Diana's healing spells had done their work, and Hector felt strong enough to stand up. The image of Mia's frightened face as the centipedes noticed her haunted him, and he knew that they had to go check if she was alive.
“Let’s go.” With a determined glint in his eye, Hector knew they had to keep moving, to press on, he didn’t want to slow down and think.
They moved slowly, with Hector leaning on Diana to walk. They left behind the scene of the explosion as they made their way toward the last known location of Mia. Hector wanted to rush forward but didn’t have the strength.
As they went out to the street , they were met with a horrific sight. Mia lay in the middle of the street, her legs broken, pain clouding her eyes. Frank knelt beside her, offering her comfort. They were surrounded by dead abominations, Hector counted at least six.
Hector felt an overwhelming desire to protect Mia. He turned to Diana, who was casting her spells as soon as some mana regenerated. Her staff emitted a faint glow as she focused on Mia's injuries, channeling her power into mending the broken bones.
Hector glanced at the lifeless bodies of the centipedes that littered the ground, the remains of the fierce battle they'd fought. The monsters were a gruesome sight, especially the one propped up by the spear coming out of the back of its skull. There was way more blood than usual, the monsters had multiple wounds, as if someone wanted to hurt them as much as possible. Frank was bloodied and battered, and Hector looked at his friend with new appreciation. But none of that mattered now. Mia's well-being was their priority.
"Hey, Mia, you're gonna be okay," Hector said with a weary yet reassuring smile, his voice trembling from his own pain and exhaustion.
Mia nodded, her voice barely above a whisper, her face contorted with pain.
“Hector, no reason for you to keep standing, buddy, you're injured too” Frank said. Hector's initial refusal gave way to Frank's insistence, and he sank down against a nearby wall, his body weary.
"I'm fine, Frank," Hector assured, his voice strained, a weak smile on his lips. "Just a scratch. But let's make sure Mia's okay." He waved his hand in dismissal. His missing left hand.
Frank’s eyes opened wide “Oh my god, what happened to you?” he asked in shock.
Hector looked down at his missing hand, the reality of it setting in. The initial adrenaline had masked the shock, but now the gravity of the situation hit him like a tidal wave. He hadn't realized the extent of the damage. He swallowed hard, his eyes locked on the stump where his hand used to be. He felt a wave of bitterness wash over him.
"It's just a reminder of what this place can do to us. Nothing more." He avoided looking at his stump, his gaze instead focused on Mia and Diana, who were just a few feet away.
Diana's healing magic enveloped Mia, her wounds slowly mending. Mia's face was contorted with pain, but there was a glimmer of relief in her eyes. She knew she was in good hands.
Hector watched the process, his own emotions swirling. The loss of his hand was a constant bitterness he couldn't deal with, on the other hand the overwhelming relief that Mia was going to be okay was confusing him. He didn't know how to feel.
With Mia finally receiving the care she needed, Hector cast a somber look in Frank's direction. "Thank you, Frank. Your quick thinking might have saved her life."
"You're welcome, man. I'm here to save lives, crack jokes, and I'm all out of jokes." Frank said with a small smile.
Hector managed a faint chuckle, the sound hoarse and strained. The weight of their recent ordeal pressed down on him. They had faced so much darkness, it all just felt like too much..
He steeled himself as he clasped Frank's shoulder in a silent acknowledgment and then looked back to Mia. As Diana finished her healing magic, Hector watched with relief and anxiety. Mia's broken legs were whole again, her pain gone, but she looked fragile, her strength sapped. The toll that this had taken on her was evident, and Hector felt a pang of worry.
"Thank you, Diana," Mia whispered, her voice frail, as she attempted to sit up. It was clear she was determined to show her strength. She managed to prop herself up with her arms, but her legs wobbled, unable to bear her weight just yet. Mia's eyes met Hector's, and there was a sense of vulnerability he hadn't seen before.
"You'll be back on my feet in no time." Hector said, automatically. He wasn’t sure if it was true.
It was as if this nightmarish place thrived on breaking them apart, testing the limits of their endurance.
The group had faced countless horrors, but in that moment, their exhaustion was undeniable. Hector, Frank, Diana, and Mia shared an unspoken understanding – they had to lean on each other, there was no room for squabbling.
“Check your status, maybe it explains why you are still weakened,” Diana suggested to Mia.
YOUR SKILL TRACKING REACHED LEVEL 3 !
YOU HAVE REACHED LEVEL 3.
YOU HAVE 5 UNASSIGNED STAT POINTS.
YOUR SKILLS NOW CAN REACH THE CAP OF 9.
YOUR SKILL SPEAR MASTERY REACHED LEVEL 5 !
YOUR SKILL WILDERNESS SURVIVAL REACHED LEVEL 3 !
Then she looked at her HP
HP:30/60 ( MAGICAL EXHAUSTION 3W, 6D, 23H: 30 RESERVED)
Hector noticed Mia's gaze shifting to her status, the numbers displaying her HP and the strange condition that now affected her. It was as if time and exhaustion had taken their toll, and even the system itself marked her condition.
“It's probably the effect of too much healing,” Diana said. “My magic speeds up natural healing, your body might need time to catch up”
“Doctor Diana recommends 4 weeks of rest” Frank quipped, causing Diana to cast him an irritated glance.
Mia nodded, her eyes reflecting a weariness that extended far beyond their physical injuries.
“We need to get back to our hideout”
Hector knew she was right. They couldn't afford to stay in the open while being hurt this badly. However something else was bothering him about Mia.The whole situation was, without a doubt, her fault. If she didn’t run off in the night he would still have his hand. This conversation had to wait till they were safe, or at least safer.
Hector raised his fist to check out his own status.
Hector was still sitting on five more attribute points but didn’t have the willpower to deal with it properly and decided to dump it into dexterity.
YOU HAVE REACHED LEVEL 3.
YOUR SKILL ARMOR MASTERY REACHED LEVEL 3 !
YOUR SKILL BRACE REACHED LEVEL 2 !
YOUR SKILLS NOW CAN REACH THE CAP OF 9.
YOU HAVE REACHED LEVEL 4.
YOU HAVE 5 UNASSIGNED STAT POINTS.
YOUR SKILLS NOW CAN REACH THE CAP OF 10.
HECTOR MATTHEWS
CLASS: WARRIOR
LVL: 3
STR:19
DEX:12
INT:6
WIL:6
HP:140/190 ( MISSING HAND:50 RESERVED)
MP:60/60
SKILLS:
- POWER STRIKE LVL. 3: UNLEASH A POWERFUL MELEE ATTACK.
- BATTLE CRY LVL. 2: BOOST ALLIES' MORALE AND COMBAT PROWESS BY 10% BOOST YOUR OWN BY 15%
- SHIELD BASH LVL. 1: ATTACK AN ENEMY WITH YOUR SHIELD, POSSIBLY STUNNING HIM AND PUSHING HIM AWAY. REQUIRES SHIELD.
- BRACE LVL. 2: POSITION A SHIELD OR WEAPON TO ABSORB OR DEFLECT INCOMING STRIKES, REDUCING THE DAMAGE TAKEN FROM FRONTAL ASSAULTS AND MAINTAINING A STEADFAST STANCE.
- SWIPE LVL. 1: - PERFORM A POWERFUL HORIZONTAL OR DIAGONAL SWING OF THE WEAPON, AIMED AT MULTIPLE FOES WITHIN REACH.
PASSIVES:
- COMBAT PROWESS LVL. 3: PROVIDES A SOLID FOUNDATION FOR CLOSE COMBAT, OFFERING A BASIC KNOWLEDGE OF MULTIPLE WEAPONS LIKE SPEARS, MACES, SWORDS AND SHIELDS.
- ARMOR MASTERY LVL. 3: CHARACTER'S PROFICIENCY IN WEARING AND UTILIZING ARMOR. MAKES MOVING IN ARMOR EASIER, NEGATING SOME DISADVANTAGES OF WEARING HEAVIER ARMOR.
- HARD TRAINING LVL. 3: THIS SKILL REFLECTS THE CHARACTER'S COMMITMENT TO RIGOROUS PHYSICAL CONDITIONING RESULTING IN IMPROVED ENDURANCE, STRENGTH, AND MENTAL FORTITUDE.
- BUTCHERY LVL.1: THE ABILITY TO CUT ANIMAL CARCASSES INTO MORE EDIBLE PARTS.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
“Hey Diana, can I get a bit of that amazing healing?” Frank asked.
“Sure, at least you only have surface wounds” Diana responded, as she cast the rune on Frank.
“Wow! This feels faster than before!” Frank looked in amazement as the wound on his arm was closing in real time. “This looks so weird!”
“Yeah I got a bunch of levels in Healing rune and I boosted my INT with everything I had, so my spells got more powerful than before,” Diana explained patiently.
“Let's move once Frank is healed” Hector said with a grunt as he stood up. Everyone nodded.
----------------------------------------
Frank found the way back uneventful, which was fine for him as he had quite a lot going through his mind. If he was entirely honest with himself, he was extremely worried. Last thing he remembered was kneeling next to Mia and then he was in black void hearing a laughing voice. Next he was hurting all over, covered in blood and monster guts, surrounded by dead Abominations and walking towards Mia.
He rubbed his jaw, his face muscles still aching even after Diana’s healing. Smiling was especially painful. However what worried him the most was one of his notifications. Frank was covering the rear of their column. He checked that the others were paying attention to something else and opened his notifications again, he dismissed the other messages and focused on the one.
YOU HAVE UNLOCKED THE AVATAR OF CACKLING MADNESS. IN TIME YOU WILL UNLOCK NEW ABILITIES CONNECTED TO THIS ASPECT AS YOU PERFORM ACTION THE CACKLING MADNESS APPROVES OF. CURRENT POWER OF THE ASPECT: 1/100.
Frank absolutely didn’t like the sound of that. Sure he enjoyed a good joke or a bad pun but this was way too much. For now it likely saved his and Mia’s life but the part with the void and creepy laughter was disturbing as fuck. He would have to avoid whatever this Cackling Madness liked, yeah, sounded easy.
He let go of the breath he was holding, no popup showed itself increasing the Aspect’s power. He could at least let himself be sarcastic in his own head. The other messages were a cascade of gains, he just opened his character sheet. He assigned his attributes between STR and DEX.
FRANK THORNE
CLASS: ROGUE
LVL. 4
STR: 12
DEX: 20
INT: 6
WIL: 6
HP: 120/120
MP: 60/60
SKILLS:
- SHADOW DANCE LVL. 3: MOVE SILENTLY THROUGH SHADOWS, BECOMING NEARLY INVISIBLE.
- PRECISE STRIKES LVL. 6: EXECUTE QUICK AND ACCURATE ATTACKS ON ENEMY WEAK POINTS. REQUIRES PIERCING MELEE WEAPONS.
- BACKSTAB LVL.3: MULTIPLY DAMAGE BY 2 IF YOU MANAGE TO STRIKE YOUR ENEMY FROM BEHIND WHILE THEY'RE UNAWARE OF YOU.
PASSIVES:
- ACROBATICS LVL. 5: THE ART OF PERFORMING FEATS OF BALANCE, AGILITY, AND COORDINATION, OFTEN INVOLVING JUMP, FLIPS, AND TRICKS.
- DODGING LVL. 4: DODGE ENEMY ATTACKS WITH INCREASED AGILITY.
- SLEIGHT OF HAND LVL. 3: YOU'RE GOOD WITH YOUR HANDS. PERFORM SIMPLE TRICKS OR HELP PEOPLE EMPTY THEIR POCKETS.
- BUTCHERY LVL.2: THE ABILITY TO CUT ANIMAL CARCASSES INTO MORE EDIBLE PARTS.
ASPECTS:
* CACKLING MADNESS 1/100
Frank decided to do some testing on his own before he told the others about the Aspect thingy. Maybe it would go away in time if he behaved.
“Frank, don't lag behind!” Hector shouted.
“Sure, sorry, sorry” Frank rushed forward to catch up.
----------------------------------------
Mia watched as Diana closed the doors behind them with the small stone key. Her heart was heavy with guilt. As she approached the hideout, the anxiety of the previous encounter weighed on her, and the image of Hector's missing hand haunted her thoughts. She dreaded the conversation to come.
The familiar space greeted her, her friends were scattered around, recovering from their most recent ordeal. Hector sat off to one side, his face unreadable, but the vacant space where his left hand should have been spoke volumes.
Mia couldn't shake the feeling that Hector's injury was her fault. She ran off and got herself trapped, helpless as the centipedes closed in, and it was everyone else who had to risk their life to save her. The result of that rescue was Hector's dismembered hand.
She sat down next to the fire, Mia stared at the flame with unfocused eyes, her hands fidgeting in her lap. She could feel the tension building within the group, but no one dared address the elephant in the room – her sudden disappearance earlier. It was as if they were afraid that talking about it would somehow make it more real. Mia clenched her fists, a knot forming in her stomach.
Tears welled in her eyes, she knew that no words could mend the damage done. She had been too scared, too weak, and it had cost her friend dearly. But she had to try.
"Guys... I need to say something," Mia began hesitantly, breaking the silence that had settled between them. "I'm scared. I don't know how we ended up here or why we're trapped in this world, but it terrifies me." She paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts, her expression a mix of anger and fear.
"Sometimes I can't help but feel paranoid, like there's something lurking just beyond my sight, waiting to strike when I'm at my weakest," she continued. Her voice grew more desperate, the words tumbling out uncontrollably. "I hate feeling so powerless, and I worry that we might never find our way back home."
As Mia's pent-up emotions spilled forth, her friends just listened.
“I need to get home. I know we all want that but I don't think any of you feel it to the same degree as I do.” She shook her head “I was going insane, our lack of progress was making me furious. I even thought you wanted to stay here and that's why you were talking about caution and slowing everything down.”
Mia laughed a bitter laugh “So i decided to take things into my own hands, i wanted to get to the pyramid and go home and bring some help for you guys. I have been deluding myself. I didn't even get halfway there before you had to save me.”
“Look Mia, i get it i really do” Frank hesitated before speaking up, his eyes downcast as he traced patterns in the dirt with his finger. "I'm terrified," he admitted softly. "Of dying here, of never finding a way back, of pain... But at the same time, I have hope. We've made it this far because we've worked together. We can't let anything tear us apart now."
As if to emphasize his point, Frank reached for a nearby stick and poked at the fire, sending a shower of sparks into the air. Mia, and Diane slowly nodded in agreement, but Mia noticed Hector sat there unmoving.
"Remember when we first started out?" Frank reminisced. "We were so clueless back then. But look how far we've come. We’ve survived and gotten stronger."
"Here's to us," Frank raised his hand in a toast. "To our strength and determination... and to trust."
"Cheers to that," Mia agreed, trying to be positive. Hector and Diane hesitated for a moment before joining in, their hands raised in a symbol of unity despite the undercurrent of unease. Mia knew that healing her relationship with Hector, might not be possible. She was happy that Frank at least seemed to have forgiven her.
She noticed Frank was engaged in a hushed conversation with Diana, and she decided to take the first step. She stood up and walked over to Hector.
Hector looked up as she neared, and his gaze met hers. Mia's voice was soft, filled with sorrow and self-blame. "I'm so sorry, Hector. None of this should have happened." Her voice quivered as the weight of her guilt bore down on her.
Hector's response was measured, his tone devoid of feeling. "Doesn’t matter, what’s done is done. No way to turn back time now.”
“I know I just wanted you to know that I'm grateful for your sacrifice. And that I will regret my actions for the rest of my life” Mia said, her heart aching.
Hector looked at her, stood up, for a moment she thought he was about to hit her but he just walked away. Mia understood that it was a dismissal and went back to her spot by the fire.
“Hey guys, i’ve been talking with Diana, we’ve noticed we haven’t gotten any skills for levels three and four. We figured maybe some are waiting on level five. You know a nice round number?” Frank said.
“If I got some sort of a stronger version of the healing rune or a Modifier to make it more powerful maybe we could help Hector.” Diana said, sounding hopeful. “My magic already knitted the bones in Mia’s legs. Maybe it could help Hector regrow his hand. Its a long shot but it might work out.”
“So what exactly do you propose?” Hector said, just the barest glimmer of hope showing in his voice.
“Well we thought that me and Frank could hunt the centipedes and clear out our building as an additional benefit. Till we hit level five or six at least.” Diana said, her excitement at the idea of gaining more power evident in her gestures.
“What about me and Hector?” Mia asked.
“You're Hurt and it would be dangerous for you, so you could stay at the hideout and focus on your crafting until you get better. Hector could stay with you as protection” Diana said trying to play on his ego “Also we get more experience with fewer people so we would be done faster” Diana explained.
“Yeah that's fine” Hector curled up and looked uninterested and defeated.