Healer Book 6 -- Chapter 8

Chapter 8

It only took a minute for the Wardens to arrive, and Thaden tried to let go of the tension that seemed to fill his entire body.  After all, he didn’t actually know that they were coming to fight him again; his preparations would be enough if they turned out to be hostile, but he didn’t have to display his own hostility. 

“It’ll be fine, Thaden.  I’m sure if they were going to attack, they would’ve brought a small army of Wardens instead of just 6 of them,” Sadia said by his side as they watched the powerful figures approach.  “They know who you are, after all, and they wouldn’t take you lightly.”

He wasn’t sure if he should be flattered that his companions thought that it would take a small army of full-strength Wardens to actually hurt or contain him.  Still, her reasoning was sound, and he relaxed a little bit more because of that.

“Still, it would probably be wise to change your equipment again,” she advised.  Thaden looked down and saw that he was still wearing his solo-based Growth gear, so he quickly switched it out for a set of Party-based Growth gear that didn’t have the severe Personality penalties his other set had.  It was a blow to most of his other stats and abilities, of course, but as Sadia had hinted, it probably wouldn’t come down to a fight – though with a Personality in the dumps, that could change.

Finally, he was able to see them more clearly as they approached, including their nametags.

Fer’la’vina – Warden of Tarth

Aelveen

Level 900

Che’ga’lera – Warden of Tarth

Aelveen

Level 900

Tac’fe’hodu – Warden of Tarth

Aelveen

Level 900

Ghareta – Warden of Tarth

Charee

Level 900

Batrite – Warden of Tarth

Charee

Level 900

Harbee – Warden of Tarth

Charee

Level 900

They were exactly the same Wardens that he’d worked with or met within Region #1, which was somewhat reassuring.  Even better, none of them—even the Charee—appeared to be harboring disgusted or angry expressions on their faces and they also didn’t appear to be ready for a fight.

Sadia seemed to be correct; they weren’t there to fight.

“Thaden!  How did you manage to survive that blast?” he heard coming from Fer’la’vina as soon as she was close enough to be heard easily. 

He shrugged with a small smile on his face.  “I’m really hard to kill.  But you knew that already,” he said in response, throwing in a wink for fun.  For some reason, he was feeling even more relaxed as the 6 Wardens touched down about 20 feet away from him.  Thaden couldn’t detect even a single whiff of hostility coming from them; if anything, the impression his Personality stat was getting from them was one of awe and intimidation, wrapped around a ball of sadness.  He hadn’t known that his stat, when it wasn’t being depleted by his equipment, could evaluate someone’s emotions like that; he hadn’t really noticed it when dealing with the other Contenders a short time ago, so he could only assume it was because the sheer power that these individuals gave off was easier to read.

But why sadness?  He could understand the awe and intimidation, as he’d already experienced that from them while they were in the Region helping to eradicate the Adversarial entities, but the sadness was new. 

“I’m well aware.  Still, we thought there was no way anyone could survive a blast like that, especially with the amount of Adversarial energy inundating that dungeon.  What exactly happened?” Fer asked, seeming to be genuinely curious rather than fishing for information.

Thaden debated about lying about being able to remember, or simply refusing to answer, but he decided to omit some details while still answering her.  There were some things he didn’t want to her know, of course, but he figured that she at least deserved some sort of explanation; while the Wardens had initially been hostile toward him upon their first meeting, he eventually came to understand that they were both following orders and were willing to give their lives toward protecting the world of Tarth.  That didn’t mean they were as dedicated to protecting the Contenders, of course, but he understood by now how strict the System was when it came to giving assistance to the people from Earth.

“A Director of some sort took over the Boss of The Citadel and tried to kill me after I essentially told it to go to Hell.  Unfortunately for it, the attack it used to try and kill me overloaded the energy contained in the area, which caused the explosion.”  He waited for a moment as the Wardens looked at each other in shock and some silent communication.  “From what I inferred by her annoyance at our—” he continued, gesturing toward himself and the Wardens, “interference toward cleaning up the corrupted dungeons, the Region was safe from the Adversary’s infiltrations once again.  Is that true?”

There was silence again as the Wardens continued looking at each other, until Tac’fe’hodu spoke up.  “It is.  The System even marked the Quest that we were given to investigate the Adversary’s corruption of dungeons as complete.  That was also the Quest that had us looking into you, as well.”

Pre-mature relief spread through him.  “So, I’m off the hook, then?”

“Off the hook?  If I understand you correctly, then yes, you are no longer under investigation.”

“Good.”  Thaden paused for a moment as the Wardens still seemed to be looking at each other after admitting to have seen and spoken to an Adversarial Director.  He was beginning to wonder if it had been a mistake to mention it, but what was done was done.  “Not that I’m not happy to see that you all survived that explosion as well, but what are you doing here?  Are you just stopping by to say, ‘Hello,’ or are you coming to help?”

Fer took a step forward while shaking her head.  “Neither.  We cannot help you with this Developmental Phase, as much as we believe you’ll need it.  The only reason we were somewhat assisting in your Region was because of the threat that the Adversary presented; now that the problem has been resolved, even if that resolution ended up with starting Phase 4 earlier than is prudent, our hands are tied.”

“So, if you’re not here to help, why are you here?”

“It’s because the Assimilation System has something for you, and since it has difficulty directly interacting with you, we were sent to deliver it directly.”

Thaden wasn’t sure he wanted anything from the System; the entire thing sounded entirely too suspicious.  That being said, he was curious what it was they had for him.  An item, perhaps?  Maybe a replacement for his destroyed flying cloak?  “What exactly is it?” he cautiously asked after a few seconds.

“It’s a Title.  Something called, ‘Hero of Tarth’.”

Sadia twitched in shock next to him.  Looking at her, he raised his eyebrow in a question, and she thankfully took his hint and explained.  “Titles are extremely rare, Thaden, as they are only awarded by the System when someone accomplishes a great feat.  From what I know about them, they provide some benefits in addition to being able to show them off.”

“What kinds of benefits?”

She shook her head.  “I don’t know.  Like I said, they’re very rare, and each one is apparently different; I don’t have any knowledge of specifics, unfortunately.”

Still wary of something that came directly from the System, especially something that wouldn’t be delivered to him directly such as an Achievement, he asked his companion, “Do you think it’s a good idea to accept it, then?”

The Wardens reacted to his question with confusion and a little bit of anger, as if just by asking something like that, Thaden was declaring that he didn’t trust the System – otherwise known as their boss.  He didn’t trust the System, though, so he ignored their reactions, while he waited for Sadia to respond to his question.  She tilted her head to the side in contemplation for a few seconds, before ultimately nodding.

“I think it’s safe, but it’s still up to you.  If you don’t feel like it would be worth the risk, then don’t—”

“But it’s a Title!” Fer’la’vina practically shouted, the incredulousness in her voice evident.  “I can’t believe you even have to think about this!”

Thaden sighed.  “I know that it might seem odd, but the System and I don’t necessarily see eye-to-eye, especially when I’ve inadvertently ruined its plans in the past.  While I don’t necessarily believe the System to be malicious, for something like this, I’m more than a bit suspicious.”

“But there’s nothing to be suspicious of!  The System is simply trying to recognize the role you played in eliminating the Adversary from Tarth; it’s literally called, ‘Hero of Tarth,’ after all!”

“I understand that,” he said, putting his hands out placatingly as Fer and the other Wardens seemed to be quite perturbed.  “But the fact of the matter is that the System essentially put a hit out on me when it couldn’t figure out who I was, and while it seems as though it has rescinded that order, I’m still a bit wary of something coming directly from it like this.”

“I’m sure it will be fine; the System only has your best interests in mind when it does anything, which applies to something like a Title,” the Aelveen went on, still trying to convince him.

Thaden thought about it for another second, before he looked at the Charee Wardens, who hadn’t said anything since arriving.  “How about this, then,” he said to Ghareta, specifically.  “I’m willing to accept the Title from the System, if you upgrade my Rank in the Adventurer Coalition to Platinum.  I’ve been sitting on enough Rank Progress for a while now, and this is the first real opportunity to get it done.”

The Charee Wardens seemed to be taken aback at the request, but Ghareta finally nodded.  “We can do that.  Hand me your Badge, if you would.”  Thaden took his Diamond Rank Coalition Badge from his Inventory and walked up to the intimidating Charee with it held out in his hand.  Ghareta then cupped her hand over his, and he could feel the Rank Progress draining from his reserve, converting the Badge inside their two hands into Platinum with a bright illumination of light that bled through their hands.

When the blinding glow began to fade, he started to pull his hand away, but the flow of Rank Progress started up again for some reason and wouldn’t let it go; the glow returned, as well, brighter than before. 

“What’s going on?” he asked, confused.

“I don’t… wait… how much extra Rank Progress did you have?” Ghareta quickly demanded.

Thaden shrugged.  “I’m not sure, exactly.  Something like an extra 1,400?”

“What?  How is that possible?” he heard Fer’la’vina ask with astonishment in her tone.

Before he could answer, Ghareta stared down at their joined hands and the glow coming from between them, before shouting, “This shouldn’t be possible!  Only an Assimilator can directly upgrade a Coalition Badge past Platinum; I don’t have the authority!”

Yet, that seemed to be what was happening – at least as far as he could tell.  The glow coming from their hands was almost bright enough to blind someone permanently, and he could see the bones inside of his hand as the light passed through his flesh like an x-ray.  There was a flash of heat that was only slightly uncomfortable, before the glow rapidly faded, leaving some afterimages in his eyes that disappeared after a second or two.

Ghareta yanked her hand away as soon as it was freed from the unnatural force keeping it poised over the Badge, and everyone could see the extraordinarily shiny badge that was sitting in Thaden’s palm.

“Platinum+,” Fer breathed, her voice barely audible.  “Only Wardens are supposed to be able to acquire one of those inside of a developmental world.”

As he stared at the badge in his hand, he flipped it around a few times to see it from all sides.  “It’s very pretty, but what exactly does it do for me?” he asked.

“You wanted it upgraded… but didn’t know why it was important?” Ghareta queried, shaking her head in disbelief.

“Pretty much, yes.  I knew that the Diamond Rank gave me access to some awesome rooms in the Coalition buildings, and there were some discounts with crafters or something, but that’s about all I know.  I just wanted the Platinum Rank Badge because it felt like I earned it, but I have no idea what it does.”  Even Sadia didn’t seem to know when he asked her.

“But your Training should’ve—” Ghareta began to say, but Thaden was distracted as Che’ga’lera and Harbee began to move.  He had been so distracted by his upgraded badge that he didn’t react fast enough, and the two of them managed to each land a hand on either arm.

“Now that you have your Coalition Rank upgraded, it’s time to take the Title as you promised,” Che quickly stated, and before he could break free from their grip – which would be quite easy with his Physicality – an energy seemed to flow into him.

His mind went temporarily blank as the energy seemed to overwhelm him with its intensity, and when he finally came to, he found himself on the ground, his body convulsing out of his control.  His defensive spells did absolutely nothing to help, as this wasn’t damage being done to him nor was it any type of normal attack; instead, this was pure Assimilation System energy wracking his body, trying to do something to him.  He struggled to regain any sort of control, striving against the incredibly powerful energy that flooded into him, but he wasn’t getting anywhere. 

What is this?  Is the System trying to kill me?

His mind was at least free of the temporary black-out that he’d suffered, but it did no good when his body and his spells were completely inaccessible.  He saw Sadia leaning over him and seeming to be speaking to him, but he couldn’t hear anything over the cascade of energy raging through him like an avalanche of supreme authority.

It seemed to last forever, but eventually Thaden felt a lessening in the inundation of energy, though he sensed that it wasn’t voluntary on the part of the System.  He wasn’t sure when its presence had invaded the area, but he could practically feel its annoyance that whatever it was doing was not working out in the way it planned.  He mentally smirked at it, and the System seemed to sense this, as the force of energy pressing in on him doubled, but that didn’t appear to make any difference. 

Fortunately for Thaden, as the Director had learned not that long ago, whatever the System was trying to do was attempting to interact directly with the Mana that infused the convulsing Omenic Drifter.  What exactly it was trying to do, he didn’t know at that moment, but whatever its plan, it wasn’t working out.  He sensed the confusion and frustration coming from the System at its failure, and after another tidal wave of energy that felt strong enough that he thought he would be splattered all over the ground, the System discovered exactly what happened in The Citadel when the Director tried to kill him.

Some critical threshold seemed to have been passed, and he vaguely witnessed the horrified faces of the Wardens, including on the pair that had forced this “Title” onto him.  He was only tangentially aware that they took off, flying away with even greater speed than they’d arrived, and the last thing he saw before his world was enveloped in a fiery explosion was Sadia disappearing into his AMPs, safe from being annihilated completely again – or so he prayed was the case.

Thankfully, Thaden didn’t go flying halfway across the world again, but was instead slammed downwards as a large chunk of the ground underneath him was obliterated.  His Death Ward worked perfectly to bring him back to life a short time later, lying in a hemispheric crater reminiscent of what happened at The Citadel approximately a mile in length across, though it was perhaps only 100 feet deep. 

Groaning, he picked himself up and made sure to recast all of his defensive spells, as well as some gradual healing to ensure he wouldn’t be caught off-guard by a surprise attack.  All of his protective effects had been blown through by the explosion, and while it hadn’t been quite as powerful as what happened with the Adversarial energy in The Citadel, it was still significant.

Shaking his limbs out to ensure that he had regained complete control of his body, he quickly swapped out his current weaker set of Growth equipment for his solo-focused one, as it made him much more individually powerful.  If the Wardens were going to attack him again, then he wanted to be ready.

“Thaden!  Are you alright?” Sadia asked as she popped up next to him.  “What happened?”

Thaden grunted, still trying to figure that out himself.  “I don’t know.  Hold on, let me check.”  So saying, he looked at his message feed to see if it had any answers for him.

Adventurer Coalition Rank upgraded!

New Rank: Platinum

Remaining Rank Progress: 1,425

Upgrade Authority unavailable—

ERROR_authority overridden_upgrading Adventurer Coalition Rank_

Adventurer Coalition Rank upgraded!

New Rank: Platinum+

Remaining Rank Progress: 705

Congratulations!  You have been blessed by the Assimilation System with a Title!

Title Awarded: Hero of Tarth

Bestowing Hero of Tarth Title now!

Thaden, you are now a Hero of Tarth!  With this Title, you gain a number of permanent benefits that will remain with you for as long as you hold this Title:

* All citizens of Tarth will now instinctively recognize your authority and act accordingly, regardless of your current Level or stats

* You are now the premier authority of the Adventurer Coalition on Tarth, which gives you the ability to create Quests for other members of the Coalition, as well as a few other tangible benefits

* Damage you inflict toward other Contenders, as well as damage you may receive from other Contenders is now completely negated while on Tarth

* Emboldened Leadership Competency +1,000 Levels

* Personality +500

* Direct connection to the System—

ERROR_unable to transfer control module_pathway destination untenable_

Rerouting additional resourcesconverting internal energy layer_failure_

Rerouting additional resourcesfailure_connection unstable_uneven energy fluctuations_

Warningenergy state reaching critical mass_withdrawing excess resources_failure_

Connection terminated

You have died!

Exceptional Death Ward activated!

Emboldened Leadership Competency has increased to Level 240!

>>>>>>> 

>>>>>>> 

Emboldened Leadership Competency has increased to Level 243!

You may now select an Advancement for your Emboldened Leadership Competency!

Emboldened Leadership Competency has increased to Level 244!

>>>>>>> 

>>>>>>> 

Emboldened Leadership Competency has increased to Level 729!

You may now select an Advancement for your Emboldened Leadership Competency!

Emboldened Leadership Competency has increased to Level 730!

>>>>>>> 

>>>>>>> 

Emboldened Leadership Competency has increased to Level 1,239!

There were a few other increases in his Competencies, but nothing other than Emboldened Leadership had gained any Advancements.  A quick check of his stats also showed that he now had a net positive Personality stat, as the benefits from his Title seemed to still be intact – at least as far as he could tell.  At the top of his Character Report, the evidence that it was likely active was clear to see.

#32599999-E <Hero of Tarth>

Omenic Drifter (Wizened Solitary Shaman)

Level – 450

Progressive Internal Combat Knowledge (PICK) – 2,189,500/2,189,500 (512,654,720)

Adventurer Coalition Rank: Platinum+ 705/810 RP

The most concerning thing, however, was the internal System errors that appeared to be based on the last benefit on the list.  Whether it was supposed to be the final benefit or if there were more afterwards was unknown, but apparently whatever it was trying to “bestow” upon him had broken something. 

He could somewhat guess what, “Direct access to the System,” actually meant.  From the errors that occurred after that benefit, especially as it referenced something called a control module, he assumed that it was the System’s way of controlling him.  Whether that was direct control, like a puppet, or some sort of subconscious orders, he didn’t know – but he was glad that it hadn’t worked.  Apparently, his unique nature blocked it from taking hold inside of him, which made the System try to force the issue – which was a mistake on its part.

Thaden didn’t believe that it was trying to kill him, unlike what happened with the Director; instead, it wrongfully attempted to control him and its method simply ended up causing the explosion.  That didn’t mean he forgave it for doing that in the first place, and he felt strangely sad and vindicated at the same time that he was right to be wary of the System’s “gift”. 

He couldn’t deny that he was happy about the Title’s benefits, though he would have to see exactly what the less tangible ones – such as “authority” over all of Tarth’s citizens and the Adventurer Coalition – really meant, but that would come in time.  The best benefit of them all, however, was that all damage to him from Contenders and damage he inflicted toward Contenders was nullified.  He could only assume that, as a “Hero,” this was supposed to make him untouchable and to prevent any potential abuse that he might inflict upon those weaker than him; he didn’t care about that, however, as what it essentially meant was that he could use his Leach combo while in a Party, and he didn’t have to worry about accidentally killing anyone he didn’t want to.  In other words, it would only hurt monsters.

He showed Sadia his message feed, and he saw her face darken at its contents.  “I… I’m sorry, Thaden.  I didn’t know—”

“How could you?  I have a feeling that even the Wardens didn’t know what it would do when they insisted on giving me the Title.  Perhaps the System urged them to do it, or they simply thought it was only for my benefit; either way, it’s done, and while I can’t say that I completely trust any of the Wardens of Tarth right now, I’m saving the blame for this on the System alone.”

The more he learned about the System and its relationship with the Adversary, the more questions he had – and the less he trusted either of them.  There were still so many questions that he wanted answers to, and he was beginning to suspect that he wouldn’t get them until he left Tarth completely.  That had been his original goal after learning about the competition between Contenders, after all, as he wanted access to as much information as possible once he was done with the developmental world.  That time was rapidly approaching, one way or another; either he would succeed and finish Developmental Phase 4, hopefully getting those answers due to his performance, or he would die, taking the risk that the Adversary’s agents and the Director were telling the truth about being “released” from the captivity that was Tarth and the System.

Either way, neither of those things were going to happen that day, despite how close it seemed to come, so he ran to the edge of the crater, jumping out of it and looking around.  He saw no sign of the Wardens that had fled shortly before the explosion, nor did he expect them to be there; they had done what they came to do, after all, and while he might have appreciated them checking on him to see if he was alright, he didn’t really want to see any of them right now.  While they had only been the delivery method in which the System had tried to control him, his trust in them had been—perhaps irrevocably—damaged. 

With a sigh, he took off toward then next NEST, knowing that he still had a job to do.  Putting thoughts of the System’s duplicity out of his thoughts for now was difficult, but dwelling on it further wouldn’t help him.  Throwing himself into exploration, monster-killing, and gathering oodles of loot would help act as a balm against the raw wound of betrayal that throbbed inside his entire body.