NOVEL NEXT 3.30: Hopes
As Arisia escorted Ash and Fabian toward the closest platform, Zerathstra looked down at where the fight just took place and spreading his awareness through the trees and their roots, he spread his senses out, confirming that no stray A-rank was approaching to investigate. There had been one, sure, but while it had actually approached at first, it went back to circling the wide area around Thalis as soon as the fight was suspended.
The fact that they've drawn its attention enough that it dared trespass in my territory says a lot, though, Zerathstra thought as he sensed the blue lobster's aura pulse in the distance. It was itching for a fight, but he guessed the recent beating he'd given it was still fresh on the crustacean's mind.
It made sense that Velistraine would attract its attention, but Velistraine hadn't used any of her active Skills. She had not even used much when it came to her Aspects. No. The lobster had been attracted by Henry.
This is absurd, Zerathstra thought with a chuckle, shaking his head. The fact that they managed to hurt and immobilize her through her defensive passives while still at the very start of b-rank…
Zerathstra eyed the duo as they floated their way back up to Thalis to get some rest, then eyed the approaching Velistraine and Arisia. "My humbled student," he called out, a wide grin on his face.
Velistraine rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Let's get it over with. You were humbled, Velistraine. You underestimated them, Velistraine. We all knew they were little monsters. Yeah, they hit a bit harder than I expected for fresh B-ranks. And yeah, they're a pain in the ass. Like, I couldn't make a move without 16 pairs of eyes catching me. They couldn't react fast enough, but they better not be able to with nearly 150 levels between us. The fact that they managed to draw blood says enough."
Zerathstra just smiled and glanced toward Arisia to find her chuckling too, which took him a bit by surprise. He glanced back toward the duo as they disappeared back in the city and nodded sagely as Velistraine continued to grumble, which only seemed to annoy her more.
"Screw you, Zer. I'm getting a drink," she said, as she kicked the air under her feet and flew away.
Zerathstra didn't miss the small smile she was barely holding on to. She had fun, too.
Stretching his arms above his head, he turned to Arisia, and she nodded back. He was hopeful. Cautiously hopeful. And whatever happened, he was looking forward to seeing how far those two would get.
***
On the second day past the duel with Velistraine, the intensity of the energies that permeated the air of the Pillar showed their first sign of weakness, announcing that the Wave was on its way out. Which meant that soon, Henry and Maurice would be leaving Thalis. At least, temporarily.
Henry fully planned on leaving a couple of his Shadows around. Tuck them away so he'd be able to access them whenever he needed. The only worry was how far he'd be able to stretch this new network of his.
I should have a pretty decent range, Henry thought as he popped back above water. He'd been helping in the culling of a wave of C and B-rank silvery crabs. Considering the number of Shadow-relays I can create and considering how much every level in Dancing Shadows increases the range.
Up above, he found Maurice grumbling, glaring down at the three metallic orbs as if they'd stolen his secret cache of kraken roe. In those couple of days, Maurice had tried a few times to crack through the orbs' anti-divination enchantments but unfortunately, he got no success there.
Still, Henry had to admit he felt a little sad at having to leave soon. He'd come to really enjoy his stay in Thalis. The toughest part of his stay had been having to swallow the many early criticisms and harsh training of Arisia, but even she had mellowed down significantly.
Henry even caught her smiling like… twice in a single day.
"Not having access to the stat purchasing menu doesn't mean you can't improve your stats," she said when he and Maurice asked about the subject. "In fact, now you won't be limited as much in how many you can acquire at every stage, though the cost will be increased significantly as you will not be as efficient as the System itself. Here's what you need to do."
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Arisia went on to explain the method one raised their stats without the System's assistance. Henry would need to dip into the energies represented by the tokens and infuse and hold them into his body. He'd have to saturate and refresh those energies right on the edge of discomfort, and then he'd have to wait until that part of him was conditioned and reinforced enough to earn him a point. Some stats would be easier to figure than others. Like Constitution, where he had to focus the energies on the connective tissues of his skin and the resilience of his flesh. For Strength, he'd have to do the same, but focus more on his muscles. Spirit was the simplest, as he needed to infuse his soul with those energies, while Perception and Dexterity would be a little more challenging. After all, Perception wasn't just about sight and hearing, in Henry's case. As for Dexterity, it'd be a balance between his brains, nerves, and muscles.
Suffice it to say, he had his work cut out for him. But he had help. Back in his guest home, Henry had already put a few of his Octominds on the task. The two latter stats should be easier to increase, considering how far behind they still were. Bringing up the stats in question, Henry whistled.
They're really getting up there, aren't they.
Name: Henry Dubois
Species: Veilwatch Kraken (B+) - Level 1
Strength: 84
Constitution: 110
Spirit: 100
Perception: 64
Dexterity: 66
Now, he just needed to stockpile tokens, his excess conceptual essence, and cores.
Gotta make the most out of what's left of the wave, Henry thought as below, his Shadows spread out of the trees, hunting, collecting, and testing the limits of their range.
Henry was looking forward to seeing what the next few levels would bring.
***
Three days later, the wave was officially over, and the relief was palpable throughout Thalis. The mood was celebratory, and wherever Henry walked, he saw big smiles and festive decorations hung about. Already, he was seeing younger people hustling and bustling, bringing up wide platters of vegetables, meats, and fruits up to the arena where, most likely, a feast was being prepared.
He found it funny how the young ones managed to escape school only to end up working twice as hard helping in the preparation of the festivities, but they were clearly having a lot of fun, so all the better.
Another ding reached his mind, and Henry saw that Dancing Shadows had gained another level, reaching level 3, and suddenly, the furthest images he was receiving became much clearer, so Henry spread the Shadows further out. Right now, he was creating a somewhat of an oval network. He could reach much further if he just focused all of his relays in a single line, but while he wanted to reach a couple of areas, he also wanted to explore a bit. If he were lucky, he might even hear or sense the Bahamut whales.
He didn't have a lot of hope for that one, but maybe once the network was spread out enough he could try another cast of Find the Path at the edges. But that wasn't really his main goal.
I wonder if I'm close, he thought, looking east. Would they get there?
It would take a couple of hours to confirm. For now, he had to slowly push the clones out and about, as everyone's range had increased. Thankfully, he hadn't needed to replace many of them. Between their excellent camouflaging abilities and with Faint Presence, rare were the beings that could detect or catch them. And whenever one of them was destroyed—which only so far happened 19 times—the nearest Shadow would just summon a copy and they'd resume operations. For having hundreds of clones hanging around, 19 clone deaths was literally trivial.
Henry turned his attention back and let the Octominds continue the process of spreading out the network as he picked up a fish-skewer and happily chomped.
Taste buds are working well, he thought as he chewed. The shapeshifted human form was getting better with every cast.
Henry had started climbing up the stairs when another ding reached his ears, and above his head, the only visible Octominds not busy with tasks, pumped one of its tiny arms.
"Congrats, little buddy," he said, then continued climbing up the stairs.
That's one more level to Thaumaturgy, Henry thought with a smile. Then, looking through a nearby Shadow, he eyed the cave that went down to that submerged ruin.
Maybe he could do one last visit before he left with Velistraine.