Chapter 24: Progress
Saturday arrived and Deryn woke up.
*Sigh*
Deryn sighed, his mind wandering back to the conversation with Owlen two days ago.
"Yeah, it's a new class Deryn. It came with a novice foresight ability and I'm afraid you won't like what I discovered. The two pseudo level 3 kobold encampments nearby have levelled up into true level 3 encampments." Owlen had said during the conversation.
It wasn't the only thing that worried Deryn. Owlen had told him the next test would start next week and it would be more difficult than test 1 but had no more information to offer. It wasn't all bad news, however.
Owlen had given Deryn a communication amulet. It was a device that would pair to another communication amulet and allow for voice calls. Inputting mana into it would enable a conversation with the other paired amulet up to 100km away. This meant they would be able to share information without Deryn travelling to Alexandria.
Deryn had been busy the last two days, he didn't go straight home on Thursday and decided to take out a few goblin bases on the way back. On Friday Deryn went around and wiped out a few more settlements with Mags, leaving Kev to defend the base.
The enemies in the surrounding areas on Thursday were:
6 Level 1 Kobold Encampments
6 Level 2 Kobold Encampments - > 4 Level 2 Kobold Encampments and 2 pseudo Level 3 Kobold Encampments
2 Pseudo Level 3 Kobold Encampments - > 2 Level 3 Kobold Encampments
7 Goblin Level 1 Base's
With Deryn's effort from the prior two days the list had dropped by a significant amount:
2 pseudo Level 3 Kobold Encampments
2 Level 3 Kobold Encampments
2 Level 1 Goblin Base's
He had managed to wipe out almost all of the encampments and the bases he could destroy without much issue besides 2 Level 1 Goblin bases. They were too far away from other places to attack that it didn't seem cost-effective for him to do so right now.
Deryn meditated and trained using the uncommon weights before showering and having breakfast, looking at his status sheet as he did so.
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< CHARACTER SHEET >
Name: Deryn Adams
Race: Human
Health: 400/400(190) (0.36 Regen per minute)
Mana points: 136/136(109) (0.41 Regen per minute)
Strength: 3.1(1.9)
Vitality: 3.6(1.9)
Agility: 4.5(1.6)
Intelligence: 4.1(2.6)
< CLASS >
Spearman (Trainee)
Mage (Novice)
< COMABAT SKILLS >
Mage skill: Ice arrow
Spearman skill: Phantom Lunge
Mage Skill: Mana Shield
< PASSIVE SKILLS >
Rapid Incanting Level 1
< OCCUPATIONAL SKILLS >
Inspect level 1
Meditation Level 1
< SYSTEM REMARK: HOST HAS GAINED: +0.1 INT, +0.2 STR, +0.2 VIT and +2 MANA >
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It was a small growth compared to what he had been used to, but he hadn't found any equipment which was suitable for him the past two days. Instead, the primary amount of loot he got from chests were a random assortment of resources. So much so that his storehouse next to his workshop was full, so the buggy's inventory was half-filled with the remaining items.
Today he was going to attack a pseudo level 3 kobold encampment. He had put it off for long enough and if he gave them much more chance to grow then he would be facing 4 level 3 kobold encampments instead of just two.
"System show me my AP" Deryn thought.
< 811 AP >
He had saved the points for the past two days. The majority of them came from completing the first test so well, which had rewarded him with 500 points with the rest coming from his regular activities and wiping out so many encampments.
Deryn had a few ideas in mind about what he wanted to spend his points on but was too cautious to go through with any of them before the system gave its opinions... for price.
< IT WILL COST 31 ADVENT POINTS FOR SYSTEM SUGGESTIONS: CONFIRM: Y/N >
"Yes... damn leech" Deryn mumbled the last part.
< THERE ARE 1311 PATHS THAT THE HOST CAN CHOOSE FROM >
"Damn I forgot to specify" Deryn muttered painfully, the amount of information before his eyes giving him a slight headache.
"System. I need something to raise the base stats of my body. I want to upgrade my mage class as soon as possible but I need 150 base mana. I also want something to improve the defences of my base whilst I'm away."
< CONFIRMED HOST PARAMETERS. PLEASE WAIT >
A minute later and Deryn had narrowed down the advice to the path he wanted. He wouldn't have been able to decide so quickly yet the system had hinted at a level 3 shelter having a few new options for defences available. With that information Deryn focused on his other objective, raising his body stats.
He had decided on 4 items.
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Spearman class upgrade scroll (Novice -> Warrior) = 200 AP
Mana breakthrough potion (Basic) x3 =150 AP
Mage class upgrade scroll (Novice -> Apprentice> = 300 AP
Kobold Souls x128 = 128 AP
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It cost Deryn a grand total of 778 AP leaving 2 AP left over. Although the system warned him against buying kobold souls from the store, Deryn paid it no mind this time. The number of souls would enable him to level up the slave contract from 3->4. He hoped this would let him use the contract on stage two kobolds.
The spearman class scroll was a no brainer, it increased the body's base stats which was exactly what Deryn needed. As the system warned him several times, the equipment can be temporary whilst the body is forever.
To increase his mana Deryn decided to buy three basic mana breakthrough potions. These increased the body's mana by 20 points, but only three were effective on the body, and each potion consumed after the first lost 5 mana points in effectiveness.
This meant that Deryn would be able to gain a total of 45 points to his mana, which would be a few points over the 150 he requires to upgrade his class. This brings it to the last item Deryn brought; the mage class upgrade scroll. Deryn had, had his eyes on this even before the system brought it up.
He had both seen and used just how strong this class was and wanted to advance it further. By continuing the upgrade his class(s) at a rapid pace, he would stay ahead of both humans and creatures alike to keep his survival chances as high as possible. By continuing the rapid growth now it would enable him to fight for more opportunities that would benefit his future.
Deryn went to the training area and took out the three breakthrough potions. They were in the form of a light blue pill and smelled slightly of mint. He popped the three of them in his mouth in one go and waited for the effect to kick in with one eye on his stats page.
He didn't have to wait long. He felt a vacuum-like force come from his body as the surrounding mana rushed into his pores and mouth.
Deryn found it was a weird sensation. As the mana rushed into his body, he felt like he had an itch he didn't know existed and the mana was itching it, making him groan in relief.
A few minutes later and the sensation stopped and Deryn looked towards his character sheet. His total mana had risen to 181 whilst his mana from his body rose to 154, 4 points more than was needed for him to upgrade his class.
Not stopping there he took out the spearman class upgrade scroll and used it, holding his spear in one hand whilst inputting mana into the scroll he held in the other.
His brain and body became 100% synced at this moment. He unconsciously rose and began to train with the spear using the knowledge that flooded into his mind. It was akin to training with the spear for another 10 years and moves that he felt were just theory in the past slowly became clear in his mind.
A Black sludge-like substance started to appear on Deryn's skin. The faster he trained, the more sludge would appear. It gave off a foul smell, making Kev who was nearby whine lowly before running away, squidge plopping after him.
10 minutes later and the process was finished. Deryn awoke to the foulest odour he had ever experienced, making him pass out.
A few minutes later and Deryn awoke naked in the shower, smelling a little better. Seeing Kev and Mags standing near him he realised they must have brought him here. Blushing in embarrassment he thanked the pair before kicking them out so he could have a proper shower.
Deryn looked at his stats before almost passing out again, this time in excitement. The stat growth had been huge. He had gained: 2 STR, 2 VIT, 1.5 AGI and 1 INT.
This wasn't the only thing that changed. Upon reaching 500 HP and 200 MP, his regen for both had been doubled. His HP regen now sat at 1.12 a minute, whilst his MP regen sat at 1.02. He was ecstatic yet knew this wasn't the limit of his growth today. He still had the class upgrade scroll for the mage class to use.
He finished showering a few minutes ago and was sitting cross-legged in the training room, only just finishing cleaning up the sludge. He found from using inspect that the sludge was impurities built up within his body and upon reaching the first threshold of 3 in all base body stats, would he go through a cleansing.
This cleansing didn't seem to have a purpose as of yet, and the system didn't give any more information to him. He was sure it wasn't so simple, yet left it alone for now as he had enough to worry about without adding another.
Deryn took the mage class upgrade scroll out of his inventory and began to input his mana into it. The scroll felt like a bottomless pit and kept consuming his mana. 150 MP later and the scroll wouldn't take anymore no matter how hard he tried to input it.
A moment later and a tendril of pure mana left the scroll and jumped between Deryn's eyes.
"Not again..." Deryn managed to utter before he passed out.
Whilst unconscious Deryn's body was manipulated by mana to float a few cm above the ground. Tendrils of mana came out of the scroll and from the environment, each rushing towards the spot between his eyes.
The mana started to compact itself just in front of the brain, yet taking no space up. It was a strange phenomenon that made it seem there was a different dimension in Deryn's brain that stored it all. It wasn't too far from the truth.
A small crystal slowly formed which acted as the body's first crystalline mana core. It was smaller than the finest of hairs, yet big enough to house the over 150 mana points that were needed to form it.
Deryn awoke at this point in the process. He wasn't able to move his body, instead merely observed the process, finding information that appear in his mind about how rare an opportunity this was. It was a gift from the individual outside of the tutorial world and Deryn was told to treasure it.
Observing the process, he felt a spark of an idea form in his mind. He attempted to see if this could work and started to siphon the mana out of the crystal to push it around his body, focusing primarily on his right hand where his spear was summoned.
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[The true doomsday advent world]
"Amazing, worthy of my attention" a being shrouded in pure blue light mumbled.
"Indeed Creator. I hope your interest does not upset the balance, or we may be forced to end this "interest" here and now" a being shrouded in the purest white light calmly uttered.
"Worry not Mother... I know what is at stake and my actions are for the good of us all" Creator responded.
Mother the white light seemed to have nodded before vanishing.
"Oh Creator... you really shouldn't make Mother question you like that" a pale pink light spoke softly.
"Eros... Stop with your teasing. Our brother knows what is at stake, he surely wouldn't put us all at risk for the sake of his old race" a brown light sarcastically drawled in a deep sonorous voice.
"You might want to watch your tongue when you speak to me Ludus, it would be a shame if your shelter malfunctioned" Creator sneered back.
"Do you threaten me, Creator?" Ludus snarled.
"I have much to do, goodbye all. Ludus... be careful what you say in the future" Creator simply replied.
"Did he just threaten me?" Ludus now asked the others in a slightly worried tone.
There was no response before the different coloured lights started disappearing one by one until only Eros and Ludus was left.
"Ludy, you should be careful about angering Creator. You know the things he can do and not even Mother can guarantee to stop him anymore" Eros softly muttered to Ludus before disappearing.
If she stayed for a moment more she would have seen Ludus's brown light start to darken until his light was almost completely black.
"I need to... faster... I can't let the others know" Ludus thought before also vanishing.
A moment after Ludas vanished, two lights appeared once more in the empty space.
"See Mother" Creator spoke simply.
*Sigh* "I had a feeling that I wished untrue" she replied sadly.
"He has desecrated your sacred body, yet you won't allow me to do anything about it" he angrily replied.
"Control your emotions, my child. If you disrupt their plan by destroying poor Ludus, then they will know. They will know and attack us early. It is not time yet my child, you know this as well as I do" she gently replied, enveloping the blue light with her own white light.
"Thank you for sharing my emotions Mother, I have got a grasp of myself now. I need to go now, I have much to do and seemingly so little time" Creator said, more to himself than to mother.
"Remember this before you go my child. You are not the only one facing them. You have your brothers, your sisters and the many other races who dwell upon my body. The burden is not solely yours to carry" she reminded.
"I understand mother" He replied.
Inside his mind, Creator thought differently. "Most of my siblings are useless or gullible enough to fall for THERE plots like Ludus. The other races who dwell on Mother's body are too busy fighting among themselves. My only potential solace is the thousands of tutorial worlds. There have been a few promising individuals thus far".
Creator shook his head before mentally thanking Mother once more.
"I must go now. Get some rest Mother, you are not alone in this battle" Creator mumbled before disappearing.
Mother watched as her child left. Creator was a terrifying genius, yet had a single glaring issue. He took the entire weight of the world on his back, leaving his own happiness to rot. The thought brought a tear to Mother's eye.
The tear from her spirit light body was reflected on to her main body, the doomsday advent planet. A raging storm swept through the ocean as her tear dropped into the empty space before her.
With a wave of her hand, Mother stopped the storm before looking into the void, seemingly piercing the barrier which stood between two eternal enemies.