A/N: In celebration of my 50th chapter, this chapter is a little longer than normal. There's quite a few "Notifications" and screen messages and junk so I think it clocked in at 3000 words. Enjoy
Now to get down. She was about to send Jel back down when she realized she did in fact have a flying tame. Feeling like an idiot she called one of her eagles from their space. She handed the pendant to Thalen and told him to land on a tree, close but not too close, to the men tied up.
Needing an excuse to use some of her less used Tamer skills, she activated Shared Senses with Thalen and after getting accustomed to the bird's unusual sight, she watched and listened to what was happening.
Sam could hear men talking below. She had left a griffon feather behind, as one of the item drops, the feathers were plentiful. When she got back, she planned on making some arrows using the feathers. She could get the fletching for two arrows out of one feather. She had a bundle of over fifty, she could sacrifice one.
Stabbed to the tree with one of her knives was a note:
To The Brave AHA Authorities,
I encountered these three men attacking a Griffon. After subduing them, the Griffon being a Mythical, Gold Tier beast, had the ability to telepathically request I put her out of her misery. Her core was cracked, all she asked was for me to protect her chick. I agreed and have gone to get her.
I shall return to make sure these monsters aren't dead yet, or free. I believe they had a larger group. The weasel-faced lookin' guy is a necromancer so, three guesses where the bodies went.
Be back soon,
Sam
"Must be true, this is definitely a griffon feather." One of the guards said. She was glad she chose right. No one took the importance of griffons more seriously then Frosthaven. The fact that their uniforms and armor has various griffon detailing was a sure sign.
Sending Thalen a message to land on the ground, so she wouldn't end up in the tree or free falling from ten feet in the air, she sent her beasts to the Beast Realm and teleported to his location.
"Good afternoon gentlemen, I see you got my note." Sam said coming out of the trees with Thalen on her shoulder.
"You're Sam I take it?" One of the bigger guards asked giving her a look over.
"That I am." She said releasing her newest tame. "And this is Mercy, her mother asked that I safeguard her as her guardian." She says as the griffon nuzzled into her.
Shocked at the sudden appearance of the griffon, they are speechless. After all they are mythical beasts.
"Now, as much as I'd like to keep this a secret for my own safety, I know the AHA has been informed of what happened here." She pulled the scroll from her inventory and opened it for the main soldier to read. "I'm hoping that's sufficient? How did you guys get here so quickly anyway?"
Still in shock at seeing a real live griffon, and after reading the scroll, the lead guard sputtered out his words.
"Uh, the uh, array in the mountain pass. Usually for emergency rescue and the like. We can teleport to Frosthaven in minutes. Better than a few days in horseback. Well if we had horses." He says rubbing the back of his neck, only to dislodge his helmet.
"Uh, right. We can get these three to Frosthaven. Is this your handy work?" He asks pointing to the enchanted ropes.
"Yup, let me take care of that for you." Sam said as she cut the ropes, leaving each man tied but separate from the rest. "They should still work. I enchanted them with a mana-null enchantment. As long as you're not touching the ropes yourself, they shouldn't affect you."
"You enchanted them?" He asked
"What can I say, I'm an Enchanting Beast Tamer." She says with a wink. "Actually it's part of my Master Crafter Class."
They just nodded like that made sense and three of them each grabbed a man. Shockingly they were all still alive. She had thought at least one might not make it. She was a little disturbed at her disappointment. These men were cruel and she'd be pissed if they got off scot-free.
Trying to be subtle and failing miserably, she asked a question she was afraid to hear the answer from.
"Out of curiosity, does the Lord here have any dealings with Lord Solaris?" She asked.
Their expressions shut down instantly.
"Our Lord's dealings are none of your business." The main guard stated.
"Usually I would agree, however, the men you are bringing in were ordered to retrieve the griffons head by Lord Solaris. Whether they will admit that or not, I don't know. So you'll have to take my word for it. I overheard them talking. He wanted to display the head in his home I assume."
From the look of disgust they weren't happy to hear that. She was hoping Solaris hadn't been soliciting low level purples from here too.
{"From what information I've gathered, there have been no suspicious activity in Frosthaven. They haven't reported any missing people. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing I don't know."}
Well that one point in their favour, hopefully they protect their people better here, she said to Jarvis mentally.
"Well I can't say, one way or the other, who our Lord has dealings with. We're a very tight knit community, we don't much tolerate outsiders. Frosthaven is a difficult place to get to, so we are fairly self-sufficient."
"I see. I just wanted to be sure these men weren't set free." She said
"I can assure you Miss Foreman they will be receiving the strictest punishment for their crimes. Private dealings or not. This is an AHA matter now. They broke the accords, tries to kill a beast on the list of off limits Ancient Beast Bloodlines. We'll have an officer interrogate them along with a Whisperkin to ensure they speak the truth."
Sam smiled as she brought out her own.
"I'd offer the services of mine, but seeing as I'm the only one who can understand him, it might be seen as a little biased."
Finally a smile appeared on the man's face, well a slight lifting of his lips anyway.
"Well, everything seems to be in order, be sure to visit the AHA as soon as you get home." The lead guard said. "Safe travels Miss."
With that done, the guards continued on their way into the mountains. Sam stood there looking around.
"This was supposed to be a resource trip." She huffed. While making her way back down the mountain, she picked whatever vegetation she found. Occasionally beasts investigated the lone human in the woods, but they quickly ran when they instinctively studied her level, or they died fighting her.
~~~
It would take a few days to get back to Dungeon City, so Sam stopped at Crossroads village for a meal and a bed at an inn. She enjoyed another meal at Dean's restaurant again. Fantastic as always. Then she stayed at the inn she stayed in last time. While lying in bed she figured now was as good as any time to thoroughly check what she got from that whole experience.
"Ok Jarvis let's see how I made out.
{Profile
Operator: Samantha "Sam" Foreman
Age: 18
Species: Human
Tier: Purple
Tier Traits: Skyheart Memory
Level: 22 → 33
Experience: 12,700,595/30,549,078xp
Health Points: 3300/3300HP
(w/armor 3400HP)
Mana Points: 4050/4050MP
(w/armor 4150MP)
Mana Control: 330MC
(w/armor 342MC)
Mana Regeneration: 405MP/s
(+10% boost) = 446MP/s (w/armor 456MP/s)
Stats:
(+50% Base Boost)
Strength (S): 255 (+15 from armor) = 270
Agility (A): 255 (+2 Ring = 257, +10 from armor) = 267
Perception (P): 255 (+10% Pendant = 281, +10 from armor) = 291
Vitality (V): 330 (+10 from armor) = 340
Intelligence (I): 330 (+12 from armor) = 342
Wisdom (W): 405 (+10 from armor) = 415
Charisma (C): 225 (+11 from armor) = 236
Luck (L): 17
———————————————
Available Stat Points: 2
Available Skill Points: 358 -
Divided:
Primary: 73 (20%)
Secondary: 90 (25%)
Support: 90 (25%)
Unique Skills: 35 (10%)
Advanced General Skills: 35 (10%)
Beast Bank: 35 (10%)
———————————————
Resistances:
Fire - 0%
Heat - 0%
Ice - 0%
Cold - 0%
Fear - 10%
Bleeding - 10%
Sleep - 20%
Mental - 50%
Pain - 40%
———————————————
Coins:
Individual Coins:
69,810 Copper
19,225 Silver
669 Gold
4350 Platinum
Coin Consolidation:
10 Copper
173 Silver
719 Gold
4350 Platinum
———————————————
Primary Class: Beast Tamer LVL 3
Active skills:
Beast Command LVL 5
Bond Healing LVL 4
Animal Empathy Surge LVL 3
Beast's Insight LVL 4
Shared Senses Activation LVL 1
Beast Bond Boost LVL 2
Passive skills:
Animal empathy LVL 3
Keen senses LVL 4
Beast Familiarity LVL 4
Enhanced Bond LVL 4
Night Vision LVL 1
Natural Camouflage LVL 2
———————————————
Tamed Beasts: 17
Mount
- Sunblaze LVL 8
Combat Support
- Tempest LVL 8
- Ignite LVL 8
- Syndrome LVL 8
- Nox LVL 8
- Nyx LVL 8
Health Support
- Jel LVL 14
Infiltration Support
- Abe LVL 6
Aerial Support
- Aurora LVL 1
- Oriin LVL 1
- Thalen LVL 1
- Sirae LVL 1
- Mercy LVL 1
Secondary Tames
- Vixen LVL 11
- Cern LVL 15
- Mothra LVL 8
- Appa LVL 16
———————————————
Beast Bank Level: 12
Beast Bank Balance: 204,800/204,800xp
———————————————
Secondary Class: Enchantress LVL 4
Active Skills:
Enchant Item LVL 5
Stat Enchantment LVL 5
Mana Enchantments LVL 5
Elemental Enchantments LVL 5
Multiple Enchantments LVL 4
Enchantment Removal LVL 3
Passive Skills:
Enchant-opedia LVL 5
Runic Inscription Index LVL 5
Mana Charge LVL 4
Arcane Conservation LVL 5
Enchantment Rush LVL 3
Hyper Focus LVL 3
———————————————
Support Class: Master Crafter LVL 7
Active skills:
Item Creation lvl 8
Accessory Weaver lvl 5
Human-forge LVL 4
Mana hands LVL 8
Weapon and Armor Smithing LVL 6
One Size Fits All LVL 6
Beast Accessory Weaver LVL 4
Beast Armor Smithing LVL 4
Crafting Repair LVL 3
Disassemble/Reassemble LVL 3
Passive skills:
Material manipulation LVL 7
Waste not, want not lvl 7
Efficient Crafting LVL 7
Material Identification LVL 6
Recursive Inspiration LVL 4
Mana-Forged Crafting LVL 4
Enhanced Durability LVL 4
Ambient Workshop LVL 4
Tool Symbiosis LVL 3
Forgemind Sync LVL 3
———————————————
General Skills:
Advanced Skills:
All Tongues* (Passive)
Double Double* (Passive)
Inspect LVL 3
Movement LVL 4
(Walking, Running, Sprinting, Jumping, Dodging)
Communication LVL 3
(Reading, Writing, Talking)
General Cleaning LVL 1
(Sweeping, Mopping, Tidying, Dusting, Surface cleaning)
Survival LVL 5
(Hunting, Gathering, Skinning, Tracking, Fire starting, Water gathering)
Animal Husbandry LVL 2
(Feeding, Rearing, Harvesting, Butchering)
Knowledge LVL 2
(Math, Physics, History, Geography, Science)
*These skills have no level advancement
Basic Skills:
Cooking LVL 7
Baking LVL 5
Mending LVL 6
Healing LVL 9
Herbology LVL 9
General Crafting LVL 10
Construction LVL 5
General Weaponry
- Knife LVL 9
- Dagger LVL 10
- Short Sword LVL 10
- Short Bow LVL 10
- Spear LVL 10
- Axe LVL 9
- Pike LVL 6
Unique Skills:
T.O.U.S LVL 1
Resource Farming LVL 1
Water Manipulation LVL 1
Necrotic Touch LVL 2
Wind Shield LVL 1
Blood Echo LVL 1
Healing Rain LVL 1
Achievements:
Realm Traveller
Second Life
Sneak Attack! (Or Not)
One-(Wo)man band
Unintended Consequences
Wait, That Doesn't Go There
Guardian of the Fallen Sky}
{Ding! Your Secondary Class Enchantress has leveled up to LVL 5
You have gained the last four skills of your class:
Active skills:
Soul Binding – Binds item to individual use. If owner is murdered (directly or through sabotage) item will have a red aura that will last until original owners natural lifespan.
Mana: 20 | Cooldown: 1 min.
Potion Enchantment – Boosts potion effects.
Mana: 25 | Cooldown: 10s.
Passive Skills:
Glyph Familiarity – Boosts high-tier enchantment success.
Mystic Residue – Gear slowly regenerates mana.}
"J-jarvis ok first, awesome new skills. But secondly… did I read that correctly? Do I have over fo-four… four thousand platinum?" Sam stuttered.
{"That is accurate Sam, it was the coin earned from the mercy killing. It still counts as a beast kill. Even if it was to put her out of her misery. If you don't like that I'm not sure how you'll react to what else you received from that act of mercy."}
"Oh my gods yes! A Mythical tier is drops a whole enchanted armor set, and weapons and jewelry oooh lemmie see." Sam exclaimed. Opening her bags inventory she searched by recently gained, she loved her new inventory feature. At the top of the list there it lay. She summoned a full set of Mythical grade matching armour (helm, chest piece, pauldrons, bracers, gloves, grieves, boot), accessories (Under armour (jerkin and pants), belt, cloak, ring, pendant) and a weapon - Chosen by S.I.S.T.E.M. based on what you use most. In Sam's case, it was a bow. The last item was a surprise. A 0.01% chance in the wild. A skill book.
{Skill Book:
Apex Descent
Quality: Mythical
Description: A technique used by Sovereigns to crush those who dwell upon the earth.
Effect: User becomes a living meteor of wind and metal. Deals base damage times Physical/Wind damage in a 10m radius.
Stamina Cost: 15% Total SP | Mana Control Requirement: 90 MC | Cooldown: 15 minutes | Range: Target within 50 metres}
{The Sovereign's Plate (Full Armor Set)
Quality: Mythical
Description: A 12-piece set of shifting Fractilium. It transitions between heavy plate for defense and aerodynamic silk-steel for flight.
Effect: Provides a 100% defense boost. All strikes from enemies below Mythical Tier are blocked.
Durability: 1000/1000 (-500HP damage = -10 Durability) |
Enchantments: Durability VIII, Protection VIII
Note: Appearances can be deceiving. It styles itself according to its wearer.
Set Bonus: Windrider Sovereign
3 Items: [Tailwind] +25% Movement/Attack Speed.
5 Items: [Hollow Bones] Weight reduced by 80%; Fall damage negated.
7 Items: [Aileron Control] Grants 3 mid-air dashes and 15 seconds of flight.
10 Items: [Sovereign's Command] Can stand, walk, or run on air as if solid ground.
All 12 Items: [Sky-Rupture Avatar] Attacks ignore all armor while airborne. Once per hour, release a [Sonic Boom] shockwave (50m radius) that deflects all incoming projectiles.}
{Belt of Equilibrium
Quality: Mythical
Description: A heavy utility belt that serves as the center of gravity for the entire set.
Effect: [Magnetic Tether] - When mounted, the wearer is magically locked to their seat. Requires a mental command to release.
Mana Cost: 5 MP to toggle | Duration: Until Toggled Off}
{Shroud of the Stratosphere (Cloak)
Quality: Mythical
Description: A cloak woven from solidified clouds. It ripples with the movement of the planet's winds.
Effect: [Silent Glide] - Reduces noise from movement to 0. [Atmospheric Anchor] - Allows the wearer to make instant 90-degree turns in mid-air by anchoring to wind currents.
Mana Cost: 5 MP per minute | Range: Self}
{Sirocco, the Gale-Threader (Longbow)
Quality: Mythical
Description: A stringless recurve bow forged from Fractilium and the marrow of a Sovereign. It draws its power directly from the surrounding atmosphere.
Effect: Creates arrows of pressurized air that deal True Wind Damage and ignore 100% of non-mythical physical armor. On impact, creates a [Vacuum Point] that pulls enemies within 3 meters toward the center.
Stamina Cost: 20 SP per shot | Mana Control Requirement: 85 MC | Range: 1.5 Kilometres}
{Heart of the Eye (Pendant)
Quality: Mythical
Description: A crystalline pendant containing a swirling miniature cyclone.
Effect: Grants [Thermal Vision], allowing the user to see air currents, heat signatures, and invisible gas traps.
Mana Cost: 10 MP | Duration: Constant/Toggle | Range: 500 metres}
{Gale-Force Band (Ring)
Quality: Mythical
Description: A simple ring of polished Fractilium that hums with kinetic energy.
Effect: [Frictionless Grip] - Increases drawing speed and grip strength by 40%. Prevents the wearer from being disarmed or losing their grip on a mount.
Mana Cost: Passive | Mana Control Requirement: 40 MC}
Sam stared at the pile of dull, grey metal sitting on the bed. It looked heavy, clunky, and—honestly—a little boring for something labeled "Mythical."
"This is it?" she muttered, running a hand over the chest piece. The Fractilium was cold, but as her fingers touched the metal, a faint violet pulse rippled through the scrollwork.
She began to put it on. First, the under-armor layers. The fabric was strange—it felt like silk but was as tough as dragon-hide. As she pulled the jerkin over her head, it shrank, molding to her skin until it felt like a second layer of muscle. Next came the plates. As she buckled the grieves and bracers, the "Note" from the S.I.S.T.E.M. proved its worth.
The clunky plates didn't just sit there; they melted.
The heavy Fractilium thinned out, sweeping back into aerodynamic fins along her calves and forearms. The chest piece contoured to her frame, the metal becoming light as a feather while retaining the terrifying density of the mountains it came from. When she snapped the Belt of Equilibrium shut, the effect was instant.
{[Set Bonus Active: 12/12 Items - Sky-Rupture Avatar]The sky no longer belongs to the clouds. It belongs to you.}
Just as Sam snapped the Belt of Equilibrium into place, the final click of the twelve-piece set echoing through the quiet clearing. For a split second, she looked like a goddess of war, the iridescent Fractilium shimmering with the light of a brewing storm.
Then, the S.I.S.T.E.M. caught up with the math.
A cascade of red windows exploded across her vision, so bright they hurt.
{[CRITICAL ERROR: LEVEL MISMATCH]Item Tier: Mythical Required Level: 75 User Level: 33
[SYSTEM LOGICIC]: A hatchling cannot wear the wings of a Sovereign. Calculating weight penalty for Illegitimate Possession…}
"Wait, calculating what—?"
THOOM.
CR-ACK. The thick oak floorboards beneath her feet groaned and splintered. Panicked, Sam realized that if she fell over, she'd go straight through the floor and probably through the ceiling of the common room below.
She threw her weight backward, slamming her back against the sturdy stone chimney stack that ran up the side of her room. The stone held, but the sudden impact sent a shudder through the entire inn. She was pinned upright against the masonry, her boots sinking two inches into the wood of the floor.
The armor, which had felt like silk seconds ago, suddenly possessed the weight of a mountain.
"Ugh—!" Sam's chest hit her thighs as the weight of the chest piece folded her in half. Her face was smooched against the rock, her nose inches away from a very confused beetle.
She tried to move a finger. Nothing. She tried to activate her inventory to unequip it.
{[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]Error: Under extreme physical pressure, the wearer cannot access the 'Summon/Dismiss' feature. Please alleviate weight burden to manage inventory.}
"You've... got... to be... kidding me," she wheezed. Each breath felt like she was trying to lift a car with her ribcage.
She was Level 33. She had just gained the most powerful aerial combat suit in the world, and because she was forty-two levels too weak to trick the enchantments, the armor was treating her like an anchor. She wasn't a Windrider; she was a paperweight in a very expensive metal box.
'Sam? Sam!' Syn called as she came, running over and grabbing her shoulder with her vines to pull her up. She might as well have been trying to tug a rooted oak tree. "Why are you sinking into the floor?!"
"Level... restriction..." Sam managed to choke out, her face turning a fine shade of purple. "Get... it... off... me..."
She had survived a Top-Tier Griffon, but she was currently in danger of being defeated by her own pants.