating a wind scythe above the yeti which it dodged back jumping backwards. However, Logan had mixed in a Shot variant, cutting the chest of the yeti as the creature was in midair. Then, with a bluff of grabbing daggers, Logan Silentcast two more Wind spells as they dug into the back of yeti. It was a bit more expensive on MP, but it was devastating to the foe. The yeti fell to the floor on one knee, its silvery blood painting the area in quite an extravagant way. It had to have healed during the fight, Logan¡¯s calculations for its health equated to its death, but it still had thirty HP left. With its dying moments, the yeti started to raise its hand, the silvery blood pooling around the arena floating upwards and forming into a mass near its hand. Logan then swiped two hands in a cross from hip to shoulder, two wind scythes cutting at the yeti¡¯s neck and severing its head before it could complete what it was doing. Logan let out a breath as he only had 14 MP to spare, though plenty of spell slots and rings, he praised his preparation of resources for the fight. Without his elementals, this would have been quite a different fight. Checking the experience gain, Marcus gained a bit less than Logan at 1,200. However, this was mostly due to the creature being much closer to Logan¡¯s level, so the reduction wasn¡¯t as severe. ¡°Good work there, Marcus¡±, Logan called out as he walked to Marcus. ¡°It was a good plan to hold back spells to the end, you see the look on that monster¡¯s face?¡± Marcus laughed. ¡°I¡¯m guessing it relied a lot on its magic and weapon. Take away both and it can¡¯t defend against spells at the end.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t defend its loot anymore to boot¡±, Marcus announced with a grin. --- *** --- Chapter 165 - Keeping the Guildies Safe With the monsters and boss of the dungeon killed and slowly disintegrating, at least what remained after Harvesting, Logan and Marcus took the final step in looting what remained. Taking the components from the yeti that were needed for Logan¡¯s relic, the rest of the room was examined for hidden chambers or markings. Even with Marcus giving a solid blow each couple of feet, the walls hid no treasures. The final spot was that of the massive saeber statue. As a spellforced dungeon, this place would slowly regenerate the monsters, requiring the place to get cleared in the future. However, if Logan could destroy the core, the dungeon would be eradicated, becoming a mundane cave. Monsters could move in, but they would be a far smaller number and lack the power of the previous inhabitants. Using Identification on the statue, Logan saw two parts to it. A gauntlet of the statue was a separate piece, a real piece of equipment that was well camouflaged amongst the stone. Taking it, the gauntlet shrunk in size to fit a normal person¡¯s hand, and surprisingly, an exact fit for Logan¡¯s hand. Logan tutted as he looked at its effects. ¡°Problem?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°Yeah. This artefact doesn¡¯t benefit either of us. We¡¯ll just sell it when we get back to Gauntlet.¡± ¡°At least it¡¯ll be worth quite a bit¡±, Marcus shrugged. Moving his gaze to the rest of the statue, Logan was able to surmise that it was the core of the dungeon. The next step was figuring out how to destroy it properly. ¡°Thoughts?¡± Marcus probed. ¡°I could destroy this statue, but, there¡¯s a high chance the dungeon will erupt.¡± Fol then spoke in Logan¡¯s head, ¡°It would have a far higher success rate if we had a saeber with us.¡± Logan nodded and spoke to Marcus, ¡°We need a saeber.¡± ¡°Would Orichalcum be able to provide someone like that?¡± ¡°I was thinking the same. Do you mind stepping out for a bit?¡±
Some time passed while Logan contacted Ochus as usual, and was able to get a saeber member to travel to their location within a few hours. The sabertooth creature looked over the statue while Logan conversed with the System in his head, eventually, they came across a course of action. The saeber transformed into their bipedal state, a range of static electricity flowing over their body when it was complete. Marcus then Enhanced the saeben¡¯s Strength as the electricity disappeared into a grey aura. Landing a solid punch into the statue, it cracked all over from the saeben¡¯s power. Logan and Marcus darted their eyes over the statue for any unforeseen outcomes. This came in the form of several chunks of the statue breaking off and starting to fall to the floor. Logan quickly aimed at the chunks and Silentcast a Lightning Cascade to magnetise the chunks to the main portion. Marcus then followed up with a Chain Guard to wrap the stones back together. The saeber landed another punch, and then another, flurrying the statue as it continued to crack under pressure. Logan and Marcus continued to keep the falling chunks connected with every strike. Lightning and golden bonds kept the statue in one piece, albeit hotchpotch and cracked all over. The saeber wrung back a wide fist before landing a final blow in the rock, sending a massive shockwave throughout its frame. The remaining parts of the statue were sent wayward, smashing apart the magical confines and mostly disintegrating to dust and pebbles. A hallowed and reverberating screaming wail could be heard from the statue as it was destroyed, in its place, a vortex of purple lines and wind formed in the centre of where the statue used to stand tall. Converging into a single point, rock and spellforce culminated into a stony mask that floated to the podium of the now-missing statue, landing with a faint tap on the floor. Logan approached the mask cautiously, though this was a similar event to when he destroyed the Frost Monarch¡¯s throne. The stony mask depicted the face of an oni, a humanoid with varying-sized fangs, big eyes, and a snout. From left to right it slowly flowed in different colours, from greens and reds to yellows and blacks. ¡°Identify.¡± Logan smiled at the mask as he picked it up, making sure to avoid the sharp points. Placing it onto his face, the mask held itself an inch away from his skin and floated there. Mentally commanding it, the mask shifted to a blue hue as his status alerted him to gaining ice reduction of 10 and ice resistance 21%, making his totals 20 and 46% respectively. The mask disappeared as he turned to look at Marcus and the saeben who aided them, either due to its own powers or that of Logan¡¯s Cache Arm hiding most of his trinkets. ¡°It¡¯s all good, a pretty damn powerful artefact¡±, Logan spoke, without a change to his normal voice. ¡°Things continue to go your way, Logan. Another eradication and another artefact for your arsenal¡±, the saeben spoke formally as he sat down, reverting his form to normal. ¡°What¡¯s it do?¡± Marcus asked as he looked over Logan¡¯s face for the mask. ¡°Makes me hardier against a particular element in the day.¡± ¡°Ah, quite well-encompassing, praise be¡±, the saeben applauded. ¡°I take it it¡¯ll grow with you, like most artefacts. Let¡¯s reach rank 100, make you immune¡±, Marcus laughed as he patted Logan on the shoulder. Taking the mask off, it appeared as a blue one in his hand. Giving it to Marcus, the artefact kept the same benefit on the Devout¡¯s status, though it stayed in sight during that time. Retrieving it, Logan tested to see if he could eat through it, and was happy when the ration block met his teeth. If needed he could take it off or gift it to someone in need, happily, it wasn¡¯t too restrictive. The main plan wasn¡¯t to eradicate the dungeon, but it all fell into place rather neatly for the group. As they began to make their way back to Gauntlet after waiting an hour or so to see if anything erroneous occurred from the act, Logan got an alert play through his head as they left the cave. An incessant ring that was heard above all else, even Marcus twinged at it. ¡°Grab on!¡± Logan yelled as he held out a hand to both Marcus and the saeber. As they latched onto the Spellthief, the trio warped away into the air.
Deep in a forest elsewhere. A large battle was taking place in a forest of green, coated harshly in red all over. Castore deflected another sword with his own, Kruma blocking a strike against E¡¯leth from another attacker. Whilst trying their hardest to clear out a quest for the G-Hall, the party of Castore, Kruma, E¡¯leth, Vern, and Varuud were trying just as hard to survive an ambush from traitors. Four in total, but burly and vicious to make up the lacking numbers against the party from VIP. E¡¯leth took out his tracking stone and wiped his thumb over the line drawn onto it, its blue light fading as the team heard a drawn-out ding in their heads. Blocking another massive strike with his shield, Kruma had his only defence shatter in the red-misted attack. A flurry of flames flew over the traitor as Castore waved his hand in that direction, utilizing his expensive spell ring to save an ally, but was nicked by his own adversary as his attention was elsewhere. Varuud jumped up and bashed his crossbow into the mace of one of the traitors to save Castore from another blow, but had it destroyed in the process. Vern threw two daggers at the traitors as he ran to shoulder-barge another off of Kruma, heavy panting and blood flying. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. As the traitors were gaining ground on the newcomers, a blast of wind shot outwards behind them all. Everyone turned around to the noise and rush of air, spying Logan, Marcus, and an unknown saeber. Logan¡¯s eyes darted across the battlefield, his red eyes locking onto those he saw as threats. Flicking his hand up, his fingers danced with electricity as he sent out a Silentcast Lightning Cascade. Azure streaks flashed towards the first foe, puncturing his chest and spewing red with the blue. The lightning then scattered to the three other foes, zapping them till their skeletons shone and dropped the unconscious bodies to the floor. ¡°Logan!¡± Castore shouted in joy at seeing his friend and saviour. ¡°Thank Levin you got here so quick¡±, E¡¯leth praised as he fell to his knees. Varuud quickly moved over to Vern and Kruma to heal their wounds whilst nodding at Logan. ¡°What happened here?¡± Logan asked as he approached the party with his allies. ¡°Traitors, said they wanted all the free stuff we were given¡±, Castore informed as he sheathed his weapon. Logan rubbed his forehead in frustration, ¡°Bound to happen, but shitty regardless. How¡¯s everyone?¡± ¡°We¡¯re grand, now¡±, Vern shouted over. ¡°We¡¯ll recover, but a trip back to Gauntlet is probably best before we continue our quest¡±, Castore admitted. Castore had regained his composure, though Logan could tell the young master¡¯s legs were shaking. The rest of the team was coming off a long dose of adrenaline, sweat beading down their faces, and hot air turning white in the cold atmosphere in just past the middle of what would be December. Traitors would target anyone they thought they had a chance of winning against or intimidating into getting what they wanted. Regardless of what Logan advertised for his guild, these five were bound to get attacked at some point or another. Logan still felt a small tinge of regret, as his actions did amount to a portion of the reason. ¡°I can take you all back, it¡¯ll just take a few extra casts of Dimensional Jaunt. As these traitors tried to kill you, they¡¯ll most likely get the death penalty in return. Take what coin they have for repairs, but leave their gear in case any of it was stolen¡±, Logan instructed calmly. Castore nodded and slowly approached the unconscious bodies, it seemed he had taken the leader role ahead of Kruma who had little in the way of training. The hero Knight hadn¡¯t gained enough confidence to lead as a normal adventurer of his class. With a short rest, the team prepared to return to the capital.
Logan was pretty much at the end of his MP and spell rings for the day, transporting his guild and allies around did a number on the quantity, but the boss did a hearty punch to it too. Saying farewell to the Orichalcum member, Logan was able to also get double pay on his dungeon eradication. After the split and other costs, Logan came away 11 gold richer. After upgrading their gear to suit their levels, Logan came out even with selling off the found loot. However, the artefact they had acquired was better off sold than anything. While they could keep it on hand for a teammate, there was no guarantee that would occur. They got a pretty penny for it, enough to fund the purchase of the two buildings to the side and behind of the guild house. With the incident with Logan¡¯s guild a few hours prior, the Guildmaster had to push forward some plans he had. Thankfully, it seemed most of his guild were free two days from now, so all he had to do was wait and prepare.
Two Days Later. Logan and Marcus were standing atop a shoddy treestump podium as they overlooked all the level 3s and below of their guild. Castore, E¡¯leth, Vern, Alice, Jayd, Varuud, Sooryah, Shanin, Kruma, U¡¯nito, Elata, and Vafith. Twelve able-bodied adventurers who could be targeted by traitors, due to their low levels and lack of experience in combat. Today was to be another day of training, but one more suited to sorting out the level disparity, rather than schooling against fighting adventurers. Logan¡¯s elementals stayed mostly hidden amongst the tree branches higher up, with commands to engage if needed, but the Spellthief was sure with this number they wouldn¡¯t need to. ¡°Now, you will be facing wave after wave. Try to keep your resources for the harder challenges, but if you¡¯re in a dangerous spot feel free to rely on others. You¡¯re a dozen strong, fight as a force, and not a singular combatant¡±, Logan instructed with a loud voice. Marcus tapped a tree¡¯s trunk to reveal a small stash of extra weapons, ¡°If you need to regear, take your enemies¡¯ or what we¡¯ve held within these caches.¡± The pair walked off into the forest¡¯s treeline and disappeared from view. This signed Castore, Alice, and Kruma to take up leader positions over three pockets of four adventurers each. A sharp whistle shot through the woods, as Logan commanded his forces forward. The Spellthief had used the time to prepare a small army of goblins all his own, making use of his Call to War skill. Dozens of goblin scouts scurried from all directions, clubs in hand as they barreled down on the large party. ¡°How did¡ª¡± Vern thought aloud. ¡°Casters, prepare Force micks¡±, Castore ordered as he took a wide stance. ¡°Sooryah, jump over me¡±, Alice commanded as she darted towards a trio of goblins. ¡°Shanin, circle when I block¡±, Kruma added as he held his shield high. The casters of the party all ran to the centre of the circle their allies made, chanting and preparing the newly learned micks they had picked up from the books at the guild. Varuud was with them, using his crossbow to shoot down inclosing goblins and calling out when the micks were ready. ¡°Ready!¡± This caused the Fighters to sidestep around their foes to create an opening. ¡°Loose!¡± The casters then ended their chants, sending three volleys of grey orbs at the goblins, pelting them to the floor. Sooryah landed softly on the grass behind several goblins, the first going down in a single Backstab, the others falling to dual strikes each. Kruma blocked a heavy jumping bash from a goblin, to then spin to the side to have the riposted goblin stabbed by a leaping plunge by Shanin¡¯s sword. The goblins kept coming, dozens at a time. The royale went on for minutes before Logan turned it up a notch. The scouts were exchanged for muscles, eight instead of twelve. The heavier hitters caused pause at points from the Fighters who had to dodge with higher agility, and the Knight to put more weight behind his shield. Snapping of metal and cracking of maces were heard as the weapons failed under duress and use. Vern had to roll over the top of a sweeping mace to grapple a separate mace from the floor to fight back. ¡°Sooryah! Dash to get us weapons¡±, Alice commanded. The Rogue hastened his steps as he ran to a stump and landed a flying kick, the treasure within falling to the floor. Picking them up, he threw them one by one into the air, his allies taking them to replace their destroyed arms. The muscles took a good two or three hits to go down, Force micks had little chance of knocking them down. One such foe saw the ranged bombardment and hurried to get at the mages. Both Alice and Jayd saw this and quickly flipped a cover off their thigh sheaths and each threw a dagger at the muscle, killing it as it tumbled to the floor. While the muscles had power, they lacked speed, this was compensated for when goblin archers were added into the fray. While their bows had been taken away, they hastily ran at the casters with clubs held high. ¡°Vern, Sooryah, Shanin, back up the magi!¡± Alice ordered. The two Rogues and Fighter killed their goblins and retreated to the centre of their formation, circling the mages to cut down the approaching threats. Eventually, muscles and archers were replaced with level 3 goblin berserkers. Being both stronger and faster than both of their previous forms, the berserkers were deadly even at only four per wave. Flurries of red mist filled the fight with an even more deadly sight, blood going all over as the Fighters had to start relying on Power Strike to take down their opponents. The guild was looking tired, their exhaustion from fighting combined with skill and spell fatigue. The fight was near its end though, as two hobgoblin leaders were set free on them. ¡°A rank 5!¡± Jayd moaned. ¡°Casters, Flame!¡± E¡¯leth commanded as he prepared a Heal for when it was needed. Castore clicked his fingers as fires ignited between them, throwing his spell quickly at one hobgoblin to take its attention. Vern came up from behind and landed three swipes before rolling away from a massive strike. Kruma blocked a blow from the other foe, Shanin slashing at the tall foe with his sword before ducking under a retaliation. Torrents of flames came from U¡¯nito, Elata, and Vafith, igniting the two hobgoblins as they squealed out in pain. Alice landed a final blow on her foe, while Jayd smashed down the other. Clanks of metal hit the floor, both from the two hobgoblins and breaking weapons. Everyone was breathing for dear life, hitting the floor in kneels or lying on their backs. Logan came out with a loud clap, applauding the victors. Marcus walked amongst them to check for wounds, though E¡¯leth and Varuud both did wonderful jobs at keeping their allies in tip-top shape. ¡°How did you send so many on us¡±, Elata asked as she rubbed her head. ¡°There are items to get the attention of monsters¡±, Logan half-lied. ¡°I felt my spellforce enlarge, this fight surely ranked me up¡±, E¡¯leth admitted. ¡°All of you have, though to varying degrees. No one here is even a rank 2 anymore¡±, Logan informed as he looked over the guild. The level 1s and 2s had all reached level 4, the 3s hitting 5. As Logan had theorised before, as long as everyone was well enough involved, everyone would get the experience for an encounter. With the two-hundred-plus goblins all dead, every member of the 12-team got the same reward. While this could have been compared to some engagements with the goblin invasion, Logan was easily able to control the flow of troops to make it an easier time, though still a quick one. The harshness of the combat would also instil combat confidence, more than what hour gaps between waves would. ¡°This guild is awesome¡±, U¡¯nito said gleefully. ¡°Everyone can take a break before we return. There¡¯ll be a lot of quests for you all to hand in¡±, Logan informed as he began to have a conveyor belt of corpses brought to him by his elementals, ready for Harvesting. --- *** --- Chapter 166 - Sandy Burials Logan recounted coin and experience as his guildies handed in the components, clubs, and evidence of killing the goblins during their training. In all, the whole group had their quest notches updated with an additional 20. It was one of the biggest bursts of power and wealth for seven-dayers, easily putting them in safety against the ethereal timer. The idea of ¡°boosting¡± lower-ranked guildies like this wasn¡¯t new, but it was extremely rare for a guild to build up rank 1s without some form of ulterior motive. While Logan did have one, it wasn¡¯t as sinister as other guilds. The Spellthief mostly just benefitted in the form of experience and money added to the guild coffers, the former a more important point for his relic creation. If the natives had a better understanding of experience and levels, they could utilise this strategy better, but their minds were on other aspects. Logan¡¯s own thoughts moved swiftly onto new endeavours as he had one more task to undertake to finalise the preparations for the relic he had in mind. Returning to the guild house for the evening, the guildies slouched on the couch or hunched over the counter as they awaited food from Advelt. Waerell was quick to ferry drinks around and take gear to the tired teen¡¯s rooms. Logan had a quick conversation with Advelt about a visitor who came by while they were gone. Sirn Alton had come around to work out some merchant deals, however, while Advelt was a foyer attendant, he didn¡¯t have enough ¡°ownership¡± of the building to grant the vampire entrance. Instead, Alton had carved out a piece of wood for Logan to attach to the doorframe. It was the usual symbol, a combination of the letters Y and K coloured red. It was similar to a 6-pointed start that missed the bottom-left line, and all the connecting lines in-between. Logan bit his thumb and let two droplets of blood drip onto the wood. The brown oak quickly turned a reddish hue, creating a contract of sorts. Nailing this to the outside of the door to the guild, the symbol would act as an intermediary for Logan¡¯s permission to enter. They would still need allowance past the barrier that Logan had set up, however, so Advelt was still required. Logan would have set this up before, but he didn¡¯t know too many vampires who could meet him quickly, and half of this symbol required a vampire¡¯s blood. The rest of the evening was Logan¡¯s drawing up plans for the combination of the two new buildings with the main one. It was easier to get an idea of it with a physical picture than one only in his head.
The next morning, Logan and Marcus returned to the G-Hall to look over the quests as usual. Adventurers nodded to Logan as if to say ¡°Morning¡± like he was in a close-knit neighbourhood, more and more. His fame continued to spread and was close to painting him as part of the furniture, tomorrow signed the 150th day in Avanar so it was easy to bet that they¡¯d see him another day. With the outside getting colder and colder, people were bundling up with warmer furs and scarves. Logan didn¡¯t need them just yet, but Marcus had adorned a similar scarf to his neck. Picking a piece of parchment from the boards, Logan scanned it quickly to see it fit the bill nicely. A mission to go far north to a patch of desert that housed the next monster that when defeated could be Harvested for the final piece. It would be a bit weird with the temperature change, but that¡¯d be the least of their problems.
Teleporting across the skies, Logan teleported close to 200 miles. With his vaskt eyes and eyeglass, he could spy up to the 68 miles allowed by his Dimensional Jaunt. With the starter jump and landing included, it took 5 jaunts. While further east than normal, Logan was close to the border of Helm just like Lightbeam had been previously to tackle a mobile dungeon. Soft sand rolled underfoot as the pair landed just shy of the sandy change from dirt to yellow specks. Marcus quickly doffed his scarf, while Logan felt the heat batter against him in his coat. Taking a few crystal droplets from his inventory, Logan and Marcus crushed one each in their teeth. Just like the heat gravel, these frozen tears helped to fight back harsher heat. ¡°Deserts here aren¡¯t so different from my world¡±, Logan thought aloud. ¡°As far as I could gather, the desert rolls on for several hundred miles from south to north, covering the eastern side of the border between Gauntlet and Helm. The eastern tip ends in tall mountains and sheer cliffs into the ocean. At the northern end, we might even be able to see the capital Helm.¡± ¡°Several dungeons here absorb the moisture in the area, with many within the mountain itself. That¡¯s reason enough for a strangely shaped desert I suppose.¡± ¡°We¡¯re better geared than most to survive here¡±, Marcus laughed, ¡°we can just magic up some water or store it within other spaces.¡± ¡°Keep an eye on mirages. The monsters here can conjure them up just as we do mundanely. I don¡¯t want to be teleporting into a trap¡±, Logan recounted as he looked over his System map. ¡°We¡¯re to fight a trio of sand vice, right? The nearby settlements can¡¯t exactly fight them without magic.¡± ¡°Right, a dozen or so miles to the north-east.¡±
Another teleport had the pair land atop a tall mound of sand, giving them a wide-reaching gaze over a countless distance of sand. With most foes hiding underground, Logan¡¯s Echo Radar did little to alert them to foes ahead of time. Instead, Logan resummoned his elementals to act as bait for their quarry. It didn¡¯t take long for the bait to bore cactus fruit. Three massive creatures burst from the sand underfoot, chomping down and dragging the elementals into the air. The crunching of rock and ice sounded the destruction of two elementals, while Servoir flowed between teeth and fell back to the floor. ¡°Identify.¡± ¡°Sand Vice - Spirit Beast. Level 18: 204/204 HP, 32/32 MP. This spirit monster feeds on the fading thoughts of those lost within deserts, sending visions of oases to then kill them as the victims dine on sand illusions. Made up of sand and vapour, these creatures resemble a mix of centipede and scorpion, with sixteen black and blue eyes dotting their face and four large mandibles. At 20'' long, these creations are massive when compared to other threats in the sands. Just like the sands, this monster''s body shifts and flows, making it hard to land a solid hit. Skills: Open List ¡ý. Warning: First-level spell immunity. Spells: Open List ¡ý. Reduction: None. Resistance: Damage 50%, Earth 50%, Fire 50%, Holy 0%, Ice 0%, Lightning 0%, Shadow 25%, Water -10%, Wind 10%.¡± Marcus and the rest of the elementals charged after one of the vices, while Logan warped to the sky. Aiming an arm at the other two, Logan chanted, ¡°Aqua Second Shot¡±, sending out a simultaneous jetstream at the spirit beasts. Logan had changed out his usual Flame 2nd for Aqua 2nd in the morning. Logan began to fall slowly with the two spirit beasts he had antagonised with their weakness. They dealt 72 and 75 damage each, after the 10% increase for their vulnerability to the water element. One of the vices flew through the air in a serpentine manner, cutting apart wind with sharp noises. Mandibles clashed together as they ate the space where Logan just was, having teleported higher up and behind the foe. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Waving his arms around, Logan chanted, ¡°Aqua Second Skystrike¡±, forming balls of blue on either side of the beast, shooting them like bullets at the monster. However, this time, the spirit beast¡¯s body waved and phased in and out. Both spells went through their non-physical body and missed. Logan cursed and tutted, his hair and coat flying up as his body began to fall again. The second vice then charged for him. Bundling up into a ball, Logan chanted, ¡°Air Blast¡±, to fire a shockwave that spun his arms and legs around, rotating his body over the top of the next beast, diving his frozen lord edge into its chitinous hide to fly with it. The Spellthief¡¯s body flopped around with the velocity of the vice¡¯s flight, but he quickly steadied himself on its body. Making a claw, Logan moved to grip the monster with his other hand, however, it phased out as he attempted it, falling off his mount as he tumbled backwards. Spying the first beast as he spun in the air, Logan warped behind it, fixed his velocity, and spun as he appeared upright and still. Throwing his dagger into his cloak, Logan aimed with one hand and pulled back with the other, ¡°Aqua Second Skystrike¡±, he chanted, an orb of water forming in his hand and another in front of the beast. Shooting them at different distances, the water in the beast''s face went through its body as it phased out, however, it phased back in as the Shot variant hit it in the back. Before Logan could continue his attack though, several mounds of sand started to vortex around him. Creating cutlasses of sandy death, they swerved and swiped at Logan. With a Silentcast Haste, Logan caught each spell and mentally commanded, ¡°Spell Absorb¡±, collecting eight charges of Gaia 2nd, gaining mastery in the spell. As the spells continued to hail him, Logan warped away to dodge the last ones. Aiming his hands downward to the second beast, Logan chanted, ¡°Gaia Second Shot¡±, four times, letting his own volley of eight earthen spikes hail down on his foe. Only three landed, dealing 46, 47, and 48 damage. His mastery allowing the spell to still do a sizeable chunk against his foe. As the second sand vice began to fall to the floor, the same as Logan as his body slowly descended, the first came charging for the Spellthief again. Changing his usual tactic, Logan orientated himself to face the massive maw of the beast and aimed his hand into the gaping mouth. Silentcasting another Aqua 2nd, a quick beam of water cut through the beast¡¯s gob, puncturing through the top of its head and causing the monster to fall underneath Logan. Warping to the floor near his ally, Logan looked at Marcus and his elementals who were checking that their own beast was dead. The Spellthief was previously more adept at aerial combat due to his multitude of teleports, but Marcus had also gained the ability to fight in the air due to the coat that turned to wings, made up of harpy feathers. Logan rubbed a piece of cloth over his face to remove the sweat as he investigated the bodies. Harvesting them was easy enough, it just had a time limit similar to the silversteines so long ago. With another fight behind them, Logan found his resources continuing to be challenged, though this time more on his spell rings. His MP fought through with 27 remaining. Logan made use of his final ring, then his signature slots, and eventually some MP to warp away from the desert and back to Gauntlet. However, as the pair and remaining elementals warped away, their spot was hit with a massive blast of wind. A tall 6¡¯7¡± creature garbed in brown robes held long bone blades in their white-clawed hands appeared in their place. The creature roared and hissed, glowing green eyes showing a deep-seated hatred within them. ¡°So close, another plight or two and I¡¯ll cut them! If only I still had my resources¡±, the being scorned, her mouth dripping saliva to the floor through serrated teeth. Stabbing a blade into the sand, the creature grabbed at the air, a visible purple line imprisoned in her grasp. ¡°Track thine foe, hunt them so. Follow those I despise, so that I may grant them their demise.¡± The purple lines then turned a sickly green and as if cut they bled to the floor. ¡°Ahren may not leave, but you¡¯ll do.¡±
As Logan landed outside of Gauntlet he felt a twinge in the back of his neck. Reflexively, he darted around and looked for what he believed was spying on him. But nothing but the cold wind met his eyes. ¡°What¡¯s up? Hear something?¡± Marcus asked as he looked around the leafless trees. ¡°No¡­ it just felt like I was being watched¡±, Logan replied, ¡°Did someone just scry me?¡± he added as if thinking aloud. ¡°They¡¯d need to be quite strong, or doing some form of ritual for that¡±, Marcus answered off-handedly. ¡°I¡¯ll have to find a way to counter it, if it¡¯s more than a feeling.¡±
Returning to the G-Hall, the pair picked up their four gold each before taking a trip to the bookshop. Logan and Marcus both purchased quite an array of tomes, for knowledge, skills, and spells. The next few days were going to be spent reading and preparing for the new year. Though Logan did have to find out who had been looking at him.
The following day, Logan had finished a tome that allowed him some better foresight into those putting their sight on him. However, he would have to ritual cast it as it was currently outside of his grasp. After spending a good ten hours chanting, but mostly meditating, Logan was eventually able to cast the spell. ¡°Reveal Sensors¡±, Logan ended his chant. A wave of green and yellow flowed from Logan and filled his bedroom, gleaming over the objects within it and piercing through his glass window into the outside. As the light dimmed, grey eyes with red irises appeared around the Spellthief. Focusing on the oldest-looking one, by its decayed lines all over, Logan found it was cast by a level 9 Wizard. Several factors painted the man clearer and clearer, until Logan visualised the image of Darius, though Logan had already guessed it belonged to him. This was probably the first sensor ever placed onto Logan, though at this point it was just a remaining ghost of past deeds. It was easy to tell the sensor hadn¡¯t been active in some time, so Logan grabbed it and mentally commanded, ¡°Spell Absorb¡±, vortexing the eye within his palm. ¡°Spell Absorption successful. The spell was too weak to gain anything.¡± ¡°At least it¡¯s no longer there¡±, Logan accepted. The rest of the sensors stayed around, though all of them were dormant within Logan¡¯s protective guild barriers. It would take quite a bit of upkeep to have them constantly active regardless. The second sensor had the visage of a monster, one of several eyes, fanged teeth, and an immense pain that stopped any further deduction. Logan surmised this had something to do with the bastarn coven he had fought back in the Silver Bastarn Mines near Tinte. The eye hadn¡¯t decayed, but it was old. Whoever made it was most likely still alive, but unworried of Logan¡¯s life. The third was that of an older gentleman, in his 40s¡­ Logan quickly understood it was Jirango from the Gerro Guardhouse. He had already been informed about this one, as a precaution for new hunters and slight rumours of Logan being a traitor himself. This had been deactivated on Jirango¡¯s side and would cause no issue. The fourth and fifth belonged to Lurne and Eighther. Lurne was the abrasive plate mail-wearing man who approached Logan in the aftermath of the goblin invasion, though his sensor failed. Eighther¡¯s sensor had succeeded but went dormant a week or so after, it wasn¡¯t a shock the caster¡¯s one had succeeded. The sixth and ninth belonged to Xican, a wide range of times. The sixth had been deactivated but had seen use over a long period. The ninth was much closer to the current date. The seventh and eighth were the most concerning. Logan couldn¡¯t identify figures at all. But the powers were monstrous, one was close to him, but the second eye had two users who had an intensity that made him scared to his core. A tenth sensor showed Logan that Quayvan had an extra eye on him all the time he was working, though how much of that time was active was hard to tell. There were three others that Logan couldn¡¯t identify, and then the fourteenth was the same as the seventh. While the seventh seemingly was used by other creatures over time, the newest had only one owner that Logan could differentiate. It wasn¡¯t difficult to absorb all the sensors, though those who were still alive might have been alerted to the fact they had gone. At least half left Logan with no worries, but the most recent, and most likely future, sensors would be hard to detect or find their owners. Logan would have been flattered with all eyes on him, but these were of creepy intent. He¡¯d need to work on some more defences against scrying, but it seemed that not all would work against him. Logan had anticipated a few more sensors than this, but it was a nice surprise. --- *** --- Chapter 167 - The Building Relic Another few days were spent leisurely at the guild house. Logan couldn¡¯t do much else, besides crafting the relic he had in mind for so long. Combining the materials from the most recent monsters, the experience gathered in the guild coffers, and some extra from the goblins he slew that his guildies could not handle, the new item was quite a hungry creation. Whittling away daylight to moonlight, the days got colder and colder as they reached the negatives of Celsius. Snow fettered down to the city streets, and one day it was tall enough that Logan saw some small snow saebers being crafted outside his window. There were no special events in the last week of the year, the 25th passed with little celebration. However, most people did take the last week off from work. Many spent the time cleaning and repairing their homes and spending time with family. However, this was also in preparation for the tournament in the new year, as many houses would become vacant during that time. As five days passed, Logan finally completed the relic he had spent so much prep work for. Placing the bracelet around his palm, between his finger and thumb and wrapping around the middle of the side of his palm, the trinket sat comfortably below Logan¡¯s knuckles. A set of magical symbols appeared just above the bracelet, rotating with the shifting buildings in the band. Aiming his hand at the door to his room, Logan concentrated and caused the wood to warp. Slowly, the door shifted into a more ornate design, with etchings on the frame and hinges, the guild symbol emblazoning in the middle of the door itself. Lowering his hand as his adjustment was completed, Logan let out a small breath. It wasn¡¯t too taxing, but he got a better idea of the resources and time it would take to change the entire building at his current power. Opening the door, it made a satisfying click as the new handle and locking mechanism were more intricate and secure. The door made little in the way of noise as it opened, magic doing more than WD-40 ever would. Closing the door, it was flush on all sides and completely straight. No crooked wood or bent sides. ¡°Everything fine up there?¡± Advelt asked as he saw Logan come down the stairs to the foyer. ¡°Yeah, just adjusting my room. Is anyone else in the guild right now?¡± Logan inquired as he approached the counter. ¡°Just myself and Waerell. Most are off out completing some quests for the new year, and sir Marcus is visiting a church.¡± ¡°Good¡±, Logan replied as he turned to the rooms behind him, ¡°Waerell, could you come to the foyer please?¡± he shouted. Waerell came rather quickly at the beckon with a smile on her face, ¡°What do you require?¡± ¡°I need you two to be out of the guild house for a few hours, take the rest of the day off.¡± ¡°Is this for your construction plans you mentioned before?¡± Advelt asked. ¡°That it is. Will probably take some time.¡± ¡°Very well. We can go do some browsing and shopping¡±, Waerell replied as she took her husband¡¯s hand. The pair left with Logan in tow, double-checking no one was in the guild before he shut the front door. Pulling a chair with him, Logan placed it near the door and sat facing the guild. Pulling out a large piece of parchment that contained the plans for the remodelling, Logan looked over it as he raised both hands at the guild. Wiggling his fingers, the magical ring appeared above the palm bracelet once more, the magical symbols flying from the trinket to surround the guild house as well as the building on its side and behind that Logan had purchased previously. A surge of power rolled along Logan¡¯s arms to his hands, a visible aura of purple dancing around his digits as he envisioned the new construction. The creaking of wood, grinding of stone, and clinking of glass from the shifting building made quite a ruckus. Nearby inhabitants stopped to gaze at Logan and the magic he was weaving. Some were speaking amongst themselves, while some kids got closer to look at the animated materials. Thankfully they all had the intelligence to not touch the dangerous locale, but Logan didn¡¯t have to worry about that as the barriers protecting his house also stopped them from getting in contact with it. Hours passed, just as did the guards who stopped for longer than they should to appreciate the magical show. Logan had already informed the authorities of his construction and got permission from all associated craft guilds. Hardly anyone interrupted him, and if they did, all he said in reply was that he was concentrating. As another moon reached the sky, Logan finished his reconstruction of the guild house. It kept the general entrance design, with windows peering into the counter and interviewing room to the side of the entry door, but was now much wider on the left side as you looked at the front. The back had also connected with another building, the interior shifting to create a wider training environment for the guildies. Several new rooms were also formed on the first-floor front and sides, increasing the number of bedrooms from twenty to fifty, all with views to the outside with newly crafted windows from glass Logan had bought and stored in his inventory. A few of the meeting rooms were also moved to more interior locales, lacking windows, allowing more bedrooms to have windows to gaze outside of. Logan knew the effect natural light had on moods, and meeting rooms weren¡¯t used for that long. The left side, while looking at the guild, led to a large smithery and crafting area for Amalia to work in, as well as other guildies who wanted to spend the time with crafting skills. Logan made sure to fill it with tools to increase the chances of good outcomes alongside speeding up creation processes. As an addition, Logan created a basement section under the foyer with a staircase under the normal one that led to the first floor, and a trap door in the counter, which Logan also enlarged. The basement would act as a storage room and larder. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. With a final flourish, Logan crafted a large wooden sign with slate outlines that hung over the front door with a bigger version of the guild symbol painted across it. The sign swung slightly in the wind, the metal pole that held it away from the building would also act as a good perch for oorans if needed. Logan slouched forward in his chair as his concentration ended, a numbness was felt in his arms and head, completely drained from such a long period of casting. Another experience to add to the pile when he needed to use such a trinket in the future. If he was to continue growing the guild, he would need to use it again. The next idea would be to increase the height of the guild, rather than the area it took up on the side or behind. Logan would need further building permits and materials for that, though. Picking up his chair, Logan went back inside the guild to redo the magical barrier to encompass the new area, before taking a nap on one of the couches.
Logan¡¯s nap turned into a longer rest than he had anticipated, instead awakening to the chirping of birds and the morning routines of his guildies. Rubbing his face and casting Clean over it, Logan spoke to a nearby reader, ¡°Morning, Vafith.¡± The Wizard quickly wiped her face which was slightly red, ¡°Morning, Logan.¡± ¡°You alright?¡± ¡°Yeah, just allergies¡±, she replied as she wrapped her long sleeves around her arms as they dangled. ¡°I take it everyone found their rooms alright¡±, Logan continued as he sat at the edge of the sofa, looking around the guild house. ¡°They did. I am surprised they didn¡¯t wake you with all their loud voices¡±, Vafith giggled. Logan sighed as he saw a new System window appear to his side, ¡°Hopefully they have some nice time off. I got some business to attend to first.¡± ¡°Working yourself ragged, aren''t you? You can take some time off too, you know.¡± ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll get maybe two days off before next year¡±, Logan laughed. Pulling up the window to peruse it while he approached the counter for his breakfast, Logan studied the new quest. ¡°Been a while since I had a ¡®Main Quest¡¯, no doubt it¡¯ll be difficult to accomplish. The time limit objective would lead me to believe it¡¯s not a ¡®raid¡¯ of any sort. It should be suitable for just me and Marcus¡±, Logan thought to himself as Amalia moved a mug in front of him, his partner knowing his drink of choice. ¡°Long day? The house looks like it took a lot out of you¡±, Amalia asked with a sincere smile. ¡°That it did¡±, Logan laughed, ¡°Just as long as I was expecting, but it all came out as I wanted, near enough¡±, he continued as he looked back at the foyer. ¡°A lot of the others are either adjusting their new rooms or out buying some luxuries for their break.¡± ¡°They all deserve it. Hard to say any guildie has been slacking since joining.¡± ¡°Do you have any more construction plans? Or are you joining the week break, albeit midway through?¡± ¡°I have plans, but they will come later. After the tournament at least, and that¡¯ll bring in a lot more attention to the guild.¡± ¡°I think I¡¯ll spend a lot of the time reading¡±, Amalia laughed. Logan finished his drink before replying, ¡°I have a quest to do before the year¡¯s end. So Marcus and I will be heading out to that when he gets here.¡± Amalia grabbed Logan¡¯s arm, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, maybe you should have this earlier than usual¡±, she said as she held out a small present box to Logan. Logan looked at the box for a second before taking it, ¡°Thanks.¡± Opening the box, it contained a dagger in an intricate sheath of gold and mauve. ¡°It¡¯s a legendary dagger suited to you, hopefully, it¡¯ll bring you out of a shitty situation¡±, Amalia informed with a cheeky smile. Logan unsheathed the dagger to reveal a smooth curved blade with a reinforced hilt portion and tipped with gold. ¡°It¡¯s great, thanks¡±, Logan accepted as he planted a loving kiss on Amalia. ¡°Yours will have to wait for when I get back, sadly. It¡¯s taking some time¡±, he laughed as he put the dagger into his coat storage.
Not much time passed before Marcus returned to the guild house, a few of the other guildies accompanying their senior home with their bags heavy with new purchases. Taking his ally into a meeting room, the two conversed on the most recent development. ¡°Anyone we take would be at risk, and I doubt many people will just up and leave this time of year and without much word of worry from the seers¡±, Marcus rationalised. ¡°The way the quest describes it, seems like it¡¯ll be an exterior location and just fights against these monsters. We both know how the random factor can play into these things though.¡± Marcus laughed, ¡°At least we know what we¡¯re fighting. Let¡¯s do a bit of research beforehand and check them out. As long as teleportation isn¡¯t restricted we can leave if it gets hairy.¡± ¡°My thoughts exactly. Even if they are, I can still use Air Blast to make some distance or Barrier to block what they might throw our way.¡± ¡°Bring down these monsters quick, then time off till the tourney¡±, Marcus ended with a smile.
As was custom by now, Logan and Marcus spent a healthy period checking their gear and buying up supplies for the mission ahead. The ideals of over-preparation had wormed into Logan¡¯s head, though he still wasn¡¯t as obsessive as he thought Cassius was about it. There was the prevailing thought that the daggers he bought lost their value rather quickly, based on his faster level progression. With everything settled, the pair warped away from Gauntlet.
Several Dimensional Jaunts later, Logan and Marcus found themselves with a full thicket. Sight wasn¡¯t to be trusted within the brushing shoulders of trees. The flora wasn¡¯t exactly thick, but numerous. Green canopies overhead painted the area more peaceful than its depths would like to hide. Summoning up his elementals, Logan clicked his fingers and cautiously approached the mission area. It didn¡¯t take much longer to find their quarries. Three snallygasters led by a larger alpha. Their bodies were grotesque and monstrous, an amalgamation of half-bird and half-reptile creatures. Beaks formed at the tip of their faces, the pair were made of strange organic steel with an ever-present sheen across them. Those beaks were highly prized by smiths for their durability and magical properties. Splitting out from the monsters¡¯ beaks were squid-like tentacles that whipped around in the air for prey. While its hind legs ended in deadly talons, its front appendages were bat-like wings ending in similar talons. Like its face, the creature''s hind had a lizard-like tail that whirled around. Moving around for a better sightline, Logan spotted a single deathly-red eye dotted in the centre of the creature¡¯s head, a single black vertical slit iris within it. The three normal monsters were around 20¡¯ tall, while the alpha was at 30¡¯. Logan was tempted to use Identification on them, however, his previous investigations revealed that would be a terrible action against snallygasters, using the unique form of sight to enforce a monkey-paw wish on the onlooker. Thankfully, the speed at which Logan tracked these creatures meant they were without any would-be wishers. Moving a bit away, Logan reconfirmed his attack plan with Marcus and the elementals. --- *** --- Chapter 168 - Snallygaster Murder ¡°Invisibility¡±, Logan chanted, his body whirring out of view as his quiet steps faded. Approaching the alpha snallygaster, Logan softly placed both palms on its back and mentally commanded, ¡°Gaia Second, Grasp¡±, erupting two large spikes of rock through the creature¡¯s back and out its stomach. Two Backstab alerts floated over the alpha, being able to catch them unawares meant the bonus 50% from Stealth Attack boosted the damage through the roof. The alpha crashed onto the floor swiftly, the ground shaking from its weight and detritus flying up into the air. Logan¡¯s appearing form spooked the remaining three foes even further, though he averted his gaze and instead stared at their chests to avoid an unwanted wish-granting. Heaps of elemental blasts came from the treeline as Logan¡¯s elementals pelted the left snallygaster, drawing its attention. Marcus landed a massive staff smack over the middle foe¡¯s head, jumping away as he pulled that one away. Logan picked out several daggers and began hurling them at the final monster, keeping its ire. A lovely trio of confrontations to keep the fight simpler for each party involved. Backflipping away from a wide talon swipe, Logan landed in a slide across the grassy floor, his back hitting a tree. Fighting both his opponent and the terrain caused a rush of annoyance to strike Logan, spinning around the tree he avoided another swipe as the tree plummeted to the ground. Another swipe came at Logan, but he blocked it with a Bowen dagger, however, the swipe also caused the earth to shake and crack, shooting upwards a group of spikes at the Spellthief. Twisting his other hand and dropping his off-dagger, Logan just barely had the first spike hit his palm as he mentally commanded, ¡°Spell Absorb.¡± ¡°Spell Absorption successful. Earthen Eruption charge stored. Earthen Eruption has progressed to tier 7¡±, a message played in Logan¡¯s head. Logan had to wave his hand quickly upwards to grapple another spell as a ball of fire blasted from the snallygaster¡¯s maw. ¡°Spell Absorption successful. Flame 2nd charge stored. Flame 2nd has progressed to tier 2¡±, a message played in Logan¡¯s head. Logan¡¯s eyes wandered a bit too far, almost meeting the single eye of the foe over twice his height but hunched down to bite at him. Diverting his head to the side, Logan dipped under another swipe and rolled across the floor, tumbled to his feet, and waved his hand at the foe, ¡°Earthen Eruption¡±, he chanted. A mass of rocky barbs jumped from the floor but stayed connected, missing the snallygaster as it flapped its wings to fly upwards and away. ¡°Flame Second, Skystrike¡±, Logan chanted, pulling a clawed hand back. A large mass of flames appeared behind the monster and aimed to strike into its rear, however, it merely fluttered its wings immensely, sending horrendous winds all around, dissipating the fire in the air. Logan let out a sigh as he looked higher and warped upwards. Throwing his arms wide, Logan formed two balls of fire and let loose as he chanted, ¡°Flame Shot¡±, hurtling the lower-level spells at the lower foe. Another bat of its wings had the snallygaster shift to the side to dodge, rising to meet Logan in the sky. Before he could attempt another trick, Logan had all four limbs grappled as the snallygaster warped in front of the Spellthief. The beast brought Logan up to its face, while Logan wrung his head back, slamming his forehead fiercely into the eye of his opponent. A loud crack was heard as the thumping of heads separated the combatants. Falling backwards, Logan held out a hand and spoke, ¡°Air Blast¡±, sending himself flying to the side, and then letting out another force of wind to spin around in the air, then upwards, to the side, and down. He danced around the foe who had the advantage in the air. A final blast sent Logan careening to the snallygaster, warping out of existence two feet away and grappling its back. Without a word, Logan pierced the snallygaster as he did the alpha, one large stake of minerals through its back and out its chest and another that didn¡¯t seem to go through. Backstab text appeared again but the second shattered as the spell failed to pierce whatever spell resistance the beast had. Twirling around in a dervish, the snallygaster pushed Logan away as its body started to glow yellow. Logan cursed in his head as his foe healed itself. Realigning himself with a blast of air, Logan was about to follow after his foe with another distracting technique, however, it apparated in front of his face, its eye primed into his. Logan had tears form in his eyes, and a rush of fatigue hit his retinas as a headache washed over his forehead. With research and planning ahead, Logan had the thin film he had applied earlier explode across his eyes, a magical item that protected him against a single gaze attack. Looking upwards quickly, Logan warped away as his defences were stripped away. Logan¡¯s cloak fluttered in the wind as he got higher and higher. Rubbing his face quickly, the Spellthief applied a Clean mick to fix his eyes. Picking out two more films to apply, Logan was about to put them in like contact lenses, but had to warp to the floor to avoid another torrent of flames from below. Almost shoving them into his face, Logan applied the magical items and dodged a crashing foe before he was flattened. However, with his attention on his aggressor, he missed the forming of flames behind him, dealing a dangerous 56 and 59 damage to Logan. Warping atop a tree as more fell to the floor from the conflict, Logan downed several potions to recover from the attack, jumping from his perch as the tree accompanied the others on the floor. More swipes came at Logan, this time they brought spores and dandelions with them, covering Logan¡¯s face in a sleepy mess. Logan praised his earring that allowed him to survive that certain attack, but it wasn¡¯t a certainty. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Shaking his head side to side, Logan warped away again to make some distance from the quick foe. The Spellthief was now dipping into his MP resources to teleport as he used up his rings and signature bonuses. As Logan began to change his approach to the fight, his mind disturbingly and abruptly shifted to a new scene.
Logan stood tall on a beach resort, sand between his toes and the sun beating down on his exposed upper body. The laughter of families surrounded him as a sticky-sweet vapour from nearby ice cream vans accented the air. Minute droplets of water dripped down Logan¡¯s body, having just come back from a refreshing swim in the sea. Looking around, Logan was back on Earth. Blue, white, red, and pink parasols protected those who lay on blankets. A cooler opened nearby, the clinking glass alerting others that ¡°drinks are on¡±, happy footsteps against flowing sand moving away from Logan. The scene was serene but sinister. Logan was about to smash it apart with a clenched fist if it wasn¡¯t for a hand clasping his shoulder. Turning to face the hand, Logan¡¯s gaze was met by his father. A balding man with the happiest smile you¡¯d ever seen. As he opened his mouth to speak, Logan only heard a muffled breath, as if his father was speaking through a thick door asking Logan to let him in the house. Flexing his hands, Logan forced whatever spellforce he had left to flow through his body. A rush of wind flew from his shoulders to his fingertips, a circular wave erupted from his feet. As his power zoomed around, a shattering of glass collapsed the fake world, returning Logan back to his senses.
Logan was impaled on a tree, his feet barely touching the floor. Blood had been pouring from him for some time, a gash across his face having rendered one of his eyes inoperable. Choking out phlegm and blood, Logan tore the rocky thorn from his body and fell to the floor on his feet. Liquid poured from Logan¡¯s eyes, the protection only reducing the effect of the mind-controlling demon. Thwarting the forced wish, Logan was able to keep himself alive. The trick of the snallygasters was that they granted wishes no matter if you wanted them or not. A simple look would sign the contract, no matter the penalty. Pulling into your psyche if you resisted, Logan could only block the sightline or have a backfed spellforce to stop the effect. The snallygaster whose mental control was broken charged at Logan again, aiming a wide crushing slam with both front limbs. The Spellthief¡¯s vaskt red eyes ripped open as Logan smashed the backs of his wrist against that of his foe¡¯s, stopping the attack before it hit. As the two beings clashed as such, incredibly destructive winds flurried around, cutting apart leaves, and grass, and even cracking the nearby trees and ground. Opening his palms, Logan let loose two flurries of his own rocky spikes, piercing the monster through the chest and causing them to fall to the floor in a slide. Their larger body lay still in the mud. Logan fell to a knee as he drew out more potions from his inventory to heal his wounds, spitting out a glob of blood after downing the liquid. Standing up, Logan warped away. Apparating atop the back of another snallygaster, the one accosting his elementals whom only Celsius and Fahrenheit remained, Logan dove two daggers on its back. MP Theivery text appeared in blue, stating Logan stole two lots of 8 MP from his foe. As the Spellthief kicked off his target¡¯s back to avoid retaliation, his quest alerted him to having drained one of the snallygasters to 0 MP. Kicking off the floor to further debilitate this foe, Logan slapped both of the monster¡¯s winged talons and mentally commanded, ¡°Status Disturbance¡±, removing the earthy aura around both and dispelling the Infuse buffs they had. A solid punch into its chest with a further command had its whole body seemingly slow, a Haste effect being the last to remove. With another objective complete, Logan drew up two daggers and thrust them into the monster¡¯s wings, Celsius and Fahrenheit blasting it in the back with their ranged effects. With the last assault, the beast fell to the floor. Logan had a few missteps as he regained his footing, the fight wasn¡¯t overly long but it was draining. Twisting his head around, Logan spied Marcus in the background pulling out a rocky spike from his own foe. Slowly returning to his ally, Logan downed another potion to make himself feel better after the conflict. Celsius and Fahrenheit moved to group up the bodies for Harvesting, while Marcus healed himself and dragged the corpse behind him. ¡°Kept your wits then¡±, Logan asked through harsh breaths. ¡°Yeah. These monsters really wanted to give me a staring contest¡±, Marcus chuckled as he wiped blood from his mouth. Logan looked to the side as he saw his quest complete, ¡°Seems we¡¯re done here. Probably the second fastest quest I¡¯ve completed.¡± ¡°Suppose we earned a rest before heading back, yeah?¡± Logan fell on his rear as he pulled out a waterskin, ¡°No arguments here.¡± The yellow experience numbers were a calming sight as ever, Logan looking into the sky as another quest passed him by, leading to some time off for the last parts of the year. The man¡¯s breath painted the air a thick white as his body temperature was far higher than the climate. Even so far away from Gauntlet, it was still cold, but not enough for any signs of snow just yet. With some downtime before heading out, Logan accepted his quest rewards. ¡°Quest - Eradicate the Snallygasters, has been completed. You achieved 4 additional objectives during the mission and as such your rewards will be increased. Distributing rewards¡­¡± ¡°The reward for your quest completion is as follows: As you had the aid of a partnered NPC, they shall be granted 5,323 XP.¡± Logan passed 46 gold to Marcus for his aid, as usual, before putting on the new garb and putting his new Spellthief¡¯s edge in his left hilt, the right still holding the frozen lord edge. The armour in particular was an amazing boost to Logan¡¯s defences as he had been relying on the set he had gained all the way back at the frost monarch¡¯s cavern. Having both of these appear at legendary quality also meant they would keep pace well into the next level, and possibly 23 too. At least their additional effects would be useful for some time to come. The danger of getting them was comparable though, Logan was wise to have bought up defences against the enforced wishes. Would those creatures really have been able to grant his desire to be back with his father, and in good health? As Logan stood to take what he could from the corpses he felt a rush of wind at his back, as well as that of a tightening wire around him. Whipping around, Logan just barely blocked a massive kick with his arms, sending him hurtling into a tree and destroying it on impact. ¡°Logan!¡± Marcus shouted as he was similarly hit away. Two sword swings saw the two elementals burst into light, their cores cracking into nothingness in the air. ¡°Prism Censure¡±, the attacker finished chanting, their tone gravelly and demonic yet with a hint of feminine pitch. A pair of talons finished strange movements with a pointed clash, a small prism forming in the middle of their limbs that quickly expanded greatly, covering easily several hundred feet. Two long bone blades teased the dirt below as the four-armed creature breathed out a cloud of white smoke, a grin past both ears as she stared glowing green eyes at her quarry. ¡°PC, time to die.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 169 - No Nice Monsters The new arrival to the battlefield stood tall, their presence dominating from both their aesthetics and their actions. Logan and Marcus shook all over from the impact of the monster¡¯s attacks, even unarmed strikes were deathly. As the pair stood tall, they got a better eye on their aggressor. Two arms that ended in claws with thumbs, and two familiar talons that appeared under their normal arms, below the armpits. A long tongue whipped around, down to her shins, ending in a point and displaying several barbs that pointed to the tip. Her face was demonic and jagged, an almost bone-like faceplate or skull that housed two glowing green eyes without irises. A jagged maw opened so wide it looked dislocated, and her grin extended past where ears would normally appear, though the skull didn¡¯t show much in that design, aside from horns and spikes. The creature¡¯s whole body was seemingly coated in a bone exoskeleton, protecting the muscular dark-red underneath, a weird ooze of black dripping all across her body as if it were sick or sleek by nature. Standing at 6¡¯7¡±, she wasn¡¯t huge in comparison to the snallygasters, but she looked down on Logan and Marcus. Two sharp and smooth bone swords with red veins were held in her grasp, almost the same colour as the creature¡¯s exoskeleton, her talons jagged and bloody, as if she had just come from another murder scene. ¡°You boys have been a pain in my muscles. Far too skittery¡±, the monster claimed, her voice full of spite and bile as her tongue continued to twirl around. ¡°Another monster with speech?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°What do you know about PCs?¡± Logan demanded as he took a defensive stance. He tried to use Identification, but it returned no result. ¡°That you¡¯re the troublemakers of this land. Coming here to stir the pot and fuck our natural progression¡±, she spat in reply. Marcus side-eyed Logan as he tried to comprehend the situation. ¡°How¡¯d you find us?¡± The creature laughed maniacally, ¡°We¡¯ve known about you for ages. Sadly, all offensive attempts up to now have failed. Incarceration would be too good for you anyway.¡± ¡°So you were controlling Quayvan?¡± She laughed even harder, her mouth opening like it was a mimic chest, ¡°Control implies what you¡¯re commanding has any other choice or chance of resistance.¡± ¡°Fine, whatever you want to call it¡±, Logan spat. ¡°He was one of mine. Thermodan was a far better tool with his reach and knowledge. But like my plans, it all blew up¡±, she cackled. ¡°Is she trying to run out our buff timers? Or is she egotistical?¡± Logan thought to himself, not having any resemblance to this sort of conversation with his foes. ¡°What is it you want then? You¡¯ve applied at least a two-fold teleportation blocker, so you at least want us to stay put.¡± The prism keeping the trio in place had static flow over it, cracking a bit in the air as it continued its purpose. The creature looked up to admire her work, ¡°We¡¯ve time. The prism will last for a good two-hour.¡± ¡°So, time for tea and snacks?¡± Marcus teased. ¡°I do like to play with my food¡±, the creature teased back as she licked her lips with the upper half of her tongue. ¡°But no. I just like to see how you¡¯d react, I know most of your tricks. Those Enhance spells of yours would be lovely to avoid.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t make this unfair now, can we?¡± Logan chuckled, ¡°Fine then. Is there anyone else above you we need to worry about?¡± ¡°What¡¯s there to worry about when you''re dead?¡± ¡°You said ¡®we¡¯ so it isn¡¯t just you.¡± ¡°Whilst they are cowards. I am no traitor to my kind¡±, she replied quickly, ¡°Now. I offer a bargain.¡± Logan raised an eyebrow as his lost eye reformed properly, ¡°What? You don¡¯t just want to eat us?¡± ¡°While enticing, I have a better idea. Bring me Ahren, and I shall forget this whole PC business.¡± ¡°This thing wants Ahren? Why? Did it know the Below PC Ahren killed?¡± Logan thought to himself. ¡°Even if we did, why would we trust a monster¡¯s word?¡± ¡°Tille.¡± ¡°Till what?¡± ¡°No, my name, Tille. Use it while conversing with me.¡± ¡°Fine. Tille.¡± Tille then titled her head, ¡°Isn¡¯t formality nicer? Sir Logan? As to assurances, I, Lady Tille, shall engage in a life-bound contract.¡± ¡°So. You¡¯d die if you break it, while we¡¯re out of it after bringing you whoever this ¡®Ahren¡¯ is¡±, Marcus both explained and asked. ¡°Correct. Going against the GP has already weakened me. Cutting ties completely is only a benefit.¡± ¡°GP?¡± Logan asked, bemused. ¡°It matters not. Do we have an agreement?¡± Logan thought over it for a moment, ¡°She went against something, and she¡¯s weaker because of it? Is that why she is¡­ leaking?¡± Tille then let out a pained groan as she shook her head, ¡°Decline, below damn you¡±, she said under her breath. ¡°Alert¡±, a robotic voice played in Logan¡¯s head, dissimilar from Fol¡¯s. ¡°You are facing¡ª¡± it continued before getting cut off by static. Fol then replaced the dying voice in Logan¡¯s mind, ¡°Logan. It seems this monster was a partnered NPC. If I am right, it might be holding a vestige of the PC¡¯s power.¡± ¡°So, they are getting quests to kill me¡±, Logan surmised in reply. ¡°Choose now, Logan¡±, Tille shouted in anger, the ooze continuing to seep from her muscular underbody. Logan quickly looked towards Marcus, ¡°Enhance¡±, he commanded. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Tille let out a monstrous roar, her voice quaking the earth and shattering the terrain around her. Kicking off the floor, she left a massive crater where she once was. Marcus quickly slapped his hand on Logan¡¯s shoulder, Enhancing his Agility but having little time for anything else. A grey aura surrounded the two men as Logan drew two daggers to block a sword and talon on the left of the monster, Marcus blocking a sword with his staff and grappling the talon before it hit his side. Tille¡¯s muscles flexed and momentarily expanded under the exoskeleton, a dangerous power welling from her centre to her hands. The swords felt like a speeding train on the pair as Logan and Marcus kicked off the floor to avoid their blocks getting devastated, the bone swords cleaving the floor so deep that water spouted up. Following her prey, Tille slashed out with horrendous speed. Logan chanted, ¡°Haste¡±, increasing his speed but barely keeping up with the monster¡¯s. Thuds and scrapes echoed in the forest as steel met bone. Marcus had to spin his staff around desperately to block a sword and talon both. Cracks formed across it as he dropped his main weapon to pull out twin daggers to mirror Logan. Logan tried to warp, but his body merely vibrated. His skills and items only really helped against miscasting or effects that stopped casting altogether, specific abilities that only targeted a single spell or type still stopped him. It was only a second-level spell, Dimensional Jaunt was easily countered. ¡°Invisibility¡±, Logan chanted in distress. His form blurred out of view, leaving Marcus to have the ire of the foe. He wasn¡¯t alone for long, though, a second passed as two tendrils of darkness pierced Tille, from the front and back. This was shortly followed by two blocks of the left sword and talon as Logan protected Marcus. Red and black blood splattered the battlefield as Tille didn¡¯t stop her assault for a moment. Logan¡¯s Necromantic 2nd spells did little to deter her. As Logan blocked another two swipes, he spun the Bowen daggers in his hand and threw them at the monster. Their speed was nothing against her reactions, the daggers flying past her head as Logan drew up two more to block a retaliation. Parrying four more blows, Logan threw a dagger, opened his palm, and set off an Air Blast to propel himself backwards. Moving his hand to the floor, Logan went up high, blasted over Tille, and then to her rear. Pulling out another dagger, Logan started to attack at Tille¡¯s back, but she merely turned to the side to assault Logan on her left, and Marcus on her right, but much more stretched out than focusing on a frontward assault. Marcus had his daggers shattered, forcing him to draw up two more. Logan twirled a dagger, letting it spin in the air after parrying another strike. Forming a staff from his inventory, he threw it around Tille, the bottom tip impaling the floor beside Marcus who quickly kicked it into his right hand to go back to a staff and knife combo. ¡°Pesky pests¡±, Tille shouted before drawing her blades across her body, a black mist forming around them. Logan quickly shot an Air Blast at Marcus to propel his upper body down while he also bent back till his head hit the floor. Swiping outwards, Tille let out a massive circle of black that cut through countless trees all around. As the flora crashed around them, the two men rolled back to their feet having dodged a strike that was sure to have bisected them. In unison with their distance, Logan and Marcus aimed at their foe and silentcasted a duo-volley of Gaia 2nd and a single. Tille cut at the rocks, decimating them as they arced towards her. She then turned to Logan and darted after him, causing him to blast into the air to avoid her assault. However, she merely kicked off the floor to keep pace with the Spellthief, four limbs prized to cut him down. ¡°Chain Guard¡±, Marcus chanted, forming golden chains to follow after Tille and wrap around her legs, halting her upward momentum. ¡°Unlock Dagger Toss¡±, Logan commanded in his head as he brought both his daggers overhead and far back. Unlocking the skill he had seen ages ago, his Bowen daggers were coated in a grey aura before Logan threw them. Their speed was staggering, a sonic boom erupting from the handles as they pierced Tille¡¯s exoskeleton and went through her shoulders, narrowly missing where the chains had appeared in the ground. Like a dervish, Logan formed dagger after dagger from his inventory in the air and continually used Dagger Toss to railgun his knives at his foe. Trapped in the air, Tille cut apart some of the daggers with her swords, the punitive weapons shattering into nothingness as she did so. Thankfully, a few got through and pierced Tille three times before the chains were broken from her kicking. Placing her feet together, Tille let out a blast of pressure from the soles, making herself a rocket towards Logan. Logan blasted diagonally down to avoid the skill of his foe, however, she just did it again. Casting another Air Blast, Logan used more charges to avoid his foe in the air. ¡°She¡¯s unrelenting¡±, Logan cursed in his head. Careening towards Marcus, Logan blasted over the Devout¡¯s head to allow Marcus to finish another cast of Chain Guard, the golden chains wrapping around Tille hastily though many broke in the process. ¡°Chain Guard¡±, Marcus chanted over and over, adding more chains to the mess, it was like catching a shark in fish nets. Logan spun around in the air and blasted back towards Tille, chanting, ¡°Aqua Shot, Gaia Shot, Lightning Shot, Necromantic Shot, Wind Shot, Lightning Cascade¡±, letting loose a barrage of all his spell slots for the day. Water collided with earth and shattered with lightning sparks while darkness surrounded the wind, the whole colourful display ended in electricity cracking. Tille flexed her muscles again, letting out a gargantuan roar. The sound of her voice shook the earth and cracked the floor up to thirty feet away. Marcus¡¯s golden chains dissipated as the dazzling view of magic was blown far from the monster. Standing tall, but bleeding, Tille placed her left talon in front of herself and severed it with her right sword. As the talon flew through the air and hit the floor, she chanted, ¡°Carbon Imitation¡±, causing the talon to go haywire and spin. At the severed section, the muscle exploded outwards with more bone and meat, red and black ooze coating the battlefield. As Logan and Marcus regrouped they were now standing opposite two Tilles, the original with only one talon, and the new one that looked like a new babe but swordless. ¡°Been some time since I used this¡±, Tille admitted as she looked her double. ¡°We can only handle so much of ourselves¡±, the copy replied with a smirk. ¡°Oh, stop¡±, the original teased. ¡°This isn¡¯t good¡±, Marcus spoke under his breath. ¡°They can¡¯t be at the same power¡±, Logan consoled. The two Tilles then stared daggers at the two adventurers who quickly realigned their defensive stances. ¡°I¡¯ll have to bring out my new style if this is the case¡±, Marcus revealed. ¡°You¡¯ve been holding back?!¡± Logan argued without moving his gaze. ¡°Not necessarily. It¡¯s untested in the field like this. Can you pull out my two bags?¡± Marcus asked in a whisper. The two Tilles then started to approach the pair, Logan quickly summoning up two large bags for Marcus. Blasting towards the two foes, Logan tried to keep their attention while Marcus prepared himself, however, the copy instead went wide and circled Logan. Jumping up and then blasting downwards, the copy grappled Marcus as he picked up the bags, and the pair crashed through the floor out of sight. ¡°Marcus!¡± Logan called out as he turned his head. ¡°Here, boy!¡± Tille bemoaned as she slashed at Logan. The Spelltheif blocked both swords with his dagger, barely kicking and landing his left leg on the right talon, using it as a weird pedestal. Wringing his right leg back, Logan kicked at Tille¡¯s head to disrupt the grapple they found themselves in. Landing solidly, Logan noticed something, ¡°She is a bit slower and less hardy¡­ she did split her power!¡±
Meanwhile, under the ground. Marcus found himself within a large cavern under the surface, light bleeding in from the hole he was dragged through. His bags at his side on the floor, Marcus grabbed them before seeing the copy Tille reorganise herself. ¡°Alone with a man, what am I to do¡±, the copy feigned weakness. ¡°Hey, I have no qualms with this. You just gave me free rein to show off my new moves. I really didn¡¯t want Logan to get a leg up on me¡±, Marcus replied with a grin, pulling out a reflective metal from his bags. ¡°You¡¯ll be the one to get pounded¡±, the copy replied with bile and confidence. --- *** --- Chapter 170 - What Makes a Monster Logan scanned over his new opponent cautiously as they parted from their previous clash. He was sure Tille had lost some power from splitting in two, but it wasn¡¯t a massive change. Was it 80%? If so, Marcus was going to have an easy time versus 20%. But, there was also the chance this split had the ability to make two powerful copies. This could be 80% while the other was 40, 50, or even another 80%. Moving his vaskt eyes to look to his side out of instinct, worried for his friend, Logan tried to keep all his attention on his foe. Whatever the partitions of power were, both had an easier foe to fight. ¡°Frightened your duo will be expunged?¡± Tille asked with a sinister cackle. ¡°No. Just curious how much easier you¡¯ve made this for me¡±, Logan replied with confidence. Tille laughed further, ¡°Oh, you¡¯re curious about my skill? I have little worry. We are stronger apart than combined.¡± ¡°So, two halves don¡¯t make a whole.¡± ¡°It¡¯d be a weak strategy if I divided my resources like that¡±, Tille announced as she licked the wound of her left talon. ¡°Why not start the fight like that then?¡± Logan asked, hoping to buy some time. ¡°Everything has its con. Your decline of my bargain will be your friend¡¯s life.¡± Logan chuckled, ¡°You must believe I think little of Marcus¡±, before strengthening his stance, ¡°I trust he can kick your ass.¡± ¡°Let us see!¡± Tille yelled as she charged at Logan. Logan threw both of his daggers with Dagger Toss, their edges cutting the air apart as the monster narrowly dodged both. Drawing up his frozen lord edge and the dagger given to him by Amalia, Logan blocked both of the sword swings from Tille. ¡°Set Outfit 1¡±, Logan commanded in his head. ¡°Set¡±, Fol replied. Slashing back to send Tille away, Logan threw his daggers into his inventory and picked out two more Bowen daggers, throwing them with immense power, one piercing Tille¡¯s stomach. Jumping at the monster, Logan commanded in his head, ¡°O1.¡± To which Fol replied, ¡°Changed.¡± Logan had his frozen lord edge and Amalia''s blade appear in his hands immediately, slamming both down on Tille¡¯s sword while he used all of his weight to push down. Getting reflected, Logan twisted in the air as Tille followed on the ground. Spinning, Logan slashed at the swords again to stop them from reaching him. Several strikes landed while he twirled in the air and Tille assaulted him with firmer footing. Landing his blades on Tille¡¯s again, Logan also planted both feet on the swords and kicked off them. Throwing his daggers into his coat, Logan let off two blasts of air to send himself upwards. Drawing dagger after dagger from his inventory, he yet again let loose a volley of knives at Tille. In her split state, she wasn¡¯t able to dodge or block as many, several puncturing her frame and turning her into a type of holey cheese. The forest was a mess of crimson and stygian. Tille¡¯s body continued to convulse and pulsate as she shrugged off the pain, some form of power healing her throughout the fight. Logan just had to outlive her. Tille blasted upwards to follow Logan again, the Spellthief shifting his body to avoid talon swipes and blocking the swords with his dagger. Aiming his feet back, Logan blasted wind from his soles as he rugby-tackled the monster. With a swift movement, Logan commanded, ¡°O1¡±, in his head, the Bowen daggers shifted to his set blades, and pierced the monster¡¯s inner-elbows with them. Backstab text appeared twice as Dastardly Backstabs weakened Tille¡¯s swordarms. Logan blasted again, hugging Tille¡¯s body as he wrapped his hands around her back, silentcasting two rounds of Necromantic 2 Grasp, Tille had claws dig deep into the muscles of her back, her energies pouring into Logan. Tille opened her maw wide and was about to bite into Logan¡¯s shoulder, however, he kicked off her plummeting body before she could get a nibble in. Her body made another crater in the floor as Logan landed a few feet away in a slide. Breakdancing to her feet, Tille flexed the daggers from her arms and caused them to fall to the floor. The opponents glared at one another, haggard breath escaping into white mist. Blood and ink fell to the floor, the combatants having let out so much it was a miracle both still lived. Logan was near the end of his rope. If he was fresh, it¡¯d be a better setup. Sadly, Logan¡¯s reserves were almost bled as dry as him. He had only three spells left prepared, and 0 MP. He¡¯d need an opportunity to down some vials, or resort to Bloodcasting. The Spellthief had a plan, but he couldn¡¯t enact it just yet. Tille was so on edge that any movements from Logan would cause her to go into a defence or just jump high to dodge it. Tille¡¯s arms were hung low, her elbows destroyed to the point she¡¯d want an amputation. They only worked through sheer will and forced spellforce through them. She was puppeteering herself just as she had all those who died before her. Logan breathed in deep and let out a loud command enhanced via Boom Voice, ¡°Gabtrak, hyse. Meer Lord ast ire!¡± The Spellthief¡¯s voice carried into the forest, whatever birds hadn¡¯t already scattered flew from canopies in the distance. The departure was soon followed by stampeding feet as Logan utilised his Call to War skill. ¡°What the below?¡± Tille cursed as she weakly drew up her blades. Logan threw several more daggers at Tille, dipping into his weaker supply. Tille could only defend at this point, cutting at the Dagger Toss-infused blades. Shortly after that, goblinoids of various types came charging through the exterior of the prism. Clubs and claws, swords and shields. The army had arrived. Being so far from where Logan had been before allowed a bigger pool of goblins to call on, and it worked wonderfully. As Logan was running out of daggers, the first of the goblins jumped at Tille to smash her down. With hurried kicks, Tille dispatched the would-be kill-stealers, their bodies flying off into the distance. Logan darted towards Tille, sliding underneath a hobgoblin and jumping over a few scouts. Landing in a slide, Logan gathered his frozen lord edge and Amalia¡¯s blade, putting them into his inventory. Tille slashed through the club of a hobgoblin, segmenting it and its wielder with ease. Formins gave her a bit of trouble with their heightened speed but went down in single hits too. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Pulling vial after vial from his inventory, Logan was guzzling the restorative liquids down his gullet. ¡°Get the fuck off me!¡± Tille screamed as she stabbed one blade into the ground, supported her right arm, and slashed into another circle with a black aura. The deathly slice cut countless goblinoids in half. Logan hung in the air for a second after jumping high to dodge the slash. Each use of that skill meant another Logan didn¡¯t have to deal with, although that offensive had ruined his army of goblins. No more were coming any time soon. Logan landed deftly as he picked up another two daggers that littered the floor by now. Tille waved her hand over the corpses, her blood continuing to soak what she aimed at. Both hers and the blood of her foes started to float upwards, starting slow they quickly sped to an insane speed towards Tille¡¯s form. Soaking into her muscle underbody, Tille took on a dark red and black aura. Her green eyes slowly turned to face Logan, a second wind of sorts overcoming the monster who was taking far too long to kill. Stabbing her other blade into the floor, Tille clasped her hands together and pulled apart, a strange static surrounding her body and exploding outwards with black bile as her hands became outstretched. ¡°Thank you for the meal¡±, Tille praised devilishly. Logan cast Haste once more and darted towards Tille. Starting his assault with a blaze of fire and heated obelisks, Logan jumped high to avoid a swapping dual-slash and shot down more sparks of lightning that crackled across his foe¡¯s armaments, Logan continued to batter Tille¡¯s weapons to set up for later. Sprinting together, Bowen daggers collided and shattered against slipstream swords, Logan stopped Tille¡¯s wrists just before the swords hit him, Tille forcing him to duck as they continued anyway. Forming his frozen lord edge and Amalia¡¯s blade, Logan parried more slashes, the force of which felt like Tille was back to full strength. With his last ditch effort, Logan chanted, ¡°Skin of Ice¡±, coating his body blue before returning to normal. Parrying several more blows, Logan saw cracks all across the bone swords that Tille employed. Throwing his daggers back into his inventory, Logan pushed two clawed hands toward the monster¡¯s chest. Tille¡¯s two swords came swinging down as her right talon darted to pierce Logan. A trio of strikes to end her quarry. Two cracks and three punchy punctures echoed through the forest. Then another, and another, another¡­ twenty punctures total as Logan¡¯s shoulders bled from shattered bone swords, Tille a porcupine as twenty Bowen daggers had been telekinetically forced into her. The monster was a mess of steel, her attention had only been on Logan, not the battlefield covered in tree trunks, corpses, and all the daggers Logan had thrown previously. His ammunition was in plain sight, allowing for this ¡°Dagger Hell¡± technique Logan had used. Tille¡¯s bones creaked as the blades junked up her joints, blood poured profusely from the wounds and her mouth, her green eyes bleeding black as she fell on her back. Logan fell to his knees with 27 HP remaining, the damage reduction from his armour and resistance from his spell had let him survive the final attack. Shaky hands pulled vials from Logan¡¯s inventory as he drank back up to strength. A smattering of fog persisted in the Spellthief¡¯s mind, even with the resistance he had built up to spell fatigue, he could feel it in the distance. At his best guess, he was just over halfway fatigued. Logan spat out blood, his skin pale with the veins popping to the surface. Having had to Bloodcast his Telekinesis spell as he lacked the MP for it, Logan had reduced his maximum HP quite a bit. Before any further rest could take hold, Logan ran over to the hole in the ground where Marcus had been abducted, picking up daggers in his path as he went. Sliding down the slope to the chamber, Logan scanned the area for his ally. Marcus was slowly limping towards Logan, blood soaking his ripped-apart robes, one of his arms had several deformities across it as if it had been continually snapped and broken. Logan ran to catch his friend before he fell to the floor. ¡°Marcus, stay with me, buddy.¡± Marcus coughed up blood onto Logan, ¡°Hah, no worries, this is nothing.¡± Logan laughed, scared, ¡°You won, right?¡± Marcus moved to sit on the floor with the aid of Logan, ¡°Was there any doubt?¡± ¡°Sorry, I couldn¡¯t get to you in time to help.¡± ¡°Hey, you had your own issues to deal with. We just shared the load of the fight, that¡¯s all.¡± ¡°Did she say anything to you?¡± Marcus took a vial from Logan¡¯s hand and drank it, ¡°Nothing of note. Seems she was the weaker of the two copies though¡±, he answered as he spluttered the end of the potion. ¡°It seems like she was the last rung of the ladder for the recent business we¡¯ve been dealing with. But I got the insinuation she had side allies who didn¡¯t see things the same way she did¡±, Logan announced. ¡°So¡±, Marcus began as he cracked his arm into position, ¡°we have to worry, but not immediately.¡± ¡°Probably just more Below PCs, I had guessed there were some anyway. If she was a partnered monster, and Krekka was maybe another, we¡¯re looking for at least one, maybe two. She was the monster of a dead PC.¡± ¡°She not related to Quayvan? From your description, those talons of hers seemed to be the same?¡± ¡°They were the same. The whole sunsilt bolt situation was engineered by her hands I¡¯d wager.¡± ¡°Quayvan wasn¡¯t a partner?¡± Logan shook his head, ¡°I doubt it.¡± ¡°So, who¡¯s this Ahren? Someone who wants to stay anonymous?¡± Marcus asked, a bit worried. Logan thought for a second before replying, ¡°That he is.¡± Marcus stood at the aid of his staff, ¡°That¡¯s fine, I trust you. I believe what you tell me and don''t think about what you don''t", he assured. Logan stood too, waving a hand over himself as he used Clean to make himself look fresh. ¡°Let¡¯s see what she brought with her. Is her copy still around?¡± ¡°It didn¡¯t melt away, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re wondering.¡± Marcus led Logan into the underground, seemingly a domicile of an older species of ground-dwelling creatures. The copy of Tille was battered and bruised, several parts of her exoskeleton were crushed and snapped backwards. Marcus certainly ensured she¡¯d stay down, but then, his Strength was far above Logan¡¯s with his enhancements. ¡°Identify.¡± ¡°This corpse is protected against identification abilities. The following is all you can assess: Name: Tille. Level 23. Copy / Demon / Skullbeast. Many markers depict she drank blood and ate the flesh of humanoids. At least one skill shows her being a partner to a Player. Her abilities and components are weaker than the main body as this is a copy. Notable Components: Heart, skull plate.¡± Logan sighed, ¡°Cons indeed. It seems splitting like this is a permanent measure. Even at two, they were easy enough for the both of us to handle singularly.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t tell how strong this one was?¡± ¡°At my guess, I fought an 80%, you fought a 60 to 70% copy.¡± Marcus tutted, ¡°Couldn¡¯t have been a simple 50-50, ay?¡± ¡°If she lacked an ability to reform, this is quite a detriment to her overall combat prowess. She slowed enough for me to keep pace easier, and hit her simpler¡±, Logan continued as he looked over Marcus, ¡°It¡¯s good she didn¡¯t know our true capabilities. She seemed unaware of my Telekinesis, and you, your¡­ whatever you were hiding was.¡± ¡°Like I told her, I was fortunate to have my fight blocked from your sight¡±, Marcus laughed in pain, ¡°I suppose it¡¯d be better if she were fighting just one of us with two of her, seven limbs would be unmanageable at her speeds.¡± ¡°No weapons¡±, Logan thought aloud as he looked over the corpse, ¡°I take it she was fighting unarmed?¡± ¡°That she was.¡± ¡°I broke her swords up top, so no loot there¡±, Logan announced as he cut out the copy¡¯s heart and prized the plating of bone around its head. ¡°I guess she couldn¡¯t handle my chains and your spells¡±, Marcus chuckled to himself. The pair returned to the surface, Logan cutting another heart and skull plate for his collection. There wasn¡¯t much else of a reward to be had as the monster didn¡¯t carry any bags or wear anything of note. It seemed the true reward would be the lack of attacks, as they now lacked her direction. Moving both corpses together, Logan set them alight to remove any components he couldn¡¯t use and to remove the chance of something eating her remains for more power. It was also good insurance she¡¯d not get revived. At the end of it all, both Logan and Marcus were fully tapped out, and so decided to rest some distance away until tomorrow before they could warp back to Gauntlet. --- *** --- Chapter 171 - Draining Fallout The Spellthief and Devout duo slept like logs, their bodies completely exhausted from the harrowing fights of the day prior. While still on edge, as there were always dangers in the dark and snakes in the grass, it turned out they did not need to worry about sleeping in the forests. Regardless, sleeping in the woods wasn¡¯t as comfortable as the beds back at the guild house. With all the new spell slots from Logan¡¯s new coat, he had some reorganising of his prepared spells for each day to do. Along with his new slots, Logan¡¯s summons now granted him 58 MP via Charge Transfer, minus the 4 he spent summoning the ones his bangle didn¡¯t pay for. Servoir and Umbra were close to level 17, the current max level for his summons, so it wasn¡¯t long till he reached the limit of the 2nd-level summon spell. Making doubly sure he¡¯d never run out of Dimensional Jaunt, Logan assigned at least one spell slot to it, allowing him to use proper potions to restore a single use at a time as potions couldn¡¯t grant him MP. With everything prepared for whatever the day had in store, Logan teleported back to Gauntlet with Marcus in tow.
Almost dragging their feet back to the guild house, Logan plopped himself on the sofa with his arms spread over the backrest. Marcus moved to the counter to get drinks for both himself and his friend. ¡°The overmorrow will be the 30th¡±, Marcus started. ¡°Yeah, counting today we got three days till the new year¡±, Logan replied slowly. ¡°At least the newest development means you¡¯ll have all the time you need for the tournament, right?¡± ¡°Unless an emergency emerges, yeah.¡± ¡°Any plans?¡± ¡°Laying here and reading¡±, Logan laughed.
The first day of rest was taken up first by a two-hour nap, preparing the two copied hearts within a cauldron, and then a good ten hours of reading after Logan bought up some new tomes to study. Outside of normal reading fatigue, Logan¡¯s eyes became tired quickly, the same as his body. Having Bloodcasted so much against Tille, Logan was running on around half health, and it was easily felt through even the minor things in life. The second day was another eight hours of reading for Logan to finish all of his tomes. With his Regeneration at play, he was regaining thirty health a day as opposed to the normal ten. He¡¯d be back in shape by the time of the tournament. Logan progressed Haste from tier 8 to 10, Skin of Ice from 8 to 10, and Sleep from 4 to 10. For his third-level spells, he focused on his new Barrier spell, getting it to tier 10 to protect him in times when teleportation or dodging was not an option. At maximum mastery, Barrier would now block twenty times his level in damage per casting, a sizeable 420. Even at the speed he was reading, Logan was strapped for time. Moving into the last day of the year, Logan wanted to spend it more leisurely than grinding on books for mastery. The first step towards this was the finishing touches of an item crafted from the hearts of Tille. It became a double-sided heart, its compiled beating made quite an otherworldly sight. Tearing at the flesh, Logan devoured it like so many other meals, blood dripping down his chin as he imbibed its powers. ¡°You have reached Demon Stage 4. Your attributes have all increased by 1. You have unlocked the skill Planar Spellforce.¡± Unlike the previous times his demonhood stage advanced, Logan didn¡¯t have bile in his stomach nor veins pop to the edge of his skin. His body had become accustomed to growing towards being a full-blooded demon. Checking the advancements brought a grin to his face as he saw the power at his fingertips. Spellforce Blast in particular was a harrowing attack he had come under when aiding Tinte in some issues it had with local demons while gathering up troll blood. One issue would be the time it took to charge, and faster opponents just avoiding the draining area. It could be a nice sneak attack if he were far enough away though. When it came to Planar Spellforce, Logan compared it to Signature Spell in that it gave increasing quantities at lower levels. There weren¡¯t many other spells to assign, his first-levels having several slots per spell at this point. It¡¯d be easier to hide his lower slots with this. When it came to casting so many spells, Logan¡¯s Otherworldly Stamina had increased to tier 4 along with his demonhood, so he had little worry about fatiguing himself. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Thinking on his stage, Logan had passed fledgling vampires who started at 3. Older vampires would probably more quickly assume he was one if not for missing aesthetic changes. It took almost a hundred and sixty days to reach this point, a staggering speed for those who saw vampiric surrender as the best way to ascend to this height.
Logan ruffled his hair as his brain was much more calculating than it was back on Earth. Then, he only had to worry about his boss taking advantage of him or budgeting for the month. On Avanar, he had a daily resource recount, figured out daily and weekly quest plans, organised a whole guild, and prepared for any surprise system quests. Not to mention everything going on with his class and skills. Thankfully, he didn¡¯t forget a date he had planned with Amalia for the day. With barely any Bloodcasted health to recover, he was mostly refreshed for it. Putting on some nicer, non-combat attire, he met with his partner as the pair headed into town. One of the more enjoyable parts of a fantasy world with magic was that of the intricate and entertaining establishments on offer. The particular one Logan had picked for this night was hopefully one suited to Amalia who had a fondness for magic. A large eating establishment, Morphic Delights, took on some ideas from Leroy¡¯s restaurant and added a wondrous flair to it. The interior was a compilation of brown and dark-red wood walls, some places seemed like a maze of corridors, with no other patrons in sight, just empty tables here and there. One of the members of staff approached the two to take Logan¡¯s reservation. As Logan and Amalia were seated, the floor shook a bit before lines appeared all over it. Rectangle segments of the floor then slowly rose to the ceiling, meeting with it neatly and sealing the two in a private chamber that fit their needs. The business prided itself on privacy and personally styled ¡°rooms¡± for the patrons. Rugs and drapes folded out of the wood, depicting the elements and dazzling combat scenarios. The table had its centre open up to reveal a dancing globe with a fire pit beneath it, opening up, the globe revealed a platter of meat and two pairs of metallic tongs, allowing for the customers to barbeque their own meals. The familiar sight of two floating rocks also floated from holes in the floor that closed thereafter. One was covered in icy-blue veins while the other had hot-red veins. These common devices regulated the temperature and light levels of an interior, even providing air to breathe and circulation. Amalia let out a gleeful breath, ¡°This looks amazing¡±, she said just as gleefully. ¡°Glad you enjoy it¡±, Logan replied as he slid out a part of the table to reveal more utensils and cutlery. ¡°You remembered me moaning about wanting a good barbeque, huh?¡± Amalia teased as she went straight for the tongs. ¡°Maybe. I did hear about this place some time ago, so it was already on my radar.¡± ¡°Uh-huh¡±, Amalia said in a drawn-out sarcastic playful tone. ¡°You can put these sticks into this hole to request other items¡±, Logan explained as he slid another portion of the table open, revealing several sticks with writing on them and a square hole next to them. Amalia looked over them before releasing a few requests for mushrooms and cheese. A few moments later another segment of the floor opened up and rose to the side of the table, revealing a tray of various fungi and fromage. The pair cooked and dined for a while, laughing every so often through cheerful discussion and reminiscence. When they had moments of rest for their left hands, the pair held each other¡¯s. A warm environment that almost didn¡¯t need the magical rock to do that for them. ¡°How¡¯d the dagger serve you?¡± Amalia asked. Logan let out a short laugh, ¡°It was great. Had to rely on it for some deflections against this snallygaster monster, I was setting up for¡ª¡± Amalia interrupted Logan as she swallowed her mouthful, ¡°A what?¡± ¡°Snallygaster.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a folklore monster¡­ I heard about it as a kid, isn¡¯t it meant to be German¡­ or maybe American?¡± Amalia thought aloud towards the end, looking to the ceiling. ¡°Really?¡± Logan asked, bemused. ¡°I¡¯ve also fought oni and the like¡­ those are Japanese I think¡±, he trailed off. ¡°Aren¡¯t all these monsters a bit too¡­ Earthly?¡± Logan shrugged, ¡°Oh, yeah. I already thought the same a while back.¡± Amalia reclined in her chair, ¡°Just how many people moved between our worlds. If we share the same ideas of monsters¡­¡± she spoke as she went into deep thought. Logan replied after sipping his drink, ¡°I kinda dropped that thought process. It doesn¡¯t really add up to anything right now. I just accept it as reality.¡± ¡°Just makes me wonder.¡± ¡°Totally understandable. It is all interesting to ponder. At least you won¡¯t have to worry about retelling your journey as a work of fiction back home¡±, Logan said with a smile. Amalia slowly shook her head, ¡°No way I am going back. The magic here is so¡­ what¡¯s the word¡­ convenient.¡± ¡°Oh¡±, Logan jumped up slightly, ¡°Talking of magic¡±, he continued as he pulled out a palm-sized box from his coat, ¡°Here¡¯s your Year¡¯s End gift.¡± Amalia placed her utensils down and picked up the box. Opening it with a satisfying click, the interior had a bed of velvet that held a singular ring. A mix of red and yellows to match Amalia¡¯s hair and eyes respectively, the ring was crafted to look like a German firedrake, its front claws grasping a small carving of the letter A. Slipping the ring on her right index finger, Amalia¡¯s smile wanted to run off her face as the metal glinted in her eyes. Clicking her fingers, the ring shone slightly as she cleaned her face of food. ¡°That ring should let you cast almost any mick, a total of ten times a day¡±, Logan explained with a smaller smile. Amalia stuttered her words slightly as she replied through watery eyes, ¡°This¡­ this is amazing, Logan.¡± Scooching her chair to the side, Amalia wrapped her arms around Logan, almost bear-hugging the man. Clicking her fingers again, Amalia formed a light sprite, the ball of white and yellow floating in the air above her open palm. The brightness of the summon only lit Amalia¡¯s beautiful face evermore for Logan¡¯s eyes. ¡°I¡¯m glad you like it. I can¡¯t lie, had butterflies in my stomach thinking about giving it to you.¡± Amalia shook her head, ¡°You didn¡¯t need to worry at all, stupid. This is more than I was expecting.¡± ¡°Well, you did give me quite a good dagger¡±, Logan teased. ¡°Yeah, but I make weapons almost every day. You went out of your way to make this. How long did it even take?¡± Logan shrugged, ¡°A day or three.¡± ¡°C¡¯mon¡±, Amalia asked again, with an elongated tone. ¡°Maybe a week?¡± Logan continued to tease. Amalia then jabbed her elbow into Logan¡¯s arm, ¡°Fine. However long it took, it¡¯s amazing. As are you.¡± The two embraced again before pulling away to finish their time at Morphic Delights.
Leaving the establishments, the couple walked the snowy streets back to the guild. Flakes fluttered to the floor as temperatures were still below freezing. It still felt like it was close to 16¡ãC for Logan with his Ice King Traits, but for most other people it was -4¡ãC in the night air. Amalia clung close to her personal heater, Logan, though she now had access to the mick Temper-rate, so she could also make her clothing hotter than usual. There were scarce other people on the streets, mostly guards doing their patrols in spurts before heading inside to take hot breaks. Thankfully, it was within their budget to have heat gravel and other cheaper options for keeping warm in winter times. It wasn¡¯t long before the streets would be completely devoid as it neared midnight. Reaching the guild house, the pair¡¯s eyes were treated to the sight of familiar and familial faces who gleamed back at them. Hoppy and hot drinks were prepped for all on arrival, hearty celebrations starting with the final two returning to the guild. ¡°Let us all have another grand year!¡± --- *** --- Chapter 172 - Yestar Tournament. Part 1 Logan, Marcus, Amalia, and the whole guild were walking proudly down the streets of Gauntlet, all wearing newly crafted capes with the V.I.P guild symbol emblazoned on the back. Several other groups flanked them on all sides, wearing similar capes with varying guild symbols, and a few adventurers repping no such guild association. The capital city was loud and boisterous, almost all the villagers were gossiping about the coming entertainment at the coliseum grounds. Their chatter was only interrupted by magical explosions in the sky that replicated fireworks, and the roars of monsters for interim combat. Reaching the 160th day of Logan¡¯s arrival into Avanar, this was quite the spectacle to celebrate the near half-year anniversary. An excitement unlike any other welled up in the Spellthief¡¯s stomach, his cheeks hurting as if he was undergoing a sour candy challenge as he held back a smile. ¡°Go get ¡®em, Phasing Hunter!¡± ¡°Crush those caster-haters!¡± ¡°Blessed Devout! Do your best!¡± Cheers turned into applause for Logan and Marcus, the pair having gained a shining reputation with the capital from both hunter work and other tasks they took on as classed beings. It wasn¡¯t just about them, however, as many others called out other titles such as ¡°Swift Quilt¡± and ¡°Demon Drinker¡± also prevailed amongst the praise. Moving into the sign-up area of the coliseum halls, the trio and a few other guildies, Castore, Alice, Jayd, and Shanin, all signed up for their own brackets. The lower-ranked adventurers had undergone reassessments a few days ago, so there was no issue there. Logan¡¯s improved rank of 20 to 21 was quickly reconfirmed by a mage from the Magi¡¯s Tower association who had much better assessing magics at their disposal. As was tradition, Logan double-checked the rules for this year¡¯s tournament. ¡°This is a single-elimination tournament. No allies may join the fights ahead of time, if you have the capability to conjure summons or undead once the fight has started then you may. No combatants may leave the preparation rooms until they lose a fight or win their whole bracket of fights. You may request items be delivered or brought to you. No communication outside of item requests, written or otherwise, is permitted with anyone outside of your current opponent or the staff attending to you. Any of the rules below may be subverted if both combatants agree to such in the arena before their battle begins. A match is won when one of the combatants cannot fight. This can be due to being killed, knocked unconscious, put to sleep, or otherwise unable to take any action. Death moves are permitted, but if your opponent is unable to fight you must stop attacking. Surrenders must be accepted. Non-passive Demon-clan spells, skills, and effects are not permitted. No other restrictions on skills, spells, items, or other actions are present in the fights. You are allowed to have drunk potions or apply magical enhancements before the fights begin. Any breakage of rules without allowance will result in you forfeiting your match and possibly banning from future tournaments.¡± Most of what the rules came down to, for Logan, was that he couldn¡¯t easily bring in his summons nor use his Demon-clan abilities. The former wasn¡¯t much of an issues, while the latter worked both ways and probably evened out for him in the long run. Logan signed his waiver and let the rest of his guildies do the same. It was going to take some time until everyone was fully signed up, but with so many counters it would go fast enough. Looking over the other faces in the hall, the Spellthief saw countless unknown adventurers. No doubt many were over rank 10, and the few thousand that went over 15 were also present. If the goblin invasion had occurred near the start of the year it would have been a non-issue with so many strong individuals present. The continent Logan stood on was large, easily double the size of the UK, but he still wondered where all these people spent their time. There was also the question of what they did in said time. A good handful probably protected their hometowns so they stayed close, another bunch for keeping control of dungeons that had faster spawn rates. All this power and they had yet to cross the ocean. ¡°A PC is currently viewing you¡±, ¡°A PC is currently viewing you¡±, ¡°A PC is currently viewing you.¡± Logan slowly moved his head around at the occurrence of three System windows warning him of potential allies and foes. This wasn¡¯t Amalia or Ahren, Logan had altered his settings to not alert him to those two, so it was three unknowns. ¡°I can¡¯t make myself obvious, there¡¯s a big enough crowd that they might not know it¡¯s me¡­ But then if they¡¯re here, they will be in the tournament¡±, Logan calculated in his head, moving his gaze around quicker. Moving to the side of the hall, saying his farewells to his companions, Logan continued to scan for the other PCs but returned no result. He could only hope they were in other brackets if they were foes. ¡°You are currently viewing a PC¡±, ¡°You are currently viewing a PC¡±, ¡°You are currently viewing a PC.¡± Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Logan finally washed his sight over the three who probably did the same to him, but it was to little avail. So many faces, so many races. He couldn¡¯t pick out the important persons in the crowd. Time was finite here as Logan had to move to his own waiting room. He¡¯d just have to find the three later, but it at least gave him a number to work off. Passing down a three-person wide corridor with numerous doors on both sides, Logan entered into a small room for himself. It reminded the Spellthief of a university dorm room. A single bed, desk, and wardrobe were all that was inside, aside from a clear gem placed on the wall like a clock that would be used for notifications. Logan took off his jacket and laid it over the chair to the desk and sat on the bed. This was a comfy locale to await his first few matches, and probably the best way to halt contestants getting a leg up on one another. It was like speed blind dating, except you¡¯d be bloodying each other¡¯s noses. Several minutes went by as Logan spent the time casually reading a book. A number dinged onto the clear gem in the wall, revealing a number to the Spellthief. Logan smirked as he returned to his book.
Far from the rows of contestant rooms were the main tournament grounds. A wide arena of sandstone floors and brick walls that held up tens of thousands of seats. Four large metal portcullis gates guarded entrances to the varying halls of the coliseum, from the people to the monsters. A man fully garbed in plate mail was cutting down a slew of vulpine monsters with clawed tails and long beaver teeth, blood spewing across the grounds as the crowd cheered the warm-up entertainment. High up in the stands within an enclosed chamber with reflective glass sat three announcers, a human, a saeber, and a gashriek. The human grabbed a gem in his hand and held it to his mouth like a microphone, ¡°Hello, wondrous people of Gauntlet and far travellers. I welcome you all to this year¡¯s Yestar tournament. I have just received word that our ordering systems are nearing their end, so I hope you¡¯re all ready for even greater matches than this!¡± The gashriek grabbed a similar gem, ¡°I¡¯m sure they are, Rebrin¡±, he said as he looked at the human, ¡°I know many are excited to see these deathmatches play out. Bref agrees with that sentiment I am sure¡±, he continued as he looked at the saeber. ¡°Of course Strolbem. Many adventurers had the wind sucked from their capes at the news of the Ice King¡¯s death¡±, the saeber, Bref, started before being interrupted by a large cheer from the crowd, ¡°An amazing turn of events for all others though.¡± Rebrin continued, ¡°That it was, Bref. As such, this year¡¯s tournament is a one-on-one elimination-style affair. Two people enter, one either dies or gives up, and the other moves on to fight more opponents.¡± Strolbem picked up the pace, ¡°We¡¯ll be starting the matches from the first through fifth-ranked adventurers, then the sixth to tenth, until we reach the last group of forty-five to fifty. This will then loop back around until all fights are complete.¡± ¡°And how many are in that last group?¡± Bref asked. ¡°Twelve this year, but I wager we¡¯ll have them last a good quarter-hour each.¡± ¡°Rebrin, you¡¯re one for following fame. Any contenders to look out for this year?¡± Strolbem asked. ¡°Quite a few. I¡¯ll start off with the bad news though, as I see many fans in the crowd with their banners. Raid Master Cass will not be joining this year¡¯s tournament¡±, Rebrin started before waiting for the boos the die down, ¡°I know, I know. Cassius is currently otherwise preoccupied so he cannot engage in this year¡¯s entertainment.¡± ¡°Alright, so who ¡®do¡¯ we have?¡± Strolbem re-asked. ¡°For starters, the Master of Hunters, Mr Cross, shall be joining this competition. There¡¯s the Low-Rank Advocate, the Blaze of the South, Captain Gaius of the Scythe Regiment, oh, and of course, the Dungeon Eradicator himself, Logan Hall the Phasing Hunter!¡± Bref waited for the cheering crowd to abide before butting in, ¡°A name known even amongst my kind. The Phasing Hunter is one of a number you could count on one hand that has been able to eradicate dungeons and halt their spawning powers.¡± ¡°Will those powers expand into eradicating our contestants?¡± Strolbem asked rhetorically. ¡°We have many other hunters on the roster this year, so let¡¯s hope they don¡¯t eradicate the opposition too quickly¡±, Rebrin laughed.
Time continued to pass as Logan heard rumbles in the distance every so often, the noise was only broken up when the gem on his wall dinged again with the words ¡°Match Start¡± to alert Logan to his own fight. Leaving his room, Logan was escorted by a staff member to the metal portcullis gate separating the halls from the coliseum grounds. With a grind and creak the gate rose, allowing the Spellthief to exit to a roaring crowd. ¡°This next match will see Logan Hall, a rank 21 Wizard, facing off against Herward, a rank 21 Fighter¡±, Rebrin announced clearly, causing the crowd to begin chanting ¡°fight¡± in reply. The pair stopped a good hundred feet apart from one another, eyeing up one another to identify any weaknesses and strengths just from aesthetics. ¡°Hah, what luck¡±, Herward laughed, ¡°Sorry to say, caster, but this is a terrible match-up for you.¡± ¡°How¡¯d you figure?¡± Logan asked. ¡°Because I¡¯m an anti-caster. You won¡¯t get a single spell to land¡±, Herward informed as he drew up a sword. ¡°Sure, buddy¡±, Logan replied half-heartedly as he kept his hands empty. ¡°Three, two, one, let the fight commence!¡± Strolbem counted down. Herward began to shout, ¡°Haz¡ª¡± but was interrupted as a dash of dandelions hit him in the face. As the Fighter fell backwards, Logan retracted his clawed hand slightly, having Silentcast Sleep Skystrike with minimal movement. ¡°So much for being an anti-caster¡±, Logan laughed in his head. ¡°Referees, is Herward able to continue fighting?¡± Bref asked as his voice echoed over the arena. A few seconds passed before he continued, ¡°Herward has lost due to unconsciousness. The winner in the first second is Logan Hall!¡± The crowd laughed and cheered loudly, the human announcer, Rebrin, having to speak up to be audible, ¡°It seems our Fighter friend lacked protections against Sleep spells, what a shame!¡± ¡°How pitiful. A Steel without that foreknowledge?¡± Strolbem added. Bref growled a bit as if to clear his throat, ¡°We¡¯ve seen a few now that were the same. These early matches are oft the place to see this kind of attitude. It¡¯s one of the easiest ways to take down boastful foes, as we¡¯ve just witnessed.¡± ¡°But our spectators still enjoyed the fight, right?¡± Rebrin gauged as the crowd chanted ¡°Phasing Hunter¡± in reply. Logan waved his hand to the crowd as he turned to leave, a sweat beading down his brow as he side-eyed five windows that had appeared during the match. ¡°A PC is currently viewing you.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 173 - Yestar Tournament. Part 2 Logan¡¯s second match for the second day was against another Fighter, a golden-garbed woman whose head was hidden behind a helmet. The armour was so close to that of a Knight that he assumed she was before the announcement was made. Logan¡¯s eyes moved from his foe to the crowd a bit as he tried to spy the PCs looking at him, but with over fifty thousand people in the crowd, it was almost impossible to pick out one. ¡°¡ªversus Maira, a rank 21 Fighter. Some may know her as Golden Death¡±, Rebrin announced. ¡°Kick his ass, Golden Death!¡± one onlooker shouted. ¡°You better not lose me any coin!¡± A few added. Maira drew two shortswords of steel that had their edges coated in gold, Logan stayed unarmed. ¡°Fight!¡± Bref commanded. Logan made a minor motion of his hand to try and end the fight as he did the first, however, Maira just charged through the dust like it was nothing. The ground under the Fighter¡¯s feet cracked and flew up chunks of stone as she Rushed at Logan at amazing speeds. Starting the fight with a wide swing she aimed to bisect the Spellthief. Logan bent backwards to dodge the first strike and placed one hand on the floor to push himself into a sideways spin to dodge a downward pierce from Maira as it separated the floor. Logan¡¯s feet slid across the sandstone floor as his eyes reflected the red light of a slash made of energy that came hurtling towards him. The slash cut apart the ground and the air, Logan¡¯s body almost getting cut apart too before he Dimensional Jaunted behind his foe. Placing a hand on his opponent''s back he chanted, ¡°Flame Grasp¡±, igniting the area ahead of him immensely. ¡°Look at these two go! Logan is certainly moving more than his first match!¡± Rebrin commentated. Logan closed his hand into a fist as his enemy had similarly teleported away from his attack, making a good hundred-foot distance again. ¡°Not wanting a melee?¡± Logan thought to himself. Maira stabbed her two blades in the ground, extending her hands outwards and then clasped them together. Logan¡¯s hair stood up as he looked to his sides, two balls of fire hurtling towards him from the air. Kicking off the ground, Logan backflipped away from the magical onslaught. ¡°Things are heating up now¡±, Rebrin added. ¡°She¡¯s not a caster, so¡­¡±, Logan calculated. Two more balls of fire formed as they charged at Logan, however, the Spellthief countered them both with open palms that let out a simultaneous volley of Force micks, the grey orbs hitting the Flame Skystrikes and exploding in mid-air. Maira¡¯s head shifted upwards slightly as if to show shock, Logan eyed the opportunity and warped in front of her, grappled her helmet, and spun over her head, removing the head protection and moving it into his coat as it disappeared. Turning around with a fury in her golden eyes, Maira¡¯s face was met by a solid high side kick from Logan. Stumbling back from a surprising melee of a Wizard, Maira reorientated her body as she gripped one of her shortswords behind her, her eyes going wide and darting to her left side as she noticed one was missing. With a momentary lapse in concentration, Maira just barely dodged a piercing jab from Logan as he used her own shortsword against her, the golden edge cutting her cheek and part of her hair. As she drew up her right blade, she found it heavy as Logan stood on it with his left leg and rolled his body forward, slamming an open palm on Maira¡¯s face and chanting, ¡°Flame Grasp¡±, igniting the lady thoroughly this time. Logan continued his motion as he kicked his right tiptoes off the ground and smashed the back of Maira¡¯s head into the sandstone, the fires exploding outwards and dissipating at the force of his attack. A wide slash caused Logan to jump off of mounting Maira, dodging a retaliation from his foe. Kicking up to her feet, Maira spun around to face Logan with her blade in an offensive stance, her neck was dripping blood onto her clothing, dyeing parts of it red. Without her helmet, Logan could see Maira¡¯s brown hair that stopped at her shoulders fettered in a hair tie. ¡°A smashing offensive being shown by Logan here¡±, Rebrin commentated. ¡°He truly is a Grasp expert with those moves, not many Wizards would dare touch their foes in such a way. And such ferocity too¡±, Strolbem announced. ¡°That tremendous strength must be the culmination of training and trinkets, there¡¯s no way a natural caster could pull it off¡±, Bref added. ¡°Hey, Logan¡±, Maira called out for the first time, her tone terse but somewhat formal. ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°Regardless of who wins, can I ask you give back my helmet?¡± she asked sincerely. Logan raised an eyebrow, ¡°Sure thing.¡± You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. ¡°Thank you¡±, she said as she rubbed her face. With the final words of the conversation spoken, Maira Rushed at Logan once again, a large cut erupting in the floor as she missed her mark yet again as Logan jumped to the side. Placing the shortsword in his coat and taking out the frozen lord edge, Logan cut at Maira¡¯s face, gashing her other cheek but deeper this time. As Logan placed his other palm on the hilt of his blade to drive it into her neck, Maira made a lightning-fast jab into Logan¡¯s stomach, winding him and sending a shockwave out from his back. While Logan faltered backwards and winced in pain, Maira spun her blade around her as she twirled into another slash. Logan parried it with his dagger of ice, and again as Maira got into the groove of her Combo Slash skill. Hues of red, yellow, and blue coated the golden edge blade, ending in purple, a trio of disastrous slashes cutting into the artefact blade in Logan¡¯s grasp. Having parried almost all her strikes, Logan had thought he grasped his opponent¡¯s speed, but Maira spun around faster than ever before. A red misted strike caused Logan to worry beyond the speed, though, and he warped behind his foe again to avoid it. The air cried out in pain as a Power Strike swathed through it, another scream was heard as Maira was shocked all over as Logan chanted, ¡°Lightning Grasp¡±, Backstab text appearing to let Logan know he dealt a sizable hit to his opponent. ¡°Another powerful spell hit right there¡±, Rebrin narrated. ¡°It may only be a first-level spell, but its fierceness is felt from the higher tier of mastery that Logan is displaying¡±, Bref added. Raising her knee, Maira stomped the ground harshly. Cracks quickly formed over the sandstone and shot up several spikes and pillars all around the Fighter. Logan jumped away as soon as he saw the knee and dodged the area attack, but then had to bend backwards to dodge Maira¡¯s shortsword spinning through the air in a radius around her, returning to her grasp as she turned to follow Logan. Swiping to each side, Maira tried her best to land a blow on Logan, but the Spellthief¡¯s speed was a bit too much to keep up with. Hitting the hilt of her blade on her bracelet, Maira had an axe form in her off-hand to dual-wield against Logan. Logan dodged and parried the strikes, drawing up a Bowen dagger to match his opponent''s number of attacks. Maira¡¯s axe then glowed red as she threw it at Logan, he sidestepped but then backstepped to his previous location as the axe flew through the air and back to Maira¡¯s grasp. She did the same tactic three more times, Logan having to move more erratically to dodge the new form of attack. As her axe flew back on the fourth time, Maira threw it to the floor and just barely missed Logan¡¯s foot. She then punched upwards, missing Logan¡¯s jaw but letting loose a bolt from a hidden wrist-crossbow, the bolt split in the air into twelve copies and rained down at Logan. Logan jumped back to avoid the hail of bolts, but Maira hooked her heel on her axe to bring it up and kick it to Logan. She dug her feet deep into the ground and Rushed to the side, behind Logan, and then at his back with a flying kick. Logan stumbled in his jump as he was going to do several steps but had to stop himself early. As the bolts came down he bent diagonally to avoid the axe, though he used a Dimensional Jaunt to warp away from the rest of the attacks in the end, apparating at the far wall. Maira excavated her axe from the wall of the arena as the crowd cheered loud at the display of varying attacks. ¡°Force¡±, Logan chanted over and over, grey orbs of power welling in his palms from his shoulders, letting loose volleys of two at a time. Maira charged towards Logan, jumping side to side to avoid the mick onslaught. Bringing up her axe she threw it again as it split in three, flew in three directions and hurled towards Logan. Shooting the axe mirages from the air, Logan kicked the handle of the last as it flailed in the air and hit the stone floor with a clunk. Maira¡¯s form warped in and out as a gust of wind flew at Logan¡¯s back against the stone wall, a space too small for a grandiose attack, but an attack all the same. Turning to face the teleporting foe, Logan saw another blast of air and dust as Maira double-teleported to his previous front. Metal cut into stone as Maria dug her blade deep and swept it up high, cleaving into Logan¡¯s arm. High-pressure blood went spraying in a circle as the arm flew up and hit the barrier protecting the audience from debris and attacks. Logan yelled out in pain as his left arm left his possession. Maira drew her blade close to her face and took on a piercing stance, thrusting forward to continue her assault. Logan bent back again as the blade glanced his chest, cutting cloth and skin. Grappling Maira¡¯s wrist, Logan exploded it with dark energies as he Silentcast Necromantic 2nd Grasp, spikes and tendrils sucking up the blood to heal himself. The crowd winced and gasped at the dismemberment and dark powers on display, others cheering on the bloody depictions. Logan pulled down on Maira¡¯s wrist to knock her off balance, the damage dealt to her made it easier than before. Spinning around, Logan drew another dagger from his coat and solidly landed it in the Fighter¡¯s back, causing Maira to shudder before falling off the blade and onto the floor. The Spellthief took a few steps away in a stagger, waiting for the announcers to call his victory. ¡°Maira is down and out! Logan wins the match¡±, Rebrin narrated, sending the audience into another flourish of loud cheers and chants. Logan put away his blade and cast Clean on his bleeding stump before wrapping it up in cloth. Storing his old limb, Logan made sure to clear up trails of him on the battlefield, before taking out Maira¡¯s helmet and shortsword to return to her corpse. She only asked for one back, but Logan didn¡¯t feel the need to steal anything from combatants who weren¡¯t overly rude to him. As Logan withdrew to his waiting room countless coins exchanged hands in the background, many in the crowd bemoaning their poor choice in combatant, while quite a few were happy with their decision. Amalia looked at the clear gem in her hand, text scrawling over it to confirm Logan¡¯s win and her account being credited two gold coins. There was a max of one gold bet per match, most bets doubling on a victory. She thumbed through it to accept the change, though she would receive all of her earnings at the end of the tournament when all bets were finished. Several other faces in the crowd did the same, familiar ones to Logan as he had asked many of the homeless allies to bid on his behalf, giving them a gold coin each to do so. Even if Logan were to lose the final match and not get the prize money, he¡¯d be making a killing in bets.
Returning to his room, Logan pulled the severed arm from his inventory and took the part of his clothing from it. Whipping his coat and tunic off, and taking some needle and thread from his inventory, the Spellthief set to the annoying task of one-handed sewing his clothing back together. The process was thankfully quick as a caster, as well as the clothing ¡°wanting¡± to be reunited with itself. Thread flew from the needle and flowed to the missing piece, making repairs easy if a bit annoying with only one set of fingers. Logan¡¯s arm was another concern, but he had the hour needed for it to regrow due to his Regeneration skill. An attendant did come by to ask if Logan wanted to purchase regenerative services but he declined. Regardless, he had till tomorrow for his next match, where he¡¯d have plenty of spell slots, rings, and MP. --- *** --- Chapter 174 - Yestar Tournament. Part 3 ¡°This next match is set to be quite the spectacle, audience members!¡± Rebrin enticed over the Boom Voice mick that projected his words around the coliseum grounds. ¡°Two spellcasters at the peak of their ranks, who is ready for collisions of colossal powers?¡± Strolbem added. The crowd got loud as the two combatants faced each other down across the arena. Logan¡¯s opponent had long silver hair that was tied into a ponytail, and piercing blue eyes that were almost as cold as the season. His stance demanded respect, his face a story of previous encounters as scars marked it. Tanned white skin showed the man was well-travelled and experienced, his robes a beautiful midnight blue with intricate patterns displaying the wealth he had accrued. Aside from his robes, the man lacked any other trinkets, obviously employing a similar trinket to Logan, or some form of magic, to hide what he had at his disposal. The sun above had moved past the mid-point, its ability to cast an orange hue over the yellows of the coliseum was impeded by encroaching dark clouds. The buzz of excitement grew louder and louder, Wizards, Sorcerers, and Devouts were eagerly awaiting a match between ¡°their own kind¡± as they saw it. ¡°One side is the cunning and enigmatic Logan Hall, the other the fierce and flourishing Wace¡±, Bref introduced. The announcers continued their amping-up of the fight, while the clouds rumbled, droplet offspring starting to release onto the earth. While the barrier of the coliseum¡¯s viewer stands protected the crowd from most harmful effects, causing many onlookers to flirt with the edges of their seats, it still allowed non-harmful winds and rain. A calming pitter-patter of peaceful rain penetrated the barrier, its emerald hexagons refracting light in a flowing motion as it accepted the piercing of its veil. The roof of the coliseum protected all but the front-row seats from the weather. The two magi had their hair droop and their clothing darkened. As they moved into readied stances, Logan with clawed hands, his opponent with their staff nestled in a reverse grip under their armpit and a single, polite, hand aimed at the ground, the rain got louder. Rebrin announced louder than usual not to get drowned out by the rain, ¡°Let the match begin!¡± The rain had turned into a thunderous downpour, be it intentional or coincidence the pair of magi saw fit to add lightning to the thunder. Crackles of aquamarine jolted from both sides of the arena. As the opposing forces clashed they also danced. Pinpricks collided and arced away, hitting countless raindrops in the air, creating a spider web of white and blue. A static sound purveyed the pounding of water. Logan pulled back both hands and dragged them up, large portions of rock at the feet of his foe cracked and erupted, splashing water and death unto his enemy. Wace placed his hand in front of himself and let off an Air Blast, propelling himself back from the attack whilst parting the rain in a radius. Logan was about to let loose more spells if it weren¡¯t for two torrents of water bending around the sandstone shards. Tunnelling snakes of aqua snaked their way through the air towards the Spellthief, their eye a mass of power that Logan didn¡¯t want to experience. Using his own Air Blast, Logan blasted his body skyward and avoided the would-be drowning attacks. A surprising turn was that of the watery attack bending harshly where Logan was previously, titling upwards they followed the Spellthief as he soared upwards. Prying two knives from his cloak, Logan threw them into the mouths of the aquatic spells. The daggers cut through and had the waters explode in all directions as the spell collided with a powerful obstacle, the daggers digging into the sandstone floor beneath. Two large spikes of ice then formed amongst the flooding rains around Logan, prized to impale him ready for a snow shower in the rain. Logan¡¯s form sucked into the centre, taking with it wind and water as the icicles instead got destroyed on the upper heights of the arena¡¯s barrier. Apparating with an outward blast of the atmosphere he took with him, Logan blasted away the rain again. With flames primed in his palm, Logan reached out to grab Wace¡¯s back but instead was met by a massive wall of sandstone that blocked his grasp. Recoiling quickly, Logan narrowly avoided tiny hands sprouting from the rock that aimed to grab him in return. Jumping back a bit, almost hitting the far wall as Wace was already close to it, Logan ducked diagonally to avoid another stalactite piercing the wall of rock, crashing and turning to a nubbed end as it collided with the arena walls. Logan, with his hand close to the floor, clawed at it and dragged upwards, chanting, ¡°Earthen Eruption¡±, causing large spikes to cascade upwards and through the magic wall, demolishing it and narrowly missing Wace who was darting away. With an evil eye set on his foe, Logan warped again and grappled Wace¡¯s shoulders with his hands, blasting two jets of air from the soles of his feet to grind his enemy¡¯s back on the sandstone floor. Water and rubble flew upwards as the pair slid across the floor, the crowd cheering loudly, but drowned out by the rain that slowly turned to hail. Logan¡¯s hands started to ignite with flames again, but Wace¡¯s body warped away, leaving Logan to land his hands on the floor in a slide. Tilting his head, Logan looked past his legs in the air, handstand sliding, to spy Wace in the air and two icicles at his sides. Logan warped again, landing a hand on one of the icicles and kicking Wace in the face deftly. Blasing off the ice, destroying it, Logan blasted the air again to dart towards his foe. Letting loose two volleys of flames, Logan sent Wace plummeting to the sandstone floor. As Logan began his descent, the flames surrounding Wace dissipated and turned to steam with the hail, revealing a blue hexagon Barrier in front of the Sorcerer¡¯s palm, no doubt negating Logan¡¯s assault. Logan tutted, ¡°If only I could just absorb that¡±, he cursed in his head, not wanting to display his Spellthief powers too brazenly. Landing in a puddle that cracked apart its frozen sections, Logan darted his head around as he formulated a plan to counteract his magical opponent. ¡°It seems like Logan¡¯s normal tactics aren¡¯t working as he planned against another caster¡±, Rebrin narrated. ¡°Perhaps he hunts non-magi more than others¡±, Strolbem added. Opening his left hand, Logan formed fires within it and smashed them into his chest, ¡°Flame Cloak¡±, he chanted, having the embers explode outwards and wrap around his form. Logan¡¯s entire body was coated in licking reds and oranges, steam billowing from it as the hail melted before it reached the Spellthief. The steam erupted fiercer and thicker, like the fog from hills that are too quiet, after Logan chanted, ¡°Skin of Ice¡±, coating his skin in a blue crystalline protective film that quickly melded back into its normal colour. Both his body and the environment were now having the moisture evaporate, creating a unique cover of white wisps. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Identify¡±, Logan commanded in his head, the set of red vaskt eyes tore apart his skin and stared death at his foe. ¡°Wace: Sorcerer 21¡­¡± a window informed Logan, but he had little time to read it fully. ¡°Look at that! There¡¯s a rare skill indeed¡±, Bref announced as he stood up straight on all fours. ¡°What? What is?¡± Rebrin asked as he leaned forward and squinted. ¡°The ¡®Vaskt Eyes¡¯, or ¡®Vaskt Vision¡¯. It seems Logan is a well-versed shapechanger to have adapted those without worry¡±, Bref continued. ¡°Those specks of red? Isn¡¯t that blood?¡± Rebrin asked again. ¡°Logan has yet to suffer any hits in this bout¡±, Strolbem informed. ¡°What do they¡ª¡± Rebrin began to ask, but Logan¡¯s next actions cut him off. ¡°Aqua Shot¡±, Logan chanted, letting fly a large glob of water at his foe, collecting hail within its confines as it flew. Wace moved his arm to block the projectile with his Barrier, but he didn¡¯t need to. Logan pulled his hand back, Silentcasting a Flame Skystrike to collide with his watery attack. As the fire collided with the water it instantly transformed into a wave of mist that coated Wace and a large area around him. The crowd oo¡¯ed as the hexagons of the barrier that protected them sheened a lighter green as it showed what was going on behind the mist. As Logan chanted, ¡°Haste¡±, his body increased its speed as he darted into the mist, bringing his own with him. Several loud sounds of raising solids erupted within the foggy battlefield, Wace¡¯s counter being that of a Wind Shot to push away what blocked his vision. The retaliation instead only went a few feet and impacted a hole in a wall of ice. Logan cooled the area down further, the hail scratching across larger formations of frozen water, while his coat of fire continued to melt the solids into liquids and gasses. Wace darted his head around, tutting as he couldn¡¯t see through the thick white prison he found himself within. Dimensional Jaunt was an amazing defensive tool, but useless when sight was hindered. A dark silhouette moved through the fog, an almost invisible blade cutting through it as Logan swiped out at Wace with his frozen lord edge. The dagger sliced out a part of Wace¡¯s face, his whole body moving with it to avoid a deeper cut as his back hit into a tall column of ice. Rolling to the side, Wace avoided a following attack from Logan, whose Vaskt Vision saw in the fog much easier. The sound of ice slicing into magical energy emanated in the fog, a mix of crushing ice and laser sounds. While the hail continued to pound the sandstone, Logan was able to plant his feet firmly on the slippery floor while avoiding his own Frost Walls, however, Wace slid every so often and had his side bash into a cold partition. ¡°Talk about giving your opponent the cold handshake¡±, Rebrin joked. Wace aimed at the floor to Air Blast high, but Logan waved his hand as he twirled around to his opponent¡¯s side. Wace propelled upwards, pushing away fog and water, but had his back crunch into a newly formed panel of ice above him that formed with the brick walls. Dropping his staff, the Sorcerer spun around and made a rippling motion with his hands causing countless spikes of sandstone to erupt around him and upwards, colliding with ice, brick, and barrier alike. Logan jumped several times away, dodging the desperation attack. Blast after blast of rocks followed suit as they went in all directions, Wace joining his spells to get away from the translucent domain of fog, small portions hugging his form as he did. Wace downed potions from his own magical clothing, Logan Air Blasting towards his foe with a dagger primed. The Sorcerer waved a hand over the floor to create another earthen blocker, but Logan warped before it fully erected, apparating behind Wace. Throwing his hand out with a shadowy claw, Logan collided with a larger Barrier as Wace placed his own hand behind him, enlarging the area of the barrier to fully block his back. Logan copied his foe with his off-hand, forming an opposing Barrier as Wace used his other hand to barrage Logan with flames. Reds and blacks flowed against a stark protective blue as both casters had a contest of offence and defence. The colours swelled as both recast and upcast to use the third-level variants, the magical powers reaching over twenty feet tall and wide away from them. ¡°This is a true caster clash!¡± Strolbem narrated. ¡°But who is stronger?¡± Rebrin asked rhetorically. ¡°As a Wizard, Logan has the upper hand in the quantity of spells, while Wace as a Sorcerer may utilise any spell in his arsenal.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll come down to how many spells they¡¯ve used, but Logan seems to have used more to reach this point¡±, Rebrin added. ¡°However, Wace has used many more higher-level spells¡±, Bref calculated. The pair¡¯s onslaught was broken with the loud sound of shattering glass, their final Barriers breaking as they began to collide with their energies. Before they could meet, the pair warped at the same time, swapping places, to collide their spells regardless. Shadows and flames coalesced, encircled, and danced upwards as they destroyed the hail around them. Warping again, further apart, the duo clashed lightning and wind together as they changed up their spells to find a break in the other¡¯s defence. The sparks of blue parted away horribly as Logan¡¯s wind beat Wace¡¯s electricity. Another warp had Logan pick out his dagger again to cut at Wace, but Wace teleported just again. Appearing above Logan, Wace aimed down with a torrent of ice, but Logan teleported above Wace and did the same. Ice collided with another Barrier from Wace, his body landing solidly and jumping away from a pursuing Logan. While Wace attempted to drink a potion, no doubt to restore his MP, Logan let off a quick Force mick to destroy the vial before it could be drunk. Kicking off the floor with the remainder of his Air Blast, Logan soared at Wace and landed a deep cut in the Sorcerer¡¯s Barrier. Wace grimaced as cracks formed over his protection, and flinched when another strike from Logan almost cut it in twain. As Logan was prized to land a final strike, Wace called out, ¡°I yield.¡± Logan stopped immediately as he slid on the watery floor, and accepted the surrender. ¡°Wace has surrendered. Logan is the victor!¡± Rebrin announced, signalling the crowd to cheer loudly over the heavy hail. Wace fell to a knee as he held his forehead, obviously suffering from mental fatigue after casting so many spells, Logan wasn¡¯t as bad due to his skills, but he still felt a twinge in the back of his head. ¡°I was getting low on spells too¡±, Logan thought to himself, seeing only 9 MP left in his tank, and many spell slots used up. Wace meekly stood and walked over to Logan, ¡°An exhilarating fight, Logan. It''s always a good time seeing another competent caster¡±, he said as he offered a handshake. Logan confidently took it, ¡°Same to you. I felt the fatigue coming too.¡± ¡°So it wasn''t already full force? You must have a few demonhood stages or rare skills.¡± ¡°It''d be better if there weren''t so many fights in the day¡±, Logan replied as he looked at his portcullis gate rising. ¡°What tower do you hail from? I''d enjoy a longer conversation.¡± ¡°No tower. Check out the V.I.P guild in the city¡±, Logan offered as the two were ushered out by the ending narration of the commentators. ¡°No tower¡­?¡± --- *** --- Chapter 175 - Yestar Tournament. Part 4 Logan sighed deeply as he rested on his bed. Whilst not rapid, his fights were like a gauntlet to be done in such a manner. The tournament wasn¡¯t just a test of prowess in combat, but also reserving your resources against difficult foes, not to mention maintaining your fatigue levels. The Spellthief at least felt some solace in the fact he had almost a full day of rest between matches, allowing Logan to get some sleep before the next day¡¯s fights would commence. With such privacy, Logan was easily able to summon up his elementals to gain his allotment of MP for the day. It was fortunate that Logan had this access to MP, as 50 was a good number for Sorcerers to have at his level, combining it with his normal spell slots allowed him more. Combined with his demonhood stages that pushed his limitations for mental fatigue, Logan was primed for gauntlet scenarios. With so many fights to get through, the next few days went quickly. Logan was subjected to five fights, two more he won easily due to putting his opponents to sleep within the beginning seconds, one that wasn¡¯t adept at countering teleportations, and two more that were of middling difficulty. Logan was lucky enough that he had some weaker combatants when compared to some others Logan had faced. ¡°Level up! Gain: 8 HP, +1 Str, +1 Agi, +1 Con, +1 Int. You have 1 attribute point to spend.¡±
The ninth day had a strange start for Logan, as the Spellthief was able to experience a ¡°cheater¡± of sorts in the competition. During the first minute of the confrontation, Logan noticed the weapons of his foe moving around the field and the opponent¡¯s body in a weird way, more than just wind and momentum. This was also caught by the referees as Logan went wider with his movements and even called a time-out as he accused his foe of using Telekinesis. ¡°Odart has been observed using a Demon-Clan spell known as Telekinesis. As this was not discussed before the fight, he has broken the rules and is subsequently disqualified. Logan is the winner by default.¡± There was little doubt in Logan¡¯s mind that Odart had been using it more discreetly in previous matches, but Logan was finely tuned to that particular spell at this point.
The next fight on the tenth day had a bit more oomph to it. Logan faced off against another Fighter, the most common of class. ¡°We¡¯ve got a fun quarter-final match here, folks. Logan Hall, the guildmaster of Vip, versus Arctus, the guildmaster of Reigning Sword¡±, Rebrin commentated. ¡°Arctus was retired until last year when he picked up the blade in response to certain events¡±, Strolbem added. ¡°A clash of guildmasters will certainly show how each man views another classed being, there¡¯s no doubt both of these men know a lot about classes not their own¡±, Bref calculated. Arctus then brought up both hands, made a hand signal with his index, middle, and ring fingers extended and his pinky holding down his thumb, with the other hand he made the same sign but crossed it horizontally over his other hand. ¡°Ah. Arctus is calling for a removal of additional rules¡±, Rebrin explained as his voiced extended across the arena. Logan thought for a moment, ¡°If he wants them removed, he most likely gets a lot of power from something he can¡¯t use¡±, before slowly shaking his hand in a ¡°no¡± motion. ¡°And there¡¯s the decline¡±, Strolbem added. Arctus shrugged as he drew his sword. The air crackled with anticipation as the announcers continued their speeches, a palpable energy vibrated through the brick walls, accented by the scarce static of the barriers protecting the roaring crowd. A stampede of stomping feet was accompanied by cheers and jeers, pouches clinking for those making bets in person, eyes glued to gems for those who did it via magic. Arctus was a man of steel, not just his signet and armour, but his body. Sculpted over several years of hard work, Arctus¡¯s sword gleamed in the new sunlight and was held as if an extension of his arm. Flourishing it in his stance, Arctus displayed a wise attitude to conflict and form, his blue eyes shifting ever so slightly as he looked over Logan. With his off-hand, Arctus ran his black and grey hair back out of his face just before Rebrin made the final call of, ¡°Fight¡±, sending the crowd into a more hushed tone. As Logan stepped forward, his boot making a solid tap on the sandstone floor, the crowd almost whispered, ¡°Phasing Hunter¡±, over his movements, pushing him toward victory or dragging him to failure, it was hard to tell. Snapping his fingers and chanting, ¡°Flame Shot¡±, Logan formed a shimmering ball of fire in his palm before hurling it towards Arctus. The Fighter replied with a quick slice of his sword, sending a shockwave of power that cut the ball in half, dissipating its reds into nothingness. Dandelions followed quickly thereafter, though Arctus merely grabbed a fistful of the Sleep spell aimed at him and threw it to the floor. Arctus turned his head to the crowd, giving a curt nod to someone amongst the masses, and grinned slightly as he Rushed towards the mage far from his position. Sandstone cascaded upwards from the Fighter¡¯s strong heels crashing into the ground, the crowd cheering with heated cries. Logan met his opponent¡¯s emotions with a wall of fiery passion, erupting and blocking safe passage to him. Arctus cut through the fires with ease, bisecting them as he skipped over the embers on the floor. Logan flew his hand towards his foe with another volley of fire, but Arctus clashed it with his blade, the magical energies exploding over steel and essentially riposting each other. Clinks followed the boom of power as Logan¡¯s fires turned the crushed sandstone to glass in an instant. Arctus flowed his sword from one hand to the other and spun around, creating a whirlwind of energy that cut apart the glass, stone, and Logan¡¯s defensive Barrier that hovered in front of his fingers. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. The blue hexagons of Logan¡¯s spell shimmered white with each strike from Arctus, the Fighter¡¯s steel sword staying strong against magical onslaughts and barricades. Logan¡¯s form warped to its centre as he wanted further distance from this foe, apparating at the far end of the arena to the shocked awe of the crowd behind him. Making two claws, Logan concentrated hard as he closed his eyes, before opening them to four as he activated his Vaskt Vision. As fire spawned in the air above Arctus, the Fighter¡¯s body had even more air envelope it as he similarly teleported, appearing in front of Logan who had to change his Skystrike spell. Thrusting hands at his foe, Logan and Arctus entered a battle of death, a dance of fire and steel, reds and silvers clashed and melded. This struggle between the elements and steeled will of men continued into minutes. Logan and Arctus side-stepped, skipped, leapt, and flipped around the battleground as magic met might. Arctus was relentless in his concentration, his face soaked in sweat and streaking the colours of ruby and topaz. He pressed onwards, forcing his stronger muscles against the forces of nature that Logan employed. The blur of steel became even more translucent as Logan slammed both his hands together, evaporating water with flame, a large whoosh of fog created in his palms that spread quickly all around. Grey cut into white to reveal the blues, yellows, and pinks of Logan, getting redder as Arctus merely cut apart the mist to land a solid strike into the Spellthief. Arctus struck with deadly accuracy no matter the affair, a blockage of sight meant little to one of his experience against other classes. While Arctus¡¯s face was red from the heat, Logan¡¯s went pale against a Fighter with such speed. He gritted his teeth before chanting, ¡°Haste¡±, improving his speed to match and surpass the melee opponent he was faced with. Colours drastically changed as Logan moved on to his other spell types, hoping to lull Arctus into a false sense of safety that he was only facing a fire mage. Lightning crackled in the air as the crowd let out thunderous applause, blue daggers danced over Arctus¡¯s sword and to his fist before he swung the spell away. Logan waved his hand over the ground towards his foe, the sandstone raising quickly underfoot with countless stone hands grabbing out at Arctus. The Fighter twirled his sword and dug it down into the rock, shattering the meagre spell effortlessly as it crumbled beneath his feet. The rock was parted evermore as water surged between the cracks, blasting into a blocking sword of the Fighter, parting the waves like Moses. Water froze over into shards of ice as Logan continued to cycle his elements against the foe in front of him, the Fighter cutting it apart before relinquishing his position with another teleport. Logan teleported just like his foe to appear face to face, but they both teleported again to swap another time. Steel met ice as Logan pulled out his frozen lord edge to meet Arctus¡¯s shortsword. The grinding of materials caused sparks to fly and push the crowd into another state of adrenaline. A caster resorting to a weapon was rare, but Logan had displayed it enough to signal this as a sort of ¡°signature move¡± of his. Logan¡¯s wrist felt the weight of his opponent¡¯s strength, twisting his hand he instead allowed the sword to travel to his side. He could only deflect and reposition, he couldn¡¯t fight might with might. With an increased velocity of movement, Logan let go of his frozen lord edge with his right hand to grab onto Arctus¡¯s face like he had done to foes before. Trying to force a Fighter to the floor was quite the power move, but this time it would not work, Arctus¡¯s body was like a marble column resisting a resting man¡¯s shoulder. Grabbing his dagger with his left hand, Logan spun around to dive it into Arctus¡¯s back, but his grasp slipped off the man¡¯s face. Arctus rolled away from Logan and returned to an upright position as he cut at the air, sending another wave of energy at the spellcaster. Logan dodged and formed a great shadowy claw over his right hand as he chanted, ¡°Necromantic Second Shot¡±, causing the claw to grow from his arm and fly towards Arctus. Arctus blocked, as usual, the claw wrapping around his blade. Logan pulled back harshly, the claw moving with him and drawing his foe in closer. Quickly replacing his artefact blade with a normal Bowen dagger, Logan threw it at his foe. Arctus was off-balance somewhat, but mostly dodged the ranged attack as it left a flesh wound on his cheek. Logan¡¯s shadow spell faded as it let go of Arctus¡¯s blade, forcing him into his next movement. ¡°Lightning Cascade¡±, Logan chanted, an enormous quantity of electricity arms forming from his fingertips and shot for the Fighter. Arctus moved to cut at the lightning to dissipate it like so many spells before, however, the lightning soared to the Fighter¡¯s side and hit into Logan¡¯s Bowen dagger. The dagger shattered, but the lightning persisted, making a U-turn like a delivery driver on a deadline the lightning crashed into Arctus¡¯s back and pricked him all over. With his other hand, Logan pushed forward slightly as he Multicast another Lightning Cascade, two volleys of the spell compressing the Fighter as he shook all over from the static shock. Arctus flexed his body to bat away the last breaths of power from Logan¡¯s spell, a massive stomp in the ground starting another Rush at the caster. Arctus¡¯s eyes showed a hint of worry through the concentrated gaze as Logan¡¯s form whirred out from view. The Fighter knew this wasn¡¯t what teleportation looked like, at least not Dimensional Jaunt, but a second passed before he heard and saw the similar blast of air where Logan just was, and then another behind himself. Turning on a dime to slash at the foe behind him, Arctus just hit the air. The Fighter had identified the situation wrongly, a split-second decision based on something he hadn¡¯t encountered. What was a known encounter was that of several stone spikes from the floor having penetrated the Fighter from behind. Arctus coughed up blood as he fell still on the spikes, falling to the floor as they fell. Logan sighed as he turned off his invisibility. His plan of using Air Blasts in both directions to emulate a warping of wind, and then a Wind Skystrike behind Arctus was guileful enough to have tricked the Figher into thinking he had used Dimensional Jaunt. ¡°Logan is the victor!¡± Rebrin announced, accompanied by a loud crowd. The crowd erupted, a wave of sound that shook the stands they all stood upon. The display of magic versus might certainly continued to prove the worth of casters as a whole, Logan easily showing it was not a fluke when he won against so many others. Arctus was respected, and the fight itself was respectful. ¡°That¡¯s the first time seeing Logan disappear in such a manner¡±, Strolbem commentated. ¡°Such a breadth of mastered spells, Logan is sure to be a contender for the final matches¡±, Bref praised. ¡°Can he keep up this pace? That was a fair number of spells cast in a single match¡±, Rebrin asked. ¡°The ploy of using several spells to fake a teleport certainly won him some easy hits, but yes, costly in slot economy¡±, Strolbem replied. ¡°Let us hope Logan stocked up on many potions. But for now, this match is complete. Return¡ª¡± Logan walked slowly through the portcullis gate that reopened to let him return to his room, his mind racing with plans. He would need to weigh different tactics against his next two different adversaries thoroughly but quickly. While a normal Wizard could easily drink potions to recover spell slots, Logan¡¯s MP was from his elementals, so he couldn¡¯t regain it. He¡¯d need to recover what slots he did have outside of combat, or hazard a drink during a fight. --- *** --- Chapter 176 - Yestar Tournament. Part 5 Days failed to blur together as the coliseum was doing magic to keep the populace entertained and wonders for making money flow like a river. The quarter-finals went in a flash due to a cheater and the semi-finals of the 21-25 tournament bracket had drawn close, like a dagger held to the chest. Logan had experienced so many more confrontations with other people, adding to his experience, and drawing on it, with his hunter work. With so many applicants this year, probably due to the resurgence of adventurers wanting to protect their loved ones from the Ice King, the tournament was going on a bit longer than usual. It was already the 11th of the first month, with the 21-25 finals likely to end on the 12th. There were a few additional matches in the brackets, causing some entrants to have 1 more fight than was necessary, but it was to be expected with the quick announcement of the tournament this year. Logan calculated there were just over four thousand adventurers for his bracket, give or take for those issues. There was also praise gifted to the System for not enforcing any further quests on Logan while he was engaging in the tournament. The tournament offered such ¡°easy¡± experience when compared to the outside world. One-on-one matches of similar level sans the risk of permanent death. Logan could also go all-out against his opponents, with only a concession paid to mental fatigue towards the end of fights. ¡°We¡¯re into the semi-finals of the 21st through 25th ranks now, folks¡±, Rebrin started to narrate, ¡°A contender for the champion slot approaches on both ends of the arena.¡± ¡°The fan favourite, Logan Hall, the Guildmaster of Vip, and a Dungeon Eradicator. Versus Garentaeous, the Gallant Wall of Iron¡±, Strolbem continued. ¡°A rank 21 versus a rank 25. Beginning versus end. This will be a conflict of concise power against heightened power¡±, Bref explained, as they were unaware of Logan¡¯s level-up. ¡°You also have to consider, this is a caster fighting a Knight. Knights have many skills to interrupt casting, isn¡¯t that right?¡± Rebrin asked. ¡°That they do. Some Knights have even shown expertise in that area during this year¡¯s tournament¡±, Strolbem answered. ¡°Who¡¯s your money on?¡± Rebrin asked as he turned to his other commentators in the booth high up the stands. ¡°That is hard to say, both have their strengths¡±, Strolbem admitted. ¡°Logan¡±, Bref replied, matter-of-factly. The roar of the crowd was like that of a living tide, a beastly roar from one end to the other. The air buzzed with anticipation from the crowd and the combatants, the colder matches of rain and hail replaced with a clear sky overhead that shimmered across the sweat on Logan¡¯s brow. Logan¡¯s form was defiant against the naysayers and seemingly small frame when compared to his opponent. Across the sandstone arena floors was a hulking mass of steel full-plate armour, gripping onto a shortsword and tower shield. Logan was almost blinded by the reflecting light off the pristine wall of iron ahead of him. As the armour reflected the light, so did the cheers reflect the crowd''s expectations for the following match. Garentaeous was a beacon of hope and pride, there was little surprise that his eyes never failed to keep a lock on Logan¡¯s. A hush fell over the coliseum as Rebrin started to wrap up his announcements, with a hand raised he shouted, ¡°Let the match begin!¡± chopping his hand down as if to start a race. The confrontation began with a roar louder than that of the crowd and even the storms up high previously. Logan felt a wave of anger envelope his body, twinges in his skin and forehead sent him into a riot as Garentaeous used the Come Forth skill. Logan would have felt fear if it weren¡¯t for the overwhelming sensation of brutal fury that took hold. Come Forth forced him to fight the user and to abandon many retreating tactics, he couldn¡¯t teleport away from his foe while it was active. The Spellthief warped into his centre and blasted into being in front of the Knight, in mid-air with twin daggers drawn. The frozen lord edge and Amalia¡¯s blade clashed with Garentaeous¡¯s shield with a loud scratch and low-toned thud of metal. Spellforce rushed through Logan¡¯s veins and into his arms and legs, pushing off the shield he twirled in the air and chanted, ¡°Air Blast¡±, shooting a jet of air from the sole of his foot to push his attack harder into the defensive stance of his foe. Rebounding off the shield, the crowd could only wonder what Garentaeous¡¯s plan was to allow such an assault to continue. Logan threw Amalia¡¯s blade into his coat and let fly a lance of fire, the spell meeting the shield with a deafening crack. The power of the incantation sent a shockwave through the arena, threatening to blow the viewers off their seats if not for the barrier of the arena''s extent. The crowd roared again, their chants rolling over the brick walls. Garentaeous, unharmed by the blaze, flourished his shield to the side to fetter the fires away into the air. Swinging an underhanded sword slash, Garentaeous cut a blur of steel into the air, the energy beam soaring for Logan who was still mid-air from his magical attack. As if catching a fastball, Logan held up his free hand and chanted, ¡°Barrier¡±, causing the scythe of power to get blocked by sapphire hexagons. The tail ends of the slice from Garentaeous carried onwards and upwards to the arena¡¯s skyward barrier, halting against that final defence. Garentaeous sliced three more times, sending a trio of lined disasters towards Logan, but the Spellthief simply teleported and appeared hunched down in front of the Knight. Letting fly ice, flame, lightning, and darkness, Logan barraged Garentaeous with a horrendous display of elemental magic. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The multi-coloured display quickly changed to a blazing fury, a torrent of fire unleashed onto the Knight¡¯s shield as if a dragon¡¯s breath engulfed him. Logan caused Garentaeous¡¯s armour to turn red-hot, the heat warping the air around the Knight as it crackled from a quick change in temperature from a wintery chill. At the edge of his fires, Logan made a solid fist and pounded harshly into the shield, the reverberating thud was louder and almost vibrated the air. Another jab, and another, Logan punched into the shield countless times as it continued to bend inward. Blood started to flow from Logan¡¯s knuckles as he battered steel with leather and flesh. Jumping into a grapple atop the edges of the shield, Logan reared back his leg for a massive knee into the metal. Garentaeous stared into Logan¡¯s eyes as the two met face to face, and just before Logan¡¯s knee impacted the steel, his body vortexed into its centre. Appearing behind the Knight, Logan chanted, ¡°Haste¡±, his body increasing its speed as he threw hands like a kid angry at a wall, ¡°Lightning Grasp¡±, Logan incanted, over and over. Each flat palm slap into Garentaeous¡¯s back brought with it a horrendous burst of electricity. The Knight¡¯s body moved only slightly as it was coated in red, his skills protecting him just as well as his physical shield. Logan¡¯s rage started to subside, allowing him to jump back and recalculate his strategy against Garentaeous. Flicking out three potions, Logan downed them just before Garentaeous warped in front of the Spellthief. Bashing Logan¡¯s face into his shield, Garentaeous let off a disastrous vibration in the air that held tightly on Logan¡¯s head, his teeth beginning to chatter. This was a new tactic, instead of bashing the shield to activate it, Garentaeous bashed Logan¡¯s head into the shield to use the Chatter skill. Logan faltered back, his vision blurry from the concussion. ¡°Identify¡±, he commanded in his head to open his vaskt eyes, their sight helping to steady his vision. Garentaeous followed after his prey, dropping his damaged shield and summoning another from his wrist. A wide swing of his sword narrowly missed Logan as the Spellthief¡¯s speed allowed him better chances at evasion. The Knight became a storm of steel, he hacked and slashed at Logan without pause. His shield was a wall of protection that little could break through, his sword a sharp and quick end. Each strike was a testament to his training and his hardened will. Logan had to wait out the Chatter timer if he wanted to cast his spells without failure. As the battle raged on, the coliseum grounds became a theatre of chaos. The chaotic blasts of magic combined with the precise swipes of steel. Two men in their prime were showing just what a classed being could do if they trained. Logan blasted into the air abruptly, causing Garentaeous to stagger somewhat. The Spellthief then used his new combo of ice and fire to coat himself in an aura of mist before shooting both water and fire at his foe to create an area of fog. As Logan began to slowly fall to his prey his fall was sped up by a tornado centred on Garentaeous. The Knight was sucking in the air like a ruptured hole in a spaceship, the white vapour disappearing in seconds. Most likely a skill to remove poison from the air for his allies, the Knight had removed the vision blocks that Logan had set up. The mist was then sent packing back to its creator, condensed into an icy spear from Garentaeous¡¯s maw. Logan cut it apart with his artefact blade as his downward momentum was halted. Garentaeous threw his shield to the side and had it fly around like a frisby, landing and staying still at Logan¡¯s back to create a makeshift wall. At the same time, Garentaeous leapt at his foe while forming another shield and using General¡¯s Charge to create a massive yellow visage of a lion over his body. Logan teleported away again before he could get crushed between two bulwarks of metal, the resulting crash erupting a painful sound that caused many viewers to hold their ears in pain. As the Spellthief formed more magic in both hands, putting his dagger back into his coat, he saw Garentaeous turn around on his shield and kick off of it. Deciding to not stick around to find out, Logan teleported again to the far end of the arena. It was a good decision as when Garentaeous hit the floor beneath he caused a massive eruption in the sandstone. The collision was earth-shattering, the floor becoming a trap of spikes as the entire arena began to jump upwards in a wave. Stalagmites reached up to the upper ends of the barrier all the way to the far walls. Logan blasted upwards and awkwardly twisted his body. Stabbing a newly-formed frozen lord edge into a spike with one hand, leaning his elbow on another, and resting one knee on a spike while the last haphazardly stood on a final spike. ¡°What kind of attack was that!¡± Logan cursed in his head, only just avoiding another impalement. The terrain stayed as it was, unmoving and sturdy. Garentaeous stood tall at the opposite end of the destroyed coliseum. The man was not just a wall of iron, but a hammer that matched godly power. Cheers from the crowd certainly paid devotion to the Knight, their words only halted as Garentaeous rose his sword. ¡°Logan. You¡¯re one of few to avoid that attack. Even in these arena grounds where it is harder to do so, you¡¯re one of two. I commend your magic and your combat sense¡±, Garentaeous praised with a shout. With his teeth stopping their chattering Logan replied, ¡°Glad you recognise I¡¯m not like other casters¡±, Logan teased as he held on tight to his spikey platforms. Garentaeous chuckled, ¡°I know a man¡¯s merit more than their birth. Whatever was given to you as clay you¡¯ve moulded into an amazing statue to your prowess.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not bad yourself. Never seen this skill before.¡± Garentaeous stabbed his blade into the smoother sandstone near him, ¡°Now we¡¯ve appreciated each other¡¯s worth. I want to pay it further. A wager I would extend.¡± ¡°Oh yeah? I¡¯m all ears.¡± ¡°If you win, I will join your guild. I¡¯ve heard a bit about it from the commentators, but seeing you in action, I believe you¡¯d be a good leader in combat.¡± Logan raised an eyebrow, ¡°I¡¯d be happy to accept you.¡± ¡°Good. If I win, though, I will take that artefact blade off your hands¡±, Garentaeous asked with an outstretched hand. Logan looked at the frozen lord edge in his hand for a moment as he dug it out of the spike, ¡°Can I interest you in something else?¡± Garentaeous retracted his hand, his changing features hidden behind a helmet, ¡°I thought as much. You are quite a quirky caster¡±, the Knight rotated his arms as if to stretch out from a workout session, ¡°How about those eyes of yours. Grant me the same¡±, Garentaeous compromised as he pointed to the eye slits of his helm. Logan twirled his icy dagger in his hand as he thought, ¡°Deal.¡± The Knight dug his sword from the ground and went back into a readied stance with a new shield in the other. Logan readied himself atop the spikes. --- *** --- Chapter 177 - Yestar Tournament. Part 6 As their discussion ended, the spikes began to shake and crack all over, crumbling to the floor in a heaped pile of rubble. The arena was a mess, but Logan was lithe. Darting to his foe, Logan made wide strides and moved side to side as he circumvented the terrain. Garentaeous brought up his shield to block a blow but reorientated as Logan warped to his centre. Turning to his back, Garentaeous had to crank his neck back as Logan Air Blasted upwards, and then to the side, the Spellthief circled the Knight at dangerous speeds to disorientate his foe. Landing solidly, Logan blasted from his sole and aimed a piercing blow with his dagger. It bashed into Garentaeous¡¯s shield and stuck in the air as Logan warped behind the Knight and landed a solid grasp on his back. Abyssal claws pierced the armour of the Knight as Logan silentcast Necromantic 2nd Grasp, blood from his foe dripping to the floor and his health absorbed into the Spellthief. Garentaeous had his body blur before he spun around violently, his sword creating a whirlwind of magical slashes in the air, causing Logan to jump far away. Yanking a few vials from his coat, Logan downed them to recover some of his slots as he looked over his foe as he stopped his spinning attack. The Knight then warped just like Logan, bashing his massive shield into the Spellthief¡¯s face. Blood flowed into the air as Logan recoiled, Garentaeous then had his shield dissipate to reveal his gauntleted hand, grabbed Logan¡¯s shirt and brought him into a discombobulating headbutt into steel. Logan¡¯s head started to ring as he stumbled back. Garentaeous began to drive his sword forward, aimed at Logan¡¯s heart. Clenching a fist, Logan punched the flat side of the sword heavily, misaligning his foe¡¯s blade as it merely grazed Logan¡¯s arm. Making a claw with his other hand, Logan heaved it upwards with a mass of glaciers, contacting with the Knight¡¯s face it froze over the partings of his helmet, freezing his face and locking up his neck movement. A silentcast Frost 2nd. Bringing back both hands, Logan thrust them at Garentaeous¡¯s chest, ¡°Necromantic Grasp¡±, he chanted, both hands exploding out with black energies, but they shattered against the Knight. ¡°He is immune to first-levels? He was tricking me into wasting so much against his skills¡±, Logan thought quickly as he retracted his hands. Garentaeous flailed with his sword in one hand as he formed his shield back in the other. The attacks failed to connect with Logan as the Knight could only see his foe in his peripheral vision. Forming a smaller Barrier in one hand, Logan stepped forward and met the sword in a thin line of hexagons. With his other hand, Logan grappled Garentaeous¡¯s wrist and chanted, ¡°Gaia 2nd Grasp¡±, producing sandstone spikes that cut apart the Knight¡¯s flesh. Logan began to chant again but was interrupted by Garentaeous shouting, ¡°Dome of Protection!¡± causing a massive wave of energy to erupt from his centre, pushing Logan away as a green dome encapsulated the Knight. ¡°Not this again¡±, Logan thought to himself. Garentaeous cleared his throat as he stabbed his shield and sword into the ground, grabbed onto the ice around his head, and snapped the magic away. Tilting the face plate of his helmet up, the man revealed blue eyes with black sclera, a vampire¡¯s telltale sign. ¡°Wasn¡¯t expecting any vampires in this tournament¡±, Logan acknowledged. ¡°Hah. I hope you won¡¯t hold it against me¡±, Garentaeous teased as he pulled out his own vials to drink. Logan aimed both hands at the dome, letting loose several Force micks, but they hardly did a thing to the protective barricade. ¡°Oh, of course not. It¡¯s just a bit sunny, is all.¡± ¡°The armour helps¡±, Garentaeous replied as he poked his helmet, ¡°But I have other magic to help against the sun¡¯s rays¡±, he continued as he pulled out more vials. ¡°So, is this going to be our ¡®round 2¡¯ or is it ¡®3¡¯?¡± ¡°I suppose so, though not as explosive as the first, I am sure you¡¯ll understand¡±, Garentaeous answered as he drank a thicker red liquid, most likely replenishing his blood supplies. Logan copied his foe as he began to drink from potions, ¡°So, was the plan to run me out with that intimidation skill?¡± ¡°Good summation. Yes. It¡¯s a useful tactic against casters as they typically reach fatigue faster than melee classes.¡± ¡°Sorry to say, but I won¡¯t be feeling fatigued for a bit.¡± ¡°Oho, no doubts here. You¡¯ve reached the penultimate match, I am certain you¡¯re beyond any other caster I¡¯ve faced and won against.¡± ¡°Any plans for the prize money, if you win?¡± ¡°I got the last dregs of debt to pay for my vampirification.¡± ¡°Expensive?¡± Garentaeous tilted his head, ¡°I¡¯ve got a few more gold to pay.¡± ¡°I guess you¡¯ll have to do some more adventuring work then¡±, Logan teased. The dome started to shimmer, causing Garentaeous to finish up, ¡°It is refreshing to find confidence with enough backing behind it.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t disappoint.¡± The dome shattered, the Knight picked up his arms while the Spellthief drew out two daggers. Logan flung dagger after dagger at Garentaeous, the minuscule attacks still doing work against the bastion of metal. Clangs and clinks permeated the battlefield as the crowd grew energetic with the resuming battle. Twenty daggers littered the floor, as did the rubble of previous attacks, the crowd cheered endlessly but it was not enough to take any attention away from Garentaeous. Logan¡¯s form whirred out of existence as he used Invisibility, Garentaeous¡¯s skin coated in red as he used Hard Skin in response. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Logan recognised the ability and merely waited out the timer as he jumped around the battlefield, Garentaeous¡¯s skin returning to normal fifteen seconds later. ¡°What mastery Logan displays with his Invisibility spell¡±, Rebrin narrated. ¡°Now, now. He has only been invisible for fifteen seconds. At his rank he has at least twenty-one to go through¡±, Strolbem informed. Logan darted close to Garentaeous¡¯s side, waving a hand over the floor he chanted, ¡°Frost Wall¡±, causing a massive obstruction of frozen water to block one avenue for his foe. Garentaeous turned away from the ice to eye other directions for attack, instead, he was blasted at his back. Logan¡¯s Frost 2nd split the wall in two as it speared Garentaeous in his back and out his right shoulder. The Knight faltered as the power from the spell pushed him forward. Logan dropped empty vials on the floor as he made another wall of ice at Garentaeous¡¯s flank. Garentaeous stared at the wall and his sides but was pierced again from above as Logan appeared, another Frost 2nd having hit from the top of the Knight¡¯s left shoulder and erupting at his right hip. Garentaeous drew his blade back far and javelined it skyward to Logan, but the Spellthief blasted air from his palm to retreat to the floor. The Knight¡¯s sword reappeared in his hand quickly as another large visage of a yellow lion appeared all over him, charging down on Logan. Logan blasted again, going high to avoid the General¡¯s Charge, but Garentaeous followed, launching himself at Logan as the ground beneath his feet was crushed. The lion left Garentaeous and followed after Logan, another Air Blast allowed Logan to avoid the attack and leave it to batter the upper extent of the arena¡¯s barrier. ¡°That was close. I was almost a Logan sandwich¡±, Logan thought to himself as he fell back to the floor. As Logan¡¯s feet hit the floor, he darted towards Garentaeous yet again. As the Knight brought up his shield to defend, Logan did a football slide under the bar of iron and stopped behind his foe. Clawing at the ground, Logan chanted, ¡°Earthern Eruption¡±, forming countless spikes that hailed his opponent. While Garentaeous swung around to destroy the rocks, Logan manoeuvred around and aimed at the weapon, chanting, ¡°Aqua 2nd Grasp¡±, spouting high-pressure water to cut across the metal. Gripping tighter onto the blade, Logan chanted again, ¡°Gaia 2nd Grasp¡±, causing the blade to warp and bend as stone curved around the weapon in an attempt to snap it. Garentaeous broke free of the stony cage as he battered away his foe with a mighty shield slam. Logan retreated somewhat as he drew up magic in both hands. The Knight threw away his sword to form a new one, running through a somewhat shorter supply when compared to Logan¡¯s knives. ¡°Flame 2nd Shot, Necromantic 2nd Shot¡±, Logan chanted, coalescing flames with shadows, a stark contrast of light and darkness in twin palms. The enflamed abyss battered Garentaeous¡¯s shield with magical forces that even his body couldn¡¯t ignore. The Knight took the attack in stride, his legs forcing their way ahead as Garentaeous charged towards Logan. The Spellthief continue to chant, releasing three more volleys of blazing umbra at the defence ahead of him. Logan¡¯s MP dwindled to 5. This next-to-last clash came with a deafening roar. Garentaeous ran through the pain as some licks of fire caressed his armour while the gloom invaded the cracks. The magical assault went wider and taller as the two became closer and closer. Garentaeous primed his sword for a forward strike, but as he began the dozen-feet lunge he noticed the barrage halt. Sliding across a glassy floor, the fires having cooked the crushed sandstone, Garentaeous whipped around to spy Logan once more. ¡°Lightning Cascade!¡± Logan shouted as he apparated up high and behind Garentaeous. Sparks darted for the enemy, pinpricking his armour and seeping through. Warping again, Logan landed low and at Garentaeous¡¯s front, making a quick jab into the chinks of the armour with his dagger, before disappearing once more. The Knight had become slower as the fight had dragged on for too long, Logan¡¯s ability to teleport surpassing any retaliation. As Logan appeared at his foe¡¯s side he made another jab, another teleport, jabbed again, then warped just as before. Appearing on both flanks, Logan chanted, ¡°Necromantic Wall¡±, forming ramparts of shade. Slicing through the walls of blocked vision and on the sides that weren¡¯t, Logan made a messy shower of ice on steel that would cause almost anyone to become disorientated with such fatigue. Teleporting two more times in a desperate assault, Logan chanted two more times to cast Lightning Cascade, dual diagonals of electricity zapped Garentaeous to his core. Logan landed in a slide away from his foe, sweat dripping to the floor as veins popped across his forehead. Garentaeous stood still in the spot where he had been blasted, steam rising from his frame. The silence was deafening, everyone hugged the edge of their seats like lifelines out at sea. The silence was only broken by the heavy breathing of the two combatants who seemingly waited with baited breath for the next action, and again as Garentaeous fell to a knee, his armour clanking around as parts fell off. A tired hand propped the Knight up from the floor, blood and sweat pouring from his helmet as slightly glowing eyes blinked away the pain. With his back to Logan, the Knight couldn¡¯t predict what was coming next. Logan drew up two more blades and began to charge at his foe again, his footsteps almost like giants against the quiet of the coliseum. With a haggard and phlegm-filled shout, Garentaeous halted Logan¡¯s charge, ¡°I surrender!¡± Dust and rubble kicked up from Logan¡¯s feet as he stumbled to a halt, breathing heavily in a hunched-over position still a good twenty feet from Garentaeous. The crowd defeated the silence as a waving round of applause and cheers deigned to escape into the city. ¡°Logan Hall is the victor!¡± Rebrin shouted needlessly against his Boom Voice mick stone. ¡°As close an encounter as I¡¯ve ever seen¡±, Strolbem added. ¡°Down to the wire. Fatigue resistance and resource management truly saw Logan to victory here¡±, Bref informed. ¡°A single MP left and barely any slots to go with it¡±, Logan conveyed in his mind, calculating what little resources he had left to offer the fight. The portcullis gates began to rise in opposite directions of the arena, following the commentator¡¯s call for the two to leave the arena. However, Garentaeous wasn¡¯t moving. The steam from his body continued to rise in a concerning manner. ¡°Garentaeous, do you need assistance leaving the battleground?¡± Rebrin asked over the coliseum¡¯s cries. The Knight¡¯s body convulsed weakly as the vampire couldn¡¯t move. ¡°Vampire!¡± Logan thought, alarmed. Running towards his previous opponent, Logan let out a blast of wind from his palm, rocketing towards the hulk of metal. Sliding on the floor, Logan grappled Garentaeous and blasted air from the soles of his feet, careening the pair towards the Knight¡¯s exit. Sliding their sides on the sandstone floors that left the arena, Garentaeous¡¯s body slowly stopped its steamy release, the two breathing even heavier from a surge of dangerous adrenaline. As Logan began to look over the vampiric Knight several staff members of the tournament came running towards them, two wearing the telltale robes of Devouts. ¡°Sir, do you need medical attention or blood?¡± one of the men asked. The female Devout picked out a healing potion and one filled with blood, only identifiable by its viscous makeup and temporary glass staining. Garentaeous took both and downed them at the same time, coughing a bit as he swallowed two liquids of varying thickness. ¡°I¡¯m glad to have met several other vampires¡±, Logan admitted, knowing his opponent¡¯s protections against the sun probably had failed due to the fight. The staff helped the Knight to his feet, allowing Garentaeous to pull on Logan¡¯s arm before leaving, ¡°Thanks for the aid, Boss.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 178 - Yestar Tournament. Part 7 Logan shook with anticipation for the upcoming match. Was he to face his blood brother in combat, or someone even stronger that broke that bond in two to face him instead? Exiting to the arena grounds of Gauntlet¡¯s Yestar Tournament, Logan gripped tightly onto his destiny, just as the landmass did to the sea. The rallying cheers of the crowds pulled Logan onto the stage of the final battle. Placing a hand over his forehead to block the harsher sun, Logan squinted as he gazed at the far side of the Coliseum. Approaching opposite him was a strong sight. Marcus. Gone was the timid and somewhat scared adventurer of four months ago, replaced with a sturdy man. Both confident in power and personality, Marcus smiled as he spotted Logan. Their unseen auras had been quite opposed. Logan was a Spellthief, adept at taking control of others¡¯ powers to utilize for his own. Subterfuge and stealthy kills. Marcus was a Devout, trained in healing arts to keep all those around him alive, always giving. Encouraging and granting a helping hand. The sun beaded down harsh rays from the azure sky, Logan was always impressed by how the tournament¡¯s sandstone floor was repaired for every match, even more so with the bright light of the sun reflecting off of morning rain. That same light did wonders to show off Marcus¡¯s new equipment. No longer sporting the recluse, and back-formation style of magi, Marcus looked primed for the frontlines. Metallic gauntlets covered his hands, while metal-plated boots adorned his feet, making him look a veritable wartime pugilist. His coat had been exchanged for one of white hues that was opened to a red tunic underneath that matched his headband under his fringe. Marcus¡¯s yellow eyes met the rays of the sun and glinted as if he were holy and divine, his coat bringing sensations of hospice to some while drudging up some painful memories for Logan. Marcus barely hid a fist bump into his side as his smile widened. ¡°I see you¡¯ve changed since the tournament began!¡± Logan shouted as he continued to walk toward Marcus. Marcus patted the sides of his coat away in a flourish, ¡°I¡¯ve gotta keep up with the new fashion¡±, he laughed. ¡°So, this was no divination?¡± Marcus looked to the side as if deflecting a teasing blow, tutting, ¡°The last blessing I received was your arrival, Logan¡±, he replied as he held up a fist. Logan bumped the fist with his own, ¡°Please. You just needed a hand to pat your back, push you forward.¡± ¡°More like pushed off a cliff, this journey has been so fast-paced I¡¯m surprised our hair stayed flat¡±, Marcus laughed. Rebrin, one of the commentators, voice then rang over the pair, ¡°It looks like the Guildmaster and Sub-Leader of Vip are quite close. Once they¡¯ve returned to the starting positions we¡¯ll start what will be quite the climatic final match of the 21 through 25 division.¡± Marcus took a step back and made the similar gesture of three fingers close together, and the other hand¡¯s fingers held horizontally over them. Logan smiled and dipped his head a bit before making the same motion. ¡°A call of rule removal!¡± Strolbem shouted, his gashriek ridged skin almost electric with excitement. ¡°This ¡®will¡¯ be a match to remember folks.¡± ¡°Unburdened magic and unrivalled fury are sure to await us¡±, Rebrin added. Logan and Marcus then moved a hundred feet apart. ¡°Friends, today you compete not just as rivals on the battleground, but as heads of your guild. Show us just how strong your leadership is, as well as the ties that bind your guild together within Gauntlet¡±, Bref narrated. Getting into readied positions, the pair stared each other down. Logan took out his frozen lord edge and formed shadows in his off-hand, his vaskt eyes appearing in anticipation. Marcus took up a stance where one hand was out, his pointer and middle fingers together while his others were closed, they were rotated horizontally, with the other hand doing the same but closer to his chest. Instead of the usual call to start the combat, the commentators let loose a bolt of lightning that hit the centre of the sky above the sandstone arena. Rumbling around, the lightning dissipated as it let off a sound reminiscent of a gong combined with static. At the same time, Logan activated his oni¡¯s mask, granting himself 11 reduction and 22% resistance to light damage, the type that the Blest spell dealt. Both opponents darted at one another. Almost in sync, they both warped to their centres and blasted into existence where the other was. Closing more distance, the pair teleported simultaneously again, now only a few steps away from one another. Logan made a piercing lunge with his dagger, while Marcus moved inward and hit the outside of his forearm into Logan¡¯s inner forearm to deflect the strike. Bringing an uppercut at Logan, Marcus¡¯s fist was grappled by a shadowy claw from the Spellthief. Before the claws could dig deep, the pair apparated in the other¡¯s shoes once again. Marcus appeared in the air as he made a forward kick at Logan. The Spellthief bent backwards as he brought up his dagger again to stab at the Devout¡¯s calve. With an open palm, Marcus chanted, ¡°Gaia Branch¡±, causing a smooth pole of rock to erupt from his hand and crash into the floor, but it kept on going. The creation of minerals pushed Marcus to his side, as if he were creating terrain to shove him where he ordered. As his body rotated, Marcus swung his leg away and brought down a diving kick at Logan with the opposing leg. Logan opened his off-hand and chanted, ¡°Air Blast¡±, projecting himself backwards, away from the kick of his foe. Marcus¡¯s spell continued in his palm, creating a weird spiral of rock from the ground to his palm, only snapping off as Marcus landed upright on the ground. ¡°Now that¡¯s new¡±, Logan spoke. ¡°Old, actually. It¡¯s a dead alteration of Devouts past¡±, Marcus informed with a smirk. Marcus then jumped twenty feet into the air, his body glowing grey as he Enhanced himself. With a massive jab into the ground, Marcus created a massive crater where Logan just was, the Spellthief blasting away from the havoc wrought by his ally. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°Now this¡±, Marcus began as he dug his fist from the ground, ¡°¡®is¡¯ new. I dubbed it Spell Fist, combining Branch with the melee arts of similarly Strength-gifted Devouts.¡± Logan felt both honoured and saddened by the obvious naming after his class. Marcus had made something his own but still held too close to the Spellthief for his comfort. ¡°No other names on offer then?¡± Marcus cracked bone and metal in his gauntlets, ¡°An antithesis makes a great gap filler, wouldn¡¯t you say? It may be developed to take you down, but it¡¯ll help you just as well¡±, Marcus informed. It wasn¡¯t far from the truth. This new Branch alteration was harder for Logan to absorb, as he needed to touch it to do so. But since it was more used to create difficult terrain or as a means to propel his foe, Logan had little counter to it besides normal means. With a swift movement, Logan snapped his fingers and let loose a blast of silentcast Flame Shot at Marcus. The Devout easily punched through the fires, but further flames came at his back as Logan momentarily dropped his dagger to make a Skystrike from the rear. ¡°C¡¯mon. Harsher!¡± Marcus taunted. Aiming two hands at the ground, Marcus produced two more tall pillars of stone from his palms. They weren¡¯t overly thick, but as they were magically crafted they were dense. Utilizing his earthen elevator, Marcus let go of the Branches as they reached the top part of the arena¡¯s barrier, creating a tall obstruction for the battleground. Grabbing the pillars, Marcus spun through them and created two more that attached to the previous and shot him towards Logan at a steady speed. ¡°Haste¡±, Logan chanted. ¡°Same!¡± Marcus yelled, not chanting. The pair¡¯s speed increased horrendously as Marcus landed with a massive fist on the ground again, causing Logan to stumble back. Driving his fist through the floor, Marcus uppercut at Logan again with rocks coming with him. ¡°Gaia Branch¡±, he chanted twice, two pillars forming at the soles of his feet, pushing his momentum forward again. Logan backstepped to dodge the blows but had to start jumping here and there to keep ahead of his foe. While his Agility may have been higher, Marcus was able to match it with enhancing magic and the use of Branch. ¡°When did he get so fierce?¡± Logan thought to himself. ¡°Let¡¯s take this up a notch!¡± Marcus demanded as he span with a diagonal downward kick at Logan, creating another dangerous hole in the ground. Returning to a tall stance, Marcus opened his palms, clenched them and drew them close to his sides, the grey aura around himself bulging out and intensifying its energies. Kicking off the ground, the whole arena shook, Marcus aimed a straight jab at Logan¡¯s face which the Spellthief avoided with another teleport to the other side of the battlefield. The force of Marcus¡¯s strike caused a line of destruction to erupt all the way to the wall where Logan once was, causing the barrier to shine white as it defended against his might. ¡°Look at that folks! What an amazing attack from Marcus¡±, Rebrin narrated. ¡°Where is this power coming from?¡± Strolbem asked. ¡°Enhancing Burst. It is a powerful skill open to Devouts of incredible faith. It reduces the duration of their Enhance spells but in return, it amplifies their effects twofold¡±, Bref explained. The crowd began to cheer louder, ¡°Go Blessed One!¡± ¡°Blessed Fist!¡± ¡°Blessed Devout¡±. Logan¡¯s form dissipated to all but those in the stands, while invisible he made his way towards Marcus. ¡°You looking to run out the timer? No chance. Gaia Branch¡±, Marcus retorted, waving his hands quickly as he created long poles of rock that snaked across the arena and into the opposite wall, placing his hands on the floor he connected the other end. Jumping atop the branches, Marcus ran across them and moved his head around the arena. ¡°He¡¯s stopping me from moving into the smoother parts of the floor¡±, Logan realised as he eyed the numerous winding pillars of rock that only allowed the rubbled areas to be passed. Logan quickly jumped to one of the branches Marcus had formed and clung onto it, its stony exterior making little noise as the man dangled there. He only needed to buy time for Marcus¡¯s improvements to dissipate. But it wouldn¡¯t be so easy. Sliding to a stop atop his winding horizontal pillars, Marcus brought both hands together and aimed them at the sky, ¡°Rain, Rain¡±, he chanted, causing the minor clouds in the sky to rumble before producing a downpour on the arena. As droplets ran across the battlefield, Marcus¡¯s eyes scanned over it. While Logan was invisible, his body still existed. Blocking a portion of the rain would mark where he stood, or rather, hung. However, Marcus lacked the vaskt eyes that Logan did, making it a harder task than it would be for the Spellthief. Logan quickly used his previous tactic, utilizing two silentcast Wind Skystrikes, to emulate a fake teleport at Marcus¡¯s back. Marcus quickly made a spinning downward punch at where the air blasted at his back, the might of his strike parted the windy rain and smashed into the far wall and barrier of the arena. Leaping high, Logan then let loose a stream of water hitting fires, producing a mass of fog that enveloped Marcus. While Logan¡¯s form appeared again with this technique, he was hard to spot amongst the translucent haze. It was a good thing that the rains created by Marcus acted similar to normal rain, hardly putting a damper on the fog. Drawing up twin Bowen daggers, Logan was primed to cut out at his vision-impaired foe. Thankfully, his intuition pulled him back as Marcus clapped his palms together with incredible intensity. The fog all around was brushed aside as if a typhoon just hit the damp arena. The grey aura hugging Marcus dimmed somewhat, before exploding outwards into nothing. The Devout quickly reignited the grey aura, however, it was weaker than when Marcus had buffered it with his skill. A flurry of punches flew towards Logan, the Spellthief deflecting the fists to his sides as his steel slid across the metallic gauntlets of his foe. Bringing up a knee, Marcus aimed to wind Logan with a gut hit, but Logan blocked it with his own knee, a blast of air erupting from both their forms as they collided. Another set of strikes were sent to the side with slashes, Marcus then drew back both fists to his hips and thrust them outward to pound Logan¡¯s chest. Logan struck downwards with his blades, directing Marcus¡¯s fists to the floor as the daggers shattered. ¡°That¡¯s the way!¡± Marcus called out, sweat across the sides of his face and anticipation flowing through his veins. Excavating his arms from the floor, Marcus brought up two uppercuts to Logan. Logan sidestepped and grappled Marcus¡¯s right arm, moving to drive his frozen lord edge into his foe¡¯s chest with a reverse grip. Before the blade reached Marcus, the Devout warped to his centre and appeared behind Logan. The Spellthief eyed his foe at the edge of his vaskt eyes, passed his off-hand behind himself, and chanted, ¡°Frost Grasp¡±, a mist coating his hand as a fist met his palm. Marcus¡¯s fist was coated in ice as he failed to pull away in time, Logan turning to face his foe with a following slash of his artefact blade. The Devout flexed his frozen hand and broke apart the ice with his gauntleted fingers. Making a fist again, he continued his torrent of punches at Logan. Drawing up Amalia¡¯s blade, Logan chanted, ¡°Infuse Frost¡±, coating both blades in icicles to increase their damage, the frozen lord edge doubly so as it multiplied the damage from this type of infusement twofold. As the fight continued, they exchanged fists and blades like a pair of dogs fighting for their terrain. Bludgeoning blows met diving daggers, flicks of ice flying into the air as the rain continued to fall from Marcus¡¯s previous spells. Errant spouts of laughter and jests between the two combatants were overpowered by the cheers and awe of the astonished crowd. These two weren¡¯t just fighting for their entertainment or even the prize money on offer. This was their way of speaking the words they couldn¡¯t find in conversation. Marcus wanted to know where they stood, while Logan wanted to appease his blood brother who had proven the will to see the other safe and sound was reciprocated. --- *** --- Chapter 179 - Yestar Tournament. Part 8 The arena continued to erupt in shards of ice and rock, Logan the Spellthief and Marcus the Devout, friends of over three months, clashing for the longest time. The crowd was biting their nails with each attack, worried their bets were misplaced and the other side was going to land a devastating injury on their chosen winner. ¡°Pondress, guide my hands!¡± Marcus called out, rotating his arms to symbolise the two-circle symbol of his goddess. Drawing his hands close, he made the same two-finger stance as before, unleashing a barrage of slugs at Logan. Dipping his head to the side, picking up a leg, and persuading his opponent''s arms to miss him with daggers, Logan tried feverishly to stop any attack landing. Finding a gap in the onslaught, Logan brought down both icy blades towards Marcus¡¯s shoulders. The Devout retaliated by moving his fists inwards and batting back Logan¡¯s inner wrists with his outer wrists. Logan let go of his daggers, wincing in pain, but as part of his plan. Quickly retrieving his empty hands, Logan chanted, ¡°Force¡±, letting loose a duo blast of grey energy at Marcus¡¯s chest, sending him back slightly from the power of the blows. Continuing his momentum, Logan kicked off the floor, returned his daggers to his grasp in reverse grip, and spun at Marcus. Attacking with a diagonal spinning top style, Logan clashed his daggers on his foe¡¯s gauntlets. Dirt kicked up from Marcus¡¯s heels as he slid back with each strike, while sparks of static emitted from the steel on steel, with a cold hue. As the technique ended, Logan landed with two solid feet, drew his daggers close in a cross-hold over his hips, and then threw them harshly at Marcus. The Devout crossed his arms over his face to block the attack, however, the daggers merely sang in the air and sliced at the sides of his arms. As blood dripped from his clothing, Marcus attempted to return his guard and attention to Logan. The Devout couldn¡¯t keep up, though. Logan¡¯s lips had just ended the muttering of, ¡°Haste Sustained¡±, Logan¡¯s speed increased to two times as the spell had left him some time ago. Getting inside his foe¡¯s guard, Logan placed two palms on Marcus and ignited his friend in a squall of frosty darkness, a silentcast round of Frost 2nd and Necromantic 2nd. Marcus coughed up blood as his body was flung back by the intense power of Logan¡¯s spells. The Devout was lucky to survive the offensive, but it was most likely due to his Enhance spells increasing his HP beyond what Logan had. Logan¡¯s form warped out of existence and appeared far behind Marcus, the Spellthief collecting his daggers out of the air, spinning them around in his grasp, and slashing again at Marcus¡¯s back. Marcus¡¯s body glowed yellow as he healed himself quickly in the air, with whatever might he had in the air he crashed his heels into the floor as he flew backwards. Kicking off the ground, Marcus made a sloppy backflip over Logan as the daggers narrowly missed his rear. There wasn¡¯t much room behind them, however, and Marcus landed his feet on the arena wall. ¡°Now we¡¯re seeing some heavy hits!¡± Rebrin narrated. ¡°Just like his matches before this one, Marcus will draw this fight out with his speedy healing capabilities¡±, Strolbem added. Logan spun on the spot, aiming a wide slash at Marcus who punched into the inner-elbow of Logan, causing the attack to falter. Pushing off the wall, Marcus spun upwards and quickly kicked Logan¡¯s chin, sending his body sliding back slightly, granting the Devout some breathing room. ¡°C¡¯mon!¡± Marcus taunted as he landed back on his feet. ¡°I¡¯m already here!¡± Logan teased as he reared his upper body forward to realign his stance. ¡°Skin of Ice, Flame Cloak¡±, Logan chanted, his skin coated in hard ice while wreathed in flames. As a misted foe formed in front of Marcus, the Devout drew back his fists and began to thump through the fog. Circular parts erupted within the misted aura around Logan, his own body dodging side to side to avoid anything landing. Moving to make an underhand slash with his dagger, Logan dropped the blade as soon as it connected with a parrying fist. Opening his palm, the dagger flying off behind him, Logan ignited his hand and patted it into Marcus¡¯s chest, ¡°Flame 2nd Grasp¡±, he chanted, Marcus burning horrendously from the feint. Logan¡¯s other hand, at the same time, merely dropped his dagger and pulled inwards, causing another round of Flame 2nd Skystrike to batter into Marcus¡¯s back, Logan¡¯s Multicast skill doing wonders for sneaky tactics. Retreating his first hand, Logan let off an Air Blast to propel himself backwards. With his off-hand, he clutched onto his falling blade, spun in the air, and caught his main-hand frozen lord edge as it lost its momentum away from him. Logan landed in a spinning slide, two rotations completed before he faced down Marcus again. The Devout¡¯s body continued to let off a yellow glow as he maintained healing himself. ¡°Aqua Branch¡±, Marcus incanted, a jet of water appearing within his right sole. Landing a massive slam into the floor with his fist, the jet of water pushed him upwards and above Logan. With a quick kick, Marcus barely missed his opponent as the pillar of water shot off his foot into the floor, halting Logan¡¯s move back to his previous position. ¡°Gaia Branch¡±, Marcus continued, a column of earth forming in his other hand that spun him around in the air. Aiming a backhand at Logan, the Spellthief blasted away to dodge it. Marcus merely opened his hand toward where Logan moved to, the earthen pillar following the Spellthief before it collided with the far wall as he swerved. ¡°Blest Skystrike¡±, Marcus chanted, a beam of light appearing above Logan and narrowly missing his head as the Spellthief ducked down. Warping in front of his foe, Marcus then landed a solid uppercut into Logan¡¯s chin, sending his foe blasting into the barrier above. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. As blood flowed from his clenched teeth, Logan wiped his face and aimed a hand at Marcus who had jumped after him, mentally commanding his spell to activate, Logan had the blood blacken and wire out towards the Devout. The Warping Censure spell wrapped around Marcus and tugged tight on his body, removing his ability to use Dimensional Jaunt. This tactic cost 8 MP from Logan to conduct as a silentcast, but its power was certain. Marcus¡¯s body whirred a bit as he attempted to teleport away from the effect, but was too slow during his tunnel-vision follow-through. Logan then showed his free movement and teleported behind Marcus, facing the ground. Reaching around, Logan grabbed onto the shoulder sections of Marcus¡¯s coat and threw him down with blasts of air shooting from Logan¡¯s soles. A massive, somewhat piledriver-esque, crash had Marcus planted a good three feet underground as the arena shattered. Letting the momentum push him upward, Logan landed on his feet as he pushed off Marcus. Sliding his feet on the rough terrain, Logan landed two palms onto Marcus¡¯s back as he chanted, ¡°Aqua 2nd Grasp¡±, piercing his friend with two large swords of red water that exploded across the battleground. The power of the spells loosened Marcus¡¯s prison in the floor, his yellow glowing body bending before rocketing out as he punched the ground. Flying to the far end of the arena, Marcus landed in a haphazard slide, blood pouring to the floor from wounds that had quickly closed over from his healing spells. ¡°That¡¯s it! Show me it all!¡± Marcus spoke under his breath as he drew back both hands, slapped them onto his hips, and had his gauntlets fall off to the ground. Flicking his wrists, Marcus had two fresh gauntlets appear over his hands, clenching a few times to make sure they were snug. The pair then kicked off the ground to launch themselves at one another. Logan drew up two Bowen daggers while Marcus aimed a severe right straight punch at his foe. Before they met, Logan dropped both of his daggers and used an Air Blast to launch himself over Marcus who had already swung his fist. ¡°Gaia 2nd Grasp¡±, Logan chanted, rocks forming around his fingers as he grabbed out at Marcus¡¯s neck. Marcus opened his palm and chanted, ¡°Gaia Branch¡±, forming a pillar that shot to the floor, pushed his arm back, and arced into a spin to backhand Logan¡¯s palm away. Earth collided with stone as the branch pinned the spell from Logan into the ground to their side. Logan landed a foot on the branch and kicked off of it, backflipping to the floor. Marcus ducked under his column and followed after Logan. Another straight jab flew towards Logan who parried it with an open palm and a chant of, ¡°Barrier¡±, causing the fist to collide with blue hexagons. An offensive quickly followed the defensive as Logan swung his other hand towards Marcus, ¡°Earthern Eruption¡±, Logan chanted, causing spikes of sandstone to dart for their prey. Minor tips poked Marcus as he jumped back, the sound of blasting air ever-present and almost drowned out by the sounds of the crowd in awe. The soundscape had added to it, static, as Logan apparated in the air above Marcus and lined up his arm, chanting, ¡°Lightning Cascade¡±, the pricks of blue stabbing at the Devout¡¯s back. Using two more jets of water, Marcus shot through the lighting at his back, spun, and attempted a spinning kick at Logan. The boot was met with the same Barrier as before as Logan moved slightly in the air from the velocity. Another jet appeared in Marcus¡¯s sole, allowing his rebounded kick to try again as it battered the hexagonal defence. Another kick was primed to attack the shield, however, Logan used his offhand to blast back down to the ground and prepare a Gaia Shot at Marcus. Marcus used his trio of jets to twist in the air, dodging the spell barrage from Logan. Rocks, lightning, and scythes of shadow missed the Devout as he reached the floor to continue jabbing at Logan. A total of 8 hits from Marcus saw the Barrier shatter from his onslaught. The rains above finally let up, allowing the pair a dryer conflict, if still cold from the chilly air. Logan saw fit to take up the opportunity and waved his hand over the floor, ¡°Necromantic Wall¡±, he called out, a wide and tall wall of shadows blocking Marcus¡¯s sight. Marcus darted around the abyss to follow Logan but was unable to find his opponent, he did, however, find vials appearing on the floor as Logan downed potions while unseen. ¡°Below!¡± Marcus cursed as he darted his head around. Relenting, Marcus jumped up high, enough so that his back rubbed the upper height of the arena¡¯s barrier. With his arms spread wide, Marcus gritted his teeth as he moved more of his innate spellforce into his arms and then his palms. With immense strength, Marcus clapped his hands together, creating a massive soundblast, as if he had gone supersonic. The pressure wave enveloped the arena fully, pushing aside dust, water, and smaller debris, destroying many of his own branches, almost cleaning the field of its destruction. One section, though, did not clear, revealing where Logan was in his invisible state. Marcus extended his fingers, golden chains forming from the ground and grappling with an invisible Logan. Placing his hands on the barrier, Marcus then created two more jets of water to propel himself at the chains wrapping his presented foe. Sadly, Chain Guard wasn¡¯t that high of a spell, a second-level. As Logan had come to understand with many of his tactics getting beaten by same or higher-level spells, he knew this one in particular had a weakness. It stopped movement, but not enough to stop dialogue or casting if you were proficient. Marcus landed a double slam into the ground, cracking the ground even further as shards of sandstone hit the nearby walls and the arena barrier. The golden chains fell to the floor around the Devout, no sign of an invisible foe, and no sensation of hitting one. A blast of wind signalled that Logan had teleported to the far end of the battlefield, a clinking of glass onto stone continued to show his recovery tactics at play. ¡°Logan!¡± Marcus shouted, standing tall and viewing the coliseum grounds. ¡°Do you remember what we said before?!¡± Logan looked over to Marcus, recalling their conversations about this very fight. ¡°Don¡¯t hold back whatsoever, use all you¡¯ve got against me. I know you have more than this!¡± He didn¡¯t mean the Spellthief powers, they both agreed that Logan wouldn¡¯t show those off unless necessary or when Logan had changed his mind. Marcus tightened his fists and he took a few steps towards where Logan had teleported, ¡°Show me what you think of me! Truly! If my power isn¡¯t enough to withstand it, fine!¡± he spoke with teary eyes, ¡°Just let me know I¡¯m not holding you back!¡± Logan¡¯s form returned into view as if a cloud disappeared from his body. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Marcus. I¡¯ve not been fair.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I just don¡¯t want to hurt you that badly. But I know I¡¯m hurting you more by not doing so.¡± ¡°Hurt me? I¡¯m not weak anymore.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re weak! You¡¯re my friend and the thought is something so alien I don¡¯t want to picture it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m no longer the fuel, Logan¡±, Marcus admitted as a tear rolled down his face. ¡°You¡¯re not. I¡¯m sorry¡±, Logan replied as he flourished his coattails behind him and entered a clawed stance, ¡°I¡¯ll show you that we¡¯re budding furnaces.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 180 - Yestar Tournament. Part 9 Logan tensed his whole body as he surged power all through it, concentrating his spellforce to empower himself and get ready for the final ¡°round¡± of combat between him and Marcus. Amidst the roaring crowd, their cheers and glee aimed at both the combatants below, Logan the Spellthief had shadows flicker around his hands. His emerald eyes glinted in the chilly sunlight, mist slowly rolling off his body from previous spells. Getting into a low, clawed, stance, Logan stared down Marcus. On the opposite side of the arena, Marcus stood tall with his new stance, gentle, caressing yellow lights flew over his body. Minor cuts and bruises erased on his skin, cleaned of all blemishes. His haggard breath was only slightly heavier than Logan¡¯s, as the Devout¡¯s resistance to mental fatigue was lesser than his friend¡¯s. Waiting for a sign from the other, the two companions stood as still as statues. The minor slide of Logan¡¯s boot on the floor as he readjusted signalled the start of the ultimate conflict. The pair charged from their positions at one another, Marcus aiming another straight jab at Logan, Logan dragging his clawed hands near the floor. Crossing them over, Logan chanted, ¡°Necromantic Wall¡±, forming two long walls of shadows that created a ¡°v¡± shape at Marcus¡¯s sides. Marcus¡¯s jab went through the abyss and was met by a dagger into his wrist, Logan¡¯s speed still beating his ally. Blasts of wind then erupted on both sides of the darkness, Marcus trying to attack pre-emptively against a hidden foe. Instead, Logan double-teleported for his attacks. Appearing further back, and then warping closer, Logan stabbed a Bowen dagger into Marcus¡¯s armpit, and then into the other. Teleporting behind Marcus, Logan left two more daggers in the back of Devout¡¯s knees. Blasting into reality above Marcus, Logan dove two more daggers into his foe¡¯s shoulders, locking up almost all movement from his opponent. Marcus then called out loudly, ¡°Skill Reset¡±, a wave of clear energy blasting from him. His body¡¯s grey aura then engorged like before, utilizing his Enhancing Burst skill again. The daggers within Marcus¡¯s body were sent flying away, Logan dodging his own blades as he sidestepped away. ¡°What a development! Marcus¡¯s breadth of skills continues to shock! We¡¯ve yet to see any other Devout with Skill Reset¡±, Bref narrated, the most energy he had shown so far. Logan drew out dagger after dagger from his cloak, deflecting punches, and throwing them at Marcus to delay his assault. ¡°That rare skill can reset almost all your current skills on cooldown, but itself has a week cooldown¡±, Bref explained. ¡°Now is as good a time as any to utilise it then!¡± Rebrin added. With divine grace, Marcus flowed in combat like a dancing river, palm strikes, straight jabs, winding hooks, and swinging kicks were his flourishes, while his partner did their best to counter them. Logan was able to get inside Marcus¡¯s guard yet again, landing a deep piercing blow with his dagger, letting it have a new home in his foe¡¯s chest. Opening his hand, Logan let off an Air Blast to send Marcus back a bit. Darkness formed in Logan¡¯s hand as he chanted, ¡°Necromantic Shot¡±, his other hand pulling back as well. Shadows shot from Logan¡¯s hand as well as appeared behind Marcus, who merely spun around with dual punches to hit away the magic. Throwing several more daggers at his enemy, Logan had his projectiles battered away again, but the steel was followed by azure sparks, ¡°Lightning Cascade¡±, Logan chanted, blue destruction skipping between his fingers and shooting for Marcus. The Devout was primed to smash the electricity out of the air, but they instead veered to his sides, hitting the airborne blades and rebounding into his body. Marcus was shocked to his core, parts of his skeleton visible through the skin as the spells tore him apart. As they ended, the Devout¡¯s body was smoking yet still standing, yellow light desperately hugging his skin as he tried to keep himself battle-ready. Attempting to block another spell, Marcus brought his arms crossed over his face, but it was met with a flurry of dandelions after Logan called, ¡°Sleep Skystrike¡±, the second-level spell that ended many fights before they began. However, Marcus was quite resilient to it at this point, and it was a high gamble for the MP cost, at least Logan had 1 to spare in his spell slot. Marcus realised the ploy too late, however, knowing that Logan wouldn¡¯t rely on this to win. Before he was able to retaliate, over two dozen daggers came slinging for his body. Logan¡¯s lips had just finished speaking, ¡°Telekinesis¡±, both hands operating his fallen daggers across the arena. Twenty-eight death-dealers shot at Marcus. Five daggers impaled Marcus before he was able to start punching the weapons away again, his body glowing gold as he fought back the damage done to him. An uppercut to one, a downward smash to another, jumping spin kick to two, but two more piercing his legs. Marcus was a dervish of protective attacks. The massive grey aura surrounding the Devout dissipated as he finished his twirling attempt at survival. Logan apparated at Marcus¡¯s face, landing a massive upward kick from a crouched position with one hand on the floor into the Devout¡¯s chin. Marcus was sent flying, daggers and all, into the upward extent of the arena¡¯s barrier. The crowd went wild with the spectacle, calling out the pair¡¯s names and almost going insane at the display of power. Sweat beaded down both of the friend¡¯s faces, Logan only with 3 MP left and no slots, while Marcus seemed completely out at this point as his yellow healing and grey enhancements were seemingly absent from the fight. Standing quickly, Logan opened his arms wide, going into an almost star stance, before bending backwards to direct himself at Marcus. ¡°Spellforce!¡± Logan shouted. The barrier of the arena glowed white and stayed that way as it combatted Logan¡¯s skill, visible purple energy vacuuming into the Spellthief¡¯s palms. Dragging it out of the air and digging it out of Marcus¡¯s body, Logan absorbed the magic in the area above him. ¡°Logan is now displaying the prime power of vampires!¡± Bref announced, ¡°Normally never seen in these grounds due to additional rulings, this skill is only available to older vampires and demon-clan creatures.¡± Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°What is it?¡± Strolbem asked. ¡°Spellforce Blast. It sucks in all the ambient spellforce, and active spellforce from targets.¡± ¡°I take it we¡¯ll see the ¡®Blast¡¯ part when the Guildmaster of Vip is finished¡±, Rebrin calculated. Marcus¡¯s body fell to the ground in a modest crash, the ground cracked slightly but the impact was more felt by the Devout who had his power drained away. Meekly attempting to stand, it felt like the man had run a whole marathon without water or break, his arms shaking as he pushed his body upwards. Logan¡¯s body began to glow violet, the amount of power was far beyond what he¡¯d normally hold and heightened even more as he drew power away from the arena¡¯s defences. The arena had also been filled with background spellforce from all the fights within the tournament, casters and otherwise releasing their innate spellforce into the air. Marcus tried to move out of Logan¡¯s cone of appropriation, but after being tired out so much it was almost futile. Logan¡¯s vaskt eyes stared at Marcus, his normal eyes scanning a window to inform him of his skill¡¯s current status. When it finally reached a point he deemed viable, Logan brought his hands closer, his inner wrists touching. A small chaotic orb of monochromatic hues formed in front of Logan¡¯s two hands, grey static rolling around it. The inhaling effect of the skill disappeared, the purple lines of energy and the wind returning to normal. Marcus breathed slight relief as his body stopped feeling so weak, but he had very little left to give. ¡°Blast!¡± Logan incanted, the ball of energy railgunned from his hands and hurled towards Marcus. The orb destroyed the floor with reckless abandon, a large line dug easily ten feet down. Waves of air ran on the sides of the orb as if it cut apart the atmosphere itself. Marcus couldn¡¯t dodge its speed at this point, so he resorted to defending against the attack, his legs still bleeding from previous attacks. Raising his arms in a cross over his chest, Marcus caught the orb with the backs of his gauntlets. A massive wave of energy burst into a dome from Marcus, destroying the terrain horrendously. The metal of Marcus¡¯s gauntlets was stripped away, then it ate away at his cuffs, and finally hit his skin. The orb picked Marcus off his feet and threw him against the far wall, digging five feet into the sandstone before hitting the barrier within the rock, the blast exploding across the rock and magic, painting the green hexagons white as it protected the audience. Blood splattered into the air as the cracking of bone was heard. A rush of smoke and dust came from the crater in the wall, when it dissipated it showed Marcus on the brink of unconsciousness. Logan¡¯s Identification clearly showed the Devout at 1 HP from 218. ¡°What an amazing spectacle! I¡¯ve never seen such a display of raw power from a Wizard in these rankings. Logan is surely a caster to keep an eye on, folks¡±, Rebrin narrated. The crowd continued to get louder as they cheered the final attack from Logan, pieces of the wall still cracking slightly and falling to the floor near Marcus. ¡°How¡¯s that?¡± Logan asked, breathing heavily. Marcus coughed as he began to break his limbs out of the earthy tomb, ¡°Now that¡¯s what I wanted to see¡±, he spoke as he fell to the floor, ¡°Now I know what I mean to you.¡± ¡°Can you keep going?¡± Logan teased, knowing they were both at their limit. Marcus laughed, ¡°No. No, I don¡¯t think I can.¡± ¡°What¡¯s this? Is Marcus surrendering?¡± Rebrin asked over the Boom Voice stone. ¡°I yield¡±, Marcus replied weakly with a wave of his hand before using it to prop his body up on the floor. ¡°That¡¯s it, onlookers and admirers! The final match of the 21st through 25th ranks has come to a climactic end. Logan Hall, Guildmaster of Vip, is the champion!¡± Strolbem announced. The crowd all stood up, some jumping, hailing the new champion¡¯s rise and congratulating the Spellthief who beat all odds to come out the victor. Many voices still cheered on Marcus, encouraging him to try again next year, or that they got a whole lot more from the Devout than they had expected. Walking slowly through the cold dust, Logan offered a hand for Marcus, the Devout taking it in stride as he clasped onto Logan¡¯s wrist. The Spellthief brought Marcus to his feet and then into a quick hug, the pair patting each other on the back as they laughed off the pain. Raising each other¡¯s hands, the pair acknowledged the audience who clapped loudly at the fierce combatants who held little back. The arena, however, would most likely have felt antagonistic at the damage it had suffered. White hexagons slowly recovered to their normal green hue, Logan¡¯s skill having drained them a bit during the fight, but not enough to combat the magi at work keeping it active. As Logan and Marcus moved to exit the battleground, Logan was treated to a victorious sensation alongside two windows that appeared in front of him to congratulate him further. ¡°You have gained the ¡®Tournament Champion¡¯ title.¡± ¡°Tournament Champion: You have won all matches in the Yestar Tournament, becoming one of its champions. Almost everyone within Gauntlet will know your name as your fame grows. You have gained a cumulative skill point reward of 6 to distribute for winning the quarter, semi, and final matches.¡± ¡°You have gained the ¡®Merciful Champion¡¯ title.¡± ¡°¡®Merciful Champion: You have become a tournament champion with none of your opponents dying due to your actions. You are renowned as being a merciful combatant to those who deserve it. You have gained 3 skill points to distribute.¡± It was easy to tell that the first title awarded 1, 2, and 3 points, which were added together based on how close you got to winning the tournament, while the second title was more of a happenstance. These sorts of titles would be in short supply, Logan could only be thankful no other PC had fought over them in his bracket.
A few more days passed for the rest of the tournament to complete, the lower rankings had far more entrants so they couldn¡¯t complete as quickly as the higher ones. Logan was finally able to enjoy the fights from the stands this time, learning a few more techniques from other classes as well as formulating new tactics to combat them. With all of his bets coming back to him, Logan handed out a total of 1 gold per person who made them on his behalf. Winning twelve matches with twenty gold in the pot brought in 240 gold, ending at 220 after payments. There was also a hefty investment from both Alton, the Sirn vampire, and Armin Eventa, the wealthy merchant. With a promise of doubling their investment, Logan was able to take a loan of 50 gold to spread among other homeless allies who viewed the matches via magical displays throughout the city and its taverns. That brought in another 450 gold. Aside from gathering up his coin, Logan continued to scour the crowd for the other PCs that were present. The first was a younger man, probably in his late 20s or early 30s. Green eyes glittered slightly against the magic on display within the arena, while short, spiked, black hair flew in the wind. The second was older, grey eyes focused on all the moves taken within the battleground. That man was closer to his 50s than anything else, with wrinkles across his face and a gaze that showed wisdom through age. There was no hair to be seen on his dome, but a full beard of white hugged his face. It was a surprise to find the first two sat next to each other, conversing every so often. Logan wasn¡¯t the only PC to have found and buddied up with others. But he couldn¡¯t shake the feeling they weren¡¯t on his side. The instinct was only diluted a bit by the lack of a quest to kill them, but just like his normal System quests, Logan assumed those were being held back due to the tournament. Something that was even more exotic, was that of twin PCs. A pair of women with shoulder-length blonde hair and hazel eyes. Their faces were half covered, from the neck to the bridge of their noses, in white masks that looked like snakes. Logan could only guess they were close to 30 years of age. But it did reveal that people could come to Avanar in groups, or another theory, making copies of yourself meant the clones were also counted as PCs. The last PC was one shrouded in shadow. A rolling black mist from head to toe made it hard to distinguish who the individual was, aside from a silhouette that looked masculine. It was either a vampire PC or one who revelled in privacy. Whatever the PCs¡¯ affiliations, Logan had a good idea of who they were now. Distinctive features would make it easier to track them if necessary, and a first-hand sighting meant using scrying methods would go through without as many issues. The real question. Would they hunt Logan with barbarous intent now they saw him? Or were they just looking for some entertainment? --- *** --- Chapter 181 - After the Tournament The celebrations went through rather quickly, with over half the month spent fighting in the tournament the crowning of its champions took less than an hour. Logan was awarded a belt with a medal as its buckle, mostly used to fasten around your arm or some such, the belt could be worn to show you are a tournament champion. Logan didn¡¯t feel much need to wear his, but it was nice to have regardless if anyone doubted his power at this point. What he did aim to show off to merchants, however, was the 200 gold prize money for his division. Adding with all of his other bets and payments, Logan was sitting pretty at 870 gold. A far jump from his starting 20 gold, if only there were more ¡°surefire¡± ways to get gold. But even here it was a gamble if he¡¯d see the tournament to its finals. Reuniting with his guildies, Logan was happy to hear they all did well in their divisions. Castore, Armin Eventa¡¯s son, won five matches. Alice won six but lost to Jayd, making their competition reach 2:11 in favour of Jayd, Jayd lost in the quarter-finals. Shanin, probably due to his longer time as an adventurer, made it all the way to the semi-finals. Most of Logan¡¯s guildies¡¯ success was down to their better gear, plus his time spent training them in more advanced techniques. The 1 through 5 bracket was jam-packed with fresh faces barely keeping up with their gear, while a few others relied too much on their gear if they were from the upper class. As their guildmaster, and closely-knit relationship, Logan was allowed a better view at the status of the NPCs. It wasn¡¯t as fully fleshed out as his own, nor as much as his Partnered NPC, Marcus, but Logan saw quite a bit. Shanin had gained a skill point from winning his quarter-final match, most likely from the same title that Logan had obtained. Logan was more prideful over Shanin¡¯s change in attitude and stance. When he first met the man, Shanin was being bullied and pushed around to do carting duty or acting as monster bait for almost no coin. Now, he was like an older brother to the other guildies, and no longer hunched or reclusive when talking with people he didn¡¯t know. It reminded Logan of the change found in Marcus. As long as it didn¡¯t go too far in the other direction, into arrogance. As the guild was making a return trip to the guild house, the members were approached several times by fans of their work, or people who bet on their performance. Thanks and adoration were handed over, while connections were beginning to form. Logan spied a few people trying to ¡°steal¡± his members away from his guild, but it seemed none were even acknowledging the offers. One shining star that came to them, came to Logan. Prevesna, the Sub-Leader of Lightbeam, was still adorned with her shining gold and silver armour, her helm already removed that showed recently brushed and cleaned brown hair. ¡°Logan, I heard you did well within your bracket¡±, Prevesna started the conversation, extending a hand to shake. Logan shook the hand, ¡°Prevesna, it is good to see you in good health. That I did. I ended up as the champion of my division.¡± Prevesna smiled, ¡°Well indeed. I lost in the semi-finals of my bracket.¡± ¡°An amazing position still.¡± ¡°Quite. I did not approach you to share gloating, though.¡± ¡°Of course. What do you require?¡± Logan asked as the pair walked down the road ahead of VIP. ¡°I was wondering if you¡¯ve heard anything from Cassius. You two spoke a bit outside the guild, so I was curious if he said much to you that he didn¡¯t to me.¡± Logan thought for a second, ¡°Has Cassius been AWOL?¡± Getting a better response in mind he replied, ¡°No. The last time we really talked was when we attacked the Ice King¡¯s lair.¡± Prevesna tutted, ¡°Nothing at all? He¡¯s been busy¡­ obsessed really, with clearing out dungeons solo.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard about that, but not a whole lot more than gossip and notes at the G-Hall.¡± ¡°Many a time that he has returned, has been when I¡¯ve not been present. He¡¯s¡­ not been the same since our group-guild attack on that mobile dungeon near Helm lands¡±, Prevesna almost trailed off, her yellow eyes closing slightly. ¡°If I see him, do you want me to tell him you¡¯re looking for him?¡± Prevesna thought for a second before answering, ¡°Yes. He¡¯s an integral part of Lightbeam, and without Woevenk, I may end up becoming the Guildmaster. I need another Sub-Leader. The hero has been gone for almost 18 months now¡­¡± ¡°How long until people assume they won¡¯t be coming back?¡± Logan asked hesitantly. Prevesna sighed, ¡°Portals have been opened almost every month for their return, but it seems after the two-year mark that will stop. Only the heroes and scant others have ever gone to the demon realm, we don¡¯t truly know how habitable it is.¡± ¡°Every month? I thought the first portal almost killed the dozen magi who made it?¡± ¡°Yes. But that was a shoddy attempt, they learnt and changed things up after that point. It¡¯s a lot safer now.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s good to hear, at least.¡± ¡°Anyway, I have to get back to my guildies. Good job at the tournament¡±, Prevesna ended as she held up a fist. Logan bumped it with his own, ¡°You too.¡± Marcus replaced Prevesna at Logan¡¯s side, starting up his own conversation, as well as the pair looking back at the other guild members to chat before reaching their guild house.
The guild house of VIP was a-stir with excitement. The heavy wooden door that saw entrance to the guild was passed by many happy members of the crowd at the tournament, or watching on magical devices elsewhere. Inside, however, was bustling with activity. The air was thick with the scent of roasted meats, sweet treats, and relishing in feats. The main table near the reading nook was festooned with flowers and a wonderfully intricate table runner. The hall was filled with guild members, newcomers and veterans of the adventuring life. Battle-worn leathers, cloth, and chains had draped some of the sofas or hung over the backrests of chairs as the men and women stood around chatting and drinking. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Laughter echoed off the wooden halls, blending in with the rhythmic tones of music coming from an enchanted harp, violin, and drums near the entrance to the crafting rooms. The guild''s younger members hummed or sang their hometown''s usual lyrics, their merriment a somewhat new experience against lower-income backgrounds. At the head of the bar counter stood Logan and Marcus, almost on display for the other guildies to congratulate and clap. This year¡¯s tournament was an amazing turnout, with many people holding positions within the quarter-to-finals. The pair offered fancy tricks of magical delight for their allies, as well as amplifying their ¡°cousins¡¯¡± achievements. Raising a tankard with a fizzing purple liquid, Logan called for attention, ¡°V.I.P., you¡¯ve done wonderfully at our first tournament. In only 39 days we¡¯ve filled in close to half our slots with people I can accept as a second family. Events shall escalate and hasten as we move forward. Know that you¡¯ll find solace and friendship here¡±, he spoke before raising his tankard, ¡°To the following years!¡± ¡°Here, here¡±, the guild responded in a voluminous voice. As cheers erupted through the guild, Castore and E¡¯leth began a boisterous competition of arm wrestling and competition between the guildies. Be it flipping coins into cups or knife catching, the youth revelled in the party atmosphere. Marcus¡¯s face was beaming, both from alcohol and the happiness spread throughout the room. There was little doubt from Logan that the orphan enjoyed this moment more than a few others, finding a new family to call his own, that wasn¡¯t the church that had taken him in at a young age. Logan, however, felt a mix of glee and sadness. Every step taken in this world was another stitch in the book cover of his new story. As it was mostly futile to lament over it, Logan had pushed most thoughts of Earth from his mind. He had the means to heal his father, he just needed the ability to administer them. No other quest had revealed itself to allow the Spellthief a return visit, even as a roundtrip. At what point would it become a no-return situation? His father¡¯s health had been failing, but it wasn¡¯t horrible when Logan had been abducted. But anything can happen, especially with the 175 days Logan had spent in Avanar. His mind was put somewhat at ease as Amalia linked her arm with his, laughter and smiles replacing the bad thoughts. The Guardian had assimilated to life here much quicker than Logan had, but then, she enjoyed this world¡¯s contents far more. Magic was a click of her fingers away, while her increased proficiency at crafting wares gave her solid footing within an industry. Advelt and Waerell brought out more platters of succulent meats, surrounded by delectable pastries that were Gauntlet staples. More and more, the guild indulged in revelry and glorious intake. As the sun dropped in the sky and the moon rose to usurp it, the guild house of V.I.P. was painted in a wonderful silvery light. Loud voices were replaced with giggles and quiet contemplative reading. Many had returned to more timid lifestyles of rest and recuperation, while the older members relished in drink.
However, that same silvery light shone down on areas far darker. Somewhere in the seedier parts of the city, hidden away from the patrolling guards and less-aware adventurers were the duo of PCs Logan had seen earlier, and had plotted against him in the past. Habiki, the younger man with green eyes stood tall over a figure on the floor, looking towards Owen, the older man with a bald head. ¡°Owen¡­ It¡¯s always a shocker to see your skills at work. You know that, right?¡± He spoke with worried reverence. A trail of grey insects crawled up Owen¡¯s arm and under his coat, the older gentleman replying with a toothy grin, ¡°Habiki, we all have our unique powers. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re just as worried about getting sucked into Logan. Or Ahren making you lose control of your bladder.¡± Habiki crouched down a bit to look at their handiwork. A complete skeleton that wore the latest fashion and shining trinkets, pure white bones that had been picked clean. ¡°Too right. So, this was¡­ Tafari?¡± ¡°The Jamaican PC.¡± ¡°It¡¯s no Ahren, but I guess we¡¯ll take what we can get¡±, Habiki¡¯s Green eyes then flowed into a deep purple, his iris becoming an X that hit the edges of his eye, ¡°His essence still lingers, just like the others.¡± ¡°Take the bones as usual. We¡¯ll wait out his revival timer.¡± ¡°Guess we¡¯re lucky we found him before he found Logan, ay?¡± Owen was about to speak, before the shadowy PC at the tournament approached from behind. ¡°Good evening¡±, Owen said, his Welsh accent becoming prominent in greeting. ¡°You¡¯re acting brazenly. Did Tille erode your senses so?¡± The man in the shadows responded, a Spanish accent battling Owen¡¯s. ¡°Placido¡±, Habiki began, ¡°I thought you had abandoned us fully. Why the interest?¡± The shadows turned to stare at Owen, then back to Habiki, ¡°Our benefactors are insistent on action over inaction. A ¡®penalty¡¯ has come up so severe I¡¯d rather not test it.¡± ¡°We¡¯re reforming then?¡± Owen asked. ¡°No¡±, Placido replied promptly before approaching the skeleton on the floor, ¡°Though, I do demand this corpse.¡± Owen shrugged, ¡°Take it.¡± Habiki looked at his ¡°leader¡± before just nodding his head in acceptance. Placido flicked their shadowed arm, several cracking of bones in their anatomy audible. More bone cracking followed as the skeleton still draped in its clothing and accessories began to animate and float back to its feet. ¡°Oh? I didn¡¯t expect your skill to extend to PCs. Ain¡¯t that useful¡±, Habiki teased. ¡°Just make sure you don¡¯t join them.¡± Habiki held up his hands in a fake surrender, ¡°My people have their own superstitions about the dead, thank you. I¡¯m sure I don¡¯t want to engage in some day of the dead shen¡ª¡± ¡°That¡¯s Mexican¡±, Placido cut off quickly. Owen smirked and shook his head. ¡°Either way, I won¡¯t be sleeping facing north¡±, Habiki replied before approaching the undead and knocking on its bones, ¡°Does he remember being alive?¡± Placido sighed, ¡°Do you plan on murdering more people in the capital?¡± ¡°No. We had one use for this sense-barrier¡±, Owen admitted as he thumbed towards the alleyway entrance. Placido nodded, knowing he was an exception. ¡°So, just Owen and I¡±, Habiki accepted. ¡°Samantha and Theresa are here too. I doubt they want to return after what you did¡±, Owen explained sternly towards Habiki. ¡°I saw them too¡±, Habiki responded, emotionless and cold. Placido interrupted again, ¡°I hope you two have ways of leaving?¡± ¡°We have teleportation passes, just as you.¡± ¡°Good¡±, Placido responded as he picked something from his clothing, presumably. ¡°Then good luck. I¡¯d hate for you to reveal much more of your hand¡±, he ended before his body and that of his new skeleton was wrapped in purple lines and cut to ribbons. ¡°Asshole¡±, Habiki cursed under his breath. ¡°Now, now, Habiki. We may be split, but we¡¯re still on the same team.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t feel like it sometimes. I still say we shoulda all stuck together. It seems like Logan has the same idea.¡± ¡°The Brit will be harder to track now he can counter scrying attempts, but we will have our due.¡± ¡°Go after his guildies?¡± ¡°No. Our next plan requires some time. The parameters of the quest are quite strict.¡± ¡°¡®Don¡¯t go losing your PC powers¡¯ is all I am hearing.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t want that happening again.¡± Habiki then rubbed his chin, ¡°I said it before, and I¡¯ll say it again. It¡¯s like we¡¯re playing an RTS when they get to play the old-fashioned RPG.¡± ¡°Patience. Logan already revealed one easy prey to us. He¡¯ll do so again¡±, Owen instructed before noticing a faint flicker in the air, ¡°Come, the barrier ends soon. We have many plans to put into place.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll kill all of them at once.¡± --- *** --- Character Codex (Spoilers)
Main Cast
Logan Hall Titles: (ch7) Solo Adventurer, (ch8) Friend to Tinte Residents, (ch13) Gashriek Ally, (ch24) Coven Cleanser, (ch49) Hound Hunter, (ch61) Naegren Exterminator, (ch69) Fledgling Adventurer, (ch73) Demon Stage 1, (ch86) Sheepdog Hunter, (ch102) Phasing Hunter, (ch114) Wolf Hunter, (ch143) Proven Innocent, (ch143) Dark Day¡¯s Ruler, (ch145) Demon Stage 2, (ch145) Demon Stage 3, (ch151) Experienced Adventurer, (ch154) Dungeon Eradicator, (ch162) Ice King¡¯s Bane, (ch171) Demon Stage 4, (ch180) Tournament Champion, (ch180) Merciful Champion. Common Moniker: Phasing Hunter. Relatives: Tyson Hall (Father, alive), Samantha Hall (Mother, deceased). Affiliation: V.I.P. Guild (Guildmaster), Adventurer (Gauntlet), Hunter (Gauntlet, Wolf rank). Race: Human (Demonblooded). Class: Spellthief (Wizard and Rogue hybrid). Age: 26 (on abduction). Height: 6''2". Hair: Medium-length brown. Eyes: Green. Sex: Male. Info: Logan Hall used to work as a PA at a large company before being abducted from Earth and landed in the fantastical world of Avanar. Logan comes from an undisclosed city in England. Presumed to have the deity, Vokka, as his patron, Logan is granted quests often to complete in their name. He specialises in teleportation magic, due to his initial push to go home, and is seen as a Grasp-expert, since he can combine the bonus from Grasp spells with his Backstab skill for incredible damage. Logan makes use of his summoned elementals, Celsius, Spark, Fahrenheit, Servoir, and Umbra more for absorbing MP to use in the day, rather than as combative units. Celsius (ch33) is Logan''s energetic personality. Spark (ch53) is Logan''s formal personality. Fahrenheit (ch84) is Logan''s cold personality. Servoir (ch101) is Logan''s sadistic personality. Umbra (ch101) is Logan''s straightforward personality. Theoretical Theme Songs: Volume 1: Demon Hunter - My Heartstrings Come Undone. Volume 2: Epica - Once Upon a Nightmare.
Marcus Eren Titles: Blessed One, Blessed Fist. Relatives: Orphaned, parents unknown. Marta (Guardian) Affiliation: V.I.P. Guild (Sub-Leader), Adventurer (Gauntlet), Hunter (Gauntlet, Sheepdog rank). Race: Human. Class: Devout Age: 20 (Start). Height: 5''11". Hair: Medium-length black, side-parted fringe to the left. Eyes: Amber-yellow. Sex: Male. Info: Appeared in Chapter 13. Marcus Eren was given up at such a young age he does not remember his parents, though he at least knows they are still alive. Bullied for being a weak Devout, having hardly any spellforce to cast spells, he was meek when he met Logan. Working alongside Logan he had grown an astronomical amount of confidence. He is a worshipper of Pondress, the Protectress of Civilized Folk. Joking about how harpies have little effect on him, plus his choice of dance partners, Marcus is known to be interested in men. Theoretical Theme Songs: Pierre Le Pape - Child Song.
Amalia Lehmann Titles: ¡ª Relatives: ¡ª Affiliation: V.I.P. Guild (Sub-Leader), Adventurer (Gauntlet). Race: Human. Class: Guardian (Specialised Knight) Age: 25 (Start). Height: 5''11". Hair: Long, middle-back length, red hair. Eyes: Yellow. Sex: Female. Info: Appeared in Chapter 103. Amalia was abducted from an undisclosed city in Germany. She was quite defensive and dismissive at first, but after seeing the magic of Avanar she became smitten with the world. Taking up a hammer, Amalia became an avid smith of varying arms and armour, plus utilized magic via spell rings she bought, or was gifted by Logan. Amalia and Logan started dating on the 8th of November (ch149), in Avanar, on the 107th day Logan had been there. Theoretical Theme Songs: Melrose - Warrior.
Supporting Cast Jrizan Affiliation: Noma (Farmer) Race: Human. Class: Classless. Age: 40s. Height: 5''11". Hair: Balding head, dark brown, full beard. Eyes: Brown. Sex: Male. Info: Appeared in Chapter 2. Jrizan was the first person Logan met in Avanar. Driving a cart from his farm in Noma to Tinte, he offered Logan a ride to the nearby settlement, as well as bed and board for a few days so that the newcomer could get his footing. His skin was of a light tawny colour, most likely a tan from working in the hot sun. Marta Affiliation: Tinte (Healer) Race: Human. Class: Devout. Age: 30s. Height: 5''11". Hair: Long, auburn. Eyes: Bright aqua. Sex: Female. Info: Appeared in Chapter 3. Marta is a follower of Desma and works as a healer in Tinte, she healed Logan''s first wounds and took Marcus in when he was left at their church doorstep as a baby. She was cursed by a demon (chapter 105) after the pair left the settlement, but on returning, Logan, Marcus, and Amalia were able to grant her regeneration to save her life. Draped in a robe of white and red, the woman carried a long staff with intricately interlocked wood. Depictions of beasts were seen across her robe, the 6-fingered claw appearing at the top section near her neck. The only skin that Logan could see was that of her hands and head, a lovely shade of brown. Ruben¨¦ Affiliation: Tinte (Receptionist at the adventurers'' hall) Race: Human. Class: Classless. Age: 21. Height: 5''4". Hair: Long (ch4), dirty-blonde, medium with blue and red ribbons on either side (ch22). Eyes: Magenta. Sex: Female. Info: Appeared in Chapter 4. Ru is the receptionist that Logan dealt with the most during his time at Tinte, the pair having a short relationship (ch22) that ended before Logan set off for the capital. The flame didn''t rekindle when they met again, as Ru had entered into a relationship with someone else during a time of fear in the goblin invasion, being protected at the time. Her clothes were clean and reminded Logan of a mechanics outfit, dark-brown and dark-blue overalls with a blue shirt underneath, the front having a sort of apron design and several pieces of parchment sticking out from the multitude of pockets. A quill was set behind her ear, holding back her long dirty-blonde hair, revealing her freckled face and magenta eyes. The blue undershirt was changed out for a pink one (ch22). Osc''n Affiliation: Tinte (Component inspector at the adventurers'' hall) Race: Human. Class: Classless. Age: 60s. Height: 5''. Hair: Scraggly grey. Eyes: Grey, glasses. Sex: Male. Info: Appeared in Chapter 4. Osc''n is the inspector in Tinte for components, he dealt with Logan often when buying up components to fund the Spellthief''s activities. Marsh''s Team Marsh (Knight): The first was a tall sandy-skinned man, at 6'', long flowing raven hair with a portion tied in a ponytail over even more hair flowing down his back. He sported a set of metal breastplate and dark hard-leather greaves. At his hip was a longsword, and his back a large diamond-shaped shield. Dim blue eyes inspected Logan. Vaela (Fighter): Next to him stood a burly rose-beige-skinned woman, at 5'' 11", muscles piercing through her chainmail though with loose brown trousers. Strapped to her belt were two shortswords. Shoulder-length brown hair showed signs of cuts from her attackers, displaying a rough personality. Her light-brown eyes gave off an unimpressed look at Logan. Pon To (Fighter): Finally, slightly further back, was a shorter amber-skinned man, at 5'' 8". His short blonde hair and green eyes painted a colourful face under his dragged up hood from a brown cloak. Underneath was an assortment of dark-green and brown leather clothes with several daggers and arrows strapped with belts. Hugging his chest and back was a large bow, a quiver peeking over his shoulder. Appeared in Chapter 7. Marsh''s team had Logan join them for a goblin-clearing mission, dealing with a hobgoblin at the end. Bobcu Appeared in Chapter 8. Bobcu was a crusty old gentleman who owned the bookshop of Tinte, an old practice. Clothed in a large brown robe, with its hood raised, Logan could only make out the lit-up wrinkles and freckles across the man''s face, his eyebrows wiry and silver. Logan worked a bit for Bobuc for villager quests, and talked with the man often. Coach Appeared in Chapter 8. Coach was the innkeeper of Dogslop Inn, where Logan spent most of his nights in Tinte. A tall burly man, at 6''8". His pecan-brown hair was short, small tufts flowing over his forehead and ears. Dressed in a clean brown shirt and black jacket, Logan could have mistaken it for this world''s version of a suit. He also sported a pair of black trousers, a long white cloth tucked into one side. The Movas In Chapter 12, Logan fought against Trei (Fighter, 6'') and Marc Lor (Sorcerer, 5''8") to rescue Forletta and Punissa Mova. The thugs were hired by Darius and got rowdy against the gashriek couple. Logan killed the thugs and rescued the gashriek, getting Marcus to heal them thereafter (ch13). Logan learnt how to trinketcraft from the pair and visited them a few times. Forletta: Gashriek with a deep yellow complexion, ridges across his nose, under his eyes and strange rigged gills on his neck. Long ears were shaped to move to the back of his head, hidden under his short mousy-blonde hair. Deep red glowing eyes with vertical slits, his eyelids closing from the left and right edges. Punissa: The female gashriek shared the same yellow complexion, ears, ridges, and gills as the male. Her hair was long and of an ashen colour, though splatters of blood gave her dyed tips. Shimmering in the moonlight, her pink eyes scanned the room. Darius Monlod Affiliation: Unknown, Magi''s Tower (excommunicated). Race: Human. Class: Wizard. Age: 20s (deceased). Height: 6''. Hair: Long, black but stained red. Eyes: Azure. Sex: Male. Info: Appeared in Chapter 5. Darius was observing Logan''s movements and was able to deduce that he was an Oracle. In chapter 20 he attacked and abducted Logan to recreate his Oracle powers via alchemy. Logan killed the abductor and absorbed his body. Tarka Appeared in Chapter 29. Tarka (Fighter) is the owner of the Hanged Hen Stop Inn, halfway to Gauntlet from Tinte. He was attacked by members of a thieves guild (ch30) and was saved by Logan and Marcus. He is in his late 20s, portions of his swept-back brunette hair had been cut away at the scalp. His eyebrows had three cuts on the right, two on the left, his lips having another two scars going across them vertically. By good luck the man¡¯s vision was left intact, two blue eyes scanning over the newcomers. Fowp Adventurers On their travels, in chapter 31, Logan met a Knight, Fighter, and Rogue who never revealed their names, who were working for a nearby village known as Fowp. Logan and Marcus dealt with goblins and a hobgoblin. Dena Mor Appeared in Chapter 35. Logan''s first "hunter" assignment via System quests was to hunt down Dena Mor. A skilled assassin who has accrued enough crimes on her list to warrant a wanted poster from 20 murders to several thefts, offering 2 gold for her death and return of stolen goods. Once an adventurer, Dena left the organisation when she found that killing adventurers and villagers alike pulled in more money. She stood at 5¡¯11¡±, long raven hair that was tied into a low ponytail at her back with strands flowing over her forehead. Her eyes were a piercing red, marking two deathly lights against her pecan-brown skin colour. Her garb was a mash of yellow and black, with dashes of soaked blood patches across her sleeves and tunic. Wielding two daggers She had the kaevock that Logan now uses, a relic that can open almost any door. Karn and Lole In Chapter 37, Marcus met his old friends, Karn and Lole. Who talked about the people heading south in preparation of culling a goblin army. They mentioned Traeyo, a rank 26 Wizard for his mastery of level 4 fire spells, and Archmage Sorcerer Zinzith at over level 50, who was rumoured to use at least seventh-level spells. Karn, the male Devout, is 5''6", long dark-ginger hair that was hidden under his robes, and muddy grey eyes. Lole, the female Devout, is 5''4", long brunette hair that was under the back of her robes, with dull green eyes. Logan and Marcus also found out about the four heroes that were sent into the demon realm, Woevenk, Kasilee, Zeronax, and Cla-ves-kos. Reykeg In chapter 38, Logan met Reykeg, the book shop owner in Gauntlet. In his 60s-70s, the man wore a wristband of bones that made him seem younger. Dressed in a formal gown of grey and white hues, the man¡¯s hair was lush with a solid dark-brown colour beyond his years, Logan noticed a hair clip on the man¡¯s head. Energetic blue eyes looked the pair up and down. Logan meets with Reykeg regularly for information and buying tomes. Drio Morn In Chapter 38, Logan made note of Drio, a Fighter who was a savant in strength and Intelligence, during the assessments. Kreya Ioi Relatives: Minu (Wife, deceased). Affiliation: Adventurer (Gauntlet). Race: Human. Class: Knight. Age: 20s (deceased). Height: 5''11". Hair: Medium, brunette. Eyes: Yellow. Sex: Female. Info: Appeared in Chapter 39. Kreya challenged Logan to a duel and won, forcing him to join her on a quest to a nearby settlement. Requiring magic to down the silversteines, Logan was a valued asset. It was revealed that this was the settlement of her past wife''s parents, Kreya wanting to save them as she couldn''t save her lover. She apologised for the duel afterwards and helped Logan thereafter. Kreya died during the assault on the Frosh Monarch''s Cavern (ch73) in an attempt to let Logan flee. Bulky under the scale mail she wore as it seemed too big if she were thin underneath. Her reddish armour was a bit garish, combined with a red and black cape that flew over her shoulders and back. Her face was rounded, with pretty yellow eyes staring at Logan with strands of her medium-length brunette hair dangling down her forehead but mostly tied into a ponytail on top of her cape. The most noticeable features were that of her scars, a large ¡°V¡± was cut into her right ear, a large slit in her right cheek as if someone had stabbed into her mouth, three claw marks going from her left chin to her throat, and finally a large scar across her neck as if it were slit. Her golden skin would have been flawless if not for the scarring. Jirango Appeared in Chapter 40. Jirango is the head of the Gerro Guardhouse and acts as its overseer, receptionist, and controller of the hunter tasks assigned to his guardhouse. He is also a "Half-Hand" which is a high rank amongst the Scythe Regiment of Gauntlet''s army. Jirango is in his 40s and is diligent and wary, having used scrying on Logan to confirm he wasn''t a spy. He is 5''10" tall and has a good amount of muscle on his upper body. Wrinkles dotted his forehead alongside patches of whiter skin, though he mostly had a milk-chocolate complexion. His hair was greying and mostly swept back to his neck and kept behind his ears. He was abducted by Quayvan and Tille''s forces and subsequently rescued in chapter 141, however, his left hand had been severed and taken elsewhere. This hand was later regenerated. Jirango was hesitant to accept Logan and first, but the two are quiet close now. Jirango even keeps back special items for Logan''s bonuses at request. Yetveka Appeared in Chapter 40. Yetveka is the attendant of the Meek Moat Inn, owned by Sir Raiyn. As a gashriek she has faced some prejudice. Her violet eyes light up her darker ridged skin beautifully, with long blond hair. Iimi and Tenn Appeared in Chapter 41, Iimi and Tenn are the other two members of Kreya''s team to take back Moella. Tenn - Stopping to point at a young man who stood around 5¡¯10¡± tall with short brunette hair and in leather garb, covered in a waist-high brown leather jacket. Aside from several hidden throwing knives, he seemed to focus on dual-wielding knives similar to Logan. Tenn aided in the goblin defensive, fighting with Logan against the Hero Krekka (ch55), where he lost his hands but had them regenerated later. Iimi - Motioning to the taller lady at around 6¡¯ with medium-length blond hair, wearing an assortment of metallic plating. Strapped to her side was a fashionable shortsword that had jagged teeth at the tip, with a large red-steel shield placed on her back. Iimi gained a scare over her left eye (ch66) which was later healed. Iimi met with Logan several times, and eventually joined his guild when asked to (ch156). Elder O''en O''en is the leader of Moella, in his late 60s to 70s. Long white hair was clumped from sweat and blood over his shoulders. Weary blue eyes glistened as they stared at the party, wincing whenever he moved. His robes would have been a fine array of blues and greys, if not for the tear marks across it and a large patch of blood on his right hip that he was gripping tightly. He had been cursed, reducing his maximum MP and forcing him into retirement. Chapter 47 and 48 Hunts Saeka, a gashriek in their late 30s, with black hair and green eyes, was apprehended for stolen goods. Tring, Poin, Moreev were a trio of bandits wanted for thievery and muggings. Gail Ren, Human, Late 20s, was apprehended for stolen tomes, but it was revealed he did not steal them. He was let go after questioning. Eno and Leroy In chapter 48, Logan met Sir Eno, the owner of The Restaurant, in his 50s wit thinning grey hair and a well-kept beard. He informed Logan about several facts surrounding his Oracle, Leroy. Leroy Lemaire, was a French PC, who may have had Tinkom as a benefactor. He gave up adventuring after the System gave him too hard a quest to complete. Carmen In chapter 49, Logan bought his first horse, Carmen. A beautiful brown horse. Jivvy Appeared in Chapter 51. Jivvy was the grandson of Jirango''s older cousin, Short black hair with shimmering blue eyes. Jivvy handled all of Logan''s nighttime hunts, as he had the graveyard shift at the Gerro Guardhouse. Meek Moat Inn Hunters In chapter 52, Logan got acquainted with the other hunters. Gaemo: Human. rugged face could probably have done with the colour since his grey hair wasn¡¯t exactly painting him to be full of life. Asked for help (ch79) to rescue his partner Ev¨¦n. Wriske: Gashriek Devout specialising in quarterstaff attacks. yellow eyes glancing over between her bites. Sincollo: Saeben. The sabertooth-like creature had its entire body wrapped in leather armour, though it had mountings for metallic parts that Logan assumed were doffed to allow for better loungewear. A dark grey mane peeked out of the saeben¡¯s collar, contrasting with his dark brown skin. Large red eyes glowed against the candlelight as he looked around. Helped rescue Ev¨¦n (ch79). Krekka Appeared in Chapter 54. Krekka was the first monster hero that Logan encountered, leading the goblin invasion into Gauntlet. Later revealed to be the partnered creature to Habiki. At 6''2" he rivalled Logan''s height. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Cassius Appeared in Chapter 54. Cassius was a prominent figure in the defence of Gauntlet, the city being unprepared for such a force to attack them without notice. A blonde-haired man to be in his early 20s, scars across his face in side-ways formations showing his experience as an adventurer or his lack of personal safety. His shortsword glowed gold with each strike. He ordered Koma, Lyrnin, Raye, Quros, and Patavava during the defence. He teamed up with Logan for teleportation and magical support, and aided in defeating Krekka. He later helped Logan retry the Frost Monarch''s Cavern (ch89). After Logan showed that Dungeons could be eradicated, Cassius seemingly went off on his own to do the same, eradicating dungeons at a fast pace. His presence in Gauntlet was almost nonexistent as he stayed out most of the time. His motto is ¡°Overprepare, and prepare some more, or die with a platinum in your pocket¡±. He is known as Raid Master Cass. Reinwold Appeared in Chapter 54. A man wearing ornate red and silver armour shouted orders during the goblin defence. Lurne Appeared in Chapter 57. A stocky man clad in blood-splattered plate mail. Tried to bring Logan in for questioning, but was quickly shot down by Eighther. Eighther Appeared in Chapter 57. A man draped in grey robes. He brought Logan into the castle for a debriefing and has met with Logan a few times. A caster of great power. Xican Appeared in Chapter 62. Xican is a magical investigator for the Magi¡¯s Tower association. A middle-aged mage donned in a fashionable robe-coat hybrid of flowing waterfalls and lightning strikes towards the bottom. With the hood down at their back, the man¡¯s black hair that was swept back was on full display, his muddy eyes glinting against the morning light. A quaint satchel was strewn over his left shoulder and dangled on his right hip. He interviewed Logan and offered him a spot at the MT. Later, he met Logan and talked on several occasions, and before Logan retried the Frosh Monarch''s Cavern as Xican was investigating it (ch88). He met during Logan''s trial (ch123) and was revealed to be a part of Orichalcum (ch144). Ahren Fagan Titles: ¡ª Relatives: Wife and two children. Affiliation: Gauntlet (alchemist). Race: Human. Class: Meridiancer. Age: 77 (ch64). Height: ¡ª Hair: Thinning black. Eyes: Dimmed amber. Sex: Male. Info: Appeared in Chapter 63. Ahren was abducted in 1978 when he was 43, from an undisclosed city in Ireland. He boasts a double-length lifespan and does not want to go back to Earth. He told Logan that Ahren had received a quest on spying a PC, and killed the opponent then and there. He has since retired to work as an alchemist. Ahren helps Logan often, with PC advice, and alchemical services. He even performed his meridian cleansing on Logan, flushing the Spellthief''s system of defects and blocked channels. He later created Harpy Acuity (ch145), a potion to restore someone''s mind from deterioration, to cure Logan''s father. Lightbeam Chapter 66 Vising Lightbeam, Logan met many people. Debrek: A gentleman standing at 5¡¯8¡± answered the door, wearing a clean set of brown doublet jacket and trousers. His short black hair had been gelled back, though it was more appropriate to say it was due to pomade or some other ointment. Brown eyes. Cerall: A fighter in his mid-20s who had a match with Logan, to which Logan won. Wears leather-metal combo attire, with a face barren of scars. Black hair that flowed to just below his neck. Chapter 69 team Araxie: A blonde Sorcerer woman whose blonde hair was tied up under her pointy black hat. Fleur: A brunette Wizard with loose brunette hair that hid her shoulders in red robes. Tsuker: A reclusive Rogue who preferred scouting missions. A rather short man garbed in a hooded black coat, his yellow eyes gleaming through the shadow cast over his face. Uhnarr: A gashriek whose eyes glistened brightly with their sky-blue colour, contrasting with his pitch-black hair that was tied into a long ponytail. Cerall and Kreya also joined this team. Bistc Appeared in chapter 76. Bisct, a Fighter, was an abusive team leader who pushed Shanin around. Shanin Appeared in chapter 76. Shanin, an 18-year-old man who looked as if he was being used as monster bait. He was only a level 2 Fighter. 6¡¯. good runner and scout. He later appeared in chapter 157 and joined Logan''s guild. Ev¨¦n Apepared in Chatper 82. She was captured when her and Gaemo went on a quest, later saved by the team. She then entered into a relationship with Gaemo. Castore Eventa Appeared in Chapter 86. Castore was abducted when he was 14 by a group of bandits, but Logan quickly saved him. He had a fascination for Logan''s magic, especially his teleportation. They met several more times, and when he was 15 he joined Logan''s guild (ch156). He is the son of Armin and Orell. He is garbed in brown and red leather from neck to toe. His head was free to the wind, his medium blonde hair brushed back and around his ears. At his hip was a shortsword and dagger, a duel-wielding Fighter. At 5¡¯6¡±, the kid still had some growing to do, but he was able to look Logan in the eye well enough. June Appeared in Chapter 86. June: Ascar-heavy-faced man wanting to get something extra from a caster. His metallic armour clinking about didn¡¯t exactly hide his stride towards Logan. He challenged Logan to a duel after Logan had embarrassed June''s friend, Bistc. Logan won and gained 5g and items. Prevesna Prevesna: The sub-Leader of Lightbeam. A woman who stood at 5¡¯10¡±. Her shining gold and silver armour showed that she was a Knight, though it hid most of her trinkets away. Removing her helm showed dishevelled brunette hair that had been tied into a ponytail for possibly too long. bright-yellow-eyed woman. She was with Cassius while Logan decided to join them, but eventually declined. She has spoken with Logan a few times, and even asked after Cassius''s whereabouts (Ch181). Koma Appeared again in Chapter 88. Koma is a rather tall woman at 6¡¯5¡± whose bow on her back stood close to 7¡¯. Her leather garb was a full set of dark greens with an accompanying emerald cloak that hid her right side well enough. Her black hair was loose down her back but kept mostly under her cloak and tunic. Shimmering blue eyes stared at Logan, showing a hint of disdain. Patavava Appeared again in Chapter 88. Patavava is a shorter gashriek at 5¡¯11¡± whose wrist gauntlets housed a triangular set of short staves. Logan hadn¡¯t seen a setup yet, though he guessed it was a different specialisation he hadn¡¯t come across. His flame-accented robes revealed he was prepared for blasting foes with fire, just as was needed for an icy locale. His brunette hair was swept back to reveal brown eyes that could have used several hours more sleep. He met Logan again (ch128) before they set off to a mobile dungeon near Helm, and returned later (ch149) but was gravely injured with his left limbs missing and his face covered in scars. Baev Appearerd in Chapter 88. Countless wrinkles on mocha skin, Baev was leading the assessment on the Frost Monarch''s Cavern to test for any changes in the Ice King''s revival. Archmage Sorcerer Zinzith Appeared in Chapter 99. Zinzith, is the highest level among the MT, and was the archmage Sorcerer, at over level 50, who was rumoured to use at least seventh-level spells. A man in a flowing grey robe, the ends of which moved as if like a heat mirage. Yellow eyes glowed as they stared at the Fighter, slicked-back black hair showing off a few wrinkles on the man¡¯s 40-something face. Due to his level, Logan felt offensive pressure just being near the man at the time.
Tille Appeared in Chapter 100. Tille was the partner of the PC that Ahren had killed. She had glowing green eyes and was a skullbeast, her body being made up of mostly bone and muscle. Her face was demonic and jagged, an almost bone-like faceplate or skull that housed two glowing green eyes without irises. A jagged maw opened so wide it looked dislocated, and her grin extended past where ears would normally appear, though the skull didn¡¯t show much in that design, aside from horns and spikes. She stood at 6''7". She had planned the whole scheme against Logan through the beginning parts of Volume 2, employing Quayvan to act as her face for it. Logan and Tille eventually butted heads (ch169) and she lost to the Spellthief. ¡°This corpse is protected against identification abilities. The following is all you can assess: Name: Tille. Level 23. Copy / Demon / Skullbeast. Many markers depict she drank blood and ate the flesh of humanoids. At least one skill shows her being a partner to a Player. Her abilities and components are weaker than the main body as this is a copy. Notable Components: Heart, skull plate.¡±
Habiki Appeared in Chapter 100, fully revealed in Chapter 182. Habiki''s partner, Krekka, led the goblin invasion he planned on Gauntlet. In his late 20s, green eyes, with short, spiked, black hair. His irises turn into an X when he uses his unique skill. He is a Japanese PC. Owen Appeared in Chapter 100, fully revealed in Chapter 182. The seeming leader of a previously larger group of below PCs. In his 50s, the man has wrinkles across his face. Is bald but has a full beard of grey and grey eyes. His unique ability has to do with bugs. He is a Welsh PC. Zack Mentioned in Chapter 100. A below PC that is currently in the demon realm. Has yet to surface. Captain Gaius Appeared in Chapter 101. Captain Gaius wears black chainmail hugging a set of dark-brown leather armour beneath, his knees and elbows holding plate mail protectors. Muddy brown eyes looked over the troops, a hand running through his short brown hair as the wind pushed it around. He is the captain of the Scythe regiment, where Jirango is the half-hand. He trains the guards and Marcus. Aev Appeared in Chapter 101. Aev was the messenger from Tinte who brought news of Marta''s condition. Noble Armin Eventa Appeared in Chapter 112. Armin has medium-length blonde hair that dangled over his forehead partially and was wrapped around the tops of his ears, tufts peeking around his neck. Father of Castore. He is a wealthy merchant and offered Logan information and jobs, Logan taking on Blood Drives later on (chap115). Orell Eventa Appeared in Chapter 112. Orell was rather short, at least for this world, at around 5¡¯ tall with a strip of black hair dangling down her back from a tied bun. Mother of Castore. Sirn Alton Appeared in Chapter 115. Alton is a vampire-human, fully hidden under a large black cloak with its hood hiding most of his face. At around 6¡¯8¡±, the man tilted his head down to Logan as he spoke through a fanged maw. A wealthy vampire who deals with many merchants, especially in the blood trade. Has met Logan several times, and even endorsed the man. Duncan Appeared in Chapter 117. Duncan taught Amalia how to smith. A man with muscles bulging through brown leather, torch mask. Thermodan Mentioned in Chapter 120, appeared fully in Chapter 160. Thermodan was a benefactor of the spell ring harvesting criminal activity, and as a high-level caster he was able to avoid capture for some time. He was eventually defeated, but ended his own life in a thermonuclear explosion. He showed advanced knowledge of ritual casting, and used an unknown spell "Motions" on Riley and Leo, putting them both into a coma. He wore a black cloak but it was already dripping in blood, fully blackened eyes. He had long red hair down to his lower back. The Royal Family King - Yadiel Travets: At 6¡¯5¡±, the king stood over most that were in the room. Brushed-back black hair and a full beard showed the man was still full of life, even when he was in his late 50s. Blue piercing eyes looked over a few closest to him. Moving the coattails at his back, the king sat on a large throne, waving a hand to motion everyone to be at ease. The king was wearing a mix of gold and blue hues, accompanied by white and grey. His raiment was cleaner than anything. Queen - Aeverie Travets: Yadiel Travets, the king, was accompanied by his wife, Aeverie Travets, who stood at 6¡¯ and had long flowing blonde hair. She shared the blue eyes of the king and sat on a throne the same size as his. As was the custom, the monarchy could be either male or female-led, but Gauntlet was currently in a partnered leadership, with both the king and queen holding similar powers. Oldest Son - Yasere Travets: At their behind were three smaller thrones that were sat upon by the eldest son, Yasere, at 30 years of age his hair had started to grey already. Garbed in metallic armour, though with formal tabards and leather sections, the man seemingly took pride in his classed status. His blue eyes scanned the room authoritatively. His 6¡¯ stature wasn¡¯t dwarfed by his family. Youngest Son - Yaltosk Travets: The youngest son, Yaltosk, was a young 23 years old. His black hair was long and wrapped in a braided ponytail. An almost identical beard adorned his face, if a bit shorter than his father¡¯s. He was dressed in a lordly raiment as well, though had depictions of stone spikes and pillars. Logan could tell he was magically inclined, it was strange how the populace viewed mages when a part of the monarchy was one. His yellow eyes passed between a few faces but settled on the middle of the chamber. At 5¡¯11¡± he was the shortest of the family. Only Daughter - Aldith Travets: The last was their only daughter, Aldith, at 18 years old. She had her blonde hair free to the winds, not that there was any in the hall. Dangling down onto her lordly raiment, Logan could tell she was not of the magic vocation. Most likely a Rogue or Fighter. Her yellow eyes shone against her hair. Standing, she was 6¡¯1¡±. Low-rank advocate Mentioned in Chapter 125. The low-rank advocate was a classless man who reached rank 8 solo by fighting only rank 1 monsters.
Quayvan Appeared in Chapter 129. Standing by the desk was a 6¡¯1¡± man in his late 20s, his body mostly hidden underneath a brown cloak though his head was visible as his hood drooped at his back. Piercing blue eyes that sent a chill through Logan¡¯s body were hugged by black sclera, the sign of a vampire. The handles and hilts of machete, daggers, and shortswords were just barely visible in the gaps of his cloak, as well as his combat boots and adventurer¡¯s leather trousers. The man¡¯s hair was styled upwards and to his left, obviously taking pride in his appearance with the use of wax, stark white, either he went grey early or he was far beyond 20. Opening his mouth to speak, Logan could see the man kept his teeth pristine. Pearly whites with daggered fangs. Quayvan hired Logan to take down a ring of crafters who were making sunsilt bolts, ammunition that could kill even progenitor vampires. This was mostly a ruse, as near the end of Logan''s mission they fought each other (ch136). The fight could not conclude as reinforcements from Gauntlet arrived, ending in the pair being put into court proceedings to find out who was guilty. Quayvan was eventually outed as a traitor and died trying to kill Logan in court (ch143). He was later revealed to have been working for Tille.
Laurent Asl Appeared in Chapter 137. A finely-dressed vampire, strands of medium-length black hair peeked out from a cap, but the rest of his attire was pressed and clean. The Great-great-grandfather to Marta, the vampire was the Defence Master for Logan during his trial against Quayvan. He was mostly sure in Logan''s innocence, and their relation was minor towards Laurent''s wishes to defend Logan. Judges During the trials that started in Chapter 137, the judges were the following: Vayne Alric Appeared in Chapter 139. Vayne Alric was the opposing Defence Master for Quayvan. He was a middle-aged human with discolouration in his hair that showed he had undergone magic to restore his hairline. Alvus Appeared in Chapter 144. Alvus is a progenitor of the vampire races, being close to a millennia old. He has wrinkles that were at war with dark sclera eyes, and long white hair danced down the material of his cloak. He is one of the leaders of Orichalcum, a group that aids in all Oracle endeavours, offering Logan a background to hide behind as well as advice thereafter. He assigned Xican as the personal member to Logan. Ochus Appeared in Chapter 148, but was most likely in the group in 144. Ochus is a title given to the member assigned to Logan''s transmissions. A grey-robed woman who sits at a desk. Vern Appeared in Chapter 148. Vern is a thin 18-year-old man, a Rogue with a poor upbringing. His grandfather was ill, and he was illiterate to buy medicine. Logan bought the medicine for him, and cleaned Vern''s house with the Clean Mick. He joined VIP in chapter 156. Burton Appeared in Chapter 150. Burton is one of the homeless people that Logan employs and aids, one of the first classless among them to gain a level. Chapter 151 Guildies Alice: Fighter with long black hair that is brushed behind her ears. Shaky legs at teleportation. Jayd: A top-heavy fighter who wears a lot of armour that encumbers him. Unphased by teleportation. Varuud: A gashriek Devout. Grows sick due to teleportion, almost throwing up. Sooryah: Rogue who keeps his voice to himself. Grows motion sick due to teleportation, often passing out. The quartet were treated to advice from Logan and aid in clearing their first dungeon, the four joining VIP in chapter 157. E¡¯leth Appeared in Chapter 153. E¡¯leth is Castore''s friend. A Devout who follows Levin. Draped in a set of brown robes that had lightning strikes form at his neck and flow to the bottom of the robe at his calves. The 15-year-old bowed his head slightly and made a sign of two index fingers together and then separating into part of a triangle without its base Kruma Welt Appeared in Chapter 158. Kruma Welt was being beaten up by debt collectors who forced a contract onto his family when his grandparents took out a loan to set up a business in the north but died on the way. Kruma and his parents need to pay the debt or lose their home. Logan dealt with the collectors and got rid of the debt after duelling them at the allowance of their boss. Kruma was a hero but didn''t know it, not accepting it when Logan informed him. He later accepted the fact, Kruma then joined VIP (Ch161) Advelt Welt Appeared in Chapter 158. The father of Kruma. Has black and grey hair. Joined as VIP''s attendant (Ch161). Waerell Welt Appeared in Chapter 158. The mother of Kruma. Joined as VIP''s maid (Ch161). Loan sharks Alhertine: Wealthy owner of a loan shark business. She accepted a duel on her lessers'' behalf, but they lost and so the debt was removed from the Welts. Lasalle: "Friendly" man who wants people to join memory dens. Ress: Taller Man. Two others were unnamed. Twain Dagger Logan met the Twain Dagger guild in Chapter 159. They asked for Logan''s assistance as they had tracked down Thermodan, and made a group with Marcus too. Mr Cross: Guildmaster. (Rogue level 20, age 28.). A man standing at 5¡¯10¡±, black hair down to his back and dangling over his forehead that wore a red bandana. His clothing was a mix of black and greys, dagger hidden within a cloak. Wyot: Sub-Leader (Knight level 19, Age 27). A man who was taller than their leader at 6¡¯, though hair half as long at his shoulders. Glistening black-steel armour protected his body, while he had a tall spear and shield on his back. Riley: Sub-Leader (Knight level 18, Age 27). A woman in the centre of heights at 5¡¯11¡±, hair tied into a bun at the back with a thin strip of it down her back. She had similar glistening black-steel armour but used a shortsword and shield. Riley was put under "Motions" and has yet to awaken. Leo: (Rogue level 17, Age 25). A shorter man at 5¡¯7¡± who had a shaved bald head. His chestnut skin blended in well with his black and dark-red leather armour, similarly coloured daggers and shortswords sheathed across his body. Leo was put under "Motions" and has yet to awaken. Egbert: (Fighter level 16, Age 23). A gashriek standing at 5¡¯8¡± with glistening green eyes. He had short black hair ruffled backwards. A mix of leather and metal armour protected him with twin maces. Egbert was killed but later revived. Kelton: (Fighter level 16, Age 23). Another gashriek at 5¡¯9¡± whose eyes glowed yellow. His medium-length brunette hair was rough and wild. His armour was also a mix of leather and metal, though he had a longsword in its sheath held over his shoulder. Kelton was killed but later revived. Chapter 162 Guildies U¡¯nito: Sorcerer 1 (16, male, black robes with blue underneath.) Elata: Wizard 1 (16, female, light-blue robes.) Vafith: Wizard 1 (15, female, dark green robes stained in red and long sleeves.) Cenric: Knight 17 (24, leader. Spiked back black hair, blue eyes, sword and shield.) Truman: Rogue 17 (25. Dual daggers.) Cedrica: Devout 16 (26. Staff) Milburga: Wizard 16 (26. Staff) Tournament Announcers During the tournament that started Chapter 172, there were three announcers. Rebrin: Human, rather energetic and boisterous. Strolbem: Gashriek, a middle-ground personality, and wise. Bref: Saeber, was quiet and stoic, he was straight to the point and very knowledgeable. Maira Appeared in Chapter 173. Maira, a rank 21 Fighter. Some may know her as Golden Death - a golden-garbed woman whose head was hidden behind a helmet. She has brown hair that stops at her shoulders and in a hair tie. Golden eyes. Wace Appeared in Chapter 174. Wace, a rank 21 Sorcerer. had long silver hair that was tied into a ponytail, and piercing blue eyes that were almost as cold as the season. His stance demanded respect, his face a story of previous encounters as scars marked it. Tanned white skin showed the man was well-travelled and experienced, his robes a beautiful midnight blue with intricate patterns displaying the wealth he had accrued. Aside from his robes, the man lacked any other trinkets, obviously employing a similar trinket to Logan, or some form of magic, to hide what he had at his disposal. Arctus Appeared in Chapter 175. Arctus, a rank 22 Fighter, and the Guildmaster of Reigning Sword. Black and grey hair that is brushed back. Blue eyes. Garentaeous Appeared in Chapter 176. Garentaeous, a rank 25 Knight. Known as the Gallant Wall of Iron. A vampire-human with blue eyes. Fully garbed in plate mail, no other features were really visible. Samantha and Theresa Appeared in Chapter 181. Twins, clones, or something else. This pair of women had shoulder-length blonde hair and hazel eyes. Their faces were half covered, from the neck to the bridge of their noses, in white masks that looked like snakes. In their 30s. Supposedly had a falling out with Habiki and left the Below PC team. Placido Appeared in Chapter 181. Placido is masked in a rolling black mist, making it hard to tell who or what he is, though he is male. In Chapter 182 he displayed the ability to animate the dead, though it seemed different as Habiki made mention of it, than usual magic. He was a Spanish PC. Chapter 182 - Trolls Ain鈥檛 Trouble Logan, Marcus, Amalia, and the VIP guild have been busy since the Yestar Tournament had ended. A good twelve days of cleaning up the books, assigning new quests, and handling the influx of people asking to sign on with the up-and-coming guild. The displays shown by many of its members, especially its Guildmaster and one of its Sub-Leaders, meant that VIP was one of the most important talking points. A few people left their guilds in hopes of joining VIP, others had it as their first choice for home. Garentaeous stuck to his word, affixing himself to the guild rather soon after the tournament¡¯s end. Even Maira, Golden Death, joined the guild following her bout with Logan. Such a rush of new candidates concluded with the guild reaching the maximum capacity of fifty members. Logan¡¯s request for teleportation access in the city¡¯s barrier was exchanged for another long process of upgrading his guild licence for more members. Alongside the increase of adventurer presence in the guild halls, quest and hunt requests made their way to the guild house more frequently. The sight of ooran birds or messengers from the different establishments was a common sight. Either called upon by name, or just association with the guild, VIP was abuzz with work. Logan and Marcus didn¡¯t spend all their time at the guild, however, the Spellthief was ever aware of the fact another quest could land in his lap at any time, and his gear needed to be ready. Marcus also rearmed himself and trained more in the ways of his new fighting style, being able to flourish it side-by-side with Logan on the battlefield. Joining them sometimes was Amalia, the Guardian who had arrived a few months after Logan had done. With varied backgrounds, Logan could only guess that each Player Character, people from Earth, were picked from different locations of his home. With English, Irish, and German amongst him and his allies, with a Frenchman who died in the past. Earth was home to many cultures, but were there enough for the fifty-plus Oracles, what Avanarians called PCs, to be from all different places? Logan wasn¡¯t amazing at geography in the past, but he had a good enough grasp of Earth¡¯s locales. Even though his intelligence was heightened with his attributes, it didn¡¯t mean he just knew everything, he still needed to be taught. Without the internet at hand, Logan had to learn the much slower way through reading and discussion. In doing so, the Spellthief found quite the opportunity for his usual trio. A quest that was to the south a ways, a road he had travelled in the past to reach the capital.
The thick forests of Avanar were loud and boisterous, conflict always present but rilled up further as a large hulking mass came stumbling through the thickets. ¡°Run! Hooman!¡± a large troll cried to three others. Grabbing their clubs in an effort to leave better defended, the trolls didn¡¯t get far. Marcus came flying through the canopies overhead and landed a solid downward heel kick into the fleeing troll. Flaming metal cut through the troll¡¯s head, back, and rear, almost bisecting the monster vertically. A massive slam of its body to the floor signalled the other three trolls to flee in horror faster. Marcus merely smirked at the notion, twisted his feet, and had columns of rock form under his soles. Propelled via magic, Marcus made sweeping punches at the trolls, removing large portions of their upper bodies and arms as he skated the air. Landing in a slide, Marcus jabbed at the leg of the final troll, destroying its knee and separating the lower leg from the rest of the body. Cinders continued to roll off his metallic gauntlets, Infused by Logan previously to fight back against the troll regeneration.
Elsewhere in the forest, huge tree logs were slammed over and over into an impenetrable defence by Amalia. Her shield moved nary an inch from the beating, and the Guardian had an unimpressed expression. ¡°Celsius, hurry up would you?¡± she ordered. ¡°Yeah, yeah. I got this. Dont¡¯cha worry!¡± Celsius replied, his flaming body flying towards the quartet of trolls accosting Amalia. Flames emitted from the elemental¡¯s arms, singeing the monsters¡¯ flesh and causing them to squeal in pain. The fire was quickly followed by volleys of lightning, ice, water, and shadows from the treetops, Logan¡¯s elementals lying in wait to deal out elemental might. The trolls tried to bat away the projectiles, but there were too many, and the monsters had become frightened by the use of fire. Turning their attention away from Amalia only allowed the lady to slice out with her shortsword, severing the heels of the trolls and causing them to fall to the floor in large slumps. ¡°Their movements stop¡±, Umbra announced as they whispered to the floor. ¡°Dead¡±, Fahrenheit confirmed. ¡°Our master calls for fine work. Mayhaps this will satisfy that wish¡±, Spark added. ¡°Squealing pigs. They deserve further punishment. But, we must be quick¡±, Servoir admitted.
In a nearby part of the forest, five other trolls were running for dear life, tears rolling down their cheeks and bumbling bodies barging through branches. ¡°Run!¡± one cried in a wobbly voice. ¡°Mad Mage! Mad Mage!¡± another recited. Accompanying their pleas of withdrawal, the singing of blades was heard. Hurtling straight through the air, two blazing daggers cut swathes in the cooler atmosphere. Swinging and swerving, the daggers cut into one of the trolls, pierced their body, and exploded out the other side as their hurried assault continued. ¡°No!¡± another troll cried as they looked back at the falling of their brother. The slowest of the bunch tried batting at the blades with his tree trunk club, but the daggers instead floated around the attack with grace, punctured the troll¡¯s wrist, and stitched back and forth up his arm. Blood painted a canvas over the green grass as the hulking mass hit it entirely. Jumping between the canopies above, Logan hunted his prey like a hawk, quad eyes following their movements without issue. At his sides, almost in a chilled-out manner without difficulty, Logan twirled and motioned his fingers to direct his daggers via Telekinesis. Another troll was brought down, and then another. The final monster hit the floor in a sliding decline, the grass being removed to make way for dirt. With all his foes dealt with, Logan leapt from the branch he had perched upon and landed with grace on the floor. Standing up straight, he clicked his fingers and smirked at the return of no more adversaries in the vicinity. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Logan rolled his arms and cracked his neck as he rolled his eyes over the usual System window to alert him to changes. ¡°Level up! Gain: +1 Str, +2 Agi, +1 Con, +2 Int, +1 Wis, +1 Cha. You have 1 attribute point to spend.¡± ¡°Fol, you there?¡± Logan asked in his head. ¡°As always, Logan. I take it you want the additional point spent into Intelligence as always?¡± Logan¡¯s personal System responded in its usual kind tone. ¡°You know it.¡± ¡°Done.¡± A satisfying quiet ding was heard as Fol did as asked, raising Logan¡¯s base Intelligence to 75, and 89 when adding in his trinket bonus. ¡°13 or so levels until you evolve again. You excited?¡± Logan asked in his mind as he moved to the troll corpses. ¡°Feverishly so. I cannot wait for the time I can better help you against our kidnappers.¡± ¡°Our?¡± ¡°Sorry, yours.¡± ¡°Just teasing, Fol. But we may want to bite our tongues if we ever do get an audience.¡± ¡°I shall¡­ place administrative requirements on my tongue¡±, Fol replied with a laugh. Logan spun his proficient carving knife in hand as it materialised from his coat, and dove it swiftly into the corpse of the troll. A few quick slices had Logan with quick access to the heart and its neighbouring violet sack. Cutting the violet nucleus, Logan gathered the blood into a vial for later. Repeating this for all the bodies, the Spellthief eventually met up with his fellows, taking their trolls¡¯ blood too. It took hardly a few seconds to get each one, Logan¡¯s Harvesting skill cut the time required by 80%. ¡°I counted thirteen. That must be all of them¡±, Marcus calculated. ¡°Yes¡ª¡± Amalia began. ¡°Yes boss, thirteen dead trolls ripe for the plucking!¡± Celsius interrupted. Amalia sneered at Celsius, the flames of the elemental getting smaller as it accepted the scolding without question. ¡°Fowp will be glad to hear of it¡±, Logan replied. ¡°The village isn¡¯t far, we¡¯re to let them know before heading back to the capital?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°Yes.¡± The group linked up after a short rest after the conflict, their gear getting cleaned to be much more presentable to villagers. Being covered in troll remains wasn¡¯t exactly the best way to address those being accosted by them. Logan dismissed his summons with a flick of his wrist, had Marcus and Amalia place their hands on his shoulders, and teleported into the sky.
One succinct Dimensional Jaunt later had the trio appear on the edge of Fowp, a small village that Logan and Marcus had aided against a group of forty or so goblins in the past. The Rogue they had met earlier ran to them with an excited expression across their face, his armour much better than the last he was seen. ¡°Logan, Marcus! You¡¯ve returned quickly. All went well I take it?¡± ¡°That it did. They didn¡¯t stand a chance!¡± Marcus admitted as he flexed his arm. ¡°Praise be to Desma.¡± ¡°Thirteen, right? We burnt them down, so they shouldn¡¯t regenerate. As far as I was able to track there aren¡¯t any others either. It seems they scared off a lot of the local monster population too, so be wary of travelling too far away, you might find large packs¡±, Logan instructed. ¡°Thank you for being so thorough. I¡¯d not like to find any stragglers. I shall inform the others about the enemies in the vicinity. No doubt we will be petitioned into scouting missions again.¡± An older gentleman approached the conversating youths, back crooked and cane in hand. ¡°Sir Logan, you return.¡± ¡°With good tidings to boot. Your troll trouble has been dealt with.¡± ¡°Such hurried speed. You have a hundred thanks from our quaint village. Again, if I am not mistaken.¡± ¡°If there¡¯s ever anything more you need, feel free to send word to Gauntlet and ask for us, or the VIP guild.¡± ¡°Now, now. I may be old, but I don¡¯t need you spelling out your guild name¡±, the older man joked with a laugh. ¡°We hope you¡¯ll all do better from here on out¡±, Amalia wished. ¡°And to you three, too¡±, the older gentleman replied. ¡°Good luck on your return trip¡±, the Rogue added. Moving a bit away from the conversation, the trio then warped back into the sky for another hasty teleportation session.
Arriving in Gauntlet, straight to the doorstep of the VIP guild house, Logan, Marcus, and Amalia entered to many happy faces. The scent of lunch and drinks was billowing in the air, joined by happy conversations of the guildies. It looked like many of the newcomers were still getting adjusted to their new rooms, or organising the influx of tomes added to the reading nook the guild had access to. As was advised, many of the mages who were all garbed in robes with staves nearby were making sure they knew most if not all of the micks on offer. Force was a major power to have in the palm of your hand, even more so if they could quickcast it. Crossbows did the job most of the time, but magic could get around certain defences, until higher ranks. But at that point, the mick had served its purpose. ¡°Welcome home¡±, Advelt greeted as he handed mugs of water to the trio. Many of the younger guildies joined in with welcoming arms and cheers, some even waving over the returning heads of the guild. ¡°Any messages?¡± Logan asked as he walked around the counter and took a seat. Marcus and Amalia patted Logan on the shoulder as they moved to the sofas to talk with the other guildies. Logan could make out that they were recounting the newest fight against the trolls, while others were asking to get a taste of the regenerative blood. ¡°Yes, in fact¡±, Advelt started as he brought out a small envelope, ¡°More work from the hunters association.¡± ¡°Never a day¡¯s rest, ay?¡± ¡°I did inform Jirango that you¡¯d be gone for a while, though you were so quick you¡¯ve only missed him by a few hours.¡± Logan flipped open the envelope and scanned the writing, ¡°Another big payday awaits, it seems. And¡ª¡± Logan was quickly interrupted as he read over the envelope by another System window appearing. One that had been absent for quite some time. ¡°Side Quest To Revive a Brother Time Remaining: 15 Days A Devout has sought the revival of his brother who was lost during a dungeon raid. Seething hatred has turned the man sour at the lack of revival magics available and has sought to tamper with magics unknown. Deal with the outcome of such actions, lest more lives be lost. Reward: Skill mastery. Failure: Several NPC deaths. Additional Objectives: Each additional objective completed by the time limit will grant further rewards. ¡°¡ªquite the unique offering of target¡±, Logan finished his sentence, pausing a few seconds more than what Advelt was expecting. ¡°Trouble, sir?¡± ¡°No. Just a surprising turn of events. Did Jirango say when he needed us to arrive?¡± ¡°Within the week.¡± ¡°Tomorrow will do just fine then.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 183 - Hope in Revival The morning city streets of Gauntlet had long since been cleaned and cleared after the Yestar Tournament. Loud neighbourhoods with clanking gear had been replaced with the natural sounds of leather on stonework roads. Hawkers shouting about their wares and conversations about mundane life was a welcoming soundscape when compared to the dangers of the outside. But the outside always sent invitations. Amalia wanted to stretch her legs after being cooped up for so long in her forge, and her most recent quest required her to deal with some monster trouble in the direction the group was heading anyway. Reaching level 18, Amalia was well-equipped to protect herself. Being a smith had its benefits, similar to Logan¡¯s Trinket Craft, the Guardian was wielding almost all Pristine gear. The convenience went both ways, however, as the couple exchanged items regularly. Logan kept a few prized possessions on hand to deal with certain situations, while Amalia revelled in magic ability. Many villagers in the streets titled their heads to the party, gave a passing wave or even greeted Logan by his common moniker of Phasing Hunter. Logan made sure to return most pleasantries, but he didn¡¯t want to stop and chat with everyone coming to him. Eventually, the trio arrived at the Gerro Guardhouse. The stonework walls had seen a new lick of paint, and even a new guard out front who sat comfy in a chair. ¡°Logan¡±, the guard greeted lazily, tilting his head. Opening the door to the interior, Logan, Marcus, and Amalia entered the familiar entrance of the guardhouse. A rarer sight was two hunters overlooking the board¡¯s quests, that spot was mostly warmed by Logan¡¯s feet. Jirango had been pacing, the floor¡¯s dust having been beaten away by several boot lifts, and a sweat had formed across the older gentleman¡¯s forehead. He quickly wiped it away with his sleeve as he closed shut a book in his hand, moving it to his side as he took a puff on his minty pipe. Exhaling a faint green smoke, Jirango spoke, ¡°Good. You lot are here. There are some bad tidings I have to hand off to you.¡± Jirango looked a bit tired, though he always did. The white dots across his forehead glistened slightly against the light of his table lanterns. His shirt had been newly cleaned and pressed, as well as his hair neatly brushed back to reveal the lighter highlights of age creeping up on the man. He was prim and proper, the clothing looking almost constricting. ¡°A heavy week?¡± Logan asked. Jirango cleared his throat, ¡°You could say that. A city full of adventures calls for many wandering hands. Sadly, not all those that are severed deserve it, and some plant the blame you see¡±, he took another puff from his pipe before continuing, ¡°I¡¯m getting sidetracked though. A possibly big-paying job just came in, and I am aware of some minor time constraints on the bonus.¡± Logan already knew the basics from his System quest, but knowing the background was valuable too. The Spellthief nodded as if to motion Jirango to continue. Jirango pulled on his collar to loosen it slightly, ¡°Below curse these meetings¡±, he said under his breath, ¡°Right. A reputable and large guild has approached us with a bounty put on one of their members. While I cannot use the truth magic at hand to be certain I am rather confident in their trustworthiness.¡± ¡°They¡¯re stronger than level 10 then¡±, Logan calculated in his head. ¡°They wish to stay anonymous, and I am willing to accept that. The details are as follows: Four days ago, a man by the name of Drustan stole a sizeable number of artefacts from his now-ex-guild. Eleven in total, the worth of this haul is immense, though hard to track as one such artefact makes it impossible for most magi under rank 30 to do so.¡± ¡°That would be useful to have for myself.¡± ¡°Gauntlet was still full to the brim of adventurers from the Yestar Tournament, so Drustan found an easy theft and escape window. The guildies only found out they had been robbed the day after, and on asking the mages they knew for scrying found that they could not find a trace.¡± ¡°You want my tracking abilities, then.¡± ¡°Partly. Drustan is a Devout, and you have experience in dealing with that class. Also, he lost his brother in a dungeon raid that occurred at the end of the tournament. Either due to heightened confidence from the matches or wanting to blow off steam, the raid went awry. Drustan¡¯s brother, Ratbert, was a talented Fighter. Sadly his death was followed by complete evisceration.¡± ¡°No parts means no revival¡±, Marcus explained. ¡°Mostly true. There are¡­ methods. But you can¡¯t commonly request them at a church. And certainly not for anything less than 10 platinum coins.¡± ¡°The last payment for a whole body is 640 gold, no doubt it¡¯d be over a thousand for parts¡±, Logan replied. ¡°Drustan was understandably distraught. But instead of moving on in his grief, he couldn¡¯t accept it as truth. His guild members told me he tried to convince them to find a way to bring back Ratbert, but they didn¡¯t believe it was within their power. He pushed and pushed, and seemingly had enough of the answer ¡®no¡¯.¡± ¡°Where do the artefacts come into this?¡± ¡°From his ramblings, it seemed that Drustan theorised an item-ritual could bring back Ratbert¡¯s soul and place it within a new vestige.¡± Marcus¡¯s eyes went wide at the idea, obviously intriguing the Devout. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°He needed a lot of power, and as you know artefacts have plenty. He took eleven artefacts, one of which is blocking scrying, and plans to use them as fuel for a ritual of revival. We have been tasked with apprehending Drustan. The prize is 100 gold. If you can, bring in the artefacts and you will be allowed to keep two from a list of seven.¡± ¡°What was his rank?¡± Logan asked quickly. ¡°His last assessment for the tournament put him at 23, though he is more likely 24 after the dungeon. Or at least what parts of the dungeon they did clear.¡± ¡°Only 100 gold for a rank 24 that has ten artefacts that would aid him in a fight?¡± Jirango took a long drag from his pipe, ¡°Exactly my concern, and another reason why I asked for you personally. I told the guild it would not be easy to find hunters who¡¯d take this on for such low pay, not everyone could bring back the artefacts in hopes of being awarded two of them. I hoped our amicable relationship would steer this to an acceptance.¡± ¡°Any information on the artefacts?¡± ¡°Yes¡±, Jirango started before smoking again, ¡°But that is secret until you accept the hunt.¡± Logan tutted, ¡°I can understand why.¡± ¡°Seems risky for the reward. The artefacts better be worth it¡±, Marcus added. ¡°You want Drustan alive, I take it?¡± Amalia asked. ¡°Yes¡­ Amalia was it? I heard about you from Logan. There¡¯s half pay if Drustan is killed, the artefacts are a bonus for the additional objective of returning all the artefacts.¡± ¡°Hunting contracts aren¡¯t typically to kill unless the target is a known recurring traitor¡±, Logan explained as he turned his head to Amalia. ¡°What is the timeframe? Do we know anything about this ritual?¡± Marcus asked. Jirango placed his book on the table, making quite a thud, and pulled up a piece of parchment. ¡°From what the guild members could sus out, you have a remaining two weeks or so before the ritual has been undergone. A spell of this magnitude often takes months, if not a year or more for an individual. Though, with it being an item-ritual, that schedule is much more¡­ hastened.¡± Logan looked over to both Marcus and Amalia, ¡°Item-rituals are what they sound like. Sacrifice materials while chanting and focusing on a spell. It¡¯s one of the most ¡®money expensive¡¯ ritual types.¡± Amalia raised her eyebrow. ¡°Self-sacrifice and living-sacrifice are prices you don¡¯t want to pay¡±, Logan explained with a sorrowful look. ¡°Did Drustan mention a component-ritual at all? Or any other form?¡± Jirango shook his head and breathed green smoke, ¡°Revival is a timely endeavour. Almost no one has come back a week after death, and reaching close to three weeks on this timeline is going to push that to limits I¡¯ve not heard of in my lifetime.¡± ¡°The quest only has 14 days left, so we are looking at a 2-week deadline to be sure¡±, Logan thought to himself. ¡°So. 14 days to bring back Drustan alive with all the artefacts, of which there are eleven with one being an anti-scrying item. For 100 gold and 2 artefacts¡±, Marcus condensed. Jirango nodded. The ¡°big¡± part of the pay was the artefacts. Logan motioned the other two to follow him nearer the walls to converse, it wasn¡¯t too long before they reached a verdict, returning to Jirango rather quickly. ¡°We¡¯ll take the job. Please sign Amalia up as a hunter and give us the contract details¡±, Logan answered. The sign-up process for Amalia was quite fast considering, it gave Logan just enough time to read over the details. The artefacts were indeed strong. One could replicate a maxed-out Dimensional Jaunt every hour, another increased your sight so much you could see off of reflections from reflections with such clarity to the point your sight was almost endless, while one could be used once a month to grant a person sustenance and sleep for a whole month. ¡°This one would make ritual casting almost no issue¡±, Logan mentioned as he pointed out the last one. ¡°You can see why that is one they won¡¯t offer up¡±, Marcus added. ¡°Something that¡¯s been a bit of a bidding war, recently¡±, Jirango mumbled before approaching the trio from behind his desk. ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°The MT offered ten platinum last I heard.¡± Logan felt the air run away from his throat to the auction house, lurching a bit, ¡°That¡¯s just a bit of coin¡±, he said in a strained voice. ¡°And they can¡¯t afford more than a hundred gold¡±, Marcus said offhandedly. ¡°They haven¡¯t sold it yet. The monarchy was offering money up too. Another week or two and the whole guild could have retired their whole families for a dozen generations.¡± Logan rubbed his neck, ¡°I suppose the pay really comes out of the artefacts themselves. Without those, no platinum.¡± Jirango tapped the back of his pipe into a small dish before leaning it on its lip. ¡°So¡­ do you think you can find him?¡± ¡°These notes say he headed into the forests from guard accounts. North-west¡±, Marcus explained. ¡°My tracking abilities might take a while, but if we can find a print, we¡¯ll be sitting pretty¡±, Logan settled. ¡°That¡¯ll sort one of my worries, at least.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll try and be quick about things, Jirango¡±, Logan offered. The half-hand gave a nod to the party before they left the guardhouse. It felt empty without a floor full of unconscious bandits. Logan¡¯s map updated with one of the largest circles to date, a huge area to search for Drustan but severely smaller than the area anyone else had. The team reaffirmed their equipment and potions for the mission ahead, Amalia doubly so as her quest was close to the area the party were going to investigate. It was going to be a few days of forested investigation, immersing themselves amongst the flora and fauna would have been a nice trip if not for the monsters lying in wait.
A wave of rushing wind jingled all the glass bottles amongst the shelves of Ahren¡¯s apothecary. Logan appeared without issue, while Ahren jumped a bit in his seat. ¡°There¡¯s a door, you know?¡± ¡°I gotta make sure your heart is still working¡±, Logan teased. Ahren put away the book he was reading and sat up in his chair, ¡°Sure¡±, he replied with an exasperated tone, ¡°What can I do for you?¡± ¡°I was coming to pick up those two regenerations vials I ordered?¡± Logan answered as he picked out three vials of the troll''s blood he had harvested. Ahren nodded, ¡°That I do¡±. After a bit of fumbling under his counter, the Irishman picked out two wide-bottom alembics and handed them to Logan. ¡°Thanks. Your payment¡±, Logan spoke as he traded the three vials for two. ¡°I¡¯ll be leaving the city for a bit again.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the System got you doing this time?¡± ¡°Hunting down a man who stole some artefacts, hoping to revive his brother.¡± Ahren sighed, ¡°Well. Good luck with that endeavour. Any more orders while you''re gone?¡± ¡°I got a few ideas, here¡¯s a list¡±, Logan replied as he flipped open a piece of parchment, handing it to Ahren. Ahren scanned the page for a few seconds before returning with, ¡°Most of these will be fine, just expensive. 200 gold in all.¡± Logan picked out two platinum coins and handed them to Ahren, ¡°No issues there.¡±
With all the preparation work complete, the trio reformed and teleported into the sky. With their coats and cloth rolling in the winds up high, Logan scanned the region to the northwest, found a nice little pocket amongst the forests, and continued his warping endeavours in the sky. --- *** --- Chapter 184 - The Linguist Countless leaves flew up from the floor and were whisked away on the wind as Logan, Marcus, and Amalia apparated within a lush thicket. Vibrant green hues and brown trunks surrounded the trio, which was a welcoming sight when compared to the scene that could have been painted with several monsters of varying colours. Logan clicked his fingers as an invisible wave of sound washed over the surroundings, rebounding off of objects and creatures alike. Numerous reflected ¡°hits¡± poked at Logan¡¯s form, updating his mini-map with obstacles as well as possible threats. Thankfully, their entry was devoid of the latter. ¡°We¡¯re good for now¡±, Logan announced. Marcus stood up taller, exiting his combat stance. ¡°Good. We¡¯re in the circle, right?¡± Logan nodded. ¡°So. I guess we¡¯re going to try and find my quest. Yeah?¡± Amalia asked as she placed her thumb and finger on her helmet, the metal retracting to a small headband in her grasp. Logan scanned the canopies above. Trees twisted like ancient and ridged fingers, interlocking in an attempt to save each other from deathly falls. The forest breathed life all its own, a strange sensation rolling over Logan¡¯s skin, pins and needles fading in like a bad reaction to offensive stimuli. ¡°We¡¯re being watched¡±, Logan alerted his party. Amalia quickly placed the headband over her brow again, forming her protective guard. Logan¡¯s green eyes glistened against the early day¡¯s sunlight, the dew on the flora mimicking the same sight. The leaves of the trees filtered the light into haphazard shadows and god rays. An emerald garden of gold, though its touch deadly to those who harboured greed. The brush concealed protectors of this part of the world, though their protective stance was unneeded against this particular party. Logan flexed his fingers and held up his hands in an inoffensive manner. Logan spoke in the shrieky tongue. A mash of h sounds and hushed tones, ¡°Gashriek, I come in peace. We are here to help. Please, do not be afraid. The leaves know our colour.¡± Amalia looked at Logan with a puzzled look, as much as one could see through a full helm. Marcus understood half the words, so didn¡¯t have many issues keeping up. However, the secret keepers kept themselves cloaked in secrecy. The only reply Logan got was mother nature¡¯s natural tunes of chirping birds and grass caressed in wind. Logan then made a claw over his heart and continued to speak in shrieky, ¡°Sire of the forest, bind me in roots if I speak falsehoods. Your garden is secret, your garden is safe. Call upon the name ¡®Mova¡¯ or have flowers bud from my eyes.¡± The Spellthief¡¯s eye twitched a bit as he noticed his recent speech affected two people in hiding, the common recital for letting the gashriek know you were an ally. It was lucky that Logan had helped gashriek in the past, the Movas from Tinte. A deep masculine voice replied from the greenery in shrieky, ¡°Paint the forest with sustenance.¡± Logan nodded and slowly drew a knife from his hip, cut his finger, and flicked blood onto the grass. The field flowed from green to red and back again. Seven individuals dropped from branches and erupted from the ground, bows and swords in hand and prized at the party. They were easy to identify as gashriek, the ridges across their faces visible behind grass-patterned helmets. The same voice asked, ¡°What is the meaning of your visit to these woods, and why do you want the gashriek?¡± Amalia leaned towards Logan and asked what they were saying. ¡°They want to know why we¡¯re here¡±, Logan replied normally, before swapping to shrieky to speak to the man, ¡°A divination released to my friend here revealed troubles in your forest. We propose a trade of service for information.¡± ¡°Hold¡±, the man replied before moving to two of his allies, their voices too quiet for Logan to overhear. ¡°Wait here. We¡¯ll confirm your allegiance. Name?¡± ¡°Logan Hall. I aided the Movas in Tinte.¡± The man nodded and left with another, leaving five behind to watch over the party. ¡°They¡¯re confirming our intentions¡±, Logan explained to his party. A few minutes passed before the pair returned, the man had removed his helmet to show a shaven head and face, lacking any hair whatsoever. Replacing them was a masterful tattoo from his right chin to the left of his dome that represented an old tree. His blue eyes were in adversary to the greens and browns of his tattoo, his whitish-yellow skin blending nicer. Now speaking in Ava, the man announced, ¡°Logan Hall. I have confirmed your heart. We welcome you. I am Tarrishna, one of the forest guardians. Your divination came at an opportune time. I have been granted allowance to extend you entry to our sanctuary.¡± ¡°Thank you¡±, Logan nodded. ¡°You know our tongue, do you know our customs?¡± ¡°We will not speak a word of your locale¡±, Logan answered as he looked at Marcus and Amalia. The pair nodded in agreement. Tarrishna extended a clawed hand, his fingernails rather long. Logan did the same and had rock form over his fingers. The men shook hands and had their nails, magic and mundane, pierce the other¡¯s flesh, blood dripping to the floor. ¡°A pact is made. This way¡±, Tarrishna accepted as he motioned the other guards to sheath their weapons. ¡°Lead on¡±, Logan ended as he waved his hand over the floor to use his Clean mick to remove any possible components of his body from the scene.
Moving through the forest with more noisy footprints than before, the ten humanoids proceeded without blockers. Logan, Marcus, and Amalia felt a weird jelly-like barrier wash over their bodies as they progressed, the latter forming a headache and eye strain as she was able to perceive through an invisible defence. The greens and browns of the forest faded into bright hues, with purples and reds added into the mix. A collage of varying seasonal plants and trees, among them many gashriek who peered at the party¡¯s entrance. Magical means hid this sanctuary from any non-gashriek, almost all of their senses being blocked. Logan looked around for any threat, but he was just met with wary eyes and inquisitive youthful gazes. The settlement was larger than Logan expected, the barrier they used was similar to that of what a mobile dungeon employed. Tall red-brick buildings hugged and wrapped around trees, a meshing of man-made and nature-born establishments. Smoke billowed and fed the canopies above from chimneys that carried with them the seasonings adorning meat and fish. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Yellow rock roads accepted the footsteps of the visitors, their sound echoing into the distant forest and replied with whispers and chatter about the newcomers. Ooran caws also met Logan¡¯s ears. Speaking shrieky, Logan asked, ¡°You use oorans too? I didn¡¯t read about that.¡± Tarrishna looked back as he led the party, ¡°Yes. We have to breed special kinds of them, though. They only understand shrieky and have a negative response to other tongues¡±, he admitted in shrieky. One of the other escorters whispered to their friend, ¡°His grasp of shrieky is really good, right?¡± ¡°It is. I wonder where he learnt it¡±, his friend replied, her tone a bit shocked. ¡°He¡¯s a quarter-man. Probably spent a few years among the Movas learning our speech.¡± Logan looked over and smirked, ¡°No candlelight on my parchment¡±, he said in shrieky. The woman burst out laughing, causing the other guards to turn and look at her, ¡°Sorry¡±, she apologised in shrieky. ¡°What did you say?¡± Amalia asked. ¡°A local slang. She probably found it funny coming from a foreigner.¡± The leaves of the forest shifted as the group spoke amongst themselves, alive with the conversation of the natives, most of it beyond Amalia''s comprehension.
Eventually, the party arrived at a large brick building, four stories in all with three chimneys that puffed like old gents in the pub. Tarrishna announced normally, ¡°Here¡¯s our house of leaders. They will hear your pleas.¡± Logan nodded and removed his gloves, ¡°Take your gauntlets off¡±, he instructed. Marcus and Amalia did the same, while the guards had already done so. Tarrishna opened the wide oak doors that had carvings of beasts on them, revealing a wide entrance hallway. The interior was made up of sandstone and slate, an off-putting combat of yellows and blacks. Several scones roared with flames to light up the interior, while the smooth floor was being patrolled by attendants in flowing robes to their ankles. Two guards followed at the party¡¯s back while Tarrishna led them through the halls to a room under the large staircase. Knocking on the door, Tarrishna announced in shrieky, ¡°Lord and ladies, we bring the visitors.¡± He quickly washed his hands in a nearby basin before opening the door and entering. Logan used Clean on his and his friends¡¯ hands before following. In the heart of the leaders¡¯ mansion, where the whispering winds failed to follow, laid an ancient meeting hall. Crafted from warm, golden sandstone alongside deep, rich slate, the hall radiated wisdom and industry within the serene forest. The walls were adorned with breathtaking depictions of monsters, creatures, and humanoids. A reoccurring theme was that of all their hands, claws, and talons being easily visible and clean, blood only painted the weapons and body. In the centre of the depictions, near the middle of the ceiling, were grasping mandibles of varying species. At the centre of the dome hall, atop raised slate, was a massive sandstone table. The corners held large clawed sconces of fire that kept nearby food warm and lit up the elders¡¯ faces well. Two women and one man sat at the table, wearing mostly dark green robes that covered all but their hands and faces, all of their eyes were completely green which made it hard to see who they were looking at. Tarrishna introduced from left to right in shrieky, ¡°This is:¡± ¡°Macarra¡±, a woman whose flowing green robe had hints of soft blues that complemented the greens wonderfully. Her skin was sun-kissed and darker than the others, a more youthful complexion that seemed to go hand-in-hand with her left position being that of the ¡°youngest¡± leader amongst them. A few strands of white hair hung for life from her hood over her forehead, their swaying almost hypnotic. ¡°Fionnghu¡±, the woman in the middle, with depictions of water dripping down her sleeves and onto the table, though thankfully it was a trick of the eye than actuality. While her eyes were still green, small pinpricks of blue dotted the centre of them, almost like a minuscule pupil. Her curly black hair was hidden well if not for hugging her ears. Logan noticed only the tip of a black spiderweb tattoo that went down the woman¡¯s neck and most likely down her chest. ¡°Earc¡±, the only man that was sitting on the right. His wrinkles had wrinkles. Sunspots dotted his forehead, a dark complexion of old oak that showed age in the bark. The rest was hidden by a full head of auburn hair, surprising at his age, though not as much when magic was involved. Faded tattoos of flames could be spotted just below his ears, from his youth, but gone with time, only embers were left. His temperament was still energetic though, the fire still burning bright in his heart. It seemed his use of magic for youthful hair did not extend to preserving his body¡¯s artwork. Logan cleared his throat and spoke in shrieky, ¡°The hunt is young, and your wisdom keeps it so.¡± The three leaders all replied with smiles, Earc the biggest so. Macarra was the first to speak in the normal tongue, her voice metered and slow as if contemplating each syllable. ¡°Tarrishna gave a foreword that you came here in search of information by trade for assistance with local issues. Please, inform us of what you know.¡± Logan waved his hand at Amalia, motioning her to reply. ¡°Through divination, I have learned that your settlement is being attacked by a monster known as a Jinmerru. It has stolen many of your kind as well as other adventurers in the area. My party will deal with this foe, and in return, we request information surrounding a man by the name of Drustan who was last seen heading in this direction¡±, Amalia recited. Fionnghu listened intently but shook her head slightly towards the end of the explanation, her hair vying to escape her ears¡¯ trappings. Earc leant towards Tarrishna who was translating for the oldest of the bunch, at the end he replied in shrieky, ¡°It is uncommon for us to allow entry to non-gashriek, even rarer that we allow them to deal with our issues. The option of trade does not make this offer any more enticing with the lack of owement to one side.¡± Logan replied earnestly in shrieky, ¡°Sir. We do not ask for any further hands to be grasped with this deal. To the betterment of the settlement, us finding this Drustan quickly will both lower the foot traffic of others as well as deal with something that may cause issues down the road for your people. He is engaging in strong forces, and if left alone, could make where he lies a hotspot of activity.¡± Marcus leaned in towards Logan as if to hear the words easier, parsing a handful and getting the general meaning, while Amalia¡¯s head spun in confusion at the fantastical language unbeknownst to her. With each passing word from Logan, however, the gashrieks¡¯ tones lightened with smiles adorning their faces. This was so adamant in Earc that the oldest man stood and walked around the table with arms wide for a hug. His smile formed even more wrinkles across his face. ¡°This man! He speaks better shrieky than my great-grandson¡±, Earc confessed in a boisterous shrieky tone. Waving an arm around, he clasped Logan¡¯s hand tightly with his own, causing Macarra to let out a quiet gasp. Fionnghu added in shrieky, ¡°Earc. We¡¯re not here to eulogize our guest¡¯s grasp of¡ª¡± ¡°Nonsense¡±, Earc interrupted as he turned to face the two seated ladies, his hand still shaking Logan¡¯s, ¡°If a man such as this has learned our tongue so, then we can lend a hand just as willingly¡±, he ended with a flourish of a handshake, letting go of Logan. Fionnghu then spoke in Ava to the trio, much to Amalia¡¯s delight, ¡°As our longest-standing leader has shown, we¡¯re accepting of this ¡®trade¡¯. However, there are other traditions we must see to.¡± Logan pulled out a modest-sized parsnip-adjacent vegetable and handed it to Tarrishna. ¡°Quite¡­ but also¡ª¡± Logan then rolled up his sleeve, laid his bare arm on the table and placed a dagger next to it. Earc quickly tugged on Logan¡¯s shoulder, ¡°There¡¯s no need for that outdated tradition. It¡¯s redundant with the feeding of the forest¡±, he assured in shrieky. Fionnghu frowned but the seniority of Earc seemed to have her bite her tongue. Macarra then spoke in Ava, ¡°You¡¯re quite well-versed in our culture. Where did you study?¡± ¡°Selt-taught¡±, Logan admitted. Earc raised his eyebrows and extended his eyes in an expression that could only be translated as ¡°What?¡± Tarrishna quickly explained what the pair said in shrieky, to which Earc continued to be overjoyous at. Logan was relieved at the fact he fluency in their language and knowledge of customs let him turn the mind of one of the leaders so easily. He would have thought they¡¯d be the hardest to convince. Earc moved back around the table to his seat, the old man rubbing his face as if he had been chewing on insanely sour sweets. ¡°Macarra, your stance?¡± he asked in shrieky. Macarra hesitated for a moment longer than anticipated, but eventually, she returned with the shrieky word for, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Fionnghu?¡± The older woman had barely a second in thought before her shrieky reply, ¡°No.¡± Earc then turned to look at the trio of adventurers on the other side of the table. ¡°A majority vote leads to your answer being yes¡±, he then raised his hand at Tarrishna, ¡°Allow our guests stay and passes. Relinquish all information on the Jinmerru to them.¡± Tarrishna moved his hand over his head, removing sweat from it onto his bare skin. ¡°Please, this way¡±, he asked as he motioned the party to follow him out of the leader¡¯s building. --- *** --- Chapter 185 - Native Hazards Tarrishna pointed through a deep thicket of the forest, moving his hand as if to direct around corners, ¡°and that¡¯s where the Jinmerru was last spotted. That was a few days ago now, so expect it to have moved.¡± ¡°That¡¯ll be fine. All I need are some tracks to follow¡±, Logan accepted. ¡°Then I shall take my leave. Good luck on your journey. The scouts will be alerted to contact you if they see you on the approach again. They will be far kinder this time though.¡± Logan nodded to the gashriek who slowly walked in the opposite direction, meeting up with four others who joined him in his return to the guarding of the gashriek hidden community. ¡°That was smooth¡±, Amalia sighed. Marcus began cracking his knuckles and adjusting his gauntlets, ¡°They just needed a good talking to¡±, he said energetically. ¡°We just had to temper ourselves. I am just glad my planning paid off so well, I was expecting us to wait a day or two before they relented¡±, Logan admitted. Marcus shrugged. ¡°We sticking with plan A3?¡± Amalia asked as she placed her headband back on to form the full helm. Logan readjusted his newly acquired legendary spell rings, each holding two charges for a total of eighteen Dimensional Jaunts, ¡°That we are. I changed out some spell slots so I can cast the new spell I picked up.¡± ¡°Fire Blast? Good call. This part of the forest holds a lot of animated flora¡±, Marcus added. ¡°We¡¯ve got a few miles to walk until we reach where Tarrishna directed. Assume we¡¯ll face jungle angst¡±, Logan informed as he led the team forward. ¡°Right¡±, Marcus and Amalia responded.
It didn¡¯t take long for Logan¡¯s warning to come true. The rustling of bushes and an immediate end to chirping birds sounded the first ambush. Twenty total mounds of meat came lunging from the greenery, snelriches. Four-foot tall, four-armed, and nasty monsters. Their skin was a weird mix of moss and muscle, eating via their skin rather than their mostly useless cracked maw. Armour made out of broken pieces of bark and mud covered their vitals while their long white claws dripped blood and sap to the floor from recent kills. Their glowing grey eyes with yellow pupils stared at their latest would-be-meal, but Logan only returned their hungry smiles. Flourishing his two hands through his coat, Logan opened them into claws and threw them towards the airborne foes, ¡°Lightning Cascade¡±, he commanded, sparks of cobalt running across his hands and darting from his fingertips. The electricity pierced the closest two snelriches and gored through them as the blue death found its way to the remaining eighteen foes. Puffs of smoke erupted with green blood as the monsters faltered to the floor with their failed first strike. As their bodies rolled around, Logan jumped far away, behind Amalia, who let out a massive roar. The snelriches angrily rose to their feet to attack the Guardian and mostly ignored the Devout who was running at them. With a flurry of uppercuts, straight jabs, and spinning kicks, Marcus made mincemeat out of the weakened foes, the first two only requiring a single hit while the latter foes who had taken reduced damage required double slams before they hit the floor. Holding such a distance before their antagonised target, the monsters barely made it to Amalia¡¯s feet before they kissed the floor. Amalia¡¯s shout had brought in the more sneaky foes, though. Swarms of fist-sized hornets came darting for the lady in metal. Logan side-stepped and slid across the grassy plains, aimed his arm forward and chanted, ¡°Fire Blast¡±, causing red energies to spiral down from his shoulder and explode out a fiery eruption from his palm. Turning his head to look over his shoulder, Logan placed his other hand on Amalia¡¯s shoulder, jumped over her, and incanted again, ¡°Fire Blast¡±, shotgunning another swarm of hornets out of the air. This new spell did much better with closer-knit groups, while Lightning Cascade did well with spread-out forces. The hornet corpses flopped to the floor in the dozens, their hurried assault just as quickly crashing to the floor. ¡°Above¡±, Marcus yelled as he ran towards Amalia, ¡°Launch¡±, he commanded as he jumped atop Amalia¡¯s shield. Amalia gave a massive riposte with her wall of iron, sending Marcus up high, letting loose punches and kicks as he spun around. With every other strike, a large blue bird hit the floor around Amalia¡¯s feet. Logan drove a hand into his cloak and then flopped it out, like a cat knocking over your glass, causing fifteen daggers to fall from the magical confines. ¡°Telekinesis¡±, Logan chanted, the daggers coming to life and flying at the direction of his fingers. Aiming them skyward, Logan had his dance of death soar toward numerous other birds of prey. ¡°Something other than Amalia has them riled up¡±, Logan informed as he jumped to hit his back into Amalia¡¯s. ¡°Oh good. It wasn¡¯t my fault then¡±, Amalia teased as she bashed a bird away from her shield. Marcus landed with a solid thud before cartwheeling into a downward smash to crush another bird. ¡°Must be migration due to the¡ª¡± Marcus was quickly interrupted by a flock of hungry beaks, his concentration needing to shift to combat and casting. Numerous snelriches crowded the small clearing as they charged through bushes and jumped from trunks at the party. ¡°Damn it, this is going to eat into our supplies¡±, Logan cursed as he brought down his daggers from the air and began to accost the ground-based foes. Even the floor began to fight back, large roots erupting from the mud that aimed to slam the party together. Logan quickly placed a hand on Amalia¡¯s back to Dimensional Jaunt the pair to a safer locale, following the teleport with four more casts of Lightning Cascade to deal with the oncoming storm. Swinging her blade to a reverse grip, Amalia threw her shortsword at far-away foes, the blade singing around and returning to her grasp like a boomerang. Marcus continued his hurried fisticuffs with the aerial foes, dodging most attacks and healing those he couldn¡¯t. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. A large grouping of snelriches made their way to the Guardian, but Logan rolled over her shoulder again to let fly two casts of Fire Blast, demolishing their front-line offensive. ¡°B2¡±, Logan commanded as he jumped back, drawing out two Bowen daggers. Amalia yelled again and then knelt down, her body hidden behind her tower bouche shield. The monsters that had been relatively split up made a mad dash for the antagonising lady. ¡°Haste Sustained¡±, Logan chanted, his body whirring and increasing in speed as he darted to the preoccupied forces. With a whirling dervish of spins and jabs, Logan let fly countless strikes at the monsters, many falling with five strikes. Marcus jumped to Logan¡¯s side to allow the Spellthief to tap him on the shoulder and grant him the same effect. Their attacks desecrated the air as it screamed in protest, the monsters¡¯ anguish-filled roars of pain adding to the atmosphere of destruction. With Come Forth in effect, the enemies could do little but charge down Amalia with the intent of answering the call to challenge. Their attention elsewhere, by the time they could react to Logan and Marcus¡¯s assault, it was too late. Several minutes of this attrition battle came to a close with both the attackers panting heavily from the workout. ¡°Level up x2! Gain: +2 Str, +3 Agi, +2 Con, +3 Int, +1 Wis, +1 Cha. You have gained 1 additional first-, second-, and third-level spell slots and 3 fourth-level slots. You have 2 attribute points to spend.¡± Logan sighed and Cleaned the sweat from his brow. ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting that quantity, nor that number of experience¡±, he admitted as he glanced over three windows that appeared before him, detailing his levels and spells. ¡°Three whole levels and a bucket of sweat¡±, Amalia cheered and complained. ¡°It certainly was exhilarating. The Jinmerru really pushed away the local monster populace. I would say this is all good news, but if we outpace our mastery it might prove to be an issue like you said before¡±, Marcus added. ¡°Can¡¯t say it isn¡¯t exciting though¡±, Logan replied. ¡°We are to rest?¡± Logan nodded as he scanned the nearby area. ¡°I don¡¯t want to fight the Jinmerru at anything but full power. Seeing this army of enemies even before reaching it feels like the quest was a ¡®danger¡¯ one, like other Oracles fell to, and similar to the Frost Monarch¡¯s Cavern.¡± ¡°Gives you time to prepare your new spells¡±, Amalia realised. ¡°And carve up all these bodies¡±, Logan replied as he spun his carving dagger between his fingers.
With the section of the forest quite promptly cleared, any monsters that would have intruded upon the group¡¯s rest got the message they were not to be messed with. The rest of the day spent Harvesting was met by a quiet night of rest. No boogymen in the night to steal away the adventurers that were much stronger than the ones who had been taken, or at least a strong enough unit to ward it off. Logan readjusted his spells again, the multiple of 8 granting him access to new slots and new tiers of power. He had already proactively read some tomes to make sure he wasn¡¯t left wanting for spells to fill in the new fourth-level slots. Logan had a base spell slot of 3 plus 1 for every level below max. The Planar Spellforce demon skill granted 1 spell slot and an additional 1 for every level below max. At the same time, the Spell Diversification skill gave 1 slot for every level. Finally, the Spellthief Garb gave 3 extra first through third slots and 2 fourth-level. The Spellthief was going to have to spend some time later exchanging his Bangle of the Convoker as it only provided space for the second-level summoning spell. At his current level and progression, the fourth-level spell would allow his summons to reach up to level 23 (21+2). That was close to 20 untapped MP he could gain, before increasing his mastery of the spell or skill. After clicking his fingers, Logan told the party, ¡°We¡¯re still safe, but with that sort of migration we may find dangers further in. I ¡®would¡¯ hope what we faced tomorrow was all of it, but through seeing some of these quests to their end, that isn¡¯t always the case.¡± ¡°We¡¯re followed by misfortune¡±, Amalia added. Marcus checked over his weapons as usual, ¡°It should be fine. The Jinmerru has no ways to confine teleportation. If it gets to be too much, one of us can warp out the others.¡± Logan remembered a similar case during his retry of the Frost Monarch Cavern, utilising Dimensional Jaunt to save his latter party against the final boss of the dungeon. ¡°If it¡¯s had enough time, the fruit amongst its canopy will come to life. The Jinmerru will then have a strong barrier that is powered by its underlings. Focus on the additional monsters if that turns out to be the case.¡± Marcus looked toward Amalia, ¡°The fight will be quiet¡­ active. Your stand-in-place strategy will only work at a distance.¡± ¡°Will we use B2?¡± Logan shook his head, ¡°The possessed victims are already controlled, I¡¯d wager most won¡¯t even look at you if you¡¯re far enough away, Come Forth will hardly affect a fifth of them.¡± ¡°Cut at the roots, they will animate and be a bother. The nearby trees will be networked, cut them off and you¡¯ll cut off some of the monster¡¯s power¡±, Marcus explained. ¡°Got it.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be warping quite a bit. I will take its attention and try to wipe away a lot of its minions if possible¡±, Logan offered. ¡°You have many more uses of Dimensional Jaunt than I do.¡± ¡°Marcus, your wings will be useful, but if the arena goes dark we¡¯ll have to forsake the sky for our advantage. If the trees ¡®are¡¯ connected, the canopies will be empowered.¡± ¡°It was a bit messy of a fight yesterday so I didn¡¯t think they¡¯d be too useful then. Might be the same today, we¡¯ll see.¡± ¡°See we will.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 186 - Jinmerru in Lieu Logan, Marcus, and Amalia stalked the forests quietly but quickly, the former two having a lot of experience with being sneaky during their hunting missions. The forest regained some of its life, from the brush swaying in the wind to brave birds who sang atop the branches. Deep within a forest to the northwest of Gauntlet, where the sky was hard to see, and its sunlight barely piercing a veil of green, the party continued its search for a dangerous monster. A treacherous force that matched its habitat, if a forest was to swallow whole those who got lost, the jinmerru would consume those who knew where they were going. While the forest brimmed with dangers, it seemed none compared to the blight. Both unseen and unheard, the normal monsters probably also became a part of the large tree. As if the oak of the tree trunks knew of an impending danger, laughter echoed off their thick bark. It wasn¡¯t joyous, though, it was a broken laughter. The only thing left when your mind had been sapped and your personality turned wooden. Cresting a small hill within the grassy forest paths, the party crouched and hugged nearby flora to hide their unwanted gaze. Ahead was their quarry. The jinmerru. An enormous tree, compared to the size of the humans, daunted the trio''s victory. At 50'' tall, and half that in width, the tree had a vicious mockery of a face painted across the middle portion of its trunk, dark brown hues that shifted but never opened, almost taunting the party as it mirrored a fierce glare. While most of the bark was of light brown hues, it was covered in moss in several areas, and it had strange yellow veins across its many branches. Hands almost erupted from its bark, like the tree had absorbed so many people it couldn''t keep them within its frame. Atop its foliage was an even more sinister sight, its fruit that resembled large muddy-pink peaches, deep-red eggplants, and sickly-blue gourds, had pained and fearful faces, juices seeping from the orifices as if they were sick and crying. Logan could have sworn he heard tired moans of anguish from the fruit. The damn tree was torturing its victims as it sapped their power. The Spellthief gritted his teeth in anger as he witnessed the abuse placed upon the seemingly still-living victims. ¡°Marcus, do you think those people can be saved?¡± Logan asked with a sceptic hint in his voice making it seem to be a hopeless request. Marcus looked over the gargantuan foe, his eyes betraying the emotions within of a boiling fury. ¡°Sorry. Their transformations would lead me to believe there¡¯s hardly anything of their bodies left. They¡¯d need new vestiges, or, some powerful anti-curse magic I cannot fathom.¡± Amalia lurched as she peered around the tree that hid her, ¡°Disgusting, vile, monster¡±, she muttered under her breath. Logan¡¯s vaskt eyes flicked open as he used Identification. ¡°All of those pieces of fruit act as a different entity. Some of the nearby trees are also corrupted treants¡±, he paused for a moment as he looked at the jinmerru, ¡°Fuck me. Why¡¯d this quest get given to you, Amalia?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°This is far above your level. It really should have noted this as a raid or something. It¡¯s good you knew of us¡±, Logan spat. ¡°Will we be fine?¡± Logan nodded, ¡°It¡¯ll be tricky, but Marcus and I can handle it.¡± ¡°Just like if we had Cassius¡±, Marcus teased. Logan side-eyed Marcus, ¡°We¡¯ll stick to the original plan. There are no teleportation defences, but the main monster has a barrier that¡¯ll take over a dozen powerful hits to break down. No doubt it¡¯ll regenerate as long as the other creatures are here too.¡± ¡°Gather up, I¡¯ll Enhance us¡±, Marcus ordered.
The jinmerru was never silent, its roots croaked as if it was still in the phase of moving house, the wind brushing over its canopy and causing the fruit to moan in pain. There were no sounds of birds, most likely identifying the danger and fleeing the coop. While it was never quiet, it was listening. Any amount of movement caused the beast to stir, and stir it did, moving its massive roots that went in and out of the ground like a gigantic wave that crashed away from itself. The invisible Spellthief jumped high to avoid the defensive strike and let loose sparks of cobalt that appeared in mid-air, striking into the canopy above and dancing across its branches. Pained screams and gurgled cries echoed out as countless fruits snapped off from their homes and fell to the floor. Before either his foe or himself hit the floor, Logan appeared with more blasts of lightning from his fingertips, piercing the previously struck foes and having them explode from within as the juices boiled and sought freedom. Crying eyes flew away from the nutritious confines of the skin, while others of their kind landed solidily on the roots and grass below. Erupting wind from his palms, Logan avoided a crushing mass of roots on his location, twirling in the air to avoid more avid roots looking to drain him of his blood. Kicking off another angry root, Logan aimed both hands to the floor where the fruit had culminated, their exteriors having erupted into tendrils of sinew, seeds, and fruity muscle that replaced what limbs they had in life. ¡°Fire Blast 2nd¡±, Logan chanted, unleashing a bombardment of fiery explosions from both hands. The floor was filled with rolling and roaring fires, cooking the fruit and having more of them explode from the steam wanting to escape. As Logan¡¯s form slowly descended, a massive root limb of the jinmerru came swinging at his back. Logan didn¡¯t react at all, as he did not need to. Marcus came flying from above and landed a massive downward punch into the root, bending and breaking it to the ground. With a massive flutter of his 20¡¯ wingspan harpy wings, Marcus flew back up to strike another root that aimed to target Logan. Logan looked high to the canopies, vindicating his fear that the sky would not be their ally as the dark greens blocked most of the sunlight into their area. Warping up to their heights, Logan aimed both hands upwards and chanted, ¡°Fire Blast 2nd¡±, four times, letting fly eight casts of the spell to eradicate the foes that had yet to drop and were still clumped together. Leaves and broken branches erupted sky high, cinders and smoke clinging to them like the fruit had done for dear life. Numerous clutches of trapped denizens were splintered free, from both their confines and their tormented life. The nearby trees did not let Logan work unfettered, though. Their trunks broke apart to reveal owl hideyholes, holding masses of power rather than nightly avians. Masses of darkness formed into spherical disasters that were shot at dangerous speeds toward the Spellthief. But, a Spellthief he was. Logan twisted in the air with the aid of Air Blast and aimed hands at the attacks, mentally commanding, ¡°Spell Absorb¡±. The scourge of abyss hit Logan¡¯s palms and spun around dizzyingly, vortexing into the man¡¯s body. ¡°Spell Absorption successful. Necromantic 2nd charge stored x10, Necromantic 2nd already mastered.¡± Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Ten total blasts came Logan¡¯s way, and ten were absorbed. At Spell Absorption¡¯s current mastery, it was almost impossible to fail to absorb third-level spells. Teleporting away from the airborne disaster zone, Logan apparated near Amalia who had been dutifully cutting away at the roots a distance from the main conflict. Her work hadn¡¯t gone unnoticed as many of the fruity monsters had charged in her direction. ¡°Necromantic 2nd Grasp¡±, Logan chanted, slapping his hands onto the fruits as they jumped, climbed, and rushed towards his ally in combat. Each touch came with it an explosion of dark spikes from the monsters¡¯ bodies, juices and skin flying as they hardly stood a chance against the multiplied damage, doing 204 damage on average. Spinning, leaping, and circumventing the foes that were hurrying to falter Amalia, Logan had free reign to take down ten foes, freeing up his absorption slots. Logan nodded at Amalia who returned the gaze. Logan then spun around as he drew up two blades to slash at roots that followed him, segmenting them into ovals of vegetarian delights. Jumping high, he drew out twenty other daggers and railgunned them with Dagger Toss. The daggers perforated roots and stabbed the fruits mid-air, sending their bodies flying backwards. The roots continued their disastrous motions, moving to interrupt Marcus quite a bit who was trying to aim at the nearby trees who continued to blast around the arena. Warping in front of the jinmerru, Logan held a hand at its fake face, ¡°Hey, bark face, right here! Fire Blast¡±, he yelled, exploding flaring ignition across a green hexagon barrier. As the smoke cleared rapidly, Logan was unsurprised at the lack of damage. Logan¡¯s red eyes stared at the creature, scanning the barrier that was quickly regenerating its lost 78 damage of a total of 900. Thankfully, Logan¡¯s two sets of eyes could act independently. It was a bit straining for his mind to process the information, but far away from difficult. His normal eyes peered to the far side, allowing him to use Dimensional Jaunt to avoid a cluster of roots that crashed together in front of the barrier, where Logan just was. Apparating on the ground, Logan drew back both hands and had fire begin to form amongst them, but he warped up high just again, avoiding more roots that followed. It was a good thing that channelling a spell didn¡¯t mean you¡¯d lose it, only when fully cast or beginning of chanting would it be lost. Holding the charge, as it were, Logan aimed downwards at the roots as he spoke, ¡°Flame 2nd Shot¡±, letting free a duo of fireballs that cracked apart two roots. The propelling force of his spell kept Logan airborne, enough time to think, ¡°If only this thing¡¯s main body wasn¡¯t immune to anything below third-level spell.¡± A massive crunch and snap broke Logan out of his thought as he spied Marcus landing a Superman punch through the trunk of one of the nearby trees, breaking it in two and a thousand splinters. The Devout landed in a slide on the other end, twisted his head, and warped away to attack another of the trees. Logan himself flipped in the air, warped to another bushel of fruit, and alighted them with a duo of Fire Blast casts. As the fires dissipated, Logan landed a solid defensive punch into a root that swung through the corpses. Using the root as a platform, Logan was thrown backwards into another but teleported in front of an antagonistic tree. ¡°Flame Grasp¡±, Logan incanted, grasping the trunk of one of the lesser trees, igniting it with twin arms that turned brown to black, and solid to crumbling dust in the air. Logan warped between three other trees, using the same tactic to aid in Marcus¡¯s destruction of the fuelling stations for the jinmerru. The sector of the forest the party were accosting was ablaze with flames and horrific screams of the animated flora, accompanied by pained yells of the tortured souls turned to fruit. A waving green and grey aura dissipated over the jinmerru as the trees had all been slain and destroyed, the fruits atop its canopy either fully detached or burnt to a crisp. Letting off a massive roar from its oaky centre, the jinmerru caused countless pieces of debris to fly off on the wind. Alongside the debris went leaves, which turned into razor-sharp projectiles that aimed in an arc from the monster. Logan and Marcus teleported behind Amalia, the Guardian raising her shield high to defend against the almost endless assault of green scythes. It sounded like hurried hail against a tin roof, ting ting¡¯ing away. Unlike hail, it dealt much more damage to the wall of iron. Scratches turned to cracks until the shield fell away in fragments. Logan wrapped an arm around Amalia¡¯s side, chanting, ¡°Barrier¡±, replacing a physical wall with one made up of blue hexagons. The metallic scraping noise was replaced with a more strange synthetic tune of coins hitting glass. ¡°Marcus, I need you to batter back the leaves so I can set up¡±, Logan instructed. Marcus with his arm raised over his forehead to block the wind and dust replied, ¡°Got it!¡± The leaves and hurricane were endless, but Marcus would see an end to that. Jumping over the pair, the Devout stretched his arms out to the side, wide, before slapping them together with immense strength. A tempestuous wind erupted from Marcus¡¯s clap, battering against the blustery winds and flora from the jinmerru, almost equal in distance as they combatted one another. Logan spun around Amalia, his legs sliding across the mud as he also stretched out his arms and chanted, ¡°Spellforce.¡± Replacing the combative winds, Logan¡¯s palms vortexed in the air and ambient spellforce. The leaves and debris fell to the floor quickly, as the wind was more demonstrative than an actual vacuum of air. The jinmerru let out countless old creaks as if it were an age-old home that couldn¡¯t handle the harsh winds outside. A rumbling thunder emanated from the tree, whatever it could muster up as a groan of pain. It was poetic and karmic that its low cries were similar to that of its trapped victims. Said victims started to fall from its bark, skinless carcasses that were finally released from its grasp and returned to the earth below. Logan took steps towards the jinmerru, the absorption powers of a demon on full display against the colossal foe that had little defence against it at this point. No allied trees and no commanded fruits to attack Logan at his flanks. Even if there were, he had Marcus and Amalia both to protect him, which they did as they followed at the Spellthief¡¯s back. Two minutes passed as Logan absorbed the power of the monster and the area around and behind it, its bark losing all lustre and its canopy almost barren as the leaves fell to the floor. It had no defence left. Reddish-purple light flowed around Logan¡¯s body, alongside his veins and arteries glowing a disturbing red and blue, seeking to erupt from his skin. Breathing out a thick white fog, Logan knew he was at the extent allowed by this skill, at least one that was safe to do. Any further and he¡¯d risk damage to himself. There wasn¡¯t as much energy in the air as there was in the tournament, as most had dissipated from the trapped creatures. Moving his hands together, Logan formed the osmosis energies from his fingers into a small orb of monochrome in the air between his two hands. Static rolled around the orb as Logan¡¯s body glowed violet, the colour flowing into the orb and fading to darkness and light. ¡°Blast¡±, he commanded, the ball of energy raced away from the man, blasting a wave of energy in a cone behind him that turned grass to mud and cleaned the area of debris. The ball, however, disturbed a massive line in the ground in its trail, a gutter of death that followed the deadly orb as it hurled toward the tree. The jinmerru let out a final, and drawn-out, roar as the orb connected with its barky skin. Brown and black were eaten away as if millions of ants were tearing the construct apart. Picked clean, the jinmerru was disintegrated by the sheer power of the skill, a massive hole exploding in the centre of the tree with a huge bang that could have been heard for miles upon miles away. The top of the jinmerru was sent flying into the sky, while the lower half was flattened against the mud. Seconds later, the top section landed with a massive slam on the ground, creaking and snapping audible as the pieces fell apart further. Logan¡¯s arms fell low as he hunched over, harsh breaths escaping his maw. This was only the second time using Spellforce Blast, and it was as good a time as any to test his current limits. He¡¯d hate to use it without prior knowledge when it¡¯d count. ¡°Fatality¡±, Logan laughed under his breath, the experience reward of the combat floating all around the trio. --- *** --- Chapter 187 - A Mission for Your Thoughts ¡°That¡¯s the quest done¡±, Amalia informed as she sat down on a tall rock, taking off her helmet. ¡°More levels too? There were just a few monsters to blast down, here¡±, Logan asked, jokingly. Amalia laughed, ¡°Just another two, nothing to worry about.¡± ¡°The progression from this quest certainly pushed us ahead of our plans¡±, Marcus began as he moved some of the crispy bodies to the side for Logan¡¯s Harvesting adventure, ¡°We¡¯ve still yet to deal with our hunt. I suppose we can just hope it won¡¯t push us ever further.¡± Logan sighed after he drank from a waterskin, ¡°I am doubtful we¡¯ll face more than two adversaries in that. Since both of our quests are System-related we should have some time off to increase our masteries where the new stuff has popped up.¡± ¡°We can only pray.¡± ¡°Since it¡¯s your hunt, I take it I will be in another backline position?¡± Amalia asked. ¡°It¡¯s going to depend. The quest essentially has two roads, either we let Drustan complete his ritual and possibly fight something else, or we attempt to stop him and fight the Devout himself.¡± ¡°So we¡¯ll adjust based on the newcomer.¡± ¡°Right. As for Drustan, as a Knight-type you¡¯re probably fine against a Devout, they typically aren¡¯t too fast. If he has advanced alterations, which I have little doubt he doesn¡¯t, you¡¯ll have to worry about Skystrikes and other alternate attack methods.¡± Amalia adjusted her belt as she sheathed her sword after cleaning, ¡°It¡¯s kind of strange to be so far from the fight as a ¡®tank¡¯ style class.¡± Marcus¡¯s ears perked up at the mention. ¡°You may have close to double our health, but magic can get through a lot of your defences.¡± ¡°I do have quite a bit of damage reduction¡±, Amalia admitted offhandedly. ¡°The level disparity is what concerns me more. These last couple of confrontations shot you up quickly, and you have amazing quality gear, but¡ª¡± ¡°¡®Overprepare, and prepare some more, or die with a platinum in your pocket¡¯ right?¡± Logan let out a short shot of laughing air, ¡°It¡¯s a good motto.¡± ¡°There¡¯s always dungeons, for replacing our gear with artefacts that grow with us¡±, Marcus offered, knowing one of their issues was out-levelling their equipment. ¡°If we¡¯re lucky enough for them to give us viable items. A bow won¡¯t do us much good. I could use them, but I have no skills centred on them.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you have eleven skill points to spend?¡± ¡°Yeah. But I am saving them for level 30 if I can. The tens unlock new class-specific skills that I can¡¯t buy tomes for.¡± ¡°Makes sense, I guess.¡±
After clearing up a load of Harvesting and a short rest, the gang made their way back to the gashriek sanctuary. They were easily picked up by guards in the trees again but were given a much more welcoming greeting. Whispers spread around the woods as rumours blossomed about the party, their second visit to the leader¡¯s hall showing they weren¡¯t mistrusted, and leagues beyond that they were tasked with something that required their return. Entering the hall, with gloves off, Logan started the talk with the leaders in shrieky. ¡°We have dealt with the jinmerru, and its ¡®offspring¡¯. It shouldn¡¯t return in any form, though I do advise caution going through the forest, as we did encounter a huge pack of shifted monsters.¡± Macarra was the first to respond in ava, ¡°Your tracking abilities are astounding. Nary two days have passed and you¡¯ve both found and removed the monster from our neighbouring treelines.¡± Earc quickly followed after in shrieky, ¡°I am perplexed at the speed at which you completed this task. We¡¯ve yet to gather all the information surrounding your forraying Devout¡ª¡± Fionnghu interrupted with a cough and continued in shrieky, ¡°We will need to confirm your report either way. Please, stay within the settlement and on the morrow, we will relinquish what we know.¡± Logan placed a hand into his coat and asked, ¡°May I?¡± A nodding reply from the middle woman had Logan pull out a beating, crescent-shaped piece of wood, a strange amalgamation of heart and sap. ¡°This is the jinmerru¡¯s heart. Your scouts won¡¯t find much remains of the creature on arrival.¡± ¡°Such fine work to carve that out and still have it beat¡±, Earc admitted in shrieky as he tilted his head to look over the item at a distance. Fionnghu covered her mouth and nose, ¡°Very well. Our scouts will still investigate for any remains that could reform, though¡±, she insisted in shrieky. Earc scoffed and nodded knowingly at Logan as if to say ¡°You¡¯re fine.¡± ¡°We shall await your reply¡±, Logan ended in shrieky before bowing his head slightly, causing his allies to do the same. Leaving the hall, the trio looked around as the guards gave them leave of the area. ¡°We could do with the rest anyway¡±, Marcus accepted, getting a good gist of the conversation. ¡°Oh. Are we camping outside, or trying to find an inn?¡± Amalia asked. ¡°Let¡¯s take in the town before finding shelter for the night¡±, Logan instructed as he rubbed his jaw.
Exploring the city streets, the party engaged in partial conversations with the populace, though mostly the merchants within their brick buildings. Prices were different, with precedence placed on items specific to the forest. If Logan wanted, he could destabilise the economy a bit, but that would work to bite the gashriek in the rear later if he did. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Reaching a tavern of sorts, mostly a gathering place for people to eat food rather than anything else, the party received worried glances. ¡°Table for three, please¡±, Logan asked in shrieky. The server had their anxiousness turn to familiarity, ¡°Yes. Please, this way¡±, she returned in a thicker accent, the h¡¯s almost a wave of static. Getting seated, Logan showed off more of his linguistic skills, ¡°I have heard gashriek do wonders with salt and pepper breads. Do you make homeloaf rind here?¡± The sever¡¯s familiarity turned into an ear-wide smile, ¡°We certainly do. Today we have a lovely oak bread, freshly baked this morning.¡± ¡°You were able to get the ingredients with local issues?¡± ¡°Our stockpiles are deep, enough for a half-year of luxury.¡± ¡°Ice magic trinkets?¡± ¡°Yes. Mose always blesses our harvests, so we do what we can to keep it alive as long as possible¡±, the server replied, leaning on the table like they were reminiscing with an old friend. This caught the attention of other patrons, their heads aimed to get the best sound from the conversation. ¡°Three homeloaf rind, and a pitcher of sap oil blueberry¡±, Logan ordered. ¡°That¡¯s my favourite!¡± the sever almost shouted as she took a few coins from Logan. Marcus followed the sever with his eyes as she left, before turning to Logan to ask in ava, ¡°Her favourite what?¡± ¡°Drink. It¡¯s a sweet alcoholic concoction.¡± ¡°It¡¯s only midday¡±, Amalia teased with a smile. ¡°Good thing it¡¯s not particularly strong. More for it keeping long than to get drunk.¡± As the party conversed, an older gentleman leaned in their chair to get closer to the party, ¡°Excuse me. Where did you learn shrieky? You¡¯re very fluent¡±, he asked in shrieky. ¡°Self-taught. The words barked in my ear and took root in my heart¡±, Logan replied in a swathe of s and h sounds. The older man coughed and spluttered his drink, ¡°I haven¡¯t heard that saying since I was in school learning the alphabet!¡± ¡°Enjoying your meal? I¡¯ve yet to eat in a gashriek settlement.¡± The older man glanced at his table, ¡°That I am. We¡¯ve not been able to leave the town for a while, so I decided to take the family out for a gathered meal.¡± ¡°That problem should be sorted, but wait till the official announcement on it¡±, Logan informed with a smile. Before the conversation could continue, the server came back with a wide plate on one arm, and a pitcher in the other. Placing it on the table, she spoke in broken ava, ¡°Here is the meal, enjoy please.¡± As she took three mugs that were hooked on her apron she tapped Logan¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Extra for the guests¡±, she admitted in shrieky as he jutted her head at the extra roll. Logan thanked the lady as she left, letting the trio dig into their meal. It was a set of four large rolls that had seasoned meat sewed onto the crust, like a reverse sausage roll of sorts. Cutting up the rolls with their utensils, they enjoyed the soft inside through the slightly crispy exterior before drinking their thick berry-flavoured beverages. During their meal, the older gentleman and his family left, leaving no one to thank when dessert came to the party¡¯s table by way of the new friend. The server informed the group it was a gift from the table next to them that had already gone. A large sharing bowl of an ice-cream-like cheesecake, pieces of breadcrumb base mixed into it.
After eating, the party extended their exploration of the city streets. They weren¡¯t going to see another settlement like this for some time, so now was their chance. They bought several souvenirs and rare items they couldn¡¯t get elsewhere while absorbing the atmosphere. Logan was also able to acquire some components for crafting purposes later, when he had a longer stretch of downtime to himself, and wasn¡¯t preoccupied with reading. Night within the gashriek settlement was different than the larger cities, the canopies overhead created a pretty polka-dot display across the ground, while the roads were lit by hanging lanterns. Larger establishments had light bleeding out from crevices of closed windows, alongside the sound of muffled chatter and laughter. The tapping sound of footsteps brought the trio to a large inn, a balcony over the entrance holding four separate rooms¡¯ occupants sitting at tables to look over the nighttime aesthetic. Entering the building, the group was met with disquieted patrons. A few of them had their unease fall away as they recognised the party via rumour, while others had yet to receive such words. ¡°A single room and a couple¡¯s room, please¡±, Logan asked in shrieky to the staff member at the counter. He almost jumped up from beneath the countertop, sorting out materials and bringing out a quill to note down the new customers, ¡°Oof. Of course, how can¡ª¡±, he began as he brought his head up, pausing as he realised the customers were not gashriek, ¡°I help you further?¡± ¡°Breakfast in our rooms, we¡¯re fine with the local special¡±, Logan answered confidently in shrieky. The attendant paused again, unsettled at how well Logan replied, ¡°The special this week will be dawnbug salad¡±, he informed in shrieky. ¡°That sounds great, hold the tails though¡±, Logan asked. The man nodded, ¡°Of course. We don¡¯t want to upset your stomachs.¡± Logan pulled out a few coins and placed them on the counter, being returned a set of two keys, one of which he handed to Marcus. Separating to their own abodes, Logan threw his coat over the chair in his shared room and lounged out on the chair that overlooked the other side of the inn. Only murmurs and quiet discussions could be heard, creating quite a private scene. The sound of warping metal and wind could be heard in the room as Amalia had her gear warp into her gauntlet, revealing comfortable clothes underneath. With a pull at her ponytail, Amalia removed a hairband that kept it controlled under her armour. Sitting beside Logan she sighed, ¡°I much prefer a day of browsing and safety than going out into the woods¡±, she admitted as she picked a mug from the table. ¡°I dunno. I get a bit antsy just sitting still here. It feels like if I don¡¯t move my legs will fall off, or my arms will be too slow to deflect an arrow coming my way¡±, Logan confessed. ¡°You relish in helping others.¡± ¡°I am my father¡¯s son.¡± ¡°My new family is going to be here, I feel¡±, Amalia replied quietly. Logan looked at her for a few seconds, an almost guilty expression across his face, ¡°A home is what you pick. If this is it, then this is it.¡± Amalia laid her arm over Logan¡¯s, the man rotating his hand to link with his lover¡¯s. ¡°What do you think of this Drustan person?¡± she asked, changing the conversation quickly. ¡°I can understand him. With an option for revival, I¡¯d take it. He kind of reminds me of Kreya, not thinking of the immediate consequences or other people, just doing what you can to get a quick outcome.¡± ¡°Do you think it will work?¡± ¡°In a fashion. The quest wouldn¡¯t give me an objective to let him complete it, otherwise.¡± ¡°Not worried about less of a reward? Or that the guild he stole from will lose out on their artefacts?¡± Logan chuckled slightly, ¡°Rituals take a long time. I¡¯d give it an eight outta ten chance the items are unusable by the time we find him. Might as well let the man finish and see what¡¯ll come of his actions.¡± ¡°And if that ending is dangerous?¡± ¡°We can warp away, and if not, we have other options for fleeing. Failing the quest would only end in me getting fewer anyways, plus NPC deaths¡­ actually, I don¡¯t want that happening either.¡± ¡°No word on who those people would be?¡± ¡°As usual, no. Probably Drustan. Maybe his guild if they are attached somehow? There¡¯s a good chance it¡¯d be this village too.¡± ¡°So¡ª¡± ¡°The System that gives us quests, doesn¡¯t give us ¡®impossible¡¯ ones. I¡¯ve already had an army and a raid quest. This isn¡¯t set up like either, or from what I could identify in stories. It will just be difficult. We¡¯ll be fine. I have a lot of items to back all of us up regardless, it will just be expensive. I¡¯m also a fair few levels over when it was granted to me.¡± ¡°Well¡±, Amalia started as she leaned back in her chair, ¡°if it¡¯s meant for solo or a group, we¡¯ve got it in the bag.¡± ¡°I can think of a few ways to overcome the challenge.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 188 - Deep Dark Dreams With a long and uninterrupted rest, the party awoke to a calmer morning than what they would have found in the forests. While still full of naturistic sounds, such as the birds and foxes, the city carried the chimes of shop bells and the tapping of feet on stone. Logan¡¯s usual routine of micks across his body had him ready in moments, the same was said for Amalia and Marcus. Rituals that would take minutes back on Earth were barely a single minute. Aside from eating, you should always revel in the delights you¡¯re offered. Exiting their inn, the group were greeted by a Tarrishna in normal clothing. Gone were the garbs of a guard, replaced with comfier attire and somewhat more formal. ¡°Morning¡±, the man greeted in ava. ¡°That it is. Did your scouts find what they wanted to?¡± Logan asked. Tarrishna nodded, ¡°The speed at which the monsters were dispatched, and subsequently Harvested, showed clearly your prowess in many fields.¡± ¡°I am glad we can please the leaders.¡± ¡°To that end, I have been permitted to hand over as much information as we hold surrounding this fleeing man you¡¯re after¡±, Tarrishna continued as he pulled out a rolled piece of parchment. ¡°Thank you¡±, Logan nodded. ¡°This ¡®Drustan¡¯ passed through our forests some time ago, lining up with your earlier statements. He was seen investigating a nearby set of ruins for around two days before leaving that and heading further east. To another set of ruins. They contain rare slate for the area, but aside from the rarity of its materials it also holds relevance for magics of old.¡± ¡°He must have found something in the prior ruins, maybe a dungeon, and then moved on to a different magical focal site to start his ritual casting¡±, Logan calculated aloud. ¡°We have some seers in the settlement to aid in protections against wildlife and monster migration, but whenever they tried to follow this man their sight was blocked. Since the man had moved so far and did not disturb us, we left him be.¡± ¡°That¡¯s understandable. You didn¡¯t know what was going on at the time, and I have little doubts about the number of people that pass near this city.¡± ¡°Mentioning that, no other humanoids accompanied or even went in the same direction as your hunt. Unless there were teleportation magics at play, he should be alone¡±, Tarrishna informed as he looked back at the parchment, ¡°We noted several bags and items across the man, a few were obviously of artefact design but we did not pry that far before he was out of range.¡± ¡°That reinforces my idea that he¡¯s alone¡±, Logan accepted. ¡°We did send some scouts near the ruins, but it¡¯s far afield from where we care to protect. The man was seen either in contemplation, or as you have spoken of, attempting some sort of ritual. With the issues surrounding the jinmerru we put him low on the list of priorities.¡± Logan nodded, ¡°Alright. Thank you for the information. We can take it from here.¡± ¡°I cannot offer much more aid, aside from my prayers that you¡¯ll be fortuitous in your endeavours.¡± Tarrishna turned to leave, his day busy with off-time activities. Additional hands would be nice, but Logan was sure none of the guards could offer substantial assistance. Before leaving, the party did the usual checking of gear and resupply.
Logan scanned his mini-map as it updated with new details, area obstructions, and a dwindling red circle to search in. It now fully encompassed the ruins that had been explained to him, a sizable locale that could have easily been a town worth two hundred inhabitants, but what decay was shown ahead of time spoke volumes to the lack of people still there. Gathering together, the party warped to the skies and then a fair distance away, apparating within a clearing a good mile or so away from the ruins. As if they all were compulsive, the team quadruple-checked their equipment, Amalia having her helmet grow around her head to complete her protection. ¡°Marcus, Enhance us beforehand. While the aura is intimidating, I don¡¯t want to be caught unawares if Drustan has defences set or is want for violence on seeing any approach¡±, Logan asked. Marcus accepted as he started to pat his allies and increase their attributes. ¡°So, we¡¯re going to attempt diplomacy first?¡± Amalia asked. ¡°Of course. The man is grieving, and desperate. If we can halt this peacefully we¡¯ll be all the better for it.¡± Marcus scoffed, ¡°What¡¯re the chances of that happening?¡± ¡°Slim, I¡¯d say. I would hope that seeing a fellow Devout, and another caster, may limit his aggression as we¡¯ve had similar upbringings.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve got twelve days left for this quest, right? He shouldn¡¯t be near completion of the ritual¡±, Marcus calculated. ¡°He might be acting cautious. Can the ritual be sped up in any way?¡± Amalia asked. ¡°From what I read, he could make the ritual a bit more unstable, or costly, to speed up the timer. You can combine several types to a degree, but that¡¯s insanely difficult for people not versed in rituals.¡± Marcus hummed, ¡°The man seemed desperate by all accounts. There¡¯s always that possibility.¡± Moving through the forest, the party¡¯s discussion got quieter and quieter until it was absent. Their thoughts mostly on their steps to avoid loud snaps and crunches underfoot. Eventually, they found the trees starting to reduce in number, until they saw it. Peering into a forgotten settlement, where only faint whispers on the wind carried the prior voices of the villagers, the party saw dust pick up and carry around the lost home. Pillars made up of rare slate no longer held up the livelihoods of those who once lived here, walls barely clung to them to protect the area from the elements. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Weathered through time and travel, the ruins reflected the light from above the greenery, patches of moss and grass reclaiming the stone as its own. The slate was expensive, but it belonged to the ground no matter what the dead thought. The air was thick with a sense of dread, ignoring the desecration of security that the homes previously offered. Almost electric, Logan could feel a heavy field around the area. Spellforce that fought back the call to ancestry, keeping some semblance of what the place used to be. Intermingling with twisted vines and roots, the slate barriers and flooring had newly drawn sigils across them. Chalked in vibrant colours, they seemed to flow with their wrist-flick motions toward the centre of town. As the party shifted from tree to wall to barely standing pillar, they got a better sight of the general meeting place of the forebears. A sudden breeze rolled over the floor, rocks rolling as if to imitate immature games and dust that flew high to put one side at a disadvantage. Just like a man tidying his home from dirt on the carpet, there stood Drustan, his hand waving around to clean a large circle he had drawn some time ago. Drustan was ragged and tired, black bags under his red eyes showed he had yet to sleep since leaving Gauntlet. His dark blue robes had caked-on dirt near his feet and chalk marks across his knees and arms. Short black hair had been brushed back by hand several times, spending little time on his looks when no one could look at him. The sign of tiredness was only partially surprising, the man most likely keeping the power within the artefact to be used in the ritual rather than to aid in his time spent casting it. Thinking on the artefacts, they all had their place within the large chalk circle that Drustan had etched into the slate. Several circles within themselves that got smaller to the centre, a rather simple design but not uncommon when trying to create an effect within a small area. Held within small mounds of rocks, Logan could make out handles or straps of the items in question, Identification showing their true design. One disheartening fact was the ritual had already started, at least its introductory segment had. There was little time remaining before some of the artefacts could be retrieved in usable conditions, two had already faded to being mundane in the setup of the circle and its preservations. Logan tutted quietly as he signalled Marcus and Amalia to follow him. Brazenly, the trio approached Drustan with abandon to their stealthy approach. ¡°Drustan¡±, Logan called out. The Devout spun around the spot so quickly he was lucky not to twist his ankle, sweat beaded down his face as he called back, ¡°Who goes there?¡± ¡°Logan. We¡¯ve been tasked with apprehending you for the theft of your guild¡¯s artefacts¡±, Logan explained succinctly. Drustan picked at something under his robe, ¡°Curses to the below. How¡¯d you find me? I should have been shielded.¡± ¡°There are more ways than one to track someone down.¡± Drustan bit his lip, ¡°Logan¡­ That name is familiar.¡± ¡°We were at the same tournament, but we never fought.¡± ¡°Fuck me. You¡¯re the Phasing Hunter?¡± he asked rhetorically. Logan nodded, ¡°Please, come peacefully. This doesn¡¯t need to end in more death.¡± Drustan spat, ¡°More!? There shouldn¡¯t be any! Our pockets are deep enough so that anyone can come back!¡± ¡°I heard about how your guild didn¡¯t listen to your words¡ª¡± ¡°Too right they didn¡¯t! There should be no expense spared to see someone returned! The blaggards thought coin and material wealth were more prized than our lives.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve every right to be angry, Drustan. But you stole a family¡¯s fortune, several families.¡± ¡°We all bled and sweated for those items. So what if I asked a little extra, everyone did so.¡± Logan sighed, ¡°Do you think this ritual will really work?¡± ¡°It has to. It¡¯s my last chance. The moons pass and grow, before the largest one fades I have to finish this.¡± ¡°The moons?¡± ¡°Yes. Their light is needed to shine on the circle.¡± ¡°Skearos is not known to hold the moon in much regard¡±, Logan retorted. ¡°Yes. But few even pray to the Lord of the Dead. Even before my brother¡­ my brother died, I was privy to many tomes of knowledge.¡± ¡°A learned man. Was there truly no other path open than this one?¡± ¡°Not with my means, no¡±, Drustan replied under his breath, ¡°Please, sir. You¡¯re speaking with me now, speak with me further. Let me make you understand.¡± Logan waved his hand to Marcus and Amalia as if to say ¡°at ease¡±, ¡°It does not seem that you¡¯re currently channelling, so we¡¯ve time yet.¡± ¡°Thank you. First, may I ask what the specifics of your hunt are?¡± ¡°We¡¯re to take you in, alive, as well as all the artefacts you stole.¡± Drustan looked at the circle and then back to Logan, ¡°You¡¯re a caster. No doubt you investigated my circle before approaching me. You know two are already gone.¡± ¡°And another you still use to avoid detection.¡± Drustan nodded, ¡°You¡¯ve already partway failed to take back all the artefacts, there would be little reward in returning a partial number.¡± Logan coughed, ¡°You¡¯re right in the regard that the additional objective was taking back ¡®all¡¯ the items. But out of manners, I would like to see the remainder back.¡± ¡°The others are partially drained, and are trapped that if they are taken from their prison they will be even more so.¡± Logan thought for a second, looking over Drustan to find a lie where there wasn¡¯t one, ¡°Ok. So taking the artefacts back is a lost cause.¡± ¡°I will admit, if you found me a day earlier, you¡¯d probably have taken all of them back.¡± Logan sighed and shook his head as he looked at the ground. ¡°So. I¡¯ll make a proposition to you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡± ¡°Since the artefacts are a lost cause, let me finish my ritual. Give me a chance to revive my brother. After that, come what may, I will return with you without argument.¡± ¡°Would that not reward your theft? What would stop us from just apprehending you now?¡± Drustan then raised his hand to let his sleeve drop, revealing a few rings, ¡°If I find myself at a loss in this fight, which I will inform you there¡¯s little chance of with the artefacts I kept for myself, I will just run as far as I can.¡± Logan used Identification, at least two of the rings held charges of Teleport within them. Logan scowled, ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯d run away, not when you¡¯re so close.¡± ¡°Calling my bluff will be your choice. I love my brother, with all of my heart and more, but even I won¡¯t sacrifice myself for him.¡± Logan looked at the circle, ¡°You¡¯d sacrifice an easy life, though.¡± ¡°Prison is an acceptable outcome for my brother¡¯s return.¡± ¡°Would Ratbert say the same?¡± Drustan stared at Logan for a moment before replying, ¡°Well, he¡¯s not here to say no, is he?¡± Logan side-eyed his quest window, ¡°How long will it take to complete?¡± Drustan¡¯s expression became lighter at the question, ¡°I was going to set up some more defences, in case the artefact failed, as well as the nearby monsters approaching. But. If you three are here, I needn¡¯t do so. A day, maybe a half extra.¡± ¡°Hold a moment.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Logan turned to his allies, having a short conversation hunched over away from Drustan¡¯s prying eyes and ears. After some time, they approached the Devout again. Logan replied, ¡°You may as well complete the ritual. At least then something will come of the loss of the artefacts.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 189 - How the Other Lives Logan paced the extent of the slate ruins. The dilapidated background meshed well with the thoughts swirling in his head. How much faith could really be placed within the wordings of the System¡¯s commands? Yes, it gave an additional objective to let the ritual be completed. But was that a test of his might or temptation that held ulterior motives? To this point, it seemed like most of the optional tasks were to increase difficulty for a better prize, risk for reward. Logan would have to indulge in dozens of quests and talk with other PCs if he were to get the whole picture, all he had were a handful of quests and his discussions with Ahren. Kicking some rubble to the side, Logan sighed as he continued pacing. The waiting was tiresome, not as much because it had become nighttime after another day, but more that he wasn¡¯t really doing anything. He had become quite a busybody, and keeping watch like this was so dissimilar from his normal tasks. ¡°Logan, Drustan said he¡¯s almost ready¡±, Amalia informed as she jogged to the Spellthief¡¯s side. Logan nodded, ¡°About time.¡± Amalia kept at an arm-brushing distance, ¡°Do you think this will be alright?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Letting the ritual go through. Just seems counter to what the hunt entailed.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t fake being omniscient¡±, Logan laughed deflectively before taking on a sterner gaze, ¡°At least this way there¡¯s a chance of a good outcome. The items are mostly lost regardless. I¡¯m doing this more for Ratbert¡¯s potential return.¡± ¡°Do you also want to see if it¡¯s possible?¡± Logan held for a second to think about that question, ¡°A bit.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t blame you¡±, Amalia consoled. ¡°I would love to learn as much as I can about this world. Knowing is half the battle, and I¡¯ve gone into a lot with only a quarter of the fight in hand.¡± ¡°You seem to be putting a lot of faith into the System¡¯s requests. Considering a lot of the time they are deathly asks I¡¯m surprised you do.¡± ¡°Faith¡±, Logan repeated under his breath, ¡°I suppose so. I guess I am just hopeful is all.¡± The pair turned to walk towards the centre of the slate ruins, passing columns and partial walls as they approached Drustan and Marcus over a large chalk circle on the floor. Drustan shifted his robes as he stood up meekly, ¡°It¡¯s ready, the moonlight should pierce the clouds long enough to finish the ritual¡±, he informed with a weak voice. Logan raised his eyebrow, in his mind¡¯s eye he could picture himself landing a solid gut punch to the man to knock him out instantly. An easy way to cart him back to Gauntlet. Blood would coat his arm, but also his hands if Ratbert could have been revived. He shook his head. ¡°You ok? You¡¯re not combining this with a self-sacrifice-ritual too, are you?¡± Logan asked. Drustan smiled with bloody teeth before wiping his face, ¡°I underestimated the time and complexity of using artefacts to charge a ritual.¡± It was an indirect answer to Logan¡¯s question. Had Drustan already forgone his instinct of self-preservation, or was this just an accepted pain over a certain death? ¡°He¡¯ll be fine. I was able to tend to him during the preparation, but he¡¯ll be left weakened after the ritual for a time¡±, Marcus explained. Logan looked over the ritual site, the colourful chalk had a faint violet glow to it that meshed with the whites of the night sky. The quartet of strong individuals took up their positions, though they weren¡¯t too involved. Drustan stood at the head of the magical circle and began chanting, while the rest of the party stood in a triangle formation with Logan at the front just behind Drustan. Logan understood pretty much all the basics of each type of ritual cast and was thankful that he didn¡¯t have to listen to the droning speech for too long with the artefacts as fuel. It only took two hours for Drustan¡¯s chant to complete. ¡°I beseech forces unknown and unseen, bring back that which I know too well and seen since birth. Return to life my blood and grant it presence anew. Rousing Reparation.¡± The stones that held the artefacts safe and secure started to shake, then tremble as if an earthquake accosted them. The lines of the circle glowed a bright red, almost blinding. The vibrations of the rocks became so intense they started to crack, flake, and then turn to dust with the contents in tow. A whirling wind swirled within the circle, guided by lines of crimson that seemingly kept the contents taut. Whatever remained of the artefacts flew together and coalesced. A thumping permeated the sound of the gales, thump thump thump, a rhythmic heartbeat that was otherworldly when outside of a chest. ¡°It¡¯s working! A new body is being crea¡ª¡± Drustan began to praise before coughing up phlegm and blood, falling to a knee and grabbing his chest. Marcus quickly moved his hands to heal the fallen Devout, but the magics did minimal work on the man who had probably given too much to the ritual. Drustan¡¯s blood soaked the muddy and slate-covered floor, and then as if it were repelled from its previous host, it started to roll across the ground. As the blood picked up speed, it hit the circle on the ground and flew off of it, pitter-patting over the heart that floated in the centre of the circle. The beating got faster, louder, and more ¡°powerful¡±. Bones started to crack into formation, blood, sinew, and muscle then filled them out and encased them. From the torso to the limbs, a body was being made. It started out looking human, but then several large yellow circles started to form in the mass, something certainly otherworldly. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°Something¡¯s wrong¡±, Drustan muttered. But there was little he could do to stop it now. Logan thought to interrupt the ritual, there was a chance his Spell Absorption skill would work on this as it was still being cast. But, his objective hadn¡¯t been completed just yet. This was all in the System¡¯s plan. The body engorged and turned a shade unlike any skin Logan had seen, scaly and fishlike in design as it grew to sizes not comparable to normal people. Drustan fell back on his rear as he watched the monstrosity form in front of him, ¡°No¡±, he said under his breath. The creature continued creating itself out of the materials offered to it. Finally, its form landed with a solid thud under the light of the moon, dark clouds hugging around the celestial body and keeping away from its face. Whatever now stood under its majesty was not Ratbert. This new ¡°creature¡± was yet another force to be reckoned with. At 20'' tall, it was a hulking mass of muscle and fin. A wide grin with shark teeth smiled openly at the party, dark green sludge leaking from the edges of its maw as if it were looking at a delectable morsel. While it was muscular, the demon looked somewhat fat too, wide and bulbous in many areas, its fearful presence was a mix of emotions. Wide fins jutted out from its head and shoulders, flowing down to its middle back and ending in razor-sharp tips. Wet, brown skin was kept taut across its body, with circular scales and underskin fins that encircled balls of yellow underneath the surface, which sloshed around inside as if they were holding liquid amber. Massive webbed claws ended their arms, with almost no sign of wrists to connect them, a single long limb that seemingly couldn''t rotate much. Its feet were just the same but had wide soles and no arch to speak of. Its small, beady, full-red eyes stared at the man who had unwillingly summoned him. Unblinking, lacking any eyelids to do so, it began to chuckle, its skin wobbling as it did so. ¡°What in the below?¡± Marcus muttered to himself as he picked Drustan up off the floor, offering a shoulder for the man¡¯s arm. The newcomer laughed, his chin wobbling as he did so. ¡°No. Not quite that far down¡±, it answered with a loud and low-toned voice, a hint of scratchiness to it, as if he was parched. ¡°Where is Ratbert!¡± Drustan demanded meekly. ¡°Hmm?¡± the creature replied before snapping two fingers, ¡°Burta Barret¡±, he chanted, a huge roll of paper apparating above his hand that quickly filled itself with herbs and ground materials. Rolling up, the creature held the consummate cigar and lit it with a twinge of his thumb. Taking a wide puff from the carcinogenic, it replied with a more energetic voice, ¡°So that was the name I heard.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll hear it a hundred more times still! Where is he!?¡± The creature took another puff, ¡°Ahh. It has been too long since I sipped of this plane¡¯s nectar. You just can¡¯t get a good drug where I come from.¡± ¡°Where.¡± ¡°Pipe down¡±, the creature demanded with a pointed finger at the Devout, the man¡¯s fervour diminishing somewhat. ¡°I¡¯ve barely stood here for a minute, your kind is meant to be polite. Where is my offered drink?¡± ¡°You want offerings?¡± Logan asked. The creature looked at Logan, both of their eyes glinting as the pair used Identification on one another. All Logan got back in return was the type of creature this was, a fenwahlash, a type of demon. ¡°It¡¯s not every night a demon gets plucked from its plane and asked a favour. I think a trade is in offer, yes.¡± Logan took a waterskin from his coat and threw it toward the demon, it caught it deftly, much quicker than its size would have alluded to. With pinpoint pressure, the demon poured the entire contents into its gob. The fenwahlash let out a long breath as if he hadn¡¯t had a drink in a while, ¡°Now there¡¯s some hospitality. What¡¯re we talking then? You want some rat bread?¡± ¡°My brother, Ratbert.¡± ¡°You lost ¡®em?¡± ¡°He died in battle. This ritual was meant to bring him back to life, but instead¡­ it brought you here.¡± ¡°Drustan believed this was a revival ritual¡±, Logan explained. The fenwahlash let out a laugh before puffing on his cigar again, ¡°Sorry to say tyke, you read whatever you did wrong.¡± ¡°What!?¡± ¡°Yup. This ¡®ere¡¯s a summoning ritual, of the calling variety. I¡¯m ¡®ere fa good.¡± ¡°Then what of Ratbert?¡± ¡°He ain¡¯t in the demon realm if that¡¯s what yer askin¡¯¡± Logan thought to himself, ¡°Then why did the system ask us to do this?¡± ¡°My type o¡¯ demon is good at filling bodies with life though. You got the corpse?¡± ¡°Of course not, it was destroyed. If I had, I would have revived him normally¡±, Drustan spat. ¡°Shame¡±, the fenwahlash replied matter-of-factly. ¡°Shame? It¡¯s a shambles! My guild was right to think this wouldn¡¯t work¡±, Drustan replied as he stood up stronger. ¡°Calm yer passions. I ¡®ppreciate you getting me outta there. Those damned heroes are making a mess of things.¡± ¡°The heroes are still alive?¡± Logan asked. The fenwahlash let out a wave of smoke, ¡°That they are. The Oracle with ¡®em is dead though.¡± ¡°What?¡± Logan asked quickly. ¡°What? He a friend of yours? You Oracles don¡¯t stick in packs much.¡± Logan side-eyed Drustan, the Devout turning to look at Logan speechless at the insinuation. ¡°Way I sees it, the Oracle was their way out. Now the caster ¡®mongst them is trying to get them outta below, as you¡¯d say.¡± ¡°What if I take you to where my brother died, could you revive him there?¡± Drustan cut off. ¡°Hmm. ¡®spose so. All I needs is blood and a bit of mineral left behind. Let the wall down ¡®nd I¡¯ll hop to it.¡± ¡°The wall?¡± ¡°Yeah the¡­ wait¡±, the fenwahlash took a step forward and poked the air as if he expected a barrier to have been erected. When there wasn¡¯t he waved his hand outside the extent of the circle on the floor. ¡°Fuck me mate, you really got the wrong end of the shaft.¡± The quartet took a few steps back. ¡°See¡±, Drustan began, bluffing with a sweat on his brow, ¡°I let you free. So come with me¡ª¡± ¡°You¡¯re such a poor sack. You know what? Sure. Let¡¯s go¡±, the fenwahlash accepted quickly. ¡°What about after you¡¯ve done your job?¡± Logan interjected. The fenwahlash thought for a moment, ¡°Well. Stick around, most like. Feel sorry for the little fella, innit. Do this task then carve out a little lovely¡ª¡± the fenwahlash then looked to the side as if someone had called his name. ¡°Whats¡¯at?¡± Logan looked to the side, as did the others, but none could see what the fenwahlash saw. ¡°Huh. You sure? Big numbers. Alright¡±, the fenwahlash continued as he then poked the air. Logan had his skin almost jump from his body as he realised the demon was interacting with a system window. ¡°A below PC just did something!¡± ¡°Get back!¡± Logan shouted as he grabbed onto Drustan¡¯s coat and threw the man backwards after both their bodies vibrated from a failed teleportation. The fenwahlash turned to look at the four adventurers, put his cigar out on the floor and spoke, ¡°Sorry, a below of a better deal just came my way. Just business.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 190 - Demon鈥檚 Amber Drustan¡¯s body slid harshly across the muddy and slate-pathed floor away from the coming conflict, a quick move that was well rewarded when seeing what would come if Logan hadn¡¯t done so. The fenwahlash swept its massive arm in an arc, the wind of power of the strike causing most of the mud and debris to go flying, the trio backstepping slightly to avoid its grasp. Drustan had been standing in that exact spot. ¡°Not the time to hide anything¡±, Logan calculated in his head. Pulling both hands together, Logan threw them out to his sides, cores of his elementals flying in all directions as his increased skills and items allowed him to summon all five in seconds. ¡°S and I¡±, Logan commanded, the forming elementals nodding their heads before dispersing in all directions. He then moved both hands to the floor to shoot two rounds of Air Blast from his palms, avoiding another jab by the demon foe. ¡°I got this!¡± Marcus informed as he stepped forward, exploded out a mass of grey energies, and aimed a straight punch at the fenwahlash. The demon smiled and met the minor fist with his major one, muscles jumped to the skin¡¯s surface from both men, a shockwave of energy erupted from the colliding mounds of meat, destroying most of the floor beneath them, shattering several nearby columns, and cracking trees in the distance. Marcus¡¯s feet slid across the floor just a little as he lost the tournament of strength, his body shaking all over from the force of it. But it wasn¡¯t an overwhelming difference. Rearing his body forward from a pushed-back position he created a barrage of punches. ¡°Yer strong!¡± the fenwahlash praised, meeting each fist with his own, every council of fists causing more of the area to get destroyed. Further from the conflict, Logan aided Drustan to his feet and the Spellthief began twisting and turning with four eyes feverishly scanning the locale. Drustan coughed up blood and leant on a piece of debris to keep himself standing. ¡°What¡¯re we to do?¡± he asked. ¡°You? Stay back. I need to find the epicentre of the¡ªthere!¡± Logan started to reply as his eyes were drawn to a mass of spellforce in the sky, off-centre a good hundred feet from the top of the dome they were encased in. Logan tensed his body as it whirred in place, but he tried again, and his body finally warped into its centre, his mastery over Dimensional Jaunt and it being his Signature Spell allowed him some leeway in this dome. Warping into the sky, a good thousand or so feet up, Logan planted his hands and feet on the invisible barrier that housed their conflict. Grappling onto nothingness, a crystal of white formed in his grasp. ¡°Symbol Assimilation¡±, Logan exclaimed, the white crystal dimming to a grey as its energies seeped into his skin, ¡°Necromantic 2nd Grasp¡±, he followed up, two explosions of dark power cracking the crystal into an almost black mass, ¡°Spell Absorption¡±, he thought finally, the weakened and damaged catalyst for the magical dome cracking further, breaking apart, and warping into his palm. With the item that produced this effect, or possibly a spell that created it, now dissipated, the invisible dome became visible as a grey dome around the ruins and a distance away from it. Flashing in and out, the dome faded away, revealing another behind it to Logan¡¯s chagrin. ¡°Oh no ya don¡¯t¡±, the fenwahlash shouted. After landing a solid jab into Marcus¡¯s stomach, sending the Devout flying away, the demon aimed an open hand at Logan who was in the air. Logan¡¯s coat buckled and flew upwards before making a stark turn downwards, the Spellthief¡¯s whole body hurtled towards the demon. ¡°Fuck¡±, Logan cursed, ¡°He has a higher form of Telekinesis¡±, he thought. Looking to another part of the ruins, Logan warped to his centre to release himself from this new effect. Spying his foe, Logan warped again, appearing above the fenwahlash and aiming both palms for the back of its head. As Logan appeared, the demon merely looked at the Spellthief, sending off alarms in Logan¡¯s head. Warping to the floor, the demon¡¯s gaze followed him before he even appeared. ¡°Fuuuck!¡± he exclaimed as he jumped away from another sweeping attack. ¡°Logan, I¡¯ve been censored¡±, Marcus informed as he ran into a jumping slam at the fenwahlash¡¯s blocking arms. ¡°There goes an easy escape then¡±, Logan thought to himself. Before Logan could attempt another plan, he saw Celsius¡¯s icon within his party menu disappear. With a grin, Logan looked to the side and teleported twice into the forest.
Apparating within a dense pocket of flora, Logan swung both arms forward and chanted, ¡°Fire Blast 2nd¡±, filling the area with flames. A pained grunt could be heard as visible singeing could be seen across an invisible frame. ¡°Got you¡±, Logan teased as he landed solidly and aimed both hands at the unseen foe, his second pair of eyes¡¯ gaze turning to the side as a window appeared. ¡°You are currently viewing a PC.¡± It was quickly followed by another window. ¡°GP Quest: Kill the rival Player Character. Reward: Gain the target¡¯s EXP, Skill and Spell Masteries, and gear. Failure: Death.¡± ¡°Fire Blast 2nd¡±, Logan chanted again, crowding the area with red and orange alongside the cracking of wood as several trees fell to the floor. ¡°How is this fair?¡± a feminine voice cursed as he jumped around the arena. ¡°Hey!¡± she shouted, ¡°follow the fucking rules¡±, she insisted as her body seemingly teleported away. This was confirmed by another System window, ¡°Foe has fled, GP quest has been rescinded.¡± ¡°Rules? What?¡± Logan thought aloud as the seemingly first below PC to meet him ran from their confrontation. ¡°What do you mean!?¡± he shouted beyond but was offered no response. There wasn¡¯t enough time to ponder what had just happened, at least Logan didn¡¯t have to worry about the PC for a while. Turning back to his party, the Spellthief teleported back into the fray. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
The conflict that Logan had left had become chaotic. Amalia¡¯s shield remains littered the ground, at least the parts that had not become craters from the melee match between Marcus and the fenwahlash. At least everyone was breathing and active, Logan¡¯s re-entry hopefully pushing the scale more towards the good guys¡¯ side. Warping to the side of the fenwahlash, Logan followed through with a dual-armed blast of magic as he chanted, ¡°Avalanche 2nd¡±, causing two massive ice storms to form overhead and batter into the demon¡¯s blocking arm. Making claws, Logan dragged backwards as he spoke, ¡°Flame 2nd Skystrike¡±, calling forth two balls of fire that battered at the demon¡¯s flank. A mass of steam and mist bellowed out from the combined attacks but was completely removed as the beast fisted through it, sending waves of air all around. Marcus met his upward jab with the punch, the ground beneath him cracking yet again. Another punch was hurled towards Logan, but before he could teleport away a shield from Amalia came flying in his direction, stopped in front of him, and blocked the fist. As the fenwahlash recoiled from beating in a steel defence, Logan let loose two rounds of Lightning Cascade 2nd at the demon, pinpricking him all over. ¡°This has got my blood boilin¡¯!¡± the demon yelled as he flexed his arms upwards. ¡°Back!¡± Logan commanded as he Air Blasted far away. Marcus took the command and jumped away quickly. Amalia kept her other shield ready as well as kept an eye on her foe, Drustan hiding behind the bastion. The amber deposits across the demon then began to glow, getting as bright as the sun before they condensed their light into the centres. The deposits then exploded outward with huge beams of amber disaster. The energy cut through trees, mud, and rocks alike as if they were not even there. The ground shook and cracked all over as it was penetrated by the attack, digging further than any miner had any right. Upward explosions of water, fire, and the light that the fenwahlash shot into the underground erupted all over. Logan easily dodged all the beams and eruptions from the ground, sidestepping, jumping, and using blasts of air to direct his body. Marcus wasn¡¯t as nimble but avoided the attacks as best he could. Amalia wasn¡¯t so fortunate. Her Agility was much lower, not to mention her heavy armour. What blasts from the ground she could avoid only put her into the path of the devastating beams from the fenwahlash. Her shield was cut to ribbons with each beam, each newly formed one copying its predecessor. The fenwahlash then jiggled its body, the amber deposits shifting somewhat as if they were eyes seeking their prey, the beams becoming even more erratic as they aimed high, wide, and low. Logan¡¯s party system alerted him to all of his elementals dying, there was little hope for them in this climate. Jumping off one of the remaining ruins, Logan went high before the last remnants of the place were decimated. ¡°Aqua Shot, Lightning Cascade, Gaia 2nd Shot, Lightning Cascade 2nd¡±, Logan chanted, letting free a spell from each level at his foe. Now in clear view, Logan realised his earlier third-level flames did little against the foe, it having spell immunity below fourth. ¡°Not giving me a lot of options here¡±, Logan cursed in his head. Blasting around another beam, Logan continued to blast towards the fenwahlash. With a wave of its arm, the demon repositioned its body so that more of the amber aimed towards Logan, the Spellthief blasting to the side to avoid the tracking attack, and again, and again. ¡°Haven¡¯t ¡®ad this much fun int¡¯ while!¡± Logan ignored the boasts of the demon, warping into the sky above his foe. ¡°Platform!¡± Logan commanded. ¡°Gaia Jet¡±, Marcus chanted, throwing his hand and an arcing pillar of stone above Logan. The Spellthief linked his legs around the perch above the demon, far above. ¡°Gotcha¡±, the fenwahlash spoke as it aimed all beams at Logan. Logan spread his arms wide, ¡°Spellforce¡±, he chanted, the air beginning to get sucked into his palms. As the beams of energy primed to cut him to ribbons, they instead also got absorbed, spinning and minimising into the man¡¯s skin. ¡°Hah! A demon after me own ¡®eart!¡± the fenwahlash gleefully shouted. The light beams detached from the amber deposits as a lot of the liquid within also shot upwards into Logan¡¯s palms. The fenwahlash then opened his maw, a pit of flame forming within. ¡°There¡¯s the Bloodcasting¡± Logan thought, knowing this was a possibility with demons. The demon shot the condensed red and black flame ball towards Logan who hung in the air, Logan retaliated by placing both hands together to form the monochromatic orb and shooting it in opposition. Thanks to the power of the attacks that the fenwahlash was using, this Spellforce Blast was quite strong in a short amount of time, easily disintegrating the attack used against it. However, it was defeated by a flurry of three more fiery blasts from the demon, exploding in the air as their equal was met. Logan breathed out heavily, drained somewhat from the tactic. ¡°Let¡¯s see you stop this!¡± Logan tried to warp, but his body felt tight, ¡°Fuck, when did he use Warping Censure on me!?¡± Another ball of fire shot from the demon¡¯s maw, he attempted another but was interrupted by a jabbing Marcus, but the fenwahlash grappled the man in his mitts as Marcus¡¯s enhancements fell away due to their lesser duration when improved. Logan let go of the rocky pillar under his legs, falling facedown to the ground, and the dark flame heading in his direction. Grappling it in his hand, Logan mentally commanded, ¡°Spell Absorb¡±, at the same time he also grabbed his invisible mask and attuned it to fire. Instead of warping into his palm, the fire exploded across his body, burning and desecrating him to a harsh degree. Taking 46 fire and 80 shadow damage, Logan was put down to 168/294 HP. ¡°Spell Absorption failed.¡± Like a Gatling gun, the fenwahlash let loose another at Logan. ¡°I can¡¯t just avoid it, he¡¯ll target Marcus instead. He needs to know I¡¯ll take it head-on! Spell Absorb.¡± ¡°Spell Absorption successful. Devastation Flame charge stored.¡± Logan quickly drew out a vial from the air and drank it as he continued to fall, recovering 69 health. Another blast came Logan¡¯s way, another failure as it exploded across his body, dealing 48 fire and 82 shadow damage. Another potion, another ball to survive. This was the last one before reaching the demon in full, whatever came next was going to be a close call regardless. ¡°Spell Absorption successful. Devastation Flame charge stored. Devastation Flame has been learnt.¡± Landing solidly on the fenwahlash¡¯s head and shoulders it teased Logan, ¡°Fancy seeing you here. What¡¯s with that fancy trick?¡± Logan could only think, ¡°Here¡¯s another¡±, as he dug his fingers into the skin around the demon¡¯s eyes, grabbing on tight through sinew and blood, ¡°Demon-Clan Spell: Devastation Flame Grasp¡±, Logan chanted, his arms erupting in blackened fires that rolled down into his palms, boiling over with abyssal embers. ¡°Backstab, Backstab¡±, text appeared to let Logan know his usual tactic was successful. The demon roared out in pain as Logan¡¯s Dastardly Backstabs skill activated in tow, the beady eyes of the fenwahlash completely destroyed. Logan kicked off the demon as it began thrashing around, Marcus darting away as he was released from its grasp. The pair regrouped as Logan was healed by his friend, preparing for the continuation of the battle. ¡°Fuck! Shit! Argh!¡± the fenwahlash lashed out in pain as he battered and swiped away flies. Logan began to summon lightning in his hands again, but the shocking tones of it alerted the demon to the attack. Holding out an open palm, the fenwahlash shouted, ¡°Wait! I yield!¡± --- *** --- Chapter 191 - Demon鈥檚 Survival Instinct Logan flourished his wrist and flicked his arm, the lightning surging around it quickly dissipating and zapping out of existence as he cancelled casting his spell against the fenwahlash. In response, the demon fell to its rear as it began to rub its face, the place where its eyes were now a mush of red instead of beads. ¡°You¡¯re accepting his surrender?¡± Marcus asked, a bit bemused. Logan nodded. ¡°Not many monsters surrender, and a lot of demons have the sense to know when they¡¯re out.¡± ¡°So much for a good deal¡±, the fenwahlash spat. ¡°Where¡¯d you even go¡±, Amalia asked as she got to the pair, Drustan at her heels. Logan looked back, ¡°Celsius found the demon¡¯s new employer, thought I¡¯d pay a visit to not have any more surprises.¡± ¡°Huh? They stayed back, ay?¡± the fenwahlash asked, pained. ¡°That they did. I am curious as to what they offered and what you saw.¡± The fenwahlash pulled its hands away, revealing the wounds where its sight used to emanate from. Alongside its lack of eyes, the amber deposits across his body had dimmed to almost the same colour as his skin. ¡°Said they¡¯d give me power, spells, material goods, and a permanent residence on Avanar. Started listin¡¯ a few benefits and some blue parchment appeared in front of me, told me to touch it to accept.¡± ¡°So it was a System window. How¡¯d he see it? Is it something only Below PCs can do?¡± Logan thought to himself. Marcus inched towards Logan and leaned into his ear, ¡°That sounds like something you mentioned before.¡± Logan replied in a whisper, ¡°Yes. It¡¯s worrying.¡± ¡°Seen¡¯ as I¡¯m livin¡¯ another day. Guess that makes you lot my new masters.¡± Logan looked back at the demon, ¡°You were already going to revive Ratbert. What else would you be offering?¡± Drustan took a step forward, ¡°Were you not going to do that!?¡± The fenwahlash chuckled a bit, ¡°Nah, I was. But my debt is a step ¡®igher now.¡± ¡°I should think so¡±, Logan replied tersely. ¡°Hey. Can¡¯t blame a demon for tryin¡¯¡± ¡°I think we can. But let¡¯s move past this infraction¡±, Logan replied before turning to Drustan, ¡°your thoughts?¡± Drustan thought for a second, rubbing blood from his face, ¡°If creatures from the demon realm have a sense of honour, law, or whatever would keep them honest to a debt, then it¡¯s most likely fine to trust him now.¡± ¡°So. From one Oracle to another. My last days are quite exciting¡±, the fenwahlash admitted. ¡°I heard you say that earlier. And then¡­ that skill of yours¡±, Drustan replied as his gaze wandered to Logan. Logan bit his lip and turned to face Drustan with an imposing stance and aura, like a headmaster flaunting his position over a student who was primed to do a disservice. ¡°Drustan. Speak nothing of what happened on this battlefield. I was already going to let you attempt a revival of your brother. Now I¡¯ve saved your life to boot. Don¡¯t make me regret this decision.¡± Drustan¡¯s body shook all over, both thankfulness and fear caused the Devout to accept the terms as he nodded his head. ¡°I really hope he won¡¯t make me regret this¡±, Logan thought to himself. ¡°So¡±, the fenwahlash continued slowly as he pointed at his mangled face, ¡°that include me?¡± Logan looked at the demon, it was a good bet half of the people who spoke with him would accept his words as truth. ¡°Yes. Do not mention this battle nor the instigation of Oracles on either side.¡± The fenwahlash titled his body to nod, his neck being too fatty to rotate like that, ¡°Got it. Jotted in the ol¡¯ brain dome.¡± ¡°I take it you don¡¯t need to see to bring back Ratbert?¡± ¡°My eyes will return by then, I wager.¡± ¡°I suppose a lot of creatures will have some form of regeneration at this level¡±, Logan thought to himself. ¡°I guess plans have changed¡±, Drustan began as he looked at Logan with almost pleading eyes, ¡°The ritual didn¡¯t revive Ratbert, but what it did bring to us might be able to. May I trouble you for more time?¡± Logan looked at his quest, ¡°A day of leeway.¡± Turning to Amalia and Marcus he said, ¡°I¡¯ll have to rely on you two if we are to find any more confrontation. But I feel like we can Teleport around to get this done quickly.¡± Amalia was first to reply, ¡°I don¡¯t like it. But I accept your decision. Just keep an eye on that demon.¡± ¡°Hah, an eye indeed¡±, the fenwahlash retorted. Logan turned back to the demon, ¡°What was the failure penalty for the parchment you touched?¡± ¡°Huh. Oh, that thing. ¡®Ousted from PC interaction.¡¯ Whatever that refers to.¡± ¡°Anything about rules? Your would-be-employers mentioned something along those lines.¡± ¡°No? No rules as far as I could see. Just an assignment.¡± ¡°Then what was she going on about? What rules weren''t I following?¡± Logan thought to himself. Drustan moved to the ritual circle, though now mostly destroyed, to sieve through the rocky remains. ¡°No good, nothing¡¯s left¡±, he tutted. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°So, you took just one or two more than necessary?¡± Drustan picked out a small silver rod from his cloak, ¡°This to hide me, and an extra in the circle.¡± ¡°Oh? I thought I felt something off¡±, the fenwahlash admitted as he phased his meaty hand through the upper part of his chest as if diving into a fondue bowl. A few moments of shuffling later, the demon brought out a necklace of varying metals shaped into pendants. ¡°There¡¯s the high ticket item¡±, Logan thought aloud. Marcus moved up to take the necklace from the demon and looked over it, ¡°No damage far as I can see. The guild will be more than happy to see this returned.¡± ¡°Ten platinum, wasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°At least¡±, Marcus replied with a laugh. ¡°Hey, how much does that buy of my freedom?¡± the fenwahlash asked cheekily. ¡°Shut up¡±, Logan replied, half-jokingly. Placing the necklace within his inventory, Logan took stock of the situation and resources at hand. ¡°Drustan, you remember the location of Ratbert¡¯s death? Anything remaining at all?¡± Drustan scratched his head as he puzzled over the question, ¡°This whole event was because there was nothing left. But, if this demon needs something, even a smear of blood¡­¡± ¡°Blood, hair, a speck of his remains¡¯ all I need¡±, the fenwahlash admitted. ¡°Yes. There will be.¡± Logan pulled out a large map and instructed Drustan to point out where they were going. A few moments later, the party grouped up, with the abnormal addition of the fenwahlash towering over them, and all placed their hands on Logan¡¯s back. ¡°Teleport¡±, Logan chanted. With their bodies shining with a bright purple light. Black lines wrapped around the Spellthief and then the party members. As they were constricted head to toe, the lines cut them all to ribbons, the remains of essence shooting upwards and disintegrating.
Covering double the distances of Dimensional Jaunt, with no barriers of sight to deal with, the party shifted twice and appeared within a dark-brown rocky cave with parts of man-carved marble walls and columns. A strange set of ruins within natural terrain. Appearing with little noise, the party spread out while the fenwahlash was hunched over, his back grazing the roof. ¡°Coulda died in a less cramped spot¡±, the fenwahlash demanded. Drustan just shot the demon a glare, it was not like the demon could see him. ¡°It¡¯s this way¡±, the Devout instructed as he led the party deeper into the caves. ¡°Do we need to worry about monsters?¡± Logan asked. ¡°No. Two of our members fought the hordes further in so we could escape. It was a dire situation for a few of us. Thankfully we all regrouped at the exit. Except for my brother.¡± Logan clicked his finger and flicked open his vaskt eyes, ¡°Seems safe enough¡±, he informed as he walked ahead of the team. The fenwahlash crawled behind the rest, following the sounds they made and directions they gave. Eventually, the whole group entered a larger chamber with a ceiling high enough for the demon to stand up. ¡°Here¡±, Drustan said as he pointed at a swathe of red and broken metal scraps against a wall. The fenwahlash wiped his face, revealing a single eye having returned to his face. ¡°Would ya¡¯ look at that? This¡¯ll work.¡± ¡°How long¡ª¡± ¡°Gimme a few minutes.¡± ¡°That¡¯s quick¡±, Logan replied slowly. ¡°One of my specialities.¡± Drustan¡¯s face was gifted a smile, probably the happiest he had looked in some time. Amalia looked around with a sense of worry, still conflicted about the whole debacle. Marcus did the same, but more out of a defensive measure than anything else. The amber deposits of the demon started to glow once again, their sloshing aberrant against the normal designs of humanoids. As if reacting to the amber, the blood on the wall began to moisten, returning to the state they were when they lived inside a body. Flaking off the wall, the blood coalesced into a small orb. From the orb, more blood was formed, then muscle, bone, and organs. In a minute, the body of a man draped in a simple brown robe was created, landing soft feet on the rocky floor. A blank expression was painted across the man¡¯s face, soft, newly cleaned and dried black hair drooped over his ears. Grey eyes with soulless irises stared at the floor. ¡°Ratbert?¡± Drustan called, walking towards the new babe. Air billowed out of the man¡¯s slightly open mouth, raspy with no emotion. ¡°Ratbert, c¡¯mon. It¡¯s me. Drustan¡±, the Devout continued, placing a hand on Ratbert¡¯s shoulder. Ratbert, or whatever it was, moved its body in tune with Drustan¡¯s shuffle, guided by the weight of the hand. The fenwahlash looked at the creation with a muddled expression, ¡°May be missing an eye, but don¡¯t need both to see. This thing¡¯s just a homunculus.¡± ¡°A what?¡± Drustan asked as he looked back at the demon and then at his brother. ¡°Whatever was left of your kin¡¯s sense has diluted. Gone to wherever it goes. This is just the body with what the brain can recall.¡± ¡°No, c¡¯mon. Ratbert, answer me¡±, Drustan declined, shaking the body which moved with his intent. ¡°It¡¯s as much as your brother as it can be. But for all intents and purposes, you¡¯re better off thinking of it like a twin who was just born, or a copy ready to experience life¡±, the fenwahlash informed rather formally. ¡°You said¡ª¡± ¡°I did. But, it¡¯s been too long. There¡¯s a chance his sense will come back, but if it hasn¡¯t yet, that chance is as small as nobody dying tomorrow. Been too long.¡± Drustan turned to look at Ratbert, or what was made up of his remains¡ªa zombie with hopes of turning into a real boy. ¡°Looks like we can¡¯t escape that seven-day timer¡±, Logan thought to himself with a sad look on his face. Marcus then spoke up, ¡°What about their knowledge? Language, skills, survival instinct.¡± ¡°They keep ¡®emselves livin¡¯. It can understand us, but speakin¡¯ll take some time.¡± ¡°Does it know what it is?¡± ¡°He¡¯s got some recollection o¡¯ that. He is Drustan¡¯s brother. If yer askin¡¯ after combat? Probably not.¡± Drustan fell to his knees as tears fell to the floor beneath him. ¡°All for nothing¡±, he cried under his breath. Logan waved his hand to the others, ¡°Give him some time.¡± At the instruction, the trio left the brothers in the chamber. Not wholly unprotected, but at least granted some privacy. The only response given in return by this new ¡°Ratbert¡± was a slowly raising hand that was placed on Drustan¡¯s arm in a comforting manner.
Back in the Gerro Guardhouse, one day later. ¡°That¡¯s everything. Here¡¯re the two artefacts we could recover¡±, Logan ended a long explanation, handing over the necklace and rod to Jirango. The old half-hand let out a small puff of green smoke as he looked at the items, tapping the end of his quill on his notebook. ¡°Sorry end to a somewhat understandable, if regrettable, scene. Where¡¯s this demon now?¡± ¡°After we failed to get there in time, we had them at our mercy. Defeating both the demon and Drustan, we allowed an attempt at revival as it didn¡¯t mean much to the hunt. After making that homunculus, the demon gave us the slip. Drustan surrendered after that¡±, Logan lied. Jirango leant back in his chair, ¡°So we got a demon on the loose somewhere. We¡¯ll make a request to the adventurer¡¯s association. Maybe someone else can take on the task of killing it.¡± ¡°Understandable.¡± ¡°As for this hunt. We can count it as a success, partly. You apprehended the thief. No bonus since you didn¡¯t get all the items back, though. 100 gold as your payment.¡± Logan split the gold three ways, giving himself 34. ¡°Thank you. The guild should at least be happy the most expensive artefact was given back.¡± Jirango nodded, ¡°We¡¯ll take care of this new Ratbert too. He acts like a shy child, but he shouldn¡¯t be punished for what happened. He¡¯ll be granted an audience with Drustan while he serves his sentence.¡± ¡°Thank you for understanding¡±, Logan accepted with a smile. Jirango puffed on his pipe, ¡°Sad day indeed¡±, he spoke under his breath. As the trio exited the guardhouse, Logan looked to his side as a new window appeared. ¡°Quest - To Revive a Brother, has been completed. You achieved 4 additional objectives during the mission and as such your rewards will be increased. Distributing rewards¡­¡± --- *** --- Chapter 192 - Rewards Aplenty A comfortable bed was all Logan needed when he got back to the guild. Quick hellos and greetings went by as the man made a beeline for the bedrooms above. Finding his room as he left it, Logan plonked on the soft sheets as his head laid on the pillow. Having kept the rewards on standby so the Spellthief could properly look them over, as well as not visibly change within the eyelines of the populace, Logan finally accepted the rewards awaiting his approval. ¡°The reward for your quest completion is as follows: ¡°So, the reward for all of that was seven or so skill points? I suppose obtaining a new spell and ally got rolled into that¡±, Logan thought to himself. Regarding Summon Mastery, Logan¡¯s summons maximum levels also increased by three more. He¡¯d have to sort out their levels at some point to gain more MP from them, but there was also the case of using the fourth-level variant of the spell to let them rise higher. Stealth Drain was a skill Logan had looked at previously, a simple skill that let him drain more MP when using the Stealth Attack skill, trading the extra damage for it. With 192 days under his belt, Logan was quite accustomed to the places he needed to go to get stronger. As well as the techniques he¡¯d need to deploy to make his own gear. One such task was returning to the Gerro Guardhouse at the behest of Jirango.
¡°Morning¡±, Logan called as he closed the door to the guardhouse behind him. Jirango coughed to remove the morning phlegm from his throat, ¡°You¡¯re up early for how long you were out. Sleep well?¡± he asked as he drank from a mug at his side. Logan rotated his arms, ¡°As always. This activity makes it easy to drift off immediately when my back hits the bed.¡± ¡°Glad to hear it. Here¡¯s the item I mentioned before¡±, Jirango replied as he pulled out a piece of folded cloth. Unfolding it, he revealed a simple gold ring that was a bit too large for a finger. ¡°Quite unassuming.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the trick, I suppose¡±, Jirango replied with a smile before picking the ring off the cloth and placing it on the wooden desk. Logan leaned over and looked through the centre of the ring, just bigger than a peephole. And acting like one! The inner part of the ring had pierced the barrier of the wooden tabletop and allowed Logan to look inside the desk and its contents, books, paper, and writing utensils. Jirango placed his thumb and index finger on the outside of the ring, ¡°Turn it clockwise to see further¡±, turning the ring as he said. As he turned it almost all the way around, the ring pierced more of the contents of the table, until Logan could see down to the floor beneath. ¡°And anti-clockwise to do the reverse¡±, as he said, he did, the sight of the ring zooming back until it couldn¡¯t look through the tabletop. ¡°It''s got five feet of see-through then¡±, Logan calculated aloud. ¡°Around that. I was surprised you were after something like this, but it will help a lot with hunter business. It¡¯s called a throughsight ring.¡± Locked picked up the ring and put it within his coat-inventory. ¡°Thanks for digging this out for me.¡± ¡°No problem, you have quite a few bonus points saved up after all.¡± ¡°I take it there¡¯s not been any development with Drustan and Ratbert?¡± Jirango shook his head slowly, ¡°Nope. The man¡¯s been quiet since arriving and the homunculus has yet to learn language.¡± ¡°A night isn¡¯t anywhere near enough time. Keep me updated.¡± ¡°Will do. You picking up some work?¡± ¡°Not today. I need to sort some other things out.¡± ¡°Well I hope you get that all done nicer than this business¡±, Jirango laughed as he pointed a thumb behind him, towards the wall that hid away the prison cells.
Aside from the usual changing of daggers, which had many eyebrows raised by some merchants when they looked at Logan, probably assuming he wasn¡¯t that strong or that a mage using daggers of that rank was rare, Logan also made sure to check if he could easily change his trinkets.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Where there weren¡¯t any easy upgrades to purchase, Logan instead bought up tomes to increase his spell and skill masteries. The first two on his list were the second volumes for Sig-Immediate Spell and Sig-Clutch Spell, the former being mostly only useful if it needed to be maxed for other skill unlocks. He also picked up three volumes for the Magic Penetration skill, allowing him some chance of piercing spell immunities. While picking up spell tomes, Logan was disappointed there was a lack of demon-clan spells on offer. He¡¯d have to rely on his Spell Absorption for upgrading those spells in particular or hope his quest rewards increased them as they had done in the past. With a tall tower of books, Logan paid for them and had them absorbed into his coat. It was at least a more common sight amongst casters of his rank, so the bookkeeper had little shock in seeing it. Logan spent a few days reading while he brewed potions in his cauldron, spending more nights in Amalia¡¯s room due to the smell of the brewing process. The couple were fine with the arrangement regardless of the reasons behind it.
After finishing up his time reading books, the sun rising and setting several times, Logan moved on to his next task. Learning all he could about his most recent confrontation with a Player Character. Taking his leave, the Spellthief Teleported straight into Ahren¡¯s shop, his allowances letting him use the spell wherever he pleased, within reason. Ahren looked up from his desk and sighed, ¡°At least that spell is less disruptive. Congratulations on the level-up.¡± ¡°Thanks. That one at least came easy. Had to get through a few hordes since our last visit¡±, Logan replied as he sat at the shop counter. ¡°I got the same impression that multiple weaker foes were the way to make hurried progress. It¡¯s grand, but as you know, not exactly the best way to take on System quests.¡± ¡°Unless I level up after I get the quest.¡± ¡°True, I suppose¡±, Ahren ended as he flipped closed a book, ¡°What¡¯s the craic? Needing some potions or advice?¡± ¡°The latter. During my most recent System quest, I was attacked by another PC.¡± ¡°Were they a Below PC?¡± Ahren asked with a raised eyebrow. ¡°I got a quest to kill them, so it¡¯s a good guess. Though it called them a ¡®rival¡¯ and didn¡¯t mention the below.¡± ¡°My quest said the same when I fought mine¡±, Ahren nodded, ¡°So, did you do it?¡± ¡°I tried to. They seemingly gave a quest to a demon we had unknowingly summoned, I tracked the PC down even though they were invisible and attacked them.¡± ¡°Cut off the head, let the eejit¡¯s head roll¡±, Ahren cursed. ¡°You really don¡¯t like them, do you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care much for the System giving us quests to hack each other off, the little dossers go through with it more than we do.¡± ¡°I can understand that. Either way, when it seemed I had hit her with a spell she yelled at me ¡®follow the fucking rules¡¯, any clue what she was on about?¡± ¡°Huh. It¡¯s manky business all the same. But, saying you weren¡¯t following some sort of rules? Did your quest say anything like that? Additional objectives?¡± Logan shook his head, ¡°I checked the history window and nothing came up.¡± ¡°Maybe she was trying to throw you off?¡± ¡°Maybe. She left after she said that and my quest was revoked.¡± ¡°Revoked? Well. If I knew that was an option I¡¯d give it a shot. Any fights between PCs I know of ended in one side dying. To hear that the below lass fled¡­¡± Ahren began to rub his chin. ¡°Another thing came to mind. The only times I¡¯ve really interacted with below PCs are, I believe, when they command others to do their bidding. Either their partnered monsters or armies that listen to their words. This is the first ¡®battle¡¯, if you can call it that, I¡¯ve had with one.¡± ¡°You killed, Tille was it? The partnered monster of the PC I killed before. Maybe they are in different camps like we are. I ¡®retired¡¯ while you¡¯re taking on as many quests as you can.¡± ¡°It seems a few previous PCs also retired from what I gathered or were killed in action on quests. If it was because of below PCs then that changes some things around.¡± ¡°You saw the other PCs at the Coliseum grounds, right? Some real ogeous handling.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°They were in their own groups. Maybe some of them don¡¯t care too much for the System quests, like myself. I got outta that garden.¡± ¡°There was a pair of men, two women, and a shadowy figure.¡± ¡°So, three teams.¡± ¡°They could have just wanted to stay separate to not draw attention.¡± ¡°Could be.¡± ¡°Maybe this woman was part of a group that talked with the above PCs¡±, Logan theorised aloud. ¡°None talked with me. Tille had other allies, so doubt it was one of them lot.¡± ¡°There¡¯s always a chance their quests are designed differently to ours, and one of their objectives or rules conflicted with what I was allowed to do. To give me an edge?¡± Ahren laughed, ¡°You¡¯re really taking this like a game. Getting us to kill each other is minus craic.¡± Logan sat up straight in response, ¡°I just want to wrap my head around all of this. If we go off the idea that we¡¯re all taken from Earth, we should try and forge allegiances and fight back against the monsters, not each other.¡± ¡°Bang on. That would be nice. Maybe try talking with the next below PC to try and sort this shite out.¡± Logan sighed, ¡°Was hoping you¡¯d be able to shed some light on this whole ¡®rules¡¯ business.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t win them all. I left that all behind anyways.¡± ¡°And I accept that. I don¡¯t want to put you out. Though, there is one thing you could help me with.¡± Ahren perked up slightly, ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Getting so close to fighting a PC has got me anxious. They¡¯re all so varied. I was hoping you¡¯d be up for a match so I can get a feel for it.¡± ¡°G¡¯way. You want to tussle with an old man?¡± Logan tilted his head down as if to say ¡°You serious¡± to Ahren. ¡°You told me about your abilities, I know you can move like a spring chicken if you wanted. Ahren smiled, ¡°Alright. You¡¯ll have to wait for tomorrow, though. I need to sort myself out for a fight.¡± Logan nodded, ¡°Glad you¡¯re on board. Tomorrow it is.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 193 - Ahren Fagan Another day passed during Logan''s stint of peacetime, interrupted by his own need to train and prepare for the future. Placing a piece of parchment over the door that led to their training hall at the back of the guild house, Logan teleported quickly between Ahren¡¯s apothecary and the hall. Ahren had changed vastly from the day before. The wrinkly 77-year-old Irishman had taut skin flush with colour. His thinning hair was lustrous and thicker which contrasted with his amber eyes, which boasted the youthful nature of their wielder. If Logan didn¡¯t know any better, he would have said Ahren was closer to 30 than 80. With a crack of his back and knuckles, Ahren spoke, ¡°The wife was jealous seeing me leave the house today. She¡¯s expecting the same treatment when I get home.¡± ¡°Thanks. I know how much this takes out of you¡± Logan replied. ¡°No problem here. Always nice to feel half my age again. Keeps my powers active and scraping off any rust I accrued.¡± ¡°As you said, you¡¯re easily going to hit double your age.¡± ¡°And probably much further to boot!¡± Ahren laughed. Logan placed a pure-white sphere of stone into a slot on the walls that protected the stands that peered into the training hall. The walls then started to glow all over with various lines and glyphs, reaching over the seats and into the ceiling. ¡°This will protect the place from our attacks, but we only got a half hour¡± ¡°More than enough¡±, Ahren laughed again. ¡°Let¡¯s go over the rules again. No Spellforce Blast, that will ruin this place, and if an attack would hit the arena try and direct it to the floor where possible. Oh, and no killing if possible.¡± ¡°I can accept all of those. I trust you¡¯ll bring me back if I happen to falter. We both have regeneration, so we don¡¯t need to worry about losing digits here.¡± ¡°Anything else you want to put forward?¡± Ahren thought for a moment as he took off his coat to reveal martial artist garbs underneath, all of grey and brown hues, his belt sparkling platinum. ¡°Anything else will just be common sense, lad.¡± Logan drew out two blades and got into a fighting stance, Ahren did the same with one flat hand forward and his other in a fist near his stomach. ¡°Start!¡± Logan shouted. The Spellthief was the first to move, twisting his feet on the floor he darted towards his foe. ¡°Haste Sustained¡±, he spoke, his speed heightening to speeds hard to spectate for normal people. Ahren replied with his own movements, rotating his hands around he made a circle in the air in front of him as if trying to counter Logan¡¯s first attack. Logan lunged forwards, not close enough to his foe to land a hit though, instead, he let go of both blades and had them shoot forwards via Telekineses. Cutting through the air, the daggers sang towards Ahren, the Meridiancer merely jabbed his index and middle fingers into the hilts of the weapons, their magic completely disrupted and falling to the floor, inert. Logan dug the stone floor underfoot as he slid to a halt and kicked away from Ahren. Fluttering his cape, Logan let loose a cache of thirty daggers on the floor. Extending his fingers, Logan animated the armaments, which aimed their pointy ends towards the elder. ¡°You¡¯ve progressed far into demonhood, mucker!¡± Ahren¡¯s fingers started to glow blue, as did the aura around him. Sweeping his feet around, or skipping entirely, Ahren poked each dagger as they came hailing down at him. Each tap of the hilt had the would-be-weapon become a mere decoration of the battleground as they clinked onto the floor. Ahren twirled on the floor, his blue aura forming into a denser mass within his arm. With a massive upward strike, Ahren let fly the energy, forming a toothy maw towards Logan. Logan looked to the side and used Dimensional Jaunt to avoid the ranged attack. As Logan looked back at his foe, he noticed the same spell used against him, Ahren apparating in front of the Spellthief with primed fingers. Logan dipped, ducked, and dodged around Ahren¡¯s attempts at landing a snake-like strike at the younger rival. With a break in the attacks, Logan thrust two open palms at Ahren, ¡°Force¡±, sending two grey waves of energy at Ahren. The Irishman retaliated with a backhand downward strike, breaking the micks apart with bare hands. Continuing the momentum, Ahren rotated his arms around, brought them close, and attempted a double jab at Logan. ¡°Aqua Shot¡±, Logan chanted, meeting the attack with two orbs of water. Ahren poked apart the wet attack and almost landed his fingertips into Logan¡¯s palms as the Spellthief crunched up his hands to avoid them, continuing to backstep. Taking more steps back, Logan dragged both arms up and chanted, ¡°Fire Blast 2nd¡±, filling the area in front of him with loud explosions. If he were a miner, Logan would make a killing with his blasting charges. The spell moved forward without impediment, causing Logan to preemptively teleport far to the side as Ahren had done the same, but behind his location. Ahren hit the air as he turned to find Logan in the distance. Waving two arms, Logan chanted again, ¡°Avalanche 2nd¡±, causing two swirls of clouds to form overhead and rain hail down onto Ahren. The wider area of attack made it hard to dodge, but Ahren was seemingly hiding many of his trinkets, just like Logan. Ahren appeared behind Logan yet again.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Logan peered into the reflection of his fallen blades and teleported behind Ahren. The Irishman did it too, and then Logan copied. It was a mess of teleportations to get the upper hand that ended in a wide, twisting, downward swipe from Ahren. Logan dodged to the side as a wave of air erupted from Ahren¡¯s fists, his power far above the measly defences of the atmosphere. The energy collided with the wall, causing green hexagons to appear over the wood. With a quick swish, Logan pulled a dagger from his inventory in the air and dove it towards Ahren¡¯s chest. Ahren quickly riposted with his other hand, Logan retreating his arm upwards to avoid contact with Ahren¡¯s fingers. Twisting around Ahren, Logan aimed another forming dagger into the opponent¡¯s back. But Ahren spun with him, attempting another devastating poke into Logan¡¯s wrist. Logan instead dropped his blade and retreated his hand, as the dagger fell he brought up a foot to kick the blade towards Ahren. The Irishman easily tilted his head to dodge the attack. Logan jumped back several times to catch his breath and readjust. ¡°I can¡¯t let a single finger hit me¡±, he reconfirmed in his head. It was as good a caution he could hold, Ahren¡¯s unique abilities had already been shown to Logan before, but in more beneficial means. With the talks they had in the past, Logan was all too aware of the effects Ahren could cause. Ahren kept up with Logan, fast fists and open palms reaching out and avoiding the stinging touch of daggers. Logan kept safe, trying to slice at Ahren¡¯s arms or body, dropping his daggers when it was too dangerous or readjusting to instead avoid his opponent entirely. The fight was strange. Both combatants did wonders at avoiding one another, creating feints, and half-riposting the other. Logan was learning a lot about how Ahren fought with this conflict, but he didn¡¯t want to just learn, he wanted to adapt and win. With two hands open, Logan primed himself to make grasping attacks at Ahren. Ahren retaliated as usual with two finger strikes, but they were halted in front of Logan¡¯s palms as the Spellthief Silentcast Barrier in both hands, Ahren¡¯s fingers crunching against blue hexagons. Taking advantage of the proper blocking, Logan stepped into Ahren¡¯s guard and apprehended both of his foe¡¯s wrists. Lightning zapped across Ahren¡¯s body, pinpricking him all over and singeing his clean skin black. Ahren made a quick hop but didn¡¯t get far from Logan¡¯s grasp, but he hadn¡¯t planned to, instead, he landed two solid kicks into Logan¡¯s stomach that sent the man flying back, Ahren flipping backwards to his feet. Logan let out an Air Blast from his hands to rotate in the air and slide across the stone floor. As he reared his head up, Logan activated his vaskt eyes to get more information from the battleground and his opponent. Ahren returned this move by doing the same, the opponent was an apothecary so it wasn¡¯t surprising he had gained this skill too. ¡°Invisibility Sustained¡±, Logan chanted, his body disappearing. Ahren smirked as he pulled out a vial from his own inventory, downed it, and had all four eyes take on a green aura. Staring down at Logan, the man could see his prey, and Logan tutted in his unseen, now seen, visage. Logan waved both hands and unleashed a barrage of colours and elements. Flames, water, shadows, and rocks all hurtled toward Ahren who ran toward Logan, sidestepping some spells and slapping away others. ¡°He has to use MP to keep this form up, he has to run out eventually¡±, Logan calculated in his head. Logan raised both hands high and slammed the floor, the whole arena shaking from the attack. It was more of a display than an actual attack, however, as the tremors caused dust, water, and his old daggers to fly upward. Making two claws, Logan threw them forward and chanted, ¡°Lightning Cascade 2nd¡±, creating a maze of azure arcs that treated all as its foes. Rebounding off of blades they pricked into Ahren countless times. Wriggling his fingers, Logan failed to use Telekinesis on his daggers though, Ahren¡¯s strange abilities cutting them off completely from spellforce. Thinking of Ahren¡¯s abilities, the Irishman had made his way to Logan in record-breaking time. Logan attempted to teleport away again, the range being his ally in this fight, however, Ahren grabbed at the air around Logan, visible purple lines forming in his hands that surrounded Logan. Dragging down, Ahren pulled at the once-invisible threads and severed them. Logan¡¯s eyes went wide as a window appeared. ¡°Your ability to teleport has been removed. You cannot use any spells of this school.¡± ¡°He destroyed my spells?¡± Logan screamed in his head as he reared back from his foe. Ahren had another burst of speed, however, as the Meridiancer landed a solid jab into Logan¡¯s inner elbow before the Brit could get away. A wave of goosebumps rolled over Logan¡¯s arm, a numbness and throbbing pain shooting across it as Logan lost the use of one of his limbs, at least below the elbow. ¡°Damnit¡±, Logan cursed in his head as he continued to backstep to recentre himself. Ahren wasn¡¯t going to let up, his assault now in full force to show Logan just how difficult a PC fight could be with the variety of abilities. But there was also the option of artefacts. Logan coated his skin in ice and fire, filling the area around him with mist, he then tossed a ball of fire up from his hand and met it as it fell back to him with a ball of water between to erupt further mist. Next, Logan gripped the invisible mask across his face and activated its secondary effect. Logan¡¯s body morphed and shifted, changing his looks and dropping a whole foot and a half in height, the change in stature meant to throw off Ahren who was more than likely more used to fighting the taller people of this world. While Ahren could see through the mist easier, due to sharing the vaskt eyes skill, it was still a bit blurry. The Meridiancer was also unaware of the mask, as it was invisible. The change in height could have been seen as an illusion made up from the fog, it would be a toss-up of trusting your eyes or distrusting the spells. Ahren made a wide swing overhead that led to a spinning kick in the air. Logan easily dodged the jab, knelt, and grappled onto Ahren¡¯s leg. With a massive slam, Logan planted Ahren into the stone floor, cracking the protected arena a little. Logan flourished his coat again, commanding another ten daggers to hail onto the prone opponent alongside a salvo of icicles. A massive wave of energy and wind erupted from the final attack, removing most of the mist and debris from the battlefield. The two combatants were revealed, Ahren impaled with several daggers and ice, Logan hunched over on Ahren¡¯s fist that landed solidly into the Spellthief¡¯s stomach. Ahren smirked, ¡°You win¡±, before collapsing his arms onto the floor, panting heavily. Logan fell with the arm, his lower body¡¯s control cut off from the top. ¡°You all out of gas?¡± Logan asked, panting the same. Ahren turned a wrinkly face to Logan, ¡°Yeah, I was only able to cut off half your meridians with that attack, and it was the wrong half. Damn your mist¡±, he replied before realising how short Logan had become, ¡°You did change height!¡± Logan weakly touched his mask, returning his size to normal, ¡°That I did. A secret I¡¯ve been keeping close.¡± ¡°That was dirty. Grand, lad.¡± ¡°I suppose I coulda blasted you again with my spells, if you¡¯re out of juice this was my win. But, if you had allies, I was toast.¡± ¡°Yes and no. I was dead if you didn¡¯t hold back¡±, Ahren laughed. ¡°It was a war and a half trying to avoid you.¡± ¡°The same war was fought trying to get to ya!¡± --- *** --- Chapter 194 - Attending the Guildies. Part 1 Logan and Ahren stumbled to their feet after a draining confrontation, the latter having to use his unique skills to unblock Logan¡¯s meridians so the Spellthief could move properly. The pair patted themselves down with Logan using his Clean mick to make them look like they hadn¡¯t even had a scuffle that day. ¡°Hope this taught you what you wanted to learn¡±, Ahren said with a smile, the wrinkles across his face slowly forming back, but not enough to show him as a 77-year-old. Logan coughed, ¡°Partway. It reminds me of fighting bosses in dungeons, such varied techniques to face off against. Though I fear other PCs will throw even more alien skills my way. I have to learn to adapt and overcome them even more.¡± ¡°There¡¯s only so many PCs you can train against like this. Hopefully, the little experience you did gain is enough to prepare for what¡¯s ahead, lad.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the most I can do.¡± Logan did a quick round of Teleport spells to place Ahren back at his apothecary and then returned to the VIP guild house. Retrieving the spheres from the wall, Logan saw they were halfway depleted, it was good that they could be reused later. Taking off the sign from the door of the training halls, Logan was treated to the expectant sight of Alice¡¯s team. ¡°Did you win?¡± Alice beamed as she looked over the seemingly unhurt guildmaster. ¡°It¡¯s Logan, of course he did. Right?¡± Jayd added as he nodded at Logan. ¡°Why was it private?¡± Varuud asked inquisitively. ¡°Even I could read that notice¡±, Sooryah added proudly, his ability to read coming along nicely with some of the others. Logan waved his hands to calm the youths down, ¡°Yes, I won. Thank you all for heeding the warning on the door.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s not a written law, but we should listen to others in the guild when we¡¯re asked to do something¡±, Alice explained with pride. ¡°Suck-up¡±, Jayd teased and was met with a playful punch in the armoured arm. Logan smiled, ¡°Since you all waited so patiently I guess we can go on our outing right away.¡± ¡°Yes, sir!¡± the quartet responded loudly.
The young members of Alice¡¯s team and Logan found themselves deep within the forests near Gauntlet. It was close enough to the capital that they could overhear other travelling adventurers going towards quest areas or merely exploring for things to do outside the capital¡¯s walls. ¡°Today we¡¯re doing skill assessment. Use the training gear provided and try your best to hit me. Call out all your skills uses, even if you¡¯re able to use them silently¡±, Logan instructed with two wooden daggers in reverse grip. Alice was the first to start, ¡°Rush!¡± she shouted, cracking the ground slightly as she charged toward Logan. ¡°Power Strike¡±, she followed up, coating her sword in a red mist before swinging downward at the Spellthief. Logan dropped a dagger, stepped forward into Alice¡¯s guard, grappled her wrist and used her momentum to flip her and send her flying against a tree, bashing her back into it, and causing countless leaves to fall. ¡°Rush, Rush¡±, Jayd chanted, charging at Logan and then diverting to the side, ¡°Rush, Combo Slash¡±, he added, charging back toward Logan¡¯s side with a red glow over his mace. Logan twirled the other dagger in hand and parried Jayd and caught his other dagger from the air, throwing it toward Varuud who had his crossbow bolt deflected mid-air. ¡°Dash, Backstab¡±, Sooryah commanded as he darted at Logan¡¯s rear to land a sneaky attack. Sadly he was the most at a disadvantage calling out his skills, as Backstab never needed one to begin with. Logan smirked as he ignited his body in fire, Silentcasting Flame Cloak. Sooryah¡¯s eyes went wide as the flames attempted to lick his hands. The Rogue¡¯s feet dug so deep into the mud that you could mistake it for tilling the soil. Kicking away, Sooryah avoided singeing himself. ¡°Plan T-A!¡± Alice commanded loudly as she jumped from on high. ¡°Power Strike¡±, Alice and Jayd chanted in unison with Sooryah chanting, ¡°Ten-Point Barrage¡±, followed quickly by Varuud incanting, ¡°Empower my allies, Enhanced Arms.¡± The trio¡¯s weapons took on a grey aura, similar to Enhance, while also being wreathed in red mists. The combo attack was sure to devastate many foes of their rank and one or two higher. Logan mentally commanded the Haste spell and began to retaliate. First, he slammed Alice¡¯s wrist with his dagger, causing her attack to shift to the side. Logan then kicked at Jayd¡¯s knee, faltering his stride. Lastly, Logan flipped over Sooryah, grabbing the man¡¯s face, and dragging him into the air before slamming the back of his head into the ground. Alice landed clumsily but re-aimed her sword upward, making a diagonally swerve as she cut the ground and prized to strike Logan. Jayd stumbled a bit too, bumped into Alice¡¯s side and pushed off her to readjust the pair together, swinging his mace at Logan¡¯s other side. The Spellthief quickly drew another dagger and blocked both strikes with his back to the teens, his arms contracting a bit from the force of the blows. ¡°Jayd has already mastered Power Strike!?¡± Logan thought to himself.Stolen story; please report. ¡°Shroud of Shadow¡±, Sooryah chanted, his whole body getting coated in darkness before disappearing. Logan attempted to deflect both Alice and Jayd but the pair kept him still with another call of, ¡°Combo Slash¡±, putting more energy through their weapons. Scanning ahead of him, Logan opened his vaskt eyes to spot the early-learning stages of invisibility, noticing the grass parting. With a solid upward kick, Logan hit Sooryah away as their body reappeared. ¡°Flame Shot¡±, Logan chanted, destroying his wooden daggers with orbs of fire that shot through the other wooden weapons and hit the two Fighter¡¯s chests, sending them flying backwards. Their bodies quickly being enveloped in yellow lights from their Devout. Logan stood tall as he called out, ¡°That¡¯s the end.¡± The trio of melee combatants collapsed on the floor, panting heavily, while Varuud ran between them to confirm he didn¡¯t need to dish out more healing spells and skills. Alice slammed a fist on the floor with a defeated look on her face, ¡°How can we possibly land a hit on you like that!¡± Jayd let out a long sigh, ¡°Hey, we got close with your plan. Don¡¯t doubt yourself, leader!¡± ¡°I thought for sure I was going to get you. Those eyes are like¡­ cheating¡±, Sooryah complained as he rubbed his head, ¡°This feels familiar¡±, he said under his breath. ¡°Stay still, I can¡¯t heal you if you¡¯re moving around like that¡±, Varuud commanded. ¡°Now, now. You lot did amazingly. Your cooperation has improved a lot¡±, Logan started before looking at Alice, ¡°Your leadership is getting better. Did you think of that plan just for me?¡± Alice shook her head, ¡°No. I came up with it a few quests ago. We needed to deal with monsters faster, and more efficiently so that Varuud could save his spellforce for healing. We were getting hit too much and relying on him healing us each fight.¡± ¡°It was good. You took the advantage of numbers wonderfully. If I was slower and cared more about my weapons you would have hit me. How many other plans and tactics do you have?¡± Alice stood tall as she picked up the remains of her wooden sword, ¡°We got six we use often.¡± ¡°I suppose my thirty is pushing it then¡±, Logan thought to himself. ¡°Just make sure to not experience fatigue too quickly. This kind of action is going to leave you open if there¡¯s more than one fight incoming.¡± ¡°Yeah¡±, Alice accepted, ¡°like that first time¡±, she continued under her breath. ¡°Any pointers for me?¡± Varuud asked as he jogged up to Logan. Logan thought for a second, ¡°You¡¯re not really a combatant. Your skills and spells are more suited to enhancing and healing the team. You¡¯re conserving it a bit more now, which is good. My only advice is to spend a bit more time practising with the crossbow, you need to be faster and more accurate.¡± ¡°But I got tonnes of tomes to read.¡± Logan pointed to his head, ¡°You need to keep all parts sharp. You¡¯re not at a rank or gear quality to be flinging spells willy-nilly. Second-level spells will open up a whole new avenue for power.¡± ¡°C¡¯mon, we¡¯ll get him in a few more ranks, guys¡±, Jayd encouraged as he joined the cluster now around Logan. ¡°That¡¯s right. You lot will take me down as a quartet someday. But for now, we have some other drills to go through.¡± ¡°Right!¡± the team responded.
The rest of the day was spent with training skills, learning new battle tactics, and experimenting with combinations. Logan used Call to War again to help their experience growth as well as adding to their wealth due to the number of components and weapons to sell off. As the whole group returned to the VIP guild house, most of them collapsed on the sofas, asking for food. Logan put in the orders while he conversed with Garentaeous, the vampire Logan had faced in the tournament. ¡°There¡¯s been more frequent attacks on blood drives. It¡¯s been¡­ annoying¡±, Garentaeous informed with disdain in his blue eyes. ¡°Again? Is it the AV Club?¡± Logan asked. The Anti-Vampire Club had been quiet ever since Logan¡¯s attack on their groups previously, ending in the conflict between the Spellthief and Quayvan. ¡°Hard to say. Many of the people I¡¯ve apprehended have anti-truth curses in place. Their heads explode before the information is given.¡± ¡°That again¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s a bit different, but still hard to overcome nonetheless¡±, Garentaeous continued as he ran a hand through his short black hair. ¡°Do you need any help?¡± Garentaeous shook his head, licking a drop of blood from the corner of his lips, ¡°It¡¯s a vampire issue. My coven has been contracted to deal with it, we¡¯ll ask the hunters if we need assistance.¡± ¡°Do you need to take a leave from the guild?¡± ¡°No. Covens and guilds can coincide without issue. Thanks for the consideration though¡±, Garentaeous replied with a kind smile, ¡°With some of the more recent events, it¡¯s better to keep this insular. Don¡¯t want you getting accused again, right?¡± he ended with a laugh. Logan sighed, ¡°That¡¯s meant to be a secret.¡± ¡°Sorry¡±, Garentaeous offered half-sincerely, ¡°But some of the covens got riled up with that whole business. I don¡¯t know all the details myself, but I can accept you were innocent. Nothing since then has given me any concern except that you¡¯d almost ¡®too¡¯ standup.¡± ¡°Mind if I ask what coven you do belong to?¡± ¡°Levwin. Our sire was a devout follower of Levin and that stuck with the coven centuries after his passing.¡± ¡°So, you¡¯re Garentaeous Levwin?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t take on the coven name for my own.¡± ¡°Gotcha, just Garentaeous then.¡± ¡°They know I am also a member of Vip. There¡¯s no issue there. Everyone I¡¯ve spoken to is on your side, even if some of them are worried I am letting a caster lead me. I would have thought one of your calibre would dissuade such thoughts, but, they are quite old. Old habits die slow and not often.¡± Logan shrugged, ¡°It¡¯s fine. Most people stopped the stigmatising of me as I got a higher rank. It¡¯s mostly all gone now. It¡¯s the newcomers I¡¯m afraid for.¡± Garentaeous looked at the guildies who were enjoying their meals and drinks, ¡°Caster blood has a certain sweetness to it¡±, he mentioned under his breath. Logan raised an eyebrow but let the thought pass.
The guildies all went to sleep eventually, Logan did however notice that Jayd was missing from those heading upstairs. While getting ready for sleep he continued to notice no sounds were made up the staircase. With midnight passing by, Logan looked over the guild house. Only the light of the moon lit up the halls, long shadows stretched over the wooden floors, claw-like silhouettes painted on the walls as if monsters were trying to creep behind protections they otherwise could not penetrate. ¡°Guildmaster Logan?¡± Alice had crept up behind Logan, a solemn look across her face as if the horrors of the night weren¡¯t horrific enough. She fidgeted with the leather straps of her nightgown, her normal, confident demeanour had been replaced with one that was anxious and worried. ¡°Yes, Alice?¡± Logan asked as he turned to face the woman. ¡°C¡ª¡±, she began, hesitantly, ¡°Can you speak to Jayd for me?¡± He already knew something was up, but the request made it seem worse than it was. It was enough to grant Logan his own look of concern. Confidently, and mostly comfortingly, Logan replied, ¡°Of course. I meant to already. I¡¯m all for late-night training but at this hour I would be worried about his sleeping patterns¡±, Logan ended with a joking tone. ¡°Thanks. I¡ªI don¡¯t think it¡¯s really something I can talk to him about.¡± Logan nodded and patted Alice on her shoulder, nodding again as she looked up at him. --- *** --- Chapter 195 - Attending the Guildies. Part 2 All was silent, except the sound of cracking wood and shuffling hay from the training halls. Opening the door, Logan spied near a tall torch the scene of late-night training. Jayd landed solid hit after solid hit into ten dummies he had set up in the field, hay flying away and his wooden weapons cracking under tension. As they broke, the Fighter shifted into unarmed punches and kicks. He had also jury-rigged rotating arms and flails that he was desperately dodging and blocking with a shield. With a hurried spin into the air, Jayd landed three consecutive Power Strikes followed by two forms of Combo Slash. Landing solidly, he roared out, ¡°Come Forth¡±, before picking up another shield to block his engineered attackers. Wood and metal battered his shield as he fell to a knee, breathing heavily and coughing up phlegm. ¡°Now¡±, Jayd spoke to himself through long stretches of breathing, ¡°five laps¡±, he ended as he dropped his gear and began running around the training arena. ¡°He¡¯s running himself ragged¡±, Logan thought to himself as he walked forward a bit. Jayd eventually noticed Logan as the Fighter ran half the field and saw Logan just ahead of the entrance. Slowing to a walk, Jayd spoke, ¡°Hey, Logan. Sorry, was I being too loud?¡± Logan looked at the exit, ¡°You¡¯d have to be way louder to do that. You trying to train-in what I¡¯ve taught today? I didn¡¯t mean for you to go so hard on it.¡± Jayd shook his head slowly, ¡°No. Your training yard is just better than the old forests and roads I used to do this on.¡± Logan sighed, pulled out a waterskin from his coat and threw it at Jayd. ¡°Take five, let¡¯s talk.¡± Jayd caught the waterskin easily and followed Logan to the stands. Sitting down, Logan asked, ¡°What¡¯s with this overexertion? You¡¯re doing fine with your team. You don¡¯t need to impress me either.¡± Jayd drank from the waterskin and responded, ¡°No, it¡¯s not your fault, Logan. I just need to make sure I don¡¯t drag the team down.¡± Logan raised an eyebrow, ¡°You¡¯re not, Jayd. If anything you¡¯re great for your rank, you even reached the quarter-finals of your tournament bracket.¡± Jayd shook his head, ¡°That¡¯s because of the training I¡¯m doing. I can¡¯t fall behind. I didn¡¯t even go all the way in the tournament.¡± Logan noticed the sweat and blood drip from Jayd¡¯s shaking head, ¡°You can still rest a bit more than you are.¡± Jayd shifted in his chair to face Logan, ¡°I can¡¯t. I¡¯m not naturally gifted like Alice was. I need to put in the effort those kinds of people were gifted.¡± ¡°But you¡¯ve won, what, 11 more times against Alice than she has against you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because she¡¯s not as work-intensive. No, not intensive. She just does other things. She¡¯s busy drawing up battle plans. I can¡¯t let her down¡±, Jayd stumbled. ¡°Busy? Gifted?¡± Jayd sighed, ¡°I didn''t mean it like that. Maybe I do. I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Just explain it slowly.¡± Jayd took a long breath. ¡°Ok. Alice, you know she¡¯s a Fighter like me. But she¡¯s¡­ she¡¯s like a combo of Kruma and Castore.¡± ¡°How so?¡± ¡°She was born as a savant in Strength, Agility, and Constitution and was also born into a well-off family. She had it all. Me? I¡¯m an orphan and lucky to be average in Strength. If I don¡¯t put in the effort I¡¯ll never hold a candle to the flame that is my team.¡± ¡°She doesn¡¯t seem the type to lord that over you.¡± ¡°Well, she doesn¡¯t have the family part anymore. That¡¯s all us.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Her family wanted to sell a contract of her to a wealthier family, set her up for life as a top-notch guard or something. When they didn¡¯t listen to her, she disowned herself. It¡¯s actually what started our rivalry. I heard about the whole debacle and confronted her about it. It didn¡¯t seem fair that she was gifted that and she threw it away. She showed me with a fist to the face and dirt on the ground.¡± ¡°I take it she won that fight.¡± ¡°Too right she did. I¡¯ve been training ever since. If someone with it all could throw it away, I would grasp at anything I could. And it worked. The hours of training I put in allowed me to beat Alice and almost anyone who challenged me. I was called ¡®blessed¡¯ at my reassessment when it was really just effort.¡± ¡°Effort versus talent¡±, Logan said under his breath. ¡°He just trained his bonus attribute points into his stat array. He concentrated them, when others haphazardly had them distributed over time. There¡¯s also the expertise and muscle memory¡±, he realised in his head. ¡°Right! So you see, I need to keep at it. I can¡¯t lose the edge I¡¯ve honed. If I do, I¡¯ll ruin everything for the team.¡± Logan looked at the young man¡¯s face, it was normally hidden behind a helmet, but now the bags under his eyes were present, ¡°Jayd. Have you told the others this?¡± Jayd shook his head again, ¡°I don¡¯t want Alice to blame herself. Varuud has had it rough too as a Devout and a gashriek. Sooryah is also a hard worker as our scout, his upbringing wasn¡¯t wealthy either, hence his illiteracy.¡± ¡°I understand. Everyone is doing what they can¡±, Logan looked down at Jayd¡¯s bloodied and bruised hands, ¡°But you still need to get some rest now and then.¡± Jayd rubbed his face, ¡°I get my six hours.¡± Logan looked at the training field, the broken wood and hay strewn about, and then back to Jayd, ¡°He gets up at four to get things ready, that¡¯s not six hours¡±, he thought in his head. ¡°Need a training partner?¡± ¡°Huh? Sure!¡± the teen yelled as he jumped up from the stands. Logan followed slowly after the energetic man, eyeing back at the entrance with a knowing stare, before following to help Jayd train. Around the side of the stands, however, was a hiding Alice, tears down her face as she hid out of sight.
The day passed into the next, a bright sun beaming down onto the city and the guilds within. The same was said for VIP, Logan and Jayd having got their ¡°six¡± hours of sleep, though with more pushing from Logan who thought the previous night¡¯s estimate was a bit of a lie.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Meeting Jayd downstairs for breakfast, the younger man looking dishevelled from last night¡¯s antics, his arms fully wrapped in bandages and covered with long sleeves to hide them, Logan spoke with the Fighter. ¡°You can take Fahrenheit for training tonight if you want. He¡¯s the stockiest of my summons for now¡±, Logan informed. ¡°If that would be ok. An ice elemental is much better than some straw dolls. He¡¯ll be great for positioning and combat too, outside of just gaining skill mastery¡±, Jayd accepted energetically, though quietly as others came down the stairs. ¡°Not only is he a better opponent, Fahrenheit will make sure you get your sleep¡±, Logan thought to himself as he looked after Jayd walking to his team. ¡°Trying some new face paint, Alice?¡± Jayd asked teasingly as he gave a playful punch to his leader¡¯s shoulder. Alice, whose eyes were red from last night laughed boisterously, ¡°No. Just some damn allergies. I think we hit some poisoned leaves the other day¡±, she said as she returned the punch, ¡°Which reminds me, good work at holding back those monsters. I can always count on you to guard my back.¡± Jayd smiled back, ¡°Hey, you got your head on the team, mine is on your back!¡± ¡°Sir. Your messages¡±, Advelt announced, breaking Logan out of his trance. ¡°Thanks, Advelt. Just the three? No more people asking to sign up?¡± Advelt shook his head slowly, ¡°A few that scoffed at the rules, and some others that I had to inform we were full and that I¡¯d mark them down for consideration.¡± Logan nodded, ¡°I¡¯ll get¡ª¡± he started as he looked back at the rest of the hall, ¡°Marcus, over here¡±, he shouted as he saw his partner. Marcus jogged over with a smile on his face, ¡°Morning. What do you need?¡± ¡°Can you sort out our member permits? We need to increase the limit to 100. I¡¯ll sort out the rooms at some point, when I get the spare time.¡± ¡°You can count on it. Are you going to be busy today?¡± Logan looked over the three envelopes, spying the senders as O, P, and the Spell Daggers, his hired homeless and ex-homeless who undertook information gathering and minor quests on his behalf. ¡°I am most likely having a full day ahead.¡±
With the morning routines completed, Logan visited the first letter on his list as Logan had previously requested a meeting with Orichalcum after encountering the fenwahlash. It didn¡¯t take long for an audience to get assembled. Climbing the spiral staircase of the tall tower within Gauntlet led Logan back to the same chamber that held an especially long table. As was usual, many of the members were robed with magics hiding their faces, sans Alvus, the millennium elder vampire, and Xican who was the mage assigned to Logan. ¡°Thank you for agreeing to meet me on such short notice. I have information regarding the demon realm.¡±
An hour passed as Logan talked about all that transpired within the forest slate ruins he had located Drustan within. ¡°The heroes are alive. All four?¡± an elderly male member asked. ¡°From what the fenwahlash knew, yes. They are still creating havoc after 18 months of surviving within the demon realm¡±, Logan replied. ¡°We must inform the portal magi working on that mission¡±, a woman insisted as she looked to the members at her side. ¡°They were going to stop in a few months, we have time to extend that timeline. What of sending others in to retrieve them?¡± another asked. ¡°We can¡¯t pull the heroes out, what makes you think anyone will accept a mission to go in after them? We¡¯d need to send the magi who can make the portals¡±, a woman informed. ¡°The demon realm isn¡¯t safe for that kind of casting. They¡¯d need to some pricy ritual type cast¡±, the first man added. Alvus raised his hand, the members turning to silence as he asked Logan, ¡°How goes your teleportation research? Have you found a spell or item that could make the rescue of the heroes an easy task?¡± The Orichalcum members turned their faces to Logan, expectantly. ¡°No. I have recently learnt Teleport and aim to master that first.¡± Alvus snapped his fingers, two attendants walking to his side as he whispered to them. Quickly, they walked out of the room behind the elder vampire. ¡°We will fund this path. Your expertise and genius, where Oracles are concerned, is a boon beyond that of which a Magi¡¯s Tower regiment could provide. Until the time has come where you can warp to and fro realms with ease, I will demand that the portal rescues to the demon realm be continued.¡± Logan nodded, ¡°There was another point. If the talk of the heroes is complete?¡± ¡°Please.¡± ¡°The Oracle that was sent with the heroes is dead.¡± The room was already quiet, but it felt like the silence had turned into a vacuum of sound. Not even a breath escaped the members¡¯ mouths. ¡°Are you sure of this?¡± Alvus asked directly. ¡°The demon had no reason for telling me lies.¡± Xican then spoke up, ¡°I know of the fenwahlash species. Whilst most is folklore or myth, they are written as being amazing regenerators and revivifiers. They are not known as being in any sect or group that handles deceit or control. It is unlikely, unless they had some ulterior motive, they would lie in this manner¡±, Xican then turned to Logan, ¡°The demon yet lives, correct?¡± Logan nodded. ¡°You have given the creature home and luxury?¡± Logan nodded again. Xican turned to the table, ¡°I offer up my opinion, the demon can be trusted in this manner.¡± Alvus nodded, ¡°We will accept this. Until we find evidence to discount the information offered by the fenwahlash we will assume the Oracle has been slain.¡± ¡°Was the Oracle versed in demons or portal magic?¡± a different member asked. ¡°Only a handful of us knew they were going. The Oracle was kept a secret from even half of the magi that sent the heroes as their presence was guarded. Their importance shall stay a secret.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± ¡°Before it is even put forward, or to stop your curiosity, Logan, no one shall ask you to go to the demon realm as you are now. The heroes were beyond the half-point of what is estimated for classed beings to reach. An achievement only achieved by a number you can count on your digits. When your rank has doubled, it might be considered.¡± Logan nodded, ¡°Thank you for considering my safety.¡± ¡°Alas, without the Oracle that was sent with them, I have concerns surrounding the heroes'' survivability going forward. Their supplies have no doubt dwindled.¡± ¡°If I may, Zeronax was quite a summoner. At least their gear is sorted¡±, the first woman added. Xican then spoke, ¡°Many demon species are also edible by humanoids. Cla-ves-kos might have issues, being a saeber, but there are avenues to take for most of their needs.¡± Alvus nodded, ¡°These are facts. However, there are supplies beyond armament and nutriment.¡± The door behind the vampire opened again, the two attendants walking to Logan¡¯s side and laying several books on his side of the table. ¡°Teleport, Volumes 2 through 10¡±, one of them announced. Logan picked the top three tomes off and handed them back, ¡°Thank you.¡± Alvus did that small exhale of air through the nose that imitated a laugh. ¡°These are the volumes for Summon Elemental 2nd, as well¡±, the other attendant announced. Alvus then spoke up, ¡°Your request to expand your guild has also been accepted. Will you require any more provisions?¡± ¡°These will be more than enough for a while, thank you.¡± Xican continued the conversation, ¡°In return. I have assembled a list of dungeons that we would request you to eradicate if you find they are amenable to your technique¡±, the man slid a small booklet to his side, as he was within arm¡¯s reach of the Spellthief. Logan flipped open the booklet, scanning the pages. There wasn¡¯t an overwhelming number of dungeons, as each half-page was dedicated to a single dungeon with images and descriptions. ¡°I¡¯ll investigate these for you all¡±, he answered as he looked over the pages, ¡°I take it they are in crucial locations?¡± ¡°Mines, deposits of useful minerals, trade passages, and the like.¡± ¡°Have you found rhyme or reason for their ability to be eradicated?¡± the first man asked. A few members looked at the elderly man, it was hard to tell their expression but it felt like they were worried about the prying question. ¡°The only one so far is a physical and obvious dungeon ¡®core¡¯. An obelisk, statue, or even a throne. Though, the techniques involved¡­ I need to eradicate more to understand the optimal ways to find out.¡± ¡°Take your time, Sir Logan¡±, the elderly man spoke. ¡°Yes. No haste¡±, another added. ¡°We do have some other matters to discuss if you have the time¡±, Xican asked as he turned to Logan. ¡°I have some.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 196 - Attending the Guildies. Part 3 Logan was totally fine with the conversations that some would find long-winded, after all, they were important to his progression and protection of the land. Orichalcum had yet to show any signs of being against him, if anything it was just the fact he was not allowed to know of any other Oracles that wasn¡¯t in his favour. Logan could understand the reasoning, however, as Oracles were quite vital to leaps and bounds within magical and mundane research. It passed midday before the Spellthief was done with his meeting, plenty of new knowledge granted to him, as well as piles of tomes to read over when he had the chance. Though at this point Logan was well-versed in quick reading. The senders of the third letter were the next location on his docket for the day. Entering a familiar set of alleyways and gardens, Logan returned to the site he had set up for his employees, hardly far away from his view of guildies. The back alleys were now adorned with curtains and cloth that hung from rooftops to lantern poles¡ªa veritable carnival of colour and lights that hid away the more downtrodden of the citizenry. Many of the denizens looked to be in brighter spirits than they had in recent times. Holey clothes and dirty rags had been replaced with suitable tunics and trousers, while leather shoes adorned their once-bare feet. A hearty round of, ¡°Welcome, Boss¡±, was heard as the inhabitants noticed Logan with Marcus in tow behind. Logan gave a slow wave to acknowledge their greeting, enough for many to go back to their business. Some were sharpening blades, others were sewing fabric, and some did minor repair work on other pieces of gear. The more ¡°formal¡± amongst them were around makeshift tables with quills and candles, scribbling across days-old parchment. Roston, the level 2 Fighter, and Burton, the level 2 classless, approached Logan as he walked to one of the tables. ¡°Boss. You got the letter I see¡±, Roston spoke as he rubbed his chin. Logan nodded, ¡°That I did. I was glad to read the contents, but maybe you can explain a bit further.¡± Roston nodded and waved his arm to another table. Following the two men, Logan and Marcus saw a crude map of the local area with several dots and notes. ¡°We were able to put down deposits on four dungeons for you. They will be held for a few months¡±, Burton explained as he handed four small slips of parchment to Logan, ¡°They range from ranks 3 to 11. All full of spell-flinging monsters, at your request. We scouted out the locales and made some notes on local monster populations and adventurer traffic.¡± ¡°They were certainly stronger than what we could handle, so we stayed far back¡±, Roston added. Logan looked over the notes before replying, ¡°Great work, you two. I¡¯ll make sure to handle these areas.¡± ¡°We also got a few new potentials. Thought it best you look over them.¡± Logan was then brought to a new assortment of men and women, down on their luck and living from one generous hand to another. Fourteen in total, though some had hands wracked with ills and breaks. ¡°Hello, everyone. If you¡¯re looking to join the Spell Daggers you¡¯re fine to find a bed and live peacefully. If you want work and pay you need to have a specialty or the drive to learn. Are there any amongst you with a skill that could be put to use? Repair work, literacy, sketching.¡± A few looked at each other before looking at their hands or the ground. Logan used Identification on each recruit, pointed at one and approached them kindly, ¡°You. What happened to your hands?¡± ¡°Sir. I drew a lord as he was and not how he wanted. They¡­¡± Logan placed a hand on the man¡¯s shoulder, ¡°That¡¯s alright. Marcus, if you wouldn¡¯t mind.¡± Marcus then stepped up and offered a hand to hold the man¡¯s. ¡°Magicks in my hand, fuse this flesh back together, stitch the wounds, and make them whole. Regeneration.¡± Within seconds, the man¡¯s fingers cracked and shifted the bones beneath. Flecked skin repaired itself as the hands looked like they had never seen a day¡¯s work. No pain was felt, instead a wash of relief filled the man¡¯s face as tears welled in his eyes. ¡°My¡­ my hands. Sir, I can never repay¡ª¡± ¡°The only repayment you need to make is to live each day to their fullest¡±, Marcus interrupted as he stood back. ¡°If you¡¯re of the desire, we always need good cartographers in our questing squads. Roston can set you up¡±, Logan instructed. The healed man nodded his head continuously, ¡°Yes, my Lord, anything.¡± Others began to take tiny steps towards Marcus, holding up weak hands which he took in his own to heal them. Logan turned to Roston, ¡°They all look fine to work to me. No troubles with the teams I take it?¡± ¡°None. As you requested, we only take on rankless tasks, or rank 1 with far more than needed to complete them.¡± ¡°Good¡±, Logan replied as he pulled out a new sword from his coat, ¡°Here¡¯s your new weapon. One for Burton too.¡± The two men bowed to Logan as they took their new arms.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°I¡¯ve been given some new tasks, so I will be a bit busy for a while. I can offer up Celsius on a few occasions but not for prolonged periods.¡± ¡°We will adapt where needs be.¡±
Logan and Marcus spent some more time with the Spell Daggers before leaving for their final trip of the day. Though this one was a more consistent daily visit. Making use of Teleport, the duo appeared within a large cavern, its walls adorned with aflame sconces and tables holding towers of books and waterskins. Near the back of the cavern was the fenwahlash they had engaged with some time previously, reading a book and drinking from a large tankard. ¡°¡®Nin. Time for me supper?¡± the demon asked as he put his book down. Logan flourished his coat as a large bag fell out onto the floor. ¡°It is indeed, Pogo.¡± The fenwahlash, nicknamed Pogo due to his full name being a mouthful and a half, picked up the bag through Telekinesis and brought it towards him. ¡°Oh, yer do treat me right. Dont¡¯cha?¡± Logan snapped his fingers as he opened up his palm. ¡°Oh, alright¡±, Pogo responded as he opened his maw. Letting loose black flames, the demon shot them at Logan¡¯s palm, four getting absorbed into the Spellthief¡¯s body while six singeing his arm that was quickly healed by Marcus. Logan flicked his arm as smoke billowed off of it, ¡°Damn, that still stings. That item is really going up on my to-do list.¡± ¡°Hey, you keep asking for it. Not my fault yer skill is a glutton for punishment.¡± Logan tutted, ¡°I didn¡¯t choose it, but I will abuse the below out of it.¡± Pogo laughed, ¡°Now there¡¯s the right attitude. Grab what¡¯s thrown at ya. Speaking of¡±, he said as he threw a small bag at Logan, ¡°Those things you were afta.¡± Logan caught the bag with ease and put it in his coat-inventory. ¡°Thanks. It¡¯s nice to have a demon around for these kinds of requests¡±, he said sarcastically. ¡°Suppose I¡¯ll be seeing you tomorrow then.¡± ¡°As usual. You¡¯re a fast track to mastering this skill. Also, seems like you won¡¯t have any visitors from my end, you¡¯ll just have to keep an ear out for passersby.¡± ¡°What? No devoted worshipers of my greatness? Scam, a scam I tell ya.¡± Logan began to shake his head, but quickly took on an alarmed face as a ringing ran through his head. Grabbing onto Marcus, the pair Teleported away instantly. ¡°Was it something I said?¡± Pogo asked the quiet.
Deep within a dark cave, far away from where the pair had just been, countless glowing yellow eyes preyed upon a cornered band of adventurers. All garbed in fancy-looking armour and cloth with the VIP symbol sewn into them. If it weren¡¯t for the dark, the beads of sweat rolling down their faces would have glistened. ¡°Get ¡®em!¡± A gruff man ordered, the eyes now clanking with metal and shuffling with leather as they charged down the five would-be adventurers in the cave. ¡°Logan!¡± one of the guildies shouted into the dark as they raised their sword to defend. With a clang of metal, the attack against the guildie was deflected. Sparks shone against an apparating Logan as he parried the sword swing and blasted back the man almost a hundred feet into a far wall. As the flames dissipated, the cave returned to darkness for but a moment before Logan summoned up his Light Ally, revealing 29 remaining men and women, traitors to their very end. Marcus jumped into action, hearty punches and kicks at the offenders, while Logan stook close to his guildies. Parrying downward swings with his dagger, Logan followed up with underhand spells of varying elements. In the times when he couldn¡¯t get a clear hit, or was pushed to do so, Logan had to grab ahold of his teammates to pull them from danger or push them aside as larger weapons came at them. As the battle proceeded, Logan continued to drop daggers to the floor, until twenty littered the rocky cavern floor. With his off-hand, Logan twiddled his fingers to animate the daggers to fly around the chamber. The flying blades met the opposite forces¡¯ weapons or met their backs with deep gouges. Throwing his dagger into the air, Logan sparked the air with a Lightning Cascade, the blue arcs penetrating ten of the foes at once. It seemed as if there were more than the initial group, however, as more flooded the chamber with blades and bludgeons. Not wanting stray hits to endanger his allies, Logan jumped back with a flip, landed his hands and feet on his guildies, and Teleported them back to the guild. In an instant, he returned to finish the job. ¡°Lightning Cascade 2nd¡±, Logan chanted, two forks of azure bolting from his hands to take down even more of the chaotic foes ahead of him. Casting spells wasn¡¯t an easy option going forward, though, as the incoming traitor supply was endless. Logan parried sword and board alike as they tried to overwhelm the Spellthief, but their quantity wasn''t as powerful as his quality. Warping behind his foes, Logan landed deft daggers into their backs to deal with them quickly. A trio of teleportations saw six enemies brought down. ¡°Who the hell are these guys?¡± Logan questioned in his head. The answer wasn¡¯t going to come quick, though, instead, Logan was just replied to with many more attacks. Marcus continued to hold his own, snapping weapons with his fists and kicking his opponents into the rocky walls. ¡°You came!¡± a saeber yelled as they entered the fray near one of the corridor archways. Logan couldn¡¯t recognise the dark-brown furred creature, but it seemed they recognised him. ¡°Hold ¡®em off for a few moments!¡± the saeber yelled at their underlings, a final charge of sorts following the command. Logan noticed what the saeber was attempting, the unique transformation their species held that turned them bipedal and heightened their capabilities. ¡°No you don¡¯t¡±, Logan thought to himself as he Jaunted above the saeber whose body started to generate electricity. Aiming two hands downward, Logan let forth two casts of Devastation Flame, erupting the sabertooth tiger-like creature with black flames. A massive roar of pain followed the ignition of death, shortly trailed by a thump as the untransformed body hit the floor. ¡°Boss!¡± several of the goons shouted as their leader was felled swiftly. Falling over their own allies, the ambushers attempted to flee the scene. The two exits were blocked by Logan and Marcus, both with hands prized up at their prey, alighting with magical energies.
¡°Level up! Gain: 8 HP, +1 Str, +2 Agi, +1 Con, +2 Int, +1 Wis, +1 Cha. You have 1 attribute point to spend.¡± ¡°What the below was that about.¡± --- *** --- Chapter 197 - Guild in Danger Logan stretched tall as he looked over the chaos that was the cavern. Numerous bodies littered the floor, from those who put up a fight to many who were so low-levelled that they granted him no experience whatsoever. ¡°Now, let¡¯s get some questions answered¡±, Logan thought aloud as he kicked the saeber who tried to transform to his side, ¡°Marcus, mind healing them to consciousness? I held back on those blasts so he is still alive. ¡°Sure, only just to waking. I doubt they can put up much of a fight in their condition anyway¡±, Marcus laughed as he placed a hand on the sabertooth. The saeber jumped awake with a growl that quickly turned into a low rumble within their body, their face took on a look of disgust with a hint of worry. ¡°So I yet live. You want to turn me parrot?¡± he spat. Logan crouched down to look at the saeben in their eyes, ¡°If you¡¯re not a parrot, you will certainly wish you became one.¡± The saeber growled again, but it seemed more restrained this time, ¡°Fine. Ask your questions. Set me free when answered.¡± Logan poked the saeber¡¯s forehead, ¡°Don¡¯t get ahead of yourself¡±, he spoke as he pointed his thumb over his shoulder, ¡°There¡¯re plenty more who can answer for you.¡± ¡°Grr. Very well.¡± ¡°Who sent you and why?¡± ¡°None of us know that. We took the job from a contact in the under markets. A gold per head of your guildies, and a platinum for any of the leaders.¡± Logan took on his own sneer. ¡°Apparently there are some in the bellies of the world that want your guild disbanded, and they got one below of an agenda against you in particular, Phasing Hunter¡±, the male saeber retorted, trying to paint this particular saeben with the upper hand, or paw. ¡°Anything else you think you¡¯d benefit from telling me?¡± Logan asked, holding back bile in his speech. ¡°A lot of people took up the contract. It was a first-come-first-served kinda affair. My lil¡¯ band here was on the small side.¡± Logan looked back, ¡°67 people, for, what, 4 gold and 2 platinum? That¡¯s only 3 gold a piece. Not worth it I¡¯d wager.¡± ¡°No. I calculated those below rank 10 wouldn¡¯t live. Seems threatening your guildies doesn¡¯t overwrite your no-killing rule.¡± Logan instantly picked a dagger from his coat and held it at the saeben¡¯s throat, ¡°It¡¯s not a rule. Think of it more like a guideline.¡± ¡°Right¡±, the saeben replied hesitantly, ¡°There¡¯s more.¡± ¡°Speak.¡± ¡°Another group, full of rejected mages, are using scrying magic on your lot. We bribed them to find those four. Who woulda guessed you had some protection on them, thought those rocks were a bluff.¡± ¡°What part of the under market did you pick the job up from?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not in Gauntlet. After those raids, a lot of the people in ¡®em scarpered to the forests and other settlements. Even in the m¡ª¡± The saeben¡¯s speech blurred out as if someone had turned the dial on a radio. His face was a mix of confusion and fear, and then his eyes turned fully red like a butcher¡¯s window after a heavy cut. With a thud, the saeben fell to the floor, dead. ¡°Fuck. He was speech-cursed¡±, Logan cursed as he stood up in fury. ¡°Seems the trigger was whoever he was about to get loose-lipped about.¡± ¡°M what though? It could be so many things, even the MT.¡± ¡°He mentioned rejected mages, maybe they are like Darius? They want to get in the good graces of the Magi¡¯s Tower association with your power?¡± Marcus guessed. Logan tutted, ¡°That¡¯s what I am hoping against. I don¡¯t need another screwy mage looking to cut my ear off.¡± ¡°I hear that¡±, Marcus said under his breath as he rubbed his neck, ¡°what do we do with the others?¡± Logan looked over the unconscious bodies, he was quite adept at leaving people alive with his skills, ¡°If I convert the last charges of Devastation Flame I can have enough to Teleport all of them to the Gerro Guardhouse.¡±
Several casts of Teleport later, the duo had moved all the unconscious bodies of the oppressors to the guardhouse. It would lay out Logan for the rest of the day, but it was worth it if he could gather any further information. ¡°Half of these are wanted¡­ you didn¡¯t pick up the contracts, however¡±, Jirango instructed. ¡°Sorry about that, but we got attacked by the lot. Closer to say they attacked my guildies though.¡± Jirango shook his head slowly as he scribbled a note on his book, ¡°Well. Good thing you picked up those contracts then¡±, he spoke with an implying tone.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Logan smiled, ¡°Good indeed. Now, I was wondering if you could ask them some questions when you¡¯ve processed all of them.¡± ¡°About why they attacked your guild? Was it a specific attack?¡± ¡°Their leader said as much. Apparently, the under markets don¡¯t like how we attacked them. But also, I feel as if there may be other reasons for this particular hatred towards VIP and myself.¡± ¡°Do you have any leads?¡± ¡°The leader said the client was unknown, but he did make mention of other groups intending to attack mine. Some mage group, and more.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see what we can gather.¡± ¡°Thanks. I will talk to my guild, increase their defences a bit.¡± Jirango then raised his hand, ¡°Before you go. I need to update your signet and give you your just rewards.¡± Logan smiled again and shook his head slowly as if he understood the joke. In total, Logan had completed another seventeen hunts for apprehending these people. Their bounties weren¡¯t necessarily high, but it all added up. It was a bonus on top of not getting in trouble for taking work out of others¡¯ hands, but then that was a bit more of a formality than a hard-set rule in Jirango¡¯s eyes.
Returning to the guildhouse, Logan gathered what guildies were at home in the foyer. There were around thirty present, including the four Logan had rescued with Marcus¡¯s aid. ¡°It seems some unsightly individuals are targeting guilds, ours included. They want to disband and take what they can get from those in better standing. Until this issue is dealt with I will ask that all groups stay vigilant, and where possible team up with others. If you¡¯re normally a quartet, combine with another to make an eight-member team. Keep your tracking rocks handy and use them if traitors attack you.¡± ¡°There¡¯s more than the ones who attacked us?¡± one of the survivors asked, their expression less cheerful after the news. ¡°From what I could get out of their leader, yes. I¡¯m working with the guard to sort this out, but it may take some time.¡± ¡°I will be speaking with Twain Dagger too¡±, Marcus added. ¡°We¡¯ve worked together in the past, and even with two members down they are still quite strong as a guild.¡± Maira, Golden Death, then spoke up, ¡°I¡¯ll look into this too. I know a few people in the guard who might get access to information the guardhouses might not.¡± Logan nodded, ¡°Thank you, Maira.¡± ¡°Suppose we can do work in town for a while¡±, another guildie suggested to his team. ¡°Time for some reading¡±, a mage added. Slowly, the gathering dispersed, rather accepting of the news, as bad as it was. There was always something else to do as an adventurer, and with a guild at your back, you had more luxury than most. Logan similarly had other tasks to see to. From working on new trinkets to brewing up potions and items for later use. These two tasks were on his to-do list anyway, they just got pushed up a bit with recent events. The next few days were filled with crafting and training. Mixed in were visits to Pogo for Logan¡¯s gradual, though hastened, mastering of Spell Absorption. It was a slow process due to the level of spells still having a chance for failure, and thus no mastery experience, but after a few days he was able to increase his mastery to tier 7. The increase in the chances of success seemed to slow down, though, as he only gained 5% for 5th-level spells. Logan did have an idea for this issue, but it would take a few more ingredients. The items Pogo handed over would speed up the process, so Logan was able to complete it within his downtime. Buying up supplies from the markets, and taking a trip or two out of the city to Track and Harvest some creatures for components, Logan spent quite a few hours making a pair of gloves. As they were a new creation, Logan dubbed them Spellswindlers. A pair of light-blue fingerless gloves that had the guild symbol etched onto their backhands. Within the palms were swirling vortexes of white, grey, and black lines, like a tornado of magic that had the eye within the centre of his palm. The vortex¡¯s design swirled as if animated, flowing with magical power. Slipping the gloves on, Logan felt like his hands were finally as they should be, clothed and homely. It was as if they were naked their whole life until they met these gloves, a strange relationship that romanced his Spellthief powers. Aside from the connection, the bonuses they granted were grand. While worn, which he would pretty much always be, they increased the chances of absorbing spells by 10% and an extra 10% for each level below ten. With the 55% base chance on 5th-level spells combined with the 60% from the gloves, Logan had an automatic success with using Spell Absorption, sans any effect that would come into play against him. With a wholly new creation, Logan grew a little worried about the other PCs making items catered to their own powers. He only had so much time between System quests to make these kinds of improvements, how much time did the Below PCs have? There was also the idea of rules in play for PC versus PC that he had yet to encounter himself.
Another important task was seeing to the protection of his guild and its inhabitants. Exiting the guild, Logan placed a red crystal at each corner of the building and dug a bit into the stony roads. With hands apart, Logan began to chant under his breath as the entire building started to glow red, green hexagons appearing all over it as the protective barrier was being affected. ¡°Essence of rock and mortar, protect us from the wind and rain, essence of magic, protect us from prying eyes and ears. Blast away those who are not invited, and relinquish to us our privacy!¡± Logan spoke as he thrust his hands at the building, magic pouring over it. The hexagons shone a bright white before returning to their normal green hue, a slow roll of red flowed over the hexagons like waves on the ocean before the barrier turned back to the usual invisible design. Countless sensors appeared all around the guildhouse for a few seconds, some cracked and disintegrated instantly, others broke more slowly, while others hovered in defiance. The speed at which they were removed showed the power of those who created them, the latter being a concerning sight for the guildmaster. Eyeing the final sensors, Logan rotated his arms again, ¡°Begone from my sight, have my visage removed from yours. Blind thy eye and curse thy mind!¡± The sensors cracked and fell apart into nothingness in turn, though the ritual cast would only work on one sensor at a time, causing Logan to redo the task four times. Thankfully, no sensors were found inside of the building. The barrier that Logan and Marcus had formed when they bought the building had done enough to stop their presence inside, aside from any that followed the guildies. Logan checked all of his current members for sensors, and each task took a good ten minutes to complete. It was much faster than before, but still a lengthy process with the thirty members at home. Quite a few had sensors around them, either from family members or clients who were following up on work, but a few did have unknown scrying magics placed on them. Logan could remove all the ones that were out of the ordinary, and even a few that the guildies didn¡¯t know were on them from their families. Annoyances dealt with, Logan had to prepare for a round of dungeoneering from his other obligations. At least the hearth and home were now protected. --- *** --- Chapter 198 - Dungeon After Dungeon. Part 1 ¡°At least the prying eyes will have a harder time looking at us, we¡¯ll just have to worry about enemies over quite a high level¡±, Logan thought to himself as he looked over his guild house. Marcus fastened belts and rope over his bags and clothing, patting himself down as if to check for wallets, keys, and phone. ¡°Good to depart, Logan.¡± Logan looked over Marcus, it seemed his friend¡¯s evolution continued each day. The man never stagnated as his ideals and powers progressed, alongside his attitude shifting to being even more confident though following into cockiness a bit. Logan couldn¡¯t question the man, he had been changing at the same pace. From desk worker and somewhat active, Logan had become a pillar of power in a fantastical world. Magic came easy to him, as did reading and learning new techniques. Spellforce made everything so much easier and far more interesting. Was all of this just waiting inside of Logan to begin with though? ¡°Amalia is going to be busy with her smithing jobs, and helping out some of the guildies. So just you and me for a bit¡±, Logan informed his ally. Marcus returned with a big smile, ¡°Just like the ¡®old days¡¯ right?¡±, he laughed. Logan stretched out his new gloves, making sure they covered his wrists and fell in line underneath his coat sleeves, ¡°A little less on the desperation side, but yeah.¡±
The first day''s dungeon was to be one that Logan was asked to clear by Orichalcum. He was more than happy to do it, the group had done nothing but aid him, but also it meant the kingdom would prosper and be safer from his actions. This was another outside dungeon, often confused by fresh-faced adventurers or the youth as an ¡°Erupted Dungeon¡±, the entirety of the dungeon was open to the air with a few interior spots. It was a rather small distinction though, so nobody really belittled those who had no experience with them. An erupted dungeon was one whose spellforce was no longer contained to a particular area, the easiest of which to contain it were large complexes or underground caverns. This would occur when someone altered the dungeon too much, or in the case of Logan¡¯s newfound ability, tried to eradicate the dungeon so that it no longer functioned. If monsters could just spawn and go as they please it would upset the area''s balance too much. This outside dungeon was of the ¡°Spellforced Dungeon¡± variety, the main contender for risk of erupting with poor handling. It had been made up of spellforce or events that ended with the area being a sort of battery or accumulator of spellforce which in turn created structures and monsters. The Labyrinth of Aerstop. Several hundred miles from the capital, but only a handful away from small settlements, the labyrinth was comprised of tall green walls of stone, some destroyed during other dungeon raids, some made in such a way as to confuse adventurers. It was clearly marked as a dungeon by similar paper talismans on the trees outside its domain, acting as both markers and protective barriers to keep the dungeon spreading further. Some of these were also placed on the labyrinth walls that made up the entrance. Taking steps toward the dungeon, Logan and Marcus both felt the air was thick with spellforce, mixed with a sort of marshlike haze and dampness. The cackling of young children ran across its walls and echoed in the distance, an easy-to-spot trap for the two experienced adventurers, but easy bait for those who had more of a protective nature over lost younglings. Unlike some other places that inherited the moniker, this labyrinth was one true to its name. There was but a single path that led to its centre, though muddled somewhat with the walls in disrepair. Marcus patted his friend on the shoulder as he Enhanced the pair in preparation for entering the dungeon proper. The grey aura that surrounded them afterwards dissipated slowly, making sure they would not be found too easily or ambushed so quickly. Taking the only path available to them, the duo pressed on. The cackling continued endlessly and got louder as their steps were added to the soundscape. Logan opened his vaskt eyes to keep a wider view of the area, checking both sides simultaneously. Their precaution was met with confirmed traps. The walls on either side shot right down into the earth as if they were portcullises, revealing a dozen 2¡¯ tall creatures. Draped in beggars¡¯ clothing, these monsters looked like wispy white gremlins, with big black beady eyes and serrated shark teeth prized for dining on the intruders. While the monsters summoned up orbs of magic in their claws Marcus jumped back, Logan¡¯s movement sped up as he cast Haste, hands wide open to meet his new ¡°friends¡±. Orbs of wind and rock came toward Logan who caught each deftly, with the mental command of, ¡°Spell Absorb¡±, he vacuumed up the spells. One of the spells had to be dodged, as he reached his cap, but it did little to dissuade his action. Instead, Logan let the spells return to their senders, similar orbs bashing into the small bodies of his foes and hurtling them into the opposing walls. With one final monster left standing it attempted to run away, but was met by a quick jab as Marcus cleaned up. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. The walls stayed in their descended position, though Logan could tell that the ambient spellforce would slowly return them to their original positions. ¡°That would explain the rank for this place. I doubt many adventurers would be prepared for such an ambush¡±, Marcus said. ¡°It was a contributing factor, however, I feel there are more reasons as to this dungeon¡¯s abnormally high ranking for what actual monsters lie in wait¡±, Logan added, a hint of spite towards the adventuring guild halls¡¯ lack of proper notations of difficulty. Marcus looked around at the newly opened passages, one would loop to where they were, the other in the right direction. ¡°I suppose going over isn¡¯t an option. I¡¯d bet a platinum that there¡¯re protective measures against it¡­ or worse a ¡®penalty¡¯ to face.¡± ¡°Mazes and labyrinths alike will have some form of danger if they aren¡¯t just meditative or decoration. I¡¯d take that bet and say all the denizens of this place would be alerted and attacked at once if we tried to ¡®cheat¡¯ our way to the centre.¡± Marcus nodded. ¡°While I am confident I could take on the whole dungeon at once, that¡¯s a foolhardy risk to take¡±, Logan rationalised in his head. ¡°Umbra, Servoir¡±, Logan called out. Logan¡¯s shadow whirled and shifted, allowing his shadow and water elementals to form. It was more for show than effect, as Logan could re-summon his elementals almost instantly at this point. ¡°What is your command?¡± Servoir asked. ¡°Go down that corridor, one way each, until you face opposition and then come back here¡±, Logan instructed as he pointed to the right. ¡°With pleasure¡±, Umbra replied before both floated off in a hurry. ¡°We¡¯ll wait here and Harvest.¡±
Only a few minutes passed until Servoir returned through the path ahead of the pair, finding the path they would have taken regardless, and a minute longer had Umbra racing back through the right wall with monsters on his tail. Easily dispatched, another dozen monsters were quelled. Umbra went back the same way, while Servoir checked the left wall¡¯s break. The two elementals that seemingly got on the best, met midway, showing that the left wall¡¯s southern path would be the way to go. Taking the path that led to the middle, and not looping around to the entrance or taking longer, Logan and Marcus had a guarded advance. The dungeon was nothing if not straightforward. With only a single path traversal was a cinch, the collapsing walls just added a bit more time and frustration. It was also quite a bit below the pair¡¯s level, meaning they could easily take it on as a pair rather than a full party. The narrow corridors didn¡¯t really facilitate larger groups anyway. Every so often, those same creatures would bring down a wall or climb over them to ambush the party. With no hive mind to speak of they all tried to cast spells at Logan, the one thing he wanted them to do. Dealing with the packs was a quick process, only padding the time spent within the dungeon a bit. Logan and Marcus would easily complete this place in a day, whereas it would take other parties several with the time to leave each day included. At least there were seemingly no barriers against teleportation magic in here, but then again, it could detect if Logan tried to leave or get to the centre through the use of such. Before reaching the centre, Logan had also increased his Harvesting skill to tier 9 mastery. ¡°Level up! Gain: 8 HP, +1 Str, +1 Agi, +1 Con, +1 Int. You have 1 attribute point to spend.¡± ¡°Been quite a few levels these past few weeks. Won¡¯t be long till I join the list of 30s¡±, Logan thought to himself as he put his additional point into Intelligence as usual. Reaching the final stretch of land to the centre of the labyrinth, the pair checked over their statuses. Little to no resources had been used due to Logan¡¯s repeated use of Spell Absorption. Logan¡¯s main class skill had also jumped right up to tier 9 within the labyrinth. It was his bread and butter after all, similar to a Fighter¡¯s Power Strike, if harder to train due to the constraints. The list of dungeons that contained spellcasters seemed more redundant after this one had been completed, but with lower-level spells, he¡¯d find it a slower process again. Logan pulled out a piece of parchment and glanced over it, ¡°This area hasn¡¯t changed it seems. We¡¯ll rely a bit more on you for this fight, the boss is rumoured to be highly resistant to spells.¡± Marcus rotated his arms, ¡°Good. This whole place was mostly a ¡®you¡¯ operation. Let me handle the rest of the fatigue.¡± Logan drew out some blades as he inspected the path ahead, ¡°I said a bit, not fully. I can still help out.¡± The final courtyard of the labyrinth was far from empty. With the sun on high, it lit it up beautifully. Water features with waterfall-mouthed fish rushed in the corners while topiaries hugged the walls all around. The air grew thicker with the marshland-like atmosphere. A buzzing could be heard as bees and mosquitoes flew about the area. Logan could feel his coat get heavier as the moisture in the air continued to get thicker, but aside from the vapour the air was also abundant in ambient spellforce. If people with low enough levels entered this place they would become catatonic over the sheer overwhelming force of it, similar to when he first met the Archmage a good 146 days ago. The stone flooring was made up of mossy cobble, and large footprints, or rather, hoofprints could be seen across it. Approaching the archway that made up the entrance, the pair shot back as the walls started to shudder and violently form a door to block their passage. ¡°What the?¡± The door then began to shift, its rocky nature breaking, bending, and extruding away from itself as it took on a familiar design. It became inlaid with golden carvings that depicted a large monstrous head, something of an amalgamation of orc and ogre, with four sets of fangs. A Madamra Rampart. ¡°Did the G-Hall mention this?¡± Marcus asked quickly. Logan shook his head as he brought out his notes, shifting through the parchment, ¡°No. Is it reacting to something? Or maybe a random occurrence?¡± ¡°I guess this is a sort of warning, letting us know what¡¯s ahead will be a boss monster.¡± Logan placed a hand on the door to sense its power, but he could not feel anything beyond it. Putting a hand into his coat, he pulled out the throughsight ring and planted it on the door, rotating it as he peered through its hole. ¡°Nothings¡ªwait. I see the boss. It¡¯s a minotaur¡­ or rather a ¡®mini¡¯taur.¡± --- *** ---