CHAPTER 171
With the elemental dead, they pushed themselves as fast as they could. That meant even going as far as skipping a lair that Jingyi located. Keikain insisted they didn’t have time to complete it. Tom was in two minds, but he let the desperation of the earth mage guide his decision making. As much as he disliked the killers, and Keikain in particular, the fear was real. The plus minus of the two options to Tom was clear. While there was an argument that the experience from killing monsters could push everyone up a few levels and boost both strength and agility, those effects would be marginal. Yes, increasing everyone’s attributes could enhance how quick they could travel. But the couple of levels they were likely to get from the lair in comparison to their current stats were only three to five percent improvement in speed and for their weak links like Clare and Harry the impact might be even less due to their focus on magic.
Keikain, even though all of them would hate to admit it, was probably right when he said clearing the lair would take hours and Tom doubted the extra attribute points would help them catch up with that sort of time loss.
Starting his quest sooner had its own type of allure, so they kept going and Tom didn’t push back on the killer’s mania.
The afternoon sun progressed to the coolness of dusk and right when it was getting too dark to see Everlyn led them to a crevice.
From the outside, it looked like a crack in the wall that would rapidly close off, but at Everlyn’s urgings they abandoned bulky armour and squeezed into the gap. It was a tight fit with several ninety degree turns and it was difficult to push his way through. At one point, he climbed the wall to reach a wider gap. One turn later, Thor had to shove him from behind in a manoeuvre that tore his skivvy but left his skin unbroken.
“Tom.”
He glanced back and Thor was even more firmly stuck than he had been. He yanked hard and the bigger man popped out with a muttered curse. Tom spent four mana to heal the significant grazes and cuts the effort had opened up.
After five metres, and multiple twists the crevice widened abruptly to be almost two metres wide and ten long. There was a sandy floor, and it was a strange space, but Tom could see that they could sleep feet to head with two people side by side.
“Not as good as yesterday,” Thor observed.
“Defensively, it’s almost perfect.” Everlyn answered with fake cheer. “Once Keikain and Tom seal the exit it becomes secure and defensible. The crack.” she pointed up. “Extends in spots to the surface so it even has ventilation, and the gaps are too small for anything dangerous to come down.”
“Unless it’s a slime.” Harry quipped.
“Restrict most things.” Everlyn corrected not sounding amused.
“I agree.” Jingyi said immediately. “We’ll trap the crevice at the first turn and last and set up the watch in this room.”
“Sounds great,” Thor declared before he pulled out materials for the fire pit out of his backpack.
Keikain, on his way to the back of the cave, stamped near where Thor worked. The ground distorted and with whomp a small amount of dirt and sand was expelled. A perfect depression for a campfire was left behind.
Tom followed the earth mage to the rear of the cave. Even though there was room to sleep, it was a tight fit. He could not hold his arms out from his body and spin around at any point because it was so narrow. It was going to be like camping in the hallway of Grant’s house. That house had been a double story with next to no street frontage and the corridor was tight enough that if you were walking down there and someone else was coming, you would usually duck into one of the bedrooms to let them pass. The cave they were in wasn’t quite that bad, but it was close. A step and a half from one side to another. At least the floor was flat.
When he reached the back exit, Tom thankfully discovered the crevice narrowed abruptly. The terraforming required would not be extensive. They combined their magic to seal the exit that might or might not have extended down to the underground. It was hard to tell because the fissure rapidly narrowed down to only a hand width, so they could not explore further and honestly it did not matter and wasn’t worth the effort it would take him to create a golem. As far as their Earth Manipulation went, nothing opposed them. The stone shifted easily. It was malleable in a way that it wouldn’t be if it were part of the underground.
Job completed Keikain hurried back to fuss over dinner and Tom rested on the bedroll that Everlyn had laid out for him.
He had a headache, and he was seriously considering Michael’s suggestion about getting skills to help manage the impact True Dreaming was having on his sleep.
Keikain, of all people brought food over to him. He had cooked kebabs, and they were heavily spiced, chunks of meat inter-spaced with vegies some of which he suspected were luxuries purchased from the shop. That or Everlyn had done some successful gathering.
He ate hungrily and when he was finished, took a moment to assess everyone else. They all looked as physically exhausted as he was mentally. Yet out of all of them, it was Thor, a man who possessed higher physical attributes than most, who caught his eye. The man’s shoulders were sunk, and he was glaring blankly at the ground.
Tom stood and walked over to him. Pausing only to throw the wood from his skewer on the fire before he sat down next to Thor. “Hard day?”
Thor swallowed. “A couple of them.” His eyes flicked over toward where Sven, Keikain and Clare had gathered near the fireplace and sat in an awkward line with backs to the wall opposite the small fire. “It’s not often you discover that one of your mates is a psychopathic murderer.”
In front of the fire, both Clare and Sven winced. Thor hadn’t bothered to keep his voice down.
“You should be angry.”
“Fuck yeah.”
“All three made a terrible choice.”
“And then compounded it when they killed Mac.” Thor said harshly.
“Mac?” Tom asked in surprise. He was not sure why that was the tipping point to Thor.
“Yes, to me that’s where they crossed the line. Prior to that they could argue that eliminating Jeffrey and Tiny were in the community’s best interest. But Mac?” Thor shock his head. “Sure, he lost his leg. But we would have restored it within a week. And he was a brave fighter. It’s not like he got injured running away. He was a good man who didn’t make waves.”
“Yeah, I can see that.” There was a long silence, but Tom couldn’t let the claim lie. “I’m not sure Mac was the turning point. I think they left humanity behind when they moved against Jeffrey. That’s when their lives became more important than anyone else’s.”
“Yeah, you might be right.”
“But that’s not what I’m here to talk about. How’s your fate?”
“Full.”
With a thought, the evolution potion that Mus had given him appeared.
Thor did not look at all surprised. After all, it was hardly a secret.
“You’re officially giving that to me?”
“Yes.” Tom answered while he studied the potion one more time.
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Skill Hammer Wielding Evolution Potion - Tier 2
This potion has a 10% chance of upgrading a random lower tier hammer ability to tier 3.
Pre-requisites: 3 hammer skills.
Thor examined it, plucked it from Tom’s hand, and then moved it into his backpack. “Thank you.”
“You’re not using it?”
“Not yet. I’ll use half my fate every night for a week and then give it a go.” Thor told him. “I’m not you. My fate pool is only twenty-three.”
Tom winced before he could help himself.
“Yep, it’s that bad. I’ve listened in on you guys talking. If I want to maximise my chances… then I need to bank fate for a period.”
“I understand.”
“I think I screwed up in the contribution store. I thought twenty would be sufficient fate to mitigate monsters and bias loot portals. I don’t think that’s the case anymore.”
Tom laughed. “No, it’s definitely not.”
“I might dedicate all my free points to fate for a while to build it up to a more useful level.”
“You’ve chosen a class?”
Thor nodded. “Yeah, a basic one. Hammer warrior. I’m hoping to evolve at level eight or if I miss that mark, at least have pushed the progress far enough to allow me to purchase an upgrade. The problem is that one attribute point goes to each of strength, agility and vitality on every level. I get one free point, which isn’t enough to make a difference.”
Tom nodded and kept his face blank. Four per level it differed greatly from his own situation where he got eleven and a half per level. “It might take a while, but you need to start somewhere.”
“Yeah, I agree.”
“In any case the evolution potion is yours and I hope you get something good from it.”
“Thanks Tom. I’ll make sure it counts.” Thor’s eyes returned to the dirt on the floor and he absently drew patterns.
“Do you want to discuss it?” They both knew Tom was talking about the murderers. “Evie can give us privacy.”
Thor looked up and shook his head. “No. There’s nothing to talk about. I’m angry, but we’re in this together for humanity and then they can fuck off.”
Tom didn’t dispute that sentiment. He could still remember Jin crying next to Gita, but like Thor said they were here for humanity.
“I’ve got another one to deliver.”
“Two.” Michael called out cheerfully.
Tom ignored the interjection and then threaded his way back to where the healer was. On the way, he had to pass through the small space between the tiny fire and the killers, and then when he reached Michael he pulled out the potion he had earmarked for the healer and handed it to him.
Spell Evolution Potion Tier 3.
This potion has a 25% chance of upgrading a random lower tier spell to tier 3.
It has an additional 1% chance of upgrading that spell to tier 4 or another random one to tier 3.
A significantly higher chance of evolution applies to healing spells
Pre-requisites - 4 spells with a tier level of 2 or under.
Michael grabbed it. “Thanks. I was going to ask about this.”
“Do you have the prerequisites?”
“Yes. Yes I do. Three healing spells, directed heal, ranged heal, diagnosis and then four other utility ones.”
“Not tempted to wait?”
The healer shook his head. “You know how much fate I’ve got don’t you, Tom?”
“Yeah, I do. The better part of seventy.”
“Correct. There’s no workable method of me improving that number in the short term.”
“You could get a fourth healing skill.”
“Not going to happen.” Michael said flatly.
“How about prayers? You don’t want to use them?”
Michael burst out laughing at that. “Don’t call it that. Label it fate banking and yes and no. I’ve been doing that for the last two days with a focus on getting an evolution opportunity on my healing spells. I don’t think waiting any more will improve outcomes. I want to see what this does.” He waved the bottle around. “But.” He looked cagily at Tom. “There’s another couple of potions aren’t there. Everlyn? Do you want to go first?”
She glanced over at them from where she had been chatting in a silent bubble next to Toni. “No. I’m not using it today.”
Tom wasn’t at all surprised. It was why he had gone to Michael first. Her fate was currently forty two, and he knew she wanted to improve it substantially before taking the potion.
Tom smiled at the healer. “Okay, Michael let’s see what you can get?”
Everyone was now looking at them.
Michael’s grin grew broader. “Tom, I assume you’re evolving one of your Skills tonight? Are you sure you don’t want to go first?”
“No happy to–”
“Bubs, you should show him how to do it.”
“What, why?”
“Come on, we all want to see what miracles your fate pool can pull.”
Toni was grinning at Everlyn’s over the top enthusiasm.
“Maybe a vote?” Tom suggested cautiously.
“I’m voting for Tom.” Michael declared instantly.
“Or possibly I’ll make an executive decision.”
“You really don’t want to go first?”
Tom shook his head. “It’s just…”
“Fine,” Michael said grumpily. He opened up the potion box and shut his eyes. He almost looked like he was meditating.
“What are you doing?” Thor asked.
“Getting my mental state right.” Michael told him. “Making sure that what I’m asking for is what I want. Now everyone, shush, quiet.”
A minute passed before fate flooded out of him and he unstoppered the small bottle and drank it down.
They were all sensitive to energy and they could see the concentrated power in the potion go down the throat and then start spreading outward from the stomach. Michael’s hand instinctively went to his belly then clutched his chest as the glow spread out further. He looked distressed.
The energy kept expanding. Michael grimaced, his hands squeezed into hard fists, and struck the ground next to him. He shut his eyes tight like he was being assaulted with bright lights and even as he physically spasmed the visible magic in him grew more powerful.
“I don’t feel so well.” The healer muttered before he toppled to the right.
Tom reacted even before he started falling and cushioned the head before it slammed into the ground.
Healing Tranquility activated as he checked to see if there was any physical damage being inflicted.
There was nothing.
Despite Michael keeling over, he was in perfect health. The evolution potion was not affecting him physically.
Carefully, Tom lowered the head and rotated the body into the black out drunk coma position. He had done it to his mates often enough that he was an old hand at it.
“He’s fine.” Tom said loudly when he saw Clare was up and moving toward them. “From a healing perspective, at least. But I’m glad I went second. Now I know to lie down first.”
There was a weak chuckle, though only from Everlyn. The fact she was the only one who had reacted more than told him that his joke had failed. He tuned them all out to focus exclusively on monitoring the prone man while his cheeks heated. Healing Tranquillity was permanently active to ensure that the current power rampaging through Michael didn’t switch to start inflicting physical damage. He could see that Clare was doing the same with her more dedicated diagnostic skill.
They watched the motionless form of Michael as the energy travelled through him. Tom was fascinated by how the fate that Michael had expelled acted. It plunged into the man’s body, and then briefly created what looked like a plug in the arm area. Then the fate switched to concentrate near the heart, before moving to an arm and back to the stomach. It was incredibly active never holding in one spot for more than a second. The energy flowed within Michael in a pattern similar to what fate was doing, but not identical. It almost seemed that the magic was following the fate, and it was physically influencing the flow of energy.
Tom had not realised that was possible. After ten minutes, the fluctuations faded and Michael woke up and looked groggily around.
“Did I pass out?”
“Yes,” Tom told him, offering a water bottle, which Michael waved away.
“I didn’t take that long did I?”
“Ten minutes.” Clare informed him. “How are you feeling?”
“Good. What was I doing?”
“You were evolving your skill.”
“Of course.” The distance in his eyes vanished. “And I think it worked.”
He sat up rubbed his hands together excitedly and then all life left his body as he stepped into the system room.
Almost a minute later the life returned and a broad grin filled Michael’s face.
“I’m in love with evolution potions.”
“What did you get?”
Michael mock pouted. “The bad news is that I didn’t have anything evolve to tier four, but I got both my tier one diagnosis skill and my tier 2 directed heal improved to tier three. Together, I think they’re superior to a tier four spell. Their synergy is amazing. Here, let me show you.”
A screen appeared in all their visions, and Tom read the spell with interest.
Spell: Superior Directed Heal - Tier 3
This spell, like its predecessor ‘Directed Heal’ requires direct contact to operate. It is a hyper-efficient spell where efficiency can be sacrificed for additional burst healing. Providing the healer or the target body has a concept of the damage that has been inflicted, it can be healed, but mana cost can vary.
“That last line is important. It means if I understand the cause of damage this heal can combat it. That means this spell can do far more than fixing flesh, blood and bone injuries. Theoretically, there are no limits beyond knowledge. Even things like curses, venom, poisons and stuff like acids, which usually require specific spells to fix, can be addressed with this.”
Tom scratched his head and remembered how happy Michael had looked. He re-read the description and this spell on its own wasn’t enough for that. An idea occurred to him. “Your diagnosis skill.”
“My diagnosis skill.” Michael agreed with a massive grin. He rubbed his hands together once more in excitement. “Synergy.”
Spell: Enhanced Diagnosis (Tier 3)
Allows the diagnosis of all injuries inflicted and foreign materials in the target body with a potency up to tier 2. Extra mana can be invested to boost the diagnosis capacity to extend to tier 3 foreign materials.
Mana Cost: 40
“I have threshold bonuses as well and can use basic diagnosis for free now. In theory, providing the source of any lingering wounds is not tier four or above I can heal it.”
“You must be happy.” Tom said, impressed despite himself. Michael’s healing abilities now far surpassed his own.
“I am. Now Tom let’s see you do your thing. I bet a hundred credits your upgrade will be more impressive than mine.”
“Wait. You’re betting against yourself?”
“Following the smart money. But come on let’s see what you’re going to get.”