The group left at dawn, fully rested, healed, and ready to face the world. Also, they woke up feeling 'somewhat stronger', and had recovered some of their strength. This translated in two additional attribute points for each of them.
Gale had gone from 17 to 19 Intelligence for example, Astarion and Sylfine from 17 to 19 Dexterity and so on. They also mentioned feeling like they were on the verge of recovering a considerable amount of strength.
This all corroborated with the research Eden had done. In Dungeons and Dragons, every class earned two ability scores, or attribute points, at Level 4, 8, 12, 16 and 19. Adding to that Eden's suspicion that Level 5 was the gateway to Tier I, then the party had probably leveled up to Level 4 thanks to the battle the day before.
Eden himself had slightly improved his Cursed Energy Output. It was by a small amount, and only added a few points of damage, but it was still improvement.
Eden had also used one of their spell scrolls to learn a spell. So far, they had gotten scrolls for Protection from Evil and Good, which was useless to Eden, Grease, which was useless to everyone, and Burning Hands.
They were all Level 1 spells, so although they were mostly useless to Eden, he still decided to learn and master them as they did not take much time, and allowed him to improve his foundations.
[Burning Hands (1st Circle): Project a thin sheet of flames forward in a 1 (5) meter cone, dealing 5 (35) fire damage. Cost: 100 (25) MP.]
This was the only one with a modicum of interest, and as expected, they translated to a 1st Circle Spell.
Eden did want to ask Gale about higher level spells, but he had been at his wits' end last night, so he had held back. But as far as Eden could tell, 1st Level and 2nd Level Spells corresponded to 1st Circle and 2nd Circle.
However, 3rd Level was a non-mastered 3rd Circle Spell, 4th Level was a 3rd Circle with intermediate mastery, and 5th Level was a 3rd Circle spell at perfect mastery.
Following this logic, a 6th Level Spell, like chain lightning for example, would be a non-mastered 4th Circle Spell, and 7th Level probably intermediate or perfect mastery 4th Circle.
All in all, it was a fine night for Eden.
Now, as they left the Grove, they were headed for the village of Moonhaven, which had been overrun by goblins recently. However, on their way there, they had an unexpected encounter.
In a swirl of red energy, the smell of sulfur spread out as a man appeared in front of the group. With reddish skin, dressed in a noble's garments, he ignored the multiple unsheathing of weapons as he made a deep bow, his slicked back hair not moving an inch as he greeted, "Well met. I am Raphael. Very much at your service."
Eden, who walked at the front of the group, used Analysis on him.
[Name: Raphael]
[Title: Prince of Hope]
[HP: 420/420]
[MP: 470/470]
[Strength: 44]
[Agility: 39]
[Physique: 42]
[Intelligence: 47]
[Wisdom: 39]
That was strong. Very strong, considering this did not take into account his Perks, which were bound to be plenty, his equipment, or his empowerment within his domain and the Pillars of Soul. They were high enough that Eden should normally not be able to see them with his Analysis, but coating his eyes with Cursed Energy helped push the limits of what he could see.
However, it was not insurmountable. Alone, Eden might struggle, and it might even be impossible, but he would not be helpless before him. This meant that Eden would not be helpless before any of the bosses.
Raphael added, throwing a quick glance at Sylfine, then focusing back on Eden, "I must admit, it is a pleasure to meet one such as yourself. I've already met with some of your compatriots, but none were as exquisite as you."
Eden smiled, tilting his head forward, "And you are my first devil, Raphael. But I'm afraid you're not here for me, are you?"
Raphael grinned, snapping his fingers as his form turned devilish, horns sprouting from his forehead and bat wings from his back.
"Oh, but I am. You may not have a visitor in your brain, I've heard a lot about you, Mr. Ozymandias. Would you believe that I have already signed three contracts with your compatriots for your death?"
The rest of the party tensed, but Eden knew the kind of person Raphael was.
As expected, he let the silence stretch for a few seconds, before sighing, "Ah, but unfortunately for them, they were rather careless in the signing of their contract. They appeared to believe their origin would protect them… Well, I suppose ensuring their passing in their time here would ensure no loopholes were found, wouldn't it?"
Eden cocked an eyebrow, interested, "You want me to kill them?"
Raphael placed a hand on his chest, acting offended as he gasped, "My, I would never dare! But, if you were to be in the same place at the same time, and you happened to fight… well, that would just be out of my hand, wouldn't it?" He gave a pointed stare at Ergon as he said that.
Eden gestured towards the rest of the party, arguing, "Interesting. But as you can see, I do not travel alone, and it would be terribly selfish of me to impose my problems on them, especially considering their… limited time. Of course, if these efforts were to be well rewarded, we might consider it."
Raphael's grin returned, "I knew I'd like you. What is it that you want?"
Eden immediately answered, "10 Soul Coins and a 6th Level Spell of my choosing per kill."
Raphael scoffed, "Why don't you rob me? One Soul Coin per kill."
"8 Soul Coins and a 6th Level Spell of my choosing. I'm adamant on the spell. And all I want is a scroll to learn it, not for you to inject the knowledge into me."
Raphael considered for a moment, and offered, "3 Soul Coins, and a scroll for a 6th Level Spell of your choosing. I will not go any higher. Chances are that they will die anyway."
He conjured a contract with another snap of his fingers, one that was rather long. Eden read it, gave Raphael a look, and the devil smiled, "Can't fault a devil for trying, can you?"
Once Eden made sure that there were no more loopholes or pitfalls, keeping the contract as simple as possible, Eden signed it, which formed a bond between it and his soul.
Then, Raphael turned to the rest of the party, and said, "As for the rest of you, I am sure we will see one another soon. If you ever feel like ejecting the intruder in your head, you know who to call."
He looked back at Eden, "The first is not far away, by the Chiontar, at the Toll House. I trust you know where to go."
As Raphael disappeared, Gale immediately warned, "Signing a contract with a devil is extremely risky, was it really worth it?"
Eden shrugged, "I would have killed them anyway. And I assure you, I know what I am doing."
From there, the group continued along the path, until they arrived near a bridge. To the side of it, however, were two humans hunched over a dwarf. As the party arrived, one of the two warned, "Halt!"
Eden did not have to scan them to know they were only Tier 0.
Eden did not have to say anything either as Shadowheart stepped forward and said, "What happened here? Maybe I can help?"
Of course, someone like Shadowheart would not simply help someone from the kindness of her heart. However, as they approached, she heard them mention the Absolute.
The woman among the two seemed cautious, but the man exclaimed, "Our brother was attacked by an Owlbear! He requires aid."
Shadowheart looked back at the group, her eyes clearly asking whether they should deal with them or not. They might have only been together for a day, they already started to understand each other's thoughts. This might have to do with their connection through the tadpoles.
Before she could get a definite answer however, the dwarf on the ground suddenly started floating up, and Eden clearly saw everyone wince slightly. He was communicating with them telepathically.
After a couple of seconds, the woman's guard completely dropped as she bowed, ignoring her brother who slumped to the ground, dead, and asked, "True Souls, what should we do?"
While the others hesitated, Astarion immediately ordered with glee in his voice, "You must track down that Owlbear, and avenge this True Soul."
They looked shocked, but they bowed nonetheless, leaving their brother's corpse behind as they ran off.
Left alone, Wyll looked at Astarion, and commented, "That was cruel."
Astarion rolled his eyes, "What? Need I remind you the Absolute is the enemy?"
Lae'zel agreed, "Mercy to the enemy is cruelty to yourself."
Eden tilted his head at the familiar saying. It had been slightly twisted, but wasn't it from Earth? He found it curious.
Gale looked at the two sides, and advised, "Actually, we might want to follow them. Owlbears are powerful creatures, and they might have amassed precious things over the years. If our group is bound to grow in the near future, we are going to need funds to eat every day. And if nothing else, if challenges are what we need to grow, I'd say we have a pretty good opportunity to grow waiting for us."
To this, everyone agreed. However, as they were about to move forward, a small tadpole burrowed its way out of the dead dwarf's head, and floated up to Sylfine. She looked at it for a moment, and placed it inside a vial.
No one seemed surprised except for Eden, and realizing this, Sylfine quickly explained, "We saw one yesterday in the Grove too. I'm not sure what they do, but they react to us, so I figured I should take them, so we might study them."
"I didn't say anything. That's a good idea."
Sylfine gave him a half-smile, and the group followed after the duo. They passed under the bridge leading to Moonhaven, and after a couple of minutes, arrived at the entrance of a cave.
The cavern was larger than one would expect, burrowing deep into the mountainside, and was filled with a strong stench of putrefaction. Several goblin corpses were strewn around the cave. It was quite dark, even in the middle of the day, though they would not have a problem seeing ten to fifteen meters in front of them.
Eden still cast Dark Vision on himself, just to be sure.
The two servants of the Absolute, despite their strong faith, hesitated, but Eden's party did not, meaning they found themselves at the front by the time they reached the Owlbear.
It was a monstrous beast that bore its name well, looking like the hybrid between an owl for its head, and a bear for the rest of its body. It was larger than any bear should be though, and much heavier too.
[Name: Owlbear]
[Title: N/A]
[HP: 300/300]
[MP: 480/480]
[Strength: 35]
[Agility: 21]
[Physique: 30]
[Intelligence: 5]
[Wisdom: 21]
It made clicking sounds as soon as it saw them, and Astarion was the one to act the fastest, firing an arrow at it the moment he saw it. Sylfine sprinted for it, racing the arrow, and the moment it hit the beast, Wyll fired an Eldritch Blast into it, forcing it back a few meters.
The Owlbear screeched from the attacks, the sounds reverberating in the cavern as it unleashed its fury onto the closest enemy it could see, which was Sylfine.
But the Half-Elf dexterously dodged the attack, slamming her two fists in quick succession on its nose, her Ki allowing her to stun the massively bigger creature.
The two servants of the Absolute, who trailed behind, were about to make their own attacks as well, but a large shadow suddenly fell on them, and before they could even react, a second Owlbear appeared, squashing the two followers of the Absolute under its weight.
Gale, the one furthest in the back among the party, immediately whirled around, but he did not have the time to dodge as the second Owlbear swiped its massive claws at his chest. He showed his great experience however as even in the face of this attack, he fired a Ray of Frost straight into its mouth.
Still, Gale's robe was shredded, along with some of the flesh on his chest, forcing a cry of pain from the wizard as he fell to the ground. This alerted Lae'zel and Wyll, as the Githyanki leaped in front of the Owlbear, blocking it with her body, while Wyll cast a Hex on the beast, lowering its strength.
Lae'zel's flaming sword slammed into its side, but its meat was so thick it did little damage.
Seeing the danger Gale was in, Shadowheart stopped herself from attacking, and instead cast Sanctuary on Gale. The Owlbear tried to follow Gale's figure as he retreated, but found its mind confused, multiple Gales appearing around it. Then, the Cleric cast Blade Ward on herself, a radiant shield appearing around her form as she rushed at the Owlbear.
Seeing the situation, Eden, the only one who saw the cub in the back, moved up to it, sending it flying with a kick, not enough to actually hurt it, but enough to push it, before firing a Dismantle into the one Sylfine had stunned.
The invisible blade dug deep into its flesh, with large amounts of blood pouring out. The massive damage woke it up from its stupor, but Sylfine slammed her fist once more into its nose, kicking its head back, allowing Astarion to bury a last arrow into its throat.
The Tier suppression was quite strong as even with this, it was still kicking. However, a second Dismantle followed the first, which was enough to end the beast.
Despite the darkness, the second Owlbear seemed to sense its companion's death, and released a screech full of sorrow and rage, but even that was strangled out as another Eldritch Blast, empowered by the Hex, a Sacred Flame, a flaming blade and three Magic Missiles slammed into it.
Despite the numerous attacks, the Owlbear swiped a claw at Lae'zel, her armor protecting her from getting eviscerated, but she was still sent flying towards the rushing Sylfine. The monk managed to dodge, but the Owlbear surprised everyone as it suddenly leapt up, intending to crush Astarion in the same way it had the two Absolute worshipers.
Unlike them though, the vampire spawn saw it coming, and rolled out of the way just in time, even managing to fire an arrow in its underside. The Owlbear tried to follow with another attack, but Shadowheart cast Command on its, forcing it to not move.
This caused a flurry of attacks to rain down on it. Even though its rage seemed to allow it to ignore most of the blows, even when Eden cast a Dismantle on it, the sheer number of attacks was unstoppable.
As the Owlbear was once more able to move, it raised its body, prepping itself for another leap, but Lae'zel stabbed her sword upward, the flaming blade piercing through its throat and reaching its brain.
The Owlbear suddenly stopped, then, with a spasm, fell to the ground, dead.
With no immediate threat to his life left, Gale immediately downed a Minor Health Potion, recovering some of his HP. Shadowheart approached him, teasing, "For some reason, I feel like we are going to spend a lot of time together."
Gale groaned, "I promise I'll do my best not to see you."
Shadowheart smiled, but the two immediately pulled their weapons back out as they noticed a third Owlbear, but paused seeing it was only a cub.
Moreover, it did not attack them, but instead approached one of the two Owlbears, and… started eating it.
Relaxing, the party sat down, some observing the splatters left of the two Absolute worshipers. Wyll silently shook his head, sighing to himself, before asking, "Shall we make a brief pause here? To allow Gale and Lae'zel to recover and-"
Lae'zel immediately interrupted, her tone final, "I'm fine."
Wyll looked a little awkward, but Gale nodded, speaking up, "Yes, please."
Wyll nodded thankfully, before turning to Eden, and asking, "I am about to cast a spell, maybe you would be interested to see it?"
Eden raised an eyebrow, walking up to the Warlock, who said, "As you certainly know, my powers come from… an unusual source, so I do not know if this can be learned."
Eden nodded, some spells were specific to certain classes, and could not be learned by wizards. However, Eden belonged to a different Power System, so he might have a chance.
He reached up with his hand, "May I?"
Seeing Wyll nod, Eden placed his hand on his shoulder, and closed his eyes, focusing on his Talent.
Wyll cast, "Macte Virtue!"
Eden felt a slight stir in Wyll's mana, but it hardly did anything. Instead, Eden felt a foreign surge of power appear in Wyll's body, an ice cold mana that seeped into his flesh, and formed an invisible shield of ice on his skin.
This was Armor of Agathys, a spell that protected the user and would retaliate with frost damage to anyone who hit the user physically.
Opening his eyes, Eden silently recreated the way the spell had behaved, swirling his mana a few times to get used to the sensation, and said, "I cast Armor of Agathys."
Unfortunately, nothing happened. It was a shame, but that was to be expected. Although Eden had the mana operation and a good visualization of it, he lacked the concepts behind it. However, he still felt it was not impossible to recreate. He would have to learn some Abjuration spells, as well as a spell of icy nature… Spell Ward and Ray of Frost?