ALL NOVEL Ch. 2.58 Next Steps
58.
Santi sat in his old room in Homebase. The small closet still had the stench of old sweat and cleaning chemicals. Santi sat with his back against the wall and tried to clear his mind before he went through the long list of System alerts that was waiting for him. He had gotten Bianca, Yessenia, and Mom home just fine and Cam had stayed with them while Santi said he had to do some stuff. This was just the first of the things he needed to do before he could rest.
Primus Alpha lvl. 47
Abraham Lee lvl. 28
Dulce Rodriguez lvl. 29
The last three kill notifications were the three he didn’t want to look away from. Abraham was gone. In the short time that he had been in Santi’s life he had been a minor headache who had rapidly disintegrated a cornerstone of the life Santi had wanted to build. There was no joy at seeing the floating words, no relief, nothing but an emptiness in his chest and heart.
Dulce Rodriguez had been the woman who had slowed him down when he went to finish off the Apostate. She hadn’t been much of a challenge, but her sacrifice had made sure that he wasn’t going to be able to ever relax until Duncan was dead and buried.
The Primus Alpha’s death was the final straw of breaking the monster’s grip on the city. There were still a few small rifts here and there and the possibility of a monster den forming was always possible, but for the most part, the city was clear. They could resettle the city, scavenge in relative safety. Rebuild their lives in semi-peace.
Once Duncan was dead.
Congratulations, you are an Air Mage lvl. 42
He had started that dreadful day at level 34. Eight levels in a single day was nearly unheard of. A great feat in most cases, Santi scoffed to himself. There had been great hunts and challenges in the future. Powerful monsters that had been slain that had netted people four or five levels after they brought them down. One Acolyte entering a fight to earn eight levels though was a grand thing.
He had cut a bloody swath through the downtown and left human and monster alike broken in his wake. There was something sinister about it, killing his fellow man bringing his level up higher and higher. When the pillar arrives it would become like that again, for with the pillar the others would come too.
Santiago V. Silva
Air Mage lvl. 42
Strength: 35 (70)
Durability: 38 (73)
Stamina: 40 (75)
Dexterity: 35 (70)
Vitality: 40 (75)
Perception: 35 (70)
Intelligence: 96 (131)
Mana: 125 (160)
Willpower: 96 (131)
Potential: 99%
That long and drawn out fight hadn’t rattled him, but had reinforced the importance of having physical stats. Boosting his stamina, dexterity and durability made him feel a bit better about his odds. Perception because of the Apostate’s ability to simply melt into his surroundings. With the titles and careful allotment he could keep up with physical classers for a bit longer.
Santi reviewed the fight in his mind and believed there was plenty of room for improvement with his current arsenal of spells. He could perform plenty with what he had right now. [Air Manipulation] could be used to mimic plenty of the spells that he would have access to even if they weren’t as powerful or efficient if he had the actual spell. What he really needed was a movement ability, something to help him rapidly relocate when said assassin decided to appear behind him.
The available spell list was longer than it had been the last time he had looked and now that he had two spell slots open Santi was tempted to give up his plans with combining the spell forms he had seen earlier. It would still require seventeen more levels to have all the slots needed for two common rank spells.
Finishing things off quickly with his spell forms wasn’t happening. His spells could kill, but overwhelming instant death wasn’t something he could do well right now. With the morph blade he could finish something off quickly. Santi had to wonder if he had made a mistake by not taking [Wind Blade]. He had thought he was right to stay with his path, to continue on with being a pure mage, but in the quiet moments he had to wonder.
Achievement: Kill an Alpha Monster
Reward: Loot Box (Common)
Achievement: Kill 10 Sapients
Reward: Loot Box (Minor)
Achievement: Destroy a Greater Monster Den
Reward: Loot Box (Common)
Achievement: Revenge
Reward: Loot Box (Lesser)
Santi hadn’t realized the den was a greater den. The Infernal’s blessing was what had pushed it over the line probably. Greater den’s could overrun settlements with ease if allowed to fester. The strength of the den increased the leveling speed of the monsters and their reproduction and growth. The hundreds of the monsters that had infested the downtown area made sense now.
Two silver chests materialized first, then the crystal chest, and finally the wooden chest. Revenge wasn’t something too many spoke of in the first timeline, but when a loved one, a member of your bloodline, or even someone you had sworn to protect, died by a sapient being, then it opened up the possibility of receiving a reward. It had been the most reliable way to receive an achievement and many had seen them once the fighting had started to increase amongst each other and the invaders.
The wooden chest was filled with coins. Literal blood money that Santi had earned from killing his father’s murderer. Santi let the pile of wooden coins spill out across the floor and just shoved them to the corner. There was an urge not to take them, but he couldn’t afford that. For now he would just let them sit.
Smooth crystal was lifted up with ease and Santi peered down into his reward for killing human beings. He had known how many he had actually killed in his rampage, the kill notifications had made sure of that, but seeing his reward was different. A simple triangular dagger lay on the bottom of the chest.
It was sheathed in plain black leather with a belt wrapped up around it. There was a good heft to it and when Santi pulled the blade free he saw that the blade was stygian, the faint light spilling through the cracks in the door being absorbed by the metal blade.
Enchanted Dagger
When used to end a Sapient’s life, the blade will transfer a temporary boost of 5% of the target’s highest stat.
Another powerful weapon but not something that he could base his entire fighting style around like the morph weapon. His morph seemed to heat on his arm at the thought, a contented purring rumbling in his mind. Santi looked down at the curled up liquid metal and thought good thoughts about it. How sharp it was, how fast it could change, how powerful it was. The purring grew louder.
That was something he’d have to ponder later.
Santi sheathed the dagger and placed it atop of the pile of wooden white coins. The silver chests were next and Santi didn’t hesitate to pry open the first of them. He was sure that the chest was from killing the Alpha when he took in the reward.
Coat of Strength
Plus 15 to Strength when worn
Will Repair Damage with mana
The long coat was made of black fur so short it looked like velvet, eerily close to what the Alpha Primus’s coat had looked like. Santi pulled it out and shook it, the plush feel of the black fur was like silk between his fingers, slippery and smooth. Santi slipped it on and felt the coat shrink and become form fitting. The stifling room seemed to become easier to breathe in, the heat of the day fading away.
There wasn't a surge of strength but Santi could feel it in his muscles, like a brief pump during the gym. An extra bit of strength that he normally wouldn’t have.
The final chest opened and Santi reached down and started pulling out small wooden racks of potions. Six pedestals of six potions each. Two healing, two stamina, and two mana. The glass tinkled as he moved it around the room. He’d give one of the racks to Tank and he owed a few potions to Daniel. The other healing potions he’d keep. The stamina could be handed out and around to his frontline fighters as could the mana potions.
Currently his team was very solid from a non-regressor standpoint. He couldn’t imagine having had their strength originally. They were weeks ahead of where they should be. The issue was Duncan was likely training his people hard, those that had survived anyway.
The last of the chests dissolved into the aether and Santi scooped everything up. The coat had plenty of pockets and the coins quickly filled. The belt and dagger slipped on well and Santi made sure he could easily reach it with his left hand. The vials of potions were carefully picked up and stacked up and then he was out of the room and heading toward Tank.
The big man was walking around the medical station, talking to the others as they all worked around the handful of injured. Tank just raised an eyebrow at the six jingling racks of potions until Santi handed the first rack of potions to him.
“Reward for the fight?” Tank asked as he held the potions like they were the most precious thing in the world. To him they likely were, an elixir that could knit together the most grievous of wounds. They were a miracle in a bottle to a medical professional.
“Yeah. For clearing the monster den.”
“And the coat, knife, and the clacking of coins I hear in your pockets?”
“More rewards. Didn’t seem right to open it all up before we said good-bye.”
“I can understand that. Listen, I’ll finish up here and head over to your place tonight with the others?”
“That’s fine. What for?”
“Uhmmmm, I don’t know. The whole group of humans who were fighting with the monsters and Abraham’s people?”
“Oh, yeah them. Yeah, that's fine. Swing by.”
“Are you ok, Santi?”
Santiago stopped and looked his friend in the eyes for the first time. How could he be alright?
“No, but I’ll get there. Come on over and I’ll pass out some of those ration bars I got.”
“Alright man, see you then.”
Santi left Homebase and walked to the dwarves' house. He rapped on the door twice and waited until Torin opened the door. The dwarf looked better than he had, but the effects of his time imprisoned were still imprinted on his haunted features.
“Aye?”
“Tomorrow. Send over Grimvr and one other. We begin martial training.”
“Aye. It shall be done. We have started to disassemble the golems and will shortly have weapons for your guard that aren’t trash.”
“Thank you Torin. If there is anything you need, please let me know.”
“I shall. Good evening Santiago.” The dwarf bowed his head and closed the door softly. Santi was already walking, heading home. There was more to do, more organizing and restructuring. Training to complete and men and women to arm. Scouts to send out and hunt down those who had escaped him.
Tomorrow.