Combat experience: Lesser!

Error: Target invalid!

Error: Target invalid!

“Huh?” Leif asked. Looking blankly at the system message.

“Huh?” Marcus asked, staring at his staring.

“My analysis skill is saying you’re an ‘invalid target’.” Leif said, thoroughly confused.

“What?” Marcus asked, dumbfounded.

“What?” Sieg said, equally puzzled. He turned to look at Marcus, then shrugged. “Mine works fine.”

Leif shared a look with the deer.

Combat experience: Lesser!

What is going on? Leif thought. Why is my [Combative Gumption] skill showing two error messages? And why only for Marcus?

“I have a new skill.” He explained, detailing the effects of his analysis skill. “For some reason it shows two error messages after I analyse you.”

“System errors sometimes happen when skills conflict.” Sieg said. “A pretty famous example is if a new skill invalidates the conditions to use an older skill. The system sometimes… alters things if that happens.”

“Maybe your skill has two conflicting prerequisites?” Marcus suggested. “Something like: ‘You must be lower level’ and ‘you must be higher level.’ There’s a course dedicated to system oddities in the Academy.”

Leif reread the skill, there was nothing of the sort in the description. “No, nothing like that.”

“Oh well, if it’s a new skill from [Brawler] it will likely fix itself if you fuse it to something else, or if the class promotion changes something.” Marcus said, hopping forward. “Now, tell us, did you get offered a new class?”

The spriggan nodded.

“Yes!” Marcus said, pumping his fist. “I knew it! I won the bet!”

“You didn’t win shit.” Sieg stated flatly. “I never took that bet.”

“Actually,” Leif said, “I was offered two.”

Sieg grunted in approval. “Well deserved. Did you pick one?”

“Not yet, I wanted to get a second opinion before I made a choice.” Leif said. The spriggan detected the intent to nibble and gently deflected the offending deer with a hand. It made an annoyed huff at being denied.

Leif glared down at the innocent looking animal, its eyes wide and hopeful.

Then an arrow of light fell from the sky, it disappeared behind a cluster of trees back in the direction of the main campsite.

To the side, Linus and Adriana’s spar turned duel came to a stop. Both teenagers looked battered and bruised, each was breathing heavily and sporting several minor injuries.

“Let’s walk and talk kids.” Marcus said, looking at the two with amusement and clapping his hands together.

===

“I can personally attest to how potent [Attuned] is as a foundation class.” Sieg said as the campsite came into view. “I combined mine with [Fighter] once both had a joined level total of ten. Costs a promotion seal like usual but it frees up a class slot. The process is called a class union.”

Leif hadn’t thought about that. How was he supposed to get promotion items? He knew the system was supposed to occasionally reward them. But considering neither he, nor Sieg or Marcus had received one after escaping the Mythhold…

While the inner workings of the system are a mystery, even to the most enigmatic of beings, we can be quite confident that if Leif, Marcus and Sieg had killed the reanimated formian queen they most certainly would have been showered in rewards.

Throughout history there had been quite the obsession with discovering how best to trigger the different system rewards. As far as I’m aware, nobody has ever gotten close. The process of reverse engineering algorithms that use variables that cannot be directly observed by the mortal eye tend to be fairly impossible.

“We’ll trade some of our mana shards for seals and emblems when we arrive at the outpost. The Academy usually brings a stock of them for large scale expeditions like this as rewards. Doubly so when the imperial army is involved.” Marcus said.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“I thought this was the expedition?” Leif asked. Gesturing at the camp.

“We’re the main party.” Sieg said. “Our task was to look for potential dungeons and assess threats. It’s what the Academy does best, or at least it's what the institution makes students do for ‘training’. But the empire is looking to expand a line of forts across the newly vacant frontier, in case of any follow up invasions.”

“I heard Pherin had recently discovered resources in the north, near the mountains.” Linus said, wincing briefly at some of his lingering aches before continuing. Leif had healed both him and Adriana before the group had set off. “But the empire didn’t know about it until the royal family evacuated.”

“Politics.” Sieg sneered. “The empire may have tried to defend the people if they had known.”

Linus opened his mouth as if to argue but Johan came stomping up. “Meeting, now, get moving.” The bald man glared at Leif but didn’t comment.

The spriggan was more than glad to avoid a confrontation.

===

Hera sat, one leg over the other on a fallen log while the three dozen or so members of the expedition milled around her in a rough semicircle. She drained a canteen of water, then tossed the empty container to Melissa.

The elderly lady caught the projectile with surprising adroitness and shuffled away.

“Ok people.” Hera called, and she focused on the group. “This whole thing has gone to shit, so we’re pulling out. The horde of undead those three found,” She pointed at Marcus,Sieg and Leif, “are missing. Not that they don’t exist, I’m saying they retreated deeper underground.”

A hush fell over the expedition. Hera brought her lips into a thin, humourless smile. “Normally undead don’t behave like that. Not unless there is a high level monster controlling them. So we have three major problems: Firstly, the entire countryside is practically flooded with goblins, including an incarnate orc lord. Secondly, an awakened enslaver of unknown level is somewhere nearby. And finally, there is most likely an undead infestation in the chasms beneath our feet.”

The silence, somehow, became quieter.

“We’ll head south, fast and light. Once we’ve made contact with Far-reach and the imperial contingent we can make our next choices. Got it? No more funny business, from here on out consider this a warzone. I want this camp unmade and everyone ready to leave in an hour. Go go go!”

Immediately people went scrambling. The campsite became a maelstrom of chaos as belongings were packed and tents began to fall.

“Spriggan.” Hera said, as she stepped out of the frenzy. “With me, we need to talk.”

Leif tilted his head in acknowledgement and moved to follow the human. They walked several dozen metres from the expedition. Leif noticed Marcus pointing towards Hera and him to Sieg but neither man followed.

They reached the tree line and stopped, Hera leaning against a tall tree. “Time is short so let's make this quick. I’m grateful you saved the lives of two of my people. Without you they wouldn’t be alive and we may very well have lost more trying to rescue them. I’ve checked out the ruins of Pherin, it’s a massive disaster.”

He nodded, unsure where she was going.

“Thinking about your story and how… unique your situation is, I can only assume you will be of great interest to several factions, not only within the Academy but the empire as a whole. But this is just about a state of emergency, we don’t have time to do paperwork and check regulations. I’ll probably get yelled at but at this point I don’t care.”

Hera sighed, before continuing. “Bringing you with us will be a pain. The military especially won’t be pleased with a monster tagging along. Fortunately I have a solution. Darius! Get over here!” She called, seemingly to nobody.

Huh?

A moment later a young man in dark clothing, leather armour and with piercing green eyes materialised out of mist. Leif took a step back in surprise, he hadn’t noticed the man, or his intent with his perception until he had become visible.

“Y-yes?” Darius asked, his voice hesitant.

“Give Leif your badge.” Hera ordered.

“M-my lady?”

“Yes, I know it’s yours, but we only have one.” She turned to Leif, plucking a small silver object from Darius’s hand as the man withdrew it from a pocket. “This denotes someone as an auxiliary member of an official Academy operation.”

She flipped it to Leif. The spriggan caught the object and examined it. It was finely detailed and made out of a silvery metal, a faint blue glow emanated from within tiny seams. It was shaped like a serpent eating its own tail.

Or is that a dragon? Yes, its wings are folded but that’s definitely a dragon.

Within the centre of the encircling dragon were four overlapping circles in an almost flower shaped pattern.

“It’s something the Academy uses to verify personnel hired on for one reason or another. If anyone asks, you’re a healer we brought on after an incident. Congratulations, you’re hired. Your pay is whatever the current rate is, I’m not sure how much a healer's time is worth.”

Darius shrugged when Hera shot him a questioning look, the boy looking away after a moment, not meeting her gaze.

Leif appreciated the help, he really did, but there was a glaringly obvious flaw in Hera’s plan if she wanted him to blend in.

“Here.” She said, as the air around her hand warped. A thick travelling cloak, mud red in colour and with several small patches materialised out of nowhere.

The blade threw the clothing at Leif, it landed on his head and draped him like a clothes hanger. Little pointed sticks jutted up and out from under the cloth.

“Just put that on and don’t talk too much. It’s obvious you’re not human when you talk. Oh, now that our little expedition has two auxiliary members you two are a pair. Look after one another and all that. Now I have a tent to pack, see-ya.” She said, turning and walking off.

Leif untangled himself from the cloak and looked down at it. The spriggan suddenly became aware he’d been effectively naked this whole time.

Physiologically incapable of feeling embarrassed, the noggin chemicals just weren’t there, Leif stood frozen. The parts of his mind and soul that were human conflicted with those that were monstrous. The collision short circuited both.

“Uh, good to meet you?” Dairus said. He scratched the back of his head awkwardly when Leif didn’t respond. “Um… are you okay?”

If anyone is wondering, no, there was nothing to see.