The moment Kelsey heard the ding in her head that marked the end of the fight, she collapsed, her muscles giving out completely.
She hadn’t fully realized it until the fight was over, but her body was on the verge of giving up. She felt weak. It was as if her entire body was being held down by a ten-ton weight, barely even able to move.
“Kelsey, are you alright!?” Lisa shouted as she kneeled down next to Kelsey.
"She'll be fine, she just needs water, quick, your canteen!" Owen said in a rush.
Lisa did as Owen said and pulled out her canteen, tipping it into Kelsey's mouth. "Why does she need water? What's going on?
"Blood loss. Her regeneration, like the vast majority of healing magic in the world, doesn't fully replace the blood or mass permanently." he answered quickly.
Swallowing the water as fast as her body would allow, she immediately felt better. She turned her head and looked over at the wall she impacted after she was punched, and it was absolutely covered in her blood. Regeneration can repair my body, but it can’t replace blood and mass. How could I forget something so important? A few more minutes and I would have died... I need to be more careful... I could have-- should have, teleported away after that punch and eaten/drank something...
“You’re going to need to eat as soon as possible too. You almost certainly lost more than blood from that impact. I’d wager your bones and muscles are less dense right now as well.” Owen said as he sat down next to Kelsey. “That was a great fight, Kel. A stupid, stupid fight. But a great one.”
Thanks to Lisa’s water, Kelsey was already feeling much better. “Thanks Owen. Sorry for stopping you guys. It was stupid, but I had a plan and I needed to see it through.”
“What level was that thing anyways?” Lisa asked. “I didn’t get a chance to Identify it.”
“One seventeen.”
Owen and Lisa glanced at each other in shock before Owen spoke. “Well, you’re going to have one hell of a class at 100 if you keep this up. It was 50 levels or more higher than you, double your level, and a Gold rank monster that you fought alone in Silver rank.”
Kelsey couldn’t help but chuckle. “True. I wasn’t really considering that. I really just wanted to see if I could beat it. The advancement stuff is a nice added bonus though.”
“Are you feeling up to moving yet? If we get you back to camp, I can prepare some food for you.” Lisa said while she stood up.
“You two head on up, I want to check my notifications and get the loot from the Minotaur.”
A few minutes later, Owen and Lisa were making their way back up to the campsite and Kelsey checked her notifications.
*ding* You have defeated a [Crowned Minotaur - lvl 117].
*ding* Mageblood Arcanist has reached level 56 -> 64 +80 free stat points have been awarded!
Eight levels… wow. That fight may have been painful, but it was certainly rewarding.
*ding* Pain Tolerance has reached lvl 16 -> 20 (Maxed)
*ding* Congratulations! Pain Tolerance has reached level 20.
You may now disable your ability to feel pain from external sources. Pain will automatically be disabled if it reaches a certain threshold.
The ability to disable pain completely.... That mixed with my regeneration is going to come in handy. I’m curious how many people acquire this skill at my level. I can’t imagine there are that many people that would survive the pain I've endured without a Mageblood body.
*ding* Telekinesis has reached lvl 5 -> 7
*ding* Telekinetic Armory has reached lvl 4 -> 5
*ding* Teleport has reached lvl 3 -> 5
*ding* Spatial Vault has reached lvl 3 -> 5
*ding* Spatial Domain has reached lvl 6 -> 7
*ding* Telekinetic Enhancement has reached lvl 3 -> 5
*ding* Telekinetic Creation has reached lvl 6 -> 7
After checking her notifications, Kelsey stood up shakily and went around the room picking up anything that may be valuable. She took the monster’s core, the Jeweled Crown, and both halves of the greataxe.
Taking one final look at her status page before teleporting herself to the surface, Kelsey couldn’t help but smile at all the progress she had made while in The Bunker. One step closer to Immortality.
Name: Kelsey Kain
Primary Class: Mageblood Arcanist - lvl 64
Health: 8300/8300 [Regen %1 per minute]
Stamina: 8300/8300 [Regen %1 per second]
Mana: 16000/16000 [Regen %2 per second]
Constitution: 830
Endurance: 830
Strength: 680
Dexterity: 680
Intelligence: 1600
Willpower: 1600
Free Points: 13
Appearing on the first floor of The Bunker, Kelsey took a deep breath and went outside to sit with Owen and Lisa who were in the middle of preparing food for Kelsey.
“So, what's next?” Kelsey asked after taking a drink from her canteen.
“We need to stop in Whitebranch. Should only be for a day or two. Owen and I just need to register you as part of our party, then we should be good to go to The Trial .” Lisa said as she put some food on a plate for Kelsey.
“I see. That’s fine by me. I can use that time to sell the monster cores I gathered.” Pulling the Jeweled Crown and Ornate Bracer from her Vault, she held them up to show Lisa and Owen. “What do you think these will be worth?”
“Hard to know for sure. Normal dungeon weapons are basically worthless as the mana that makes them will dissipate after a few weeks. Items found on dungeon bosses usually have much more mana and are sometimes permanent objects. No way to know without having them appraised by an expert. The Guild has people for stuff like that though, so it shouldn’t be a problem.” Owen answered as he looked over the items.
After eating several meals and drinking plenty of water, Kelsey, Owen, and Lisa packed up their temporary camp and started making their way back to Whitebranch.
Much of the trip back was spent discussing Kelsey’s time in The Bunker with Owen and Lisa providing alternate hypothetical scenarios for Kelsey to think about.
Two days after the group left the bunker, while they were eating dinner after setting up camp, Owen got Kelsey's attention and said, “Hey, I think now that we’re going to be traveling together, it's probably time Lisa and I share our levels with you.” he said as a notification dinged in her head.
*ding* Owen Swanson has given you access to their Class and level information. Do you accept?
Yes/no
“Wait, you can share that kind of information? I just thought it wasn’t possible to Identify people’s levels without some sort of skill.” she said contemplatively.
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
“Oh yeah, it's some kind of default defense. There are skills and classes that can see that information though, so never assume your class and level are totally hidden. It's actually possible to just let everyone see your level at all times, but no one really does it.” Lisa answered.
She selected yes and then identified Owen.
[Bastion of Thunder - lvl 84]
“How do I share mine then?” she asked after successfully Identifying him.
“Just think about it.” he answered simply.
Over the next minute she figured out how to share her level and sent the offer to both Owen and Lisa, who both accepted. She also received an offer from Lisa, which she accepted.
[Glaive Prodigy - lvl 76]
“Wow Kel, level 64 already, and your class sounds so official.” Lisa said while shooting Kelsey a big grin. “Sounds like the kind of class a stuffy Mage College professor would have.”
“College!? You mean to tell me there are mage colleges?” Kelsey asked incredulously.
“Oh of course, that's how most people learn the concepts that surround their classes. Owen went to the College of Marheim, right Owen?
“Yeah, learned all about how electricity is generated, static pressure, conductivity, and a dozen other things. I received a new skill option about once a month while I was there.” he said contemplatively. “Education has improved greatly since some Otherworlders have been spreading knowledge. The skills of the general population are significantly stronger these days thanks to the information from Earth.”
“And what about you Ms. Glaive Prodigy?” Kelsey asked, shooting Lisa a cheeky grin.
“Hey, mine only sounds that high and mighty because I advanced when I was still 12. One of the advancement requirements was “under 13”.” she said a little defensively.
Kelsey could tell that she had accidentally just hit a sore spot with her friend. What in the world happened to cause her to fight, and kill enough to get level 25 in one year as a child?
Trying to break the sudden tension, and change the subject, Kelsey said. “I see, well, gotta say. I am glad I’m going to have you two watching my back in The Trial.”
Giving Kelsey a warm smile Lisa responded. “Right back at you, Kel. With all of us together in one place, we'll be unstoppable.”
The six days it took for the group to travel back to Whitebranch were wholly uneventful other than a few run-ins with some wild monsters that were dispatched easily by their group.
Arriving at the town, Kelsey saw that the refugees were still being kept outside the city.
“What in the world is going on with these refugees? Why is it taking so long to get them inside the city?” Kelsey asked through clenched teeth. “My brother said they were working on it but there was a hold out. Someone named Watson. He had a noble rank that I don’t remember.”
Owen looked back at Kelsey with a shocked look on his face. “Viscount Watson? Your brother said he was the one that didn’t want them in? Why? He’s one of the people with the most to gain from them entering the city.”
“That’s what Thadius said too, he thought it was strange. He said that the Viscount was threatening to put his entire workforce on strike if they were allowed in.”
“I’ll talk to my brother later today and ask him to see if the Queen has any insight into this particular situation.” Owen said absentmindedly.
“Queen? Brother? What are you talking about?”
Owen and Lisa both looked at Kelsey with confused faces. “My brother, Gregory. Gregory Swanson. The Guild Master. Our mother is the Queen.” he answered.
“The Queen!? You’re royalty? How did I not know about that?” Kelsey asked, feeling absolutely foolish.
“Ex-royalty." Owen corrected. "I just assumed Thadius would have told you. My brother and I both gave up our titles and right to the throne a couple decades ago, but we still have contact with our mother. We didn’t want to abandon her, we just wanted to get away from the court politics. Well, them and our father.” he said, finishing his thought darkly.
Kelsey still didn't know what to say, she was completely floored by the information, just staring at Owen as if he were a different person.
Owen grinned at Kelsey's shock. "Our mother is an Immortal; she has over two hundred children... I promise, we aren't that special around here." he chuckled softly.
Hearing that, it really did help Kelsey feel better about not knowing something so important.
“Well, it would certainly be helpful to have any additional insight into this Viscount and his motives. But, we’re going to be in town for a few days. I think I’m going to do some sleuthing while we’re here. I can pass along any information I find to my brother, and yours.” Kelsey said as she began walking towards the town again.
So, the trio walked down the road and entered the town of Whitebranch from the north. The next few hours were quite monotonous as Kelsey had to do the very tedious job of selling all of the monster cores and items she acquired during her excursion through The Bunker.
She ended up selling all of her cores for a total of 113 gold coins and some loose change. Unfortunately, 100 pieces of that gold went directly back to the Guild in order to help pay off her debts to Thadius. She also left the crown, the bracer, and the two halves of the greataxe with the Guild appraiser. She was told that they would have an evaluation for the items in 2 or 3 weeks. She didn’t have that kind of time, so she asked them to just sell them for whatever they were worth and use it to pay back her debt.
After selling her goods, she decided to start looking into Viscount Watson. She thought that he must have a reason for not wanting the refugees inside the city, and finding that reason was going to be Kelsey's first priority.
She began her investigation by asking subtle questions around the town square to find out where Viscount Watson’s house was located.
After being told the information by a very friendly vegetable merchant, she made her way to a residential section of the town and found a neighborhood called Whitebark Lane. Really keeping with the tree theme, I see.
To call the buildings in Whitebark Lane ‘houses’ would have been a gross understatement. They were mansions and estates, each and every one of them. She could pretty easily tell which ones were designed by Thadius however because she saw many design choices that she remembered from mansions back on Earth. Large panes of glass, giant doorways that could comfortably fit an elephant, and immaculately manicured lawns with perfectly straight hedges and bushes.
After arriving, it took several minutes to find the Viscount’s estate, but she did eventually find it thanks to the giant ornate gate in front of the estate with the word ‘Watson’ attached in giant gold letters.
See, this is why I'll never have giant gold letters with my last name on the side of my buildings. That and it's just gaudy.
The estate itself was large. One of the largest in the neighborhood. It was a three-story structure with marble walls and dark wood accents and a flat stone roof with a layer of soil and grass on top. On the roof seemed to be a lounging area with seating and other simple amenities.
On the grounds of the estate, there was a separate building made of more normal cut stone where it seemed the mansion's employees lived based on the cramped living quarters she saw inside.
Looking carefully through the estate with her domain, Kelsey was unable to find any indication that the Watson family had any ulterior motives for not wanting the refugees in the city. In fact, she wasn’t able to find a single mention of refugees in any of the documents she skimmed with her domain. All of the documents were about orders, shipments, and procurements of textiles.
The only odd thing she noticed was a particularly large vault underneath the estate. Every estate in the area had a vault that she was unable to pierce with her domain, but the vault at the Watson estate was dozens of meters wide and several dozen meters long. It was larger than most houses she had seen in the town. But a slightly larger vault wasn’t enough evidence to suspect someone of foul play, so she moved on to her next idea. She of course suspected the Viscount of foul play for entirely different reasons. What kind of businessman doesn’t want 20,000 potential new customers?
Kelsey began making her way to the west side of the town so she could exit and head to the slums. Last time she was in the slums she met a man named Alfred, she wanted to see if his opinions on the situation had changed in the weeks since they had last spoken.
Upon entering the slum, Kelsey lowered the range of her domain down to just 30 meters around her. That was something she realized she was able to do when one night during their trip to The Bunker she accidentally saw Owen and Lisa sharing an intimate moment together in Owen’s tent. She had reflexively recoiled at unintentionally intruding on their privacy and her instincts pulled the domain back until she was no longer able to see them. She guessed they weren’t aware that she had her domain active at all times.
So, thanks to the shrinking of her domain, she was able to walk around with her perception at normal speeds without being overloaded with information from the tightly packed population that lived in the slums. She made her way through the cramped streets and dirty roads until she found the new area that was under construction. It only took a few minutes of asking around until she found the person running the construction project.
It wasn’t the man she remembered.
The man running the project now was a gentleman on the shorter side with a large bushy brown mustache under his nose and short hair. He was wearing denim overalls with a dark brown tunic underneath.
Seeing him directing the project, she walked up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder, a nearly identical recreation of the first introduction she had with Alfred. “Hey, do you know where I can find a man named Alfred? I met him last time I was around here.”
Turning around and seeing who had just interrupted him, an unnerving smile broke out on the man’s face. “Ahh I’m sorry miss, terrible news; Alfred’s gone missing. I’m his replacement, Bertrand, nice to meet you.”
“Oh, I see, my name is Kelsey, and that doesn’t sound good, when did he go missing?”
A dark shadow briefly passed over Bertrand’s face before he answered carefully. “Well, there's been some unfortunate occurrences happening recently. There have been some people going missing, and not just a few either. He’s one of the most recent ones.”
“What? You mean like kidnappings?” Kelsey asked in horror.
“So far about 70 people have gone missing in the past eight weeks; mostly women and children. I believe that these disappearances are what’s causing the delay in us getting into the city.” he answered gloomily.
Kelsey didn’t know what to say, she stood speechless for several seconds, processing what she had just been told.
"Are you an adventurer, Miss?" Bertrand asked as Kelsey was thinking.
She nodded. "Yeah, I am. I've been looking into why the refugees aren't being allowed in the city, and I think I just found it."
Bertrand look pleased and leaned in towards Kelsey to whisper conspiratorially. “I have some information that may help you then. There is a rumor of a building outside of the town, about 6 kilometers south of here that is nestled in a small patch of forest. I’ve heard that that is where they take the victims once they’ve been kidnapped.”
Convenient... “How confident are you?”
“Very. We all woke up one morning and someone found their wife and son missing. When a group of us began discussing the situation, a man came forward and told us about some lights he had seen the previous night heading south. They sent a group in that direction, and they found the building, but they searched it and didn’t find anything. No one has the guts to go to the place at night though.”
A rumor about a building that might be involved. If they didn’t find anything, why is he so confident? She had a bad feeling about all of this.
“Why isn’t the guard doing anything about this? Or the Guild?” Kelsey asked seriously.
“The guards won't listen to us, and we aren’t allowed in the town to talk to the Guild, but even if we were, we don’t have enough money to pay for a Gold ranker to take on this contract which would be the minimum requirement for a contract of this scale.” he said, sounding annoyed.
Kelsey didn't know what to think. There was a Viscount who didn't want the refugees inside the town, missing people, and a rumor about a building that sounded entirely too much like a trap. Kelsey decided that she was going to excuse herself and ask some of the other refugees, see what they had heard about the missing persons and the mysterious building.
“Okay, I’ll do what I can. Thanks Bertrand.” she said as she began walking back towards the gate to Whitebranch.
“Take care Kelsey, and make sure to watch your back.” Bertrand said, his tone sounding more like a threat than a simple piece of advice.
“Will do, Bertrand, you too.” she replied coolly.