Healer Arc 2 -- Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Thaden dug into his breakfast with gusto, the food better than he expected for a buffet-style format in the Coalition’s dining area.  It made sense for the food to be made in mass quantities like it was given the sheer amount of Adventurers filling the massive cafeteria-style room, but it had still surprised him to learn that it was a buffet.  Of course, with thousands of people wanting to eat around the same time, there were actually 8 different stations around the room that were serving the same thing, and despite the crowd of people, getting his food hadn’t take very long.  He’d had to pay for his food, as he made it a point not to take even more advantage of his status as a Platinum+ Badge Holder because it would cause more attention to be paid to him, but it had been a reasonable single Silver coin for the quality and quantity of food he’d received. 

Looking at his reserves – which sat at just over 6 Gold coins – and comparing it to just a few days before, where he had to scrape enough Silver together to try to replace his Badge in Felith, it was a veritable fortune.  It was also enough to start purchasing some decent gear, which was his next stop after breakfast.  He thought he had more than enough time before he had to report to the Quest Assignment area in the lobby, as the odd System message he’d received when he’d woken up had been slightly vague on exactly when he needed to be there.

Thaden,

I’ve found some additional Party members for you, as well as contacted the two Adventurers you had mentioned the previous evening.  They will meet you near the Quest Assignment counters tomorrow around mid-morning.  Please let me know if you need any other assistance and I would be happy to help.

Eleria

Adventurer Coalition Leader – Teglir Branch

“It’s a special feature of your Badge that allows the Coalition employees to contact you as long as you’re within range – which is typically inside a town or city, or its immediate environs right outside,” Sadia had explained after Thaden had confusedly looked at the message.  It wasn’t something that was available on Tarth, which would’ve been nice, but it seemed as though the Coalition had advanced in some ways while it had been on Plangea. 

Regardless, as he’d woken up early – a result of his time working the fields where he had to be up before the sun – and had time to spare after eating breakfast, he now had time to shop.  Unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be any type of “online marketplace/auction house” that offered instant delivery via System shenanigans like on Tarth available on Plangea, which would’ve made things easier, as there hadn’t been any private access to it in his room.  He also couldn’t recall there being anything like that in Felith, so he figured it simply didn’t exist.

Thankfully, Sadia again came to his rescue.  “While there isn’t a Contender Market like on Tarth, there are local Coalition Markets in most towns and cities.  The Adventurer’s Coalition is a business of its own, after all, and they buy and sell crafting materials, weapons, armor, and accessories that are gained from killing monsters and clearing dungeons.  Their reach is limited to the local area, however, as far as direct access.”

“That’s a lot of information.  Why didn’t you mention this before?”

She thought about it for a second.  “I don’t believe that I knew it before I arrived in the city.  An update, perhaps?”

Sometimes, Thaden forgot that Sadia was technically a construct, and even though she was bonded to him through the Condensed Adaptable Mimicry Plate, she still received a lot of her information through the Assimilation System – good or bad.  Thus far, since she’d returned to him, she seemed to be less restricted in what she could tell him and hadn’t seemed as undyingly loyal to the System like she had been on Tarth, but he would still have to keep an eye out for any worrying signs.  At the moment, she was doing everything she could to keep him off the System’s radar, which he took as a good sign that she wasn’t a sleeper agent just waiting to expose him.  He didn’t like even thinking about that, though, so he tended to like to ignore it for the most part.

As he left the dining area and made his way to the lobby, where Sadia had assured him that he could find access to the Coalition Market, he was again amazed at how many Adventurers there were in the city.  The lobby was packed, even with how early it was in the day, and he had to navigate his way around hundreds of individuals and groups, all moving toward different areas for a myriad of different reasons.  In the distance, he caught a glimpse of a sign that he thought said, “Marketplace,” or at least “etplace” from what he could see without someone getting in his way, when Sadia’s voice in his mind stopped him. 

“Hey, isn’t that Blinky?”

While he wasn’t sure where she was looking, as she was back inside the Plate and looking out through his eyes, he stopped and glanced around.  It only took him a second to locate the diminutive Grome, bouncing up and down excitedly in place as he stood outside of the main flow of traffic against the wall.  A second glance showed Rel’ba’shet the Aelveen leaning up against the wall, looking bored with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes partially closed as he apparently people-watched. 

Thaden walked over to them, though it only took a few steps before Blinky noticed him coming, turning the enthusiastic smile on the Grome’s face his way.  The way the smaller Adventurer seemed to grow more excited after seeing Thaden was infectious, and he found himself grinning in return.

“Thaden!  How fortuitous to see you this morning!” Blinky said as Thaden approached within 15 feet.  The Grome looked a little crestfallen for a moment, before his smile returned.  “The Coalition already found a full Party for us, faster than expected, so we aren’t able to invite you to ours.  I’m sorry, I know we promised to have you come along, but the Coalition apparently found a Support Class already.”

“Oh?  Do you know who it is?” Thaden asked as he schooled his face into one of disappointment, enjoying the harmless deception.  He could only assume that the pair of them had received a message just like he had, also without any type of description of who was going to be joining them.  He was proven right a second later as Rel’ba’shet answered, uncrossing his arms as he did so.

“No, we were only told that they would meet us here.  At mid-morning,” The Aelveen emphasized, glancing at Blinky in annoyance.

“Mid-morning?  Isn’t that a few hours from now?  Why are you here already?”

Blinky hadn’t stopped slightly bouncing in place.  “I was just too excited to wait!  To think, a full Party!  I’ve never actually fought with a Support Class before in my Party, so this is a big deal!  See, Rel, I told you that it was a good idea to come to Teglir!” the Grome nearly shouted, turning to his partner, before focusing back on Thaden.  “But what about you?  Did you find a Party yet?  I’m sure, as a Support, you shouldn’t have any trouble finding one.”

“Yes, I found one,” he assured the excitable Adventurer.  “But I need to do some shopping first, as I’m sure you probably noticed,” he said deprecatingly as he waved toward his simple clothing.  “I was just about to head into the Marketplace, in fact—”

“Oh, you don’t want to do that!  They charge way too much, especially in a city like this!” Blinky announced, which was news to Thaden.

“Really?  Why would this city make a difference?”

The Grome cocked his head to the side slightly, as if he couldn’t understand why Thaden had asked something so ridiculous.  However, it was Rel’ba’shet that answered.  “It’s because Teglir is a major trading hub.  While the Coalition here will gladly buy everything you want to sell to it, even paying slightly higher prices for some things than you’d receive in some nearby towns, it makes most of its money by taking what it buys from Adventurers and reselling it to other Coalition Branches at a markup.  It also sells a sizeable portion of its crafting materials and basic supplies to the Front Lines, which is always looking to resupply their constantly fighting forces. 

“As a result of those practices, the Coalition Marketplace in Teglir charges nearly the same amount that it does for its items that it would normally ship out, as they want to maximize profit as much as possible and maintain their domination over trade.  Therefore, stay away from buying from the Marketplace here for anything you need; selling, on the other hand, is absolutely fine, though you’ll generally receive a little less than you would selling items to individual shops.  It’s more about convenience, though, as you don’t have to visit a dozen different places to find someone who will buy your stuff; not every shop in the city will purchase what you’re hoping to sell.  The Coalition, on the other hand, will buy everything.”

That’s a fairly concise evaluation of the market here, he thought.  “So, where do you think I should go instead of the Marketplace?”

“The same shops I just mentioned.  There are thousands of places to buy pretty much anything you can think of in the city.  They typically have their own supply lines which sometimes intersect with the Coalition, but the main benefit is that you’ll find better equipment because it is crafted locally and not extracted from monsters or as rewards from a dungeon.  Crafted equipment is much better for lower-Level Adventurers; all of ours is crafted, in fact.  I’ve heard that once you reach a certain Level, though, the equipment that you can find from some of the most dangerous dungeons will beat nearly anything that can be crafted, but for now, crafted equipment is the best.”

That hadn’t really been Thaden’s experience on Tarth, but that was also probably because the native crafters – as well as crafting-focused Adventurers – couldn’t keep up with Thaden’s insane Leveling speed.  The native crafters, the Charee, were limited in what they could produce based on the average Level of the Contenders in the world; here on Plangea, though, there were no limitations – and Thaden wasn’t leading the pack in his current Level, either.

“Thanks – I’ll go check them out,” he said.  “I’m sure I’ll see you around, then.”  After a few more pleasantries, Thaden left the enormous Coalition building and made his way outside, squinting at the bright light for a moment before his eyes adjusted.  Once they did, he looked to the side of Glory’s Passage where he’d seen the shops the day before, and started making his way toward them.

It didn’t take him long to recognize that Rel’ba’shet was telling the truth – there were hundreds of shops lined up along the thoroughfare, many more than he had noticed the day before.  As he walked along the outside of them, he couldn’t help but think he was at some sort of outdoor mall, as the shops were varied in their size and sometimes extravagant exterior, with names that sometimes explicitly described what they sold – such as the one called Shining Swords – or were deliberately vague – such as one he passed that was called Tantalizing Treasures.   Most of what he saw was not what he was looking for, however, as most of them seemed to cater to weapons and armor suitable for other Classes, though he almost stopped at one that seemed to deal with accessories.  He passed on that for now, as he needed an outfit first, and he wasn’t sure how much it was going to cost. 

Finally, approximately two-thirds of the way down Glory’s Passage, he stopped in front of a shop that gave him hope.  Pushing open the door of Vital Support after seeing some cloth robes in the window that he thought had potential, he took a few steps in and immediately knew he’d found the right place.  Looking around, all he saw was cloth outfits, ranging from robes to simple-looking shirts and pants, though they all gave off the impression of containing magical energy, meaning that they weren’t exactly simple. 

He also wasn’t the only customer in the small shop, as there were approximately a half-dozen Adventurers roaming through the different racks set up around the shop, each of the racks containing a number of pieces that seemed to work together as a pseudo “set”, and he had a fairly good sense that these Adventurers were most likely Support Classes. 

A strange energy completely separate from what he could feel from the items permeated the entire shop like an invisible miasma, and he felt a sense of danger from it that he couldn’t recognize right away.  Sadia helped him with that, as well.

“There’s a ward preventing anyone from storing items in their Inventory.  It’s a common practice in shops that display their wares out in the open to prevent theft.  It also does something I’m not sure of if you try and run out with something, as well.  I wouldn’t test it, though.”

“Wasn’t planning on it,” he said under his breath, just before he was startled by a person suddenly standing next to him.

“Welcome to Vital Support.  Please let me know if you need any help finding something.”  The voice came from an older Netherine with a slightly hunched-over appearance, as if he’d spent decades hunched over a desk.  He was gone before Thaden had a chance to see his name tag, disappearing through a curtain in the back that swished with his passage.  If I had to guess, that was probably the one who crafted all of this stuff.

Thaden began to search through the racks, briefly touching everything to get a sense of what it was, and his eyebrows unconsciously rose as he began to see what the Aelveen that would soon be in his Party had been talking about.  While none of the items were spectacular in and of themselves, they were all well-made and seemed to be much better than the Common and Uncommon loot he remembered picking up when he was low-Level.  Of course, he hadn’t learned how to extract loot until he was a much higher Level than he was now, but he’d seen what was available in the Contender Market on Tarth at his current Level, and it couldn’t compare.

Some of what he saw in the shop wasn’t perfectly suitable for him, as they had minor bonuses to casting speed for Support spells similar to his Explosive Healing Ring that he was wearing, or even bonuses to healing, which wasn’t exactly something he needed because he was already pretty strong in that category.  None of them were officially “sets,” either, which would’ve provided bonuses to having them all worn together, but he hadn’t really expected them to be at his Level.  In the end, though, he had to pass up most of the items on display because they had Level Restrictions that were higher than his own Level, leaving very little to choose from. 

And what little options he had were expensive.  He remembered how difficult it had been for Support Classes to acquire equipment at lower Levels on Tarth, but he thought it would’ve been different on Plangea – but he was apparently wrong.  A single piece of equipment, a pair of cloth gloves, was 5 Gold coins – nearly his entire reserve – and that was the cheapest item he found that he could actually use.  There were plenty of items that were less expensive, but they were for Support Classes that were at least Level 20 or higher, which seemed counter-intuitive, but he supposed that any equipment for low-Level Support Classes was either hard to produce. 

I wonder if its any different in the Coalition Marketplace?

Thaden left Vital Support disappointed and without making a purchase, as he didn’t want to spend most of his reserve on a single item.  The gloves were relatively nice, as they gave a +9 bonus to Mentality and a +3 bonus to Celerity, along with a +6% reduction in Support spell cooldowns, but that wasn’t worth the expense – at least in his opinion.

On his way back to check the Coalition Marketplace to see if it had better prices, Thaden stopped by the accessory shop he’d seen on the way and left disappointed once again.  They didn’t have any items that were Support Class-only available, and the ones that were available for multiple Classes were based around Resistances – something that he didn’t feel like paying a Gold coin, at minimum, to acquire. 

Wow.  I feel like a country bumpkin coming to the big city and realizing that everything is so much more expensive here.

When he finally got back to the Coalition building and made his way to the Marketplace, he was feeling quite discouraged.  His discouragement only deepened as he found himself closeted within an alcove for privacy, using the interface provided to search through tens of thousands of listings available for purchase.  While there was more variety, a lot more than he expected if he was being honest with himself, he didn’t find a single item less than 7 gold that was for a Support Class of Level 15 or lower.

Is this why there are so few Support Classes around?  Not because Adventurers don’t want to select them, but because a lot of them die before they can afford good gear?  Or do they know ahead of time that they’ll basically be weaklings from the get-go and only the lucky ones survive long enough to become self-sufficient?

He wasn’t sure, but he figured it was a combination of many factors.  Regardless of the reason, what it meant for him was that he wasn’t going to be getting any equipment that day.  Instead, he figured he would have to rely on the generosity of the loot he’d pick up from monsters and the rewards from clearing dungeons – like he had on Tarth.  At least my Fortuity is relatively high, so hopefully I’ll get some good stuff. 

By the time he exhausted his shopping options with nothing to show for it, as he still refused to pay so much for a single item, he left the Marketplace and realized that it was nearly mid-morning.  Pushing away his disappointment, Sadia reminded him that it was time for him to officially meet his new Party.  The sudden shift in his demeanor was welcome, as he was actually excited to find out who Eleria had found to round their Party out, and most of his disappointment faded away into the background.  This should be fun.

Thaden couldn’t keep the smile from his face as he caught a glimpse of Rel’ba’shet in the distance as he walked back through the lobby, leaning up against the wall just as he had been a few hours before.  A few more steps showed Blinky still slightly bouncing in place, though he was staring at two new arrivals, his head swiveling between two Netherine women standing nearby, both of whom were wearing short robes that ended at their knees, belted by a metallic cord that kept it tight against their waists.  One of the robes was a burnt orange color while the other was a dark grey, and both of them were carrying wooden staves with what appeared to be identical dark gemstones arranged around their top exterior diameter.  It wasn’t until he moved closer that he could pick out their name tags from the crowd.

Lovinia {Densartis Faction}

Netherine

Level 16

Flarenia {Densartis Faction}

Netherine

Level 16

Am I racist, or do they look remarkably similar?  While not an expert on telling Netherines apart, he’d had enough practice that he didn’t think that he would casually believe that two Netherines looked identical for no reason.  As he looked closer at them while they stared down at the Grome, whose attention was bouncing back and forth between the two, he couldn’t help but see that any visible stripes on their fur was exactly the same, and while their “devil” horns were slightly different, he thought that might be simply a random difference as the Netherines grew and matured, as their horns weren’t fully grown when they were born.  Regardless of the horns, enough about the two women was similar enough – including the same bored expression on their faces – that he concluded that there was a fairly good chance that they were identical twins. 

Whether it was because he was studying them so closely as he approached, or because he noticed a similarity between their names, but he also thought that these women looked somewhat like another Netherine he’d just met the day before.  While the resemblance was only partially there, he got the impression that they were somehow related to the Teglir Branch Leader, Eleria. 

He could be completely wrong, of course, but if he wasn’t, then that meant one of two things.  First, Eleria trusted Thaden so completely that she was willing to put her family in a Party with him.  While this was possible, he doubted it; even his high Rank wasn’t exactly enough to convince someone to trust family members with him, especially as he seemed determined to push the limits of how fast he could Level himself up.

Second, and more likely, was that these new additions were there to spy on him.  While Eleria had seemed to be all about helping him with whatever he needed, she was most likely experienced enough to know that Thaden was unusual, and would probably like to know exactly who he was and what he was doing there – as well as trying to figure out why he might deserve his Rank despite his Level. 

His footsteps picked up a temporary hitch as all of this occurred to him, and it seemed as though Sadia had the same thoughts. 

“They look like they’re related to the Teglir Coalition Leader.  Probably spies to report back to her.”

Pleased to be on the same wavelength, he quietly murmured, “Yep,” before he continued walking with his smile back on his face.  Blinky seemed to see him first, despite not looking in his direction, and the Grome whipped around to watch him approach with an odd expression on his face.

“Whoa, what’s wrong, Blinky?” he asked.

The smaller Adventurer waved toward the two Netherines.  “They say that they’re our new Party members, but they won’t tell us who our Support member is – or even where they are!  They say they don’t know who it is!”

At his words, both Lovinia and Flarenia raised their heads to look at Thaden, in exactly the same movement, which further locked in his assumption that they were twins.  He didn’t see any sense of recognition in their eyes as they took in his appearance, though there were certainly sneers of disdain that creeped onto their mouths.  A little stuck-up, perhaps?  Or because they’re underestimating me due to my lack of equipment, just as Rel’ba’shet does?

He ignored them for now.  “I’m sorry to hear that.  I guess it’s a good thing I’m here then, right?” he asked with a smile as he came to a stop across from Blinky and the rest of the Party.

“Thaden, I appreciate you being willing to join our Party, but we’re waiting—”

“—for me!” Thaden interrupted Rel’ba’shet before he could finish whatever he was about to say.

“No, that cannot be.”  The statement that came from Flarenia was flat and final, as if it was an absolute, and her sister nodded in agreement.

Thaden scratched the back of his head.  “Oh, and why not?  Why not me?”

“Because you’re… whatever this is,” she went on, gesturing toward him from his feet to his head like he was some sort of disgusting freak of nature.  Rather than being indignant or angry, Thaden only felt amused at what she was saying about him.  “Besides, we’re waiting on someone very important to the Coalition, which is why we were chosen to join this Party.  And you’re definitely not special, even if you’re a race I’ve never heard of before.”

Thaden chuckled.  “Special?  How do you mean?”

“I don’t know, but she—uh, the Coalition said that we would know it when we saw it.”

With that slip of the tongue, it became more obvious that Eleria knew them personally, which made his theory that they were family of the Coalition Leader more likely. 

“They probably want to see your Badge.  Which means that Eleria wants them to know that you’re a high Badge Rank.  Still doesn’t mean that they’re spies, but it’s looking more like that’s the case.”

He nodded to acknowledge Sadia’s words, while he extracted his new Diamond Badge from his Inventory and held it in his right hand.  While he didn’t want to necessarily flash it around to everyone, he was fairly certain he could keep it so that just his Party could see it.

As for his assumption that these two additions to the Party were spies… he didn’t really care.  For whatever reason the local Coalition Leader sought to employ such tactics, it didn’t matter in the long run.  He was legitimately a Platinum+ Ranked Adventurer, and trying to research him through the System wouldn’t get her anywhere since he technically didn’t exist.  Or, at least, that’s the impression he had after all the problems he’d caused with the Codexical Access Point in Felith.  It was possible that she might go to some of the higher-ups in the Coalition to ask about him, and while they would probably tell her that they didn’t know who he was, it would hopefully be too late by that point. 

Hmm… Sadia talked about a purpose before, right?  I think she was trying to steer me toward becoming strong enough to protect my people, where the Humans from Earth ended up after coming to Plangea.  That’s a noble idea, but not really for me.  It’s not that I don’t care about them, because I do, but there’s something a bit more selfish that I care about more: myself. 

He needed to become strong enough no to have to worry about people coming after him, or sending spies to watch his every move and report back to someone in the hopes of exposing him to those with more authority.  The only way to do that would be to Level-up so much that such things no longer threatened him.  In other ways, he needed to become independent enough that no amount of politics or imagined strength could touch him.  And then, and only then, could he do something to protect his people, and perhaps even dig into the System and the Adversary without any obstacles in his way.  I think that’s my purpose.  To become strong enough to do what I want without interference.

When he thought about it like that, it seemed like something that an evil supervillain would say, but Thaden wasn’t evil.  He just didn’t like being chased, abused, manipulated, or restrained in any way.   The first two were things that people could do to him, and if he was stronger than everyone else, then they would never have that opportunity.  The last two were what the System did to people, even if most of them didn’t know it; Thaden did, however, and he was continually fighting against it. 

Feeling more confident in himself at the thought of his newfound purpose, he smiled, moved up close to the two Netherines, and opened his hand to display his Badge.  “Is this special enough for you?”

Needless to say, after their initial disbelief, flashing his Badge was more than enough to convince the sisters that Thaden was the real deal.