He was getting close to where JP was fighting off the last few surviving trolls. He launched an acid dart at one of the nearest ones, catching it in the side before it realized he was there. JP had managed to whittle down the attackers until there were only two left, but the problem was that they were too exposed. “Everyone fall back to the Commissary!” he shouted as he ran closer. His approach and spell distracted one of the trolls, who exploded in a burst of fire as JP’s incendiary shots took it unawares. That left one who started making a hasty retreat, but Drew launched a fireball at it which caught it mid-jump, killing it before it could land.
“There’s another one casting lightning bolts. Rooftop probably,” Drew shouted, and JP immediately sheathed his pistols and unslung the rifle he had across his back as his eyes darted around the rooftops. Everyone else was making a beeline to the commissary and the safety it provided from ranged attacks.
“Don’t see anything,” JP shouted, as he walked backward, rifle at the ready.
“No idea where it came from, my guess would be rooftops,” Drew said, his head on a swivel, looking to the south and west. The eastern approach was wide open, but Drew considered that the least likely source for the troll to be attacking from since there was not enough cover there.
“If it’s smart, it’ll stay down now that its cover has been blown, attack us again later, or pin us down in the commissary,” Robbi said, having caught up with the two of them. Drew stumbled and looking down, realizing that there were small inch tall walls in irregular patterns all over the ground near him, Katie’s attempt at keeping the Troll’s at bay. “Careful, rough terrain,” He said, to JP, who was just about to trip on the small walls.
Drew turned and ran towards the commissary, convinced that the troll shaman was gone, for now at least. Besides, who knew what sort of dangers would be waiting for his people in the commissary? He faltered for a second when he realized he thought of the former prisoners as his people. When had that mental shift happened? Ever since the Advent, he’d been acquiring more and more of these rhetorical questions about the nature of his relationship with those around him and the world at large. However, his answers to those questions were frustratingly few.
Back at the relative safety of the commissary, Drew looked around. Bill was hugging a few people who seemed to be upset, but not injured, while Sarah was gathering the injured together to heal them. He looked around for Katie and found her organizing groups to scout out the commissary to ensure nothing had become mana twisted since the last time they were here. Daryl wasn’t visible and Drew hoped he would show up soon and maybe tell him where the shaman ran off to. Robbi and Trey were chanting something near the doorway, hopefully creating an illusion to prevent them from being attacked from afar.
Drew glanced at JP, who had turned a shopping cart on its side and was using it to prop up his rifle as he scanned the parking lot for threats. Feeling slightly useless, he walked over to Katie, waiting until she was done sending a group out, doling out glowrocks and light sticks. Drew really needed to figure out who was making the light sticks. They were more like flashlights than the rocks and could easily light things up at a distance. While he was waiting, the blinking notification appeared in the corner of his vision, meaning he had finally dropped out of combat by the system’s reckoning. Hopefully, that meant Daryl had killed the shaman.
Congratulations, Midshipman. Your Minor Energize xatherite has reached level 4. Charge requirement has reduced.
Congratulations, Midshipman. Your Minor Lightning Bolt xatherite has reached level 4. Damage has increased.
Congratulations, Midshipman. Your Minor Mana Shield xatherite has reached level 4. Damage absorbed has increased.
Congratulations, Midshipman. Your Acid Dart xatherite is ready to be upgraded.
He had been looking forward to acid dart leveling up for quite some time now; it was hopefully going to be worth casting soon. He activated the upgrade immediately, wincing as the beginnings of a headache formed, but he was already casting energize on himself causing it to disappear almost immediately.
Xatherite Crystal Name: Minor Acid Arrow
Xatherite Color: Red
Xatherite Grade: Common
Xatherite Rarity: Widespread
Type: Magic
Effect: Creates two fast moving balls of acid from a finger that travels in a straight line until it impacts a target, dealing small amounts of acid damage.
Mana recharge time: 16.1 seconds
Congratulations, Midshipman. Linked skilclass="underline" “Minor Shocking Acid Arrow” has been obtained.
Linked Skill Name: Minor Shocking Acid Arrow
Xatherite Color(s): Red
Linked Skill Grade: Common
Type: Magic
Effect: Creates two fast moving balls of acid from a finger that travels in a straight line until it impacts a target, dealing small amounts of acid damage. Upon contact, each ball will impart a small amount of electrical damage.
Mana recharge time: 16.1 seconds
“Well, that’s interesting,” Drew muttered under his breath. Apparently linked skills could not be created with skills that were in the lowest third of the grade skills; or at least some linked skills required a certain grade before they would activate, even if you had the appropriate xatherite in a linked slot. He had also been correct in that when it upgraded from basic to common it had gained greatly in effectiveness. He glanced over his map and wondered if there would be a similar upgrade in quality when he went from rare to advanced. For some reason, he didn’t doubt that it would.
The apparently nonlinear amount of experience needed to level up xatherite meant it would be quite a while before he got any of his xatherite past that barrier though, especially considering that his rare xatherite still hadn’t even attuned… Although Aeon hadn’t attuned yet either, so maybe rarity played a role in how difficult it was to level and attune. However, since he had no idea how much extra ‘rarity’ singular or limited had compared to common, widespread, or uncommon, that wouldn’t help him determine base experience costs much.
Drew really wished he could go back and ask Ares questions about the basics of the system. There were so many things he just didn’t know and didn’t have a good way of figuring out. He frowned and shook his head, realizing that Katie was looking at him.
“Drew?”
“Oh sorry, was upgrading xatherite,” Drew said sheepishly. He had taken the system’s awarding of xp as a sign to say they were out of danger, but that clearly wasn’t the case. “I’m sorry, what did you need me to do?”
“Hold these glowrocks and walk around. See if anything attacks you,” Katie said, holding out a mesh bag with about six glowrocks in it, creating a much brighter light source than an individual rock would have. “I’ve told everyone to run towards the light if they find anything. Head to the canned goods aisle first, that’s our best bet for ready food.”
Drew nodded and took the mesh bag. Glancing back out the door, JP and Robbi standing there staring out at the parking lot comforted Drew though. There was something off about the two cops, but that didn’t mean that they both weren’t excellent in a fight. It was nice to have someone else who could deal some serious damage on his side… If they were on his side? He pushed those thoughts away since there was no way for him to prove his suspicions one way or the other, and he didn’t doubt it was Robbi and JP’s primary goal to bring people back to Nat’s Park.