Healer Book 6 -- Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Despite the distance from where he’d landed to where The Citadel used to be being quite a trek, only about 100 monsters met their end while Thaden ran back to The Citadel.  He supposed that made sense because he hadn’t gone out of his way to hunt them down; the ones that died simply happened to cross his path as he shot across the landscape of the Wildlands.  That being said, he saw tens of thousands of monsters along the way, most of them in the distance, wandering seemingly aimlessly around with no specific purpose.  A few outside of his range attempted to chase him when they spotted him running through their territory, but none of them were fast enough to keep up.  After a short time, all of them stopped the chase and retreated back to where they’d started; he thought this was probably a good thing, as he didn’t end wanting to take thousands of monsters back to his Region.

That was about the only good news as far as he was concerned, however, because his return to the Contenders in Region #1 wasn’t exactly the homecoming he had been hoping for.  Granted, he hadn’t been expecting to be welcomed back with open arms, but the sudden hostility by Corinna hurt him more than he wanted to admit even to himself.  The sudden turn in her attitude toward him after his explanation of what happened lessened the impact of the abrupt hostility he felt from the nominal leader of Guilded Glory, but it had certainly tinted the discussions that occurred after the original meeting.

What happened?  Did I do something?  Other than starting Phase 4, of course, which wasn’t my intention.

Whatever it was, he became a bit standoffish with the woman after her treatment of him.  While he logically understood that she was probably lashing out at him over all of the changes that kept coming one right after another, his emotional wellbeing couldn’t take the abuse – especially when his mental wellbeing was still in flux over everything he’d learned from Director Belyssa about the Assimilation System and the Persistent Adversary. 

Shaking his head minutely as he lounged in the chair set up in the giant, open-air tent that someone had pitched near the crater that used to be The Citadel Dungeon, he tried to force his attention back to the planning session that was still ongoing.  For her part, Corinna’s logistical aptitude really showed as she dominated most of the conversation concerning shifting around resources and the like.  The other Guild Leaders, who had multiplied significantly enough that they included more than just the top 50 Guilds in the Region, spoke up and argued over specific points here and there, but it wasn’t over anything critical.

The severity of the situation had put aside many of the differences between the Guilds that might have otherwise been stressed, as cooperation was the only way they were going to survive.  Of course, there were the inevitable, short-sighted individuals who were only looking out for themselves, which caused a half-dozen Guild Leaders to storm off and leave in anger when the others weren’t having any of it.

“…this is ridiculous!  While you all are wasting time playing around, we’ll continue Leveling up through the Intermediate Raid Dungeons!  It’s been proven to work, whereas this stupid plan is only going to get us all killed!”

“Exactly!  I’m not going to risk my people on foolish ideas like this!  Just because you’re in the top 10 doesn’t mean you can dictate to the rest of us what we have to do!”

“You’re just trying to—”

Corinna clapped loudly enough that it sent an audible shockwave through the tent, cutting off the complaints immediately.  “If you don’t care enough about our overall survival here on Tarth to follow the plan, then you can simply leave,” she said sternly in an even voice – with a hint of violence tinting the edges of her words.  “We’re trying to work together to save everyone, but if you can’t add anything constructive and aren’t willing to contribute to our success, then not only do we not want you here, but you’ll be more of a hindrance than a help.”  She paused for a second as, before she continued.  “The adults are speaking here, and if you persist in whining like a spoiled little child, then you can fuck off and get the hell out of here.”

Two of those that were arguing most vehemently got up and left at that point while cursing out Corinna and the other Guild Leaders the entire time, while those that had been on the fence sat back down and shut their mouths.  They still might be an issue in the future, but for now, they seemed to be brought back into line.

Wow.  Is it strange that I’m a little turned on right now?

He worked to mentally regain his composure as he shifted in his seat, and the discussions and preparations continued even more diligently after that.  Thaden gladly contributed even more of his Gold to the cause, as he had no use for it otherwise, and the smile that Corinna flashed him—as well as the way she took charge earlier—almost made him think he’d imagined the way she’d acted toward him earlier.  However, he still wasn’t sure where they stood when they finally broke after multiple hours of organizational planning, in which he’d barely been able to stay awake.

Even if it was important to the survival of everyone in the Region, and potentially all of Tarth, he couldn’t deny that it was extensively boring.  While he had been a Data Analyst in his past life back on Earth, which, admittedly, wasn’t the most exciting of jobs, he enjoyed numbers and looking into the deeper reasons why they changed they way they did.  It was the steps after the data analysis happened that he didn’t care for, which included all of the planning and logistics that Corinna and many of the other Guild Leaders seemed to thrive upon.  He supposed that it was almost a prerequisite to being a powerful Guild Leader, as they needed to be able to herd cats and be happy about it at the same time, something that Thaden wouldn’t ever be comfortable with.

“…and I guess that’s it.  We’ll have to reconvene once things start moving, and I’ll be sending out regular communications to every one of you regarding our progress.  For now, sticking to the plan won’t be too much different than it was before; once we hit that critical point we were talking about, however, is when we’ll need to start moving together.  Anyone have any questions?”

Thaden did have some questions, after he realized that he hadn’t really paid much attention to the decisions that had been made, as he simply tuned it out in his boredom.  He didn’t say anything, however, as he didn’t want to hold up the conclusion of the gathering; he was more of an action person, and having all of these people listen to him ask questions would only make him uncomfortable.

Fortunately no one else had any questions, so the meeting between the most powerful Guild Leaders ended relatively unceremoniously, and they – and their Guild members nearby – immediately began to disperse.  As Corinna turned to him as he got up, she looked at him for a few seconds before sighing heavily.  “You don’t have any idea what the plan is, do you?” she asked with a smirk.

“Not particularly.  I think I know my role, however, if what I mentioned earlier is still on the table.”

She nodded, relief clear on her face.  “Well, let me give you a quick rundown.  I need to get some better measurements of the crater, so I can do that while you join me.”

Corinna began walking toward the hole in the mountain range, or more accurately, the crater below it; Thaden followed after, joining her on her short trek.  “First, we’re mobilizing as many Charee as we can hire, but especially those with construction and terrain-moving capabilities.  The first job is to fill in and smooth over this crater, giving us a sound foundation in which to build our defenses.  Then, we’ll be utilizing periodic teams of Contenders in addition to the Charee we hire who can help to move and construct a massive fortification that will stretch the entire length of this opening in the mountain range, with a wall 100 feet tall and 30 feet thick, which will hopefully be high and thick enough to prevent most monsters heading our way from breaking through into the Region immediately.

“After it’s built, teams of Charee and Contender crafters will be hired to enchant the walls and other fortifications, strengthening it even further, while other crafters will be producing large-scale defensive weapons that will contribute to the strength of our protections, giving us a bulwark against whatever the Wildlands has to throw at us.”

“Won’t they be… sort of weak, though?” Thaden asked.

With a nod, she pulled out a strange metal contraption out of her Inventory and began using it to take measurements of the crater.  “Absolutely.  Which is where you first come in,” she said, glancing over at him to make sure he was paying attention.  “After working with many Charee and Contender crafters, we’ve learned a few things about their capabilities – and how to improve upon them.  First, Charee crafters are typically limited to creating things that are just above the average Level of the Contenders; I can only assume that the System planned for them to not only keep up with the Contenders that they’re helping to outfit, but to keep them ahead of their progress.

“However, Contender crafters aren’t quite as limited, as they can continue to improve their crafting Comptencies far past what the Charee crafters can normally produce at any one time.  The problem is that it takes high-Level materials and lots of Gold to accomplish this reliably, so it is very difficult for Contender crafters to acquire this without someone constantly feeding them these costly resources.  What most people don’t know, though, is that Charee crafters can be boosted the same – and at a much faster rate, with better results.”

It only took him a second to understand what she was saying.  “So, we’ll be feeding the Charee crafters with what they need to improve their crafting Competencies, so that they can produce high-Level enchantments and defensive weapons?  And I’m going to be helping with that?”

“Exactly.  With your unique bonuses, you can help us farm some materials, but those are more easier obtained than you might think.  More importantly, we need Gold – which is where you come in.  You’d be surprised how much of it is consumed in the sheer production of crafts; it’s essentially the fuel that is consumed in the process, and that isn’t figure of speech – I mean that literally.  The System balances out how much is produced by the monsters that are slain within Tarth as it is consumed by crafting, and the higher the Level of crafting, the more it consumes.”

“So, you just need me to kill lots of monsters for Gold?  Is that it?”

Again, she nodded.  “Yes.  We have plenty of reserves right now, even with the upheaval over the last month or so, but it will run out in a few weeks as we push everyone to increase their Competencies like crazy, all so that we can be prepared for when the Wildlands monsters start to attack us.  It won’t necessarily be easy, but I think we can manage at least that much before it’s too late – as long as we get that Gold.”

That sounded easy enough for him.  He could accumulate Gold, materials, and PICK to increase the Level of his Growth equipment at the same time.  It would also give him an opportunity to try a few things with the NESTs and the Defensive Fortifications.

“And after the defensive wall is done?  What then?”

Corinna looked over at him again after recording yet another measurement.  “That’s when we try some of those crazy ideas you had earlier.  If you want, you can experiment a bit with those thoughts you had before it gets to that point in the plan, just to ensure we have time to come up with something else if it doesn’t work out like you thought.”

“I could do that.  Seems easy enough, I suppose.”

“Good,” she responded, even as she started looking at the side walls of the canyon-like hole in the mountain range.  “I’ll have a representative of the Guild here at all times that you can make drop-offs to whenever you can, or if you’re planning on moving around a bit more, then you can drop them off to me.”

“And where will you be?” he asked.

“Where else?  Headquarters in Darkwood Vale.  I’ll have to go out and Level-up myself once in a while, but I’ll likely be organizing everything from there.”  She sighed heavily, her head hanging down.  “I really wish Rachel was still here.  She would’ve had this whole thing organized much better than I ever could, and there wouldn’t be so many unknowns that I need to research before I can make a decision.”

Thaden walked up next to her and put his hand on her shoulder.  “Don’t sell yourself short; you’ve done an amazing job not only keeping the Guild afloat, but from what I’ve heard, you’ve even improved it from what it was before.  I think Rachel would be proud of what you’ve already accomplished, as well as what you’re going to do with it from here.  Besides, saving the world has to be a good addition to your resume, right?”

She sniffed a few times, before turning to him and placing her head on his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist.  Thaden was momentarily conflicted, as he still wasn’t sure what to think of their relationship, but he eventually hugged her back.  He could tell that this didn’t have to do anything with their relationship; she was simply in need of comfort, and he was capable of giving it.

“Thanks.  I certainly hope that you’re right, even if it feels like I’m always a single wrong decision away from everything falling apart.”  They stood like that for about a half-minute before she gradually pulled away, giving him a slight smile as she turned toward her work again.  “Sorry to cut that short, because it was quite nice, but we’ve both got a lot of work to do.” Corinna was silent for a moment as she worked.  “Any other questions?” she eventually asked.

Smiling back at her, feeling slightly better about what they had between them, even if it felt like it was in limbo at the moment, Thaden shook his head.  “No, I think I’ve got it.”

“Perfect.  Then, you go out and do your thing; I can see you itching to get back out there and brave the entire Wildlands by yourself, you maniac.”

Chuckling, he couldn’t deny it.  He had just barely been able to explore the massive area of the Wildlands, and there was more that he wanted to experiment with and discover about Developmental Phase 4.  “I’ll be on my way there in a short while.  There’s something I need to pick up before I get back to it.”

“What do you need?”

He told her about his Party-focused set of Growth equipment that he’d been forced to abandon back near The Citadel.  With a smirk, he was surprised when she began taking those very items out of her Inventory and handed them to him.  “We found them a few dozen miles to the south, and no one could even pick them up.  For some reason, the System thought that I was worthy, so I stored them in the hopes that I’d see you again.”

He paused at that, wondering why it was the System allowed her to hold onto them, but he shrugged it off.

As he thanked her and he turned to leave, she put her hand out and laid it on his arm.  “You’re crazy, Thaden, but a good crazy.  As much trouble as you seem to bring me, I’m glad you’re not dead.  And perhaps when you come visit me later, you can help me relax a little from the intense pressure I’ve been under leading the Guild and saving the world.”  With that statement, it was her who turned away as she ran out of the crater, apparently done with her measurements.

Shaking his head as he processed what just happened, he couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his face as he sprinted back north.  Sadia joined him a few seconds later, having given him privacy as he spoke with Corinna.  He ignored the knowing look on her face as she smirked at him; his focus was on getting back to the Wildlands, where he could finally let loose a little, knowing that the Region was in the Guilded Glory Leader’s good hands.