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Bk. 3 Ch. 37
🕑 Added 2024-12-16 21:23:59 +0000 UTC37.
“Damnit!” Tank spat as he dodged a wide sweeping blow from the hissing mountain lion. Talons flashed by his face, splitting the air as Santi turned around in surprise as the mountain lion had arrived soundlessly. Santi dashed in front of them with [Windstep] as his blade lengthened into a spear. Santi stabbed the mountain lion through its chest before it could react. The lion coughed once and went still, legs going limp and collapsing as the two men stood there in silence.
“You didn’t sense that at all?” Tank asked.
“Not at all. Just came out of nowhere,” Santi said a little breathlessly. The scent of blood in the air was intoxicating and he pulled his spear free as the two of them looked at each other and laughed anxiously together.
“We’re almost there,” Santi said, the road signs slowly showing the distance traveled for themselves as they got closer and closer.
“I’m tired. Let’s get there and get this over with. “ Tank rustled his shoulders, settling the pack carefully on his shoulders as they turned and kept going. Santi looked down at the pelt of the cougar, the low level Acolyte animal would have made a solid pelt or leather armor.
“Let’s go, Santi. Stop sniffing the air like a weirdo.” Santi came back to himself, pulling his eyes off of the dead big cat and they were traveling again in moments. The heat of the sun was pleasant against their skin, their natural resistances enough that even the California summer was growing to be easily tolerable.
“What do we tell everyone when we get back?” Tank asked.
“We went and did the dungeon. We have the riftheart. That’s all there is to it. Duncan used the dungeon to try to improve his affinity and it probably worked or got closer to it succeeding. Did you level?”
“Yeah, I got a few. You?”
“Yeah, need to figure out my levels and go through these achievements when we sit down.”
“Still trying to be somewhat balanced?” Tank asked.
“Not really. We’re passing the point where I can keep up with physical classers even with all my advantages. It’s better for me to start focusing on my weak points and allowing gear and titles for the disadvantage. Time to start leaning into the mage class,” Santi said. It had been growing obvious for awhile now that he was starting to be surpassed physically.
Magically there was no one who could rival him, but without combat specific spells he had been forced to augment his combat with magic rather than augment his magic with swordwork.
“I suggest the same for you. I don’t know the attribute spread for your class, but I’m assuming it's similar to mine. Leaning into mana stats, right?”
“Yes and no. I am a [Combat Medic]. I get strength stats right off the bat and a few durability points. The majority go toward spell casting though.”
“When the market is fully functional, or the dwarves get going, we equip you in armor that will protect you and items to improve strength. Lean into the mage portion of the build and just keep the heals flowing. Won’t be as squishy as most healers but you won’t be as powerful as them medically.”
“I don’t need to heal a battlefield to perfect health. Just keep you alive until we get back to the real doctors.”
“There is definitely a place for a class and build like that. Splitting the difference between a physical classer and a true healer, you’ll never reach the pinnacle of strength like that though. You can’t completely split yourself, eventually you have to pick a direction,” Santi warned.
They turned to the final stretch of road that led to their new camp. Santi was pleased to see a barricade had begun to be built. It wasn’t the poorly done ones they had done either, but the effect of skills were evident. Cars had been melted into one another, melding together to form a mass that blocked off the road except for a single chokepoint.
“Haven’t you been splitting your attention?” Tank asked.
“Yes and no. My class dumps almost all my points into mana based abilities and then I use my few spare points to bolster weak zones. I have my titles and gear now that help me cover the distance between me and a physical classer. By the time someone like Cameron or Bianca or Chloe reaches my level though, they’ll have a base strength that is equal or surpasses mine, even with all my advantages.”
“But your magic abilities will far outclass theirs?”
“Oh yeah, I’ll run circles around them magically. Biggest issue right now is most of my spells are more utility than combat. I can shape and change them to be combat focused, but at the end of the day they aren’t as impactful as say something like [Firebolt].”
“Your sister doesn’t use her affinity that much, just the one kill.”
“She has shit mana. She can’t use her abilities as frequently as I can or even you and Cameron. Cameron is nicely balanced, but so many of his abilities use mana to create shields, he needs to be.”
“Really is like a game. What a fucking world,” Tank whispered the last part as they got closer to the barricade. Santi felt the hairs on his neck rise up as he stared at the barricade. It was eight feet tall but there was an ominous dread emanating from it as he stared. Either a skill or a spell that Yesi had laid down upon it.
“Come on in,” Maya yelled, her head peaking over the top and waving them in. Santi hadn’t felt her on the other side of the barrier, in fact he couldn’t sense anything beyond the barricade. Another layer of obfuscation that they had laid down.
A small passage was created in the middle of the barricade, hardly large enough for Santi to pass through easily, Tank was forced to turn sideways and take his pack off to get through.
“Your dwarf friends are quite industrious. Going to have a wall up and around the whole damn city before the day’s over,” Maya said as she sat back down on a ledge. Her head was completely hidden from the outside world, keeping the appearance of an abandoned wall.
“Good. Where is everyone?” Santi asked.
“Everyone is working around town. The others haven’t made it back yet. I got stuck up here on watch duty,” she yawned as she spoke, boredom and not exhaustion easily seen on her face.
“How did the evolution go?” Santi asked as Tank shrugged his pack back on.
“Hurt like a bitch. Gains were nice though. Ready to test them out for sure. The others said they’d take me out for a hunt and level party later as we try to find those bugs,” Maya said.
“Alright. Keep an eye out and I’ll talk to you later,” Santi waved a hand at the woman and then he and Tank set off. Santi was heading straight for the Pillar of Civilization which rose up in the middle of the town. He had a level worth of stat points to distribute and the awards to go through, then the kit change up.
“Take the gear back to the house, give Yesi the riftheart when you see her. I’m going to get through all the changes and then start baiting the trap,” Santi explained to Tank. The other man grunted and peeled away as Santi reached the Pillar.
Santiago V. Silva
Level 50. Air Mage
Strength: 40 (75)
Durability: 40 (75)
Stamina: 40 (75)
Dexterity: 40 (75)
Vitality: 40 (75)
Perception: 36 (71)
Intelligence: 120 (155)
Mana: 160 (195)
Willpower:130 (165)
Most of his spare points had been added to willpower, desperately trying to hold the curse at bay. Santi now fully understood how others had fallen to its insidious whispers, constantly attacking at his restraint and tolerance. The desire to simply solve every problem with bloodletting was monstrous and lurked in the background of every decision he had made for the last few days.
Achievement: Clear a Dungeon
Reward: Minor Loot Box
Achievement: Kill a Monster 10 levels above you
Reward: Minor Loot Box
X3
Achievement: Survive a Monster 10 levels above you
Reward: Title Cockroach Accumulation 10%
X3
Thirty percent into title accumulation was nice. Fighting and killing the bosses in the dungeon had rewarded him handsomely, but the five percent extra gain he had had as an Initiate was missing. It also marked the halfway point of climbing through the Acolyte tier and another spell slot he could work with. He wasn’t looking forward to the next step in his plan.
He opened all four loot boxes and the only thing he got was another mound of coins that pile up into a neat pile at his feet. Thirty coins from each of the boxes. Santi actually counted them this time and frowned, he could have sworn there had been more last time.
He touched the pillar and connected with it and quickly sorted through the menus. A quick scan of the map showed a nice layered topographical map that stretched out for miles. There were a few [Scouts] or their equivalent outside of the town, but nothing he had to worry about.
He brought up the merchant windows and began to search. There were two merchant windows, one from the System directly that offered all sorts of low end supplied at high prices and then the on world merchant site which was for trade amongst the populace. Currently the inter world trade window was empty, but in a few days or weeks it would swell with new users and the market would be flooded with low quality goods.
Santi focused on scrolling down the list of the offerings from the System until he found what he wanted. He wanted to wince at the price, but a hundred tokens wasn’t the end of the world. With a thought the majority of the pile of coins at his feet disappeared and with a pop a small cardboard box appeared at Santi’s feet.
He pulled it free and looked at the small orb that had just absorbed so much of his earnings. It was a clear globe and when Santi grabbed it, it felt like the most flimsy piece of glass in the world, ready to shatter under his fingers with just the wrong move.
Orb of Holding (Basic)
Pull a skill or spell from your body and place it in the Orb.
Santi had never used one of these before, but he knew people who had. It was an expensive and painful way of fixing a mistake. Santi was looking at his [Crosscurrent-Orb] and getting ready. [Gust] was too useful currently, but the orb attack was weak and could be replicated by other abilities. Freeing up the third slot so he could take a common level skill was too tempting.
He activated the orb and selected [Crosscurrent-Orb]. For a moment, nothing happened as he stood there holding the orb. Pain exploded in a white sheet that drove him to his knees as his very body trembled and shook violently. It was like hooks he hadn’t known existed were being yanked free of his body.
Santi blacked out and fell on the dry grass in front of the pillar.
