53:
[You have looted the following items:
17,500 TP
Bracelet of the Mist-Vault (Qi Gathering Stage Artifact, Rare)
Pendant of the Miststalker (Qi Gathering Stage, Epic)]
Jack had known that his TP reward would end up being higher than Jin’s, given that he had dealt not only the final blow to the Juvenile Werewolf, but had also dealt an absurd amount of damage to it. So much so that he wasn’t even sure how anyone was supposed to deal with the damned monstrosity besides outrunning it outside the Qi Fog, where it shouldn’t follow given that it seemed to be physically connected to the Howling Mist-Vault, but then again, his assessment didn’t include Dao Mark users like Marcus and people like him who had discovered other paths to power.
The Essence Syphon Art felt like a bargain for all that it was capable of now that he understood what it could do for him in battle and the fact that it could disrupt the Dao Mark Qi of other cultivators made it invaluable for Jack.
Still, he had not expected the system to judge his contribution to the battle so highly that it would give him an Epic artifact, which definitely had to be a step or two above Rare. His Moonsword had been instrumental in allowing him to keep up with the Juvenile Werewolf in the clash of swords against claws and that artifact was only considered Rare.
What could an Epic artifact do?
Jack would be lying if he claimed that he didn’t want to find out immediately, but anything connected to the Mist-Vault had to be given priority.
After stepping away from the chest so Sarah and Marcus could collect their loot, Jack reached for a tear in the void only to notice that Jin was doing the same thing.
Has she made a purchase already, or did she get something more from the chest as well? Jack wondered, certain that her reward couldn’t be better than his own, but still curious. Come to think of it, I never asked us what she got, just how many TP she had earned.
It was a question that would be answered soon, one way or the other, so Jack simply pushed the thought away as he reached for a circular band whose surface was cool and metallic to the touch.
Pulling it free from his inventory space, Jack brought it up close before him on his open palm. A thumb-sized gap separated the otherwise circular metal band’s two ends, likely to allow the band to adjust for wrist-size, but more notable was the Werewolf head that had been engraved in the centre of the metal band, facing him.
Jack didn’t hesitate to use Inspect upon it.
[Bracelet of the Mist-Vault, Qi Gathering Stage Artifact (Rare)
Description: The Bracelet of the Mist-Vault is an artifact that is obtained upon slaying one’s first enemy within the territory of the Howling Mist-Vault, allowing its wielder to hunt more efficiently and with a greater degree of visibility across its lands.
Artifact Ability:
Wolf-sight: Allows the wielder of the Bracelet of the Mist-Vault to see through the Mist Qi that permeates the Howling Mist-Vault in a wide radius that scales with their Perception Stat.
Roll-Table: Increases the chances of acquiring valuable loot while slaying enemies in the Howling Mist-Vault as long as the Bracelet is equipped while doing so].
As Jack immediately moved to slip the band onto his left wrist, he couldn’t help but notice the curious look Jin was giving him. Turning to meet her gaze, Jack realized that pinched in between her fingers, was a bracelet identical to the one he had pulled out from his inventory.
I suppose assisting towards a kill counts as slaying in this instance. Everyone should get one then, Jack thought as he slipped the bracelet onto his left wrist. It made sense, now that he considered the matter–-- he had played the most important role in slaying the Juvenile Werewolf, but were it not for the others’ efforts when it came to splitting the Spiritual Beast’s attention, he would never have been able to pin it down long enough to use Primordial Claw upon it.
A moment later, the world transformed under his gaze as the thick layer of what was apparently called Mist Qi faded away from his sight. Jack blinked in disbelief as he took in the plain grasslands that had terrorized his group, but it was the sea of sand dunes that stretched out into the distance past it that was the source of his shock.
Jack supposed that he shouldn’t have been surprised at the variety in terrain given that Earth had been cleared of all traces of civilization in the span of an hour or less, but it was still a bit surreal to come across sand dunes when he knew them to be three or four hours on foot away from a lush forest with the tallest trees he’d ever come across.
Like the Anarix Tree Forest, the sea of sand dunes seemed to be natural terrain augmented by Qi instead of a cultivator-made construct like the Howling Mist-Vault. For one, desert landscape was too vast to be considered a Hidden Piece by any means of the definition and more importantly, Jack’s True Sight confirmed for him that the dunes weren’t a mirage formed by Qi or any other such manner of construct.
As far as Jack could tell, the Bracelet of the Mist-Vault wasn’t responsible for any ocular ability that let him see through the Mist Qi, but rather, seemed to mark him in some manner that made him immune to the obscuring effects of the Mist Qi instead of nullifying the Mist Qi itself or giving him a way to see through its effects.
So Jack couldn’t use the bracelet to see through the effects of Mist Qi itself, meaning that if he ran into someone with a Dao Mark capable of calling upon Mist Qi, it would do nothing to let him see through it.
His single point in Wisdom had pushed his total in the stat to ten, an investment that paid dividends as Jack considered the purpose of giving every member of his group a Bracelet that’s greatest and only value lay within the Howling Mist-Vault. They had experienced what it felt like to be doggedly hunted down when the enemy had a terrifying advantage when it came to the terrain and now, the Mist-Vault had given them a way to bypass that advantage.
They were meant to hunt the Juvenile Werewolves down with their greatest advantage taken from them, but Jin and Marcus were nowhere near such a challenge, not to mention that it had taken Jack everything he had in his arsenal just to kill one of the Spiritual Beasts.
The Howling Mist-Vault was too dangerous for them to remain in any longer than they had to, but neither the Bracelet nor the Mist-Vault was going anywhere.
With no little amount of trepidation, Jack swept his gaze across his full field of view before pivoting on his right foot to continue his search for any threats. Knowing that he had the highest amount of Perception amongst his group members, his gaze was clear for a few miles in every direction.
The sigh of relief that escaped his lips was palpable, as Jack visually confirmed that there were no more Werewolves, Juvenile or otherwise, near them.
Ironically enough, their reprieve was only a mile away from their current location, which explained why the Juvenile Werewolf had decided to finally go for the kill after seeming content with harrying them.
If Jack or one of his other group members had chosen to break away from the group and run without looking back, there was a real chance they would have escaped before the Juvenile Werewolf got to them.
That realization only made Jack loathe the system even more. And knowing the system, if they tried to push their luck, they’d end up getting exactly what they asked for.
“You both should’ve gotten a bracelet like me and Jin have,” Jack addressed Sarah and Marcus, his tone commanding. “Equip it and let's be on our way. It’ll let you see through the Mist Qi that’s surrounding us—”
“Oh wow,” Jin absentmindedly muttered, her gaze transfixed by something in the distance.
Sarah and Marcus didn’t need any more convincing, as they reached out for their inventories and pulled out their own bracelets, slipping them on with as much haste as they could manage.
An incredulous chortle escaped Sarah before she collected herself enough to voice her thoughts, “That’s… I thought Alki Beach was sandy. How did we even get here?”
Marcus grunted in agreement, as eyes scoured what he could see of the desert with no little amount of caution, his expression bunched up into a frown. It seemed like everyone present had enough in perception to make out the mile to the desert and a little beyond, though Jack supposed that he didn’t know the bare minimum sensing range the Bracelet offered to conclude anything.
“Well, I’ll take a desert over a land of mist claimed by Werewolves. I’m as certain as one can be that they won’t follow us into the sand, so unless someone wants to take their chances with the Spiritual Beasts, I’d recommend getting a move on,” Jack stated, as he began to move towards the desert.
Sarah was the first to follow, catching up to him with a few quick strides. Jin was next before Marcus fell in line, not a word of protest escaping his mouth.
“What kind of dangerous animals can we expect from a desert?” Sarah asked, loud enough for Jin and Marcus to be able to hear as they caught up. “Normally I mean.”
Jack took a few moments to consider her question, before answering, “Honestly? Depends on the desert. It’s pretty much the last place you’d want to find yourself in during the apocalypse, though. I mean, if civilization fell and everything wasn’t reduced to an irradiated wasteland, then even in a collapse of law and order you’d be able to find a way to food if you were willing to fight for it. Canned supplies can last for years and there’d be other sources of food from the wildlife and flora,” He mused aloud, certain that all four of them were past needing to be coddled about their situation. “But in a desert? There’s little water to be found, the temperature fluctuates in extremes and most of the animals have adapted to the environment, so they’re going to be aggressive, frequently venomous and have little meat on their bones half the time.”
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“That doesn’t sound good,” Sarah idly replied, her tone entirely conversational instead of afraid.
“No, but it’s not grim either. Anything I say is speculation at best, but I’ll throw out the possibility of snakes, scorpions, coyotes and other desert canids, lizards and a few types of spiders,” Jack continued.
“How is that not grim?” Jin asked, her tone shaken by the revelation.
“This area is a hidden piece,” Jack replied in answer. “That means its difficulty is way beyond the norm. The Rift Goblin Camp we saved you both from was a hidden piece too, hence the difficulty in getting out of there. I mean think about it, if everyone on earth is going to be fighting Werewolf level threats out there, ninety nine percent of humans would already be dead.”
“Isn’t that the point?” Marcus sardonically asked. “Watching us all die in hideous and twisted ways for this system’s entertainment?”
“So you think they’re weaker?” Jin asked, side-stepping Marcus’s remark.
“Should be, otherwise we’re all done anyway,” Jack replied with a shrug, before continuing, “I think the reason why the system allowed animals from earth to be evolved into these predators is so we have a degree of familiarity with the enemies we’re fighting instead of giving into fear and despair from the beginning. Don’t take this as gospel, but standard knowledge like knowing the danger of a snake’s fangs, a scorpion’s tail, a lizard’s teeth— a rare few can be venomous, is going to be wise. Remember, we’re not entirely human ourselves now, we’re cultivators.”
A short silence fell over the group before Marcus spoke, “What’s your armor called, Sarah?”
Sarah took a moment to consider the question, before answering, “Jade Guard.”
“I’m going to be buying that once we’re out of here,” Marcus revealed, being more forthright with information than he was before. “Don’t want a repeat of what happened here and your armor seems to have held up well enough.”
“Wise choice,” Sarah replied in an approving tone. “It’s light, surprisingly flexible and durable enough. I don’t think the other armor choices are going to be very different when it comes to function, but the risk doesn’t seem worth it in our current circumstances,” She analyzed.
“Thanks,” Marcus softly muttered, before falling into silence.
That’s new, Jack thought. Though it probably won’t last. Jin might not have gotten the time to inspect the pill, but such a powerful medicine is going to be brought up again. When Marcus realizes that I made the decision of sacrificing his lifespan to bring him back, well, humans are far from perfectly rational creatures.
“What stats do you think I should invest in, Jack?” Jin asked, a strong note of inquisitiveness enduring in her tone where urgency would have been understandable. It was clear that Jack had the knowledge she needed and knowing it could be the difference between life and death, yet she hadn’t demanded it out of him like he was sure Marcus would have no qualms in doing, had he been stronger than Jack.
I need to give her an answer without revealing my own stat distribution, Jack’s pragmatic side reminded him.
“Did you level up?” Jack asked conversationally, trying to mask his own curiosity.
“Twice,” Jin said with a nod.
“That’s impressive,” Jack earnestly replied, suspecting that she had most likely gone from level 3 to 5 in a single leap. “Do you have an idea of what each stat does? Being honest, so far I’ve just been investing in the stat that I need the most in the heat of the moment. If there is an optimal distribution, it requires trial and error on a much larger scale than four.”
“I have a few questions, actually,” Jin replied.
“Go on,” Jack encouraged.
“What’s the difference between Dexterity and Perception? And Intelligence versus Wisdom?” She asked.
Jack could see that even Marcus perked up at Jin’s question, while Sarah seemed preoccupied with her own thoughts as she walked next to him. Having likely experienced every stat for herself by now, there was little Jack could reveal to her on the topic.
“Perception and Dexterity is a simple one. The former enhances your five senses, letting you perceive both yourself and anyone in the vicinity in progressively greater depth as you invest more free points into the stat. Having the strength to react to a threat is valuable, but if you take too long to perceive it, you will find yourself either trading injuries or worse. Dexterity, on the other hand, gives you the reflexes to react to the threat once it’s revealed itself. Whether that takes the form of enhancing your muscle tissue to be more flexible or making the synaptic connections that govern reaction time more sensitive, it is a valuable stat either way,” Jack earnestly explained.
“Those are tough options to choose from,” Jin muttered, more to herself than Jack, but loud enough his senses to pick up on.
“I’d focus on the encounters you’d want to be most insulated from,” Jack said, having decided to offer a little more advice on the topic. “Investing more in perception might give you the opportunity to evade an enemy attack even with lower dexterity, while quick reflexes would aid you to strike back against the enemy and possibly neutralize it before it can be of any more danger to you. Remember though, it’s not supposed to be a choice— these statistics are synergistic, not adversarial,” Jack reminded.
“Right. Though it’s tough to think that way when the future won’t matter if I don’t make the correct choices today,” Jin replied, her tone more thoughtful than resigned.
“That’s why I’ve been winging it,” Jack replied honestly before moving on. “The difference between Intelligence and Wisdom is subtle, but neither will make you smarter, or at least, hasn’t done so yet for me.”
“How do you define ‘smarter’?” Jin asked.
“It’s a pretty rudimentary way to do it, but I’m limiting the definition to raw I.Q for now.”
“Oh,” Jin mused. “That’s a bit disappointing,” She admitted.
“Is it?” Jack asked. “If the intelligence stat was linked to my I.Q., I’d be investing heavily into it. But would it still be me after thirty points? Fifty points? A hundred? At what point would I be doomed to follow the most rational path in any scenario or encounter?” He let the question hang in the air for a moment, having contemplated the matter more than once. “What if I come to see other cultivators as nothing more than pure sources of experience in my objective of surviving this? Would there even be a point to such a survival?” He concluded, realizing as he explained that the mere possibility of such an existence revolted him to his very core. He was willing to kill other cultivators to defend himself and he would carry the weight of every life he took to his grave, but Jack would never view human life as numbers on a balance sheet, never let himself kill those who had done him or the world no wrong for experience, even if the system relished in such misery. He would stay human or die trying.
“I hadn’t thought of it that way,” Jin admitted, the curiosity in her tone tempered by the heaviness of Jack’s consideration. “Your words do make me wonder though. There are people out there that would… kill for less out there, like violent inmates in high-security prisons and mercenaries that will wage wars in foreign countries as long as they’re paid enough. What are they doing out there? What happens if we run into them?” She asked.
“Same thing that happened to the Werewolf, if they try anything,” Jack firmly replied, his composure returning to him as he made the declaration. Had it been the old world, Jack’s pragmatic nature would have judged him to have little chance against trained mercenaries and the like unless both parties were armed and he had foreknowledge that they were moving against him. But Jack had experience in real world combat now and the source of his combat ability was rooted in the opportunities he had leapt headfirst into. No mercenary or violent killer would leap at a chance of rescuing three people from the heart of enemy territory the same way no one with military training would run into a foggy land with seemingly little to no visibility, no intel on the enemies they would find within and no known escape route besides a camp teeming with rift goblins.
Jack had snowballed an advantage for himself by rushing into scenarios few would and now he just had to hold onto it by continuing to push himself.
Silence fell over the group as the boldness of Jack’s declaration held in the air, lasting almost a minute before Jin followed up with another question, “So what do the two stats do, exactly?”
“As far as I can tell, the Intelligence stat bolsters my memory, letting me retain and recall events, knowledge and memories far more efficiently than usual. There’s not a lot of books to read in the apocalypse, but if I get my hands on one, I’d bet that I’d be able to compartmentalize and retain its knowledge in a matter that lets me call upon the relevant parts when I actually need it. The stat also helps you recall the past in greater detail, but I think you’d require a sizable investment in it to recite your old science textbooks word for word, if that’s even possible.”
“That’s different from what I imagined, but still interesting.”
“As for Wisdom,” Jack paused, taking a moment to formulate his reply before answering, “It works very well with intelligence, because it lets you draw conclusions based on existing information you have access to by flagging related information, in a manner of speaking. It won’t let you derive the scientific formula behind the energy source that Qi is merely by knowing more about it, but it will allow you to draw conclusions you’d eventually reach yourself if you thought about it long enough far quicker than usual. It doesn’t sound like much, but when you’re in battle and you realize that using a certain skill in a novel manner might be the only thing that wins you the battle, well, it seems pretty worth it then.”
“Is that how you beat the Juvenile Werewolf?” She asked.
“Looks like you’re no stranger to the Wisdom department yourself,” Jack replied with an amused smile. “Though the full answer is rooted in my recklessness paying off, the credit in no small part going to my luck,” He added, with a small chuckle, before his expression turned more somber. “Out-thinking your opponent is a great strategy, but it can also matter little when their physical parameters exceed yours. I could just as easily have died trying to get to the beast.”
“I understand,” Jin firmly replied, an undercurrent of resolve audible in her tone.
It appeared that she had reached a decision, an informed one at that. It was more than Jack had been offered in face of the apocalypse, but he didn’t mind trading this particular advantage away when investing a point or two at most in any stat would reveal the truth to her.
Jack felt like he had done enough for Jin to earn her trust and he doubted that any amount of intelligence or wisdom would let him know what exactly what it was that was going through her mind—- he just hoped that she would stay true to her words and he had gained an ally instead of an opportunist.
Marcus opted against contributing to the conversation, though that could have been because Jack had shared everything that was required when it came to stat distribution. Strength and Constitution were self-explanatory stats and likely to have been the initial picks of most cultivators along with maybe dexterity, so the Fire Dao-Mark cultivator had all the information he needed as well.
Silence was not an unwelcome companion for Jack as they covered the last of the distance towards the end of the Howling Mist-Vault’s territory, as he dedicated his entire focus to peeking behind him every few seconds to make sure there was no Werewolf creeping up on them from within the misty territory.
“Stop,” Jack called out before they could walk outside the Mist-Vault’s territory and step onto the sandy dunes, the first of which sloped upwards before them.
Sarah came to a halt next to him, while Jin and Marcus, who had been following close behind them, halted as well.
“Why?” Marcus quietly asked, his usual annoyance with Jack’s commands absent in his tone.
“We don’t know what’s hiding on the other side, so it’s best to face it together,” Jack replied calmly. “Marcus, stand beside me. Jin, next to Sarah. Weapons drawn and facing forward.”
“Okay,” Marcus replied, in an uncharacteristically subdued response.
“Sure,” Jin said with a nod.
Once everyone had complied with his instructions, Jack continued, “I might have a way to force anything hiding in the sand out and into a retreat once, so I don’t want anyone to panic if it actually ends up working. Instead, use your inspect on anything that moves as fast as you can, so we can get an idea of what we’re up against. Retreating back into the mists is best left as a last resort.”
“That’s new,” Sarah remarked, her tone not concealing her interest.
“It is, that’s why I have no idea how it’ll work. This Mist Qi has tormented us quite a bit, but this backfires at least we can fall back and re-enter the desert from a different point down the line,” Jack explained. “Now, if everyone is ready, we take two steps forward at the count of three. That cool?”
“Ready,” Sarah replied.
Jin nodded and Marcus grunted in affirmation.
Jack began the count down and at the call of three, all four of them left the Howling Mist-Vault behind and stepped into the desert.
And as they did, Jack activated the [Slaughter Aura] he could only use once in twenty four hours.