Broker

Imperious 014 - Smart Guy

Added 2025-03-27 12:00:01 +0000 UTC

Anna returned to the lobby only a short time after looting the two bodies. She was at 700 essence now for her current level with 124 unrefined. She took the opportunity to refine another hundred essence and let her mana tolerance cool back down before leaving. Dropping off the majority of the mushrooms and glowing stones first, she grabbed her backpack and made her way back to the forest. Quickly making a beeline for the marked trees that would lead her to her hiding spot in the trapweaver den.

Every level takes a long time, she thought. Not only that but it’s a violent struggle to make even a little progress. I get the best essence from monsters several levels above me but… she trailed off and glanced down at her leg. Every time I fight one it’s courting death- she stumbled and snickered a little bit before actually barking out a laugh, Did I really just think that? What’s wrong with me? That was so lame.

She frowned as the amusement passed, Still… it’s a valid way of putting it.

She checked the class section on her character sheet:

Class: Warmage - 1 (677/700) 90.3%

Just a little more to level two, man this is a slog, she thought and glanced up towards the trees, scanning them for fresh prey. Nothing,

The forest was relatively quiet as she wound her way through, checking trees for the next arrow until she found her destination. She double checked with wraithsight before diving back down into the trapweaver nest and dropping off her supplies behind the main cobweb. She didn’t linger long after that. She needed to hunt and that meant exploring more of the forest. Even if she just found a bunch of low level creatures to kill, that would mean more progress.

Grinding at level one, she grumbled as she climbed the pit towards the trapdoor. She paused just as she reached the top and squinted a little. A faint cloud of white was visible through the ground somewhere ahead of her. It was hard to judge the distance but that was enough to tell her that there was something alive waiting outside. She glanced around and spotted a few more cloudy shapes up above. Prowlers if she had to guess, Four of them.

She pushed the trap door up slightly and peered out only for her blood to run cold.

Alpha Stygian Prowler - Level 7

The massive prowler stood just at the edge of her field of wraithsight vision, the white cloud of its presence faint against its body making it seem a little smaller. She scowled as it raised its head a bit and looked her dead in the eyes. You smug fucker, she snarled inwardly, What? Were you waiting for this? How the hell- her eyes widened when it tilted its head and looked at the tree next to it. Its big intelligent eyes scanning the marking she made on the tree. Her mouth fell open. He is way smarter than I gave him credit for, shit!

She swallowed hard as it slowly backed up and leaped into the trees above, darting out of sight. Her mouth went dry. Is it… hiding? Where’d it go? She looked around quickly, trying to spot the large cloud of its presence but saw nothing, just the cluster of prowlers waiting above her. Her brows furrowed, The hell? Is it trying to wear me down? Fat chance. Well if you’re gonna serve your pack up to me on a silver platter then I’ll take it, she thought and grabbed the rim of the hole. With one quick pull she yanked herself out and landed on her feet, blasting her presence out at full volume.

Four howls of rage answered her audacity and she threw herself to the side, rolling head over heels while the beasts lunged at the spot she’d been standing in, two of them even going as far as to collide with one another. She glanced around again quickly and didn’t spot the Alpha. She didn’t hesitate. With a roar she charged at the first prowler and drove her club down onto the top of its head while snapping a kick out at the throat of another, the tip of her shoe causing the back of its jaw to click hard.

The third, one of the two that had gotten tangled up tried to dislodge itself from its comrade but Anna pushed past its brethren and grabbed it by the head, she met its wild eyes and snarled as she put her back into slamming it against the head of its fellow. Claws tried to dig into her shoulders from behind and she was nearly pulled back. She threw her head back and into the face of the predator attempting to maul her from behind. Her head hurt but it released her. She spun and released a power attack into the side of its skull. One of its eyes popped before it dropped to the ground.

The second one was already shaking off the brief stun from the jaw shot and pouncing at her, sweeping its claws. She blocked one with her palm, creating a mana barrier while using her arm to block the other. It threw its head forward and bit down on her shoulder. She felt the chains in her shirt give way and the robe bend beneath the pressure. Pain shot through her arm and neck and she gasped, driving her knee up into it once, twice, three times before throwing it off and swinging down at its side with a howl.

Two heavy bodies crashed into her from behind and pinned her to the tree, she pushed off hard enough to turn around only to get a set of claws to the face for her effort. More pain, the wound was deep too. She felt blood stream down her cheek and jaw as she turned her weapon around and drove the pointed end up and into the ribcage of the one on the right while the other snapped at her face. It was all she could do to cast another mana barrier to keep it at bay as she shanked its comrade repeatedly. When the one on the right finally loosed its grip a little she kicked it and then threw her shoulder into the body of the one on the left.

Her pulse was thrumming in her ears as she leaped on the one she’d stabbed and pinned it down by its throat, squeezing with one hand as she brought her heavy weapon up and down like a mortar before whipping her wild eyes towards the last survivor. Her blood was on fire again and she could feel the smile on her face. She didn’t care. It felt good. Odds like these and she was still going to come out on top. It felt so fucking good. The survior turned to flee and she blasted it with her presence.

“No escape!” She bellowed and lunged, tackling it to the ground as well and giving it the same treatment as its fellow. When it stopped moving she barked out a laugh as the chill of blood loss washed over her. She staggered to her feet and scanned the trees, “Where are you?” she shouted, “Scared? You should be!” she screamed, “I’m going to find you and wear you like a fucking coat!”

She panted and looked down at the bodies, “You’re just… making me stronger!” she wheezed and looked back up, “You hear-”

It was standing at the edge of her sight again. Its cold eyes fixed on hers. She felt a thrill run up her spine as the blood in her veins got even hotter. If I can kill you at level one, that’d be a whole lot of essence, wouldn’t it? She thought viciously only to frown as it took a few steps back and tilted its chin up at her in disdain before hopping into the trees.

“WHAT? WHERE THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU’RE GOING?” she roared, “COME BACK!”

She panted and looked down at the bodies, “Fucking pussy,” she spat as her blood dripped down on the ruined corpse beneath her. She practically punted the body in her frustration, and looted it. She didn’t even notice the smell of its blood turning to white powder on her skin as she mechanically walked over to the others and looted them as well.

You have received: 15 Iron Coins and 36 Essence Points

Please Note: You have enough Essence to level up. Your gained essence will be affected by your estimated level rather than your current level.

You have received: 2 Iron Coins and 17 Essence Points

She stared at the windows numbly, I can level up, she thought with a small amount of satisfaction. Something in her gut was screaming about it though. Her blood was boiling as the words of the notice turned over in her head. It didn’t take her long to figure it out, why she felt so angry, why she felt looked down on. It wouldn’t get any essence from me at this level, would it? She thought as her jaw creaked from how hard she was clenching it. It’s fattening me up! That mother fucker is-

She snarled and spun her club raised to strike the tree. She hesitated and then lowered it as she forced herself to calm down. It’s the bloodline again, she thought and caught her breath as she glanced at her resources.

Resources:
HP: 28/60 | SP: 19/30 | MT: 10/60

Tch, so much for hunting today, she thought irritably and turned back to the trap door. She opened it and dropped down, dragging herself back into the web infested lair and sitting down in the back, glaring at the entry of the tunnel past the hanging bodies. The thrumming faded as the adrenaline eased and the pain replaced it. She hissed and grabbed her backpack, pulling the bandages and gauze out. She knew she would heal quickly but she didn’t want to bleed out in the meantime. She wrapped her face and took her armor off to check and see if there was a puncture wound. Fortunately it was just a really bad bruise on her shoulder.

She leaned against the solid webbing of the alpha’s nest and caught her breath while she double checked to make sure the bandages around her face were tight enough. Her thoughts drifted to the alpha and she clenched her fists, Fine, hunt me, toss your pack at me, do whatever you want. I’ll live through it just like everything else. I’ll level up and then I’ll hunt you down.

She crossed her legs and closed her eyes before starting her next round of refinement. The essence spread through her veins again just as before. She felt it coating and recoating her veins tempering them, reinforcing them, strengthening them. She felt the sensation build to a fever pitch as she reached the cap for her level, tantalizingly close to hitting her mana tolerance cap as well. Then warmth and tingling strength spread through her body in a burst of glorious sensation.

Level Up!
You have refined your body to Level 2.

You gain a base +11 Attribute points for this level.

Nothing new, figures, she thought before lazily pulling up her attributes.

Resources:
HP: 40/65 | SP: 28/30 | MT: 60/64

I need more stamina, I get tired too quickly. More health too. I hit hard enough at least for the lower level monsters around here, she thought and distributed five points to vitality and endurance, dropping that last point into presence again. She wanted to see just what she could get out of it.

Resources:
HP: 40/90 | SP: 28/55 | MT: 60/74

My mana tolerance went up, I wasn’t paying attention to it last level but I think Vitality or Endurance or maybe even some combination contributes to it. Is it because it’s about being able to ‘tolerate’ mana? Interesting, she rubbed her chin before nodding in satisfaction at her selections. Whatever works, now what’s my new goal?

Class: Warmage - 2 (53/1500) 0%

“Holy shit!” she let out a whistle and rubbed the bridge of her nose, “This is not going to be easy,” she said with a sigh and kicked back, “I’ll heal up and then hope big and ugly isn’t waiting for me outside again with more of his friends,” she muttered and fell silent, staring at the entry, After that I’ll go looking for a different Alpha while I carve my way through this place. Mark my words, smart guy. I’ll be hunting you soon.

It was several hours later and a quick sip or two from her canteen when she packed up and made her way out again. This time she was relieved to find that the Alpha Prowler hadn’t decided to return just yet. Taking that as a cue to leave she turned in a new direction from her hiding place. No point in sticking around if he knows how to find me, she thought and started walking, turning her presence down to nothing in hopes of avoiding weaker monsters or at least getting the drop on them. She was pretty sure fighting anything her level or below was pointless.

That hike dragged on as the forest turned into a blur, everything looked the same and she was still hesitant to go into the darker portion. The quest was only for the outer region. That and, I have no idea what’s in there, she thought, eyeing the gloom uneasily from just a few hundred feet away. A new sound stopped her in her tracks just as she was thinking about turning around. Running water. She spun and looked around, Where? Where’s it coming from? She glanced down at her canteen. If I can find fresh water I don’t have to keep hiking back to the lobby.

She focused on the sound, walking this way and that until she could tell which direction seemed to indicate she was getting closer before breaking into a jog. The light around her dimmed bit by bit as she drew near and the hairs on the back of her neck rose. It’s in the dark portion, her lips thinned into a line. She reached into her backpack and pulled out one of the glowing stones. Fuck it, nothing ventured nothing gained, she thought and rallied her courage before stepping fully into the gloom.

It wasn’t long before she found the source of the sound and realized just how far she’d walked. The cavern wall that seemed to surround the forest loomed in front of her, lit by the glow of the stone in her hand. Set into it, was an opening, a cave within a cave.