Weapon Skills sorted and none of his other already engraved Skills likely to slot, Toren returned to the ¡®unlocked¡¯ Skill list. The scholar-type, merchant, and crafting ones he ignored, narrowing his consideration to mainly the combat and survival ones he had noted on his first scan through the list.
Of the newly available Skills, one jumped out as an obvious [Berserker] Skill: [Focus Rage].
He was a little skeptical that the bronze-rarity Skill would be worth devoting a Profession Skill slot to but quickly changed his mind after trying to get a feel from the Mirror shard for what the Skill would do. Rather than enhancing his strength or the impact of his weapon strikes like he expected, the skill was more about designating a target and purposing his emotions to help him resist distractions or mental manipulation. In a way, it was a mental-stability Skill.
With a berserking-type Profession and the types of Abilities he was likely to be offered, having a way to keep himself focused and rational was sure to be important, maybe critically so. Abilities offered as a result of having such a Skill could have good potential as well. From [Taunt] and mind-control resistance to improved attacks against the ¡®focused¡¯ opponent, Toren could envision a lot of useful possibilities.
It wasn¡¯t all positives, though. Depending on how [Focus Rage] worked in practice, he could see the Skill causing him to become prone to tunnel vision during combat¡ªa sure way to get killed. But¡ if he took the Skill together with either the bronze-rarity [Combat Awareness] or gold-rarity [Danger Sensing], maybe the risk could possibly be mitigated.
The more he thought about it, there were advantages to having both of the new ¡®awareness¡¯ Skills. With his current plan to stead and live in an exceedingly dangerous jungle, [Danger Sensing] could help him with not just surviving combat with the dangerous beasts and criminals but poisoning and other dangers from the toxic jungle environment. And [Combat Awareness] would be vital for the fighting style used by the ¡°Berserker Weapon Arts¡± which focused more on attacking than defense and staying out of reach. Skill in [Combat Awareness] could let him attack in ways that dodge incoming threats or at least avoid fatal injury.
Before deciding, Toren queried the shard about [Harness Emotions] which from its name seemed similar to [Focus Rage]. From the impression granted, [Harness Emotions] was self-focused instead of target-focused, using the strength of the experienced emotions to endure pain and surpass limits. The Skill applying to all emotions gave it flexibility¡ªheck if the Skill could ¡®harness¡¯ fear, it might even make the [Courage] Skill redundant¡ªbut unlike with [Focus Rage], there was no sense of protecting against Abilities and magic that affected the mind.
Overall, [Harness Emotions] did feel synergistic with [Burning Blood] in a similar way to [Severe Injury Recovery], and that it might have a fair chance to eventually merge with [Focus Rage] and unify into a Skill that could master the use of emotion toward both internal and external purpose, but it also felt¡ less important to his immediate survival.
Deciding to try [Focus Rage] first, Toren added that and both [Danger Sensing] and [Combat Awareness].
Memories and new knowledge washed over him, and he slotted two of the three when the prompts to make them Profession Skills appeared. Surprisingly, [Danger Sensing] didn¡¯t slot as a Profession Skill.
The new knowledge was joined by a sense of mental strain that suggested engraving two gold and three bronze Skills had pushed him near the limit of what was safe for his new Profession and current level.
With the disappointment from [Danger Sensing] not becoming a Profession Skill, he briefly considered removing it, but there was a good chance that the Skill might later merge with [Combat Awareness] given enough effort, and together, the two Skills had the potential to replace the [Threat Awareness] Ability he had lost when sacrificing his [Hunter] Profession to the Mirror. Rather, he was certain they would eventually be a significant upgrade if he survived long enough. Heck, with that and an empowered attack Ability, he¡¯d be a fair way back to restoring the lost capabilities of his previous Profession, even if admittedly, it would take years to rank-up any such Abilities gained by his new Profession.
The strain gradually faded enough that Toren became optimistic that adding one more would probably be doable if it was low-rarity.
Making one last pass through the list, there were two options he could see being helpful enough to be worth the risk, [Intimidate] and [Physical Conditioning], both at iron-rarity.
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Of the two, [Physical Conditioning] was another Skill that he could add later. It would take time for its benefits to show, whereas being perceived as less desirable to attack could have immediate survival benefits. The [Intimidate] Skill was also well-known to increase the chances of getting aura-type Abilities offered.
Toren decided to risk it. Better to have the Skill slotted in case a sudden XP windfall pushed him to level 5.
The strain immediately returned, feeling more like an indescribable soreness spread over his entire being. His worry spiked as a growing sense of danger began to accompany the memories gradually being engraved into his core. Had he estimated wrong?
The answer came when the process completed without his core cracking or his soul giving out. With a breath of relief, Toren reviewed the results of his choices.
|
Name: Toren of Theravos
Race: Human
Age: 20
Profession 1: Level 1 Burningblood Berserker (1100/2000)
Status: Injured (Broken collarbone: mending), Mild soulstrain
Mana: 1/14
Strength: 16
Constitution: 12
Dexterity: 14
Agility: 12
Wisdom: 12
Intellect: 8
Will Power: 17
Perception 14
Appearance: 8
Charisma: 8
Luck: 10
Attribute Upgrade Points: 0
Traits:
Sacrificial Guardian
Abilities:
Burning Blood (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Slow Bleeding (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Ability Upgrade Points: 0
Profession Skills:
Pain Tolerance 4
+Severe Injury Recovery 2
+Berserker Knife Arts 1
+Spear 9
+Club 8
+Focus Rage 1
+Combat Awareness 2
+Intimidate 1
Skills:
Theravos Language (Speaking) 15
Theravos Language (Reading/Writing) 10
Religion 10
+Meditation 4
+Bone Strengthening 3
Hunting 20
Butchering 13
Archery 19
Stealth 16
Arithmetic 4
Foraging 16
Tree Felling 6
Running 12
Mana Sensing 13
+Danger Sensing 1
Wound Binding 8
|
There was no denying it: For a level 1, he was ridiculously impressive. Not that it would stop a determined tier 2 from ending him, but he should be able to give most low-rarity tier 1 opponents and monsters a good fight, and he would only get stronger as he gained experience integrating his new Skills and Abilities into a cohesive fighting style.
Accepting that he had done the best he could for now, Toren turned his full attention back to efficiently mending the break in his collarbone, his new Skills helping him better cope with the itching and increasing the effectiveness of the mana expended.
| [Meditation] has increased to 5. |
| [Severe Injury Recovery] has increased to 3. |
Marked by the beat of his heart, the time passed, and eventually the itching began to recede in intensity even without reducing the flow of mana, suggesting that the mending¡ªor at least the rejoining¡ªwas drawing to completion, but his mana was running dry faster than the itching was receding. With success being so tangibly close and desperately hoping to finish enough to be able to safely use his arm, Toren put even more of his will into focusing [Burning Blood]¡®s effect on just the break and nowhere else, and as the last of his stored mana trickled to nothing, he was rewarded with an unexpected and long-sought message from his shard of the Mirror.
| Congratulations! Through your actions, the [Internal Mana Manipulation] skill has been unlocked. Do you wish to engrave this skill into your core? |
Not a Profession Skill, Toren half-heartedly groused. Even though his Profession was all about manipulating mana within his body.
But the momentary grumbling couldn¡¯t weigh down the elation brought by the long-sought achievement, even if he would have to wait to engrave the bronze-rarity Skill. From helping raise the proficiency of his existing Abilities to netting better future Abilities, mana-manipulation Skills were a huge boon. The Skill books at the orphanage even extolled the use of mana manipulation to give direction to Skill and Ability evolutions.
The warmth of Horevi at his back, Toren savored the moment before tentatively rolling his shoulder. Only a warning twinge joined the manageable ache.
It was time to buy the remaining needed supplies and face the new future he had purchased for himself.
Toren¡¯s ebullient mood was short-lived.
Opening his eyes brought into view a most unwelcome development.
To say the silent figure looming before him with arms crossed was casting a shadow onto his brighter-looking day wasn¡¯t quite right, considering Toren was the one blocking the window¡¯s light and casting a shadow onto the feet of the determined hatter¡ªa hatter that didn¡¯t seem disposed to moving.
Ch19 — Family Troubles
Chapter 19 ¡ª Family Troubles
Toren let out a long exasperated breath. ¡°I already told you. I didn¡¯t take your stuff, and I didn¡¯t see who did. What happened is your own fault. If you hadn¡¯t attacked me, I wouldn¡¯t have needed to defend myself.¡±
¡°Pushing you out of the way is hardly an ¡®attack¡¯,¡± the [Haberdasher]¡ªWarnel, according to the three ¡®scouts¡¯¡ªscoffed, unimpressed and with a steely resolve that hadn¡¯t been there during the foppish man¡¯s prior red-faced impotence. The man took out a timepiece, opening it up to show the interior cover was painted with the likeness of a beautiful woman standing with two very pretty girls wearing fancy dresses and hats. ¡°You cost me the money I needed to set up my shop. I¡¯m not letting you leave until you make it up to me, my wife, and my daughters.¡±
The hells was this his problem?
Should he just punch the guy again? His eyes went to the tier-2 guard who was pretending to be watching elsewhere.
¡°Leeway was given because you were attacked first. Don¡¯t expect it again,¡± the guard preempted as if he knew exactly what Toren was thinking. ¡°A beast rages; a man takes responsibility for his actions.¡±
Ugh.
Getting on the wrong side of a tier-2 guy who just happened to be a guard for the local lord was the last thing he wanted right now. It would mean finding another town and giving up on the property he just used his rapidly dwindling funds to purchase the rights to.
And if the [Haberdasher] really did have his wife and daughters here with him, letting them end up in the tents would be¡ not pleasant. The man didn¡¯t look that far into middle-age; he could guess that the daughters were still young enough that there was only one way that would go.
¡°And how do you expect me to do that, [Haberdasher]?¡± Toren wearily asked. ¡°My enlistment bonus was taken by the [Official] back in Greenvale. I barely have enough to support myself.¡±
The fancy hat-wearing man was ready for the question and answered with seriousness, ¡°You have a combat Profession, are strong enough to survive this place, and have purchased a stead. Take my family on as tenants and train my daughters to fight and work the land.¡±
Toren blinked. The heck?
The previously crazed lunatic suddenly wants him to train his fancy-dress-wearing daughters? Take them outside the safety of the walls? Live in the jungle?
Didn¡¯t the man hate his guts? Was Warnel that terrified by what he¡¯d seen of the town?
Then again, having workers to help with reclaiming the land, dealing with the infestation, and maintaining the property while he hunted and earned levels would make his effort more likely to succeed. Could he really bring this man¡¯s wife and children into such a dangerous situation? The previous family working that land died.
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Could he trust them? Could they even do the work?
He looked the man over. The fine clothing wasn¡¯t suitable for traversing the jungle and seemed more worn out than his initial impression. Any artisan or merchant enlisting and bringing his family to the colonies had to have been down on his luck and desperate.
What were the chances the man would finally catch a break via his enlistment bonus, only to lose it because he tried to bully his way past a level 1?
Toren shook his head in bemusement and snorted, ¡°Is your [Luck] attribute actually worse than mine?¡±
No, that couldn¡¯t be right. Judging by his clothes and manner, he must¡¯ve been rather successful for a time.
At the [Haberdasher]¡¯s grimace, the pieces of the man¡¯s downfall fell into place for Toren. The success. The beautiful wife. The two perfect daughters¡.
¡°You used a luck treasure and traded your future luck to a fae¡¡±
Warnel blanched, his face going from stubbornly resolute to panicked in an instant, the man¡¯s hand raising as if to grab Toren¡¯s arm but thinking better of it. ¡°You can¡¯t tell my wife! She doesn¡¯t know¡¡±
Seriously¡? The guy really made himself a bad-luck attractor? Taking him on would be like inviting calamity into one¡¯s home!
¡°Dad!¡± a girl called out and rushed over¡ªa girl that could easily be an older version of one of the pair from the timepiece¡¯s cover.
The [Haberdasher]¡¯s eyes widened with worry as the distraught teen hugged her father as if clutching a lifeline. ¡°Falma! What¡¯s going on? Where are your mother and sister?¡±
The girl was tearing up and looked to spill out the details in a single breath, but her mouth clamped shut and her rapidly moistening eyes went to the guard standing nearby.
Warnel eyed Toren, not wanting to let him make use of the distraction to escape but unable to ignore his daughter¡¯s desperation or the growing dread at what might have happened that couldn¡¯t be said in front of a guard.
Toren sighed. Again. This was a prime chance to sneak away. The man had invited disaster and the price would be paid. But. Seeing the terrified girl who would suffer for her father¡¯s stupidity there before him gave a face to that suffering, and it was clear the hat maker was far out of his depth.
¡°Why don¡¯t we go look at the postings?¡± Toren suggested, standing up and motioning to a spot near the wall and away from others.
His speaking drew an evaluating look from the girl, who seemed to take in her father¡¯s condition and the way her father was tensely watching Toren.
¡°Dad, what happened to your face?¡±
¡°Nothing to worry about. This man and I just had a bit of a¡disagreement,¡± Warnel deflected, the last word almost growled. The hatter still nodded acceptance of the offer and motioned for Toren to go ahead, and with a hand against his daughter¡¯s back, guided her to go along.
Falma continued glancing Toren¡¯s way with suspicion but couldn¡¯t hold back any longer once they were far enough away from any of the guards, squeaking out with as close to a whisper as the girl could manage, ¡°Mom and Laiya were taken!¡±
¡°What!?¡± Warnel was less successful at keeping his voice quiet, and curious looks were directed their way.
¡°These mean men from the C-conclave of Shadows said Mom and Laiya have to work for them to earn their ¡®protection¡¯ tax to be protected while in town unless you bring them 500 silver rods, Dad!¡±
The more the words tumbled out from the daughter, the more color drained from the [Haberdasher]¡¯s face until he looked on the verge of fainting. ¡°Slow down, Falma. Bring who 500 silver rods?¡±
¡°The Conclave of Shadows,¡± the girl desperately repeated, grabbing at her father¡¯s fancy coat. ¡°They let me go so I could go get the money! They said if I went to the guards, I¡¯d never see my family again! What do we do, Dad?¡±
500 silver rods¡ that was half the enlistment bonus. Toren doubted that amount was chosen at random. If he had to guess, this was what those dangerous chucklers were about, watching the new arrivals like wolves salivating over fat and unsuspecting prey.
¡°H-how long do we have?¡± Falma¡¯s father asked, his voice barely more than a whisper¡ªas if a man doomed by fate awaiting fate¡¯s answer.
¡°¡®Until the Phoenix crests¡¯ they said¡¡± Confusion showed on the girl¡¯s face only to be replaced with dread realization. ¡°Do we not have enough?¡±
There was no way the thieves left the hatter with that much.
Ch20 — A Decision
Chapter 20 ¡ª A Decision
Warnel hugged his daughter closer and squeezed his eyes shut and raised his face toward the ceiling.
¡°Dad¡?¡±
After several breaths, the hatter reopened his eyes and lowered his gaze to Toren. ¡°If you help us¡¡±
While the man had been wrestling with his situation and the remnants of his pride, Toren had been wracking his brain for ¡®least bad¡¯ ways to resolve the situation. Paying the ransom-takers was unlikely, and fighting a criminal gang by himself was a non-starter. That didn¡¯t mean there weren¡¯t options worth attempting, and he had an inkling of a plausible plan forming.
Toren¡¯s own sense of self-preservation really didn¡¯t like attempting anything without real knowledge of the local situation, but even a chance at any of the ¡®best case¡¯ outcomes currently required quickness of action and the right kind of allies.
¡°From what the captain guy said, I can think of two immediate actions that would improve the chances of recovering your family, [Haberdasher],¡± Toren carefully advised.
¡°The captain¡?¡± Warnel¡¯s brow knotted before coming to a realization, ¡°The shrine of Eshem`Zel!¡± and knotted again with a different emotion this time. ¡°But they might kill my wife and child to hide the evidence from the priests!¡±
¡°Not if the ones with your family don¡¯t find out,¡± Toren calmly stated, slipping out a knife from Yana¡¯s bandolier and checking the sharpness of the blade before putting it back.
Falma¡¯s eyes were getting wider by the moment, and the girl¡¯s knuckles were turning white from the strength of her grip on her father¡¯s arm.
¡°How¡?¡± Warnel breathed out, his expression wasn¡¯t much better than his daughter¡¯s. ¡°How can you ensure that?¡±
Toren meaningfully held the man¡¯s gaze, keeping silent long enough to give the impression that it was better for the man not to know. ¡°The other action we can do to improve the chances of their safety¡ªit can be undertaken right here.¡±
¡°What do you mean?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t you already know? That steaders and their tenants get extra protection? That¡¯s why you demanded your family become tenants, isn¡¯t it?¡± Toren wanted to roll his eyes¡ªand would have if the hatter¡¯s situation wasn¡¯t so desperate. Wasn¡¯t the guy just threatening him for exactly this?
Warnel¡¯s eyes widened with surprise and growing understanding, and the man looked to the dwindling line for the services counter they had yet to avail themselves of before returning to meet Toren¡¯s gaze with an expression of acceptance and grim determination.
Toren left the government building alone and unhurriedly walked to the job board. His heart was beating fiercely with the risk he was taking, but none of that showed on his face or in his manner.
It wasn¡¯t all risk, though. Warnel had agreed to his terms with only token concessions, and by adding a family of four as tenants, Toren had not only solved his enlistment¡¯s tenday obligation for the foreseeable future, but¡ªassuming they succeeded¡ªhe would have a 50 credit per tenday surplus that he could put toward his debt obligation to Gazam. He didn¡¯t even have to promise wages. He just agreed to train the daughters as Warnel had demanded and to give Warnel a cut of the profits generated from their labor.
That, and help rescue his ransomed wife and daughter.
Which Warnel was sure to owe him for. One of the postings inside the governance hall had been listings of the punishments for crimes¡ªand murder of non-steaders had a 100 rod fine plus confiscation of any skill-detected stolen goods. For steaders, it was the full 1000 rods of the enlistment bonus. Likely the difference was what motivated the ¡®Conclave¡¯ to act so quickly against new arrivals.
Toren used his [Mana Sensing] to keep track of the surroundings. There were a few others loitering nearby. No one higher than tier 1 though. Probably looking for party members to hunt bounties with.
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The glances sent his way were quickly dismissive and condescending, which was fine with Toren. It was one less thing for him to deal with at the moment. At least, purchasing the claim stakes had taken long enough that the dangerous chucklers seemed to have already found their marks and were no longer loitering around.
He was immensely pleased with his new awareness Skills which were all too happy to synergize with [Mana Sensing], in effect, feeding him a sense of everything happening around him without him needing to visually see it with his eyes. At his current beginning proficiency, [Combat Awareness] was mainly providing him more awareness of distances and footing related to weapon reach and advantage. It was a lot of information to understand at once, so he didn¡¯t focus too hard on staying aware of each person at the same time, rather relying on [Danger Sensing] to ping his attention to possible threats.
Others surely did the same, making it better for him to not lean into [Combat Awareness] too hard and really test it, as things like actually thinking about optimal weapon reach to attack someone ran the risk of pinging other people¡¯s own danger-sensing Skills and Abilities. Still, even just this level of observation was good¡ªif mentally tiring¡ªpractice that was helping him get a feel for his new capabilities.
Toren didn¡¯t have to wait long before Warnel and his daughter came down the stone steps and passed by, but he continued to leisurely peruse the tacked up notices and found the one he was looking for. The coarse brownish paper readily tore free when he tugged on it hard enough, and after folding it, he tucked it into a pouch.
He was careful to not directly watch the father and daughter, but couldn¡¯t help noticing one of the other job-board loiterers that was less discreet and soon moved to follow the pair.
Got him!
Growing up in the slums of Greenvale, Toren was familiar with how the ¡®hustles¡¯ were run¡ªthat someone involved with the ransoming would discreetly tail Falma. There wasn¡¯t always a tail. Especially with better-off children and parents, sometimes the threat of consequences was enough to trick the mark into following through, but in this case, there was another reason to have the girl followed: what better way to put the entire family into indenturetude than to have the father robbed on his way to delivering the ransom?
Thus the plan for him to pretend to peruse the postings¡ªwell, mostly pretend, thanks to Kesta being aware of the posted task to cull the drain-worm infestation at the abandoned stead he just purchased the rights to. That the alchemists would purchase the drainworm corpses was cream on top of sweet berries. Toren had to grudgingly admit that the bullied girl had been more useful than expected.
The only question now was whether this group of abductors would use one or two tails. Toren made a show of stretching his arms and shoulders while quickly looking around at the roofs and scaffolding nearby. No obvious spotter made himself known, and his collarbone felt sturdy enough for the coming tussle.
With enough of a delay to not be as obvious as the rough-clothed teen that was currently following the hatter¡¯s daughter, Toren set off in the same direction, his [Stealth] Skill aiding his movements and timing.
When a wagon full of construction materials moved past, Toren stopped at a fruit stand, slipping his pack and cloak off. He bought two korts from the woman working the stand and nodded to the burly teen boy whose job it was to deter theft.
Cloak now in his pack, Toren resumed the chase. He slipped one of the korts into a pouch for later and took a bite of the one in hand.
| [Stealth] has increased to 17. |
The notice twitched the corners of Toren¡¯s lips upward. Half the trick to staying unnoticed in a city or town was not being conspicuous. Not only had he used the wagon breaking line-of-sight to change his appearance in a casual way, he had engaged in an activity that gave purpose to him being there. It was probably excessive, but that it earned him a Skill increase made it likely that someone had been watching him.
Whether that someone was with the abductors or not, there was no way to know.
Regardless, getting Skill-up notices as they happened sure seemed to have the potential to be useful. Whether as warnings of danger or to confirm successful methods, it was a welcome change he could get used to. He said another quick prayer of thanks to Horevi for sponsoring him.
Ahead, Warnel suddenly glanced back and jerked to a stop upon noticing the teen following them. With wide eyes, he grabbed Falma¡¯s hand tighter and pulled the girl into a narrow space between two buildings.
Once the spooked pair were out of sight, the teen hurried to the edge of the near building and, leaning against the shoulder-height cobblestone foundation, peeked around the corner.
Heart thudding enough to trigger [Burning Blood]¡¯s passive, Toren caught up just as the teen was about to slink into the alley and called out, ¡°Hey.¡±
The teen spun around, quickly reaching beneath his shirt from underneath. The fabric was loose and coarse enough to hide the edges of a hidden sheath and its leather or string straps. Smart.
¡°Kid, want a kort?¡± Toren offered with an easy smile and lobbed the half-eaten fruit to the boy.
Ch21 — Merciless (Part I)
Chapter 21 ¡ª Merciless (Part I)
The boy¡¯s expression turned confused and he caught the kort with both hands, his eyes going to the fruit. ¡°Wha-? It¡¯s half-eaten!¡±
Toren¡¯s left fist slammed into the boy¡¯s head, flinging him into the space between the buildings, underneath the raised walkway.
¡°That not good enough for you?¡± Toren growled, following. ¡°And here I thought I was being nice.¡±
The boy was drunkenly struggling to climb to his feet, and offered little resistance when Toren roughly yanked him up, kneeing him in the gut and tossing him back to the ground to cough out his lungs.
¡°S-sto¡p!¡±
¡°Damn ingrates. You dropped it on the ground. What a waste,¡± Toren berated the boy while opening the boy¡¯s belt pouch and dumping its contents onto the muddy cobbles.
Just a few silver chits and a wood token with a carved symbol.
¡°You should just be happy and say ¡®thank you¡¯. Next time, shut up and eat what you¡¯re given.¡± Toren kicked him again for good measure before scooping up the token and leaving the boy there groaning and coughing on the ground.
| [Intimidation] has increased to 2! |
Heh.
That should be enough unless he wanted to kill the kid.
| For defeating a Level 6 [Scout],
600 XP gained.
Keep up the good work! |
Apparently, the World Spirit agreed.
Hmm. Rather than the World Spirit, was it Horevi speaking to him through the celestial shard?
He glanced up at the Great Phoenix burning in the sky.
¡maybe he should ask a [Priest]?
Toren¡¯s heart was still thundering when he left the alley and continued on the route he had planned with the hatter, but he couldn¡¯t help a bit of a smile slipping out. That went about as well as he could have hoped.
With how easy the kid went down, chances were that he was just a hired street rat and couldn¡¯t risk telling his employers that, because he offended some crazy guy, he lost sight of the girl¡ªprobably have to say everything¡¯s fine or ditch on them.
He could have beaten the location of the Conclave contact out of the boy, but then what? That would¡¯ve been fine if he was strong enough to rescue the girl¡¯s sister and mother. At level 1? No way.
Besides, Toren knew plenty-well-enough that there were priest rituals for tracking down blood-relatives. It was one of the things the Sisters at the orphanage would arrange to be done when a new child arrived. No doubt the Eshem`zel cultists could do it too.
That made finding the token a lucky bonus of extra insurance that could let them track down the boy and whoever gave it to him later if needed.
Toren stopped walking and frowned.
With how unlucky Warnel was supposed to be, this was going far too well.
Closing his eyes, Toren concentrated on his new [Danger Sensing] Skill, but at skill level 1, he was asking too much of the Skill.
¡°Weirdo. Sleeping in the street, standing up. What¡¯s this town coming to?¡± a mocking voice sneered from nearby followed by the chuckles of the teen¡¯s two companions.
Another trio of thrill-seeking noble brats?
Well, at least Vim would have no shortage of marks.
With a brief glance behind to check the roof tops, Toren resumed walking and joined the majority of the pedestrian traffic on the raised walkway that adjoined the buildings and framed the busy town¡¯s muddy black cobblestone streets. While the current thoroughfare wasn¡¯t the main street heading to the market and the west gate, it was still lined with a variety of shops, as even the people using these buildings for residences took advantage of the location to sell things.
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He kept his eye out for one shop in particular and soon spotted it¡¯s sign hanging from a fancy bit of ironwork sticking out from the shop¡¯s entry.
Starken¡¯s Clothing and Attire.
The clothing shop they agreed to meet in.
It was Toren¡¯s idea. Giving the tail the slip was only the first step. Warnel and his daughter still needed to get past the other Conclave members waiting in or near the market if they were to get to the shrine, and their fancy tailored clothing was far too recognizable.
The [Haberdasher] was inside, wearing much less conspicuous clothing and carrying a woven sack¡ªpresumably holding his old clothing. The floppy straw hat that had replaced his fancy one must¡¯ve been a painful purchase, no doubt.
¡°You took care of it?¡± the man asked with a nervous whisper upon Toren¡¯s approach.
¡°It¡¯ll be a while before he can follow you again,¡± Toren confirmed. ¡°How¡¯s the clothing search going?¡±
Warnel gestured toward a row of wood-plank stalls. ¡°Falma¡¯s changing now.¡±
There were two pairs of legs visible in the stall in question.
¡°I¡¯m done, dad,¡± Falma¡¯s voice updated them as she stepped out. ¡°It feels strange wearing pants and seeing myself attired like a hunter. Enly braided my hair like Mr. Toren said.¡±
¡°The jungle¡¯s no place for skirts, even worn over pants¡ªor so, I¡¯ve heard,¡± the older girl that must¡¯ve been helping Falma change asserted, a small pile of folded clothes in her arms. The girl, Enly, Toren assumed, efficiently returned the unpurchased clothing to the corresponding neatly arranged stacks on tables and in cubbies. ¡°Is there anything else you are looking to purchase?¡±
¡°I think this will be all,¡± Warnel confirmed.
The change was almost enough, but even with the way Falma¡¯s hat was worn low and hid some of her face from certain angles with its more relaxed brim and cutely frayed edge, she was still pretty enough to attract notice.
¡°Boot grease and a rag, if you would, Enly,¡± Toren called over.
They were soon on their way again. Toren had to remind the hatter and daughter to follow his lead and stop looking around as if they were terrified of being seen or followed.
With the grease darkening under Falma¡¯s eyes and making her full cheeks look more sallow and less healthy, the teen didn¡¯t catch the eye nearly as much.
Thankfully, the group of three rogues that liberated Warnel¡¯s ¡®excess wealth¡¯ had left the man with enough to make the purchases. It wasn¡¯t too unexpected, but was welcome. Even in the slums of Greenvale, the thieves knew that taking all of a man¡¯s money could likely lead to his death or the starvation of his family. And the negative karma of murder often found its way back to the perpetrator. Except for the really dangerous areas, most seemed to understand that.
There was a popular saying: ¡®The Thieving Fox might grant luck upon those engaged in creative acquisition from tyrants and the corrupt, but he has no love for those who take from people in need and despises those who enslave or murder for selfish gain.¡¯ Vim had recited it to the younger boys at the orphanage on more than one occasion.
¡°Oh, I forgot,¡± Toren muttered, and dug the safekept kort out of his pouch. ¡°Here, Falma.¡±
The girl had to reach in front of her father to take the purple fruit and looked at him oddly for a pace or so before hunger and curiosity got the better of her.
She wasn¡¯t the only one looking at him oddly.
¡°You don¡¯t get one, [Haberdasher],¡± Toren scoffed, and even with all the terror the girl had just been through, a small giggle slipped out from her at her father¡¯s expense.
~~~
¡ºName: Toren of Theravos
Race: Human
Age: 20
Profession 1: Level 1 Burningblood Berserker (1700/2000)
Status: Injured (Broken collarbone: mending), Mild Soulstrain
Mana: 0/14
Strength: 16
Constitution: 12
Dexterity: 14
Agility: 12
Wisdom: 12
Intellect: 8
Will Power: 17
Perception 14
Appearance: 8
Charisma: 8
Luck: 10
Attribute Upgrade Points: 0
Traits:
Sacrificial Guardian
Abilities:
Burning Blood (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Slow Bleeding (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Ability Upgrade Points: 0
Profession Skills:
Pain Tolerance 4
Severe Wound Recovery 2 ¡ú 3
Berserker Knife Arts 1
Spear 9
Club 8
Focus Rage 1
Combat Awareness 2
Intimidate 1¡ú 2
Skills:
Theravos Language (Speaking) 15
Theravos Language (Reading/Writing) 10
Religion 10
Meditation 4 ¡ú 5
Bone Strengthening 3
Hunting 20
Butchering 13
Archery 19
Stealth 16 ¡ú 17
Arithmetic 4
Foraging 16
Tree Felling 6
Running 12
Mana Sensing 13
Danger Sensing 1
Wound Binding 8¡»
Ch22 — Merciless (Part II)
Chapter 22 ¡ª Merciless (Part II)
Though Kesta had mentioned it, Toren was still surprised to see a whole market square with a fancy stoneshaped fountain and an uncountable number of vendors as a raised platform off to the side of the main road which cut the town into north and south halves. The effect was to create a shadowy ¡®Undermarket¡¯ in the hidden space beneath, a treacherous warren of temporary structures and tents that could be quickly removed in times of flooding¡ªor that was how it seemed to his [Mana Sensing] when they passed along the edge of it from above.
Arriving at the shrine proved a bit less fraught with challenge than expected¡ not that it wasn¡¯t tense, but with Toren tactically engaging the father and daughter in conversation about their life in Greenvale, they had gotten past the market unrecognized. At least, he was guardedly optimistic that it was so. Had Falma been marked, he was sure things would have been hairy.
The shady guys that he noted watching passersby looked tough enough for there to have been no margin to hold back. He would have had to strike to kill. As quickly and violently as possible. Maybe the new [Intimidate] skill had dissuaded thoughts of opportunism enough to make Toren¡¯s group an unpalatable risk?
Of course, it was possible that those guys had nothing to do with the ransomers. Most likely, the market contact would have led Falma and her father elsewhere to be ambushed. An out-of-the-way, dark alley connecting to the Undermarket, if he had to guess. Yeah, with guards actively patrolling, an ambush on the above-side might have been too risky unless the guards were in on it.
Whatever the reason, they had made it inside the shrine, and the plan would succeed or fail here. Toren glanced around to make sure the Conclave guys didn¡¯t have a man watching the inside of the shrine.
Cloaked petitioners hiding their features were praying in the open space before the statue of the reaper-cloaked Black Knight. No one suspicious looked their way or made a move to leave the shrine.
The uneventful arrival at the shrine did not bring Toren relief though. According to Old Sellim¡¯s teaching and stories from books at the orphanage library, fae were creatures of excess bound by the laws of balance. The business success Warnel¡¯s luck had brought him was gone. But the man still had his beautiful wife and doting daughters, even if two of the three were currently being ransomed.
Perhaps the hatter¡¯s luck was enough prior to the ill-advised deal with the fae that the demands of balance wouldn¡¯t seek Warnel¡¯s family¡¯s death, maybe just some portion of their beauty and future prospects? Yet, what of the fairy¡¯s price?
Toren could only hope Warnel had paid it in advance. For the hatter to no longer be suffering bad luck, it didn¡¯t bode well.
¡°Welcome, supplicants,¡± an old [Priest] greeted and approached. ¡°Though, I suppose what brings new faces here isn¡¯t usually a welcome matter, so you have my condolences. How may Eshem`Zel¡¯s faithful be of service?¡±
Though age wrinkled the man¡¯s face, the way the [Priest]¡¯s broad shoulders filled out the black robe suggested a still-powerful physique. The tier-2 mana density further spoke of the man¡¯s strength.
It was natural that the hatter and his daughter would be intimidated by the man, and it quickly fell to Toren to present their case, ¡°Two tenants of my stead¡ªthis girl¡¯s mother and sister¡ªhave been abducted by a group calling themselves the ¡®Conclave of Shadows¡¯ and are being ransomed¡ with our low levels, I fear that we will be unable to recover them without help and that terrible things will happen to them.¡±
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¡°Hmm, while I am not unsympathetic to your plight, the girl¡¯s mother and sister don¡¯t seem forgotten or without people able to seek resolution on their behalf¡,¡± the priest said slowly, eyeing their reactions. ¡°Perhaps there are others you could turn to first? Or pay the ransom?¡±
That the priest didn¡¯t outright accept gave Toren some relief in regard to how well things had been going, but the feeling was complicated. Convincing the man or someone else at tier-2 to assist them was critical to attempting a rescue. Self-righteous suicide wasn¡¯t part of the plan.
¡°We would make a donation, of course!¡± Warnel desperately offered as the silence stretched. ¡°As much as I can afford, and I¡¯ll have my rescued daughter convert to your faith!¡±
The old priest frowned and narrowed his eyes, not looking particularly pleased by the answer. ¡°Victims who are loved and already have champions of both means and strength¡ though unfortunate, I¡¯m sure-¡±
¡°I¡¯ll take this one, Reaver Uvros,¡± a man closer to Toren¡¯s age, clad in black leather armor and a black robe similar to the priest but tattered and worn open¡ªlike the statue of Eshem`Zel¡ª interrupted from behind.
Warnel and Falma spun around in surprise to see who had spoken, but Toren returned his gaze to the old priest.
The new arrival from outside was also tier-2 and looked suspiciously perfect to handle their problems. The sinisterly-themed claymore hilt poking above his shoulder certainly wasn¡¯t a weapon of peace and charity.
¡°Fine. But, make sure to have them cover any required dispensations, Reaver Yorne,¡± Uvros allowed, and gave Warnel a meaningful eyeing when the hatter¡¯s attention returned. ¡°Don¡¯t forget what you have promised in Eshem`Zel¡¯s presence.¡±
And with those ominous words the old priest quietly joined the other petitioners, kneeling to pray beside them.
¡°I heard you mention the Conclave of Shadows. Though the ones you seek aren¡¯t the ones in most need, there are likely others with no one to care for their plight also enslaved by these scum,¡± the younger Reaver spoke up and eyed each one of them. ¡°The blessing we Reavers bring is not forgiveness. Are you prepared to be responsible for bringing death to these men? Do you have the funds to pay the murder fines?¡±
Reaver Yorne¡¯s tattered robe fluttered behind the dangerous man like the dread shroud of a wraith as the four of them jogged through the back-ways with purpose, cloaked from notice by one of the man¡¯s Abilities.
As Toren suspected, Reaver Yorne did have a prayer to track the mother and daughter using a bit of Falma¡¯s blood. The surprise came from Warnel revealing that he had hidden several unfilled gold mana-coins inside the band of his belt and volunteering the coins for guarantee against the murder fines.
Toren¡¯s plan had been to pay the fines with the fair sum of coins and other ill-gotten goods the ransomers likely stashed at the site or work off the debt with the church later¡ªhe wouldn¡¯t be surprised if the shrine had a hidden assassination board similar to the town¡¯s job board¡ªbut the trouble with his plan lay with the ¡®ill-gotten goods¡¯ and Farharbor¡¯s policy regarding murder and goods detected as ¡®stolen¡¯.
That didn¡¯t mean Toren didn¡¯t have a plan for repurposing anything found. What could be returned to those robbed and extorted should be, but by involving the cult of Eshem`Zel, it also gave them a way to pay the fines with the ¡®ill-gotten¡¯ coins and goods, since donations to a divinity¡¯s church tended to lose any ¡®ill-gotten¡¯ designations.
Having a back-up via Warnel¡¯s hidden coins was of course welcome, and while still not enough to pay the ransom, the sum could be helpful in increasing their chances of surviving the jungle and reclaiming the stead¡ªassuming they survived the current effort.
¡°This looks like the place,¡± came the whispered voice from Reaver Yorne, motioning the direction with his head while bringing them to a stop and readying his large blackened sword.
Around them, three-floor timber and plaster buildings loomed separated only by the wood plank walkway that spanned the space between the buildings. Hostels, it looked. With the time of day, there wasn¡¯t much in the way of other people around.
In the shadows cast by the building¡¯s facade, a wiry man leaned against a wall by the door that was probably the indicated building¡¯s common entry. Horevi¡¯s light occasionally flashed off the blade of the small knife the man was idly tossing and catching.
Having finished a brief visual survey of the property, Reaver Yorne turned and narrowed his eyes at his tag-alongs. Falma was peeking out from behind her father, trying to stay hidden. Her father¡¯s face showed determination, but also fear and tension, a tension that Toren himself wasn¡¯t immune to. Violence was about to happen.
¡°I have blade arts, stealth, sensing, and awareness skills,¡± Toren offered, keeping his voice low. ¡°Do you have a preferred method to approach this, Reaver Yorne?¡±
Ch23 — Merciless (Part III)
Chapter 23 ¡ª Merciless (Part III)
This wasn¡¯t the first time Toren had rescued a girl from scum. Or that he had been the instrument of karma. He didn¡¯t pretend that he could save everyone, but that didn¡¯t mean he would ignore every person in need. Sometimes, it was fine to be selfish. He wasn¡¯t saving them because he cared, just that sometimes a person¡¯s actions made them such trash that the person deserved to die¡ªby his hand. And sometimes, he simply chose not to turn a blind eye to indignity imposed by cruel people.
It was with such thoughts that Toren slammed the scrawny knife-tosser¡¯s head backward into the wall behind him, one hand covering his mouth, the other burying a length of steel into his neck. His new [Barbarian Knife Arts] adjusted his aim just enough to make it easy. A convulsive twitch from his victim, and it was over.
Mana rushed into him, increasing his mana density and adding a layer to his Profession core. Every level-up before heading outside the walls was welcome. He smiled as he could directly see the results with his Mirror shard.
|
For killing a level 8 [Alleyshank],
800 XP Awarded.
Keep up the good work!
|
|
Congratulation! You have reached level 2!
+1 Ability Upgrade Point.
+1 Attribute Upgrade Point.
|
|
Name: Toren of Theravos
Race: Human
Age: 20
Profession 1: Level 2 Burningblood Berserker (500/4000)
Status: Injured (Weakened collarbone: mending), Mild soulstrain
Mana: 3/14 ¡ú 29
Strength: 16
Constitution: 12
Dexterity: 14
Agility: 12
Wisdom: 12
Intellect: 8
Will Power: 17
Perception 14
Appearance: 8
Charisma: 8
Luck: 10
Attribute Upgrade Points: 0 ¡ú 1
Traits:
Sacrificial Guardian
Abilities:
Burning Blood (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Slow Bleeding (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Ability Upgrade Points: 0 ¡ú 1
Profession Skills:
Pain Tolerance 4
Severe Wound Recovery 3
Berserker Knife Arts 1
Spear 9
Club 8
Focus Rage 1
Combat Awareness 2
Intimidate 2
Skills:
Theravos Language (Speaking) 15
Theravos Language (Reading/Writing) 10
Religion 10
Meditation 5
Bone Strengthening 3
Hunting 20
Butchering 13
Archery 19
Stealth 17
Arithmetic 4
Foraging 16
Tree Felling 6
Running 12
Mana Sensing 13
Danger Sensing 1
Wound Binding 8
|
Hunting animals, monsters, or people, it wasn¡¯t much different. It was all about surprise, and without passive defensive Abilities, level didn¡¯t matter as much in tier 1 as people thought it did. Whether level 1 or level 24, a knife would part flesh just as easily. That was no longer true when a person entered tier 2 and the mana density began directly reinforcing the body.
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That was why awareness skills were so important in tier 1. What did it matter how much effort a person put in to get skilled with a weapon when an unnoticed knife to the neck, brain, or heart would make all that effort pointless? Of course, borrowing the [Reaver]¡¯s Ability that made them all but unnoticeable was a total cheat when paired with [Stealth].
Hmm? Maybe, damage resistance and reaction skills were the better way to go, after all?
Toren eased the corpse down, leaving his knife in the wound to prevent a messy blood spray, and posed the man¡¯s still-warm body into a sitting position, hood pulled low.
Good enough for a cursory glance. There was nothing he could do about the blood smell though.
It was always an unsettling feeling that just a moment ago the corpse had been a person and now was just unmoving meat and bones, but he set those thoughts aside as he wiped the dripping blood off his hand and wrist as best as he could with the man¡¯s cloak.
Using [Mana Sensing] and [Combat Awareness], Toren had a fair sense of the man in the room on the other side of the door. Unfortunately, slamming the [Alleyshank]''s head against the building had been noticed.
Affecting nonchalance, Toren stepped into the entrance¡¯s shallow alcove and, with a test of the door latch, let himself in. His blood was afire with a combination of warriors'' high and the growing sense of danger.
One roguish-looking man in leathers. A dark cloak draped over the back of the couch where the guy was sitting, pretending to polish a bare two-hand-length blade, sharp eyes already focused Toren¡¯s direction. No one else.
The interior was furnished as a common area for relaxing or, more practically, a waiting and screening area for ¡®clients¡¯.
¡°Doorguy sent me in. I heard you got fresh ones, ones just arrived from the mainland,¡± Toren said with an eager grin and groped his belt pouch with an obscene wiggling of his fingers, enough to make the loose silver jingle. ¡°I¡¯m here to play; brought enough silver to sample ¡®em all¡ªthe good one¡¯s anyway.¡±
The guy chuckled and stood. ¡°You¡¯ve come to the right place.¡±
The guy was only pretending to lower his guard; this was going to end in a fight.
Toren approached anyway and offered his less blood-stained hand to grasp in greeting¡ªforcing the rogue to move the blade to his off-hand.
¡°Dude, you smell like blood. Couldn¡¯t even wash up first?¡± the man complained with a grimace to cover his hesitation before switching hands and firmly clasping the offered arm.
¡°Hah! I hear that a lot, comes with the Profession! Hopefully it won¡¯t scare the girls¡ too much.¡± Toren smirked and laughed. [Danger Sensing] alerted him that the other guy was weighing his advantage or disadvantage just as much as he was.
¡°Hey, now. Damaging the merchandise isn¡¯t good for business,¡± the man warned, his hazel eyes and grip firm.
Heart beating like a tribal drum, Toren suppressed [Burning Blood] as best he could to stop from breathing out steam and kept his own gaze and grip steady while giving a disarming smile and dipping his head in concession. ¡°Nah, nah, I know the rules, just a bit o¡¯ fun.¡±
Acting as if satisfied by the concession, the [Rogue], or maybe it was [Pimp], returned the smile, letting go his grasp on Toren¡¯s forearm, and casually motioned toward a stairwell in the back. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s head on up. I¡¯ve got just the girl in mind for you to start with.¡±
¡°Nice.¡±
Once he was past the man and his back an easy target, Toren¡¯s [Danger Sensing] spiked, and he could feel the distances in his [Combat Awareness] as the man whipped the blade forward.
Toren faked a stumble, moving enough out of reach for the man to overextend. A gust of wind and the sound of door hinges complaining announced the arrival of death¡ªdeath for the man who picked the wrong business to be in.
Somehow, the suspected [Rogue] managed a dodge of the [Reaver]¡¯s initial decapitating slash while spinning to face his attacker¡ªa Profession Ability, clearly¡ªbut a second strike almost too fast to perceive cleaved from head to heart.
Spraying blood onto the ceiling to drip back down from an exposed support beam like watery gruel, the body dropped to the floor with a quiet thud and the blade clattered against the wood planks as it bounced from the suddenly lifeless grasp.
| [Combat Awareness] has increased to 3! |
No XP this time, Toren noted.
Even so, going first and playing distraction had been the correct plan. With the [Rogue] having an evasion Ability of some kind, there would have been no way for Toren to silence the guy before an alarm would have been raised. The fight might¡¯ve even ended badly for him. And one look at Reaver Yorne or even a suspiciously opening and closing door would¡¯ve surely sent the overly cautious guy yelling for backup.
Rather, the guy had good reason to be cautious, considering the violent end that had just come to visit.
¡°The two you seek are on the floors above,¡± Reaver Yorne advised, his voice unnaturally quiet in the space.
Toren nodded and was about to ask about the [Haberdasher] and daughter when the door creaked and the man in question nervously peeked past the sturdy wood to take in the situation.
Warnel paled but entered the rest of the way, his daughter close behind, clinging to his arm.
Falma flinched and whimpered upon sighting the bloody mess but, to her credit, didn¡¯t scream.
It didn¡¯t take Toren long to decide the best course of action concerning the pair.
¡°Lock the door and wait here.¡±
Ch24 — Merciless (Part IV)
Chapter 24 ¡ª Merciless (Part IV)
Reaver Yorne hand-signaled to the room on the left.
Toren grimaced and signaled he¡¯d handle it and for the reaver to hurry to the other target.
There had been some hope that a quick rescue would lessen the chance that certain things would happen, but that wasn¡¯t to be. The interior of the room was well within the reach of Toren¡¯s [Mana Sensing], providing him a clear enough determination of the activity within.
The door had a single latch and no crossbar. Focusing [Burning Blood]¡¯s strength to his legs and hips, he kicked, and with a crack, the door flung open.
¡°What the-?¡±
Burning some of the precious little mana he had recovered and activating [Burning Blood] to the rest of his body, Toren rushed into the room and grabbed the startled man by his conveniently tied-back hair, yanking his head back and, as with the doorguy, Toren¡¯s knife traced the optimal angle to inflict a killing wound.
The knife was a bit too short to immediately finish things as cleanly this time, but it likely wouldn¡¯t matter. The man gurgled and clenched at Toren¡¯s arm, and Falma¡¯s sister that Toren recognized from the timepiece scrambled to the far side of the bed, her eyes too riveted on the scene of death before her to bother covering up.
With her ampleness on display, it wasn¡¯t hard to guess what about the girl had drawn the mens¡¯ interest more than her younger sister.
[Mana Sensing] didn¡¯t spot any injuries or bruises. From her mana density and the feel of her Profession core, she was somewhere around level 4 or 5. Not bad progress for a girl only a year or two past her Profession Day who had never received XP from kills.
No blood on the mattress covering, Toren noticed. He stopped the direction of that thought. Even thinking to look probably made him a jerk.
¡°You¡¯ll want to get cleaned up,¡± Toren told Laiya as the man¡¯s struggles weakened down to nothing. ¡°Your dad and sister are waiting for you downstairs.¡±
Her eyes snapped to his at being addressed. When the content of his words eventually registered, she nodded and calmly adjusted the top half of the dress that was bunched around her waist back over her shoulders and slipped from the bed to find what she needed.
The girl¡¯s eerie calmness was more than a bit eyebrow raising¡ªmental eyebrows, anyway. He carefully kept his expression neutral. Not his problem¡ªwas what he¡¯d like to tell himself. But, Laiya and her family were indeed his problem now.
|
For killing a level 12 [Nightblade],
1200 XP Awarded.
Keep up the good work!
|
With the XP notice and subsequent rush of mana, Toren lowered the dead Conclave man to the floor and started searching the discarded clothing and gear for anything of value.
He had been lucky. A level 12 with a combat class would have been a dangerously tough fight had he not caught the guy weaponless and otherwise occupied.
¡°The mother is with me. Those deserving judgment are dead. It is done.¡±
Reaver Yorne¡¯s sudden disembodied voice caused Toren to flinch and drop the [Nightblade]¡¯s weapon belt with a thunk of leather and metal against wood.
Even for a tier 2, the [Reaver] guy was scary fast! Or maybe just scary¡
Still, he couldn¡¯t help breathing a sigh of relief. Now it was just a matter of no one new showing up while they were looting the place or making their escape.
¡°Is something wrong?¡± Laiya asked and cautiously offered him a wet hand-towel with a glance at his bloodstained hands. She already looked prepared to leave, hair combed and travel boots peeking out from under her dress.
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Toren gratefully accepted the towel. ¡°Nothing to worry about. A [Reaver] from the shrine of Eshem`Zel who is helping us just informed me that your mother has also been rescued.¡±
¡°A [Reaver]? Why would such a person help us? Why are you helping us?¡±
The girl¡¯s questions surprised Toren; it wasn¡¯t a reaction he was expecting. The questions weren¡¯t asked with suspicion, but more with a sense of questioning the futility of their actions.
He looked up at the girl from where he was crouched on one knee over the [Nightblade]¡¯s stuff and worriedly took in her discomfortingly unconcerned gaze. ¡°Your father convinced Reaver Yorne to rescue you and your mom. You¡¯ll want to discuss the details with your family later. The reason I¡¯m here is more complicated, but you could say I¡¯ve agreed to let your family be tenants at my stead in exchange for helping with reclaiming and working the property.¡±
¡°A stead? We won¡¯t be staying in town?¡±
¡°No. It¡¯s a day and a half walk from town, a bit off the road to Mistmire.¡±
Once his hands were as clean as they were going to get, he used the towel to retrieve Yana¡¯s knife with as little further mess as possible.
¡°You¡ you¡¯ve killed him!¡± a voice hissed from the open doorway.
Toren had noticed the second girl approaching but there wasn¡¯t much to be done about it.
¡°It¡¯s safe here now?¡± Laiya asked, taking the initiative and discreetly motioning with her head toward the younger girl while shouldering a large satchel that creaked under the strain of its contents.
¡°For the moment,¡± he confirmed and resumed trying to strap on the [Nightblade]¡¯s weapon belt in a way that worked with what he was already wearing. ¡°The creeps running this place should all be dead, but don¡¯t wander too far yet, just in case.¡±
Laiya again surprised him by going over and pulling the horrified and skittish new arrival into a hug. ¡°It¡¯s alright, Fila. If what this man is saying is true, you should be able to return to your family now.¡±
¡°B-but, what about the Conclave? Won¡¯t they come for us? Won¡¯t they be angry about their men being killed?¡±
What the younger girl was saying was not what he wanted to hear at all, but also something Toren had suspected: these guys were part of a larger and more dangerous group.
¡°Hopefully, they¡¯ll blame it on these idiots upsetting the followers of Eshem`Zel and leave things alone,¡± he offered, and having gotten the belt situated, Toren buckled it in place. The sheathed blade currently attached to the dark leather belt was nicer than anything Toren had used before and the feel from [Mana Sensing] when he unsheathed the thing part way had made it clear the blade was enchanted.
¡°I-I don¡¯t want anything bad to happen to my family,¡± Fila worried.
Laiya continued to comfort and encourage Fila while Toren finished his quick search.
The only things of value found in the room ended up being from the man¡¯s possessions: a fair amount of silver and the enchanted blade. He did pocket another one of those suspicious tokens, this one a fair bit nicer looking than the one taken from the teen boy.
Fortunately, the satchel Laiya took was her bag she had arrived to Farharbor with, saving them from having to spend time looking for her stuff.
Regarding the silver, while they were waiting for Fila to grab the few things she had, Toren took half the rods for himself and tossed the pouch with the rest to Laiya. ¡°Your half of the take and what he owes you.¡±
Laiya froze in place and looked at the pouch with a complicated expression of distaste when she realized what was in it and what accepting it might mean.
¡°That¡¯s yours. Not for your family. You earned it. Payment, restitution, whatever. You are worth at least that much,¡± Toren insisted. He phrased it that way for a reason. Money owed wasn¡¯t considered stolen when claimed. With a little luck, the assertion would become truth. And it was only right that she get paid for her ¡®work¡¯.
~~~
¡ºName: Toren of Theravos
Race: Human
Age: 20
Profession 1: Level 2 Burningblood Berserker (1700/4000)
Status: Injured (Weakened collarbone: mending), Minor Soulstrain
Mana: 2/29
Strength: 16
Constitution: 12
Dexterity: 14
Agility: 12
Wisdom: 12
Intellect: 8
Will Power: 17
Perception 14
Appearance: 8
Charisma: 8
Luck: 10
Attribute Upgrade Points: 1
Traits:
Sacrificial Guardian
Abilities:
Burning Blood (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Slow Bleeding (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Ability Upgrade Points: 1
Profession Skills:
Pain Tolerance 4
Severe Wound Recovery 3
Berserker Knife Arts 1
Spear 9
Club 8
Focus Rage 1
Combat Awareness 3
Intimidate 2
Skills:
Theravos Language (Speaking) 15
Theravos Language (Reading/Writing) 10
Religion 10
Meditation 5
Bone Strengthening 3
Hunting 20
Butchering 13
Archery 19
Stealth 17
Arithmetic 4
Foraging 16
Tree Felling 6
Running 12
Mana Sensing 13
Danger Sensing 1
Wound Binding 8¡»
Ch25 — The Spoils of Risktaking (Part I)
Chapter 25 ¡ª The Spoils of Risktaking (Part I)
As Toren led Laiya and her friend back toward the second floor¡¯s common area, other ¡®residents¡¯ soon began peeking out through slightly ajar doors to see what was going on. They weren¡¯t his responsibility. He wanted no part of dealing with any of the other victims.
As for Fila, Laiya seemed to know the girl, and if helping Fila gave Laiya a role better allowing her to cope with what happened, then that was fine and maybe even good¡ªto a point. He didn¡¯t have any intention of escorting the girl back to her family if he could reasonably avoid it.
Really, slipping away with just his group and leaving the [Reaver] to deal with the Farharbor guards and the clean up had always been his preferred plan. The less Toren and his group were implicated the better.
Besides, from the sound of voices and rushing about coming from the floor above, Reaver Yorne had already started dealing with the situation.
But before bailing, looting the storage rooms and personal rooms of the Conclave ransomers was still a goal worth pursuing. His worry was in how much time to spend at the task. The longer they took the more risk they would be taking.
¡°Laiya, maybe you should take Fila upstairs to meet with Reaver Yorne and go check on your mother?¡± Toren suggested.
Laiya looked at him with suspicion, her arm guiding Fila to hide behind her. ¡°W-where are you going?¡±
¡°Now that these guys are dead, I¡¯m going to look for loot to pay the [Reaver] with so your father doesn¡¯t have to,¡± Toren answered bluntly. ¡°And, isn¡¯t this the best way for your friend to get assurances about her situation?¡±
Laiya slowly nodded, her hand was shaking. ¡°Okay¡¡±
Seeing the girl still hesitant, he pulled a knife from Yana¡¯s bandolier, flipping it around with his fingers to offer handle-first. ¡°We¡¯ll meet up on the first floor. Take this just in case, and be as quick as you can.¡±
The [Haberdasher]¡¯s daughter flinched at him drawing a weapon and Fila¡¯s hands clenched at the older girl¡¯s arm with a fearful squeak, but Laiya did take the knife and, with a deep breath to gather her courage and glance in the direction of the stairs carrying the noises and arguing coming from above, came to a decision.
¡°Let¡¯s go, Fila,¡± she said with a praiseworthy firmness to her voice, and the knife disappeared into a hidden pocket in her dress¡¯ skirt.
Toren left them to it, resuming his scan of the rooms, quickly finding an occupant-free one with loot to be had. Another well-placed kick crashed the door open, and he quickly stuffed a found carry pack with the most useful of the what was probably the [Nightblade]¡¯s things.
| [Mana Sensing] has increased to 14! |
[Mana Sensing] continued to show its worth and versatility, revealing a loose floorboard with some emergency potions and a small strongbox containing silver rods and small jewelry items. Opening the box would be a challenge for later with its poison-trapped mana-lock.
Assuming Reaver Yorne would loot the third floor, there were two other places worth checking. And, Toren wanted to get to them first.
Before leaving the room, Toren tied in place one of the dead man¡¯s masks that covered his mouth and nose and pulled up his hood. The thing could have smelled better. Not buying a mask at the clothier had been a mistake. The sooner he could get something like a [Knight]¡¯s helmet the better. ¡he could only hope a previously used one wouldn¡¯t reek as bad as he was now beginning to suspect it would.
Toren thought he heard Laiya¡¯s voice reassuring or comforting someone as he passed by the stairs going up and hurried back to the first floor.
¡°Toren!¡± Warnel gasped upon sighting him, looking like he was moments from his heart failing. ¡°Is¡ is¡¡°
At least the [Haberdasher] had picked up the dead guy¡¯s blade.
¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Toren cut him off and handed him the extra pack. ¡°The Conclave guys are dead. Give this to Laiya when she comes down. You can carry it if you want, but if I¡¯m to make a [Warrior] out of her, we should start by improving her fitness.¡±
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¡°You found Laiya?¡± Falma pleaded, grabbing his arm.
Toren patted Falma¡¯s hands to reassure her. ¡°She¡¯s fine. Just seeing to her friend¡¯s situation. How¡¯s the door? Anyone notice or try to get in?¡±
Falma shook her head before freezing mid-motion at the sight of his blood-stained hand touching hers.
Whether he was lying to Falma or not about the girl¡¯s older sister¡ Physically, she was fine. As for the rest, he was less confident. And if the girl preferred her family to believe he rescued her before anyone laid hands on her, he wasn¡¯t going to preclude her that option by spilling details that weren¡¯t his to spill.
Besides, dealing with a distraught father was not something he needed right now. Assuming the man hadn¡¯t previously sold Laiya¡¯s ¡®services¡¯ to help cover his debts or worse.
A quick glance out the window showed the boardwalk still empty of townsfolk. Most residents would be working at a labor site or such, but he thought there would be children running about with all the hostels here. Maybe they knew to stay away from this particular stretch?
With the smell of blood and the dead [Alleyshank] posed but unmoving outside, someone would eventually notice.
¡°Alright. Don¡¯t let anyone open the door until the [Reaver] says it¡¯s okay,¡± Toren instructed and gently slipped his arm free. ¡°There¡¯s still a few things I need to check, and then we¡¯ll get out of here¡ªbefore the guards show up, if we¡¯re lucky.¡±
Warnel looked from his daughter to the door. ¡°Should I¡ go up and help out?¡±
Toren shook his head and unclipped his metal club, handing it to Falma. ¡°Falma shouldn¡¯t guard the door by herself.¡±
The hatter slowly nodded, his eyes going nervously to a nearby window and back to the stairway and the hallways on either side of the common area.
Bashing someone fighting her father over the head should be within the girl¡¯s capability.
Before leaving them, Toren searched the dead [Rogue], and liberated several silver rods worth of coins from a belt pouch along with another one of those suspicious tokens¡ªlike with the [Nightblade], it was nicer than the one the [Scout] boy had.
With that, he resumed his search for loot. [Mana Sensing] told him there was a basement built into the building¡¯s tall foundations. Toren couldn¡¯t see Reaver Yorne taking too much longer to finish up with the victims; he needed to decide whether to check that first or to find any other rooms belonging to the Conclave guys. Not immediately sensing a way down made the choice easy for him.
The very first room he encountered was a good candidate to be what he was looking for¡ª unoccupied and containing enchanted items¡ªand he wasted no time kicking the door open. A woman in the adjacent room flinched at the noise but, other than moving to listen at the wall, didn¡¯t do anything troublesome.
Returning his attention to the unoccupied room and carefully entering, the scene of a lockbox sitting on an end table out in plain sight set off alarms for Toren. There was no way a [Rogue] or [Thief] living among other similarly-minded individuals would do that unless it was trapped. And [Mana Sensing] agreed with that thought, particularly in light of the complex enchantment on the box.
~~~
Toren''s Celestrial Mirror Shard:
¡ºName: Toren of Theravos
Race: Human
Age: 20
Profession 1: Level 2 Burningblood Berserker (1700/4000)
Status: Injured (Weakened collarbone: mending), Minor Soulstrain
Mana: 3/29
Strength: 16
Constitution: 12
Dexterity: 14
Agility: 12
Wisdom: 12
Intellect: 8
Will Power: 17
Perception 14
Appearance: 8
Charisma: 8
Luck: 10
Attribute Upgrade Points: 1
Traits:
Sacrificial Guardian
Abilities:
Burning Blood (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Slow Bleeding (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Ability Upgrade Points: 1
Profession Skills:
Pain Tolerance 4
Severe Wound Recovery 3
Berserker Knife Arts 1
Spear 9
Club 8
Focus Rage 1
Combat Awareness 3
Intimidate 2
Skills:
Theravos Language (Speaking) 15
Theravos Language (Reading/Writing) 10
Religion 10
Meditation 5
Bone Strengthening 3
Hunting 20
Butchering 13
Archery 19
Stealth 17
Arithmetic 4
Foraging 16
Tree Felling 6
Running 12
Mana Sensing 14
Danger Sensing 1
Wound Binding 8¡»
Ch26 — The Spoils of Risktaking (Part II)
Toren focused his mana-sense past the enchantment and into the box. Mana-coins! Silver rods¡ and a ribbon-tied scroll.
A scroll that looked a lot like the property deed he signed to claim the abandoned tavi grove.
He really didn¡¯t want to leave such good loot unclaimed, but left the lockbox alone and settled on a pack tucked under the bed as a consolation prize. The unnecessary risk and the reasonable expectation of superior loot in the basement below pushed him toward counting the trapped lockbox toward the [Reaver]¡¯s share¡ªand thus, the [Reaver]¡¯s problem.
Leery of getting too close to the trapped lockbox, Toren held his breath while hooking the stowed pack with his booted foot from as far away as possible and dragging it out from under the bed and closer to the open doorway.
The two enchanted wands he was sensing in the pack would be both valuable and, with a bit of luck, useful¡ªas would most of the things stored in a pack clearly meant as getaway survival supplies.
He¡¯d confirm the pack¡¯s contents later.
Toren gave one last glance back at the trapped lockbox. With the door broken, someone was sure to see it and do something stupid. Annoyed, he chalked ¡®Magical trap inside!¡¯ onto the door and closed it as best he could.
There. That would have to be enough.
Hurrying down the doored corridor, Toren sensed another room that might have belonged to one of the Conclave goons, but he passed it up in favor of the final door, which opened onto a dark staircase going down.
The slight breeze and faintly fetid smell that greeted him wasn¡¯t encouraging either.
¡°I should¡¯ve brought Falma with me to carry things,¡± Toren groaned.
The second pack was awkward to carry while already wearing a large pack, but looping a strap over his head and shoulder made it manageable enough to unhook the oil lantern from the wall and work the clicker to spark it alight.
Mana-sensing wasn''t revealing any immediate dangers below, and [Danger Sensing] likewise was quiet, but he wanted to have at least one hand free just to be safe. It wasn¡¯t unknown for [Rogue]-type Professions to have mana-hiding Abilities.
Drawing the enchanted blade, Toren descended the stairs into a dirt-floored open area with cobblestone walls. When no ambush jumped out of the lantern-cast shadows, he visually inspected the damp-smelling space.
Behind the staircase, a stone pipe led down from the ceiling through a grate in the floor. The muffled sloshing sound within the pipe reinforced his guess that it carried wastewater from the shared bathing and water closet he¡¯d found on each floor.
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The pipe wasn¡¯t what was interesting but rather the grate which was large enough to have a man-sized gate leading to the darkness below¡ªto the under-tunnels, no doubt.
The gate was secured by a chain with a mana-lock¡ªa mana-lock with a depression that was suspiciously sized and shaped like those mystery tokens he¡¯d been acquiring.
The suspicion only made Toren want to hurry and get out of there more.
An office-like room and the storeroom were the most promising remaining locations for the loot cache, assuming the silver and stolen valuables hadn¡¯t already been moved to another location. Thankfully, the iron shackles chained to an empty space of wall were unoccupied. One less thing for him to deal with.
Both rooms were locked behind sturdier doors than what he could easily kick open. Disappointingly, what mana he could sense in the storeroom seemed to be from foodstuff.
¡°The office had better have something good,¡± he muttered while hanging the lantern on a wall hook and fishing out the fanciest of the acquired tokens.
CLACK.
The welcome sound greeted the token coming into contact with the depression on the office door¡¯s mana-lock.
A faint echo of something from below the grate to the undertunnels made Toren freeze in place and listen, his heartrate increasing and his blood beginning to burn with mana from the tension, but the sound didn¡¯t repeat.
Breathing out some of the tension, Toren entered the office and began his search.
Relief sighed out of him at the sensing the contents of the lockbox on the desk. Mana-coins. This one wasn¡¯t trapped either, as far as he could tell. He had made the right choice leaving the trapped lockbox to the [Reaver].
Assuming the [Reaver] didn¡¯t take offense¡
Toren grimaced at that thought but shook away any hesitation about claiming his share of the loot. Saying a quick prayer to Horevi, he gingerly placed the token against the lockbox¡¯s lock and was rewarded with another sharp clack.
Opening the hefty box¡¯s hinged lid, confirmed his expectations: mana-coins, silver rods¡ªless coins than he would¡¯ve liked, but enough to make an equal share. Toren wasted no time filling his coin pouch and two sacks with the contents.
The coins secured, he turned to quickly searching the rest of the office¡¯s contents.
Two leatherbound ledgers sat open on the desk. Partially closing the first he saw it was labeled: Payments received. A quick scan for the most recent entry showed only one entry for the day:
Emina Hatterswick (200$ received) (40$ finder¡¯s cut)
The amounts were neatly written and used the symbol for silver rods¡ªan ¡®S¡¯ with a wood dowel through it to hold the coins in place¡ªrather than simply writing ¡®rods¡¯ as less-educated people normally did.
Glancing back through the dates, the daily totals for ¡®services¡¯ were quite high except on days where only names were entered, once per tenday it seemed.
Toren turned his attention to the second ledger, labeled: Protection and Debts. As with the first ledger, Toren looked for the most recent entry.
P368 Warnel Hatterswick 200$ (150$)
P369 Emina Hatterswick 100$ (50$)
P370 Laiya Hatterswick 100$ (50$)
P371 Falma Hatterswick 100$ (50$)
The columns were listed as ¡®fee¡¯ and ¡®owed¡¯. It was all surprisingly business-like. The odd designation before the names was interesting but also worrying if the numbers were an indication of the size of the Conclave and the extent of its infiltration into Farharbor¡ªsomething that only reinforced Toren¡¯s gut instinct to avoid making it his problem.
Toren nabbed both ledgers. Another problem for Reaver Yorne to handle. Yep.
When he came back up from the basement, an irate woman¡¯s voice carried from the now crowded common room, ¡°What have you done? Who will keep us safe now? How will we get food?¡±
Toren mentally groaned. People like that were the reason he didn¡¯t want to deal with this shit.
Ch27 — Not Torens Problem
Chapter 27 ¡ª Not Toren''s Problem
¡°Does feeding yourself really require being captive to another? Being told what to do? Being provided for?¡± rebuked Reaver Yorne. ¡°I¡¯ve already explained, Eshem`Zel reviles those forcing anyone to do things against their will. Those who wish to leave with me, may. Those who wish to stay, stay. If you truly feel I have wronged you, pray and donate at the shrine, and maybe I will be brought the same fate as your captors.¡±
Thankfully, Yorne was there to deal with the woman complaining about having been rescued. His words silenced the loudest of the troublemakers, but grumbling about ¡®stupid and naive religious talk¡¯ continued.
From the way the arguments were going, it seemed half the women wanted to stay behind, understandably not eager to be homeless or to put their fate in the hands of a dark god¡¯s charity¡ªparticularly one that valued individual initiative. Some didn¡¯t want to waste the Conclave protection they had already paid for through coin and effort or risk the Conclave¡¯s ire falling upon themselves or their families.
Depending on the reach and local power of these Conclave goons, the ones wanting to stay might not be wrong. History was replete with common folk suffering bad ends for daring to stand up, whether facing bandits or nobles.
The lazy woe-embracing attitude still irritated him. He risked his life, and they were spitting on his effort and sacrifice. Do something for yourselves for once!
¡°The Conclave!¡± a woman gasped and pointed.
Toren¡¯s reluctant arrival to the now crowded common room caused a minor panic until Laiya called out that he was with Reaver Yorne, but that made the packs he was carrying all the more suspicious.
¡°You don¡¯t think we were doing this for free, do you?¡± Toren stated flatly to preempt any accusations, setting the packs down by Falma and her dad who had been joined by Laiya and a woman who was clearly their mother. He pulled out the ledgers and two sacks, handing the sack he¡¯d prepared with 200$ worth to Emina, who gave him a strange look that he didn¡¯t have time to puzzle out, and the ledgers to Yorne. ¡°Reaver Yorne, I¡¯ve claimed my group¡¯s share of the loot. Here¡¯s the Conclave¡¯s ledgers in case you want to figure out who else is owed anything. The murder fees?¡±
¡°500 rods,¡± Reaver Yorne reported. ¡°You¡¯re leaving?¡±
¡°Yeah. I¡¯d like to avoid any further entanglement with the guards and the Conclave, if I can,¡± Toren freely admitted while handing over the heavier second sack with the expected amount then motioned toward the floor. ¡°I investigated the basement. There¡¯s a grate down there connecting to the undertunnels. The mana-lock securing it looks like something Conclave-related, if I had to guess. The ledger¡¯s numbering suggests that the number of people needing rescuing may be in the hundreds.¡±
¡°Troublesome.¡± The [Reaver] discreetly surveyed the unhappy two dozen or so women pressed into the common area trying to avoid the blood and dead body and his face took on a contemplative expression.
The group gathered by Yorne spread into the kitchen to make more room, and the rapidly developing factions were now bickering over taking food from the pantries and cold storage. Now that he had a chance to look more closely, Toren noticed not all of those gathered from the rooms were women. None of the three teen boys he noted looked like paying customers, though, and whether simple hostages or not, Toren didn¡¯t care to find out their situations.
Likewise, now that the [Haberdasher]¡¯s family had been retrieved, he had no interest in venturing into the under-tunnels to rescue possible additional victims in other locations or root out other Conclave members involved. That was Yorne¡¯s problem, not his.
¡°The warning about the trap was yours?¡± Reaver Yorne eventually asked while tying the sack with the murder fee to his belt.
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Toren nodded. ¡°The lockbox contains a substantial number of mana-coins, silver, and what might be the deed to the property. Unfortunately, I don¡¯t have any Abilities or tools for getting past the enchantment.¡±
¡°Hmmm. That might be a workable solution.¡± The [Reaver]¡¯s gaze went to the front windows, still empty of interest or commotion. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it. Can you take care of having some guards sent here, so the disputes can be resolved and I can return to the shrine?¡±
As long as the request didn¡¯t involve talking to the guards himself, Toren thought that workable, and maybe even ideal. ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll take care of that. [Haberdasher], let¡¯s drag the [Alleyshank] inside and get going.¡±
¡°Wha-?¡± was the response from the man at having suddenly been mentioned, but Toren didn¡¯t wait and was already unlocking the entry door.
Falma, still tightly gripping the metal club, exchanged a glance with him, and volunteered, ¡°Two men passed by but didn¡¯t react.¡±
Their luck probably wouldn¡¯t hold for much longer.
Warnel was right behind him as he ventured out and had worked his question into something more intelligible, ¡°We¡¯re going separate from the others? Isn¡¯t that more dangerous?¡±
¡°How do we know there aren¡¯t Conclave controlled people in the guard? Do you want to stick around to be seen as someone who murdered their guys?¡± Toren countered, getting a wide-eyed head shake in return.
He and Warnel pulled the [Alleyshank] into the common room, and bunching the hood around the blade, Toren was able to extract his knife without making too much mess. The man¡¯s cloak was thoroughly ruined though, which was unfortunate as he would have preferred to make Laiya or her mother less conspicuous.
At this point, he didn¡¯t want to delay any longer, and they set out. Laiya¡¯s friend Fila, thankfully, opted to stay behind with Reaver Yorne and wait for the guards. Toren paid the first reliable-looking boy they came across to go fetch the guards about the hostel situation, hopefully ending his involvement in the matter.
To further that goal, he led his group back to the pre-made and second-hand clothing shop, where they sold off the clothing they wouldn¡¯t need in exchange for more practical attire for Laiya and Emina.
[Danger Sensing] staying quiet had him cautiously optimistic that they had escaped as cleanly as could be hoped. Even so, Toren couldn¡¯t help a feeling borne of experience that the sooner they could make it out of the town, the better.
~~~
¡ºName: Toren of Theravos
Race: Human
Age: 20
Profession 1: Level 2 Burningblood Berserker (1700/4000)
Status: Injured (Weakened collarbone: mending, Mild Soulstrain)
Mana: 4/29
Strength: 16
Constitution: 12
Dexterity: 14
Agility: 12
Wisdom: 12
Intellect: 8
Will Power: 17
Perception 14
Appearance: 8
Charisma: 8
Luck: 10
Attribute Upgrade Points: 1
Traits:
Sacrificial Guardian
Abilities:
Burning Blood (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Slow Bleeding (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Ability Upgrade Points: 1
Profession Skills:
Pain Tolerance 4
Severe Wound Recovery 3
Berserker Knife Arts 1
Spear 9
Club 8
Focus Rage 1
Combat Awareness 3
Intimidate 2
Skills:
Theravos Language (Speaking) 15
Theravos Language (Reading/Writing) 10
Religion 10
Meditation 5
Bone Strengthening 3
Hunting 20
Butchering 13
Archery 19
Stealth 17
Arithmetic 4
Foraging 16
Tree Felling 6
Running 12
Mana Sensing 14
Danger Sensing 1
Wound Binding 8¡»
Ch 28 — Horror Hounds (Part I)
Chapter 28 ¡ª Horror Hounds (Part I)
Leaving town involved an irritating number of stops that only increased Toren¡¯s misgivings about running into trouble, but the timing turned fortunate as they were able to travel together with Joric, a teen boy escorting unsold horror hounds from the livestock pens outside the town¡¯s gate back to his family¡¯s stead.
¡°They¡¯re really loyal and great at sensing and fighting zoots, and if one dies, their durable skin makes sturdy leather for armor,¡± Joric was explaining to Falma as they walked the raised road leading away from town, the faceless, eyeless, and furless hounds stalking around them and occasionally tasting the air of the jungle they were walking through.
¡°That does sound useful. Is it hard living outside town?¡± Falma asked, scritching behind an ear-hole on one of the hounds that seemed to have taken a liking to her.
¡°Zoots are the main problem. Farmer¡¯s Weed does a good job of keeping away the drain worms, but the zoots love it¡ªthat¡¯s probably how they are immune to the drain worms. Dark stalkers and saber birds can also be dangers but as long as we don¡¯t encroach on their territory, they don¡¯t tend to bother the steads much. Though beast swarms and high tide change things, so it¡¯s best to be prepared.¡±
¡°Wow, it¡¯s really that terrible?¡±
Toren lent only half an ear to their ongoing conversation; his main focus was on [Mana Sensing]. The decreased field-of-vision from his newly purchased metal helm still left him feeling vulnerable even if [Mana Sensing] and [Combat Awareness] directly compensated for lack of peripheral sight. Intellectually, he understood that the padded metal bucket suspended from an internal leather-strapped skullcap would keep him safe from almost any tier-1 attack, but the reality did little to make him less unnerved after a life spent as [Hunter] relying on subtle cues from his hearing and sight.
The creepy sightless hounds really did seem to scare off the local predators and opportunists. Other than a few colorful large-beaked saber birds watching from the trees, most everything fled the slinky four-legged terrors that made enthusiastic and quick work of anything that tried hiding instead. Joric had to call a few back to the collective pack when they became obsessed with digging at the cage-like roots of a tree to get at a critter hiding inside.
The high-tide situation did have Toren worried. He¡¯d know more once he saw the orchard property, but the way the road was constructed as a high earthen berm with deep gullies on either side and the high roots and waterlines on the region¡¯s odd trees suggested that the flooding would be extensive. Many animals and monsters would undoubtedly seek high ground during such flooding, and if his guess was right, most of the steads were built on such ¡®high ground¡¯.
He returned his attention to his companions. The family of four was looking jumpy from the unfamiliar surroundings and rapidly reaching mental and physical exhaustion from the long day and its life-changing events.
Falma had initially fussed over her sister, but understandably there wasn¡¯t much to be said. Warnel wasn¡¯t a total jerk, but it was clear that he was having some difficulty coming to terms with what had happened, and though he was outwardly supportive of his wife, the awkwardness wasn¡¯t going to be resolved anytime soon.
Just like the oddly detached manner from Laiya, Toren could only hope that ¡®awkwardness¡¯ wouldn¡¯t grow to a future problem.
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Fortunately, things in town had gone surprisingly well. Worryingly so, maybe. Unless the [Haberdasher]''s spate of bad luck had restored the balance due.
After getting the wife and eldest daughter more rugged clothing, they had stopped at the [Alchemist] that had placed the job postings on the task board.
At least, one potential source of future friction was easily solved with the help of the [Alchemist]. The Conclave bastards hadn¡¯t provided it, probably planning to cash in on the child credit, but such preventatives were one of any [Alchemist]¡¯s most lucrative business. Toren suspected for [Herbalists], as well.
Curiosity eventually prompted Toren to ask Laiya about the lack of clients during the rescue. The girl had the answer. From what they were told, this group of Conclave members didn¡¯t accept daytime ¡®clients¡¯ on ¡®new arrival¡¯ days when the incoming transports were scheduled. Which meant his acting as a client had failed from the start.
They never did encounter a tier-2 Conclave member. Even so, Toren didn¡¯t think seeking aid from the followers of Eshem`Zel had been a mistake. The cover would help discourage retaliation, and he found it hard to believe that some random group of tier-1 thugs would run such an operation without someone strong around to prevent what his group had just done.
When they returned to the market square, Warnel had offered one of his daughters to Eshem`Zel¡¯s service as promised. Laiya accepted the responsibility, receiving a leatherbound catechism of the faith from Reaver Uvros. The one mana-coin deposit proved adequate for the monetary offering, but it was exchanged for equivalent silver to lighten their travel load.
While the [Haberdasher] family was offering prayers of thanks for the successful rescue, Toren had slipped away to visit the celestial temple across the market square. He needed to offer prayer and thanks to Horevi and find out about what was required to speak with Yana. Both of which he accomplished.
Horevi had heard his prayer and given him a Quest.
|
Quest: Hunt a tier-2 monster or beast and return with its core as an offering.
Reward: Commune with a departed spirit.
|
Whether the Quest was a godsent boon in his time of need or not¡ With the enchanted blade, hunting a tier-2 wasn¡¯t an impossible task, but¡ was Horevi telling him he wasn¡¯t yet ready to speak with Yana? Or was there some significance to the required offering that was important to the miracle being sought?
How to feel about the Quest? Toren still wasn¡¯t sure. Was it really too expensive to pay a [Priest] of Moreva for the same miracle? Not that he would risk offending Horevi by asking.
Occasionally, Falma or her mother would hold up their progress to brave the gully and jungle undergrowth with their new hip-secured foraging baskets to harvest alchemy-related plants they spotted. Each time, Laiya or Warnel would slide down the gully alongside to guard, Laiya with her new spear and Warnel with the acquired short blade.
The reason for the effort was a desire to broaden their currently possessed [Dyeing] Skill into [Alchemy]. To that end, the family had purchased a starter alchemy set and a handwritten book of techniques and recipes.
Emina also negotiated for the [Alchemist] to take on Falma as an assistant on low-tide days and after monster swarms when there would be an excessive influx of ingredients to be processed into potions, salves, and more stable substances for later use or sale. The man copied down the expected low-tide dates onto a small patch of stained parchment and handed it to Falma.
¡°Say, if you all are planning to spend the night in the jungle, we have room at our family¡¯s stead,¡± Joric offered. ¡°I¡¯m sure my dad would let you stay the night for cheap.¡±
Ch29 — Horror Hounds (Part II)
Chapter 29 ¡ª Horror Hounds (Part II)
¡°Are you all steading nearby?¡± Joric¡¯s muscled father, Marton, asked between bites of jungle boar and pan-fried tubers. Behind him, coals smoldered in the hearth from cooking the meal, chasing away the evening humidity and leaving the room toasty but not uncomfortably so¡ªthanks to their armor and packs having been stowed in the provided guest rooms.
¡°We¡¯re reclaiming a tavi grove about a day¡¯s walk from here along the way to Mistmire.¡± Toren wasn¡¯t thrilled with revealing the location to people in tier-2, but he would need allies to survive the jungle, and not taking advantage of the couple¡¯s knowledge would be stupid.
¡°Tavi? Levish¡¯s place?¡± Marton¡¯s tier-2 wife, Bessimi, asked sharply with concern.
Marton¡¯s gaze sized-up his soft-seaming guests. ¡°Last I heard, the house and surrounding area were overrun with drain worms and zoots. Are you folks really going to be okay?¡±
Four unsure pairs of eyes belonging to a family of formerly [Haberdashers] turned Toren¡¯s way, and the rest of the eyes at the table soon followed. Not just Joric, but his two older brothers, younger sister, and a youngish tenant couple with a newborn that were also sharing the table¡ªall conversation having stopped. Baby Arn started to cry but was quickly calmed by his mother.
The steaders all knew something. That didn¡¯t bode well at all.
¡°How bad is ¡®overrun¡¯?¡± Toren slowly asked, a growing worry making the previously flavorful and juicy boar meat sit heavy in his stomach like forge slag. ¡°[Alchemist] Nalrevin sold us what we need for dealing with the drain worms and their expected evolutions.¡±
The patriarch of the self-named Marton¡¯s Farmstead took hold of his goblet of farm-distilled mash and gazed down into the cloudy liquid within. ¡°Hard to say for sure. For the zoots, could be tens if you¡¯re lucky, but I suspect maybe a hundred or so with multiple packs ranging out from a nearby nest or lair of some kind. If it had been a single pack, not only would the wards have held and Levish and Milly have chased them off, but someone would have successfully cleared the property by now, even if just for the credits.¡±
Emina gasped at the suspected numbers and Warnel¡¯s face was draining of color. Laiya and Falma didn¡¯t look much better.
That was troublesome news¡ but if he was embracing this whole [Berserker] thing, it might also be perfect for both quick credits and levels¡ªnot just for him, for Warnel and the man¡¯s family. Except¡ the family of four would undoubtedly be more liability than help until he could toughen them up.
¡°I see,¡± Toren said while thinking, keeping the silence from further damaging his group''s morale. ¡°The reward for even the alphas is only 2 credits. How difficult is it to fight and cull these zoots? Will we need enchanted armors and weapons?¡±
After swallowing a mouthful of the unfiltered liquid, Marton set the goblet back down and fixed him with a serious gaze. ¡°They are not particularly sturdy, but the danger comes in the way the little bastards love to slash exposed skin and wound in ways that bleed or cause panic¡ªinterior of the leg, eyes, crook of the arm, underside of the chin and sides of the neck. The larger ones have claws and talons that can cut through lightly enchanted hide, and slashing Abilities causing bleeding status afflictions are not uncommon.
¡°As I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve already heard, their [Camouflage] Ability can make it difficult to know how many you are dealing with or where and when an attack will come from. Really, at your strength, without metal armor and a way to know their locations, it might be suicide.¡±
¡°Suicide¡¡± Warnel unhappily muttered under his breath, and Emina was clinging to her husband¡¯s arm.
The woman eyed Toren and whispered, ¡°Are we really doing this?¡±
Laiya reached over and rubbed her mother¡¯s shoulder and back to comfort her. ¡°It¡¯s not as if the town is any safer.¡±
Falma grimaced at her sister¡¯s blunt evaluation of their situation.
The tenant couple also grimaced, and Safira seemed to grip her son tighter as she nursed the boy.
The older boys looked like they wanted to say something but didn¡¯t know what to say.
Toren turned his attention back to Marton and his wife. Good thing Warnel was willing to shell out enough funds to buy himself and Laiya decent helms and nice sets of brigandine with its interior plating. Glad he¡¯d pushed for the expenditure, he nodded to himself and brought up one of his key worries, ¡°Can the zoots hide from [Mana Sensing]?¡±
The veteran steader had a prompt answer, ¡°They cannot. At least, not that I¡¯ve encountered. Harthol?¡±
The eldest of the boys, around Toren¡¯s age if he had to guess, glanced at Laiya who he had been trying to impress earlier and sat up straight as he spoke, ¡°No, even deeper in the jungle, I¡¯ve yet to have any get by the hounds¡¯ notice.¡±
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Oh? It was good to get the method of sensing used by the hounds confirmed. Made sense with them being eyeless.
Some good news at least, even if there was another worry the information from Marton brought. A gathering of large packs usually indicated the presence of a powerful monster leading them. Dealing with packs of tier-1 beasts was worlds apart from dealing with a tier-2 while harried and swarmed by tier-1¡¯s.
¡°On the way here, your hounds didn¡¯t have much problem with the jungle¡¯s tier-1 beasts present near the road, but what do steads here normally do when a tier-2 threat shows up?¡± Toren asked. The tier-2 husband and wife pair had undoubtedly managed it, or he suspected they would have been long overrun by now rather than living what looked to be a mostly content and self-sufficient life.
¡°Enchanted arrows and repelling wards are the approach taken by most. The claim-stakes let us signal an emergency back to the Farharbor guard, of course, but you¡¯ve gotta survive until help arrives.¡± Marton¡¯s warm gaze went to the large tier-2 hound laying by the fire, lazily gnawing a bone. ¡°Big Brute here, though he doesn¡¯t have many years left in him, has proved his worth to that end more times than I can count.¡±
¡°He is impressive,¡± Warnel admitted, eyeing the terrifying beast with some trepidation but also maybe a glimmer of hope.
¡°That he is,¡± Marton proudly agreed and motioned toward his eldest son. ¡°Harthol takes groups of the hounds out to proactively hunt the area and raise their Skills, Ablilities, and levels. Hopefully, we¡¯ll have another of the studs reach tier-2 soon.¡±
Bessimi frowned. ¡°I really wish you all would reconsider this and sign on with an existing stead, but if you¡¯re determined to see it out, you should at least purchase a pair of hounds. I wouldn¡¯t feel right having you leave here without some protection from zoot ambushes. Especially with such beautiful daughters.¡±
Both girls blushed at the complement.
Toren looked Warnel¡¯s way and gave him a slight nod, and the man seemed to get his meaning, asking, ¡°I¡¯m sure we would be safer with hounds around, but isn¡¯t taking care of them a lot of work? Requiring a specialized Profession?¡±
¡°Well, that¡¯s not wrong if you want to get the best performance out of them. But our hounds are well-trained, and it wouldn¡¯t take long to teach you what you¡¯d need to do for their care. We can even assist with unlocking related skills,¡± Marton¡¯s wife offered.
¡°Skills unlocking?¡± Emina asked, surprised, and Falma¡¯s eager eyes glanced from her mother and father and back to the powerful steader¡¯s wife.
Warnel noticed it, too.
Back in Greenvale, many paid good money to get skills unlocked by an expert, especially known sets of skills needed to unlock a desired Profession.
Toren couldn¡¯t help a faint smile and decided to give a gentle push. ¡°I wonder if things would have gone differently for me if I had sought a companion beast when I was a teen and had someone teach me the Skills? Feeding a companion would¡¯ve been less meat to sell, so hunting alongside one wasn¡¯t something I looked into that much at the time,¡± he mused with a self-deprecating chuckle. ¡°Sadly, I¡¯m already full on Skills and raising and taking care of beasts would be rather outside my Skill set. I imagine Warnel and Emina are in a similar situation. Maybe it¡¯s something Falma wants to learn?¡±
¡°Not Laiya?¡± the middle brother, Korta, asked, winking in Laiya¡¯s direction as the mood at the table was improving again.
¡°I¡¯m training to become a [Reaver],¡± Laiya volunteered.
¡°Really?¡± Harthol asked, blinking in surprise. ¡°As in those scary black-cloak-wearing Eshem`Zel cult assassins?¡±
Korta looked no less shocked.
¡°And your mother and father are okay with that?¡± Iresmi, the younger sister, incredulously blurted out.
¡°No, her mother is not ¡®okay¡¯ with it,¡± Emina huffed and glared at Warnel. ¡°What were you thinking promising our daughter to them? Promising our daughter to be a killer?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t mind, Mother,¡± Laiya stated firmly, her gaze down.
Another awkward silence settled over the table until it was broken by Joric rescuing his brothers, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind showing Falma the kennels and teaching her about how to care for the hounds.¡±
¡°I¡¯d like to!¡± Falma energetically interjected before the opportunity got derailed, then looked nervously at her mom and dad. ¡°If it is okay?¡±
The girl¡¯s parents exchanged a look, and with a nod from Emina, Warnel gave his permission, ¡°Make sure to pay attention, unlocking new skills could broaden your Profession choices.¡±
Joric glanced Laiya¡¯s direction and added, ¡°Laiya, too, if she wants.¡±
Laiya smiled but shook her head. ¡°Thank you, Joric, but I need to use the time to practice my weapons.¡±
¡°Ah, that¡¯s right!¡± Horthal smacked a fist into his palm. ¡°Dad always says it¡¯s important to train after eating meat! Korta and I could help with that?¡±
If the situation wasn¡¯t so dire, Toren would have laughed at the blank stare Laiya gave the boy. ¡°It¡¯s not a bad idea, since the boys have experience fighting in this jungle. I¡¯ll leave the decision on the hounds to Warnel. But maybe more important than that, it does sound that we could benefit from hiring some extra capable hands to help clear the place¡¡±
Breaths were held around the table, and Marton held Toren¡¯s gaze for several heartbeats before flicking to Warnel¡¯s girls and his boys then sighing. ¡°What you¡¯re planning is more dangerous than I¡¯d like, but Horthal and Korta are grown. The boys can decide on their own. It would be good to have new and trustworthy neighbors that could be called on in times of need.¡±
The brothers all shared excited grins.
Bessimi groaned and sent hooded eyes her husband¡¯s way. ¡°Really, Marton?¡±
The younger sister¡¯s eyes widened and, after conflicted glances at Falma and Laiya, she leaned past her forehead-rubbing mother to add her own concern, ¡°Father, are Korta and Horthal going when it¡¯s as dangerous as you¡¯ve said?¡±
¡°Iresmi, sometimes a man has to decide what¡¯s important to him and take a risk. Your mother and I have taught them how to recognize when a situation is too dangerous for them to handle, and I have every expectation that they will prioritize everyone¡¯s safety. You boys following the tracks I¡¯m dropping? Korta? Horthal?¡±
Each boy nodded firmly when addressed.
¡°We¡¯ll be careful, dad,¡± Horthal verbally affirmed.
¡°What about me, father?¡± Joric asked, looking hopeful.
¡°Don¡¯t worry we¡¯ll protect Falma for you, Joric,¡± Korta teased, clapping his younger brother on the back, and both Joric and Falma turned away blushing.
Marton joined the older boys¡¯ laughter before leaning forward with a return to his earlier serious expression. ¡°Looks like we have a lot to negotiate.¡±
Toren took a long pull on the bitter ale-like drink, swallowed, and let out a breath, half his mouth raising in a crooked smile. His gut told him this would be a negotiation that would determine the success or failure for his second tavi grove gamble.
Ch 30 — Horror Hounds (Part III)
Chapter 30 ¡ª Horror Hounds (Part III)
Toren gazed up at the plaster ceiling above the sturdy bed he was lying on.
Camping in the jungle and having any of Warnel¡¯s exhausted family share the overnight watch?
Really, Toren didn¡¯t know what he was thinking to take a crafter family from tier-1 Greenvale out into a tier-2 jungle without proper rest or even the slightest bit of training. If they had been any slower and missed the chance to meet up with Joric¡
Admittedly, as had come up during the dinner, staying in town was also dangerous, but even if the area close to town was somewhat safe, his intended plan¡ªespecially if they had missed the chance to purchase a pair of horror hounds as recommended by Alchemist Nalrevin¡ªwould have put the Hatterswick family in terrible danger. Assuming they managed any sleep and safely arrived at the orchard the following evening, there would still be the task of clearing the property of dangers¡ªdangers that killed the previous family living there.
Doubly fortunate was that Falma seemed to take to the hounds. Toren had been worried from the way the [Alchemist] had described the creepy dogs and their actual appearance that the Hatterswicks would have found them too disgusting to have around, much less care for.
Joric and his siblings were eager to show Falma the stables and how to get the Skills needed to raise and handle the dogs. With Falma¡¯s beauty and open personality, it was easy enough to see that the boys were interested in her. Not that Toren could blame them or Joric¡¯s parents. With the talk of a shortage of women on the frontier, marriage prospects for the boys were likely few and far between.
Likewise, the older brothers had also initially shown interest in Laiya, sharing tales of jungle hunts and adventures, but found her apathy off-putting, maybe mistaking it for disinterest¡ or maybe it was the black catechism filled with dark vellum scrawled with blood-red letters that she was reading when resting during weapons training¡
Haah, who was he kidding? It was definitely the girl¡¯s new religion. He was sure she noticed the way the boys¡¯ almost comical attempts to show-off cooled. Not a bad thing, really. Laiya probably needed time to work through everything that happened to her, and as he saw it, there was little risk of a future where she faced life alone unless she chose that herself.
At least, the weapons training had gone¡ not terrible. As with her parents, Laiya had both a [Cutting] Skill and the [Sure Cut] Ability¡ªfor cutting fabric and ingredients, the girl was quick to assert¡ªthat made her surprisingly dangerous with any edged weapon, and particularly so with the dead [Nightblade]¡¯s enchanted blade. The Ability had been a factor in choosing a sharp leaf-headed spear for her over something sturdier.
It was yet again a reminder that anyone could become an unexpected danger when Skills and Abilities were involved. Toren was glad he had caught her father by surprise with that punch. A more serious fight might have left his armor damaged and him with more wounds to heal or worse.
That said, Laiya¡¯s footwork and spear strikes were clumsy to the point that when not using [Sure Cut], she was just as likely to harm her allies and herself as the target dummy. The limited time firmly in mind, Toren had focused Laiya¡¯s training on positional awareness and basic two-handed strikes.
The boys¡¯ skill with archery on the other hand was very impressive, maybe even better than Toren¡¯s own. Adding in their eagerly demonstrated Abilities, [Piercing Strike] and [Bull¡¯s Eye], made them both well worth hiring even without the accompanying pack of hounds.
As far as armor went, his group was in as good a shape as could be expected. The gambesons purchased for Falma and Emina paired with a helm would protect them from most tier-1 beast attacks long enough for him or the others to get to them. When training under Sellim, Toren had been plenty surprised by how well the heavy layered cloth provided protection even against swords, at least until Abilities and enchanted weapons were brought to bear.
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For himself, Warnel, and Laiya, more serious protection was required and Toren agreed with Marton about armor with metal plates being a necessity. Obviously, the fancy articulated plate armor that nobles wore wasn¡¯t a practical consideration for reasons of price and the jungle environment, but brigandine was ideal. With the individual plates stitched between the layers of cloth, it allowed for decent mobility and protection while still being quiet. It also had the advantage of the overlaps and gaps in the plates not being visible for ¡®lucky¡¯ stabs.
Though Toren called his prized armor ¡®leather armor¡¯, the leather was mainly there for protecting the inner layers of cloth and metal plates from water, blood, sweat, and such. Even with expensive alchemical treatments, beast hide would be unlikely to stop attacks from predators with Abilities that let them hunt other beasts.
And even as good as it was, the leather brigandine armor hadn¡¯t been enough to save Yana and the guys from the locust swarm. The only real safety was with enchanted armors which they couldn¡¯t afford¡ªthat, or reaching tier-2 when the mana began to naturally strengthen the body.
With Marton and Bessimi both tier-2, their strength went a long way toward explaining how they survived encounters by tier-2 beasts and criminal opportunists to thrive and build a family in this jungle.
Whether he could get strong enough fast enough to do the same¡
Toren¡¯s gaze went to the arm-sized metal tube now tied to his pack, a single-use enchanted device¡ªa signal beacon¡ªthat the local steaders used to call for help from each other. Marton had sold it to them cheap thanks to Warnel¡¯s negotiation effort. According to what he had been told, it would make a loud noise that tended to scare off jungle fauna and cast a beam of light into the sky.
Though Toren had formed an initial opinion of Warnel as incompetent and unserious, when it came to buying and selling, the man was surprisingly skilled, showing the right balance of impressed respect for the hound-raising family¡¯s effort and results, piqued interest, and reluctance, garnering a much better price for the needed hounds and training than expected.
That wasn¡¯t all. After seeing the sad state of Laiya¡¯s weapon Skills and skill, Bessimi insisted they stay an extra day to train how to use the hounds.
They didn¡¯t have unlimited time because Toren had already paid the deposit and scheduled an enchanter to come out to his new property, hopefully within a few days¡ªapparently, traveling by tier-2 raptor or such, his property was only a couple of hours out. Assuming success at claiming the orchard, they¡¯d also need to acquire such mounts for themselves if they didn¡¯t want to live isolated from the town and its amenities.
Expenses after expenses. Toren¡¯s life story.
Regardless, that meant even though Toren now readily accepted that his initial plan had been stupid, he couldn¡¯t afford to delay too much more than that. Letting out an exhausted sigh and closing his eyes, he suspected sleep wouldn¡¯t be far off after such a long day. Without a doubt, he would need all the rest he could get now while he could.
~~~
Name: Toren of Theravos
Race: Human
Age: 20
Profession 1: Level 2 Burningblood Berserker (1700/3000)
Status: Injured (Weakened collarbone: mending), Mild Soulstrain
Mana: 16/29
Strength: 16
Constitution: 12
Dexterity: 14
Agility: 12
Wisdom: 12
Intellect: 8
Will Power: 17
Perception 14
Appearance: 8
Charisma: 8
Luck: 10
Attribute Upgrade Points: 1
Traits:
Sacrificial Guardian
Abilities:
Burning Blood (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Slow Bleeding (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Ability Upgrade Points: 1
Profession Skills:
Pain Tolerance 4
Severe Wound Recovery 3
Berserker Knife Arts 1 ¡ú 2
Spear 9
Club 8
Focus Rage 1
Combat Awareness 3
Intimidate 2
Skills:
Theravos Language (Speaking) 15
Theravos Language (Reading/Writing) 10
Religion 10
Meditation 5
Bone Strengthening 3
Hunting 20
Butchering 13
Archery 19
Stealth 17
Arithmetic 4
Foraging 16
Tree Felling 6
Running 12
Mana Sensing 14
Danger Sensing 1
Wound Binding 8
Ch31 — The Blue Raptor Tavern
Chapter 31 ¡ª The Blue Raptor Tavern
When Toren and the Hatterwicks left sated by an early breakfast of eggs and leftovers the morning following the insisted day of intensive training, it was with four new members to their stead. A breeding pair of adult horror hounds and a second pair of just-weaned pups. The female of the breeding pair was the one that had taken to Falma during the walk from town. The male was carefully selected for his loyalty and sensitivity to mana.
Marton¡¯s eldest boys, and two squads of horror hounds were joining them as agreed, eager for the adventure. As on the way to Marton¡¯s stead accompanying Joric, traveling in a group surrounded by hounds made the trip much safer than expected. The zoots that slunk around to investigate possible easy pickings were quickly routed, and in the view of Toren¡¯s [Mana Sensing], mostly they fled deeper into the jungle at the sound of the hounds.
According to Marton the hounds weren¡¯t native to the Corvast Jungle but imported from a volcanic region in the shadow of a floating continent where the locals raised them to protect villages from shadowbeasts and nobles from assassins. Even so, Toren observed that the zoots were beginning to recognize the hounds as threats to stay away from¡ªa welcome sight when considering the limited numbers he would have guarding his stead once Harthol and Korta finished helping him clear the place.
The morning wore on, and the group pressed hard in hopes of reaching the orchard while Horevi still lit the skies above and the jungle below. Occasionally, narrower berms also topped with cobble met up with the main cobbleway. Harthol and Kort were quick to talk about the neighbors that lived at the nearby steads and how most of the boys around the area chose to become [Hunters] rather than [Farmers] for the quick levels that hunting provided.
When Korta brought up the topic of the Silent Hawk Lodge not far past Levish¡¯s tavi orchard that many of the tier-1 [Hunters] operated out of, Toren participated in the conversation with interest, querying about how the lodge worked.
¡°Unless Old Gerdim bans you, the lodge is open to all hunting the jungles,¡± Korta answered. ¡°He does charge for services, but his prices are reasonable. It¡¯s one of the few places nearby where we can buy supplies, buy and sell meat and pelts and such from our hunts, swap information about hunting spots and threats, and organize hunts for tier-2 monsters. There¡¯s a mission board there too for earning credits.¡±
¡°Bans, huh¡ Are there any individual [Hunters] or groups in the area that we should be wary of?¡± Toren asked.
Korta shrugged. ¡°Steader types tend to look out for each other, so it¡¯s not too bad.¡±
¡°The noble brats are the ones better avoided,¡± Horthal volunteered, bow in hand with a forefinger holding an arrow nocked as he actively scanned the mix of broadleaf trees around them for threats. ¡°Who knows what they¡¯ll do when bored, irritated, or looking to be offended out here in the jungle where no one is watching them.¡±
¡°[Hunter] Revos, maybe?¡± Korta offered to the original query, having thought of a name while his brother was talking. ¡°They say he¡¯s mean as a wyvern and twice as dangerous.¡±
Horthal grimaced. ¡°Tall and lanky, always wearing a tattered dark hooded cloak, pale skin, dark hair and beard. Came across his camp once. His aura was intense even when just sitting there stirring a pot over a small fire. Traded him some onions and seasoning for a bowl of the stew he was cooking. Figured best to be friendly just in case, ya know? Didn¡¯t seem to want to talk much.¡±
¡°Yeah, better distant but friendly with a guy like that,¡± Korta agreed.
Toren made a noncommittal hum as acknowledgment for the answers. If that was all the danger from other people that the brothers could think up, leaving the town was sounding more and more like the right decision.
The rapid clickity-clack thump-thump sounds of clawed strides on cobble again prompted them to make way in time for a pair of raptor riders to speed past.
Not much later, the source¡ªor at least, one of the sources¡ªof the raptor mounts that others had been using to rapidly travel the local roads came into view around mid-morning settled around a location where the cobbleway branched. The large tract of above-flood-height land around a branching of the cobbleway had been cleared and made into fenced pastures holding a good number of mostly blue raptors. Past the split, a row of unoccupied wagon tie-offs and a handful of wood and stone buildings stood out as testament to civilization carving its presence into the jungle, one building clearly livelier than the rest.
¡°Blue Raptor Tavern and Ranch,¡± Korta cheerily informed them and motioned toward the northward road. ¡°That¡¯s the road we want, heading toward the settlement of Mistmire.¡±
¡°Where does the road we¡¯re currently on go?¡± Falma spoke up, curiosity in her voice.
Korta grinned at Falma¡¯s enthusiasm. ¡°Deeper into the jungle and eventually to the outposts being built to secure the land against the Ith¡¯zi tribes.¡±
¡°Ith¡®zi?¡± Laiya followed up, resting her spear over her armored shoulder and relaxing some now that there was fenced pasture between the group and the treeline.
¡°Yep. Native lizardmen with settlements of their own in the jungle depths.¡±
¡°No doubt unhappy about humans encroaching their territory,¡± Warnel groaned. ¡°Are raids and attacks something we need to worry about?¡±
¡°We¡¯ve never met any,¡± Korta offered with a shrug and looked to his brother for confirmation.
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¡°There¡¯s rumors of sightings sometimes.¡± Horthal also shrugged. ¡°I hear the raids attacking the steads near the outposts can get bad sometimes.¡±
Korta and Horthal called the free-ranging hounds over to one of the wagon tie-offs together with the hounds pulling the pair of hunting sleds each brother had brought along.
¡°I¡¯ll stay outside with the hounds,¡± Horthal volunteered as he opened a sack of jerky and began rewarding the barking mass of excited faceless horrors. ¡°You all should rest and take an early lunch. You, too, Falma. I¡¯ll watch over your pair and the pups.¡±
¡°Ah, thanks, Horthal.¡± Falma gave him a smile. ¡°Should we leave our backpacks here, too?¡±
¡°Yep. No one is getting past Pouncer and his hound-pack,¡± the eldest brother confirmed.
¡°Thank the gods!¡± Warnel exclaimed in relief after a confirming nod from Toren, promptly shedding his heavy travelpack along with the rest of their group¡ªto amused chuckles from the brothers.
They had reached their first planned¡ªand hopefully only¡ªstop for the day, not counting brief breaks to rest or dress the zoot kills.
Toren kept his senses sharp and his [Danger Sensing] firmly in mind as Korta led the group toward the tavern¡¯s entrance, chatting up Falma and Laiya about the drinks and food usually on offer. The surprising number of saddled raptors tied to hitching posts at the front of the tavern suggested the place was a lot busier than he would have preferred. If the Conclave¡¯s reach extended outside the town¡¯s walls¡
He turned to Emina. ¡°You and the girls should stow your helmets now, so you don¡¯t have to take them off to eat and can keep your cloaks covering you as much as possible while we¡¯re in there. We don¡¯t want to draw too much attention.¡±
Emina seemed to be thinking something similar and called her daughters back to have a chat of her own with them.
¡°Thank the gods, there¡¯s a place to stop and rest out here¡ªmaybe even trade,¡± Warnel muttered, shoulders slumping and feet dragging from hours of tense walking in the humid jungle only made worse by the padded armor and travel packs.
¡°With the number of saddled mounts here, I wonder if they are more affordable than expected?¡± Toren pointed out to his haggler-in-chief, whose eyes widened upon noticing.
¡°Not just for purchase,¡± Korta interjected, motioning to the pens. ¡°Rentals. Renting a raptor is much more affordable. Fast, tough, and the bigger ones can pull wagons if needed. Though, you¡¯re still probably better off using orrogs for heavy loads.¡±
That meant reaching town from their stead and getting back before nightfall was actually doable. Toren had worried about how Falma would be able to return to town to work for the [Alchemist]. Whether this was a solution or not would depend on price.
~~~
¡ºName: Toren of Theravos
Race: Human
Age: 20
Profession 1: Level 2 Burningblood Berserker (1700/3000)
Mana: 26/29
Strength: 16
Constitution: 12
Dexterity: 14
Agility: 12
Wisdom: 12
Intellect: 8
Will Power: 17
Perception 14
Appearance: 8
Charisma: 8
Luck: 10
Attribute Upgrade Points: 1
Traits:
Sacrificial Guardian
Abilities:
Burning Blood (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Slow Bleeding (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Ability Upgrade Points: 1
Profession Skills:
Pain Tolerance 4
Severe Wound Recovery 3
Berserker Knife Arts 1
Spear 9
Club 8
Combat Awareness 3
Intimidate 2
Skills:
Theravos Language (Speaking) 15
Theravos Language (Reading/Writing) 10
Religion 10
Meditation 5
Bone Strengthening 3
Hunting 20
Butchering 13
Archery 19
Stealth 17
Arithmetic 4
Foraging 16
Tree Felling 6
Running 12
Mana Sensing 14
Danger Sense 1
Wound Binding 8¡»
Ch32 — Indiscretion
Chapter 32 ¡ª Indiscretion
¡°You all headed to clear a claim?¡± a man sitting with a group of similarly hunting-outfitted fellows asked as Toren and his group settled around a table inside the tavern.
¡°Yep! Levish¡¯s old orchard,¡± Korta volunteered, to cheers and raised mugs around the room, and much to Toren¡¯s internal consternation.
The man across from the first had been in the process of drinking and coughed before managing a ¡°Seriously?¡±
¡°Korta, you should already know better; that place is a zoot haven,¡± a third added, head motioning toward Warnel¡¯s daughters and wife who were attracting attention even with their hair and faces mostly hidden by their hoods. ¡°And you¡¯re taking such pretty faces along?¡±
¡°Nah, me and my hounds will keep ¡®em safe. You¡¯ll see, Borthos,¡± Korta boasted, proudly adding. ¡°Zoots won¡¯t even have a chance to get near.¡±
A fourth sighed and continued as if Korta hadn¡¯t spoken. ¡°I feel bad for ¡®em.¡±
The fifth pretended the same, nodding agreement. ¡°Yeah, gonna get sliced up something terrible.¡±
Borthos looked down into his mug like it would give wisdom. ¡°It¡¯s a waste, ya know?¡±
¡°Yeah, a waste.¡± The man who had spoken second, shook his head in resignation, sounding depressed, and downed half his mug.
The older guy who had started the conversation smiled knowingly at his tablemates¡¯ joking.
¡°Wha-? Don¡¯t pretend like I¡¯m not here!¡± Korta complained but, seeing the unmoved responses and hooded eyes directed his way, grudgingly admitted, ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m helping by myself. Harthol¡¯s here with his hunting pack too.¡±
¡°Oh?¡± Borthos¡¯ brows raised. ¡°Your father know what you two are up to with his hounds?¡±
¡°I can make my own choices-¡±
A teen girl wearing an apron pressed a sloshy mug into Korta¡¯s chest for him to take, shutting him up so she could teasingly interject, ¡°Getting to show off, huh Korta?¡±
¡°Ugh, Marlie¡ it¡¯s not showing off. It¡¯s a job!¡± Korta defensively objected, and motioned toward Toren once he was sure he had hold of the mug. ¡°Steader Toren hired us.¡±
¡°I was impressed by the boys¡¯ skill,¡± Toren helpfully offered.
He wasn¡¯t the only one that noticed the casual interplay between the two teens. Unlike her uninterested sister, Falma was looking back and forth between the pair with narrowing eyes but still spoke up in Korta¡¯s defense, ¡°Toren got permission from Steader Marton before asking.¡±
Marlie¡¯s gaze shifted to Warnel¡¯s younger daughter, catching a glimpse of golden locks that had slipped free of the hood, and seemed to quickly figure out what was going on. The girl quickly replaced the hint of smug realization with a welcoming smile. ¡°Don¡¯t recognize you all, welcome to the Blue Raptor and welcome to the frontier. Today¡¯s special is spiced saberbeak stew served in jungle bread. I recommend twitchfruit for drinks. It¡¯ll improve your alertness.¡±
Falma looked to Korta for his opinion and the boy shrugged.
Other than recognizing the name of those jungle birds, Toren hadn¡¯t the slightest clue. If Korta wasn¡¯t warning them away from the suggestion, it was probably fine ¡°Let¡¯s do that, then. Something for Korta¡¯s brother to eat later while walking, too.¡±
¡°I know just the thing.¡± Marlie gave them another bright smile and with a ¡°I¡¯ll get those for you all¡± was on her way to the kitchen.
¡°Any advice you folks can give us?¡± Warnel asked toward the group of [Hunters].
¡°I too am worried; with so many dangers, how do people here keep their children safe?¡± Emina added.
The older [Hunter] seemed happy enough to take the question. ¡°Long as you¡¯ve got your claim stakes planted at the corners of your claim and keep ¡®em charged up with mana, you shouldn¡¯t have to worry about anything weaker than tier-2 getting onto your property, and tier-2 attacks are what the signal beacons are for. The Blue Raptor Tavern''s [Barkeep], Althim, sells ¡®em if you didn¡¯t already buy one.¡±
¡°Helps to have the walls and windows enchanted, too, just in case,¡± Borthos added. ¡°A persistent enough swarm of critters can wear down the claim barrier, particularly during the high-tide flooding. But if you all can clear that property, you¡¯ll probably be fine. Besides, I¡¯m sure Korta here will come running as fast as he can if you use a beacon.¡±
¡°You can count on me!¡± Korta declared with foam on his lips from whatever was in the mug and winked at the girls while striking a snort-inducing heroic pose, drawing laughter and further ribbing from the [Hunters].
While the banter was going on, Toren had discreetly made use of his [Danger Sensing] and eyes to search for unwanted attention resulting from Korta¡¯s indiscretions about where they were steading and their names.
None of the patrons reacted with outwardly suspicious behavior. No discreetly scoping them out. No running off or slinking away to report. No whispered conferences or trying to look uninterested.
And no tingle of danger even after [Mana Sensing] the whole room. Either his level in [Danger Sensing] was too low or maybe they had lucked out.
For now, he¡¯d leave the Hatterwicks to handle the socializing. They were doing well enough, and he had other things to find out. Toren excused himself and approached the barkeep to find out about the raptor rentals.
His group fed, rested, and with renewed spirits, Toren was only too glad to be under Horevi¡¯s embrace again and away from the tavern. The locals were friendly enough, but that was half the problem. Unexpectedly, no one out this way had the sense to keep their mouths shut.
Toren closed his eyes and focused his senses, listening to the sounds of the jungle as best he could through his helmet. As before, most creatures fled the approach of the dogs or safely watched from the trees.
No signs of anyone following them.
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Yet.
[Danger Sensing] still wasn¡¯t catching hint of anything. [Mana Sensing], neither.
But¡ with the neighbors now knowing he and the Hatterswicks were moving into the Levish place, someone¡¯d be sure to drop by and ¡®be friendly¡¯. Even if just to get gossip.
Toren¡¯s new problem would be determining who was just being neighborly, who was scoping them for easy picking, and who might be sent by the Conclave.
Yes, he knew that the best way to not raise suspicion was to act normally. The Conclave might not know he was involved in the attack, but the Hatterwicks¡¯ names were in the ledger¡ªthe ledger that he gave to Reaver Yorne.
He opened his eyes and sighed, continuing to put one foot lightly in front of the other, keeping pace with the others who were spread out ahead and behind: Horthal and Pouncer¡¯s pack leading, Warnel with his wife, Falma still chatting with Korta by the sleds, he and Laiya watching the flanks.
Maybe it really was fine for them to act normal and try to blend in as ordinary steaders.
Even so¡ Weren¡¯t more than half the colonists criminals? Shouldn¡¯t these people understand that others have pasts following them?
¡°Toren, something up?¡± Warnel¡¯s eldest daughter asked him, having drawn closer. She was doing better than he expected, taking the tasks he assigned her seriously¡ªmaybe too seriously.
¡°No, just worried that we attracted too much attention,¡± Toren admitted.
Laiya¡¯s helmet bobbed a nod. ¡°You and Reaver Yorne did kill Conclave people when rescuing us.¡±
As apathetic as she pretended to be, the girl was sharp.
He considered asking Laiya how she was holding up but asked something else instead, ¡°The Eshem`Zel stuff, you going to be fine with that?¡±
The girl looked into the distance for a few steps before answering. ¡°Yeah. Maybe there¡¯s a reason things happened the way they did.¡±
Yeah, your father being a self-serving moron and selling your fate to a fae for a temporary boost to his fortune.
Of course, Toren didn¡¯t tell her that.
There was no sense bringing up Warnel¡¯s part in the Hatterwicks rise and fall. They were here now, and the balance had¡ªwith luck¡ªbeen paid. No sense in kicking that stinkshroom when they would all be crammed into a small farmhouse together soon enough.
¡°Do you know what Skills and achievements you need to unlock the [Reaver] Profession?¡±
¡°A weapon Skill past ''proficient''. An armor Skill. Dedication to Eshem`zel. The [Religion] Skill. The [Stealth] Skill. And one murder or monster kill,¡± the girl confidently reported, helmet turning his way. ¡°I¡¯m already a dedicant and we¡¯re headed to kill zoots. Figure I¡¯ll get the [Religion] Skill from the catechism Reaver Uvros gave me. And if you continue to train me in the weapon and armor skills like you promised my dad¡ then that would just leave [Stealth]...¡±
Laiya¡¯s voice had trailed off toward the end, maybe worried she was asking too much. Or fearing rejection?
¡°I don¡¯t mind teaching it to you, but [Stealth] is a bronze Skill, so you might have to remove some iron Skills to make room in your core.¡±
Laiya nodded and looked away. ¡°...thanks.¡±
Toren blinked. Her body language was mostly obscured by her cloak and her face was hidden behind her helmet, but was the girl suddenly acting¡ bashful?
~~~
¡ºName: Toren of Theravos
Race: Human
Age: 20
Profession 1: Level 2 Burningblood Berserker (1700/3000)
Mana: 28/29
Strength: 16
Constitution: 12
Dexterity: 14
Agility: 12
Wisdom: 12
Intellect: 8
Will Power: 17
Perception 14
Appearance: 8
Charisma: 8
Luck: 10
Attribute Upgrade Points: 1
Traits:
Sacrificial Guardian
Abilities:
Burning Blood (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Slow Bleeding (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Ability Upgrade Points: 1
Profession Skills:
Pain Tolerance 4
Severe Wound Recovery 3
Berserker Knife Arts 1
Spear 9
Club 8
Focus Rage 1
Combat Awareness 3
Intimidate 2
Skills:
Theravos Language (Speaking) 15
Theravos Language (Reading/Writing) 10
Religion 10
Meditation 5
Bone Strengthening 3
Hunting 20
Butchering 13
Archery 19
Stealth 17
Arithmetic 4
Foraging 16
Tree Felling 6
Running 12
Mana Sensing 14
Danger Sensing 1
Wound Binding 8¡»
Ch33 — A Nostalgic Moment of Proving
Chapter 33 ¡ª A Nostalgic Moment of Proving
Maybe he was reading too much into Laiya¡¯s reaction to his agreeing to help her get the [Reaver] Profession? Hells, it was possible he was completely imagining things, or that the girl was simply grateful or had a strong sense of honor. Even if she was turning to him for¡ affection? Validation? Was that a bad thing? Surely, it was an improvement over nihilistic apathy¡
¡°By the way, good job staying alert, Laiya. Keep it up and you could earn an awareness Skill soon,¡± Toren praised.
Laiya¡¯s helmet nodded, business-like as usual, and the girl returned to guarding the far flank. Korta¡¯s hounds playfully yipped and trotted, welcoming her back.
Everything else aside, the [Haberdasher] girl had done well to notice he was acting unusual and take initiative to prevent a dangerous situation.
Not having any social Skills to clue him in was a fact of life for Toren that got him in trouble more than once. In this case, he clearly was over-reading what he thought he saw. There was no way a girl as beautiful as Laiya would be interested in him that way.
He¡¯d have to invest attribute upgrade points just to get his appearance to average, after all, Toren chuckled to himself. Respect or admiration wouldn¡¯t be that strange though.
Toren had always enjoyed that thrill of pride from the younger orphans looking up to him, Yana, Avril, and Owen who had become [Hunter] apprentices and braved the wilds to bring back meat. Naturally, the [Holy Sisters] didn¡¯t quite approve, complaining about the four of them encouraging young impressionable minds toward dangerous Professions with short life-expectancies.
Feeling that sense of responsibility again might be nice¡
One of the hounds on Toren¡¯s side nuzzled up against his thigh and barked for attention. He gave the good boy a few pats and glanced Laiya¡¯s way through his helmet¡¯s eye-slit. The girl was diligently focused on scanning the underbrush and canopy for threats as he had suggested she do.
Laiya¡¯s new faith was likely at least part of the reason for the quietly kindled motivation. Though the particular faith was worrying, having a reliable fighter to help defend the property during swarms or raids and to defend it when he was out hunting would be critical to their chances of surviving.
Toren rolled his shoulders to ease the muscles supporting the weight of his armor and pack and returned to scanning twisted mangrove trees and underbrush.
The Hatterwicks weren¡¯t the only ones to benefit from the day spent training. Having recovered his mana with a good night¡¯s sleep, only a few hours had been needed for Toren¡¯s [Burning Blood] Ability to finish healing his remaining injuries. The time spent actively directing the healing to specific locations within his body was steadily progressing his proficiency with the Ability, and from past experience, he was certain the threshold to the current rank¡¯s ¡®mid¡¯ proficiency was close.
Progressing through the proficiency thresholds of an Ability was more than a process of discovery. It was a process of refinement and evolution, guiding the path the Ability would take as it grew in strength. The most usual approaches were through specializing or broadening the application of the ability. Specializing often came with increased power. Broadening increased utility. They weren¡¯t necessarily mutually exclusive approaches.
An example he had read about while at the orphanage readily came to mind: learning to add a flame aspect to the well-known [Sword Aura] Ability. Adding fire specialized the element while increasing the effects produced. Further specializing with the fire aspect could lead to the Ability evolving to [Flaming Sword Aura] whereas learning to use additional elements could broaden the [Sword Aura] into [Elemental Sword Aura].
Theory aside, Toren was pleased with the direction of [Burning Blood]¡¯s first refinement. Thus far, being able to target the Abliity¡¯s effect increased both the efficiency and speed of healing¡ªa solid upgrade with no downsides. The alternate option he felt might be achievable was an improvement to bone restoration, but that felt like a better target for his second refinement. Not that he wanted to break any more bones.
On the other hand, skilling-up [Bone Strengthening] would go faster if he did break more bones¡
Toward late afternoon, the behavior of the stray zoot groups began to change. No longer fleeing the approach of the hounds, the zoots were taking to the trees and waiting.
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The growing instances of saber birds flapping higher and to other trees and the increasing tension in the hounds clued the two [Hunter] boys in about the change in situation before Toren needed to say anything.
¡°We¡¯re getting close. I think we should rest here and prepare for what lies ahead,¡± Horthal announced, holding up a hand for them to stop and ordering the dogs to stay close and guard.
Once everyone had a chance to drink from their waterskins, Korta called Emina and Falma over to the sleds and removed the coverings from the prepared crates of animal bladders.
The bladders were how the local [Hunters] dealt with the zoots [Camouflage] Ability. Brightly colored berries were mashed and cooked down to extract the vivid color. That liquid was added to a mix of cooked chunks of fatty offal which went into the bladders before tying them off and dipping them in hot fat to improve the smell and keep the meat inside from rotting. When cooled, the bladders were placed in wood crates on the hunting sleds.
With Emina and Falma being the least proficient at combat in their group, their chosen task during the efforts to clear the orchard was to throw these bladders and help guard the sleds.
Warnel also positioned himself nearer the sleds, helmet turning from hound to hound as they took up aggressive postures and stared out into the jungle past the sloped ditches on either side of the raised road or up into the branches of reaching foliage above.
¡°I think they are surrounding us,¡± Laiya spoke up, and Toren nodded to confirm. The zoots were indeed gathering, more silently trickling in from the jungle depths and taking up positions near both sides of the road as if waiting in anticipation for the chance to join the coming bloodletting.
¡°They are. Stay alert, and keep your weapons ready. I count 27 so far. More on the west side, but ones on the east side are slightly stronger,¡± Toren apprised his group.
Maybe due to training, even the normally vocal horror hounds had become silent in anticipation.
The situation reminded Toren of the time he, Yana, Avril, and Owen took on their first ¡®monster den¡¯ mission¡ªthat tension in the air as the moment of proving arrived and they made peace with their individual choices. No matter how well prepared, success in battle was never a certainty.
Around him, the Hatterwicks were evaluating their own choices as the first real test in this new way of life that they found themselves with real stakes, real possibility of death, imminently faced them.
Everyone¡¯s faces were hidden by helms and hoods, but if he had to guess, Emina and Warnel were likely on the verge of minor panic, and the girls were contending with the rush of Warrior¡¯s High for the first time. Yet, just like his rag-tag group of apprentice [Hunters] those many years ago, the four stood ready in the positions each had trained for the event.
¡°33 now,¡± he updated and directed his voice quietly in Horthal¡¯s direction, ¡°Looks like your father was right about multiple packs and a probable lair.¡±
¡°If too many gather, it could become dangerous,¡± Horthal worried. ¡°We should start thinning their numbers. Toren, can you spot them well enough to shoot?¡±
¡°I can.¡±
¡°Everyone ready?¡± When no objections were heard, Horthal half-drew his own bow, as with Toren and Korta, arrows already nocked, and motioned to begin.
With an acknowledging nod to Hathol and quiet confidence, Toren drew, aimed, and loosed.
The powerful but quiet thrum of the bow and the arrow¡¯s brief whispering flight were rewarded by the sound of disturbed leaves and the thump of a lizard falling and hitting the ground.
|
For killing a level 7 Corvast Jungle Zoot,
700 XP Awarded.
Keep up the good work!
|
In the moment realization dawned on the zoots, ululating cries pierced the humid air and the jungle around them exploded into motion.
~~
¡ºName: Toren of Theravos
Race: Human
Age: 20
Profession 1: Level 2 Burningblood Berserker (2400/3000)
Mana: 28/29
Strength: 16
Constitution: 12
Dexterity: 14
Agility: 12
Wisdom: 12
Intellect: 8
Will Power: 17
Perception 14
Appearance: 8
Charisma: 8
Luck: 10
Attribute Upgrade Points: 1
Traits:
Sacrificial Guardian
Abilities:
Burning Blood (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Slow Bleeding (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Ability Upgrade Points: 1
Profession Skills:
Pain Tolerance 4
Severe Wound Recovery 3
Berserker Knife Arts 1
Spear 9
Club 8
Focus Rage 1
Combat Awareness 3
Intimidate 2
Skills:
Theravos Language (Speaking) 15
Theravos Language (Reading/Writing) 10
Religion 10
Meditation 5
Bone Strengthening 3
Hunting 20
Butchering 13
Archery 19
Stealth 17
Arithmetic 4
Foraging 16
Tree Felling 6
Running 12
Mana Sensing 14
Danger Sensing 1
Wound Binding 8¡»
Ch34 — The Battle for Levish’s Orchard (Part I)
Chapter 34 ¡ª The Battle for Levish¡¯s Orchard (Part I)
¡°Wha-! Why is-!?¡±
¡°Throw the bladder, mom!¡± Falma was already doing as she exhorted.
Seeing the views of the jungle suddenly gaining shape through motion was disorienting even for Toren who knew the position of each zoot thanks to his [Mana Sensing] and [Combat Awareness] Skills. He could only imagine how it must appear to Emina who had called out in panicked surprise.
¡°Pouncer, kill!¡±
¡°Yowls, protect!¡±
Horthal and Kortha yelled out commands to their hound pack-leaders and loosed arrows, each at a blur of lizard making use of long tree branches to run and jump at the expedition from above. Toren did the same¡ªthe ¡®loosing arrows¡¯ part anyway.
|
For defeating a level 6 Corvast Jungle Zoot,
600 XP Awarded.
Keep up the good work!
|
Amid the cacophony of dogs viciously tearing into anything that moved and angry hissing and screeching from the enraged lizards charging to their deaths, several branch jumpers made it through, but the situation wasn¡¯t as bad as he worried. The zoot¡¯s [Camouflage] Skill took time to adapt, and if they could keep the lizards in motion, they were easy enough to spot.
Toren swiped his bow at two which landed near him, catching one solidly in the head and the other mid lunge, punting it into the scrum of dogs.
Warnel, nearby, yelled out and slashed at a zoot that landed nearest him, cutting deep enough to sever the spine.
Returning his attention to the zoot trying to recover in front of him, Toren brought another quick blow to its head, and was rewarded by a pair of kill notices as he readied a new arrow.
|
For defeating a level 7 Corvast Jungle Zoot,
700 XP Awarded.
Keep up the good work!
|
|
For assisting in defeating a level 9 Corvast Jungle Zoot,
450 XP Awarded.
Keep up the good work!
|
| Congratulation! You have reached level 3!
+1 Ability Upgrade Point.
+1 Attribute Upgrade Point. |
Glancing around, Toren confirmed through his helmet¡¯s eye-slit that Falma and Emina¡¯s efforts weren¡¯t wasted.
The scent of the bladders and their contents drew the zoots to chomp them mid-air and chase after the ones that missed, splattering the vivid berry-colored slurry in their attempts to get at the mix of tasty offal chunks and rendered fat inside. Whether the liquid dripped down from their snouts or scaly skin, it blocked the effect of the zoot¡¯s [Camouflage]. Each zoot distracted by a bladder was one distracted from harrying the hounds.
He drew, aimed at an unmarked zoot crouching to leap at Laiya, and released. The moment the arrow bloomed from its flank and threw the lizard to the ground, three dogs pounced it and tore it apart.
|
For assisting in defeating a level 11 Corvast Jungle Zoot,
550 XP Awarded.
Keep up the good work!
|
A few smart zoots tried to grab the ruptured bladder or the larger chunks of offal and run back into the treeline, but they made easy shots for the brothers. Toren switched focus to the east side and loosed again.
|
For defeating a level 6 Corvast Jungle Zoot,
600 XP Awarded.
Keep up the good work!
|
Even focusing on the zoots yet to be marked, Toren¡¯s new [Combat Awareness] Skill made estimating distances for arrow flights almost trivial.
The battle seemed to already be wrapping up, so he aimed for a particularly large one that was holding back, still in the treeline, watching.
|
For defeating a level 15 Corvast Jungle Zoot Alpha,
1500 XP Awarded.
Keep up the good work!
|
The fury of violence was replaced by a sudden quiet only broken by soft whines and pained whimpers. Worryingly, a pair of stragglers that had stayed out of sight, maybe hoping to scavenge scraps, did run off to the northwest once the ambush failed.
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Horthal urgently hopped over zoot corpses to reach where half his hounds were gathered around one of the sources of whimpering. The hounds made room for Horthal to help their injured packmate, revealing a sight of a large horror hound laying in pain, lacerated intestines partially spilling out onto the road.
¡°Lurker¡¯s Luck! Big Berta got sliced,¡± the older brother cursed.
¡°Ouch, that¡¯s pretty bad.¡± Korta grimaced. ¡°Do you want to try to save her?¡±
Horthal¡¯s pack alpha, Pouncer, was nudging his head against the head of the injured hound, making worried sounds. The other concerned hounds were looking to the older brother for help and making whining noises.
¡°I¡¯m worried about the blood attracting insects and more dangerous predators, but Pouncer would be devastated; I¡¯d better give it a try. The hounds licked it mostly clean so at least finding the places needing stitching shouldn¡¯t be too hard. I¡¯ll need someone to keep her from moving.¡± Horthal was already squatting down and placed his hand against the wounded hound¡¯s neck to give comfort. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, boy. I¡¯ll fix her up.¡±
The older brother wasn¡¯t wrong. The scent of blood in the air was strong, and Toren couldn¡¯t imagine it not attracting something. ¡°We¡¯re safe for the moment, but whatever we¡¯re doing, we should be quick.¡±
Korta worked a rough-woven sack free from his brother¡¯s sled, and pulled out a clay jar. ¡°Falma, Emina, can you rub this salve on the hounds¡¯ cuts while Horthal and I help Big Berta?¡±
¡°Just rub it on?¡± Emina asked as she hurried over and took the hold of the jar, a queasy but determined-looking Falma following.
Korta was already hurrying over to assist his brother, but he called back. ¡°There¡¯s a numbing herb in the salve. If you have sewing skills, you could try stitching the larger cuts?¡±
¡°Okay, we¡¯ll do that.¡±
¡°Is there anything dad and I should do?¡± Laiya asked, still holding her spear at the ready and scanning the underbrush and tree branches for additional threats. The blood on her spear¡¯s blade suggested that the girl succeeded in getting her needed first kill. Toren must have missed the exact moment in the rush of the melee.
Similarly, Warnel¡¯s blade showed a partial sheen of blood. The man nodded to Toren, also looking for direction.
Toren directed his voice toward the two brothers, ¡°Korta, is the plan to secure the zoot corpses now? Or finish clearing the area first?¡±
The teen looked up from holding down Big Berta. His brother was dripping something in the hound¡¯s mouth.
¡°If you could? Maybe tie them into bundles that we can secure to the sleds? We should probably leave a few for the saberbeaks, so they¡¯ll be less likely to raid us later.¡±
A glance upward, confirmed a good number of saberbeaks gathering, eying the carrion, occasionally adjusting their wings, but not yet making a move.
¡°Sounds easy enough,¡± Toren grunted. Korta¡¯s sled had loops of cord intended for that purpose. ¡°Laiya, continue to keep guard, just like you¡¯re doing. Warnel, if you could help me by collecting the crests from the ones too damaged to take with us.¡±
Warnel¡¯s shoulders moved like he was grimacing under his helmet. ¡°Ah, okay.¡±
Laiya nodded confirmation, her helmet continuing its scanning movements.
A cursory glance over the carnage showed the corpses in better condition than the earlier violence would have suggested. The hounds had gone mostly for the necks or legs and left them unmolested once dead.
Toren got to work. Binding up 30-ish corpses was going to take a while.
It was too soon to make assumptions, but overall, he was greatly encouraged by how well the fight had gone. Clearing the orchard was beginning to feel like more than just an aspiration, and another thing had become clear: fighting zoots was great XP! At the current rate, just clearing the orchard might get him to level 5 and his next Ability and General Skill selection even with his Profession¡¯s absurd 100% extra XP required per level, further increasing their chances for survival.
~~~
¡ºName: Toren of Theravos
Race: Human
Age: 20
Profession 1: Level 3 Burningblood Berserker (2800/6000)
Mana: 28/43
Strength: 16
Constitution: 12
Dexterity: 14
Agility: 12
Wisdom: 12
Intellect: 8
Will Power: 17
Perception 14
Appearance: 8
Charisma: 8
Luck: 10
Attribute Upgrade Points: 2
Traits:
Sacrificial Guardian
Abilities:
Burning Blood (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Slow Bleeding (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Ability Upgrade Points: 2
Profession Skills:
Pain Tolerance 4
Severe Wound Recovery 3
Berserker Knife Arts 1
Spear 9
Club 8
Focus Rage 1
Combat Awareness 3
Intimidate 2
Skills:
Theravos Language (Speaking) 15
Theravos Language (Reading/Writing) 10
Religion 10
Meditation 5
Bone Strengthening 3
Hunting 20
Butchering 13
Archery 19
Stealth 17
Arithmetic 4
Foraging 16
Tree Felling 6
Running 12
Mana Sensing 14
Danger Sensing 1
Wound Binding 8¡»
Ch35 — The Battle for Levish’s Orchard (Part II)
Chapter 35 ¡ª The Battle for Levish¡¯s Orchard (Part II)
Toren was impressed with the boys¡¯ effort to save Big Berta. After stitching the cuts in the hound¡¯s intestines, Horthal had sparingly dripped an expensive-looking potion onto the worst places and pushed the cleaned bowels back where they belonged before stitching up the main wound. The dog was lifted onto Horthal¡¯s sled to sleep off the sleeping draught that had been administered.
From what Toren witnessed, the hounds Warnel had purchased for the stead had acquitted themselves well enough during the battle, staying close to Falma and guarding her. The two pups had yapped and postured, mostly cowering behind the female, but that was for the better. Pups grew quickly, and having them watch the older dogs fight would undoubtedly prove useful in the future.
The older hounds chased the puppies off the dead zoots a few times during the post-battle clean up. Toren was impressed with how the hounds had been trained not to eat the kills. From what he understood about dogs, they were alway hungry.
By the time the brothers were ready to continue on, the younger saber birds had worked up enough courage to dive down and abscond with parts of carrion he and Warnel had chucked a distance away as Kota had recommended. A few were bold enough to land on the road and feast.
An uncomfortable number of the older birds still eyed the bloody bundles tied to trail behind the sleds.
Yet-to-be-culled zoots had resumed gathering among the trees to either side of the road¡ªmaybe, like the saber birds, drawn by the smell¡ªbut not as close to the road as before. A chirpy clicking among them that could be heard echoing off the trees seemed to warn the newcomers of the danger. When Horthal got the dog and sled procession progressing toward their destination again, a few stayed behind to hunt the feasting saber birds.
¡°The road to Levish¡¯s Orchard?¡± Toren asked as a raised road made of packed dirt like that of the other steads they had passed came into view.
¡°It is,¡± Horthal confirmed from beside the lead sled.
¡°Thank the gods!¡± Warnel loudly praised, then maybe thought better of it as his helmet turned to the jungle around them.
Toren looked to the horizon. Still two candlemarks before Horevi¡¯s light passed below the treeline, if he was any judge. The dogs would be fine fighting the zoots in the twilight, but it was not something he wanted to risk if they could help it, and if they had to withdraw, camping anywhere near this severe a zoot infestation would be tempting fate. That didn¡¯t leave them much time to secure the orchard¡ªor at least the farmhouse¡ªsufficiently to create a defensible camp.
The zoots decided on a new strategy as the group progressed along the partially overgrown path toward a shallow hill¡¯s summit and had begun to collectively hiss. The unnerving sound washed against Toren¡¯s group like whispers of promised death and put the horror hounds on edge enough that a few of the more high-strung dogs were baited away from the others, having to be individually called back. The strategy was smart and a better fit for the zoots¡¯ natural methods of harrying and ambushes than the earlier all-out rush Toren had managed to provoke during the initial battle.
¡°Mom, are we really going to be okay?¡±
Emina gave her youngest daughter a reassuring side hug but the woman still flinched with each new lizard hiss and snarling engagement.
The [Alchemist] had been spot on with the advice about horror hounds. The dogs were natural zoot killers. Without two hunting-packs of hounds, Toren had no doubt the situation would have been terrifying. If they didn¡¯t manage to adequately clear the nests and thin the numbers, this is what his group would be facing with only two hounds and two pups¡ªwhat Levish¡¯s family faced.
¡°Thin ¡®em out again?¡± Toren asked Horthal.
¡°The nest might be nearby if they are acting this territorial.¡±
Would a nest with this many zoots be able to stay in one place? Or after stripping an area, would the bipedal lizards be forced to roam from place to place like the giant locusts? Toren wasn¡¯t sure which was better. Roaming zoots could probably be driven off with enough kills but might remain a recurrent problem. A fixed nest could be wiped out but would likely face a more desperate resistance.
In the fights that followed, the zoots adopted strategies that were much less suicidal. Feinting attacks to try and draw off a few of the dogs at a time. Each time, Toren felt out the alpha organizing the skirmish with [Mana Sensing] and sniped it.
Of course, the reality didn¡¯t have to be one of either extreme, all fleeing or all defending to the death. The zoots wouldn¡¯t have survived to become the ubiquitous pests they were if they always fought to the death, and with each defeat, several lost their nerve and slunk away deeper into the jungle.
After the third culling and another level up for Toren, the jungle receded to reveal the stone farmhouse and adjacent orchard sprawled atop the hill. A stacked timber fence marked the property¡¯s extents. It would be a welcome sight if not for the numbers of zoots causing the ground, building, and tree trunks to writhe with shifting camouflage.
¡°Are my eyes failing, or¡,¡± Warnel groaned.
¡°No, it¡¯s worse than it looks. The farmhouse and orchard are thoroughly infested,¡± Toren confirmed, [Mana Sensing] making clear the true count of zoots. Whether to call it a nest or not, was less clear. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
One of the zoots stood out as far stronger than the others, just short of tier 2 if he had to guess. That one would be a priority target. If it had evasion, damage reduction, or hide-toughening Abilities, killing it might require enchanted weapons.
Toren reached down to grasp the handle of the enchanted sword he had taken in the Conclave raid, making sure he could repeat the motion quickly. The brothers had enchanted arrows if needed. Hopefully, the situation wouldn¡¯t become dangerous enough to require fighting the primary alpha at blade distances.
¡°Can we really clear such numbers before nightfall?¡± Emina worried.
¡°Whether we win or lose, the actual fight won¡¯t last long,¡± Horthal offered with confidence. ¡°Things could get troublesome if a large enough number of the vermin scatter back into the jungle to raid throughout the night, hoping to tire us or catch us off guard. And sending our hounds to surround the farm would put them at risk of being overwhelmed if large numbers attacked one location or fled.¡±
¡°Baiting them and killing as many as we can before clearing the house and trees might be best,¡± Kota suggested to his brother and received a slow nod in return.
¡°As profitable as a share of a hunt this size might be, losing too many of the dogs could turn the job into a loss for us,¡± Harthol hedged and looked Toren¡¯s direction almost sheepishly. ¡°So, I¡¯d rather risk a portion escaping into the forest and doing a patrol around the property afterward to hunt stragglers, if that¡¯s fine with you, Toren.¡±
¡°Yeah, that¡¯s fine,¡± Toren readily agreed. ¡°They¡¯re your dogs. You¡¯re already helping out more than we could reasonably ask just by being here and keeping us safe.¡±
¡°It¡¯s the neighborly thing to do,¡± Horthal countered, eyes glancing to Laiya and Falma, but he seemed relieved.
The numbers were in-line with¡ªif not worse than¡ªthe most dire of Marton¡¯s estimations, but there was one positive about the situation, the massive haul of credits and XP aside. The tavi trees¡¯ branches hung heavy with mana-rich tavi fruit.
~~~
Toren''s character sheet:
¡ºName: Toren of Theravos
Race: Human
Age: 20
Profession 1: Level 4 Burningblood Berserker (500/8000)
Mana: 40/58
Strength: 16
Constitution: 12
Dexterity: 14
Agility: 12
Wisdom: 12
Intellect: 8
Will Power: 17
Perception 14
Appearance: 8
Charisma: 8
Luck: 10
Attribute Upgrade Points: 3
Traits:
Sacrificial Guardian
Abilities:
Burning Blood (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Slow Bleeding (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Ability Upgrade Points: 3
Profession Skills:
Pain Tolerance 4
Severe Wound Recovery 3
Berserker Knife Arts 1
Spear 9
Club 8
Focus Rage 1
Combat Awareness 3
Intimidate 2
Skills:
Theravos Language (Speaking) 15
Theravos Language (Reading/Writing) 10
Religion 10
Meditation 5
Bone Strengthening 3
Hunting 20
Butchering 13
Archery 19
Stealth 17
Arithmetic 4
Foraging 16
Tree Felling 6
Running 12
Mana Sensing 14
Danger Sensing 1
Wound Binding 8¡»
Ch36 — The Battle for Levish’s Orchard (Part III)
Chapter 36 ¡ª The Battle for Levish¡¯s Orchard (Part III)
Toren reached back and ran a hand over the fletching and nocks of the arrows remaining in his quiver to get a quick count. With the change in zoot tactics the hounds couldn¡¯t be sent to retrieve the shot zoots. Running out of arrows would be a real concern.
¡°How are you doing on arrows?¡± Toren asked the two brothers.
¡°Not great,¡± Horthal admitted. Two bundles remained on the older brother¡¯s sled.
Kota glanced Toren¡¯s way, eyes going to the mostly empty quiver and grimaced. ¡°I can spot you a bundle. Horthal¡¯s down to just one spare bundle and our emergency enchanted arrows.¡±
¡°I¡¯d appreciate it,¡± Toren accepted, stabbing each of his remaining arrows into the ground in front of him to make room in his quiver. ¡°One of them might be strong enough to need those emergency arrows.¡±
¡°There¡¯s a tier 2 guarding the farm?¡± Kota asked with alarm.
Toren quickly made a placating motion with his hand. ¡°Not yet tier 2. But best to be cautious of its unknown Abilities.¡±
Horthal nodded agreement. ¡°We¡¯ll have the enchanted arrows ready.¡±
Falma brought a bundle of twenty arrows over, glancing with worry at the extra preparations he was taking. ¡°Should mom and I throw the dye bladders again?¡±
¡°Yeah. Even though it''s more open here, the overgrowth could cause trouble, and we don¡¯t know what stealth-type Abilities they might have-¡± A shrill call pierced the moist air cutting off Toren''s words. In his [Mana Sensing], the near-tier-2 zoot and dozens around it began to move. ¡°The big one¡¯s coming, get ready!¡±
Toren was already nocking and drawing an arrow. The brothers were giving orders to the hounds.
When the prime alpha leapt over the fence, giving a clear shot, Toren loosed. The strider-sized zoot twisted mid-air around the arrow¡¯s path.
¡°Urovo¡¯s boon!¡± he cursed. Without a doubt that was a ¡®threat evasion¡¯ Ability. The worst case. Without a ¡®sure hit¡¯ Ability to counter, his bow would be useless.
Whether the brothers¡¯ [Bull¡¯s Eye] Ability could hit it¡
Laiya¡¯s [Sure Cut] might be able to.
But, if it had Abilities that could cut through her armor.
Evasion could be overcome with speed. He¡¯d just have to be faster.
¡°Laiya! I need your help with the-¡± he started to order, but the large alpha was insanely fast, moving almost faster than he could follow. Before he could get his instructions out, it was already mid-leap and landed among them, a vicious tail whip sending Warnel¡¯s sword flying. The alpha¡¯s claws glowed with a Skill before Toren could close the distance. He let fly a knife.
With a graceful contortion, the prime evaded and spun to face him, beady black eyes full of malice at the attack being interrupted.
¡°Dad!¡± Laiya voiced in panic, alerted to the danger by Toren.
Toren could only pray that keeping the over-leveled zoot busy long enough would give the girl time to cut it. Though time might be a luxury they didn¡¯t have; every zoot within range of the large alpha¡¯s call was converging on their position, and the first wave was already engaged in bloodcurdling melee with the hounds¡ªmany of which had been distracted by the large alpha¡¯s leaping infiltration.
The alpha¡¯s glowing claws bit into the knife Toren used to meet the Ability-enhanced attack, buying enough opening for weighted metal to crush against flesh and bone, but the thing twisted unnaturally again, snake-like in its slipperiness. [Combat Awareness] and [Burning Blood] let him redirect the ridiculous zoot by its stuck claws enough that the metal club still managed to graze the beast¡¯s snout before a more severe jerk forced the knife from his hand.
The blade of Laiya¡¯s spear flashed downward, catching neck, but too shallow. The evasion must¡¯ve been what lost him the knife.
Blood sprayed in a fan from the cut, but there was no time to celebrate. The creature¡¯s tail was already striking the spear from Laiya¡¯s grip, sending the girl to the ground, and whipping toward his helmet. The beast¡¯s legs contracted as it turned.
It was fleeing!
In that moment of realization, Toren decided. Surging [Burning Blood] with a searing flood of mana, he swung for and caught the lizard¡¯s knee with his club. A glancing hit was all he managed before his vision went colors and he was rolling back to his feet from where he had fallen.
| [Combat Awareness] increased to 4. |
| [Focus Rage] increased to 2. |
Toren hadn¡¯t even realized he had made use of his new [Focus Rage] Skill. The way he had become hyper-focused and only peripherally aware of the rest of the battle suggested that he had.
¡°Laiya!¡± Warnel shouted as he reached his eldest to help her back to her feet. ¡°Are you okay?¡±
¡°Laiya!¡± Falma and Emina echoed.
¡°Oww. My arms,¡± Laiya complained, but the girl had her spear in hand again, and her posture showed determination.
¡°Good effort, Laiya. You may have just¡ won us this battle,¡± Toren encouraged, voice shaky and tongue still clumsy from the blow.
The large alpha was shrieking commands from behind the claws and bites of the encircling lizards, hesitant to attempt another raid and looking distraught, ginger with its injured leg. An arrow from Horthal clipping its flank convinced it to give up on the battle entirely.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.
With shrill ululations, the retreat was sounded and the toothy hunters quickly became the hunted.
Toren grabbed his bow from where he dropped it and started firing arrows into the fleeing bipedal lizards. The hounds gave chase. Their eerie howls adding speed to the flight of those zoots still out of reach.
Horthal and Kota called the hounds back before they could follow the zoots into the trees.
|
For contributing to victory against enemy forces substantially higher in level while outnumbered,
1000 XP Awarded.
Keep up the good work!
|
Two hounds were dead and almost all sported wounds, most minor, but several were incapacitating or serious enough to require immediate treatment¡ªno doubt caused by Abilities. The brothers couldn¡¯t be happy about that.
Hopefully, the surviving hounds¡¯ XP gains would make up for the losses. Toren¡¯s own XP gains were less than he had expected going into the battle, and his sniping at the end wasn¡¯t enough to earn him level 5.
It was disappointing. There had been plenty of XP to be had! Reaching level 5 and getting a third Ability would have brought a significant increase to his fighting strength.
¡°Toren, we should hurry to get the claim stakes planted,¡± Kota advised, from where he was helping his brother stabilize the most serious of the wounded dogs. Focused entirely on healing and stitching up the hound Kota was holding still, Horthal didn''t give any indication of agreeing or if he even heard.
¡°Alright,¡± Toren acknowledged. He had intended to help with the clean up, but the teen was right. With that almost tier-2 alpha still out there and with how many escaped, the perimeter needed to be secured. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of that now.¡±
¡°Are we really going to camp here for the night?¡± Warnel asked, worried. He had started on collecting the zoot carcasses and crests as they had done after the prior large battle.
¡°Not just the night,¡± Toren reminded, untying the enchanted metal stakes from the bulging travel pack he had unburdened onto the ground. ¡°This is our new home.¡±
Emina and Falma looked around dubiously. The trampled grass and ferns hid most of the dead zoots from sight, but Kota¡¯s hounds showed no slowing in their efforts to sniff out the bodies and add them to the pile awaiting processing by Warnel. And that was before mentioning the likely astral and drain worms infesting the orchard itself.
At the heavy silence from the Hatterwicks, Horthal looked up from his work and, with glances again in Falma and Laiya¡¯s directions, met Emina¡¯s questioning eyes. ¡°Once the claim stakes are planted, you should be mostly safe. We¡¯ll do a sweep around the property to clear out what we can of the rest and see if we can find signs of a main nest. That dangerous alpha was wounded, so we should be able to hunt it, at least.¡±
Toren cleared his throat and nodded his appreciation to the elder brother. ¡°Thanks for your help, Horthal, Kota. Without your assistance, clearing this property would¡¯ve been¡ perilous. And would have taken a full tenday or more, at best.¡±
Horthal returned the nod. ¡°This hunt was worth a lot of levels. Levels that you needn¡¯t have shared. Without a doubt, it¡¯ll be the talk of the taverns until the next high tide or monster swarm.¡±
Kota gave a proud thumbs up, grinning ear-to-ear. "Can''t wait to tell everyone at the Blue Raptor! That was a crazy fight! Hahaha!"
¡°If Toren doesn¡¯t mind you visiting, you two are welcome to call on the girls as often as you like,¡± Emina shamelessly offered, no doubt eager to have the brothers¡¯ protection around as often as possible.
¡°Mom!¡± Falma groaned, but the complaint sounded more exasperated than opposed.
Warnel was pretending like he hadn¡¯t heard, grumbling about zoots while sawing with his knife. Maybe Toren wasn¡¯t giving the guy enough credit for wisdom.
Laiya, like her father, kept silent, focusing on her task of keeping watch. She did glance Toren¡¯s direction briefly, though.
¡°Sure,¡± Toren agreed with a laugh as he slung the cord-secured bundle of claim stakes over his shoulder and started for the nearest corner of the property. At least, Kota had the grace to blush with embarrassment.
~~~
Name: Toren of Theravos
Race: Human
Age: 20
Profession 1: Level 4 Burningblood Berserker (6100/8000)
Mana: 29/58
Strength: 16
Constitution: 12
Dexterity: 14
Agility: 12
Wisdom: 12
Intellect: 8
Will Power: 17
Perception 14
Appearance: 8
Charisma: 8
Luck: 10
Attribute Upgrade Points: 3
Traits:
Sacrificial Guardian
Abilities:
Burning Blood (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Slow Bleeding (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Ability Upgrade Points: 3
Profession Skills:
Pain Tolerance 4
Severe Wound Recovery 3
Berserker Knife Arts 1
Spear 9
Club 8
Focus Rage 1 ¡ú 2
Combat Awareness 3 ¡ú 4
Intimidate 2
Skills:
Theravos Language (Speaking) 15
Theravos Language (Reading/Writing) 10
Religion 10
Meditation 5
Bone Strengthening 3
Hunting 20
Butchering 13
Archery 19
Stealth 17
Arithmetic 4
Foraging 16
Tree Felling 6
Running 12
Mana Sensing 14
Danger Sensing 1
Wound Binding 8
Ch37 — Sacrificial Guardian
Chapter 37 ¡ª Sacrificial Guardian
Installing the first five of the stakes in place of Levish¡¯s had gone easy enough that Toren was beginning to feel optimistic about their chances of surviving. He was also feeling a sense of accomplishment not unlike when he and his friends had purchased the license to a tavi grove outside Greenvale. Again, it was a tavi grove, but instead of a license, with this final stake, he would be a landowner. The farmhouse and orchard would be his. His land.
Yana would have loved the challenge of this land. If only they had taken this risk together instead of chasing a local opportunity.
Toren¡¯s gaze sought out Laiya crouched in an overgrowth of ferns, carefully peering into the jungle, watching and listening for any sign of the zoots returning. The girl had followed him, arguing that going alone was too risky since they all were depending on him for their safety.
He had initially resisted her coming along when her father was the only other one that could fight once the brothers left to hunt the injured alpha and search for the nest. But between Falma¡¯s pair of horror hounds and Toren¡¯s [Mana Sensing], he should be able to get to them in time. It was thanks to his [Mana Sensing], that he noticed Horthal and Kota set off.
After the brothers finished their patrol of the jungle around the property and retrieved their wounded and dead hounds, it would just be him and the Hatterwicks. The five of them against the Corvast Jungle.
¡°Something wrong with the last stake?¡± Laiya called over, her voice tinged with concern.
¡°Nah, just getting a bit sentimental,¡± Toren replied. He couldn¡¯t help a small smile. He had come so far in just a few days since resetting his Profession.
Activating [Burning Blood] to increase his strength, he took hold of the last of Levish¡¯s stakes, working it free from the ground and placing it to the side.
The new stake slid easily into the hole.
This was the first step of many to come. For Yana, he would make their dream reality.
Toren stomped his foot down on each side of the stake to firm the dirt around it.
The moment had arrived. The claim stakes were already keyed to his blood. All that remained was to fill it with his mana, and so he did. Continuing even as he felt the stakes link to each other and form the magical array that would protect his ¡®claim¡¯ from people and monsters alike.
|
For reclaiming land lost to monster occupation,
1000 XP Awarded.
Keep up the good work!
|
At the same time as the Mirror Shard appeared, Toren felt his awareness connect to the barrier array formed by the stakes, granting him a sense of everything within the claimed domain.
Danger! An enemy!
A spike of imminent threat from [Danger Sensing] and the sense from the barrier array of an intruder behind him was all the warning he received before pain stabbed through his back, through his heart, nicking his core in passing.
¡°One more left, then I can take my time enjoying what you¡¯ve been hogging for yourself here. Not everyday that beauties like them show up out this way,¡± a man¡¯s voice whispered from over his shoulder.
Toren slumped forward, sliding off the blade that had snuck its way between the hidden protective plates of his armor and collapsed to the ground, unable to control his body. His vision rapidly darkened from the edges as his heart convulsed, spurting out life with each failing spasm.
¡°Huh? Bantho¡¯s gang got taken out by this weakling? Not enough kill mana to even feel it. Whatever.¡±
¡°No! Toren!¡± Laiya¡¯s voice screamed.
¡°Whoa, there. Nasty Ability you got. Haha, don¡¯t worry, girl. I got plans for you; just gonna need you to take a nap while I dispatch your father,¡± the man drawled, somehow having avoided Laiya¡¯s [Sure Cut].
He couldn¡¯t die here!
The fog that was clouding Toren¡¯s mind gave way to clarity. His body was losing feeling and his vision continued to dim, but thought had returned to him as [Sacrificial Guardian] activated for the first time.
He grabbed at his mana and his [Burningblood Berserker] Abilities. [Slow Bleeding] was his only chance of survival, his only chance to save Laiya and the rest of the Hatterwicks! He focused everything on blocking the flow of blood out of his heart. [Burning Blood] couldn¡¯t heal his heart if it was tearing itself apart with the pressure of his blood.
Stopping blood entirely went well beyond what [Slow Bleeding] was intended to do, especially at Rank 1 ¡®low¡¯ proficiency, but he would make it work! He would will it to work!
He surged [Burning Blood] to his heart, willing it to knit back together.
It wasn¡¯t enough! The pressure in his heart was too strong.
His vision was almost entirely dark now.
No. He was going about this wrong! His blood was infused with mana. Did he need a heart to move his blood?
Grabbing the mana within his blood he pulled.
The blood moved.
He pulled again. And again the blood moved.
Pulling and pushing, he forced his blood to circulate. He focused the most on his head and lungs and his vision began to return. He kept his blood securely in his heart and the holes in his heart began to close. Feeling began to return to his limbs and his lungs gasped shallow breaths.
Mirror shards popped up, but he didn¡¯t have the focus to read them, mentally flicking them out of the way.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.
His body was awash in the excruciating pin-stabs of muscles and skin deprived of sustenance and it was taking all his attention to keep his blood flowing within his major arteries and veins but he needed to move.
Laiya needed him now!
He risked dividing his attention enough to spread his [Mana Sensing] and awareness outward and almost lost control of his blood at what he perceived. The intruder was bending over a prone and unmoving Laiya.
Her mana was still flowing.
¡°A girl in armor is still just a girl in armor, you know?¡± The man chuckled as if imparting wisdom. ¡°Be good and maybe I¡¯ll teach you how to win.¡±
Could the intruder not sense Toren¡¯s own mana also flowing?
Did Toren dare flood his muscles with mana and fury? Would the intruder notice?
Toren tried to move one of his fingers. Prickling fire. Holding still to prevent from writhing only caused more prickling fire. It was all he could do to not gasp.
But.
The pain wasn¡¯t as bad as when he healed his broken collarbone.
He could do this.
Setting his body afire with the storm of emotions fed to [Burning Blood], he leveraged all his experience with [Stealth] and silently pushed himself into a crouch. His vision dimmed briefly before he restored the proper blood flow that had slipped with his concentration focused elsewhere.
Managing all the tasks would be so much easier if he had the [Divided Focus] Skill!
He was getting better at moving the blood and finding the most effective places to push and pull.
When Toren raised his gaze and tensed his muscles to rush the intruder, the man was nowhere in sight. Not to vision or [Mana Sensing]. Without the new sense of his claim brought by the activated claim stakes, he would have no idea where the intruder was.
Toren carefully moved his limbs, guiding the overgrown ferns and grasses noiselessly out of the way and back into place as he followed after the intruder leisurely and invisibly doing the same ahead of him.
This was no common intruder.
Old man Sellim had told him that [Hunters] could eventually learn to hide their presence and mana, but this intruder was no [Hunter]. That was a stealth Ability.
A stealth Ability from a Profession that used stealth and could kill with a single strike, a Profession that could target vitals through armor: An [Assassin].
The [Assassin] must have been waiting for them at the Blue Raptor, sent by the Conclave. Whether it was Kota¡¯s fault or not, Toren suspected that a man this skilled would have spotted his targets regardless.
His bow, slung across his body, was still strung. Should he shoot the [Assassin] with the bow?
Visions of the alpha twisting out of the way of his shot made him leery of wasting the surprise trying to use his bow on a target he couldn¡¯t see. The Conclave [Rogue] at the hostel had also evaded Reaver Yorne¡¯s surprise attack.
Toren removed the bow and quiver and set them down. Like Reaver Yorne, he would need unencumbered speed and surprise to best this foe. [Barbarian Knife Arts] was his best bet. The high-level alpha¡¯s claws had taken the large knife bought in Farharbor, but he still had Yana¡¯s knives waiting to be used, ready in the bandolier strapped over his armor.
¡°Dad! I know what I heard! One of us needs to go check on them!¡±
¡°We shouldn¡¯t split up!¡± Emina objected, her voice shrill with anxiety. ¡°What will we do if those strange lizards sneak up on us while your father¡¯s gone? I¡¯m worried for Laiya, too. But we should all stay together!¡±
¡°I¡¯ll go. I¡¯ll take¡ªNog, was it? Hide in the house, Emina. The other dog and the pups will keep you safe until I get back. You saw what they did to these ¡®zoots¡¯.¡±
¡°What if it¡¯s not the lizards?!¡± Emina begged.
Toren felt for his remaining mana reserves. He would have to finish the fight quickly.
The [Assassin] had paused at the sound of the voices, and that gave Toren the time he need to close the distance, but without being able to see his target, flailing around trying to land a fatal hit would leave too much to chance and the Lurker¡¯s benevolence!
There was nothing but parted grass where Toren knew the [Assassin] was. If it wasn¡¯t [Invisibility], then he should be able to see at least shadows or leaves shifted subtly out of place or ripples or something!
Unless¡ Unless it was a type of mind control! Seeing but not noticing!
What had old Sellim said about seeing through fey illusions? Willpower and stubbornness.
He would not be redirected! Boots were standing on the grass. There had to be something obstructing the light of Horevi¡¯s descent! He would notice!
Toren further concentrated [Burning Blood] on his brain and eyes. His thoughts were his own!
Dressed in black, the [Assassin] was holding a blowpipe, chest expanding with the sound of breathing in.
Another pair of Shards tried to steal his attention but he willed them out of his way.
He could see the intruder.
¡°Wha-?¡± the [Assassin] exhaled as Toren¡¯s stab caught naught but air.
Toren was already slashing with another of Yani¡¯s knives in his other hand. [Combat Awareness] making him aware of where to step to keep his target at the optimal distance.
Blade caught blade. ¡°How?!¡±
Toren didn¡¯t have the concentration to spare to answer with anything other than vicious slashes and stabs, trading cut for cut. Faster. Faster. More mana, more fury, more speed.
The [Assassin]¡¯s eyes widened further and would stay like that forever.
In the final exchange, the man¡¯s blade had again found a gap between the hidden metal plates of Toren¡¯s armor and stabbed deep, but Toren¡¯s blade was the one that had struck true.
With the death of the threat to those Toren was protecting, the state of his body crashed back into effect, robbing him of the disembodied clarity that his [Sacrificial Guardian] had provided. He desperately forced a final blazing surge of [Burning Blood]¡®s healing into his heart as consciousness failed. Willpower alone no longer enough, he fell into the unthinking darkness.
~~~
¡ºName: Toren of Theravos
Race: Human
Age: 20
Profession 1: Level 4 Burningblood Berserker (7600/8000)
Mana: 5/58
Strength: 16
Constitution: 12
Dexterity: 14
Agility: 12
Wisdom: 12
Intellect: 8
Will Power: 17
Perception 14
Appearance: 8
Charisma: 8
Luck: 10
Attribute Upgrade Points: 3
Traits:
Sacrificial Guardian
Abilities:
Burning Blood (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Slow Bleeding (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Ability Upgrade Points: 3
Profession Skills:
Pain Tolerance 4
Severe Wound Recovery 3
Berserker Knife Arts 1
Spear 9
Club 8
Focus Rage 2
Combat Awareness 4
Intimidate 2
Skills:
Theravos Language (Speaking) 15
Theravos Language (Reading/Writing) 10
Religion 10
Meditation 5
Bone Strengthening 3
Hunting 20
Butchering 13
Archery 19
Stealth 17
Arithmetic 4
Foraging 16
Tree Felling 6
Running 12
Mana Sensing 14
Danger Sensing 1
Wound Binding 8¡»
Ch38 — Those Who Survive and Carry On (Part I)
Chapter 38 ¡ª Those Who Survive and Carry On (Part I)
¡°Lucky shot,¡± a see-through Yana made of fire teased him, raising a celebratory mug. ¡°Avril almost got a chance to show how brave he is!¡±
¡°No thanks,¡± a fire Avril deadpan declined.
Owen, also made of fire, snorted into his flame mug, pretending not to be laughing at his friend¡¯s expense.
Toren shook his head. ¡°I hadn¡¯t expected it to pull Avril¡¯s trap right out of the ground like that!¡±
¡°I know, right!¡± Fire Yana laughed.
Owen rolled his eyes. ¡°That¡¯s what happens when someone puts direroot in the feed for long enough. The real question is: who¡¯s been poisoning [Farmer] Jorah¡¯s striders?¡±
¡°Not one we need to solve,¡± Fire-Avril pointed out.
¡°Unless they pay us extra.¡±
Yana nodded and gave Toren a big grin. ¡°Right.¡±
They all clinked flame mugs against his outstretched one and downed the refreshing ale inside. Even the table they placed their empty mugs on was see-through and made of fire.
¡°Another round!¡± Avril called to the ghostly flaming barmaid.
Ah, that¡¯s what it was¡
Toren stirred toward wakefulness and whatever grand realization he had just made was fading into wherever dreams went. Groggily shifting onto his side, he reached over to embrace Yana.
Wha-?
The pain of jamming his fingers against an unforgiving stone wall brought back the memory of the past tenday.
He was alive.
Yana was gone.
Again, he had survived.
Worried for the others, Toren sent out his [Mana Sensing] and listened for sounds of struggle, but all seemed remarkably peaceful and, with the exception of Horthal and his pack of hounds, the others were readily accounted for.
Toren breathed out a sigh, and rolled onto his back, looking up at the thatch above¡ªand the many glinting notifications awaiting his attention.
He was clean and his hair didn¡¯t itch. Unless he had gained a cleanliness Ability, someone had washed him, leaving him undressed under a thin cloth.
He was lying on his fur bedroll, but¡
Toren lifted up the sheet to check.
Another cloth had been folded under his rear. How long had he been unconscious?
The wood stool set by his bedside and his lack of thirst suggested someone had been watching over him. Maybe it was all precaution and it had just been a night¡¯s rest? The farmhouse¡¯s enchantments being restored suggested that it had been longer.
The claim stakes still forming a stable barrier around the property meant that he should be fine to continue resting and to think. He needed time to process his recent life choices and almost dying again, but before that, there were the gains from the battle to reclaim the stead and the fight with the assassin to assess.
A flick of his will brought a pair of shards from the Mirror of Truth into view to confirm one of his suspicions.
| For assisting in defeating a level 16 [Assassin],
800 XP Awarded.
Keep up the good work! |
| Congratulation! You have reached level 5!
+1 Ability Upgrade Point.
+1 Attribute Upgrade Point.
+1 General Skill Unlock.
Lvl 5 Profession Ability selection available. |
He had reached level 5. Careful what you wish for, the gods might hear, huh?
Laiya must have provided enough support by delaying the [Assassin] to have the XP split like it was.
Toren wasn¡¯t at all happy with how that fight had played out. If the [Assassin] hadn¡¯t wanted the mother and daughters for afterward, Warnel¡¯s daughter would have died there. He couldn¡¯t have stopped it.
But because of the threat to Laiya and her family, he had gained something important from the encounter. He now knew how [Sacrificial Guardian] worked. Even after he figured out how to circulate his blood, it stayed active. Any wound that would be fatal regardless of his ability to heal it was probably enough to activate it. Also, the deactivation was just as immediate and troublesome as he worried it might be. If he didn¡¯t heal himself enough before the threat ended, there was a fair chance he would drop dead on the spot.
The way the Trait separated his consciousness from his body¡¯s condition was a welcome surprise, though¡ªand probably the reason for [Sacrificial Guardian] being a viridium-rarity Trait. As long as his core stayed intact, he could fight.
Moving his body was an issue though. He needed to get a puppeteering-type Ability. [Divided Focus] might really be necessary, too.
There was more to check before looking at the Ability selection and unlockable Skills. When he had forcibly circulated his blood, Mirror shards had appeared, and he had yet to go through them. Just thinking about the ones he sought caused them to expand in his view.
| [Burning Blood] increased to Mid proficiency. |
| [Slow Bleeding] increased to Mid proficiency. |
| You have accomplished a feat of will. Evolve [Slow Bleeding] to [Control Blood]? |
Toren blinked.
He was already being given a chance to evolve an Ability? Before its first Rank up?
From iron to gold?!
Toren mentally poked at [Control Blood] hoping to get a description and was rewarded with a new shard.
|
[Control Blood]
All blood contains mana. You have gained the ability to manipulate blood through the mana contained within.
Active:
Seize the mana within blood and move the surrounding blood to your will.
|
There was no mention of the Ability being limited to his own blood¡ It was a step on the path to becoming a [Blood Mage]. Rather, surely it was a [Blood Mage] Ability.
Jumping two rarity levels was enough to have him eager to make the change, but he tempered his excitement. There was no need to rush, and he had yet to check the proficiency threshold improvements for his current Abilities.
|
Burning Blood (Rank 1, Proficiency: Mid)
The strength of your emotions has caused your blood to become saturated with fire-aspect mana. Healing and enhancing effects can be targeted to specific locations within the body.
Active:
Ignite your blood. Light the fires within to increase strength, stamina recovery, resistances, and wound recovery.
Passive:
Increased recovery from wounds and exertion. Increased fire affinity. Strong emotions stir your blood, granting a boost to strength, minor resistance to magic, and resistance to cold.
|
Targeted enhancement and healing. It was the expected efficiency breakthrough that he had been working toward.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
|
Slow Bleeding (Rank 1, Proficiency: Mid)
Your control over your blood allows you to limit its flow and improve clotting, even affecting internal bleeding.
Active:
Consciously slow the flow of blood from wounds. Magically accelerated clotting.
Passive:
Bleeding wounds are significantly less likely to be fatal. Clotting speed increased.
|
And for the [Slow Bleeding] breakthrough, control was extended to internal bleeding.
Both were solid upgrades.
Toren was glad he pulled up the descriptions before deciding. There was no mention of ¡®clotting¡¯ in the [Control Blood] description. That would be lost in the Ability evolution.
Toren narrowed his eyes. Or would it?
He reread the [Control Blood] Ability description.
|
[Control Blood]
All blood contains mana. You have gained the ability to manipulate blood through the mana contained within.
Active:
Seize the mana within blood and move the surrounding blood to your will.
|
¡°...manipulate blood through the mana contained within¡¡±
Was manipulating blood¡¯s ability to clot included in ¡®manipulate blood¡¯?
Toren strongly suspected it was¡ªmaybe not at first acquisition but almost surely as a threshold breakthrough.
So, most likely he would lose his improved clotting in the short term. Though, if he was going in the [Blood Mage] direction and intending to shape his blood externally, similar to a [Water Manipulation] Ability, then being able to bleed freely might be important.
Then again, if he didn¡¯t take the evolution, there was a fair chance it would be offered as a separate Ability in his Ability selection. Which alternately meant taking the evolution would free up one of the offered slots for a potentially better Ability.
Convinced, Toren selected the evolution.
Tiny centipedes began to crawl through his head as the imparted knowledge rearranged itself. Or at least, that was how it felt.
Ugh.
His first time upgrading an Ability since gaining a god-sponsored Profession and he was already feeling nostalgia for the numbing divine mindspace provided by a full-featured Mirror of Truth.
Selecting entirely new Abilities would likely be worse.
To distract from worrying himself further, he pulled up the remaining notification shards.
| [Pain Tolerance] increases to 5 |
| Willpower increases to 18 |
| Perception increases to 15 |
| [Focus Rage] increases to 3 |
| [Stealth] increases to 18 |
| You have accomplished a feat of will. The skill [Unassailable Tower of the Mind] has been unlocked. Would you like to add this Skill? |
| [Severe Wound Recovery] increases to 5 |
| Constitution increases to 13 |
Yeah, none of those were surprising after what he went through¡ªis what he¡¯d like to say, but the attribute increases were a very welcome and unexpected sight, especially Willpower increasing to 18. That one alone was worth 5 attribute upgrade points. With the attribute growth penalty increasing by 1 for every two points above 10, Toren had always been one to save his points for growing attributes he could no longer raise through training.
Grizzled old Sellim had repeatedly stressed the importance of only using attribute upgrade points to specialize one¡¯s best attribute, best two at most¡ªstressed that specializing was the difference between those who were elite and those who were mundane.
Toren pulled up his attributes.
| Strength: 16
Constitution: 13
Dexterity: 14
Agility: 12
Wisdom: 12
Intellect: 8
Willpower: 18
Perception 15
Appearance: 8
Charisma: 8
Luck: 10
Attribute Upgrade Points: 4 |
He had followed Sellim¡¯s advice for 15 levels, focusing on the attributes a bow-using [Hunter] would need: Strength and Perception. No, 20 levels now. And every time, those three 8¡¯s made his eye¡¯s twitch. Would it really hurt to put two upgrade points into Appearance?
And somehow, Willpower still ended up being his highest attribute! By Sellim¡¯s logic, shouldn¡¯t he be putting his points into Willpower?!
Four upgrade points was enough to raise Strength again. But¡ with [Burning Blood], Toren was no longer sure that he was at the limit of what he could train his physical attributes to.
As long as he and the Hatterwicks were safe for the short term, he could afford to wait and test out that supposition.
That left him with one last preparatory task remaining. Should he choose a new general skill to influence the available Abilities to select from? Or choose it to synergize with the selected Ability?
With a deep breath, Toren pulled up the choices for his new level 5 Ability.
|
Available abilities (choose one):
Flurry of Blows (DEX)
Rage Strike (STR)
Pain Resistance (WIL)
War Shout (CHA)
Gauge Your Enemy (PER)
|
~~~
¡ºName: Toren of Theravos
Race: Human
Age: 20
Profession 1: Level 5 Burningblood Berserker (400/10000)
Mana: 72/72
Strength: 16
Constitution: 12 ¡ú 13
Dexterity: 14
Agility: 12
Wisdom: 12
Intellect: 8
Will Power: 17 ¡ú 18
Perception 14 ¡ú 15
Appearance: 8
Charisma: 8
Luck: 10
Attribute Upgrade Points: 4
Traits:
Sacrificial Guardian
Abilities:
Burning Blood (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low ¡ú Mid
Slow Bleeding (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low ¡ú Mid
Ability Upgrade Points: 4
Profession Skills:
Pain Tolerance 4 ¡ú 5
Severe Wound Recovery 3 ¡ú 5
Berserker Knife Arts 1
Spear 9
Club 8
Focus Rage 2 ¡ú 3
Combat Awareness 3
Intimidate 2
Skills:
Theravos Language (Speaking) 15
Theravos Language (Reading/Writing) 10
Religion 10
Meditation 5
Bone Strengthening 3
Hunting 20
Butchering 13
Archery 19
Stealth 17 ¡ú 18
Arithmetic 4
Foraging 16
Tree Felling 6
Running 12
Mana Sensing 14
Danger Sensing 1
Wound Binding 8¡»
Ch39 — Those Who Survive and Carry On (Part II)
Chapter 39 ¡ª Those Who Survive and Carry On (Part II)
|
Available abilities (choose one):
Flurry of Blows (DEX)
Rage Strike (STR)
Pain Resistance (WIL)
War Shout (CHA)
Gauge Your Enemy (PER)
|
Toren felt heavy disappointment upon seeing his choices. He had hoped for something to build his Profession around. None of these were that.
Of the two new choices, [War Shout] was reliant on one of his worst attributes. The likely synergy with [Intimidate] might be why it was offered, and he could see the benefits of an ability that supported his allies while weakening his enemies¡ but unless he raised his Charisma would it even be effective?
Or, was he looking at it wrong? If using the ability gave him a way to increase his Charisma without having to spend attribute upgrade points¡? Then maybe he could evolve it in a direction that was dependent on a different attribute? Turn it into an expression of his Willpower? Maybe?
Not a terrible direction, he supposed.
The other new choice, [Flurry of Blows], was likely unlocked by his desperate fight against the [Assassin]. Starting out at gold rarity, it couldn¡¯t be as weak or simple as its name implied, but short-term it didn¡¯t feel like it gave him anything new that he couldn¡¯t do on his own with [Combat Awareness] and [Burning Blood].
Longer-term, mana applying additive impact to each hit and improved piercing for attacks landing on the same location had potential to provide ways to fight against tier-2 opponents and opponents with defensive Abilities. As a [Hunter], the [Mana Manipulation] unlock required to evolve the Ability in that direction would have made such thinking frivolous, but [Control Blood] might well be the bridge to finally achieving external mana manipulation.
Still¡ were fast attacks with his fists or whatever weapon he was using really enough for the Ability to be gold rarity? He must be missing something.
Wait.
Whatever weapon he was using?
Toren again tried to get a feel of the Ability¡¯s specifics.
Could it actually be that simple? That the Ability wasn¡¯t restricted to small or light weapons? If it worked the same with heavier weapons¡
Between [Burning Blood]¡¯s active strength increase, further increasing his Strength with attribute upgrade points, and the obscene weight that he would already be able to wield, that¡ that could be tremendously strong!
Visions of stone-crushing blows raining down like rapid-fire meteors filling his head, Toren had to fully engage his impressive Willpower to stop himself from making the selection on the spot.
He couldn¡¯t be hasty here. The next choice wouldn¡¯t be until level 10, and if evolving the selected level 5 Ability was the goal, he needed to at least cursorily reevaluate the passed over choices before deciding.
And so, with a calming of his thoughts, he did.
[Pain Resistance] was still a pointless waste of a slot. Evolving the Ability would be a terrible experience, too. Maybe if he could turn it into a passive that used pain to restore mana? Even then, [Burning Blood]¡¯s passive effect already let him do something similar. Better would be to raise his proficiency with the [Pain Tolerance] Skill, and save the slot for something more useful.
As for [Gauge Your Enemy], his proficiency with [Mana Sensing] made using the bronze-rarity Ability for determining enemy strength mostly redundant. That said, knowing an enemy¡¯s strength and gaining a feel for an enemy¡¯s Abilities and Skills were two different things. Evolving [Gauge Your Enemy] into a hybrid intuition and information Ability had good potential to save him from being surprised and improve his long-term survivability.
If he went that direction, he¡¯d be exchanging an immediate upgrade in fighting strength for being able to better target and respond to strengths and weaknesses. He could see synergy with [Combat Awareness] eventually providing a sort of combat foresight.
There was merit to the idea. Finesse versus power. The downside was that it would leave him more reliant on enchanted weapons to damage Tier-2 opponents.
[Rage Strike], though currently duplicated by [Burning Blood], should be evolvable into a [Berserker] equivalent of [Mana Strike] once he unlocked [Mana Manipulation], letting him damage tier-2 opponents with non-enchanted weapons by coating his attacks with mana.
If not for [Burning Blood]¡¯s active effect, selecting [Rage Strike] before getting [Flurry of Blows] would make a lot of sense. For him, he would gain more spending that time directly evolving [Flurry of Blows].
Sellim¡¯s advice about always improving your strengths also applied here. It was funny in a way. He had spent so much of his [Hunter] training and choices on staying safe and avoiding injury by killing his targets from a distance, and yet, here he was jumping into an Ability choice making smashing things up close his greatest strength.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
| Select [Flurry of Blows]? |
Yes.
| Synergy with [Combat Awareness] detected. Ability [Flurry of Blows] upgraded. |
|
[Flurry of Blows] (Rank 1, Proficiency: Low)
Make a rapid series of strikes.
Active:
Perception of time dilates and momentum of held weapons is reduced as necessary to facilitate rapid strikes. Accuracy when targeting a struck location is increased.
|
Time dilation!
This was way better than an Ability that would simply make him strike faster!
The increasing penetration and blow strength weren¡¯t available at the current rank and proficiency, but even so, the reason for the Ability being gold rarity was obvious now.
Toren was ecstatic. This was an Ability he could build a Profession around! Dilated perception, speed, power, and accuracy. Even if he didn¡¯t evolve it into a generalized combat state, the future Abilities it should unlock¡!
No, he shouldn¡¯t let his gaze look too far to the future when his focus needed to be on the now.
His choices made, it was time to learn how the others and his stead were fairing. Toren tried to get up and clothe himself. The sudden movement brought on a brief dizziness but it quickly passed.
Checking under the bandages, the skin was pale but healed, so he swapped those for short clothes and a simple outfit from his pack before pushing aside the cloth covering the way and joining Emina who was resting at the table in the common room, nursing a cup of tea.
¡°Things are well?¡± Toren asked as he sat on a stool opposite.
¡°Well enough with Kota staying to help keep the lizards and worse away,¡± Emina reported, resignation in her voice as she got up to retrieve a cup and pour tea for Toren. ¡°I¡¯m glad to see you awake. The [Enchanter] came while you were recovering. We paid him extra to teach us the [Mana Transfer] Skill so we could recharge the claim stakes.¡±
No doubt why the barrier array was still active. Surprisingly, the woman didn¡¯t look as defeated as her tone suggested, and an expression Toren would characterize as ¡®tempered hope¡¯ briefly graced the woman¡¯s face when, through the window, she caught sight of Kota helping the girls train.
¡°How long was I out of it for?¡±
Emina pushed the gently steaming cup his way. ¡°Laiya watched over you for the past three days.¡±
So, it was Laiya. Probably for the best. No way Warnel would have done it, and getting taken care of by Warnel¡¯s wife would¡¯ve been more than awkward.
Three days gone. They were still cutting it close for harvesting the tavi fruit and getting back to Farharbor in time to pay their tenday obligations. But with the Raptor rental only half a day away, they should be okay.
Toren glanced at the debt seal inked around his wrist. It was still black.
~~~
¡ºName: Toren of Theravos
Race: Human
Age: 20
Profession 1: Level 5 Burningblood Berserker (700/10000)
Mana: 72/72
Strength: 16
Constitution: 13
Dexterity: 14
Agility: 12
Wisdom: 12
Intellect: 8
Will Power: 18
Perception 15
Appearance: 8
Charisma: 8
Luck: 10
Attribute Upgrade Points: 4
Traits:
Sacrificial Guardian
Abilities:
Burning Blood (Rank 1) Proficiency: Mid
Control Blood (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Flurry of Blows (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Ability Upgrade Points: 4
Profession Skills:
Pain Tolerance 5
Severe Wound Recovery 5
Berserker Knife Arts 1
Spear 9
Club 8
Focus Rage 3
Combat Awareness 3
Intimidate 2
Skills:
Theravos Language (Speaking) 15
Theravos Language (Reading/Writing) 10
Religion 10
Meditation 5
Bone Strengthening 3
Hunting 20
Butchering 13
Archery 19
Stealth 18
Arithmetic 4
Foraging 16
Tree Felling 6
Running 12
Mana Sensing 14
Danger Sensing 1
Wound Binding 8¡»
Ch40 — Those Who Survive and Carry On (Part III)
Chapter 40 ¡ª Those Who Survive and Carry On (Part III)
¡°We were fortunate that you brought those water-creation and fire-starting wands. [Mana Transfer] works on them as well. The property here has a well that survived the zoots, but conjured water is completely pure, and pure water is not just important for dye-making but also important for alchemy. Falma and I used the foraging we¡¯ve been doing to prepare the remedies to help you recover.¡±
Ah, the wands he looted from the Conclave guy¡¯s bug-out pack.
Was pure water also useful in poison making? Maybe the [Nightblade] didn¡¯t have it just for survival?
Regardless, the use for alchemy was indeed fortunate. If Emina and her youngest were already able to make effective salves and potions, he could be more aggressive with Laiya¡¯s training and having her hunt the nearby beasts.
¡°Thanks for that,¡± Toren offered when the silence of his thinking had stretched out a bit too long.
Emina had stopped what she was doing with the stove and was staring at him, brow suggesting her own deep contemplation. ¡°Coming that close to death, it isn''t something easily shaken off¡¡±
Toren¡¯s stomach chose that moment to loudly growl. ¡°How are we doing on food?¡±
Emina let out a laugh. ¡°I guess even with what Laiya managed to get into you, you¡¯ve got to be starving. The stew for lunch should be ready soon, but I could make you something special, seeing that you saved all of us, not once but twice now. Let¡¯s see¡¡± The woman, blond hair tied up with an embroidered cloth, made a show of looking around the kitchen where a trio of gutted zoots hung from a wall hook. ¡°Other than the zoot stew... pan fried zoot, salted zoot, or zoot porridge wouldn¡¯t be much trouble.¡±
¡°Haha, I should¡¯ve guessed that.¡± Toren grimaced. They¡¯d probably be eating zoot for the foreseeable future, unlike the tavi fruit they also had plenty of. The year¡¯s tavi harvest was undoubtedly infested with drain worms and would have to be sold to the [Alchemist] rather than used for food.
¡°You could probably shoot a saberbeak,¡± Emina offered with a wan smile. ¡°Now that the sneaky lizards are gone from the area, the birds have started feasting on the tavi fruit growing from trees that aren¡¯t within the claim barrier.¡±
Interesting. Were the birds the reason the zoots wanted the orchard? The lizards didn¡¯t seem interested in the fruit. Though from what the [Alchemist] had said, the Farmer¡¯s Weed planted around the property was a major part of the zoots¡¯ diet and something that attracted them.
¡°Maybe later. I¡¯m fine with the stew. Smells good.¡±
Emina accepted the compliment and started taking down bowls and spoons from the simple cupboards to the side of the stove.
That the house didn¡¯t smell like zoot and dead steaders was something of a surprise. Toren had expected to take at least a few days to clean the place out before it would have been livable¡ªforget completely getting rid of the smell. Heck, even just the untended thatching should¡¯ve given the place a slightly moldy or rotting smell, but it somehow smelled of sun-dried hay even in this regularly tide-flooded forest.
The only explanation that he could come up with was the use of cleaning Skills or more likely a housekeeping Ability of some kind.
There was something else Toren was curious about. ¡°What¡¯s Warnel up to?¡±
Thanks to the new sense he had acquired from the claim stakes, he was fairly sure the middle-aged [Haberdasher] was in the middle of the orchard¡¯s trees and actively working at some task.
Emina looked back from stirring the stew pot. ¡°Spending the day tending the trees and [Cutting] wood for the oven. With the trees already treated for the worms, he has mostly been focused on clearing debris and fixing the tools so we¡¯ll be ready to harvest the fruit later today. Seeing the girls working so hard each day, he couldn¡¯t sit still.¡±
¡°Oh? That¡¯s great to hear. I was beginning to worry if we¡¯d get enough of the harvest done before the end of the tenday.¡±
¡°The tenday¡¡± Warnel¡¯s wife let her gaze return to the window. There seemed to be more that Warnel¡¯s wife wanted to say, but was hesitant to bring up.
Toren kept silent, and after adding a small split log to the stone oven below the stove, Emina carefully began to speak, ¡°Warnel understands you¡¯ve hired us to work the orchard but seems to have convinced himself that we might still be able to make hats even here without a storefront in town. Of course, that would be in our free time after tending the trees and the beehives. I¡¯m sure he would love to do fine clothing as well, but without a storefront, fittings would be difficult.¡±
Toren raised an eyebrow, and Emina hurried to continue, ¡°It¡¯s not just that we¡¯re reluctant to change Professions and lose all our Abilities and Profession levels. The mana we have from our higher levels will help with replenishing the claim stakes and other enchantments, and if we can get to tier-2 we can add [Farmer] or [Orchard Tender] or such as second Professions.¡±
Asking the pair of [Haberdashers] to reset their bronze-rarity Professions was always going to be a hard sell¡ªand might even make their situation worse. Toren¡¯s expectations were more that the girls would take up relevant Professions instead. Particularly, Falma who hadn¡¯t reached her Profession Day yet. But with Laiya committed to becoming a [Reaver] and Falma currently headed more toward something like [Beast Handler], none of them were likely to pick up any Abilities that would help with caring for the trees or growing vegetables or whatever else they would need to manage the stead.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.
That Warnel and Emina were independently choosing to level up all the way to tier-2 in order to add farming Professions at all was a welcome surprise. With the dangers and mana-density of the tier-2 jungle, their chances of reaching tier-2 in less than ten years were fairly good. if they participated in beast hunts, five years or less might not be unrealistic.
¡°If you and Warnel take [Farmer]-type Professions for your second Profession slot, will you be okay for Profession evolutions? Is there a path that combines that with [Haberdasher]?¡±
¡°[Wilderness Shopkeeper] is gold rarity, or so I heard.¡± Emina chuckled, visibly relieved as she ladled stew into a pair of bowls. ¡°And if you believe a certain legend, it¡¯s only one step removed from [Hidden Expert].¡±
That pulled a smile from Toren as well. It was a legend immortalized in stories popular among children¡ªthe legend of a wily old man who taught a boy destined to become a hero and eventually ascended to divinity. ¡°Following in the footsteps of legends¡ people have had worse dreams.¡±
¡°That they have, Toren.¡± Emina placed the bowls on the table as she returned to her previous seat and patted his forearm. ¡°Thanks for worrying about us.¡±
Toren nodded and put the provided spoon to good use. As hungry as he was, further conversation could wait. While eating, they both watched the training going on outside.
Falma¡¯s arms were shaking as she drew Kota¡¯s bow under the boy¡¯s supervision, aiming at a target that had been set up against a post. Laiya was a safe distance away practicing her spear forms and footwork.
Emina let out a sigh laden with regrets. ¡°A frontier [Hunter] wouldn¡¯t be my first choice for Falma¡¯s husband. But, after what arranging a wealthy [Merchant]¡¯s son for Laiya brought us¡¡± She made a circular motion with her hand to include the surroundings. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s for the best.¡±
That comment had Toren¡¯s eyebrows rising, but before he could ask, Laiya caught sight of them and started running for the farmhouse, her tied-back hair flapping behind with the girl¡¯s haste.
The door flew open and a smell of sweat followed Laiya in. ¡°Toren! You¡¯re awake!¡±
~~~
Name: Toren of Theravos
Race: Human
Age: 20
Profession 1: Level 5 Burningblood Berserker (700/10000)
Mana: 72/72
Strength: 16
Constitution: 13
Dexterity: 14
Agility: 12
Wisdom: 12
Intellect: 8
Will Power: 18
Perception 15
Appearance: 8
Charisma: 8
Luck: 10
Attribute Upgrade Points: 4
Traits:
Sacrificial Guardian
Abilities:
Burning Blood (Rank 1) Proficiency: Mid
Control Blood (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Flurry of Blows (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Ability Upgrade Points: 4
Profession Skills:
Pain Tolerance 5
Severe Wound Recovery 5
Berserker Knife Arts 1
Spear 9
Club 8
Focus Rage 3
Combat Awareness 3
Intimidate 2
Skills:
Theravos Language (Speaking) 15
Theravos Language (Reading/Writing) 10
Religion 10
Meditation 5
Bone Strengthening 3
Hunting 20
Butchering 13
Archery 19
Stealth 18
Arithmetic 4
Foraging 16
Tree Felling 6
Running 12
Mana Sensing 14
Danger Sensing 1
Wound Binding 8
Ch41 — Those Who Survive and Carry On (Part IV)
Chapter 41 ¡ª Those Who Survive and Carry On (Part IV)
Toren smiled at the breathless greeting and nodded. ¡°I hear you took care of me. Thanks.¡±
Warnel¡¯s eldest daughter looked like she had a thousand different things to ask but finally settled on, ¡°I saw you take a blade through the heart! How are you even still alive?¡±
He shrugged. ¡°[Berserkers] get Abilities and Skills to temporarily ignore injuries. Healing dangerous injuries before the time runs out is the tricky part.¡±
¡°It. Was. Your. Heart,¡± Laiya deadpanned.
¡°Yep. Close one, this time. Almost returned to the Great Dreaming. But I¡¯m fine now, so it''s all good. How¡¯s your training going?¡±
The girl sputtered but, at the mention of training, remembered how sweaty she was and seemed to freeze in place.
An amused Emina came to her daughter¡¯s rescue, ¡°Laiya, why don¡¯t you and Falma wash up, and join us for lunch? Have Falma call your father and tell Kota he¡¯s welcome, too.¡±
Freed from her temporary paralysis, Laiya grabbed a cloth and empty bucket and fled.
¡°She should know better than to ask about someone¡¯s Abilities,¡± Emina offered in apology.
Toren waved the consideration away. ¡°No worry. It¡¯s better for our survival to know what we each can and can¡¯t do, and I am supposed to be teaching her.¡±
¡°Unless my eyes deceive me, you¡¯re only a year or two older than Laiya. I can only imagine what you¡¯ve been through to be so mature at your young age.¡±
¡°In my 20th cycle, yeah.¡± His story wasn¡¯t that different from countless others who had tragedy strike during childhood. He still filled his mouth with stew to avoid answering further. What was there to say?
¡°That man who attacked us¡¡± Emina grimaced, and reworded her unfinished question, ¡°Is it because of those men you killed when rescuing us?¡±
Toren nodded. ¡°Most likely. The [Assassin] guy mentioned the leader of the group we killed by name. I thought we¡¯d have more time and hadn¡¯t really expected them to follow us out into the jungle. Whether we were unlucky or lucky, hard to say. Speaking of which, what did you do with the body and possessions?¡±
¡°Harthol took the body to turn in to the authorities. There might be a bounty to be claimed or others involved.¡±
This time, it was Toren¡¯s turn to grimace. ¡°That might be risky for his family. Did anything get kept?¡±
¡°Laiya stripped him of what looked valuable or useful. So, you¡¯ll want to ask her about that.¡±
That seemed promising. Laiya had watched him loot the [Nightblade], so chances were fair that she at least grabbed the coins and weapons. Maybe a Conclave token, too. ¡°There might be some divination-tracking risk, but I¡¯d hope we get something out of having our lives put in danger.¡±
¡°One could hope¡¡± Emina stopped what she was going to say as Kota entered the small farmhouse, getting up to start serving the food instead.
The teen boy joined Toren at the table, but directed his comments Emina¡¯s way. ¡°Falma and Laiya are washing up. Warnel says he¡¯ll be in soon.¡±
¡°Thanks, Kota. It¡¯s nice having you help out.¡± Emina gave a friendly smile as she placed the bowl of steaming stew before the teen.
Kota¡¯s clothes reeked of sweat, but his wet hair and dirt-free skin suggested he had stripped and dumped a bucket of water over himself before coming in for lunch. Probably a habit from his frontier farmhouse upbringing. The boy didn¡¯t wait to eat, just blowing on each spoonful to cool it enough before shoveling the food into his mouth.
¡°Kota, how¡¯s the situation with the zoots?¡± Toren asked. ¡°Last I heard before the [Assassin] showed up, you and Harthol took the hounds on a sweep around the property.¡±
The boy froze mid-spoonful. ¡°Ah, yeah, sorry we left you alone. Was he really an [Assassin]?¡±
¡°Yeah, sure of it.¡± Toren didn¡¯t mention the kill notice. No sense having the boy spread around that he had a Sponsored Profession.
¡°Wow¡ that¡¯s heavy. I know Ma is always saying that people out here have pasts, but first time I¡¯ve seen a real [Assassin].¡± The teen¡¯s eyes were wide as he glanced from Emina to Toren, like he was in the presence of walking legends. ¡°Ah! You asked about what we found. The hounds followed the zoots¡¯ tracks and scent to a gulch with a small stream at the bottom, so the nest might be on the other side. The road has a bridge to cross, but Harthol and I didn¡¯t want to go too far away from your farmstead.¡±
¡°That¡¯s fine, Kota. I¡¯m grateful that you and your brother have helped out as much as you have. My [Stealth] should be good enough to let me explore the area after we return from selling the harvest. Speaking of which, can you arrange a raptor and wagon delivered for us on your way back?¡±This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
¡°Sure. I don¡¯t mind. It¡¯s exciting being relied on, and my hounds have gotten a lot of XP. Normally, Harthol gets all the fun.¡± Kota downed another spoonful, and added, ¡°I¡¯m good for staying another day or two if you want, you know?¡±
Toren nodded. ¡°I appreciate it. Let¡¯s see how the harvest goes. If I¡¯m still a little weak from my injuries, taking an extra day might be best.¡±
A teasing chuckle from Falma announced the girls¡¯ return before the door opened again. Still embarrassed, Laiya wouldn¡¯t meet anyone¡¯s gaze as her younger sister guided the pair to the seats opposite Toren and Kota. Clean clothes must have been prepared ahead of time as both girls had changed out of their sweaty armor into breezy summer dresses.
Kota gave the pair an appreciative smile. ¡°You both look beautiful! Harthol is gonna be so jealous when I tell him! Miss Hatterwick, can I have more?¡±
Falma stuck her tongue out at the teen boy, in response. ¡°So beautiful that you¡¯ve only got eyes for more food, huh?¡±
Emina took the offered bowl and filled it with more stew. ¡°How about you, Toren?¡±
Toren glanced down at his own mostly empty bowl. A warmth had been spreading through his body thanks to the mana-rich ingredients. Nobles in Greenvale hardly ate this well. ¡°I don¡¯t want to overdo it, but one more bowl should be fine. Thanks. You¡¯re a good cook, Emina.¡±
¡°There¡¯s some synergy with [Dye-making]¡ªand I expect, [Alchemy]. So, the flavor and effects should improve further after the next trip into town.¡±
¡°Another thing to look forward to.¡±
¡°Ah, Toren, you¡¯ve returned to us,¡± Warnel greeted, wiping sweat from his brow with a tailored sleeve as he entered and took the last empty seat, receiving his bowl of zoot stew. ¡°I was beginning to worry you weren¡¯t going to wake up.¡±
¡°Might be the cost of the Ability I used to survive the [Assassin],¡± Toren admitted. ¡°My first time taking a fatal injury, so not sure. Not that I want to test it again. Of course, out-of-commission for a few days is better than dead.¡±
¡°No doubt,¡± the [Haberdasher] agreed.
The rest of the mid-day meal passed comfortably as they made plans to do the harvest. Maybe the situation with the Hatterwicks would work out better than expected.
~~~
Name: Toren of Theravos
Race: Human
Age: 20
Profession 1: Level 5 Burningblood Berserker (700/10000)
Mana: 72/72
Strength: 16
Constitution: 13
Dexterity: 14
Agility: 12
Wisdom: 12
Intellect: 8
Will Power: 18
Perception 15
Appearance: 8
Charisma: 8
Luck: 10
Attribute Upgrade Points: 4
Traits:
Sacrificial Guardian
Abilities:
Burning Blood (Rank 1) Proficiency: Mid
Control Blood (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Flurry of Blows (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Ability Upgrade Points: 4
Profession Skills:
Pain Tolerance 5
Severe Wound Recovery 5
Berserker Knife Arts 1
Spear 9
Club 8
Focus Rage 3
Combat Awareness 3
Intimidate 2
Skills:
Theravos Language (Speaking) 15
Theravos Language (Reading/Writing) 10
Religion 10
Meditation 5
Bone Strengthening 3
Hunting 20
Butchering 13
Archery 19
Stealth 18
Arithmetic 4
Foraging 16
Tree Felling 6
Running 12
Mana Sensing 14
Danger Sensing 1
Wound Binding 8
Ch42 — A Return to Farharbor
Chapter 42 ¡ª A Return to Farharbor
The raptor-pulled wagon filled with open crates of tavi fruit stacked three high and secured with canvas trundled along the cobbleway at a good pace. For being jungle frontier, the roads were remarkably well maintained.
The whole Hatterwick family had come along, even the newly acquired hounds. Falma had the reins together with her parents on the driver¡¯s bench. The two adult horror hounds, Nog and Nilly, were loping alongside the wagon. The tired-out pups, Azi and Azu, were curled up next to Laiya. Toren and Laiya were riding in the back on the wagon¡¯s loading lip, feet dangling as they kept watch for dangers from the surrounding jungle. Thus far the only threats had been to the tavi fruit, an occasional opportunistic saberbeak looking to snatch an easy meal.
Thankfully, the wagon Kota had arranged on their behalf was large enough for the five of them and almost the entire harvest. The downside was feeding the larger raptor. At the current rate, they would have to buy more zoots in town to feed it on the way back. Though, that wasn¡¯t a terrible outcome. It was only because of Emina¡¯s [Preserve Ingredients] Ability that the zoot meat Harthol had left with them had kept as long as it had in the humid jungle heat.
Having to reclaim the stead should the barrier fall to a determined assault while they were gone would be an annoying and dangerous setback, but who could he have safely left behind? Except for him, they all needed to visit a Celestial Mirror of Truth to update and change their Skills.
Toren checked Horevi¡¯s height just cresting enough to be visible through the trees. Completing the trip to town in a single day required getting up before dawn and leaving shortly after the light of Horevi¡¯s approach began to brighten the sky. The minor hardship would be well worth the effort if it meant getting back in time to recharge the claim barrier. Not having to find or pay for lodging for five people was just a bonus.
The harvest had gone well. Maybe worryingly well. Still recovering from his injury and the first use of his new trait, Toren did tire quicker than expected, but with the ladders and crates Warnel had found and repaired, plucking the tavi fruit with six people helping had been simple if tedious work, taking the rest of the first day and half of the second. He was beginning to think he had misjudged the hatter¡ the deal with the fae aside.
With as much as the drain worms had feasted on the bountiful tavi fruit, the risk of some of the worms reaching level 25 and evolving into astral worms had been high. As such, they had used the astral-pulse stones again once everyone and all the fruit were gathered in one place.
[Alchemist] Nalrevin, who sold them the stones, had advised that tavi groves were often a favorite hunting spot of the shrieker bats from which the stones were made. Rather than ¡®stones¡¯, the round baubles were enchanter-made from the bat¡¯s mana core. The pulses produced were only painful and disorienting to people and animals but deadly to soul parasites like the astral worms.
The [Alchemist] offered to pay a good price for any cores they harvested, but Toren was having second thoughts even if the pay was decent. As painfully soul-jarring as the simple pulses from the enchanted cores were, maybe he didn¡¯t want to encounter the shrieker bats, much less hunt them.
Rational worries aside, his group¡¯s first expedition into the jungle was a larger success than he could have reasonably expected: sacks full of zoot crests, a wagon-full of tavi, and a bounty of levels¡ªall within a tenday of arriving in the colony. It was surely enough to make the tenday¡¯s debt payment, something he¡¯d risked everything for but hadn¡¯t really believed possible. Hells, he¡¯d even become a land owner.
Of course, the gods give with one hand and take with another, and too much good fortune had come his way suddenly. It would have been worrying even without having tied his fortunes to a hatter who sold his luck to the fae.
Toren wasn¡¯t looking forward to returning to town. That was the real reason he was brooding himself in circles. He didn¡¯t need [Meditation] to realize that. There was no way the Conclave goons would leave him alone with as much as he had cost them¡ªand worse, how brazen he had been about it¡ªand there was even less chance that his and Warnel¡¯s return would go unnoticed.
Conclave of Shadows. Any organization that put ¡®shadows¡¯ in its name wanted people to think it had eyes and ears lurking around¡ªin the shadows. It was cringy, really. Who were they trying to convince?
That didn¡¯t change the danger. The assassin they sent had been close to tier 2. If an actual tier-2 [Assassin] had been sent, he and Warnel would be surely dead and Emina and the girls would be slaves sent off to somewhere even worse than this jungle colony.
Whether there was anything he could do about it was the problem. Until they sold the tavi, keeping to the main cobbleways and staying in sight of a [Guard] at all times was all he could come up with. Guarding the wagon and raptor from being stolen would be an issue, too. The more he thought about it, the more Toren preferred the Hatterwicks spending the entire time in the Church of the Faithful, or at least the upper part of the market square.
Maybe the Hatterwicks could make a large enough donation at Eshem`zel¡¯s shrine to get Reaver Yorne to keep an eye on them?
Horevi continued to rise into the sky, but was still far from his midday height when the jungle split away on either side to reveal the tree-cleared approach to town.
The cleared area gently sloped down from the town¡¯s imposing Ability-constructed stone walls until it met with the jungle. Colorful fletched shafts poked out randomly from the sparse carpet of small-leafed plants and ferns, and the pale white of unclaimed bones littered the ground. Not a safe place for farming or building, but steaders with livestock to sell were already occupying the lightly built pens outside the gate¡ªno doubt neighbors whose steads they had passed on the way.
Like the others there, Kota¡¯s younger brother, Joric, had beat them to town and waved to Falma, calling out from the pen where he was watching over and playing with two hunting-packs-worth of Marton and Bessimi¡¯s horror hounds and pups. ¡®Training the pups and getting them used to unfamiliar people¡¯ was how Bessimi had described Joric¡¯s work¡ªsoon to be Iresmi¡¯s work when Joric graduated to hunting the jungle like his older brothers.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
¡°Azi! Azu!¡± Falma called out when the Hatterwick¡¯s pups ran off to visit their siblings while she was returning Joric¡¯s enthusiastic wave. The two older dogs soon followed. ¡°Ah-! No, Nog! Nilly! Return!¡±
¡°Isn¡¯t it fine?¡± Warnel asked. ¡°Joric could look after the hounds while we¡¯re in the town. It would be hard to keep them with us.¡±
¡°That does sound like a good idea,¡± Emina agreed. ¡°Toren?¡±
¡°Judging by the pens being outside the gate, there was always a chance someone would¡¯ve had to stay with the dogs,¡± Toren pointed out, speaking loud enough for his voice to be heard even muffled by his helm. ¡°That would solve a problem for us if Joric¡¯s willing.¡±
¡°Shame you¡¯re stuck with the reins, Falma. Laiya will have to handle convincing Joric. You shouldn¡¯t mind, you¡¯ve only got eyes for Kota after all,¡± Emina teased her daughter.
¡°Mom!¡±
The puppies running off did teach Toren something interesting: the extent of the blind hounds¡¯ sensing range. Not anywhere close to how far a sighted hound could see, but impressive for what it was.
Toren and Laiya hopped down when Falma slowed the raptor to a walking stride. Laiya¡¯s helmet slit turned Toren¡¯s way, and he gave her a nod of confirmation.
With their faces hidden by the helmets. The plan was for him and Laiya to pretend to be hired guards. Warnel would handle the talking with the gate guards.
Laiya was already jogging off to meet with Joric by the time a tier-2 [Guard] approached to inspect their cargo.
The tier-2 [Guard] didn¡¯t look too thrilled when he looked under the canvas. ¡°Tavi fruit? You¡¯re going to need to pull the wagon over to the side until [Alchemist] Nalrevin can come out to verify they are free of drain worms.¡±
¡°We¡¯re headed to the [Alchemist] now. We¡¯ve already treated them with the incense he gave us,¡± Warnel offered.
The [Guard] motioned to where he wanted the wagon to be moved. ¡°Even so, orders from Lord Hanoval are orders.¡±
The raptor wasn¡¯t keen about backing up, but Falma cajoled him into accomplishing the task, giving the blue-scaled beast a strip of smoked meat as a reward.
A runner was sent to fetch the [Alchemist], and they settled in to wait.
~~~
Name: Toren of Theravos
Race: Human
Age: 20
Profession 1: Level 5 Burningblood Berserker (4300/10000)
Mana: 72/72
Strength: 16
Constitution: 13
Dexterity: 14
Agility: 12
Wisdom: 12
Intellect: 8
Will Power: 18
Perception 15
Appearance: 8
Charisma: 8
Luck: 10
Attribute Upgrade Points: 4
Traits:
Sacrificial Guardian
Abilities:
Burning Blood (Rank 1) Proficiency: Mid
Control Blood (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Flurry of Blows (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Ability Upgrade Points: 4
Profession Skills:
Pain Tolerance 5
Severe Wound Recovery 5
Berserker Knife Arts 1
Spear 9
Club 8
Focus Rage 3
Combat Awareness 3
Intimidate 2
Skills:
Theravos Language (Speaking) 15
Theravos Language (Reading/Writing) 10
Religion 10
Meditation 5
Bone Strengthening 3
Hunting 20
Butchering 13
Archery 19
Stealth 18
Arithmetic 4
Foraging 16
Tree Felling 6
Running 12
Mana Sensing 14
Danger Sensing 1
Wound Binding 8
Ch43 — A Small Windfall (Part I)
Chapter 43 ¡ª A Small Windfall (Part I)
Traffic in and out of the harbor town wasn¡¯t enough to form lines, but between the noble and common hunting parties heading out and the steaders arriving to buy and sell, it was more than Toren had expected. Most of the other steaders also rode raptor-pulled carts or wagons similar to the one he had rented. He could see why with how far most of the steads were from the town. The Blue Raptor Ranch must do a brisk business.
While they were waiting, Falma got her parents to let her also visit with Joric, her father reluctantly taking over the duties of keeping the raptor happy. Toren continued to play the role of a hired guard and let Warnel handle the greetings of the other steaders.
Many were curious why they were waiting to enter, but most of the brief conversations went similar to:
¡°New with the recent arrivals? Haven¡¯t seen your family around before.¡±
¡°Yep. Came to town to sell our first harvest. Waiting on the [Alchemist].¡±
¡°Oh? A harvest already?¡±
¡°Mostly just good timing and the zoots keeping the saberbeaks away from the tavi trees.¡±
¡°Tavi fruit? Haha, best of luck with that. Most of us burn them from the property to avoid the hassle. Well, see you round.¡±
By the fifth such conversation, Toren¡¯s attention was solely focused on the people leaving Farharbor. It only took one wrong person to recognize them or decide they were a juicy target to result in future trouble, but thus far, no one had paid them more attention than any of the other steader groups. The helms had been an excellent purchase, not just for safety, but to make the Hatterwicks anonymous.
With how casual things were outside the gates, Toren could almost imagine the town before them was just like any other frontier town.
¡°Toren, you hearing that?¡± Warnel queried in his direction from where he had paused in feeding the Raptor¡ªa raptor that was now staring intently in the direction of the jungle.
A repetitive sound like distant yelling echoed off the town¡¯s stone wall, all too quickly breaking the illusion of normalcy. Tension seized the steaders manning the livestock pens as more eyes and snouts turned toward the not-distant-enough jungle, searching for the cause of the desperate cries for help that were becoming clearer with every passing heartbeat.
Toren brought his bow to hand, nocking an arrow. He kept half his mind on [Mana Sensing] and [Combat Awareness] to keep watch around the wagon, watching for any fool trying to take advantage of the disturbance.
They didn¡¯t have to wait long before a teen [Hunter] burst out of the treeline and stumbled into a run for the wall followed by the rapid and eerie creaking of a better-than-man-sized swamp tree running on elongated roots and furiously swinging about vine-laden limbs.
A Hangman Tree. It was a type of ent but without the intelligence of its more ancient brethren. The hunter had annoyed the tree enough that it had uprooted itself.
The carnivorous trees were an annoying threat on the best of days. Short of breaking or removing the mana core, they were almost impossible to kill. Best strategy was to hack off the limbs and roots then deal with the core removal at one¡¯s leisure¡ªone of the reasons Toren kept his [Tree Felling] Skill.
¡°Good job bringing us XP and credits, boy!¡± a voice boomed out from above accompanied by mocking chuckles and further jeering.
Toren swapped his bow for the enchanted shortblade. Normal arrows were useless against such ents. That didn¡¯t stop those on wall-duty from taking a few shots anyway.
An arrow made of fire flew past the fleeing teen to splash upon the ent, scorching the trunk and billowing to set its crown of leaves on fire. The licking flames only added indignant shrieking to the ent¡¯s cacophony of noise, doing nothing to slow its progress.
¡°Amateurs,¡± Toren muttered under his breath, shaking his head. ¡°The roots are what should be targeted first.¡±
No sooner had the words left his mouth when a golden hoop of enchanted metal arced through the base of the ent before returning to a cloaked figure atop the wall.
¡°Dibs on the wood!¡± yelled an axe-wielding man as he jumped down and sprinted toward the downed but still-flailing ent.
Toren sheathed his sword. The hoop-guy was competent at least¡ªand probably someone to stay away from.
¡°It¡¯s safe enough now, right?¡± a familiar voice demanded from where the guards had moved to block the town¡¯s entrance. ¡°The longer I¡¯m out here, the less potions you all will have.¡±
¡°Fine. Jeris, go with him.¡±
One of the tier-1 [Guards] followed [Alchemist] Nalrevin at the tier-2 [Guard]¡¯s order.
¡°Oh? This is quite the nice harvest,¡± Nalrevin greeted as he approached the wagon. ¡°With all the mana you¡¯re leaking, I¡¯m surprised you weren¡¯t attacked by something on the way in. You¡¯ll want to get an [Enchanter] to put wards on your crates for next time.¡±
¡°Ah, we¡¯ll make sure to do that,¡± Warnel replied, handing the reins to Emina as he joined the [Alchemist] in his inspection of the wagon¡¯s contents.
Toren mentally groaned. Had he been so worried about what would happen once they got back to town that he would overlook something so obvious? It was less of an issue with beasts, but all monsters were drawn to mana even if they couldn¡¯t directly sense it, especially as they became more powerful.
Stupid. It was beyond stupid. The ease with which he and the Hatterwicks cleared the zoots and seeing other steaders going about their business normally had lulled him into complacency about the jungle¡¯s dangers. They were still tier-1 steaders in a tier-2 jungle! If he didn¡¯t get his head screwed on right, all their recent good fortune would end for naught!
After the cord tying the canvas down was loosened, Nalrevin flipped back the covering to get a better look at the crates of tavi fruit. ¡°The timing on this is excellent. Lord Hanoval already has me preparing potions for the upcoming high-tide. I¡¯ll purchase the whole wagon worth. Olba¡¯s the one with the Ability to quickly get us a count of the tavi and drainworms. Hope you don¡¯t mind bringing the wagon to my shop for unloading?¡±If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
¡°High-tide?¡±
¡°Yeah, between the [Guards] and the jobbers guarding the walls, the monster swarms that accompany the flooding of the jungle tend to push the people of Farharbor to buy out most of my stock, so it¡¯s best to start preparing in advance. Out there in the jungle, you¡¯re going to have to hold them off on your own. I recommend getting arrows for dealing with the tier-2 threats from the [Enchanter] while you¡¯re getting your crates done.¡±
Warnel and his wife exchanged a glance¡ªas much as they could through the slitted helms.
Nalrevin placed a device thick with mana into the wagon bed. ¡°That¡¯ll draw and catch any stray drain or astral worms.¡± The [Alchemist] turned to the [Guard]. ¡°Jeris, It¡¯s safe to bring the fruit inside now. Let Gavin know.¡±
¡°Alright,¡± Jeris grunted and made what Toren expected was an ¡®all clear¡¯ signal toward the other watching tier-1 [Guard], who relayed it inside the gateway.
¡°Laiya! Falma!¡± Emina called over to her daughters. ¡°We¡¯re leaving!¡±
¡°How long does the tide last?¡± Warnel asked, taking back the reins to lead the raptor forward as he kept pace with the [Alchemist]. Emina stayed on the bench.
¡°About a tenday? The swarming tends to begin prior to the flooding, and it can take some days for the flooding to start and for the tide to recede afterward. At least this one won¡¯t be an extended high-tide where the flooding lasts several tendays.¡±
Falma pulled herself up onto the wagon''s bench and retook the reins. ¡°Joric said he¡¯ll watch the dogs for us.¡±
¡°Keep people away from the wagon sides,¡± Toren advised Laiya upon rejoining them and took up his own position on the opposite side as they slowly approached the open portcullis and the way into the town.
Temporary stalls had been set up under the walkways leading to the raised market square. As they passed a few of the vendors catering to [Hunters] and steaders, Toren caught sight of a familiar face¡ªthe Conclave boy that had been tailing Falma and her father.
Watching for arrivals?
Toren¡¯s heart pushed with increased force, a twinge of fear and anger threatening to ignite his blood.
Had the boy recognized Falma or her father? He didn¡¯t see any recognition in the boy¡¯s eyes-
No, upon seeing Toren, the boy froze.
Crap. Was it his armor? Weapons?
Too late, it didn¡¯t matter. There was only one thing Toren could think of. He reached over the wagon¡¯s side for a loose tavi fruit and casually tossed it to the boy.
The boy flailed, dropping what he was holding in order to keep the fruit from hitting the ground. A panicked look drained the boy¡¯s face of color upon realizing what he¡¯d been tossed.
A group of [Hunters] heading for the gate blocked his view as the wagon continued past. Sure enough, the boy used that moment to escape. Toren didn¡¯t really care if the boy ate the dead-worm-filled fruit or not, rather he could only hope the delivered reminder would be enough to keep him quiet.
| [Intimidate] has increased to 3. |
~~~
Name: Toren of Theravos
Race: Human
Age: 20
Profession 1: Level 5 Burningblood Berserker (4300/10000)
Mana: 72/72
Strength: 16
Constitution: 13
Dexterity: 14
Agility: 12
Wisdom: 12
Intellect: 8
Will Power: 18
Perception 15
Appearance: 8
Charisma: 8
Luck: 10
Attribute Upgrade Points: 4
Traits:
Sacrificial Guardian
Abilities:
Burning Blood (Rank 1) Proficiency: Mid
Control Blood (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Flurry of Blows (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Ability Upgrade Points: 4
Profession Skills:
Pain Tolerance 5
Severe Wound Recovery 5
Berserker Knife Arts 1
Spear 9
Club 8
Focus Rage 3
Combat Awareness 3
Intimidate 2 ¡ú 3
Skills:
Theravos Language (Speaking) 15
Theravos Language (Reading/Writing) 10
Religion 10
Meditation 5
Bone Strengthening 3
Hunting 20
Butchering 13
Archery 19
Stealth 18
Arithmetic 4
Foraging 16
Tree Felling 6
Running 12
Mana Sensing 14
Danger Sensing 1
Wound Binding 8
Ch44 — A Small Windfall (Part II)
Chapter 44 ¡ª A Small Windfall (Part II)
On the walk to the [Alchemist]¡¯s shop, Warnel was able to confirm the number of days they had until the high-tide. They would have some time¡ªanother tenday and a few days afterward¡ªless than Toren would have liked. He¡¯d have to focus on improving Laiya¡¯s and Warnel¡¯s combat skills.
After the previously Conclave-employed boy had recognized him, Toren kept his Skills in constant use, staying alert for trouble. He was particularly worried about archers and left ¡®discouraging anyone from getting too close¡¯ mostly to Laiya and her blade-bare spear. A gaggle of threadbare and not-quite-apprentice-aged youths followed the wagon, smelling an opportunity, but didn¡¯t seem like a threat and kept their distance.
Upon reaching the shop, it took barely a look at the wagon for Nalrevin¡¯s wife, Olba, to pronounce the quantity of tavi fruit and drain worms. Nalreven paid them in silver and a payment note that he said the clerks at the administrative building would honor. He also issued Toren a magically-signed ¡®proof of work¡¯ to claim credits for the drain worms obtained.
The gaggle of youths were promptly hired by the [Alchemist] and his wife to unload and guard the wagon, freeing Toren and the Hatterwicks to head to the Church of the Faithful for turns at the Celestial Mirror of Truth. It also conveniently solved what they would do with the raptor and wagon for a while. That Nalrevin knew the youths by name was encouraging.
A diversity of townspeople were continually lining up to make use of Farharbor¡¯s Mirror of Truth but the line moved quickly. Toren got in line with the Hatterwicks. There were still benefits to using the Church¡¯s Celestial Mirror of Truth, and his orphanage-raised paranoia counseled value and anonymity in keeping the god-sponsored nature of his Profession secret. Sponsored Professions meant ¡®being fated¡¯ and tended to attract the attention of people of importance.
The eager girls went first, and Falma was practically bouncing with her success. After giving a thumbs-up to her family, Warnel¡¯s youngest ran over to the short line for Kyrella¡¯s shrine, mostly likely to give thanks. Embodied by the Green Moon, Kyrella was the Keeper of the Lifespring Garden, ruling over aspects of life, familial bonds, and nurturing. It was good that the girl was finding a path and patron she was excited about. Toren felt a bit bad that neither of the Hatterwicks¡¯ daughters would be continuing their parents¡¯ [Haberdasher] Profession. Of course, there was a solution to that¡ªshould they survive long enough.
After her turn, Laiya stepped to the side to wait for her parents, giving Toren a nod.
Toren acknowledged the elder daughter¡¯s reserved indication of success with a discreet thumbs-up, and his gaze wandered to Horevi¡¯s shrine on the other side of the temple¡¯s public space. He should give thanks as well.
Both Hatterwick parents took their turns, and Laiya was reporting her results to them when Toren approached the Mirror for the first time since he fatefully sacrificed his previous Profession and levels. Laiya¡¯d successfully added the [Mana Transfer], [Spear], and [Religion] Skills, evolved [Sure Cut], and added a new Ability called [Color Permanence].
It was disappointing that the girl wasn¡¯t offered a combat-useful Ability choice. Losing her only current combat Ability when she sacrificed her Profession would also be disappointing, but with having the [Cutting] Skill, there was a fair chance that she would be able to get [Sure Cut] back at level 1 or level 5. If it worked like Toren felt it should, regaining the threshold gains and ranks should go quickly.
Warnel looked confused at his daughter¡¯s report, and Emina snuck a worried glance Toren¡¯s way. ¡°[Color Permanence]? Are you going to continue being a [Haberdasher]?¡±
¡°No,¡± Laiya shook her head. ¡°Eshem¡¯Zel wants us to turn the tools at hand into power to save ourselves and others. With what Toren explained about how we can evolve our Abilities at each threshold and rank, at first I was just thinking that I could extend upon what we did using dye bladders to make the zoots visible and throw ink to blind enemies, but it also felt like I could evolve the Skill into a general ¡®permanence¡¯ Ability that could work on cuts and wounds.¡±
Half-way to pressing his hand against the mirror, Toren stopped, hardly believing what he heard. Unhealable wounds? From a color-dyeing Ability? Maybe it really was by Eshem`Zel¡¯s hand that the girl had been brought to the Black Knight''s faith. He shook his head in amazement and reached the rest of the distance, the Mirror¡¯s view of distant stars rippling like water as time around him slowed.
He was impressed by Laiya¡¯s creativity and couldn¡¯t let himself fall behind.
Because of the prior soul-strain, he held off his level 5 Skill selection until he could use the Mirror here. Unlike his personal Mirror shard, the Church¡¯s Celestial Mirror would keep him from making choices too damaging to his soul. The choice to wait hadn¡¯t kept him from thinking about or deciding which Skill to unlock and which ones to slot, though.
Add [Divided Focus].
{You have added the [Divided Focus] Skill}
Initially, he had been worried that [Divided Focus] would conflict with or weaken his benefits from [Focus Rage], but when his mind wandered while doing the repetitive tasks of harvesting the tavi fruit, he happened upon a slight epiphany.
When he fought, he was never doing just one thing. He might be focused on a single opponent, but even landing an attack required more than one task. Whether it was footwork to maintain the ideal distance, anticipating his opponent¡¯s movements, deciding the path of the strike, choosing how to follow through to avoid a counter and create new chances, evaluating the effectiveness of the attack¡ªall of those tasks were performed at the same time to further a larger task: defeating his opponent.
While he could use [Focus Rage] to improve a single task at the exclusion of everything else, that was inefficient and wouldn¡¯t improve his overall effectiveness. The Skill was much more effective when applied to a goal¡ªthen all the tasks furthering that goal would be enhanced by the [Focus Rage] Skill. In this way, [Divided Focus] would supplement [Focus Rage], maybe to the extent that the two Skills might merge into a single evolved Skill.
The highest priority choice done, Toren moved onto his next choice.
Add [Unassailable Tower of the Mind].
{Failed. Insufficient soul density. Insufficient core space.}
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Yeah. Pretty much what he expected. It was a viridian-rarity Skill and probably came with powerful benefits, so he had to at least try.
There was one other he wanted to try. He had put off [Physical Conditioning] last time in favor of [Intimidate], but now that he wanted to use [Burning Blood] to push his limits and increase his physical Attributes, not trying to get it now would be stupid.
Add [Physical Conditioning].
{Warning: Insufficient soul density. Functionality may be reduced due to limited core space. Recommend removing or merging skills. Proceed anyway?}
Toren raised a mental eyebrow at the difference in the two responses from the Mirror. He must be just short!
Show available skill merges.
{Available skill merges:
[Theravos Language]
[Wilderness Harvesting]}
Oh?
Show skill merge for [Theravos Language].
{Combine [Theravos Language (Speaking)] and [Theravos Language (Reading/Writing)] into [Theravos Language]? Warning: Skill level will be revised.}
Ah. That¡¯s why he hadn¡¯t done it. His reading and writing Skill had been low at the time and he was worried about becoming stupider¡ªor at least sounding stupid. Stupid people got taken advantage of and treated worse. That, and the [Holy Sisters]¡¯ lessons were already frustrating enough! Why would he want to relearn all that?!
Toren chuckled to himself.
Of course, now he knew that knowledge and capability already gained wouldn¡¯t be lost. He would just lose the current assistance and collective knowledge provided by the Skill beyond whatever level it got revised to.
Yes.
{You have added the [Theravos Language] skill.}
Show skill merge for [Wilderness Harvesting].
{Combine [Foraging], [Butchering], [Tree Felling] into [Wilderness Harvesting]? Warning: Skill level will be revised.}
After witnessing a hangman¡¯s tree not even a sandglass prior, Toren found himself even leerier to lose the guidance from [Tree Felling] than when he lived in Greenvale¡
Yes.
{You have added the [Wilderness Harvesting] skill.}
One bronze-rarity and four iron-rarity Skills had become two bronze-rarity Skills. Would it be enough?
Add [Physical Conditioning].
{You have added the [Physical Conditioning] Skill. Synergy with Profession detected. Slot as Profession Skill?}
Yes.
Relief washed over him at getting the two most important choices successfully added. Waiting to use the Church¡¯s Celestial Mirror of Truth had been the right choice. The only thing left was to hope the level revisions had gone in his favor.
Show status.
{Name: Toren of Theravos
Race: Human
Age: 20
Profession 1: Level 5 Burningblood Berserker (4300/10000)
Mana: 72/72
Strength: 16
Constitution: 13
Dexterity: 14
Agility: 12
Wisdom: 12
Intellect: 8
Will Power: 18
Perception 15
Appearance: 8
Charisma: 8
Luck: 10
Attribute Upgrade Points: 4
Traits:
Sacrificial Guardian
Abilities:
Burning Blood (Rank 1) Proficiency: Mid
Control Blood (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Flurry of Blows (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Ability Upgrade Points: 4
Profession Skills:
Severe Wound Recovery 5
Focus Rage 3
Combat Awareness 3
Berserker Knife Arts 1
Spear 9
Club 8
Pain Tolerance 5
Physical Conditioning 5
Intimidate 3
Skills:
Danger Sensing 1
Stealth 18
Mana Sensing 14
Wilderness Harvesting 12
Theravos Language 11
Religion 10
Meditation 5
Divided Focus 1
Hunting 20
Archery 19
Running 12
Wound Binding 8
Arithmetic 4
Bone Strengthening 3}
Ch45 — A Small Windfall (Part III)
Chapter 45 ¡ª A Small Windfall (Part III)
After the Church of the Faithful, the next stop was the Shrine of Eshem`zel.
Laiya returned with her head down and shoulders slumped after meeting with Reaver Uvros. Her voice was quiet as she spoke chilling words, ¡°I might have to kill someone.¡±
Well, yeah. That was what Reavers did.
¡°The zoots don¡¯t count as monsters, and the examples he gave¡ seem really dangerous.¡±
Oh? So, the requirement distinguished between beasts and mana-twisted monsters. At least, targeting a known monster would have the advantage of being able to prepare. A tier-2 bounty could also provide the core he needed for his quest to speak with Yana.
A choice for later. As it was, the coming high-tide might bring a solution to both of their problems¡ªone way or the other.
Toren clasped Laiya¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll help you. You don¡¯t have to do it by yourself, do you?¡±
Laiya looked up and shook her head.
Toren glanced over to where Laiya¡¯s parents and sister were praying among the supplicants. ¡°What about protection for your family while I claim our credits?¡±
¡°Reaver Uvros appreciated our donation and will have [Initiate] Nahm watch over us while we do our shopping.¡±
Satisfied that the Hatterwicks would be safe, Toren made his face as serious as possible and gave his parting instructions, ¡°Stay in the market area. I¡¯ll be back as quickly as I can.¡±
Laiya nodded, nervous but determined. ¡°Be careful, Toren.¡±
Toren kept to the main street¡¯s raised walkway as he warily progressed through the town in the direction of the Governing Hall. With dawn long behind them, the town¡¯s raised walkways and cobblestone streets had become busier with men and women setting about their daily tasks.
The more crowded, the better. The best way to go unnoticed was to be an unremarkable one among many.
His bet was that the Conclave had less of a free hand in the wealthier and more public areas. That assessment became riskier for the area around the Governing Hall which was too conveniently close to the rougher dock area of the town for him to want to risk bringing the Hatterwick women.
Fortunately, between the amount received in physical coin for the tavi and dead worms and the herbs and other foragings Emina and Falma had brought for sale, the Hatterwicks had netted a nice amount of coin from the [Alchemist], and the family readily chose to stay behind to purchase supplies and such for jungle living at the stead, trusting Toren to handle the credit and debt matters.
Toren paused briefly at the job board to look over the tier-2 bounties before climbing the stone stairs into the looming administrative building. Even setting aside the always available wyvern bounty, the area wasn¡¯t lacking for powerful threats to be hunted. A dreamgiver hangman tree using illusions and daze-pollen to lure travelers on the west road to their deaths topped the list but was hardly the most terrifying of what the local jungle offered. That honor went to the lesser basilisk and the death scythe lurking the swampy reaches around wherever Brackwater Lake was. That there was a corrupting terror northwest of the Blue Raptor Ranch wasn¡¯t much better.
Not everything posted was as dangerous. Some might almost be considered potential targets for him and Laiya: a colony of evolved fungal shamblers near Yarvi¡¯s Shroom Plot, an evolved putrid slime near Phellan¡¯s Dell, an evolved jungle fisher seen along the road to Mistmire, a giant hunting spider near Grot¡¯s Watering Hole, and a mated pair of evolved shadow stalkers causing losses among the orrog and sheep farmers. The number and variety of listings really brought home the reality of the Corvast Jungle being a tier-2 jungle.
Fire Jars and sparkstone were looking to be important purchases, and whatever explosive stones he could afford from [Enchanter].
Toren could only sigh at how woefully unprepared he and the Hatterwicks had been upon setting out to claim the orchard as he entered the vaulted hall.
The inside of the building was as busy as the Church of the Faithful had been, and just lining up in queue for the Town Services counter, he couldn¡¯t help feeling that the mood among the townspeople was odd¡ªif he had to describe it: a tense impatience driven by desperate worry.
When his turn came, Toren was relieved to see the same clerk that had added the Hatterwicks to his stead as tenants was the one that had called him. That would hopefully make depositing Warnel¡¯s portion of the credits less complicated. With the repeatable task for collecting zoot crests, the drain worm collection task, and clearing Levish¡¯s Orchard, they were in line for a fair quantity of credits to be distributed between himself and the Hatterwicks.
¡°How can the town of Farharbor be of service?¡± the middle-aged woman behind the high counter asked.
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He took off his helmet and slid the task postings and signed attestments from Nalrevin onto the counter. ¡°I¡¯d like to claim task completions to be deposited for myself and a tenant family of my stead.¡±
¡°Names?¡±
¡°Toren, formerly of Greenvale, and Warnel Hatterwick.¡±
¡°Toren from Greenvale¡ ah.¡± The woman¡¯s face grimaced. ¡°There is a note from Lieutenant Kale that you are to present yourself to him before conducting further business with the town of Farharbor.¡±
Toren froze in place for a moment before returning the papers back to his belt pouch and consciously reminding himself to breathe. ¡°Any idea what this is about?¡±
The primly-dressed woman shook her head. ¡°The note doesn¡¯t say. The Lieutenant should be in his office.¡±
There were only two reasons to have been required to present himself before this lieutenant guy. Toren tugged his glove and stretched his arm to check the debt marks¡ªboth were still black. That left the assault on the Conclave hostel. Again, he worried how deeply the Conclave had infiltrated the town¡¯s [Guards] and [Officials].
Toren nodded to the woman and started for the door that would lead into the Governance Hall¡¯s depths, gauntleted fingers tense and ready against the helmet tucked tightly to his side. He knew that once inside, his chances of escape would be poor at best¡ but even if he made a run for the front entrance now, there was little chance the guards at the building¡¯s entrance would let such suspicious behavior pass.
Resigned, he relaxed his grip on the helmet and passed through the same door Kesta had led him through what felt like only days prior. The same guard was sitting alert at the same table as last time.
¡°Lieutenant Kale¡¯s office?¡±
¡°First left, last door.¡±
Toren thanked him, thoughts racing as the doors passed by, some with name cards, some not.
No solution had presented itself to him by the time he reached the final door. A name plate was affixed to the polished stone of the wall beside the door:
Lieutenant Kale of Whitesail, Dock Quarter Security and Steader Affairs
~~~
¡ºName: Toren of Theravos
Race: Human
Age: 20
Profession 1: Level 5 Burningblood Berserker (4300/10000)
Mana: 72/72
Strength: 16
Constitution: 13
Dexterity: 14
Agility: 12
Wisdom: 12
Intellect: 8
Will Power: 18
Perception 15
Appearance: 8
Charisma: 8
Luck: 10
Attribute Upgrade Points: 4
Traits:
Sacrificial Guardian
Abilities:
Burning Blood (Rank 1) Proficiency: Mid
Control Blood (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Flurry of Blows (Rank 1) Proficiency: Low
Ability Upgrade Points: 4
Profession Skills:
Severe Wound Recovery 5
Focus Rage 3
Combat Awareness 3
Berserker Knife Arts 1
Spear 9
Club 8
Pain Tolerance 5
Physical Conditioning 5
Intimidate 3
Skills:
Danger Sensing 1
Stealth 18
Mana Sensing 14
Wilderness Harvesting 12
Theravos Language 11
Religion 10
Meditation 5
Bone Strengthening 3
Divided Focus 1
Hunting 20
Archery 19
Running 12
Wound Binding 8
Arithmetic 4¡»