The first, bright and fiery, looked like a red-hot piece of iron. Seemingly, if I touched it there would be no avoiding a burn. The second crystal was the polar opposite of the first. Frost gray and sharp-tipped like a chunk of ice. I got the impression frost might cover it at any second.
The third crystal looked the most, ahem, safe. In fact, calling it a crystal felt like a stretch. If not for the characteristic shine, I’d have taken it for a common brown stone.
“I’ll start with you,” I muttered, carefully pulling the little brown rock from its slot.
A description of the item immediately came before my eyes.
Elemental Crystal “Earth Tremor.”
— Type: Magic confinement crystal.
— Rarity: Epic.
— Effect:
— Contains the spell Earth Tremor.
— Earth Tremor.
— Description:
— One of the most powerful earth magic spells, created by Master Terrence the Wise.
— Type: Offensive/Area of Effect.
— Rarity: Epic.
— Magic School: Earth.
— Effect:
— Caster chooses a section of land and starts an earthquake there.
After reading the first part of the description, I gulped loudly. The “toys” these hunters had to play with were no joke. Now I could see what the foxman was talking about when he spoke of the order’s former grandeur. Scratching the back of my head, I continued reading.
— Requirements:
— Intellect — 15.
— Expends 5000 mana points.
— Radius of effect: 165 feet.
— Duration: 5 minutes.
— Note:
— Must have reputation 2000 with the Monster Hunters to purchase.
— Price: 500 tokens.
— Crystal disappears after activation.
— Weight: None. Takes no space.
It didn’t say a word about damage. But I knew firsthand what it was like for the earth to shake and tremble, and what consequences that could have. There was an earthquake six years ago in Orchus. The Gray Quarter was almost entirely destroyed. Father surprised me on that day. He said it was a fairly weak one in comparison with the kind that sometimes happened in the mountains. But still it killed a lot of people, and left even more without a home...
Setting the crystal carefully back in place, I got to the other two. Hm, both offensive and affecting an area instead of just one target. The same extortionate requirements for mana, reputation and tokens.
And though my reputation with the Order was no issue, the mana requirements made me grate my teeth. But that wasn’t the main problem... Even if I could miraculously rustle up a few more mana crystals or, engaging in a bit of fantasy, if my intellect went up five hundred points, I still wouldn’t be able to get all three. I simply didn’t have the tokens. Even considering my steep discount, I could only take two spells. And I’d be left with ninety tokens after that. And after all, I still wanted to fill out my reserves of Satiety Potions, Blots and Ticks. I’d already compromised on the Fury scrolls and decided I could do without them.
With a heavy sigh, I read the description of the two remaining stones again.
Elemental Crystal “Heaven’s Wrath.”
— Type: Magic confinement crystal.
— Rarity: Epic.
— Effect:
— Contains the spell Heaven’s Wrath.
— Heaven’s Wrath
— Description:
— One of the most powerful fire magic spells, created by Magister Pyrus.
— Type: Offensive/Area of Effect.
— Rarity: Epic.
— Magic School: Fire.
— Effect:
— Caster indicates a point and calls down a rain of lava upon it.
— Requirements:
— Intellect — 15.
— Expends 5000 mana points.
— Radius of effect: 165 feet.
— Duration: 3 minutes.
— Note:
— Must have reputation 2000 with the Monster Hunters to purchase.
— Price: 500 tokens.
— Crystal disappears after activation.
— Weight: None. Takes no space.
Elemental Crystal “Ice Storm.”
— Type: Magic confinement crystal.
— Rarity: Epic.
— Effect:
— Contains the spell Ice Storm.
— Ice Storm.
— Description:
— One of the most powerful ice magic spells, created by Ava the Great.
— Type: Offensive/Area of Effect.
— Rarity: Epic.
Magic School: Ice.
— Effect:
— Caster specifies a point and activates an ice storm over it.
— Requirements:
— Intellect — 15.
— Expends 5000 mana points.
— Radius of effect: 165 feet.
— Duration: 4 minutes.
— Note:
— Must have reputation 2000 with the Monster Hunters to purchase.
— Price: 500 tokens.
— Crystal disappears after activation.
— Weight: None. Takes no space.
Despite the fact that I didn’t know whether I’d ever be able to activate any of these spells, it was clear to me that I needed to take the crystals. Even if I didn’t have the tokens to buy everything, it didn’t matter. Something was telling me it would be a long time before I’d find something like this again. All that remained was to decide which crystals to buy.
In the end, I was deciding between Earth and Ice. I took an immediate liking to the earthquake. It lasted longer than the others. Beyond that, I was planning to go back to Stonetown one day. And I knew perfectly well what a localized earthquake could do in the caverns. My first iridescent tablet could attest to that.
As for the choice between Ice and Fire... It was hard for me to know which would be more effective, so I factored in the spells’ durations. Ice Storm lasted a minute longer than the rain of fire. I still couldn’t be sure. Maybe I was making a mistake. But even so... In any case time would tell.
— Congratulations!
— You have acquired:
— Elemental Crystal “Ice Storm” (1).
— Elemental Crystal “Earth Tremor” (1).
— Removed with discount (50%):
— Monster Hunter Token (500).
I dismissed the system message and closed the box with the one remaining crystal then set it back on the shelf with pity. Oh abyss! Bug take these stupid tokens!
I didn’t want to think about whether I’d ever be back here. It was better to cast all the gloomy thoughts out of mind and concentrate on the armory’s other items. Said and done. I turned sharply and walked toward the shelves of Blots.
My sour face set my companions slightly on edge. All that time, they were standing patiently at the arsenal entrance as if held there by some spell and carefully watching my every move. Their lack of reputation meant they were not even allowed to enter.
Gorgie was not down with them. The harn was out scouting the surroundings. Well, and why hide it, he was also “marking” them.
Farhas was leaning his right shoulder against a wall and lightly embracing his knotty staff. It was like I could feel his scrutinizing gaze with my skin. My heart was telling me he was going to make more trouble for us yet.
Mee looked like a curious little gopher. Stretching out like a string bean, he was trying to see everything inside. A wide-open mouth, ears splayed out like burdock leaves — it took some effort not to laugh.
I had ninety tokens left in my pocket. Where to start? Hold up! I slapped my forehead and went back to the niche. I was so upset about the fire crystal I’d totally forgotten about the map. With my discount, it cost just one token.
I didn’t activate the map just yet. First I was going to finish up my purchases. Placing the glowing scroll
into my ephemeral backpack, I headed toward the shelves.
I decided to take an equal number of Blots and Ticks. The former had already saved our lives a few times, while the latter had yet to prove themselves. But I had every reason to think the little spheres would be awfully useful in battle.
With my remaining tokens, I was going to buy some satiety potions — an indispensable item. I was glad to have the chance to fill my reserves of this elixir. I’d already grown accustomed to thinking I always had a substance on hand that could sate my thirst and hunger. They were also a foolproof solution to the problems caused by assimilating tablets.
When I started opening boxes and chests, there was a surprise waiting for me. More than one! Looking captivatedly over the dark bulbs of potion and brown spheres of Blot, I couldn’t believe my luck. They were all more advanced than before!
Medium Potion of Satiety
— Type: Edible.
— Rarity: Rare.
— Effect:
— Sates thirst and hunger. Restores 70% of life force.
— Quantity:7 doses.
— Note:
— Must have reputation 500 with the Monster Hunters to purchase.
— Not to be taken more than 3 time per day.
— Price: 2 tokens.
— Weight: None. Takes no space.
Reading the potion description closely, I decided to run down the plusses and minuses of this improved version. I’ll start with the price. The new one is twice the cost of the old one. That means it makes sense to compare one Medium Potion to two Small ones. The first thing that jumps out at me is that you get one less dose. But in some measure that is compensated by the fact you can take it more times per day. It also restores twenty percent more lifeforce per sip of elixir. That means this kind can restore two hundred and ten percent of your health every day instead of one hundred.
Hm... Not a clear-cut case. But I could only take what was there.
I closed the full box of potions with pity and got to the trap shelf. I took a dark brown sphere the size of an apple out of the box.
Fortified Blot.
— Type: Trap.
— Rarity: Rare.
— Effect:
— A creature caught in a Blot will lose 35% total energy.
— Note:
— Must have reputation 300 with the Monster Hunters to purchase.
— Price: 6 tokens.
— Disappears after triggered.
—
— Weight: None. Takes no space.
This one was more straightforward. If I took the battle with the ice golem as an example, I’d only have needed three of these versus five of the old ones. And price-wise I’d still be coming out ahead.
Okay. Enough ogling. Time to fill out my reserves.
— Congratulations!
— You have acquired:
— Medium Potion of Satiety (5).
— Fortified Blot (14).
— Tick Sphere (14).
— Removed with discount (50%):
— Monster Hunter Token (89).
Welp, that’s about it... Running a sad gaze over the remaining riches, I walked toward the exit.
Farhas unstuck himself from the wall. I could see on his face that the old troll had a ton of questions.
I was only a few steps away when my eyes suddenly started to go dark. I felt such a pressure in my temples that I thought my head was about to burst like a rotten tomato. I lost my breath for a moment... The unexpectedness even made me get down on my right knee. Surprisingly, I was able to remain conscious! That hadn’t happened before...
The sudden spell gradually retreated. Still kneeling, I raised my head. I saw the surprised and alarmed faces of my companions. Gorgie was already at my side. He must have been able to sense my nasty feelings.
Getting out ahead of all their questions, I turned to the old man:
“How many warriors did you leave at the Boundary and how many did you send back to your settlement?”
Farhas frowned.
“Why are you asking? And what is happening to you?”
I sighed impatiently. We’re wasting time.
“It’s a reaction to the portal. It’s about to open. I’ve never reacted this badly before. Something truly ghastly must be trying to climb through into our world. And as for your warriors... Otherworldly beasts have heightened senses after crossing over. Whose trail do you think they’re gonna pick up when they emerge from the portal?”
Chapter 18
TO MY SURPRISE, the old man took my words seriously.
“As soon as we found my grandson, I sent him to our settlement with one of the warriors,” he quickly answered. “The others are waiting for me at the Boundary.”
“Then your family still has a chance to avoid death,” I said, getting up off my knees. “In fact, your death may be what saves them.”
My head was still spinning a bit, but I was able to maintain balance. It felt like a hard punch to the gut. And we were quite far from the portal after all... Something strange was happening there. Something I wanted to keep a healthy distance from.
“The way you’re talking it’s like we’re already dead,” said the old troll with a frown. “I have sixteen of my clan’s strongest warriors. Do you really think we cannot handle one lone spirit? The apprentices of the orcish shamans take them on all alone.”
“Everything is different this time,” I answered, heading for the stairs.
“Different how?” the old man asked, accompanying me with his gaze.
I stopped and, turning, started to speak:
“The portal closed just a few days ago. It was only supposed to open again next year. That on its own speaks to the fact that everything is different this time. But I’ll go on. There was once a stretch of many days in a row when I felt an otherworldly portal opening near me every day. To put it lightly, it made me feel vile. But that was puppies and rainbows in comparison with what I’m feeling now. And let me remind you that we are currently several hours’ journey from the portal.”
I could see in the old man’s eyes that I’d gotten through to him.
“Do you think the spirit trying to escape into our world is going to be stronger than the ones that came before?” he asked.
“The man who taught me everything I know about otherworldly portals once mentioned something he called ‘higher creatures.’ I think we’re about to meet one.”
The old man’s right brow crept upward.
“This is the first I’ve heard you say ‘we.’ I figured this wasn’t your battle and you’d want to leave.”
I scratched the back of my head.
“I won’t insult you with self-serving lies about how, as a monster hunter, I am obliged to defend the world from otherworldly filth of all kinds.”
The old man chuckled and nodded. I meanwhile continued:
“I’ll be direct. After crossing over, the beast will immediately pick up our trail. As I already said, thanks to the magic of the portal, it’ll have staggeringly powerful senses and we won’t have much time. But we have an advantage. The farther it gets from the Tree, the weaker it will become.”
“You said that once the portal closes, the beasts disappear.”
Mee joined the conversation.
“Alas, buddy, I’m afraid I have to disappoint you,” I said, placing my hand on his little shoulder. “Something’s telling me it won’t be quite that easy this time.”
“You still haven’t told me the real reason you decided to stay,” the considerate old troll said.
“That one’s easy,” I answered. “On the steppe, I chanced across a few descendants of the higher creatures. Believe you me — you and your warriors stand no chance on your own if it’s something like that. And that means it would acquire a body. And after it scarfs all you down...”
The Wastes Page 21
