Healer Arc 2 -- Chapter 1

What Came Before

(A spoiler-free recap of the events that occurred in the Earthen Contenders series)

Thaden was stolen away from Earth, along with millions of other Humans, to become Contenders; as Contenders, they were instructed to become stronger in the developmental world of Tarth.  This world was kept separate from the rest of the universe, treated as a sort of incubatory area where the Earthen Contenders could learn about the Assimilation System that brought them there, as well as the Persistent Adversary, which was the source of the dungeons and monsters that threatened all sources of life.

Things didn’t turn out the way anyone expected, as Thaden was violently ripped away from his Training, which forced numerous anomalies upon him, the most important being that his Mana was, in effect, inexhaustible.  Stuck with a Support-based Healer Class, Thaden managed to not only survive, but thrive, as he made his way through the developmental world he was sent to by finding a way to leverage his Class in a way that was virtually unheard of before he arrived. 

By the time their stay in Tarth came to a close, Thaden had become the most powerful individual—by far—in the entirety of the developmental world, and he was looking forward to learning more about what the future would hold.  Unfortunately for him, his transition back to the larger universe was anything but smooth, and he ended up losing almost all of the progress he’d made in Tarth, including his high Level, his incredibly robust stats, and all of his Achievements.  In fact, the only things that he was left with was his Adventurer Coalition Rank and his Class, which included all of the spells that he had unlocked. 

Now, finding himself on the Assimilation System’s world of Plangea, which is a massive culmination of thousands of planets and races incorporated by the System, Thaden must find a way to pick up the pieces of his sudden downfall, while at the same time figuring out how to simply survive in a dangerous world where his previous advantages are suddenly a curse….

Chapter 1

Thaden bent down and gripped the stalks of wheat in his left hand while he brought the sickle in his right hand toward the base of the stalks, before pulling the hand tool toward him.  The sharp blade passed through the wheat like it wasn’t even there, a testament to what he assumed was an enchantment of some sort on the metal, and he quickly tossed the bundle of stalks that had been freed from the field to the side, joining the pile that he’d already started.  Eventually, he’d use a few of them to tie the pile together, forming a sheaf of wheat that could easily be gathered up by some of the others working the field along with him.

Of course, every single other person around him was moving much faster than him, leaving him in their literal dust, so he was somewhat by himself at the moment.  He stood up and arched his back, relieving some of the ache that seemed to fill his back every day, even as he wiped away the sweat that pored down his face despite the woven, wide-brimmed hat on his head.  Fortunately, the ache in his body wasn’t as bad as when he’d started working in the fields approximately 6 months ago, but even if his natural muscles adjusted to the exertion over time, it was still exhausting.

“Hey!  No breaks!  I’m not paying you to stand around!

The sound of the Field Foreman shouting at him from somewhere behind him might have startled him months ago, but he was too tired to let it bother him.  Instead, he simply bent over and gripped another bundle of stalks in preparation of cutting them with his sickle.  The repetitive action was both therapeutic and monotonous, as his body was basically on auto-pilot as his mind was allowed to wander where it would.

The reminder from the Field Foreman about being paid made him mentally chuckle, as the pay he received was barely enough to live on.  Then again, as he glanced up at some of the other Netherine, the tall tiger-demon race that were the primary inhabitants of the town of Felith, he could only conclude that his pay was based on his production compared to the other workers.  Even the lowest-Level field worker, at Level 4, was practically a powerhouse of lithe muscles and deadly claws that they used to cut through the wheat so naturally that they reminded him of the farming equipment back on Earth that could harvest a field in hours instead of the days that it would take someone like Thaden to do the job.  How they weren’t falling over in heat exhaustion as the black-striped, red fur covering them from head to toe absorbed the sun’s rays, he didn’t know, but he figured it had something to do with some innate heat resistance.  He wasn’t sure if they were actually demons, even if the two black, curling horns on their heads sort of hinted at the origin, but either way, they didn’t seem bothered by being out in the sun all day.

Meanwhile, Thaden had his skin burned so much that it had, by necessity, been tanned darker than it had ever been before.  His Natural Regeneration Competency helped to repair the damage that the sunburns produced upon his Health, but with his stats being so low, it didn’t take much to actually harm himself in the first place.  Even something as simple as a cut on his skin from his sickle, which had previously been almost impervious to damage like that back in Tarth because of his high Physicality stat, took a few minutes to heal completely, and by that time he’d have bled on some of the wheat grain he was harvesting, ruining it by making it unpalatable by the residents of Felith. 

That, of course, would then dock his daily pay. 

It was so much easier when I could simply heal myself.

Unfortunately, despite keeping his Fortunate Catastrophe Class, which was—at its base—a Support Class based on healing, he couldn’t use even a single spell to heal himself or anyone else.  He had dozens of spells that he’d unlocked while in Tarth, each of them at Celestial strength, and every single one of them was incredibly effective in preventing or healing damage done to someone’s Health.  But because they were so strong, and he didn’t have access to spells of a weaker strength, they were far outside of what his Mana pool could handle.  Even the least expensive of them cost over 1,000 Mana, and with his Mentality stat at 2, which brought with it only 20 Mana in his pool, he was far from being able to cast any of them. 

That wasn’t anything new, however, because he’d had months to get used to being essentially powerless.

Once he had finally recovered from being forcefully transported to Plangea from where the Assimilator had been holding him after snatching him up from Tarth, the two Netherine who had found him out in the jungle-like area some distance away from Felith had dropped him off in the town and left him there for others to deal with.  The town council had eventually found him a spare room that he could rent – as long as he quickly found employment of some sort.  He had then spent the next few days leaning upon their generosity, which was actually quite a relief to experience, especially with everything that he’d been through, while he looked for a job to start paying his way. 

As he walked through the surprisingly modern-looking town, which had buildings and homes that he didn’t think would look too out of place in rural America, he began to realize that finding a position anywhere within the town would be difficult, if not impossible.  First, even though the buildings were constructed with a stone that almost looked like concrete, and the wood that was incorporated was exotic-looking and was likely taken from the jungle nearby, it didn’t take him long to see that everything was built on a scale that far exceeded his own.  While he wasn’t exactly short for a Human at around 6 feet tall, the Netherine were—at the shortest—at least 10 feet tall, with the older and higher-Leveled ones he saw exceeding a dozen feet or more.  Not only were they larger than him, but they were also stronger, faster, and could easily pick up things that were set higher than he could stretch up to reach.  As he looked through storefronts in the strange, mall-like town marketplace, he felt like a toddler going into a grocery store where all the good stuff was located on the top shelves.

Being a fairly large town, there were plenty of positions that he could attempt to apply for, but his lack of height quickly proved to be a deal-breaker.  Everything was designed for the convenience of the Netherine, and while he saw a few other races moving through the town every once in a while, they all seemed to be rather tall, as well; the result was that even something like being a cook was all but impossible because the counters and cooking surfaces were taller than him.  He even contemplated being a server in one of the Inns, but with the tables and the bar being taller than he could easily reach, it wasn’t going to work.   

With professions that weren’t necessarily dependent upon being tall, he found himself lacking in strength.  It appeared as though, at Level 1, an adult Netherine was significantly stronger than an adult Human, so any construction jobs or anything that involved carrying heavy things was basically out. 

Thaden also looked into a position that didn’t require height or strength, such as something that required some knowledge of logistics or math, but after only a few hours in town, he swiftly learned that his knowledge of the language the Netherine spoke didn’t extend to their written language.  That made doing anything “office”-based pretty much incompatible with his current skills, so he was forced to look someplace else.

That was when he looked toward the Adventurer Coalition building in the town, which he was originally happy to see.  Being a Platinum+ Rank in the Coalition, something that he’d managed to keep from his time in Tarth, he thought he might be able to take advantage of his Rank and find a way to regain some of what he’d lost.  For instance, if he was able to party with a bunch of Adventurers to regain his lost Levels and stats, he could eventually cast some of his spells again.  Some equipment that he could apply his Condensed Adaptable Mimicry Plate to, which was what the dozens of Adaptable Mimicry Plates he’d had before ended up as when he arrived in Plangea, could also boost his stats once again, which would also allow him to regain the power of his powerful Class.

Unfortunately, the Coalition had been filled with a bunch of stuck-up Netherines that looked at the rags that he had been given to cover his body and demanded to see his Badge.  Since he didn’t have it, and also because his records weren’t officially recognized by the Assimilation System – and therefore by the Adventurer Coalition – they refused to help him, and was subsequently turned away.  In order to officially apply (again), he had to pay the 3 silver-piece fee, which he obviously didn’t have.

His interaction with the rude workers inside the Coalition was only the tip of the iceberg to his troubles, as even when he thought he had found a job he might be able to do within the town, his Personality stat got in the way.  At a Personality of only 1, the reactions of the populace weren’t as exaggerated as they had been in Tarth; while the Charee in Tarth had been outright hostile toward him, the Netherines wavered from sheer indifference to a mild dislike, none of which convinced any of the job providers to actually hire him for a job.

Eventually, there was only one real place that would even consider hiring him, so he was forced to venture out to the extensive fields that surrounded the town of Felith.  Paid what he considered an extremely low wage, there wasn’t really any other option for him if he wanted to eat – because after the first few days of mooching off the generosity of the town council, they cut him off from receiving any assistance from them.  Whether it was because he was a different race, or because they simply didn’t care what happened to him, they seemed to wash their hands of the whole situation.  He thought it was likely the latter reason, because no one really seemed to comment on him being a Human, other than to remark on how short he was; they didn’t, in fact, even ask him where he come from, or why he had been dead and naked in the middle of the nearby jungle before the two hunters Resurrected him.

It was… strange.  Their lack of curiosity was akin to finding an ugly, stray dog that was in need of food and healing; they had enough compassion to heal him and feed him until he was good to move around on his own, but then they ignored him and abandoned him to his own devices without any other support.

That brought in the thought of leaving Felith and finding someplace else to hopefully find some additional help, but there was one big problem with that: His Bonus Traits that came from his Fortunate Catastrophe Class.  He looked at his Character Report once again, using his bodies automatic movements to peer at it while he continued to harvest wheat.

Thaden

Fortunate Catastrophe

Level – 1

Progressive Internal Combat Knowledge (PICK) – 0/100

Adventurer Coalition Rank: Platinum+ 705/810 RP

Health – 10/10

Mana – 20/20

Physicality – 1

Celerity – 1

Mentality – 2

Personality – 1

Fortuity – 1

Spells: (125 to select)

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

Access Slots: 286

Competencies:

Support Spellcasting Competency (Level 31,524, 22%)

(8 Advancements pending)

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

(8 Advancements pending)

Spiritual Spellcasting Competency (Level 1,417, 35%)

(5 Advancements pending)

Natural Regeneration Competency (Level 456, 36%)

(4 Advancements pending)

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

(5 Advancements pending)

Psychic Resiliency Competency (Level 2,028, 26%)

(5 Advancements pending)

Mana Assassin Competency (N/A)

Mana Management Competency (N/A)

Achievements:

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)

Equipment:

Condensed Adaptable Mimicry Plate

Rarity: Artifact

Imprinted User Restriction: Thaden

Level Restriction: 1

Durability: Indestructible

Usage Limit: None

Special Properties: Growth

Can be attached to and unattached from any non-consumable item to mimic and quintuplicate all of its effects

Additional effects can be unlocked upon the growth of the Condensed Adaptable Mimicry Plate

The biggest problem with leaving the town or its immediate environs like the fields he worked in, was one trait in particular.

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 time he ventured out away from town, he risked inviting any monsters out there to come attack him – and he had almost no ability to defend himself.  The thought of using the sickle in his hand as a weapon nearly made him drop it, as his Class didn’t allow him to use weapons like that – but tools like the sickle were at least able to be used in a practical way like he was doing at the moment.  As far as his spells were concerned, he ignored them for the most part, as they cost too much to cast; the only exceptions were the spells that were “Reserved,” as they simply reserved a portion of the Mana pool to start activate them—

—or that was how he thought they were supposed to work.  Instead, as he tried activating something like Celestial Aura of Life, which was supposed to reserve a portion of his Mana pool as it activated, he was met with an error, something that he was unfortunately used to by this point, after dealing with the hostile Assimilation System in Tarth.

ERROR!  Insufficient Mana to activate Reserved function!

He didn’t know exactly what it meant, but he assumed it was because a Celestial strength spell was supposed to be used by someone with a much larger Mana pool than he had at the moment.  How large it needed to be, he was given no indication, but he intuited that it was probably at least enough that he could cast the lowest-cost spell he had in his spell list.

“Alright, wrap it up!  You’re done for the day!”

The familiar words surprised him, and Thaden looked up to see that the sun had begun to set in the sky, and that he had somehow managed to make it to the end of his row.  The other Netherine’s working in the field were nowhere in sight, meaning that they had likely finished some time ago, so it was only Thaden and the Field Foreman left.

“Here’s your pay.  Glad to see you picked up the pace later in the day, so I didn’t have to dock you any.”  Thaden numbly held his left hand out as he felt a few copper pieces fall into it, dropped by the much-taller Foreman.  His boss then picked up the last pile of wheat stalks he’d cut and expertly wrapped them up, before they disappeared into his Inventory.  Unfortunately, Thaden’s Inventory couldn’t even fit a single one of the bound sheafs, at Level 1 it was extremely tiny, but it could hold something his money.  In fact, as he quickly deposited his pay into his internal space, which was only about a cubic foot in area, he looked at the money he’d been saving up, as well as the Condensed Adaptable Mimicry Plate that was inside.

For the millionth time, he took it out of his Inventory and held it in his hands, looking at the metallic-looking Artifact for any sign that his friend was still there.

“Sadia?  Are you there?”

Unfortunately, just like every other time he’d tried to coax the giant squirrel out of the Plate, nothing happened.  Sighing, he put it away even as he looked at his monetary reserves.  Tired from the work of the day, it took him a few seconds to realize that he’d finally hit the threshold he’d been hoping for. 

3 Silver, 1 Copper

He now had enough to register with the Adventurer’s Coalition, again, and he was hoping that it would finally give him the means to get away from this stupid wheat field and get back to fulfilling his other goals. 

I should probably wait until tomorrow, but I’ve been saving up entirely too long to hold off any longer.

With a burst of energy that was born from the thought of finally taking back control of his life again, he ran at full speed through the field, bursting through the gates along the tall walls surrounding the town of Felith, before making a beeline toward the Coalition building.