Ch 79 - Rewards

All right! Without further ado, jumping into book 2!

My bare feet padded quietly along the hard-packed dirt streets of Midmount Vale. I was looking for the residential neighborhood where Ruby had indicated she and the others had all set up their tents.

The cool of early evening felt good against my skin, and I could feel a lot more air than usual. My clothing hung in tatters from the insane running battle across the skies of stage 1 I’d barely endured. I was down to one boot, which I’d tossed into my inventory to make walking easier. My pants were wrecked, my Crash Test Dummy jacket ripped to shreds, and my shirt pretty much gone.

I was alive, but I’d paid a heavy price to escape the collapsing stage 1 after defeating Bristleback. I’d lost so much gear as well as most of my weapons, including both of my short swords. The loss of Fang and Soulrend weighed me down when I thought about them.

Those swords had saved my life so many times, helping me defeat one powerful monster after another. Without them, I wouldn’t have survived that last desperate battle.

I sighed and paused to look up at the dark night sky. Midmount Vale filled a large clearing in the southern reaches of dark woods that covered much of the central plateau of stage 2. Towering trees loomed like threatening shadows in the distance around the town. With Wolf Sight, I could see beyond them and pierce the deepening darkness all the way to the mountains rising ever-higher to the west.

The stars were just starting to come out, and they’d fill the sky with a brilliant alien patchwork of lights later. Now, the sky was dim, the air fresh. All around me, people packed the town and the constant rumbling of hundreds of conversations reminded me that I was no longer alone. Snatches of louder voices and bit of laughter punctuated the night, and I smiled. It felt good to have survived with so many.

On the other hand, we’d already lost too many others. I hated to think of the hundreds who hadn’t survived the first week of this crazy death battle game we’d gotten dumped into. We’d started with 1000 people. Now a week in and one stage higher, nearly 50% of us were gone.

My friend Patrick had died, but I was still luckier than most. I’d found my brother Tomas and his girlfriend Jane. Hopefully we’d track down our buddy Edmund too. And in my team assigned by Cyrus, the AI running the death game, both Ruby and Steve had survived. Our other 2 teammates had died on day one before we’d all teamed up.

I took a deep breath and centered my mind, pushing away the nightmare memories of that insane running battle I’d just survived. I made it. I was alive, and I chose to savor the feeling of sweet anticipation for the loot I’d gotten from fighting my way across the skies of the imploding stage 1. I should have a bunch more from the crazy death battle with Bristleback.

Thinking of the loot, I couldn’t wait to get to the tents. Instead, I opened my inventory, just to take a peek. I sucked in a happy breath when I saw the huge list.

“Whoa.”

I got so many mana crystals, I now had several tier-5 crystals, each worth 100,000 tier-0 crystals. I got tons of potions, from healing and mana, to defense against various elements, auditory attacks, or poison, and even 2 of the rare single-use scrolls of minor teleport.

I got loads of various monster parts I’d have to sort through later. The rolls of eel hide looked particularly promising, with legendary level armor potential if I could find a skilled crafter with the abilities to work it. A couple items of gear stood out.

“Drop Bear plush stockings of happy feet. Not only will these soft stockings help keep your feet dry and comfortable, they’ll ease any foot pain and make other humans 10% more inclined to like you.”

Nice, although it was weird the bonus didn’t just add to my charisma. My strange CHA stat was huge, but it wasn’t activated into full Charisma yet. Still didn’t know how to do that. I wouldn’t put it past Cyrus to give me tons of points in a meaningless category as part of the experiment he was running that used me as the guinea pig. Or just to mess with me and never actually plan to let me unlock it.

The AI had a weird sense of humor sometimes. He’d pushed me into an early evolution from our starting tier-0 baby human into a tier-1 human. That gave me a huge power boost, but increased the experience I needed to level by so much I’d nearly failed to reach level 10. I’d had to face Bristleback, the mighty boar-taur secret boss in the closing seconds before stage 1 imploded. Hadn’t actually finished him off until the world started collapsing. That had been way too close.

“Great loot,” I said, summoning the socks from inventory and holding them up. “Too bad I don’t have any boots to wear these with.”

“Do you always look at the negative? Try to be more of an optimist, Lucas,” Cyrus said, his voice sounding close, although as usual I couldn’t see any physical evidence of the AI. He was the all-seeing, all-meddling overseer of our game, the sometimes-helpful, often annoying couch quarterback of my life.

The socks did look great. They were thick and fuzzy and amazingly soft. Although I’d gotten used to wearing boots with no socks over the past week, that didn’t mean I liked it. Having just one boot at the moment made having the socks more annoying than awesome, though.

“Rare Scaled Wam of the Skies. This soft, close-fitting tunic will provide 30% improved defense against magical attacks and 10% improved defense against physical attack. Adds 20% height to jumping.”

The black shirt was kind of like a Henley shirt, but with small toggles shaped like scales instead of buttons, and a faint scale pattern that reminded me of the wyvern I’d killed.

“I’ve never heard the term wam,” I said as I willed the shredded layers over my recently-healed torso into my inventory. My Crash Test Dummy jacket would self-repair over time, but it had been so damaged, it would probably take hours. My other gear lacked that vital enhancement.

“It’s a medieval German term for a man’s shirt or doublet,” Cyrus said. “Germans are fascinating. Did you know they have over 1000 words for sausage? Now that’s dedication to a favorite food.”

“I did not know that.” It didn’t surprise me, though. “Speaking of sausages, have you heard the phrase, ‘Sausages are like laws. Best if you don’t know how they’re made’?”

“A good approximation of the quote attributed to Lord Otto von Bismark.”

“So you don’t just quote movies.”

“Movies are more fun,” Cyrus said, and I had to agree.

The new shirt adjusted to fit and I savored the feel of a clean, soft shirt. After a moment of hesitation, I re-equipped my jacket and cloak. My jacket was so wrecked, looking down at it made me cringe, but I didn’t feel right not having the leather jacket on, even if it was basically useless. Mirror Cloak was ragged and torn, and that might be even worse. Would it still work so beat up? Then I noticed another item had been upgraded.

“Common Goggles of Sharpshooting. Protection from magical attacks against the eyes. Targeting interface. Upgraded with: Add invisible barrier encircling the entire head, blocking moderate amounts of both physical and magical damage.”

I whistled softly. “Sweet. Invisible motorcycle helmet.”

I really needed all those new pieces of gear. Actually, I needed a lot more too. I’d lost so much, the new loot barely made a dent. Still, if I got that much great loot so well tailored to me just from the monster drops, I couldn’t wait to see what I’d find in the loot boxes.

First, I spotted a new weapon in my list and whistled.

“Epic Bow of Punishment. This mighty bow, wielded by a herd master, carries his authority and reinforces the wielder’s will. Improves accuracy by 25%. Grants a level-3 Moving Target ability. Grants a level-3 Elemental Touch ability.”

“Moving Target. Ability. Rare. Adjusts the flight path of your magically-imbued arrow up to 10 degrees per level of ability.”

“Elemental Touch. Ability. Uncommon. Summon magical arrows imbued with your chosen element for 25% additional elemental damage per ability level. Additional effects may unlock depending on chosen element and synergies with existing spells.”

“Wow. So did Bristleback get all his abilities from this bow, or did the bow absorb them somehow when he died?”

Cyrus said, “Another great question. Have a chocolate bar.”

A real-life king-size Snickers bar from Earth dropped out of thin air and fell into my open hand. Snickers were one of my favorites. I lifted it in salute, ripped off the wrapper, and took a huge bite.

I sighed and muttered around a mouthful of glory, “So good.”

“You’re welcome. It’s rare for a monster, especially a boss, to imbue their weapon with their powers. However, when you bit Bristleback with Death Bite and transformed him into that adorable boar-koala, one unexpected side-effect was that many of his abilities got sucked into that bow. That raised it from uncommon to epic tier.”

“It’s amazing. I’m not an archer, though.”

“Too bad. That bow could help you accomplish great things.”

He was right, and I considered it as I savored my chocolate and wandered the busy streets of Midmount Vale, the packed earth streets cool under my bare feet. Many people waved or called greetings, and I waved back, but did not slow to chat.

It hit me then. Just about every living human on the planet was likely there in the town with me. There might be a few out hunting, or some loners who had climbed to stage 2 just to go find another place to hide, but all the rest were right there all around me.

Nearly 50% of us had died in our first week. That was a sobering thought. At the same time, I couldn’t help exulting in my newfound powers. I was not the same person who had been sucked into the sky a week ago.

I needed to get stronger, but so did my team. The bow was indeed powerful, but it was not a weapon I could use. I had a better idea for it.

I spotted Ruby’s and Steve’s Base Camp tents next to Jane’s. An open spot nearby reminded me I had my own house now. Too bad I hadn’t gotten to check out Bristleback’s base camp cave before it fell off the mountain.

I took out my Gypsy Camp potion and unstoppered it in front of the empty lot. Amber mist, glowing faintly with an inner light, pulsed out of the bottle and flowed across the open ground. It formed a distinct square pattern, then rose into a giant cube. It flashed, then disappeared, replaced by the log cabin I’d taken from Abbie’s sex cult.

It looked unchanged and undamaged since I sucked it into the bottle. I pushed open the front door and stepped into the huge kitchen. It still smelled like fresh-baked bread and recently-grilled meat. I drew in a long, happy breath. That was the smell of a good home. Several loaves of bread were sitting on a cooling rack, still soft and warm.

I took a small, braided loaf, coated with shiny honey and sprinkled with nuts and munched on it as I surveyed the kitchen. The 3 big ovens, long food prep tables, and shelves full of supplies were identical to before. I poked my head into a large pantry with shelves filled to bursting with more ingredients.

I still had no idea how Abbie’s followers had won such an upgraded kitchen, but I wasn’t about to complain. Whistling softly to myself, I exited through a door I hadn’t even noticed when I’d woken up there after Abbie’s mind-muddling spell had knocked me out.

The rest of the building was more expansive than I’d expected. I found a comfortable living area with a rustic theme, complete with large fur area rugs, 4 overstuffed chairs, a couch made out of heavy wood, and a fireplace crafted from flat stones. One side of the room included a dining table surrounded by 10 chairs.

I also found a spacious sleeping area with a queen-sized bed overflowing with pillows. Tomas would get a kick out of that. Definitely planned to wash all the bedding. I’d burn it if I could find replacements. Next to the bedroom was a washroom complete with huge, brass tub that could auto-fill with hot water.

I returned to the kitchen for another loaf of fresh bread. Eating the first loaf unlocked a ravening hunger. When had I last eaten an actual meal? I wasn’t sure. Hanging out with the others in Sam’s tavern had been fun, but we’d only snacked.

I found some butter in a box with a chill enchantment, then checked out what menu options the ovens could produce. Pretty much everything I’d ever heard of, and more. One specialized in French cuisine, another was more generalized, while the third was the jackpot.

“Confection oven. Produces up to 3 trays of desserts per day. Add additional ingredients to unlock new menu selections.”

“Ha!” I was no longer dependent on Paul the mayor with his incredible donuts or Sam the tavern keeper’s pastries. Thinking of them, I pulled out a few donuts and pastries, sniffed them deeply to enjoy the delectable aromas, then sacrificed them into the oven’s top hopper.

Checking the menu made it all worthwhile. New options had unlocked, including 10 different donuts, 5 kinds of cake, and a long list of French pastries. I selected a mixture of donuts and cookies and let the machine get to work.

Whistling to myself, I selected a main entree option from one of the other ovens. I settled on a fillet mignon steak, twice-baked potato, and pile of steamed green beans, with a chilled fruit juice blend.

Returning to the dining area, I dug in and opened my messages. I had tons of them. Most of the many kill announcements I waved away, not bothering to count them all. I’d faced so many flying monsters, from the tiny fiery gnats to the deadly stygian wyvern, I never wanted to see another set of wings. I focused instead on the more interesting achievements.

“Congratulations, Lucas! Utility spell Soul Feed has upgraded.”

“Soul Feed. Utility Spell. Unique. Level 4. Absorb energy from fallen enemies to refill mana and health and supercharge all physical attributes for short periods. Drain a small percentage of an enemy’s energy on contact during battle.”

“Now upgraded to include Area of Effect. Designate a variable percentage of stolen energy to heal party members. Or apply energy equal to 100% of your health points to add 1 use to Energy Ward.”

Yes! “Hey, I hadn’t realized utility spells upgraded outside of spells scrolls. How does that work?”

Soul Feed had saved my life many times and become a central pillar of my build. Any upgrade to it was more than welcome. Hopefully it would keep evolving.

“As we talked about, hitting level 10 opened the door to a lot more upgrades. For each future milestone level you reach where you can permanent another spell, up to 3 spells also upgrade. They can be temporary spells or utility spells you use a lot. Additional upgrades can now happen between milestone levels.”

“Finally.” And Soul Feed had somehow reached level 4. I’d gotten a couple upgrades to it before, but the notifications never stated it was leveling up. Kind of weird, but I wasn’t about to complain now that upgrades would happen more often.

On a hunch, I checked my status menu. Sure enough, all of my utility spells now showed a level. Mystic Looter was at level 2, while Linguasight had already reached level 5 from the upgrades to improved sight, including the reality filter boost. Navigation had reached level 3 with that Ping upgrade I got the other day.

Overall, the picture was encouraging. I needed to get spells up to level 10 to evolve them and unlock more of my tier-1 power. Feeling motivated, I returned to my other notifications.

“Congratulations, Lucas! You’ve reached level 10. A new permanent spell slot is available. You can choose any temporary spell or spell scroll. Warning, your choice cannot be changed after it’s made.”

I bit my lip before I could blurt out the questions clamoring in my head. I wasn’t about to tip Cyrus off that I was getting a bonus permanent spell. I’d already gotten my first permanent spell when I hit level 10 the first time.

I should choose Energy Ward, but hesitated. It was awesome, but with the energy I stole from defeated monsters with Soul Feed, I could trigger Energy Ward without having to spend any of my few remaining uses. And now with the latest upgrade to Soul Feed, I could even add uses to Energy Ward. Eventually, I needed to permanent it, but was it necessary to do it now, or could I permanent another spell that lacked that extra safety net?

First, I scanned the long list of spell scrolls in my inventory. Most I rejected immediately, including scrolls of Earth Armor, Ground Walker, and Ice Blast. All were useful, but I couldn’t see any of them making a core piece of my build.

A couple proved more tempting. Scroll of Firestorm could become a very powerful area of effect destruction spell. I’d used fire to defeat some powerful monsters, including the Maze Fiend, but I didn’t see myself as a fire wizard, or something similar.

I pondered the scroll of Teleport for a lot longer, though. Teleport was definitely a spell I wanted eventually, but the scroll only allowed me to teleport up to 500 yards. Of course, if the cooldown wasn’t too long, I could chain a few teleports together to cover a lot of ground. That was super tempting.

Still, my mind kept drifting back to that insane aerial battle I’d just survived and to all the spells I’d used. It royally sucked that I’d used up most of them. I’d gotten to try some truly fantastic spells over the past week, including Phase Walk, Shadow Portal, and Creeping Death. Any of those would make ideal permanent spells.

All I had left for temporary spells were Knock Knock, Immolation, and Tether Slide. Knock Knock was more a joke spell, even though it had helped against Bristleback. I couldn’t imagine making it permanent, though. Immolation, although awesome, was another boss fire spell that did not fit the core build I wanted.

Tether Slide might be new, but did fit, and it had already proven itself a literal lifesaver. Even though my hover bike Switchblade gave me far more mobility than anyone else, Tether Slide opened up even more options. I could not ignore that advantage, especially with what I knew of the dangers we were about to face in the second stage.

Besides, Tether Slide was an energy-based spell that should have excellent synergy with Energy Ward. Synergies between spells could result in game-changing combos. I’d combined Ember Strike and Fractal Strike to defeat that last pack of werewolves that had been running me, William, and Joey down on the slope between stage 1 and 2.

I’d even gotten a life-saving synergy way back on day one when Energy Ward, the Essence Wights that had dived into me, and the energy crystal powering them had synergized into that crazy Soul Harvest energy vortex.

That helped me make up my mind. I wasn’t sure which spell would tie in with Harvest better, but Energy Ward was a different matter. I’d permanent Energy Ward at some point. So as much as I wanted a teleport spell, I needed to unlock more power and Tether Slide resonated with Energy Ward more. It might not be a perfect choice, but it was definitely a good one. Definitely better than the poor dude who’s only option was to permanent a spell making potatoes.

“Congratulations, Lucas! You have chosen Tether Slide as your next permanent spell.”

“Good choice,” Cyrus said, making me jump. I was used to him speaking up at random times and knew he was always watching, but why didn’t he stop me before I made the choice?

“You don’t mind that I got a second permanent spell?”

He laughed. “Why would I mind? Everyone gets a permanent spell at level 10.”

“But I already hit level 10, remember?”

“Ah, I see. That was level 10 as a baby human. You’re now level 10 as a full human. Since you received your David Copperfield title and upgraded your race, you’ve gained experience equivalent to roughly 90 baby human levels. It wouldn’t be fair to make you wait until level 25 to permanent a spell.”

“Ninety?” Even though I’d expected something like that, the number still floored me. I’d gained more than triple the experience of even Tony or Burns. Just thinking about all I’d done to get those levels made me feel tired.

Worse, I didn’t feel as powerful as a level 90 person should. With every level, the disparity between me and everyone else grew, but 90 levels? I should have been able to crush Bristleback.

It all boiled back down to the fact that my spells and abilities were still only tier-0. They restricted my full power, reducing the efficiency of my stats. Now that I could upgrade them more, getting several of them to at least level 10 so they could evolve had to be a top priority.

“Well, you’re a unique case. Your Spartacus title gives you 25% more experience for killing higher-leveled monsters, so that helped narrow the gap a bit. Unfortunately, you also fought a lot of lower-level monsters. I couldn’t apply any of that experience to you as those monsters posed no threat to you. It wouldn’t be fair to count all that weak experience toward your levels.”

“Fair?” I lunged to my feet, too mad to keep sitting. “How is what you put me through fair? I nearly died trying to hit this stupid level!”

“Why don’t you finish opening your loot boxes? Then you can decide if you want to keep shouting at me, or realize it was all worth it.”

I paced into the sitting area and back, fighting down the urge to smash some furniture. It was my furniture, though, so that would be stupid.

Besides, it wouldn’t do anything but amuse Cyrus. The AI acted like my friend, but his job was to make the game hard enough that all of us could easily die before we ever reached stage 4 and faced the nymph queen, Marisara.

My anger with Cyrus had risen steadily as the time to escape stage 1 ran out, peaking when I realized he’d blocked my experience gains to force me to fight Bristleback. Now that I’d survived, I was too tired and elated to remain angry. Besides, he’d promised big gains for surviving. I was willing to wait a bit and see if he came through, or if those were just more empty promises.

With forced calm, I slowly seated myself, drained my juice, and returned to my messages. Before I even opened the menu, a new announcement made me jump back to my feet again with a shout. This time it was a shout of joy.

“Congratulations, Lucas! You’ve now permanented your second spell. Class choices unlocked.”