Chapter 33
The plan had always been what it haphazardly became. They were supposed to round up as many of those little four creatures as possible. Phony had used the benefits of her family's knowledge. She knew they gathered around water sources, hoarding it and using the water as a hunting tool. When Wes naturally came up with the idea of drowning them with his ability, she couldn’t help but wonder if he naturally came up with the ability or if it was his strange trait helping him once again.
And although she had done most of the work preparing for their plan, she also knew what Wes was sacrificing to put their plan into action. She was meant to be the last resort by the tunnels, naturally funneling the Clan members. The different tunnels she had spent excavating with her Mana Arrow were meant to be no more than distractions to slow the members from racing to her. If they had succeeded, she didn’t know. The long tunnel that Wes had argued for, however, had. It made it easy to always know how to hold her hand in the direction of the clan members. And even as the tunnel started to widen by her aim being off by a little bit here and there, it did nothing but widen the tunnel a little more. Every time the tunnel widened a bit due to her slightly misplaced aim, the clan members would try to fill the empty space, only to get in each other's way. Those precious extra seconds that the clan members fumbled with each other gave her time to think about her next shot, but also over the course of nine hours. Those seconds added up to decrease her Mana Expenditure.
By the time Wes had woken up from his little nap, she was more exhausted from having to keep focus than she was from the constant firing of the Mana Arrow.
Although the plan had always been to drown as many as they could, when Wes started to flood the tunnels, she couldn’t help but feel concerned about how close the members were to the surface. The sheer volume of limbs she saw with every burst of Mana made the plan seem doomed to failure. Especially after tasting the outside air, she couldn’t help but feel compelled to turn back to keep the closest members at bay.
That all of course changed when Wes activated an ability she hadn’t expected. The sheer volume of energy she felt in the air made the hair all over her body stand. It was not the same as when she felt a high-level Pather. When a Pather of a certain caliber used any ability, Mana would always saturate the air; it would be attuned to them and could only be combated by an equally potent Mana source.
What was coming off Wes was different, more pure. Its fundamental nature seemed to want to operate on something different than her own Man.
Phony up until that point had felt experience like any other. When you killed anything with a high enough level, it would hit you like a rapid heartbeat in your chest. It was a fleeting endeavor; as soon as it would register, it would dissipate.
What Wes shared with her felt like a tidal wave of experience. The light of the moons overhead seemed to vibrate against the dark forest ground where it poked through the canopy.
When Phony felt her heart start to settle, she brought up her status.
You have earned the required experience to nullify your penalty. This is your warning: continued violation of your pledge again will result in a permanent penalty.
Probation(Twenty-Five Levels)
Congratulations, you have leveled up(+37)
Probation(Completed)
3,125,000 accumulated stat points returned.
Probation lifted, further violations frowned upon.
Points Available: 4,625,000
Ability Choice Available
Name: Phoneuo of 7738M
Race: Human
Age: 24
Unique Abilities: Hallowed Domain
Abilities: Runners High, Mana Shield, Redirection,
SharpenedMind, LifeSteal, Mana Arrow, ManaSlash
Skills: Swordmanship, MinorLeatherwork, Braiding,
Fluid Tongue, Workers High, Chopping, …(x36)
Achievement(s): Last Stand
Trait(s): 1
Current Status: Healthy
Level 255
Health:10,050,000(10,042,553)
Stamina:4,150,000(2,743,210)
Mana:7,050,000(2,667,722)
Strength:9,000,000
Dexterity:7,000,000
Available: 4,625,000
Phony grinned from ear to ear. She had wasted a lot of Mana thanks to Wes’s nap, but she felt that she made out like a bandit thanks to his Symbiosis ability. No doubt she had accumulated quite of experience during the tunnel escape, but she guessed that was only a tenth of what Wes gave her.
Now, where do I put my gains? Stamina for sure, and probably the rest in Mana. It is really low thanks to Wes.
After debating with herself for a few moments, Phony decided to go with her gut.
Name: Phoneuo of 7738M
Race: Human
Age: 24
Unique Abilities: Hallowed Domain
Abilities: Runners High, Mana Shield, Redirection,
SharpenedMind, LifeSteal, Mana Arrow, ManaSlash,
Paramours Lament
Skills: Swordmanship, MinorLeatherwork, Braiding,
Fluid Tongue, Workers High, Chopping, …(x36)
Achievement(s): Last Stand
Trait(s): 1
Current Status: Healthy
Level 292
Health:10,050,000(10,042,553)
Stamina:5,000,000(3,593,215)
Mana:10,825,000(6,442,732)
Strength:9,000,000
Dexterity:7,000,000
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Available: 0
Satisfied with her allocation, Phony moved on to her ability selection.
Ability Choice available, please choose one.
Life Steal(Upgrade)
BattleCry
Paramours Lament
Phony was astonished, not at her luck of getting an ability that would synergize with her Unique ability, but at the unknown ability she had never heard of. Most abilities had made their way into Path Guides. With her detrimental trait, she had made sure to educate herself on the finer details of most guides and abilities. She looked over at the lying down Wes, who no doubt was going through his own status with his large grin.
The Life Steal upgrade was the ideal choice for her; it would allow her to fight longer, fight harder. But never having heard of the last ability meant she would be giving up her chance at something new and unknown.
Sighing to herself, Phony chose option three. The side of her that loved discovering something that no one had before forced her hand.
As with all other abilities, as soon as she selected, a flood of information entered her mind. Tisking, she looked at Wes with his smug grin.
Wes caught Phony’s sour face and said, “What?”
***
Dozel couldn’t help but adjust her direction from the perimeter to where she left Wes and Phony. The odd Mana that was in the air was unlike anything she had ever felt before. Fearing the worst, she raced toward her two companions. As she was just about to meet them, a flood of experience hit her. Her momentum carried her the rest of the way out of the surrounding trees. She stood in disbelief at Wes. Knowing full well what he had done, she brought her status up after a little back and forth with Wes.
Congratulations, you have leveled up(+67)
Points Available: 8,375,000
Ability Choice(s) Available(+3)
Name: Brugunnardozel of ChiShiKi Empire(109899Fe)
Race: Coeus
Age: 31
Unique Abilities: GroundedGrowth
Abilities: Growing Shadow, RunnersHigh, SilentDeath
Skills: Swordsmanship, Shield, Armor, MinorRepair,
Cooking, FireStarting, Washing …(x14)
Achievement(s): N/A
Trait(s): 1
Current Status: Healthy
Level: 264
Health:15,000,000(14,998,454)
Stamina:11,000,000(9,634,991)
Mana:12,625,000(12,237,134)
Strength:5,000,000
Dexterity:22,000,000
Available: 8,375,000
Dozel couldn’t help but smile. The only question she had was, how would she allocate her stats now? And would she continue to forgo her abilities in favor of finishing off her contract early, like she had been doing?
Dozel told herself, I’m going to have to confer with them. I’m not alone anymore. Our growth should be complementary, and I’m severely lacking in abilities compared to them.
***
Wes had a hard time keeping the smile from his face. Using Eternal Spark had no doubt cost him, but thanks to his rapid gain in levels. He could put that far behind him. Looking at his status, he couldn’t help but feel giddy with excitement.
Congratulations, you have leveled up(+134)
Congratulations, you have reached Level 100 faster than 100 percent of available Pathers. A just reward is being calculated. Please wait.
Congratulations on rising to the top 100 trillion on the leader board.
To gain access to the leaderboard, continue your ascension on the Path.
Wager life itself.
Wager(+5)
Name: Wesley of 29744C
Race: Human
Age: 27
Unique Abilities: Imperial Over Metric, Back In My Day
Abilities: Deposit, Eternal Spark, Cleanse, Stopwatch,
Vigilant, Deviant, Symbiosis, H20,
Party Chat, Topographer, Superscription
Skills: N/A
Achievement(s): Bloody Soul, Pragmatic Savant,
Pacifists Envy
Trait(s): 3
Current Status: Healthy
Level 144
Savings: 7,564,441
Next Level: 20,736
Level 10 Exp Per Sec: .3456
Current Exp: 81.216
Wes couldn’t help himself be in awe of his status. He tried many times to erase the smile from his face, but just scanning his status made his smile return. It was about the time he caught Phony giving him a disapproving look that he gathered himself enough to stand up and close his status.
“So, how good were the gains for you two?” Wes asked.
Dozel burst out with a small giggle. “Master Wesley, I fear that you have been given the short end of this deal.”
Wes nodded along to Dozel’s words with a smug grin before moving his eyes over to Phony. He raised his eyebrows expectantly over and over again.
“I’m not saying that I am ungrateful. But if this gets out, you will be swarmed. We are never to speak of this again unless we are under my mother’s protection. Do you both understand me?” Phony asked.
Dozel agreed immediately, but Wes, however, took a little longer to agree. But eventually, even he put two and two together and nodded in agreement. While walking over to the hole, he asked. “Do either of you know if there are still any in there?”
“No, there is not.” A voice rang out all around the three.
Phony immediately took a knee and bowed her head while Wes and Dozel still looked around.
It took Wes a little over ten seconds to recognize where he had heard the voice before. “Is that you, Runar?”
“Watching you three has been rather perplexing. You were the single most boring thing on this planet, followed by being the single most exciting thing in this system.” Runar floated down from the sky elegantly. His three-piece suit in the illuminated night only became visible to the three when he was directly overhead.
Wes took note of his face, looking for any damage left from their last meeting. When he found none, he walked over and asked. “What gives? I don’t mean to be rude and all, but why are you here?”
Another voice rang out, “Usually when a prime descends, a boy kneels.”
Wes felt mana slam down on his shoulders just like he had with Argyros on the day he buried his sister. This time, however, he was not having as tough a time keeping himself upright. Breathing was still difficult, but he could resist the pressure. Wes looked over to Dozel, who had been pushed onto both knees, her face hinting that she was under duress. Looking around to find the face for the voice, he turned around in place several times until he on one of those turns, he spotted another man standing next to Runar.
The man looked a lot like Runar, his face showing the slightest bit of difference around his eyebrows. His forehead jutted forward more than Runar's, and he had a weaker jaw. But overall, they looked to be brothers.
“You wanna stop this?” He pointed to the girls on either side of him.
The man’s eyes became predatory. “You do not give me orders, boy.”
“I didn’t give you orders; I asked if you would.” Wes shot back while he came back with a devious thought.
The new man walked over to Wes until he stood directly in front of him. “You will learn your place as all in our family do.”
“Sorry to disappoint you, Tyberous, but I am not in your family. Neither are these two; these two are now my family.” Wes pointed to the girls again while holding eye contact with the Elder. “They are now a part of my family, and you will show them respect.”
Phony went to speak, but Wes immediately cut her off. “Silence.”
Tyberous said, “I see you got yourself a seer ability. Not bad, but do you have the power to go along with it? Do you really think you can stand up to me?”
Wes laughed. “Oh hell no, you can probably squish me like a bug. But then I'm betting Runar and Nia won’t be too happy with you.” Wes looked around the Elder and asked, “You would probably try and stop him, no?”
Runar only offered a smile back. Wes settled back into his original position. “Tyberous, you seem to have the wrong impression of me. I don’t wish to be a spoiled brat, but your family wants to use me as much as I don’t want to use them. So let’s finish this nonsense. You are forever dead to me. Not because I can kill you or anything. Nah, I don’t really want that either. But I will no longer engage with you ever again.”
“Oh, why is that?” Tyberous asked.
Wes didn’t answer; he walked around Tyberous toward Runar. Directing his words at Runar, he said, “I don’t know if I like you yet, Runar, but you and I still have a chance at getting along. Since you have not threatened what is mine, you only threatened me. I can live with that. But you will find that if you ever threaten my family, you will be cut off from ever forming any semblance of a relationship.”
Tyberous' frustration boiling over, chided. “You dare disrespect a prime.”
Wes continued the last few steps and offered his hand for Runar to shake.
Runar’s smirk gave away that he was enjoying their little back and forth. He took Wes’s hand while Wes said, “Are you hearing that? Sounds like farting, maybe?
“You will come to learn respect, boy,” Tyberous demanded.
“Yes, not for you, though. He has made his intentions quite clear. And seeing as I have pledged levels in support of Wesley, you will be moving along.”
Wes could not see Tyberous' face, but the rustling of his suit gave away the shock he had from learning about Runar’s pledge. Only able to see Runar hold eye contact with Tyberous behind him. Wes added, “You know what, Runar, I like you now.”
