Johann let himself rest for exactly five seconds, he counted, before he got up and got to work. Well, got up is a bit of a misnomer. With only one arm and leg still working he didn’t so much get up as he dragged himself to the nearest tree and leveraged himself into a sitting position.
Taking stock of his situation Johann could only describe it as bad. Actually, he could and did describe it in a multitude of ways, but most of those were filled swear words and basically meant the same thing anyway.
Gritting his teeth Johann grabbed a nearby stick and laid it on his legs. With a fair bit of concentration and a lot of willpower Johann created a [Basic Mana Bolt]but, rather than firing it like normal, managed to hold it just above his palm with Mana Manipulation.
“Well, that was the fun part, now for the other part.” He said in an attempt to psych himself up.
Moving slowly, Johann brought the glowing ball of destructive Mana up to his wounded shoulder and, taking a deep breath, slowly pushed it into the torn and bleeding flesh. The pain was pure torment and nearly broke his concentration but he bit down and forced himself to keep steady even as his flesh burned and melted.
He did scream though. A lot.
After three seconds he pulled back and let go of the spell, the much smaller ball of Mana flying off into a nearby tree. After a minute or ten of deep breaths and trying not to vomit from the pain, he took a look at the damage.
On the bright side … it was no longer bleeding. Sadly that was about as good as it got. Where a semi-handsome shoulder was before there was now a flesh crater. In reality it wasn’t that bad. There was a flesh crater, but it was only three inches wide and an inch deep. Even better, his arm could still move. No higher than his waist and not without extreme pain, but it was definitely movement.
His leg was another matter. The bleeding had stopped on its own but his tendons were definitely severed. Unless he found a healer and forced/coerced them into healing him then the fastest he could move at was a slow hobble.
To say that Johanns situation was worrying would be worryingly inept. He was a sitting duck in a dungeon filled with monsters and other competitors, a combination as terrible as politics and humans. To make matters worse, it was only hour four out of 168.
That being said, Johann was a druid in a forest with a nearby source of water and a pile of questionably edible meat lying three meters away. Thanks to the Clawed Terror, the name he decided to give the deadly monster, any other monster would have been driven away so for now he was safe.
Status
Name: Johann Alltud
Age: 18
Race: Mixed (Elf/Elemental)
Class: Druid lvl 3
Title: None
Health: 100
Mana: 230
Stamina: 80
Attributes
Strength: 7
Agility: 9
Vitality: 10
Dexterity: 14
Perception: 14
Control: 22
Power: 28
Skills
General:
-Animal Taming lvl 1
-Mana Barrier lvl 3
-Basic Mana Bolt lvl 3
Class:
-Grasping Roots lvl 3
-Weather Attunement lvl 2
-Animal Attunement lvl 4
Mastered:
Plant Attunement
Basic Mana Manipulation
Traits
Elemental Mana Pool
Calling of the Arch Druid
Johann was shocked to say the least. Both [Basic Mana Bolt] and Grasping Roots had gone up a level, which wasn’t all that surprising, but Animal Attunement going up by three nearly blew his boots off. Sure he’d had a breakthrough, but he never expected the massive leap. He idly wondered if this was what they called an epiphany.
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“Okay kids, continuing on from last weeks lesson on skills today we’re going to look into the levelling of those skills.”
Mr. Demerki always found this lesson somewhat humorous. As a Specialized Teacher his skill levels only increased when teaching others about the System, his chosen speciality. As such, by teaching the kids about levelling skills, he was actively levelling his skills.
“Skills can be levelled in two different ways, insight and repetition. Insight is when you gain skill levels by gaining a new understanding of a skill. Repetition is when you gain a skill level by simply using that skill over and over. Any questions?”
A few hands rose, as Demerki knew they would. “Yes Jonathan?”
“Which one is better, insight or repetition?”
Mr. Demerki smiled, there was always someone who asked every year. “Many people have argued for many years as to which is better. The truth is that neither is ‘better’. Some people find insight to be easier. They gain skill levels quickly by delving into the depths of their skills and figuring new ways to use them.”
“Others find repetition to be better. Where insight is inconsistent and relies on new understandings repetition is dependable and reliable. It may take longer and require much more effort but there is an absolute guarantee that if you put in the time you will get the skill levels.”
“Many choose a mix of both, repetitively training their skills while also searching for insights through new or unusual uses of said skills. The truth is that there is no ‘best’ way of levelling skills, there is only what is best for you.”
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“There is one other way of levelling skills, though its exceedingly rare. During times of extreme stress or concentration it is possible to gain an epiphany. Epiphanies are a sudden flash of understanding that can boost skill levels by leaps and bounds. Sadly, there is no way to force an epiphany. The success rate of those who seek out epiphanies are actually less than those who stumble onto one by accident.”
“Alright, next question.”
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Torin finally found water, eventually. He’d had to drink the blood of a lizard, a poor and very temporary substitute for water, but he eventually found an oasis. Sadly, he was not the first, or even the second. He was almost the third, but where he held back to assess the situation another ran in and dove into the oasis’ water without holding back.
The other two, who had been having a traditional stare down that was completely necessary when potential enemies meet, turned their stares towards the newcomer, who was currently drinking water like, well, like a man in a desert.
Torin watched this happen from a hundred feet away. From what he could tell based on gear the man currently dunking his head in the oasis was a warrior and the two staring at him in confusion were mages.
Realizing he’d have no better opportunity Torin rose from the dune and quietly walked over until he was twenty feet away from the staring duo. With an arrow nocked and but aimed down he cleared his throat, startling the two but going completely unheard by the warrior who was currently washing his pits.
“Alright ladies, how about we all relax? There’s no need for a fight so how about we all call a truce and get that idiot out of the only water for miles around before he decides to clean more than his pits, alright?” Torin asked the two as he started to walk towards the warrior, not giving them time to answer.
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Ziva had been trekking through the desert for over a day now before she arrived at an oasis and annoyingly she wasn’t the only one to arrive at that moment. Another woman, an Artolin from the looks of her, appeared at the same time. Dressed in robes and carrying a staff, much like her, the woman was probably a mage, unlike her.
She had just been sizing up the woman, wondering if she should mention her role as a healer when the large human ran right past the both of them and plunged into the oasis that she still hadn’t drank from.
She was still staring at the when another voice spoke up, shocking her once again. The newcomer was even more dangerous, she hadn’t even noticed him until he came close and judging by the bow in his hands he could have taken her out and she would have never known what happened.
She had no idea why he appeared, he could have taken out the three of them without revealing himself so she couldn’t understand why he would seek a truce instead. Until she could figure out what was happening she decided to play along.
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Idua had been trekking the desert for almost two days, and she hated it to the very core of her being. She had not even known she was capable of such hatred. The sand got in her once beautiful and sleek fur, the sun blazed constantly and her water had already run out three hours ago.
And now that she had finally found an oasis, a glorious place where she could drink to her content and possibly even rid herself of the accursed sand, another mage had appeared. Wrapped in robes and wielding a staff, the Human looked every bit the confident mage that Idua wanted to be.
The truth is that Idua didn’t like fighting, especially fighting another person. If she had a choice she would much rather have chosen the Healer class, or even the Clerk or Crafter classes, but her father would allow it. She didn't want to disappoint him, not after mother …
Looking at the Human who was clearly getting ready for a fight Idua forced down her nerves and gripped her staff tighter. She had to do this, even if she didn’t want to. She had hoped that they could talk, could be peaceful and not fight, but it looked like that wasn’t going to happen.
She gathered her Mana but before she could do anything a crazy human covered in armor came running past, completely ignoring the two of them, and dove into the waters of the oasis. The sudden appearance was so surprising both Idua and the other mage froze in disbelief.
They were still frozen when another voice spoke and startled Idua. Her hearts in her mouth Idua turned to the new person. At first she was worried but after seeing the person, an elf in leather armor carrying a bow, she was relieved.
If he was willing to get close then he obviously didn’t want to fight. When he suggested a truce she wanted to jump at the chance, especially if it involved getting the large human out of the water.
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Wrestling the warrior out of the oasis involved a lot of splashing, dunking and one surprise wedgie that Torin was NOT happy about. Eventually though, the four of them were sitting on the sands on the edge of the oasis.
“Alright.” Torin started “How about we do some introductions. My names Torin, I’m aiming for one of the rogue positions, and I never miss.” He gestured to the woman on his right. “How about you?”
“Um, okay. Uh, my name is Idua, I’m a mage so I guess I’m going for the ranged attacker role.”
The other woman seemed surprised by something, though Torin couldn’t guess as to what. “Huh. My name’s Ziva, healer going for healer. You seem a bit … timid, for a mage.”
Idua’s face mirrored the look Ziva’s just had, though her surprise was thoroughly unsurprising. Even Torin was surprised that the mage was actually a healer, and he was meant to be the observant one.
“Uh, yeah, I actually wanted to be a Healer, but my father …” Idua trailed off, her discomfort clear.
Ziva burst out in laughter, surprising everyone once again. “Hah, what are the odds? You’re a mage who wants to be a healer and I’m a healer who wants to be a mage, and both of us chose something we didn’t want because of our fathers! Hahahaha”
Torin blinked, surprised at the revelation. “Okay, that is surprising, but we still have a guest who hasn’t introduced themselves.”
The large man looked around for a moment before realization dawned. “Oh, me. Ah, alright, the name’s Daniel, half-giant, going for melee attacker role.” He smiled good-naturedly.
Torin’s estimation of the man went up a few notches. The only thing rarer than a giant these days was a half-giant. Giants, despite their size, were incredibly gentle natured yet naturally talented at little else other than fighting, a contradiction that saw them slowly dwindling under the overview of the system.
That being said, any giants that were battle orientated were terrifying opponents with incredible Strength and Vitality. If Daniel had even half of a giants ability then the large man was a serious threat, or a tremendous ally.
“Well then, welcome to the oasis, Daniel. Now, unless anyone is opposed, I suggest a truce. I for one don’t see any reason to fight against each other, but I see plenty of reason to work together.”
Ziva spoke up, challenge in her eyes. “What reasons?”
Torin smiled. “Simple. The aim of the round is survival which, as history shows, is always easier when we work together rather than bicker like children.” Ziva’s eyes flared like she wanted to brutally murder him, but he quickly carried on. “None of us have ever seen this round before, we don’t know if it’ll get harder as time goes on and if we might need each other to survive.”
“The organizers put us together for a reason and until I know otherwise I’m going to assume they would look more favorably on the people who work together than those who go all murderhobo.”
He paused, looking around and seeing the looks of acceptance (grudging acceptance in the case of Ziva). “Oh, and there’s all the monsters.”
Everyone looked at him in confusion. “What do you mean, all the Monsters?” Idua asked, worry creeping in her voice.
Torin shrugged nonchalantly. “Oh, just the hordes of monsters that will descend on us each night, determined to rip us limb from limb.”
The silence after his statement was absolute, for all of a second. “I call nirncrap. What monsters?, beyond the occasional snake or lizard I haven’t seen any sign of these so called ‘hordes of monsters’”.
The protester, predictably, was Ziva. Angry, headstrong and completely willing to rip him a new one, Torin could tell they were going to be good friends. He was glad she wasn’t a mage, apparently despite her wishes, as he might have had to take her out for Johanns sake. He probably should take Idua out, but she seemed so timid he doubted he could bring himself to do it.
Torin sighed, as if disappointed by Ziva, further infuriating her. “It’s simple, we weren’t attacked before because we didn’t have water before. Look around the edge of the oasis, the sheer amount of tracks shows that there are plenty of creatures out there and, if you look carefully and spot the bloodstains, the creatures are happy to tear apart anything they meet. My guess is that they all sleep during the daytime and come out to slake their thirst, for both water and blood, during the night.”
The other three looked around at the tracks and bloodstains Torin pointed out and came to the same conclusion he did, something which excited, worried and annoyed Daniel, Idua and Ziva respectively.
Ziva gave voice to the thing that worried Idua and excited Daniel. “So you’re saying we should work together to fight off the monsters during the night?”
Torin looked at her, feigning bewilderment. “No, of course not, why on Terra would you suggest such a silly thing?”
Fury wrote itself in every line of Ziva’s as she said, between gritted teeth, “Then what would you suggest, you ginormous twerp-faced asshole? And if you make another joke I’ll rip out your tongue and beat you with it, understand?”
Torin chuckled. “Alright, alright. The plan is to get plenty of distance each afternoon and then return each morning. Odds are we’ll still end facing a few monsters, but probably a tenth of what we would face if we stayed here, which we definitely don’t want to do.”
“Right now we should drink up, fill whatever water containers we have, and then retreat to a safe distance. We should probably also have a wash, I don’t know about the rest of you, but I could really use a decent scrub.”
Ziva, much calmer after finally getting a straight answer from the infuriating elf, asked “I thought we didn’t want to dirty our only water?”
Torin shook his head. “First of all, that ship has long since sailed thanks to big n’ tall over here.” Daniel had the good grace to look ashamed. “And second, we don’t have to worry. This is a dungeon, the water should be counted as a resource so it will refresh itself automatically.”
Idua looked confused. “Why did you want us to get Daniel out then?”
Torin grinned. “Well, who could pass up the opportunity to see two beauties with their robes all wet?”
Idua blushed strong enough to be seen through her fur, but Ziva became deathly still. Her head turned slowly towards Torin and gave him a look that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand. In a voice that was quiet and cold like the grave, she said one single word.
“Run.”