(Book 1 Complete!) Side Quest [Isekai / LitRPG]

As the mist dispersed, Logan's eyes widened. This was not at all what Logan expected. He ran over to the opening contraption, Cassandra right behind him, and dropped to a knee.

"Are you okay?"

A young man had collapsed and fallen onto his side. He had fiery orange ringlet hair and ebony skin. Multiple earrings adorned each ear, with another two piercings on either side right where his shoulders connected with his neck, totaling four studs. His robes were purple and seemed to flow around him as if they were suspended in water despite his lying motionless.

As Logan lifted the guy's head off the ground and cushioned it with his palm, Cassandra set to work sliding her hovering hands over the length of the crumpled body.

"It's not a concussion… there's no mental affliction… his heart is beating a little slow, but his blood is flowing…"

The man wheezed and fell into a coughing fit. It came on so suddenly, Logan got surprised, but he quickly patted the man on the back until he calmed down.

The orange-haired guy blinked as if waking from a daze. He squinted and patted Logan's face, one finger sliding slightly up Logan's nostril in his disorientation. Logan pulled his neck back a little to dodge, but too late, and he didn't want to drop the guy's head on the hard floor.

"Sorry about that," the stranger said as he shook himself. He groaned and clutched his stomach as he pushed himself to his feet, swaying lightly.

"Are you hurt?" Logan asked. He figured this was the seer, and even though he had been sealed away in the peculiar box, maybe the mana explosion from the blight blast had still affected him.

"No, I'm fine." He finally managed to stand straight. "I'm just hungry. You don't have any food on you, do you?" Before waiting for an answer, he looked up through the open cellar door, through which the lower half of the grandfather clock was visible, as well as open air and cluttered debris. "I suppose my icebox was destroyed already."

Logan handed him a remnant dessert, still well-preserved from storage although without any enchantments, and a waterskin. Bromlin had some dried meat he offered as well, since this guy probably needed more than sugar for sustenance.

The man scarfed the food down and emptied the waterskin, wiping his mouth with the back of his wrist. "Ah. Thank you." He returned the emptied waterskin, cleared his throat, stood tall, wobbling only once with the effort, and bowed with a flourish. "I am Eurelius. And you must be the guests I expected." He gently grabbed Logan's shoulders and moved him a bit to the side, then walked toward the steps up to the surface. "Come, and I will explain the questions I am sure you have."

Logan idly watched Nugget and Flick, which was the name Mishki had given the squirrel, play. It was pointless in keeping the dragon a secret since the seer not only had already seen Nugget, but had even expected the dragon's arrival. But during all their conversations, the team still avoided mentioning Razor just to be safe.

Nugget was three times the size of Flick, but the squirrel was the one chasing Nugget. Any time Nugget hopped into the air, Flick used his agile tail as if it were a spare arm to grab a pebble from the ground, toss it up, then flick it with expert precision. Nugget would feign injury each time, nosediving into the dirt just to somersault and then turn around and start chasing Flick on foot, bounding like a rabbit.

"And so," finished the seer, "I realized all those materials I had gathered would be useful as spear traps, flame hurlers, and everything else in sealing myself away."

What they had assumed were the ramblings of a madman had actually been a stroke of inspired writing. The seer explained that divination did not predict the future clearly. Events in the near future were easier to catch hints of than those in the distance. That was why, way back when he first learned there would be something foul to sweep the land, he had prepared by gathering special enchanted items. Some of them fell into his lap during his journeys; others he sought and traded for. He himself didn't know what their ultimate purposes might be.

The perk divining rod was something he had actually traded with Mariv for a long time prior, where Eurelius gave Mariv a skill book he didn't need in exchange for the rod. It was only now that Logan realized the skill book Mariv had been given was the very same Interdimensional Storage Ripple tome the gnome had given him.

Logan even commented on how that cycle of trades had come full circle. It seemed too coincidental to Logan.

"Not a coincidence," said the seer. "If the System gave Mariv the means to summon you, and had the foresight to give you adequate storage during the earlier portions of your time with this beautiful golden creature—" Nugget paused mid-play to preen at the compliment before tumbling as Flick wrestled him in the distraction "—which provided the unhatched egg a position of safety, then the reavers effort must be something quite malicious toward the System. I'm even more certain that's the case since you only came here to seek me out because of the exact perk divining rod I received in exchange for that book."

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Alden peeled a drakla melon with his knife, occasionally tossing bits of the fruit's meat to the two playing creatures. "Just don't expect us to jump through all these hoops for you too, Logan."

Logan chuckled. "Hey, in my defense, I never asked to be summoned here." He was actually glad he had, though. This life was so much more interesting than his boring life back home. Yes, he faced a ton more danger doing even the most mundane things, but he was rewarded too, and it helped having others to share the experience with. His small group of game night friends back on Earth would be jealous if they ever found out. That thought made him sober just a little. They were probably among the only people he actually missed.

"Part of my divination," the seer continued, "said I would lose all my belongings." He gestured with a sigh toward his leveled house. "I suppose the blight blast took care of most of that." He paused as he lifted himself to his feet, placing his hands on his knees to get up. "But there's more I have hidden away. Some of my most valuable items. It's only a handful of them, but I do not wish to upset the System by making its foretelling false."

Logan shared an excited look with the others as the seer walked to a hollow tree stump and dipped half his torso into what must be a hidden spot beneath the ground that would have been unaffected by the blast.

"These," the man said when he returned with a bundle wrapped in a cloth, "are valuable and you may choose to keep or sell them. Consider them payment for saving me."

Senna tentatively pulled back the fabric wrapping it all together.

Bromlin gasped at the golden chalice sitting on top, and he lifted it gingerly in his hands. "By Pogon's beard, this is true firstdwarf metalwork."

The seer nodded. "It is." He turned to Logan and explained that some ancient relics still existed from a time before dwarves kept written records. This piece was apparently very expensive and worthy of a museum. It also filtered poison from any drink placed into it.

"It feels wrong for us to take all this from you," Cassandra said, even though she was peeking at the horde too. "Is there anything we can give you in return?"

The seer smiled. "The prophecy only foretold that I would not keep any of my current treasures. But it never said I couldn't begin collecting new ones. If you have any spare money, I would certainly appreciate it. It would help me hire others to help rebuild my walls."

After a quick check of their pooled resources, Logan and the others gave the seer an assortment of coins, totaling in value at seventy silver pieces. Most of that came from the others, since Logan only had a small amount of money himself, but they dismissed his apologies at not being able to contribute more, reminding him he had helped them learn new skills and reach higher levels far quicker than they ever would have on their own.

They felt good about the exchange. Everybody was aware it was nowhere near the price of the items they would receive, but since the man was intent on giving it away anyway, that was beyond their control. At least the sum would allow the seer to get back on his feet. He said he had already received a foretelling of a promising spot where he should go, which likely meant he would find a merchant or laborer able to help him.

"And this," said the seer, brushing away some of the valuable necklaces and rings, "is something you probably especially will be interested in." He held up the divining rod, and Logan grinned. "Here's how to use it."

This is incredible. He had a plan now of what skill he wanted to level next. That was going to be Slipstream Mirage, because the Dream affinity perk seemed the most valuable to him. The others he saw more value in different affinities. Just to make sure, though, he rechecked the options for his force-mana skill:

Threshold perk for Slipstream Mirage:
Force of Habit
Who says you need friends? Be your own! Creates up to three mirages to disperse at will, as long as one in the chain is still in motion. Lose 10% output for each mirage used this way.

Threshold perk for Null Pulse:
Blast Cannon
The perfect tool when you just need some space. Your anchoring point will now generate a 20% overall strength concussion in a 5-foot radius upon each Null Pulse.

Threshold perk for Eldertread:
Burdens of Wisdom
You may choose instead to descend at twice the speed by compressing your mass. Jumps will be shorter, but will double the pressure upon landing (without causing any additional fall damage).

After re-reading them, he felt confident with his decision to go with the Force of Habit.

Blast Cannon would always apply, even if he didn't want it to. It made sense if the purpose of the skill was purely combat-based and Logan was only ever on his own. But he had already used the skill outside of fights just to reach higher landings, or in close quarters near an ally. If he were dealing with tight quarters, he could risk damaging his setting around him or even the team.

Burden of Wisdom definitely seemed to be a good option because it could be a way to deal damage with the Life affinity. But he still had his gauntlets, and at least a way to buff others while he had the Life affinity. The utility side of it would work well if he needed to add pressure to things like stubborn buttons on the floor, but he realized he could do something similar with Force of Habit.

The skill mentioned that mirages could be chained as long as one mirage was still active. With that being the case, he could trigger all three mirages to start right at the same time. Sure, each one would lose 10% overall output, but that would still keep each mirage at 90% strength. And if all three mirages overlapped one another, that was basically almost three times as much pressure as a single one would be. At his current skill level, it would still be a little less than Logan's full force, but that would change as he continued increasing his level. So it provided another way to do a similar thing as the Springstep option, and would be more effective in combat.

He couldn't yet see the threshold perks for the other versions of Mindmirror Sigil until he activated the sister skill at least a first time, but that skill was only at level 13 anyway, so he had time to plan ahead for it. And he wanted a different affinity for the other relevant skills' threshold perks.

So, now all he needed to do was get Slipstream Mirage to go up by one level. And it would also be the perfect opportunity to give Cassandra the gift he had prepared.