He switched weapons and equipped his spear. Several of the monsters were burning now, but they still had a tendency toward moving as a pack. They writhed and howled, but their pack mates did not abandon them. Scott took the opportunity to fan the flames, so to speak.
The sorcerer whirled his spear around and cried out, “Howling Gale!”
A horizontal tornado raced outward and buffeted the monsters with razor-like winds. They actual magical damage was minor, but the effect was great. The flames were drawn into the vortex and he managed to create a flame tornado that burned the pack with great fury. Several of them actually died as numbers in the double digits began to pop up from them repeatedly.
Weakened considerably by the onslaught, the pack of Arvulfs was not able to withstand the concentrated volley of burn spells that came their way afterwards. After the pack dissipated, the background music shifted back to the airy mountain tune that normally played. The battle report appeared.
<<< Battle Report >>>
Victory!!
Congratulations! You defeated eighteen Arvulfs!
+ 5234 EXP
+ 3467 Fayth
+ 36 Ability Points
Item(s) Acquired
Arvulf Horns X 12
Arvulf Pelt X 9
Arvulf Fang X 3
Medium Sapphire X 1
<<< * >>>
Scott was happy to see the result. That was nearly one-third of the experience that he needed to reach the next level. It would help sighed. “Man, who knew that monsters had this much magic resistance?”
The Shar-Shar had given him a false sense of superiority. They had strong resistance to physical damage but weak to magic. Most sea creatures seemed to follow that pattern. However, everything he had fought in this mountain range had been far more capable of shrugging off his magic. Apparently, class one magic was even less effective due to level bonuses or something.
“So, what do you say we head in and rest for a little while, Ero?” asked Scott. He would be in serious trouble if another pack showed up. His mana was not infinite and it took a good chunk out of his mana pool per Vulf pack.
“Yeah! I want to see how Sharde is doing.” said the fairy girl from within his mind. She had been worried about Rhea’s sister since she had returned.
Scott smiled softly then nodded. They left the burnt ruin that was the battlefield and headed toward the small cabin that they temporarily called home. This would be a great place to train both before, and after, they rescued the mermaids.
He was a little concerned that they could have just had him acquire a much higher level first, and then back train for ability points, but Rhea had a good point. Until he could effectively use his spells without having to hurl four or five of them just to take down a single monster, hunting at higher levels would be pointless. He would have better stats, but he might still be beaten by the stronger monsters and their bullshit magic resistance buffs.
It took a half hour to return to the cabin. Upon arrival Scott bore witness to a sad sight. Sharde sat alone at the little picnic table outside. She slowly stirred a spoon around inside of a bowl of soup. After a moment she sighed loudly.
“Hey Sharde.” said Scott in a friendly manner.
She never looked up from her bowl. “Hi...”
Scott walked over to her then sat down across from her at the table. She glanced up at him quickly then looked down at her bowl again.
He was silent for a moment. What could he say? She was obviously depressed, but he barely knew her. She needed to spend time with her sister.
Sharde bit her lower lip briefly then glanced back up at Scott. “So... Have you been training?”
Scott nodded. “Yeah, it’s harder now, even with better equipment.”
She smiled softly. “Yeah, you need to upgrade your spells and skills a bit.”
He accepted her critique with a smile of his own. It was true.
Sharde played with her soup for a moment then sighed once more. Scott asked, “I’m not very good at it, but... you can tell me what’s bothering you if you like.”
The ninja girl looked up at him then a slight smile broke across her face. “I’m not sure what to talk about. I... I just don’t know anymore.”
“Then just pick a topic. We never really talk, so there are a lot of things to discuss, right?” asked Scott.
She nodded slowly then a slight tinge of pink slipped across her nose. “Well, are you and Rhea getting along well?”
“I think so. We don’t have as many weird interactions as before.” he admitted.
“Weird interactions?” she asked with a grin.
He smiled at her in return. “Well, you know... Misunderstandings about feelings and stuff.”
“That’s good... I’m happy for her and for you...” said Sharde. However, her expression shifted to one of sadness and longing once more.
Scott reached out and took her free hand. “Sharde, I’m sorry if I’ve hurt you.”
Her faced grew darker and her blush increased. “No, I... I hurt myself, I guess.”
“Did you?” asked Scott.
She nodded. “I fixated on you because of my sister’s interest and let myself believe there was more to it than that.”
He squeezed her hand gently. She smiled in response. They continued to simply look at each other for a moment.
Sharde finally spoke up. “I’m sorry if I caused you problems.”
“You are not and never were a problem, Sharde. You’re a nice girl, and I’d love to be friends with you.”
Her smile increased several sizes. “Thanks for that. I know that I can be a little... aggressive and clueless. I just get excited about things that interest me.”
“That’s a good thing though. I used to be that way till life sucked the fun out of Me.” said Scott.
“Ha! You’re one of the most amusing people I know.” said Sharde.
“You think so?” asked Scott.
She giggled gently then nodded. “Yes... I really liked watching you live your life. It got me through a lot of lonely days.”
“I’m glad that I could be there for you in that way then.” said Scott.
Sharde’s cheeks took on a rosy tone. “Thank you. I just...”
“Yes?” he asked.
Sharde shook her head. “It’s not right, but I just wish that I could have met you first.”
Scott squeezed her hand again. “Am I really that irreplaceable? There are probably millions of guys like me out there. There might even been one or two who are better.”
“One or two, huh?” asked Sharde with a smile.
“Maybe three, but that’s pushing it. I’m pretty awesome.” replied Scott with a cheeky grin.
Sharde laughed. “Yeah, and you make my sister happy. I’m glad.”
“I’m sure you’ll find someone who makes you happy, too. You’re a really nice girl, Sharde.” said Scott.
She smiled softly at him. “You said you were bad at this.”
“If I were good at it, you’d be dancing and singing by now.” he said with a smile of his own.
The ninja girl shook her head. “I probably won’t be doing either for a while.”
“Why? Is it because of your...fiancé?” asked Scott. He still did not know the real story of that.
“Only a little. It’s mostly that I just can’t figure out how to approach someone I like. I’m usually direct about everything that I do, and it doesn’t seem to work properly with relationships.” she said.
“Well, maybe you’re too eager for a relationship to start and just need to be friends with someone first.” said Scott.
“Friends first?” she asked curiously.
“Well, yeah. Some people claim there is a thing called the friend zone where a relationship is doomed to never be more than simple friendship. Don’t believe that.” he said.
“OK, what should I believe?” asked Sharde.
Scott smiled at her then said, “Believe that everything starts with being friends
with someone. You don’t need to be best friends forever or anything, but at least be on good terms.”
“Would I have been able to find a guy like you with such a tactic?” asked Sharde with curious expression.
“You could find any decent sort of guy like that. Wouldn’t you want to be with someone who honestly knows and cares about you, has history with you?” asked Scott.
“History, what sort of history?” she asked, her eyebrow rose curiously.
“Yeah, you know, like being neighbors or childhood friends. Maybe you work together or have similar interests. There are lots of ways to be part of someone’s life” said Scott.
“I see... How interesting. You say that I could have someone special in my life if I just spent more time with that someone, had a little history with them?”
“Well it might be a little late for you to be someone’s childhood friend, but hey if it ever happens then there you go. Otherwise, just keep your eyes out for someone you find interesting and see what common ground you have.” said Scott.
Sharde released her soup spoon then placed it atop Scott’s. “OK, if I find anyone like that I’ll give your advice a try.”
“I hope it helps.” said Scott.
“Yes, me too.” She sighed softly. “I doubt it’ll be useful any time soon, though.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“I’m stuck doing community service and I’ll be working on world building for a new project part-time.” she said.
“Well, that could be fun and interesting...” said Scott.
Sharde glanced at him. “Most of it is number crunching. I doubt I’ll find anything fun or interesting about it.”
“Then make your own fun. It might save your sanity.” he said.
Sharde chuckled softly. “Thanks for your concern. I really do appreciate it.”
“That’s what friends are for, right?” said Scott.
The pony-tailed ninja nodded. “Yes, I suppose. My sister is my only real friend. Well, was...”
Ero faded into view then pouted at Sharde. “What about me?”
The red-head smiled at the tiny little fairy. “Of course you’re my friend. I wondered when you would pop up.”
“I wanted to see how you were doing, but you and Scott started talking and I did not want to distract you. Did I do good?” asked Ero with wide eyes and a hopeful expression.
“Yes, you did.” said Sharde.
The fairy giggled softly then fluttered over and gave Sharde a warm hug on the side of the face. “Good, because I want you to be happy.”
Sharde rubbed Ero’s back with her finger then closed her eyes. It was nice to know that someone truly cared for her.
Chapter 21: Hardcore Mode
Three long and grueling days had passed in the mountains. During that time Rhea had slaughtered her way through well over two thousand, nearly three thousand, monsters of much higher level. Her indiscriminate slaughter of the ecological system had allowed her to increase her level to seventeen.
Rhea stopped her constant hunt for fresh opponents and took a breather to consider her options. The spawn rate of the highest level monsters in the surface areas had dropped considerably since she had gone on her one elf crusade to cleanse the land and earn moderately epic loot.
The Fayth and ability points had poured in during that time, she had earned more in that short few days than the entire time that they had fought the undersea monsters. It was to be expected, however. Most of the creatures that she fought on the mountain had a level range that averaged between fifty-five and sixty. She had left the small-fries for Scott to pick off. His experience bonus made them much more viable as fast experience point generators.
She glanced down at her sword then sighed. “Why didn’t you pick a sword profession? We could be so much farther along...”
Of course, he could have simply learned to wield a sword through the use of lore crystal rings. Ultimately, he did not do that because it would short-change him in the end. He needed the ability points to boost his stats, or rather, he probably did. The monsters would become much stronger in time, not that it would really matter in the end.
Rhea gazed at her sword and sighed. Scott trained so hard, but she had still not told him what he would have to do if he truly wanted to protect ARS. The things that she had spoken of were all necessary in their way, but the truth was that he would have to do something far more difficult. She knew that she would have to tell him, and soon, but she did not want to have that conversation. The possibilities were too terrifying.
“There has to be another way...” she said to herself softly. She did not want to believe that the only possible way for him to become strong enough to fulfill his role was to undertake that method. Yet, she knew that there was no choice. He would not even be able to fight the Lords of Destruction as he was now. They would run uncontested across the world.
After she finished taking a moment to rest, she hefted her sword then ran off to find one of the local cave systems. The monsters were similar in level but more numerous. Hopefully she would be able to reach at least level twenty-five within the two week period.
Heart heavy with the burden of true knowledge, Rhea ran toward whatever monster she could find. She and Scott would need to reach level one hundred as soon as possible if he was to meet the destiny that she had chosen for him. How she cursed her heart for wanting to spend time with him. He would be in incredible danger and it was her fault! She already knew what his answer would be when she told him the final truth. He was that sort of person, she could tell.
***
Nearly one week had passed and no word had come from the ninjas of Crimson shadow. Time was running short for the mermaids. Scott had trained like it was a new religion. Ero had reached level eighteen and now he had to increase his level so that he could increase hers. Before that, however, he wanted to complete her power set and also acquire a class two spell from his own list.
Ero had five powers remaining at present. Their total ability point cost was seventeen hundred fifty points. He purchased them all then smiled.
Scott’s smile grew three sizes when he heard a loud gasp and an outcry of pure bliss from his fairy BFF. She had certainly loved the upgrade. She now had defensive abilities, greater healing capacity, actual magical attacking powers, and a few other things. As far as Ero was concerned, her skill-set was now complete. Rather, she was complete until she reached level twenty-five. There was no way to know if she had more abilities in the future or if the ones she had simply became stronger.
“So, five hundred six ability points left...” Scott looked at his available upgrades. He had five spells to choose from in the second-tier and three physical abilities that he could acquire. There were also four more basic element spells in the first tier that he intended to get as they would work well with synchronicity.
He looked through the class two spells for a moment then frowned. They had the same sort of set-up as before. Some worked through cone of effect; some worked on touch, and others were simply longer range spells. Was variation a crime? They were basically just stronger versions of five of his previous spells. Ah well, he needed at least one of them. By the time he was twenty-five and then forty he would be able to learn level four spells from his list.
He would probably be better off saving up to acquire at least one or two spells from level three and four before back-training for the weaker spells. He needed them all because he was that sort of person. However, he needed to maintain an edge even more.
“I think I’ll go with Ar-Lita. Freeze is a little lacking but it does alright, and burn is still strong enough to do serious damage. A ranged paralysis ability is good and it might help out whenever we finally get back to the mermaid mission.” Scott chose the short-range lightning spell and spent four hundred of his remaining ability points. He brought up the spell information blurb to learn more.
<<< Spells >>>
[Second] Ar-Lita [LV. 0] Force: 6 Mana: 12[0/100]
<
br /> Ar-Lita is an elemental lightning spell that sends an arc of current outward to strike your foes. Higher levels produce more arcs.
Special: Chance to inflict paralysis 50%, chance to inflict paralysis is double against opponents weak to lightning.
<<< * >>>
Scott grinned at the paralysis chance. He had been confused about that in the first few days of adventuring. After several long talks about world mechanics with Rhea he had learned that the percentages were not absolutes. They actually related to what were known as hidden variables.
He actually had stats that he could not directly influence other than through a level increase, new spell acquisition, or through equipment upgrades. The fact that spells also provided a hidden increase or decrease in specific variables attached to them; had made him wonder if he should have focused more on spell acquisition. In the end, he had realized that he had gotten by just fine without them, and he had decided to continue on with his life without regret.
His ability to paralyze via magic actually had a hidden stat number. The fifty percent paralysis chance related to how much of that number would count when attacking a monster, plus a constantly randomized modifier that occurred with each cast. The monster’s hidden magical paralysis resistance stat would then be used as a counter. Basically, the higher number won.
Each time he acquired a spell of a specific element his hidden variable attached to that element increased. Lightning spells added to the hidden paralysis modifier. Wind added to an ability to move objects through kinetic force, Water increased the chance of asphyxiation. Each of them had a special stat related to it. This factor was the reason why higher level spells were necessary.
As monsters grew higher in level their natural resistance factors increased as well. It was also why sorcerers were deemed to be so weak despite the fact that they actually seemed a bit overpowered in the early levels. Their innate spell-list ended at level seven at most. They could learn spells beyond that point, but they had to do it via specialized lore crystals that were for specific spells. They were rare treasures or even rarer drops. Few stores carried a spell crystal beyond fourth level and those were hideously expensive...
Origin ARS 3 (Origin A.R.S.) Page 22
