Omen: 9, 18
“So this Stone Sword guy is strong?” Adam asked, leading the group north, towards the forest.
“Yes,” Jurot replied. “He has travelled through Aldland, and into other realms, and has made a name for himself with his magical weapon. The weapon was was once used by an ancient warrior before the time of the Iyr.”
“Oh? Cool.”
“His blade is a Greater Enhanced weapon, which strikes more like a hammer than a sword, and strikes heavier than a typical blade. His skin is also tougher, like that of our Rot family.”
“Ah,” Adam said, slowly nodding his head. “Quite a wonderful blade.”
“He will fight in the tournament,” Jurot said. “He should place well.”
“How well do you think?”
“Top five,” Jurot assumed.
“In his age bracket?”
“Yes.”
“Is that the strongest bracket?” Adam asked.
“He will fight among the warriors who do not use magic. Those who fight with magic are typically stronger.”
“You’re fighting in the bracket that doesn’t use magic either, right?” Adam asked.
“Not in the age bracket.”
“I just meant that I feel like you’ll be able to beat the one’s in the magical bracket,” Adam stated.
“You will fight in that bracket.”
“You think I could beat you?” Adam asked.
Jurot thought Adam and them fighting. “It would be a close fight.”
“Yeah,” Adam replied, smirking slightly.
“The Knight of the East would have fought in the tournament,” Jurot said. “He would have faced Stone Sword.”
“Who would have won?”
“It is too close to tell,” Jurot admitted. “They would both place in the top five. The Knight of the East, Stone Sword, Rising Sun Blade, Raging Bull, The Hawk, and Moon Dancer. It is their tournament to win, but the Knight of the East was killed recently in the south.”
“Oh?” Adam asked. “He went south to fight in the war and was killed? I didn’t think they’d kill a noble like him.”
“They would not have,” Jurot agreed. “The figure who killed him is unknown.”
“He didn’t die to a beast or anything?”
“There are few beasts which could kill the Knight of the East.”
“Damn… How strong was the Knight of the East exactly?”
“He is considered one of the top three knights in the East.”
Adam whistled. “Top three? Was he a Paragon?”
“He was close to that level of strength,” Jurot replied. He wasn’t entirely sure if the knight had reached such a height. “With his magical equipment, he could clash against King Merry.”
“And he died?”
“Yes.”
“Damn.” Adam wondered if he had anything to do with it. ‘Seriously, what is my ego? There’s no way I’m involved in everything.’
The group continued along their way, following the King’s Road northward. Lucy, Mara, Lady Sara, and Jeremy, all awkwardly sat on the cart. Lucy and Mara sat with their legs outstretched, leaning back against their blankets as they stared up towards the sky. Lady Sara sat with her legs crossed, her hands on her knees as she half meditated. Jeremy half leaned across the side of the cart, trying not to offend the noblewoman near him, glancing across the horizon. Korin and Dunes walked alongside the cart, beside Lady Sara.
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As they approached the forest, the group began to make their camp. Adam started summoning the tower, leaving his brother in charge of leading the Iyrmen, who were eager to dig and cut down trees. The farmers assisted the Iyrmen, along with Jeremy, while the while the Aswadians dealt with the food. Ivy and Kitool kept an eye out for them, Ivy with bow in hand as she circled around the area.
“Adam,” Kitool called, bringing the group’s attention to the herd of boars following the edge of the forest, charging towards them.
“Looks like boar’s back on the menu, boys,” Adam said, chuckling to himself lightly. “Sheesh, look at the size of that chonky boy.” Adam narrowed his eyes, noting one boar was easily twice, perhaps triple, the size of the rest. Its tusks were particularly large, even noticeable from how far away they were.
Swiftly, the group took their positions, with the Iyrmen bracing upfront, while those who could fling spells remained behind.
“We’ve still got the camp to set up so let’s make it quick,” Adam said, grabbing his shield, before resting his axe over his shoulder. ‘They should earn us quite a bit of XP.’
Mana: 12 -> 9
Spell: Fireball
8D6 = 28 (1, 1, 2, 4, 4, 5, 5, 6)
Onward Soar: 1 -> 0
Mana: 9 -> 6
Spell: Fireball
8D6 = 34 (1, 3, 4, 5, 5, 5, 5, 6)
Adam’s fiery balls of death washed across the boars, causing them to squeal in pain, silencing a large number of the boars, before the second ball of fire exploded, silencing more. The giant boar fell to the earth, skidding to a halt, while the other boars veered off, only to be blasted by other magics and arrows from the rest of Adam’s companions.
“Oh,” Adam said, noticing the piercing glare from the Demon Lord. “I forgot that Fireball did that much.”
The teen Iyrmen wondered why Adam had brought them there if he was going to slay everything.
Victory!
Boars
XP Gained: +50
XP: 12 200 -> 12 250
‘Oh?’ Adam thought, looking at his XP.
“We will butcher them,” Jurot said, before leading the Iyrmen out.
Lady Sara and Korin threw Dunes a look, wanting him to explain what they had just seen. Dunes returned a smile to answer their question, knowing what they wanted to ask.
“You can cast four Fireballs?” Lady Sara asked, finally working up the courage to ask. She needed to confirm her suspicions, even if it meant asking a stupid question.
“No,” Adam replied. “I can cast six.”
‘Six?’ the noble Blood Mage thought. She herself knew how one gained strength with magics, and there was no way he could cast six Third Gate spells. No, that wasn’t entirely correct, there was surely a way he could do so.
“Oh, well, actually…” Adam thought about how many he could cast if he meditated. “Seven.”
“Seven?” Lady Sara asked, even more confused by the answer. She was certain that was impossible. “Can you cast Fourth Gate spells?”
“Fourth Gate spells? Lady Sara, please, you honour me too much. I can only cast Third Gate spells at most.”
Adam’s response caused her brow to twitch, for no one would ever state they could only cast Third Gate spells. One could live a life of luxury if they knew First Gate spells, and Third Gate spells allowed one to live an even greater life, that among a royal’s court.
‘Now that I think about it…’
XP: 12 250 -> 11 050
Mana: 18 -> 21
Feature Gained: Expert Diviner
Spells Gained: Tiny Ward, Sending
‘Nice,’ Adam thought.
Mara twitched, narrowing her eyes at Adam.
“Jurot?” Adam called.
“Yes?” the Iyrman replied, carrying the giant boar towards the half made fort.
“I’m strong.”
Jurot, feeling that this had happened before, nodded. “Yes.”
Adam smiled wider. ‘Now I can cast Fireball eight times.’
The group returned back to completing the fort around the two towers. Adam thought about which abilities would suit him from other classes.
‘Rage?’ Adam thought. ‘No, that’s Jurot’s thing. What about Sneak Strike? I could deal so much extra damage with it…’ Adam reread the description, only to realise the huge flaw with his logic. ‘Damn it.’
‘Lay on Hands?’ Adam thought, staring at the ability. It scaled well, though it cost a little more than he expected. The other Guardian abilities were also great, from Divine Health to Aura of Protection, which he could since he was Level 6. Most of the other abilities were greyed out for him since the XP penalty was so severe.
‘2000 for Lay on Hands, 1500 for Divine Health, and… 3000 for Aura of Protection? Damn. That’s so much XP.’ Yet, Adam stared at them, wondering if he should take them. ‘Let’s at least take Lay on Hands and Divine Health.’
XP: 11 050 -> 7550
Mara twitched again, eyeing Adam suspiciously.
“Jurot?” Adam called, frowning as he stared at the XP.
“Yes?”
“I’m poor,” the Half Elf said, almost pouting.
“Okay,” Jurot replied, unsure of what Adam was talking about. It didn’t sound like he was talking about money, though it was the most obvious answer.
Adam bathed quickly once the fort was finished, before cleaning it with his Tricks trick, and allowing the others to enter.
“We’ll put two people on watch,” Adam said. “Dunes, Lady Sara, and I will not take watches, but everyone else will take an hour watch each. I’ll keep Hades and Zeus on watch, as always.”
“I can take watch,” Lady Sara said.
“You can, but let’s make sure all of our mages rest up properly, so we’re not stingy with our spells,” Adam said, smiling. “Casting eight Fireballs a day is going to make me tired.”
‘Eight?’ Lady Sara thought, wondering if it was a slip of the tongue.
Adam winked at his brother, who bowed his head, understanding that Adam had grown more powerful. Adam was still someone Jurot couldn’t understand, but he knew that Adam was Adam, and that was all he needed to know.
“Alright! Let’s work hard this week and earn tons of XP!” Adam raised up his cup of water.
‘Eckspee?’