Healer Arc 2 -- Chapter 41

Chapter 41

“Sadia?  Are you back yet?”

Thaden rubbed at his eyes, wiping the sleep out of them before he stretched his arms above his head, feeling pleasantly rested for the first time in what felt like years.  He opened his eyes, hoping to see his squirrel companion nearby, but there was no response.  Looking out the window, he deduced that it had only been about 10 hours since the battle outside the walls of Teglir, so he probably had to wait another few hours until she was back.  Even now, he could feel a tiny thread of System energy slowly filling the CAMP that was placed on his now-repaired but still dirty robe, showing that it was at work recharging Sadia’s home so that she could come back out.

Stomach growling, he decided not to leave the room quite yet, for a couple of reasons.  First, he really didn’t want to walk all the way down to one of the few restaurants catering to Adventurers, as he felt like being a bit lazy for the moment.  Second, and more importantly, he hadn’t forgotten what had just happened during the battle when Sadia had been temporarily killed.  Everyone on the walls saw him almost single-handedly dismantle the monster army that had attacked, and he was sure that he would gain more attention than he was comfortable with for his actions – both good and bad.  For the moment, he’d rather avoid any of that, so he pulled out some of his stored food from his Inventory and ate alone in his room. 

While he was looking through his Inventory, he noticed that it was a bit more full than it had been after he had emptied it of all the stuff he’d picked up from the Wild Flower Dungeon.  It wasn’t bursting at the seams, but there were quite a few items that he’d obviously picked up defending himself from the Gorams that attacked.  A quick glance through it showed that most of it was a bunch of crafting materials, though there were some pieces of equipment that ranged from Level 20 to 28 that likely came from the Charging Goram, more that was Level 45 to 50 dropped by the Assault Goram, a few that were Level 80 to 90 from the Behemoths, and a single pair of boots for someone Level 250 which obviously came from one of the Colossi.  A brief perusal showed that none of them were for Support Classes, which barely shocked him anymore given how unlikely Support loot had been so far. 

But if he didn’t get much he could use, he might be able to buy it, because his Gold total had jumped up to just over 4,000, which was an incredible amount compared to what he had before.  

Yet, all of his loot and money he’d acquired didn’t sound like a lot compared to how many of the monsters he’d killed, which he estimated numbered in the hundreds of thousands.  Granted, there were only a few dozen of the larger Colossi, but there were so many of the others that he – and his Raid Party, as they would undoubtedly take their share – figured he’d be, if not a millionaire, then at least have something like 100 times more than he actually did have in his Inventory.

It was a mystery, and he hoped that his messages had an answer for him.  Before he opened them, however, as he was expecting his feed to be a significantly impactful experience, perhaps even knocking him out, he finished his quick meal and used the bathroom, taking a shower and relieving himself of everything dirty, inside and out.  Approximately 30 minutes later, he came back to his bed, threw off the soiled blanket on top, and laid back down on the clean sheets, as he’d simply fallen on top of the blanket when he arrived after the battle.

With a deep breath, Thaden braced himself to be bombarded with a million messages and waves of PICK energy, hoping that he would be able to hold on long enough that he didn’t pass out, because that was always a very disorienting experience.  He also hoped it wasn’t too painful, as that kind of thing tended to linger and made it difficult to understand what he was reading until the pain went away.

He opened his messages…

…and while he was flooded with PICK and his body went through some extremely painful changes as his stats significantly changed even more than last time, the onslaught of messages didn’t manifest.  He quickly figured out why that was after he recovered from the changes.

You have been detected participating in the defense of the city Teglir inside the Aroxis Empire, part of the Densartis Faction, against an enemy that severely overshadows the current defenses.  Reward restrictions regarding Level disparity are temporarily suspended, and all rewards will be evenly distributed among all 108,437 participants until the end of the conflict. 

You have now joined the Teglir City Defense Force.  

Current average Level of 108,437 participants: Level 44

This message was the first one on his feed, which he estimated had arrived as soon as the first Charging Goram was killed.  It seemed as though being part of a Raid Party didn’t actually matter other than for coordination, as the rewards for the entire battle weren’t going to go to just the Raid Party, but the entire “Teglir City Defense Force” – whatever that was.  It was the first time he’d ever heard of such a thing, as he didn’t remember anything like it on Tarth, but he supposed that it made sense on a world that was perpetually in conflict with both monsters and other Factions in one way or another. 

That didn’t eliminate the sting of losing out on all the PICK and overflowing Inventories that he and his Raid Party would’ve had if it hadn’t been shared with over 100,000 people.  Once he was fairly certain he understood what was going on, he continued reading his messages, expecting to see a million “monster slain” messages, but apparently that wasn’t necessary for the “Teglir City Defense Force” that had been set up.  Instead, all he received was a summary of what had happened, including the destruction of his companion, which he had to admit was a bit of a letdown after everything that had occurred.

Unfortunately, your SADIA has been temporarily obliterated and is currently reconstituting within your Condensed Adaptable Mimicry Plates.  As a warning, the level of destruction inflicted upon your SADIA’s physical form may require longer than the standard 24 hours for full stabilization. 

Congratulations!

The Teglir City Defense Force has succeeded in repelling the attacking army of monsters!

Battle Results:

Participant Casualties: 11

Civilian Casualties: 6

Buildings Damaged: 1

Charging Goram (Level 34) killed X592,400 = 59,240 (77,012) PICK rewarded to each participant

Assault Goram (Level 60) killed X36,300 = 72,600 (94,380) PICK rewarded to each participant

Behemoth Goram (Level 105) killed X950 = 57,000 (74,100) PICK rewarded to each participant

Goram Colossus (Level 280) killed X44 = 44,000 (57,200) PICK rewarded to each participant

Your Raid Party Teglir City Defense Force Contribution: 99.63% (#1)

Looking at the sheer numbers of monsters that had been killed, he almost couldn’t believe he had survived against so many of them.  It was also extremely disappointing to see how much PICK he’d earned from killing them, as it appeared he’d only received 0.1 PICK per Charging Goram, 2.0 PICK from each Assault Goram, 60.0 PICK per Behemoth Goram, and the Goram Colossi were only worth 1,000.0 PICK despite them being so much higher of a Level than everyone present.  He assumed that this was all due to the PICK being shared between a little over 100,000 people, which he didn’t think was right; for all of that work, he only earned a little over 300,000 PICK when he added up the totals he received from his 30% reward increase from Fortunate Catastrophe.  In comparison, clearing the Wild Flower Dungeon had given him around 166,000 PICK – so he thought he should’ve earned quite a bit more than this from such an epic battle.

Of course, the PICK he’d earned from this whole Teglir City Defense Force situation and the monsters that were killed weren’t the end of his messages. 

You have completed the minimum completion requirements for your assigned SPECIAL Quest!

You have received 5 gold, 1000.0 PICK, and 30 Rank Progress up to Gold Coalition Rank!

Fortunate Catastrophe bonus trait activated!

You have received 6 gold, 45 silver, 1,300.0 PICK, and 39 Rank Progress up to Gold Coalition Rank!

The Teglir City Defense Force has been dissolved.

He had completed the SPECIAL Quest by killing all of the monsters threatening the city, though only the minimum requirements because some people had died and a single building had been damaged.  That didn’t really matter all that much to him, though, because the increased rewards for a full completion weren’t that impressive.  He also noted that it was only when the Quest was completed that the Teglir City Defense Force finally dissolved, meaning that he wasn’t part of it any longer.

Next was his Competency increases, which had many of them being greatly affected because of the fight against hundreds of thousands of monsters.

Spiritual Spellcasting Competency has increased to Level 2,232!

>>>>>>> 

>>>>>>> 

Spiritual Spellcasting Competency has increased to Level 4,318!

Support Spellcasting Competency has increased to Level 32,003!

>>>>>>> 

>>>>>>> 

Support Spellcasting Competency has increased to Level 34,856!

Natural Regeneration Competency has increased to Level 459!

>>>>>>> 

>>>>>>> 

Natural Regeneration Competency has increased to Level 581!

Emboldened Leadership Competency has increased to Level 1,240!

>>>>>>> 

>>>>>>> 

Emboldened Leadership Competency has increased to Level 1,413!

There weren’t any increases that led to any additional Advancements this time, but it also reminded him that he hadn’t picked his newest Advancement for his Spiritual Spellcasting Competency that he’d earned from the Wild Flower Dungeon.  Everything had been just one thing after another since he’d acquired his new Evolved Class that he hadn’t had time to devote to looking at it, from shopping for new equipment to being captured by the Local Legion to fighting a battle against thousands of monsters looking to destroy the city.  He resolved to look soon, though he decided to wait until he Leveled-up some more and saw what kinds of spells he might unlock with his Thrall Commander Class.

Finally, what interested him more than all of the other messages came last: Achievements.

Congratulations for simultaneously controlling 1,200 or more monsters while as a Support Class!

Achievement received: Why Aren’t You A Control Class? VI

Bonus reward: 81,000.0 PICK, +300 Mentality, +600 Personality

Fortunate Catastrophe bonus trait activated!

Bonus reward: 105,300.0 PICK, +390 Mentality, +780 Personality

World First Achievement: All controlled targets automatically deal 15% more damage and have a 15% reduction in damage done to them, +900 Personality

Fortunate Catastrophe bonus trait chance activated!

World First Achievement: All controlled targets automatically deal 60% more damage and have a 60% reduction in damage done to them, +4,800 Personality

Congratulations for slaying a monster 30 or more Levels above your Raid Party’s average Level!

Achievement received: Teamwork I

Bonus reward: +3 to all stats

Fortunate Catastrophe bonus trait activated!

Bonus reward: +4 to all stats

Congratulations for slaying a monster 60 or more Levels above your Raid Party’s average Level!

Achievement received: Teamwork II

Bonus reward: +9 to all stats

Fortunate Catastrophe bonus trait activated!

Bonus reward: +12 to all stats

Congratulations for slaying a monster 90 or more Levels above your Raid Party’s average Level!

Achievement received: Teamwork III

Bonus reward: +30 to all stats

Fortunate Catastrophe bonus trait activated!

Bonus reward: +39 to all stats

Congratulations for slaying a monster 120 or more Levels above your Raid Party’s average Level!

Achievement received: Teamwork IV

Bonus reward: +90 to all stats

Fortunate Catastrophe bonus trait activated!

Bonus reward: +117 to all stats

Congratulations for slaying a monster 150 or more Levels above your Raid Party’s average Level!

Achievement received: Teamwork V

Bonus reward: +300 to all stats

Fortunate Catastrophe bonus trait activated!

Bonus reward: +390 to all stats

Congratulations for your Raid Party ranking #1 as part of a Defense Force numbering over 1,000 participants!

Achievement received: Defensive Powerhouse I

Bonus reward: 300 PICK, +10 Personality, +10 Fortuity

Fortunate Catastrophe bonus trait activated!

Bonus reward: 390 PICK, +13 Personality, +13 Fortuity

Congratulations for your Raid Party ranking #1 as part of a Defense Force numbering over 10,000 participants!

Achievement received: Defensive Powerhouse II

Bonus reward: 3,000 PICK, +30 Physicality, +30 Personality, +30 Fortuity

Fortunate Catastrophe bonus trait activated!

Bonus reward: 3,900 PICK, +39 Physicality, +39 Personality, +39 Fortuity

Congratulations for your Raid Party ranking #1 as part of a Defense Force numbering over 100,000 participants!

Achievement received: Defensive Powerhouse III

Bonus reward: 9,000 PICK, +90 to all stats

Fortunate Catastrophe bonus trait activated!

Bonus reward: 11,700 PICK, +117 to all stats

The Achievements from the battle were extensive, though they weren’t quite what he expected, either.  First, he received some brand-new Achievements that dealt with killing monsters above the average Level of his Raid Party, though apparently it stopped at its fifth tier, as 150 Levels higher seemed to be the limit of the Achievement.  Gaining increases to all of his stats was incredible, however, so he wasn’t sad about the new Achievement in the least.

Then there were a trio of Achievements for his Raid Party ranking #1 in contribution as part of a Defense Force, with each tier depending on how many participants there were.  It came with it even more PICK and stats, which he thought was great for an Achievement he hadn’t been expecting; it didn’t make up for the lost PICK from being part of the Defense Force in the first place, but it was a small consolation that he wasn’t going to refuse.

Lastly, he managed to unlock the sixth tier of Why Aren’t You A Control Class VI, which brought with it a World First Achievement bonus.  The original World First bonus had been a 15% increase in damage dealt and 15% decrease in damage received for all of his controlled targets, which was already amazing, but it became even better when his bonus trait chance triggered and increased his rewards by 300% instead of the normal 30%.  That ended up raising the damage dealt and damage received increases to 60%; dealing more damage was always nice, but being able to negate 60% of the damage his controlled targets received was practically god-like in effect.  He couldn’t wait to test it out.

And that was on top of gaining 4,800 points in his Personality stat – which was just ridiculous on its own.

In all, Thaden earned a total of:

·         569,192 PICK

·         +718 Physicality

·         +679 Celerity

·         +1069 Mentality

·         +6,311 Personality

·         +731 Fortuity

Thaden had essentially more than doubled all of his current stats other than Fortuity, and in one case—Personality—he had increased the stat by 700%.  He looked at his stats (and their totals when he had his equipment on) to see their new numbers, and he smiled to see how much they had increased in less than a week, where he’d been so weak that a stiff breeze could knock him down. 

Physicality – 1,258 (1,275)

Celerity – 1,102 (1,176)

Mentality – 1,680 (1,868)

Personality – 7,388  (7,405)

Fortuity – 1,579 (1,591)

But that wasn’t even all of the changes.  Before the battle, Thaden had consulted with Sadia and he finally consented to changing the allocation of PICK he earned to being a 75/25 split in between the CAMP and to his own PICK reserves, with the majority of it going toward his CAMP.  Unfortunately, it only affected the PICK he earned from killing monsters and not the Achievements where he’d earned more, but even so, 227,019 PICK had filtered into the CAMP, feeding its Growth.  As he took it off his robe, he looked closer at it and expected to be something like Level 20 or 30 by that point, but he was quickly disappointed when it appeared to have gone up a single Level.

Condensed Adaptable Mimicry Plate

Rarity: Artifact

Imprinted User Restriction: Thaden

Level Restriction: 2

Durability: Indestructible

Usage Limit: None

Special Properties: Growth

Can be attached to and unattached from any non-consumable item to mimic and quintuplicate all of its effects

Adds +2 Mentality, Personality, and Fortuity to any item it is attached to

Additional effects can be unlocked upon the growth of the Condensed Adaptable Mimicry Plate

At first, it didn’t seem like it was worth the PICK invested in the CAMP to allow it to grow to Level 2, if all it did was add +2 to Mentality, Personality, and Fortuity.  But then he looked at his stats again after placing the CAMP back on his robe and he realized that it added the bonus stats before the effects were quintupled by the Plate.  That meant it was essentially an extra +12 to the 3 stats; it still wasn’t a lot, but if that was what a single Level could give him, he was eager to see what higher Levels would do.

Now that he’d looked through all of his messages and experienced the changes to his body, Thaden found himself feeling sleepy again, so he decided to wait to make any decisions about Leveling up his Classes and picking Advancements for the next morning, when he could think clearly.  He curled up in his bed, quickly falling asleep, as the world kept moving around him.

                    *

Thaden woke up again for the second time in the last 6 hours, though this time it hadn’t been getting enough sleep that had awoken him.  Instead, it was the incessant magical beeping sound coming from the vicinity of his door that finally got him out of bed. 

Rubbing sleep from his eyes, he glanced outside of his window to see that dawn had come and gone a short time ago, so it was probably time for him to get up anyway and face the day.  After making sure he was at least somewhat alert by gently slapping his face a few times, Thaden walked to the door and pulled it open.

“There you are,” Eleria, the Coalition Branch Leader, said quickly as soon as he opened his door.  He took in her harried-looking appearance while also noticing that she had gained a pair of Levels since he’d seen her just after the battle, which was likely due to the rewards everyone had received.  He was still somewhat salty about the whole “Defense Force” thing, but he did his best to let it go since there wasn’t much he could do about it.

“Uh, hi—” he began to say, but she cut him off.

Pushing a cream and blue-striped envelope toward him, Thaden reflexively took it and stared at the Netherine who was staring back, clearly impatient with him.

“You need to get ready to go as quickly as you can.  You’ve been invited to meet with the Baron, and you can’t afford to be late.”

It took him a few seconds to process what she was saying, but he was still waking up, so he dumbly asked, “Invited?”

“Ordered is more like it, though it’s more politely worded than that.”  She shooed him toward his room.  “Now hurry, we can’t keep him waiting.  I’ll meet you downstairs in no more than 5 minutes.”  With that, she turned on her heel and practically disappeared, running down the hallway with incredible speed before turning the corner and out of his sight.

He slowly closed the door and stared at the “invitation” in his hand, which he was somewhat scared to open.  He’d never met a noble before, and didn’t really have any inclination to do so now, but he supposed that if he was going to be operating out of Teglir for at least a little longer, he needed to be on good terms with those who ran the city.  He was just worried about how much he could share with the Baron without getting himself in trouble, because he was sure the noble had more than a few questions for him.

I’d rather face down a few dozen Goram Colossi again than speak with a noble.

Shaking his head, he placed the invitation on the table instead of opening it right away, and instead proceeded to get himself ready for the day as quickly as he could.  Fortunately, he hadn’t really become too dirty since the night before, so he was ready to go in a matter of a couple of minutes.  With only the slightest bit of trepidation, he picked the invitation back up and headed to the door, taking a deep breath before he left his room. 

As he entered the hallway, on his way to meet with Eleria for his trip to meet Baron Veridoon, he attempted to calm his nerves by thinking:

“What’s the worst that could happen?”

The answer to that didn’t comfort him in the least.

The End of Book 1