+500 XP +500 XP +500 XP
Congratulations you are level 17! +1 Wis, +1 free point!
+500 XP +500 XP +500 XP
Congratulations you are level 18! +1 Wis, + 1 free point!
Having a near constant passive XP income is the best.
Although, there is a problem. Adventurers. I knew it wouldn’t last, that the weather would start to warm up, and people seeking XP would leave the city. So far, my hunters have easily avoided them, but more and more groups keep showing up, so annoying! They mostly head straight to the dungeons, although they notice something is off.
I spy through the senses of one of my scouts as it peeps on a group traveling through the trees.
“It’s just weird is all.” A lithe man in a dark cloak grumbles.
A broad-shouldered man in heavy armor nods in agreement, “The woods should be choked with goblins, they haven’t been killed all winter, and they multiply like nothing else.”
The third member of their group, a woman holding a staff, seems to be thinking intently and remains silent.
The rogue looking man continues, “Yeah, somethin’ is off. If there ain’t any gobs, that means somethin’ has been killing them, and that somethin’ must be stronger than the gobs.” He scrutinizes his surroundings carefully, my scout watches on, undetected.
Finally speaking up, the woman adds her own theories, “Maybe it’s the Karnaks. Perhaps they have snuck around our lines and into the woods, to level up their soldiers?” Sounding quite unsure of herself, she adds, “We haven’t been paying the wood much attention, really it would not have been difficult to remain unnoticed.”
The three wonder about the situation as they continue their journey, they seem cautious yet still determined to get XP.
“Hope the dungeon ain’t been emptied out yet.” Grouches the rogue.
“Dungeons repopulate very quickly, even if it has been cleared recently, we only need wait a few hours and it will be ready for us.” The mage informs.
The other two members nod to themselves, and the woman continues on, “However, we mustn't be complacent. If it is Karnakian soldiers, we will need to make a quiet retreat to inform the city, and in the event it is indeed a powerful beast that has wandered down from the mountains…” She pauses to think, “We should determine how much of a threat it is first. If it is silver rank or above, we must retreat and inform the guild, so they may post a proper quest for its removal.
The men look fairly sour at that, and she shrugs in response, “The XP such a beast could provide would be a welcome windfall. However, one must not take unreasonable risks.”
They soon fall into arguing about what to do if it is a beast and I zone out. Most of the other groups I have listened to have said much the same thing. It’s a good thing I haven’t touched the dungeons; the adventures have been content to delve them and return home. If they couldn’t get their XP things would surely become much messier. As is, they seem content to let the mystery of the quiet forest go unanswered, the goblins have become fairly obsolete for my leveling anyways, the adventurers can have their stupid low-level forest.
My hunters have, for the most part, retreated to underground burrows to hide, my archers are still free to reign their terror in the north, speaking of…
+1,000 XP
I gaze through the eyes of my scouts, observing as my archer swarm flies out of reach of a giant as it makes a clumsy swing at them. The archers buzz back into position and release another volley of deadly spikes towards the face of the giant. The giant has enough intelligence to raise its arm and block most of the spikes, at the cost of a considerable amount of pain, letting out a roar that sweeps over the forest. The more perceptive adventures freeze in fear and quickly hide themselves.
The giant lashes out and manages to catch one of my summons, swatting it from the sky. I tsk in annoyance, there goes 150 mana.
Instead of reforming into a firing formation, my archers disperse and zip around the giant’s head, moving to disorient the target and make themselves much harder to hit, firing stingers when the giant is distracted by other archers. This method takes much longer, but I don’t lose another summon, and the giant eventually goes down.
+1,000 XP
Congratulations you are level 19! +1 Wis, +1 free point!
I turn my attention to my scouts around Ironhill. The city has become a veritable fortress, the walls have been reinforced with earth magic, huge stone spikes stand ready to skewer anyone charging the city. The inside is being prepared for war as well. Now that winter has broken, many of the refugees are being relocated further north, along with a sizable chunk of the citizens. Homes have become barracks, walls and defences have been erected in the streets. The orphanage is devoid of children, instead being filled with soldiers, it seems to be a major hub for the higher leveled amongst them.
Again, frustratingly, I have no way of knowing the actual level of the soldiers. They seem more powerful than most of the adventurers who have stuck around. If the adventurers are scared of the monsters in the mountains, they must be below level 20. That would place the soldiers above level 20, but below level 40, since that is considered a lifetime achievement. I can only assume the enemy soldiers are slightly higher leveled than ours, but not by too much, since Lotheris has been losing the war slowly, it hasn’t been a one-sided conflict.
I am confident that my archers should be able to kill the average Karnakian soldier, probably. The big problem is that they need support, they are not fast or nimble, I could see enemy archers or mages shooting them out of the sky. I need a sturdy ground unit, my hunters are absolutely not up to the task, perhaps as a support unit to harass and maybe kill some of their backline, but definitely not frontline.
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Maybe I should move deeper into the woods, perhaps even into the mountains, I don’t feel ready for a massive conflict, how much of a difference would I even make? Am I even on the right side? Should I support Lotheris or Karnaka? Maybe I should have spent more time gathering information instead of snuggling with One and sleeping. Karnaka are the invaders, but why are they invading? Most of the rumors I heard never gave a clear answer, other than ‘They are bad”.
It would be nice to be invested in this world I now live in, I am planning on being a part of it, I just wanted to get strong first. Also, despite not being sickly, I still feel tired a lot, so I sleep a lot. There really isn’t much else for me to do anyways, and I like sleeping, a habit from my previous life.
“Is that so wrong?” I question One, holding him up to my face.
My face is licked and nuzzled, I knew I could count on One to agree with me.
+1,000 XP +1,000 XP +1,000 XP
Congratulations you are level 20! Please choose a class advancement!
Demon Summoner
Beloved of the Dark
Nightmare Mage
The choices are vague as usual, it seems like this system isn’t very forthcoming with information. Demon Summoner definitely seems like the natural advancement for my class. I quickly discard Nightmare Mage, as that sounds like I will have to cast spells and do things personally, way too much work. I didn’t take the vague sounding class option last time and I have wondered about it, does a strange title potentially mean a unique class that offers extra power? I am inclined to go with Demon Summoner, but maybe for this evolution I can take something stranger.
“Do you have anything to do with me being offered Beloved of the Dark?” I ask One, only for him to tilt his head and bump it against my hand.
“Seems like you're all for it.” I scratch behind his ear nubs, before scooping him up into a hug.
Warning! This class will change your race! Proceed?
That makes me hesitate for a moment. More information please! You stupid system! Whatever, human is a boring race anyways.
Congratulations you are a level 20 Beloved of the Dark! +5 Wis, +2 free points!
Your race has been changed to Vess Queen
New skill unlocked, Summon Squire
New Skill unlocked, Summon Soldier
Older Skills have reduced mana costs
This is amazing, evolving your class is the best! Whelps now cost a single point of mana, I can now summon packs of Hunters at a time, even my archers only cost 50 mana now instead of 150. I did not expect this much of a boost, maybe my class is unique or something?
The squire isn’t particularly interesting, much like the drone before I knew better. Thinking a bit more critically, the squire is a support summon through and through. It is capable of healing my damaged summons over time, it can also produce stingers for my archers and carry them around, to resupply them when needed. It looks a lot like my drones, only the size of a car. Low mana cost too.
Soldiers, now this is the juicy one. The soldier costs 200 mana, a high cost, each level up now gives +5 wis, which is 50 mana. I am planning on putting my 2 spare points into wis, giving me 70 mana every level. It’s not great, but I should be able to pump out a couple every day in a few levels.
The soldier itself is a nightmarish chimera if I have ever seen one. The bottom half looks like a crab, six stabby legs support the shell-like body, with sharp pieces sticking out everywhere. From there the body continues up into a praying mantis shape, with six limbs attached to that section, all scythe-like blades, each easily as long as a great sword. Rather than a bug head, the body just rounds off into a nub with four, glowing red slits for eyes. The whole thing is covered in a thick layer of chitin armor. The summon is surprisingly fast, its legs allowing it to move quickly over any terrain. It towers over most men, easily reaching 10 feet tall, with strength to match, a true terror.
Just guessing, but my new creature should be able to contend with soldiers up to level 39, realistically they would probably struggle to kill a level 39, but I am optimistic they could do it. Honestly, I have no real idea.
I try to picture my soldiers fighting the giants. The size difference would make things awkward, but would a giant be able to kill one of my soldiers? Probably? The size factor would put my soldier at too much of a disadvantage. Could a soldier kill a troll? Absolutely, no problem, the soldier would be much too sturdy for a troll to crush.
Then there is the problem of summoning them, if I summon them in the forest, they are sure to be noticed, not to mention wasted there. I need them in the mountains. A few soldiers with support from archers would make quick work of a giant. If my creatures continue to show competence in coordinating their battles, I feel like I could push into the mountains themselves.
I get up and stretch, only for my head to bump the shallow ceiling of my burrow. Huh. I now have to bend over to walk around down here, I think I grew a bit.
I dive into the senses of one of my drones to observe myself. I am now a Vess Queen, probably the same race as these creatures I have been summoning. I now share the same glowing red eyes as my summons, my hair is now black, and I look down at my hands to discover I have grown claws! Well, sort of little baby claws, my hands are covered in the same black chitin as my soldiers, only it seems much softer and pliable, the claws are easy to control too, losing their sharpness with a thought. The chitin only goes up to my elbows, the same thing is happening with my feet, that chitin ends just below the knee. It doesn’t really feel much different? I think I look older too?
As I comb my claws through my hair, I also discover two little nubs, I guess I am growing horns too.
I scoop up One in my arms and crawl out of my burrow, it was a very comfy home, but I have outgrown it. Standing up to my full height outside I find that… I am still not very tall.
A hunter comes over to me and lays down for me to mount him. My slight size increase does allow me to more comfortably ride my hunters, at least.
The hunter takes off into the forest, easily dodging between trees, carrying me towards the mountains. I order my scouts to find a dungeon that isn’t too deep, I think it’s finally time to start farming dungeons, my soldiers are absolutely up to the task, and I can’t wait for the XP increase. If I can take over a couple dungeons, filling them with my soldiers, I should be able to rapidly rise in power, maybe not fast enough to help Ironhill, but potentially sometime in the near future. My biggest limitation is my mana, I can only produce a few soldiers a day, and I want hundreds before I engage with any wars.
My two dozen archers fly in formation above me as I approach the base of the mountains. Multiple packs of hunters surround me on all sides to protect me, while my scouts guide our procession around threats, towards our destination. My army is really coming together, I now realize that I am genuinely a threat. Not to a city like Ironhill, but certainly to any smaller town. For some reason that really makes me happy.
