I should've run away the moment they spotted me, I thought as our small group made our way back to the main tunnels according to my [Tattered Map].
The village guards surrounded me, two in front and one behind. Their formation protected me from the monsters but prevented my escape. For more protection, they added me to their party. A 'Contract of Binding’ was what they called it. Most support spells only worked on party mates or allies like fellow members of a guild.
It couldn’t be more evident that I was on a branching path, another possible choice, in the 'Bawu Zombie Outbreak' story.
The village guards were the good guys in this scenario, and I was given the opportunity to interact with them—the opportunity to rat out Potion Brewer Bawu.
What if I confessed that I had information about the source of the crazed and diseased monsters? I'd show the guards Healer Gula's letter and then lead them to Bawu's hideout.
If I did that, I'd gain great standing in our village for helping solve this issue and possibly averting an even bigger crisis of whatever Bawu had cooked up spreading through our population. They'd build statues in my honor, sing songs about my deeds, and tell younglings the tales of Herald Stone, the Zombie Outbreak Stopper.
Hmm…the Pandemic Preventer? The Great Whistleblower?
But I'd be giving up my connection with Healer Gula. She couldn't teach me any healing skills if she were imprisoned. Even if she could, I suspected she wouldn't, as she'd be angry at me for obvious reasons.
I also wouldn't be able to learn potion-making skills from Bawu. As much as I hated to say this, Luds believed that skills obtained from her were good as he made them a core part of his build. He might be an asshole, but he did know how to play the game.
Weighing the absolute values of benefits alone, I'd say being the 'good guy' was the better choice.
Improved relationships with the entire village would greatly help with the main quest I had been woefully ignoring for a long time.
[ Quest: The Uncertain Search - Gaining Knowledge I ]
At the behest of Chief Nogras of Kurghal Village, you swear to scour every corner of the mountain to find other Mardukryon tribes that survived the Great Quake. In this monumental task, knowledge of the unknown is required lest your search be for naught. Learn about the history of the Mardukryons from the villagers.
Furthermore, if I was well-liked in Kurghal Village, I could capitalize on that to gradually convince the people that we should use the knowledge of our ancestors and study the Ancestral Flame Arts. Mehubanarath would be delighted if I succeeded. Who knew, perhaps the village relearning the old ways was a vital part of progressing the Mardukryon storyline?
It might even lead to a solution on how to leave this mountain.
On the other hand, there were hints that Gula and Bawu had secrets relating to the Ancestral Flame Arts, specifically the Aritu Form Ocadule that gave me healing skills. I could also learn specific skills from them, but it didn't necessarily mean they were the best. It was normal for players to find better and stronger options later in an RPG—such games were built on progression.
Choices, choices, choices... Good or evil?
Not that moral alignment mattered for Herald Stone. I was always on the right side of history.
Our party of four fought many Blighted mobs—okay, it was only the guards doing the fighting.
More than half of the monsters were kinds I hadn't seen before, all more than level twenty. I didn't meet any monster that had a higher level than me when I was alone. The system must be adjusting my encounters to the strength of our party.
A [Lvl 26 Blighted Golden Borpillar] drilled out of the ground and waved its segmented body at us like it was saying 'hi'. But because of its size, it slammed against the walls of the tunnels, causing minor tremors. It was twice as large as a normal Borpillar, its growth explained by the golden crystals embedded into its body, giving it mystical energy.
Another Golden Borpillar appeared, this time bursting out of the ceiling. It showered its fellow monster with a bunch of rocks. The two of them blocked our path.
"Prepare for battle,' said the leader. He and the guard beside him used their buffs, their spears coated with golden light.
A dome of transparent blue film covered our group. Checking behind me, it was the last guard who cast some AoE protection spell. His humongous shield was also glowing blue, with a circle of magic runes rotating around it.
"So, this adds health and armor to the party?" I surmised while examining my attributes. Was this a Hunter-Warrior skill? This seemed like a good skill to have.
The monsters flung the upper portions of their body forward to smash us. They bounced off the side of the blue dome, indicating that it didn't only give buffs but was also a barrier of sorts.
The two guards in front attacked with their spears, thrusting and stabbing at the giant thrashing insects, while the guy at the back used ranged skills, shooting gusts of wind over my head. I cast [Gnawing Rot] at the Golden Borpillars, discovering that it only affected the one on the ground. The Borpillar hanging from the ceiling didn't seem to have its defenses reduced by my debuff.
"Good work, youngling," the lead guard said. "You have bravery coursing through your veins."
"And greatness and kindness," I said as I tried to put [Gnawing Rot] on the ceiling and failed, "among other traits and virtues."
"But do stay behind us so we can keep you safe."
"Leave the actual fighting to us," said the other guard. "You are too young and inexperienced to handle beasts of this strength." He was probably referring to my low level.
"I can help heal you guys." I cast [Healing Touch] on them. The Blighted Golden Borpillars had spit acid at the guards that could penetrate the blue shield, damaging them and inflicting some sort of poison status. Whether I'd eventually choose the good or the bad path, I figured I should act nicely towards these guys for now.
"Our gratitude to you, youngling."
"The guards need promising healers like you."
Having successfully vanquished the monsters, our party leader pointed his spear down the tunnel. "Onwards! We must get this youngling to safety. The situation is becoming direr every passing moment."
Turning left into a wider tunnel, the leader held up his hand. Our group halted.
There was the familiar rumble of the earth signaling more monsters tunneling out. The guards assumed their fighting stances and cast their buffs. They warned me again to stay back as the blue dome covered us.
Leaving this place was getting tedious, but I was gaining Essence and Gli from all the monsters these guards killed, even if reduced by the level gap penalty. Gaining something without lifting a finger delighted me. It was like these guards were leeching me for free.
Three purple worms crawled out of the walls, one bursting upward from the ground, and two more dropped from the ceiling.
These Spite Maggroths, each the width of a Swineling but stretched to about three meters in length, opened their circular gaping mouth with several rows of serrated teeth. They were either level seventeen or eighteen, no problem for my village guard pets. But there was something wrong with them, or somewhat not wrong.
"They're not afflicted by the strange curse," I pointed out, using the term the guards had used earlier to refer to Bawu's chemicals.
"Your observation is correct, youngling," said the leader.
"But why are Spite Maggroths showing themselves?" asked the guard behind me. "Their kind is rarely seen in these tunnels, content of living in the solitude of darkness."
"They may be running away from something," mused the guard to my right.
"Escaping from something?" I muttered. If that wasn't a foreshadowing, then call me a box. A more significant threat was going to come later, I was certain of it. But for now, we had to fight these—or rather, my pet guards had to fight. As for me, I had a nifty experiment to try.
The Spite Maggroths crawled on the ground with amazing speed, contracting their bodies, anchoring their spiked behinds on the ground, and then shooting forward like a spring. It was comical to look out if they didn't move quickly that it looked terrifying and disgusting.
The guards kept them at bay, poking them with their spears.
I tore my eyes from the interesting sight to note down my health. It was increased by the buff from the guard behind me. Then I placed a [Lesser Replicant Totem] beside me, inside the blue dome, and checked its health.
"Where's a fucking calculator." The noises of battle drowned out my mumbling. "Let’s see…I was right." At level one, the [Lesser Replicant Totem] was supposed to copy ten percent of my attributes, but this two-faced goblin-like statue had more health than it was supposed to. The blue dome also buffed it.
Next, I put the Totem outside the blue dome. Its health was precisely ten percent of my health—my currently buffed health, not the original amount. And for the last test, I walked out of the blue dome.
The guard at the back of our formation protested. "Youngling, you should stay under my barrier."
"I'm just going to stand here behind you," I said as I rechecked my health. It went down to the unbuffed amount. "The enemies are coming from the front anyway. I'm sure they won't reach me with you, brave guards, protecting me."
"We must keep you in the center, for we'll never know if an enemy
"Yeah, yeah, just let me..." The Totem with me outside the blue dome copied exactly ten percent of my health. "Interesting..." And if I placed the Totem inside the dome, it would get buffed while I didn't.
Ideas flitted in my mind as I returned to the spot the guard pointed me to. There was a term for this...'double dipping', if I wasn't mistaken. My Totem double dipped on health modifiers. My own buffed health resulted in a beefier Totem, which was made even beefier by the same AoE buff. This could be the basis of...I wasn't sure what, but Herald Stone would eventually come up with something great.
The guards finished off the Sprite Maggroths. Essence and Gli flowed to me.
[ Unlocked: Aritu Form Ocadule Rank to 2 ]
Lvl. 1 Penitent Fortune Healing: In return for penitent prayer, as shown by your sacrifice of (-20% Movement Speed) and (-50 Evasion Rating), good fortune showered upon you by the ancestors allows you to perform healing feats beyond your skills.
Requires: Healing Touch Lvl. 3
Passive: Whenever you use [Healing Touch], there is a 20% chance to cast it twice on the same target. (Heal over Time buff does not stack for a target.) And if it does, generate +1 additional Rejuvenation Charge.
I should've run away the moment they spotted me, I thought as our small group made our way back to the main tunnels according to my [Tattered Map].
The village guards surrounded me, two in front and one behind. Their formation protected me from the monsters but prevented my escape. For more protection, they added me to their party. A 'Contract of Binding’ was what they called it. Most support spells only worked on party mates or allies like fellow members of a guild.
It couldn’t be more evident that I was on a branching path, another possible choice, in the 'Bawu Zombie Outbreak' story.
The village guards were the good guys in this scenario, and I was given the opportunity to interact with them—the opportunity to rat out Potion Brewer Bawu.
What if I confessed that I had information about the source of the crazed and diseased monsters? I'd show the guards Healer Gula's letter and then lead them to Bawu's hideout.
If I did that, I'd gain great standing in our village for helping solve this issue and possibly averting an even bigger crisis of whatever Bawu had cooked up spreading through our population. They'd build statues in my honor, sing songs about my deeds, and tell younglings the tales of Herald Stone, the Zombie Outbreak Stopper.
Hmm…the Pandemic Preventer? The Great Whistleblower?
But I'd be giving up my connection with Healer Gula. She couldn't teach me any healing skills if she were imprisoned. Even if she could, I suspected she wouldn't, as she'd be angry at me for obvious reasons.
I also wouldn't be able to learn potion-making skills from Bawu. As much as I hated to say this, Luds believed that skills obtained from her were good as he made them a core part of his build. He might be an asshole, but he did know how to play the game.
Weighing the absolute values of benefits alone, I'd say being the 'good guy' was the better choice.
Improved relationships with the entire village would greatly help with the main quest I had been woefully ignoring for a long time.
[ Quest: The Uncertain Search - Gaining Knowledge I ]
At the behest of Chief Nogras of Kurghal Village, you swear to scour every corner of the mountain to find other Mardukryon tribes that survived the Great Quake. In this monumental task, knowledge of the unknown is required lest your search be for naught. Learn about the history of the Mardukryons from the villagers.
Furthermore, if I was well-liked in Kurghal Village, I could capitalize on that to gradually convince the people that we should use the knowledge of our ancestors and study the Ancestral Flame Arts. Mehubanarath would be delighted if I succeeded. Who knew, perhaps the village relearning the old ways was a vital part of progressing the Mardukryon storyline?
It might even lead to a solution on how to leave this mountain.
On the other hand, there were hints that Gula and Bawu had secrets relating to the Ancestral Flame Arts, specifically the Aritu Form Ocadule that gave me healing skills. I could also learn specific skills from them, but it didn't necessarily mean they were the best. It was normal for players to find better and stronger options later in an RPG—such games were built on progression.
Choices, choices, choices... Good or evil?
Not that moral alignment mattered for Herald Stone. I was always on the right side of history.
Our party of four fought many Blighted mobs—okay, it was only the guards doing the fighting.
More than half of the monsters were kinds I hadn't seen before, all more than level twenty. I didn't meet any monster that had a higher level than me when I was alone. The system must be adjusting my encounters to the strength of our party.
A [Lvl 26 Blighted Golden Borpillar] drilled out of the ground and waved its segmented body at us like it was saying 'hi'. But because of its size, it slammed against the walls of the tunnels, causing minor tremors. It was twice as large as a normal Borpillar, its growth explained by the golden crystals embedded into its body, giving it mystical energy.
Another Golden Borpillar appeared, this time bursting out of the ceiling. It showered its fellow monster with a bunch of rocks. The two of them blocked our path.
"Prepare for battle,' said the leader. He and the guard beside him used their buffs, their spears coated with golden light.
A dome of transparent blue film covered our group. Checking behind me, it was the last guard who cast some AoE protection spell. His humongous shield was also glowing blue, with a circle of magic runes rotating around it.
"So, this adds health and armor to the party?" I surmised while examining my attributes. Was this a Hunter-Warrior skill? This seemed like a good skill to have.
The monsters flung the upper portions of their body forward to smash us. They bounced off the side of the blue dome, indicating that it didn't only give buffs but was also a barrier of sorts.
The two guards in front attacked with their spears, thrusting and stabbing at the giant thrashing insects, while the guy at the back used ranged skills, shooting gusts of wind over my head. I cast [Gnawing Rot] at the Golden Borpillars, discovering that it only affected the one on the ground. The Borpillar hanging from the ceiling didn't seem to have its defenses reduced by my debuff.
"Good work, youngling," the lead guard said. "You have bravery coursing through your veins."
"And greatness and kindness," I said as I tried to put [Gnawing Rot] on the ceiling and failed, "among other traits and virtues."
"But do stay behind us so we can keep you safe."
"Leave the actual fighting to us," said the other guard. "You are too young and inexperienced to handle beasts of this strength." He was probably referring to my low level.
"I can help heal you guys." I cast [Healing Touch] on them. The Blighted Golden Borpillars had spit acid at the guards that could penetrate the blue shield, damaging them and inflicting some sort of poison status. Whether I'd eventually choose the good or the bad path, I figured I should act nicely towards these guys for now.
"Our gratitude to you, youngling."
"The guards need promising healers like you."
Having successfully vanquished the monsters, our party leader pointed his spear down the tunnel. "Onwards! We must get this youngling to safety. The situation is becoming direr every passing moment."
Turning left into a wider tunnel, the leader held up his hand. Our group halted.
There was the familiar rumble of the earth signaling more monsters tunneling out. The guards assumed their fighting stances and cast their buffs. They warned me again to stay back as the blue dome covered us.
Leaving this place was getting tedious, but I was gaining Essence and Gli from all the monsters these guards killed, even if reduced by the level gap penalty. Gaining something without lifting a finger delighted me. It was like these guards were leeching me for free.
Three purple worms crawled out of the walls, one bursting upward from the ground, and two more dropped from the ceiling.
These Spite Maggroths, each the width of a Swineling but stretched to about three meters in length, opened their circular gaping mouth with several rows of serrated teeth. They were either level seventeen or eighteen, no problem for my village guard pets. But there was something wrong with them, or somewhat not wrong.
"They're not afflicted by the strange curse," I pointed out, using the term the guards had used earlier to refer to Bawu's chemicals.
"Your observation is correct, youngling," said the leader.
"But why are Spite Maggroths showing themselves?" asked the guard behind me. "Their kind is rarely seen in these tunnels, content of living in the solitude of darkness."
"They may be running away from something," mused the guard to my right.
"Escaping from something?" I muttered. If that wasn't a foreshadowing, then call me a box. A more significant threat was going to come later, I was certain of it. But for now, we had to fight these—or rather, my pet guards had to fight. As for me, I had a nifty experiment to try.
The Spite Maggroths crawled on the ground with amazing speed, contracting their bodies, anchoring their spiked behinds on the ground, and then shooting forward like a spring. It was comical to look out if they didn't move quickly that it looked terrifying and disgusting.
The guards kept them at bay, poking them with their spears.
I tore my eyes from the interesting sight to note down my health. It was increased by the buff from the guard behind me. Then I placed a [Lesser Replicant Totem] beside me, inside the blue dome, and checked its health.
"Where's a fucking calculator." The noises of battle drowned out my mumbling. "Let’s see…I was right." At level one, the [Lesser Replicant Totem] was supposed to copy ten percent of my attributes, but this two-faced goblin-like statue had more health than it was supposed to. The blue dome also buffed it.
Next, I put the Totem outside the blue dome. Its health was precisely ten percent of my health—my currently buffed health, not the original amount. And for the last test, I walked out of the blue dome.
The guard at the back of our formation protested. "Youngling, you should stay under my barrier."
"I'm just going to stand here behind you," I said as I rechecked my health. It went down to the unbuffed amount. "The enemies are coming from the front anyway. I'm sure they won't reach me with you, brave guards, protecting me."
"We must keep you in the center, for we'll never know if an enemy
"Yeah, yeah, just let me..." The Totem with me outside the blue dome copied exactly ten percent of my health. "Interesting..." And if I placed the Totem inside the dome, it would get buffed while I didn't.
Ideas flitted in my mind as I returned to the spot the guard pointed me to. There was a term for this...'double dipping', if I wasn't mistaken. My Totem double dipped on health modifiers. My own buffed health resulted in a beefier Totem, which was made even beefier by the same AoE buff. This could be the basis of...I wasn't sure what, but Herald Stone would eventually come up with something great.
The guards finished off the Sprite Maggroths. Essence and Gli flowed to me.
[ Unlocked: Aritu Form Ocadule Rank to 2 ]
Lvl. 1 Penitent Fortune Healing: In return for penitent prayer, as shown by your sacrifice of (-20% Movement Speed) and (-50 Evasion Rating), good fortune showered upon you by the ancestors allows you to perform healing feats beyond your skills.
Requires: Healing Touch Lvl. 3
Passive: Whenever you use [Healing Touch], there is a 20% chance to cast it twice on the same target. (Heal over Time buff does not stack for a target.) And if it does, generate +1 additional Rejuvenation Charge.
