“Cal. Good to see you. There’s a situation brewing in town. Not an emergency yet.” Tank said.
“What’s going on?”
“Earlier a creature tried assaulting us from the water. It was fairly weak, we took care of that and shored up the defenses there. Don’t worry, you still got your view. The assaults continued from different directions. Scouts reported seeing them walk through magic doorways like Ian’s.”
“Well shit, so, Knox?” Calvin asked.
“Looks like it. Although, that’s not why we called you. The other rune over the mountains. It started about an hour ago but a large green line connected to it from the ground, and a portion of the rune has changed color. Weirdest shit. When we called you, a second line reached up and connected. Something’s happening and It’s probably not good.”
“Right. Looks like we’re about finished up here. We’ll wrap up and beam back. What’s up with you by the way?”
Tank flashed a toothy grin. “You like that? My crew evolved. I’m a Juggernaut now. I can walk you through the details when you get back, but mostly, I carry a big ass stick and make shit go boom. If you think that’s something, wait until you see Reaper.”
“Can’t wait. Thanks for the assist, that bastard was a pain in the god damned ass.” Calvin said.
“Any time! Ian’s little doorway trick is real neat. We need to keep doing that. Anyway, I gotta get back. See you back at Olympus.”
With that, Tank hoisted his massive cannon over his shoulder and strolled back through the doorway.
Around them, worms were dying in droves. Their corpses were corroding away under the deluge of Amy’s toxins. The crew went to work salvaging whatever they could from the corpses, especially the big ass bird. The feathers and beak for sure were something special and they would not leave a single one behind. Amy already called dibs on them for daggers if Seth could work some magic on them.
Above them the red rune in the sky slowly faded away until there was nothing left of it. The quest was officially over. Behind them, a large chest materialized in the center of the arena. It was about six feet wide and constructed of a solid black wood. It was lined in gold trim with a mechanical mechanism keeping it closed. They approached the chest and examined it briefly before discovering what looked to be a button.
Calvin pressed the button. Gears began grinding away as latches released within the chest and the lid popped open like it was spring loaded. Inside were several items.
Lancer’s Guard Bracers (Gold): These bracers are a standard issue item for the Empyrean Lancer. Crafted from an ultra dense alloy, the bracers themselves are extremely durable and able to withstand powerful strikes. These bracers are enchanted with Obsidian Bulwark. (Speed +3, Toughness +2)
Obsidian Bulwark (Enchantment): With a thought, the wielder can instantly summon a nanite enforced obsidian bulwark. The bulwark remains until the ability is deactivated or the bulwark is destroyed. The bulwark will fully regenerate after a period of four hours. This skill can be activated repeatedly as long as the bulwark has not been destroyed. When destroyed, the wielder must wait for it to fully regenerate before activating again.
Essence Knuckles (Gold): Designed by a master artisan for a D Grade, Jade Leaf Monk before entering the Trial of Absolution. These knuckles can be socketed with essence stones, allowing the user to impart the essence of the stone into their strikes. Three stones can be socketed at once in a spatial storage, while only one can be active at a time. (Speed +3, Power +1)
Weapon Enchantment Token (Gold): This token can be exchanged at an established settlement to apply a gold tier or below enchantment to a specified weapon.
Nanite Capacitor (Gold): The nanite capacitor is a ring capable of storing a considerable amount of nanite energy. This energy is infused by the wearer. Upon activation, the entire contents of the capacitor can be emptied into a spell, significantly improving the power and effects of the spell. Using the capacitor completely drains it and will need to be fully replenished before using it again.
In addition to those items, there was a spatial pouch containing literal PILES of unattuned essence stones and a bookshelf with several tomes and manuscripts.
“Well, it seems pretty obvious who the loot is for. I’m guessing the token is for you Amy.” said Ian.
There wasn’t anything in there that screamed “Freya” though, which left the proud pup feeling a little sad. That didn’t seem right though, Freya had kicked ass during these fights..
Calvin getting an idea, checked some of the items on the bookshelf within the pouch.
Artisan’s Guide to Canine Fashion
A Canine Compendium to Martial Training
Canine Cookbook: Enhanced Diet For Your Little Warrior
“Hey Freya, there’s some stuff in here for you after all!” Calvin said, getting excited yips from the pup, “Pretty sure the system is fucking with us though.”
They poked around the area, ensuring they hadn’t missed anything and cracked open a doorway back to Olympus.
“What the hell?” Marshall said as they reappeared in town.
This was not at all like what Tank described.
The red rune above what they’d believed was the Scourge quest, was now fully transformed into a radiant green.
Dozens of beams shot out from the ground below and connected with the rune, which was slowly expanding in size. Tank’s old settlement was somewhat close to the expanding rune and the beacon above that base was beginning to dim and flicker.
Tank and Liam came rushing over to Calvin as soon as they reappeared.
“Things are escalating fast. In the time it took me to come pay you a visit, all of this happened.”
“Damn, alright everyone. We’re going to have to move out fast. Whatever is happening over there does not look good at all. Let’s get resupplied, get some food and meet up back here in 30.”
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Calvin quickly looked around at the town, finally noticing that things have certainly changed in the couple of days they were gone.
The walls were now bathed in a radiant blue glow, completely enveloped by barriers being emitted from Seth’s drones. Beside Seth's workshop, a metallic structure had been built. Calvin could see radiant blue energy flowing from the structure into the base rune and Calvin assumed this to be the new power core. That was fast he thought.
He and Amy moved into Seth’s workshop to get an update on everything that happened while they were out.
Calvin dropped the pouch containing the essence stones and the reading materials on a workbench for Seth.
“Brought you some stuff. Marshall I think is going to need to tap into those stones for some gloves he got. Figured you could get some charged up for him. I see you’ve been busy.” Calvin said as he pointed toward the power core.
“Oh I certainly have. You’ll notice a nice new addition on the beach down by the cabins. Had some monsters trying to crawl out of the water. I guess we should have expected that.”
“Got any ideas about what’s going on with the rune out there?”
Seth sighed, “No, not really. Andy has some ideas, but of course there’s only so much he can share.”
“It is not that I am unwilling to share in this case. I simply do not know.” Andy said as he materialized in the space.
“Any theories?”
“Yes. The events bear the hallmark of corruption, and that’s concerning.”
“Maybe there’s something I’m missing. Isn’t the ‘corruption’ we’ve been encountering, some sort of system generated scenario? Like training?”
“Initially, yes. What is happening out there does not bear the hallmarks of the system.”
“Wait, so the corruptors could actually be here? In the tutorial?”
“I believe so yes. It’s happened before. Three times. The first time, the system collapsed the tutorial and shunted it into the void. The other times, The Corruptors prevented tutorial collapse and the corruption was transported back to the host worlds. Records show that those system seeds fell to The Corruptors shortly thereafter.”
“Well shit. So either the system collapses the tutorial, and presumably kills everyone here, or the corruption is transported back to Earth?”
“That is accurate. I suggest you stop the process.”
“Sage advice. Alright Amy, looks like our timetable’s moved up considerably. Seth, could you get some more mines ready for us? I used them all.”
“Already ahead of you there. I’ve been stashing them in the town stockpile. I’ll keep it stocked up with anything of use.”
“Perfect. Andy, please have everyone finish up their business and have them meet us by the West Gate.”
“Understood.” Andy disappeared from the room.
15 minutes later, the group assembled at the gate. Calvin and Andy tag teamed the explanation of events.
“Really wish we could have stuck around a bit longer to get a break, but sounds like we might not have much of a choice. Whatever is happening over there isn’t part of the tutorial.” Calvin explained, “Let’s complete the missive, get the rewards and grab our skills then head out.”
Calvin flipped open the missive screen and completed the raptor madness missive.
Discover The Source Of The Glintscale Raptor Madness - Complete
IMMEDIATE:
All citizens of Olympus - 5000xp
All group members who actively participated in the quest - 3000xp
UPON CONCLUSION OF TUTORIAL:
Skill Forge available in base management
1x Skill Forge token per citizen
Admittance to Trials of Andromeda
Resource Cache (Platinum)
Calvin had no idea what the Trials of Andromeda or the Skill forge were but they didn’t have time to cover that with Andy right this moment. They needed to check out their level skills and get on the road immediately. The rune was expanding at a greater speed now as more beams connected to it from the mountain below.
Something quickly became evident as they opened their skill menus. They no longer received new skills every 5 levels. Skills were granted every 20 levels beginning from level 35 and evolution points were granted every 10 beginning at 30. Calvin, Ian and Freya had been the only ones to hit 35 in the last encounter, with the rest being right on the cusp at 34. Calvin’s dove into the skills menu to see what he’d been offered. The skills were off the charts. These would be the first selections he’d seen since evolving and the power spike was already showing up. All of the choices were amazing in their own right. There was one in particular, though, that stood out far above the rest.
Plasma Cage: Harnessing the essence of pure plasma, the techlancer marks their target erecting a plasma cage around them. Targets trapped within the cage will take significant damage when trying to pass through the plasma arcs, effectively trapping them within. The cage amplifies electric attacks that pass through the cage and its effects are enhanced by storm essence. The techlancer and their allies can pass through the cage safely. This ability consistently drains MP while in use and can be ended at any time. The cage can be collapsed upon the target, dealing a significant amount of damage for a high MP cost.
This is something Calvin and the party needed badly. If the last fights taught them anything it’s that they need to be able to lock down their targets. Both the Mantis and the Plumed Apocalypse had controlled the battlefield through movement abilities. Calvin knew right away this would be the skill to choose and he selected it without hesitation.
He exited the skill selection menu and took a look at the evolution menu. They had only been able to passively evolve skills so far, however Andy said that opportunities would arise to manually evolve them. This must be one of those opportunities. He immediately noticed that these skill evolutions were not as dramatic as the ones that happened naturally. They did not entirely change a skill, but allowed them to enhance any skill by adding modifiers to them. Not having any idea how this worked, he selected Resonant Charge.
Calvin was immediately provided with a list of possible modifications he could make to that skill. There were simple modifications like increasing the speed at which it charged, or increasing the number of times he could discharge it before having to charge it up again. There were also more impactful changes he could make, like adding additional attunements or attuning it to a different element entirely.
He backed out of this skill and went to look at the others. Upon scanning the list he noted that skills that already naturally evolved could not be modified through this process. He checked out Riftwalk next. This was a skill that was absolutely essential to his toolkit, and examining the options, he was even happier that he’d selected this skill when he did. One option in particular was potentially a game changer.
Riftwalk (Evolution) - Modify Riftwalk and grant it the ability naturally evolve. Upon selecting this modification, Riftwalk will immediately evolve.
This was already an amazing skill. Having it continuously upgrade in the way that his other evolving skills did was a no brainer. His last natural evolution had given his skill absurd power with Phalanx which was now Storm Legion. He immediately chose this modification.
Riftwalk has evolved into Stormwalk
Stormwalk: The Stormlancer infuses any spear under their control with storm essence. For a brief period, the Stormlancer can phase through the fabric of space, reappearing at any location under the influence of storm essence. Upon reappearing, a wave of lightning erupts from the Stormlancer. This skill can be used twice before going on cooldown. This skill is a continuously evolving skill, having many options to evolve and grow with the wielder.
It was exactly the same as Riftwalk, but better. Now he could activate it twice, deal damage when arriving and wasn’t necessarily tied to using spears. While Freya had the battlefield saturated with storm essence, he’d be able to move anywhere in the blink of an eye. Honestly, this was WAY better than getting a skill at 30.
Liara had arrived with another crate of potions for the journey and Marshall stepped off to enjoy a few minutes with her before they all had to head out.
It tore at Calvin seeing the exchange. They were walking into danger nearly every day with a high chance of not returning. Marshall was trying to carve out a relationship with someone and had no time to actually enjoy the aspects of life that made it worth living. He could only hope that they could deal with this new problem, finish up the quest and finally get a few days without some new, devastating, world ending scenario. This couldn’t be what life was like in the system all the time. The Aetherian Collective made it a point to help societies integrate. There had to be some sense of normalcy out there right?
By now, everyone had finished up their skill selections and evolutions. Calvin dove into Freya’s menus to check what upgrades she’d gotten while everyone made their final preparations.