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New Reality: 31 August 1525, Rome
"I'll come with you," Martinko said. "Maybe my abilities could help."
"Suit yourself," Ardent replied, summoning the Dragonling. "I'm taking the front seat."
Checking his smartphone maps, he discovered that the Italian shore was generally in Donnie's village direction. "Come, I'll give you a jump home," he yelled at the Italian.
On the way, he checked his stats and the available Attributes and Fate Points.
STR: 53 / DEX: 53 / CON: 53
INT: 37 / WIL: 37 / CHA: 62
Available FPs: 10 Available ATs 11
That meant only nine Fate Points, as he always kept at least one for Rezzes. "Pff… Say, Donnie… err… you don't happen to have a few spare Fate Points?" Ardent asked sheepishly.
"I have like fifty… and not much use for them… Want some?" the Italian asked.
"That would be fab. I'll owe you one. Can you do six?"
"Let's not go into small change. Ten it is. After all, you saved my hide, and everyone on the island."
"Thanks, man, much obliged," Ardent said after accepting the trade offer. "Ah, yes, by the way, Rengi is dealing in FPs now, and has a large bank, all over the place. If you want to sell some, there's quite a bit of money—"
"Now you're telling me?" Donnie hissed.
"I would have told you, if you'd asked," Ardent defended himself. "Want four back?"
"Just let it be."
Shrugging, Ardent invested thirteen points in Intelligence and Wisdom, raising them to the second threshold. The notification didn't tarded, as well as the usual dizziness accompanying investments into the Mind stats.
INT second threshold met. Enhanced Mana Regeneration perk obtained (Supreme grade, begins at F tier). You regenerate 5% MP/minute. Raising this perk to tier S, together with its equivalent in CON, and reaching cap stats will synergize the two Regens to a fabulous 1% MP and HP /sec.
So neat, Ardent thought.
WIS second threshold met. +25% chance your spells will crit for more damage or perform at a superior tier. Large-distance movement skills are available for selection.
Shadow Jump, Ninja School, (Legendary grade, begins at F tier). Teleport to a shadow within your sight and hide in it. Maximum distance ATM: 1 mile. Consumes 1% of your MP per jump and for the first ten seconds of Stealthing. Remaining in Stealth afterward consumes the normal amount of Mana.
Warp, Combat Space Magic School (Legendary grade, begins at F tier): Distorts the space around you and teleports yourself (and up to 5 friendly targets ATM) to a location within your sight, for 5% of your MPs. Maximum distance ATM: 1 mile. If you're in combat, it leaves behind a Mana replica of yourself that can continue fighting at 50% of your capabilities for 10 seconds—cost: 10% of your overall MPs.
Home Attunement, Transportation Space Magic School (Legendary grade, begins at F tier). Attune to a location of your choice and be able to return there once per day. Cost: 10% MPs, if used in combat it will cost an extra 10%.
The choices were not simple. The latter, he eliminated on the spot. If he wanted to go home, he'd use a portal… albeit the last day proved portals could malfunction. Nevertheless, the first two options were priceless. How to exploit the first was crystal clear, jump again before the first ten seconds were up, maintaining Stealth for a fraction of its normal cost. Yet, Warp was looking even better. A copy of himself meant an extra minion, and a +50% in DPS, after all.
I choose Warp, he thought.
Warp aquired. Trade-off calculated: you will not be able to learn how to build portals and similar long-distance constructs.
Warning: Breathable air exists only in the lower atmosphere. To warp up in space, consider wearing adequate protection (technomagical space suits). This information is considered necessary because of your cultural context (medieval).
"Why would I ever want to do that?" he frowned. "Whatever… change Master-minions shared skills, put Warp instead of Stealth, and let's test it," he yelled enthusiastically.
Important: Because of his specifics, your mount, Dragon, can Warp at a distance of up to 50 miles. For the same reasons, Meanwood the Mimic is limited to a hundred yards.
"Wow…" Ardent exclaimed. Dragon had appeared over the jungle village, from the first jump. People started screaming and running away, with one exception, the little girl he had saved. She was screaming even louder, waving her arms in the air, most likely asserting Ardent's identity as her savior and cheering for him.
As soon as the Dragonling landed, Donnie jumped up, rushing to hug a pair of young women with wide smiles. Huppi was nodding behind.
That reminded Ardent of his interest in Elisa, and he sulked, feeling envy. Ana jumped and grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him energetically, chasing away his thoughts. "Thank you for giving my freedom back!" she yelled in his face.
"No problem," Ardent said, pushing her away, and wiping his face from the rivulets of saliva. "You're back to human?"
"No, I've kept my new species but my class got evolved to Ranger."
"Glad you're OK, now give me my phone back, see ya later," he bluntly ended their meeting, snatching his smartphone from her hands.
Once back on the Dragonling, they jumped twice—because of some clouds—and arrived over Rome. Floating over the city, he called Raphael. His heart asked to call Elisa, but he didn't want to appear pushy, or that he didn't trust her to manage a quest on her own. "How's going and where are you?"
"I'm on top of Castle Sant'Angelo, have eyes on you. The foes attacked, but retreated for now."
"What about the rest? You know… err… the blonde lady… Louisa or something…" he pretended he didn't remember the name well, blushing in the process.
"Elisa and the big guy are in the catacombs," the Ninja said. "Haven't you got the message? She sent a general SMS."
"I was in a Dungeon, there was no sig—Fuck! I forgot!" Ardent slapped his forehead. "Catacombs… The undead horde… Sorry, have to go." Jumping again, he arrived back at the village in under a minute, landing in front of the medical cabinet. "Donnie, come here, I need you."
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
The sculptor exited his house, a mug of beer in hand. "What's up?"
"Remember what the pirate said? There's an evil guy in Rome trying to raise an undead horde. You're good against undead, right?"
"Hm… I dunno," Donnie said, looking back toward his house, where his wives and mother-in-law were peeking from behind the curtains. "I'm a married man now, have responsibilities… stuff… Maybe if you'd… offer me some compensation, I'd be inclined to come. And I'll forget you tricked me into gifting you FPs for free."
"How much?" Ardent asked, clenching his teeth.
"Well… What about a hundred gold ducats?"
"Oh… so much… Fine…" Ardent sighed. That's peanuts, sucker! he reveled on the inside. That's karma payback. One should not bring up gifts made to friends.
"I'll be back soon, darlings!" Donnie said, raising his mug toward his wives and drinking the beer to the last drop, while Huppi was giving him a thumbs up.
"Hurry, we don't have all day," Ardent yelled.
After Donnie climbed on Dragon, they jumped again and landed directly on the castle's upper floor, Ardent dismissing the steed to avoid stepping on people's toes. "Hi, Raph. I've brought an old friend of yours, he'll take care of the undead… hopefully."
"Nice to see you," Raph offered a handshake to Martinko.
"Really?" Donatello simpered. "C'mon, Raph, it's me… Donnie."
"Donnie?" Raphael widened his eyes.
"Hey! You'll kiss and make up later, we're on a job here. We have to go to the catacombs and take care of the undead before they rise. I'm here for directions."
"I already sent you an updated minimap," Raphael rolled his eyes. "What's up with you, Donnie, you look like you have been stuck in Jumanji for—"
Elbowing the Ninja in the ribs to make him shut up, Ardent pulled Donnie and Martinko by the arm, summoning back his mount, and taking off. Checking the map on his phone, he steered Dragon by thought. Warping within the city looked dangerous, so in the end, they had to land and walk, with the horse in tow.
Ten minutes later, once inside the building with the entrance to the catacombs, Dragon had to be dismissed anew, the entrance and the corridors were too narrow.
"I'd better text them we're coming to help," Ardent said at some point after they strolled for a good while. "The last thing we want is to take Popa by surprise. Err… you feeling right?"
Ten paces behind, Martinko was choking, clenching his fists, livid. "My father is here, and you didn't tell me?" he yelled.
"Sorry, it slipped my mind. What the big deal, you transcended those pesky resentments, right?"
"I'll kill you!" Martinko rushed forward, clenching his hands around Ardent's neck.
The younger man's clasp was like a child's, so Ardent let him be for a minute, then yawned, covering his mouth with his palm. "Are you finished?"
"Sorry," Martinko let him go, with a growl.
A faraway shout reached their ears: "I'll fuck your mother in the ass!"A blinding light ensued, and then darkness took them.
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"I'm blind…" Martinko wailed.
"You're not," Ardent countered, producing a small plasma flame atop his finger, for a fraction of a second. Donnie had disappeared, he and the Saint were the only people around.
"Don't!" the Saint screamed when the light went away.
"Stay put!" Ardent ordered, checking if the phone had a signal, and it didn't. "Pff… must be another dungeon… fuck…" Activating Insight on the walls, Ardent obtained a strange result. "Unfinished dungeon, that's what it says. So, it is and it isn't a dungeon at the same time. Anyway, we don't know how long these tunnels are, I can't risk spending too much Mana just for a light.
"B-but it's d-dark!" Martinko complained.
"Hold this in front of your eyes," Ardent pushed his phone into Martinko's hands, with the screen's light turned to the minimum. "Not like a lantern, you stupid little dick, look at it. Trust me."
Taking Meantongue—now regenerated—in hand, he joined his senses with the weapon, closing his eyes and feeling the space around with the minion's sensors. It felt the heat, mostly, like the snakes, but by adding pulses of ultrasounds, like a bat, Ardent started to make a weird-colored map of the tunnels ahead, which he projected on the phone's screen. The place was a huge circular maze, with a boss room in the center. Their destination, he decided.
"Don't take your eyes off the screen, and follow me," Ardent walked slowly ahead. He didn't remember well how the tunnel had looked before, but for sure it wasn't what he saw now. Twenty feet wide and as high, with an arched ceiling, the new tunnel was made of large slabs of stone. Every twelve feet, both on the right and the left, skeletons were cast in the rock, the front half outside, leaning forward, like waiting to jump at them. Martinko's chittering teeth told Ardent the Saint was well aware of the decorations.
There was a step counter on the phone, and checking it from time to time, they went on for about half a mile. A strange noise coming from ahead made them stop. It was a cyclical whizz, like the breath of a monster. Twelve feet ahead, the tunnel intersected with another one, and that was where the noises came from, from the right.
"Stay here," Ardent whispered. Whip in hand, he stepped forward, and sent Meantongue's tip around the corner, to investigate. "What the heck? Popa?"
"Whoa!" a shout arrived, followed by two gasps. "Aprig, it's you?" Martin's voice asked.
"No, you dumb dick head, it's somebody else… Yeah, it's me, of course, it's me," he said, swallowing a lump, because next to Martin, a hand on the priest's arm, was Elisa, and behind her, touching her shoulder, Donnie, and following him, Raph.
"Can I light my torchlight now?" Donnie asked.
"Don't you dare!" Elisa screamed. "Happy to meet you again, d— my friend."
"Same here, my l… friend," Ardent said with a low voice.
"Please let me turn on the torchlight," the Healer begged again.
"The skeletons on the walls attack if there's light," Elisa protested.
"Please, I'm having a panic attack," Donnie asked again, heaving. "If we sit in the middle of the tunnel, they can't reach us."
"Why don't you destroy them, dude?" Ardent hissed.
"It doesn't work!" Donnie yelled. "I tried…"
"OK, then let's try something else. I'll smash the skeletons ahead and behind us. Don't be worried by the noises, right?" Idiot, now Elisa thinks you consider her a coward!
"Thank you!" Elisa's grateful voice made his worries disappear.
"I'll come in your tunnel first." Stepping slowly forward, Ardent proceeded to destroy the sinister wall ornaments, without any problem. It took him five minutes, taking care not to miss a single one. Finally, the task was done. "That's about it."
The Italian extracted his phone from a pocket, pressing on the screen. Then several things happened at the same time.
A bright light flared from the phone.
"Hello, father," Martinko said once visible.
Martin Martin gasped.
Of course, the bloody phone has a torch beside the screen's light, Ardent thought.
Then, he and Elisa searched for each other's eyes, taking a half-step forward, before stopping, breathing heavily, and lowering their heads.
"Son, why are you here? It's not safe!" Martin Martin said in a hurry.
"I'm a grown-up man," Martinko blurted. "And why do you care?"
"You're the blood of my blood, the flesh of my flesh, how could I not care?" the priest said with a whimpering tone.
"Enough already!" Ardent commanded. "We need the bigger picture. How did you get separated from us, Donnie, and why aren't your powers working?"
"How should I know?" the Italian raised his palms heavenward. "I was teleported next to them… and my powers work fine, but those things are not undead."
"I think they're not reanimated, but a sort of construct, using the materials available," Elisa said.
"What she said," Donnie nodded.
"Raph, weren't you on the castle?" Ardent looked at the Ninja.
"I went scouting around it, there was a tunnel those crocodiles retreated to. I took a step in, and… here I am. I was transported near them too."
"Martin, Elisa, what happened?"
"We entered the catacombs to search for the enemy's general, found a Spanish guy and an evil wizard doing a weird ritual, and I destroyed some magical focus," Martin said. "It exploded and we were projected somewhere else… together with those two guys. It took me by surprise, but I knew Raph… and the hobo rezzed after I… accidentally slapped him."
Goodness, Donnie, you die so easily! Ardent sighed inside.
"When we figured out they're friendly, Martin guided us through his smell," Elisa said.
"Toward what?" Ardent asked.
"I guess he follows the fresh air?" she furrowed her brow.
"Hahaha," the priest laughed. "That would be running from danger, ladybug. No, we went deeper inside, for the evil wizard. He's close now."
"Idiotic," Martinko snorted, and Elisa tried to repress a jerk.
"Silence, I hear something. Turn the light off," Ardent commanded. Someone was running toward them, panting heavily, coming from the center of the maze. The steps approached fast, and a Spaniard stopped in front of them, heaving and raising his hands in surrender.
"Please don't hurt me!" the man. He had a thick pair of glasses on his eyes, and it was not hard for Ardent to deduce they were enchanted with a dark vision of sorts. The strangest thing was Ardent knew him.
"D'Ávalos? What the heck are you doing here?"
"He was with the bad wizard," Martin said.
"Please, don't hurt me. I was forced to work with him!" the man pleaded. "King's orders."
Without asking for permission, Donnie switched the light back on, making the Spaniard cover his eyes.
"Why don't you tell me what's going on?" Ardent asked. "Like from the beginning."
The Spaniard nodded. "Our King decided to conquer Europe. He allied with Barbarossa, Henry of England, and the Fae. But the worst part is the pact with the Inca, Huascar. He got powers and became evil, killing his brother and tons of people. The plan is to provoke a Dungeon Break, and unleash a horde of skeletons on—"
"I know," Ardent interjected. "How come they can't be killed by Healing magic?"
"He's not a necromancer, he's using Sun magic."
"I see… And where is he now?"
"Back there, where I came from," the man pointed to the tunnel. "He started to pull his skeleton guards to him and transform into a monster, so I ran."
"I think it's time to pay him a visit," Ardent decided.