Just like that I picked up another sprinting side quest, or I guess it's still a part of the same quest. Damn it, they better factor this bullshit in when it comes to the rewards.
I had been sprinting for hours by this point, and the swampy earth was finally giving way to firmer, drier ground, a welcome change. The scenery, though, remained largely the same. Gnarled trees draped in moss loomed on either side, and the endless chorus of croaking frogs and buzzing insects still grated on my nerves.
Along the way, we ran into a small pack of lizard-like creatures. I knew they were kobolds from my old life, judging by their small stature and crude weapons. Dispatching them was swift and efficient, with Bram guiding my shots. I got an arrow stuck in my shoulder but pulling the arrow out with through gritted teeth and then chewing on some of the Solarheart petals remedied the injury almost instantly. The most difficult thing with that encounter were the Assassins that had some sort of limited invisibility skill, but with Bram guiding the shots made their abilities worthless. After that skirmish, I read over the menus took the time to level and I pocketed a nice pile of credits for the trouble. My status menu was filling in nicely:
Name: Liam Thompson
Level: 10
Race: Human (Earth Variant: Humans are known for their physical and mental capabilities which make them a well-rounded race. +5 stats per level increase.)
Class: Spearman
Primary Stats: Constitution, Endurance
Abilities:
Piercing Thrust: A focused attack that deals bonus damage to armored foes.
Sweep Strike: A wide attack to hit multiple enemies.
Brace: Reduces knockback and increases damage against charging enemies.
Subclass: Alchemy
Titles: Descender (+5) Lord of Hillgrove
Experience: 40850 of 125000 exp to next level
Renown: 500
Achievements: Iron Stomach (1st Con threshold) Survivors Endurance (1st End threshold) Arcane Insight (1st Int threshold)
Skills: Stealth level 4
Herbalism level 6
Stats: Health: 50 (Con x2) / Stamina: 42 (End x2)/ Mana: 44 (Intel x2)
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 13
Endurance: 25
Constitution: 25
Intelligence: 25
Wisdom: 10
Charisma: 10
Reaching the intelligence threshold made me wish I actually spent more credits on spells especially with the last option.
ARCANE INSIGHT
Gain an intuitive understanding of magical forces.
Allows you to identify and analyze magical objects, runes, and enchantments with greater accuracy.
Grants passive awareness of nearby magic sources.
Tactical Foresight
Predict enemy movements and potential battle outcomes with eerie precision.
Provides a chance to anticipate an enemy's next move based on their stance and actions.
Increases accuracy with ranged attacks due to better trajectory calculations.
FOCUSED CASTING
Your spells land with pinpoint accuracy and precision.
Increases spell accuracy, making it harder for enemies to dodge.
Reduces the chance of spell failures or backfires.
All that took us to where we are now. I have been staring at the options for a while now and Bram was getting beyond annoyed with me.
"Are we planning to grow roots here? Pick something and let's keep moving before the swamp decides you're part of the ecosystem." Bram said
I let out a deep sigh and picked the one that would help the most in our current situation. Arcane Insight.
"That's a fool's choice." Bram shot at me.
"Yeah yeah." I replied as I took off in a dead sprint again.
Another hour or so later, the dead, horrible swamp finally vanished behind us, giving way to a vast expanse of rolling hills covered in lush, green grass. The stark contrast was almost overwhelming. I staggered to a halt, letting out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding, and dropped to my knees. My fingers ran through the cool, dew-kissed blades of grass, the fresh scent filling my lungs, washing away the heavy, stagnant stench of the swamp that clung to my clothes.
A laugh bubbled out of me, half delirious, half relieved. “Finally, Bram, we’re out of that shit hole.” My voice cracked, raw from exhaustion and the countless muttered curses I'd thrown at the swamp.
Bram’s chuckle echoed in my mind, low and mocking. “You’re forgetting about the return trip already?”
I groaned, flopping onto my back, staring up at the sky that stretched endlessly above me. The morning sun, finally free from the thick, choking canopy of the swamp, bathed the world in a golden hue. Wisps of clouds drifted lazily, as if they had all the time in the world.
"Just let me enjoy this for a few seconds." I muttered while stretching out, tempted to take a quick nap. I let me eyelids shut for the briefest of moments and heard yelling in the distance.
"FUUUCCKK." I yelled out the moment of respite not lasting long. Slamming the bottoms of my hands against the grass.
"A Heros job is never done" Bram quickly filled in after my outburst.
"I didn't sign up for this bullshit though." I muttered before getting up and walking towards the source of the yelling.
----------------------------------------
A few hills over, toward the supposed location of Thormer, I spotted a dirt road cutting through the rolling landscape. On it, a creaky old cart rumbled along, drawn by a massive six-legged beast with a hide like cracked stone. Its heavy breaths puffed out in rhythmic huffs, plumes of dust rising with each lumbering step.
Atop the cart, a man sat, reins slack in his hands, his eyes scanning the horizon. But what made my stomach knot was the figure sprawled out on the dirt path ahead—a woman, motionless. My instincts kicked in as I slowed my pace, unslinging my bow. A quick glance revealed another man, standing on the far side of the cart, a spear leveled with deadly intent.
"Ready, Bram?" I whispered, my grip tightening.
“Sure thing, hero boy,” Bram’s voice hummed in my mind, laced with anticipation.
I didn’t hesitate. The bowstring thrummed under my fingers, and in the blink of an eye, an arrow flew. The man atop the cart let out a sharp yell of surprise, clutching his arm as my shot found its mark. The commotion sent a ripple of movement through the cart, two more men I hadn’t seen scrambled from the back, their weapons glinting in the morning sun.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Of course, there’s more of them.
I cursed under my breath but quickly nocked two more arrows, carefully spacing the shots just enough for Bram to work his magic. Each release was met with a satisfying dispersal of lights and colors. One arrow struck true into the thigh of a charging bandit, sending him sprawling, while the other punched into the shoulder of the man with the spear, making him stagger back.
With the immediate threat disrupted, I picked up my pace, jogging down the hill, my bow still at the ready. My eyes flicked between the woman on the ground and the remaining threats. She hadn't moved an inch. My gut told me this wasn’t over yet.
"Keep your eyes open, Bram," I muttered.
“Oh, I am. And you’re running straight into a mess, by the way.”
I ignored him, heart pounding as I closed the distance, ready for whatever came next.
I popped off two more shots to the remaining threats as I ran down the hill towards the still woman. They both fell and didn't move after that. The man with the reigns, dropped them and held his hands in the air. I knelt near the woman and flipped her over. She was still breathing faintly but had a lump forming on her head.
"Can you take us to Thormer?" I asked the man on the cart still looking over the woman. When I didn't get an answer within the next couple of seconds I looked back and as I did a pain erupted from my back as he stood directly behind me.
instinctively rolled to the side, gasping as the pain radiated through my back. My fingers scrambled in the dirt, grasping for my bow, but the man was faster, his boot slammed down on it, pinning it to the ground.
"You made a mistake stopping us," he repeated, his tone as cold as the steel dagger in his hand.
I gritted my teeth, my mind racing. The dull throb in my back told me he'd cut deep, but not deep enough to cripple me. Yet. I kicked his knee with all the force I could muster and heard an audible popping sound come from it as he fell back and away. I quickly snagged the bow and while laying down pulled back on it, thanking who ever created this thing for it to have practically no draw weight. The arrow rushed forward hitting the man in his other knee as he fell back against the cart. The blade he had held launching from his hand as he started screaming out in pain. Gritting my teeth, I got up off of the dirt and hobbled towards him.
The dark cloak the man was wearing did little now to hide the leather armor he was wearing. He was definitely with the others I had killed. I slung my bow and withdrew my spear in one steady motion poising it at the man's throat.
"How far is Thormer and in what direction? Don't fu-" The man disappeared right in front of me. I stored the spear and unslung the bow preparing to let loose an arrow...
"Theres no point, he's gone. Remember you aren't the only one with access to the system store, genius." Bram snapped before continuing "You make for a poor interrogator. Honestly, I shouldn't be that surprised." Bram chuckled in my mind. "You should probably start chewing on one of those petals, you're losing a lot of blood."
Looking at the blood soaking the right side of my pants, I pulled out a petal and started chewing on it. The pain lessened enough that I could move more freely so I went to go look at what these dead ruffians had on them. They all had moderately good weapons, well nothing compared to my bow, but two steel short swords, and an exact copy of the spear I owned. I found portable way stones on all three of them and the man wielding the spear had an interesting looking ring. Inspecting it closer with analyze I found what I was hoping for, another spatial storage. Accessing the inventory of the new ring I found the following:
Inventory:
2x Tier 2 System Marks
6x Minor Health potions
4x Major Health potions
3x poison antidote
50x Leather
12x Travel Rations
4x Sleeping Bags
4x Water skins
1x Cooking Pot
1x Skillet
Holy shit, these will definitely come in handy for the survivors. I took out the system marks and scanned them across mine holding my breath while doing so hoping I just become super wealthy. That hope was dashed, but 42,000 system credits between the two was nothing to scoff at. I would now have enough to get everything the villagers needed to get the hell out of the swamp, as soon as I found Thormer that is. Slipping the ring on my other hand and taking out one of the minor health potions I went back to the still woman. I uncorked the potion and grabbed the back of her neck and slowly started to pour the potion down her throat, hoping at least some of it went down.
She was still unconscious but breathing more steadily.
"Fine. Let’s just get to Thormer." Speaking to no one in particular
I climbed onto the cart, settling the woman against the side and securing her with one of the sleeping bags from my pack. The reins lay loose in the driver’s seat, and the six-legged beast snorted, pawing at the ground.
"You’re going to behave, right?" I muttered to the creature. It gave a low grunt, which I took as reluctant agreement.
With a firm grip on the reins, I urged the beast forward. The cart groaned as it began to move, rolling over the uneven dirt road. The hills stretched out before me, bathed in the soft golden light of the rising sun.
"Alright, Bram," I said, my voice steady but tense. "Let’s find Thormer and finish this."
"And maybe next time, try not to let someone stab you. Just a suggestion."
"Noted," I muttered, focusing on the road ahead.
----------------------------------------
After another hour of travel, a weird sensation in the pit of my stomach gnawed at me and a faint light headedness came out of nowhere. Confusion swept through my mind until I remembered my new threshold ability Arcane Insight. Somewhere up ahead on the road was passively drawing me nearby. Over the next crest on the road, it became clear what had been pulling at me. The barrier of the large town of Thormer. Stone walls at least forty feet high surrounded the small city and in the center of the town, walls almost twice the height surrounded some sort of manor. The city itself sat in the center of a valley with a base of a mountain on one of its sides. It was all laid out in front of us from how high up we were. We still had another hour of travel before we made it outside the gates. The smell of mountain cookfires and evergreen trees were heavy on the breeze towards us, making it feel far more inviting compared to the death stench of the swamp.
On our way to the gate the woman finally gained enough consciousness to be aware of what was happening. Her voice was silky smooth with a hint of an accent.
"Who are you...?" She said weakly but loud enough for me to hear
"Oh sorry, I thought you would need better treatments before waking again, the name is Liam, I ran into you being robbed, I believe." I said rushed but still trying to be as soothing as possible.
The woman shakingly sat up running one of her hands over her head and wincing.
"Oh, I got something for that." I pulled a major health potion out of my new ring and tossed it back to her. Totally forgetting the fact that she was currently still dazed and confused. She looked up at me, just as the potion hit her point blank in the forehead.
"Sorry" and "Fuck" were simultaneously said.
Brams's laughter ravenously echoed in my head...
"Uhh... So, what's your name?" I asked trying to change the topic as fast as possible. It was returned with a glare, and a sharp "Emilia." She uncorked the potion and drained it with what looked like a practiced ease. Her green eyes locked onto mine and she spoke again. "Sorry, my name is Emilia I am a traveling merchant in this area and am not fond of getting struck in the head with random objects."
Bram cut in "Shes slowly getting used to it though! Haha!" I expected that response from him, but it still caused me to smile slightly which Emilia definitely saw with the glowering I got in return. I corrected my facial expression, vanishing the smile.
"Sorry again, I know you have been through the ringer today, but perhaps you could assist me with something? It's nothing crazy; I just need information on some items." I asked
"Sure, but once I answer three questions my debt is repaid to you." She responded.
"Fair enough, do you know of any item that will let me transport a large group of people to a nearby settlement? Also, I am need of a class change, what would be the best way to go about this? lastly, I need a powerful and dexterous vessel in which a soul gem could be attached." I asked without stopping, knowing exactly what I needed. Well except for keeping anonymity when selling on the system shop, but I thought that would raise too many questions and concerns. I didn't want to deal with any of that at the moment, I trusted Maribel more for that kind of question.
I turned back towards the road; I could feel the confusion with her answer knowing that all the people on this planet knew the answer to the questions I asked "Well it sounds like you would want a Glimmerstone. It would open a portal, but it will only stay open for a minute before crumbling to ash." She blew out moving a blonde strand of hair that fell in front of her face before continuing. "It's quite simple to change your class. You will need to buy both a Class remover token and the token of the class you want to change too. It can be quite expensive, but given the questions you have asked I believe you could afford it. She cleared her hoarse throat and continued hesitantly "Your last question is more difficult; many races have come up with their own way to handle this situation. Before I continue though I must warn you that it is cruel to keep your loved ones locked away in a soul gem. They will slowly start to lose their mind, with that said I would recommend either the Ganthorian Gnomes vessel or the Huilarians synth prototype. I will not tell you more as you can see both at a system store, though I doubt Thormer will have a high enough system level to look at either."
I wanted to ask her what the hell a Huilarian was, but I was out of questions so instead I thanked her for the advice and information. I turned as a guard yelled out to us from outside the barrier shimmering blue barrier, "Do you have the clearance to enter?" He asked intently
"Uh..." I started to stay while stopping the beast by pulling back on the reigns. Emilia popped up from the back as soon as we came to a full stop and responded "Halfred, you know very well I have clearance, now let us through, you old goat." The guard flustered by her response or presence, instantly ushered us through while slapping something on the side of the cart. "Sorry Miss Emilia, it will not happen again." He stammered out.
"This is where the tricky part starts." Bram mentally said.
Ignoring him, as Emilia stepped over the seat to sit next to me. I asked, "Who are you again?" Trying to hide any nervousness from how the guard acted with her.
She looked over at me with a grin and said "Emilia Starborne, of the Starborne Commerce Guild."
The only response that came to my mind was a mind boggling "Ah." I did not know the implications behind a Commerce Guild, but I knew it had to do with trade. She was probably some rich daughter of the owner and all my mind could come up with was ah. I could see my head rolling down the city square steps now, or my bloodied body falling from the top of the imposing great stone wall in front of us. She must've noticed my gut clenching nerves and patted my arm that still held the reigns, "Don't worry, you did save my life remember?"