542. Questing III

542. Questing III

Omen: 9, 18

“So this Stone Sword guy is strong?” Adam asked, leading the group north, towards the forest.

“Yes,” Jurot replied. “He has travelled through Aldland, and into other realms, and has made a name for himself with his magical weapon. The weapon was was once used by an ancient warrior before the time of the Iyr.”

“Oh? Cool.”

“His blade is a Greater Enhanced weapon, which strikes more like a hammer than a sword, and strikes heavier than a typical blade. His skin is also tougher, like that of our Rot family.”

“Ah,” Adam said, slowly nodding his head. “Quite a wonderful blade.”

“He will fight in the tournament,” Jurot said. “He should place well.”

“How well do you think?”

“Top five,” Jurot assumed.

“In his age bracket?”

“Yes.”

“Is that the strongest bracket?” Adam asked.

“He will fight among the warriors who do not use magic. Those who fight with magic are typically stronger.”

“You’re fighting in the bracket that doesn’t use magic either, right?” Adam asked.

“Not in the age bracket.”

“I just meant that I feel like you’ll be able to beat the one’s in the magical bracket,” Adam stated.

“You will fight in that bracket.”

“You think I could beat you?” Adam asked.

Jurot thought Adam and them fighting. “It would be a close fight.”

“Yeah,” Adam replied, smirking slightly.

“The Knight of the East would have fought in the tournament,” Jurot said. “He would have faced Stone Sword.”

“Who would have won?”

“It is too close to tell,” Jurot admitted. “They would both place in the top five. The Knight of the East, Stone Sword, Rising Sun Blade, Raging Bull, The Hawk, and Moon Dancer. It is their tournament to win, but the Knight of the East was killed recently in the south.”

“Oh?” Adam asked. “He went south to fight in the war and was killed? I didn’t think they’d kill a noble like him.”

“They would not have,” Jurot agreed. “The figure who killed him is unknown.”

“He didn’t die to a beast or anything?”

“There are few beasts which could kill the Knight of the East.”

“Damn... How strong was the Knight of the East exactly?”

‘Now that I think about it...’

XP: 12 250 -> 11 050

Mana: 18 -> 21

Feature Gained: Expert Diviner

Spells Gained: Tiny Ward, Sending

‘Nice,’ Adam thought.

Mara twitched, narrowing her eyes at Adam.

“Jurot?” Adam called.

“Yes?” the Iyrman replied, carrying the giant boar towards the half made fort.

“I’m strong.”

Jurot, feeling that this had happened before, nodded. “Yes.”

Adam smiled wider. ‘Now I can cast Fireball eight times.’

The group returned back to completing the fort around the two towers. Adam thought about which abilities would suit him from other classes.

‘Rage?’ Adam thought. ‘No, that’s Jurot’s thing. What about Sneak Strike? I could deal so much extra damage with it...’ Adam reread the description, only to realise the huge flaw with his logic. ‘Damn it.’

‘Lay on Hands?’ Adam thought, staring at the ability. It scaled well, though it cost a little more than he expected. The other Guardian abilities were also great, from Divine Health to Aura of Protection, which he could since he was Level 6. Most of the other abilities were greyed out for him since the XP penalty was so severe.

‘2000 for Lay on Hands, 1500 for Divine Health, and... 3000 for Aura of Protection? Damn. That’s so much XP.’ Yet, Adam stared at them, wondering if he should take them. ‘Let’s at least take Lay on Hands and Divine Health.’

XP: 11 050 -> 7550

Mara twitched again, eyeing Adam suspiciously.

“Jurot?” Adam called, frowning as he stared at the XP.

“Yes?”

“I’m poor,” the Half Elf said, almost pouting.

“Okay,” Jurot replied, unsure of what Adam was talking about. It didn’t sound like he was talking about money, though it was the most obvious answer.

Adam bathed quickly once the fort was finished, before cleaning it with his Tricks trick, and allowing the others to enter.

“We’ll put two people on watch,” Adam said. “Dunes, Lady Sara, and I will not take watches, but everyone else will take an hour watch each. I’ll keep Hades and Zeus on watch, as always.”

“I can take watch,” Lady Sara said.

“You can, but let’s make sure all of our mages rest up properly, so we’re not stingy with our spells,” Adam said, smiling. “Casting eight Fireballs a day is going to make me tired.”

‘Eight?’ Lady Sara thought, wondering if it was a slip of the tongue.

Adam winked at his brother, who bowed his head, understanding that Adam had grown more powerful. Adam was still someone Jurot couldn’t understand, but he knew that Adam was Adam, and that was all he needed to know.

“Alright! Let’s work hard this week and earn tons of XP!” Adam raised up his cup of water.

‘Eckspee?’

Lady Sara and Korin haven't gotten used to the entity known as Adam yet.