Chapter 9 - Aftermath
“What were you doing out there?” Catria asked Grant, who was a few hit points from death.
“I was trying to be helpful, I don’t have any ranged options. “
“This isn’t going to be a rare occurrence,” Catria injected Grant with something from her belt pouch. His health began to tick up slowly. “Monsters are common on any planet with magic. They’re hungry, and some are highly intelligent.”
“That thing. The bird. The giant bird. That’s common?”
“Yeah. Typically people run in parties of three to five, any more than that and the experience you get is highly penalized.”
“What about you? You don’t have a team.”
“I happen to have an ability that lets me leave most situations before it gets bad. Catria shook her head and sighed. “I get it, everyone wants to be good at everything and always useful, but you can be helpful in other ways. That Scan skill you have? People would kill for that in the GC (Grand Circuit).
“Seems pretty common to me, from video games and stuff.”
“I assure you. Scan abilities are rare. I’m not here to make you feel bad for trying to help or tell you that you’re wrong,” Catria injected Grant with a syringe from her inventory. “Just don’t be reckless.”
Grant nodded, much to his painful regret. His side flared with pain, but his health slowly began to recover. The status symbol indicating his leg was broken and his health bar were lit up bright green.
“It’s not instant healing, but you’ll be fine. We should rest and talk about things later. I can fill you in on some battle tactics we can use.”
Grant nodded. “Alright, yeah. That would be nice. Thanks.”
Catria stood and looked back down to the street. “You wait here, I’ll get the girl.”
There was little Grant could say otherwise. She was the hero. The hero gets the girl? Is that how this worked? He shelved that thought and opened his menu. He might not be able to move very much but he could still check his status. There was a pending prompt in the bottom of his vision that had automatically minimized itself like a browser window while he was talking with Catria.
You have defeated Giant Terror Bird! You have received 750 (500 + 50% difficulty bonus) experience points!
With practice, your Void Step talent has increased to rank 2! You now leave behind a momentary illusion of yourself while using Void Step!
You have 1 unused talent point
You have gained level 4 in Void Walker!
He opened his status to level up next.
Congratulations on attaining level 4 in Void Walker!
Your health has increased by by 10 (2d6 + Power)
Your mana has increased by 13 (2d8 + Magic)
Your stamina has increased by 6 (2d4 + Spirit)
You can increase one talent by 1 rank!
Please choose a new talent from the following list!
Lunge
Phase
Arcana
Grant focused on each in turn, reading their abilities.
Lunge, physical, weapon
You can instantly move up to 4 meters in a straight line while wielding a 1-handed melee weapon. 5 Stamina
Phase, magic, self
You become intangible for 7 seconds, but not invisible. 9 mana
Arcana, skill, knowledge
You have a basic understanding and how it works, how it manafests, how to direct it.
He felt like his knowledge of arcana in general was sufficient. He needed survival skills or ranged skills. He didn’t think Catria would approve of lunge after what had just happened. Phase it was.
Grant looked at the talent point he’d gained for rank 2 in Void Step, but also to assign his free talent point. He could increase any talent by one without having to train the skill. But which one? Doubling up on Void Step would get him to the tier 3 talent points, and it was arguably his best skill. Knives would give him more damage. His inner gamer was arguing against increasing a tier 1 skill. That was usually the easiest level.
He ranked up Knives. He wanted the damage boost. 100% increased base knife damage. For Void Step, the symbol was a mystic-looking foot. It went left, right, or center. Left? A boost to the mana cost and significant range. Right was just increased range with no extra cast. The third center option would let him Voidwalk into or out of the Void when he used the talent.
Grant went for the safe option for now. Extra distance. Done. He closed out all his menus and stared at the sky. Still dull and gray. Still flecks of snow falling around him. He wondered how Catria was doing.
* - - - - -
You have defeated Giant Terror Bird! You have received 600 (400 + 50% difficulty bonus) experience points!
You have gained level 3 in Arcanist! Open your Status to select a new skill!
Jordan opened her menu. She remembered that all her stats would go up if she leveled up, the same as after fighting Mr Whiskers. The numbers were significantly more important to her now that she knew what one of them meant. No mana meant bad news.
Congratulations on attaining level 3 in Elementalist!
Your health has increased by by 7 (2d4 + Power)
Your mana has increased by 17 (2d8 + Magic)
Your stamina has increased by 11 (2d6 + Spirit)
You have 2 attribute points available!
Please choose a new skill from the following list!
Absorb Elements
Elemental Boost
Extra Element: Lightning
The skills were right in her face. She had to choose one before she could do anything else, so she scrutinized each of them.
Absorb Elements, magic, passive
When you take damage involving Air, Water, Earth, or Fire you ignore that damage and instead heal half the amount of damage you would have taken.
Channel Element, magic, self
The power of the next “Elemental” talent you use is increased by 50%. 0 mana
Extra Element: Lightning, skill
Lightning is added to your class as a basic element! Using an “Elemental” skill will allow you to change its type to Lightning in addition to Air, Water, Earth, and Fire.
There was one superhero she really liked that used Lightning. Absorb elements was cool, but both times today she’d been attacked physically. Channel Element was okay. She took the lightning. Small sparks crackled between her fingertips.
A new notification appeared saying her Elemental Resistance skill had been updated to include lightning resistance. The flashing of her Power, Spirit, and other attributes pulled her to them. She could increase two of them. Focus.
Power was her overall physical ability and health. Not that important, she thought. Spirit was her resilience and willpower. It affected her stamina. Mind was her psychic awareness and strength of mind. Magic was the one she really knew, thanks to her Arcana skill. Increasing your Magic would increase her magic potency. Stronger magic, higher mana gain and regeneration.
Jordan put both points into magic and closed out her menu. Were those other two just going to leave her here? That other guy did get crushed, she remembered. It looked bad. At first she had thought he died.
Cruuuuunch! The door of the minivan in the front opened and fell to the ground. The front of the minivan was crushed where the bird had stood on it to get better leverage to peck through the top. That was when she’d finished it. “Hey, are you doing OK?”
“Oh. My. God. You scared the bejeezus out of me! Don’t do that!”
“Sorry, it was not my intention. I could have knocked.”
“It’s fine. Wasn’t there a guy with you?” Jordan looked out the windows but couldn’t see anyone.
“He needs a minute to recover. I’m Catria. I was sent here to help you.”
“Thank god! Who sent you? Are there others, too?” Jordan was climbing over the seat to exit the van. It was no good opening it from the inside now.
“The Grand Circuit. Your Earth is experiencing a hazardous anomaly known as the Frost Maiden. It’s freezing the planet and is on its way to finish the rest of the job.”
“Wait. What? The Grand thingy the dragon was talking about? What’s an… omnomaly?”
“Anomaly… it’s something we don’t fully understand yet,” Catria replied.
Jordan sat there for a moment, thinking. “How are you supposed to help? Everything’s already done for. I flew over hours of frozen wasteland. I think everyone’s dead.”
“You’re still kicking. Grant, the other guy, is still alive. There could be more, but there won't be if we work towards stopping it.”
“Stopping it? Didn’t it just freeze the entire planet? How do you stop that?”
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“You seem capable to me, your command of the elemental was a helpful feat.”
“I didn’t do much past creating it,” Jordan admitted.
“That’s untrue. Conjured elementals are a manifestation of mana fueled by the will of their creator. “
“Oh, uh, I guess so then. Thanks.”
“So, what do you say? Want to join forces and see what we can accomplish?
“Shower first, then we can save the world,” Jordan replied, climbing between the front seats and standing next to Catria. Catria was a few inches taller than she was and where could she get armor like that?
* - - - - -
Feather Charm, magic, uncommon
You take no damage falling from heights of 100 meters or less.
The Terror Bird had dropped a charm and two feathers that Catria retrieved before taking Jordan and Grant to a nearby clothing store that Grant suggested. He knew the area, which was helpful. While they were changing Catria received a new message from the Director.
15 hours. That’s all they had.
Grant was the first to return. He’d changed out his shorts for pants and his shoes for boots. He was healed now. Whatever was in that syringe that Catria had injected him with had healed him completely in about ten painful minutes.
Jordan returned wearing leggings, boots, and a cozy-looking sweater. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She was also carrying a second set in a bag she’d picked up.
“Good news and bad news,” Catria announced when they both entered the room.
“There’s good news?” Grant asked with mild sarcasm. That would be a nice change of pace.
“You don’t have to be so negative about it,” Jordan replied.
“It’s been a long day, alright? Grant was feeling a little overwhelmed and tired. “Everyone I know is dead and I’ve almost been killed twice, maybe three times. It’s just a lot to process.”
“I understand,” Catria sighed. “I’m sorry that things are the way they are, but you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to decompress. We have less than 24 hours before the anomaly hits your Earth.”
“Is that the good news or the bad news?” Jordan asked.
“The good news is we still have a chance to stop it,” Catria set up her scanner on the counter near the cash register. “The anomaly will hit the same place as the diffusion spike, the object that gave your planet magic.”
“That’s where the AI is? I have a quest to save her,” Grant said.
“Save the AI?” Catria didn’t know what to think about that. “What else does the quest say?”
“Well, it doesn’t actually say anything. It has coordinates.” A prompt appeared beside Catria in Grant’s vision.
Would you like to share Quest “Save Dragonpulse” with your Party?
Yes / No / Share All
“It says I can share it with you,” Grant mentally confirmed yes.
“One of my abilities, Party Tactics, allows me to share information between my entire party. Speaking of which, Jordan, joining the Party would be a welcome and helpful addition.”
“Yeah, sure, what do I do?”
A prompt appeared in Jordan’s vision asking if she wanted to join the party. She accepted and immediately saw two small portraits appear in her vision. She could see both Grant and Catria’s status bars, too.
“These are the coordinates of the spike. The AI must be inside.”
“Maybe the AI can help?” Jordan asked, “I mean, it's smart right?”
Grant shrugged and looked to Catria, who replied “Maybe, but it will be dangerous. It’s the originating point for the magical surge that gave you your powers. We’re close, and that might be why you got rarer types of magical classes. But the monsters next to the spike? They might be the most powerful on the planet.”
“Well that sounds bad,” Grant slumped a little. “The AI said the magic diffusion process was interrupted, does that matter?”
“Yes, it means that there’s less magic that I thought. It explains why the strongest thing in the area was a Threat 4 this close to the epicenter. It probably attacked your elemental thinking it was a territorial threat, monsters are big on territories. We were just food.”
“Not this time,” Jordan said.
“Stupid ass bird anyway,” Grant said, still salty about his performance in the fight. It was embarrassing to think about. Catria had saved his life and he had made a fool of himself in front of everyone.
“I think before we think about doing anything, we need a quick summary of what each of us can do. I’ll go first. My main ability is Warp, which allows me to navigate the battlefield and reposition correctly. I can use it until I run out of mana and I can take 1 other with me when I use it.” She paused, then pulled her rifle off her back and held it out. “Mid to long range weapons are my thing. My Party Tactics ability lets me share information with you.”
OK, uh, I am an Elementalist with uh, just a minute.” Jordan opened her menus to look at her talents. “Conjure Elemental, and Explosion.”
“You can make things explode? That’s awesome, and your elemental was badass, too.” Grant said.
“Thanks!”
“OK so I only have close range talents, like knives. I can teleport 15 meters at a time, and I can phase through physical objects for a short time,” Grant said. “And I’m immune to the void, if that helps.”
“15 meters? Sounds like a step-type skill. Steps are fastest warp skills at the cost of a shorter range,” Catria commented.
“What is the strongest? So I know if I see one,” Grant asked.
“Gate-types are the pinnacle of warping. You could send armies through. For the average person? Door-type warps. Same thing as a gate, but smaller. Since party combat is so common, door warps are highly sought after.”
“Good to know, thanks.”
“What about increasing my mana?” Jordan asked,
“Anything that increases the speed of your regeneration is rare, and Conversion-types are the rarest.”
“Oh no,” Jordan gasped, “I didn’t take the conversion ability! I got Conjure instead, is that bad? Did I mess up?”
“It’s arguable,” Catria said. “You might not have survived this long without the Conjure ability.”
Jordan nodded. That was true. Everything she’d done relied on that thing. She couldn’t explosion her way across the skies. Or could she?”
“I have some equipment with me, unfortunately,” Catria looked Grant up and down. “I don’t think my extra armor will fit you, but it might Jordan.”
Jordan was a few inches shorter than Catria at 5’4 to her 5’9. Is five inches a lot? She took the armor and retreated back to the changing rooms to try it on.
“You can use this,” Catria pulled another firearm from her inventory. It was a sidearm. An outdated version of hers that didn’t have the screen on the back, or the enhanced battery pack.
You have received Light Blaster (+1) from Catria!
Light Blaster (+1), ranged, magic, firearm
A modern marvel of science and magic that uses a rechargeable mana battery to fire magical bolts. Deals 1 - 12 magic damage to a target within 50 meters.
“If you use it enough, you could gain a talent to use it before we leave. If it runs out, you have to channel your mana into the battery. Just focus on it really hard,’ Catria instructed. “One mana per shot. Holds 12 mana at a time, recharges at a rate of 1 per second.”
“Easy enough, I guess.”
“Try over here,” Catria lined him up behind the counter and helped adjust his stance and arm positions. “This is a proper firing stance. Now, in combat you might not be able to stance up and take your shots. Cover is your friend.”
Grant nodded and Catria set up three mannequins with their backs facing the wall for him to practice against. Two at 5 meters and one at 10 meters.
Blam! Blam!
The recoil caught him off guard and his first shot missed and put a hole in the green-painted drywall. The second shot clipped the shoulder of the mannequin at ten meters.
“Just breathe, it’s okay.”
Blam!
Miss. Right between the legs.
Blam!
The hip of the first mannequin at 5 meters exploded and fell to the ground missing a leg.
Object (Mannequin) takes 11 points of magic damage!
“Question, why do I see the damage to the mannequin and not the wall?” Grant asked.
“You were focusing on the mannequin, actively trying to hit it. It would be the same to focus on avoiding hitting something. Try focusing on the wall and trying again.”
Blam! Blam!
Object (Wall) takes 4 points of magic damage!
Object (Wall) takes 7 points of magic damage!
“OK, I get it.” He’d used six of the twelve shots. “Do you happen to have mana or health potions I can use to practice with before we go?”
“Sadly, no, we should wait.”
“What about ingredients,” He asked.
“Oh, uh, maybe?” Catria pulled out a variety of herbs and monster pieces that she’d had lying in her inventory. She’d been needing to sort her inventory for some time now. “Do you have the skill to identify or use them?”
“I got Alchemy,” Grant replied, sifting through them. He could identify herbs with a rarity up to uncommon with his rank 1 Alchemy skill.
Waterfall Cress, herb, uncommon
A common blue flower that is used in potions to increase their rank by 1, to a max of 3.
Moon Anise, herb, uncommon
A spice
“Do you think eating any of these would give me more information about them?” Grant asked.
“I have no idea, but I don’t recommend eating - ” Catria surveyed the dead monster bits and herbs. “- any of it. That’s gross.”
“OK, OK, fine.”
Jordan returned wearing the armor. It was nearly identical to Catria’s however the etching on the breastplate was of gold instead of silver. The material was more worn out, too.
“I always thought the gold was off for what I used it for,” Catria said. “Looks good on you.”
“Thanks,” Jordan twirled. “It feels lighter than I thought.”
“I don’t know how your system works, but you might feel slower in that until you get the skill to wear it.
“It does have a penalty,” Jordan said. “When I was trying it on it said I would suffer a -1 to my Magic stat. Since I just got +2, I’m not that worried about it.”
“I think the protection it provides outweighs a single stat point into mana, I agree.” Catria turned back to Grant. He was holding a wooden bowl.
“I need a rock,” he said.
“A rock?” Jordan asked. “Why do you need a rock?”
“To grind herbs. Trying to make a potion,” Grant glanced at the door. A moment later he was covered in snow and was holding a golf ball sized rock and began the Alchemy grind.
“Here, catch,” Catria tossed Jordan a wing. It was small and silver, with a shield that covered from knuckle to knuckle.
“It’s magic,” Jordan could see the dull ebb of magic, but couldn’t make out the runes. “I can’t see any information about it.”
“It’s rare, it’s a Shield Ring. If you push mana in, it creates a shield. Focus on the ring.”
“Focus, focus. Is it always that easy?”
“Usually.”
Jordan focused on the ring. A blue light erupted from the ring, creating a translucent shield that covered more than half her body. “Wow, that’s neat.” It had cost her 3 mana to use and would last until broken.
“Done!” Grant had removed some candles from their glassware and had divided the potion into three small glass cylinders. The mixture was a little thick.
You have successfully created 3 doses of Mana Potion (Rank 1)!
Mana Potion (Rank 1), common, potion
Recovers 3 - 11 mana at a rate of 1 per second.
“Uh,” Jordan lifted one and sloshed it around. “Gross, but I'd try it.”
“Useful,” Catria commended. “Good job, Grant.”
Approval never felt so good.
He had enough ingredients to make one more set, but he added the Waterfall Cress to increase the rank.
You have successfully created 2 doses of Mana Potion (Rank 2)!
Mana Potion (Rank 2), uncommon, potion
Recovers 6 - 20 mana at a rate of 1 per second.
Jordan and Grant decided to have a contest. They counted the mannequins in the store and started at the front. The goal was simple, most mannequin ‘kills’ wins. Catria thought it would make for a fantastic training exercise. Grant had the pistol, and Jordan conjured two small elementals: one of small chunky earth elemental and another of water shaped like a fox.
“Hey, hey. Woah! TWO? Also, can I lowkey get that thing to grind some bones to dust after this?” Grant asked Jordan.
“Thing? It has a name. And sure.”
“What?” Grant focused on the small rock golem. “Oh, it does. Wow.”
Rockstar (Rank 2)
small, earth elemental
[ 24 ]
[ 0 ]
[ 94 ]
When he scanned it, he found that all its attributes were +2, except its Power was doubled. For the Water Elemental, the attributes were +3 and its magic was +6! He remembered Catria mentioning her elemental had been buffed when she first appeared, too.
Misty (Rank 2)
Small, Water Elemental
Health [26]
Mana [34]
Stamina [23]
Power +3
Spirit +3
Mind +3
Magic +6
Luck +3
Traits
Fire Resistance - You take half damage from fire and heat effects.
Surge - If the elemental drops below 50% of its Health, its Magic is increased by +2!
Elemental Boost (Jordan) - Base power increased by +50%
Talents
Water Blast, rank 2