Healer Book 6 -- Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Thaden didn’t necessarily believe in providence by some higher power, but he did believe in his own Fortuity.  To that affect, he wasn’t too surprised that 30,000 in the stat—with his solo-based gear now reequipped—made itself known when the two closest NESTs near the massive gap in the barrier protecting Region #1 from the Wildlands ended up being two different types of Undead.  If there was one monster type that he was uniquely suited against, it was one that was damaged by his healing spells.  While he’d seen other Undead in dungeons other than the Mausoleum of Despair, they weren’t very common.  To have one of them inside of a NEST right outside of Region #1 was coincidence; two of them, however, was pure Fortuity as far as he was concerned.  Even Sadia said that it was unusual, as monster types didn’t tend to clump together in the Wildland NESTs; she put it down to random chance, but Thaden knew better.

Located only 5 miles to the northwest of the entrance to Region #1, the absolute closest NEST was full of run-of-the-mill, boring skeletons.  Of course, given that they were Level 380, they weren’t exactly “simple” walking skeletons, but something a bit more dangerous to the average Contender.

Skeletal Giant – Advanced Wildlands Denizen

Level 380 (Perceived Level: 494)

The Skeletal Giant was humanoid in appearance, but it was much more than that.  Standing 24 feet tall, the bones of the Giant were extremely thick, giving the Undead the appearance of being heavily armored and capable of taking a direct blast by a cannon without flinching.  A dark energy that practically sparked with intensity connected the bones of the monster together, which also surrounded the tree-trunk-sized bone club in its hand, giving it a sinister appearance.  Glowing green eyes filled the skeleton’s eyes, which looked upon him with a murderous gaze, emitting a chilling vibe that could likely make even the stoutest defender quail in fear. 

Unfortunately for the Skeletal Giant, while it was extraordinarily strong and resilient, it lacked any sort of speed.  As a result, when Thaden quickly moved into range, they were barely able to start lumbering towards him before he and Sadia washed a multitude of healing spells over it, killing it nearly instantly.  Granted, most of the other monsters died just as quickly out in the Wildlands, at least those that he’d encountered, but he hadn’t even used his Leach spell in this instance.  If he had, then it would’ve died even faster – if such a thing were possible.

As he immediately delved into the NEST, not even bothering to take his time as he jumped down the pit while killing everything along the way with casts of Mass Healing, Regeneration, Mass Regeneration, Healing Burst, Recharge, Full Heal, Health Renewal, and any available Fortuitous versions, while also having Aura of Life active.  Needless to say, nothing survived even a quick look at Thaden or Sadia, as the Skeletal Giants fell apart near-instantly as soon as they were the target of a spell.

The Skeletal Giant NEST wasn’t too much different from the one with the Gorillum; there were still 3 different tunnels to travel down, and locked door preventing him from getting to the NEST Boss.  The only real difference was what could be found inside the tunnels, as the loose rocks inside looked to be shaped closer to gravestones than simple boulders, and there was a deeper darkness inside of each of the caves that seemed as if it was necrotic in nature, though it didn’t hurt him at all.  Sadia mentioned that it likely would come to that over time, as the NEST became more attuned to the monsters spawning from it, but at the moment it was relatively harmless.

Through each tunnel, he killed everything on the way to the Mini Boss before extracting loot from the corpses on the way back to the bottom of the pit, and again the most time-consuming thing was the actual extraction.  He barely had to walk into each of the Mini Boss caves before he killed the monsters inside and then looting, and he never even got the chance to see what they did.  He caught their names, but that was about all he saw from them because they didn’t live long enough to do anything but shift slightly when he arrived. 

Skeletal Giant Basher (Mini Boss) – Advanced NEST Defender

Level 430 (Perceived Level: 559)

Skeletal Behemoth (Mini Boss) – Advanced NEST Defender

Level 430 (Perceived Level: 559)

Skeletal Giant Warlock (Mini Boss) – Advanced NEST Defender

Level 430 (Perceived Level: 559)

The NEST Boss, once he unlocked the door, was equally as easy to defeat, as were the dozens of Skeletal Giants present within the massive cavern in which it resided.  It took a few steps toward him before it collapsed, but he was at least able to see that the Boss was about 5 feet taller than a normal Giant, was a bit wider with even thicker bones, and carried two dark metal swords 10 feet in length, which emanated an energy that looked capable of crossing the distance to him if he gave it a chance.

Skeletal Giant Champion (Boss) – Advanced NEST Defender

Level 450 (Perceived Level: 585)

Overall, once he managed to kill the Boss and loot it, Thaden managed to acquire over 6,000 Gold pieces, which wasn’t a ton, but it wasn’t bad for only about 15 minutes of work.  As he touched the crystal pedestal that appeared at the bottom of the pit, he was only slightly disappointed but not really surprised that he didn’t receive any other Achievements or anything of significance.  He waited for the Defensive Fortification to appear once he was brought back up to ground Level, and he could see for the first time just how many Subjugation Points he received by subjugating the NEST, as well as the updated costs thanks to his newest Achievements.

NEST #0018 subjugation complete!

Subjugation Points (SP) [#32599999-E]: 95 SP

Current (SP) Accumulation [#32599999-E]: 14 SP/hr

Purchasable Defensive Fortification Options (Permanent Discount Cost):

Siege Wall Stage 1 – 10 (7) SP

Wall Walkways Stage 1 – 5 (3) SP

Steel Gate Stage 1 – 5 (3) SP

Murder Holes Stage 1 – 5 (3) SP

Defensive Spikes Stage 1 – 10 (7) SP

Repulsion Barrier Stage 1 – 20 (14) SP

Arcane Ballista Emplacement Stage 1 – 10 (7) SP

Explosive Catapult Emplacement Stage 1 –10 (7) SP

Horizontal Cutter Emplacement Stage 1 –10 (7) SP

Perimeter Pit Stage 1 – 10 (7) SP

Autonomous Defender Stage 1 (Fighter) – 2 (2) SP

Autonomous Defender Stage 1 (Mage) – 2 (2) SP

Autonomous Defender Stage 1 (Scout) – 2 (2) SP

Autonomous Defender Stage 1 (Control) – 2 (2) SP

Autonomous Defender Stage 1 (Support) – 2 (2) SP

Upgrade Fortification Guardian to Stage 2 – 30 (21) SP

Resurrection Well Stage 1– 100 (70) SP

Central Keep Stage 1 – 20 (14) SP

Additional options will be made available once certain prerequisites have been met

Remaining NESTs still active… 8,999/9,000

He didn’t bother spending any of the SP yet, as it would be a waste of time, so he immediately left the pedestal and exited the destroyed town where the NEST had been.  Leaving it behind would convert it back to a NEST, so there was no point in building anything up within the Defensive Fortification. 

At least, not at this time.

The second-closest NEST, which was located just over 7 miles to the northeast, was also inhabited by Undead, though instead of skeletons, it was full of Wraiths.

Wraith of Shadows – Advanced Wildlands Denizen

Level 380 (Perceived Level: 494)

The Wraith of Shadows was completely incorporeal, with it being a combination of a spiritual being with access to large amounts of Shadow-based magical attacks.  It was relatively small compared to many of the other denizens of the Wildlands, at only 6 feet tall and about half that wide, but it packed a punch with its magical and spiritual abilities.  What was essentially a floating, ragged-looking, hooded cloak with two spectral blue eyes peeking out of the dark hood and desiccated and bony arms extending out toward its target, could cast some extremely nasty spells such as one that could create a vortex of shadows that shredded anything it passed through.

Of course, none of these spells even managed to get close to Thaden as he attacked the Wraiths without even slowing down, and he only saw the spells themselves go off because the spiritual undead had a fairly extensive detection and casting range, which outstripped even his own healing spells.  Even those that were cast a little distance away from him didn’t manage to harm him in the least, as his defenses were more than capable of standing up to the spells.  His 60% Shadow Resistance didn’t hurt, either.

The NEST was, as he’d seen in the others that he’d cleared, was fairly generic in its setup and environment, though he could see how it would eventually begin to acclimate to the Wraiths that inhabited it.  The darkness inside of it was deeper than even the Skeletal Giant NEST, and there were wider caves that allowed the Wraiths inside a greater distance in which to inflict their magical attacks upon any incoming invaders.

The Mini Bosses and the Boss itself were simply stronger, altered, or “evolved” versions of the Wraith of Shadows, which he was beginning to see was going to be a common theme.  Sadia mentioned that the vast differences in these evolved forms of monsters was greater at the start of the Phase, while minor changes would occur later once a specific evolutionary path was essentially chosen by the NESTs themselves. 

Wraith of Striking Shadows (Mini Boss) – Advanced NEST Defender  

Level 430 (Perceived Level: 559)

Wraith of Warping Shadows (Mini Boss) – Advanced NEST Defender  

Level 430 (Perceived Level: 559)

Wraith of Screeching Shadows (Mini Boss) – Advanced NEST Defender  

Level 430 (Perceived Level: 559)

Greater Wraith of Darkness (Boss) – Advanced NEST Defender  

Level 450 (Perceived Level: 585)

The Wraith of Striking Shadows seemed to be more adept at creating physical shadowy weapons in which to strike its target from multiple directions, while the Warping one could not only move through the shadows with a teleporting ability, but could also teleport its victims who were also bathed in shadows.  The Screeching variety used the shadows filling the caves as a medium to spread ear-piercing and disorienting screeches, which were extremely annoying and he was glad he was able to kill it within seconds.  Finally, the Boss—a Greater Wraith of Darkness—was simply a slightly larger version of the original Wraith of Shadows, and it had some similar capabilities of the other three Mini Bosses. 

The only reason he discovered what these Undead monsters could do was simply because the caves where they were located were quite at least twice as large as any of the others he’d seen thus far, giving them plenty of room to use their abilities before he managed to close the distance.  Thankfully, the fights were over in seconds as his healing spells were able to target them before they could become too annoying.

In the end, he earned a little over 5,000 Gold from his work in the NEST, slightly less than the Skeletal Giant NEST, but there were also fewer monsters in general.  Thinking about all of the Gold he would normally earn from Intermediate Raid Party Dungeons, 5,000 or 6,000 was only a small fraction of those massive sums – but they also typically took longer, not only to delve through, but to reach.  At his current Level, it would be more time-consuming to actually find a dungeon that would have monsters of a high-enough Level for him to earn more than a pittance, both in terms of loot and PICK, than it was to simply move from NEST to NEST.  While he might, theoretically, earn more if he really dedicated himself to moving from each of the dozen Intermediate Dungeons or so that would be beneficial to him, that wasn’t why he was concentrating all of his energy out in the Wildlands.

First and foremost, knowing what they were up against out in the Wildlands was important, and now he was knowledgeable of at least the two nearest NESTs – and he wasn’t planning on stopping until he could map out at least a few hundred square miles of NESTs as he ventured out from the Region #1 entrance.  After all, foreknowledge of what they would be facing as they began the next step in the plan was going to be imperative to success.

Secondly, and what Thaden was looking forward to, was the experiments he wanted to try with the NESTs and the Defensive Fortifications that would be built after they were subjugated.  There were a few ideas that he wanted to try out to see if he could take advantage of his unique abilities, and now was probably the best chance to do that while he had the time and opportunity.

Lastly, there was a tertiary reason he was back out in the Wildlands instead of farming resources inside of the Region.  As he departed the Defensive Fortification around NEST #0019 and the countdown for Wraiths to reestablish their NEST began, he looked slightly up and into the far distance.  He wasn’t exactly sure how far away it was, but in the light of the clear day, he could see what appeared to be a floating structure miles above the surface of the Wildlands.  Details were difficult to make out at this distance, but he had a strange feeling that this was where the Wardens of Tarth called home.  There was a sense of both judgment and authority that practically emanated from the cylindrical structure containing a multitude of grand columns, like some sort of Mount Olympus where the Gods waited while they watched over man.

There was still something he needed from the Wardens that he’d met, after all.  It wasn’t the Aelveen that he needed to see, either, even though he was curious if they’d made it out alright after the explosion that destroyed The Citadel; instead, he hoped that the Charee Wardens had survived, because he still needed them to upgrade his Adventurer Coalition Badge Rank to Platinum.

Yes, he was well aware that it was a petty thing to ask for when the fate of all the Contenders in Tarth was at stake with the early start of Developmental Phase 4, but he earned that Rank – and he wanted it.  There really wasn’t much else that he desired, as there wasn’t likely to be much other than an accessory that would allow him to fly, perhaps, as Gold and materials weren’t anything but trinkets to pass on as he had no use for them.  But to have his Adventurer Coalition Rank to finally achieve Platinum status was something permanent that couldn’t be lost or taken away from him – as far as he knew. 

Thaden wasn’t sure how to get their attention so that he could upgrade his Rank, but he hoped that the more time he spent out in the Wildlands, he would figure out how it worked.  Unfortunately, Sadia was no help in that regard, because she was unaware of any way to get their attention other than doing something that would require their intervention. 

“Such as?” he asked.

“Such as powerful groups of Mages destroying half of the Wildlands with wild spells, which could potentially damage the NEST spawn gates to the point where they might rupture,” she informed him.  “While that wouldn’t be nearly as devastating as letting the Adversary inside the world of Tarth, the consequences of a ruptured spawn gate could have wide-ranged effects, and none of it would be beneficial to the Contenders.”

Even as he ran toward the next NEST, seeing what it had in store for him, he looked over the rest of his recent gains.  In addition to the physical resources that he’d acquired, he also gained some more stat boosts from the use of periodic casts of Spiritual Reclamation on the Wraiths and the Skeletal Giants, which slowly added up over time.

Physicality +76

Celerity +13

Mentality +85

There weren’t any other permanent bonuses from killing them other than stats, but he intuitively felt as though he was right on the cusp of something.  He thought it might be something related to fighting undead, but he couldn’t be entirely sure.

In addition to those extra stats, from all of his fights throughout the Wildlands so far, his solo-focused Growth equipment had benefitted from the PICK he’d been receiving.  It wasn’t a massive increase, but pushing them all up to Level 215 was impressive all the same.  He knew that it would take them a while to reach his own Level, but with all of the fighting he was going to be doing in the near future, he was fairly confident they would eventually get to that point.  Then, he would have to make some decisions about the massive reserve of PICK he had saved up; would he Level-up again, just enough at a time to avoid maxing out his reserves, or would he bump it all the way up to his next Class Evolution at Level 567?  Fortunately, he had some time to decide on that, so he wasn’t under too much pressure to come to an immediate decision.

While he wasn’t under any huge time constraints with his future choices, at the moment he didn’t want to delay his current objectives.  With that in mind, he spent the next hour moving from NEST to NEST, starting the process of mapping out where each one was located closest to Region #1, memorizing what monsters inhabited them and surrounding areas, and noting any unique qualities each of the NESTs might have.  As for the latter, there wasn’t really all that much to note, at least at first, but he could see some slight progress toward the individual environments beginning to change as they acclimated to the monsters that filled their caves.

With each subsequent NEST he subjugated, he could feel himself becoming faster at delving through and killing all of the weaker monsters in addition to the Mini Bosses and the Boss, until it only took a few minutes to clear it out completely after actually arriving.  The longest and most annoying part—especially as he was trying to move through them quickly—of the entire process turned out to be waiting for the NEST to fill up and the Defensive Fortification to appear.  He debated simply abandoning it as soon as he killed the Boss, but his experience with delving through dungeons and acquiring many, many Achievements hinted to him that it would be better for him if he finished the entire process – even if he were to abandon the Defensive Fortification immediately afterward.

It was once he finished subjugating his eighth overall NEST and was heading toward the ninth that he felt something familiar heading straight for him.  As he looked up toward the large structure he’d been eyeing every once in a while, he saw a group of figures flying toward him; the familiar feeling was coming from them, and he knew exactly what it was – the Wardens. 

The biggest differences between when he’d felt their presence before and what he felt now was that the feeling of the System that practically reverberated around them was much stronger – and the Level Compression they naturally exuded as they approached was more than noticeable.  It wasn’t “weaponized” as of yet, as he was simply aware of it, but being able to feel it from such a difference could only mean one thing.

They were much higher Level now.  While he thought that he had left them all in relatively good terms as he left to fight the Adversary within The Citadel, with the current Level difference between them significantly higher than before, he wasn’t sure if they were still insistent in completing the Quest they had told him about.  He thought about preemptively running, but he held off for the moment because he didn’t necessarily feel any hostile intent coming his way; still, he prepared himself with all of the defensive spells he could cast upon himself and Sadia, while he waited for them to arrive.