Purgatory: The Devil's Game

by M. A. Carlson

  Asher smiled softly but just barely and only for a moment. “You’re an idiot, you know that right? Don’t come complaining to me if you find out later that the mace is a terrible weapon for you.”

  “Yeah, yeah, move on already, Asher. What do you think we should do with the proficiency slot?” I asked, ignoring his insults.

  Asher bobbed once, “The way I see it you have two choices. You can learn something for your offhand, like a parrying blade or shield. Or you can learn a special attack for the mace. Now, with that, I would expect the parrying blade to require increases to your reflex stat. As for what a parrying blade will do for you, it will teach you to parry attacks. The problem being anything powerful is likely to break through your guard. As for the shield, you’ll probably need more strength. The shield can be used to reduce incoming damage when you block successfully. However, there is no guarantee that it will negate all damage if you do successfully block an attack. Last, a special attack will probably require both strength and reflex improvements. It is possible it will double or even triple your damage. But as always, there is a cost, special attacks use more EP and they usually have a cooldown so you can’t keep using it over, and over again.”

  A quick look at my scroll reminded me my strength was already higher than my reflex, which meant I may need to spend more points boosting my reflex stat to make the parrying blade viable. And as much as a special attack sounded amazing, and it really did, gaining some defense sounded even better. “I think a shield. I need some defense.”

  Asher hummed in thought, “Yes, you do need some protection. Okay, shield it is.”

  “What about armor? Should we save up to buy some?” I asked.

  “That will also be necessary eventually. But just like with the shield and mace, you need an open Body Proficiency. If you were to choose armor, you wouldn’t be able to learn better than light armor. Obviously, you are not a spellcaster and light armor proficiency would be wasted on you. If you were going to choose parrying blade, I would have suggested leather armor proficiency. But with a shield, either chainmail or plate, both of which require the heavy armor proficiency. They also require far more strength than you currently possess,” Asher explained. “Now that I’ve told you this, do you still think a shield is your best choice?”

  “How much strength?” I asked.

  “Minimum, ten points maybe, I’m not sure,” Asher replied. “We can stop by a school tomorrow to find out if you’d like.”

  “Can’t I just . . . wear the armor, even without the proficiency?” I asked.

  Asher looked at me like I was an idiot and sighed. “Why me? I’m a Flame of Enoch. How could I be saddled with this . . . human?”

  “Hey!” I protested loudly, but the ball of flame ignored me.

  Asher did finally explain. “If you do not understand the armor you’re wearing, understand how to move in it, where the weak points are, where the strengths lay, they you might as well be wearing your funeral garb.”

  At least he explained. I didn’t necessarily think I needed to know all that, but at least there was a reason for it.

  We discussed a few other options before calling it a night. I would be training with the mace in the morning then going back into Purgatory to farm more crystals and experience. I wanted my second Body Proficiency.

  Chapter 8 – A Little Defense

  After the last week of straight up farming crystals, one more day of it to earn two-hundred and thirteen crystals was nothing. Plus, I didn’t mind the extra experience, though it was noticeably less than previous days. Instead of earning around nine hundred, I barely earned eight hundred, just enough to get one more point of Body.

  Still, the more important thing was the crystals. It was enough to pay for training to use a shield, something Asher said included a simple shield for me to use. Unfortunately, Asher wanted to wait until the next day, something about keeping the skill fresh in my mind when I go into Purgatory.

  The shield school was quite different from the blunt weapon school. Mostly because actual people were there training. Although, most of them had a sword or a spear. None carried a mace, not that I saw anyway. Though I did see one unfriendly looking man with a hand ax.

  It was also the first time I had seen more than one Cherubim in a school. Though admittedly, I had only been to one other school. The training yard had three of the childlike Cherubim, all doing drills with different groups. One large group was circled up around a pit where a young girl was refereeing a sparring match. I even saw her manhandle a man twice her height and outweighing her by even more when the man got a little too aggressive with his downed sparring partner. In another section, a boy was showing a dozen people different blocking techniques. The third was sparring one on one with another person. The Cherub boy only held a shield and was effortlessly battering around the armed human. The boy used the shield to knock aside the man’s weapon, then punch with it into the man’s face, both dazing him and knocking him to his backside.

  Taking it all in, I was eager to start learning myself.

  “Do we go to the office?” I asked, looking to Asher for guidance.

  “I would assume so,” Asher said, seemingly bored by everything going on around us.

  Such a fickle flame, I thought and sighed.

  The office looked the same as the other two I had visited. A bored looking Cherub sitting on a stool behind a long wooden counter that was covered in maybe half a dozen wooden shields of various shapes and sizes.

  The Cherub, a girl, yawned and rubbed at her eyes before asking, “Here for a proficiency?”

  I nodded and grinned, “My second.”

  The girl looked me over carefully. “Nope, you’ve got the open slot but not the right stats.”

  Asher let out a prideful grunt.

  “Yeah, yeah, you were right,” I replied to the flame before addressing the Cherub. “I have some points saved up. What do my stats need to be to take on shields as my second proficiency?”

  The girl yawned again. “Ten points of strength, eight points of reflex, and ten points of constitution.”

  I pulled out my scroll and unfurled it. I winced as I looked at my numbers. I needed to spend seven more points to get there. I looked to Asher one more time for confirmation. He bobbed up and down and I spent the points. As much as it pained me to spend the points, I was pleasantly surprised by the changes.

  Name: Victor Goodspeed

  Highest Floor Cleared: 0

  Experience Earned: 0

  Hierarchy: 4th

  Rank: 12th

  Title: Sinner

  HP: 100/100

  EP: 100/100

  SE: 10/10

  Body

  Experience to Next Point: 1,449

  Unused Points: 1

  Strength:

  10

  Reflex:

  8

  Constitution:

  10

  Recovery:

  8

  Soul

  Experience to Next Point: 100

  Unused Points: 0

  Faith:

  1

  Spirituality:

  2

  Righteousness:

  2

  Fortune:

  8

  Applied Statistics

  Health Regeneration:

  10

  Energy Regeneration:

  8

  Spirit Regeneration:

  2

  Attack Power:

  20

  Divine Power:

  2

  Speed:

  4

  Accuracy:

  50.80%

  Perception:

  4

  Critical Strike Chance:

  0.40%

  Demonic Resistance:

  1

  Luck:

  0.01%

  I gained a bunch more HP and EP, both of which I needed. I was a little surprised by the change to my perception, though I wasn’t sure exactly what it did. I made a mental note to ask Asher
about it later. I also saw an increase in my accuracy, though it was very slight. I couldn’t stop the grin that spread on my face. I finally was getting stronger, and it was in a noticeable way . . . at least, it was on paper. I would need to see what that difference looked like once I was inside Purgatory.

  I looked to the Cherub behind the counter and asked, “Better? Am I good to learn the proficiency?”

  The Cherub looked me over again and nodded this time. “Two-hundred tiny crystals.”

  I was about to hand it over when Asher cleared his throat. “And how much training do you include?”

  “One hundred minutes,” she answered.

  Asher hummed in thought, “Are you sure you can’t do any better than that? I know for a fact the blunt weapon school is offering two hundred minutes of training.”

  The girl laughed derisively. “Oh, silly little guide, that’s because no one ever goes to the blunt weapon school. They have the time to waste. You can see how busy we are. I think you’ll find one-hundred minutes is already a generous gift of training time.”

  Asher grunted. “I don’t think she’s going to give us a deal.”

  I agreed, moving once again to pay for the proficiency, Asher didn’t stop me this time.

  The girl smiled and accepted the money, then waved at the small selection of shields laid out on the counter.

  There was a tiny wooden buckler with a dented metal boss in the center, which I disregarded. It might be faster to move it based on the weight alone, but I was more interested in damage mitigation. Something small like that could only absorb so much damage. Next was a bulky tower shield, it was heavy and would provide nearly head to toe coverage. I picked it up to test the weight before looking to Asher and asked, “What do you think?”

  “Good defense but it will put you into a block and counter situation, more often than not,” Asher replied. “In other words, you’ll always be on the defensive. Something that won’t help you very much with sloth demons who are more than happy to wait until they are able to snare you and inevitably eat you.”

  He wasn’t wrong about the sloth demons. Plus, I didn’t always want to be on the defensive. I tested the weight one more time just to see if I would have any mobility. It took all my arm strength just to lift it with one arm. I tried moving with it while I held it up and watched as my EP rapidly dwindled. And that was just from holding it. I felt like I understood what Asher was saying about it keeping me on the defensive and put it back. Moving while carrying the heavy shield would be more difficult than I felt it was worth.

  Next was another tall shield, but where the tower shield was square, this was more teardrop shaped. It was lighter than the tower shield which was good. But it was awkwardly shaped, which was less good. I wasn’t the most knowledgeable about medieval weapons and armor, so I needed to ask, “What is this?”

  “A kite shield, commonly used by mounted soldiers,” Asher answered. Then narrowing his eyes to stare at the Cherub, he continued, “I’m honestly not sure why this was even an option, mounts are not permitted in Purgatory.”

  The girl shrugged. “It’s a shield and one that we can teach others to use.”

  “Is it? Really?” Asher retorted. “I wonder what the higher ups would say about it, hmm? Though, I suppose I could keep quiet about it. For, oh, I don’t know, another hundred minutes of training.”

  The girl snorted, then replied, “Nice try, you’re persistent, I’ll give you that. And the higher ups would say something along the lines of your guy was thinking far into the future, dreaming big about becoming an Angel where the kite shield is the go-to shield of our airborne forces.”

  Asher quirked an eyebrow. “Oh, you’re good.”

  I was interested in the part about becoming an Angel, but I could always ask Asher later. Ignoring the two celestial beings’ banter, I looked at the kite shield again. I supposed I could see the benefit to a mounted soldier. It was tall enough to protect a rider’s side and leg. But without a mount, I didn’t see the point.

  However, that did bring up a conundrum. If that was a kite shield, then what was the shield at the end of the line. It was rectangular at the top with a rounded bottom. When I thought of a kite shield, this was always what I pictured. Once again, I was forced to ask. I held up the shield and asked, “If that’s a kite shield, then what’s this?”

  “That is a heater shield. It is like the kite shield in shape. However, it can be used on foot or mounted. It’s lighter than the tower shield but offers more protection than the buckler,” Asher answered. “After having said that, the coverage it provides is narrow. You can’t really hide behind it if you come under fire.”

  I nodded, that sounded perfect. I slipped my arm through the straps on the back and pulled them tight. I moved around a little, lifted the shield over my head, swung it side to side. I even slipped into the stance I was taught for my mace. I found the shield settled comfortably in front of me. With that, I was certain I had found my shield.

  Before I could confirm my choice, Asher intervened. “Try the round shield first. You really should always try all the options.”

  Asher was right, as usual. I had the opportunity to try a few options. It would be smart to try several of them before deciding on one. Reluctantly, I slipped the shield off my arm and set it back on the counter.

  The last shield was a round shield. It was large, though not as large as the tower shield. It covered from my shoulder to the top of my legs. It was also heavy, not as heavy as the tower shield, but heavy all the same. It provided more surface area. The problem was, I couldn’t easily attack while using it. In fact, I thought this shield would probably work better if I used a different weapon. Thinking about that triggered a memory, it was an old movie . . . several old movies in fact. The Spartans and Greeks used round shields like this . . . better quality, but still similar in design. And I was pretty sure they used spears with such a large shield. In fact, most armies that used large shields like this and the tower shield, used weapons with more reach, like the spear.

  Once again, I was wondering if Asher was trying to direct me toward a different weapon. I shook my head, dismissing that thought. I had already made it clear I had no interest in changing weapons. And if Asher wasn’t directing me to change weapons, then what was he doing? Another test? I groaned mentally and put the shield down. I went back to the heater shield. Glaring at Asher, I said confidently, “This one.”

  “Good choice,” the Cherub girl said, setting a scroll on the counter.

  Asher agreed, giving me an up and down bob in return, his version of a nod.

  I spread out the scroll she provided, then spread my scroll over the top of it. There was the flash of light I’d come to expect, and the scroll created a fourth page. Turning to it immediately, I started reading the new skill description.

  Shield: Heater - Beginner

  Level: 1

  Experience to Next Level: 100

  Block Absorption: +1-2 Physical

  Block: +0.10%

  Proficiency to use a shield in combat.

  It was a little underwhelming. I could only absorb 1-3 damage if I successfully block with it. That made me frown.

  Asher must have seen my expression because he sighed. “Look at the front page. You should now have block and block absorption under your applied statistics.”

  I flipped back to the front and there it was.

  Applied Statistics

  Block:

  30.80%

  Block Absorption:

  10

  “What’s the ‘10’ mean?” I asked.

  The Cherub was kind enough to explain, “When you successfully block, you will reduce the damage you take by 10 points, that number is based solely on your statistics. When added to your skill, you will reduce damage 11-12 points.”

  That was good. If that was the case, then it also meant I had a 30.90% chance to block with my skill. I was now excited to try it out. Remembering how busy it was in the training yard, I asked, �
�When can I get the training?”

  “You can start right now,” the Cherub answered. “There is a group out there going through blocks. Just join in with them. Your time will start as soon as you do.”

  I remembered the group she was talking about, but that made me curious about the other group. “What are the other two groups?”

  The girl was kind enough to answer, though she still sounded bored. “The sparring ring is for intermediate shield users. The price for the intermediate training starts at five hundred tiny crystals per one hundred minutes. The one-on-one training is for the advanced shield users. Advanced starts at five thousand tiny crystals per fifty minutes.”

  That cost blew me away. It also made me curious about what those ranks took to achieve. I asked, “How long . . . erm, how many levels to intermediate and advanced?”

  “You can advance to Intermediate as early as level twenty. To reach advanced, you similarly need at least twenty levels in intermediate,” she answered.

  The way she worded that was unusual. “As early as level twenty? Does that mean you can level up further before advancing?”

  The Cherub girl suddenly seemed more awake. “You caught that, did you? Most humans don’t. They only care about advancing as fast as possible.”

  “Why?” I asked, curious.

  “With each level you gain as a beginner, your block will only increase by 0.10%. At intermediate, the block rate increases by 0.20% and at advanced by 0.40%,” the girl explained. “Likewise, your block absorption will increase at a greater rate with each as well.”