Chapter 48: Rewards, (1)

Chapter 48: Rewards, (1)

"Though you wouldn't actually kidnap someone without hearing my explanation first, right?" Vex asked, just to be sure.

"Well, no, of course not," Misa said, looking suspiciously willing to do exactly that. She glanced surreptitiously at Sev and Derivan, then leaned in to Vex, mock-whispering. "I mean, those two won't, but you just tell me who we need to kidnap"

"Misa," Vex said, laughing as he pushed her away. She grinned at him, sticking her tongue out, and he shook his head with a fond sort of exasperation. "It's a last resort, guys, I'm not actually that serious about it. I'm hoping we won't have to, but..."

A small shadow crossed his expression, and he shook his head, changing the subject. "Let's figure out everything we can about the reality anchor first, and then when we've gotten the chance to rest a bit I'll tell you what I can. I... need a bit of time to get ready to talk about it, anyway."

"Take your time," Sev said seriously. "We've got plenty of time before we reach Elyra, if we go there by conventional means. And we're going to have to convince the Guildmaster to take care of all the extra people, too..."

"J'rokksur can take care of itself," Misa interjected.

"Yes, but they still need the space to do that," Sev said dryly. "I guess they could try to go back to where J'rokksur originally was, to rebuild, but..."

"...Yeah, it's pretty far from here," Misa acknowledged with a slight frown, shaking her head.

"It's not practical for a whole village to travel far, and even if we secure the teleportation magic to get them there, they'd need a protective escort the whole time while they're rebuilding," Sev agreed.

"It's up to dad, but I don't think he'll spring for that when he could just rebuild nearby," Misa admitted.

Sev nodded. "What I'm saying is, we have some time before we actually reach Elyra," he said, glancing back to Vex. "Don't worry too much about telling us everything as soon as possible. Tell us when you're ready."

"Thanks," Vex said. "I'll, uh. Try to be ready before we actually reach Elyra."

"That would be ideal, yes," Sev said with a chuckle. "As for the reality anchors... I feel like we've gone through just about everything we know. Presumably they're related to why dungeons are able to do everything they do, and there's clearly a link to the gods in some way..."

"We still don't know how they do all that," Misa said with a frown. "It's some fucked up shit. And what did it mean when it said backups?"

"Perhaps reality anchors keep a record of some sort," Derivan suggested. "It would explain..."

He trailed off before he finished speaking. It would explain how the dungeon was able to revive J'rokksur wholesale but it brought up other questions as well. Misa seemed to understand, given the way her eyes darkened slightly, but she didn't say anything.

"What I don't understand is why," Vex said, changing the subject. "Reality anchors are obviously a system construction, but why have them at all? Why have dungeons? Elyra doesn't do a lot of research on this they're more interested in the how of dungeons, or how to best take advantage of the effects but there's obviously a purpose to it, looking at what we know is happening to the gods."

"A lot of people say that it's the system's way of giving us a challenge," Sev said. "But that's..."

"It seems a poor way of challenging a populace, if the consequence for failure is death," Derivan observed quietly.

"I don't think 'challenge' fits," Vex agreed. "And there are too many things about the system that just... it's bad. I'd argue it hurts more than it helps. The idea that the system exists to challenge and empower people is a popular line of thought everywhere, even in Elyra, but too many things don't make sense."

"We should think about the relationship between anchors, gods, and overseers." Sev hesitated as he spoke, glancing at the box that still claimed it was 'processing'. "They might not all be linked, but they're presumably all core to the system in some way."

"The fuck was the system doing to Aurum, anyway?" Misa asked. There was a touch of aggression in her voice, but it was soft, too genuinely concerned. "Kid was having trouble with his memories? Is that what happened with Onyx?"

"I have no fucking idea," Misa said flatly, then frowned, more at herself than at her companions. "Or I mean... that's not strictly true, I guess. I kind of know, but it's hard to explain. [To Fall Yet Hold the Line] seems to work by trying to grab a version of me that wields a weapon capable of blocking the attack. There wasn't a version of me that could block an entire meteor storm on my own."

"A version of you?" Sev asked with a frown. "What does that mean?"

"A version of me that made different choices, I guess?" Misa shifted uncomfortably. "Lived a different life. Wielded different weapons. Apparently I've been switching weapons this whole time when blocking, and the skill just kind of masked it from me..."

Misa paused, her voice trailing off, and frowned at a notification that appeared in front of her.



Your understanding of [To Fall Yet Hold the Line] has increased. Skill evolution to Epic is now available.

"Guess I've got a skill evolution now," Misa said, staring at the notification a little suspiciously. "On top of the other rewards. I should feel happy, but... I think I'm with Vex on this. I don't think we should turn this down now, but we should be careful."

"We should find out what the delve team received, if they are willing to share," Derivan said. "I believe that will alleviate some of our concerns."

"Yeah, that's probably for the best," Sev muttered. "Uh... right. We were talking about our rewards. I think I have an item and a skill, too, but the box is grayed out until Aurum is done... attaching, I guess. Whatever that means."

"And I have the same," Misa said. "An item called [The Blade Arcane] and a skill called [Heart and Home]."

"I have an item called the [Accedere Root]," Vex said, furrowing his brows slightly as he looked over the name. "And a skill called [Delineate]. Uh... not sure how useful that one is."

"I'll let you know once mine's done graying out," Sev said with a wince. "Derivan? I know you said yours was errored out, but is there any indication of what might happen if you accept it?"

"I... do not think I have a choice," Derivan said with a frown, poking around at the air. "It seems it will not allow me to access other aspects of my status until I accept this reward. But there is nothing specific in the notification about what I might gain, and there is no option to refuse." He waved a copy of the screen out to his friends his system still allowed him to do that, at least.



Congratulations on completing The Village's Last Defense>! Here are your rewards, should you choose to accept them:

ACCEPT /

"...So we have no idea what's going to happen if you accept it," Misa said, peering at the text.

"I suppose not," Derivan said. "But I do not believe it wise to wait, since I may have gained other stats. I did not particularly have the time to check mid-battle."

Misa grimaced. "You're probably right. Uh... I'll catch you if anything happens, I guess. I haven't accepted the skill evolution yet, so I can block anything hostile if that happens. You ready?"

"As much as I can be," Derivan agreed. He glanced at the others neither of them stopped him, though Sev looked pensive and Vex looked outright worried.

Well, no need to delay any further.

He reached out and hit 'accept'.