Essence Wave Book 2 Chapter 18

*** AUTHOR'S NOTE ***

So my new schedule at my day job got approved, and I basically get every Friday off from now on. Of course, that also comes with a 20% pay cut, so hopefully book writing will cover the gap. 

Got a bunch of writing done this week, though not as much as I would have liked. I threw my back out again on Wednesday, so very little writing occurred both Thursday and Friday. Still, I managed to get enough done that I should be able to post a second chapter this week. So expect one on Wednesday! 

Hopefully I'll be able to do two a week from now on with my new work schedule!

*** AUTHOR'S NOTE***

It took three hours of near continuous channeling to finally close the portal. Liz dumped in the last few hundred Mana, the portal shimmering and then popping like a soap bubble, and the four of them collapsed to the ground beside it. In its place hovered a crystal, about halfway in size between the Outpost Crystal at the fish farm and Hope’s Refuge’s City Crystal. David collapsed in relief, his chest and arms aching as way too much Energy and Mana had flowed through them.

Congratulations! You are the third group to close a Greater Portal on your planet! This is your (Number) portal closed!

Reward: Title - Forerunners upgraded to Prime Forerunners!

Title: Prime Forerunners - Gain a +10 modifier to all stats. All skills gain experience a lesser amount faster! All Mana and Energy Skills will be a tiny bit more efficient! Mana and Energy spent to close portals will be a small amount more efficient!

Congratulations! You have closed a Large Greater Portal to the Daemon Realm: Reward 2000 Essence!

“Closing portals sure is rewarding,” Colin said, lying down next to him. Liz was slumped on Colin’s chest, rubbing her arms. Aly was the only one still standing, looking around to guard the other three.

“If only it was easier,” Liz laughed.

“Yeah, but then it wouldn’t be as rewarding,” David joked. “Which one of you wants to activate the crystal? I can’t reach it until I regrow my leg.”

“I’ll poke at it,” Aly said. She reached over and patted David’s head. “You get to work.”

“I’m going to check my Ways list, see if anything pops out at me that will help,” David said. “But then yeah, that’s next.” He grimaced as he looked at the stump where his foot used to be.

Available Ways: Protector (0/500), Runner (0/500), Berserker (0/500), Scout (0/500), Mage II (0/500) Shield Beginner (0/1000), Leader III (0/3000), City Knight (0/3000), Augmented (0/10000), Frontliner (0/1000), Shieldwall (0/1000), Scholar III (0/2000), Vanguard III (0/1500), Regenerator (0/2500), Earth Mage III (0/1500), Body Temperer (0/2000), Metal Mage II (0/1000), Cultivator (0/10000), Swimmer (0/500), Omnicaster (0/3000), Beast Leader (0/1500), Mana Artificer (0/3000)

Well, Regenerator is the obvious choice here, he thought. Though Cultivator, sounds like something I should save up for. Maybe in a level or two, or more likely five. Omnicaster and Mana Artificer sound awesome, and I could get them, but I don’t think they’ll help me with my pirate problem. Beast Leader must’ve come from the elk. I wonder why? Ooh, maybe I can get the Elk to show me his lightning and earth attacks, and they’ll strengthen mine? I wonder if I can get lightning Mana from the Metal Mage Way? Ahh, too many options, but I need to have a leg soon, so Regenerator it is.

All told, he received 10 stats from the way, four Constitution, four Nerve, an Intelligence, and a Wisdom. Rather than a Skill, at twelve hundred and fifty Essence he received a twenty percent increase in all of his regenerations, making him even more the Energizer bunny. Just gotta make my channels stronger so that I can use my ridiculous stats, he thought. Finally, the end result gave him a much desired boost to his Advanced Bodily Repair Skill.

Congratulations! You have walked the Way of the Regenerator! Stand tall for all time in front of your people. You are the fourth person to Walk a Way of this nature on your planet! Receive bonus effectiveness! You have received the Skill - Directed Regeneration! Extreme Synergy with Scarce rarity Skill Advanced Bodily Repair. Skill Directed Regeneration subsumed.

Skill: Advanced Bodily Repair (Scarce).

Level: Beginner 8

Description: Direct Mana, Energy, or both to repair any physical injuries you have taken. Mentally directing resources gives significant bonuses. Using both resources in equal amounts gives significant bonuses. Increase effectiveness and bonuses per Skill Level, Wisdom, and Constitution.

Directed Regeneration: Mana and Energy efficiency increased by a sizable amount. If consciousness is lost and Hit Points are at less than 10% of max, will automatically activate.(Add bonuses from Essences and skill level)

“Okay, that worked better than expected,” David said, then described his upgrade. “I’m going to work on regrowing my leg. Don’t mind me if I scream a bit.”

Aly gave him a worried look, but he just winked at her then fell into his core cave. His cores glowed brightly, the red-gold and blue-white of his Energy and Mana swirling around above his metaphorical head. “Even with dropping so much of my resources, I’m still almost full. I really need to work on my channels. I wonder how big of a Mana Bolt or Power Attack I could do if I could shove a thousand Mana or Energy into it. Well, or the Skill will just shatter.”

With a thought, he directed a continuous stream of both Energy and Mana out of his cores, ten or so every second. The total level barely dropped, his regeneration more than enough for that amount. Mentally, he flew down the channels to his leg and tried to get it to regrow. The resources pooled for a second, then flowed into his shin bones. They slowly grew outward, and then the muscle followed. It took nearly a minute for his leg to grow by a millimeter.

This is going to take a while, he thought. He stopped directing the Mana and Energy, and the speed of growth immediately dropped to a quarter of what it was. He popped out of his core cave and looked at the end of his leg. The skin was red and raw, but not painful. It bulged slightly where the bone was poking at it, but the Skill was growing his skin just as fast as the bone. He measured his leg against the other, then looked up at Liz, who was watching interestedly. “Probably going to take six hours to grow back if I focus on it,” he said. “Maybe if I’m pushing and you heal, it’ll go faster?”

“I can try at least,” Liz said. “Give me five minutes to see if I have a good Way to spend my Essence on.”

David nodded, then went back to focusing on his Skill, trying to guide and direct it to the best of his ability. Inscribing Scholar’s Vision became incredibly useful when he realized that his channels weren’t growing back at the same rate as the rest of his leg. He redirected the Mana flowing out of the ends to make a tube, and the Energy to reinforce the structure and regrow his channels. Not becoming a cripple who can’t use Vanguard’s Charge or Sprint because my channels don’t reach my foot, he thought.

His jaw clenched, and a tiny stream of Energy moved from his core to the runic representation of Pain Resistance. The channels in his leg felt like they were being recreated with lava, burning through his muscles, tendons, and bones whenever they intersected. I will not give up! He mentally screamed at himself.

A jolt of green Mana flowed into the end of his leg, speeding up the regeneration and soothing the pain slightly. He formed a rictus of a smile at Liz, who got a pained look on her face. Time passed, and finally, he was burning the last bit of channels into his heel and toes. He opened his eyes to see Liz was panting where she knelt over his newly formed foot. “Out of Mana?” David asked.

“Very low anyway,” she said.

“Here,” he reached over and lightly grabbed her shoulder. Activating A Leader’s Gift, he quickly poured two thousand Mana out of his core, giving her somewhere around two hundred and thirty. Her breath came easier, the exhaustion and headache that dropping below ten percent of your Mana causes, fading with the injection.

“Thanks,” she said.

“Wait, when did that form,” he exclaimed, looking past Liz to see a three meter tall stone wall. A walkway just below the top provided a stable fighting surface, and large crystals dotted the top, glowing a bright white to combat the gloom of the night. The aurora from the Essence Wave kept it from growing too dark, but the swirling lights often made it harder to see, so the pure white lamps would reveal anything approaching from outside the walls.

“The crystal was a Fortification Crystal,” Aly said, grabbing his armpits and pulling him to his feet. “Claiming it gave us a level two Fort, which gave us the walls and a keep.” David turned to see a three story stone tower, ten meters in diameter or so. “The ground floor is a kitchen, dining area, and armory, the middle floor is bunk beds and an Inscribed bathroom, and the top floor has three bedrooms attached to a map room. The top has space for a ballistae, but it didn’t come free.”

Liz grinned, “And because this area used to be a farm, we got two free Farms just outside the walls. We will need to build a warehouse to store the food in.”

“Eventually we will need to make some more housing too,” David said. “But it’s probably enough for now.”

“Depending on how people cram into the bunk area or the bedrooms, we could fit thirty or so,” Colin said. “We really need to find more people.”

A new City, Salida’s Revenge has been founded in your name! You now control four Crystals. No Corruption present in the area between all four Crystals. Your position is upgraded from City Lord to Baron! You are the first Baron on your planet!

Title gained: First Baron!

Title: First Baron

Description: All buildings in your Barony gain +200 Durability. You may change your Barony’s focus once per six months. You may designate two locations to be Dungeons, instead of one. All portals attempting to form in your Barony will be redirected to the Dungeons. Essence Draw for all Crystals in your Barony increased by 15%.

“What happened?” Aly asked, worry in her voice.

“Apparently the team down in Salida found a City Crystal and claimed it in my name,” David said, his eyes wide. “And you’re now married to a Baron instead of a Lord.” He thumped his chest. “Pretty good catch, huh?”

She smacked the back of his head, then leaned in and kissed him. “Yup,” she grinned, “But what does it mean?”

He read out what the First Baron title provided, and then Colin asked, “Dungeons?”

David shrugged. “Let’s head to the map room, maybe it’ll have more information about what the options are?”

They trooped into the Keep. To his surprise, the stairs were not in the center, but to his left. Straight ahead was a large open area before the far wall which had two large ovens and a stove made of stone. Glimmering Inscriptions were visible on the stovetop. To his right was an open doorway, inside which a dozen racks could be seen. The door was thick and made of iron. Aly led him upstairs two floors, where the open area held the Fortification Crystal and a map table.

David stepped up to the table, and noticed that the display was centered on Hope’s Refuge, not the fort they were standing in. A weirdly pointed quadrilateral was highlighted, each point one of the Crystals that he ostensibly controlled. “What’d you name this place?” He asked.

“Farmer’s Fort,” Aly said. “I like alliteration.”

He just shook his head, “Okay. Now let’s see what this says.” He touched the table.

Welcome Baron Black! Your Barony has just been founded. What do you wish your Barony to specialize in?

Options: Military, Scholarly Arts, Expansion, Agricultural Production, Raw Resource Production, Manufactured Goods Production, Trade, General

He selected the Military option to see if there was more detail.

Military Specialization: Your Barony focuses on strengthening your armed forces over any other options.

Benefits: All soldiers will experience a small increase in Skill growth for weapon, armor, and combat Skills.

All non-combat skills will have a tiny decrease in Skill growth.

All non-weapon, armor, or combat production reduced by a tiny amount.

All combat production increased by a tiny amount.

Market prices increased by a small amount.

City Crystal production costs decreased a tiny amount.

Confirm: Yes / No

He quickly hit No, dismissing the military option. They explored the rest, each giving some benefits to a section of the economy or government, but causing penalties to other areas. The penalties were smaller than the bonuses, but typically more comprehensive as well. “If we had more people,” David said. “I think the expansion option would be best, just to create more safe areas. We just don’t have the people to hold it yet.”

“At least you can change the selection in six months,” Aly said with a shrug. “So we should pick what’s best for right now.”

“So, research, trade, or general seem to be the best options,” David said.

“General, a miniscule bonus to everything is what we need now,” Josiah’s voice came through the communication system, having been patched into their discussion at the map. “We don’t know enough about everything else to focus yet. We need military power, but we also need more food and resources outside of fighting.”

Everyone else on the call gave their affirmation over the next minute. “Okay, we are now a general barony,” David said, selecting the decided option. “Now it is forcing me to select at least one Dungeon location. Looks like I can buy more, but they cost a million City Essence, taken from any of the Crystals. Good thing we get a free one.” He laughed nervously. “I can’t place it within two kilometers of any of the Crystals. Two locations are highlighted, one right beside where 285 crosses Chalk Creek, and then another ten kilometers farther south, just off 285 at a,” he zoomed in, “Old school house?”

“There was a museum there,” Michelle chimed in.

“What does the Dungeon do, besides move the portals?” Josiah asked.

“Hold on,” David said, navigating through a couple of menus. “Ah, here we go. It focuses Essence like a City Crystal, forming a Dungeon Crystal in the center. Daemons are summoned into the Dungeon instead of through any portal, and they won’t know they are being trapped until they appear. The System will also place traps and rewards, usually giving Essence crystals but occasionally other options. Traps and Daemons are limited to the Dungeon, as long as it is cleared regularly. If we fail to do so, or Daemons enter from outside and reach the Crystal, the Crystal becomes a Greater Portal and every Daemon inside is freed.”

“So just like all those Dungeon Core books you liked to read,” Aly joked with him.

“Can someone act as the Dungeon Master?” Colin asked.

“No idea,” David said. “I don’t have that option now, but maybe after we make one?”

“Put it close for now,” Josiah said. “Right by the creek should be fine. I’ll take a squad out there to see what it looks like.”

“Alright, selecting that one. Good, it isn’t making me put the second one down yet. I do have a limit of one hundred days before it has to be placed,” David said. “Plenty of time to figure stuff out. Let us know what happens later. We need to focus on the upcoming fight.”

“Are you still up to attacking tonight?” Josiah asked.

David looked at his friends, and they all nodded. “Yeah, the others got to laze about while I was regrowing my leg. Turns out, amputations aren’t permanent in the system.”

“What!” Michelle said, concern in her voice. “You lost a leg?”

“Yeah, it’s fine. I regrew it, and the Daemon that did it is dead,” David said, forcing a grin. “But we should leave soon if we’re going to be ready to hit the Daemons by morning.”

“Can you delegate power for your Barony?” Josiah asked.

David looked quickly. “Yup, here. There are some things you can do as my Seneschal, but not much. Thankfully, it doesn’t look like there are any major decisions necessary on a routine basis for the Barony.”

“Good luck, then. I will have a team of ten go to hold the new Fortification. They will be able to support you after your attack if necessary. Stay alive, since I know you aren’t going to stay safe,” Josiah said.

David grinned, “You too old man.” He looked at Aly, then Colin, then Liz. “Let’s go.”

They rushed down the stairs, and out the northern gate. There were two, one on the north side leading to a fifty-yard clearing before the forest began again, and one on the south side that opened onto the two farms. Barely visible through the trees to the north was another clearing.

Aly vanished into the trees, then communicated, “Another broken down farm here. No Corruption or Daemons.”

“Let’s Sprint through it, make up some time and distance with the open area,” David said.