Chapter 402 - Then and Now

Chris

The maps were given freely, and I had my next few targets. Based on how quickly I had dealt with the first, I imagined I could handle two or three a day if they were of the same difficulty.

I doubted they would be, though. This one didn’t seem to be made up of any heavy hitters or Faction elites. Plus, Zuri was still out there, and I didn’t forget that there was still New Canada and Boston to consider.

Still, as I set out from one Fort to go smash down another, a memory of the tutorial resurfaced.

Most of the time, such a thing would be shunted back into whatever black box it came out of. That time was better left locked up than reminisced about, but this memory wasn’t painful or drenched in grief.

It reminded me that this wasn’t the first time I’d run around to hot spots playing whack-a-mole before.

The fallen pylons that had turned into pseudo-dungeons felt exactly the same as what I was doing now. Instead of going around killing wave beasts, though, it was camps of human attackers.

An unhelpful distinction I tried not to think too hard about.

The next Fort that was under attack was a ways to the north. I had to pass by two other Forts before I could reach it, but it didn’t take all that long at a full sprint. They weren’t that far apart in the grand scheme of things.

A few hours to each one, so it took me around six hours until I arrived where I was needed.

Rachel sent me a few messages through the stone asking what I was doing, but quieted down after I told her. She’d been there when I’d done this the first time and left me to my work.

The Fort of Thorns, or Fort Thorns, I wasn’t sure which, and didn’t clarify, was led by a mousy woman who’d seen better days. She wasn’t exactly appreciative of my arrival, but after the deed was done, she thanked me wholeheartedly as I left.

The reason my arrival upset her was clear once I walked back to the fort for a brief rest after the attackers had been dealt with. The Fort was surrounded by plants, with thorned vines covering the walls like ivy on old houses.

I assumed they’d once been alive and vibrant, but all I saw were shriveled and dead plants hanging on because they were frozen stiff rather than gripping in their own right.

[Tundra’s Descent] had killed her plants.

At first, I assumed I’d killed all of them, but I either overestimated myself or underestimated the Fort Leader. She had new vines sprouting from the ground, and others were revitalized in just moments. The amount of mana it took was a lot, but it got the job done. It wasn’t like she would be needing the mana in the near future.

~~
Congratulations! You have leveled up.
~~

After that, Wheat Fort was next. I didn’t question the name.

A Warrior named Ian was in charge of this one and actually ran out of the fort to help me once he felt my arrival. It was entirely unnecessary and was actually quite harmful, but I didn’t make him leave. The battle wasn’t close enough that toning down my wider abilities so I didn’t hit him mattered in the long run. It just took a little longer.

~~
Congratulations! You have leveled up.
~~

With nearly 10 hours spent running around, and a few more fighting and resting, I called it a day there. I could have rushed off to the next one, but I was tired. Tired mentally and physically. The fights themselves weren’t all that strenuous, but they had all added up.

Mentally, there was only so much slaughter I could take in a day. Too much blood and too many faces ground away at my motivation to keep going.

Part of me hoped that with the three forts I’d freed from attack, Zuri and her Faction would reconsider things. It was a small and far-fetched hope, but it was there. Giving them a day to consider wasn’t hard to do, either, so I spent the night in Wheat Fort before heading out again the next day.

My armor was dented and scratched from the many battles, and a large piece on my side was still missing, but it was getting the job done. Putting it on was more difficult, but doable with a bit of care.

My hammer was as pristine as the day I’d summoned it. Nothing had come close to damaging it yet, which was a good thing. I wasn’t sure how long it would take me to recover from summoning it again.

After saying my goodbyes to Ian and the Fort, I set out for the next one.

I expected the day to go similarly to the last, but I was oh so wrong. My plans were derailed right from the start, and I didn’t get more than a few miles away from Fort Wheat before I felt a beacon of power rushing toward me.

The person’s aura was blaring loudly and impossible to miss with [Aura Detection]. The man, as I saw when he got closer, was strong. Stronger than anyone from the Imperial Faction I’d faced yet.

[Human – Level ?]

I didn’t get the exact level, but it felt similar enough to my own that I was confident it was above 120. I had to watch out for two D-rank skills, with one being hand-picked.

“Stop right there!” He called loudly.

Not sure where this was going, I complied. I knew he was an Imperial, as that was obvious from the colors he was wearing. White, mainly, where Flame Falls mainly wore red. Also, the rest of his get-up was impressive from what I could tell.

His armor glittered in the morning sun, reflecting the rays nearly as well as the surrounding snow. It looked well-made, and I could feel some enchantments in it from here.

A sword was at his side, with a hand ready to draw it. My hammer had been in my hand the moment I’d felt his aura. It was surprising he’d left his weapon sheathed. A draw skill?

Other than enchanted plate armor, he wore a thick fur cloak for warmth. I assumed there were layers underneath the armor for the same reason.

His face was visible through a raised faceplate on his helm, along with a poorly grown beard. It looked closer to a few days of growth than a true beard. His pale skin was rosy red from the cold, and his mouth was tied up in a snarl.

What was even more obvious was the clear animosity rolling off him in waves. He was an enemy, and he knew I wasn’t on his side. From the anger in his aura, I assumed he knew who I was and what I’d been doing.

Being told to stop wasn’t the main reason for me doing so. Behind the animosity and anger in his unconcealed aura, there was something familiar to me, and I was curious if what I thought was true.

Leadership was different to different people. It didn’t always feel the same from person to person. The Admiral felt much different than Marcus and Vanessa. Noble Titles were even harder to identify. I assumed this man had both. My guess was that he took a Warrior Baron-style Class like I had been offered.

I stopped because of curiosity.

“Identify yourself!” The man yelled after we’d come to a stop a few hundred feet apart. Far, if not for stats. I’d reach him quickly if it came to it. [Weight of the Arctic] was empty since this was the first fight of the day, but I had enough without the boost.

I turned my head, “Odd, to demand such when you have not done so yourself.”

He seemed affronted that I wasn’t aware of who he was.

“I’m Anthony DeLuca, the Baron of Brooklyn!” he said pompously. Well, it came off that way to me. I didn’t go around calling myself the Viscount of Frostheim.

“I wasn’t aware there was a Baron of Brooklyn.” I thought aloud, and boy, was that the wrong thing to say.

Admittedly, I wasn’t well-versed in the intricacies of the Empire Faction. I knew of Zuri, and that was about it. I also knew of the enormous population the Faction had, but that was impossible to miss.

Lower Barons or notable people inside the Faction were unknown to me, because I didn’t much care. We were half a continent apart, and if Vanessa hadn’t called on us, we’d never have come into conflict.

“You don’t even know the Faction you face yet you butt into a conflict that’s not yours?! How stupid are you?” He sneered.

However curious or novel this may have turned out to be disappeared. I didn’t take well to being insulted, especially to my face.

“Mind your tone,” I said flatly, “Insults will turn this conversation in a direction you won’t care for.”

“Is that a threat?” His foot slid back, and his grip tightened.

“No,” I said, doing nothing in response, “It’s a promise.” It was tense for a few moments before he broke it.

“I’ll say again,” he said, “Identify yourself.”

“Christopher Zalenski,” I said, but didn’t see the point. It was obvious he’d saught me out, at least it appeared that way. Why else would he be directly on my path and set on intercepting me?

“You? You’re the Lord of Frost that I’ve been hearing tall tales about lately? The Demon in the Snow?” He laughed, actually laughed, “Good, saves me a trip from coming to find you. You’ve caused enough problems already, and cleaning up your mess is already too much of a hassle.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond to that. He was either arrogant to the point of being stupid, or just plain, good old-fashioned stupid.

“Surrender now, and you shall live. Don’t, and well… you get it.” He waved his offhand.

[Tyr’s Judgment] was my response. The chain shackled the two of us together, and I launched forward as soon as the skill latched on.

If he was offering battle, I would ablige him.

He moved as soon as the ethereal chain manifested, and in one smooth motion, drew his sword and thrusted. The move was well practiced, and the skills involved created a powerful spear of force headed straight toward me.

Too bad for him, it didn’t do anything. I let it fracture [Glacial Plate], which refroze seconds later.

He swung again and flowed into a third strike by the time I was on him.

A [Shattering Hammer] powered blow struck and [Reverberated] out.

The Baron of Brooklyn died before getting off a fourth.

Well, that was disappointing. I wanted to see what his Class was like…

~~
You have slain in mortal combat [Human – Level 135]

Congratulations! You have leveled up.
~~

Was it his level that gave him confidence? Could he see mine and assumed he was stronger? I wasn’t sure. What I was sure of, though, was that the amount of essence I got was less than I predicted.

The rush after killing Tasunka was like a tsunami, but from him it was… weak. It was still large, don’t get me wrong, but not… overwhelming like it’d been the first time.

Did he only have a Rare Class?

Lower-grade Classes took less essence to level, which resulted in less to take when slain. It could also be that his Profession was way behind. Like, not even D-rank behind.

He was a Baron, though? Shouldn’t he have been… stronger?

Thoughts that never crossed my mind were of how many levels I’d gained recently. With everything going on and running from Fort to Fort, I just didn’t think of how many stat points I’d recently received.

Just after my arrival here in New York, I’d gained 1,024 stats. One thousand and twenty-four.

~~
Strength - 3239 -> 3543   (+304)
Agility - 1548 -> 1608        (+60)
Perception - 722 -> 746     (+24)
Fortitude - 2748 -> 3042   (+294)
Endurance - 1641 -> 1791   (+150)
Vitality - 1125 -> 1215         (+90)
Free Points - 51 -> 153        (+102)
~~

If you included the gains from the Reservation as well, that number climbed to 1,537. With a total stat count of 12,703 before all of the new levels, that was an increase of over 12%.

12 percent.

It wasn’t a new Law or a rank in Body Refining, but it was still a large increase in power. One I still hadn’t gotten used to, and hadn’t come to terms with my new power level.

My comparison was based on how strong I was then, not how strong I was now.