Raze ~ 17!

~ Seventeen ~

Skill increase: Coalescence (Student III). Congratulations! You have achieved a breakthrough with your ability! By understanding yourself, you have created a unique understanding with your skill! Skill rarity has increased by a rank! As a bonus, the mana regeneration provided by this skill has increased by 50%! Casting time decreased by 10% Caution: as this skill has increased in rarity, it will be comparatively difficult to grow naturally!

Joe’s eyes popped open, and he was treated to the nausea-inducing sight of Bards kilt flapping right in front of his face. He started to struggle to move away, and Bard simply let him flop to the ground. “Abou’ time, ya great walnut! I though’ ya were gonna sleep ta day away!”

Quickly getting to his feet and brushing the dirt off his robe, Joe looked around. It was already well into the morning, and it was obvious that the group had been moving for quite a while. “How long was I out?”

“Hours, friend.” Poppy clapped him on the arm and marched past. Joe did a double take when he saw that the stinger from Sheila was strapped to the Duelists back, but he realized that the item could potentially be converted into a formidable weapon. A wasp stinger had met the same fate to create Poppy’s current weapon, after all.

“Ugh.” Joe glanced inside himself and saw that there was mana raging through his body, and his center was nearly empty. That was… strange. Conventional wisdom demanded that mana be tightly confined within a single space. Joe had studied enough of the books that Journeyman Cel had recommended to understand at least that much. He activated his Cleanse spell and hydrated himself, narrowing his eyes at his arms as he felt the change in mana accessibility.

“Everything okay, Joe?” Alexis asked him as her path brought her past the team leader. “We couldn’t figure out what was wrong with you, and since you’re the healer…”

“Oh, no, I’m fine. Even had a breakthrough with a skill.” Joe looked at his hands, where water was continuously flowing from his palms into the crook of his arms. “I’m… my mana feels strange now. My skill rarity increased, and my mana is now distributed through my body. I have no idea what that means, in terms of skills and such, but I can cast spells faster now.”

“That’s odd.” Alexis agreed with him, giving him a push so that he would start walking. “Also, you’re lacking a certain… sparkle that you normally have. What’s up with that?”

“Sparkle?” Joe suddenly noticed that he no longer had Exquisite Shell active, and winced at the realization that he had been unprotected for hours. He exerted his will, and mana seemed to seep out of each pore and into the air around him. “There we go.”

“You look like someone dropped you in glitter! So pretty!” Jaxon clapped his hands and looked over Joe’s body. “It is always the shiniest just after you cast this spell. Did you know that it tends to fade over time?”

“I did not know that.” Joe excitedly exclaimed. Maybe this spell wasn't so bad after all! “I did see that there was a serious difference with how fast I was able to cast the shell.”

“Lovely!” Jaxon reached out and touched Joe’s cheek, then looked at his finger. Joe was pretty sure that there was disappointment on the Chiropractor’s face when none of the sparkly came over to him.

“Pardon me, I have business with your team leader.” The entire group instantly went on edge when a voice reached them. On the path, not ten feet away, was a man dressed in garish colors. His face was hidden under the myriad of cloth he had bundled over him, but overall he seemed to be non-threatening.

Joe looked around. There was nowhere for the man to have been hiding, there was no cover, and the ground was flat for hundreds of feet. How was it that this man had appeared without any of them seeing him coming? Joe decided that caution was going to be his watchword here. “I’m Joe, what can I help you with?”

“Hello.” The colorful man took a step toward the group, somehow instantly crossing the distance and stabbing a knife into Joe’s chest. “I was sent to assassinate you.”

“While I admire your straightforwardness, I am not a fan of the task itself.” Joe infused his mana on the assassin’s shadow, and a shadow spike sliced into flesh.

“Hmm.” The man looked at his knife, only to see that it had stopped just before penetrating Joe’s chest. “I’m very sorry to tell you this, but I do have my orders.”

“Any chance that you could tell me why I’m being attacked?” Joe wasn't sure where his calm clarity was coming from, but for some reason he couldn’t bring himself to muster fury or battle rage. “Also, why is my team not attacking you? I think that this is a situation where they should be screeching war cries and there should be sharp metal flying at you.”

“Ah, I can see the confusion.” The stranger was repeatedly stabbing his knife at Joe’s chest, and the latter could feel the shell weakening. “Sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, but we are currently inside of a formation. Specifically, this is the formation ‘Apathetic Advantage’. It is used to remove one’s emotions, and is usually used by my organization to capture powerful beasts. They tend to be arrogant, and will refuse most bonds and such if they know about them. Truly, I’m not sure how you are able to keep functioning.”

“I see. That would certainly explain why I am not sending constant streams of attacks at you as I normally would.” Joe nodded at the other man, keeping his Shadow Spike channeled to increase the damage over time. “Again, might I know the reason behind the assault?”

“I suppose that there is no rush.” The man stepped back, moving a distance that seemed impossible with a single movement. This also removed him from the effect of the spike, and it collapsed after a moment. “Let me see… Joe. Ah, yes. Kill command ordered due to infringing upon the monopoly of the Zoo to contain, train, or sell Mythical creatures.”

Joe stared blankly at the man, to the point where it seemed that the formation had taken complete control. The colorful individual started to pull his knife out again, but Joe suddenly shook his head. “Thank you for the information, but I fear that there is nothing I can think of that would explain this situation.”

“Oh? Did you not sell a Bunnicorn in the city?”

There was enough of a reaction on Joe’s face that it was apparent he wanted to fly into a rage, but physically couldn't. “I see. This is over such a small matter? Is there any way to resolve this peacefully?”

“I suppose that I could offer you a capture quest,” the man responded after a moment of contemplation. “I am authorized to do so, and it seems that you might create an issue if I attempt to slay you. Are you certain I can't simply check this off my to-do list? No? I see. In that case… let me see you. Hmm. Coffee addiction, level four? That must be an issue on long distance missions. Here is my offer.”

Quest gained: Too Many Zoos! The Zoo has offered you a chance to show that you aren’t trying to compete with them! Capture a Rare or higher rarity animal and gift it to the Zoo within a month. Reward: Kill order rescinded. Small non-combat pet (Coffee Elemental). Failure: Kill order remains in place.

“A Coffee Elemental? I’m not even certain what that means.” Joe remained fixed in place, no expression crossing his face.

“Allow me.” The colorful man held out a hand, and after a moment a coffee jug-sized creature appeared on his hand. In his other hand, a coffee cup appeared. The strangely liquid creature flowed into the cup until it was full, then vanished back into the man’s many robes. A dash of sugar was added, and a spoon was placed in the cup. “Here you are.”

“Thank you.” Joe took the cup, and looked down. Tiny liquid arms grasped the spoon and spun it around. A tiny voice came from the cup.

“Drink me! I’m delicious!”

“That’s some strong coffee.” Joe commented a moment later, after the entire contents of the cup had literally poured itself down his throat.

“It really is.” The man nodded. “No combat utility, sadly. Do we have a deal?”

“I couldn't possibly say no.” Joe agreed easily. The man nodded, handed him a button to press when he was ready to speak again, and vanished. A moment later Joe could feel his mental state evening out. “What in the craptacular abyss was that?”

“Ugh!” Alexis grabbed her head. “That was horrible! I felt like nothing mattered! I couldn't even be bothered when Joe was getting stabbed!”

The entire group seemed to agree with the assessment, though Joe was feeling something else at this moment.

Caffeinated!

He smiled brilliantly at the others, and started skipping along the path. “Oh well! New quest, awesome rewards to be had! You ready to go? I am! Let’s ask questions later! I really wanna hear more about formations, those seem useful!”

“You know that you nearly died there, right?” Jaxon called as Joe started to gains some distance from them.

“These things happen!” Joe called back happily. “In this case, I feel the threat was worthwhile!

“Is he okay?” Poppy’s questions only earned a shrug, and a few chuckles when Joe tripped and popped back to his feet without a comment.