Chapter 36 Changes

“Let her be, she is well,” Melusine said.

Kate took in a deep breath, her whole body tensing up before she relaxed. “I need to sit,” she stammered out, moving her legs as Melusine and Eloise helped her sit down. She felt strange. As if something new was settling within her body. Comparable perhaps to having a really hearty meal after a long day out skiing, or eating too much fondue. The pulse she heard vanished as she focused on it, her enhanced hearing tuned as she willed it.

“That was quite interesting,” Melusine said. “Something happened to your body. The entirety of it.”

“Anything specific?” Kate asked.

The nurse shook her head. “My magic lets me gauge injuries. I can observe the body but it’s not the same as the tech available in a hospital. I’d be very interested to see your blood values right now, let me tell you that. Everything seemed accelerated for a few seconds. You’re back to normal now… but you seem different too.”

“I suppose that’s what an evolution is like,” Jon said.

“It’s very unspecific,” Grey complained.

“No explosion of blood, boring,” Allison said as she crossed her arms in front of her. “Can I look at the monster bits you got now? Bert, you have sewing supplies and the like, right? All old people have that.”

“You mean all reasonable people,” Bert grumbled. “The times have changed.”

“That is what time does,” Allison observed. “Show me, please.”

The old man left with Allison in tow, Ethan back to burning the corpses when nothing major happened.

“Are you alright?” Grey asked.

Kate hugged her knees. She felt good. Really, quite good. “Let’s go inside, you can write down the changes.”

“Yes!” Grey said, looking at Jon. “Let’s start.”

Melusine offered a hand but Kate stood up on her own, cracking her neck as she grabbed her hammer. The weight felt the same, but she was quite interested in testing everything.

Back inside, Eloise brought her another cup of coffee as she started to read out the messages.

“It’s good to have the second tier available, the skills are even more valuable now, but you’re right, mental attacks could mean all manner of dangerous magics,” Grey said.

“How can we even defend against that?” Jon said, shaking his head.

“With exactly these kinds of skills. Resistances. Also just knowing that kind of magic is out there is helpful, though I suppose something like Kate’s growl ability could fall into that category too,” Grey said.

Kate nodded, moving on.

“Another support Class slot,” Grey commented immediately. “Once you reach level thirty.”

“A longer gap than the first at level ten,” Jon said. “With both of you getting your support Classes at level ten, we can assume thirty is going to be a second one for everyone as well.” He wrote down the considerations in one of his books.

Kate glanced over, noting the insanely clean handwriting. Because of his job? Or is it a hobby?

“What could go with blood magic, close combat, and sound… I wonder,” Grey murmured, biting on his nails as his eyes glazed over slightly.

Kate went on with the first skill.

Blood Frenzy. The numbers themselves hadn’t changed but instead of stamina, the skill now used health itself. “It’s a little concerning,” Kate murmured.

“Using up your own health to attack?” Jon said, the look on his face similar to how Kate felt about it.

“It’s expected with blood magic. But not a detriment at all. Quite the contrary,” Grey explained. All eyes were on him. “T… the stats…” he gulped. “Vitality… you’re using Vitality now. Health is just another resource. Quantifiable even, as we just learned. Whatever ten points mean, it’s the highest amount you can put into a blow as energy. With Blood Frenzy active.”

Jon raised his brows. “Right. So Vitality basically becomes more than just health and resilience. It becomes a resource too.”

“Yes!” Grey called out. “Which means every point invested into the stat is going to be doubly beneficial. This is great news. It means combinations may be possible. Like using mana for health if you’re a high level mage, or using mana for stamina. Things can become interchangeable.”

“It opens a lot of possibilities,” Jon murmured.

Kate glanced to the side as she sipped on her coffee, seeing Allison descend the stairs with a large sewing machine. The thing was massive, half of it steel. “What the hell is that artifact?”

Allison grinned but kept her focus on not falling down the stairs. “Straight out of the Cold War.” She puffed as she reached the bottom. “Seriously though, it’s a Strohringer 1986. They don’t make them like this anymore. It’s slow but that thing can punch through boiled fucking leather as if it was butter. Indestructible needles too as far as rumors go.”

Kate just looked at her with a smile.

“Oh fuck off,” Allison murmured, taking her newfound treasure out and likely towards the armory.

“The monster bits bag is in the cellar!” Kate called out.

“I know.” She heard Allison say, mostly thanks to her enhanced hearing.

“Monster bits?” Celeste asked.

“You can go watch her,” Melusine said. “But don’t go into the cellar.”

“Yes!” the girl called out and rushed after the sewing enthusiast.

“Kids,” Bert grumbled as he slowly started his long descent down the stairs.

All the people that died, and this old man is still around, Kate thought, impressed by the sheer stubbornness. You go. Step by step.

“What’s the next skill? Or was that everything that changed?” Jon asked. The man far more interested in all the magic and monster related topics since he accepted their authenticity.

Kate refocused on the initial conversation and told them about the next change.

Vengeful Charge. The cooldown now reset upon killing an enemy.

“Useful, though the stamina cost remains,” Grey said.

“It’s halved,” Kate noted.

“Yes, but still limits you to nine reasonable uses, probably less,” he said and looked at the ceiling, starting to pace. He was the only one not sitting down. “But you get resources back upon killing something, so the loop could in theory just go on and on, especially with the numbers increasing at higher levels. That bonus alone is insane,” he murmured with a smile on his face.

He continued after she had read the changes to Reaper Jump. “So we can assume evolutions generally reduce the cost of skills, and add magic specific bonuses and additions. Similar additions to getting skills to the second tier by leveling them. Stat points from the Class levels and versatility, specialization from the skills. We’re starting to get somewhere. Having a physical resistance added during your jump is helpful too but very specific. And we have no clue how effective it really is.”

“We can test it,” Kate said. “I want to test the health sacrifice anyway.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“That sounds dangerous,” Eloise said, a worried expression on her face.

“It’s more dangerous if I don’t know how many times I can safely use it,” Kate said.

“Right,” Melusine said. “I will try to help with that.”

“And I can throw something at you while you jump, maybe we can figure it out. A medium resistance,” Grey said.

“Wouldn’t a resistance against physical things stop anything but mental attacks?” Jon asked.

“We don’t know yet, but usually physical damage refers to things like… swords, hammers, maybe even projectiles but those could be separate. Magical damage like ice spears or something like that is usually separate, even though yes, technically it’s a physical object too,” Grey explained.

“I see,” Jon murmured, turning the page in his book before he added the speculative information in the section labeled Resistances.

“I’m happy to test, with Melusine nearby,” Kate said, taking a sip of coffee.

“I’ll be there, dear,” the woman said and touched her hand in a gentle manner.

“The leveling is quite incredible too,” Grey said. “You’re going to be able to jump really high, even at level twenty.”

Kate nodded with a smile. “Seven meters at level twenty. I’d break my legs if I fell from that height,” she said and grinned, looking at Eloise.

The girl smiled awkwardly before she looked at the table.

“Even without the physical damage resistance, your Vitality alone would likely prevent that by then, maybe even now already,” Grey said. “Another thing to test.”

“How easily my legs break?” Kate asked.

“Y… I…” He scratched the back of his head.

“We will test it, when the time comes,” Melusine said with a broad smile. “Broken bones are fascinating,” she added as some kind of explanation for her enthusiasm.

Blood Rupture was the next skill on the list, the change quite substantial.

“Talk about area damage,” Grey said. “I will want to see that.”

“Me too,” Kate said. “But fifteen percent of my health is quite a chunk.”

“Not if you get most of it back from the creatures that die,” Jon said without looking up from his book.

“The radius is going to be impressive too at higher levels. Coupled with your mobility, your blood rush resetting its cooldown with every killed creature, you could decimate entire groups before anyone could even touch you,” Grey mused. “What was the normal cooldown again?”

“Of Blood Rush?” Kate asked. “Around thirty seconds. Twenty for the jump, but it could be different now with the changes.”

Grey slapped the table with his hand when he heard the description of the new Blood for the Living passive. “There you go. Infinite Vengeful Charge and Blood Ruptures. You already have a loop,” he said and moved both his hands through his hair. “Now I’m excited for my evolution.”

“Do you think the Support Classes evolve as well?” Jon asked.

“I hope so,” Grey said with a grin. “Kate, you’re going to be unstoppable.”

She raised a brow, sipping from her mug. “Against goblins maybe. There’s plenty worse we’ve seen already, and surely more we haven’t.”

“Right… right,” Grey said.

She read the changes to Fury of the Unarmored.

“I’m not sure how that would work, we’ll have to test it. I volunteer,” Grey said.

Kate glanced at the faces around the table, surprised nobody objected to people getting hurt. I suppose magic is exciting to all manner of people. Even Eloise seems interested to see the spell.

“I don’t suppose we have blood bags?” Kate asked. She hadn’t seen any in the pharmacies she raided.

“Empty ones,” Melusine said. “I can try to stock up.” She gave her husband a glance, all color fading from the man’s face in turn. “Gothic, Baroque, Modern, Victorian...”

Kate was confused for a moment, smiling when she saw Jon calm down, nodding at the list of architectural styles. The man didn’t like needles.

The last change was to her Terrifying Presence, the added bonus quite simple and obvious.

“Wouldn’t that effect be present anyway?” Eloise asked.

“It’s probably magical,” Grey said. “Just seeing a person covered in blood would not be scary to an orc, I think. Which means, you should probably cover yourself in blood all the time.”

Kate nodded, finishing her cup. She didn’t know if the idea was gross or awesome. Maybe a bit of both. A glance to the stairs informed her that Bert had finished his journey. “Well done, Bert.”

“Go to hell,” he said.

“We can test everything before sundown,” Kate said. “In case of more monsters coming at night. Maybe even undead. I’d like to know what I can do.”

Jon looked at his watch. “We have about eighty minutes.”

Kate sighed, crossing her arms as she looked at the wooden table. “We have to talk about Falstadt.”

She could hear the people shift in their chairs, their hearts pounding in their chests. She tuned out the sounds. “The city is… devastated.”

Jon clicked his pen a few times. “How bad is it?”

She shook her head. “The airforce…”

“I’m sorry,” Melusine said as she touched Kate’s forearm.

Kate shook her head, taking in a deep breath before she focused. “I… will want to go there.”

“Of course,” Jon said.

“Once we know more, and I’m as ready as I can be,” Kate said.

“I w… want to go… t… too,” Grey said, looking at her and then away.

“Just because I’m going?” Kate asked.

“No… m… my f… friend. Monkslayer515… he… he lives there. Lived. Maybe,” Grey said. “H… he’s the best wizard dps I know. You’d think it’s the easiest role because everyone wants to play it but he’s the best.”

“The best wizard dps,” Kate said and tilted her head a little. “Sounds like a plan.” She looked to the wheezing Bert, finally back in his armchair. “Got any relatives in Falstadt?”

“None worth a mention,” he said, quiet for a moment as the look on his face changed. “If, in the future, maybe you could check on Abby.”

“A long lost lover?” Kate asked.

“You lutt. She’s my granddaughter. The only person in this godforsaken family worth a damned thing. But she’s in Vienna,” he muttered.

“Vienna is quite a distance,” she said. “And the roads aren’t safe. If they’re even still there.”

“We have people in Salzburg,” Jon said before he sighed. “None of this is a priority, as much as it hurts. We have to focus on what we can do here, and now. Falstadt is a consideration due to the proximity, and all the resources we could get.”

“There’s a hospital,” Melusine said.

“Not just that. Power, weapons, food, bunkers, libraries, boats,” Kate said. “Just off the top of my head.”

“There will be more monsters there,” Grey said. “Undead.”

“You don’t know that,” Kate said, nearly shouting. She felt her blood for a moment. My blood. The sensation was strange, but there was no other way for her to describe it. As if her heartbeat pulsed through her. She calmed down, Melusine rubbing her arm. “I’m sorry.”

Grey looked down at the table.

“We’re taking everything into consideration,” Jon said. “And we’ll discuss the next steps when Logan is back up on his feet. I think some of the small towns and villages should remain our priority. Until we know more, and everyone is stronger. But of course we can’t force anyone to stay. Or guilt anyone into doing something they don’t want.”

Kate remained quiet. A part of her wanted to drive down to Falstadt right now, to check on her team. But she knew the people here needed her. Not just for her magical power.

Maybe she needed them too.

A smile tugged on her lips, thinking of Maurice leading a group of survivors against hordes of monsters. Or Fred, somehow spinning this entire ordeal into a romantic comedy. None of them would want her to come and find them, not when there were people that needed her. She thought the same way about them.

Survive. She felt another pulse in her blood, as if she willed the command to her friends, somewhere out there.

“I’m sorry, Grey. I’ve been under a lot of stress,” Kate said.

He looked at the table even more, turning a little red.

“What is it?” she asked.

“I… it… it’s been… exciting,” he said in a quiet voice.

Kate raised her brows. There were things she wanted to say to that, but she snapped her mouth shut. Thousands had died. More people than she had known, and those she did were likely gone as well. Everything she had worked to protect, gone up in flames. Monsters killed and pillaged as they spoke, discussing their simple plans.

She took in a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment as she sat back.

There was a part of her that wanted to punch him for what he had said. For his uncaring attitude. He had seen the dead, had he not? His wizard friend, his mother, they could both be dead.

She felt another pulse.

Magic. Her magic. The circumstances had changed. The world had changed. Going back was not an option, all she could do was focus on the now, and think of the future. When she had been a firefighter, they had tools, gear, skills they trained and honed, to protect and save people, buildings, pets. They taught people preventative measures, checked fire code violations, and in the worst case they took care of fires. And yet she had just been one woman. Fighting against an endless slew of accidents. Her time and energy was limited.

The first point remained true, but her energy, what she could physically do… that had already changed.

What had happened to Keilberg. What had happened to Falstadt. She couldn’t change it. Not anymore. But she could learn, could grow, to make sure whatever they built here would not meet the same fate.

And already she felt more powerful than she had ever been.

In that, she could empathize with Grey. But exciting wasn’t the right word.

It was intoxicating.

When she fought, when she let loose. When Mindless Ferocity burned away her doubts, when she killed the monsters that came for them. She gulped. It had meant survival, either her or them. Easy to justify, even to someone who had never hurt anyone. Even to someone who considered violence the last resort.

What she hadn’t admitted to herself so far, was that a part of her enjoyed it. Enjoyed it a lot.

“I need some fresh air,” she said, standing up as she nearly toppled the chair she had sat on. She bit her lower lip when she stepped out into the cool yard, though the difference to Bert’s home wasn’t much.

Ash still fell, scattered clouds moving above, evening sunlight coloring the autumn trees in gold and red.

It had been conflicting. The Berserker. Something she had rejected. Vile, violent, unhinged. A tool for survival, forced upon her.

Standing in the open as she looked for Wyverns, Kate started to think that perhaps a part of it had always been there.