CHAPTER 16: LIFE REALLY IS UNFAIR
After seeing the many ways that they could improve, the three women exited the combat room.
“I’m going to grind out the last few Potion Bases I can tonight,” Cora said, “but meet back here in the morning?”
“Same here,” Jenna said, “I’d like to get a few more pieces of Hardened Glass done.” The three made their way back to their own rooms.
Jenna’s Magic felt more in control than she was used to. It was a strange feeling, but it was reflected in the gradually better Hardened Glass that she was able to produce.
First Tier Hardened Glass. Rank: B+ Value: 2 points Would you like to sell your Hardened Glass?
She could tell that the cloud of Magic she’d poured wasn’t totally even, and so she tried again.
First Tier Hardened Glass. Rank: B++ Value: 2 points Would you like to sell your Hardened Glass?
Jenna had enough Magic still inside of her to feel comfortable attempting one more.
First Tier Hardened Glass. Rank: B+++ Value: 2 points Would you like to sell your Hardened Glass?
When she had finished the third sheet, Jenna was almost completely out of Magic. She couldn’t find a single thing that she’d done wrong, so she asked the Pyramid, “What do I need to change in order to make this A Grade Hardened Glass?”
First Tier Hardened Glass Rank: B+++ Primary Flaw: Carved in stages, rather than at once.
“How does that make a difference?”
Progress in Mathematics insufficient for full explanation. Best analogy for current level of understanding: When Spells are Enchanted over time, it has a similar effect as when they’re carved inconsistently deep. The Magic within the Glass is unable to flow perfectly, because it has more memory of its time in the first places etched.
“How do I Enchant an entire piece of Hardened Glass at once?” Jenna asked. There had to be trick or tip that the Pyramid could offer.
Rather than Enchant each portion of the Spell sequentially, do them in parallel.
Or not.
Still, that was an issue for after the rift. “Is there anything else I should know before entering the rift with Cora and Rita?”
Error: Insufficient points to delve rift.
“Oh, right,” Jenna said, looking at the piles of Hardened Glass in front of her. When she sold them all off, she was surprised to see that she had somehow Enchanted enough glass to end up with one hundred and fifty total points.
Congratulations! You have pushed yourself to your limits, completely emptying yourself of Magic. As a result, more time spent working on Enchanting would be wasted. Suggestion: Add Mace Training to learn differences between fighting solo and with partners. Accept suggestion?
“Suggestion accepted.” Jenna followed the Pyramid’s direction into the training room. She used the mace far less than she was expecting. Instead, the Pyramid gave her a more in depth explanation of the many ways that she had performed sub optimally in her role as distraction for her party.
Suggestion: Read on Party Roles. Accept suggestion?
“Suggestion accepted.” As Jenna read through the Pyramid’s explanations of the different roles that members of a delving party could take, she better understood how to play her role. Unlike in a “standard” party, they had no true tank and no damage outputting Mage. Given the Schools that each of them had decided to focus on, the latter wasn’t likely to change.
As she paged through, searching for a party composition similar to hers, she saw a variety of different strategies, along with their risks and benefits. The three of them were apparently in an incredibly risky party build. With only a single person working to draw the attention of monsters, she could quickly be overrun, especially if her teammates didn’t work quickly to dispatch the monsters. Additionally, without a healer, any damage that the three of them took would only magnify those issues.
With that grim thought in mind, she pushed all the harder during her last day before entering the rift.
In the morning, the three of them met up where they had agreed. Jenna, at the Pyramid’s advice, had taken the morning more or less off. She had done some stretches and a light run to limber up her body, but avoided anything particularly strenuous.
“Do either of you know how we enter the rift?” Cora asked.
Rift opens in five minutes. If you would like to delve with a group, please link hands now.
“Did you two see that message too?” Rita asked, grasping for her party members’ hands.
“The one that said the rift opens in five minutes, so we should link hands if we want to delve together?” Jenna asked as her hands closed around her delving partners’.
“When do we need to purchase our equipment?” she asked to no one in particular.
Purchase options will become available when transporting to rift.
“Do either of you know what we should expect when we first enter?” Jenna asked.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“I don’t,” Rita responded.
“I was eavesdropping on some of the legacies,” Cora said, “and they said that the first room you enter is always a safe room. That way you can take your time and discuss what your group needs to purchase together, rather than needing to rush. Also, it’s apparently incredibly disorienting to be teleported for the first time.”
The three of them chatted their time away until the Pyramid gave them another announcement.
Rift opening in 5 4 3 2 1
Jenna watched as the room around her disappeared. It felt like someone had just turned off the lights of reality. When she looked down at her hands, she could still see them clearly, grasping Cora and Rita.
They were both still there and visible, but there was nothing behind them. It wasn’t a darkness, it was just an absence. Before Jenna could ask what was happening, she saw the nothingness move.
Even as her head started pounding from the pain of watching, she stared harder. There was an Enchantment moving them, she was sure of it. Plus, the Pyramid hadn’t given them any directions relating to how they were supposed to travel, so it had to be safe enough.
As the pain in her head kept rising, nausea rose with it. Just as she was certain that she would end up embarrassing herself by throwing up on her new teammates, reality turned back on.
Jenna looked around the room they had been placed in. It was darker than she had grown used to in the Pyramid. The lighting came from a few torches along the walls, burning reddish yellow light.
“Think that we could take one?” Cora asked, walking over towards them, “it would be great not to have to worry about vision during our fights.”
Please do not harm the Safe Room. Damage to the room will constitute forfeiture of safety.
“So probably not, then,” she said, immediately turning around.
“When do we get our equipment?” Jenna called out as the warning faded.
Recommended Purchase List: Mace Food Healing Potion
“How much will all of those cost? Also, what about water?”
First Tier Mace Rental Price (Unenchanted): 20 points Purchase Price (Unenchanted): 50 points Rental Price (Hardness): 45 points Purchase Price (Hardness): 80 points Would you like to Purchase or Rent a Mace?
Jenna looked at her point balance. She had fifty points left, so she could, in theory, afford either purchasing the mace outright or renting the Enchanted one. Then again, there were the other purchases she needed to make.
“Can I see the prices for food and Healing Potions first?”
First Tier Food: 1 Day’s Rations: 1 point. 10 Day’s Rations: 15 points. Would you like to purchase one or ten days’ worth of rations?
“Hey team, how long do you think that we’re going to be delving this rift?”
“If I had to guess, probably around three days?” Cora hazarded, “at least if what I overheard is at all reliable.”
“Can I purchase three days of food?”
First Tier Food: 1 Day’s Rations: 1 point. 10 Day’s Rations: 15 points. Would you like to purchase one or ten days’ worth of rations?
“I’ll take that as a no. If I got ten days’ worth of food, would I be able to share it with my teammates, or do we each need to get rations of our own?”
Food, along with any other rift purchases, are bound to individuals. Sharing is only allowed in case of premature exit from the rift.
Jenna saw that sharing meant looting, and debated which to purchase. “Will I be able to take the extra food out of the rift with me if I leave before I run out?” she asked.
Yes. Unused food will be credited to your account.
“And how much are the healing potions?”
First Tier Healing Potions: Least Healing Product: 10 points. Minor Healing Product: 30 points. Standard Healing Product: 50 points. Greater Healing Product: 200 points. Would you like to purchase a Healing Potion?
While Jenna was deliberating, she missed her teammates doing the same.
“What’s taking you so long?” Rita called out, already holding her daggers.
“I’m not sure what I should get,” Jenna replied honestly.
“I mean, I doubt any of us will need more than one or two Standard Healing Potions,” Rita said, “but why haven’t you already gotten your mace?”
“Wait,” Jenna said, “how many points do you have?”
“Now that I’ve spent them on equipment for the rift? Ummm, let me check,” she replied, clearly glancing at her status. “One thousand or so? Why?”
“I only have fifty points!” Jenna almost screamed, “how do you have so many more points than I do?”
“Wait, how many points did you start with?” Cora asked, interjecting herself into the conversation.
“One hundred, why?”
Both of her teammates just stared at her.
“Did I start with fewer points than normal?”
Initial points are allocated based on a number of factors. Initial research suggests that students who come into the Training Grounds in your situation are more likely to make it past standard Median Years in Training when given financial pressure.
“That feels off. Also what do you mean by people in my situation?”
Query imprecise: Best guess: “more likely to make it past Median Years in Training” is confusing, please clarify exact meaning. Accept guess?
“Guess accepted.”
Guess accepted. Elaborating on previous statement Without the financial push, the average student in your situation enrolls for two fewer years, with standard statistical distribution. With the financial push, students who perform at least one standard deviation above average within the group tend to remain within training grounds for an extra 2.1 years, again with standard statistical distribution.
“And what about the students who don’t perform at least one standard deviation above average?”
They would not be successful students in either situation.
Jenna’s Status:
Jenna Fredrickson First Year Spells Known: First Tier: Hardened Glass Expected Years Completed: 7 Prediction Confidence: 40% Points: 50 Qualified to Ascend to Next Year? Yes