Spiteful Healer: Book One - A LitRPG Adventure, page 27
“We’re not going back to help them, are we?” Darkshot panted, his stamina barely climbing back over 10.
“Nah… nah…” Aegis shook his head dismissively. “They got that. That’s enough adventure for me for one day.” He collapsed onto the grass. “Low stamina sucks. I feel like I ran a marathon in the real world.” He groaned and wiped sweat from his forehead.
“I know. The realism is top-notch!” Darkshot chuckled. “So, how was it? Your first dungeon delve?” He smiled enthusiastically. “I mean, apart from when you jumped into a giant hole, had to clear an entire floor of enemies with two people, and had a PKer try to kill you…”
“Yeah, apart from all that stuff, it was great,” Aegis grinned as he got back to his feet and lifted Luryala. “We should probably get out of here before some of that debris lands on us.” He motioned to the chunks of the keep being knocked through the air by the boss’ flailing maul.
“Good idea,” Lina nodded.
The three began the long trek back to Orm, crossing the river, climbing the cliffs, and traversing the thick forests. They spent most of the time discussing the upcoming exam, though.
“Okay.” Darkshot stopped as they emerged from the treeline and Orm came into view. “The Sim Center guys are gonna be pissed if I don’t leave now. I’ll catch up with you tomorrow. Two days left ’til I’m sitting in your stinky old sim-box in the comfort of my own home.”
“I can’t tell if you’re excited about that or not. Weird choice of words.” Aegis raised a brow at him.
As he spoke, Darkshot left the party and logged out, leaving Aegis alone with Lina and Luryala.
“Here. You should take this. I need to log out to eat dinner with my parents.” Lina pulled the scroll from the boss out of her inventory and held it out to him.
“Don’t you want to see what it is first?” Aegis asked as he took it and added it to his inventory.
“Yup, but I can watch you find out while I eat,” she smiled, pointing to the livestreaming icon.
“Heh, right.” He shook his head.
“I… It was a lot of fun today.” Lina looked to the ground and shuffled her feet in the dirt.
“Yeah, I had fun playing with you, too,” Aegis replied without much thought. Her face flushed red, but he couldn’t see due to the angle.
“See you!” she squeaked before logging out.
He took a deep breath of fresh air, Luryala still resting in his arms. Alone with his thoughts and the village in view, he was reminded of all the reasons they’d gone to the Darxon hideout in the first place, and a second wind of excitement hit him.
He sprinted through the farm fields and the village proper, through the bustling market streets and the village square, until he arrived outside the Church of Eirene. He threw the doors open and eagerly stepped inside but was surprised by what he saw.
There were no longer any beds, the pews lined the center aisle correctly, and several NPCs and players were walking about, some in prayer. Aegis walked up to Clara, who was mid-conversation with another player, and waited for them to finish speaking.
“Excuse me, Clara, I’ve completed the quest…” Aegis said.
“Really? That’s wonderful to hear.” She smiled and clasped his hands. “Luckily, it wasn’t necessary. Good work on your quest, nonetheless. Now we can be sure this poison threat is finally over.”
Quest Complete!
Skill Learned: Cleanse (Beginner)
Cleanse – [Level 1] (Beginner)
Removes a negative debuff from a creature by touching them with divine light. The negative debuffs that this skill can remove increase based on the level of the skill. The number of debuffs that can be removed at a time increases with level.
Cast Time: 3s
Cost: 55 Mana
Range: Touch
Debuffs Removed: 1
Debuff Types Removed: Poison, Paralyze
“What about the sick people? Are they okay?” Aegis asked.
“They’re all fine. No thanks to you,” said another female voice.
Aegis turned to see a heavily armored player leaning against the wall behind him: [Sapphire – Level ??]. Aegis didn’t recognize her or her priest vestments. She was a demi-human player, much shorter than he was, with curly, pure-white hair and long floppy pink bunny ears. The only familiar thing about her was the guild tabard over her breastplate—the owl of the Night Hunters. Aegis recalled Herilon mentioning someone would replace him and that he’d called some guild clerics to deal with the poison problem.
“You cleansed them all?” Aegis asked hopefully.
“Yup.” She shrugged. “You’re the first priest to return since the dungeon was cleared. I was expecting a different Eirene priest to show up, though...” She looked disappointed. “Say, you wouldn’t have happened to see a player named Winter in the dungeon, did you?”
“Uh… nope. I mean, yup. Yeah, he’s over there in that dungeon. Fighting away,” Aegis mumbled nervously.
“Hm.” She raised her eyebrows at him. “Well, in any case, good job. Next time, do the quests faster so I don’t have to pick up your slack. I hate being on village watch duty,” Sapphire grumbled before heading out of the church. Aegis noticed Clara trying to talk to him about another quest, but he suddenly got an idea and rushed after Sapphire.
“Wait. Why were you waiting for Winter? Did you hear something special about him?” Aegis asked, curious if Herilon had kept his promise.
“Hmmm.” Sapphire put her finger to her chin. “Not really. I just felt bad for him because he sucked so hard. As a fellow divine class player, I was going to give him some pointers.”
“What sort of pointers?” Aegis asked. “I mean, I’m a divine class player too, and I’m kind of new, so I could maybe use them, if you don’t mind.”
Sapphire turned to look at him curiously. “Hmm. Well…” She pointed at his sword. “You should train with scepters as a cleric or priest player. Unlike martial classes, many of your attacks use mana, and scepters are easy to enchant with high levels of mana regeneration and Spirit bonuses. They usually drop with those options in dungeons. They do less damage than swords, but you’ll be happier to have more mana for casting Smite and Radiant Strikes in the long run. I see many divine players make the mistake of using swords for some reason. I guess they think they’re cool or something.”
“Okay. Thanks.” Aegis smiled at her. He was relieved she was advising him about attacking, which meant she probably didn’t know about Pacifism, if that was what she wanted to tell Winter. The scepter information wasn’t anything he didn’t already know.
“Also, you should probably put her down somewhere.” Sapphire motioned to the dark elf in his arms, slowly returning to consciousness.
“Oh. Right. Luryala!”
As Aegis turned back to the church, Sapphire headed away and disappeared into the busy streets of Orm.
Chapter Twenty
ROAD TO KORDAS
He had barely stepped back inside the church before an eager Priestess Clara intercepted him.
“Aegis, your deeds for Eirene have not gone unnoticed. She wishes to speak with you directly to grant you her blessing, as you have proven yourself worthy of her further guidance. Unfortunately, I don’t hold the power to grant such blessings. Instead, you must travel to the Shrine of Eirene within the city of Kordas to the east. When you reach the shrine, pray to Eirene, and she will come to you. Will you accept this task?” Clara asked as a quest card popped up in front of him.
Quest: Priestess Clara has requested that you visit the Shrine of Eirene within the capital city of Kalmoore, Kordas, and pray to Eirene to receive her blessing.
Objective: 0/1 Prayer to Eirene
Reward: Priest Class Skill: Bless (Beginner), Priest Class Skill: Healing Wind (Beginner)
Difficulty: Easy
Restriction: Limited to class: Priest.
[]ACCEPT []DECLINE
“Two new skills and all I have to do is visit a shrine?” Aegis asked, looking at Clara suspiciously. She tilted her head, confused by his hesitation. He shrugged and hit Accept.
“I’m happy you’ve accepted. I look forward to more great deeds from you. May Eirene watch over you.”
“Ah, wait, is there somewhere I can lay her down to rest?” Aegis motioned to the bewildered Luryala in his arms.
“Yes, of course. There are some beds in the back,” Clara replied.
“Thanks.” Aegis nodded politely as he walked past Clara. Stepping through the back door and down a narrow corridor, he found another room with empty beds. Aegis gently set Luryala down in one of them, and she immediately sat upright.
“Thank you, thank you so much for saving me. I thought I would die in that place.”
“No problem…” Aegis replied as he opened his inventory.
“Many surface dwellers… Well, we are usually hunted by your kind. I should perhaps thank the kindness of Eirene. She is one of the few whose light still reaches my people, even in the world’s dark places.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re okay. You’ll be able to live here in Orm, right?” Aegis asked as the scroll casing materialized in his hand.
“I… I’m not sure. The followers of Eirene are kind, but I’m afraid of what the villagers will do when they learn I am here. It might be best if I flee and live on my own.”
“What about your people? Living in the dark places of the world, you said... You can get back home, right?”
“My people…” Her head tilted downward as tears welled in her eyes. “The lower dark caverns of the world are filled with many evils, including my fellow dark elves. My tribe hoped to be free from the terrors of the depths and find a safe life on the surface, but when we tried to escape, we were attacked. Many of my tribe were taken prisoner by a ruthless dark elf warlord named Kur’aktos. Some of us escaped capture and reached the surface, only to meet a worse fate. We found the Darxon cultists, mistaking them for friendly villagers as they were dressed as peasants. We discovered their true nature too late, and we were all tortured and fed to that monster… I fear I’m the only survivor, thanks to you...”
As she spoke, the pain of the memories was visible on her face.
“That sounds tough… Dark elf life, I mean. Evil warlords below, and other races that hunt you if you come up top. Like a vicious cycle, forced to live underground under the evil warlords, which in turn makes the surface races hate you…” Aegis tried to show sympathy as he twirled the scroll in his hand.
“Yes… perhaps… I don’t know who else to ask, and you’ve already done so much… but would you consider helping me, saving my people?”
Quest: Luryala has requested that you defeat the dark elf warlord Kur’aktos in the lower depths of Kalmoore and free as many of her tribe as possible.
Objective: 0/1 Dark Elf Warlord Kur’aktos Stopped.
Objective: 0/300 Luryala’s Tribe Members Saved (Optional)
Reward: Unknown
Difficulty: Extreme
“I, uh…” Aegis hesitated as the quest card appeared before him, the word ‘Extreme’ standing out. The unknown reward made him feel it might be beyond his capabilities, but declining now, right before asking her for a favor, felt awkward. He hit Accept. “I’ll try my best,” he said. “In the meantime, could you do me a favor and translate this scroll? One of the Darxon cultists had it.”
Aegis held the scroll out to her and unrolled it, and she took it. Her fingers began to glow a light blue as she tapped the parchment. Suddenly, all the words became readable to Aegis. “There you are. It looks like a land deed for the keep I was being held in.” Luryala smiled as she handed it back to him.
“Okay, thanks. Stay safe and rest well here.” Aegis bowed to her before taking the parchment and leaving the room.
Land Deed
Region: Kalmoore
Land Title: Unnamed
City/Village: None
Assets: Ruined Keep of Jia’nir
Land Size: 4km²
The flat fields that rest at the base of Jia’nir mountain. Once home to the Keep of Jia’nir, a fortification that housed the soldiers of Kalmoore. Their duty was to contain the wild creatures that lurked in the depths of the mountain. The keep was abandoned after the events of the Shattering, as was the land it sat on, and now remains unclaimed and unoccupied.
This land deed is not directly connected to any Kalmoore settlements and thus can only be registered in the Kordas Registry Hall, where it will be appraised and assigned a registration fee.
Aegis felt a surge of excitement. However, that quickly dissipated when he read the final sentence. Recalling what Ruffily had told him about buying land, he knew the cost would likely be at least 20,000 gold pieces. His bag currently held a meager 621 gold from all the drops in the dungeon.
He returned the deed to his inventory and went to the Craftsman Guildhall, returning to the basement to speak with the now-healthy Belthas. Like a proud child, Aegis held out three copper ore pieces that exceeded 50% quality.
“I dun’ believe it. Ye’ve done it! Not many o’ the miners I meet here end up bein’ worth a damn, but ye proved ye got what it takes. It’s time ye moved on from the li’l leagues and started diggin’ for the good stuff.”
Belthas grinned as he inspected the copper ore. He began a demonstration of carefully digging out iron ore from a rock, using a clumpy boulder as an example. He explained the processes of identifying the coloration of rocks indicating iron within, using a pickaxe to extract it without damaging it, and even processing it into ingots. By the time he was done, Aegis felt fully confident in his ability to begin mining iron.
“Finally,” Aegis smiled as he headed upstairs to the main floor, where all the other crafters were hard at work. He now had some time to kill with no pressing matters and an abundance of pine wood, leather, and ore, all sitting in his storage, waiting to be crafted into valuable gear that could be sold to contribute toward his land deed registration fee.
There was something relaxing about the hard work of crafting. Whether it was sewing threads, tanning leather, smelting ore, or hammering ingots, the simplicity of doing physical labor and seeing tangible results felt good to Aegis.
To broaden his skills, he began diversifying his weapon crafts, aiming to make good daggers, bows, and swords for himself and his companions. However, his primary focus remained on improving his shield craftsmanship.
Whenever he could, Aegis hogged the furnace for smelting his ore. When it got crowded and he was forced to share with other players, he daydreamed about having his own giant furnace on his own plot of land, imagining how fast he’d level up his skills and how much money he could make.
He had plenty of time to daydream and experiment, as the abundant resources he had gathered kept him busy for well over the next 24 in-game hours. He only took breaks to stock up on stamina-recovery food after depleting his supply of rockjaw steak. He saved his highest-quality ore for the end, having first leveled up smithing as much as possible, and used it all to craft reinforced copper shields.
Lina logged on at some point, but Aegis didn’t notice. She quietly checked on him, saw he was busy crafting, and stood watch like a bodyguard while studying for her exams using several interface menus.
When all was said and done, Aegis was delighted with the results.
Level Up! Refining has reached [Level 16]!
Level Up! Blacksmithing has reached [Level 15]!
Level Up! Sewing has reached [Level 7]!
Level Up! Carpentry has reached [Level 11]!
Level Up! Tanning has reached [Level 8]!
Level Up! Leatherworking has reached [Level 9]!
Level Up! Artistry has reached [Level 3]!
Name: Reinforced Copper Shield
Slot: Off-hand
Type: Shield
Armor: 51
Quality: 42%
Durability: 120/120
Description: A shield made of copper, pine, and simple leather. Made by Aegis.
He happily equipped his new and improved shield, the first green-quality item he’d crafted. Using his artistic talent and Artistry skill, he gave it a unique shape with a pointed bottom and a curved front to help deflect attacks and make them less painful. As he proudly headed out of the building, he spotted Lina sitting at a table nearby. She stood up and smiled at him.
“Lina? How long have you been here?” Aegis asked.
“Not long,” she shrugged. “By the way, you have 29 viewers already!” she whisper-cheered.
“Only 29?” Aegis asked, recalling the number of viewers Keldan had mentioned.
“That’s high for someone who’s only starting. It’s how it goes for… most people, you know.”
“Ah, right, okay. Did you watch the part where I read the deed?” She nodded. “I was going to try selling all this crafted stuff to see how much gold I’d get before heading to Kordas,” Aegis continued as they stepped out of the hall.
“Well, since you have to go to Kordas for your quest and the deed, you should sell them in Kordas too. You’ll get better prices,” Lina suggested.
“Yeah, but… this stuff is heavy. Half of it is in storage. My inventory is full.”
“We can rent a wagon. It’s not expensive.”
“Oh, okay, in that case, let’s do that. It’s getting late, though. We should probably wait until tomorrow for Darkshot so we don’t leave him behind.”
“Mhm,” Lina nodded in agreement.
“I’ll see you at school.”
“A new adventure begins…” Eli read the title of his Darxon hideout video aloud. It was trending in the World Streamer Website’s top 50 new player streams. Derrick had directed him to it, pointing out where his viewers might be coming from. “Starting from the beginning, huh?”
Seated on a bench in front of his school, he looked around as students piled out of the building. He tapped his feet, half-tempted to watch a bit of the video to see what he looked like, but he closed it when he saw Derrick making his way out of the crowd.
