Wild Era 2, Ch 28: Sarathian Quest

“What is this quest?” Serai asked quietly as she looked over at Kelin. “It’s from the Path.” 

“Those are incredibly rare,” Galin agreed. “Most adventurers go their entire lives without seeing one. How did we get it?”

The dwarf was looking better now and his eyes were clear. He was still covered in wounds, but they were closing. His new Decay Resistance and the healing were making good progress.

“They’re more common at higher levels,” Kelin explained, “when adventurers are able to act as agents for the Path and combatants in the Chaos War, but if something is important enough, you can get them earlier.”

He pointed at the bodies of the Sarathian team.

“Those fellows were involved in something that could be very bad for people, similar to the expansion of undead dungeons that Sarathia was trying with those cores. The Path is asking us to follow up.”

“Why does it need us?” Serai asked, furrowing her brow. “I thought it was all powerful?”

“There are many major powers,” Kelin replied. “The Path is only one of them. It oversees our galaxy and serves the Sovereign of Silver Chaos, but it is not omnipotent. 

“Other equally powerful forces are able to interfere with it and to conceal things from it. Otherwise, we would have won the war long ago.

“Once you reach the Fourth Evolution or so, it often asks people to go and investigate something that it can’t see. Sometimes it’s an aberration or a strange energy source, but most of the time it’s an enemy, one way or another. Adventurers at that level are like its agents and benefit greatly from assisting it.”

“So there’s no reason to turn this quest down,” Galin said, chuckling. “Except that we might die. But I’m getting used to that.”

Kelin felt faintly embarrassed as he looked at the dwarf and the others.
“You do keep landing in things over your head,” he agreed. “Or perhaps by fate. Sarathia was chasing you the first time we met and it seems like it hasn’t stopped.”

“Perhaps we just have bad luck,” Serai said. She smiled slightly to show that she didn’t really mean it, but there was a trace of sadness and truth in it.

They had lost one of their original party members to the first Sarathian assassin.

“Not that bad,” Galin argued. “We ran into him. So far, we’re still alive. Most of us, and we’re getting stronger. That’s due to him, and we can’t deny it.”

Maro nodded emphatically, although he still couldn’t talk. He pointed at Kelin and then at the three of them, and then he made a gesture upwards like fireworks exploding.

“We’re rising swiftly,” Serai translated. “It’s true. We wouldn’t have been able to do this on our own, and if we do want to fix our old problems, our strength is already getting close to being able to wipe them out completely.”

Her words belied the fact that she was still covered in pale blue blood, which was the natural color for a Winter Sylph.

Looking at the three of them struggling to recover, Kelin held back a sigh. 

None of them had any doubt about what they were doing. They were fully on board, as dangerous as it was.

How these three had ended up like this, with the best of the guild’s spirit radiating from them, he didn’t know, but it was the duty of an elder to take care of promising young talents, so that was what he was going to do.

Now that they’d picked up Epic classes and some abilities, they were starting to really take on that name, and soon the guild would recognize it too.

What they could become from this moment was up to them, but if they survived he expected to see them among the stars one day, standing at the vanguard among the endless ranks.

Then they would truly be known as heroes.

Until then, he needed to make sure that happened.

A flicker of amusement ran through his mind as he looked away, and his mood turned more mischievous.

However, they weren’t heroes yet. 

They were more like walking advertisements for “Look what you can do with a guild adventurer if you keep getting them nearly killed, but they manage to survive.”

Some army units had the habit of finding a useless but good-humored young soldier and making them their mascot. 

They would protect them and ensure that they received opportunity after opportunity to advance...until either they became strong enough that no one was able to beat them up any longer or the people trying to get them there all died.

These three were his mascots.

By the time he was done with them, they would either be stronger than everything else around that could hurt them, or he would be dead.

At the same time, they were individuals and he had to respect their choices, so he wouldn’t keep dragging them through dungeons unless they wanted to do it.

It did occur to him that if he repeatedly took them to the brink of death and brought them back, it could be good training for the Law of Reincarnation.

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, hiding his smile behind his hand.

Maybe he had made more progress on that Law than he imagined.

“I’m staring at this True Remnant reward,” Galin said, coughing slightly as he spat out a mouthful of old blood. “Can’t decide what to take. What do you think?”

His question brought Kelin’s mind back to the present.

“The Law Opportunity or the Physique upgrade,” he said immediately. “For all of you. Those two rewards are far more rare than the others. I recommend the Physique upgrade unless you already have one that’s at least at the Basic tier. 

“It will make you stronger in many ways and a Law can build on that later. You’re also likely to get one that matches you perfectly, since the Path is offering it without an attunement.”
Then he looked at Serai.

“For you, the benefit is slightly different, but it’s still the same answer. Winter Sylphs have a perfect affinity for Winter and advance naturally as they level and age. Choosing the Law or the Physique upgrade will accelerate that and make you stronger ahead of time.”

Serai nodded thoughtfully, agreeing with him.

“I was leaning toward the Physique one,” she said. “I have seen elder sylphs who can change their bodies into a primal elemental form, one that comes from the Goddess of Winter. We are descended from her and she is a pure Winter elemental, perhaps the only one in the galaxy. 

“I think I will pursue that. It will naturally help my abilities and spells.”

Kelin nodded. 

“I’ll do physique too,” Galin agreed. “Any type of Earth physique should make me more durable.”

Maro nodded at the side, but then he tapped himself on the chest and shrugged. He held up two fingers.

“The second option?” Kelin guessed. “Law for you because you already have a Fire physique from your berserker class?”

Maro nodded in agreement, chuckling silently.

“It’s the Raging Fire physique,” Serai said, looking over at him. “He’s mentioned it before. I don’t think he minds my saying it now. It’s part of his rage and Fire aura.”

Maro nodded in agreement.

“How’s that codex working out for you?” Galin asked, chuckling at how silent Maro was. “Now we get to talk more and you have to listen!”
Maro rolled his eyes. Then he pulled out the codex and waved it at Galin threateningly.

“I’m not going to use it!” the dwarf replied, laughing. “You keep that thing. I like my voice.”

Maro rolled his eyes again and stuffed the codex back into his storage bag.

The three of them got distracted after that as they focused on their notifications, and a few moments later, waves of power from the Path began to swirl around all of them.

Kelin chuckled, but then he went back to meditating as he continued recovering from the battle.

The Path hadn’t known what the Sarathians were up to here, but he had a feeling the Sovereign of Undeath somehow had a hand in things.

There had to be a reason that the True Remnant part of the dungeon had surfaced and the Lord of Shadowfall appeared. 

A chance for the lich to rise again.... 

What exactly had the Sarathians been doing?

There were three basic types of True Remnants.  

The first type was only a True Remnant to start, and the first time it was cleared, it would change to a regular dungeon. 

Then there were ones that were always considered True Remnants, since the power in them was continually replenished. Those usually had something that Path could oversee, like the bone altar here that offered a Trait. 

The third type was like this dungeon, a remnant that could hide itself, even from the Path, and that would only activate under certain conditions. 

They often gave rise to strange and cursed events, which was why they were the most dangerous type.

If the Path had only been interested in safety, it would have destroyed them all, but like with this one, there was good reason to keep them around. 

They offered high rewards, allowing adventurers to rise in strength, and they only showed up once in a while. 

They were also a battlefield where threats like the lich could be dealt with before they escaped and returned to their old power.

As the others focused on their upgrades, he realized he’d gotten distracted by his own Law reward and that he still had the fifty attribute points to put somewhere.

Constitution, Intelligence, and Aura were all good contenders for it, but he was leaning toward Constitution, especially after the damage he’d just experienced. 

With his physique, every point there was worth almost twice as much.

Aura was critical, but he planned to visit a few dungeons after this and unleash Wildfire, so it would increase from that.

Ideally, he would go after ones 20 or 30 levels higher than him, so that his advancement would be swift and he would get the best benefit from Wildfire’s aura conversion without it being crushingly hard.

Another option was to pick an even more dangerous dungeon for the rewards, like something at Level 150.

Doing either of those would be easier if he could survive.

After a moment of consideration, he added the fifty points to Constitution, taking it to 299. 

With his 75% bonus, it was equivalent to 523.

That was as durable as Maro or Galin, and they were melee classes.

The average Constitution for a First Evolution mage was only around 300, even when they were close to reaching Level 200. They mostly relied on mana shields to avoid damage.

When they did get hit, they either relied on a backup like a talisman shield, their equipment, or other special abilities, like teleportation or damage swaps.

If they didn’t have any of those, they died.

At higher Evolutions, a mage’s mana was completely integrated with their body, so that a mana shield and a physical defense were effectively the same thing.

Even if their mana pool ran out, the sheer density of their overall mana signature made sure that it was difficult to hurt them.

It was similar to the mana density change at the First Evolution, but a thousand times stronger.

After that happened, it was less important to improve your Constitution, but it was still useful for extending your lifespan and resistances.

After everyone finished with their rewards, he heard the results.

Galin acquired an Earthbreaker Physique, which allowed him to channel Earth mana better through his body and strikes. 

It added impressive damage to his attacks and he could stomp on the ground to create a localized earthquake. 

His ability to wield Earth mana as a crushing attack that suppressed and flattened his enemies also improved, giving him better crowd control.

Serai’s race as a Winter Sylph advanced and she became capable of transforming herself into Winter’s Visage. 

When she activated it, her entire body changed to pale snow and ice that was surrounded by drifting snowflakes. 

Her hair became long and trailed down her back with spikes of blue and white frost, her eyes turned an even brighter blue and crackled with mana, and she radiated the threatening presence of killing frost. 

Any weapon she touched was instantly covered in ice and her spells were stronger and more deadly.

As for Maro, he was eventually able to talk again as the hour-long curse expired. He had taken the Law Opportunity and planned to wait to use it.

He wanted to upgrade his understanding of the Law of Raging Flame, which was the core Path his class was following.

“Let’s finish healing up and head back to Highmist,” Kelin said as he looked around. “There’s no time limit on the Sarathia quest, so we can prepare first. It’s going to be dangerous, so even the Second Evolution won’t be too late to deal with it.”

Sarathia had been up to whatever they were doing with the undead for a decade or longer, so it could wait a few months for him to get to a level that was able to handle it.

“I need some time to adjust to my new Evolution,” Serai agreed. “It feels like it’s too soon for me to head to Sarathia. There’s still a lot to gain near Highmist.”

The others nodded in agreement.

“There’s a lot of dungeons we can still hit up nearby,” Maro said. “Things that are a bit more normal to let us train, and then we could meet back up for a harder one again that challenges us.”

It was a clear but polite request to give them some time to adjust and relax.

Kelin wasn’t surprised. 

Most adventurers needed some down time between challenges. 

It was usually beneficial for their state of mind and their training both, since it gave them time to adjust to any changes before they headed out again. 

It wouldn’t be a bad idea for the group to focus on their own efforts for a little while and then to come back together when he knew the next step.

He needed to stop by the city himself to check on the kids and give them the sovereign’s gifts, so either way that was where they were all heading next.

“I’ll look into some things,” he said with a nod, “and take care of some dungeons of my own. I’ll come back and get you when there’s a need for a group, and when we can actually do something about it. 

“Meanwhile, we can keep an eye out for any other Sarathians in Celadon and see what they’re doing. The guild should be able to help with that. They’ll support any quest given by the Path as best they can.”

He took out a stack of talismans and began dividing it, handing some to each of them.

“You’ll be able to use these more easily as you move through the First Evolution,” he said. “Take some with you. They might come in useful. I’ll make more once I get back.”

It would also save them from having to buy similar backup items at the guild.

Before long, everyone had a dozen of each type: Soulfire Blast, Warden’s Talisman, Soul’s Rest, Soul Veil, and Soulfire Infusion, which could boost the strength of the others.

It left him low on infusion talismans with just seventeen left, but he still had enough of the others.

They spent a while longer healing and ended up camping out in the lich’s abandoned hall overnight, but the dungeon didn’t try to kick them out, which was a nice benefit. 

Kelin spent the time making a few dozen more infusion and shielding talismans, replenishing some of his stock.

Now that he was in the First Evolution, using Blaze resulted in talismans that were even stronger, around Level 140 or a bit higher. 

He needed more practice to maximize the advantage, since it was a careful interlacing of mana in the inscription, but they would continue to work well, especially with Mystic Echo.

In the morning, they gathered around a silver-black portal that had appeared on one side of the hall.

The night of rest and some more healing had ensured everyone fully recovered. 

The new traits for Bone Recovery and Decay Resistance had helped to accelerate the process and eliminate the lingering dangers for the others, while Kelin had nothing to worry about.

Decay Resistance was a powerful ability that was extremely useful against the undead, but he had a feeling it would be incredibly hard to tier up.

Powerful things were like that.

He had a faint sense that it would also help him with the Law of Reincarnation, like it was one piece of the greater puzzle.

I shall not decay, but rise again...

The thought floated through his mind. 

It wasn’t quite right for his Fourth Evolution concept in the future, but there was something about it that fit. 

He had time to consider it.

When everyone was ready, Kelin led the way through the portal. 

The familiar starlit blackness of the Void washed over him, humming the familiar energy of the Path, and then he was on the other side, back on the cliff where the dungeon entrance was located.

The other three appeared behind him as he looked around, checking for the guild guards that Sandren had left here.

But they were nowhere to be seen.

A sense of foreign mana and soul auras hung heavy in the air.