Sam stared at Chole slackjawed but pulled herself together in time for Cara to interrupt her.
“What do you mean it's under attack, Chloe my mom and dad are there!”
Chloe held up her hand.
“I know, and there's still time, but we have to work together. We need to split our remaining forces here. Two of us will stay here to deal with the Guardian, and the rest will head back. I don’t know what’s coming, but it's strong, and none of us are in good condition.”
Mark's full attention was on Chloe as panic set over his shoulders.
“How long do we have? Do they have a target?”
“Less than five minutes, and I’m not sure, the faster we decide who goes where, the better. But Mark, you should stay.”
Caught off guard Mark involuntarily shook his head. He trusted Chloe, but this was different. This was their home. If they were the target of an attack he needed to be there. At the very least to help with an evacuation.
Mark wanted to say something but Jonathan got there before him.
“I’ll stay as well.”
Chloe just shook her head.
“No, you can’t. You need to go back. And so do you Sam.”
Mark saw out of the corner of his eye Sam had been about to argue, but Chloe had beat her to it.
Taking a breath Chloe looked at each of them in turn.
“We don’t have time to argue. Mark, you need to stay, and so do I. I can’t explain why now we don’t have the time, but to show you how important this is, I’m calling in my favor.”
Mark took a step back as though she’d sucker-punched him in the gut. The day they’d first met, Chloe had asked for a favor in exchange for knowledge of Grace’s whereabouts. Mark never thought she would use it, hell, he’d even forgotten about it amidst the fight for survival.
But her face was absolutely serious now.
Mark had been about to argue that it would be better if he stayed with the larger group, but she’d shut him down before he could even speak. He was not above ignoring the favor if it went against his morals, but now as Chloe spoke in an almost pleading tone, he couldn’t help but wonder what she’d seen to make her this desperate.
For a moment Mark’s stubborn streak wanted to ignore her request and go back anyway, but she had never steered them wrong before.
If she thought she needed this much to convince him, then she had to have her reasons. How far exactly had she looked into his future?
Mark sighed, unwilling to waste any more time, he spoke.
“Alright fine I’ll stay, but Jonathan please check on the clinic when you can. And Sam, there should be a couple more cherries on the trees, pick them as you go. Daph, find Abby as soon as you can, your wounds need their full attention. We’ll finish up here as soon as we can and make our way back.”
Jonathan and Sam nodded, but Daphne began to argue.
“I’m staying as well, the three of us can work together faster-”
Mark saw Chloe’s eyes fill with worry and knew something was up. Daphne couldn’t stay here.
Stepping forward, Mark drew her into his chest and squeezed her tightly. If she wanted to wriggle free, there was no way Mark could have stopped her, but she relaxed into him. Her breathing was ragged and more guilt spiked in Mark's chest. They both knew they had their responsibilities, but Mark never knew it would feel this raw, or hurt this much. They took a second to bathe in each other's warmth but all too soon Mark had to speak.
“You have to go. Our friends need you, but remember you haven't got the safer option here. Both of us are going to another battlefield. I need you to promise me you’ll stay safe and keep our friends safe.”
Daphne pulled her face away from where it was buried in Mark's shoulder and for a moment her sorrow turned to anger, settling into a fierce pout.
“You think I’d do anything else? I’ll go and deal with whatever is going on back at home, but if I don’t see you back there soon, I’m coming to drag you back myself”
Mark had to fight to keep a serious face, but couldn’t help the corners of his mouth turning up. Daphne's eyes narrowed at that and Mark knew he’d pay for that later, but right now he just reached down and captured her lips.
When they broke apart Mark saw that Sam had pulled the tow-way radio meant to keep in contact with the home base and was currently updating someone on the other end of the current situation. When she was done, she handed it to him in case.
Mark took his amulet off and placed it around Daphne’s neck. He felt some of his power leave with it, but he didn’t mind right now. It might even help her recover faster.
Taking a step back to stand beside Chloe he saw Daphne activate the item and its magic began to build around the five of them.
Cara stood next to them, but not making contact and glanced back at the two of them. There was worry, but also relief in her eyes. She had saved the day, and as far as Mark was concerned she’d done something incredible. Searching through the apocalypse to find her lost family and bring them home was something not many could accomplish, Mark couldn’t wait to meet them.
Jonathan just gave Mark a nod, as though he were popping down to the shops for a loaf of bread, and Sam wore her usual bubbly grin, it was strained, and she wore it like a shield, but it was honest to her feelings. Nathan and Lieutenant Bix were so out of it that they barely even knew in what direction they were looking.
There was the briefest of silver flashes and the six of them were gone.
The two of them now alone, turned to look back down into the smoking pit. Getting down there shouldn’t be too hard, as all the rubble acted as a natural slope.
They began their descent, and as they did so Mark checked his energy levels, following in Chloe’s footsteps to avoid unstable ground.
Mark had around half his Mana back, and excluding what he used to patch everyone up, he had around ninety Prana left.
It wasn’t a lot but it was enough.
As he jumped from debris to boulder, Mark took out the jagged blade from his inventory. His magic was his main weapon, but something told him that he was going to need a sharp weapon close at hand.
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Wracking his brain, Mark tried to think of anything that could help him right now.
The closer they got the more Mark could sense the stink of Corruption rising from the bottom of the crater.
Figuring he had nothing to lose Mark opened his status.
27 x Corrupted humanoid cleansed [Dungeon bonus X2] (54)
459 x Corrupted Ordinator cleansed [Dungeon bonus X2] (1836)
29 x Corrupted Ghoul cleansed [Dungeon bonus X2] (174)
502 x Corrupted Ghast cleansed [Dungeon bonus X2] (2008)
31 x Corrupted Naga cleansed [Dungeon bonus X2] (310)
8 x Corrupted Titan cleansed [Dungeon bonus X2] (160)
16 x Corrupted Behemoth cleansed [Dungeon bonus X2] (480)
Partial exp awarded to (1189 users - expand list) [Dungeon bonus X2] (9654)
Partial exp awarded to (Mark Young)(9654)
7958 System Points awarded
2704/2704
Level up!
+2 Prana, +2 Resistance
2809/2809
Level up!
+2 Prana, +2 Resistance
2916/2916
Level up!
+2 Prana, +2 Resistance
3025/3025
Level up!
+2 Prana, +2 Resistance
3136/3136
Level up!
+2 Prana, +2 Resistance
Regeneration(Self) has reached Rank 10.
The user may now improve an aspect of the existing spell or Evolve the spell into something new.
Improve/Evolve
Telekinesis has reached Rank 10.
The user may now improve an aspect of the existing spell or Evolve the spell into something new.
Improve/Evolve
Sculpt Mana(Force) has reached Rank 10.
The user may now improve an aspect of the existing spell or Evolve the spell into something new.
Improve/Evolve
Name: Mark Young (22 - M)
Level: 56
Next level: 659/3249
Stats:
Resistance
Aura
Mana
Prana
1234(+10) [1090]
0 [+25]
276(+50)[+15]
772 (+10, +10)[+155]
Unspent stat points - 0
Corruption value: 31.28% [+0%] - 31.28%
System Points: 29506.0
Skills: Meditation, Limit release(Physical), Limit release(Mental), Joint casting.
Spells: Passive Regeneration(Self)[10], Force bolt[18], Prana Pulse[9], Regenerate[9], Draw Corruption[6], Corruption recovery[15], Sculpt Mana(Force)[10], Invigorate[11], Cleansing surge[9], Read Memory[2], Mind Spike[4], Earth Control[9], Light Control[6], Bestowal[8], Telekinesis[10], Benediction[3], Nature control[6], Telepathic link[5], Animated Mind[3].
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The fact that three skills had leveled up at once almost caused Mark to lose his footing when the next rock came into range. He quickly recovered but his surprise still kept him glued to the system panel. They were three of his most used skills so it was to be expected, but was still a huge boon.
Right away he wrote off altering [Regeneration(Self)] as he wanted to improve it, but there was no time to think of a new thread for it, so he’d have to leave it as is.
On the other hand, Mark wanted to evolve [Sculpt Mana(Force)] and [Telekinesis], the problem was he had no idea how the system would change the spells, and being that [Sculpt Mana(Force)] was his single most powerful card, he had his doubts. If he had to learn a whole new spell in the next couple of minutes before an intense fight then he would only be shooting himself in the foot.
The thing was, right now he needed any edge he could get, even if it was a gamble he should still try. [Telekinesis] was key to his flight, but if it changed too much it wouldn’t affect him greatly, so deciding it was worth it Mark pulled the spell up and hit evolve.
The world began to fade away, but Mark resisted this time. Instead of watching the process, he let it fall to the back of his mind. The system took the spell and plodded along without him, faithfuly breaking down and rebuilding the magic thread by thread.
In the meantime, Mark looked at his attributes. Luckily, even with the loss of the amulet, Mark was still about even, as he had lost the Mana and Resistance, but gained five levels of Mana. They were halfway down when Mark felt the system finish up with the spell, from here he could just make out the shape of the beating organ, and then his vision was obstructed by the prompt.
Congratulations [Telekinesis] has evolved to [Telekinetic control], rank reset to 1!
Telekinetic control:
Through mental expansion, the user has developed an intuitive connection a basic physical force of reality. The user can both manifest and manipulate the surrounding forces.
Kinetic energy expended depends on the targeted mass and desired velocity.
Mass and distance correlate to the Mana expended and the strength of the Mana attribute.
Fine control based on mental acuity and sensory feedback.
Breathing a sigh of relief Mark looked at the text, it had a couple of changes but outwardly the spell hadn't changed much, even the name was similar. However, the moment the spell sunk back into Mark's mind he knew wouldn’t be able to look at the world in the same way again. It was similar to someone keeping an eye shut for their whole life. When it arrived there was no disorientation, it just felt right. The new sense seamlessly merged with his old ones. The waves riding through the air were as easy to pick out as clouds, and all it took was a thought to bring them toward him.
Before, Mark could simply turn Mana into force and direct it, but now Mark could feel the surrounding forces as easily as he could feel the earth beneath his feet with [Earth control].
With this, he could pull the force out of someone's punch and turn it back on them. As long as he didn’t attempt to manipulate within their will, anything was possible. Of course, the spell had its limits too. For example, if someone could create more force than Mark could move at once then they would still be able to beat his face in. Similar to what Jonathan had done to Oscar.
Mark was digesting the new knowledge when he looked over at Chloe. The woman had not spoken once since they started the climb down but Mark decided it was about time to breach the topic.
“Chloe, be honest with me. What’s really going on? Do we make it out of this?”
She briefly glanced at Mark out of the corner of her eye and then jumped over a small ravine.
“Yes Mark, we’ll live.”
It was just four words, but Mark knew there was so much she wasn’t telling him. Pursing his lips, Mark made the jump too.
‘Alright,’ he thought. 'Have it your way.'