48.

It wasn’t hard to dispel a nest. It required a bit of knowledge and applied strength. Magical or physical strength. He had known some classes that had evolved that worked on breaking nests. They were powerful in their own right, able to break and shatter nests with minimal effort or even absorb the power inside of them. Outside of the nest they were weak though. Having one or two of them in a raid party was always a boon and he hoped that someone would be offered that class sooner rather than later.

Violet waters swirled inside of the cauldron, thin gray-white wisps of steam wafted off the top. The scent of fresh spilled blood clung to the area around the placid surface.

Santi worked his way through his pack pulling out the ingredients he needed. Most of what he needed had been acquired from the kobold shamans, powdered bones, a desiccated heart, a trio of amber stones that radiated the faintest hints of mana. The powdered bone was sprinkled in a circle around the cauldron. The amber stones were placed roughly equidistant from each other.

Santi pricked his thumb and let a drop of blood fall onto the bone dust, imbuing his mana into the single drop of blood. Yellow-white bone dust glowed red for a split second, the amber stones dissolving into the circle with a flare of power. Grabbing the heart, Santi smeared his blood over it and tossed it into the cauldron. With a muted plop the heart sank into the violet waters.

For a moment nothing happened. Then the bone dust began to glow, faintly at first but increasing in brightness. The violet waters began to churn and his mana began to drain away. If the hags had still been alive they would have been able to contest him while he did this. Their own mana fighting against him. Without them it was just a matter of time to break the bonds they had on the cauldron.

The emanated light was blinding, forcing Santi to raise his hand to block it out. The drain on his mana increased until he had a moment of fear that his mana pool wouldn’t be enough to break the cauldron free. The light died and there was a crack that split the air like a rifle blast.

Lowering his hand, he saw the giant split down the center of the cauldron. The water had turned clear and was swirling gently in the center, slowly leaking out of the thin crack. He dipped his hand into the clear liquid and took a sip and felt strength surge through him.

Elixir of Strength

+5 to Strength

The alert ran across his mind and he could feel a smile threatening to cross his face. He had transmuted the liquid inside of it with the ritual while breaking its bond. The cauldron was useless now and the elixir would soon drain away.

Santi grabbed empty water bottles out of his bag, looking for anything that could hold water. Sealable baggies, a canteen, plastic bottles, mugs, and a few coffee cups he had quickly rinsed out, all of it found on the office floor. Most of the elixir was wasted, just flowing over his feet and staining the floor.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid!” Santi berated himself as he worked. Within ten minutes the cauldron was empty and he was left with a bunch of randomly assorted elixir carriers. The longer they sat around the worst the potency would be. He had already taken another long drink and hadn’t gained more stats. A one time only deal.

Racing down to the first flow with his arms laden he quickly found Tank as he presided in the middle of the floor, directing the wounded and setting up their defenses. Everyone jumped when he gave his orders, listening with alacrity that was surprising.

“Tank, drink this right now,” Santi said, shoving a quarter full white ceramic mug with the phrase “Do Not Talk Until Cup Is Empty”. Tank took the cup and tipped his head back taking the priceless elixir like a cheap shot of vodka.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Oh, what the fuck?” Tank whispered as he stared off into space. Santi was already past him though, handing drinks out to his team first. They had to shake Daniel awake and force the elixir down his throat as he looked around groggily. The girls took it without question.

After that he wasn’t too careful who he gave the elixir. At this stage a boost of five stat points to strength would be a powerful boost for most of the people here. He made sure Chad, the archer, received one. After that he passed them out until they he ran out. Didn’t take longer than five minutes.

“Want to tell me what that was?” Tank asked. He was the only one of the team who was in decent shape. He hadn’t taken any major wounds and aside from his mana exhaustion he seemed to be healthy.

“The treasure that the nest was tied to was a cauldron. The hag’s were using it to make their alchemical works, and when we raided here, they used it to advance one of them. I used a pretty basic ritual spell to break the connection the cauldron had to the nest, in the process the liquid they were using was transmuted to an elixir of strength.”

“Alright. So, I know that made sense to you, but I have no idea what you just said.”

“I broke the nest and this was the reward.”

“That makes sense. So, we’re safe here?”

“Unless the goblins come here to get revenge. Goblins are cowards generally. They should be hunkering down and calling back their numbers to prepare for us.”

“We’re not going to be able to attack their nest tomorrow. The injuries are too severe. Chloe and Rayleigh will need time to recover from their wounds and Daniel, Jesus, Daniel probably needs a month.”

“The rest of the nest will unravel in a few minutes and we should get a reward. Some healing potions and weapons and we’ll be good to go again. I do agree, though” Santi said, raising a hand to try to buffer himself from the tirade Tank was about to launch.

“This raid was presumptive. Our team was too weak, let alone the rest of them.” Santi waved his hand at the mass of fighters laying sprawled out everywhere.

“Doesn’t matter if it was presumptive, it needed to be done. We go and rotate fighters. There were still some good fighters we left behind. We re-arm and come and hit the goblin nest. They shouldn’t have one of whatever that final hag was, right?”

“Yeah we should be fine on that count. That last hag was something else. If it had a few days to grow accustomed to its power, we’d all be dead.”

“Alright then, we get our rewards, but we start marching back home in the morning.”

“Agreed.”

Santi left him and went and talked to the girls. Hana was curled up on the floor next to Daniel, snoring softly. The wounds and healing were exhausting and Sant was impressed that Chloe and Rayleigh were still on their feet. They both looked terrible, but gave him a wave as he settled down next to them. He planted his back to the wall and slid down, letting the events of the day drag him down finally.

“So, that sucked,” Rayleigh said. She copied him and sat down while Chloe sat to face them both.

“Oh, yeah, blows hairy sack. 10/10 don’t do again.” Santi offered a small smile at the two of them as they nodded.

“We’re all alive though,” Chloe offered.

“Don’t jinx us, Chloe,” Rayleigh snapped, looking irritated with her friend. The smaller girl just rolled her eyes at the superstition.

“Lost a bunch of others. Justin will be missed. Fucker plucked his head off like it was nothing,” Santi whispered, half thinking aloud.

“He was alright. Got a weird vibe from him sometimes. Tank will tell his Dad?” Chloe said.

“I’ll do it. Hard thing to tell a parent their child died. Tank’s done enough and it was my actions that got Justin killed.”

“This is fucked,” Rayleigh whispered as her arms encircled her knees.

“This is life now, we either survive and get strong or we die,” Santi tried to not let the bitterness leak out. This was simply the tip of the iceberg, the horrors would only increase with time.

“We make it through Leigh, all of us,” Chloe offered Rayleigh her hand. The two held hands for a moment in solidarity.

“What are your levels now, if you don’t mind me asking?” Santi wanted to break this up before it got too emotional. He couldn’t afford to have another emotional breakdown, this time in front of people.

“Eighteen now,” Chloe said. There was a hint of pride in her words. The beginning of understanding on how the world would treat levels.

“Only fifteen,” Rayleigh muttered, eyes downcast. She didn’t have the skills that allowed Chloe to chew through enemies. She was more of an endurance fighter, dragging people down as she wore them out.

“You?” Chloe asked, nodding her chin at him.

“Fuck, let me look through all these notifications,” Santi groaned as he started to scroll.