Chapter Fifty One - 051Felix was right. The stairs were a haul.
Carrying a fully armed and armored Vessilia was a challenge; she wasn't hard to lift however, and was surprisingly easy considering she and all her gear was likely clocking in at 190 pounds. Mostly it was her limp form and having to drag around a goddamn eight foot spear.
It got caught on everything.
The struggle eased into monotony after a short while though, and Felix's mind began to unpack. They had fought and killed a large number of creatures in a short period of time. His kill notifications indicated he had dispatched twenty one, both alone and in concert with the Tin Ranks. Now, he didn't find himself choked with guilt or anything; those beasts wanted to eat him and he was just fine destroying them instead. It had been a wild and hectic battle, yet he had felt a profound rightness to it all that, in retrospect, felt odd. When had he reveled in combat?
Perhaps it was inevitable. So much of his time on the Continent had been spent in fear, in confusion, or a combination of the two. Now that he was finding himself more potent than ever, why wouldn't he marvel at his own strength? He punched a monster straight through its chest! It hadn't hurt him at all! It had, in fact, felt like breaking through drywall. Feats like this were impossible back on Earth.
This entire world feels impossible. Terrifying and awful at times, but astounding just the same. His mind drifted to the magical Skills he was accruing, a childhood dream he had long since abandoned now coming true. They have to have wizard schools here, right? Felix the Wizard sounds too good not to happen.
He even had potentially more Skills to acquire after today's fight. He patted his satchel, within which were the two vials of blood he'd managed to fill from the Ofrenok and Ofrehulk's corpses. Those were for later.
Around halfway up the third floor Felix finally gave into his curiosity. He toggled his notifications, solidifying his new growth.
Heat Resistance is level 19!
Long Blade Mastery is level 15!
Blind Fighting is level 19!
Corrosive Strike is level 20!
Armored Skin is level 23!
Intimidation is level 4!
Bastion of Will is level 30!
Analyze is level 23!
Dual Casting is level 17!
Acid Stream is level 24!
Influence of the Wisp is level 23!
+1 AGL
+1 DEX
Hell. Yes. He had bumped up so many things, all of which were among his lower Skills. Ah, damn. I completely forgot to use Shadow Whip and Mantle of the Long Night. Ugh. Wasted opportunity.
Felix had decided he was in desperate need of a way to incorporate as many of his Skills into a solidified fighting style. It'd maximize his leveling gains and keep that nagging voice quiet, the one that insisted that any Skill below level 20 was dragging him down and should be leveled immediately. It wasn't wrong, per se, but it was an echo of his childhood when he'd not be done with a game until he'd reached max level, max stats, all the important items and weapons. Felix had long ago accepted that this was not a game, and that his new life had deadly consequences. But even still.
Gaining Skill levels and stats was immensely satisfying.
Felix frowned at his notifications, realized he didn't make his next level. While no XP bar existed (to his knowledge), he could still feel how close he was to another level and Felix felt only a hairsbreadth away from level 20.
Pit, however, did level up.
Your Companion Pit Has Gained 2 Levels!
+4 VIT! +4 PER! +8 AGL! +8 DEX! +6 WIL! +2 END! +4 INT!
"Scavenger," Felix eyed his Companion who trotted up the stairs beside him. "You snaked my experience!"
Pit warbled enthusiastically. He'd been extra affectionate since he rejoined Felix; the distinct feeling of being left out and worried had dominated the tenku. Felix had found out that Magda had sealed the archway with one of her force walls, allowing Pit to look into the room but be unable to help. This all came to him in a rush from Pit, who pushed his strange sense-emotions onto Felix with all the grace of a dump truck.
He had hugged his friend for a long while, sending his regret and assurance that he was fine.
Still, he grumbled to himself. Having a race with an experience penalty is bad enough, but I'm also sharing with Pit. Hard not to feel a little cheated.
The stairs finally ended. They had felt interminable, long enough that Vessilia was beginning to come around in his arms.
"Who--?" She mumbled. Her face was in the crook of his neck as Felix had her in a classic princess carry, and she blinked up at him with half-closed eyes. "Where are we?"
"Back at the top of the tower, Duchess," Felix grunted as he took the last step into their floor.
Vessilia shook her head. "I'm not-" Her eyes shot open wide as she got a better look at Felix. "P-put me down!"
"Oh, sure," Felix set her on her feet, and the woman quickly backed up. "Sorry if I--sorry. Here." Felix held out her silver spear, and Vessilia snatched it from his hand. She was blushing furiously.
Shit, did I do something inappropriate? He had held her, but that wasn't weird, right? He was just bringing her back up the tower, just like Magda was doing...
Felix turned to see Magda walk into the room, holding her sister and Atar by the back of their armor. Their bodies dragged limply against the floor, and both were starting to come around. Felix grimaced; their shins were gonna be bruised all to hell.
"Took ya all long enough," groused a familiar voice. Felix spotted Harn in the tiered fire pit, which was still unlit. He looked tired from this distance, and he slapped at the large corpse next to him. It was another Hoarhound. "C'mon and help me cook this damn thing before it dissolves on us."
Magda and Felix got to work. The Tin Ranks were left to recuperate at the edge of the fire, though Harn managed to coax Atar into lighting some kindling, though from the look on his face the mage regretted it immediately. Magda had Felix move the monster over to the side, where she started dressing the kill.
"Why did they pass out?" Felix asked, looking back at his ragged allies.
"You didn't?" Magda asked without looking up or stopping her knife. "The old timers think a Reveal is all about a build up of energy that eventually wears away at the nugget of destiny that each of us holds within. But once Revealed, all that energy's gotta go somewhere, so it spills out." Magda punctuated her words by scooping a mess of blue-grey sacks from the Hoarhound's chest cavity. She slopped them over to the side, unceremoniously. "The energy takes from your body too, draining Stamina, Mana, and a little Health too. Leaves most people damn near unconscious, if not completely out." She made a few more cuts along the creature's underside that Felix couldn't see.
"How are you doing that?" Felix marveled as the Hoarhounds fur almost jumped off its body, Magda's Skill at Skinning or Butchering or whatever proving to be much higher than even his best Skill. "All the monsters I've fought turn to greasy smoke not long after."
Magda nodded at her hand, where she held her knife against the meat of the beast. "Enchanted knife. Preserves the kill and stops it from decaying. Once butchered, the meat won't smoke up anymore, just rot like normal flesh does."
"Handy." Magda grunted in affirmation and got back to work.
Thirty minutes later the fire was crackling and a heaping slab of meat was cooking on the makeshift spit. Pit was off in the corner, chowing down on the guts from the Hoarhound. The Tin Ranks were more alert and less shakey, though Evie uncharacteristically silent and Atar resolutely stared anywhere but at the fire. Felix, meanwhile, chewed the inside of his cheek and watched them all, silently hoping the food would get done faster. He was, of course, starving again.
Most surprisingly, up close Harn looked even more tired looking than the Tin Ranks. He had bags under his eyes, several bruises on his face, and his armor was covered in new scratches.
"So," Magda said, breaking the silence. "What happened?"
He let out a slow breath before answering.