Tracy Strong
Tracy sat in her study and read over the reports she had been given. Damien lost his pylon and was retreating into her territory with what was left of his faction. She would have to go see what he was up to. If he thought that he was going to take over one of her pylons then he was surely mistaken. If he came to join, then that was a different matter. She smirked thinking about all of the points she could confiscate off of him.
She had Kathy keep a close eye on what The Mindbreaker was up to and he was moving back up north. He already had the northeastern corner under his control and now he was working his way west to take over all of the north. He left some of his army behind and was still expanding in the east as well, but without his presence, it wasn't going well. The minions weren't smart enough without his input and acted little better than wave beasts. It was slow going and it was taking him a lot of time to continue his conquest which was the only good news. Damien actually put a decent dent into his army of freaks. The more territory he took the longer it took to take more.
Damien's lightning was a weakness that Tracy was eager to replicate. She saw through scrying pools and Kathy's birds that the lightning had a unique effect on the minions it hit. She would have to adjust the element of her traps if it was true.
The Mindbreaker had been getting better with every camp he took over and his armies only grew. He transitioned from humans to animals now and his ranks swelled with that addition. Most of his army was keeping his pylons from being overrun but with every new addition his power grew. One of the reasons he didn't have more pylons under his control was he stopped taking them. He would walk in after a wave, weave his magic on everyone there, then leave before the wave came.
Tracy sighed as she looked over the map that she had bought. It showed all of the pylon positions with notes about their state on the side. Kathy had been working night and day to scout out everything and make sure there were no surprises.
Over half of the groups that started the tutorial had fallen and more were close. Out of 50 pylons, only 25 were still held. She had 4, The Mindbreaker had 9, a man to the south had 6, and the rest were independents. Only 6 independent groups still held onto their original pylon. Damien used to hold 5 himself before he was forced to flee.
The rest were either wandering the wild or joined up with another settlement. She had taken a few in but only the ones that were worth it. They had to have something that would add to the camp otherwise, it would only make it harder.
She thought back to the people she took in. She could have taken in more but decided against it. Still, some good warriors came out of letting people join and gave her enough people to hold 4 pylons. She chose the ones that surrounded the pylon she started with so she would have a buffer pylon if anyone wanted to attack. The one in the East was where Damien's lands started and she didn't have that one.
She had the pylon to the north, west, and south of her original pylon, but not the east. She could go and take it now that Damien was retreating but it wouldn't be worth it. On the off chance that the Mindbreaker wanted it, she didn't want to give him a reason to attack. Tracy did not doubt that he would eventually, but she didn't want to expedite the process.
She didn't have a lot of information on who held the 6 pylons in the south. The birds that Kathy used for scouts couldn't handle the desert area very well and giant vultures would prey upon them, making scouting harder. The scrying spell some of the mages learned didn't reach that far either. She heard tales from people who came through her camp that he had a very powerful body somehow and that he was immune to most poisons.
There was an outlandish tale of being poisoned for a week and surviving that gave him power but Tracy thought that was horseshit. It didn't make any sense that nearly dying to the venom of a scorpion would somehow make him stronger.
Tracy knew she didn't have the strongest camp. Whoever was in control of the south had an astounding amount of people and they were powerful as well. She found it odd their populations were always fluctuating though. The few times Kathy would get a look, each pylon would be entirely different in population. It was like they were moving between them for some reason and Tracy couldn't figure it out. It always happened right before the waves and that was when she had the least amount of time to spend on scouting.
If she didn't know better she would say they were evacuating the non-combatants all into one pylon, but that was absurd. The travel alone would take hours along with people to guard them... it wasn't feasible. Plus, why would they move back? If they made it to the most well defended, why leave? But if she was wrong, and they were doing that, their capital had more defenses than even hers did and a tremendous amount of points were spent on its upgrades. It would be able to handle the extra pressure.
She had spotty information on the 6 independents and only knew a few things. There was one up north that was about to be in the way of The Mindbreaker. She didn't know much about it other than it was a family faction. Every time one of Kathy's birds got close it was shot down. They had a powerful archer who wouldn't let anything get close to camp.
She did know that they were strong. They had hunting parties that went out into the forest regularly and they were almost all over level 25. The average strength of their warriors was much greater than hers.
Tracy didn't want to see them get taken over and sent them a message detailing the threat coming their way but she was ignored. The only answer she got was that they would deal with it. Tracy didn't know whether to call the leader arrogant or confident.
She could only hope that they could live up to their word. Otherwise, more people would be added to the thralls.
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Austin
Austin never understood the call of leadership. He didn't understand why someone would want to be in charge of other people and make decisions for a group. It all seemed so time-consuming and dumb. He hated making decisions for his own life, let alone everyone else.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
He saw how tense Chris had gotten after he took up the mantle and he wouldn't touch it with a 39 and a half foot pole. He did his best to do what was asked of him but dreamed of a time when he would be free.
If it weren't his family at stake he would have left long ago. They got dragged into a world of magic and mystery and he was stuck living in the same place for more than a month without being able to venture far away. The only taste of adventure he got was on hunting trips and even those were getting stale.
Austin wanted to explore. To go on an adventure of this wonderous place and to see all that it had to offer. It had mountains so high they went past the clouds and he could only sit in envy from their camp.
He knew what the consequences were for leaving and he couldn't bring himself to do it. He trusted that Chris could handle it but the others couldn't. His Mom and Dad were still here and so was his brother. His place was here no matter how much he wanted to explore.
The waves getting harder were worrying but the threat of a challenge made his blood start pumping. The thought of whatever new monster this tutorial would send their way kept him up at night. Not with worry, but wonder. He fought tigers that could shoot lightning, how cool was that?
Granddad died, yes, but that didn't take away from the fact it was cool. Lizards of stone, spiders the size of a bus. What else was out there waiting to be discovered? What if he could find a dragon? Or a phoenix?
That was why he was so adamant about choosing explorer for his profession. Chris wanted him to take something more useful like he did, but Austin couldn't bring himself to do it.
There was so much death and tension going around and he had to cling to something that he enjoyed. When this was all over and they were back on Earth, he needed something that would bring him joy. Not the constant worry and stress that everyone else was going through.
Watching his family get whittled down was depressing and something he didn't know if he would ever get over. He would need an outlet for all of his emotions and exploring was the answer. Austin watched as his friend changed and he didn't know if he liked it. Chris was going a direction that Austin didn't know if he could follow. Austin didn't want to lead a city or own a piece of land, he wanted to roam the earth and discover everything new. They had grown up together and they had been friends for almost two decades and Chris was changing.
Austin had to admit everyone was changing, but Chris more so.
He was harder on himself and more reserved. The sarcastic funny guy he once had been was gone and what replaced him was a gloomy man always busy with one thing or another. Austin couldn't remember the last time he saw Chris play with his niece and nephew and he used to do that a lot.
He spent what little time he had in the forge with Vincent, or if he wasn't there, practicing with his ice. Sure, Austin practiced his skills a lot too, but Chris was different. He spent every possible moment working to better himself.
Austin tried to keep up, but he was falling behind. Chris couldn't see it but Austin could. Chris had a drive and spirit for battle that Austin just didn't have. He wanted to explore and see new sights, fighting would come with that sure, but it wasn't the main focus.
Austin enjoyed fighting, he wasn't averse to it, but he didn't revel in it like Chris did. He enjoyed the thrill of a nicely fought battle as much as the next guy, but Chris was built for it.
Watching him get stronger was a little scary if he was being honest. Chris started with the same class as Austin had and he took it so much farther. He wielded his Warhammer and ice to devastating effect and could hold a gate all by himself.
Austin could do the same, for a time, but Chris only got stronger. Austin saw the new skill he got and how powerful it made him throughout the battle. It was like watching a force of nature.
He would start the battle in whatever new version of armor he had made and he would end it covered in blood and mounds of bodies surrounding him. Ice and blood in equal measure scattered around the battlefield and his hammer planted in the ground next to him.
It was like watching a god of war being born. Austin could leverage his power to devastating effect on the bosses but Chris could do it to an entire wave. He saw the rushing monsters as a challenge and he rose to meet it. Austin just did everything he could to not die.
They were putting themselves in the direct line of fire and he was hanging on for dear life. Facing an army of monsters wasn't what his powers were meant for. He had great skills like [Spear of the Morning] and [Dawn Breaker], but those weren't meant for the hundreds of enemies they faced. There was an option for another skill that he saw but he wasn't high enough level for it yet. [Rising Dawn] was a skill he was looking forward to getting.
His skills brought devastating damage to a single target, which was perfect for bosses, but not so much for everything else. He could fight against a pack of enemies, but not the endless horde the waves produced.
Austin barely got his Law before his evolution. Seeing Chris get his spurred his competitive spirit and he had to match him. He had delayed his evolution a few days just to catch up to what Chris accomplished easily.
Austin wanted a vacation. A break from all the fighting and a chance to do something he wanted, like explore.
Even what he was doing currently wasn't what he wanted to be doing. He wanted to be off in the forest hunting something cool or exploring the forest, but instead, he was out looking for his wayward cousin who hadn't come back when he was supposed to.
Christian was a nature mage and he spent most of his time in the forest doing... something. Communing or meditating, Austin wasn't sure. Christian was supposed to be back before dinner and he was late.
Abigail was going to ask Chris to deal with it but Austin was there and said he would do it. Chris had enough to deal with, and Austin would take care of this for him. After checking the usual spots, Austin went deeper into the woods.
Christian shouldn't have gone so far into the forest without someone with him.
That was why when he finally found him he let out some of his frustration.
"Christian, what the hell man. You should have been back an hour ago, everyone is worried about you." Austin admonished.
Christian had the family's blonde hair and was the same height as Austin was, at around 6 foot. He had the workings of a scruffy beard going on and the leather armor that Sam made. He at least had the decency to look ashamed.
"Sorry, I lost track of time. I managed to upgrade my skill!" Christian said with a mixture of apology and excitement.
"Come on, let's get back before dinner gets cold," Austin said. "Congrats."
It didn't take long to make it back to camp and even though it had been 2 months, Austin couldn't help but look at it with wonder. This whole camp had sprung up out of nothing and turned into a stone castle-like structure that looked like it had been here the whole time.
What started as a normal hill with nothing special on it turned into what he was seeing before him. Austin remembered the ramshackle tents and buildings that his family built in the first few days they were here. He also remembered the wooden wall that came after.
The wall that started with normal tree trunks turned into something more elaborate with every upgrade. The stone works they were now portrayed power and confidence in any who looked at them. They also did a good job of keeping the monsters out.
"There you are! Where did you get off to?"
As they got closer to camp, Christian's return prompted questions from his mother. She wasn't happy having someone go look for him.
Austin wished for the days when he could be free. He hadn't felt this stifled since before he moved out and his parents were trying to force him to go to college.
After moving out and getting his own place he felt more free than ever before. He could truly do whatever he wanted and wasn't subjected to whatever his parents said.
He loved his family and loved the family gatherings that they had, but in moderation. It was supposed to be an afternoon of fun capped off with dinner for Grandma's birthday, not two months of constant interaction where they all lived together.
At least the magic was cool. If he was stuck here without that he didn't know if he could handle the constant interaction.