Chapter 194: Dinner and Guests

Aliandra

“Umm…” Ali took a deep breath, looking at Ryn and the novices, struggling to figure out where to even begin. Battle still raged behind the barrier wall, but the corruption had dissolved under the tenacious attack of Mato’s aura. She felt much better, but her face and clothes were still covered with her slowly drying blood. I must look frightful. I definitely need a bath – or at least a Cleanse circle.

A ripple went through Mato’s giant branches, and he transformed back to his Beastkin form. “Hey, is anyone hungry? I was thinking of making dinner,” he said, catching nearly everyone off-guard.

Calen snorted, “After that – that literal bloodbath – you’re thinking about food?”

“Naturally. Blood sausage, anyone?” Malika gave that a curt piece of non-verbal punctuation with the fingers of her right hand, making the Beastkin guffaw heartily. “Fine, fine. I’ll try something vegetarian, shall I?”

“Can we relocate and have dinner down here?” Ali asked. Her notifications had not stopped ringing in as, beyond the golden barrier blocking the doorway into the jungle, the titanic struggle between demonic hellfire and poison continued unabated. There was a cadence to it – a rhythm – the demons would build up in waves, stalling out on the roots and vines of her Forest Guardians in a lengthy stalemate, and then being wiped out whenever the Toxic Spitter unleashed the poison elemental storm.

“Want to keep an eye on the break?” Malika asked.

“Yes, and I want to be in range to give them Empowered Summoner, and Calen’s Motes of Light buff.” Both buffs gave her monsters additional magical damage on hit. And with the ridiculous healing the Toxic Spitter was gaining from Slayer and the Forest Guardians, there was a sea of tiny oozes out there. They would die instantly to fireballs or any damage from the much higher-level demons, but their numbers were so vast that the damage-on-hit bonus was cumulatively enormous.

“Sorry about this,” Ali said, turning to Ryn, Sabri, and Brena. She had not even considered that the novices might be already taking advantage of Ryn’s offer to study in the library and that their provoking a dungeon-break through the rift might have put them all in serious danger. There was no way a level nine warrior or mage would be able to survive against the horde beyond the barrier.

“Um, should we go?” Sabri asked nervously. “Ryn said you had the Nine Paths and I just wanted to see it.”

Actually, both of them looked pretty shell-shocked, glancing worriedly whenever something thumped or crashed or flashed in the jungle beyond.

“No, you can stay if you want. It should be safe now,” she said and both novices visibly relaxed. At least, given the magnitude of the problem, it would be no safer up in town if Ali’s blockade failed. She tried to hide an involuntary grimace.

Are we really that terrifying? she wondered, but then glancing back out into the jungle where the Toxic Slime had just unleashed another Elemental Storm of poison and split twice more from the health gained from Slayer, she decided that, actually yes, it was quite terrifying.

Calen said, “Look, we tangled with something we should really have left well alone, and this – shall I call it a strategic retreat?”

After an awkward pause, Ryn produced a giggle, “Aah, yes, the tactical, well-planned retreat? We should all borrow a page from your book, Calen – it all went exactly as planned, right?”

He gave a very fake nod to Sabri. “Right. Absolutely as planned.”

The young girl was frowning, obviously confused, probably trying to make sense of this exchange. Doesn’t understand sarcasm? Ali wondered. Or… She made a mental note to ask Malika to have a word with her afterward – perhaps it was dishonorable to lie in Ahn Khen culture?

“You guys should stay for dinner, I’m making stew,” Mato said, walking up to them and leading them away. “Come, get your books and join us down here, you can read while I cook.”

“What do you think? Are we safe?” Ali asked as everyone headed upstairs to get what they needed, leaving her alone in the darkness with Calen and the remnants of her minions. He was staring outside at the battle unfolding – he had been staring for quite some time.

“I think it will be stable,” he answered, after an uncomfortably long pause. Somehow, he had managed to summon his Motes of Light outside, and they hovered above the sea of slimes and dead demons, pulsing softly. “We probably do have to stay here until the rift is guarded again.”

“What about that Pit Lord? Or the Sentinels?”

“I think Malika is right, they can’t easily widen the rift, and so they can’t get through,” Calen said, turning to meet her gaze. “If they could have, I’m sure they would have overrun this realm ages ago.”

“I hope you’re right.” They were not out of the woods yet, but Calen’s assessment went a long way to easing her anxiety.

“I’m sorry…” Calen said. Ali glanced over to find him flushed and flustered. “I… I was useless in there.”

“It’s a good thing you made us all invest in wisdom back then,” Ali said, relieved to see his embarrassment begin to fade. “Without that, I don’t think I would have been able to break the charm spell.” Indeed, Ali had only realized her mind had been compromised when she had been reminded of what Mieriel had done. It seemed that mind magic gained substantial bonuses if the defender was unaware of the attack – something she would need to consult with Mieriel on as soon as possible. “You do know Malika and Mato are going to be calling you Giggles forever, right?”

“Right,” Calen said, grimacing, and then he changed the subject. “How does it work?” he asked, nodding to the outside. “Slayer, I mean.”

“Here,” she said, sharing the skill description with him. “It added these two aptitudes to the Toxic Spitter. Only the raid boss one though, not the ones it splits off – but the Elemental Storm is doing the bulk of the killing.”

Slayer (Domain): Damage against Demons is increased by +147%.
Slayer (Domain): Gain +6.3% of the maximum life of any slain Demon over 30 seconds.

“And it also gets a substantial damage increase for simply being a raid boss, right?” Calen asked, retrieving his favorite notebook.

“Yes, a two-and-a-half times multiplier,” she answered. “The numbers for Slayer depend on how specific the monster type I choose is.”

Calen let out a low whistle. “And it works on anything in your Grimoire?”

“Yup, I can do individual variants or entire classes or races of monsters.” She left out the uncomfortable thought that she could do people too, if she learned the human or elf imprints. She had enough Goblins and Kobolds that humanoid was already an option for her.

“Seems like you finally have a use for all your elemental imprints,” he said.

“Oh, I hadn’t thought of that.” She would of course check next time she made a boss, but she was certain she could make an elemental slayer, or even more specifically fire-elemental slayer should be an option. It seemed that Slayer was much more useful than she had even imagined.

“Perhaps it might be worth getting the undead imprint again,” he suggested, offering her yet another surprising consideration. While she couldn’t summon undead at all, just having the imprint inscribed in her Grimoire would allow her to choose undead as a target for a Slayer boss.

They stood together silently, both watching the battle, while she considered the events of the day.

“We messed up badly, didn’t we?” She had had to make four raid bosses before the dungeon-break had been halted, and it was only luck and good fortune in so many ways that had allowed her to stop them. Even now, it wasn’t over yet, she and Calen both had to wait here granting their skill buffs to the monsters outside in order to prevent the tide from sweeping everything away.

“Yes,” he answered soberly. “I thought that Myrin’s Keep would be wiped out for sure. My mom wouldn’t even be able to run fast enough to get away.”

“Where did we go wrong?” Ali asked. This was the question that plagued her. At every step of the way, they were either reacting to the situation or making decisions that, at the time, had seemed all too reasonable.

“That’s the problem, I don’t know,” Calen said. “Perhaps we need to talk to Vivian for advice?”

“Maybe we should have retreated when we first aggroed the Demon Hunter?” Ali suggested.

“We would have considered the scenario and chosen to try it,” Calen countered. “There was no reason not to.” Then he paused for a while with a frown on his face. “I admit I was a bit too eager to explore the rift.”

“At the time only a few demons were coming through,” Ali said. “We had no way to know the dungeon or that Pit Lord was in there, or that they would be so powerful.”

“Or those Sentinels…” Calen said. “How do we even fight something like that?”

“I plan on asking Mieriel for more details on how to defend ourselves from psychic attacks,” Ali answered.

“Good,” Calen said, shaking his head. “We’re just fortunate that the rift isn’t large enough for the bigger demons to pass through.”

We need to be more careful, Ali thought, but like him, she had no idea what to change. As she turned inward to her notifications, she heard the excited chatter coming down the stairway. Mato, it seemed, had started telling the novices stories of their adventures. Right. Check the notifications.

Grove Warden has reached level 64 (+4).
+40 attribute points.

Ali spent fourteen points on both wisdom and intelligence – her mainstay attributes. Spell power and mana were her most important aspects, and after today, wisdom had just become her favorite attribute. Six points went to perception, given how many of her skills scaled from it. For her final points, she divided them up equally, spending two points on each of vitality, endurance, and dexterity – to hopefully improve her survivability just a little. That corruption aura had definitely come too close to killing her.

Arcane Insight has reached level 33 (+2).
Arcane Recall has reached level 13.
Barrier has reached level 48 (+3).
Grimoire of Summoning has reached level 33.
Martial Insight has reached level 37.
Empowered Summoner has reached level 29.
Domain Mastery has reached level 27 (+2).
Minion Teleport has reached level 23 (+2).

Identify has reached level 17.

Four levels. And the chimes were still humming continuously in the back of her mind. The Demon Hunter had been worth quite a lot. She had earned less than the others, but she assumed it had to do with her higher class-level. Still, four levels for a single fight was incredible progress, and her skill growth was phenomenal too – she had earned two levels in Domain Mastery, and one new imprint chapter just for the crazy run through the jungle making raid bosses.

Perhaps I would have preferred less of a panic, a more measured approach to levelling? She smiled thinly. That, unfortunately, was a life she had given up when she had chosen a combat class. While her class did afford some ability to level up by sequestering herself in the library with books, she knew that would rapidly cause stagnation. Combat skills required palpable risk to grow. However, she would very much prefer if the risk were… a little less risky? Next time –

“Um… Miss Aliandra…” Sabri started, and trailed off, bowing awkwardly to her, her arms wrapped carefully around three heavy volumes of the Nine Paths of Ahn Khen.

“Sabri, I don’t need any bowing, I’m just an adventurer like you,” Ali said, causing the awkward novice to snap upright in surprise.

“But… you have this library, and the shrine, and…” Sabri’s eyes flickered past the barrier and out into the jungle.

“I’m not an Elder, Sabri. I have a couple more levels than you because I started earlier,” Ali said. “And that’s simply a matter of patience, time, and being careful.” She felt a little pang of guilt at that, given she and her friends had almost wiped out the entire town with their carelessness.

At her incredulous look, Ali continued, “Really, if you need anything, please just ask any of us. We’d love to help.”

“Um, if it’s ok… Ryn said you might be able to teach me the ancient language,” she showed the books she was carrying, both arms wrapped around them as if afraid that she might drop them.

“Oh, sure, how about while we’re waiting for Mato to finish cooking? It might take a few sessions though, so if you don’t get it today, come back and ask me again.”

Calen

Entertaining was not Calen’s forte, so he sat eating dinner in silence, listening while Mato regaled the novices with the story of their fights against the warlocks, imps, and the Demon Hunter, culminating with the tale of the abyssal realm and their chaotic retreat back to the library. The story finished with the dramatic showdown where they held back the horde of demons while Ali made the bosses that saved them in the nick of time.

He found himself smiling at the novices’ rapt attention and Mato’s masterful storytelling. He gave a mostly honest account, and yet the way he wove the tale gave it an epic feel, like an adventurer’s tale from a book – certainly it felt nothing like the panicked terror and fear as they had fled for their lives. There was an unfortunate bit about his impromptu dance debut, but it was mercifully brief.

He could easily put himself in their shoes, knowing how excited he would have been to talk with any adventurers who had leveled up as much as they had. If nothing else, their wide-eyed excitement helped him see his own progress in perspective. He smiled, happy to be sitting and relaxing after dinner with a full stomach and a comfortable couch, rather than lying dead in a hole on an abyssal plane.

He finished the hearty stew with relish. Mato’s cooking was definitely improving, and now almost every meal resulted in a healthy buff to his vitality. He didn’t miss Mato slipping Sabri a second bowl without her even asking – and then, the big-hearted Beastkin pretended not to notice when she tried to refuse.

He put down his own bowl and focused inward for a little, trying to tune out the slowly ebbing sounds of battle outside.

Archer of Light has reached level 60 (+6).
+60 attribute points.

Hello, level sixty! Calen shivered slightly, and realized just how excited he was to see that notification. He had earned five levels in the rift chamber when the Demon Hunter died. It made sense though; he was trailing behind Ali in class levels and the Demon Hunter had been a high-level raid boss. His award for helping defeat it was substantial.

He was certainly going to have nightmares about seeing so many empowered hellfire fireballs coming his way and the suffocating pain of nearly drowning in the lava ooze Ali had summoned to protect him. He had no idea how Ali thought up some of this stuff, but he couldn’t deny he was still alive – and he most certainly wouldn’t have been if he had taken all those fireballs at the same time. Still, having his face burnt off was not something he wanted to experience ever again.

Radiant Archery has reached level 33.
Arrows of Brilliance has reached level 38.
Motes of Light has reached level 22 (+2).
Explorer has reached level 34 (+4).
Blessing of the Dawn has reached level 25.
Eyes of the Archon has reached level 26.
Righteous Fury has reached level 21.
Azrael's Wings has reached level 18.
Mirage Armor has reached level 15 (+3).

Wow, Explorer advanced a lot. He hadn’t forgotten the message it had given him as he stepped through the threshold into the abyssal plane. He had been rewarded with a powerful Blessing of the Wanderer, an upgrade to his future patron blessings, and four skill levels for being in the first group of people to set foot on that particular plane, all under high-risk circumstances. Explorer was not a combat skill, and so it leveled differently than his other skills, however, it suited him perfectly – and if the blessing was anything to go by, it suited his patron deity perfectly too.

Skinning has reached level 8 (+3).

Oops, almost missed that one. Highly important. He smiled to see his skinning had grown so well. The Hellfire Wargs produced very valuable demonic hides, and the Flamecaller scales might be even more valuable – at least according to Malika. Although he may need to take them to Ciradyl to find a leatherworker sufficiently advanced to want to purchase them. With Ali and Malika on the team, they were never short on money to buy the potions he needed, but it felt good to be able to pay his own way.

I’m a gold-ranked adventurer. It slowly sunk in. He had reached level sixty, and that was a significant milestone no matter how you looked at it. He should be able to upgrade his guild ring tomorrow. It probably meant a rank upgrade at the Pathfinders Guild too.

“Oh, Calen, this is definitely for you,” Ali’s voice broke through his focus, as he glanced over with a start. Ali looked positively ridiculous trying to lug a bow that was over twice her size to where he sat; he got up quickly to help her with it.

“Is this what I think it is?” It wasn’t as if he could forget the sight of this powerful bow, even dormant without the hellfire wreath.

“Yup, I stored it when I deconstructed the boss. It had a pair of Flamecaller Bracers too, but it’s the same as the set you already had, so I gave that to Malika to sell.”

“Can you identify this for me?” he asked, and suddenly choked, coughing, and spluttering in surprise as the text appeared in his mind.

Howling Hellfire Bow – level 60
A powerful recurve bow of exquisite construction. When triggered, this bow’s ability wreathes it in hellfire and causes a demonic howling when fired.
Damage: Ranged, Physical, Hellfire
Stamina: Attacks gain +20% additional damage as Hellfire.
+15% to Attack speed.
+2% of your damage is returned as Stamina over 30 seconds.
This weapon will gain experience as you use it, up to +20 levels.
Requirements: Dexterity 210, Strength 100
Two Handed – Bow

“You ok?” Ali asked, with a mischievous grin.

“Yes,” he wheezed cheerfully, pretending to clutch his chest. “This thing is insane!” It truly was insane; it was no wonder the Demon Hunter had felt so powerful. Twenty percent more damage as hellfire whenever he chose. Attack haste and stamina leech. As if that wasn’t enough, the bow would level up – an enchantment he had been certain only existed in the storybooks.

“It is, rather,” Ali answered. “Malika said it’s worth a fortune.”

“I can’t use it, though,” Calen said, feeling the sudden pinch of disappointment as his eyes found the requirements. “I don’t have one hundred strength.”

“You just leveled to sixty, Mr. Gold-Rank Adventurer and Pathfinder,” Malika chimed in from the side, smacking his shoulder with a grin. “Or did you already spend your points on dexterity or something?”

Malika had been teasing him a bit more than normal lately, but he couldn’t help smiling as he realized he had sixty unspent attribute points. Immediately, he spent fifteen points bringing his strength attribute up to just above the amount needed to meet the bow’s requirements and then he picked it up, feeling the weight of the larger bow in his hands.

Ooh, that’s so… shiny! Yes, he was turning into Aliandra. Almost blushing at his wayward thoughts, he looked around, not finding anything to shoot, but Ali simply gestured toward the jungle and a neat slit appeared in the barrier, above the level of the oozes and the rivers of poison. The bow was a little larger than he would have preferred, but it would work. His wings flared from his back, and he flew up to the barrier.

He drew the bow, taking a moment to get a feel for how heavy it was in relation to his newly enhanced strength. Once he was ready, he conjured a single arrow and let it fly. The bow had a great sense of power, the craftsmanship was superb, and the balance in his hands was exquisite. The Vampire Hornet he shot out of the air spiraled down to be finished off by an uncountable number of oozes. He marveled at the unfamiliar sensation of stamina flowing into him from the bow, regained from the damage he had just unleashed.

And now for the real test. He conjured a flight of four arrows and activated the bow with his stamina. Instantly, a great flame of roaring black hellfire wreathed the bow, surprisingly not burning his hands. As he pulled the bowstring back, the hellfire infused his arrows, blending the burning black flame with a core of intense white light. He released the arrows, filling the library with the eerie howl that the Demon Hunter had created every time he fired. His arrows smashed into a demon with an echoing crash that shook the tree branches nearby.

Calen studied the bow in his hands with a newfound respect. Quickly, he distributed his remaining points, twelve each to dexterity and perception. Eleven to intelligence and five each to vitality and wisdom. Then he activated Righteous Fury, downed a mana potion, charged his arrows with Explosive Shot and extra light magic damage, and let loose thirty seconds of explosive force into the remnants of the demon horde. It was a rush wielding such a potent weapon, and to his amazement, everything he did was enhanced by hellfire, even the explosions were wreathed in black flame, and the extra damage from his Motes of Light was enhanced too. Throughout his assault, his stamina kept bouncing off full, refilled by the bow’s potent stamina leech enchant.

He turned to find the novices staring at him open-mouthed and wide-eyed.

“It looks good on you,” Mato said from where he was standing nearby. “I think Lyeneru would approve.”

Malika

“You guys got to level nine pretty fast,” Malika said. Sabri seemed so naive and lost, and yet so eager to learn and grow, it didn’t surprise her that she was among the first of the adventurers to take advantage of the library. She reminded Malika a lot of herself, or perhaps the younger sister she never had.

All she needs is a little self-confidence and some time, she thought. Malika recalled just how eager she had been to get out there and test her skills, and how much value a few simple pointers would have been. She almost envied Sabri and Brena, having access to Vivian Ross’s new mentorship program. The budding friendship between the two novices was a good sign, too. Like Rezan, Malika worried that Sabri would struggle to settle in a new town so far from home, but Brena and her seemed to be looking out for each other.

“We were planning to try the Kobold boss in the sewer next,” Brena said, sounding rather excited at the prospect. It seemed that the young Gnome mage had been selected as the leader of one of the novice groups, and her enthusiasm for the upcoming fight was echoed in Sabri’s face.

“I can’t wait to tank it,” Sabri said.

“Perhaps you should upgrade your shield,” Malika suggested.

“Do you think I need to?” Sabri asked, looking at her level three shield, perhaps imagining it wreathed in hellfire or taunting her enemies.

“You’re three times the level of that shield now. Early on, upgrading quickly is important if you don’t want to fall behind. Perhaps you can pay Kavé a visit before you tackle the kobolds and see what she thinks?” She remembered how quickly her own armor skill had declined, and if they were intending to tackle a raid boss, it would be essential she had good equipment.

“Ok,” Sabri nodded solemnly.

“Should I upgrade too?” Brena asked.

“I think so. Ali likes Lydia’s Allure for mage gear,” she answered, a little surprised that Brena would ask for advice. She had seemed a lot more self-assured.

“Lydia’s work is expensive, though,” she said.

“It’s worth it,” Ali answered. “Especially for magic resistance – you can never predict stray fireballs. I’m going to go visit her tomorrow, I can introduce you if you like.”

“Ok, thanks!”

“Oh, hey Ali. Tell me you learned to make that Abyssal Bloodstone.” In the heat of the moment, it had entirely slipped her mind, but now that they were discussing crafters, she remembered why they had gotten into hot water in the abyssal plane in the first place.

“I did. Here,” she said and popped out a fist-sized crystal. “I also got these hellfire essences.” Ali passed all the reagents to her, and she healed her burned skin as she stored them.

“Isn’t that painful?” Brena asked, wrinkling her nose.

“It is, but that’s what endurance is for,” Malika answered.

“Even for a mage?”

“I put some points into it,” Ali answered for her. “The Demon Hunter took my arm off today, and I blacked out from pain in the battle. I was lucky I regained consciousness quick enough to cast my barrier otherwise I’d probably have died. I’ve already put two more points into endurance just because of that.”

“Hey, Mato, do you want to go visit Thuli? I want to see if he can use this bloodstone, and I think you need an armor upgrade too. Maybe we can bring Sabri along and see if she can get some better gear for their raid.”

“As long as we can afford new armor,” Mato said. “Level sixty is probably expensive.”

“We can cover it with the group funds. I think it’s important,” she said.

Her thoughts turned to the implications of the day. Mind magic is insidious, she thought, recalling the haunting distant melody. She had been so excited to see the highly valuable and rare abyssal bloodstone that she had completely missed the demonic tendrils insinuating themselves into her mind. She and Ali were going to grill Mieriel as soon as they returned to the guild. Unfortunately, the answer was almost certainly learning to be more vigilant, more aware. At least we can ask her to train us.

Lair of the Demon God. The Emberforge Mines was hard enough, but this was a hellfire and blood dungeon in an abyssal plane beyond even Calen’s skill’s threat assessment. They had been lucky – there were too many stories of adventurers stumbling into dungeons that were beyond them and never seeing the light of day again. And whatever that Pit Lord was… she could still feel the overwhelming force of its mere presence in the cavern.

She shook her head, putting down the worries about things that she could do nothing about now. She would just have to be more careful about stepping through strange rifts and entering unknown dungeons in the future.

Soul Monk has reached level 60 (+6).
+60 attribute points.

So, the flamecaller Demon Hunter was worth five levels, she thought. Not bad for a tricky fight. While it was in principle a simple fight, staying alive for a whole minute with the full fury of the entire room focused only on you was a challenge for any class. Especially as the room had filled up with more and more demons – without the presence of the abyssal rift it would likely have been an almost trivial fight.

The sixth level had come from their crazy last stand in front of the library, holding back the horde of demons while Ali built her bosses. Eagerly, she checked the rest of her gains.

Martial Artist has reached level 29.
Soul Strike has reached level 38 (+3).
Healing Mantra has reached level 35.
Perfect Body has reached level 23 (+2).
Soul Armor has reached level 28 (+2).
Enlightened Evasion has reached level 32 (+2).
Divine Step has reached level 29 (+2).
Second Wind has reached level 20 (+3).
Clarity has reached level 16 (+2).
Soul Sight has reached level 17 (+3).

Dancing has reached level 10.
Appraise has reached level 16.

Dancing? She smiled, amused at the incongruous skill advance at the end of her list. Her acrobatic moves in combat had been close enough to dance techniques that it had advanced her general skill also. I really haven’t practiced in ages, she thought – not since her lesson. Not that there’s been any time. In fact, she felt a little pang of guilt that she had been neglecting her training across the board – but they didn’t spend a whole lot of time in the guild, which was the only place she had access to training rooms.

Requirements met for skill advancement.

Mentor: Rezan Jin
Second Wind has reached at least level 20.
Endurance has surpassed 250.
Wisdom has surpassed 250.
Has reached zero stamina in combat.
Has reached zero mana in combat.
Has fought multiple battles lasting over an hour.

Second Wind gains Unyielding Meridians.
The mana cost of your abilities is reduced by 20%.

Second Wind gains Abiding Perseverance.
The stamina cost of your abilities is progressively reduced the longer you fight. [-3% per minute].

Choose one advancement.

Oh, nice, two choices, she thought, seeing the offered advancement for Second Wind. Although she had no idea which one was the best. Unyielding Meridians sounded impressive, and it gave a flat reduction of twenty percent to her mana usage, while Abiding Perseverance looked like it was designed to make her even more of an endurance fighter.

She glanced at the requirements. She had fought in several hour-long running battles in the industrial district of the Ruins of Dal’mohra. And if it counted this demon dungeon-break as still ongoing, then that was definitely longer than an hour. But when did I run out of mana and stamina? Mana she remembered – she had burned all her mana fighting the Radiant Brawlers so that she didn’t have anything for them to drain. And then she remembered getting knocked unconscious and subsequently waking up in the Kel’darran caravan in the middle of a Goblin raid, totally drained by the cuffs of suppression.

“Hey, Calen? Could you help me choose?” she asked, and when he nodded, she shared her advances. Seeing the curious glances from the novices, she decided it wouldn’t hurt to share it with everyone and give them a glimpse of how they had learned to help each other with skill choices.

“Abiding Perseverance is much stronger,” Calen said immediately.

“You sure?”

“Yes, I agree,” Ali chimed in.

“Think of it this way,” Calen offered. “In seven minutes, Abiding Perseverance will give you a twenty percent reduction in your stamina cost. Most of our hardest battles are much longer. Unyielding Meridians will give you more absolute resources over time, but Abiding Perseverance will give you more when you most need it.”

“I see what you mean,” Malika said, studying the options again. Battles like the Inferno or the Wights had lasted well over half an hour. If she was getting an equivalent reduction after seven minutes, then Abiding Perseverance would be disproportionately helping her in the most challenging battles, whereas Unyielding Meridians with its flat reduction would help more frequently with the shorter battles – the ones where the cost reduction mattered much less.

“Another consideration, you can convert mana into stamina,” Calen added. “What rate do you get now?”

“Ninety-nine percent,” Malika answered, suddenly getting what Calen was after. At almost perfect efficiency, a stamina reduction was the same as a mana reduction for her – but after it surpassed one hundred percent, it would be much better for her to always spend stamina, gaining the cost reduction and use her mana pool entirely as a backup to refill her stamina. And if her gold guild ring had wisdom or endurance on it, she would pass that breakpoint with nothing more than a visit to the guild tomorrow.

“Ok, Abiding Perseverance it is.” She selected her advancement, eager to try it out in the next battle.

Wait, I have attribute points to spend right now! She considered her options and her new advancement, and then spent fourteen points on wisdom and ten points on endurance immediately, boosting her mana and stamina, and the efficiency of Second Wind. Then she boosted vitality by eleven and strength by two. She boosted her Soul Sight by spending ten points on perception and then dumped the remainder, thirteen points, into dexterity. Finally, she brought up the skill description for Second Wind, happy to find it had surpassed a hundred percent.

Second Wind – level 20
Exchange mana to gain +107.4% [40 + wisdom / 10 + endurance / 10] % of the amount as stamina.
The stamina cost of your abilities is progressively reduced the longer you fight. [-3% per minute].
Soul, Wisdom, Endurance

Wow, I wonder if Mato also got gold? Turning, she began to speak to their big companion, but she saw he already appeared to be inward-focused. That was a notification look if she had ever seen one.

Mato

Mato sat next to the cookfire after cleaning up and opened his notifications. Brena and Sabri had returned to their studies with Ryn, but he had enjoyed cooking for them and telling stories of their adventures. Storytelling was a long-standing tradition in his family, and with five older siblings he rarely got the opportunity to be the storyteller rather than the listener and so he had quite enjoyed their undivided attention as they hung on to his every word.

Sabri and Brena couldn’t be more different. By her fashionable clothing, hairstyle, and manner, the Gnomish girl was clearly from a well-to-do family – no surprise given her mother was Donella Novaspark – the founder of the Novaspark Academy of Magic. Sabri, on the other hand, had clearly lived a life deep enough in poverty to show on her face and in her much-repaired clothing. Yet the two of them seemed to have formed a bond that might grow into an enduring friendship.

He found his attention drifting from his notifications to the score of battles of the day. He had enjoyed all of them – even, surprisingly, the Demon Hunter. Initially, he had thought it was a stupid fight but tanking every single demon in the room had been a real challenge and had given him quite a rush. Then, after they changed strategies and he had to defend the rift, he had the exhilarating opportunity to abuse his powerful Battlemaster retaliation skill, controlling the room by preventing the demons from entering. An unusual role for him, to be sure, but one he had found quite stimulating.

Holding off the demons in front of the library had felt just as epic as his tale for the novices. With just Malika, Calen, and himself, they had held off a horde of demons, more than he could count, for long enough for Ali to summon the crazy poison bosses. It was certainly a fight he would remember, and he couldn’t wait to tell the story at one of his family gatherings.

His only regret was that he hadn’t gotten the opportunity to go head-to-head with that Maalgaroth demon. Next time. It would be a fight worth getting stronger for.

Speaking of stronger…

Druidic Shapeshifter has reached level 61 (+7).
+70 attribute points.

Mato slowly puffed out his cheeks, releasing a breath he had not realized he was holding. Sweet relief coursed through his body as he re-read it, twice, just to be sure that the number seven was really there. Details. Calen would have me check the details. He had leveled up once on the crazy packs of warlocks and hunters before they had even found the Demon Hunter. The big Flamecaller with his ridiculously noisy bow and crazy game of predator-prey had been worth four class levels, and then the final stand in front of the library had gained him yet another two class levels. It was a rather fitting haul, and he was delighted with his growth.

Considering his massive haul of seventy new attribute points, he decided to invest heavily in vitality, spending a whopping twenty-two points on it. A lot got easier with more health. Twelve points went to strength and then ten to endurance. Given how important his battle senses were, he spent fifteen points on perception and then finished up with eleven for wisdom to boost his Natural Prowess and the scaling of his nature skills – and more mental resilience, of course.

So, that was dinner, now for leftovers… he read on thoughtfully.

Arboreal Sanctuary has reached level 33 (+2).
Swipe has reached level 35 (+2).
Brutal Restoration has reached level 37 (+2).
Bear Form has reached level 32.
Rampant Growth has reached level 10 (+3).
Bestial Combat has reached level 30.
Natural Prowess has reached level 25 (+3).
Survival Instinct has reached level 26 (+2).
Battle Trance has reached level 18 (+3).
Last Stand has reached level 7 (+2).

His skills had surged across the board. He had been rather worried that Rampant Growth would stagnate down in a rocky cavern filled with fire and no plants but using it to hold back the demon hordes in the jungle had earned him three skill levels. The rest of the skills seemed to grow according to how urgently he needed them: Swipe for the Battlemaster retaliation, Battle Trance from being hit by a room full of monsters, Last Stand for saving his life in the rift chamber, and again before Ali’s Forest Guardians had spawned. Last Stand and Survival Instinct were etching their place as his most trusted skills for saving him from the worst situations. Often, just the damage perception and the ability to create thirty seconds of breathing room for the healers was enough to turn an unwinnable fight around.   

Identify has reached level 12.
Cooking has reached level 14.
Herb Gathering has reached level 7 (+2).

He nodded, satisfied that the rewards for the day matched the risk and difficulty of the fights. Even cooking! Must be because I made demon kebabs with my claws down there. Grinning widely, he read on.

Requirements met for skill advancement.

Survival Instinct has surpassed level 25.
Perception has reached at least 75.
Survived an abyssal realm.
Exposed to the mana of two second-tier or stronger domains.
Survived the blood corruption of a Pit Lord.
Has tanked more than a thousand monsters in one battle.
Has blocked multiple attacks that would have taken more than half your life.
Has survived being hit by Elemental Storm.
Has disrupted more than 50 ambush attacks with perception.

Survival Instinct gains Mana Prescience.
(You can sense mana within your domain. Whenever you sense an attack, your reaction speed is increased for 5 seconds.)

Survival Instinct – level 26
Your natural senses of sight, hearing, and smell are significantly enhanced. You have a sixth sense about incoming attacks, how much damage they will do, and how to move to mitigate the most damage. You can sense mana within your domain. Whenever you sense an attack, your reaction speed is increased for 5 seconds. Range: Sanctuary
Nature, Physical, Perception

Accept this advancement?

There was a time when he would have rushed over to Calen cheering excitedly about an offer like this. A part of him still felt like that, but his time studying with Lira had sent his roots down deeper. A sense of satisfaction percolated down to his heart, and a little awe at the achievement – his skill had grown because of their encounter on the abyssal realm – an event he could never have imagined even in his wildest dreams.

A thousand monsters… Abyssal realm… He had certainly grown. Mom and Dad are going to be so proud of me. He could see the scene clearly – his mom would cry and hug him and say she loved him. His dad would laugh and slap him on the shoulder – and he wouldn’t need to hold back anymore. Then they would cook dinner together – he could not help smiling happily. It had been a fantastic fight.

“You get something good?” Ever perceptive, Calen had noticed his mood.

“Yes,” he answered, sharing the details with everyone, including Ryn, Sabri, and Brena just as Malika had done.

“That looks very strong,” Calen said, but Mato already knew it was, and everyone else agreed too.

“Hey, Brena. You’re a lightning mage, would you like to help me test this?” he asked, accepting the advancement.

“Sure, what do you need me to do?” she asked, getting up from her seat.

“Shoot me when I turn into a bear,” he said and then chuckled at the sight of the suddenly horrified expression on her face.

“It’s ok,” Ali interjected. “I do it all the time. I think he likes it.”

Malika put in, “And he’s ridiculously strong. In fact, we should do this for more training. Hey, everyone, let’s all beat up on Mato.”

Mato shifted with an amused growl and then closed his eyes, focusing his attention on the strange new prickling sensation and gentle sparkling he felt throughout his sanctuary aura.

Is that Ali’s magic? It felt like trees, lush verdant growth, and the crawling, creeping, roaming, and flying of wild beasts, but woven through it all he found the prickle of magic, the dryish parchment sense of a new book, and the tickly sparkle of runes and knowledge – and something that connected to… elsewhere. Something beyond the realm of life, plants, and animals.

On the edge of his sanctuary, a brilliant blue-white flash of energy appeared – an electrified pulse. The world around him slowed down dramatically as his powerful combat perception recognized the danger, intuiting the small amount of lightning damage he would receive from what was clearly Brena’s Lightning Bolt. His body felt sluggish, but his mind and perceptions remained clear and nimble, and after letting the bolt hit him, he heard a squeal of surprise from the Gnome.

He shifted back to his Beastkin form, watching curiously as his body transformed in slow motion, and only after he was done did the world resume its normal speed.

“I’m ok, Brena,” he said, reassuring her.

“I thought you would dodge it,” she said, eyes still wide. He could even hear her racing heartbeat.

“I have more than three thousand six hundred health and over three hundred resistance to magic. I’ll be ok. Besides, Ali’s Acolytes will heal me if I need it.”

“Oh, ok.” She seemed even more stunned if that was possible, but the horrified look faded quickly. “Can… can I shoot you again? I got a skill level for that!” She glanced guiltily over at Malika. “I… thought you were joking. Sorry.”

“Hey, you can apologize by zapping the bear for me again.”

“Sure,” Mato chuckled. “I need to get used to the perception haste, it’s a little unusual. Come on, Brena, let’s see what you’ve got.”

It would take some adjustment to his combat style, but he was certain this would be a potent improvement to his defensive abilities. Given how frequently he was typically attacked, he knew the perception haste would likely last continuously from the beginning to the end of most battles, much like his Battle Trance.

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