Tik-tik-tik-tik-plonk.
The stone skipped four times across the gently flowing surface of the lagoon before splashing down into the water, sending out a series of expanding ripples to lap against the sandy shore. Jade crouched down, searching for another rounded stone to toss. There. She picked it up, the small stone's smooth surface warm to the touch after lying in the midday sun. It was a little heftier than the one she'd just thrown. Jade adjusted her grip to compensate, and then sent it skimming out across the water with a sidearm that was more forceful than was strictly necessary.
Tik-tik-plonk.
With a grunt of dissatisfaction she plopped onto the ground, pulling her knees up to her chest. Slowly, she tilted her head forward until her forehead was resting on her legs.
"So…" Naomi said in a small voice. "What do we do?"
The dark-haired woman was sitting nearby, leaning against a tree. She had a habit of staying in the shade, which Jade assumed had something to do with her fair complexion. After the news they'd just received, she was paler than ever.
"What else can we do?" Jade said bitterly. "We have to try and stop it. Find those Cores as soon as we can… and break them."
The four of them: Jade, Naomi, Luis, and Siora, were sitting in a group outside the sanctuary, next to the beautiful lagoon that dominated the jungle valley. They had come back outside to reflect on everything they had just learned and, in Jade's case, to blow off some steam. Intellectually, she understood that Damos himself wasn't to blame for anything that was happening to them. Hell, he had saved her life just a couple of days ago. Emotionally, however, she was having a hard time separating him from what the Labyrinth was doing to them. And to Earth.
After the revelation that several thousand random people would effectively be responsible for protecting Earth from the Labyrinth, Damos had gone on to give them a few more details. The first of the Labyrinth Cores, the devices that would power what Naomi had aptly described as the strip mining of their home planet, wouldn't start coming online for the next 40 or so days. Around that same time, permanent gateways to the Labyrinth would begin popping up across the planet, allowing easy access to the dungeon from most parts of the world.
Not that it'll do us much good.
Anyone who came into the Labyrinth from Earth now would just be a level 1 human. Damos had explained that, like Siora and other non-wayfarer residents of the Labyrinth, they would still be able to gain experience and level up via battling monsters and other ancillary activities like discovering nodes and crafting, but without access to quests progress would be painfully slow. Moreover, even when they did level up, the spells, abilities, and talents other humans from Earth would have access to would be limited to a rather generic set of 'universal' and 'racial' options. The butler had also mentioned apprentices, which seemed to be a limited way to impart a class to someone not participating in the trial, but hadn't gone into details.
Maybe some people who entered once the permanent gates were open would be able to gain levels quickly enough to help, from what Damos had said the whole ordeal could drag on for years, but Jade doubted that would be easy. As much as she wanted to believe the modern military forces of Earth could handle all of this themselves, the attendant had made it clear that the magical powers and rapid growth afforded to wayfarers were by far the most reliable way to protect their home. According to him, the Labyrinth had certain safeguards in place that prevented it from being invaded by large armed forces.
"We've gotta do our part." Luis agreed with a shrug. "Not much else to it."
"How can you be so relaxed about this?" Naomi demanded, throwing up her hands. She'd been calm during Damos's explanation, but the stress of their situation was clearly starting to get to her. "We're being told that we have to fight our way through several levels of an increasingly dangerous labyrinth, encountering who knows how many deadly monsters, in order to stop a bunch of magical machines from tearing apart the fucking planet."
Naomi's voice cracked as she finished, and she buried her face in her hands.
"It's too much…" She sobbed. "I just want… I just want to go home."
"Naomi…" Jade stood up and took a step towards her, then paused. What was she going to say? What could she say? She didn't have any better solution to this.
Siora, who was glumly lying in the grass nearby, caught Jade's eye. She sat up, jerking her head towards Naomi and scooting towards her.
"I'm sorry, Naomi." The elf said quietly. "But there are thousands of wayfarers from your home here. You don't have to do it alone."
That's right. Jade thought. Sometimes, people just need comfort.
Jade joined Siora beside Naomi, putting a hand on her shoulder. A moment later Luis was there too. The four of them huddled close, finding solace in companionship.
"That's right, amiga." Luis said softly. "We've been doing alright together so far, yeah? And we're just getting started. It'll get better."
Jade was about to add some reassurances of her own when a strange sensation came over her. Emanating from Naomi was a… scent? A taste? Some mixture of the two, felt more in mind than in body. It was sweet and sharp, a pleasantly alluring flavor that soothed Jade's troubled thoughts. She found herself shifting closer to Naomi as her companions conversed, instinctively drawn to the pleasant aroma.
What is this?
Focusing on the feeling gave her some insight into its source. Jade missed what Luis said next, distracted by her introspection as she discovered that some of the magical pathways tracing patterns through her body were active. Not strongly so, not like when she cast a spell, but there was definitely a trickle of mana flowing through her. The paths were linked to a spell she hadn't had cause to cast yet, one that she wasn't sure she was entirely comfortable with. 'Kiss of Night', the trademark ability of a succubus to drain life force with a simple kiss.
Siora said something next. Whatever it was, it made Naomi smile and, strangely, the sweet scent drifting from her began to fade. For a moment Jade was even more confused, but then her instinctive understanding of her nature and powers kicked in. Clarity hit Jade like a splash of cold water, and a sudden wave of dread washed over her as she realized exactly what she was sensing.
Fear. Naomi's fear for herself and those she loved. Either Jade's very nature as a succubus, the Kiss of Night spell she possessed, or possibly some combination of the two, allowed her to sense the strong emotions her friend was feeling. She could literally taste her fear. That was odd, but not alarming. What seriously concerned Jade was how good her fear tasted. An urge to drink it in welled up inside her, a desire to use her spell and suffuse herself with the sweetness of Naomi's distress.
It took more effort than Jade was comfortable with to pull away from her friends. The scent vanished, whether due to Jade physically shifting herself further from her or because Naomi had mastered her fear she didn't know.
"Remember, I'll help too." Siora was saying. "I'm not going to forget what you're doing for me. I might not be a warrior, but I'll make whatever potions you need. If I can brew it, it's yours."
No one seemed to have noticed Jade's brief internal struggle. The sensation had passed as quickly as it had come, leaving the succubus feeling oddly empty. Which was alarming in and of itself.
"We're going to get through this." Jade forced herself to say something that at least made it sound like she'd been paying attention to the conversation. "And we're going to get home."
"I… Yeah…" Naomi sniffed, looking around at the three of them clustered about her. "Thanks."
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They all took a few minutes to collect themselves and finish processing what they'd learned. Or, at least, to start processing it. Jade used the time to try and convince herself that feeling other people's emotions wasn't a bad thing, and that it had just surprised her. She did her best to forget the urge to siphon said emotion, possibly alongside the life force of the friend it had belonged to. A few tentative experiments with her internal mana circuits failed to reveal any remaining palpable emotions, and Jade relaxed a little. So, she could detect strong feelings sometimes. That was ok. Compared to some of her other powers, it was downright mundane.
Even so, it had been an unsettling experience. Jade was determined to learn how to control those impulses, because she was not going to feed on her friends' feelings.
None of them were truly ready to face the task ahead of them, but they had a deadline and could afford only so much self-indulgence. So, when Luis stood up to get back to work, Jade and Naomi joined him without hesitation.
"Alright." the bard said, wiping her eyes with the palm of her hand. "We need a plan."
"We need to get stronger." Jade said immediately. "And to level up as fast as possible. According to Damos, quests give more experience than just killing monsters. We'll focus on those."
"We've gotta practice together too." Luis added. "Come up with moves and formations and…" He waved a hand in a vague gesture. "Tactical stuff. Not just running around and hitting things."
"Good idea." Jade nodded in agreement. "I've already been thinking of a few I'd like to try."
"We should also plan out our level ups." Naomi said. "If we're going to stick together for this, then we'll want our abilities to complement each other's."
"I hit level four in that spider fight." Luis said. "I haven't picked anything yet though."
"I already chose a spell for level four." Jade admitted. "But it was the best option for teamwork. From now on I'll wait to discuss any choices before I decide."
"We are going to stick together, right?" Naomi said, looking between Jade and Luis.
"Of course we are!" Luis said, throwing an arm around the shorter woman. "What, you want to go at it alone? Save the world by yourself?"
"N-no!" Naomi said with a blush. "I… Just wanted to make sure." She paused, looking away. "I know I haven't been the most reliable."
"Fuck that." Jade said. "I'd much rather have you at our back than not."
"Besides, you're the healer." Luis said with a grin. "Every party needs a healer."
"Thanks… That makes me feel better." She said, managing a weak smile. "By the way Jade… Has anyone ever told you that you swear a lot?"
"No fuckin' way." Jade deadpanned, drawing a laugh from her companions. Despite everything, she felt herself crack a smile too. "No, seriously, you should've heard us in the locker room. Our coach gave us deductions for cursing on the floor. We usually had a lot of venting to do at the end of the day."
"That's not very feminine of you." Naomi teased.
"Maybe not, but I have an excess of 'feminine wiles' now." Jade sighed. "Have to balance them out somehow."
----------------------------------------
While Siora went to inspect the local plant life for anything useful, the rest of them got to work reviewing their levels and abilities. After their first conference the previous day in the Tranquil Forest Sanctuary and their subsequent battles, the three of them already knew the basics of what they could each do. But now that Damos had explained the peril that threatened Earth, and their role in protecting their home, it was more important than ever that they worked well as a team. Jade went first, sharing the contents of her status pages.
* Name: Jade Callian
* Level: 4 (Mark of the Wayfarer)
* Race: Succubus
* Class: Shadow Witch
* Origin: Earth
* Base Stat Scores
* Strength: 6
* Agility: 10
* Fortitude: 8
* Intelligence: 9
* Willpower: 7
* Abilities:
* Shapechange
* Bondage Queen
* Spells (2/3)
* Allure (level D) (racial spell) (13%)
* Kiss of Night (level D) (racial spell) (0%)
* Clinging Darkness (level D) (6%)
* Chains of Shadebloom (level D) (0%)
* Talents (1/3)
* Vital Sight (level D) (8%)
Looking back over her character sheet reminded Jade that she had yet to cast two of her spells. 'Kiss of Night' was an attack spell that required her to, as the name implied, kiss someone. Unfortunately, it had several restrictions that made it difficult to use in battle. Foremost among them was that it only worked on living creatures that were capable of higher-level thinking and emotions. That seemed to rule out a lot of monsters right off the bat, and Jade hadn't found a good opportunity to put it to use yet.
Still, the spell had some powerful benefits, including healing her and giving bonus experience if she siphoned more life force than she needed. It could be a powerful tool to help her level if she could find eligible enemies, and if those enemies would let her get close enough. For some reason, though, Jade found the idea of killing someone with a kiss more uncomfortable than just stabbing them to death.
'Chains of Shadebloom' was her most recent acquisition, a spell that allowed her to place a magical trap on the ground that would bind any creature that triggered it. Jade was especially looking forward to experimenting with that one as it had the potential for creative applications.
While poring over her status screen she also found an option to toggle indicators to display progress towards the next rank for each spell and talent. This was something that she'd already been getting an instinctive feel for just by using her magic, but it was helpful to get a quantitative representation of her increasing mastery. The only question was, what happened what she reached 100% with a spell? Jade assumed that it advanced to the next level, but wasn't sure. Fortunately, a help menu appeared to clear up her confusion.
* Help: Spell and Talent progression.
* When you reach 100% progression with a spell or talent, that feature advances in rank one level. Some spells and talents gain alternate or additional features upon levelling up. Whether higher levels of a feature have new effects or not, its power will grow with each rank increase.
* Note: You retain access to lower-level versions of your spells and talents and are not required to cast them at their maximum level.
* Help: Spell and Talent ranks, from lowest to highest.
* F, D, C, B, A, AA, S, SS
Jade read through the information with interest, then closed the menus. That was all good to know, and she shared her findings with her companions. Next, Luis shared his status window.
* Luis Espanoza
* Level: 4 (Mark of the Wayfarer)
* Race: Human
* Class: Spell Guardian
* Origin: Earth
* Base Stat Scores
* Strength: 9 (12)
* Agility: 6
* Fortitude: 9
* Intelligence: 7
* Willpower: 7
The biggest difference between Jade and Luis's stat scores were their primary attributes. Luis was focusing on strength so far, as opposed to agility, with fortitude and intelligence as secondary attributes. His strength was further boosted by the ring they'd taken from the goblin chief yesterday. The rest of his character sheet listed the spell 'Shield Burst' and the talent 'Guardian Dash'. Finally, he also had an ability called 'Mana Shield' that he explained allowed him to passively shift a portion of incoming damage to his mana instead of health. Apparently, that was a core feature of the 'Spell Guardian' class.
"If you get a high enough fortitude and intelligence to raise your health and mana." Jade said after Luis was done. "You'll be able to shrug off hits from monsters with ease."
Next, they went over his pending selection for level 4. Luis had already assigned his stat points, but still had a feature pending. Naomi and Jade helped him sort through the options, which for this level included 5 various spells and talents. After discussing the merits of each Luis eventually selected the spell 'Force Blade', which allowed him to project waves of energy from his sword that could damage and stagger opponents.
Finally, it was Naomi's turn. She was still level 3, although the bard was on the cusp of levelling up to 4 as well. That would bring with it a new feature for her to choose from, which Naomi wanted as soon as possible.
"If we're going to be fighting, I need more options to choose from." She said to Jade as they went over her character sheet again.
"We'll get you there today." Jade assured her. "Once we're done with this, it's time to train."
* Naomi Rosales
* Level: 3 (Mark of the Wayfarer)
* Race: Human
* Class: Idol
* Origin: Earth
* Base Stat Scores
* Strength: 4
* Agility: 7
* Fortitude: 7
* Intelligence: 9
* Willpower: 9
Except for strength, Naomi had been spreading out her stat points fairly evenly. For a spell focused bard class like 'Idol', mana management was going to be important. That meant a high intelligence and willpower would come in handy. Fortunately, those were already two of her highest ability scores. Luis also suggested that it wouldn't be a bad idea for her to put a point or two into strength at some point, just in case she needed it.
Naomi was the only one of them to have zero talents. Instead, she had three spells and an ability. Her spells were 'Sonic Boom', 'Fleetfoot', and 'Hymn of Healing', all of which she had been using to good effect so far. 'Superstar', the ability that came with selecting the 'Idol' class at level 1, was also interesting. It allowed her to amplify her voice and any music she was playing, giving her support spells greater power and reach. It also had a secondary effect, increasing the power and level of her spells when a sufficient number of people were watching her perform. Jade was having a hard time thinking of a scenario where that would come into play, but it had the potential to be very powerful under the right circumstances.
When they had finally finished going over everything, Luis stood up and stretched.
"Alright, that's enough talkin'." he said, tapping the hilt of the giant sword strapped across his back. "There's only one way we're gonna get better." Luis flashed Jade a grin. "And that's by doin'."
He was right. They had gotten everything they were going to out of discussion. The clock was ticking for Earth, and there was no time to waste.
"Ok." Jade said, checking the daggers in her belt. They were still in pretty good condition, strong and sharp. "Let's find some monsters. It's time to grind."