Feral Beast Master: A Gamelit Adventure, page 27
“Say no, Kaden.” Sara’s look of disgust told him as much as her words. “I knew a minor council member. He had all the trouble and none of the authority.”
Kaden was ready to get out hunting. Ready to learn and loot and risk it all with his friends by his side. “Mistress Scylla, I won’t be attending. But I’d appreciate you telling the City Council, the barracks are my gift to them.”
“He’s an idiot,” Eve said, not under her breath. She set down Vip to rant. “You are an idiot. How did you make it to level fifteen without knowing the System doesn’t work like that? Everything has to be earned. You can’t give something that large without inviting disaster. But everything they’ve got, they need or want.”
And it came to him. “Sara, got a quill and ink?”
“When am I ever without one?” she asked. “What kind of Party Leader would I be if I came that unprepared?”
He scribbled down his demand and handed it to Mistress Scylla.
She read it and sighed. “Young man, you can’t be serious.”
“Party Leader, what do you think?” he looked to Sara. “You want to go negotiate with a bunch of old people, or you want to go find Moon Shadow’s big brother and teach him who’s the boss?”
It wasn’t a close vote, because Mistress Scylla’s vote didn’t count.
“What did you ask for in exchange for the barracks?” Trella whispered as they walked out toward the woods, with Trinity already crashing through the underbrush.
He told her, and she had to stop walking, she laughed so hard. “What are you going to do with a closed down zoo?”
Kaden had ideas.
34
THANKS
Thanks
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35
SNEAK PEEK - LOST BEAST MASTER
Sneak Peek - Lost Beast Master
Spring neared, and the steady melt of snow had turned the twilight brush of Fangwood into an icy, muddy mess. Kaden Birch hung from a tree trunk, watching and waiting. His arms burned, but he held on despite the wet wood and the weight.
*Are you sure they’ll take this path?* The message came in tapped out code on his hand from Trella, who perched in the fork of a branch higher up.
He gave a quick nod.
Fangwood was part of his Holding, and as such, he knew the paths that crisscrossed it, and these trails were home to monsters he hadn’t fought. A clicking, clattering sound carried through the forest.
From further down the trail, a pair of chitinous creatures emerged. They walked upright like men but had six legs, two for walking, two for holding a sword and shield, and two to drag their prey with. They’d killed a unicorn, and good riddance, and pulled it down the trail, heading deeper into the wood.
[Formicidian]
Ants are some of the most tireless of workers, the fiercest of fighters, and the most patient of enemies. They come in colonies, and to wander into the nest is to discover just how every path becomes a trap and every branch leads closer to your doom. These are not Beasts. Your skills reveal nothing about them.
HP: 300/300
Mana: 10/10
Skills: Edged Weapons, Shieldwork
Talents:Acid Touch
As they crossed under the tree, Kaden struck.
He summoned a Beast, a glistening red hydra, Trinity, the TriTerror. She stepped out onto the trail ahead of the Formies, as Kaden called them, and from her left, serpentine head, called out a challenge.
The Formies dropped their stolen unicorn and drew another shield and sword each from their Inventory, and advanced on Trinity.
Kaden dropped off the tree, summoning his War Hammer, Remembrance of Battle, and aimed for a shield arm. Shield leg? Shield appendage. The Axe head of Remembrance sliced through the top arm and chipped the chitin armor on the second Formie. Now, the two pivoted to face him. Which was perfect, because with Kaden and Trinity bearing the attention,
Backstab! Trella appeared behind one, driving both of her black daggers into its thorax. Before it could turn, she’d disappeared, leaving a shadowy shape, her Dark Deception, in her place.
But her Deception was more than an illusion. It drew a shadowy dagger of its own and hacked at the nearest formie, slicing an antenna from one’s head before disappearing under their blows.
A beam of white light lanced out of the darkness between trees, hitting the other Formie, and it stumbled forward.
“Move in!” Sara Scylla shouted. “We’re here if you need backup.”
Eve Black, the party healer emerged from the woods, holding her Lash-Tail whip, which could saw flesh from the living, and began striking the formies.
Beside her, Sara stood. Her Summoning, a Cosmic Horror, produced its snake green pseudopods from her back, but she stayed just out of range.
“All right. No more trickery,” Trella said. As a [Shadow Blade], she preferred stealth, but for now, it was time to be direct. But as she stepped in to strike, the Formie swung back with its sword.
Kaden scooped up the rusted metal shield the Formie carried and put his arm through it. Remembrance could block, but the less damage he did, the better. Instead, he stepped toward the Formie, shield raised.
The sword strike on the shield dented the edge, but kept the attention. And it hurt. The shield had no padding, and the leather straps were thick and awkward. But Sara’s title, Guardian of Life, would slowly heal.
For now, he shouted another challenged and kept the pressure on the Formies.
One Formie staggered forward, its sword strike missing, as daggers blossomed in its arm joints. When it fell, Kaden stepped over the corpse, turning his attention to the other, while Trella kneeled atop the fallen one to finish it.
“Keep hitting it,” Sara called to Eve. “Kaden, be ready in case it turns on her.”
Eve lashed out with her whip, wrapping it around the Formie’s neck, then yanked it back so the whip uncoiled, tearing chunks from the Formie.
It didn’t so much turn as give in to the force of the whip, but its sword swung out and struck Eve, sinking deep into her shoulder.
Kaden charged forward, bashing the Formie with his shield and tackled it to the ground. “All yours,” he said sitting atop the creature’s abdomen. It hammered his shield over and over, putting gashes in the thin metal and chipping the edges.
You have learned a new skill: Shieldwork.
[Shieldwork]
There’s a certain magic in putting something between you and the enemy, in letting it take the blows rather than you. You have learned that letting an inanimate object be battered and bashed is better than taking damage and healing it back. At higher levels, a shield can be a weapon, too.
Kaden had once dreamed of taking a [Shield] class, but the System had other plans, and he wouldn’t trade [Beast Master] for anything.
Eve stood a few feet away, using [Moon Strike] over and over, until at last the Formie froze up, each of its legs curling inward. “Yes!” she shouted. “Level! I’m finally fifteen! And a skill! And a Talent!”
Kaden looked back to Trella, who gave him the most wonderful smile. “Fifteen. It only took me, what, four months? And I’m still not caught up.”
Sara and Kaden had both foregone experience to make sure Eve and Trella got the bulk of it, but even so, Kaden was now level 16.
He pulled up his status while Eve healed her wounds.
[Kaden Birch]
Class: Beast Master
Level: 16
HP: (185/185)
Mana: (72/72)
Skills: Identify (5), Traps (3), Blunt Weapons (5), Edged Weapons(4), Resist Cold (2), Resist Fire (2), Resist Stun (4), Resist Poison (6), War Hammer (5), Mana Dart (9), Mana Spike (3) Crippling Strikes (4), Brutal Blows (8), Resist Status Effects (1), Field Harvest (2), Wood Carving (5), Shieldword (1)
Hidden Skills: Beast-Empathy (Legendary, 6). Beast-Speech (Legendary, 4) Beast-Heart (Legendary, 3), Beast Knowledge (Epic, 2)
Talents: Hard to Kill.
Quests: None.
Titles: Leader of the Pack, Master of the House, Guardian of Life
Inventory Slots: 22
Not bad. Months of Mana Dart had raised his mana high enough that he had soul space for all three of his beasts, and soon he would be able to take Mana Well, and provide his party with all the mana they could use.
“Field Harvest them?” Sara asked.
He rushed to do so—but they didn’t give anything. The unicorn gave him a unicorn horn and hide, and he dumped the Formie’s terrible weapons into his Inventory.
Trinity had taken to feasting on the corpses, and he stopped to scratch her short, stocky torso. “You did great there. Eve leveled, Trella leveled. I promise, first wolf that attacks now is all yours.”
His TriTerror, too, had gained two levels, though no new skills or talents. Beasts did not normally level, gain skills or classes, but Kaden’s [Beast Master] class enabled their growth. And he secretly suspected it affected Trella’s Deception and Sara’s Cosmic Horror.
“Let’s get out of here. I need to make attribute point decisions,” Trella said, as she led the way out of Fangwood. Twenty steps from the edge, Fangwood’s perpetual twilight lifted, and later afternoon spring sun shone down on the party.
At the farm house, saws and hammers rang out.
Kaden hadn’t had the gold to pay the [Builder] Willis to fix everything. A thin layer of [Decay] sat over the farm, lessened by the Builder’s work and a gift from James Dervish, the Saint of Summoning.
Mr. Willis was happy to take payment as Kaden had it, because repairs to a place as neglected as Kaden’s Hold didn’t come fast. He waved from the roof, where fresh shingles stood out as crisp white wood in a sea of gray and brown. “Got a moment?”
While the others went to discuss points and talents, Kaden headed toward the ladder, where he climbed onto the roof. “How’s the construction going?”
“That’s what I wanted to discuss. The main house is done. It shouldn’t have been. There were fifty points of decay on this building, that’s why I said fifty gold. If I thought it was thirty seven, I would have said thirty seven and charged thirty seven. I don’t cheat my customers.” A Builder’s work wasn’t just the hammers or saws, it was the application of [Builder’s Blessing] which reversed the effects of Decay.
Kaden climbed to the small bell tower on top of the building and drew out the [Icon of the Builder]. “This was a present I was given. It’s probably the cause of the difference.”
The Icon of the Builder had the power to reverse decay, though it would take so long, Kaden hadn’t hesitated to pay Mr. Willis.
Mr. Willis whistled. “You…you don’t know what that’s worth. You could have paid me to fix everything with just that, and I’d still owe you.”
“It’s not mine. It’s a loan, and when the Farmhouse is done, I’ll give it back.”
“Then you better give it back. We have a bunch of rails to fix, but the Decay on the house is gone. And I put the door in the basement you asked for,” Mr. Willis said.
You have fulfilled your promise to Builder Holden Willis to use him for repairs on your farmhouse. You are no longer bound by this agreement.
Kaden surveyed the other outbuildings. Four guest towers stood at the edges of the farm, each two story round building. A blacksmith’s forge sat to the left of the FarPortal pavilion, and a workshop to the right where once, crafters had worked leather and carpenters wood, and a storage chamber whose preservation charm still worked, where a year’s worth of food would never spoil. “What do you think I should fix next? You and I made a deal and you thought you’d get fifty gold. I’m willing to agree to use you for the next building.”
Mr. Willis wasn’t a large man, but he had a smile that would fit a man twice his size. “If you’re open to the idea, I have an apprentice who’s just about ready to set out on his own. Why don’t you talk it over with your wife?”
“Trella’s not my wife,” he said. It wasn’t painful, it was true. She was more.
“I thought the snake girl’s name was Sara,” he said. “Talk it over with her while we work, but I want you to use my Apprentice. He’s the one fitting your rails, name’s Lark.”
Kaden agreed and slid down the ladder to go find Sara.
What he found was a celebration, as the three sat, sharing a bottle of wine. Sara poured him a glass. “We’re all level fifteen or better now, and the range is close enough that it doesn’t matter.”
Eve sat with Vip in her lap, but she raised her glass. “Level fifteen. I can’t say I thought I’d see it. But you and Sara gave up so much experience—”
“There’s always more experience if you live to see another day,” Kaden said.
Sara’s saying, and she beamed with pleasure.
“I didn’t get a choice in my talent. Again. But want to see my new skill? It’s a resurrection.” Eve shared her status.
[Life Exchange]
Death is not the end. At least, death isn’t the end for certain. Life and death are a delicate balance, but you understand how to make a trade, one life for another. Sacrifice a life to return it. Larger creatures will result in the recipient having more health, but with a higher rate of failure. At high levels, you can use some of your life to make the exchange.
[Unshakeable]
Your mental focus is so high that your actions may not be disrupted by status effects. Cast spells, kill enemies, cook dinner, you will not waver in your attention.
That was a fairly standard resurrection. Kaden still woke with nightmares of the rat that had been shoved into his mouth for his last resurrection. At least now, the level penalty couldn’t drop them below fifteen.
“Trella?” Kaden looked to her. “Any new skills?”
Since Trella had received skills she shouldn’t have gotten until level twenty five, no one expected a skill, but there was always hope.
“A talent. A talent I didn’t get to choose,” Trella said.
[Limber]
You find it easier to twist and turn, to avoid and bend as needed to preserve life and limb. Grappling attacks against you fail unless the attacker has counter-skills.
Sara seemed quite happy. “That’s perfect for you. Higher level mobs usually have a counter for [Backstab] but this will ensure you get away. I’m sorry you didn’t get to choose. Unlike you.” She turned on Kaden. “Make a choice. Right now.”
He’d gotten a new talent option at fifteen, but the System was cruel. In addition to the previous ones, it has added two new ones to the possible choices. And he wanted both so badly it hurt.
[Brass Knuckles]
Your fists take no damage from unarmed combat, and count as blunt weapons for the purpose of causing damage and injuries.
[Last Man Standing]
While other members of your group survive, you take less damage. The lower your health goes, the greater your resistance to damage. This talent offers no benefits if you are alone.
Brass Knuckles would work with his [Brutal Blows] skills to make it so that even if he didn’t have room to swing Remembrance, Kaden could still dish out damage. And it felt right for his build, giving him flexibility in how and where he attacked. When he took a class on unarmed fighting at the Guild, it would synergies with that, too.
Last Man Standing, on the other hand, fit his role in the party. They didn’t have a [Shield], and Sara was adamant that expanding the party before twenty five was a terrible decision. It would make him even better at defending the others.
Initially, Sara said ‘Take your time.’ No matter how many times he read the descriptions, she agreed that those were fine options, ones that would make him an asset. Then she started asking if he’d come to a conclusion.
Then, for a month straight, asked at breakfast what he picked.
With every battle, he hoped for a secret “additional talent” perk and every night concluded it wasn’t coming. The Guild trainers had been willing to speak by bird, and no surprise the [Shield] master insisted Last Man Standing was the only way he’d make it to twenty five, while the [Man At Arms] plied him with stories of how fast he’d level when all his enemies were dead.
He made the choice. Hoped it was the right one. “Done. Last Man Standing.”
“Yes!” Sara shouted. “I wanted to tell you to pick that one, but you were so in love with that stupid brass knuckles talent, I thought you’d never listen. You have a Party. You have a role in it. And it’s not like you won’t get to splatter more skulls with Remembrance if you’re not on the floor.”
Trella shrugged. “Twenty will come.”
Eve was whispering to Vip. Then she looked up “What were we talking about? I need a rat. I need one alive. And I need a favor from one of you.”
“Not happening,” Kaden said. He had a scar from the last favor, where Sara got [Archery] by shooting at him. Level sixteen wasn’t far above fifteen, but it was a level, and he meant to keep it.
“Let’s head to town, dump ingredients on the crafters, and see if we can get a Rank 4 Dungeon run. Level twenty would be ideal. Kaden could probably handle twenties by himself, but he won’t have to.” Sara spoke with sheer pride, and she wasn’t wrong. They’d taken down nineteens long before. An even rank dungeon wouldn’t provide a challenge, proper loot, or experience.
