Chapter 32 – A Lesson in Leadership (2146)

  The spirit’s touch sucked Life energy out of Devin, replacing it with exhaustion. In a few seconds, he wouldn’t be able to move.

  Devin – Milo! Casey! Help me! Somebody, help!

  Something zipped between two roots and thunked into the druid’s chest right below its throat. It staggered back, smoke streaming from the wooden arrow sticking out of it. Another arrow smacked into its shoulder and knocked it out of the doorway.

  Devin felt the hold of the roots weaken. He tore himself free and the life drain stopped. His whole body still felt cold, except for a small pool of warmth near his heart. He reached for it and the heat spread through him.

  He was still weak, but with an effort of will, he ran past the druid into the cabin. The spirit swiped at him, but Devin ducked under the clumsy blow and rolled into the cabin as more arrows thudded into it.

  The walls and floor of the cabin were covered with vines and pods. In the center of the room sat a stump with an enormous pinecone displayed on top of it.

  “Get out of my house!” the druid screamed. It was so close, Devin could feel the cold emptiness radiating off it, tugging at his life force. He rolled forward and felt something swish past the back of his neck. He rolled a few more times, came up next to the stump, and smashed the pinecone with his fist.

  “Ha!” he yelled. “Take that …”

  A cold hand grabbed the back of his neck and yanked him back like he was a child. Devin’s strength fled him as the druid’s raspy voice spoke into his ear. The cold was even worse this time.

  “That was my favorite pinecone! I’m going to drain you so dry they won’t even be able to …”

  With a deafening snarl, Milo sailed into the room and slammed the druid to the ground. Devin fell back against the stump, his heart thudding in his chest.

  Milo tore huge chunks out of the spirit, but the druid was healing as fast as Milo did damage. The druid’s life-draining ability didn’t seem to work on Milo, but the spirit’s fists worked fine. Milo grunted as the spirit punched him in the side.

  Devin pulled in more warmth from his chest and looked around the room. He spotted a gossamer-thin stream of light flowing out of the stump into the druid. Devin focused on it, and the stump glowed red.

  Devin’s Ability ‘Spot Weakness’ activated on Deranged Druid Spirit.

  The stump was the phylactery.

  Devin wished he still had the axe from the Winsley farm, but his foot would work. He kicked the stump as hard as he could. It cracked. Behind him, the spirit screamed. He kicked again and again.

  The druid struggled under Milo’s assault, but the cat was tearing into him like a scratching post. Every time Devin kicked the stump, the screams grew in pitch. With one final mighty kick, the stump disintegrated as if it had been rotted for decades.

  Thick black smoke roiled out and came at Devin. Devin tried to back away from it, and felt the warmth in his chest radiate out. When the smoke got close to him, that warmth struck out at it, and it disappeared in an instant.

  Devin turned in time to see Milo rip out the spirit’s throat. This time, there was no healing. The spirit twitched once, tried to say something - probably a terrible pun - then went limp. The body melted into the air, leaving no trace.

  You defeated Depraved Druid Spirit!

  Reward: Increase of +2 to all Primary Attributes and an increase of +1 to all Secondary Attributes.

  Devin, Milo, Casey and Asha earned this reward!

  Devin reached the 50% bottleneck on Agility during this fight. You no longer receive the Skill Hound Boost on this Attribute, and Agility may not be advanced through general Attribute use.

  Devin wobbled for a moment as the vines and pods on the walls shriveled to nothing. Apparently, that was all that had been holding up the cabin, because it creaked and collapsed on top of him.

  Devin blinked his eyes open to see Casey and Asha standing over him.

  “Erg,” he said.

  “Lie still,” Casey said. “I healed you and replaced the Life energy you drew from your Reservoir. I think I got to you before you did any permanent damage, but it’s going to be a few minutes before you’re steady again. You should really be more careful with your Reservoirs.”

  “It worked, didn’t it?” Devin said. “Is Milo OK?”

  “He’s fine,” Casey said. “He got out of the cabin before it collapsed. He’s escorting Grigor here.”

  “You’ve only been out a minute or two,” Asha said. “A beam fell right across you and protected you from most of the rubble. You were lucky.”

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  Devin coughed, then blinked at Asha. “Wow! You’re ... gorgeous!”

  Asha raised an eyebrow. “I don’t see what that has to do with anything, but thanks.”

  Devin cleared his throat. “It’s not a compliment. I mean, I guess it is, but what I mean is that you look different.”

  “You really know how to charm a girl,” Asha said.

  Devin sighed. “I’m glad you didn’t wait at the edge of the forest like I told you to.”

  “I complied with your exact orders, sir, which were to wait ‘whatever.' I chose my own position to wait in reserve. I picked one of the trees overlooking the cabin. I apologize if saving your life damaged your ego.”

  “I deserve that,” Devin said.

  “You deserve a lot more than that,” Casey said. “But don’t worry. We have the rest of our lives to point out that you don’t know everything.”

  Devin groaned, sat up and rubbed his head. By the time Grigor and Milo entered the clearing, he was back on his feet.

  “I see you’re up and about,” Milo said. “Have you punished Asha for disobeying orders, saving your life, and getting a significant boost to her progress like I said she would if you allowed her to participate?”

  “I get it,” Devin said. “I’ve been behaving like an entitled ass.”

  “I wouldn’t worry too much,” Grigor said. “It’s all part of being a rookie officer. You aren’t the first, and you won’t be the last. At least you aren’t the sort to double down.”

  Devin shook his head. The realization of how close to death he’d come made him feel cold all over again.

  “I’m sorry, Asha,” he said. “If you’d listened to me, I’d probably be dead.”

  “The probability is more than 99 percent,” Milo said.

  Devin winced.

  "It’s all right, boss man,” Asha said. “We’re all out of our depth here. As long as we listen to each other, we’ll do fine.”

  “It’s a deal,” Devin said. “Now let’s find this node.”

  They cleared away the wreckage of the cabin. With three enhanced working, it only took a few minutes. There was a small pit in the ground that was clear of rubble like there had been at the farm. Devin jumped in and touched the node.

  Achievement Unlocked! Node power (3) – You’ve heard of the Rule of Three? It’s a theory that three central characters is the optimum number for a good story. You’ve already got five, so you screwed that up good. On the flip side, you’d be dead right now if you hadn’t.

  Reward: New Affinity Bonus! Touch any node to select your bonus. You have ten minutes to select the bonus or you will lose this opportunity.

  Reward: New Astral Hall Accessory! Touch any node to select an accessory for your Astral Hall. You have ten minutes to select the accessory or you will lose this opportunity.

  You added the Pineleaf Cabin node to your crystal network!

  This node adds a +1 bonus to all Primary and Secondary Attributes for combat party members.

  Your total network bonus is +3 to all Primary and Secondary Attributes for combat party members.

  Your current network contains 0/2 Silver nodes and 3/4 Copper nodes.

  Your current network and affinity allow you to enhance a maximum of 2 Silver level people and 4 Copper level people.

  Achievement Unlocked! Pineleaf Cabin Node – This forest used to cover all Teth and was the home to an entire civilization of shy, reclusive humanoid creatures. Of course, that was tens of thousands of years ago, before humans arrived and mucked things up. There might still be a few of the critters deep in the forest.

  Reward: Boost ‘What’s Mine is Yours’ – Your party members gain a limited ability to capture nodes on your behalf. A combat member of your party can only capture a node while they are within 100 meters and in line-of-sight of the party leader. This Boost is limited to individuals who have been a member of your party for at least 24 hours. Warning: Node defenders will react to any party member using this Boost as they would to the party leader.

  This is an Uncommon Boost.

  Reward: Increase of +2 to the lowest primary Attribute and +1 to the lowest Secondary Attribute.

  Devin, Milo, Casey and Asha earned this reward!

  Achievement Unlocked! Wink and a Nudge – Asha helped her party leader in identifying and defeating a new enemy.

  Reward: Asha gained the abilities ‘Identify Opponent’ and ‘Spot Weakness.’

  Reward: +2 to Intuition.

  Devin and Asha earned this reward!

  Achievement Unlocked! Savior of the Forest – Nice work, Asha. Maybe ‘savior’ is a strong word, but you deserve it. This forest is a special place in your heart, and you cleared out the bastard who has been haunting it.

  Reward: This is a private reward. That means it’s between me and Asha. Are you nervous, Devin? You should be.

  Achievement Unlocked! Bacon Saver! – As a brand-new Copper level, Asha saved her Silver-level party leader’s butt. It appears you specialize in last-minute heroics.

  Reward: Asha gained the Boost ‘In the Nick of Time.’ Attacks made against an opponent who is attacking a helpless or critically wounded member of your party are automatically critical hits and have a small chance of stunning your target. This Boost has a one-hour cooldown.

  Grats! This is Rare Boost!

  Achievement Unlocked! Bacon, Saved! You acted like an ass and then got your own ass saved by a party member. I’d give you a harder time about it, but since you got trussed up like a fly in a spiderweb and then had a building fall on you, I’d say you’ve done your penance.

  Reward: Hard-earned wisdom.

  Devin sighed and scanned the area for enemies. He found none, although there were more animals than he could count. His area of influence extended outside the forest but stopped a few hundred meters short of the small hill.

  Since he had timed choices, he dealt with those first. He opened the blinking clock icon in his vision.

  Select a new buff for your crystal affinity:

  Quick Recharge (Uncommon) – While in your area of influence, the party’s minimum mana point recharge occurs at the resting rate.

  Speedy Traverse – (Common) While not in combat, the party receives a 10 percent speed bonus inside your area of influence.

  High Interest Rates (Common) – The party earns bonus shards for their achievements gained inside your area of influence.

  They had a brief conference over Party Chat. Devin wanted the speed buff, but Milo argued for the quick recharge.

  Devin – Explain to me how it works?

  Milo – Mana recharges faster when you’re not exerting yourself. Sleeping is the best, but resting is still faster than when you’re moving around and doing other things.

  Devin – How much faster?

  Milo – About three times as fast. With that buff, we get the resting rate even in combat.

  Devin – Wow. That makes me wish I had spells.

  Casey – We should take that one. I’m going to burn through a lot of mana making potions.

  Asha – Also, it’s higher rarity. You can’t go wrong with higher rarity.

  Milo – That’s debatable. There are circumstances when …

  Devin – Enough. Quick Recharge it is.

  The ‘Quick Recharge’ Buff has been added to your Boost ‘Silver Crystal Affinity.’ I hope you made the right choice!

  Select a new accessory for your Astral Hall!

  Wardrobe (Rare)

  Vending Machine (Common)

  Liquor Cabinet (Common)

  Given the state of their clothing, it was an easy choice. Devin selected the wardrobe.

  “Grigor, get over here,” Devin said.

  Grigor joined him. Devin handed him the Copper enhancement crystal, grabbed his hand and touched the node.

  You are attempting to use a Copper Keystone on Grigor. Grigor has a 99.9986% chance of successful enhancement. Grigor has a .00000006 percent chance of catastrophic failure.

  Do you wish to use ‘Copper enhancement crystal’ on Grigor?

  Devin and Grigor each agreed to their prompt, and Devin was transported to the Astral Hall.