Kyto awoke in his bed. He looked around with uncertainty, unsure whether he had been dreaming. Recollection came flooding back. The beast, his elite skill triggering exhaustion. He still felt drained, both mentally and physically.
His temples throbbed, and it felt like pressure was being applied. He reached up, rubbing them gently, slowly massaging the sides of his head. He winced whenever he applied too much pressure, the residual pain remaining. He checked his pool; he had under 60 mana after healing the beast. He tried forming a healing strand to self-heal and alleviate the pain radiating from his temples, but the strand would not form. His mana just sat there, ignoring his wishes. His display flashed.
Due to your extended healing combatting the necrotic toxin, you are currently suffering from mana exhaustion. Mana exhaustion cannot be healed, and you will recover over time. The time to recover depends upon the severity of your fatigue. Current mana manipulation suffers a 35% reduction. Using mana during recovery will further increase your full recovery time.
So, it was not just his head that hurt. His skill was also affected. He knew he may have to consider this in the future, although he did not know what triggers caused mana exhaustion. Was it mana streaming-based, was it time-based, was it both? He had yet to learn.
The challenge of healing Tiddles of the toxin had been extreme. The injuries he had healed for Gar had been straightforward in comparison, just pumping healing mana into him, allowing it to do its magic without the concerted effort of directing and manipulating the strands through their intricate web and the complexity of the beast's body.
He looked over at the window and saw the sun sitting low in the sky. That meant it was late afternoon, and he had arrived early morning, so he must have been asleep for several hours. He could not recollect how long the healing of Tiddles had taken. He had been so focused. His display flashed multiple notifications, and with the throb in his temples, he closed his eyes again. The light from looking out at the afternoon sun caused the pain in his temples to flare.
He had several notifications and new tabs to look through now that he had formed a party with Tiddles. He had ignored most of the party tabs while cleaning the dark aura and necrotic toxin from his body. He had never had so many tabs to review, and it felt overwhelming to see the amount of information now available and the descriptions of the added details, although not all of it was clear in its actual use. He needed to work through the details and understand these new changes.
Previously, the main interface had always shown him a body outline, but it had now been adapted. How it was currently structured allowed him to manipulate the display. This adapted structure allowed him to show information of his choice and create a personal variation. He looked at and worked through several options, eventually settling for small bars, which displayed Tiddles's health, mana, and elemental status. He was unsure what use the elemental status had, but their strands had interwoven while healing, and he was sure it had boosted his ability to heal. The health bars were green, his mana yellow and the elemental bar was red. He had been able to assign a percentage value against each one, indicating their status.
There was also a party tag option that would show a party member's direction within five hundred metres. He chose the option now, and a red dot appeared on his display, showing Tiddles was about 20m away. This would equate to the garage area, where he had been lying when healed. The most exciting aspect of the new display was the ability to maintain it as a transparent layer, which meant that he could keep it active the whole time and still see. He opened his eyes again, scanning the room, and although it felt strange at first, he believed having it visible would be the best option. He looked around the room, watching as the direction of the red dot altered depending on the direction he was facing. It may take him some time, but he was determined to get used to it. He closed his eyes again to reduce the immediate returning throb in his temples caused by the light.
The party members tab gave more details, stating their professions. He was listed as a Wielder and a Combat Support Specialist, while Tiddles was labelled a Melee Elementalist. There was also an option to invite party members. When he looked at the details, it stated that any new members must be within visual range, and he wondered if he could invite Tabs and the others.
The elite actualisation skill he had triggered had given him his most significant boosts, and he read the details thoroughly. It listed that they both had a 20% boost to all base skills, which meant that by activating the skill, they had permanently enhanced their abilities. The most incredible increase was when they were in a party together, receiving an additional 50% skill boost act. The skill boosts were significant, and he spent time looking at his skill bonuses now that they were boosted.
While in a party, it gave him 50% of their current maximum rather than adding 50% of his base level, so his total for mana manipulation with his 120% standard and additional 20% from the actualisation meant he sat now at 140% base with the 50% making it 210% and with his familiar it indicated it would go from 160% to 240%. These were huge boosts, and when considering that he believed he could eventually get his mana manipulation with his siphon skill to 200%, then adding a further 100% boost with his familiar and the new static bonus of 20%, it may reach 480%.
His issue was that everything he was looking at was all based on assumptions, as there appeared to be little supporting information concerning the System and how the mechanics fully worked. The thought of the increases was insane, although the cost in Arcane Knowledge to increase higher tier skills appeared that it may be substantial. The biggest downside was that he needed more information on how to earn more Arcane Knowledge points. His previous skill growth had been mainly through his previous tinkerer specialisation and all the books he had read. He wondered if there were going to be any books available to assist with his new growth.
These boosts in his skill after triggering the actualisation skill supported why the man Sniffer had reacted when he pulled his mana from him. His issue with mana collection was that everything he drew from had differing mana pools, and he needed to find out how much they contained to improve his efficiency. He was hopeful that as his Siphon skill increased, it would come back with more defined details, but with no breakdown or skill details explaining what higher levels gave, it was again just an assumption.
The other tabs were all analytical for the party. Experience levels, skill, combat, healing, and status logs. They could even be manipulated to be shown graphically, which excited him, seeing graphs suddenly appear and showing healing over time. This was when he realised how long it had taken to heal the beast. The healing over time, or HOT as illustrated, indicated he had been streaming constantly for over two hours. On the combat log, there was a similar display labelled as damage over time of DOT. He had no damage capability from his skills, so he did not expect to see anything appear on the graph anytime soon.
The healing log was filled with many entries, showing a summary of his healing actions on Tiddles and displaying his health percentage increases as he had been healing Tiddles. It was a written table of what he had witnessed as he healed and had been switching to check Tiddles's health bar increase. That had been cumbersome while he was focusing, so he was happy with the adapted display transparency and bars he could now see.
The skill log contained the messages he had seen related to activating his healing and actualisation skills. The status log showed that both he and Tiddles were listed as resting, although his own also showed mana exhaustion and its status; there was a countdown timer showing he had another three hours, one minute before recovering, and that he was currently suffering a 31% reduction for total efficiency. As the timer ticked to three hours, the efficiency loss reduced to 30%, reducing it by 10% per hour. The combat log was empty, and the experience log totalled both his and Tiddles's levels and current experience. They were both level 25; he was currently at 27746 of 50000, and Tiddles was at 24361 of 50000.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
As he reviewed the screens, trying to glean as much information as he could, the red dot of Tiddles suddenly moved, making him jump. He watched as the dot moved 50, 100, 150, and 200 metres away until it reached 450 and stopped. He had moved to the northeast from what Kyto assumed, looking at the dot's position on his display.
The party combat log suddenly triggered, sending a nervous rush through his body.
Prangton struck, critical hit 100% damage, Prangton dies.
The experience log was flashing now.
130 shared experience gained for defeating a Prangton. 65 experience awarded.
Kyto lay there watching as the red dot of Tiddles began returning towards the house. Kyto had never heard of a Prangton before and wondered what the Wild One was that Tiddles had attacked, especially since he had killed it in one hit. Looking at the log, Kyto could only assume it was not a threat.
The throbbing in his temples slowly began to fade, and after lying in bed for a further hour, he decided to get up and use the bathroom. He rolled out of the bed, standing on uncertain feet, feeling lightheaded. His equilibrium eventually reset itself, and he approached the bedroom door.
Reaching the top of the stairs, he looked down as his vision appeared to zoom in and out, and he took a moment to steady himself before he began to head down. As he proceeded, Tabs appeared at the bottom.
"We heard your footsteps. How are you feeling now?" Tabs asked, smiling at him broadly as she came to the bottom of the stairs.
"Better than I must have been after the healing, but I need a drink and the toilet."
"Everyone is in the kitchen. Coffee?"
"Yes, please." He replied, walking down the stairs. The bathrooms in the house did not work, so they had dug a pit at the rear of the property, and Kyto made his way through the lounge area and out of the veranda doors, which looked onto the back. The sun was still dropping in the sky; in the late afternoon, it shone directly onto the veranda and felt luxurious. He walked to the pit, relieving himself, and turned to return to the property to meet the gaze of the beast sat no more than a dozen paces from him, with blood visible around his mouth.
"Fuck's sake," he shouted, startled, stepping backwards and nearly stepping into the pit.
Tiddles, the beast just looked at him cocking its head to one side and with a terrifying look on its face, its jaws open showing its ridiculously sharp fangs, blood-stained as though he had recently been eating. Kyto could still remember what those jaws had done to the poor slave those months back and did not feel comfortable this close to them, even if they were now in a party, and they were both Enlightened.
"Sorry. I only wanted to say thank you for you healing me."
"Who said that?" Kyto said, scanning around the area. He could see no one else outside.
"You can hear me?" the voice said with surprise and excitement mixed in.
"Of course, I can hear you, and it is not funny playing tricks on people. Did Crystal put you up to this?" He called out.
"Up to what? And no, I am talking."
"Tabs," Kyto called out.
Tabs appeared on the veranda. "What is wrong?" she asked concerned.
"I am hearing voices. I think I should go and lie down again," he said.
"What voices?" she asked.
"A man and it is creepy as hell," he replied.
"So, you can hear me properly." the voice said.
"What the actual fuck? Did you hear that?" he asked Tabs.
"I did not hear a thing," she replied.
"I am going back to lie down," he replied, rubbing his forehead with his palm.
Kyto began walking back into the house. Tiddles was standing directly in his way, and he skirted around him, giving him a wide berth.
"Risen are so strange." the voice said.
"Stop!" he shouted. He was now grabbing his head and shaking it from side to side.
Tabs hurried over to him, and his call had raised the attention of others in the house, with Crystal and the woman both appearing at the door.
"Is he ok?" Elizabeth asked.
"He is hearing voices." Tabs replied.
"So, you can hear me and have no idea because you are just a stupid risen. I am as surprised as you are that you can understand me, but at least I am not freaking out." the voice said.
Kyto turned and stared at the beast, his mouth dropping open.
"There we go," it said sarcastically.
Kyto backpedalled, knocking into Tabs and tripping up, falling backwards onto the ground. The ground was damp and soggy from the recent rains, and his fall was broken by the soft, wet earth where he was sprawled. He sat upright, lifting his hands and looking at them, now covered in mud. He wiped his hands on his top and stared at the beast. "You can speak?"
"I have always been able to speak; it is just that risen do not understand our language, apart from you, it seems," it replied.
"Can no one else hear the voice?" Kyto stated, looking from one to the other.
"No," Tabs replied, concern etched on her face.
"I think the beast is talking!" he said.
"What?" came a male voice as the man came to find out what the commotion was about.
"The beast talks," he said again.
They stood staring at him in disbelief. "Well, he does talk to me," Sniffer said.
"You hear him talk as well?" Kyto said.
"Well, sort of. I seem to know what he wants, so it is a kind of talking," he replied.
"NO, NO, NO, I can actually hear him talk!" Kyto said.
"What?" Crystal said, the first of the four Risen apart from Kyto to come to any form of speech after the revelation.
"I can hear the beast talk!" he exclaimed.
"I do have a name." the voice replied.
"This has to do with my mana exhaustion," Kyto said.
"What mana exhaustion?" Tabs asked.
"After I healed the beast and collapsed, it was because I had been healing for so long," he said.
"You were at it for a long time." Tabs added.
"I HAVE A NAME," the voice snarled, and the beast approached Kyto.
All everyone else could see was a snarling Tiddles and Kyto shuffling backwards in the damp earth.
"I know you have a name; your name is Tiddles," Kyto said, even more certain that he had lost his mind.
"Well, low and behold, you actually can say it. Well done!" the voice replied again with sarcasm.
"So, you really are talking to me," Kyto said.
"How many times do I have to speak for you to realise that, 'Yes', I am talking to you," Tiddles said, staring at him incredulously.
"This is some fucked up shit," Kyto replied.
"How the hell can you understand Tiddles?" Elizabeth asked.
"It has to be due to the actualisation skill," Tiddles answered.
Kyto stared at Tiddles momentarily, then repeated what he had said. "Tiddles says it was caused by the skill I activated."
"What skill?" Tabs asked.
"You know that elite skill I had actualisation."
"Yeah."
"Well, when I was healing Tiddles in the party I had formed, and he got back to 25%, I was informed I had met the hidden requirement to activate it," he replied.
"What party?" Crystal asked, looking confused.
"Shit, this is going to take some explaining, isn't it," Kyto replied, his head now throbbing with more than just mana exhaustion.
Sniffer had been stood there silent since the revelation. "How do we know you are telling the truth? All we hear are growls and snarls."
"Remind him of the time I had to save him from the river when we were tracking. He had been on the nectar the night before and fell in." Tiddles said.
"Apparently, you fell in the river when tracking, and he saved you!" Kyto replied.
Sniffer's face went from belligerence to absolute shock at this statement, and his mouth dropped open. "I was fine. He did not save me, and I had not had that much nectar."
"Tell him he is lying; he had half a case that night with the factory owner we were working for," Tiddles said.
"He says you are lying, and you had half a crate with the owner," Kyto said.
Sniffer's face went red with embarrassment. "No, it wasn't that much," he grumbled, frustration etched on his face.
Elizabeth stepped up to Tiddles and put her hand on his head. He turned to look at her. "I am so glad you can communicate with us now." smiling at him.
"Can you thank Elizabeth for me for taking care of the cubs, please," Tiddles asked.
"He says thank you for taking care of the cubs for him," Kyto said.
A tear formed in Elizabeth's eye as she replied. "You saved our lives, remember? Why would I not help you."
Kyto slowly got up from the mud he had been sitting in, now very wet and filthy. "I need to clean up, and then I think we need to talk," he said to the gathered strangers.