Chapter 335 - Opening Salvo

[                                   Status                                          ]
[Name: Reivyn   Class:  Hero  Lvl 27        Age:    16 (21)]
[                                 Grand Arcanist                              ]
[                                 Fighter                                           ]
[Health:  17,440/17,440 (+310)  Stamina:  31,880/31,880 (+410)  Mana:  16,415/16,415 (+50)]
[Qi: 3,000 (T4/Li)]
[Physical Stats   Mental Stats]
[STR:  1,744 (+10)     INT:     1,828 (+4)]
[VIT:   1,744 (+31)     MAG:   2,055 (+6)]
[DEX:  1,743 (+10)     CLA:    1,636 (+1)]
[CHA:  470 (+1)        PER:     1,480 (+1)]
[LUK:  448 (+1)]
[Bloodline: Lvl 1 Unknown 236,443/10,000,000,000]
[Experience: 23,083/32,100]

[Skills:]
[Tier 1:]
[Aim (57), Athleticism (93), Balance (68), Dancing (51), Drawing (23), Drill (25), Drive (7), Haman (20 MAX), Horsemanship (37), Map Making (35), Map Reading (32), Mathematics (18), Marching (41), Memorization {Social} (24), Mining (24), Observation (72), Penmanship (37), Piano (16), Ride (28), Running (64), Rhythm (59), Shading (7), Skinning (1), Swimming (30), Tracing (7), Tutor (50), Woodworking (17)]

[Tier 2:]
[Acrobatics (40), Alcohol Tolerance (13), Ambidexterity (45), Color Correction (1), Forced March (25), Gab (29), Linguistics (11), Meditation (55), Mounted Combat (24), Numbers Concepts (10), Pain Resistance (73), Teach (54)]

[Tier 3:]
[Blind Fighting (58), Breath Control (26), Command (65), Commanding Shout (50), Decipher (2), Eagle Eye (26), Identify {All} (30), Inspire (70), Mental Fortitude (67), Night Vision (70), Sense Threat (42), Silver Tongue (24)]

[Tier 4:]
[Charm (7), Dreams of the Past (24), Elemental Weapon (49), Iron Will (40), Psionic (16) Runes (1), Spatial Awareness (85)]

[Tier 5:]
[Aura {Bloodlust, Heroism} (33), Clandestine Prodigy (46), Heroic Bearing (50), Magic Prodigy (106), Protection Prodigy (90), Rhythm of War (28)]

[Tier 6:]
[Akashic Record (1), Weapons Master (118), Regeneration (28)]

[Tier 6.5]
[Divine Sense (24), Perfect Domain (19)]

Reivyn reviewed his full Status Screen. This was quite possibly the fastest improvement speed he had ever experienced. This duty was an absolute gem for him and the others that could fully utilize the Skill Dungeon. It was still good for the others that couldn’t push the Dragonling past the normal point, but it was nothing compared to the gains Reivyn and his friends and family saw.

He saw a huge boost in his Aura Skill after the revelation of infusing it into his attacks. It was still rudimentary, and his handling of his compressed Aura was Novice at best, but even those fumblings allowed him to pierce the first threshold and burst forth several more continuous Skill Levels.

We’ll definitely need to either come back after the war is over or find our own Tier 4 or above Skill Dungeon, Reivyn thought. This is a huge strategic resource for those that can access it fully.

Reivyn’s mind left his skill gains and focused on his Level and Stats. They didn’t just run the Skill Dungeon each month. They ran both Dungeons when they reset, and over the course of the past three months, that equalled a gain of four Levels for Reivyn.

Over 120,000 Experience Points, and that’s only four Levels… Reivyn shook his head. I’m only Tier 3, and my Experience requirements are already in the millions when you look at the Class Tier as a whole, and Experience gains will slow down in the future if we don’t continue to fight in our Tier.

Because of his unique situation, Reivyn hardly ever actually contemplated the Class Level Experience Points he gained. He could turn them on and off at will, and he always gained tens of thousands of them at a time from clearing Dungeons. In the past, that had always been enough to gain several Levels in a short interval of time. Pretty soon he wouldn’t even gain one Level from a successful Dungeon Clear, speak nothing of fighting monsters in the Realm.

Pitched battle was another excellent source of Experience, especially for the commanders.

Maybe that’s another reason for the invasions, Reivyn realized. I hadn’t really considered it before, but battles grant huge amounts of Experience. If individual battles grant tons of Experience, does the overall war also have an Experience bonus? Maybe it’s a way to not only grant unique Life Experience for superior Class Selection, but they also capitalize on that Life Experience right away with a huge infusion of Experience Points.

The thought was intriguing. It made sense to Reivyn that it would exist, but he wasn’t entirely sure.

There hadn’t been an Experience Bonus for the conflict down in Drallo, but was that a “war,” or was it just a conflict? I guess we’ll find out at the end of this one, but that begs another question: Do the losers gain War Experience? I’ve lost a fight before, when I was still a conscript, and I still gained Experience for the non-lethal combat. Were we “penalized” for fleeing from the warzone, and that’s why we didn’t get any War Experience? More questions…

Reivyn shook his head. The more he experienced, the more questions he had. There was a never ending amount, and no matter how many questions eventually got answers, it always just led to more questions. His life was going to be a series of mysteries until the day he died, it seemed.

Reivyn shifted his mind from the questions, especially since he was bound to get an answer sooner or later - sooner for the war questions - and focused back on the soldiers and mercenaries in the fortress. With the message of the Imperial Elders arriving, the fortress had entered the “hurry up and wait” phase. They were all running about getting everything squared away, and from what Reivyn could see, they were all ready to go right now, but there were still several days before the Elders would arrive.

As soon as they got the information, it became a frantic race to get everything squared away for the big push, and now they were finding that they didn’t have anything to do. People were rushing about for every task, and then they just stood around when they got everything done. At least they got the deployment orders taken care of, so everybody knew what to expect.

The main push wouldn’t be coming from the garrison of the mountain fortress. It was a strategic defensive position, so it didn’t make any sense to empty the fort for the first offensive push. Instead, the soldiers and mercenaries of the fortress would be held in reserve. They would be used to seize any opportunities that arose when flushing the enemy soldiers out of their defensive positions they’d built up.

The lowlands below the fort were filled with forests, so the fighting would be a bit restricted as compared to the open battles that would take place on the plains and hills elsewhere. It would also restrict quick deployment to and from the battlefield, but there were ways around that…

Reivyn was part of the “waiting and watching” crowd. He was a reserve of the reserve, if you will. The soldiers and mercenaries would wait and watch, looking for a place to strike that would maximize their efficiency, and Reivyn and his Party would hold back even longer. Hopefully the robed powerhouse would be occupied by the Imperial Elders, but who knows what other high Level Classers existed among the invaders. It wasn’t guaranteed that there weren’t any other dangerous characters lying in wait. Reiyvn had never seen the actual commanding officers of the invasion, and he wouldn’t assume that they were just regular soldiers.

Reivyn understood that there wasn’t really anything for him to do, so he spent his time keeping the mercenary captain grounded and focused on just passing the time normally. They had everything ready to go, so there was no reason to freak out. Morale would best be served if the officers remained calm, and so the mercenary company maintained their usual training and scouting regime. Reivyn was pleased with the performance of his officers.

---

A horseman game galloping through the front gates of fortress, drawing Reivyn’s attention. The man made a beeline to the headquarters building and rushed inside. He was only in for a couple of minutes before he rushed out once more, hopped on his horse, and took off once more. Reivyn watched the entire ordeal with curiosity and tempered expectation.

Soon, orders were issued front he commanding general down the chain of command. The mercenary captain called for his officers, and Reivyn attended the meeting with his father.

The captain nodded to Reivyn as he took a seat out of the way, knowing that Reivyn would expect him to run the show as if he wasn’t there. He had gotten better at ignoring Reivyn’s presence with practice. The captain looked each of his officers in the eye before speaking.

“We’re not entirely sure of their capabilities in intercepting transmissions, so before the Elders reveal themselves on the battlefield, communication is strictly mundane. That’s why there was a messenger earlier and not a magical message.

“Our orders haven’t changed, but the messenger did bring news that the Elders are about to arrive on the front lines any time now. The orders given to everyone are to wait for the signal.”

“What’s the signal, sir?” One of the lieutenants asked.

“They didn’t say,” the captain shrugged. “I’m guessing it’ll be obvious when it happens.”

“Sooo… Still just waiting, then?” One of the other officers asked.

“Yeah. We’ll continue acting as if nothing has changed. We’re with the reserves anyway, so we don’t need to be on the frontlines or anything. I’m just sharing the message with everyone to let you know the time is fast approaching.

“That’s it. Dismissed.”

“Yes, sir!” The lieutenants dispersed back to their men.

Reivyn contemplated the message for a moment, nodding to the departing captain.

“What do you think?” Refix asked.

Reivyn glanced at his father.

“Shock and awe,” he replied.

Refix clapped his hands together, a gleeful smile on his face.

“Excellent.”

---

Reivyn felt a pressure steadily build as he practiced his Weapons Master Skill in the training yard. It built over the course of several hours. At first, it was just an itch in the back of his mind, almost unnoticeable. Slowly, over time, it grew until it was almost a palpable gravity pressing down on him.

There wasn’t actually any physical pressure boring down on him, though. It was almost spiritual in nature. He was pretty sure he understood what was happening, and he was surprised only for a short moment before he glanced up at the peak of the tallest mountain around, understanding.

A Party of heavily armored men and women rode magnificent mounts through the gates at a decent speed, neither rushing nor taking their time. Their Party had the full make up, too, as there were a couple of individuals in lighter armor and robes, not just heavy armor. All of them were middle-aged at first glance, but Reivyn got the feeling that they were all much older than the commanding general of the fortress.

They didn’t bother stopping to talk to anyone, and nobody called for them to halt or identify themselves. It wasn’t that they were invisible to the soldiers or anything like that. They were clearly viewed and seen by everyone in the fort, but apparently word had gotten to those who needed to know.

The Party dismounted and simply made their way to the cave entrance. Reivyn highly doubted they were here to delve the Dungeon. There was only one group these people could be.

Reivyn turned to his father who in turn glanced back at him.

“Looks like the Imperial Elders are here,” Reivyn said.

“I wonder if that’s all of them,” Refix replied, stroking his chin. “Just one Party… I don’t think that’s it. I’m sure they all wanted to come defend their homeland after getting the news. In fact, I wonder how long it’ll be before most of the elders completely leave the Upper Regions and return to their homelands.”

“It’s definitely been long enough, and the threat is real enough, for their to be an exodus. At least in the short term.”

“Let’s watch,” Refix had a mischief glint in his eyes.

“Hmmm… the best place would be the wall overseeing the cliff. Well, technically the best place would be up on top of the mountain, but something tells me it’s a bit crowded right now.”

“Heh, yeah, let’s go.”

Without having anything else to do, the duo made their way to where the others were waiting, first. They gathered up their other Party members, only telling them that a show was about to be put on, and headed to the eastern wall. The others quickly picked up on the unspoken words figuring out they were probably on their way to witness the start of the final push.

The Party made their way up the wall, keeping out of the way of the patrolling soldiers. Other than the soldiers that were on guard duty on the walls and throughout the base, the other soldiers and mercenaries started forming up in the parade grounds of the base. The XO of the general was with the soldiers, but Reivyn spotted the commanding general and his Aide on the wall a ways down from where they were standing.

“Looks like he had the same idea,” Reivyn nodded his head towards the older man. The others turned and looked real quick, chuckling when they noticed who it was. The commanding general felt the eyes on him and turned toward the Party. He gave a quick nod with a grin on his face.

“My kind of guy,” Refix said in approval.

“Shh, shh, something’s starting,” Reivyn waved his arms to quiet down any chatter.

He felt intense amounts of Mana suddenly explode from up above. It reminded him of the time his mother used Mana Stones to increase the local ambient Mana density on top of the wall of Magron during the Dungeon Break siege. He figured the Elders were saturating the Tier 4 Mana in order to Cast more powerful Spells without having to drain too much of their own reserves.

They all held their breath as the Mana continued to escalate. It wasn’t just brought forth by Mana Stones as Reivyn suspected, but the ambient Mana was also wrested away from the pull of whatever was siphoning the local Providence. Reivyn could feel the Mana from all around being dragged up the mountain toward the peak.

The Mana continued to grow for nearly half an hour before it reached some kind of threshold. It quit growing, and no more ambient Mana was dragged upward, but the Mana wasn’t being dispersed right away.

Suddenly, thousands of projectiles flew into the sky in a wide arc from horizon to horizon. It repeated over and over again. Tens of thousands of projectiles flew up high into the sky, quickly disappearing out of sight, but Reivyn felt that each individual projectile was wrapped in some of the Mana gathered at the peak.

The arcs of projectiles continued for several minutes until all of the gathered Mana was fully drained. They stood with baited breath, waiting to see what was to come.

Several minutes passed and nothing seemed to happen. The soldiers and others on the wall started to fidget, and even Teilon lifted his hands in a “is that it?” gesture. Reivyn just motioned for him to wait and have some patience.

Reivyn glanced back at the base of the mountain. The Party of Elders came sauntering out of the cave without a care in the world, remounting their mounts, and then they trotted off like nothing had happened. Reivyn just shrugged and turned back to watching the lowlands.

He felt it before he heard it, and he heard it before he saw it. The Mana had been dispersed over vast distances, but it had grown upon each individual projectile until it was a noticeable fraction of the whole that had been built at the peak of the mountain. The Mana had been dispersed across so many projectiles, he shouldn’t have been able to feel them individually, especially at this distance, but he felt like he could pinpoint each single dot that was close enough to his sense.

The sound came next. It was a high pitched scream, like a tea kettle going off when the water was heated enough to blow out the steam held within, though sharper. After a couple seconds of the noise growing louder and louder, the projectiles finally came back into view.

It was like watching a meteor shower. All up and down the lowlands, as far as Reivyn and the others could see, tens of thousands of flaming spears, what had once been simple arrows, came streaking down out of the sky.

They were moving so fast that it only took a second from when they first became visible to when they impacted the ground. Explosions rang out, light flashed, and the world trembled. Reivyn could see the ripples in the earth as the impacts devastated the world in front of them.

Fire raged through the woods, most of the forest simply exploding into flaming splinters. The hills collapsed, and new hills formed where flat lands once stood. The entire topography was changed in an instant.

Powerful pulses of Mana shot out from various locations of the enemy’s key defensive positions, attempting to stabilize the devastation. It wasn’t enough to stop the catastrophe, but it was better than nothing. Reivyn could see that some places were protected enough that most of the soldiers didn’t suffer too many casualties, but some encampments were wiped completely off the face of the Realm.

Reivyn continued to watch. After the opening salvo of the final assault on the invaders calmed down, allied soldiers sallied forth from their protected positions, charging across the newly cleared terrain. It wasn’t smooth sailing for everyone, as new obstacles were created by the attack.

Directly below the mountain fortress, the river that was close to the cliff spilled its waters into the surrounding lowlands, and exploded tree trunks obstructed any easy Marching or charging. That didn’t deter the allied soldiers, though, as the higher Level ones used their Skills and Mana to clear paths for the regular soldiers.

Soon, pitched battled erupted all up and down the lines of the lowlands. Reivyn surveyed the action, noting that there had to be half a million people, at least, involved in this one battle.

“Quite the entrance, I’d say,” Refix said with a laugh. “Unless they got more of those robed guys, or a much higher Level one hanging out in the back, I don’t think that one guy is going to pose much of a problem, now.”

“It would seem that way,” Reivyn nodded his head. “That was quite the show.”

Reivyn remembered witnessing his mother bring destruction to the undead hordes from the Dungeon Break with her Celestial Magic. That had been an amazing sight, and it was something almost unbelievable to a young Reivyn. It paled in comparison to the attack he just witnessed.

There weren’t any crazy Affinities or combinations involved. He didn’t notice any Transcendent Abilities, either. It was just raw power, and if his Mana Senses were right, it was a synergy attack between multiple people mixing their Skills together. If he had to guess, he would say three or four mid to high Tier 6 Classers used some sort of group or Party Skill.

Reivyn looed at his Party members. They felt his gaze on them and looked back.

“We’re going to have to learn something like that,” he said, his lips twitching up into a smile.

“Umm. Yes, please,” Teilon said, pumping his fist.

Refix tilted his head and gave Teilon a look.

“You know what that means, though, right?”

Teilon paused with his fist in the air. He looked back and forth between his fist and Refix, eventually lowering his hand and head. He let out a sigh.

“Yeah… more training,” he said with a defeated voice.

“Actually, no,” Refix shook his head. Teilon looked up in surprise. Refix reached out and clapped him on the shoulder. “We need more adventure! We’re not ready to train something like that. We gotta go out and experience more of the world, first.”

Teilon stood frozen for a moment before cheering loudly, once more pumping his fist in the air.

“Yeah! Adventure!”

Refix waited for a moment.

“And then training!” He pumped his fist next to Teilon.