27. Time for Fighting Again_The System vs Cultivators

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Making the vaccine involved a lot of things Peter wasn't a fan of. Mainly giving blood. The red liquid of life in his body was necessary to 'make it right'. The System's words, not his. The one doing most of the job was Naomi. She was good at Alchemy but also offered the System a brain that worked and lived for science. The System was ecstatic, his processing power was faster when in her. The deed was done in the Alchemy lab, which was free for the day. It also involved grinding down the Minotaur core, thus losing money, not something on top of Peter's 'to-do' list, but the cause was worth it.

All things considered, the first vaccine batch—a thousand and one hundred Mana pills—was ready in time for the second trip of the week, on Friday early morning. Peter couldn't wait to go in the fog again.

While doing the chore of gathering herbs, he discreetly put some distance between himself and the rest of the students and Warped for Redroar's village, to tell her to prepare for another mission. In front of the billboard, instead of the Barbarian’s husband, was an elderly lion, full of wrinkles.

“Err... hi... is Redroar around?” Peter asked.

The lion at the desk forwarded him an envelope.

“Oh...” Peter exclaimed while reading.

Dear Friend,

Thanks for the opportunity, but for me, the fog was a bit too much. I have five kids… We will move to a bigger village and start anew with the help of the money I earned last week. Whatever else you owe me, keep it for the cause.

Yours, R

It was a big hit to Peter's morale. Now, he had to find someone else to rely upon. But who was good enough to replace the formidable lioness? A tough question, and one for which he held no answer.

Kostel was out of the question…

Daniel was the only choice, even if he was predictable in his style of fighting. If his hits landed, he hit hard. And he was older than the rest and hopefully could keep his cool in a fight. Plus... he was supposed to keep an eye on Regina, so what better way to protect her than coming with them? Ten minutes later, the cook was brought into the secret and accepted the invitation.

When the evening came, the two groups met at the right place and time. Daniel looked at Peter and Jack from Two in amazement. "It's… like you're twins," he said.

"Yeah… and I'm the evil one," Peter from two smirked. "OK, enough pleasantries. What are your roles?"

"Daniel is an off-tank," Peter said. "He has skills with guns but will switch to a polearm if we need it. I'm a hybrid DPS, and Regina's a healer. With some shields too, and can raise a… sort of defensive Golem… if we're on a last stand."

The doppelganger gave Regina a thumbs up. "Jack's also an off-tank," he pointed to his friend, who was dressed in full plate armor, and armed with a halberd. "It will have to suffice."

"What role do you play?" Peter asked.

"Depends. We'll have to see what we’re going against first."

It was an evasive answer but for now, Peter accepted it. Daniel and Jack opened the way, with the cook donning the crown—which Peter found too ridiculous to put on. Peter and his double walked in the second line, with Regina in between. Peter kept his HUD on, ready to jump in action at the slightest sign of double-crossing from the doppelgangers.

There was a crab-rats bank just below the point of entry, and they ran away as fast as possible. The crown worked. They went toward the Minoan town first. It was in ruins. No respawn there. Peter would have moved on, but the doppelgangers insisted on inspecting the premises, searched a few houses, and returned with cutlery.

"It's Orichalcum," Peter from Two said. "Second best magic conductor after Mithril. Let's split around and loot every building."

After an hour, about a hundred pounds of precious metal, in various forms, were gathered in a pile in the main plaza.

"That’s about a hundred grand worth of scrap metal," Peter’s double said. "It's a good day. I can take your part from your hands and pay you fifty grand in gold."

"We're three, and have the crown," Peter said. "So, the correct amount is sixty grands."

The Peter from Two shrugged, opening a pocket on his jacket. The metal was sucked inside instantly. Extracting a gold ingot, he threw it to Peter.

A lot of secrets around my doppelganger… I wonder what his powers are… Peter replied in thought, putting the gold bar inside his backpack.

They exited the town through the other side and went straight. Fifteen minutes later, the plateau sank abruptly, to depths unseen.

"No way to climb down… We have to stick to the plateau. Left or right?" the doppelganger asked.

"Left," Peter said, remembering the quest's direction.

They made a left, going further south. Various small monster clusters noticed them, and all ran. Unfortunately, the ocean floor didn't show more ruins or structures.

"Go scout, honey," Regina said. "He has a sort of teleport, to the line of sight."

Peter sighed in silence, grinding his teeth. His hopes of keeping Warp a secret, or at least presenting it as a short combat move, were dashed.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Go," his double said. "It spares us much effort."

There was no other solution, so he moved away, jumping a few miles twice. The second Warp brought him under a dune's tip. On the other side, a few hundred feet from him, he found a circle of stone columns vaguely resembling Stonehenge, set on a patch of withered grass.

In the center was a sacrificial altar, surrounded by ten chanting priests. On the slab of stone, a humanoid shape, hard to distinguish from the distance. Approaching more was risky, so Peter ended his exploration there.

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Returning to the team, he recounted to them what he had found. "I bet the quest is to save whoever is to be sacrificed," he said at the end.

"Stonehenge means druids," Jack from Two opened his mouth for the first time. "You should take a caster role, Pete. That would counter them."

"I could go Journeyman Mage," Peter from Two nodded.

Peter furrowed his brows, confused, but before he had the time to ask what they were talking about, the shorter twin pulled out a syringe with a deep blue substance and injected himself with it. His body started to shake, but his friend came and held him. The spasms ceased soon enough.

"The Resistance scientists researched the Tower’s Mana and developed a substance that can offer temporary class. It holds for an hour," Peter from Two said, "so we better move. Can you port all of us there?"

Peter shook his head. “It will take three trips”

“Take this locator, go back to the temple and I’ll open a portal,” the doppelganger offered Peter a sort of glass bead.

"You can… choose your class?" Peter asked instead of Warping.

"Yes. I can be a Healer, Mage, or Warrior, no problem."

Thirty seconds after returning to the dune, a bluish portal appeared, and the rest of the party was there five more seconds later. "Do we attack directly, or mount a diversion?" Peter asked.

"Hm…" the double pursed his lips, pondering.

"You go in their back, but keep out of sight until I talk to them," Peter decided. "The last trial… whatever that was—"

"Had a few nasty surprises. We should gather information first."

"Very well," Jack said.

They advanced carefully around the dune. The main group diverted to the left, while Peter waited a minute then continued straight on. The druids were concentrated on singing their incantation and didn't notice him until he was a few steps away from them.

From behind a column, thirty feet behind the druids, the doppelganger was gesturing frantically. His signs and moving lips didn't make any sense to Peter. He frowned at his double, waving his fist in the air: Let me do my job, you're distracting me, it meant.

"Err… hi folks. Is there any chance you're not evil and this is a sort of medical intervention?" Peter tried his luck.

All as one, the group turned to look at Peter. The druids were dressed in white surcoats and capes, wore over chainmail and leather, and had open-faced bascinet helmets. Their eyes were all blue and stared through him. The vibe the group gave was… strange.

"The Ahnenerbe welcomes you, adventurer," one of the priests said, advancing toward Peter. "You have two paths in front of you: the path of friendship and the path of war. Which one do you choose?"

No vote?

"I come in peace?"

The druid unsheathed a dagger from his belt, offering it to Peter, handle first. "Slay Marianne to prove your allegiance and our power will be yours," the man pointed to the altar. From a closer point of view, the sacrifice was a middle-aged woman, tied and gagged. She was struggling and moaning, her eyes widened in an expression of horror.