[Azure Scrap Sword]
Class E
E-Grade Strength/Dexterity Affinity
Of all the equipment Devon had seen during the course of the tutorial, Zane's sword was by far the best of the human-crafted weapons. It was good enough to perfectly match Val Kazar's sword, which he also had.
But those two aside, this axe is something else entirely.
[Mass-Produced Shardaxe]
Class E
F-Grade Strength Affinity
Bonus attributes: 20 Strength
Not only was it the first weapon Devon had seen that had bonus attributes applied to it, but the fact that it was called a mass-produced item was even more interesting.
Both the materials and the workmanship aren't like anything else I've seen the vishan use. Most likely the chief took it and all his other gear as spoils of war from wherever they came from. Which means even the vishan, who seemed so knowledgeable from the perspective of us initiates, were probably nobodies in the wider universe.
There was simply too much he didn't know about infinity and the system. He wasn't even sure which was considered a more valuable trait on a weapon, a higher graded affinity or bonus attributes. The bonus attributes provided a very obvious statistical advantage, but he wasn't fully sure of what affinity did.
He sighed and looked through what seemed like a mountain of random items he'd picked up in the wake of the battle. His inventory space had expanded to be several times as large since he'd picked up more spatial beads from the chief and Val Kazar. He carried them in a bag at his hip now because they were annoying to manage.
That chief must have been a greedy one, he alone had five beads whereas Val Kazar only had one.
One of the things he'd dedicated a rather significant amount of storage space towards, roughly half of his total capacity, was the blue metal that composed Zane's sword and the giant machine's armor. It had been blown all over the place in the wake of the machine's destruction, so it had taken several hours to collect all of it.
Even if I don't know what the metal is, it's obviously way better than what should be available to us initiates. Even Zane's sword, which looks about as refined as you'd expect something called a scrap sword to be, is a league above the other weapons available to us.
Now that the tutorial was mostly wrapped up he was looking ahead towards what came next. He wasn't exactly sure what would happen in the future, but it seemed like a given that having more valuable items could only be a good thing.
Still, the chief had so much crap tucked away it'll be a massive pain in the ass to sort through it all over the next few days. I need to go back and see if the lord of the mountain's corpse is still there too. It's possible the parts of that beast will also be valuable. Honestly, there's so much it's more of a bother to keep track of than anything. Well, at least the other bonuses I got are easier to digest.
[Birth of A Schemer] - Cleared
Karmic Influence: Moderate.
Complexity: Normal+.
Time investment: 20 days.
Reward: +8% all stats.
Instead of giving me a numerical bonus to each of my stats like plots, schemes give a percentage-based bonus. I'm sure as my stats rise higher and higher such percentage boosts will be more and more valuable.
[Cursed Schemer] has reached Level 4.
Skill [Lie Detection] learned.
[Lie Detection]
Truth and lies are the true weapons of a schemer, more potent and powerful than any poison or blade. The ability to cut through the words of others marks the true worth of a schemer.
This ability has a 20 hour cooldown.
Lie Detection, huh? It seems a bit cut and dry, but I can't deny its usefulness. Going forward it'll be extremely useful in determining what I can trust and what I can't.
He planned on accepting the invitation he'd been given from across infinity, even though he wasn't sure he could trust the mysterious messenger. There was too much he didn't know, and he needed a place with the resources to teach him everything he couldn't learn on his own more than anything.
This really came at the perfect time. Still, a 20 hour cooldown is a bit absurd.
Next was the quest that had been left hanging for so long that Devon had almost forgotten it existed.
[Rebellion] (Extreme): Defeat the ones who brought you into this world.
Reward: Unique title, +10% all stats, +20 all stats.
New Title obtained: [Insurgent]
[Insurgent]
The title of one who brought down those who mistakenly thought they had the right to rule.
All stats +10%, all stats +20.
This title may impact your relationship with people of authority.
I guess the stat boosts listed in the quest were meant as a preview of the title. Well, it would have been a bit much to expect another huge boost along with the promised stat rewards. Still… First it was Lord's Bane, now Insurgent as well. I feel like the system is trying to paint me as some kind of noble slayer with these title names.
There was still the quest to survive the tutorial, but he'd have to wait another 9 or so days before that would finish on its own. He didn't mind waiting, it wasn't like there was anyone else he planned on fighting.
In the wake of the battle, the overseers had scattered, with less than half their number remaining. Surprisingly, the humans had fared far better.
The battle had only just begun when Nix had deployed her weapon, and its appearance was enough to stun both sides of the conflict out of their fight. After that, everything had become a desperate scramble to try and stave off the system's death threat.
That quest… I was too lost to realize it at the time, but that was probably the same type of quest that occurred in the cursed king's kingdom. But the penalty associated with it wasn't death for me, it was more marks of karmic disdain. Does that mean I've become bound to karma, as that old knight said in the memory?
It was one of the many things he needed answers for once he had access to more information. Though perhaps even that wasn't nearly as big of a problem as the other predicament he was currently facing.
Status.
[Status]
Name: Devon Wells
Race: [E-Grade Human] (Evolution pending)
Level: 50
Class: [Cursed Warrior]
Profession: [Cursed Schemer - Level 4]
Mana: 295/295
Talents: [Spear Proficiency - Level 8], [Sword Proficiency - Level 6], [Hammer Proficiency - Level 5], [Dagger Proficiency - Level 3], [Axe Proficiency - Level 7], [Quarterstaff Proficiency - Level 6]
Skills: [Sever], [Shatter], [Lightning Thrust], [Lacerate], [Split], [Bone Breaker], [The Mask], [Refine], [Lie Detection]
Abilities: [Respite], [Small Presence]
Magic: [Light], [Fireball], [Lightning Imbuement II], [Adrenaline], [Boost]
Titles: True Initiate, Cursed(3), Vicious, Lord of Massacre, Insurgent
Strength: 403(431)
Dexterity: 405(433)
Vitality: 396(425)
Endurance: 396(423)
Arcane: 400(428)
Spirit: 30
Free Points: 245
Talons: 31438
My stats are being capped.
The brackets that had annoyed him so much before were back again, but the circumstances now were very different from when his spirit had been wounded. Unlike before, his spirit was perfectly fine. The much more likely cause was the note next to his race, evolution pending.
By the way the current stats are allocated, I assume 2000 is the maximum amount of attribute points an E-grade being can handle.
There were a few tests he did to support this theory. First, he activated Boost to give him a temporary increase to his stats. Then he tried equipping the chief's axe with its +20 strength buff.
Both tests resulted in the numbers within the parentheses rising without any change to his active stats. He wasn't sure whether he should take the current state of affairs as a positive or negative.
On one hand, I'm so far above everyone else within the tutorial that Zane wasn't even the barest hint of a threat. On the other, I'm worried about what'll happen to the stat points I don't have access to once I evolve. Yet another unknown.
He was hesitant to apply the logic that once he evolved he'd gain access to those stats simply because they were being displayed in a very similar manner to when his spirit had been wounded.
A wounded spirit and a pending evolution. How am I supposed to know how similar they truly are?
His spear proficiency had also risen two levels from the fights in the overseer's camp. It'd been a while since his last proficiency upgrade, so it felt about time. He could only assume it had gone up two levels because of how in-tune he had felt with the weapon during the fight.
Fighting like that might have been the best I've ever felt. But I won't ever allow myself to repeat it, allow myself to get so lost in my pursuit of a contest that I become blind to the world around me.
As he thought that to himself he heard a groan from nearby and looked over to his captive who was finally regaining consciousness.
Devon watched as Zane slowly regained consciousness before looking around, "Where…"
"This was a dungeon within the depths of the mountain. It was a den of beasts before me and Eve cleared it out."
"You!" Zane tried to move but found that his limbs were pinned to the ground. "You son of a-! This is-"
"Yeah, it's the same thing the overseers did to me when I was a captive. Pretty effective, I found."
A metal stake was driven through each of Zane's limbs, as well as two in his shoulder and abdomen.
"You son of a bitch! I'll kill you!"
"I'd hoped we could have a little chat, but it doesn't seem like you're in a talking mood." Well, not that I can particularly blame him. I'm sure there's a lot of stuff he needs to grapple with. "Tell you what, I'll just come back in an hour."
Devon left the cave and wandered around until he found a good spot for a nap. After a while had passed he made his way back and found Zane much more docile.
It seemed as though Zane had struggled with everything he had against the stakes that restrained him, because he looked completely wrung out as he spoke, "Why did you leave me alive?"
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No, it isn't that he'd physically tired. I just left him alone here in the dark for over an hour. With everything he must have experienced and felt during the battle it's no wonder he seems so drained.
"I said it before, I promised not to kill anyone."
"That isn't a reason someone like you would base a decision on."
As much as I'd like to deny such accusations, I'd be lying.
"Hm… I suppose you could say it's because I don't feel any resentment towards you. I also have a sister. When she went missing in the first wave of disappearances… I felt like if I could find the people responsible I'd do anything to get her back. So I can kind of relate to your desperation. And your hatred."
"Don't speak like you can understand my pain when you're the one who caused it! Didn't you hear me before? You and Trey are the ones responsible for Nix's death! Even if you let me live I won't rest until I make you feel every pain imaginable!"
"...You know, I was thinking about that accusation. That we're the reason Nix is dead. I can't help but think it's fundamentally flawed."
"What? You-"
"We orchestrated a conflict between the two camps, yes. But that conflict alone wasn't what killed her, was it? No, what sealed Nix's fate was her choice to use that machine of hers. You knew about it too. There's no way you didn't when you were her right hand of authority in Arkania."
"So what? She only used that thing because-"
"Because we attacked? Are you really that naive? Whether it was us who attacked or the overseers, you don't just let a weapon like that sit around. No matter what form the conflict the chief sought to create took, Nix would have used that machine eventually. And you just let her."
"I… I…"
"You were the one closest to the overseer's movements and one of the few who knew about that thing's existence. You were the only one who would have been able to prevent her from using it. And yet you helped the overseers fan the flames of conflict without ever telling anyone about it."
"No… No…"
Maybe that was a bit much.
Once Zane seemed like he'd processed Devon's statements, Devon continued, "Regardless, I don't feel the need to kill you if I don't have to. You've already seen that you don't have the power to stand up to me, and I don't think there's any need for us to be enemies. So I'll give you the chance to walk away. Go home to earth, tell whatever family you have about her passing, and grieve. You at least have the chance to do that."
Zane said nothing as he looked toward the ceiling of the cavern.
"Zane, swear you won't come after me or Trey and I'll let you go."
"...So you'd heartlessly send all those people to fight each other to the death, but you'd spare me simply because you can somehow 'relate' to me? I don't think I've ever seen a more twisted form of pity in my life."
Devon frowned, but couldn't refute it.
A slightly maniacal grin formed on Zane's face as he said, "Sure, I promise I won't ever come after you two again. Swear on my life."
I don't really need Lie Detector right now, but I might as well use it to confirm it works how I assume. Activate skill; Lie Detector.
There is no hint of truth within the words of the individual known as Zane.
"Well, I suppose expecting a happy resolution was a bit much to hope for."
"Just kill me already."
"I already said I didn't intend to kill you, and that holds true even now. Call it pity or what have you. Even so, I can't allow you the chance to come after us again."
Devon was sure that anyone else in his shoes would simply finish the man off. But there was a curiosity that had been crawling around in the back of his mind for a while now.
I know I promised Trey I wouldn't kill anyone, but somehow I get the feeling he'd think what I'm about to do is even worse.
Devon pulled two healing pills out of his inventory and walked toward Zane.
"You're putting me to sleep again? Are you going to keep me suspended here in unconsciousness for the rest of the tutorial?"
"No, I just don't want you to be awake for what comes next. I might be cruel, but I don't intend to stoop to the level of torturing someone."
"What are you… Hey, wait! Stop-"
----------------------------------------
9 days later
The remnants of a large pyre smoldered in the plains. Most of the people that had gathered for the mass funeral had dissipated by now, either put off by the smell of burning corpses or busy with preparations to leave.
Devon walked over to one of the figures standing off by himself. When the figure noticed his approach he said, "Welcome back to civilization."
"Thanks, Trey. I'm guessing you finished the census a while ago, how much of our little civilization is left?"
"Around 650 people."
"Not too bad, all things considered."
"There were even fewer casualties in the first few minutes of battle than you anticipated. The majority of deaths that day were from the blast Nix fired directly at that mech's feet, at the explosion shortly afterward."
"What about the camps?"
"There were more casualties inside Plainstown than I expected, and Arkania was a travesty."
Something about that statement irked Devon, "What do you mean there were more casualties in Plainstown than expected? Are you saying those guys I spent time training still weren't ready?"
"No, if anything it was my fault. I reassigned half of them to observe the overseer's camp when you were captured, and by the time you were able to respond to my messages they were delayed in moving back to Plainstown."
"I see." On one hand, it irked him that his carefully laid plan had been altered, resulting in diminished efficiency. On the other, it was hard to truly be upset when he knew Trey had only acted out of concern for his wellbeing.
It's not like I can say I wouldn't have done the same, so I might as well let the matter lie.
"What happened to Zane?" Trey asked.
"He's still alive. I said I wouldn't kill anybody and I kept my promise."
"Honestly, I would have been fine with you killing him specifically. It'll be annoying if he comes after us and tries to start shit."
"I took measures to make sure that won't happen. He shouldn't pose a threat to either of us now, but if he shows himself before us feel free to kill him. I don't intend on extending pity on that man further than I already have."
"Even so, I think I'd be able to sleep better knowing the man's dead."
Devon was a little shocked by Trey's display of hostility. He'd never seen his friend display such open resentment towards somebody before.
Then again, I suppose Zane did make two separate attempts on his life. And Trey had to watch as Zane mowed down the people around him.
"What about the overseers?"
Trey shrugged, "The 30 or so that are left have been cooped up in their camp. Doesn't seem like they've got the will to get up to much mischief. By the way, I've been hunting and stockpiling free points like you told me I should. You wanna explain why I've been working myself ragged while everyone else has been laying about? I swear, I haven't been able to get a leveling party together even once in the past few days."
"Doesn't that just mean you don't have to split the exp you get with others? I don't see the problem."
"The problem is that my class is focused on a supporting role. I have a single unique offensive spell and whatever is in the terminal shop. Physical damage isn't my strong suit when most of my points are in endurance and arcane."
"Huh, so what was the perfect class to rally others around you is now something of a hindrance. Interesting."
"Interesting my ass. It's a serious fucking problem considering I don't ever want to have to be put in a role like this again."
"Gotcha. Well, to answer your question, when you stock up on enough free points you start gaining more points per level up overall."
"What? Why didn't you tell me something like that earlier?"
"The amount of exp needed per level also rises absurdly high. It's why I was so strong at a lower level. I never told you because by the time I fully understood it I was afraid you wouldn't be able to capitalize on it like I did. It also means you lose the agency to pick what stats to specialize in, something that's a lot more important for you than it is for me."
"But if the thing about gaining more points over time is true then wouldn't it effectively be like stunting my long-term growth?"
"I was a lot more concerned about surviving the immediate conflict than caring about long-term growth. Believe me, the only reason I haven't invested my free points is because I can't. At some point I'll hit the next threshold and my exp gains will be stunted even more."
"Yeah, well that didn't stop you from claiming the number one spot on the ladder, now did it? How the hell did you get so much money, anyway?"
Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that thing.
[Level Ladder]
1. Devon - Level 50
2. Eve - Level 49
3. Zane - Level 46
4. Trey - Level 44
5. Kate - Level 41
6. Sofia - Level 40
7. Vanir - Level 40
8. Kurtis - Level 38
9. Autumn - Level 38
10. Zack - Level 37
[Talon Ladder]
1. Devon - 10536
2. Eve - 6279
3. Trey - 5623
4. Zane - 3289
5. Lloyd - 2876
6. Celia - 2751
7. Tanya - 2645
8. Phil - 2318
9. Argyle - 1972
10. Jerry - 1935
When I put it in perspective, I really did gain an absurd amount of talons from the chief and Val Kazar. Even the 10k I left as insurance money easily stands at the top of the talon ladder.
Around 20 thousand talons had been invested into something that he hoped would pay off. It was something of a gamble, but he figured it was better to try and invest in something that had good prospects while he had the money than simply wait and let a golden opportunity blow by him.
"Well, I did fight a level 74 and 67 back to back."
"...I seriously can't even fathom how you're alive."
A pair of voices behind them interrupted their conversation.
"I told you we should have left earlier."
"Yeah, well maybe you shouldn't have taken your sweet time packing stuff up then!"
Trey sighed in annoyance, "Oi, this a wake. Can't you two be a little more quiet and respectful?"
Devon turned around and saw two familiar faces he hadn't expected to see again. Or, at least one familiar face. The other was distorted beyond what he remembered. "Hello, Eve and Phil. I wasn't expecting you two to come out of your hideaway."
Phil scoffed, "After more than a week of nothing happening out here I finally convinced this knucklehead that it was safe enough to emerge from our solitude. Please excuse me, I'd like to pay my respects to the fallen."
As Phil walked closer to the smoldering pyre Devon couldn't help but make a jab at Eve, "You have a cooking accident or something? What's with the burns?"
Almost every part of Eve's skin that could be seen was covered in patterned burn scars. "I was a little too close to Nix's stupid bot when it incinerated everything within a three-block radius."
"It's a miracle you survived," Trey said in awe.
"Why didn't you just use healing pills to take care of that injury?" Devon asked, significantly less impressed. He probably would have been more surprised if Eve hadn't survived. He knew firsthand her absurd tenacity.
"That damn lord got me right before the bot did."
"The lord of the plains?" Devon asked. He'd heard other accounts of Eve's battle with Nix's machine in the wake of the battle, so he had a rough idea of what had happened.
"Yeah. That damn tiger had some pretty serious poison or something. I spent almost a week living off the healing pills as they fixed the damage the poison did to my insides. Seems like the magical pills deemed the internal damage more life-threatening than the external, so by the time the poison was done the pills didn't do anything to heal the burns."
"What? But don't the pills work on all types of injury?" Trey asked, confused.
"Not necessarily," Devon said, "If an injury is left for the body to heal on its own the pills seem to consider it as something that no longer needs fixing. I have scars on my chest from the wounds I got from Val Kazar that the healing pill won't fix."
"But that means…"
"Yeah. If you lose something important but don't get healing fast enough it'll be gone forever." Devon said it with a certainty that unnerved the other two, but they both decided not to comment on it.
The three of them stood in silence for a minute as they watched Phil pay his respects from afar.
After a while, Devon asked, "Where are you planning on going, Eve? There isn't much longer to choose."
"I'm heading back to earth with Phil. What about you two?"
"Devon's convinced his sister is out there, so he's going to go looking. I'll be following along since I've got nothing better to do."
"Oh yeah, I remember her being mentioned before. Feels like a lifetime ago that we sat around that fire on the first night. What makes you sure she won't return to earth? From what the datalogs said, once the initiation phase ends earth is going to be closed off for a while. If she goes back then won't you two miss each other?"
"I know my sister better than anyone. Believe me, she wouldn't go back when she's presented with the reality that we're a part of now."
"If you say so."
"Oh, Eve," Trey said, suddenly thinking of something, "If you're going back to earth would you mind doing me a favor? Since I won't be going myself it would be nice if you could look after my family while I'm away. Here, I'll write down their names and addresses…"
"Shouldn't that be something you do yourself?"
Trey paused as he searched his pockets for something to write with, "I don't think I'd feel comfortable going back now. I want to make sure they're safe… But I don't want them to… I don't feel like the same person anymore, if that makes sense. I'm afraid they won't be able to accept who I've become."
"I see. I can't promise anything, but if I find the time I'll swing by. Something tells me earth is going to be pretty hectic when we return."
"Whatever you can manage would be great."
As Trey passed information off to Eve a notification popped up on Devon's display.
Tutorial block #247 has reached its conclusion. Administering rewards.
[Quest Cleared]
Survive (Variant): Survive to the end of tutorial block #247.
Reward: Unique title based on performance.
Highest level title [True Initiate] already acquired. Distributing Ladder bonuses.
Level Ladder: #1. +10 Free Points.
Talon Ladder: #1. +10 Free Points.
Eve scowled as she looked over her own notifications, "Damn it, I can't believe you took my number one spot when I was too sick to do anything."
"Hey, at least we still get free points for our ladder position," Trey said, trying to console her.
"How many did you get?" Devon asked.
"Nine for both," Eve said.
"Seven and Eight," Trey said.
Well, that should help kickstart his potential at least.
Upgrading most used terminal to Nexus Hub in 1 hour. Please choose a location to be transported to. If none are chosen then you shall remain in the tutorial world.
[Notice]
Tutorial world's difficulty has been evaluated at C-grade. Residence is not recommended.
So it tampered with this island to make sure it was a suitable environment for a tutorial, huh?
A list of locations popped up next. Each listed place had details associated with it such as initiate population and habitability. The first location was obviously earth, but there was also a wide variety of other strange-sounding places.
How nice, it's letting us make informed decisions on where to go next. I wonder if one of these is the vishan's homeworld. There's no way to really know since we never really talked to any of them.
"What's a nexus hub?" Eve asked.
"One of the datalogs mentioned those," Trey said, "Apparently it's an upgraded terminal that allows you to teleport to other nexus hubs across infinity within a certain range. There are apparently other restrictions that it didn't mention as well. Devon, you said you already had our next stop planned out, right?"
"Yep. Third on the list, the Empire of the Amber Dragon. Looks like it has pretty decent habitability, which is good, and a pretty high population of fellow initiates."
"Hang on, how could you have possibly decided where to go even before the list popped up?" Eve asked, bewildered.
Devon smiled, "I received an invitation."