Healer Arc 2 -- Chapter 30

(As a heads-up, this is the final chapter for my $5 Patrons until the book is finished, when I will begin periodically releasing all of them leading up to its release on Kindle)

Chapter 30

“—aden!  Are you alright?!”

He was glad he was laying down on the bed like he usually tried to do when checking his messages, because Thaden was in so much pain that it made his previous experience with opening his messages feel like a tap on the shoulder.  Even as what felt like fire spread throughout his entire body and his mind, he was acutely aware of the feeling of System energy permeating the area around him, thick in the air to the point where it practically overwhelmed what senses weren’t already busy with his pain.  The overstimulation was too much for him and he felt it when his thoughts shut down temporarily.

“Thaden!  What just happened?”

Sadia’s voice brought him back to awareness of his environment, and he gradually felt the pain recede through his body.  At the same time, he felt the System energy dissipate until he couldn’t even sense it anymore, and after another minute or so, he was finally able to swallow a few times, finding his throat dry, before responding to his squirrel companion.

“I… I think… I’m okay… now,” he said, finding it difficult to breathe for a few moments.  Clearing his throat, he added, “I don’t know what exactly happened, but I was certainly not expecting that.  Can you pick it up from my memories, or do I need to…?”

“I can’t see anything in your memoires; it’s essentially blank,” she quickly responded, shaking her head.  “From my perspective, I could tell that you began to open your Class Evolution choices, but then you froze for a half-second before an enormous burst of energy flooded the room, and you started screaming before passing out.  Only when the energy dispersed did you finally wake up.”

I was screaming?  That must be why my throat was so dry.

Still recovering as he stared at the ceiling, he began to explain what had happened with his Evolution why reflecting on how often this sort of thing seemed to happen to him.  He had hoped to have been done with these incredibly painful episodes when he accidentally did something that caused the System to create errors, but apparently they were destined to follow him.  First was what happened when he touched the Codexical Access Point back in Felith, and now—

“Oh, no,” he said, interrupting his recounting of the Evolution process.  He remembered hoping that the System energy he’d felt before his list of Classes populating for him wasn’t enough to call attention to him, but what he felt during the process had only been a smidge of what had actually been flooding the entire room – and possibly more than that.  “Do you think—”

“Probably,” Sadia said, already knowing what he was going to ask.  “That was a lot of System energy, and it would shock me if the System didn’t respond.  You probably have some time, though, and you need to recover from your ordeal.”

She was right.  As much as he wanted to flee the city right then and there, he was in no shape to do so.  Despite his Health being full, he felt wrung out and exhausted, as if he’d been run ragged from exercising for days without sleep. 

Since he couldn’t move much at the moment, he continued his description of the Evolution process, including descriptions of the strangely broken or corrupted Classes on his list.

“There’s no record of that ever happening before, as I’m sure you can guess,” his companion replied as she cocked her head to the side in thought.  “I have no idea what was happening with those that had all detrimental effects, but I that ‘Friend’ Class is intriguing.  It’s almost like something was trying to reach out to you using the Evolution process, but it didn’t exactly translate well.”

Thaden was perfectly fine with not understanding it, because just looking at that Class’s description had creeped him out. 

“As for that Unique Class, I’m glad you didn’t even attempt to look at it, because I’m pretty sure that was probably an attempt of the System trying to get rid of you.”

“Are you sure?”

He could see her shaking her head out of the corner of his eye.  “No, not really.  But with my connection to the Assimilation System, it certainly sounds to me like something it would do.”

“Yeah, that’s about what I was thinking, too, so I stayed away from it.  In the end, after perusing all of my options, I finally settled on Thrall Commander.”

Thaden didn’t have to describe what it did, because Sadia was able to see it in his Character Report, and could pull up the description there. 

“It’s a good choice – and I agree that it is more useful to you than the Minion Multiplier Class you mentioned.  But it looks like you still have more to do, don’t you?”

He nodded, and even that movement felt like it was going to make him pass out.  Rather than move again, he began slowly feeding his remaining PICK into his new Thrall Commander Class, until he eventually fed enough to get it to Level 22.

Level up!  You are now a Level 22 Thrall Commander!

As part of the Leveling process, you have received the following:

Physicality +2

Celerity +2

Mentality +5

Personality +6

Fortuity +1

The amount of stats he received for a Level-up in his new Class was about double what he’d gotten as a Novice Enthraller, though not nearly as impressive as his Fortunate Catastrophe Class, of course.  Still, it was a good way to bring up all of his stats without any negative hits to his Personality, and it even miraculously had a single point boost in Fortuity.  He could only assume that this was because one of his bonus traits relied on the stat to take effect, and while it would still be useful, if he wanted to greatly increase his Fortuity, he could simply Level-up Fortunate Catastrophe.

Thaden pumped even more of his PICK reserve into Thrall Commander.

Level up!  You are now a Level 23 Thrall Commander!

As part of the Leveling process, you have received the following:

Physicality +2

Celerity +2

Mentality +5

Personality +6

Fortuity +1

Level up!  You are now a Level 24 Thrall Commander!

As part of the Leveling process, you have received the following:

Mentality +5

Personality +6

(2) Spell selection choices

Once he reached Level 24, Thaden finally received the opportunity to gain some new spells from his new Class.  Now that he didn’t really have to worry too much about having enough Mana, at least for anything new, there wasn’t any reason to pick up anything less than the Major strength versions of the spells. 

Major Commanding Presence (Reserved): The Thrall Commander’s sheer presence on the battlefield boosts the spirits of not only those under their thrall, but their closest allies as well.  Based on the caster’s Personality stat, Commanding Presence exudes an aura that raises the Physicality and magical resistance of controlled targets and other members of the Thrall Commander’s Party, making them stronger and more durable; does not affect caster.

Physicality Increase: +1 per 10 Personality

Magical Resistance Increase: +1 per 15 Personality

Range: 120 feet

Casting Time: Instant

Mana Cost (Reserved): 40% of Mana pool

Major Healing Assistant (Single Cast): The use of Healing Assistant designates a controlled target as an auxiliary healer, allowing them to share their spiritual energy to periodically heal a single target within a short range; targets of Major Healing Assistant cannot heal themselves.

Healing Amount: +9% of healing target’s maximum Health

Healing Range: 15 feet

Healing Cooldown: 5 seconds

Spell Range: 120 feet

Spell Duration: 5 minutes

Casting Time: 2 seconds

Mana Cost: 450

Thaden was immediately pleased with his new spells, and was even happier with his choice of Class.  The first spell, Major Commanding Presence, would greatly increase not only the Physicality and Magical Resistance of his minions based on his own Personality, but his entire Party, as well.  With his Personality a little over 1,000 at the moment, that meant a Physicality boost of around 100 and an increase in Magical Resistance by around 67 – which was nothing to scoff at.  When he factored in his basic spell effectiveness bonuses, given that this was a wide-area spell, he was looking at a 400% increase – which meant a boost of around 500 Physicality and 335 Magical Resistance.

That was overpowered.  For anything threatening that was the same Level as his Party or his controlled targets, they wouldn’t necessarily be invulnerable, but they would be much harder to hurt.  With the extra Magical Resistance, they might even be more resistant to being mind-controlled, which had been a major factor against the Boss in the Wild Flower Dungeon.  He briefly worried that his controlled targets would then be resistant enough to throw off his own control, but the understanding he received after deep diving into the spell and his own Magical Resistance was that it wouldn’t affect any of his spells, since the extra Resistance came from what he was doing. 

The second spell was even more insane, if that was even possible.  A Single Cast spell, Major Healing Assistant allowed him to designate a controlled target as an auxiliary healer of sorts, which was able to periodically heal another target within range.  In other words, he could create little mini healers that could automatically heal others every 5 seconds for 9% of the healing target’s maximum Health.  With his ability to cast this over a wide range, he could essentially make all of his controlled targets extra healers, which would be able to maintain themselves without his direct healing intervention. 

But that wasn’t all.

Because Major Healing Assistant was a Support spell, it was affected by Delayed Satisfaction.  At a delay of 3 extra seconds, the spell would increase in effectiveness by 900%, and with his extra bonuses, that rose up to 1,050%, so the original 9% of the healing target’s maximum Health rose to approximately 104% – which was effectively a full heal every 5 seconds.  Thaden wasn’t sure if the Ready To Go Advancement also affected the spell, which reduced all spell cooldowns by 50%, but if it did, then that meant these Healing Assistants would be full-healing anything within range every 2.5 seconds.

Pleased with his new acquisitions, Thaden kept going with his reserved PICK.   

Level up!  You are now a Level 25 Thrall Commander!

As part of the Leveling process, you have received the following:

Physicality +2

Celerity +2

Mentality +5

Personality +6

Fortuity +1

>>>>>>> 

>>>>>>> 

Level up!  You are now a Level 34 Thrall Commander!

As part of the Leveling process, you have received the following:

Physicality +2

Celerity +2

Mentality +5

Personality +6

Fortuity +1

Unfortunately, despite his hope that he would have access to even more spells at Level 27, Level 30, or Level 33, all he received were more spells selection choices without anything new.  He had a hunch that his next opportunity at Level 36 would bear fruit, though that didn’t help him at the moment since he was now out of PICK to spend. 

When it was all done, he finally looked at the results on his full Character Report – and was almost shocked how different it looked from just a few days before. 

Thaden {Densartis Faction}

Primary Class – Fortunate Catastrophe

Primary Class Level – 18

Secondary Class – Thrall Commander

Secondary Class Level – 34

Progressive Internal Combat Knowledge (PICK) – 83.5/5,200

Adventurer Coalition Rank: Platinum+ 705/810 RP

Health – 5,400/5,400

Mana – 6,110/6,110

Physicality – 540

Celerity – 423

Mentality – 611

Personality – 1,077

Fortuity – 848

Spells: (127 to select)

Primary Support Spells:

Celestial Resurrection (Single Cast) – 2 Access Slots

Celestial Mana Rejuvenation (Single Cast) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Health Transformation (Single Cast) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Mana Transformation (Single Cast) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Lifelink (Reserved) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Mass Healing (Single Cast) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Regeneration (Single Cast) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Mass Regeneration (Single Cast) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Cure Physical Affliction (Single Cast) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Cure Mental Affliction (Single Cast) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Health Reduction (Single Cast) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Health Augmentation (Single Cast) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Absorb Health (Single Cast) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Aura of Life (Reserved) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Wild Health Leach (Single Cast) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Healing Burst (Single Cast) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Overheal (Single Cast) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Support Sprite (Single Cast) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Health Treatment (Single Cast) – 3 Access Slots

Celestial Cleansing Aura (Reserved) – 2 Access Slots

Celestial Denial of Healing (Single Cast) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Recharge (Single Cast) – 2 Access Slots

Celestial Full Heal (Single Cast) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Healing Transference (Single Cast) – 2 Access Slots

Celestial Equality (Single Cast) – 2 Access Slots

Celestial Shower of Life (Reserved) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Resuscitation (Single Cast) – 2 Access Slots

Celestial Reanimation (Reserved) – 5 Access Slots

Celestial Repeat (Single Cast) – 2 Access Slots

Celestial External Stimulation (Channeled) – 2 Access Slots

Celestial Health Renewal (Single Cast) – 3 Access Slots

Celestial Fortuitous Regeneration (Single Cast) – 2 Access Slots

Celestial Fortuitous Healing Burst (Single Cast) – 2 Access Slots

Celestial Fortuitous Full Heal (Single Cast) – 2 Access Slots

Celestial Fortuitous Mass Healing (Single Cast) – 2 Access Slots

Celestial Fortuitous Mana Rejuvenation (Single Cast) – 2 Access Slots

Celestial Fortuitous Recharge (Single Cast) – 2 Access Slots

Celestial Recovery State (Reserved) – 5 Access Slots

Celestial Price of Healing (Single Cast) – 3 Access Slots

Celestial Vitality Infusion (Single Cast) – 2 Access Slots

Celestial Health Relinquishment (Single Cast) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Chaotic Battlefield Absorption (Reserved) – 10 Access Slots

Celestial Disastrous Recovery (Channeled) – 7 Access Slots

Defensive Spells:

Celestial Protective Guards (Single Cast) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Death Ward (Single Cast) – 2 Access Slots

Celestial Negation Zone (Single Cast) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Dampeners (Single Cast) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Protective Barrier (Single Cast) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Damage Shield (Single Cast) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Sacrifice (Single Cast) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Wardlink (Reserved) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Stacking Buffers (Single Cast) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Affliction Shelter (Single Cast) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Defensive Sprite (Single Cast) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Lockdown (Single Cast) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Secure Bulwark (Single Cast) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Defensive Denial (Single Cast) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Mirrored Vigil (Reserved) – 3 Access Slots

Celestial Safe Harbor (Reserved) – 4 Access Slots

Celestial Focused Cover (Single Cast) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Guardian Totem (Single Cast) – 2 Access Slots

Celestial Aura of the Sentinel (Reserved) – 2 Access Slots

Celestial Incarnation of Protection (Single Cast) – 3 Access Slots

Celestial Indomitable Aegis (Single Cast) – 5 Access Slots

Celestial Repose (Channeled) – 4 Access Slots

Celestial Internal Automation (Single Cast) – 3 Access Slots

Celestial Social Pariah (Single Cast) – 3 Access Slots

Celestial Fortuitous Protective Guards (Single Cast) – 2 Access Slots

Celestial Fortuitous Protective Barrier (Single Cast) – 2 Access Slots

Celestial Fortuitous Damage Shield (Single Cast) – 2 Access Slots

Celestial Fortuitous Stacking Buffers (Single Cast) – 2 Access Slots

Celestial Fortuitous Dampeners (Single Cast) – 2 Access Slots

Celestial Fortuitous Death Ward (Single Cast) – 3 Access Slots

Celestial Guarded State (Reserved) – 5 Access Slots

Celestial Unstable Fortification (Single Cast) – 3 Access Slots

Celestial Vitality Diffusion (Reserved) – 2 Access Slots

Celestial Protection Relinquishment (Single Cast) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Borrowed Bastion (Single Cast) – 10 Access Slots

Celestial Catastrophic Bracing (Reserved) – 7 Access Slots

Spiritual Spells:

Celestial Pacification Aura (Reserved) – 2 Access Slots

Celestial Spirit Lock (Single Cast) – 2 Access Slots

Celestial Dispel Spiritual Influence (Single Cast) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Aura of Confusion (Reserved) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Aura of Rage (Reserved) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Aura of Fear (Reserved) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Aura of Silence (Reserved) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Aura of Sleep (Reserved) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Dominate Spirit (Single Cast) – 5 Access Slots

Celestial Spirit Drain (Single Cast) – 2 Access Slots

Celestial Befriend Spirit (Reserved) – 3 Access Slots

Celestial Repast (Reserved) – 2 Access Slots

Celestial Spiritual Reclamation (Single Cast) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Spiritual Enhancement Aura (Reserved) – 4 Access Slots

Celestial Zone of Spiritual Misfortune (Channeled) – 4 Access Slots

Celestial Fortuitous Aura of Confusion (Reserved) – 2 Access Slots

Celestial Fortuitous Aura of Silence (Reserved) – 2 Access Slots

Celestial Fortuitous Aura of Sleep (Reserved) – 2 Access Slots

Celestial Fortuitous Aura of Fear (Reserved) – 2 Access Slots

Celestial Fortuitous Aura of Rage (Reserved) – 2 Access Slots

Celestial Auric State (Reserved) – 5 Access Slots

Celestial Karmic Imbalance (Single Cast) – 3 Access Slots

Celestial Vitality Of Spirit (Single Cast) – 2 Access Slots

Celestial Spiritual Relinquishment (Single Cast) – 1 Access Slot

Celestial Spiritual Guardians (Channeled) – 10 Access Slots

Celestial Devastating Fortitude (Single Cast) – 7 Access Slots

Secondary Support Spells:

Major Health Siphon (Single Cast) – 1 Access Slot

Major Minion Regeneration (Single Cast) – 1 Access Slot

Major Health Reinforcement (Single Cast) – 1 Access Slot

Major Life Cooperation (Reserved) – 1 Access Slot

Major Explosive Recuperation (Single Cast) – 1 Access Slot

Major Healing Assistant (Single Cast) – 2 Access Slots

Secondary Spiritual Spells:

Major Enthrall (Channeled) – 1 Access Slot

Major Subjugation Aura (Reserved) – 1 Access Slot

Major Sacrificial Backlash Aura (Reserved) – 1 Access Slot

Major Spiritual Absorption (Single Cast) – 1 Access Slot

Major Enthrallment Infection (Single Cast) – 1 Access Slot

Major Willful Concealment (Channeled) – 2 Access Slots

Major Enthralling Call (Channeled) – 2 Access Slots

Major Commanding Presence (Reserved) – 2 Access Slots

Access Slots: 290

Competencies:

Support Spellcasting Competency (Level 32,002, 11%)

·         Ready to Go

·         Extracurricular Toys

·         Afterglow

·         Strongest Healing

·         Faster Healing

·         Group Healing

·         Delayed Satisfaction

Defensive Spellcasting Competency (Level 34,228, 78%)

·         Hardest Protection

·         Thickest Protection

·         Faster Protection

·         Double Team

Spiritual Spellcasting Competency (Level 2,231, 84%)

·         Ultimate Spiritual Domination

·         Haunted Nemesis

·         Karmic Balance

·         Spiritual Connection

·         Sadistic Group Play

Natural Regeneration Competency (Level 459, 8%)

·         Goes Both Ways

·         Firmest Regeneration

Emboldened Leadership Competency (Level 1,239, 82%)

·         Silent Voyeur

·         Rubbing Off

·         Lucky in Love

·         Indecent Proposal

·         Compatible Chemistry

Psychic Resiliency Competency (Level 2,095, 33%)

·         Hardened Heart

·         Size Matters

·         Psychic Edging

·         Emotional Baggage

·         Missed Connection

Mana Assassin Competency (N/A)

Mana Management Competency (N/A)

Achievements:

Why Aren’t You A Control Class? I

Why Aren’t You A Control Class? II

Why Aren’t You A Control Class? III (WF)

Why Aren’t You A Control Class? IV (WF)

Why Aren’t You A Control Class? V (WF)

Dungeon Clearance I

Dungeon Clearance II

Lone Wolf I

Lone Wolf II

Lone Wolf III

Punching Up I

Punching Up II

Punching Up III

Punching Up IV

Punching Up V

Obey Me I

Obey Me II

Bonus Traits:

All single-target spells can now target anyone (From Fortunate Catastrophe)

You can now choose to have all single-target spells affect all allies, all hostile targets, or all targets within 180 feet of your location with a 100% increase in effectiveness (From Fortunate Catastrophe)

All existing wide-area spells and effects now have their effectiveness and range increased by 300% (From Fortunate Catastrophe)

All spells have their effectiveness increased by 50% (From Fortunate Catastrophe)

Fortuity is increased by 300% while in combat and for 30 seconds after combat is concluded (From Fortunate Catastrophe)

Fortuity will now have a visible, tangible effect when facing hostile targets 90+ Levels higher than the Fortunate Catastrophe (From Fortunate Catastrophe)

Allies within 900 feet of the Fortunate Catastrophe receive a 50% boost to their own Fortuity, but take 50% more damage (From Fortunate Catastrophe)

All hostile targets within 3 miles are drawn to the Fortunate Catastrophe and will ignore any allied targets not engaged in direct contact with those hostile targets (From Fortunate Catastrophe)

Any allied deaths within 3 miles of the Fortunate Catastrophe cumulatively increase the Fortunate Catastrophe’s Fortuity by 30% (From Fortunate Catastrophe)

All rewards are increased by 30%, including from Quests completed and Achievements earned; however, there is a Fortuity/1,000 % chance that rewards will be increased by 300%

Each spell cast by the Fortunate Catastrophe has a Fortuity/5,000 % chance to double in effectiveness; when a spell is doubled in effectiveness, the chance will trigger again, thereby quadrupling the original spell’s effectiveness; this process can be triggered up to 9 times in a row (From Fortunate Catastrophe)

All controlled targets will instantly recover 10% of all damage taken as a Support-based healing effect (From Thrall Commander)

There is a Fortuity/50 % chance that all automatic healing is reflected as magical damage upon the source of the original damage (From Thrall Commander)

+39% success increase to any spell or ability where Personality reflects the outcome (From Why Aren’t You A Control Class? V)

+39% to damage inflicted to all hostile targets of higher Level than Party (From Punching Up V)

Equipment:

Explosive Healing Ring (+CAMP)

Rarity: Uncommon

Class Restrictions: Support

Level Restriction: 1

+2 (+10) Mentality

+9% (+45%) increase in Support spell casting speed

Looking at his Character Report, there were a few things he needed to address as soon as he could.  First, he needed to look through all of his Celestial spells from Fortunate Catastrophe to see which ones he could actually cast now that his Mana pool had recently topped over 6,000.  He was hoping that a there would be a few Defensive spells that he might be able to apply, or if not, then perhaps expand his repertoire of Support spells to heal himself and his Party members without having to rely on controlled targets.  Second, he was eager to see what he could do with his new Level and Major strength spells that originally came from Novice Enthraller, as well as the pair he’d gained at Level 24 of Thrall Commander.  There were a few spells that he hadn’t even used yet that he’d gained before his Class Evolution, such as Major Life Cooperation, which constantly evened-out the Health of his controlled targets, Major Willful Concealment, which hid his and his minions’ spiritual presence so that they could potentially pass through an area without being detected, and Major Enthrallment Infection, which was a way to have his controlled targets gradually break down the spiritual will of nearby enemies until they eventually became enthralled. 

Third, when looking at his equipment, he was still feeling inordinately naked when it came to anything useful.  While a bit of that problem would take care of itself when he reached Level 55 and could wear the items that had dropped from the recent dungeon’s Boss, his finances were liquid enough that he could go shopping for some decent gear that he could wear until that point. 

Finally, regarding his equipment, Thaden needed to start devoting some of the PICK he’d been earning toward his Condensed Adaptable Mimicry Plate.  It was a “growth” item, which meant that it used PICK to grow and become stronger, though he wasn’t exactly sure how that growth would occur since it wasn’t a normal piece of equipment.  He would have to ask Sadia if she had any idea how it would work, if she even knew.  He hadn’t said anything before now because he’d needed all of the PICK he’d been earning to keep himself alive and get stronger; now that he was in fairly good position as far as spells and stats, to the point where he didn’t think he would be outright killed by a normal random monster he encountered, he could start seeing what it would take to making Sadia’s figurative home “grow”. 

Unfortunately, none of that was going to occur at the moment, because almost as soon as he closed his Character Report, his body and mind succumbed to the exhaustion he’d been fending off, sending him into the oblivion of a good night’s rest.