“Something that I would do gladly, Justicar!” the dwarf shouted in response, to the cheers of several Adventurers in the crowd.
“Looks like we have more support than we thought,” Freya commented quietly as the cheers devolved into shouting and Adventures began to form up behind either Ignis or the dwarf.
“Damn! This is exactly what I was afraid of happening!” I replied, gritting my teeth as the dwarf and Ignis continued to shout at one another. Pitching my voice over the crowd, I called out as loud as I could manage. “Enough!”
With my shout cutting through the din and Dyre’s imposing presence, the voices in the hall gradually quieted, everyone’s attention shifting away from the two Adventurers and back onto me.
“As I was saying,” I said after the volume had died down to a manageable level. “We were waiting until we had more information before making a public statement about the Ley Line and as of a few moments ago we finally have something to share.”
I paused once again for a moment, waiting for the lingering voices to completely die down.
“During our exploration of the Nafarrian ruins, we found a route that led deep underground, going as far to reach a massive cavern, set directly under Aldford,” I announced, in as clear a voice as I could manage. “And in that cavern, we discovered an underground grove like none seen before. One filled to the brim with hordes of savage creatures along with magical plants and countless untouched resources.
“And, of course, the Ley Line rupture.”
With my last words, excited murmurs broke out from the Adventurers, the argument just seconds earlier completely overshadowed by the promise of a rich and untouched area to explore.
“But this place, The Twilight Grove, is not for the faint of heart,” I warned, hoping to temper everyone’s expectations. “It is a place of extreme danger that only the strongest Adventurers and Guilds in Aldford are going to be able to survive in, and only if they all work together.
“As such, I am issuing a Call to Arms to all the Adventurers here before me,” I announced, looking out into the crowd and meeting as many eyes as I could manage. “It will not be an easy task by any means, but we need your help in taming this new region and in finding a way to repair the Ley Line before it can destroy what we’ve worked so hard to build.”
Wrapping up my speech, I spread my hands wide and hoped that my words would be enough to inspire everyone and keep the cracks that had just shown themselves under control.
“So now I ask, who among you is ready to stand up and help save Aldford?”
Chapter 42
Tuesday, March 26th, 2047 - 8:45 pm
The Twilight Grove
With a sharp grunt of exertion, I thrust Splinter’s point into the beast’s armpit, forcing it through the tough muscle until the hilt came to a stop against flesh. Within a heartbeat of the blow landing, a pained roar filled the air around me, prompting me to duck under a razor-sharp set of claws, temporarily letting go of my sword. Feeling the breeze of the arm sail over my head, I used the opportunity to conjure a burning dagger in my hand and in one smooth motion, plunged it into the creature’s far knee, the thick grey skin easily parting under the knife’s searing edge.
The smell of burning flesh filled my nose as I continued to move. The dagger, its job done, turned to ash in my grasp. A step took me past the now falling beast, its large, muscular form twisting awkwardly as the momentum from its earlier attack, combined with its now-crippled knee, sent it to the ground in a heap.
Right into Amaranth’s waiting jaws.
The gorilla-like creature barely had time to complete its fall to the ground before the azure-furred puma managed to sink his teeth into its throat and tear out a large chunk of flesh, turning its whining cry into a pitiful gurgle.
Time to end this, I thought, reaching out towards Splinter’s hilt protruding from the beast’s side and grasping it tightly. With a sharp yank, I pulled the blade free of the grey-skinned creature’s thrashing body and unceremoniously thrust it into the back of its head, immediately seeing a pair of notifications appear in my combat log.
You have slain a [Twilight Grove Troglodyte]!
You have gained Party Experience!
With barely a second thought, I mentally channeled Blink Step in Amaranth’s direction, the cat vanishing from sight the moment that I made the spell available to him and reappearing mid-leap just inches behind another Troglodyte. Moving to follow my familiar, I leaped over the rapidly dissipating body of the creature that we had just killed and triggered my own Blink Step, my world splintering into a blur of colors as I shifted places.
Reappearing just as Amaranth hamstrung a new Troglodyte, I saw the large creature fall to one knee with a roar, its sudden movement giving me a perfect view of both Sawyer and Sierra over its shoulder as the pair fought back-to-back against two more of the beasts that had managed to circle them.
“Nice of you to finally join the party, Lyr!” Sierra called out, catching sight of me out of the corner of her eye as she dodged under one pair of Troglodyte’s claws while catching the second on one of the twin swords in her hands, leaving the other free for her to send a short stab into the beast’s chest.
“I decided to take the scenic route!” I answered, moving forward to aid Amaranth, seeing him leap backward from a swipe of the Troglodyte’s claw as it spun around, then dart forward to deliver a slash of his own along its side.
Leading with Splinter as I rushed towards the creature’s flank, I took advantage of its awkward positioning and carved a line into its shoulder, prompting a pained howl from the unexpected attack. Dragging my blade across the Troglodyte’s back, I felt a cool wave of energy travel through Splinter and up my arm as I absorbed the few dregs of mana its kind usually had, the sensation lasting barely longer than a couple seconds before fading. Quivering under my draining touch, I heard a confused roar escape from the beast’s throat as it tried to shrink away from my blade, giving Amaranth the opportunity to land another swipe, this one landing with enough force for bones to audibly crack and send it falling towards the ground.
Which, much like its companion a few seconds earlier, heralded the end for the poor creature as Splinter’s edge connected with the Troglodyte’s neck and continued straight through it until it buried itself in the soft dirt underneath.
We’ve come a long way since the first day here, I couldn’t help but think as I watched the creature’s head fall away from its body, rolling limply along the ground as a dark grey ichor began to pour forth from its severed neck. Looking up from the fallen beast, I returned my attention to both Sawyer and Sierra, the pair gradually wearing down their two Troglodytes now that they didn’t have to worry about the third one. These things used to take three of us to take one down; now we can manage by ourselves, or nearly effortlessly in pairs.
“Coming in high!” I called out to Sierra as I approached the wounded Troglodyte from the side, seeing her slash one of her blades across the creature’s stomach and then pivot to one side, causing it to reflexively shift its head to follow.
Giving me the perfect shot at the beast’s head.
Swinging a crackling Splinter through the air, I chopped the blade into the side of the Troglodyte’s skull and felt a shuddering crunch as the sword bit deep into the skull, imbedding itself in the bone. Discharging itself on contact, I then felt the electricity stored in my blade leap forward as it coursed through the creature’s head, scrambling all thought stored within.
Assuming these Trogs are even capable of thought, I added dryly as I yanked on Splinter’s hilt, pull
ing the now spasming creature’s head backward in the process and exposing its throat towards Sierra, who promptly buried one of her swords into it. A sharp kick to the back of leg a second later then brought the gurgling Troglodyte down to its knees, where Sierra’s other blade quickly found its eye and sent it along to join the rest of its companions.
Placing my foot on the back of the dead Troglodyte’s back, I pushed against the body, needing the leverage to dislodge my blade which was still firmly imbedded into its skull. While pulling the blade free, I cast a quick look around the battlefield, catching sight of both Amaranth and Sawyer putting an end to their Troglodyte. I then continued onwards to check the rest of the group, having lost track of them in the melee.
Seems like everyone made it without too many problems, I noted to myself several seconds later, seeing Drace and Freya step out from the thick jungle nearby, and sensing that Constantine, Halcyon and Caius were gradually approaching us.
“Everyone doing okay?” Drace asked as he caught sight of us all, his voice breaking the relative silence that had fallen over our patch of the jungle now that the Troglodytes were dead.
“No problems here,” Sawyer announced from behind me. “I think we’re finally getting the hang of this. A hell of a lot better than our first day down here…”
“God, don’t remind me about that,” Sierra added in a pained tone as she exhaled sharply. “Just thinking about that day gives me Death Sickness.”
“We had a lot to learn,” Freya replied dryly, her eyes losing focus as she looked at something in her vision. “How’s everyone doing? Just a couple thousand experience points shy of level eighteen.”
“Roughly the same here,” Sawyer answered with both Drace and Sierra also echoing similar values.
“I still have a fair bit to go,” I replied, bringing up my character sheet and glancing over all the changes that had taken place over the last few days.
Lyrian Rastler – Level 17 Spellsword
Human Male (Eberian)
Statistics:
HP: 979/979
Stamina: 890/890
Mana: 1040/1040
Experience to next level: 15734/36400
Attributes:
Strength: 57 (77)
Agility: 57 (78)
Constitution: 54 (55)
Intelligence: 60
Willpower: 22
“Still leveling your Leadership skills?” Freya asked, prompting me to shift my focus away from the sheet. “You’ve been at that for a while now.”
“I just need one more point,” I said, giving the woman a nod before returning my attention back to the sheet and scrolling down towards the Leadership section, checking to see what my progress was. “I’ve managed to boost the other skills high enough to unlock the next Leadership tier, which costs three points and I—oh wait! I gained a point during that battle! Hang on a second.”
Feeling a surge of excitement surge through me, I spent my newly gained Leadership Skill Point, having spent the last few days in this cavern with sixty percent of my experience gain allocated into the Leadership tree. Originally, my plan had been to continue to develop the three regeneration skills that I had already had focused on, and help decrease our downtime between fights. But when I had spent my thirtieth Leadership Skill Point, a new skill became available to me, which given our experience with The Beast, practically begged me to invest the time in earning it.
Now let’s see what else I’ve unlocked! I thought eagerly as I confirmed my choice and felt an unexpected wave of confidence surge through me as a list of notifications appeared in my vision, along with a newly updated Leadership Skill Tree.
You have unlocked a new Leadership Skill – Form Raid Group!
You now have access to Tier 2 Leadership Skills!
Leadership Skills:
Increased Health Regeneration – Increase amount of Health Regenerated by 8. (8/10)
Increased Mana Regeneration – Increase amount of Mana Regenerated by 8. (8/10)
Increased Stamina Regeneration – Increase amount of Stamina Regenerated by 8. (8/10)
Increased Movement – Increase mounted and unmounted speed by 6%. (6/10)
Improved Leadership I – Grants the ability to form a raid group and unlocks further leadership development. (1/1)
Improved Health – Increase total Health by 1%. (0/5)
Improved Mana – Increase total Mana by 1%. (0/5)
Improved Stamina – Increase total Stamina by 1%. (0/5)
“Oh damn!” I exclaimed excitedly as I finished reading over my new skill list, unable to keep myself from grinning as I read over it. “This was definitely worth it!”
“What was worth it?” Constantine asked as he and the other two casters finally emerged from the forest and rejoined us, their eyes scanning the area cautiously. “You guys find some loot?”
“No,” I replied, my eyes still focused on the text hanging in my vision. “I finally earned that last Leadership point I needed to unlock the next skill tier.”
“Oh,” the rogue replied, his voice sounding slightly disappointed that my excitement didn’t correspond to material wealth. “That’s just as great, I guess...”
“What skills did you get?” Freya asked curiously, ignoring Constantine’s lack of excitement. She had also unlocked the Leadership Skill Tree but hadn’t chosen to progress as far down it as I had just yet. “Anything good?”
“Well, I can form Raid Groups now for one thing, so that’ll be useful for later,” I announced, watching everyone’s face shift as they were reminded of my initial motivation to unlock the skill. “But I also unlocked these three other skills that’ll scale pretty well with time…”
I then read out the new leadership skills to the party, watching their faces light up at the news. “…each of them takes three skill points per level right now, and I’m sure that’ll only increase, but that’s a pretty potent buff for just forming a party!”
“I’ll say,” Freya replied with envy in her voice. “Especially once you’ve got them all capped out, no one will begrudge an extra bit of health or mana; it could end up making all the difference.”
“Damn right. I’ll never turn down more hit points,” Drace agreed. “Because when it turns out you need more hit points, you really need more hit points.”
“I hear you there,” I said, all the close calls and fights over the last few days floating through my mind. “But given that a Leadership Skill Point is costing me thirty-five hundred experience points now, I think I’m going to switch back to full leveling for a bit. Earning just a one percent boost to a stat compared against reaching level eighteen or higher just doesn’t seem worth it yet. Being able to form a raid group was the thing I wanted the most at the moment.”
“Makes sense—” Freya began to agree before Halcyon’s somewhat shrill voice cut her off.
“I’m sorry, Lyrian, I think you’re going to have to repeat all of that for us,” he said glancing nervously around the party. “Because I know that I can’t be the only one whose brain started going ‘EEEEEEEEeeee!’ the moment that you suggested we’d be forming a raid group. You still seriously want to go after The Beast?”
“I don’t see any other option, Hal,” I replied firmly, despite sharing his reservations. “That thing has been effortlessly wiping out two or three parties a day. As soon as we get a decent enough core of higher levels…we’re going to have to take a shot at it.”
“That and the fact that it’s a Raid Boss, Hal,” Constantine added in a passionate voice. “It’s our duty as Adventurers to put our immortal lives on the line, to find and slay this magnificent beast before it can wreak havoc amongst the NPCs in the region.”
“First of all, that thing is too big to fit through the tunnel entrance.” Halcyon breathed. “So, it’s not threatening any NPCs at all. If we leave it in here, it’ll never escape. Second—”
“Geez work with me here?” the rogue interrupted, reassuming his normal tone and glaring at the mage. �
�We want to kill the thing because it probably drops awesome loot and if we don’t do it, another group might pull it off. Not to mention, a fight with that raid boss is probably worth half a mil’ to us in feed value alone, maybe more if we’re the ones to take it down.”
Shit. I didn’t even consider that! I thought as the revelation hit both the rest of the group and me with equal intensity, everyone glancing at one another with wide eyes.
“Holy shit,” Sawyer whispered, the first to break the shocked silence. “You guys are that popular? I mean I had an idea but…”
“We’re in the top thousand,” I admitted to Sawyer, still a bit stunned by Constantine’s logic.
“Damn,” the red-armored man whispered with awe, his eyes brightening as he looked over at me. “Virtus need any more warriors by chance? Lazarus may be a good buddy, but he sure as hell doesn’t pay in the six-figure range…or the one figure range, now that I think about it…”
“I’ll keep you in mind,” I replied, flashing a smile at the man before Halcyon called out again.
“Lyr,” he stated in a serious voice. “After some serious consideration, I’ve changed my mind; we need to turn that creature into sausage as soon and in as awesome a manner possible.”
“I thought that would bring you around to my line of thinking,” Constantine said with a wide smile breaking out on his face.
“Oh, I’m thinking alright,” the mage replied. “Mostly on how I’m going to stay the hell away from the thing, while you all kill it. Being eaten by that thing once in my life is more than enough for me.”
Legacy of the Fallen Page 58
