58 The Blueprint and Master Plan
2146 Words
“Gunura? The orc store owner in the Lagash Interpoint? What does he have to do with any of this?” Kedrick exclaimed as he crossed his arms in doubt about the old orc role in the whole game.
Haya remembered the wise old orc and his beach-like store. The calming background reminded him of the peaceful store owner that seemed to be the wisest being they know.
“Remember when we got the Akkadian Cube from the old orc?” Thaleos asked, and everyone nodded their heads in realization.
“Oh, so he like left it inside the cube?” Ygritte asked in excitement, to which the beast tamer responded with an eager nod. Natalia was looking at the two and quietly observed the whole group.
“Yeah, when we bought the cube, it was literally empty save for those seeds. He somehow added a little note to the description of the seed and told me to plant these seeds before going into the second stage and then to harvest them once they open earth’s door.” The bearded man didn’t even pause while explaining as they all looked up to Gunura a bit.
“Wow, I swear, that old man is like an Akkadian Cube himself, always filled with mystery and so many identities we probably don’t know.” Haya was noting everything down on his little black notebook.
Everyone could see the familiar knotted eyebrows the berserker had whenever he was thinking about something. The beast tamer added a small explanation after everyone absorbed all his backstories,
“He also told us to come back after a month to his store so that we can sell it to him. Apparently, the seeds only grow when they get nutrients from both Mana and Miasma. Since Miasma doesn’t usually linger around the Lagash Interpoint, these flowers rarely grow unless near the stage vortex doors.”
The whole group was fascinated with Thaleos’ explanation and how the games seemed to have such specific conditions and rules for certain quests or items.
“It’s like they’re a computer scientist or something and just created millions of websites where people could explore in.” Ygritte perfectly explained how the whole game was, and Haya even took the time to quote down what she said.
“Wow. That’s amazing, so since that flower is so important, how do we get it back?” Natalia asked them as she tried to bring back the topic at hand.
“Well, I’m legitimately sure that the thieves were just lucky enough to be the first ones to go out of the door, and they just managed to see the flowers. We could wait it out here for now.” Thaleos recommended it since he knew how important the flower was.
Aside from their values in shekels, these flowers sometimes act like blood souls since they can increase skill points and even add to your health points.
But the unique thing about these flowers is that they have the ability to absorb miasma. This was extremely important as the miasma is one of the main reasons why their life force was depleted in the second world.
When crushed and mixed with fire sprite ashes, the flower can create a potion that can protect you from the miasma for a whole day.
As Thaleos was trying to explain this, Kedrick chimed in and said, “Wasn’t James obsessed about alchemy as well? I mean, while skimming through his journal, there were a lot of specific notes on different potions and ingredients. It was boring but hella detailed.”
“Yeah, and he was quite keen on this particular potion. He said that he mostly saw the elven race making use of these potions.” The beast tamer leaned inward while trying to explain more about James’ interest in alchemy.
After a couple of minutes just talking about the different medicinal herbs in the second world, Haya pivoted the conversation and with wide eyes asked,
“Since we can’t stay in the second stage for long periods of time, how do we level up faster?”
“Actually, I thought that whenever we are there, we need to fight as many middle-tiered beasts to make sure that we level up. Because based on Ur’s answers from earlier, the higher level you are, the higher your resistance to the miasma is.” The bearded man explained with animated gestures and continued,
“Also, another strategy I was thinking of—and I think we should mostly use this when our life force is deficient,” The man stated this disclaimer first then said, “We could enter the vortex and just wait near it, so whenever our life force gets extremely low, we could quickly go back to earth for a few hours and come back.”
“I love that idea! It saves us time from going back and forth, and we could also easily pace ourselves.” Haya agreed with his own thought, and the others also eagerly agreed as they fidgeted in their seats in excitement.
“Those are the two strategies I’ve been thinking about so far. If you guys have any other ideas, please! I would love to hear them.” Ygritte chuckled a bit as Thaleos sounded like they were in a meeting back in the clinic.
“Yeah, I thought that we could also cultivate the flowers more.” Kedrick hesitantly started but continued after seeing the supportive look from his friends, “I mean, making those potions would be super helpful in case we get too deep into the world and not see any vortices or alien doors.”
Everyone nodded their heads in agreement. Soon Thaleos took out the Insight Glasses and looked at all the members’ levels. He first looked at Haya,
Name: Haya Keli’l
Race: Human
Age: 25 years old
Job: Berserker
Level: 14
Attack Points: 395 points
Health Points: 405 points
Stamina Points: 405 points
Magic Points: 355 points
Specialized Skills: Berserker Fury Skill, Kill Intent Skill, Bloody Daggers Skill, Radical Rage Skill, Summon Wolf Familiar Skill, Thirst Rage Skill
General Skills: Alchemy, Summoning, Professional Collecting, Two-Handed Weapon Wielding
HP Armor: 0
Attack Weapon: 25 points against health, 20 points against magic, 25 points against stamina
Intelligence Points: 210 points
Current Experience: 995 XP
Thaleos was very impressed with what he saw and was happy to know that the berserker was progressing well. After telling Haya his current level and stats, the beast tamer turned towards Kedrick’s direction,
Name: Kedrick Costa
Race: Human
Age: 32 years old
Job: Priest
Level: 15
Attack Points: 375 points
Health Points: 475 points
Stamina Points: 450 points
Magic Points: 355 points
Specialized Skills: Healing Sphere Skill, Regenerator Passive Skill, Ward Off Evil Skill, Angel Essence Skill, Strike Light Skill, The Gods’ Touch Skill
General Skills: Healing, Smithing, Professional Collecting, Two-Handed Weapon Wielding
HP Armor: 0
Attack Weapon: 25 points against health, 20 points against magic, 25 points against stamina
Intelligence Points: 180 points
Current Experience:1015 XP
“Damn, dude, we definitely need to think of the different ways we can make use of your healing skills. Since you’re the only healer here, you’re like our most important team member.” The beast tamer muttered after telling Kedrick his stats.
Next, he looked at Ygritte, who was nervously fidgeting. Thaleos chuckled a bit and asked, “Why are you so nervous, Ygritte. This isn’t an assessment or anything.”
The druid stopped her fidgeting and laughed a bit, “Sorry, a force of habit. I’m super conscious of grades or anything related to numbers and me. It’s a complex relationship.” Ygritte laughed it off, and the beast tamer laughed along with her.
Name: Ygritte MacGowan
Race: Human
Age: 27 years old
Job: Druid
Level: 13
Attack Points: 305 points
Health Points: 375 points
Stamina Points: 340 points
Magic Points: 320 points
Specialized Skills: Ancient Incantation Skill, Summon the Undead Skill, Reanimate the Dead, Gaia’s Echo Skill, Summon Animal Ally Skill, Vines of Destruction Skill
General Skills: Summoning, Alchemy, Archery
HP Armor: 0
Attack Weapon: 15 points against health, 25 points against magic, 15 points against stamina
Intelligence Points: 205 points
Current Experience: 850 XP
“Woah, your skills sound pretty awesome. Like just a question, I’m super curious as to what ‘Gaia’s Echo Skill’ is?” Haya directly gazed at Ygritte in curiosity.
“Well, that one’s still hard to master because it takes a lot out of my magical points. Like just doing that skill takes about 200 points, and sometimes I have to be strategic in fights. Anyways, the skill basically summons all the nearby beasts within 20 feet to fight for me.”
“Oh, that’s cool. Do druids commonly have the power to summon the dead?” Natalia asked in curiosity, to which Ygritte nodded in response and replied,
“Even the dead were alive once, and their bodies and souls still live within the universe, just in a different plane. But their remains still belong to nature, and parts of them interweave with soul and remain connected to nature for as long as all its parts become obliterated.” Ygritte was a keen believer of spirituality and nature; that’s why she chose to become a druid.
“But as druids, our priority is still life essence, so those necromancy skills are usually dedicated for beginners.” Natalia nodded her head eagerly, “Wow, like I wish I chose to be a druid instead. Not like boring mage.”
The druid chuckled and said, “Girl, mages are friggin’ awesome, though! I think mages and druids go hand in hand because we ask for help from the elements and nature.” The other three men were tuning in their conversation, and Thaleos looked in Natalia’s direction.
Name: Natalia Rosenthal
Race: Human
Age: 29 years old
Job: Mage
Level: 13
Attack Points: 325 points
Health Points: 345 points
Stamina Points: 350 points
Magic Points: 410 points
Specialized Skills: Fire Blast Skill, Sword Conjuration Skill, Mage’s Prayer Skill, Arcane Ice Skill, Conjure Water Skill, Intellect of the Arcane Arts Skill
General Skills: Destructive Magic, Conjuration Magic
HP Armor: 0
Attack Weapon: 15 points against health, 25 points magic absorption, 15 points stamina absorption
Intelligence Points: 205 points
Current Experience: 855 XP
“Wow, those are pretty tight skills.” Kedrick complimented the mage’s skills. As soon as everyone agreed, Haya gently took the golden pair of glasses from Thaleos and said, “Your turn!”
Everyone was so curious to see the bearded man’s stats.
Name: Thaleos Fincher
Race: Human
Age: 30 years old
Job: Beast Tamer
Level: 17
Attack Points: 505 points
Health Points: 445 points
Stamina Points: 450 points
Magic Points: 510 points
Specialized Skills: Anger Strike Skill, Heart of Tyranny Skill, Bloody Rage Skill, Painful Torture Skill, Beast Aura Skill, Mental Whipping Skill
General Skills: Summoning, Beast Taming, Alchemy, Archery, One-Handed Weapon Wielding, Professional Collecting, Illusions
HP Armor: 0
Attack Weapon: 35 points against health, 35 points magic absorption, 25 points against stamina
Intelligence Points: 245 points
Current Experience: 1, 230 XP
“Dude, what the hell, those are some f*****g skills,” Kedrick uttered in bewilderment. Everyone echoed the umber man’s sentiment and looked at the beast tamer in amazement.
“Dude, it’s not just me. It’s because I had a head start on everything. I’d say that getting James’ journal meant that I accessed choices people couldn’t. I mean, even choosing to become a beast tamer was all part of the strategy.” Everyone agreed with the bearded man’s take on privilege.
The whole team, including Natalia, spent the next half hour discussing how they could better their defense and offense strategies.
They even talked about how they could better use their skills and complement them against the four types of beasts in the second stage.
Soon after, Thaleos went deadly quiet as he felt a fissure in the air. He shushed everybody as he tapped on his ear.
Whenever some exited or entered the alien door, everyone could feel the shift in the air as the miasma and mana reacts to a certain extent to make sure that transportation is stable.
“They’re here,” Thaleos growled under his breath.
- Writer
