Chapter 41

We didn’t work more that day. The day had, we all agreed, been quite a lot more eventful than any of us liked, and we all needed to rest and recuperate. Besides, robbing the Moagie and his thugs was a good deal more lucrative than expected, and we were flush with coin. We returned to where I had my room and rented two additional rooms for them. Then we went on an absolutely indecent shopping spree, got ourselves enough food for a tiny army and returned to start a lavish feast.

By unspoken agreement, we didn’t talk about any of the heavy stuff. We ate, drank, chatted about Earth, favourite bands and shows, and just enjoyed ourselves. After all of the time by myself, or in the presence of other species, I enjoyed getting to know the trio more than I could have possibly expected. They weren’t exactly who I’d have pegged for companions back on Earth. Heh – they clearly were too well-adjusted mentally and didn’t drink enough – but they did seem canny.

I’d readily admit it – I had no fucking clue what I’d expected from a Canadian. But Steve was absolutely it. He loved cooking, loved nature and Desperate Housewives and was a bit of a Trekkie. Taylor Swift made him cry, and he picked his invisibility talent, not because it’d make him safer, but because it would let him experience the wildlife from up closer.

Haddock was exactly what I’d expected after spending half a day with him. Soft, caring, with a bone solid dependability to him. He was also, apparently, a vegetarian, and kept going on about some band called Cattle Decapitation, which seemed a bit off-brand for him.

Meanwhile, Nix was everything I’d gotten from her on that first day, only amplified. Hyped-up, hyper-active, practically radiating energy all the while, and annoyingly chipper with it. Yet, as far as I could tell, there was not one truly negative bone in her body. Except, if anybody dared to criticize her favourite book series, let alone some bloke named Whiskeyjack of all things.

“Hey. If somebody wants to name themselves like somebody who’s destined to go to rehab twice a year, who am I to argue?”

Nix’s nostrils flared, and she made a rumbling voice deep in her throat. She looked like a blue tiger cub trying to look dangerous.

I barked a laughter. “Kidding, kidding! Sorry, Nix. Sometimes, I can’t stop myself.” I wiped a tear from my eyes, and frowned, before growing thoughtful. “So. Names.”

Haddock raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah. I mean, did you stop to think about it? If we actually defeat those stupid beasts, and make it back to Earth – not only are we likely to be some of the highest-leveled people from Earth, we’ll practically be superheroes.”

“I… guess you’re right.” Steve said, shell-shocked.

“So. Which superhero name are you going with?”

Nix clapped her hands. “Oh. I love this. I want to be… Elementary. No. Bringer of Elements. Wait, that’s too unhandy. Wait. Ohmygod, I have it. I’ll be Azath!”

“What does that mean?”

“Well, since you made fun of my books, I’m not explaining. But it’s super clever!” She stuck out her tongue at me.

I snorted. “All right, then. Steve. What about you?”

He smiled enigmatically. “It’s not safe out here. It’s wondrous, with treasures to satiate desires both subtle and gross. But it’s not for the timid.” He quoted.

“I like that, mate. Who said that?”

“An inspiration. And I think I would like to dedicate my name to him. I’d be the Spirit of Q.”

“Mysterious. I like it.” Nix beamed. “And now, we come to the real challenge. Hubs.”

Haddock nodded.

“Because obviously, we’ve had this chat before.” She continued. “And his name either ends up super generic, like the Builder, or an absolute villain name, like Constructorrrr.”

I laughed. “Couldn’t we just… make it more fantastical? Like… Creator of Worlds or something? I mean, it’s not a lie. He can pretty much summon anything, right?”

“Tiny exaggeration, perhaps.” He rumbled. “But I like it.”

“You would.” Nix slapped him on the shoulder. “Too much for your ego. Hrm. We’ll have to work on it. Now, as for you…” She veered on me.

I grinned. “Oh. So many good options. I can be the Divine Defender! The… Sultan of Shields. The Paladin of Passiveness.”

Nix groaned, hiding her eyes behind her hands. “Those are all horrible. Besides. We haven’t known you for long. Yet, we all know, there’s really only one option.”

“Oh really?”

“Really. I hereby dub thee… The Backhander. You know, with that passive aggressive thing, and the shield?”

“…You’re the worst.”

We finished the day early. I gave myself a long, recuperating soak in one of the bath tubs, watching a ridiculous number of dead skin cells flake away. My hair was history, too. Being at the centre of a fireball would do that to you. For a moment, I considered finding somebody to fix it. Then I gave up and focused on enjoying myself instead. This wasn’t the first time in Ademia that my looks had taken a hit, and odds were good it wouldn’t be the last time either.

I checked out my skills. They had, once again, improved by leaps and bounds. Literally, in the case of Athletics and Leap, which improved to ten and twelve, respectively. Other noteworthy improvements included Armor, which made it to seventeen alongside Higher Endurance, Dodge, hitting sixteen along with Running and Higher Self-Heal which made it all the way to eighteen.

The high scorers, however, were Identify, which reached twenty-two, and, unsurprisingly, Shield at frigging twenty-three. It was starting to tell. Even the frigging buckler, half-chewed and with all the weight of a lid of a goddamn cooking pot, was starting to feel more solid. Its very presence in my hand made me more stable, and it felt like it carried more weight to it than it ought to. Several times there’d been situations where I felt like the impact or sheer bulk of a charging Ghastling should’ve knocked me off the wall, or at least pushed me back – but I’d managed to stand my ground . I was sure the skill helped, in conjunction with Balance.

There were two new skills as well. The first one was no surprise at all. Managing to raise it to three immediately was equally unsurprising. I’d gotten hit a lot.

You have earned a new defensive skill:

Frost Resistance

Passive skill

Frost magic is the indifference of nature, solidified into cold, uncaring lethality. It is slow, insidious and nigh-unstoppable. You have survived what could have been a lethal encounter with it. Every level in Frost Resistance will marginally decrease the damage received from frost magic and effect of associated debuffs.

The second one was… well, sort of unsurprising as well. Okay, I should’ve seen it coming. I’d been at the centre of that first wave. I just hadn’t noticed the damage.

You have earned a new defensive skill:

Water Resistance

Passive skill

Water magic is often overlooked in the large scheme of things. It is not as showy or directly lethal as other kinds of magic. Yet, it is adaptable enough to shape into exactly what you need. You have survived what could have been a lethal encounter with it. Every level in Water Resistance will marginally decrease the damage received from water magic and effect of associated debuffs.

The next morning, I felt a lot better. I chuckled as I noticed just how well my Higher Self-Heal was working by now. With the last few attribute points I’d chucked into Fortitude, and the constant increases to the skill (because I kept getting myself hurt) I was healing twenty-three health a frigging hour. In other words, your average scrawny level 0 newbie with a 10 in Fortitude would heal up from the brink of death in less than five hours. With your normal stats and no skills, that same accomplishment would take a hundred hours, flat.

This narrative has been purloined without the author’s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Our R&R followed by a good night’s sleep, had me nearly at half health again, and in a great mood. My body was still rife with aches and wounds, but the wounds were already scabbing over, and Pain Tolerance was helping me ignore the myriad twinges and hurts. Knowing that it would all be better within the next half day or so helped as well.

I went to find the others, learning that Steve had already joined them in their room, and the three were finishing off their morning meal.

“About frigging time, you slowpoke!” Nix launched with a mouth full of some disgusting oatmeal-like thing. “Get your ass in here. We’ve all got talents to spare, and we’re raving to go!”

I chuckled, and joined them in their room. It looked the same as mine, sparsely furnished with benches and a bed drawn straight from the soil. Yet, the mattress was stuffed with dried grasses, and there were enough soft furs – some of them unmistakingly from the damn Ghastlings – that you could make yourself comfortable everywhere. I sank down onto one of the furs, sighing in satisfaction. Wait. Was I turning old? That was an old man’s sigh!

I shook my head and turned toward the others. Haddock and Steve were arguing about something that I couldn’t quite grasp. They were either trying to build their own hadron collider or construct an amusement ride. There were physics involved. Regardless of how little I followed, their argument was quite entertaining to watch. Haddock mostly communicated through impressive grunts and surprisingly precise facial expressions through his bushy beard. Meanwhile, Steve’s soft eyes agreed with everything, and it looked like it cost him to disagree with Haddock.

Nix bulldozed them both. “Death traps can wait, y’all! We’ve got talents to choose. Unholy powers to gain! Who’s first? I’m first!”

I rolled my eyes, and surrendered to the inevitable.

She cleared her throat. “You remember my quirks, right?”

“You can’t attack anything directly, but your Mental Power’s doubled, and… something about elemental stuff, right?” I raised a finger. “Oh, and you’re tiny and fierce.”

She glared at me. “I’d fong you, if you weren’t right on all counts! The ‘elemental stuff’ means that my elemental talents are improved by fifty percent.” She exhaled and blinked rapidly. “Whew. Feels like it’s been ages since we talked system stuff. Anyway, you know what Flash Flood is like.”

I chuckled. “Intimately. It earned me the Water Resistance skill yesterday.”

Haddock’s beard contorted in a very telling expression.

She punched him with all the impact of a butterfly sneezing. “Shut up. Water’s hard to steer, okay?” Facing me, she beamed. “Anyway. Last time, we talked about my next talent that I’d need to save up for, I think? Well, I got it!”

Tier 5

Lifeforce Absorption

Passive Talent.

There is power in death. Especially when you are the death dealer. While this talent is active, your attacks will saturate enemies with your mana. Any enemies that die, while engulfed in the area of this talent will let you absorb their lifeforce and convert it to mana. The efficiency of this talent is affected by the lifeforce of the targets and your Mental Control.

Area: 30 meter radius

Cost: 1 stamina/second

5/5 points

She beamed. “Then I got Delayed Firebomb, which you’ve already been acquainted with.”

I snorted.

“Finally, I was starting to improve a Tier 2 talent that basically gives me more mana and makes my talents hit harder – and since yesterday made me hit Level 15, I’ll be maxing it out. Just… so!” She beamed and read the talent description aloud.

Improved Arcane Power