8 8. Testing
"Thank God you're here," gushed Sophie. "We really need you. I—"
"Hold on now," said Brad. He seemed unsettled. "I wouldn't go that far. But yeah, we could use someone like you. We're trying to get out of here—we figure that means getting rid of this 'Crystalback Behemoth' first, then going for that 'Keeper of the Grove.'"
"Sure," said Zane. He still wasn't sure about this collective 'we.' Thus far, he'd been pretty happy on his own. He'd come here to return the little girl—he found he had no strong desire to play nice with these people, though. The few he knew, he didn't like.
"So this is how things work here," said Brad. "I'm tribe leader. These—you know Ralph, this here's Zach—these are my lieutenants, my second-in-commands. Then we have warriors, and then scouts. To get where we were, we all had to work our way up, earn our stripes, you know."
It had hardly been three days. He made it sound like they were all combat veterans. Zane stayed silent.
"So," said Brad again, as the silence got awkward. "We'd love to have you! I think you'd make a great scout, man. You'll be in charge of mapping out terrain and carrying our gear for us. We'll see how you do, then we can talk about a promotion. How's that sound?"
He couldn't look Zane in the eyes as he said it. He'd been fidgety ever since he saw Zane's level.
Sophie frowned. "He's Level 28, Brad! And he's just killed the goblin boss. Shouldn't he be a Warrior, at least?"
Sophie going to bat for him was a shocking turn of events.
Brad laughed nervously. "Hey Soph, I like you. So I'll let that slide. But you really gotta remember you're just a civilian. You don't talk back to me, okay? There's a chain of command here."
Sophie looked perplexed, but Brad's grunts—his lieutenants—frowned at her with their arms folded, and she shriveled. By her side, Cale seemed uncomfortable, but he didn't speak up.
"So," Zane said slowly, "If I'm understanding this right... I could wipe out this whole camp with one hand—"
Brad visibly flinched.
"—and you want me to... scout... for you. Play your lackey. And you say this with a straight face, and you expect me to agree."
He smiled an amused little smile. Brad frowned. "Come on, man. You don't have to be a dick about it. So yeah, you're strong, but if you think you can take us that easy, you have another thing coming. Look, all I'm saying is you don't get to skip the line. How's that fair to the rest of us?"
Fair? It seemed to Zane Brad wasn't only stuck in an old way of thinking, a way that only worked outside this dungeon. He was stuck in high school. He meant to run this disheveled group like a clique, with him on top. Zane wanted no part in it.
"What," said Brad at the look on Zane's face, "You think you can just walk in here and take charge just because you're—you're—you're a little stronger than me?"
Zane had not been thinking that at all, actually. But clearly Brad had been; he was getting quite red.
"Doesn't work like that, buddy!" Brad snapped. "This is my—" He caught himself. "This is our tribe. You follow our rules!"
"Yeah," said Zane, snorting, "Thanks for the offer. I think I'll go my own way."
"What?" said Brad, but he was already turning.
"Dude, don't be stupid! You can't make it on your own."
Zane didn't turn; he just kept walking. "I'll take my chances."
"Wait!" came a cry. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Sophie running over. He was about to ask her what she wanted when she latched onto his arm. "I missed you," she whispered. "I'm sorry—I shouldn't have let you go like that, it wasn't right. I see it now, I really do. You think about me too, right?"
"Please let go of me," said Zane, as evenly as he could.
"No," said Sophie stubbornly. "Take me with you. I—ahh!"
He'd shucked her off. "It's not personal. You'd just slow me down."
There was a choked cry as he walked off.
***
So that was a strange detour. Now it was over, he went back to what he was here for: testing out his new skills and seeing if he could find the region boss.
It didn't take long before he crossed paths with another monster.
ℂ𝕣𝕪𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕝𝕓𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝔹𝕠𝕒𝕣 (𝕄𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣)
𝔼𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝟙𝟠
This one was a lot thicker and bigger than the others, with a mountain range of crystals on its back. It snorted at him when it sighted him, swirling crystal dust out of its nostrils.
First up, his signature skill: Sage Mind.
𝕊𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝕄𝕚𝕟𝕕 (𝔸𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖) [𝕊𝕚𝕘𝕟𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖]
𝔻𝕖𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕦𝕔𝕥𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕞𝕪, 𝕘𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕕𝕖𝕖𝕡 𝕚𝕟𝕤𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕚𝕣 𝕡𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕨𝕖𝕒𝕜𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕤.
He activated it.
ℂ𝕣𝕪𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕝𝕓𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝔹𝕠𝕒𝕣 (𝕄𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣)
𝔼𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝟙𝟠
𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕤:
𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕟 𝕀 (ℙ𝕒𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕧𝕖) [ℂ𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕠𝕟]
𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕓𝕠𝕒𝕣'𝕤 𝕤𝕜𝕚𝕟 𝕚𝕤 𝕒𝕤 𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕕𝕦𝕣𝕒𝕓𝕝𝕖 𝕒𝕤 𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕟𝕖, 𝕘𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒 𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕧𝕚𝕥𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕓𝕠𝕠𝕤𝕥.
𝔹𝕦𝕝𝕝 ℝ𝕦𝕤𝕙 𝕀 (𝔸𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖) [ℂ𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕠𝕟]
𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕓𝕠𝕒𝕣 𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕘𝕠𝕖𝕤 𝕒 𝕤𝕦𝕕𝕕𝕖𝕟 𝕓𝕦𝕣𝕤𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕤𝕡𝕖𝕖𝕕, 𝕠𝕗𝕥𝕖𝕟 𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕔𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕠𝕗𝕗 𝕘𝕦𝕒𝕣𝕕.
Fascinating. Presumably, these were the "powers" portion the skill was referring to. He wasn't sure what in the box was meant to be a weakness… Ah. A spot on the boar's belly lit up red; it was highlighting where you should hit it.
As it came charging at him, he figured he'd test it. Mid-charge the boar's body glowed with essence, and it shot at him like an arrow loosed from its string—the change of speed was shocking. Or would have been shocking if he hadn't known about it. But he did, so he calmly sidestepped and let it stumble over itself, hitting nothing.
It swerved, came at him again, and this time dodged and ripped a kick. His dexterity served him well; he landed his shin right on the spot of red. He didn't put in that much force—about as much as he could have thrown at Level 15 or so.
He heard a wet squelch. The boar's eyes bulged. It went careening head over heels like a derailed train, coming to a sordid, huffing halt. It tried to wobble up, then hacked up a gout of blood.
That was neat.
It came at him again, and he did the same maneuver: stepped out and punted it in the same spot. This time when it went down, it lay there writhing. So he stepped up to it and finished it.
Yes, he could see this skill coming in very useful. He licked his lips subconsciously. On to the next one: Chain Cyclone. He pulled up the description—
ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕚𝕟 ℂ𝕪𝕔𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕖 (𝔸𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖) [ℝ𝕒𝕣𝕖]
𝔼𝕩𝕖𝕔𝕦𝕥𝕖𝕤 𝕒 𝕤𝕨𝕚𝕗𝕥, 𝟛𝟞𝟘-𝕕𝕖𝕘𝕣𝕖𝕖 𝕤𝕨𝕖𝕖𝕡𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕒𝕔𝕜, 𝕒 𝕔𝕪𝕔𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕖𝕗𝕗𝕖𝕔𝕥. 𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕤𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕚𝕤 𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕡𝕥 𝕒𝕥 𝕕𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕤𝕦𝕣𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕖𝕤, 𝕠𝕗𝕗𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕓𝕠𝕥𝕙 𝕠𝕗𝕗𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕔𝕙 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕒 𝕕𝕖𝕗𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕓𝕒𝕣𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕣.
Pretty self-explanatory, but he could still do with a demonstration. So he forged on deeper into the Highlands. He was searching out Treasure Areas, yellow dots clumped with Monsters. It didn't take him long to find one. He saw them from a ways off—a whole herd of Crystalback Boars circling a massive shelf of crystals, guarding it. The crystals weren't normal; they steamed with essence. If Zane got his hands on them, he had a feeling they'd give a similar effect to Moon Fruits. But these seemed even more essence-rich.
The Boars saw him coming, but they didn't charge at him, not at first. They just got more agitated, pawing at the ground, snorting and snarling and frothing at their tusked mouths. When he got within a thirty feet, the first of them broke from the pack and came snarling. The rest poured after it. Some were small, just Level 7, but the huge ones were nearly thrice as big—he saw one Level 19, one Level 20, even.
He let the ones in the front get a few good pokes in, just so the stragglers had a chance to get close. Then he unleashed the skill.
His Chains leapt to his hands, and he spun. The Chains twisted over each other, over and over again, a swirling double helix, and where they passed they flattened boars the way a tornado flattens a farmhouse, tears it apart, brutalizes it, leaves chunks strewn all over the ground. They spun so fast, so fiercely, they made their own wind funnel. Zane saw boars thrown ten, twenty feet into the air. There was a joke here about pigs flying, he was sure.
Normally it would have taken ages to squish all these things. It would be incredibly annoying in a boss fight, especially when he had no time to spare for it. But if he had this when he fought the Hobgoblin Chief, it would have lasted a tenth as long. Hardly thirty seconds later, the field was cleared of swine. The Chains dropped, and the last few loops of wind rumbled into the sky.
Which left him free to collect those crystals.
It turned out that while apples had to be eaten, absorbing from these crystals was as simple as putting your hand on them and willing the essence in. He was certain they were at least as strong as the Moon Fruit, but out of eight giant crystals and a herd of Boars, he barely managed to scrounge a level. That was the nature of the curve, he guessed. Tough. Still, he was pretty satisfied with the whole thing.
He looped around the place, flattening straggler Boars when he came across them, but in the next few hours, he didn't find anything nearing a boss lair. There were two more crystal deposits, whose Monster guards he trivially crushed, and whose essence he absorbed. No giant red dot, though. He was starting to think he was in the wrong section of the map entirely. Brad's tribe had gone the other way, south, while he was scouring up north.
So he started to loop back around. On the way, he came across a totally unguarded yellow dot. This one turned out to be a chest. A literal treasure chest, sunk a foot into the soil. When he opened it up, he found a light gray T-shirt and beige cargo pants—each grade F. Their description said they expanded and shrank to fit, and they were tear and stain resistant. His old clothes were shredded so badly he was practically naked, so these were a welcome get.
All he had left to test was the passive skill, Savage Body.
𝕊𝕒𝕧𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝔹𝕠𝕕𝕪 (ℙ𝕒𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕧𝕖) [𝕊𝕚𝕘𝕟𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖]
𝔸𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕤 𝕠𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕒𝕘𝕖'𝕤 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕥𝕙 𝕕𝕣𝕠𝕡𝕤 𝕓𝕖𝕝𝕠𝕨 𝟝𝟘%. 𝕀𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕟𝕖𝕠𝕦𝕤𝕝𝕪 𝕚𝕟𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕖𝕤 𝕊𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕟𝕘𝕥𝕙, 𝕊𝕡𝕖𝕖𝕕, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕍𝕚𝕥𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕓𝕪 𝟚𝟝%. 𝕎𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕥𝕙 𝕕𝕣𝕠𝕡𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕔𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕝 𝕝𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝𝕤, 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕖𝕗𝕗𝕖𝕔𝕥 𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕖𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝟝𝟘%.
He needed to get down to 50% or below. He could just let grunt Boars poke at him for half an hour, but he had a hunch it'd be a lot more fun to see just how dangerous this Crystalback Behemoth was.
Now. Where was that thing hiding?
