Chapter 227. Rewards Reflect Ranking.
I returned to the newly appointed opulence of my personal space. One of the servants offered me a beverage that I automatically grabbed. Tasting the clear and bubbly liquid, it turned out to be sparkling water with a hint of citrus. Very refreshing, and I could get used to this kind of life.
I thanked the servant who smiled and stepped back to her position against the wall. They were just mana constructs, but it was a good habit to remain polite since it would help me from slipping up when it really counted.
“Welcome back, Rico. I must say, you did well with the furniture purchase. Thank you for remembering the desk and writing materials,” Tzes’zod said. He was sitting behind the desk with a feather quill in hand and a parchment stretched out in front of him.
“I’m glad you approve, and I’m glad that Chaladoom didn’t forget the writing supplies he promised to include. What are you working on?” I asked.
“Not something I can disclose at this time, rest assured that my projects will not harm you in any way. In fact, they may even prove somewhat beneficial in the long run,” Tzes’zod said mysteriously.
“No worries, your business is your business, sorry if I was a bit too intrusive. Are you going to be working here for long?” I asked.
“For a bit, as you know, I’ll pop in and out occasionally. I take it from your new gear that the foray into Somhagen was successful?” Tzes’zod asked.
“Yeah, it was a good trip. I signed up for the arena, and found some good buys, not that it helped me in my last summoning. That last summoning stripped all my gear right at the beginning. I was kind of worried that I wouldn’t get it all back.,” I said, peeking into the armory to make sure nothing was missing. The system didn’t scam me, at least pertaining to my gear.
“Very good, I remain ready to assist if you have any further need of my negotiation talents, otherwise, I should get back to work,” Tzes’zod said, his tone politely but firmly let me know he was too busy for chitchat at the moment.
“I’ll leave you to it,” I replied, heading to my rewards chest to review the newest loot I’d acquired. My rating had been excellent, so I had high hopes for a decent reward this time.
Before I opened the chest another system prompt appeared, a very welcome one.
Your minions have been gaining experience from the various summonings you participate in. This experience is gained at a reduced rate compared to your own, and 2 of your minions have now reached the next rank. Please be advised that any rank increase must be activated from inside the armory for them to take effect.
Nice, I knew that my minions would be receiving experience at a fraction of what I earned, but I kind of figured it would take longer. Of course, a couple of them had gotten experience boosts from rewards, so that might be playing a part as well. Concentrating, I brought up the current minions and their experience.
1. Mana Slayer Drone. Tier 2, Rank 0.
Experience, 25/35.
2. Glem, Glamb, and Glurk, goblin raiders. Tier 1, Rank 5.
Experience: 25/30.
3. Elida Silverbarrow, halfling healer. Tier 1, Rank 1.
Experience: 0/25. This minion has gained a Rank since your last review. Please visit your armory to activate any upgrades to this minion.
4. Khurr, gnoll scout. Tier 0, Rank 6.
Experience 5/20. This minion has gained a Rank since your last review. Please visit your armory to activate any upgrades to this minion.
5. Blieek, goblin spearman. Tier 0, Rank 0.
Experience 10/15.
So, it was Elida and Khurr that had leveled up. All the goblins were only five points away from the next rank, and the mana slayer drone wasn’t too far off either. I’d hit the armory in a second, first, I still wanted to check out the rest of my loot.
Reward Chest.
New Inventory.
1. Silver coins, 817.
2. Gold coins, 25.
3. Minion ability/spell token (1).
4. Minion equipment token (3).
5. Minion veterancy token (1).
6. Class ability upgrade scroll.
7. Summoner’s Boots of Resistance.
8. Consumable figurine (1).
It was a good haul, and the system even gave me the final piece to the Summoner’s Resistance set! First off, I grabbed the boots and equipped them, checking on the new total bonuses for my set.
Summoner’s Boots of Resistance. Part of the Summoner’s Resistance set. These boots are magically reinforced, and the leather is as strong as steel. A 5% slashing resistance is granted by this armor. This resistance stacks with all other forms of resistance. Part of a 5-piece set, you will gain an additional 5% slashing resistance for each additional piece you have equipped. Each piece of the set will unlock an additional resistance type.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
If the bearer has 3 or more pieces of the Summoner’s Resistance equipped, their summoned minions will be granted a lesser version of the resistances that the bearer enjoys from this set.
You have equipped 5 of the 5 pieces from the Summoner’s Resistance set. As a set bonus, resistance to crushing damage has been added to your gear. Your total bonus is as follows:
1. Fire resistance: 25%.
2. Frost resistance: 25%.
3. Acid resistance: 25%.
4. Piercing resistance: 25%.
5. Slashing resistance: 25%.
6. Crushing resistance: 25%
Since you have equipped more than 3 pieces of the set your summoned minions will enjoy the following protections.
1. Fire resistance: 10%.
2. Frost resistance: 10%.
3. Acid resistance: 10%.
4. Piercing resistance: 10%.
5. Slashing resistance: 10%.
6. Crushing resistance: 10%.
It felt good to complete the entire armor set, and it gave a nice survivability bonus not only to myself, but also to my minions. I was already looking forward to reaching the higher tiers and finding what the more powerful sets might offer. Next up on the loot agenda was my class ability upgrade scroll. It activated on opening, the system informing me of my newest upgrade.
Template Hunter has been upgraded.
Template Hunter. This ability allows the Foe Summoner to mark an opponent to greatly improve the chances for a version of it to become a permanent minion selection in the future. In addition, a veteran consumable figurine of the marked foe will be added to your reward chest each time you rank up. If the marked foe is not offered as a permanent minion option during your next selection opportunity, a final consumable figurine of elite status or better will be added to your rewards chest.
Only 1 foe may be marked at a time, though you can change your target at any time.
It took me a moment to spot all the changes to the ability. First off, the chance of snagging a template was greatly improved. The figurine I was granted after gaining a new rank was now going to be upgraded to a veteran, and if I whiffed on getting the marked target as a minion, I’d get a final elite figurine.
The upgrade was a good one, and having a veteran consumable figurine at each rank was always welcome. I pulled the consumable figurine from the reward chest and confirmed it was a veteran version of mana slayer drone, also upgraded to reflect my current tier and rank. It went into the take home pile, along with the veteran ghast figurine that I could finally summon since I’d hit tier two, rank two.
I also had some minion upgrades to sort out. For now, the minion veterancy token would have to stay in the reward chest, nobody was close to maxing out their tier and rank anytime soon. The minion ability token, and the equipment tokens were fine to activate now, and I started with the ability one. Like before, these tokens were randomized by the system.
Elida Silverbarrow has upgraded her Personal Shield spell to Rank 1.
Personal Shield, Rank 1. This spell grants Elida a magical barrier that is the equivalent of studded leather armor. The duration is one hour, plus an additional hour per Rank.
Equipment upgrades.
1. Glem, Glamb, and Glurk have upgraded their weapons to Rank 3.
2. Glem, Glamb, and Glurk have upgraded their armor to Rank 4.
3. Mana slayer drone has upgraded its weapons to Rank 1.
Nice, the goblins continued the lucky streak when it came to gear upgrades, and I pulled up both them and the mana slayer drone to see the changes.
Glem, Glamb, and Glurk, goblin raiders.
1. Armor, Rank 4. The armor for all goblins has been upgraded to magic chainmail with matching boots, gloves, leggings, and helms. The enchantments on their armor make them as strong as steel plate.
2. Weapons, Rank 3. At this rank Glem is armed with a steel-tipped long spear with a minor magical enchantment to improve his chance to hit and giving each strike a small chance to ignore armor. Glamb has upgraded his heavy choppers to masterwork quality. Each weapon now has a small chance to deliver a minor bleed effect. Glurk’s bow is upgraded to a masterwork longbow, and he has a quiver of endless arrows.
Mana slayer drone.
1. Weapons, Rank 1. At this rank, your minion is equipped with a pair of bladed hands with long reach. In addition, a shorter pair of mechanical arms provides your minion with the ability to manipulate objects or function as close-range, simple bludgeoning weapons. When needed, the mana slayer drone can form simple weapons for its smaller arms to wield. The drone has a basic proficiency in all the weapons that its body can produce.
I was excited to see the changes, especially the weapons that the drone could now create. Before I did that, I hustled over to the armory to activate the rank upgrades for Elida and Khurr. I didn’t want the system to slip in another summoning before I could do everything here that I needed to.
Not sure how to go about upgrading them, I looked around the armory. It turned out to be pretty easy. Each minion now had armor and weapon stands with their names on it inside the armory. As soon as I touched the one for the newly ranked up minions, the system processed their upgrades.
Elida Silverbarrow, halfling healer. Tier 1, Rank 1.
By gaining a new Rank, Elida has added a spell slot, bringing the total spell slots to 5. A random spell or ability will now be upgraded.
2. Burst of Light, Rank 1. This spell emits a bright light at a targeted point. Elida can choose any location within her line of sight as the target for this spell. Anyone close to where the burst hits will take minor radiant damage and have the chance to receive a penalty to their sight for the next 5 seconds. Burst of Light will no longer affect any allies caught in its burst radius.
Khurr, gnoll scout. Tier 0, Rank 6.
By gaining a new Rank, Khurr has unlocked a new ability.
New Ability:
Trapper, Rank 0. This ability can be activated 1/day and allows Khurr to create a simple trap. The trap will deal minor damage and have a chance to impair the victim’s movement.
Both my ranked-up minions were upgraded just in time. As soon as I finished, a summoning portal opened in the main room of my personal space.
You are Summoned!