FMH ~ 42!

The four team members were marching through the woods again, but this time everyone except Luke was in a very bad mood. Zed looked over at the Murderhobo and had to hold back his scream of frustration. “Seriously, when you notice a flaw like a lack of a time limit? You keep that to yourself. You could have just… left! Gone to do anything you wanted to do for the next several decades, or until one of the members of the nobility caught up to you! Instead, you taunt the General right to his face!”

“I admit, was not my smartest move.” Luke’s eyes were always roving, scanning the environment for threats or resources that he would be able to use. “I didn’t realize that it was possible to modify quests.”

“If they can make them, why couldn’t they change them?” Taylor questioned him, “The logic is very simple, you need to use your head.”

Luke was quiet for a while, but then turned and lock eyes with Andre. “I have been alone for the vast majority of my life, and for most of that time I was desperately hoping to get back in contact with my friends and family. However. I have forgotten you. Tell me what I have missed.”

“Are you trying to become friends with me all over again?” Andre bellowed, slamming his Livingwood staff on to the ground and causing plants in the area to wave around wildly. Luke tensed up, preparing himself for the inevitable combat. “Excellent! I'm glad you are reaching out, let's talk!”

Everyone except for Andre blinked at that instant change in demeanor; the Druid simply started speaking. “we touched on our situations lightly, let’s dig in deeper. I was tossed into the Druidic Grove world, and found that my master had an extremely sadistic streak. He used me as a test subject for his plans to advance his career, and the worst part… is that everything was successful. It worked amazingly well, and I gained power fast.” 

“Later on, it turned out that he was actually a very nice guy, and we became good friends. Let me see… I can tell you this, but you can’t tell others, agreed? Good. I reached level eight, and am focused in Capacity. The thing that set me apart in the first place was my massive mana pool, and my goal has always been massive changes in territory. This means that I need huge reserves of mana, else my goals are not achievable.”

A short period of silence followed this, then Zed stepped in. “That's it? What your focus is when talking about a sub-characteristic? What about your powers? Things that you can do? Nifty anecdotes?”

“All of these are things that I refuse to share.” Andre shook his head gravely, “I can tell you that I use abilities, not powers, yet I cannot tell you what they are. I found that if I give away this information lightly, others will know my weaknesses. I am much safer in our Kingdom than I was in The Grove, but there are still limits to what I'm willing to share.”

“Because it has been decades for all of us? Because we don't know each other anymore?” Taylor spoke in an even tone, assessing what he was telling her and looking for flaws.

“Admittedly, that thought has crossed my mind.” Andre told the others, and Luke nodded at the words.

“I am glad. Trust is never given. Good to know that I am not abnormal.” Luke didn’t see that the others winced when he made that comment.

“At least you’ll be useful in reclaiming the pass.” Zed told Andre after considering for a few moments. “Make a few trees slam things to death, abyss, make them walk and control them like golems! Them we can ride in style and-”

“Oh, right. I also can’t intentionally kill any sentient creature.” Andre rattled off the comment, and Zed almost exploded.

“You can’t kill?” He waved an angry hand at Luke, “He has a gear fetish, and you can’t kill? What’s wrong with you, Taylor? Are you a bed-wetter?”

Surprisingly, that made Taylor's previously always calm face turn beet-red. A blast of force took Zed off his feet and tossed him into the underbrush. “Mind your tongue! Even if we are party members for a short time, remember that I am the next Archmage-apparent! Keep your filthy words to yourself, cur!”

Zed slowly got to his feet, blood dripping from a cut across his forehead… and tears slowly dripping from his eyes. He silently rejoined the group and walked along without speaking or tending to his wound. Taylor took that opportunity to offer the information that she was willing to part with, “I am a subclass of Mage called a ‘Namer’. I have reached level seven, and have reached the highest levels with my Senses. My Physical Reactions and Mental Energy are nearly equivalent in power. I use spells to take down my enemies from a distance, and I have no such restrictions on killing. I simply cannot use disease-style spells."

“Is that a restriction of your class?” Andre hesitantly asked for the information, he was uncertain what had made her attack Zed, and did not want to come in contact with her wrath.

“A small one, based only on the components that I use.” Taylor explained matter-of-factly, turning her eyes to the horizon.

“I have reached level nine.” Luke instantly had the attention of everyone around him, and their expressions were full of shock and doubt.

“Did you not devote any of your gathered Potentia into your… powers?” Andre put forward the question they were all wondering about.

“I did.”  Luke's face twisted, and he snarled at his resurfacing memories. “I was trapped in a small area for decades, and got to the point where I had killed so many of the same thing, so many times, that I simply got no Potentia for years at a time. Though, I did train in such a mana-rich environment that my sub-characteristics have all increased fairly massively. I believe that I terrified the Enchanter who tested me. That was before I kicked him through the wall for trying to fry my brain. In terms of what I specialized in? I suppose my Fitness? It just reached over forty points.”

“Celestial Feces.” Zed whispered so softly that it was only heard because he was surrounded by Ascenders.

“My power? I suppose you mean my skills. I don't have many, but my most powerful one is based on having access to armor and weapons.” Luke unfurled the tents that he had been carrying everything in for a full day, giving it a shake to show that it was now empty. He simply dropped the tent on the ground and continued walking after that. “I am able to absorb them, then use them with my mana instead of having to wear them. However, the more I have, the more damage I can deal and receive.”

“Let me be clear, if we get anything that I can use, I will be taking it.” Luke's words were a threat, not a simple assertion. “I have my own goal, and I will not let anyone or anything stand in the way of it. The only reason I am not back in Murder World right now is that Don cut me off!”

They continued walking through the forest quietly after Luke’s outburst, and Zed finally allowed his boredom to overcome his grumpiness. “Hello everyone, I am a True Bard, and I was able to reach level four in the last two years. Not all of us were able to go to some luxurious alternate dimension to train, and my training has consisted of moving between populated areas to tell stories, as well as spread propaganda on behalf of the Hollow Kingdom.”

There was no comment, so Zed kept speaking. “I use what are called ‘Masteries’, and they are based on controlling, subverting, and bending others to my will. What I mean is, bending others to the will of the Kingdom. Guess what? I can't use masteries on other Ascenders that are part of the Kingdom! I also can't use them on regular civilians, unless ordered by the Kingdom! Do you have any idea how difficult it was to gain the number of levels that I did?”

“My master nailed me to a tree to teach me how to give its nutrients so that I could eat one apple a day for about three months.” Andre blithely stated.

Taylor joined in on the gripe session, “Archmage Don threw me off a cliff and made me survive in an area populated by tier five and higher spellforms for the last few years.” 

“I spent forty years alone, with a majority of that devoted to killing goats, eating hallucinogenic berries, and losing the love of my life.” Luke’s words made the others look at him questioningly. “She isn't dead, I simply have to progress further in Murder World to get her back.”

“I thought you were alone there?” Zed’s question got him a glare in return. “Right, well, I clearly specialize in the sub-characteristic ‘Charisma’. I'm hoping that our time together will get us great stories, so that I can start gaining Potentia and levels again in the near future.”

“How about you, Zed?” Andre thumped the thin Bard on the back. “Any restrictions on killing?”

Zed shrugged at the question. “Just can't kill people that are citizens of the Kingdom. Not without orders at least.” 

“Same as the rest of us.” Taylor chimed in with a grin.

“I could.” Luke’s words stopped the conversation cold. “Wouldn't even make me blink.”