Alator remained in a dour mood for a while, and I settled as well I could into the stone face behind me. I laid out the Stonebear Cloak and found some semblance of comfort. While listening to the howling winds come and go, and the accompanying cries or barks of fiends, I intermittently reached within myself for my Skills, feeling them still distant.
After a long period of silence, I felt a weight lift from my mind and my chest. I centred myself again and found, in my mind’s eye, those shining points of power, as if only inches beneath clear, running water. I basked in the stream of my energy for a moment, feeling it warm me, but did not reach out and pick one up.
“I’m recovered,” I announced.
He paced smoothly over to my spear, kicked it up into the air, caught it with a snap of his arm, and spun the pole towards me, offering.
“Fully recovered?”
I took it and with the support, pulled myself to my feet. As I did so, I realised I truly did feel better. Not only had the Skills recharged, but alongside it, my brief respite had returned all my muscles to full usefulness, as they would on Earth only with a full night’s sleep. I nodded.
“Good,” he said. “There are a thousand ways in which you are not ready. You will need wild, breakneck progress if you are to assist me in our charge in any way.”
Harsh way to put it, but fair. I’m not completely sold on our ‘charge,’ but. . . .
“Killing monsters grants the most Experience,” I suggested.
“Odd phrasing, but I tend to agree. In at the deep end — you swim or you drown. Talbot, what did you learn from the spiked beast earlier?”
Three or four sarcastic responses came to mind instantly, but instead I stopped and thought for a moment.
“I learnt only the gulf between my power and that of a true beast,” I glanced at Alator; he needn’t know I was referring to him.
“Quite,” he nodded, then cracked his neck left then right. “And you cannot rely on equipment.”
A quick F for the shortest-lived Wooden Shield in all of Barbican.
Then I had another thought.
Technically, I assisted in the killing of the yeti. SYS, did I get any Experience from the yeti fight?
// SYS : Yes, Talbot. For your stunningly idiotic behaviour, you inexplicably gained 51 XP when Alator defeated the Abominable. You now have 105 and need 75 total for the next Level. //
I could do without the jibes. So I have enough to level up, right? Get me to Level 2!
// SYS : Which passive Stat would you like to improve? //
I get to choose one every Level?
// SYS : That’s right — your passive Stats improve through levelling with XP, while your active Skills improve through use. Be wary, however, that your body will atrophy more severely than on Earth through underuse — I dare say your Mind Stat’s ready to drop a few points. //
Good one.
I stole another look at Alator — his vicious body, his intimidating frame.
Strength. It’s got to be Strength.
// SYS : Congratulations and welcome to Level 2. Your Strength Stat has increased to 9. You have 30 XP remaining. //
I jumped a few times on my toes, without [Vigour], just with my 9 Strength and bent knees, and cleaned a full yard, yard-and-half, into the air, brushing the roof of the cave.
“Ah, that feels great!” It’s a small improvement, but when it’s on your own body, it feels like the result of weeks of training surging through you in a moment. Also, to my eyes, at least, my arms and thighs were subtly more defined than a few moments before.
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“I am glad you are recovered. But now we hunt.”
I thudded the butt of my spear against the ground.
“Gladly!”
Alator inhaled loudly and blew out his cheeks, then stretched out upwards, all his joints noisily popping, then bridged and did a back walkover.
Wonder how much Dexterity I’d need to achieve that. SYS, are these changes to my body permanent?
// SYS : Yes, you are permanently altering your body by levelling up. I would hope you’d be aware of this, but you keep referring to this World in videogame terms, so just to ensure your grasp on reality; if you die in Barbican, you die in every World — you would be dead. //
Slightly more menacingly answer than was required by the question I had asked. So if I levelled Mind up a whole bunch, then returned to Earth, I’d be much more intelligent?
// SYS : Yes. //
Unbelievable! Why doesn’t everyone do this? Is that why some people are CEOs and some people are drones at a MegaCorp? Did they just get lucky against a few yetis?
// SYS : No. Firstly, NO ONE gets lucky against a few yetis. Secondly, this isn’t a reliable process of self-improvement due to the extremely high chance of an agonising death. Unfortunately, the CEO might have relied on nepotism or blackmail to achieve their position, or else they might have just been much better at the job than you. //
Than me? Why do you think — oh, forget it.
I followed Alator out of the cave. We both breathed deeply in, the cold air pricking our lungs relatively comfortably, like gulping cold water on a hot day. My companion surveyed the landscape, and I felt a ripple of power from him as his eyes glowed golden for a half-second.
“An hour in that direction — something mindless and shambling — something that deserves death.”
We set off without another word. Every now and then I fingered the Analysis Card in my pouch and looked over at Alator to confirm there hadn’t been a mistake. It still showed mostly question marks, the incredibly high Constitution Stat and that mysterious [Solar Flare] Special. And his weakness . . . Rageful pride . . . I could see how that could be exploited.
Between two of the rib-like spires that make up the Shards of Korgoth, we found a deep trench that dipped sharply beneath the earth. With each gust of wind, snow was loosed from the sides and drifted down into the dark depths, to settle somewhere out of sight.
Alator continued unabated. He leant backwards and took each step at a leap, as if abseiling forwards, steady feet skidding to a halt each time. I licked my lips and prepared myself to do the same. I leant back to the same sort of angle as Alator had, and instantly lost my footing and began to slide down.
“Incoming!”
As instinct, Alator barely turned his head to know where I was, and just before I reached him, he leapt over me, allowing me to pass beneath. I’d avoided too much humiliation — I hadn’t knocked him over, nor yelped too loudly — but the slope didn’t end there. I scrambled for a hold, anything to slow my descent, but chunks of earth broke off in my hand and my feet continued to kick and break through mounds of snow.
Further and further down into the earth I sped, gaining momentum, until all light was a sliver far above my head and about me was only undulating darkness.
Eventually, at long, long last, the slope became less steep, and began to level out. With some effort, but no Skill use, I plunged my spear into the packed earth at my shoulder and managed to right myself and stop sliding. By the time Alator had caught me up, I’d patted myself down and done the best I could to regain some composure.
“Much faster, but reckless, Talbot,” he wagged his finger like a father to a mischievous son.
I forced a laugh.
Let him think it was intentional!
“Ah, just seemed like a bit of fun, is all!”
“H’m,” he said, and moved past me. Another ripple of energy, but this time, in the near complete darkness, it was accompanied by a lingering yellow flash as his eyes lit up like burning torches. Before the light faded, I made out a figure in the far distance. Ragged clothes draped over a skeletal figure, a little taller than a man, bearing a glinting black knife at its side. Its head hung loosely to one side, listlessly staring at the wall nearest it.
Analysis.
Fiend :
Korgoth Spawn, Level 3
Stats :
Str 6, Dex 6, Con 30, Mnd 1
Attacks :
Lunging Blade, Maddening Bite
Loot :
Obsidian Dagger, Ignis Fatuus
Weakness :
Tires quickly
XP :
30
“What’s with that Constitution?”
“Well-noticed,” Alator answered my question in his own naïve way: “It seems this one won’t go down without consistent overwhelming force. Ready yourself — it’s faster than it looks.”
The walls pressed in tightly, giving only perhaps a single foot on either side of my shoulders. I hesitantly reached for [Battle Tactics] and happily it came through instantly. Along with an awareness of danger and a few pricks of insight, an excitement lit my insides.
Shouldn’t be a problem with my spear. Keep it at a distance. Pockmark it. Break its bones. It’ll only have a couple of lunges in it. Just don’t get bitten.