New Story -- Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Without access to a Support Class Representative, there really wasn’t anything that Thaden could do to get a new Class. And without a new Class, he couldn’t advance past Level 21, which meant no more spells or stat points gained through Leveling-up, and essentially no development. What it also meant was that any PICK that he would’ve normally earned was now lost, similar to what had happened with the lost PICK from his Achievements. That was a disappointment at the time, but ultimately not that big of a deal in the long run; now, though, any that he earned from that point on until he was able to pick a new Class would go to waste.

Thaden was tempted to demand that one of the Representatives be available for him because he was a Contender as well, but he’d already been warned against that by Virlo. While he didn’t have a problem confiding in Boydlen about his situation against the Town Guard’s suggestion to keep such things to himself, he had just used the excuse that the Assimilation System didn’t make mistakes when he was dealing with the Coalition Leader concerning his badge. Contradicting himself so soon – or at all – was probably not the wisest idea.

Besides, the Charee in charge of this Coalition branch was already suspicious of him because he was asking about the Representative, and a stuttered excuse that he’d simply heard about them somewhere probably wasn’t very convincing. He wasn’t sure how omniscient the System was, but the last thing he wanted was someone somehow communicating with it to report Thaden as an aberration that needed to be removed – if that was even possible. For every thing he knew about the System, there were probably 100 things that he didn’t know about it.

Professed ignorance of the System and/or proclaiming himself to be a Contender when he wasn’t supposed to be there was surely to be a red flag.

Therefore, after gaining the knowledge that the Representatives wouldn’t be available for nearly three months and leaving the Coalition Leader, Thaden wandered around Ashcleft aimlessly, feeling a bit lost since his goals had been thwarted. Eventually, the looks he acquired from the townsfolk reminded him that he needed some new clothes, and his wanderings brought him to a Tailor. Inside, the woman treated him like crap – which was to be expected at that point – until he bought two sets of rather plain clothing, a dark-grey button-up shirt and some soft, brown, canvas pants that sort of reminded him of jeans with a nice drawstring. He changed there out of his robe and was treated marginally better by the Tailor, and he was even referred to a Cobbler for a custom pair of boots, which was available for him to pick up later in the day.

The mundane tasks of shopping helped him to clear his head from all the disappointed thoughts that had invaded his mind since his talk with Boydlen. Eventually, he got food from the same vendor as before, and sitting down on a half-wall located near the town center, he ate it all while contemplating what to do now.

Unless some miracle happens, it doesn’t appear as though I’ll be acquiring a new Class and Leveling any more for the time being. Which leaves me only a few options of what I should do, especially considering that acquiring any more PICK is essentially wasted on me.

First, I could do absolutely nothing. I have plenty of Gold now, around 75 and some change if I’m not mistaken, even with my expenditures today. From the prices of food and lodging around Ashcleft, I could probably live here for at least a year or more even if I’m lavish in my expenses. In addition, I have that cloak and knife I was able to acquire from the Mausoleum of Despair, so selling them might net me even more money – though I have no idea how much they’re worth.

That doesn’t exactly seem like something I want to do, just hanging around town all day and doing nothing; sure, back on Earth that sounds perfect, but here I have a power I never had and opportunities I’d never dreamed of before.

So, if that option is likely out of the running, there are other possibilities. The second option would be to take Boydlen up on some easy Quests, perhaps earning enough Rank Progress to get to the next Rank after Bronze. However, from what I saw before, it is unlikely that any “easy” Quests will be available for my current Rank that would offer Rank Progress, so anything I took would likely be a bit harder than what my Level would be suited for. Granted, I have some advantages, but so far I’ve only been really effective against low-Level monsters and the Undead, so unless a Quest is designed to go up against either of those, then I’m not sure how effective I’ll be. If I was forced to fight a dragon or a giant, for instance, it’s doubtful I’d be able to do anything to hurt them.

The next option is to travel to other towns or cities and visit their Adventurer Coalition branches to see if there are any parties that I can join. I’m sure there are some out there that would be overjoyed to have a healer on their team, but finding them might be a bit of an issue. Based on the SPECIAL Quest I just completed, I was the only one nearby that was able to be assigned to the Quest, which means that if there are other Coalition members, they’re likely a much lower Level.

While that isn’t that big of a problem for me, what exactly would be the point of partying with other Adventurers if they weren’t around my Level? What would we even do? I can’t gain any PICK, after all, and lower Level and lower Rank Quests don’t really pay that well according to the Quest Board. Not that I’m broke right now or anything, but that just seems like a waste of time to me.

The last option is to keep myself busy by doing what I can do. I already know that I can kill the Undead, so why not go back and run through the Mausoleum of Despair on Medial difficulty again?

Just the thought of that made him recoil in disgust, but at the same time he couldn’t help but acknowledge that it had some merit.

Sure, I can’t acquire any more PICK, but there’s nothing stopping me from improving my Competencies. In addition, if it works like dungeons from the RPGs I’ve played in the past, all the loot might be reset in the treasure room; if it is, then it might even be different than it was before, meaning I might be able to actually take some more things with me if I prepare accordingly. I am stronger now with my extra Physicality, so the thought of actually bringing some more of those weapons and armor out from there is intriguing. If I was to sell it in town, I could probably get a bit for some of the Rarer pieces, or I could keep it until the rest of the people from Earth arrive as Contenders and potentially sell it to them.

If that whole idea works, then I could farm the dungeon over and over again. Naturally, I need to discover the rules behind the dungeons here, such as if it respawns completely, only partially, or is refilled with monsters organically. Does it reset entirely as soon as I leave? Is there a waiting period before someone else can enter? Can multiple parties enter into different instances? There are too many unknowns, but I could certainly find out.

The more he thought about the latter option, as horrible as it sounded going back to the Mausoleum, the more he started to warm to the idea. If he remembered correctly, there were also a few Quests on the Board at the Coalition that had to do with the Undead or the dungeon in one way or another; none of them were SPECIAL Quests, of course, but if he was already going there, then he could certainly look at them and see if they were easy enough to complete while he was out and about.

After considering all his options, Thaden decided that his last one was the best one for him. While finding a party to join would likely have some sort of benefit, he just couldn’t bring himself to join up with anyone from this world unless he had to. It might have been a been a bit prejudicial or even racist to base his opinions of any potential party members on his interactions with the Charee he’d met thus far, but he couldn’t help but feel predisposed to not like them in return. Only Boydlen had been even somewhat polite, at least at first, but a hint of his true feelings had made itself known when arguing about Thaden’s Coalition Badge and his Rank Progress.

Making up his mind to stay solo for a while, his determination lent a bit of a pep to his step as he planned out and acquired what he was going to need if he was heading toward the Mausoleum of Despair once again. First, he found a buyer for the cloak and dagger he still had in his pack at Tailored Finery and the Ashcleft Blacksmith, who bought them from him for a total of 2 gold, 15 silver. He had no idea if he got ripped off, but he did manage to haggle his way up from what was nearly half as much, so he supposed that it was the best he was going to get without more data concerning the current market.

After that was done, he spent some time upgrading his pack to one that was twice as large and filling it with even more food supplies that he’d need while he was gone, as well as purchasing a second pack that he folded up and put inside his first pack. He figured that if he had too much to put in a single pack, he was now strong enough to carry a second – at least for the length of time it took to return to town after clearing the dungeon again.

Back in the Coalition building, Thaden spoke to Boydlen about a few things; the Coalition Leader seemed more than happy to accommodate him, being even friendlier than usual. He could only assume it was because he now held a higher Rank, because otherwise it seemed out of place even for the normally excited Charee.

“Why, yes, the Coalition acts as a bank for you and any of its members. You can also retrieve your stored currency from any branch throughout Tarth, though the process is still be set up for when the Contenders arrive,” Boydlen answered apologetically when Thaden asked about somewhere he could keep his gold safe. “There will normally be someone in each branch that handles that, but they won’t arrive until about the same time as the Class Representatives. For now, though, I have the ability and authority to handle any such transactions. Do you wish to make a deposit?”

Thaden did, and he ended up storing all but a single gold’s worth of change, which he kept on his person. “That comes to a total of… 76 gold, 17 silver, and 34 copper. Will that be all?” If that was a large amount of money, Thaden couldn’t tell, because the Coalition Leader simply took the money and made it disappear with a wave of his hand.

“Yes, I would like to take a few Quests, if you don’t mind.”

“Absolutely! Take a look and let me know!”

Thaden did just that, and it didn’t take long before he brought back four pieces of paper with Quests on them from the Board.

“These three will not provide any Rank Progress, just so you are aware,” Boydlen remarked, looking over the Quests the Assistant Healer brought over.

“I know. But I figure that if I’ve already there, then I might as well make a little bit more money.”

He nodded, before placing his hand over all three of the Quests, and a flash of light lit them up individually; Thaden noticed that his message feed had also updated, showing his new Quests that had been assigned.

[Quest Type: DUNGEON MAINTENANCE

Rank Requirement: Leather

Quest Time Limit: 5 days/Repeatable every 2 days

Quest Difficulty: High-Minimal

Minimum Recommended Level: 9

Minimum Recommended Party Size: 5

Quest Description: The Undead are a constant menace and require a thinning of their numbers before they become too much of a problem. Delve through the Mausoleum of Despair Dungeon (Minimal) and kill at least 100 Undead to thin their numbers

Completion Requirements: Kill 100 Undead in the Mausoleum of Despair Dungeon (Minimal)

Quest Rewards: 4 silver, 200 PICK, and 4 Rank Progress up to Copper

Bonus Completion Requirements: Completely clear the Mausoleum of Despair Dungeon (Minimal) of all Undead

Bonus Quest Rewards: All prior rewards in addition to 10 silver, 800 PICK, and 10 Rank Progress up to Copper

Current Ashcleft Adventurer Coalition Members Assigned: 1/1]

[Quest Type: RESOURCE COLLECTION

Rank Requirement: Wood

Quest Time Limit: None/Repeatable

Quest Difficulty: Mid-Minimal

Minimum Recommended Level: 5

Minimum Recommended Party Size: 2

Quest Description: The Alchemy Conglomerate needs more Bone Dust for their potions! Acquire Bone Dust as a byproduct of slain Skeleton-type Undead

Completion Requirements: Acquire and present 20 units of Bone Dust

Quest Rewards: 15 silver, 50 PICK, and 1 Rank Progress up to Leather

Current Ashcleft Adventurer Coalition Members Assigned: 1/1]

[Quest Type: RESOURCE COLLECTION

Rank Requirement: Wood

Quest Time Limit: None/Repeatable

Quest Difficulty: Mid-Minimal

Minimum Recommended Level: 6

Minimum Recommended Party Size: 2

Quest Description: The Alchemy Conglomerate needs more Ectoplasm for their potions! Acquire Ectoplasm as a byproduct of slain Phantasm-type Undead

Completion Requirements: Acquire and present 20 units of Ectoplasm

Quest Rewards: 20 silver, 60 PICK, and 1 Rank Progress up to Leather

Current Ashcleft Adventurer Coalition Members Assigned: 1/1]

“One quick question,” Thaden said after the Quests were assigned to him. “How do I determine how much a unit is?” He was fairly certain he could acquire Bone Dust and Ectoplasm from killing the Undead, but how was he supposed to carry back Ectoplasm to town – and how much would he need?”

“Ah, yes, I almost forgot,” Boydlen said, before a small pack appeared in front of him with yet another wave of his hand. It was constructed of dark leather and was approximately the length and width of a DVD case, though it was approximately 5 inches in height. It also had straps attached to the sides, making a sort of belt-like fastener so that it could be wrapped around something. It only took a few seconds of looking at it before he realized it was supposed to go tie around his waist.

It's… a fanny pack.

Lifting up the tie-flap, he saw 20 glass test tube-like objects with black rubber-looking corks, all fitted snugly in a stiff leather horizontal rack that he thought was made specifically for the purpose of being transported.

“Each of these are a unit, and this whole pack is supplied by the Alchemy Conglomerate. The separate containers are made of shatterproof glass, so you don’t have to worry about being too careful with them, but if you end up losing any of the components, the expense will come out of your rewards. Upon completion, or even incompletion, of each Resource Collection Quest, you’ll be required to turn in the entire pack or will be fined for its replacement of 30 silver.” After his speech, he summoned another one from nowhere and passed it to him. “That should be enough to fulfill both of your Resource Collection Quests. If you need additional collection packs, please let me know.”

“Will do. And this other Quest?” Thaden asked, waving at the other paper he brought up.

“Are you sure you want this? It’ll be a bit rough for you considering your Level, your Class, and your lack of a party.”

Thaden nodded. “Yes. I’ll be fine.”

“Alright. Just know, you can abandon a Quest if it is too difficult for you to complete with no penalties. The only caveat is if you start abandoning all your Quests or frequently leave them open long enough that they expire, you’ll start receiving bad marks on your membership, which can lead up to and including expulsion from the Coalition.” Without another word, Boydlen passed his hand over the paper and Thaden saw the Quest appear on his feed.

[Quest Type: DUNGEON MAINTENANCE

Rank Requirement: Copper

Quest Time Limit: 5 days/Repeatable every 4 days

Quest Difficulty: Mid-Minimal

Minimum Recommended Level: 20

Minimum Recommended Party Size: 5

Quest Description: The Undead are a constant menace and require a thinning of their numbers before they become too much of a problem. Delve through the Mausoleum of Despair Dungeon (Medial) and kill at least 100 Undead to thin their numbers

Completion Requirements: Kill 100 Undead in the Mausoleum of Despair Dungeon (Medial)

Quest Rewards: 1 gold, 1,000 PICK, and 10 Rank Progress up to Bronze

Bonus Completion Requirements: Completely clear the Mausoleum of Despair Dungeon (Medial) of all Undead

Bonus Quest Rewards: All prior rewards in addition to 4 gold, 4,000 PICK, and 25 Rank Progress up to Bronze

Current Ashcleft Adventurer Coalition Members Assigned: 1/1]

The second DUNGEON MAINTENANCE Quest was very similar to the SPECIAL Quest he’d just finished, though it gave lesser rewards. It also had fewer requirements and could only be repeated every 4 days as opposed to the 2 days for the Minimal difficulty of the dungeon, but that was perfectly fine for Thaden. He was going to go through it no matter what, so the rewards were just a bonus.

“Is there anything else I can do for you?” the Coalition Leader asked politely once all the Quests had been assigned.

“No, I think that should do it. I’ll probably end up leaving tomorrow morning for the Mausoleum, so I’ll let you know if I need anything else.”

“Very good.” Boydlen turned away from her and went back to his seemingly endless piles of paperwork on his desk, though without any Contenders present, Thaden wasn’t sure how much work there really was.

After that, the Assistant Healer went out and got a nice big lunch before heading to bed quite early in the night; he hadn’t quite recovered completely from the lack of sleep during the night when he was tackling the dungeon, so the extra rest was much appreciated. He ended up sleeping until just before dawn, and he got up to find that Boydlen was still at his desk; the Charee either hadn’t moved or woke up extraordinarily early, and it was hard for Thaden to tell which. Not that he cared overly much, but it was interesting to note, nonetheless.

“Good luck and don’t die!” the Coalition Leader shouted as he headed for the door, and Thaden couldn’t help but chuckle at remembering him saying the same thing when he’d gone on the SPECIAL Quest.

“I don’t plan on it. See you later!” he called back, and soon enough Thaden was on his way to a dungeon he had already completed. His confidence in being able to succeed a second time, especially now that he knew what to expect, was practically through the roof.

Let’s just see how easy it is now.