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[Warrior's Presence]
[Rank: C]
[Type: Passive]
[Description: You have sharpened your fighting spirit so much so that lesser creatures around you can sense your strength. Enemies that are weaker then you within 30 feet of you have all their stats weakened. The amount is determined by the difference in level]
***
[Blitz]
[Rank: D+]
[Type: Active]
[MP Cost: 20]
[Description: You dash forward in a blur, briefly tripling your movement speed for 3 seconds or until you stop moving]
***
[Healing Whispers]
[Rank: C+]
[Type: Active]
[MP cost: N/A]
[Description: Your words have become so powerful that they can heal the wounds of others. You convert 1 MP into HP to heal the person you can see within 30 feet of you. The amount of HP healed per MP is based on your Faith stat]
[Current Conversion Rate: 1 MP > 4 HP]
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"Well that solves the issue of needing to be nearby to heal others." Matthew mumbled to himself as he looked over his upgraded skill. But then his attention turned once again to one of his new skills: [Warrior's Presence].
Simply put, it was insane. While Matthew didn't know how much the skill decreased his opponent's stats, he was shocked it did it to anyone within a radius of himself.
It was rare among hunters for skills to debuff other creatures. Mostly the skills were held within healer or mage type hunters and only ever targeted one or two magic beasts. Even then it only decreased a single attribute, like it's speed or mana level, not all of them.
Then there was Blitz, Sanri's skill. Sanri had two separate skills, when Matthew had gotten the quest to duel Sanri, he was curious as to which skill he'd get. But it seemingly had depended on which skill Sanri actually used.
Matthew had seen Sanri use it plenty of times before when they had traveled through dungeons. In the beginning Matthew had thought it was some form of short-range teleportation. Although with his increased senses he had noticed it was him just moving extremely quickly; something that his E-rank reactions couldn't track.
Suddenly, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket.
He'd received a text from Berret.
"Sanri decided to just ask Valine for some healing cause his wounds weren't that bad. We'll meet in the briefing room once I have a chat with the 'man upstairs' to get our gate for the week. Also, you're gonna really need to chat about what the hell happened with you."
Matthew responded back. "Got it. I'll explain the situation to the whole group in the briefing room."
A second layer, Berret simply replied back with a thumbs-up emoji as Matthew pocketed his phone.
***
While the armory of the guild hall wasn't the most impressive thing in the world, it still had hunting gear of decent enough quality to get most hunters through a fair amount of dungeons. However Matthew was certain there were better shops to get equipment if he wanted the trip of going part-way across town to the shopping district. Unfortunately he was in a strange state of having too much time to do a menial task, and too little time to go anywhere outside the guild hall.
Matthew grabbed his hands near his shoulders as he approached the armory. He focused for a moment on the mercenary's garb he'd gotten just a few days ago in the undead gate. It felt like he'd had the garb for ages, but in reality he'd just out grown it like a child would outgrow their new favorite pair of pants during a growth spurt.
The leather goat suddenly materialized around him as he took the coat off.
Suddenly he felt his sense of movement dull ever-so-slightly as the bonus to agility from the armor was expelled.
Back when he'd gotten the garb, the bonus had seemed substantial from what his stats were before. But now, even without the bonus, his agility was settled at a comfortable 49, his second highest just behind vigor which was an even 50.
Matthew rolled the jacket around his hand as he carried it to the front desk.
A rather bulky man with a scraggly beard that touched the top of his sternum stood behind the desk. If Matthew didn't know any better, he'd have thought the man was a tanker or fighter for one of the trooper guild's squads. But in reality he was a D-rank hunter who had a non-combat skill. Matthew had never bothered to ask exactly what it was, but from what he understood it allowed him to immediately understand the item he held in his hands, although it wasn't always accurate depending on the complexity of the item.
"Ah, Matthew, back from vacation?" The man said, opening his arms in welcome to the hunter.
"Hey Greg." Matthew said, making a light wave to the large man as he set the coat in his hands on the counter. "How much for this coat here?"
Greg raised a brow. "You're not normally the one to turn gear in. What happened to your old one?"
"Lost it while in vacation. But I got this one. But I've sort of outgrown it as of late." Matthew explained.
Greg picked up the coat and scanned Matthew up and down. "You don't look much taller." He noted before turning his attention back to the item in his hands. "What rank is this?"
"D-rank... I'm pretty sure." Matthew said, trying to recall the item screen of the garb.
Greg eyed the coat up and down, turning it over and inside out before turning it back. "It's pretty decent for a D-rank item; oddly light too. You sure on selling this? Could do an E-rank well to have this."
"Yes I'm sure. I'm just trying to get something a bit better." Matthew noted.
Greg just shrugged before stepped back from the desk and setting the coat under a machine against the back wall of the room. A moment later Greg returned with the coat in hand. "It's quite a piece for a D-rank item. How's 8 thousand sound?"
Matthew's eyes widened slightly. "That's a little high for a D-rank item. Isn't the base normally like 4 or 5 thousand?"
Greg just gestured to the coat. "This is a little high for a D-rank item. The scanner still calculates its mana readings within D-rank. But with that little buff it has it could topple into low C-rank if it was a bit more durable."
"Yeah, 8 thousand is good." He said handing Greg his card.
Greg typed out a few things on the kiosk next to him before swiping Matthew's card and handing it back to him before taking the coat, folding it up, and shoving it into a drawer nearby to be put up later.
"I assume you're wanting a new set of gear now that your pockets are a bit heavier and you are armor-less." Greg noted with a gesture at Matthew who wore nothing but his pants and shirt, neither of which were magical by any means.
Matthew nodded.
"Alright, c'mon." Greg noted as he gestured around the counter to follow him into the actual armory itself.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Greg led Matthew into a large storage area with any number of magical weapons, armor, rings, and various other items.
"You looking for another D-rank piece?"
Matthew shook his head. "C-rank this time."
Greg shrugged. "Where'd you get that other coat anywho? And it's not like you to try to get the best-of-the-best equipment, or are you just celebrating your return with a gift for yourself?Or maybe someone else?" Greg cracked a light smirk.
Matthew waved his hand. "It's for me, I can assure you. And I found the coat in a dungeon during my vacation."
Greg scoffed. "You went on vacation just to go face more dungeons? Vacations are to get away from work, not do more of it."
Matthew just shrugged. "Wasn't my intention to begin with. It was just an odd set of events."
"Well anyways," Greg finally stopped at another section of the armory littered with varying types of armor and robes. "Take your pick."
Matthew walked passed several sets of armor. As he got close several screens of item descriptions passed by him.
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[Lizardmen Scale Mail]
[Rank: C-]
[Defense: +15]
[Description: A set of chain mail made from the scales of a particularly durable lizardmen. While it may look cumbersome, it is surprisingly flexible and doesn't hinder movement.]
***
[Black Leather Armor]
[Rank: C-]
[Defense: +15]
[Description: Leather armor that has been blackened and hardened by the ink of a giant squid. Due to the ink coating the armor, it has gained additional effects whilst submerged.]
[Equipment Effects: Movement speed increased by 35% whilst fully submerged in any body of water or similar liquid.]
***
[Sentinel Plate]
[Rank: C+]
[Defense: +30]
[Description: Heavy plate armor for those who stand against the tide of battle. While the armor is durable, it is also heavy. However the weight of the armor could prove useful.]
[Equipment Bonus: -10% movement speed, +10 strength.]
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Matthew passed by the sets or armor before one set caught his eye. It was a set brilliant white half plate armor with black leather tying the plates of steel together. Along the center breastplate was an emblem of a golden spear with wings on either side of it. It looked like a slightly less ornate armor his warriors of faith used, minus their helm.
"That one just came in yesterday actually. Pretty sure some of your squad went into the gate that dropped it. That one's kinda odd, despite its mana readings saying it's on the cusp of B-rank it's pretty flimsy and doesn't seem to do much except look a little fancy." Greg explained.
As Matthew took a few steps closer to the armor, a shimmering screen appeared.
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[Holy Plate]
[Rank: B-]
[Defense: +10]
[Description: A rather fragile set of armor blessed by brilliant mana. The true worth of this armor has yet to be revealed.]
[Equipment Bonus: +20 faith]
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"I think I'll take this one." Matthew stated as soon as he saw the bonuses to his stats.
"You sure? It's durability is just a bit higher then that coat you sold." Greg stated.
Matthew just nodded. "I'll make good use of it."
Greg shrugged and began to take the armor from the stand. "How much you want for it. Haven't really thought of a price yet. Despite its mana readings it's hardly worth anything in the high C rank; so 10 thousand is off the table. What about 7 thousand?"
"That means I walk away with a grand extra from all this. Are you fine with losing money?" Matthew noted.
Greg just scoffed. "I may have bought that coat from you for 8 grand. But I can sell it for nearly 10 or 11 grand if a hunter's desperate enough. That's why I'm willing to part with this for such a low price." He gesture to the armor in his hands. "I doubt anyone would buy this thing except you. Might as well make some money off of it. All art of the trade."
Matthew chuckled. "Whatever works as long as we both walk away happy."
With that the pair walked back to the desk to end the transaction.
***
Matthew went to one of the changing rooms on the second floor of the building. He pulled up the armor's window and equipped it.
In a brief flicker of light the armor on his arms disappeared before reappearing around him, fitting him perfectly and wrapping around every bit of his body. A moment later, the armor faded out of view
Despite Matthew not seeing the armor on himself in the mirror, he could still feel the weight of it on his shoulders. However the armor was oddly light. It didn't seem to impede him in any way.
Matthew concentrated on the weight around his body attempting to will the armor into visibility. Despite his items fading from view- which could be useful at times- he thought it best to at least loom battle-ready when entering a gate.
As soon as he equipped his armor several windows suddenly opened before him.
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[Skill 'Healing Whispers' has increased in power due to your Faith]
[Current Conversion Rate: 1 MP > 6 HP]
***
[The 'Horn of Heaven's effects have amplified due to your Faith]
[The number of Warriors of Faith that are called forth from the horn has increased to 3]
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Seeing the two windows open Matthew opened his status window to take a look at his new stats.
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[Name: Matthew Adams]
[Level: 26]
[Job: None]
[HP: 250/250]
[MP: 101/101]
[Available Status Points: 0]
[Strength: 43]
[Agility: 49]
[Vigor: 50]
[Intelligence: 40]
[Sense: 44]
[Faith: 64 (+20)]
[Skills]
[Active: Healing Whispers, Blitz, Golden Spears, Genesis]
[Passive: Warrior's Presence]
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"64? Here I thought it'd take ages for most of my stats to get above 50." He mumbled to himself.
He held out his hands to materialize the Horn of Heaven into his hands. He handing thought of his summons increasing in number as his faith rose. In the back of his mind he began to wonder how much the horn could've been worth. He didn't think of selling it, it was invaluable, especially considering it scaled with his stats. Then again, it seemed to be a stat that no other hunters seemed to have. Or at least one that didn't register with a mana scanner.
Suddenly, Matthew felt his phone vibrate once again as he banished the horn.
Once again, it was Berret.
"Hey Berret." Matthew said.
"The squad is in the briefing room. Well all except you and Audri, but she's on her way. Get over here so we can start the briefing. And who knows, maybe we'll get an early payday."
"I'll be over in a second. I just stopped by the armory." Matthew replied.
"Oh yeah, you came in without armor didn't you? Alright, just get over here when you can."
With that, the call ended.
***
The briefing room of squad 12 was painfully bland. It was hardly 15 feet in any direction with white walls, a plain hardwood floor, and only a pair of florescent lights on the ceiling as the only source of lights.
In the middle of the room sat a white foldable table with specs of wear and faded stains from years of use. At the edge of the table sat a projector that had yet to be turned on. In the middle of the table sat a small pile of miscellaneous snacks mostly comprised of the less desired items like gummies or bagged stale pretzels.
A set of six foldable chairs were sat around the table- three on either side.
Sanri sat back in one of the chairs. His feet were propped up on the edge of the table.
Berret stood at the end of the table near the projector, fiddling with its remote.
Tyler, the assassin of squad 12, was laying his head down on his side of the table, scrolling through god-knows-what on his phone. Tyler wore a set of brown leather armor with small thin plates of steel on the vital parts of his body. His decently long white hair was pulled back in a pony tail. Next to his outstretched arms on the table, Matthew could see the sheaths of Tyler's prized weapon.
They were a fine piece. A set of daggers- one silver, one gold- lay in thick leather sheaths that were attached to a belt. Both daggers were around B-rank, from what Matthew knew. The golden blade was imbued with some form of fire enchantment while the silver blade was imbued with ice.
Then there was Cereiana who leaned back in her chair reading some novel Matthew never cared to learn the name of.
She wore deep purple and black mage robes but little else in terms of magical protection. However on either of her ring fingers were two separate rings she used to channel her mana.
In a chair nearest to the door- of which Matthew nearly ran into as he walked in- was Valine. She wore simple black combat pants and a white tunic. It was an odd contrast that had always confused Matthew in the beginning, but he'd learned to roll with it.
Leaning against the chair, partially wrapped in her arms, was a metal staff that looked like the poll of a street sign more then anything. The metal twisted near the top before spitting apart, continuing its twist, and converging back to a dull tip.
Berret stole a glance at Matthew as he fiddled with the controls of the projector. "Oh your finally-" he paused as he noticed the armor covering Matthew's body. "You got that?"
This made the heads of Matthew's fellow squad-mates to turn towards him.
"Greg told us that armor was shit." Sanri noted with a smirk. "Did he decide to pull the wool over your eyes and sell it to you?"
"No." Matthew shook his head. "He told me it was flimsy for its rank."
"Then why did you buy it?" Tyler asked, raising his head momentarily before setting it down.
Matthew shrugged. "I thought it suited me." He lied.
Berret waved his hand. "Ok this isn't the time to wonder about Matthew's fashion choices." He glanced back to Matthew. "Grab a seat, we'll be starting in a moment."
Matthew walked around the table to one of the empty chairs next to the projector.
Just as he did the door quickly swung open- hitting the back of Valine's chair so hard it moved it about an inch- to reveal the final member of squad 12.
She was breathing heavily. Matthew could see a slight shimmer on her forehead from the residue of sweat that had began to build on it. For the most part she wore simple, non-magical, clothing. A simple white button up t-shirt tucked into a set of skinny jeans which enhanced the thickness of her legs. The only magic items she wore were a set of black gloves with runes on the palm to help her manipulate the lightning she emitted. Her skin was a light hazel, not as dark as Berret, but she also wasn't the whitest person in the room. Overall she was generally fit, the bare minimum for hunters, even if their class didn't revolve around up front confrontation.
Her dark hair, which was normally cleanly combed, had been slightly disheveled by the run she seemed to have just ended. On her face were a pair of oval glasses with thin metal rims. Like most of her attire, they weren't special. Simply normal glasses that didn't help vision any more then they needed to.
Audri finally spoke up as she caught her breath. "Sorry I'm late-"
"Your not." Berret noted.
"-but I needed to stop by somewhere first." She continued. With another heave of breath she took a seat next to Matthew.
"Alright," Berret clasped his hands together, making everyone turn to look at him. "Now that everyone is here," he pointed the remote at the projector to finally turn it on. "Let's begin the briefing."