Chapter 26 – Gotta Watch Your Back
Tobias was standing in front of a dozen people, Franklin not included, that had barged into the forge shortly after Matt left the city. He was not thrilled about the delay in his work, but the group was insistent on him being involved in this scheme. He wasn’t so sure about it and was trying to dodge the questions to the best of his ability.
“Listen, I don’t think this is such a good idea.” Tobias began to say but was cut off by the spokesman of the group.
“Lord Tobias, please.” The dwarf called Sothrun began. “When else will we get another opportunity like this?”
Tobias sighed. “Just Tobias, none of the lord stuff. What I am saying is that Matt probably should have a say in the matter.” He looked over to Franklin, the big orc standing to one side with his arms crossed over his chest. “Frank, come on, back me up here.” Franklin just shrugged and nodded to the dwarf.
“You know very well what Matt is capable of, having seen it firsthand.” Franklin said after a slight hesitation. “Look at what he has done in just 2 days of being in this city. How much change has happened with his mere presence.”
Sothrun saw his opportunity to pile on. “That man could single handedly destroy this entire settlement. And that’s with him being at level 28!” He was building some momentum now. “Imagine what he will be capable of when he returns, how much more powerful he will be. This is why we must strike while the iron is still hot.”
A chorus of agreeing from the crowd behind Sothrun spurred him on. “You know him best, said it yourself. That’s why we are coming here, hat in hand so to speak, begging your help.” He paused and looked at his comrades again. “We already have a nice spot to do it all picked out. All we are asking is for you to help with some planning.”
“Fine, you win.” Tobias said, getting a small cheer from the craftsmen. “Show me the blueprint and I’ll help advise on what he would like for a house. Remember his plan though, the pilots will be living along the ring road, so they don’t disrupt the interior and its population.”
“Of course, lor… eh, Tobias.” Sothrun said and summoned the large blueprint from his storage device and spread it on the table. “So, here is the plan so far. We will be asking your help with amenities and aesthetic.” He then started going into detail about the house they wanted to build. Tobias couldn’t do anything but go along for the ride, hoping Matt would accept the gift with some grace.
All challenges complete. Trial complete.
Rewards being calculated. Rewards Granted
Matt watched as a chest appeared in the room before the pedestal. It was completely made of silver but with gold accents and trim. He approached the chest and used identify to see that it was an epic tier reward chest. He assumed that was due to his performance in the trial and not the nature of the rewards. Or maybe I just didn’t do so hot and this is what everyone gets. He opened the chest and saw 3 items, a book and a rectangular piece of metal, and some sort of clear crystal with a bit of red in it. He used identify on everything just in case.
Training Codex – Blank
A codex that allows the user to impart information by attuning to it and focusing their mind. Those that use the codex will be able to gain the knowledge and insights of whoever imparted the information. There is no limit to the uses of the codex, but it can only be filled once.
Matt had to re-read that a few times to be sure he got everything. If he understood properly, he could download his knowledge into this book and others would be able to absorb it. This would make for an excellent tool that would bring the combat focused people up to speed on everything Matt knew about fighting. His suspicion was that this was the reward for the final challenge, given that it focused on teaching and leadership. He moved on to the next item after storing the codex.
Summoning Token - Permanent Familiar
A token that will allow the user to summon a perfectly suitable familiar to live and grow beside them. The familiar will be mentally linked with the summoner, able to comprehend all thoughts and spoken words.
A familiar was likely the direct result of Matt getting shot in the back during the second challenge. He had been perfectly capable of handling any frontal attacks while in the castle but was unable to guard his back, even with the rear facing camera. He was a little nervous about what he would end up summoning given his mixed heritage and his nature as a pilot. He hoped it wouldn’t be some giant golem or something that couldn’t fit in small spaces. Having a familiar that couldn’t always go with him would be a major bummer. Stowing the token, he identified the crystal.
Trial Report – Matt Shultz
A complete record and evaluation of Matt’s performance in the combat trials. Includes observation about strengths and weaknesses as well as theoretical solutions to failures.
So, a graded test report. Matt thought to himself. He would read the report as it would be nice to know the System’s insights onto the trial. The information would pair nicely with the video recordings from his helmet.
Once Matt had claimed and stored the rewards, the orb began to glow and a message appeared, asking if he was ready to leave the trial. Since there was nothing left to do, he accepted and was teleported out to the cave. The orb was still in its same place and identify didn’t show any changes. He hoped this meant that others could take the trial but would need to get someone out to test it.
Not 5 seconds after arriving, Matt received a mental message from Van. “I see you have returned.”
“Yeah, anything happen while I was away?” Matt asked as he started to exit the cave.
“Nothing notable, you were gone for nearly 12 hours. What happened in the trial?”
Matt began filling in Van on everything that had happened as he climbed back in the mech. For his part, Van quietly listened without interrupting as he recounted the events. Van seemed particularly interested in the second challenge and how it might have differed with him there.
After the tale of how Matt got shot in the back by a volley of rifle fire, and the humanoid students he had to train, he brought up the rewards. Van had wanted Matt to use them right away but relented to good sense when Matt admitted he was exhausted and needed a nap before anything else. So, he stretched out on one of the aisles and immediately fell asleep.
Matt woke several hours later, feeling much better after the sleep. He made a quick bite to eat since it was now mid-day and pulled out the summoning token. It looked like a metallic lozenge. It wasn’t big, fitting easily across his palm but it had a decent heft. He looked at it, wondering if it was made of a super heavy metal or filled with something denser than the silver he could see from outside.
After confirming with Van that he should use the token, Matt pushed some mana into it and immediately, everything went black. He was starting to see a theme for any time he needed to upgrade something or use an ability that wasn’t his. Sure enough, he found himself in that weird void space where he had first met Van.
This time, Matt wasn’t the only thing in the infinite blackness. All around him were hundreds of glowing lights, every color was represented, and some were not colors but more like textures. Each one was a ball, nearly 30 centimeters in diameter with whisps of something seeping off them. He looked around him, seeing the balls all just floating, not moving in any way. Identify proved useless and he didn’t get a single return for his efforts.
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Getting curious, Matt walked over to one and extended his hand, not planning to touch it but just getting close. As he approached, the ball seemed to shy away, never allowing him to get closer than a meter with his outstretched hand. A little perplexed, he started walking through the array of orbs, not sure exactly what he was meant to do.
As time passed, Matt was getting more and more frustrated. He wasn’t given any direction and none of the stupid orbs would let him approach. As he wandered through the field, he felt something. A feeling tugged at his mind, gently pulling him to his metaphysical left. He turned to follow the feeling, the sensation growing as he moved.
Matt passed dozens more balls, most just moving away to let him slip by. Finally, after the calling had been growing, he zeroed in on its source. A black ball with a scale like texture sat before him. Its colors shifted as he observed it. He had seen some of the others change colors or their textures but none of those would let him get close to observe for long. This orb was holding perfectly still besides its colors.
Reaching a hand forward, the ball didn’t move. He closed even more and watched it start to ripple and change colors faster and faster until finally, he made contact. Instantly, the orb stopped what it was doing before beginning to glow. All the other orbs began to fade away, but he barely noticed, his attention fully taken by the ball that was getting ever brighter.
With a sudden stop, the color stabilized, and the brightness of the light quit growing. Matt wasn’t sure what had happened but then he was yanked forward by the hand and the ball pushed itself into his chest. The void around him shifted and he found himself standing in a new location with something else in front of him.
Matt knew without a doubt that this had formerly been the ball of scale and color, it had the same presence, or perhaps soul. Now it looked like a species of big cat. No, a cat wasn’t quite right, its head was too triangular, and it had far too much muscle. It looked like jaguar had mixed with a lizard or some other scaled creature. If he was being honest, it was hard to tell since it wasn’t the physical being and instead what he assumed was a soul projection. He was also surprised to find that he could sense its curiosity and some underlying emotion that he felt like he should know but couldn’t recall.
As Matt was watching the cat… thing, it stood and approached. He raised his hand, and the beast ducked below before pushing the top of its head into the underside of his palm. Matt thought it was cute, as he ran his hand over its head or the projection of its head. He had no idea if it could feel his hand or just get the general sense of it like he currently felt. Before he had much time to ponder the matter, the projection pulled away.
The beast circled once before sitting on its haunches and lifting its paw up in the air, waggling it at Matt. He walked over and placed his palm in the center of the offered paw, having gotten the sense that this was what needed to happen. Slowly, the world around him went from black to a warm golden glow and he found himself standing back in the real world, with a very unexpected sight in front of him.
What had been a vague, glowing shape of a large cat shaped thing was now clearly not that. It had become a black, scaled, horned monstrosity that would normally strike fear into the hearts of men… if it didn’t have its head cocked to the side with its tongue hanging out. The creature was still sitting on its haunches with its head a little taller than Matt. He didn’t want to disturb the, so far, not hostile creature, so he used identify to start things off.
Flanker Drake – (Familiar). Level 30
The Flanker Drake is a variant of the classic drake species that hunts and fights in small groups. It uses its ability to camouflage in conjunction with its immense strength and speed to take down prey many times larger than itself.
There were more system messages now vying for his attention, but Matt ignored them, focusing on his new friend. He could tell a few things right away from his psychic connection or whatever it was called. Mainly that his drake was much more intelligent than it looked at the moment and the strange face was a momentary issue from being teleported into a new dimension. Its mind probed at Matt’s, searching, and feeling out the very foundations of his consciousness as it slowly regained its fine motor control.
The mental connection was strong and very similar to the one Matt shared with Van. He could sense the emotions and intent but not have a mental conversation with words. There was a lot of sensation being thrown his way, sights, smells and tastes among them. It was an odd connection when compared to Van but still a very intense bond was being formed.
Suddenly and with a shake of its head, the drake regained its proper composure. It adopted a regal pose and examined Matt with its eyes more fully. Sensing the intent, Matt backed a step away, took off his helmet and rotated in a slow circle, arms out for the drake to inspect. As he came back to facing the creature, he found its nose almost touching his own, bright blue eyes wide with curiosity as it sniffed at him through slitted nostrils. The drake then backed up and then turned broadside to Matt, letting him inspect his new familiar.
It was much longer than he originally thought, nearly 3 meters in length not counting the thick tail which was half again as long. It was not completely scaled either, having large rigid scales on its top sides only, leaving its belly covered in softer looking skin. Its head was shaped like a blunted arrowhead from the top-down view but had 3 horns, 2 large ones on top of its head and one smaller one on its nose, all pointed backward. Its feet were not what Matt expected, not that Matt was sure what to expect. Each foot had 4 long toes with a 5th short one at the back, but the claws seemed to be recessed into sheathes at the ends.
Sensing Matts curiosity, the drake lifted its paw again for inspection and then extended its claws. It was able to grab and hold things with or without its claws by the looks of things. Matt marveled at the dexterity and turned to see the drake smiling at him, showing off a very impressive set of teeth. The lips pulled back to reveal the front canines to be long but very robust, clearly for piercing and holding on while the rest looked to be better for crushing.
“Absolutely beautiful.” Matt murmured as he got a good look. The Drake then rippled down its length, changing color and somehow texture. Its scales either stood up or laid down giving different appearances as well as colors. “I bet you could hide in an open field filled with flowers and none would be the wiser.”
Matt didn’t get words back but got a mental impression that felt like yes and had some feeling of experience behind it. He also got some vocalization, a trilling that sounded like a bird or maybe frog chirping.
“Well in that case, I will have to wait to see it myself. What is your name if you have one?”
Confusion at the concept of a name, or a name formed from words that is. The drake made a short hum and a croak in answer, giving the impression that the drakes name was those noises.
“Sorry but I don’t think I can say that. Can I give you a name in common? Just so I can refer to you but something?” Matt asked and then got a nod along with the mental confirmation. After confirming that the drake was male, Matt started trying some names but varied the sound to get some diversity to narrow things down. He finally stumbled upon one that the drake liked after several minutes of trying.
“How about Echo?” Matt asked and got slow nod of approval along with lips curling up in a smile again. Apparently, dragons or at least drakes could smile, and it was very pretty although incredibly unsettling. “Alright then, Echo it is. Welcome to the family buddy.”
Echo moved in closer and nuzzled at Matt’s shoulder, prompting Matt to move his hand up and scratch at the soft skin under his jaw. A few seconds of scratching lead to a thumping as a tail repeatedly slammed into the ground, lifting dirt and small rocks with every impact. Getting visual confirmation, Matt doubled down and soon had Echo rolled over and getting belly rubs. Once Matt got clipped by a foot but thankfully his armor took the brunt of the hit, and it wasn’t hard enough to move him anyway. While he doled out belly rubs, he read the other system messages that had been nagging at him.
Congratulations on summoning a familiar!
Summoned familiars cannot be permanently killed unless the summoner is also dead. You may resummon your familiar by retrieving its core and filling it with resources. While your familiar does not require food, it may still have the tendencies of its previous life and prefer to eat on occasion.
This creature is a summoned familiar and shares your affinity as well as a mental connection with you. It will always grow and level at the same rate as you through a shared Experience Pool.
You have unlocked the party system!
Matt ended the belly rubs and stood up, watching as Echo rolled over and sprang to his feet. That explained where the summoning token had vanished to after he used it, the token became Echo’s core. “I’m not exactly sure what you had in mind, but I was on a bit of a quest to reach the summit of that mountain.” Matt explained to Echo. “Feel like going on a little adventure?”
Echo looked up to where Matt had pointed and nodded. He gave a little growl before stretching and looking back to Matt who climbed into the mech before setting off down the ravine to find a way out. The entire way, Echo stayed either to his front right or roamed out, scouting ahead and sending back visions and impressions. He didn’t seem to like the mech very much, never getting close and always having his hackles up.
“So how do you feel about Echo?” Matt asked Van as they retraced their path down the ravine.
“He will be a valuable addition to our party.” The core replied.
“That reminds me, we unlocked party system, but I have no information about it.” Matt was about to go into the menu when a voice cut in and interrupted his train of thought.
“Don’t worry about that yet, I can explain when you actually do a communion ritual for once in your damn life” Tori’s said as her voice cut into his mind. “Maybe you can do the ritual on this little adventure so we can talk about some very pressing matters that have come about from your recent actions.”
Matt promised he would do the ritual at the first chance he got. He secretly planned to make it as obnoxious as possible and preform it on the summit of this hill but that was for later. He would have plenty of time to think about it on his trip after he got some practice in working with Echo.