CHAPTER 261 – A SNOWY LANDSCAPE

“It’s exactly as terrible as you’re thinking.” Tom said bitterly into the awkward silence. “It’s shit. My experience gain for this entire ring is nerfed. For every twenty earnt, I’ll only be granted one.”

“Loot?” Rahmat asked hopefully.

Tom shook his head. “That gets the same penalties.”

“Well, that’s a bummer.” Everlyn said finally. “I understand why the surprise made you yell at the sky.” Her face softened. “Are you feeling anything?”

They all glanced around uneasily. Tom hoped he had not crossed any lines. He hoped thoughts, even those partially acted out upon, did not count enough to warrant a reaction. “There doesn’t appear to be any environmental responses.” He studied the sky once more uneasily and then shook himself. “And there are no changes in my body.”

“No point stressing about it. Either it happens or it doesn’t.” Everlyn’s eyes also darted around. “And I don’t think they punished thoughts or else I would be worse off.”

Everyone laughed at the release of tension apart from Toni whose face fell. Talking or thinking about blasphemy had a common response. First, everyone recalled their own firsthand experience and then to the one they had observed back amongst the wasps. That was more significant to some than others.

Before anyone else could act, he stepped across and drew Toni into a hug. She resisted for only a moment and that burrowed her head against his chest. Her hands tightened around him and he could feel the tremors passing through her.

Mentally, he counted to six ‘mischievous dragons’ before she pulled away.

“I’m fine.” She patted his shoulders. “Thank you.” She was half hyperventilating as she waved her hands in front of her face to calm herself. “I’m fine. Really… it’s just emotions… its… It’s not about me. This rules sucks for you. I’m very sorry.”

“Thirty million.” He pretended to mock cry at his theoretical losses.

“I don’t want to be that person,” Everlyn said. “But you know it sort of makes sense. These zones are giving way too much experience.”

“And it’s not the end of the world.” Rahmat said quietly. “It’s still a lot of experience to earn per ring. By the time we reach the centre, you can get ten million. That’ll be more than sufficient to purchase your traits and get a fourth class to boot.”

“But no supporting skills.” He argued, more to give Toni time to compose herself than for any specific reason. Rules were rules. At some point, you had to accept them and when it came to the GODs, complaining about them wasn’t going to change a thing. There were no petty bureaucrats or politicians that could be influenced like what was back on earth. Only GODs and they really didn’t care enough to get involved and if they did… well he suspected you would end up wishing you hadn’t been complaining. “I feel robbed.” He continued with a cheeky grin.

“You don’t need them. You’re doing well enough with your stupid evolution crap. I’m not sure you of all people have to buy expensive skills or spells. Instead of thinking about the negatives focus on the positive. You can walk away after four months with three traits plus a hundred levels. You’ll be a powerhouse. And this way, I’ll be able to keep up with you.” He grinned.

“True, this cap does make it easier for us to progress together. There was a risk that every zone I would get further and further ahead.”

“And it two and a half million per zone.” Everlyn said. “If we complete the six zones we’re planning, we’ll probably all max out. I hate to say, but for the group this distribution might actually be better for us.”

“No, not at all. More power for me is better.” Tom stuck out a tongue as he said it.

Toni smiled.

“I know you’re only partially teasing, Tom,” Everlyn told him. “But you have to admit that while sometimes having a singular powerhouse is the best idea.” She continued quietly. “That’s rarely the case. With how the escalating costs of levels, skills and traits work you arguably get a lot more from spreading experience over a wider group.”

“Arguably,” Tom agreed. “But we can do the maths and it’s not clear.”

“You’ve thought about this?” Rahmat asked.

“Of course I have. I spent thirty years workshopping optimal Existentia strategies.”

“And are you going to share your incredible wisdom, oh most impressively wise one.” Everlyn asked with a smile.

“Depends on the magnitude of the power. If you consider a group of twenty. If you pump all the experience into a lone champion while another identical team spreads it, then what happens? The benefit is dependent on their level. One person tripling their physical attributes will slaughter twenty people with a more modest fifty percent each. However, a month after that, someone who has now quadrupled their attributes probably won’t be able to beat the twenty who have now doubled there’s, because the relative benefit is so much less.”

“Your point.” Everlyn asked.

“It’s only worth specialising if that action gets you a champion who is many times better than the average.”

She arched her eyebrow. “So, you don’t have a point.”

“No, thirty million versus ten would have doubled my rank. Against a single high levelled individual like the dragon that probably would have been the best play.” He shrugged. “Not that it’s worth talking about. It’s not happening.”

“Maybe in here there was a slight benefit, but out in the real world this way is better,” Toni told them. “Practically it means no one will be able to enslave any of us, and if you took all the experience, then the levelling penalties you would then face would be prohibitive. Think of the lost experience.”

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“Yes, there are positives and negatives to the choices. I wish I had known so I could have been less involved in the previous zones. But we know now so we can adjust. Back to the important stuff. We’re well ahead of schedule but I imagine the next couple of zones are going to be harder.”

Everlyn produced a memory crystal and studied it for a moment. “The map from the tile will help optimise our actions in the next zone,” she told them. “If there are no enemies, I might as well study it while we move.”

Tom shook his head. “It won’t help. I examined it in detail. The quest is probably another gather one but unlike in the flower zone the map won’t help us. There’s no complexity in those paths. There’s always only ever one path to get from A to B and there’s only monsters in trials so we’ll need to slaughter everything on route. The zone design means that no matter what action we have to do it’ll boil down to a kill everything quest. The one after will probably be worse. We might have ten days to clear these last three zones, but if they’re all kill everything.” Tom frowned. “There’s no cheating or shortening with that type of design, and we all witnessed how many monsters were in non-puzzle zones.”

“Less talking more running,” Toni summarised. “We might feel like we’re doing well, but we’re almost out of time. Mind you, a kill everything zone sort of sounds refreshing.”

They connected up with Michael’s group and explained the bad news about the experience.

“Interesting.” Michael looked thoughtful and disappeared into his system room for a short while before reappearing. “Your plan Tom. Do you really think you can hold off upgrading your rank for four rings? Monsters will all be twenty-two by that stage.”

“I’ll try. There’s a big saving for me if I do.”

“I know that Tom. We all do.” Michael ran a hand through his hair. “I know the temptation, but it might be prudent to invest in some levels. Optimising savings don’t help if you’re…”

“Come on Michael,” Tom interrupted. “Lets not go all sensationalism. We need to balance risks. We’ve always had to, and the same consideration about delaying level ups applies to all of us.”

“Yes, but we’re not all idiots when it comes to maximising for the long term.” Thor stated. “We all saw the attributes you came to Existentia with.”

Michael suppressed a smirk. “What he said.”

“We all watch each other and if we think someone needs to up their class levels, we call it out.” Tom said simply. “Stop looking at me like that…. Seriously, all of you. I’m not crazy. I take calculated risks, not suicidal ones. If I need strength, I’ll get it. You can be sure of that.”

They continued on with the others, ribbing him the whole time. The pathway to the next zone was not a teleportation entrance. Instead, it was a long tunnel with a door in the middle that opened when they approached and then shut behind them.

When they tried to open it to go back. They got an error message stating that the zones’ quests had to be completed before they could leave. That was different to the puzzle zone, where they had been able to backtrack. Apparently, the rules governing passage between the zones were not clear cut. Without any specific evidence to point at, Tom’s gut told him that the puzzle zone was the exception. How it had been structured it was probable that a singular entry would take over a week to complete it. Without the ability to retreat, it would have become an unfair death trap for them.

“We’re going to have to watch that.” Michael warned. “Entering uncompleted zones close to the deadline is dangerous.” They all knew he was referring to the healers. There was a real risk that if they got there too late, they would have to abandon the other species to their fate.

Eventually, after marching for almost a kilometre in a tight, dark and annoying passage they entered a well lit cavern. It was frigid and they could see snow spilling in from the mouth of the cave. If they all didn’t have a vitality that was twice what they had possessed on earth, then Tom knew that dressed as they were, they would all be shivering.

“Chilly.” Michael commented.

“Speaking of being responsible,” Tom said with a smile. “If you can’t handle these temperatures, then you have excess experience to deal with it.”

Michael startled slightly and then looked down at his chest where he had crossed his arms to tuck his hands under his armpits. He smiled wryly. “I guess there’s some wisdom in that.”

Tom glanced away as life drained from the healer’s face. He had seen it hundreds of times, but that process of going from a living person to an ultra-realistic doll was still disturbing.

A moment later, Michael returning normal. The fidgeting movements, the shifting of body weight from foot to foot in response to the cold had stopped and his arms were no longer wrapping around himself to preserve body heat. Keikain, Harry, Everlyn and Toni promptly followed suit, one after another, with careful discipline in order to maintain maximum coverage of active and aware fighters.

“Are you going to succumb to the temptation, Tom?” Everlyn teased him. “I’m toasty warm now. I know you like to push things, but even with your high constitution, you know that once we’re out there, in the wind, it’ll be painful to you.”

In answer, he pulled up the sleeve of his skivvy, and then the arm turned grey. “If I need to I have a solution.”

“Your problem,” she said, frowning. “Now for today, providing there is nothing unexpected with the day-night cycle we’re going to push for five to six hours of fighting and gathering. Tom will stand aside for all combat unless someone gets in trouble. He is backup and no longer front line.”

“Fine,” He agreed readily. It was exactly what he wanted. Him taking experience at the expense of others was foolish at this point and if he didn’t have value as an emergency pressure release valve he would have separated himself entirely from the party and let them do the work separately.

They prepared to leave and Tom hurriedly extracted twenty kilograms of stone from the wall. There was nothing at all special about it, but he hadn’t grabbed it for Living Rock purposes. He frowned as he held the large lump in his hand. It was cold like your tongue freezing to it if you licked it, type of chilled and he lacked anyway to heat it and so did his companions.

With a grimace of discomfort, he decided to go through with his plan. It would hopefully only be a brief period of discomfort. He hoisted it to sit on his shoulder and then under his power it flowed like liquid. Covering his shoulders, back and chest, but leaving his arms free. In short order, his upper body was covered in a heavy but thin layer of stone. When he took his first step, he scowled. It wasn’t just the cold it was how restrictive the rock was. He was almost incapable of twisting his torso and he was forced to walk robotic like due to the restriction.

“Really?” Michael arched an eyebrow. “The skill I got to resist physical cold only cost ten thousand experience.”

“I’m, I’m… I’m not wearing it for installation properties.” Tom said, his teeth chattering as he forced the words out. The cold was invasive, but once the layer closer to his skin warmed up, it would serve as an effective insulation. He needed to endure it until then. That was something he was practiced at. Clench his jaw and keep going. He could manage it.

“Domain training?” Rahmat asked.

“Of, of course.” His clattering teeth were frustrating.

The stone when he moved chafed. With no other choice, he was compelled to turn the affected areas into Living Rock just to stop abrasions forming on his skin with every other step.

They cautiously left the safety of the cave.

Everlyn was barking orders, and they seemed to be constantly under attack by white blob like creatures that moved like a slime but were flesh and blood. When they were cut open, they profusely bled a thick orange liquid.

Tom only partially paid attention to what was happening. Instead, he focused on trying to convert his stone tunic into something more functional. He resisted the temptation to treat it like you would metal armour and introduce joints to let separate segments move independently. While that would make his movements more comfortable, it wouldn’t force him to train his magic. Likewise, he avoided the urge to alter it to become less skin tight.

If he was doing it for training, he would not allow himself to insert short cuts.