CHAPTER XXXVIII: SHADOW NINJA
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{13:36 LOCAL TIME 3RD JULY 1ME}
UNCOMMON PERIOD
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LONG BEACH AIRPORT
COLONEL & SOTO
Soto and Colonel walked in the center of a staggered column formation as they moved briskly through the overgrown streets of the main road, heading to the eerie-looking Long Beach airport with a team of troopers.
The trip wasn’t uneventful, but they were a pretty powerful group. Between Soto’s Shadow Skills and Spells, Colonel’s turrets, and grenade Styles, they probably would have been fine. But Jimmy’s team were great together, with the help of the three spies they made for a formidable hunter killer squad. Colonel and Soto had already considered breaking the squads up like that, maybe even entire platoons of hunter-killer teams.
The spy team, made up of Corporal Smith, Alanna, the freshly healed Julia, and Soto’s Clone, was the hunter section. They would travel ahead within Raid party chat range, which, under Colonel, was at least a mile away. Once they found a target that the party couldn’t avoid, they could mark their maps with an Ability that updated the raid party map abilities. From there Colonel could coordinate the killing of the threat.
Jimmy’s team was the killer section. Including himself, he had four others under his command.
Two close combat Skillers, Kenny and his Son Kenneth, the fourth. They were both average-height black men dressed in hardened leather armor with Pittsburgh Steelers caps on. They both had shield proficiency skills, which went well with their temper glass round shield, and both used magically conjured lances as their primary offensive weapon. They had both received the lance power from the magical skill tome from the Dungeon. The Shields were standard issue for front liners yesterday.
Two women were the caster-type members of his team. The older woman, Molly, had gotten a healing skill and had to use it on the Kennys a few times during their short journey. It leveled with usage, so she didn’t complain, and neither did the Kennys. The last girl, Dina, had gotten a lava gun construct skill tome, and she had leveled it to high Apprentice Tier already. Killing high-tier beasts during a horde does wonders for skill levels. She was their primary swarm monster killer; her Skill was better at killing lower-level beasts in large groups than anyone else.
Jimmy’s got the beast tamer Trade skill and also the K-9 mastery Skill. He could control up to a 10 beast, or 25 K-9s, or 2 Alphas K-9s. During their first encounter with Dire Wolves, he tamed the Alpha, and now the whole pack ran with the team. Jimmy didn’t have control over the individual members of the pack, but he could order the Alpha to tell them what to do, and they would. The pack was ten strong from levels 20 to 25, and the Alpha was at 29.
The Alpha reached level 30 at the subsequent encounter as the Hunters had marked a pack of oversized rats. The wolves and lava cannons did most of the work.
They checked in with the Stronghold as they walked, and still weren’t out of range yet three hours away. That communication method was better than any radio system he had ever had in the Army, almost as high-end as the JTF stuff with his brother Roger’s Nobel prize-winning expertise.
It wasn’t uneventful there, either.
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< STRONGHOLD CONFLICT EVENT COMPLETE >
EVENT NAME: Hamlet to Village
DESCRIPTION: A large group of players have left their Hamlet with the intent of joining your Hamlet. Once they made this decision, they packed up their things and started to make their way to your Hamlet. They don’t know exactly where you are located, but they had to escape before the Chancellor figured out their plan to leave. They failed. They are being pursued by the Noble guard of the Chancellor.
Objective: Stop the Noble guard from catching the escaped players. (Complete Guard retreated back to the safety of their Hamlet.)
Objective: Guide players back to Fort Chavez. (Complete All players have made it to the AOC of the Fort Chavez.)
Rewards: 1,000,000 EXP, At cost Hamlet upgrade to Village, 10 Lesser Uncommon Mana Stones, a 1 Rare Mana Stone, Upgrade to Trade Skills of citizens old and new. (All rewards will be held at Stronghold Bank for your convenience.)
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The EXP from completing the Event and their three-hour trek through the post-apocalyptic Long Beach area was enough for Soto to reach Tier 4 in his Class. They had stopped outside the Airport road so that he could specialize before the shitstorm that that place was sure to be.
Colonel looked at the next event in the chain while he waited for Soto to make his choices. He had told Soto about the path to your own Cultivation, and to his surprise, he was already on the path. He had Shadow Scout at 20, which was a True Class for some, and then Advanced Shadow Scout at 30. He was sure only Elite Shadow Scout was his only option at 40, but he didn’t say anything outside of recommending taking it, or a upper class options if it is available, Soto had nodded at him noncommittally. Colonel was curious what he would get at 50, but that won’t be until after this mission probably.
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< STRONGHOLD CONFLICT EVENT ALERT >
EVENT NAME: Village to Town
DESCRIPTION: Now that you have saved the players and accepted them into your fort, you must now incorporate them into your society.
Objective: Convince 51% of the players to become citizens and submit to your authority. (Complete 100%)
Objective: Fill out the critical jobs for the fort using new citizens.
Rewards: EXP, At cost Village upgrade to Town, 10 Greater Uncommon Mana Stones, a 10 Lesser Rare Mana Stone. Permanent Moral boost, Glass Mine.
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“It looks like Sugar already completed the first objective, and easily too. I wonder what happened?” He had tried to get a hold of her once he had gotten the update, but Command was too busy dealing with the influx of thousands of people. So he decided he could wait. He looked at the reason why they were here.
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< STRONGHOLD EVENT UPDATED >
EVENT NAME: NPC help
DESCRIPTION: The NPCs of the CSU Chancellor Stronghold fear that the Chancellor has sold them out to The Syndicate or Westside Guild. Now that the Uncommon Horde has passed, his noble guard has initiated martial law. The two Buddhist monks who were the prime Protectors of the NPCs have gone missing since the battle.
Objective: Stop the Chancellor from handing the NPCs over to the Slaver Strongholds. (Location on map Time frame 13D:08H:23M)
Objective: Find the Monks before they die. (Location on map Time frame 00H:23M)
Objective: Escort the Governor back to Safety.
Rewards: EXP, Stronghold leadership, Stronghold upgrade. 2 lesser Uncommon Mana Stones, a 1 Rare Mana stone, and New Strongholds added to your nation.
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
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Four silent lightning bolts hit Soto with another five more thick tree trunk bolts after a few seconds as new energy could be felt in the clearing they had set up in coming from Soto.
His -Will- was now active.
Colonel’s eyes narrowed, “Did you just specialize twice? What did you get?” Colonel asked incredulously.
Soto slowly opened his eyes and looked at his best friend with a mischievous grin. “I had more EXP than I told you. Just enough to get my True class right after getting to Tier 4, and maxing out everything. I got a Caste Quest that I completed by just being on your team, and the Stronghold upgraded.” He chuckled at Clyde’s eye roll.
“Just show me,” Clyde said, looking to the heavens for strength.
He got the prompt for Soto’s fourth Spec.
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{SPEC: Elite Shadow Scout
COST: PAID
(”A blade in the neck is worth two in the kidneys, but an arrow in the eye is worth two in the heart. So that means a blade from the shadows can change a mind twice.”)
Dark Rangers are the range, sneak, and reconnaissance-type players. The Elite Shadow Scout Spec is part of the shadows. While they can deal severe damage, they are mobile attackers who can hurt their target after their initial attack with stacking debuffs.
The Shadow Scout is a movement offensive Specialist that has a Moderate boost to damage over time.
This is a pre-True Class Spec to a Ninja Type True Class.
Elite Bonus: Presence disappears while in shadows for a Slight Mana cost.
Elite Shadow Scout SPEC Stats added: +56 Strength & Dexterity, +30 Intelligence & Charisma per level. +2 Skill Points Per level.
SPELL CHOICE
Elite Multiple Shadow Clones(Conjure): The Shadow Scout can conjure shadow clones of themselves. The Shadow Clone will have 1% of all Pools but do 220% damage. The Shadow Clones will follow the orders of the Creator.
Cast Time: Instant. Cost: 150MP & 25HP. 10 Mana per minute per clone. Duration: 15 minutes. Cool down: None. Requirements: Chant.
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“Well, shit, that is dope power. Do you still have access to the other shadow clone spell?” Colonel asked.
“Yeah, they do two different things, really. The single clone is good at scouting and assassination, but the Elite version is an army of weaker troops to overwhelm with powerful Shadow attacks. I will be a single target enemy’s nightmare.” Soto said.
“I don’t disagree,” Clyde said, rubbing his chin.
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{TRUE CLASS: Shadow Ninja
COST: PAID
(”It doesn’t matter if it is a blade, an arrow, a shuriken, or a spell. My attacks will always come from the shadows. For from the shadows I was born, and to the shadows is where I intend to send you.”)
Shadow Ninjas are magical range, sneak, reconnaissance, and assassination-type players. The Shadow Ninja True Class is the shadows, and the shadows will do your bidding. While Shadow Ninjas can deal severe damage, they are known for being mobile attackers who can hurt their targets after their initial attack with stacking shadow debuffs. All Dark and Shadow-related powers stack Majorly quicker and take Slightly longer to fall off.
The Shadow Ninja is lost True Class and benefits from a Significant boost to damage over time damage.
The Shadow Ninja True Class replaces all Spec and Combat Class: +220 Strength & Dexterity, +100 Intelligence & Charisma per level. +4 Skill Points per level.
SPELL CHOICE
Giant Shadow Shuriken(Conjure): The Shadow Ninja can conjure a large Shuriken made of shadows that, when thrown, can travel through multiple opponents, adding shadow debuffs to all and exploding on the last target, doing damage for every opponent hit.
Cast Time: 5 seconds. Cost: 350 MP. Damage 1000 + I & C. Shadow damage: 100 damage per meter of shadow per second. Final Damage: Variable. Duration: 10 seconds. Cool down: 10 minutes. Requirements: Silent Chant.
Ninja shroud (Buff): When activated the Shadow Ninja is empowered with his Mana and -Will- that boost all attacks.
Cast time: 10 seconds. Cost: 1000 mana & 10 -Will-. Damage increase: 200%. Duration: 30 seconds. Cool down: 90 minutes. Requirements: Silent Chant.
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“That spell is a mean opener or closer for a fight, and of course, you found a way to be a ninja.” Clyde smiled and dapped his battle buddy.
After making his fist pretend to explode, Soto’s eyes unfocused again. “My Clone just disappeared before its duration ran out,” he said, confused.
Colonel was on high alert.
[Smith where you at? Over.] Colonel said in party chat as he pulled up his map and saw that the four green dots representing his Hunter team were gone. “Shit.”
“What?” Soto said standing up, he almost jumped out of his boots since he had just added over a thousand points to strength and Dexterity between his two specializations to his True Class. “Whoa boom shakalaka.”
Colonel grabbed and steadied him. He looked at Jimmy. “We are moving. Sergeant Major get me another clone up for me and send him ahead, we need information.
“Copy that one,” Soto said, and he began to cast the Shadow clone spell. Seconds later, a shadowy version of Soto was shadow-stepping away.
The party followed on foot. Soto kept receiving Whisper Speak messages from his clone, utilizing all of his abilities to assess the danger. He let the spies out on their own because he was more than confident they could outrun most things in the forest. They were about to figure out there were things you couldn’t run from.
The Colonel looked up at Kekere flying above. She looked down at him. “Come, my companion,” he said.
She flew down, sensing his seriousness. She landed on his shoulder and nudged his dark brown cheeks.
“I don’t know what is going on, but I'd rather have you near me than not.” He answered her.
She nodded, satisfied with the answer.
They were closing in on the spies' last known location when Soto abruptly stopped.
Colonel and the others stopped as well. “What?” He asked as he scanned his surroundings. They were at the edge of a tree line overlooking the old 405 freeway. It was no longer a freeway with overgrown trees, tall grass, and weeds. On the other side of the old freeway was the Long Beach International Airport. There was a haze spreading out from it.
“My clone went missing again on the other side of the highway,” Soto answered. “I also can’t shadow step anywhere that haze is at.”
Colonel looked at the haze. “Not at all?” He asked.
“Not at all,” Soto confirmed.
“That’s got to be our wild Dungeon, right?” Colonel asked Soto. "My Perception and Presence just stop at that haze as well."
“That would be my guess.” He looked up in the sky, where Bour was standing, observing.
“Jimmy, have your alpha send a minion across the freeway.” He said to the tamer.
“Copy that, sir.” After a few seconds, nothing happened. Jimmy started to turn red with embarrassment.
“What is going on, Corporal?” Colonel asked, his patience wearing thin.
“They said no,” Jimmy answered uneasily.
“Ugh,” Colonel groaned, “I didn’t feel good about doing it anyway. We have people in there, so let's go get them."
Colonel jogged across the street, and just about halfway across, the world around him blurred, and day turned to night.
A Black moon hung in the sky. Clyde was no longer on the highway but in front of an air traffic controller tower. Feral ghouls with glowing purple eyes throw themselves against it with reckless abandonment. They chipped away chunks from the warped and beaten concrete structure.
The scene around him froze, and the whole party got a plethora of prompts.
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< CURSE UPGRADED >
{CURSE NAME: Scourge of the Undead
CURSE TYPE: Physical/Death
CURSE LEVEL: 5
DESCRIPTION: Scourge of the Undead is a curse that slowly levels over time or as more undead are assimilated into the local area. As the curse levels, the more adverse the reaction is, the more it affects living beings in its sphere of influence. The Scourge will also level the highest level Death or Dark being over time. This being must be killed to end the curse.
Level 1: Allows the recently dead to rise again as undead in 24 hours under the leader of the scourge. Mana and Health Regen for non-Dark and Death creatures are reduced by 10%.
Level 2: Allows the recently dead to rise again as undead in 18 hours under the leader of the scourge. Mana and Health Regen for non-Dark and Death creatures is reduced by -25%.
Level 3: Allows the recently dead to rise again as undead in 6 hours under the leader of the scourge. Mana and Health regen for non-Dark and Death creatures are reduced by 40%. The skies stay darker longer, and the sun doesn’t have as harsh an effect on the undead.
Level 4: Allows the recently dead to rise again as undead in 1 hour under the leader of the scourge. Mana and Health Regen for non-Dark and Death creatures is reduced by -55%. Daytime is now set from 9am-3pm
Level 5: Allows the recently dead to rise again as undead in 1 minute time under the leader of the scourge. Mana and Health Regen for non-Dark and Death creatures is reduced by -75%. Forever night. Fire burns slightly weaker. Light is Slightly weakened.
NOTE:
{The Curse information does not show up on your Character Sheet. Pay attention to your POOLS in real time.}
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{00:00 DUNGEON TIME}
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< YOU HAVE ENTERED A PLATINUM MANA ZONE >
< WELCOME TO THE WILD DUNGEON FINAL DESTINATION >
Scenario: “Enhanced Ghouls have taken over the Long Beach Airport and created Stronghold from the leftover Mana resources of the abandoned JTF compounds. With the Stronghold, the leaders can reproduce ghouls at a prodigious rate. You have been given control of three free defensive Tower emplacements inside all of the controlled areas; use these Towers to defend yourself from the hordes of enemies. They are not very smart and won’t attack weapon emplacements not on the main thoroughfare. But if they destroy all of the towers, your party will have failed and be expelled 7 weeks after you entered. Survive all waves, and Enhance Ghoul bosses to complete the Wild Dungeon.“
{Dungeon Mode is Tower Defense.}
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< ZONE EVENT >
< WILD DUNGEON ALERT >
{You and your party have entered the area of influence of this Wild Dungeon. While you are in the Dungeon the expansion of the wild Dungeon is slowed significantly. Complete the Dungeon, and collect or destroy the Dungeon Core to stop the growth of the wild dungeon. Creature birth and spawn rate has risen Significantly. The chances of creature evolution have risen Significantly. Control an area for a certain amount of time in order to bring out the area boss. Defeat the area boss in order to clear an area and fully control it. There are other ways to win. Try new strategies and clear the Dungeon your way.
Live Well or Die Free}
Objective: Control the South runway and Tower.
Objective: Control the main runway.
Objective: Control the North Runway and Douglas Park.
Objective: Control the Airport Terminal(Dungeon Core room)
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< Scenario already in progress. >
< SOUTH RUNWAY TOWER >
{South runway defensive Tower 0/1 destroyed.
South runway Front gate defensive Tower 0/1 destroyed.
South runway air traffic control tower defensive Tower 1/1 13/1000 durability.}
{Players in current Scenario: 6}
{Players in queue: 7}
{Would you like to join the current Scenario? If you choose to, the bonuses will be higher due to losing two towers already and the current participants being severely injured.
Join/Or start Scenario over with a queued party?}
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