Chapter 28: Dungeons? Dungeons!

Chapter 28: Dungeons? Dungeons!

The Heirs traveled a few miles away from the site of Khachis class Development, putting some distance in between themselves and the giant beacon that had temporarily lit up the night sky.

They found a replacement campsite, placed in a saddle between two hills. There was a convenient depression there that hid them from every direction except directly atop either of the two adjacent hills. Then the Heirs crashed, with Nathan grumpily staying awake to keep watch.

The night was still cold, and Stella hadnt set a magical fire before she fell asleep once more, not that it would have done too much good to keep Nathan warm. It was probably for the best - it didnt emit much smoke at all, but any light and magic at all would probably make them easier to track. Nathan would prefer to be a bit paranoid if it kept them hidden from Taeol or this Badud character.

It would be nice to get my level 81 class Development before that happens. You know, the one Im two levels off from. Would I feel better if I was one level off from it? Probably not. But the Terrorghast was just a single monster, and one that any one of the Heirs could have killed pretty easily. Im pretty sure Sarah and Aarl both worked through the fear effect, and it clearly didnt hinder Khachi much. And Stella is just a deep sleeper. I wonder if anybody got anti-mental magic ranks from that.

Nathan spent some time musing over class Developments, making sure to keep his eyes moving, to ensure he had all angles of approach covered.

If anybodys class Development was going to be accompanied by a fireworks display, Nathan would expect it to be Stellas. Sarah and Aarls had been without drama or fireworks, but Khachis class development had been a surprise. Stella hadnt developed her class yet, though she probably would quite soon.

I do want to hear more about what class skills and such shell get. She only mentioned the one that lets her make her magic stronger when it is aligned with the natural laws of the world.

But that wasnt Nathans primary question - why had Khachis class development involved him absorbing a splinter of divinity?

I think its just the issues with being a cleric to a dead god. Theres not enough magical oomph in the vending machine, eventually you have to learn how to can your own soda. I dunno, Im not a mage or a cleric. This is just spitballing. I could ask him, but thats very much intruding on the most important Insights he has.

Nathan daydreamed about his own Development - what did he want? Were there any last-minute things he could try to guide his class choices at level 81? The Guardians had indicated that what he needed was more mobility and better dodging. If Nathan could get a class skill that enhanced his capacity to dodge and synergized with his three existing mobility skills, that would be great.

But Ive been doing a lot of dodging already, thank you very much. And bleeding all over everything, but thats just par for the course. I wonder if theres a class skill for bleeding all over things. Maybe something that means lost body parts and blood retain my antimagic? It currently ends as soon as something isn't a part of me anymore.

Other things - Nathan would enjoy another way to regenerate Stamina, or expand his Stamina pool. As it stood he was nearly unstoppable and very hard to kill or even wound - so long as he had Stamina. Any injuries would just heal, and he could Rage to compete with melee fighters who had builds otherwise superior to his.

But that was only true as long as he had Stamina. So long as there was magic flying around a battlefield hed be able to get it back, but if Nathan was separated from his allies and his enemies wised up and stopped casting magic at him he might run into issues. Hed think about if there was any way to increase his stamina pool - maybe he was already on the right track in getting pumped past his Stamina cap on a regular basis.

There were certainly more things on Nathans wishlist - he couldnt wield weapons or wear armor very effectively. His skin could act as a natural suit of armor, but he did always end up basically naked after every fight. A skill to protect his clothing might be nice.

But thats basically just cosmetic. I should not give a shit about that if the alternative is to actually be stronger and be better at my chosen purposes - Giantsrest and the Endings. And more generally promoting benevolent civilizations.

Nathan sighed, hunching a little farther down in his blankets. He could imagine a bunch of improvements - maybe something that would interface with his enhanced body?

The Guardians also mentioned stealth. My only idea is to use [Perfected Body] to make pigments for camouflage. Its something to keep in mind. My antimagic would work well with skills to help be sneaky, but I dont know how to get into that. Would probably be easier if I had a stealth utility skill. Id kind of been intending to drop [Lecturing] eventually but Im really not sure thats a good idea. I promised to teach Stella more magic Insights, and it helps a ton with that. If I ever want to spread more earthly Insights - the printing press, crop rotations, whatever, it will be invaluable.

Nathan shook his head, considering. What else? Something that would enable him to be capable of wielding weapons? Hed been offered some kind of fighter class at every Development so far. Maybe it was time to take one?

No, thats probably a terrible idea. I think Ill just have to see what I get offered. I'll keep focusing on dodging, though. And antimagic. Its kind of my whole thing, and I know its not perfect. I lost a hand to the siege-spike, after all, and that was just magic.

Nathan spent the rest of his watch scanning the barren earth around them, waiting for a group of mages or another monster to come over the rise and attack. But the night was serene, and Nathan kept thinking about what he wanted from his next class Development.

I kind of wish I could pick up [Airwalking] before my class Development. Class skills that explicitly synergized with [Airwalking] would be sick. But I dont think thats going to happen.

After Nathans shift was up he woke Stella, which was annoyingly difficult. The red-haired mage was deeply swaddled in an absurdly soft blanket, and didnt respond until Nathan basically picked her up and dropped her on the bedroll underneath.

She glared up at him. Im sure you could have found a better way to do that.

He looked back without much pity. Maybe. But not after the night weve had. I want to hear about your new class.

Stella smiled. Im planning on Developing it soon. Do you want to stay up and hear about it?

Nathan looked from Stella to his bed. Correction. I want to hear about it once I get some sleep.

Then Nathan wrapped himself tightly in his own blanket before going to sleep. The sun started shining down from directly overhead before long, but Nathan just rolled over and went back to sleep.

The Heirs slept in a bit, allowing themselves to delay the morning exercise for the sake of catching up on sleep theyd missed in the nighttime attack and the subsequent hasty departure from their first campsite.

Eventually, Nathan woke up and had an unremarkable breakfast with the rest of the Heirs around the fire Stella had set during her watch. They all sat staring into the dancing flames for a time, waking up after the difficult night. There was a lot of stretching and complaining from sleeping on an uneven surface.

Stella replied. I think Siltul was just waiting for us to ask, and knew about where we were from us being with the Dusteaters. Theres a dungeon south of Cromer that were being directed to. Its an Edrani Empire defense outpost, and the magical artillery is restricting the grazing grounds. Every now and then a goat wanders too close and gets vaporized.

Nathan blinked. Magical what now? Then he cast back in his memory for what hed learned of Edrani dungeons.

The Edrani empire had been very skilled with enchanting and magic - not so much as the Kalis Conclave, but their relics were a bit less weird and a bit more useful. Theyd also made up any lack of sophistication with scale, and were fond of magical traps and summoned guardians. Theyd also been quite good at magical emplacements. One of the more common types of Dungeons around Gemore was Edrani defense outposts, which were usually built around some kind of powerful ranged magic that was well-suited to the local environment.

After all, the defense outposts had been intended to control the countryside for miles around, and be defensible while manned with only one or two people. That meant they had a lot of automatic defenses like traps and triggers that would conjure a battalion of magical guardians. And that their ranged magic could fire autonomously at anything that got too close.

Khachi was frowning. I am surprised we are being trusted with this. If this Delve goes wrong, the outpost could decide to target Cromer. We will need to ensure that does not happen.

Aarl began to pack up the camp. We know we were being favored already. This would be much more political if we were in Gemore, but out here theres nobody to argue. Everybody wants to do this, right?

After a round of nods, the Heirs set off, following Khachis excellent sense of direction and the instructions Stella had been sent. It was time to go deal with a dungeon.

And finally get past level 81. Probably a ways past 81, but Ill be stuck at 81 until I make my class choice. Looking forward to seeing what my options are.

Status of Nathan Lark:

Permanent Talent 1: Magic Absorption 8

Permanent Talent 2: Perfected Body 3

Talent 3: High-tier Slow Fall 6

Class: Spellbreaker Juggernaut level 79

Stamina: 828/890

Juggernaut's Wrath

Antimagic Momentum

Raging Thrill

Juggernaut's Inertia

Unarmored Resilience

Utility skills:

Battle Meditation 2

High-tier Earnestness 7

Mid-tier Sprinting 9

High-tier Spellsense 6

High-tier Notice 1

Mid-tier Identify 8

Mid-tier Dodging Footwork 8

High-tier Enhanced Memory 7

Mid-tier Lecturing 7

Mid-tier Tumbling 6