[Shrubley, the Monster Adventurer] Chapter 109 - Berry Nice to Meet You II

All throughout the day, the monster adventurers worked tirelessly to save Talvar. It was not their home, but they felt it was their responsibility.

Miranda didn’t, but she understood that she would never hear the end of it from Shrubley if she didn’t at least try.

With the help of Konko and Smudge as her assistants, Miranda developed a concoction that would dissolve the poisonous miasma for good.

Meanwhile, Shrubley kept the most vulnerable people alive until the miasma was successfully cleared away.

“You did it!” Konko said excitedly as they all watched the miasma break apart into pink-and-purple motes of mana that faded before their very eyes. The air cleared and smelled like spring rain despite the autumn chill.

Miranda shook her head. She knew that without Shrubley’s strange ability to create antidotes, the entire town would be one mass grave. He had given her the tool by which to save them.

On her own, she might have been able to save a handful of the strongest. Those who could still fight the poison while she ferried them to safety.

Talvar would have become a ghost town.

“We did it,” Miranda reminded Konko. “All of us.” She didn’t want the victory to go to Shrubley’s head, but she knew at the core of her very being that he had done something here that she never could have.

Shrubley was a healer. One with a remarkable capability for it that went beyond essences. His powers were an unusual confluence of his monster race, his fused class, and his essences.

He deserved every bit of the praise, but she wanted him to stay focused on the goals ahead. Stopping at every single homestead, farm, and cottage along the way to make sure everybody nearby was fine would take them too long.

Miranda’s plans to take them to Pandaemonium just hit a snag. She needed to find out what was going on with these Dungeons. The [Emerald Card] was the key, both figuratively and literally.

It would open a path to a place she had never thought to see in her life: the Dungeon Dimension. Whatever was going on here was bigger than just one Dungeon.

No sickness should have been able to infect a Dungeon. I can’t just let that fester. My good-for-nothing husband won’t do anything about it. Even if he tried, I’m not sure he could.

Slowly but surely, the town of Talvar improved. It would be several days before anything was remotely normal, but thanks to Shrubley’s efforts, they had lost no one to the disease.

Once more, Shrubley was lauded as a hero for his efforts. He might not have saved the town from a monster that they could immortalize in song or stone, but he saved them all the same.

They gathered in the Guild Leader’s office. Lord Hammar was seated. Sweat beaded his brow but his eyes were clear. He, like all those above Copper, would make a full and speedy recovery.

He looked at them, then at the vials on his desk. “I do not know what to say,” he admitted. “This…” He shook his head.

“I believe they will make a fine recovery,” Shrubley told him.

Shrubley had learned a great deal about healing in the last short, frantic days. He had never needed to heal so much. After Shrubley reached Bronze Rank, he realized he could use Life mana in addition to Light mana while using [Recovery] or [Counteract].

The revelation couldn’t have come at a better time. It had been like trying to arm wrestle a bear with one arm tied behind his back. Using both Light and Life essences, he was able to dramatically push his healing capacity to save as many people as possible.

In doing so, he advanced both his Light and Life essences to Bronze.

Your Light Essence has advanced to Bronze.

Rank bonus match!

You gain:

+12 Restoration | +12 Willpower

Your Life Essence has advanced to Bronze.

Rank bonus match!

You gain:

+8 Restoration | +8 Willpower

+6 Arcane | +6 Hardiness

You gain the essence ability, [Embrava].

Perhaps most important was that all of his Life and Light essence abilities gained a new Bronze imprint, further strengthening his existing abilities.

He also gained a new Life essence ability in the process of so much healing, but it wasn’t helpful to anybody but himself and his allies. As badly as he wanted to use it on all the people still recovering, they did not need the shielding heal of [Embrava].

[Embrava (Life)]

Cost: High mana

Cooldown: 6 seconds

Duration: 90 seconds

Strength to hearten, light to heal.

Imprint (Copper): Apply a non-stackable regenerative effect on a single person you can see within spellcasting range. Healing effect stacks with other sources of regenerative healing.

Imprint (Bronze): Additionally applies a non-stackable haste effect, speeding up the movement and attack speed of the target. Haste effect stacks with other sources of haste.

It was an interesting ability. He could not use [Embrava] to apply multiple stacks of regeneration or haste, but those enhancements would stack with different spells or abilities that granted regeneration or haste.

Lord Hammar looked upon Shrubley. “What can we ever do to repay you?” He turned his attention to the precious armaments lining the wall of the Guild Leader’s office, considering offering one to the young adventurer as a reward for his deeds. Each one had a storied history and contributed to cornerstone events that allowed the town to not just survive but prosper in its little corner of the Worldshard.

“Be kinder,” Shrubley said simply. “Life is precious. It is taken too easily. All I ask is that you remember that.”

The Guild Leader turned to Miranda, unsure if Shrubley was serious or not.

“I’m afraid he is serious, Hammar,” Miranda told the Guild Leader. “However, I would ask, as a friend, you understand, that you look favorably upon him for any promotions within the Guild.”

Hammar let out a weak laugh, followed by a racking cough. He held up a finger to excuse himself, and when it passed, he let out a deep breath. “You have saved not only one, but two towns in less than a season since becoming an adventurer. While there are indeed limits to how fast a single person–or group, as is your case–can climb the ladder of the Guild, these are clearly extenuating circumstances. How on Almora could you think I would do nothing more than recommend the highest promotion possible at this time?”

Even Miranda was taken aback. She recovered quickly, however, because something had just caught her eye. “If that’s the case, then perhaps you could offer him a reward?”

“Our coffers are not as full as I would like–” Hammar began, but Miranda waved him to silence.

“We have no need of money right now.” She pointed at a shield up on the wall. A trophy she knew very well. [Adrastos].

Hammar’s eyes widened as he followed her finger. “That is all you require?” he asked.

“For now,” Miranda said. “You can owe us the rest as a… favor.”

The Guild Leader smirked weakly. “Very well. I do not think I would find owing such heroes a favor too onerous a thing. While I do not have the power to promote you immediately, I will send the recommendation forthright. Not only that you maintain your 2-star status, Shrubley, but that you are brought up to D-Grade as well. I would be tempted to offer you 3-star, but that is an entirely different game. Unfortunately, it requires that you interact with foreign dignitaries and… well, I think it would be best to shelter you from that life for as long as we can.”

Shrubley looked up from his adventurers badge. “Why is that, sir?” He was fiddling with it, looking at the bronze edge that gleamed valiantly. The little shrub was trying to imagine what scarlet–the color for D-Grade adventurers–would look like.

I sure do seem to be going through the autumnal colors, he mused to himself.

“Politics are difficult at the best of times, my young friend,” Hammar told him. “You will, unfortunately, face a great many challenges in the politics that will soon greet you. I see no reason why you should not join your accomplished brothers and sisters as a D-Grade adventurer, 2-star, but to recommend you for 3-star would be to set you up for failure.”

“I do not understand,” Shrubley told him. Why would that be a problem? He did not understand much about politics. At its core, it was simply talking to people, wasn’t it? Shrubley was good at that. He made friends easily.

Or so he thought.

Miranda and Hammar exchanged glances.

The Countess put a hand on Shrubley’s leafy body. “Let’s just say that you would likely prefer to keep adventuring instead of attending parties every day and night, right?”

“Oh! Most definitely.”

“There you have it. If you were a higher star-rating, you would need to attend all sorts of boring functions and dinners. There would be no time for adventuring!” Miranda forced a smile. “Besides, there is nothing wrong with being even a 1-star or no-star adventurer. It has no bearing on how skilled you are.”

Shrubley thought about this for a moment, polished his badge slightly so it proudly gleamed on his chest, then nodded. “That makes perfect sense to me. I do not wish to do anything other than see this beautiful world and meet many new friends.”

Cal watched as both the Guild Leader and Countess appeared to breathe a sigh of relief. He understood what they were trying to hide from his best friend, but Cal didn’t think it was wise to chide them for it.

Shrubley was far smarter and capable than people often gave him credit for. Cal had seen it firsthand a number of times. But he was also innocent and trusting. His friend was making great strides in that department, but he would be devoured by the political beasts that swam in the dark waters that both the Guild Leader and the Countess were acquainted with.

Besides, Cal knew well enough how those people would treat monsters in their midst. They treated their own people of less-than-proper birth bad enough as it was!

“Very well,” Hammar said, standing and moving stiffly toward the wall where a dozen different items were hung like trophies. “[Adrastos] is yours if you wish it, Shrubley.”

Shrubley slipped off the chair and scurried up to the Guild Leader, who handed the lantern shield over to the small shrub. “But I already have a shield,” he said. “A good shield.”

“This is a better shield,” Hammar said, full of confidence. “It served me well in my younger days.” He was about to turn away when something jolted him like a static shock and he did a double take at Shrubley. “You…”

“Took you long enough,” Miranda said with a smirk.

“I have been… out of sorts,” Hammar told her. He knelt to Shrubley’s height and put a hand on where he approximated his shoulder was located. It was hard to tell with that slightly rounded body of his. “Congratulations on Bronze Rank, Shrubley. That is a remarkable accomplishment, since I have it on record that you were Mundane when you signed up!”

Smudge made a cheer and inflated himself, rising up to the plaster ceiling and bouncing around up there like a lost pink balloon.

“Thank you, sir,” Shrubley said. “And thank you for this.”

“No thanks necessary. You earned both of them.”

Shrubley looked over [Adrastos], amazed at its history and its abilities tied to the shield. If he could somehow combine both the [Morph Shield] and [Adrastos], he would have an incredibly powerful defense.

Shrubley began to wonder if he could achieve such a result with his enchanting proficiency.

[Adrastos]

(Shield, Magic Focus)

(Bronze Rank) (★★☆ Limited)

A storied lantern shield once collected from a Dragon’s Lair beyond the Empire’s borders. Made of layered concentric magitek plates covering a crystalline core for channeling mana, this lantern shield serves as both a defensive armament and a spellcasting focus in one while hosting a variety of other clever uses.

Imprint (Copper): Engage 1st magitek inner ring plating to build [Fortify] stacks.

Imprint (Bronze): Engage 2nd inner ring magitek plating to absorb incoming damage and switch the shield’s alignment, raising physical or magical resistance to that damage type.

[Fortify]: Decreases damage taken and increases enmity. Effect stacks, increasing the efficacy of both damage reduction and enmity generation.

It eventually became apparent that, once again, much like a balloon, Smudge was stuck up there on the ceiling. He had already forgotten how to let go of Air essence. “P-pyuu?”

“Slyrox gots this!” She hopped off her chair and crouched down.

Too late, Cal realized what she was doing. He cried out and dove out of the way just in time.

Slyrox twisted and leapt into the air. Using [Tornado Kick], she flew up into the air like a shot and easily grabbed Smudge around the base.

Unfortunately, Slyrox was also still relatively new to using Sky essence, and her [Tornado Kick] took some getting used to even after her training.

With Smudge in tow, Slyrox struggled to let go of the essence. Instead of dragging Smudge down with her, they both spun against the ceiling, screaming as they blurred.

It took the Countess standing to full height and reaching one long powerful arm to arrest Slyrox’s momentum and pull them both down to the ground. She flashed a smile at the Guild Leader. “There are a few more things I would like to discuss with you, Hammar, while I have your ear…”