Chapter 153

Downtown Pittsburgh - 12:59 PM

After getting through the first fifty or so letters back in the Angel Express, I had decided to get some fresh air. I sat on a bench just outside of where a fire station used to be. The clouds above were dark and snow fell peacefully on me and the book I was working on. It was only a small flurry, nothing that would stop me from doing my homework.

The book I was writing in was already almost halfway full from all of the information I had put into it about what to do in Pittsburgh. Much of it was instructions on where to go in the Pitt, and I was thankful for the Ouroboros Tattoos for their unintended side effect of boosting my memory. There was no way I’d be able to remember any of these very precise directions without them.

[[Guild Notice]]

Deputy Guildmaster [Kayla Mills] and members [Jeffry Mills & Jamie Summers] have liberated the [UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse].

Sol Ligatus has gained 50 Guild Points. You may rank up the guild in the guildhall.

I closed the book as the large lot next to the one I was sitting on began glowing. There weren’t many people in the area, but I heard shouts as the building’s appearance started getting attention. Very few of the structures in downtown had been liberated at this point, as most of them were on the larger side and that meant they could be turned into dungeons worth more points. The Guild of Guilds had been the exception to the rule.

Standing up, I placed the book in my inventory and started walking to the edge of the lot. A large, two story brick building started rising from the ground as the liberation commenced. The glass was reflective, so I couldn’t see inside, but I knew where I needed to go. I started heading to the front door, though I paused to regard the entrance.

Every liberated dungeon that didn’t have someone else running it, like the Guild of Guilds or Rexxel’s Bank, was marked by the logo of the guild that brought it back to the surface. This one was no different, and showed the symbol for Sol Ligatus, a sun trapped inside a circle. It nearly looked like a stylized wagon wheel. I regarded this one fondly, still glad that it didn’t come up as the Warmeowger mask.

The people’s yells started quieting down, and I knew we’d have visitors soon. I walked inside and headed straight for where I thought my guild members would be.

I made my way through to a large gymnasium set up for basketball. Several rows of seats made their way up both sides of the room, and there were even spots to watch from that weren’t bleachers near the top. This was going to be a very important room for the next phase of my plans in Pittsburgh, and I was going to spend a lot of time here.

Once I was done looking around the room, I glanced at the center of the basketball court. Kayla was laying on her back, wounded but breathing, while Jeff knelt beside her and fed her bacon. It wasn’t just because he liked food, but it was undoubtedly from his Pocket Bacon skill, which could heal up to 25% of a person’s max hit points every thirty minutes. Corwin was laying next to her, head on her arm, and didn’t even try to beg for treats.

Jamie, on the other hand, was walking towards me and had started doing so as soon as I arrived. Her armor was covered in blood and viscera, and there were even teeth embedded in the plastic. Once the Evolution Hound noticed her moving, he saw me, and he got up to trot over.

“You should save those for Ashley,” I said, gesturing towards the vampire teeth. Once Corwin joined us, I started petting him. He leaned against me insistently, and I knelt down to rub his face with both hands. The happy dog wiggled in my arms as I looked up at the Weapon Master. “They can be fairly useful on a variety of weapons.”

Looking down, Jamie nodded and started plucking them out. “I wasn’t expecting you to come out here on your day off,” she said.

“I was worried, was all,” I replied with a shrug before looking back at the Mills. Kayla was starting to stand up now. Corwin saw this and left me, running back to gently place his head in her hand. “How’d they do?”

“He did fine, she bit off more than she could chew.”

I chuckled. “Jamie, did you just make a vampire joke?”

Jamie hesitated before sighing. “As soon as she saw them, she transformed into one. They started going crazy fawning over her. The guards took us into this room where the Duchess was, and she immediately saw through the ruse.”

“Yeah, more powerful creatures will see through a Double Agent’s disguise,” I said with a nod. “She had to sneak away from the Vespae commanders back in Etson, too, because they would see through her. Unlike the grunts.”

“At least she one shot those,” Jamie replied. “Kayla explained to me about Credibility and the extra damage she could deal. I could see why you wanted to send her here where there were intelligent monsters. That said, she did a really good job as bait for the Duchess while we cleaned up.”

“Hey, boss,” Jeff called. “Mind letting us borrow that healing belt?”

“Sorry, I absorbed the Eldritch Regeneration passive when I replaced it with this one,” I called back with a grimace, tapping on my Belt of Overflowing Constitution. “We’ll find a way to get a steady supply of potions soon to make up for it.”

Jeff frowned, but started paying attention to Kayla again as she finally stood up straight.

“She knows how to act tough, I’ll give her that,” Jamie said, crossing her arms.

“Yeah, she’s great,” I agreed. “Did you get the skill book?”

“Lifesteal while dealing damage,” Jamie confirmed with a nod. “Handy. That’s an excellent prize for babysitting.”

“Good. Feel free to stick around a bit if you like or head back to the train,” I told her. “You still have a library to liberate, and you’ll find a lot of good stuff there. Plus, we’re going to be able to upgrade the guild when we get back, and that’ll come with buffs this time around.”

Jamie hesitated for a moment before giving me a curt nod. She spun on her heel and walked to the seats next to the court to sit down. I headed for Kayla and Jeff.

“How are you two feeling?” I asked.

“Never been better,” Kayla lied as she rubbed her neck with her free hand, the other still on Corwin. Two puncture wounds could clearly be seen even after she was healed, and she gestured to them. “Am I going to become a vampire now?”

“Nah, becoming a vampire is a whole process,” I assured her. “It needs to be a conscious decision on the part of the attacker, and something tells me your assailant wouldn’t want to turn someone who could usurp her.”

“You knew that the Duchess was the one who attacked me?” she asked, arching an eyebrow.

“I had an inkling,” I answered with a shrug before looking her over. “Normally, she drops a thick leather cloak. Bat form, wolf form, high Dex bonus; it’s nice. I don’t see it, so I assume I was right to send you?”

Kayla raised her right hand to show me a thick, silver ring on her middle finger. A large, blood-red stone was set into it, reminding me of something akin to a class ring. With a few swipes of her other hand, she sent me the details.

[[Item]]

Ring of the Vampire Lord

(+5 Constitution, +10 Credibility, +5 Moxie, Noble Sacrifice skill acquired, Drain Hit Points spell acquired)

[[Skill]]

Noble Sacrifice

You may sacrifice an amount of hit points between 10% and 50% in increments of 10 at any time to buff an ally. The target of this skill will receive a bonus to their stats equal to half the amount of hit points lost. You may not regain your missing hit points until you recall the buff, and you may not use Noble Sacrifice if it will kill you.

[[Spell]]

Drain Life

Select a target within 30 feet of you. Deal damage to them up to 50% of your Moxie stat, and heal for as much as they took. You may use this spell three times a day.

I found myself nodding appreciatively at the ring. This one gave her a significant boost to her specialty stats, Credibility and Moxie, while providing some interesting options. Playing with hit points as a resource was something I was used to doing until I got chastised by both my friends and girlfriend. I still could, but I’d rather not piss them off.

It was nearly as good as the rings they had gotten from the Gloves Box back in Etson. The Twinned Rings of Gareth and Lyonesse were worn on both Kayla and Jeff’s left ring fingers. The one on her finger gave him a boost to all stats equal to 10% of her own, and vice versa. I wasn’t sure if she knew yet, but the ring belonging to Gareth also had an additional ability; should Kayla die, Jeff would sacrifice the rest of his hit points to her, killing him while giving her a second chance.

But that wasn’t my place to say.

“I don’t like it,” Jeff said firmly as he finally stood up. He crossed his arms and stared at the ring. At least, he did until Corwin sat down next to him, then he let one of his hands drop to pet his dog. “I mean, the skill, not the spell. Drain Life is fine.”

“And Noble Sacrifice can come in handy,” Kayla retorted. “But I’m not going to use it whenever. I recognize the risks, hon, and I’m not going to use it often.”

“Want to try it now?” I offered.

Both Kayla and Jeff looked at me. “Excuse me?” she asked.

I gestured to the basketball court we found ourselves on. “The reason why I wanted to bring this building up is because it acts like an arena,” I explained. “Anywhere up to three people a side can fight against each other without worrying about dying. Sparring, practicing, the works. I’m expecting someone to come scope it out for nefarious reasons, which is when the next phase of my plan will go into action.”

“Pustibule or Jeremiah?” Jeff asked.

“Neither, but someone who’s actually supposed to be here,” I answered. “But it’ll give you a chance to see Noble Sacrifice in action. I can fight Jeff after you buff him. I think it’ll work out really well in tandem with some of his other abilities.”

“For The Queen,” Kayla muttered as if realizing it for the first time, and I smiled.

For The Queen was an ability of the Queen’s Knight. When Kayla’s health was at 50% or lower, it gave him a boost to all stats, and the lower her hit points were, the more potent the buff got. It was a short-term effect, but very potent.

“What? No!” Jeff exclaimed. “I’m not going to have Kay lose hit points just so I can get stronger.”

“Let’s just test it out,” she said, placing a hand on his arm. “It doesn’t hurt to try in a controlled environment.”

Jeff scowled and put his hands on his hips. Corwin sniffed at him, trying to get more attention, but the Queen’s Knight didn’t respond. He lowered his head in thought.

Kayla and I shared a glance before she gave me a small nod, and I backed up a few feet. Snapping open the menu, there was a new section specifically for the Fieldhouse. It had a tab for challenges, a report on wins and losses, and a section to see who was in line to fight next. Right now it was empty, but there would be plenty of people willing to give it a whirl soon.

It didn’t take me long to challenge them.

[[Duel Request]]

You are attempting to issue a challenge to Players [Jeffry Mills & Kayla Mills].

Win condition: First player to cause another to drop below 0 hit points or surrender will achieve victory.

Additional rules: All hit points and resources will be restored, and cooldowns are reset for the duration of the match. Pain will be dulled to 50%.

Are you sure you want to issue this challenge?

Yes

No

I hit Yes and looked up at the Mills.

Kayla was the first to react. Jeff gave her a glance to see how determined she was before sighing and jabbing the air in front of him.

“Corwin, go to Jamie,” he ordered. The dog tilted his head before looking at the Weapon Master. It took him a few seconds before he rushed over there.

On the ground, three red squares appeared, two on their side of the court and one on mine. I walked back to it, and it was replaced with the Sol Ligatus logo. Gesturing for the Mills to their positions, they did so, and the same happened with theirs.

“Is this even going to be worth it?” Jeff complained, retrieving his rapier from his inventory. “Like we can take on the Warmonger in a two on one fight.”

“Well, not with that attitude you can’t,” I scoffed before looking at Kayla. “I had to include you so you could buff him, but I’d appreciate it if I could have this one on one with Jeff.”

The Double Agent raised her hands. “I’m out of the way,” she agreed. “I’ll stay close enough to give him the buffs, but that’s it.”

“Thanks,” I said with a soft smile. Reaching into my inventory, I pulled out the Vague Stick and immediately willed it into the shape of a spear while looking at Jeff. “Noble Sacrifice and For The Queen, as well as anything else you’ve got. Sound good?”

“You know, I’ve been dreaming about this for a while,” Jeff said, suddenly nervous. “But now that I’m actually here, man, I haven’t felt like this at any of my competitions before.”

“I know the feeling. I am very, very scary,” I replied as a screen saying the match would be starting soon appeared.

“I don’t know if you realize how much, though,” he continued. “All things considered, this is going to be nuts. How much of my abilities, skills, and passives do you already know and have counters for? And you, I know you have your psychic stuff, but what about everything else you have?”

“It may surprise you to know that I only have two attack skills,” I answered. “You already know about them both, Crash Test and Dragon’s Breath.”

“And the wasps,” Kayla added.

“Yes, and a spell that lets me summon wasps,” I conceded. “But everything else is passives and experience. I’m looking forward to seeing your build, but you’ve seen just about everything I have.”

“Well that’s just great,” Jeff said sarcastically. “All I have to worry about is you, then, huh?”

“So long as you realize it,” I replied with a grin.

The screen was replaced by a countdown starting at 5, and I saw that a group of people were slowly entering the room. Once the duel started, there was no way they could interfere, so I had no worries about that. Plus, the conditions of the fight were plastered high above us on the oversized hanging televisions.

I glanced over at Jamie, who was sitting forward and watching with interest. Her hand was resting on Corwin’s head, gently petting him, and the dog was staring intently as well. When my eyes met with the Weapon Master’s, she jerked back and looked away, trying to appear nonchalant.

[[Duel!]]

The duel may now commence!

Readying myself, I kept a close eye on Jeff as he began getting buffed. My heart raced at the thought of seeing what he could do. Waiting for it was hard, but I still managed. I couldn’t wait to see what he could do when buffed to the nines.