“One thing the dumb bastards didn’t think about: this Mana—it’s pure, making it a hell of a lot stronger. I’m not sure what happened, their bodies are transformed heavily, but their pearls have been overwritten.” Rugrat held one out.
“It was like they were trying to become goddamn Magneto by rubbing themselves in magnets and then saved their information to a hard drive. Dumb bastards.” Rugrat shook his head.
Erik let out a dismissive snort and shook his head. He noticed that his notification bar was blinking.
“Crap, I keep forgetting about that.” Erik always looked forward to the rewards he got and seeing his abilities increase, but with other things on his mind and when fighting, he always had them pushed off to the side.
“Huh?”
“Notifications.” Erik opened up the tab.
“Damn, I forgot about them too!” Rugrat said.
Erik was blasted with messages as he started to scroll through them.
==========
You have discovered a new technique:
Mana Detonation
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Focusing the Mana in your body, you can detonate it, inflicting immediate damage in an area five meters long and two meters wide. Can inflict Mana poison effect on targets for 10 seconds. Mana poison makes it harder for a person to cast a spell and burns through their Mana channels, wounding them internally. Targets with greater control over Mana than the one using Mana Detonation will be unaffected.
==========
Can cause bodily harm.
Mana usage varies.
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Reward:
10,000 EXP
==========
==========
Skill: Throwables
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Level: 22 (Novice)
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No bonuses at this time. You must prove your skills first.
==========
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Skill: Hand-to-Hand
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Level: 37 (Apprentice)
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Attacks cost 20% less Stamina
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Skill: Marksman
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Level: 43 (Apprentice)
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Long-range weapons are familiar in your hands. When aiming, you can zoom in x2.0.
==========
==========
You have reached Level 19
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When you sleep next, you will be able to increase your attributes by: 15 points.
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Title: From the Grave
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A lesser person would have died, but you have turned the odds of fate and the grim reaper repeatedly. You’re a true survivor that has put one foot in the grave.
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Rewards: +1.00 modifier to Stamina and Mana Regeneration
==========
==========
267,444/355,000 EXP till you reach Level 20
==========
“Fucking, what!?” Erik yelled. He had jumped three levels in one shot! Killing the six beetles, I didn’t even increase a level, but from killing these guys, I shot up three levels!
“What’s up?” Rugrat yelled out, scanning the area with his rifle.
“Don’t worry about it. I just shot up three levels. I’m now level nineteen.” Erik looked over to Rugrat.
“Damn, nearly had a friggin’ heart attack!” Rugrat relaxed and glared at Erik.
“What level are you now?” Erik asked.
Rugrat’s expression only soured more. “Nineteen,” he said quietly, making it hard for Erik to hear.
So far he had been the one charging ahead, leaving Erik in the dust.
Erik let out an awkward laugh before clearing his throat. “I’m thinking that we should level up before we go and find those people in the dungeon.”
Rugrat nodded. “Agreed. We don’t know how strong they are, what condition they’re in. We should make sure that they make vows to not talk about any of this.”
“Good point. Haven’t had anyone turn on us yet but best to be safe than sorry,” Erik said.
“You take the first sleep. I can watch.”
“Thanks.” Feeling the aches and pains of his body, Erik knew that he needed the rest. It didn’t take him long to set up a place to sleep and close his eyes.
==========
You have 15 attribute points to use.
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Erik looked over his character sheet and started to plug them in.
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Character Sheet
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Name: Erik West
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Level: 19
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Race: Human
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Titles:
From the Grave
Mana Lord
Dungeon Master
Reverse Alchemist
Poison Body
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Strength: (Base 26) +20
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460
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Agility: (Base 19) +21
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200
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Stamina: (Base 29) +8
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555
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Mana: (Base 6) +11
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170
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Mana Regeneration (Base 10) +30
13.00/s
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Stamina Regeneration: (Base 27) +25
11.40/s
==========
He put a full five attribute points into Strength, another three into Agility. With his explosive power and Agility, it was the only way he had been able to dodge so many attacks and use the lord’s own fire tornado to grab the dungeon core. Seeing the lower-leveled but deadly melee spiritas’, he couldn’t help but be stunned with their reaction speed.
If I could use that speed, land dozens of hits at once, mounting the pressure… Erik was already thinking of new ways to improve and increase his combat strength.
Stamina jumped by three points as he felt he had left it alone for too long and needed a greater Stamina pool to carry out short bursts of rapid attacks.
He left Mana alone. Now that he had reached Body Like Stone, he wanted to push forward, opening more of his Mana gates and compressing his Mana drops. With each Mana drop he compressed, his Mana pool would increase slightly so he didn’t see a great need for it.
With the upgraded From the Grave title, his Mana Regeneration and Stamina Regeneration increased slightly. Still, he placed two stat points into them both.
If Erik had a large Stamina or Mana pool, it would allow him to carry out one battle and use a lot of power, but it wouldn’t allow him to fight multiple battles or continue on for very long.
It was like running: he could jog at a good pace and go longer over further, eventually breaking down the run; at times, he could sprint but it would decrease his overall energy, rebuilding it slowly over the jog to sprint again. Or he could sprint and rest, sprint and rest, having to take that break or else his body would be overworked.
Erik and Rugrat switched around: Erik on watch and Rugrat using his attribute points.
Erik moved around the room. With the input of three levels’ worth of stats, even though he had slept, it would take more time for his body to adapt to all the changes.
He pulled out a map and then started looking at the places that were around Desert Spiritual Palace.
“First we need to find a city with a totem, then we need to either grow a Mana stone or make enough money to buy one and use it to return to the First Realm.” Erik pulled out a calendar with days ticked off.
“We’ve got just about
six weeks until we need to be back at Alva Dungeon.” Erik noted down the different cities that were close by and put everything away.
Then he checked the accumulated loot from the spiritas’.
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400x Gold
4x Black Pearl
6x Silver Pearl
13x Blue/White Pearl
Purple Night Pearl
Emerakon’s Experiment Log
4x Bind Magic Scroll
2x Paralyze Magic Scroll
5x Bind Spell Scroll
4x Thorium-plated Sword
4x Thorium-plated Helmet
4x Thorium-plated Cuirass
4x Thorium-plated Greaves
4x Thorium-plated Boots
4x Thorium-plated Gauntlets
==========
“Hopefully someone is interested in the thorium and the pearls are worth something so we can raise the two thousand gold needed for the Mana stone. Over halfway there with the gold left over from the auction and the four hundred here.”
Erik sat back and waited for Rugrat to wake up.
I wonder how things are going back in Alva.
Chapter: Traderly Dealings
“Are you sure that there is no way we could interest you to stay with us for the next leg of the journey, Mister Storbon?” a middle-aged lady asked the youth in front of her.
He was still a teenager, but from the lines on his face, the look in his eyes, and that of his fellows, he was the clear leader of their group.
“Annette, I’m sorry but our paths must diverge here. My friends and I need to have some time off,” Storbon said.
She looked at the other people in his group. They all seemed relaxed, but the way they moved, the way they had their clothes—she had seen them snap into action before; she didn’t know their level but she knew that their combat strength wasn’t anything to laugh at.
She let out a sigh, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to tempt the group anymore. “Very well. Look after yourselves,” she said, emphasizing her last words. For ones so young to be like that, she wondered just what was driving them.
Most people just sat back and left the adventuring to others.
“We’ll try our best.” Yao Meng smiled.
Why do I think that promise won’t hold up, you bunch of fighting maniacs? She could only wave as she turned and left them. They also moved away from the market square to take care of other tasks.
***
“Just a few more months until we’re supposed to report to Alva,” Yao Meng said.
“I wonder how much it’s changed,” Yuli said.
“I wonder if Rugrat and Erik will be back in time,” Setsuko Ket said.
Storbon looked over to the archer.
“We’re all thinking it. I’m confident in them, but we all know just how volatile the Second Realm is,” she replied slowly.
“Yeah, it won’t be an easy thing to carry out, but if anyone can it’ll be those two,” Storbon said before he changed his tone. “Annette was right about one thing: we need some damn rest and we can also get rid of some of the items we have. We have to turn in just twenty percent of the value of our haul. Let’s see if we can’t get rid of the crap we don’t need, like the five dozen bushels of mushrooms that Ian bagged for us and try to get some manuals, spices, and materials that people back home would find useful.”
“Look at you, meeting the demands of others to increase our profits.” Yao Meng wiped away an invisible tear. “Ah, it’s so beautiful…you could be a trader yourself.”
Storbon pressed his lips together as the others laughed at him. Storbon rolled his eyes as his face split in a smile.
Adventuring through the realms is nice, but being away from home makes you appreciate it all the more.
***
Jasper and the other traders who had been sent to Vermire Trading Outpost were all sitting around a table in the back of a bar, nursing drinks.
There were a number of traders and people in the outpost. It was nearly three times the size of the Wild Reaches Trading Outpost and did nearly four times the amount of business. There were traders coming through the outpost all the time and fighters who went to try their luck in the Beast Mountain Range came to this trading outpost to get the true value for their high-quality goods.
It was an independent outpost, free from influence of any one kingdom, empire, or neighboring city.
The lord of the trading outpost had made agreements with them all to maintain neutrality and show that if one of the powers went against the management of the outpost, then the other parties supported would fall on them like a pack of wolves.
“So far trades have gone really well. We’ve been able to move even more products than we thought. There are a number of underground buyers and sellers here who don’t want to talk about their dealings,” one of the traders said to Jasper.
These groups were good buyers and sellers as they had less questions about the origins of an item. The margins of profit were lower, and prices were higher, but you were buying security with it.
“Good. It seems like the kind of place that we should set up a position in,” Jasper said in a low voice.
The traders all looked at him, catching onto his hidden meaning.
If we want to put down roots here, then we’d best know everything about the place so that we aren’t going in blind.
“I’ll get some sleep and maybe have a fire to warm these bones. We’ll talk in the morning,” Jasper said. Their reports done, they went their separate ways.
Jasper headed up to his room and pulled out his sound transmission device and a sound talisman. He repeated the reports he had just heard and then used the sound talisman so it would reach Alva Dungeon.
When he had said have a fire to warm his bones, it was a code. Having a fire meant send a sound transmission; bones was talking about Alva Dungeon.
Jasper looked out of the windows of the inn at the rain that was just starting to come down on the outpost. Through his window, he could see the lord’s manor in the distance.
***
A young man stood in front of a large set of bay windows, looking out into the rain.
He held himself up straight, even wearing an elegant robe. One could easily see his muscular frame underneath. Looking at him was like looking at a tower: sturdy to the point that it would not fall unless it chose to.
Three people knelt behind him, their hands on their hearts in salutes.
The man didn’t look around as lightning gathered in the heavens.
“So, my doves, you are telling me that there has been a recent increase in the selling of high-quality goods while there has been an increase in the purchase of low-cost items, specifically resources that can be used in crafting.” The man’s voice was neither slow nor fast.
None of the people kneeling refuted his words.
“Odd, truly odd. If it was someone looking to buy and sell high-quality goods, then it would be strange indeed. But many know of Vermire Trading Outpost. We’ve had nobles and kingdoms come here to liquidate their assets or make large purchases of items they need. Selling high-quality items and buying resources—it’s like someone is telling me that there is a group of crafters out there.”
The man sounded delighted as he turned around just as the first streaks of lightning darted down into the untamable Beast Mountain Range. “Who are they?”
“Lord, they are a group of several traders who came in from Beast Mountain Range just a few days ago. They are unknown and new to the city,” one of the “doves” said, not daring to look up.
“From Beast Mountain Range? Unknown? I want to know any and all affiliations that they have.” His voice didn’t rise but the first dove trembled.
“I looked into my contacts. No one knows them. It’s as if they appeared from the Beast Mountain Range. I even contacted others in different trading cities. They have seen them before, but again, they have come and gon
e from Beast Mountain Range,” a female dove said.
“Good, good. So—independent group, mysterious.” The lord laughed and smiled to himself. His eyes lit up as rain and lightning punctuated the silence.
“Very well. Approach them, hint to what we know. Get them to pay an extra fee for doing business here. I want to bring them over to our side. They must know of some secret in the Beast Mountain Range.” The lord turned around, shuffling slightly. If one looked at his lower body, they would realize that one of his legs was missing.
“Find it out. If they try to leave, bring them to me.” He waved his hand.
The three doves bowed once again and quickly left the room, locking it behind them.
The lord let out a sigh. “Left trying to overpower traders and look for secrets in the Beast Mountain Range. I remember when I was the one heading out of those gates for gold and riches.” He let out a bitter laugh as he rubbed his leg.
“Instead, I found out just what great friends my party members were, and learned how to rely on myself.” He rubbed the stump that was left of his leg.
“The rain always makes it act up,” he said. But in his mind’s eye, he could see the wolf with its bright-green eyes as it came out of the forest, ambushing them in the rain, the fighting, muffled cries and yells, people running away.
His party members stayed together and escaped the hunting group. The wolf must have tracked them; he was watching the rear when it came out from the underbrush and clamped down on his leg, ruining it.
They had gotten away again but the wolf was crazed and an infection had got into his blood.
He nearly lost his life and paid his leg to survive.
His friends were there for him for a few months, but he could see their anger, the way they looked at the stub.
As they grew in strength, he was just learning how to manage, selling the stuff they brought back, becoming a trader.
He had used his strength to carve out a place for himself. He didn’t take any shit from anyone. He wanted it to be a place for his friends to come back to, to spend more time with him.
Second Realm Page 32
