For The Guild (Emerilia Book 2)

by Michael Chatfield

Passive Skill: Perception

  Level: Master Level 1

  Effect: 87% chance to find hidden details. 5% chance at better loot

  Active Skill: Sprint

  Level: Expert Level 7

  Effect: 77% increased speed

  Cost: 5 Stamina/second

  Active Skill: Two-handed

  Level: Journeyman Level 2

  Effect: 22% armor penetration on target. Stamina costs reduced 10% while fighting.

  Cost: 35 Stamina

  Active Skill: Dual wield

  Level: Expert Level 5

  Effect: Attacks are 35% faster. 25% reduced damage with offhand weapon.

  Cost: 15 Stamina/second

  Passive Skill: Night Vision

  Level: Master Level 4

  Effect: 91% increased night vision. 20% increased vision in magical darkness.

  Racial bonus: Dwarves, even half-Dwarves, are at home in the darkness of mines and their empires dug underneath mountains. +25% increased night vision. (+5% in magical darkness)

  Active Skill: Inference

  Level: Apprentice Level 5

  Effect: 33% increased chance of using moves you’ve read in books.

  Active Skill: One-handed and Shield

  Level: Journeyman Level 4

  Effect: Weapons damage increased by 24%. Defense increases by 10%.

  Cost: 20 Stamina

  Passive Skill: Aura Detection

  You know better than most that people aren’t always as they seem. Everyone has an innate aura of power about them. Whether this strength comes from crafting, casting spells, or slaying creatures, you can now detect it. You can also suppress it, so don’t start thinking of this as some crazy “things that want to kill me” radar. Lazy bastard.

  Level: Journeyman Level 3

  Effect: You can detect the Auras of those that are not actively hiding it, or have Aura Suppression level lower than your Aura Detection.

  Active Skill: Aura Suppression

  ’Cause you’re a naturally sneaky bastard trying to hide your abilities, you got a high level off the bat. Cool shit. I’m going to think you guessed this was coming based off the last skill… Or you’ve just run into a wall so many times you don’t know the color blue from cranberry. Way. To. Go. Dave.

  Level: Expert Level 2

  Effect: You can hide your Aura from others. Whether you do this all the time, part of the time, or just let out a little bit…couldn’t give two spindly fucks.

  Dave was kind of shocked. He thought that he would go up some levels in his skills, but they’d increased faster than he’d ever seen. “How the hell is this possible?” Dave muttered.

  “What?” Deia asked, near enough to hear him.

  “I jumped up so many levels while fighting, it’s nuts.”

  “Well, they’re Players and Players who kill other Players. Their strength is not something to be overlooked. Emerilia sees that at your level, you were able to beat someone well above you with your skill with a blade. If someone is ranked a master, but you beat them while you’re an apprentice, then you’re going to see a big jump in skills. You’ve proved to the game that you’re much stronger than what your skills say, so they change to adapt to that. It’s rare to see with people of the land, but with Players, I’ve seen them go up skill levels in weaponry fast as they’ve been able to defeat Emerilia Weapon Masters with a tricky new move or idea, thus gaining them many levels in one go instead of just grinding mobs and other creatures,” Deia said.

  “Damn,” Dave said.

  “It’s how you’ve been able to jump up levels with your combat skills already. Having a master of a weapon teaching and sparring with you reflects that you are becoming stronger. The harder it is for your master to beat you, the greater your level increase.”

  “So that’s why my archery and dual wield leveled up so fast, because of your training?” Dave asked.

  “While I am a master of bow and dual wielding, Anna is a master of two-handed and one-handed with shield,” Deia said, giving him a look that he should have remembered that.

  “But my progress has been much slower to this point.”

  “Well, we were not fighting to the death and we have had centuries of fighting. We know a good number of fighting techniques. Other Players might be rated masters in a weapon, but they do not have the knowledge and experience that we do,” Deia said, not without a bit of pride.

  “That’s my girl,” Dave said, side-hugging her.

  “Let’s see your new stats,” Deia asked, firmly in teacher mode.

  “One second.” Dave pulled up his last few notifications.

  Level 74

  You have reached level 74; you have 316 stat points to use.

  It had already taken into account the four levels that he had lost for dying, though with all of the experience gained from his kills and the party’s kills, he’d still jumped up seven levels.

  No wonder Player killing is so lucrative. Seven levels in a single night! And all of that loot.

  Stat Increase

  +12 Strength

  +4 Intelligence

  +15 Agility

  +4 Vitality

  +2 Willpower

  +4 Endurance

  There was just one more notification left.

  You Have Assisted in Killing A Champion

  There are few things as powerful as a Champion of the Affinities Pantheon. Bestowed with the gift of power and a calling to serve, the most powerful warriors in Emerilia would give Dragons pause. You have shown that not even these warriors are a true challenge for you.

  Rewards: +2 to all stats.

  For assisting in killing a Champion of the Dark Lord, your reputation with the Lady of Light has increased.

  Knowledge on Hidden Class: Champion Slayer

  There are Dragon Slayers known across the world for their reputation. Hidden away from many, there are also Champion Slayers. Not bestowed with a gift of the Affinities Pantheon, these warriors have shown their ability to kill one who is.

  For defeating a Champion or assisting twice in the death of one, you will gain access to this hidden class. The more Champions you kill, the stronger you will grow (Killing different Champions will increase/decrease your reputation with different Affinity factions).

  He took his character sheet and shared it with her.

  Character Sheet

  Name:

  David Grahslagg

  Gender:

  Male

  Level:

  10

  Class:

  Dwarven Master Smith, Friend of the Gray God, Bleeder, Librarian

  Race:

  Human/Dwarf

  Alignment:

  Chaotic Neutral

  Unspent points-316

  Health:

  9,900

  Regen:

  3.36/s

  Mana:

  2,190

  Regen:

  9.75/s

  Stamina:

  1,530

  Regen:

  8.25/s

  Vitality:

  99

  Endurance:

  168

  Intelligence:

  219

  Willpower:

  195

  Strength:

  153

  Agility:

  165

  “Did you kill that Hevard dude?” Dave asked, still thinking about the new class that had been revealed.

  “I got the assist. Anna killed it. Malsour got the kill on the one you were fighting, though everyone else got an assist as well.” Deia looked to Dave.

  “Damn, wouldn’t mind working on getting that class. I know that I’d feel a bit better if the Dark Lord had less minions to send at us.” Dave sighed.

  “We can hope,” Deia said.

  “All right, everyone good with the plan?” Josh asked.

  “What the hell is the plan?” Dave muttered to Deia.

  “Fighter parties move in, get the kobolds’ attention. While we have it, the DPS types get in beh
ind and rip them apart. We’re going to be in the center.”

  “Isn’t that kind of risky? We’re still a whole bunch of levels lower than the kobolds in there.”

  “We’re not that far behind them and there are more of us than them.” Deia looked to Dave. “Do you have that lightning thing?”

  “I can make one if I need to,” Dave said. “Why?”

  “We’re going to hit them with our biggest spells first, make them reel from that as we get a foothold in the fight so that they can’t start using their mages against us from the start.”

  “Get in close, rip them apart,” Dave said.

  “Right,” Deia said. Behind her, the rest of the party were walking over.

  “Miss me?” Dave asked as they got close enough to hear.

  “Good to see you in one piece,” Suzy said.

  “Was that throw awesome or what?” Steve smiled until he saw Deia’s glare and then faltered slightly.

  “It was an effective tactic and allowed the guards to once again regain the strength they needed in order to defeat the PKP,” Malsour said.

  “Yeah. It also sucked, a lot, though the guild’s ‘home’ is pretty sweet, kind of like the conference mansion we have but way more people doing all kinds of stuff,” Dave said.

  “Let’s move!” Josh said. He’d been answering questions and lining out the plan to everyone again as Deia and Dave had been talking.

  “Follow me.” Deia pulled her bow out. Dave’s rods turned into a bow as the Stone Raiders moved into the large hall where the kobolds had set up.

  Anna, Steve, and twenty or so metal creations moved to the front. Induca, Malsour, and Suzy stayed back.

  Dave felt buffs increasing his Strength, Health, and resistances to different attacks. It felt invigorating having that many buffs.

  Deia let loose an arrow; others did the same here and there, cutting down any kobolds nearby.

  All too soon, a kobold’s voice rang out in alarm. The noise was cut off mid-way, but it had been enough. Dave could see that the kobolds were mobilizing. With their bad sight, they probably couldn’t see the Stone Raiders yet but they knew something was amiss.

  Warriors rushed out of the village to meet the attackers who had killed their friends and left them cowering at the lowest reaches of the substation.

  Dave added his own arrows to the fight. The high vaulted ceilings were tall enough to allow the arrows’ arching flight as they landed among the kobolds, shrieks and cries following the arrows’ paths.

  Mages, giving up on all pretenses of stealth, grouped together and called out their artillery spells.

  The kobold mages unleashed their attacks. Defensive and support mages did what they could to blunt the attack before it caused true damage.

  The Stone Raiders didn’t run but moved at a half-jog so they didn’t waste their Stamina on just getting into battle.

  The kobolds threw spears, wasting many of them as they didn’t have the range to hit the oncoming Stone Raiders.

  “Light!” Josh yelled.

  Super-powered lights sprung into existence, glowing balls of power. The kobolds let out pained screeches. Their eyes were not used to this level of light, living in the dim-lit halls and the darkness of the underground.

  Artillery spells fired. The kobold mages, worrying about their eyes, never saw the attacks as the spells crashed into the kobolds, killing dozens. Elementals of Earth, Fire, and Water appeared in the kobold village, adding to the confusion.

  The kobolds were getting hammered as the Stone Raiders greeted their first line with their shields and swords. Kobold screams rang out as metal met bone and muscle, freeing blood and pain.

  Dave changed his bow for a two-handed machine. It looked like a scaled-up version of the lightning bolt that he had used a few weeks ago.

  The crackling of energy drew many eyes before Dave planted himself. He fired the cannon and a ball of lightning surged across the floor. Dave flew three feet backward. Steve caught him in one hand, not even breaking his stride as they continued into the kobold lines.

  “Thanks,” Dave panted. Making the larger cannon had taken a lot out of him. His cannon fell apart into a sword and shield.

  “No worries, dude. You think you could hook a brother up?” Steve looked at the path of Dave’s lightning ball in awe.

  Dave looked at what he had done, looking at a scorched path through the kobolds and into the now burning village. Kobolds were spasming on the floor or smoking from the electricity that had torn through their bodies.

  “I’ll think about it,” Dave said.

  Steve set him down. Steve’s axe slammed into two kobolds, cutting them apart.

  Dave advanced into their lines.

  He raised his shield, blocking a hit that came from his left. It scraped off his shield as Dave’s sword flicked out, hitting his opponent’s side. Dave moved back to see his attacker.

  There, holding a shovel and looking at him with a mix of pain and unadulterated rage, was a kobold miner.

  Kobold Miner

  Level 176

  Dave was about matched for human terms of Strength and Agility, but he didn’t have the drop on him.

  The kobold let out an inhuman screech as it slammed its shovel against Dave’s shield. It might not have the greatest weapon but it knew how to use it, not giving Dave the chance to get away from it.

  A blast of Fire knocked it off balance mid-swing. Dave’s sword started forward; blue areas seemed to highlight various vital points as Dave altered the trajectory of his blade. It sunk into the kobold. Dave ripped it out before the kobold could regain its state of mind.

  It coughed and looked at Dave in shock before it toppled over.

  Dave stabbed the thing one more time to make sure it was dead before getting right back into the fray.

  ***

  Anna moved through the kobolds easily, leaving opponents cleaved in half while moving with the confidence that only someone who had seen many battlefields held. She could feel the flow of battle as if it were an ethereal thing.

  The kobolds had charged into battle to be greeted with a massive attack. They hadn’t realized the losses that they had already sustained, pushing more out of the village as they thought that there was no one out and fighting.

  Anna watched as the Stone Raiders hacked and cut their way through the kobolds. Few had any true elegance when fighting. As long as they killed their opponent, they didn’t care.

  Stealth types moved through the edges and gaps and zip-wired behind the enemy from above. Their attacks were precise and deadly, hitting for all they could.

  Deia shifted out of the way of a blow, wind cutter leaving a sad note ringing in the air as the attacker and two behind them were cut apart by the wind blade Anna had created.

  Deia’s movements were quick and powerful. Deia moved in short and violent manners, acting and reacting. Her blades of Fire, not having the range of Anna’s, cut through flesh easily but couldn’t gain the same distance that Anna could.

  Anna watched as Dave tried to fight off three kobolds, a moment of fear growing in her. She didn’t want Deia to go through the same pain as before. She turned to act, just as Dave’s speed increased; he slammed one kobold’s attack away, stabbed one in the face, and slashed the third attacker’s front. Spinning to gain momentum, he took the head off the first.

  Anna leapt backward as a pickaxe swung for her. It hit her at a different angle, hurting instead of maiming. She felt her ribs break as she moved to bring down her attacker.

  A darkling rose from the shadow around the kobold, turning its body into shadowy spikes.

  The kobold cried out. Anna ended its existence, sending a mental thank-you to Malsour as she once again dove into the combat.

  Artillery and magical spells fell throughout the kobolds, devastating their lines. The kobolds weren’t defenseless; their mages threw up any kind of defense they thought might work. The battle had been truly joined; although the kobold miners were strong with their w
eapons of pickaxe and shovel, their mages were not able to completely annul the magical attacks.

  They also didn’t give any thought to battle tactics as stealthy types were now getting in behind them and doing damage, targeting the effective kobold mages.

  Anna smiled. A flick of her sword cleared blood from her blade as she twirled, wind cutter singing its song as she left dead kobolds in her wake.

  ***

  Lucy looked over the battlefield. Josh was the overall commander, but she was the secondary, able to see the entire battle and coordinate with the different forces better.

  The kobolds were giving a good fight; they might have people who were of a higher level, but they weren’t buffing one another. They were territorial and not likely to trust one another, even in battle.

  Their mages were few and were being targeted with extreme prejudice.

  Lucy watched as parties didn’t even need to switch out, the tanks getting group healed as they fought. Lucy grouped all frontline fighters as tanks, from those who could stand in the face of the enemy and make them stop their progress toward the rest of their party and guild.

  It was one hell of a coordinated machine.

  She could tell which groups had fought together, using a few simple words as the others reacted. The guild chat was clear, with only priority messages coming through. It looked as if the stealth types were making their play as the village had cleared out.

  “Josh, we’ve got reports of something moving out from the center of the village, probably a chieftain of some kind.” Lucy looked over the battlefield. Golems, elementals, magical powers as well as healing and buff auras were being given off.

  Darklings and summoned creatures, wind wisps and firestorms: it might look like chaos to most, but to her it was a coordinated and well-defined battle.