Chapter 173 - (173) Difference Between Tiers

Geth looked down both sides of the path and found that the battle was over. His Skeleton had finished off the wolves in the pit while his party members had slain the last of the beasts.

After verifying that everyone was safe, he pulled the Taming Cards from his inventory. It was time to take a look at the fruits of their labor.

All three of the cards had an image of a young Direwolf on the front. If he hadn't known any better, Geth would suspect that they were nothing more than gigantic huskies.

Two of the wolf cubs had a  beautiful light grey coat. The one that he had just captured was different, bearing pitch-black fur.

'It looks like the Attributes are different for both of them as well.'

***

Direwolf Cub, Lvl 1

HP- 150

MP- 50

Strength- 15

Agility- 25

Defense- 15

Wisdom- 10

Intelligence- 10

Skills:

Pack Resistance (Passive)

When in the presence of four more Direwolves of the same pack, gain a bonus amount of Strength and Defense. Increase of 5 Attribute points per pack member in a 50-foot vicinity.

Equipment:

None

***

The grey Direwolf Cubs boasted generous base Attributes for being Level 1. He was going to ask Albus about it, but the man began a small lecture before he could even ask. 

"Direwolves are a Tier 4 Race. If you attempt to compare such a creature to the Human Race, you will be distressed over the results.

Humans are merely a Tier 2 existence. We have similar beginning Attributes to Goblins, Skeletons, Lizardmen, and some of the other weaker Races.

This is one of the reasons that the Elven alliance was so reluctant to take us into their fold. Even then, we were almost always looked down on."

Albus shook his head and looked at Geth's other-self. He gestured toward the Arcane Archer's mental sphere connected to his.

"The starting Attributes are actually how we devised the Tiers. Tier 1 creatures, such as the Slime, only have beginning Attributes of 10 to 19.

Tier 2 creatures starting Attributes range from 20 to 34. Tier 3 from 35 to 64, and Tier 4 from 64 to 99.

The Scaling continues all the way up to Tier 10 existences. There are exceptions to the rule. 

Some members of a Race can be born with higher aptitudes than other members. You won't find that for a while, as Humans are still adapting to the changes.

Future generations, however, will have some of these exceptions. It's one of the reasons we were able to survive as long as we did.

You'll see an example of this when you look at the Direwolf that you just tamed."

Geth nodded and looked at the Taming Card that he was holding.

***

Direwolf Cub, Lvl 1

HP- 150

MP- 150

Strength- 10

Agility- 20

Defense- 15

Wisdom- 20

Intelligence- 20

Skills:

Pack Resistance (Passive)

When in the presence of four more Direwolves of the same pack, gain a bonus amount of Strength and Defense. Increase of 5 Attribute points per pack member in a 50-foot vicinity.

Corruption Strike (Uncommon)

Cost (25 MP) Embues claws with the power of corruption and decomposition. Successful attacks leave a lingering effect that slows regeneration and causes damage over time.

Time = 30 seconds+ (Wisdom x 10%) in seconds. Damage tick every 5 seconds.

Damage = 10+ (Int x 10%) per tick.

Equipment:

None

***

'This is incredibly overpowered,' Geth frowned.

Albus chuckled, "Don't even get me started on the higher Tier existences. Your saving grace against these Direwolves is that they are too proud to use equipment.

Not that they can really use weapons, of course, but armor sets can be tailor-made for them. Tools are one of the saving graces we have as Humans, but it's still difficult to overcome raw power."

Geth listened on with interest. He was learning something new about this world every day, though this information was a bit self-defeating.

"Another benefit that the higher Tier creatures receive is growing more than we do. Put into the system's terms, they receive more Attributes per Level."

'Great. So we really are at the bottom of the food chain,' Geth sighed. 'I suppose it's better than being a Slime.'

He looked at the cards in his hands and then filtered through his inventory. He still had three Epic Taming Cards available and four of the Enhanced version.

'I'll give two of these to my current party members. I'll keep the black one for myself, of course.'

Geth had already grown attached to the little guy. Not only was he stronger than the others, but they also had a bit of history between them.

He looked at the bodies of the four Direwolves in the pit as he passed by. A sigh escaped him. It was a shame that such beautiful creatures had to die like that.

"Master."

The Arcane Archer bowed slightly as he passed by. He patted his Tame on the shoulder. Geth really wasn't sure where he'd picked up on such mannerisms.

"You've done exceptionally well. It's a bit awkward not having a proper way to call out to you. Have you come up with a name for yourself yet?"

The Skeleton turned its head sideways at a slightly unnatural angle and looked at him. Its eyes radiated with blue Mana, mimicking someone playing with a dimmer switch for a light bulb.

"Bane."

"Bane?"

"I'll be the bane of anything that tries to harm my Master."

The Skeleton pointed a boney finger towards the corpses in the pit. Geth did his best to keep a serious face.

It wasn't a bad name. It's just that the way his Tame described it was a bit amusing.

"Okay, Bane, I approve." Geth nodded and beckoned for the Skeleton to follow him.

The two of them approached the rest of the party, who were currently watching Zolis and Rift burn the bodies.

"It's a shame that we don't have more storage space," Filthy complained. "Seems like a waste of material that the Blacksmith or Tailor could use."

Geth nodded in agreement and joined the group in collecting the fallen loot.