Healer Arc 2 -- Chapter 26

Chapter 26

“Why, by the divine System’s greatness, do I feel like I’ve run 100 miles, had my entire body squeezed and pummeled, and my head pounded on by a hammer?”

Thaden watched and listened as Flarenia groaned in pain and exhaustion, holding her head in her hands as she struggled to sit up from where she’d collapsed.  Lovinia did the same right next to her, panting heavily as if she’d just run a marathon.

The moment Thaden had canceled his Celestial Befriend Spirit spell, Rel’ba’shet had fallen to his knees as if he was a puppet that had its strings cut, while Blinky had suddenly appeared to everyone as he staggered to the side, though he was miraculously able to keep his feet under him.  The twins had already been on the ground after exhausting all of their Mana and mental strength killing the Boss, so they didn’t collapse – but they did stop struggling to get to their feet after his control was removed, hinting that they probably would’ve face-planted onto the dirt if they had been standing. 

All of them, regardless of their current position, had the same confused expression on their faces.  Thaden glanced at Sadia, who stared back at him with wide eyes.

Rather than admit anything, he cautiously asked, “What do you remember?”

“My head is pounding so much that I’m having trouble even thinking, let alone remember anything,” the Fledgling Flameweaver said with another groan, and Lovinia seemed to be in the same boat with her discomfort.

“I… think we were traveling through the trees,” Blinky said abruptly, his eyes scrunched in thought.  “I recall feeling strangely happy for a moment, which was odd enough that I remember it, but then it’s just… blank.  I just ended up here somehow without my knowledge.  By the way, where are we?”

Thaden waved toward the still-burning remains of the Boss.  “You helped me kill the Boss.  Are you sure that none of you remember what happened?”

Rel’ba’shet shook his head even as he got to his feet from where he’d collapsed to his knees.  Lovinia did the same, though she winced as she did so, as it clearly hurt her head to do that.  Flarenia didn’t respond, but from her previous question, he gathered that she didn’t remember either.  It reminded Thaden too much of what frequently happened on Tarth, where the System forcibly wiped Contenders’ memories, that he felt uncomfortable with the situation.  He didn’t think it was the System that did this, though, but perhaps a combination of the Vampiric Lavender Menace’s influence and his own spells controlling them.  Or it might even just be the Boss’s influence, since they seemed to have forgotten everything from when he first felt the psychic attack. 

This is one hell of a dilemma.  Do I pretend that it was solely the Boss that took control of them and prevented their memories, or do I tell them what I did? 

His first instinct was to pass everything off as the doing of the Vampiric bush, as they could easily go on with things as they were without anyone but him being the wiser.  Telling them he’d taken control of them would only cause conflict, and while he didn’t think they would try to kill him for doing that to them, he was fairly certain that the twins, at least, would report what happened to them – and likely label Thaden as a dangerous individual who could take control of people.  It was a simple solution to keep his mouth shut, put the whole incident behind them, and get on with his plans.

Unfortunately, Thaden had also seen too many movies and read too many books where seemingly fully-buried memories seemed to surface at the wrong time, and the last thing he needed was for them to be in a dungeon somewhere and one of them suddenly had their missing memories come back.  The fallout and anger from that would be even worse than if he told them now, as he would be in trouble for not only controlling them but lying about it afterwards like some sort of shady villain.

Because this didn’t seem like it was the System deliberately intervening and wiping those memories completely, which would almost guarantee that they would stay gone, he wasn’t sure if he could rely on at least one of them eventually remembering everything.  He could always find another Party once they returned to Teglir and hope that not being around him would lead to nothing triggering those memories from coming back, but there was still the risk that he’d eventually be found out.  He’d essentially violated them by doing what he’d done; while he felt bad about it and had only done it to save all their lives, such a violation wasn’t easily ignored and word would certainly get around.  While he eventually hoped to be able to handle himself solo again, the last thing he wanted was some sort of stigma following him as if he was some sort of sexual predator or someone that simply couldn’t be trusted.

He wasn’t sure if it was fortunate or not when he saw Flarenia suddenly stop groaning, and with her hands still pushing against her head as if to keep her brain inside, she looked at Thaden with wide eyes.  He could practically see the memories flowing past her mental vision as her eyes moved back and forth like she was in REM sleep.  Oh, crap, she remembers.  I’m guessing that it’s only a matter of time before the others do, too.

Bracing himself for the fury that was sure to erupt from the hot-headed Netherine, Thaden was completely unprepared when she suddenly seemed to relax, a relieved smile on her face as continued looking at him.  What the…?

“I remember now,” she began to speak, her voice low at first before picking up in volume.  “This freaking bush was controlling my mind!  All I could think of was walking right into its embrace, as it promised me a very alluring, peaceful sleep – even if I knew that such a thing would will me.  But it was so strong!  I had no defense against it, and I—we—would’ve died if it hadn’t been for you, Thaden.  Whatever you did, you freed us from its power and let us fight on our own terms.  So, thank you.  Thank you for what you did.”

That was the last thing that he expected to hear – especially from Flarenia.  He had hoped that Blinky, who seemed not to let anything get him too down, would forgive him for what he’d done, but for the Mage to not only seem to forgive him, but thank him, he wasn’t sure how to respond.

At her words, the other members of his Party shook their heads and had their own private revelation of memories, which ended up with them thanking him as well.  Lovinia gave a smaller smile toward Thaden than Flarenia still had on her face; Rel’ba’shet only nodded in thanks without a smile, but he could see the relief of survival written all over his face; Blinky, on the other hand, was exuberantly hopping up and down with a massive teeth-filled grin lighting up his features.

As much as he could hear a voice in the back of his head telling him to drop it, he couldn’t let it go like this.  They obviously remembered what had happened, but he didn’t think they actually knew what he’d done. 

“I’m very thankful that we all survived, but I want to make sure that you know what I did to you to break you out of the Boss’s influence.  I… controlled you, which I regret having to do, but it was either that or let you die – and I couldn’t have that.”  He nearly pleaded for their forgiveness, but he thought it would sound disingenuous; he knew that if he had to do it over, he would do the same thing again – and would do it again in the future if it was necessary.

Thaden’s Party members looked at each other in some sort of silent communication, before Lovinia shook her head.  “I don’t remember being ordered to do something I wouldn’t have done already,” she declared.  “And it appears as if the others don’t remember any orders, either.”

“But—” he began, before he cut himself off.  Wait a second.  I don’t actually remember giving them any orders, as they automatically acted on their own – so there was no need to direct them anywhere.  Does that make a difference?  “Huh.  I guess you’re right.  I only cast that spell to break you away from the Boss’s influence and so that you could actually fight back.”

He could only assume that it made a huge difference to them that he hadn’t actually ordered them around.  Perhaps actually experiencing the all-encompassing mind control from the bush had convinced them that what he’d done was significantly better, and it had been done from entirely good intentions.  Still, the way they seemed to immediately accept the fact that he’d controlled them with a spell, even if he hadn’t actually ordered them around, was a bit concerning.  He glanced at Sadia, and she seemed to agree with him, as she stared back with a concerned expression on her squirrely face.  Is this an effect of the Befriend Spirit spell?  Or is it something else?

“Thank you,” he eventually told them after a few seconds of thought, even if he wasn’t exactly sure what he was thanking them for.  Thank you for not hating me?  Thank you for being so reasonable?  Thank you for not trying to get revenge?  Whatever it was, he found that he meant it.  While he wasn’t necessarily a huge fan of the stuck-up attitudes of the twins, he had to admit that they were a powerful combo – and seeing that they could smile was a good sign for their future working relationship.

Still, the way they seemed much friendlier and accepting of the situation was something that Thaden would have to explore further in the future.  The last thing he wanted was for his spell having a permanent effect on anyone he used it upon, as it made him slightly uncomfortable knowing that he could somehow convince someone to “be his friend” at a figurative snap of his fingers.  While it could undoubtedly be useful, he didn’t want to mind-control any people; that was too much like what the Assimilation System seemed to do to be comfortable for him.   

“Give us a minute or so to recover, and we’ll get out of here,” Flarenia said after a slightly awkward silence.  “Blinky, would you please extract the loot from that pathetic pile of kindling over there?” she spat out the request, which was full of vitriol, but Thaden could tell that it wasn’t directed toward the Grome.  It was also the first time that she had spoken somewhat civilly to any of them, which he thought was a good sign, despite the lingering concerns in the back of his mind.

Blinky quickly moved toward the still-smoldering remains of the enormous bush and extracted the loot, which Thaden didn’t even look at.  He’d been deliberately keeping himself from looking at his messages the entire time he’d been in the dungeon so as not to be distracted, especially with all of the kill notifications and loot extractions that had occurred; he’d needed to stay sharp to control all of his minions, and distractions could be deadly in a dungeon.  He decided to wait until they were fully out of the dungeon before he actually looked, as he didn’t want to spend any more time in there than was necessary.

Once he was done, and the Netherine twins had visibly recovered from their spellcasting ordeal, they all started to head toward the glowing doorway leading into one of the large trees that Thaden had noticed earlier.  Thaden took the lead as he stepped through the doorway, and he suddenly found himself inside the hollowed-out trunk of a tree seemingly much bigger than the one he’d walked into.  Beams of sunlight from holes in the trunk higher up illuminated what appeared to be a 50-foot-wide, circular space with smoothly carved walls, as well as solid wooden floor that was polished to a shine.

Opposite of where he’d walked in, another glowing doorway sat waiting for them to exit the dungeon, but there was time for them to do that later.  First, they had some rewards to pick up from the space, which was filled with treasures. 

Previously, when he had cleared the Blasted Caves Dungeon with his Party of Netherines from Felith, there had only been a beaten-up chest that was only partially full of some silver coins, as well as the Explosive Healing Ring that he was currently wearing.  That was basically to be expected, though, as while it had been a “Swarm” dungeon, it had been a fairly weak and low-Level. 

The Wild Flower Dungeon, was a much higher-Level dungeon, and it had been “Strained,” as well – which meant that it was full of Adversarial energy that was attempting to make it stronger.  Apparently, that translated to higher rewards, because the treasure room was stocked.  First, there was a well-made wooden and steel chest in the center of the space, which appeared to be filled with gold and silver coins.  He didn’t bother to look at how much it was as Blinky touched it and the amount was divided up among everyone, but he suspected that most of his immediate money concerns had been taken care of. 

Secondly, there were not just 1 or 2 armor stands filled with wearable equipment, but 4 of them, though how good these items were had yet to be determined.  In addition to the chest of coins and the armor stands, a single weapon rack was loaded down with a half-dozen weapons of different kinds, including a spear that Thaden saw Rel’ba’shet eyeing as soon as he entered behind him. 

Looking further at the equipment on the armor stands, the first one ended up being a shiny steel and hard leather cuirass accompanied by what looked like some sort of gladiatorial skirt-like bottom piece that would protect someone down to their knees.  A pair of knee-high boots made of similar shiny steel finished off the ensemble, and while it was different from what the Soldier Recruit was currently wearing, it was certainly an upgrade.  It also wasn’t a full set of equipment, as it was missing some pieces, but the Aelveen didn’t appear to care all that much as he picked it up.  He wasn’t able to wear it yet, as its Level Requirement was 39, but Thaden didn’t think it would be too long until that requirement was reached – especially given what the dungeon was likely to provide as far as PICK went.

The second stand held a bunch of upgrades for a Scout Class, and Blinky immediately started snatching them up and exclaiming over how amazing they were.  It also wasn’t a complete set of equipment, but he didn’t seem to care that it wasn’t complete, nor that he wouldn’t be able to wear it until Level 40. 

The third and fourth stands were filled with robes and cloth equipment, and while Thaden was originally excited to see what might be available for him to wear, he was almost immediately disappointed when all of it turned out to be useable only by Mages and/or Control Classes.  The twins were ecstatic over their acquisitions, even though – similar to the other two – they couldn’t wear them quite yet.

As far as the weapons on the rack, only the spear was eventually going to be useable by any of their Party, though the rest were taken up to be sold later.

Is there nothing for me?  I thought my Fortuity would’ve had more of an influence on these rewards than this.

Seeing his forlorn expression after they finished looting the treasure room, Blinky placed his hand on Thaden’s arm.  “Why are you so sad?” he asked, concerned.  “Didn’t you see what you got from the Boss?”

“Huh?  What?”  He, of course, hadn’t looked at any of the extracted loot.  In addition, Blinky said that he got it from the Boss, where such things should’ve been random or he would have to “roll” for it.

“Once we started looting all of the items from the monsters inside the dungeon, we collectively decided that everything but what was automatically divided amongst us would belong to you, other than what was in here.  That includes the Boss, so it’s all yours – and it might just make up for the lack of anything in this room.”

“That’s… very generous of you,” he said, curious about what he was talking about.  Since he still didn’t want to open his messages, as it would likely overwhelm him with the amount of information in it, he instead opened his Inventory.

The first thing he noticed was that his current monetary wealth had jumped up to just over 300 gold.  Besides that, though, his Inventory was nearly completely full, which was impressive considering that it had recently expanded.  First, there were stacks of Common and Uncommon crafting materials gained from killing the Beezards and Floral Scourges throughout the traversal of the dungeon, which he was sure he could probably unload for quite a bit of gold once he got back to Teglir.  Since they were automatically divided among the entire Party, it was likely that the others would have approximately the same amount, which was already an impressive haul.

Second, there were dozens of pieces of equipment, ranging from Level 25 to Level 34 and from Uncommon to Rare – and all of it was made for Classes other than Support.  He immediately started taking duplicates out of his Inventory and handed them to the others, as they would help to further outfit his Party once they reached the required Level.

“We can’t take this—”

Thaden interrupted Blinky as he tried to give a few things back.  “I can’t wear them, and I’m keeping any duplicates to sell.  It’ll make you stronger, so why wouldn’t I want you to have them?”  Granted, he could’ve been greedy and kept it all, as they all now had enough money to buy just about anything they wanted once they got back to the city, but he’d rather clear up his Inventory of some things.  That, and it made him feel good to share the wealth – and alleviated some of the guilt he still held after controlling them.

Unfortunately, for all of the monsters that he’d killed, there weren’t any Epic rarity items or anything particularly special – which was a bit of a surprise.  While he didn’t have as high of a Fortuity stat as he had back on Tarth, it was still over 400, which he thought was much higher than most other people – especially at his current Level.

Once he’d parsed through all of those items, Thaden finally found what he thought had come from the Boss.  As soon as he starting taking things out and looked at them, he had to admit that Blinky was right.

These more than made up for the lack of items dropping for him throughout the dungeon and the treasure room.

Lavender Robe of Mesmerizing Mental Fortitude

Rarity: Epic

Class Restrictions: Control, Support

Level Restriction: 55

Physical Damage Resistance: 7

Magical Damage Resistance: 20

+30 Mentality

+30 Personality

+30% Increase in Psychic and Spiritual spell effectiveness

Black Rose Boots of the Vampire’s Kiss

Rarity: Epic

Class Restrictions: Control, Support

Level Restriction: 55

Physical Damage Resistance: 5

Magical Damage Resistance: 15

+15 Mentality

+15 Personality

All damage done by targets under the control of wearer’s Psychic or Spiritual spells and effects heals wearer for 10% of the damage done

Indigo Gloves of Glowing Petals

Rarity: Epic

Class Restrictions: Control, Support

Level Restriction: 55

Physical Damage Resistance: 2

Magical Damage Resistance: 10

+60 Mentality

+10% Decrease in Mana cost for all Psychic and Spiritual spells

Orchid Belt of Spreading Growth

Rarity: Epic

Class Restrictions: Control, Support

Level Restriction: 55

Physical Damage Resistance: 1

Magical Damage Resistance: 5

+20 Mentality

+20 Personality

All Channeled and Reserved spells of the wearer increase in effectiveness by 1% per second that they are active, for a maximum of 60%

Amethyst Floral Necklace of the Shielded Mind

Rarity: Epic

Class Restrictions: Control, Support

Level Restriction: 55

+25 Mentality

+25 Personality

Makes wearer immune to hostile Psychic and Spiritual spells and effects coming from sources up to 5 Levels higher than wearer

He practically drooled at the items he’d just received, and it was only a slight disappointment that he couldn’t wear them until he was Level 55.  Overall, they all had a purplish theme to their coloring, with only the boots being black, and there were embroidered flowers on every single piece other than the necklace, which was made of a purple-tinted metal he couldn’t identify.  The fact that they were all Epic and gave tremendous bonuses made him feel incredibly lucky that he’d been able to procure them.  He was also salivating at the thought of placing Sadia’s CAMP on any of them, which would quintuple the bonuses; he’d have to think about which one would be the most beneficial, though there were definitely some frontrunners.

As soon as he looked at them, Sadia was also aware of them, and given her wide eyes as she stared at the items in his hands, she was equally impressed.  While it wasn’t an official “set” with set bonuses, their effects were amazing enough that it didn’t really matter.

“Alright, let’s get out of here,” he said as he stored away his new acquisitions.  “I want to check my messages, and I don’t want to do it in here.”

“You haven’t been checking your messages?” Flarenia asked, walking toward the exit along with everyone else.  “So, you don’t know…”

He shook his head.  “No, I don’t like to get distracted while in a dungeon,” he replied.  “I just hope that we all received enough PICK to reach our Class Evolutions.”

All of them laughed at him, even as they passed through the exit.

I guess that’s a yes.