Ch 25. Day 10. Tryouts.
Nenn spent the rest of the day relaxing while disseminating knowledge to the newly integrated. It was a wonderful experience where everyone he talked to paid him the full amount of their attention. As a result, they soaked up all of the lessons like a sponge. In particular, the casters got to experience first hand how to influence their abilities. They practiced by getting their basic bolt casts to spin, causing the spell to curve as it flew down range. Was it the most useful trick? No. But it was a starting point.
The melee got a lesson on how to fight an opponent that could ensnare them and block their blows with [Mana Shield]. The lesson also gave Nenn some insight into how the ability worked, as the training provided him the opportunity to carefully watch his resources while under siege.
From Nenn’s studies, he found that [Mana Shield] had two important functions. The first was how much damage it could take before it shattered. This could be seen by its resource on the Status sheet. At level 35, Nenn’s [Mana Shield] could take 800 points of damage before it broke.
The second function was the upkeep cost. Keeping a [Mana Shield] up cost mana, which made a certain kind of sense. Activating the ability costs around 10% of one's mana. Then it requires a steady upkeep of mana flowing into it to maintain it. Around 1% a second or so, starting as soon as it was summoned. In effect [Mana Shield] cost 11% to summon.
Then things got a little more obscure when it came to repetitively summoning the shield. Nenn found three factors at play here. If [Mana Shield] had previously been cast in the battle, it was able to be resummoned without paying the full casting cost. This varied depending on the amount of damage the shield had previously taken. For every 10% or so of the shields total damage taken, it cost an additional 1% of mana to resummon. If the shield was in perfect condition, it still cost 1% of Nenn’s mana pool to summon, keeping in line with the spell maintenance cost.
If the shield broke, it suffered a bit of a cooldown before it could be re-engaged. Thirty seconds. It mayt not seem like a lot, but in battle, a whole lot could happen in that short amount of time. If combat had ended properly, there was a grace period in which the shield could be resummoned for the maintenance cost, versus the full summoning cost. This period worked out to also be thirty seconds.
The day continued on as Nenn and Velnoriss disseminated the knowledge they had about the world to the newly integrated. Mana theory and night predators. The Obelisk, and how it ties into The System. Naga warlords, and the culture surrounding the trialborn. There were countless topics and questions that were asked around the campfire, as all of the new occupants of the fortress gathered for their evening meal.
It was then they asked Nenn to share his story and his experiences in The Trial, thus far. So Nenn obliged, telling a mostly honest recounting of his story thus far. He omitted several details, especially around the eldritch tree’s existence, and his adventures in ‘Meadowspace’.
The entire camp's attention was squarely focused on Nenn’s every word. When he paused to figure out how to phrase things, or to remember details, the gathering was quiet. The pops and cracks of wood burning in the fire punctuated the silence.
When Nenn finished, the camp remained silent for a moment before turning to their neighbors and discussing whatever they were discussing. Nenn on the other hand had Velnoriss and Elkorin’s attention to attend to. Tomorrow was going to be another big day. Plans had been drawn, detailing the restoration of the fortress, especially now that half of it had been pushed over, burned, or otherwise desecrated by the battle.
Night was coming quickly as it did within the mountain valley. Fire watchers and rotations were set up, thanks to Velnoriss’ insistence that they do so. Nenn chuckled at the thought of night predators attacking the fortress tonight. They had to have been displaced pretty badly last night, as Nenn went almost the whole night without the protective effect of light mana and he had yet to see one of the fabled night predators.
At this point, he almost did not believe they existed. It was easy to try to explain them away. Even Velnoriss could only give scarce details about them. He had said that anyone who saw a night predator was already dead. They just did not know it yet. Velnoriss also confirmed that there were, in fact, rumors and sightings of night predators that looked like Nenn’s [Shapeshift - Deathstalker] form.
Nenn went and found a spot next to the giant tree to lie down. Laying in the soft grass it was not long before the weary druid fell asleep, basked in the peaceful aura that had befallen the valley.
***
Nenn awoke the next day, and went about the process of uprooting himself. Once the wooden part of his body had seen to spreading roots throughout the night and absorbing… something in the ground. Is it nutrients, or does the whole world of The Trial work off of mana? Does food have nutrients, or is that all just different flavors of mana too? Nenn wondered. It was a thought that he would have to ask someone more versed in mana theory one day.
Nenn arose well after the sun had risen over the mountains. He was glad that he had been able to sleep. I don’t know how long I could go on as a deathstalker without sleeping. Things were beginning to get a little loose on the logic side the longer I was awake. Maybe the deathstalker’s body doesn't need sleep, but its mind certainly would benefit from it. I will have to take advantage of the opportunity to sleep when it's safe to, Nenn thought.
If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
The morning proceeded much the same as the day before had progressed. Naga and humans were lining up for breakfast without any particular order or priority. The occupants of the fortress had put in a lot of work yesterday gathering the ownerless tools and supplies that remained in the area. One of the more useful finds were the sets of kitchen equipment, allowing the group to make a hearty slush of porridge this morning.
Nenn skipped the meal, although he wished he had the choice to partake. It was a sacrifice that he was willing to make if it meant he had the ability to shape his own future. He was sure that his lack of eating ability would never come back to bite haunt him. Afterall, it wasn’t his fault. He could put the blame solely on the System for this.
After breakfast wound down Nenn had an opportunity to participate in some sparring exercises with both humans and the naga alike. He hadn’t used his base form in a while, so it was good practice. The only bad thing was that Nenn’s stats had outgrown even Velnoriss’ by a couple multiples now. He could easily win every test of strength, dodge any blow with his dexterity, and out pace an opponent with his stamina. It was excellent practice for the rest of the encampment, as they had a chance to fight an opponent far above them, without the fear of death inhibiting them from going all out.
Nenn took a couple of hits, but they were grazes at worst, the kind one would trade to score a devastating blow to their opponent. But that changed as Nenn faced down his current opponent. The human had chosen to be a monk, and they were lightning quick on their feet. The monk was unpredictable and managed to get within Nenn’s guard almost on command.
After receiving another painful blow to his fleshy ribs Nenn decided to push back offensively against the monk. He swung his combat staff around, hoping to catch the monk out of position, but he never was. The man was quick and silent, each movement calculated and precise. The pacing of the battle changed in an instant. Instead of dodging the blow, the monk stopped in his tracks and took Nenn’s swinging strike directly to his side. The monk did not move an inch, pain barely registering on his face.
Nenn took a half step back to create space between himself and the defiant monk. There is no way a monk should be able to outpace me with such a drastic level difference, Nenn thought. The monk smiled at Nenn. He raised his arm up and did the ‘bring it’ gesture with his hand.
Not one to back down from a challenge, Nenn stepped forward and stabbed forward with the blunt point of the combat staff, aiming for the monk’s midsection. One second Nenn was about to strike the monks chest with enough force to fell a tree, and in the next the monk had grasped the end of the staff with his hands, and managed to brace himself enough that he moved with the staff, moving backwards a couple of inches, rather than receiving the blow to his abdominals.
“What is your name?” Nenn asked. He retreated once more, this time he planted his staff into the ground and leaned on it slightly. He was done fighting for now.
“...”
“Cat got your tongue? You can tell me. You’re among friends here. No need to be shy,” Nenn said.
The monk broke his stance, moving back to a relaxed standing position. Using a finger he pointed at his throat, then brought his other hand up to make an ‘X’.
“You can’t speak?” Nenn asked.
The monk nodded his head up and down in the affirmative fashion. A status sheet fell from the heavens, landing in the monk's hands. He took a step forward and offered it to Nenn. There were three lines visible.
NAME: Shirley the Mute
SPECIES: Human
ORIGIN: Earth ([0.9.0.0.0] Year 0, Day 9, Hour 0, Minute 0, Second 0.)
“Shirley the Mute, eh? More like Shirley the monk. Well Shirley, I have a proposition for you. How would you like to join my party? We are going to head out later today to delve through a local dungeon. Velnoriss is certain that one should be nearby. You seem to have an excellent grasp on the class, your movements are sublime, and you are very durable. I can’t wait to see what kind of monster you develop into with a couple more levels under your belt,” Nenn said.
Shirley bowed at the waist, then returned to standing, then flashed Nenn a thumbs up.
“Perfect. Now we just need to round out the group with some proper range dps,” Nenn said.
“If it’sss not too forward of me to asssk, maybe I could be of ussse.” A naga wielding a caster’s staff slithered forward. The female naga was dressed in robes that were an infrequent sight to be seen. They were the vestments that newly integrated shaman’s wore.
“Sure, come at me,” Nenn said.
The naga bunted their staff against the ground, and a loose rock, the size of Nenn’s fist lifted off the ground and hovered in front of the shaman. A second stomp of the staff sent the rock flying at Nenn at a nearly supersonic speed. Nenn almost managed to dodge. His wooden side had taken a good portion of the blow, splintering and cracking.
The hit hurt more than it should have, but Nenn was still standing. His reserves were fine, his health had taken a small 30% blow, but he was still operational.
The shaman looked at him in awe, a feeling that was shared by most of the gathered crowd and Nenn. To be able to attack with such lethality, and at such a low level. Nenn thought.
“That was a good shot,” Nenn said. “Can you hit me with it again? I want to see if you can do that again.”
“Sssure I can,” the shaman said. She tapped the ground with her staff once more and another stone came loose, rising to shoulder level. Just as her staff was moving through the air to issue the send command, Nenn casted [Mana Shield]. The brilliant black barrier flared to life, becoming opaque less than half a second later as the naga’s attack smashed into Nenn’s barrier in a perfectly inelastic collision. The rock obliterated itself into gravel as it’s advance was rejected.
The [Mana Shield] held steady at 500/800 of it’s durability remaining. The shield disappeared, and the cloud of disintegrated rock dissipated. Nenn brushed off the dust. Looking at his opponent, Nenn noticed that she was lying on the ground, clutching their head in pain.
“Hey you,” Nenn called out to one of the naga spectators. “I need you to come and wait with this shaman while their mana recovers. Mana withdrawal sucks. This is what happens when you overspend your mana resources. You get debilitating head pains until you go back up to a net positive amount of mana.
“Can you let the shaman know that they can join my party if they wish. We have lots of work to do to improve those skills.”
With that, no one else stepped forward to challenge Nenn to a spar. It had already been a rumor since the night prior that Nenn was planning on leaving soon. With his selection process, the cat was out of the bag, more so than it ever should have been.