by Charles Dean
“Hold your horses. We don’t have another opponent lined up just yet, so just give it a moment. We will,” Quaid responded with the creepiest smile Lee had ever seen outside of a b-rated horror flick.
Lee grimaced and then decided to be productive with the time he had. He looked down at his shield and realized that the spikes were partially being held in place with a large glob of what appeared to be some type of adhesive saliva. The greenish goop had splattered across the wood as the spikes struck before hardening and sealing the spikes in place. Lee hesitantly picked up one of the largest rocks he could find within the sand underneath his feet, which was only about the size of a fingernail, and touched the green material.
Huh. Lee tried to push the rock into the slimy-textured, three-to-four-inch-thick solid monster spit that was sprayed across his shield and holding the spikes in place with little luck. What a deadly combination that is. First, it stabs you and then it seals the projectile in place and prevents you from pulling the spike out. Lee frowned as he considered the fact that this particular blob of spit he hadn’t noticed earlier might have ended him if things had gone just a little differently, or if he hadn’t had a shield.
After a bit of consideration, he decided that he needed to make sure the spikes wouldn’t fall off. They had been such a crucial part of his last victory that he was willing to put a few points of his incredibly small mana pool into making sure they didn’t go anywhere. He expanded his mana into the shield and began concentrating on the disgusting goo. Each spike was sharp and thin and about a foot and a half long, and they would be incredibly useful in future engagements if he could use them the same way as he just had yet again. Unfortunately, when he tried to use his spirit to merge the wood and spines, he felt a massive pain in his head.
What the hell was that? Lee thought as he pressed his right hand against his temple and closed his eyes.
That was feedback pain created from an attempt to use an amount of spirit that exceeded your current capabilities. The pain occurs when one's spirit is cycled into a spell and then back into the individual after the spell manifestation fails. The conversion of spirit from spell form back into its neutral state can also cause psychic damage if the amount of spirit being converted back is too high or the user’s mind is too weak.
What the heck? This was the first time he had run into a potential wall and been faced with a risk since he started experimenting more with magic. It left him with an interesting conundrum that he would have to watch out for and worry about when trying new spells. On one hand, the less mana he put into the attempt, the more likely it was to fail and cause him pain. On the other hand, the more mana he put in to ensure that the magic actually succeeded, the more pain he would suffer if it still failed. Well, that’s just great. Lee was less than happy with this discovery. It was something he should have learned a long time ago and in a safer environment if he had ever been given the time to teach himself about the skills he had been given when he arrived in this world. He kicked himself when he thought of all the wasted time he had spent doing less important things over the last week.
Wait, then why didn’t I get hurt from the failed attempt to turn into a giant animal earlier?
In this case, there was a spell corresponding to the attempted use of spirit. In that case, there was not. You currently have no spells nor the ability to manifest a spell sufficient to accomplish that desired task. As a result, you were merely cycling the spirit through your body to no end.
Ah. Lee nodded. This was at least one silver lining to a recently-discovered dark cloud. Even though the entire process could cause him massive amounts of pain, he would be able to tell whether or not the potential of a spell existed by cycling his mana. He could start with a small amount to check whether or not it was even possible before investing a ton and risking a painful feedback.
Too bad my mana is too low to really do anything. Well, that’s not true. Glass doesn’t seem to take nearly any mana at all to make. I can make some of that . . . but . . . Lee pondered what to do, his eyes darting between the people as the guards organized another fight for him. Part of him knew he should wait. He should hold off and save his mana for an emergency. Part of him was convinced that prudent conservation was the best course of action, especially when failure in this particular game-like world resulted in death. The other part of him just smiled. The more the Firbolgs had tried to break him, harass him and make him bend, the more cocky and foolhardy he felt.
He bent down and funneled as little mana as he could into the sand and made a small, eight-ounce goblet before standing back up with it. He was rather happy that the transformation of sand into glass was apparently one of the cheaper functions in the game. He then took the slightly-purple, glowing glass and filled it with a little bit of the last remaining drops of the slime booze and held it up to the crowd. “Augustus will not stand for those empty cups! If you are to watch his miracles, and I, his Herald, perform for you, then the least you can do is honor him with a drink!” Lee shouted to the crowd, before downing the beverage and wiping his lips as if he would actually spill a single drop of that miracle juice.
He knew that it irritated the guard that hated him, but the crowd actually seemed to like it. The girl who had been fawning over him immediately raised her hand and ordered a drink from a nearby vendor. So far, so good, Lee thought with a smile. “Come on, drink with me, people!”
He looked around him for anything that could potentially be turned into something to drink--or, better yet, alcohol if he was lucky--and his eyes fell on the corpse of the monster he just killed. Well, who knows? Maybe it’ll work. Despite his earnest hopes for success, he couldn’t help but wail internally as he scooped up a cup of its blood and ran his spirit through it. Success! Lee rejoiced as he noted the change in the blood. The little show had dropped him back down to 1% mana again, but the eight-ounce cup of blood was now a fresh cup of what he mentally labeled as ‘monster wine.’ He then yelled out, “For Augustus!” before downing the entire cup.
“That’s so sweet. For me?” August’s voice responded, chuckling at Lee. “I appreciate the sentiment, but I think I’ll pass.”
Your actions and deeds have successfully converted 11 people to your religion. Faith has increased by 11. Current Faith: 683.
Lee laughed to himself when he saw the boost in faith. I only said ‘for Augustus,’ but what I really meant was ‘for faith points so that Augustus will send me home soon.’ I have to invest if I want a return, you know?
Chapter 6
Name: Lee
Race: Human
Class: Herald - None
Level: 17
Health: 270/270
EXP: 9654/10500
Primary Stats:
Power 27 (28)
Toughness 27 (28)
Spirit 27 (28)
Secondary Stats:
Charisma 20
Courage 20
Deceit 18
Intelligence 140 (147)
Honor 5
Faith 683
Personal Faith 225
Skills:
Unarmed Combat Initiate Level 7
Swordplay Novice Level 6
Sneak Novice Level 10
Cooking Initiate Level 7
Trap Detection Initiate Level 6
Knife Combat Initiate Level 8
Mental Fortitude Initiate Level 1
Sleight of Hand Initiate Level 2
Blood Shield Initiate Level 1
Glass Smithing Initiate Level 2
Divine Skills:
Golem Sculpting Novice Level 10
Appreciative Drunk Novice Level 8
Nectar of the Gods Initiate Level 2
Faith Healing
Divinity Powers:
Life in Death
Titles:
Cheat Code Fighter
What else can I do with Faith aside from bringing additional resources and comforts to this world?
“Oh . . . you mean, like, aside from bringing som
ething to this world from your own or going back?” Augustus asked. “I suppose that's possible. I think that there could be other things we could do with your Faith, but I'm not going to give you any ideas. I'd rather leave that for you to figure out.”
That’s just ridiculous. Lee couldn’t understand why Augustus was hiding something from him when it only made them both less likely to succeed. What do you mean ‘figure out’? Aren't you the one who's supposed to tell me these things? If you don't tell me, then how am I going to figure it out?
“Sorry about that, little guy, but if I told you everything right now, then we’d have nothing to discuss over our family’s Thanksgiving dinner,” Augustus laughed, “which is a lot worse of a scenario than you not knowing a few little details about this game. Trust me: as soon as I start talking about my political beliefs, people get furious. The second I say that I'm a huge supporter of the world-eating, four-eyed, purple-horned monster from another dimension, people start acting like I shot their dog. So, what if he's killed a few hundred million people and technically murdered countless species? I still think his policies on alcohol consumption are the best.”
Lee didn't even want to touch that one with a ten-foot pole. After years of being raised in one of the most volatile and hostile political environments, one that was so bad that he had actually seen an old lady get attacked for wearing a wrong-colored shirt while walking past a rally, his natural instinct was generally to shrink away from the conversation the instant politics was brought up--which is exactly what he did. Instead of responding, he just looked at the crowd and tried another angle of attack. Augustus, did I manage to convert one of the guards? Or was that Faith only from Humans?
“Surprisingly, that Faith boost came from Firbolgs. As far as I can tell, all of the Humans at the colosseum here are ones that you converted earlier.”
Lee nodded to himself at that answer. Okay, so at least I'm making some progress. I just need to keep putting on this show, perform some random miracles and keep pretending to be this larger-than-life character I’ve started to craft for myself. Except, I won't be able to pull anything off until I can recharge some more mana.
“Stop showing off, you bastard,” a voice called jovially from behind, interrupting Lee’s thoughts and the little show he had been putting on.
Lee turned around to see Dave standing there and holding a weapon.
“Dave, what in the hell are you doing here? Don't tell me I actually have to fight you.” Lee had actually been worried about that prospect. He wouldn't exactly put it past the guards here to make him fight other Humans, especially ones that he had already introduced himself to and gotten to know. It was the type of cruel and twisted thing that he could easily imagine one of these racist jerks doing.
“Oh, no. Don't worry about that. We're not going to make you fight him. It just wouldn't be a challenge, and there wouldn't be any entertainment in it. No, you two are going to fight a group of monsters instead. I've selected some of the best I could find. In fact, you probably already remember the first since you hunted them, or should I say stole their bounties, before arriving in town,” the guard said.
Cragaboom. Lee gulped. He had full faith that he and his team would be able to kill a Cragaboom with little to no effort if they had been there to support him. But with only a single other man at his side, someone with whom he had never even trained or fought beside once? The idea was far from appealing.
“Don't look so disappointed,” Dave said with a chuckle, misunderstanding Lee’s look of concern for dissatisfaction. He hefted his weapon, a giant, two-handed flail with spikes on its end that were the size of Lee's hand and a ball that was even larger than a standard-issue basketball. “It's not like a Cragaboom is actually a tough fight. We’ll handle it in a few seconds. Just watch. I’m only surprised they let me out of that prison to come join you. Let's make it a good one since I don't know if this will be my last fight before they lock me back up.”
Lee shrugged. “If you say so. I just hate the idea of fighting that thing and not getting paid for it. You know that they go for two gold a pop at the Hunter's Guild? And here we are fighting one for free.”
“That's what happens when they put all of the best adventurers in jail. If you had been here three or four months ago, you would have had trouble getting more than twenty silver pieces for a single Cragaboom. Just watch me for a moment, and I'll show you how it's done.”
And, just like that, Dave stepped forward and lunged toward the Cragaboom with blinding speed just as it entered into the arena. He didn't even give the creature time to orient itself before descending upon it with his giant flail, smashing into it so hard that it lost half of its teeth and was thrown onto its back before its drill could so much as penetrate the colosseum’s sand. The monster screamed and shifted while trying to stand up, but Dave just struck it again with the flail, smashing pieces of rock and bits of its razor-sharp teeth out with the devastating blow.
“See? All yours now. Go ahead and take the finishing hit,” Dave said as he turned around and looked at Lee.
Lee was left standing in shock. He hadn't expected Dave to even be able to hold up his own weight, much less to be able to cripple the creature in two blows, and it left Lee wondering how Dave had even been captured in the first place. Lee didn't exactly have a high opinion of the guards that had arrested him to begin with, and Dave seemed to be much more skilled than Lee had been he was brought in.
“Well, are you going to take out the damn thing? Or do I need to do it myself? I thought I would give you the kill shot out of politeness, but if you don’t want it, that’s fine.” Dave picked up his flail and broke one of the Cragaboom’s arms off with a single hit.
“No, no, that’s fine. I’ll take the kill,” Lee said, not turning down free experience. Cragabooms were worth a lot, and he didn’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth. He walked over, smiled a thank you at Dave, and then stabbed the Cragaboom until the death notice appeared.
You have killed a Cragaboom. Your party has been awarded 1 Eye of the Cragaboom and 3498 Experience. Your share of this is 875 Experience.
You have reached Level 18! Your level increase has boosted all primary stats by 1. Your current Power, Toughness and Spirit have been adjusted to 28. You are 12471 Experience away from Level 19.
“Thanks,” Lee said when he was finished.
“It's no problem. I'll be sure to leave some entirely to you in the case we’re fighting a group. You can get more training in that way, but I just couldn't help myself with only one of them here and me not having stretched my legs in forever.”
Lee was tempted to tell Dave that it wasn’t a problem if he wanted to kill everything on his own, but then he remembered that he was sorely lacking in skill. “Well, if you give me some time to pray, I'll be able to get us some drinks to celebrate this as thanks.”
There was little time for celebrating, however. The guards had seen how quickly the Cragaboom was killed off and sent out a new wave of monsters. Instead of something fancy and new that Lee had never seen before, it was just a pack of twenty dire wolves: big, mean, ugly dire wolves. Lee took a knee as he pretended to pray to Augustus in the most showy and lavish fashion possible, and he didn’t even have to move as Dave cleaned up the canine carnivores. One hit from the wrecking ball at the end of his flail was all it took to cripple and maim a wolf.
“You want me to leave these for you to take the kill shot on as well?” Dave asked. It was obvious that the amount of experience he would get was nothing to him and that he had no qualms at all about just giving it all to Lee. Since Lee was still at the starting line of his adventures, and he was desperate for the EXP, he quickly nodded while taking care not to interrupt his fake prayer. Lee sighed. I wish my mana would fill up faster so that I can stop pretending. The things I have to do to be a good con man.
He took the time while he was waiting to have the golem that didn’t have a gut full of letters start stockpiling food under one of the seats closes
t to their prison cell. He figured that, even if the guards didn't stick him there again, it would still be much easier to take food from that location rather than having to go searching for it every time.
“Father.” Lee cringed when he heard Dave say the word. “I know you’re praying to the god for food or booze, but you might want to take a moment and kill these wolves. If we take too long, they might shoot us full of arrows.”
“Ah, fine. One moment then.” Lee quickly moved from wolf to wolf, shearing their heads off by using the edge of his shield. So . . . this is the joy of powerleveling . . . It was a common trick in most video games--to have a pro who was near the top level help out noobs who had just started--and it could turn a seven-to-ten-day grind into a three-to-four-hour one. The earlier fights had already been a huge boost to his experience, and he now had the pleasure of getting more even-tougher kills at a faster rate.
In return, Lee did his part too. Every time his mana increased by 10%, he would take 3% of his total and convert a large portion of the blood he collected into liquor so that the two would have something to drink. He even went so far as to use some of it to create glass cups and plates to take the extra drinks with him.
This routine continued for a while. The faster Dave knocked them down and Lee finished them off, the faster the guards let out more mobs. They kept coming in droves for hours, and while Lee helped as much as he could, he was barely present in most of the battles. Thanks to the difficulty of his opponents and the speed at which Dave would destroy them, Lee was jumping levels like crazy, however. He started the day at level 17, and by the time his mana bar hit 40%, he was already over three-fourths of the way through level 19 on his way to level 20. It was insane. They were doing their best to punish Dave, to push him into the ground and make him eat dirt, and yet here he was: a mass-murdering, flail-wielding beast who was pushing Lee to heights that might have taken weeks to reach on his own.
