Damien hadn’t been entirely sure what to expect on the other side of the teleportation circle, but this wan’t exactly what came to mind when he’d heard the term ‘forest.’ He and his team appeared in a large entrance hall, blueish motes of mana fading back to the circle carved into the ground. they stepped off and into the hallway, the circle quickly lighting up behind them once more as the next team came through. Instead of the wooden structure of the Adventurer’s Guild Headquarters, the space was made of a spotless white marble that simply oozed magic, Damien’s brief foray with Magic Eyes nearly causing himself blindness from the sheer intensity of the mana all around them. When a certain Notice came across his field of vision, he was aware of why.
NOTICE! You have entered a Power Suppression Field. Abilities and Spells cannot be used while within this space.
Damien was briefly annoyed by the restriction, but he could see why they might have it here. Maybe it was just the fact that he was slightly paranoid, but something told him that fights may have broken out more than once in the intervening years. Might as well make sure no one could use Spells or Abilities to do any real damage.
At the end of the resplendent marble hallway was a man decked from head to toe in plate armor that reminded Damien rather uncomfortably of Eric Forsythe. Unlike the blonde man, however, this plate looked far more practical and well worn to boot, with visible scratches that matched a few of the scars on the man’s face. Said face was hard, with defined lines and a thousand yard stare that surveyed all of the participants as they entered. Despite the sheer number of people, Damien could’ve sworn that the man could see each and every person that entered the space. Or maybe that was just his Danger Sense reacting prematurely. He wasn’t sure.
Once all of the teams had arrived, the man cleared his throat, gaining the attention of everyone else in the hall. “Good morning. My name is Bertrand Gregorio, and I will be the main supervisor of this year’s Adventurer’s Trial. While I may not watch everyone at once, I will be the one who decides on any disqualifications or bans, if such things prove necessary. I pray that they won’t be. Anyhow, on to the exact format or this year’s Trials.”
Bertrand stepped across from where he stood to an extended podium, tapping at a Mana Crystal within the object in order to project an image into the space behind him. It was… honestly quite the sight, seeing something like that projected like a hologram. Given the reactions of the rest of the crowd, the hushed ‘oos’ and the not so subtle ‘aahs,’ Damien knew that this kind of technology was both high quality and highly priced, which was part of the reason it was so rare. He wished it wasn’t. It would’ve been interesting to see Xaunis’ version of movies and TV shows.
Bertrand quickly continued on, the projection quickly shifting over to an image of a forest with multi-colored leaves in an aurora of variation. “Each Trial shall take place over the course of a single week, and shall each over one of the core things we encounter as Adventurers. The first will be the most common thing: Wilderness Survival and Exploration. Many of your jobs and Quests will require you to live it rough on the road. This will be a test of your resourcefulness and preparedness both, so be sure to take note of anything you can use efficiently. For those who find a few secrets along the way… well, I’ll save that for the Trails end.”
The man pressed his Mana into the embedded crystal once more, shifting the image to a cavernous hallway, looking like it had come straight out of those adventure movies with ancient tombs and hidden magic that should never be touched. “The second, as you can clearly see, will be in how we handle Investigation and Archeology. This one will also be split into three parts: archaeological, investigative, and then a combination of the two. Truth be told, you will only have to pass two of them to pass the Trial, but passing all three will be noted for later.
“Now, for a third Trial.” Bertrand shifted the image once more, this time to a veritable horde of what Damien saw as low level beasts. “This shall be a challenge to see how your group handles overwhelming odds. You will be allowed to use any combat items that we allow, but relying on them as a crutch will be an automatic disqualification. Using them wisely, and working together with your team towards an optimal solution, is your goal.
“And now…” The image shifted a final time, settling on a looming silhouette of a monster. “The fourth and Final Trial. This will be a test of your individual combat strength and prowess. Don’t hold back on this one, because we’ll be sending you against one that’s fit for your Level. This is also where we get the most debate and complaints from participants.
“Know that we have heard you, and that we already have a solution in mind,” Bertrand said, taking his hand off of the stone and causing the projection to disappear. “This year, you will only have to pass two of the four Trials to pass them as a whole and become an Adventurer. However, please note that this will limit the kind of jobs we allow you to take, and that a remedial test will be required in order to expand those opportunities.
“Now then, let’s get you all sorted and warped, eh? The first Trials starts… well, I’d say now, but that’d just be objectively wrong.”
Polite laughs greeted Bertrand’s statement, and Damien, along with the rest of his group, walked towards where they were directed: a nearby clear with a glowing clipboard and several teams listed upon it. The Traveler looked to the rest of his group as they all waited, the dread of the Trials looming over them all. Kora and Jaime shared looks of stoic determination, though it was far more pronounced on the Tidekin woman. Like she was trying to force rather than letting her natural expression come to the surface. Cyrus and Leon both held easygoing smiles, though Leon’s was far wider and more excited than the Hearthborn’s, who continued to give off this odd, reliable elder brother kind of feeling that Damien wasn’t sure how to place.
And, of course, Ash made how he felt about the Trials explicitly clear in Damien’s mind.
“Oh man, I can’t wait to shred my way through some enemies! I can’t believe we actually stopped Leveling for almost four months. I mean, we were going pretty damn fast, but I think we could’ve gone even faster if we’d kept going!”
You know why we stopped, man. It’s gotta be some kind of challenge, right? Otherwise, what’s the point?
“Sure, but it still feels like we’ve been stalling for a bit too long. Don’t forget: you stop growing, I stop growing, and if I stop growing I can’t kill bad guys as easy.”
I know, I know.
“You’d better!”
Then, it was finally their turn. The person in front of the circle then quickly explained to them all, in a rather bored tone of voice, that it would teleport them to a random area of the Forest of Harmony that would be appropriate for their party’s average Level, so that nothing they ran into would overwhelm them. Damien wasn’t entirely sure how that all worked, but neither did any of the others, so he decided to just roll with it.
Then, they stepped onto the circle, and were whisked away to the Forest of Harmony.
----------------------------------------
They appeared in the center of a clearing of large trees with wide, high-hanging canopies, the leaves and grass that surrounded them all seemingly made of living flame. Damien’s first instinct, upon reaching this foreign place, was to draw his sword and immediately check for threats, activating Primeval Awareness on pure instinct. Its range had increased to twelve meters now, and it it allowed the Traveler to sense his surroundings in far more detail than before. The auburn grass that flickered like a campfire, the crackle of red, orange and gold leaves overhead, and the soft, almost invisible warmth given off by the bark of the surrounding trees.
He could also see everyone looking at him, seeing as he was the only person who’d reacted in such a way. Leon wasn’t surprised, but Kora, Cyrus and Jaime certainly were, if only to varying degrees. The Traveler sighed, sheathing his jian as he turned to the team, letting his Trait deactivate when he didn’t find anything of immediate concern. “Nothing in our immediate vicinity, I think.”
“Yeah, I think we got that,” Kora said with a light, teasing smirk.
“He wasn’t wrong to draw his weapon, though,” Jaime replied as he unslung his bow from his shoulder, knocking an arrow to a conjured strong of light. Damien had been wondering why his bow hadn’t been strung, but he should’ve figured it’d be magical. Practically every item at Uncommon Rarity had some kind of magic to it. He wondered if that was due to some special circumstances for Ulys, or maybe Lamora in particular? He had been pretty… focused in his research, so he was disappointed, but not surprised, to find his knowledge on the subject lacking.
The rest of the group did as the archer did, drawing weapons from their backs and off their belts as they began moving through the forest, marking the trees every so often just to make sure that they could find their way back to the clearing. Damien, for his part, made sure that his jian was looser in its sheath than normal, to ensure he would be able to draw it at a moment’s notice.
He was still quite, quite jealous of his mentor’s sword, Nightfall. Though Damien had been allowed to hold it more than once, there was always this sense that any attempt at activation would be both fruitless and incredibly painful. So, he hadn’t bothered to try. Still, he kept recalling the only time he had ever seen the sword in use. It was a brief moment within a moment, a flash of power that he hadn’t been able to understand. The sword was at once a lightsaber, but also not. The blade had been practically made of shadows, so dark that, if Damien hadn’t possessed Night Vision, he likely wouldn’t have seen it. Or much of anything, really.
His attention was brought back to the group when Cyrus asked him a question. The Traveler shook his head and refocused on the dark-skinned Hearthborn, his confusion clear on his face. “Sorry, got lost in my own head for a minute there. What were you asking?”
Cyrus just gave a light chuckle, a warm and natural sound coming from him. “It’s quite alright. I was just wondering what kind of training you’d gone through to have that be your first reaction.”
Damien scratched at the back of his head in embarrassment. “Oh, that. Well, uh… part of my training was my reaction against true surprise attacks. It only went on for about a week, but it was more than enough to make me a bit… jumpy.”
Cyrus gave a sympathetic wince as he nodded to him. “Yeah, I get that. One of the things that I’ve been conditioned towards as a caster, and especially as a healer, is to use evasive maneuvers and always be on the lookout for people trying to take you out.”
Damien nodded, seeing the logic in it. A fairly common tactic in group on group fights was to go for the casters and especially healers first and foremost. If you could take them out early, then in eight out of ten scenarios, the other group is pretty much fucked. So, of course, the logical solution to this plight was for healers to prepare for such offensives. Maybe that was why he specified he could do close combat, but not for long? Something to consider later on.
“So, uh… I’ve actually never met anyone with an Umbra Affinity before,” Cyrus admitted with a sheepish smile. “It’s actually kinda weird. How, uh… how does it feel? The Mana, I mean?”
“Feel?” Damien asked, a bit confused. Sure, he could feel his Mana in his Channels, but not in any particularly intense or bizarre way. It was kinda just there.
“Yeah. When you get to a high enough Level, people with different Affinities tend to have this kind of… feel to them. Like a liquid that somehow has texture. Lignum kinda feels like a mix between a plant’s stem and smooth tree bark, and even though the feelings don’t entirely mix, they just… make sense, when it’s applied to Mana. Stamina’s not my forte, but I understand the feeling is pretty similar, all things considered.”
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Damien thought about Cyrus’ explanation, about the feeling of an Affinity and how that was reflected in Mana and Stamina. Though Damien was far from even an apprentice in the latter, he was much, much more adept with the former. He used Mana Control to feel out how it all felt flowing naturally, paying attention to the internal world of his body while his external surroundings slowly faded into background noise.
His Mana was blue-white in his Channels, as it always was in its natural state. When he shifted it about with his Skill, it started to turn black and purple, as though the very presence of his intent was enough to reveal something about it. He stopped, and it reverted back to its natural flow. He did it again. And again. Over and over, he moved it, hoping to feel the beginnings of texture like Cyrus had described. It felt as though understanding was on the barest tip of his tongue, like it was just out of reach of his mind until, finally…
“Like… oil and smoke,” Damien began, trying to explain the strange feeling and understanding that he had gained. “Like the chill of a long night and the flickering dark around a campfire. It’s… like the night itself.”
Cyrus gave his description some genuine thought, as though he had said something truly profound. Damien wasn’t sure if his explanation was really all that, but he supposed any insight into an Affinity other than one’s own could prove useful Regina hadn’t mentioned anything about different Affinities having textures, but that may have been because it wasn’t particularly relevant to being Runesmith.
Damien touched his inventory at the thought, hovering over the items he had made for a just in case scenario. Honestly. he had made them more out of a sense of nostalgia and mad inspiration than anything else, but Regina had been rather encouraging towards the idea. Apparently, he hadn’t been the first to make such developments, but he had made it far more… powerful than what was considered normal, even though they were only Common Rarity.
Then, towards the right, a tree branch snapped. Everyone stopped at once, Jaime shifting his body towards the sound while Leon twirled his staff into a ready position. Cyrus raised his mace/wand combo weapon as Kora hefted her shield and trident, her frame a bulwark against the enemies that surrounded them.
And they did surround them. As Damien activated Primeval Awareness once more, he belatedly noticed the veritable battalion of enemies that suddenly surrounded them on all sides. Humanoid figures made entirely of orange, red and gold flame stood on all sides, at least a dozen in all, with barely distinguishable faces bared in tiny, impish grins. Damien cursed as he drew his jian, putting his back to the rest of his team.
“They’re all around us. Stay very, very calm. They’re waiting on us to make the first move.”
His words got everyone moving, though not drastically. They formed a circle back to back, leaving no space for any of the monsters to get through and harm a one of them. Cyrus seemed far calmer than normal, as though he had done this before, while Jaime had his trademark look of stoicism all over his face. Then, the Hearthborn began to strategize.
“How many? Be as exact as you can.”
“A dozen, at least,” Damien answered. “I can’t see ‘em, so I don’t know their Level, but I’d guess they’re around Level seven, at least?”
Cyrus nodded in thanks for the information Damien provided. “Okay. Kora, I’ll need you to use your War Cry Ability to draw them in. I’ll cover you as best I can, but be ready to take some hits. As for the rest of you… do what you do best. Kill the fuckers.”
Cyrus then raised his rod, a deep, emerald light emitting from the crystal atop its shaft as, at the same time, Kora banged her rident and shield together, letting out a loud, reverberating shout that Damien could feel in his bones. Instantly, he could feel all the attention of the fiery figures turning to the armored woman, an eager smile on her face as she placed her shield in front of her body, preparing her trident for a mighty thrust.
Jaime drew back, arcs lightning zipping up and down the length of his bow to the arrow he had nocked. Leon got ready to sprint straight towards the nearest enemy, as he tended to. And Damien grinned as he began prepping a Shadow Lance over one shoulder, sword bare as Ash thirsted for the blood of their enemies.
Then, all at once, the fiery figures came rushing at them.
Jaime caught one of them in the chest with his prepared arrow, ripping through their side in a miniature explosion of sparks. The thing kept going as though nothing had happened, though it seemed less substantial than it had just a moment ago.
Damien regretted the fact that none of them had an Aqua Affinity as he and Leon rushed in as well, launching the Shadow Lance towards the one that had been weakened by Jaime’s initial shot. It tore the fiery figure into little more than embers on the wind. With the first one down, they moved on to the next, the human Monk quickly batting aside the monsters with a Flurry of Blows. It was one of his favored Abilities, allowing him to strike multiple times in a split second, and piling on Stunning Strike and Crippling Blow on top of it. Then, Damien swept in with his jian, slicing through their nearly nonexistent bodies with Shade Strike, all of the lessons with Corbyn on the Way of the Night Wolf paying incredible dividends. Sure, he might not technically be quite as powerful as he could be, but damn was he far more skilled.
That wasn’t to say that got all of them. Even as Leon and Damien pivoted and Jaime provided covering fire, Kora swept out at some of the fire things that had gotten to her shield, thrusting forth with her trident with a cry of effort. An elongated, three-pronged extension of her weapon sprang forth, gleaming silver in the reflected firelight as two of the figures bit the dust, scattering into little more than ash. Cyrus’ mace/wand went to work, smashing into one of the fiery figure, though not killing it. He seemed fine with that outcome, though, smashing the rod into the ting again and again and again until, finally, it scattered into sparks. It seemed that his Lignum Affinity wasn’t doing him any favors in this part of the forest.
Damien and Leon swept in then, Jaime firing arrows after them as the two friends began cleaning up the last of the fiery figures, wanting to finish this up as soon as they could. The Traveler’s blade followed the human’s staff blows, one stunning while the other slew without mercy, even finding the time to throw in a Spell here and there in order to keep himself free and mobile.
Then, just like that, it was over. All of the figures were dead, and a notification came across Damien’s vision, confirming the fact.
You have slain [Emberling] x12
+1,344 XP
There was not Looting Notice, though Damien wasn’t entirely sure what they would be able to get from monsters made almost entirely of fire, anyway. Cyrus began checking in with everyone, making sure that none of them were hurt, and that Kora hadn’t taken any bad, hits. As he did that, Damien started to scan their surroundings with Magic Eyes and Soul Sight both active. The former was next to useless here, considering just how much Ignis-Attuned Mana was in the air right now, but it turned out to be the latter that alerted him to the fact that they weren’t quite done yet.
“We’ve got more incoming,” Damien said as he started rummaging through his inventory ring. He really hoped he wouldn’t have to use these, especially so soon, but needs must.
“What do you-”
“No time,” Damien interrupted, handing Cyrus one of his little ‘surprises’ before moving on to Kora. He then handed one each to Leon and Jaime before settling on taking one out for himself. “Just pull the pin and throw towards that tree on my mark. Okay?”
Though everyone except Leon looked fairly confused, they all nodded, waiting for his signal as they all looked at the indicated tree. Damien held the object in his own hand in a loose baseball grip, his other hand looping a single finger through the activation pin, ready to unleash a veritable maelstrom of death upon the approaching Emberlings. While these things were Aqua-Attuned, he wasn’t entirely sure how they would be effected by the environment. Still, it would probably go off without a hitch. Probably.
Damien watched as the Emberlings came into range, nearly nonexistent feet snapping on burning leaves and fallen twigs. Then, they finally came into sight of the target he had selected, and he gave the signal.
“Now!”
All five of them pulled the pins and launched the objects all at once, some striking the tree directly while the others hit the ground around it, bouncing once before settling on the ground with a roll. It proved to be more than enough, and all the Emberlings were within range.
Then, everything exploded. An almost indescribably large geyser of water erupted from the spot where they’d thrown Damien’s little gifts, the Emberlings wiped out in droves due to the disadvantage of their Affinity. There was nothing left of them but the hissing remains of fire and quenched orange grass. Damien wasn’t sure how grass made of fire could be quenched and still somehow have physical mass, but it did, and their enemies were dead, which was only further confirmed by the Notice that came across their vision.
You have slain [Emberling] x10
+1,800 XP
Again, no Looting Notices, but that was irrelevant in the face of their sudden XP gains. Then, when everyone came down from their gains, they looked to Damien with surprised faces and wide eyes. Kora seemed especially wary, taking a few steps back as she almost reached for her trident. Something seemed to stop her from doing that, though, and she just gave him a look of suspicion instead.
“What… what were those foul things you just had us use?” she asked, voice wary and hands trembling. She looked intimidated. Hell, Damien would even say she looked terrified.
“While I’m not so suspicious as my friend here, I will admit to some curiosity on my part as well,” Cyrus said, making a calming motion towards Kora as he did so. The Tidekin seethed for a moment before sighing, her shoulders slumping in defeat.
“Oh, those were Runic Grenades. I made ‘em.”
The casual admittance to both his possession of such weapons, and the fact that he could make more, caused everyone but Leon to step back a bit. Damien was confused by this, looking at everyone with surprise. “What? It’s not like they banned me from using them. I wouldn’t have even had them if they hadn’t let me take ‘em.”
The shock of it wore off as Leon chuckled at their shock. “Dude, I told you that those bombs would freak people out!”
“I know, I know,” Damien said, pulling up his Status for the first time in a while. “But I thought it would be a good idea to keep an ace up my sleeve. Besides, I really didn’t want to fight even more of those things.”
[Status]
Name: Damien Sinclair
Race: Traveler of Umbra (Male)
Age: 19
Class: Shade Hunter
Level: 9
XP: 6,744/9,000
Profession: Runesmith
Affinity: Umbra
Stats:
Strength: 32
Dexterity: 90
Intelligence: 90
Constitution: 50
Endurance: 50
Wisdom: 60
Vitality: 56
Vigor: 50
Willpower: 60
Reaction: 120
Stat Points: 0
[Spells]
| Shadowbolt (Common) | Shadow Blast (Uncommon) | Imbue Spell (Rare) | Shadow Lance (Rare) | Invocation (Epic) | Shadow of the Night Wolf (Ancient) | Chains of Tartarus (Unique)
[Abilities]
| Shade Sense (Uncommon) | Shade Strike (Uncommon) | Shade Stitch (Uncommon) | Imbue Ability (Rare) | Bloodcasting (Epic)
[Skills]
| Identify (Common) | Mediation (Uncommon) | Mana Control (Rare) | Engraving (Rare) | Runic Script (Rare) | Imbue Mana (Rare) | Imbue Stamina (Rare) | Advanced Swordsmanship (Rare) | Advanced Unarmed Combat (Rare) | Advanced Acrobatics (Rare) | Advanced Thrown Weapons (Rare) | Advanced Stealth (Rare) | Mana Transmutation (Rare) | Bomb Crafting (Rare)
He had gotten his most recent Skill, Bomb Crafting, almost three months ago when he had been reminded of the effects of grenades back home and decided to do some experimenting. Regina had been more than willing to help him out in this regard, with a not do innocent gleam in her eyes. Damien couldn’t exactly blame her for such an attitude, as he’d had a far more intense one in his own eye more than once as they experimented with them.
“… well, I guess he did just get us a bunch of easy XP,” Jaime said, shrugging off the shock once it had been processed. “Besides, I think it’s be a good idea to at least use what we have instead of arguing about whether or not we should. Those conversations are kinda pointless if you’re dead.”
“I agree with Jaime,” Cyrus said. “Regardless of the rather… destructive and sudden nature of those devices, I am glad you brought them along. You said they were… Runic? Do you happen to have a Profession related to them?”
“Um… yeah, but I’m not sure how you mean,” Damien said, a bit more cautious as the team started to move away from the charring crater that Damien’s grenades had created. “I know that mine interacts with Runes, but I’m not sure of the exact differences.”
“It’s really more of a nature of flexibility than anything else. For example, a Rune Stitcher can only place Runes in clothing or bandages or other fabrics, while Rune Scripters can write out intricate wards and even one-time spell scrolls. Even Enchanters gain their ability to enhance and strengthen items directly from Runes. And then, of course, there are the Professions that are made to be far more versatile. The one relating to Runes is called Runesmith, and it is… well, to be honest, it’s quite ridiculous.”
Damien was lucky that Cyrus had gotten caught up in his own little world as he’d flinched, because otherwise his connection to that Profession would’ve been given away. He listened as the Hearthborn went on. “The Profession sounds kinda generic, but that’s the thing though: it’s not. It might be a lot harder, since you aren’t specializing in any one particular area, but you’re able to do so much more with access to every other speciality that Runes can offer. Honestly, even though I love my Enchanter Profession, I’d give up a lot to start over as a Runesmith. The sheer potential of it just sings to me, y’know?”
“… yeah. Sounds awesome,” Damien replied, not letting the man know about his Profession as he and his team continued to walk through the blazing forest, hoping to find a good site to build a base camp.