บท 50: Chapter 49: Out the Hole Ye Git!
It had been about an hour since Bear left. Drake mulled over the information he'd gain from the day. It feeling much longer than what they had really spent together.
Rolling around in his working hand was a small vial of red liquid.
[Health Potion] [F Grade]
Health Potion [F Grade]
Heals a small percentage of health
Cures light ailments and sickness
Cooldown of 5 hours, use of additional potions before cooldown is up will result in adverse effects or ya know fucking death, so don't do it.
Made by a fledgling alchemist
Drake scoffed at the description, "I swear the system just likes to mess with me," he whispered, trying not to disturb the tuckered out construct laying in his lap, a half eaten roasted nut in her hand.
Natto's chest rose and fell rhythmically as she breathed, a comforting sound to Drake after everything.
Theodore had also been in the crater prior but decided to go and forage for food. Drake had also asked him to fill back up on water as they were out, as well as look for any left over monster stones that might be laying around in the corpses.
Theodore obliged with oh so many words, earning him a sigh and a handful of skill stones Drake wouldn't use. Including Mage Stones, Body Stones, and the only Illusion Stone he had in his possession. It only made sense seeing as Theo was a Dark Mage.
With Theo off, and Natto falling asleep again, Drake was left with his thoughts.
He pondered on where his next steps would take him. He needed more strength.
I need enough to protect what's important. Strength means a lot more here than it did in the modern society before the system. Anyone who's stronger could just come along and take what they wanted from you now, there's no police or justice system to call on anymore. It's on me. He thought looking down at Natto, and thinking of his family.
Drake wanted to recover quickly, he had so many things to practice and refine. His magic, his technique. How he could better entwine his new found spells and limits.
He went over his fight with Bear he didn't know how many times since the man left. Trying his best to think of better approaches to the fight, how he could have managed his abilities and resources better.
Had he maybe started with the 'Atrophy of Mind' skill instead of dismissing it all together on the premise that he assumed Bear was a warrior and didn't use mana extensively like a mage may. Or should he have opened with his fear and used the time to channel a bigger spell and gauge his damage.
If he had better refinement of his techniques could he have lasted longer, would his mana hold out with the bombardment of spells.
Drake sighed and opened his skill screen, looking in particular to the new two skills he had gained just before blacking out.
[Skills Branches]
Primary: Elementalist P2(7%) [F Rank] 0/5
Magic Sight P1(8%) [F Rank]
Heretical Mind P1(13%) [F Rank]
Multiplicative P1(8%) [F Rank]
Elemental Endowment P1 (16%) [F Rank]
Empty
Secondary: Shield Miller P1(6%) [F Rank] 0/5
Warrior's Stamina P1(17%) [F Rank]
Guardian's Reprieve P1(5%) [F Rank]
Aura of Command P1(0%) [F Rank]
Martial Strike P1(6%) [F Rank]
Empty
Primary Sub-tree: Internal Mastery [F Rank] 0/5
Of the Apex P1(5%) [F Rank]
Weak Point P1(3%) [F Rank]
Tempered in Flames P1(15%) [F Rank]
Empty
Empty
Second Primary Sub-tree: Soul Mastery [F Rank]0/5
Mana Manipulation P2(9%) [F Rank]
Atrophy of the Mind P1(0%) [F Rank]
Cower P1(2%) [F Rank]
Sound Body and Mind P1(15%) [F Rank]
Empty
Secondary Primary Stub-tree: Weapon Mastery [F Rank]0/5
Hoarder P1 (0%) [F Rank]
Fully Loaded P1(0%) [F Rank]
Weapon of Choice P1(10%) [F Rank]
Adrenaline Acuity P1(10%) [F Rank]
Empty
Second Secondary Sub-tree: Empty
Drake had somehow been coherent enough to place them in separate trees and given his skill set up a mostly even spacing. Looking at the two skills he was both amazed and saddened that he could fully optimize the skills because of the debuffs.
Tempered in Flames P1 (15%) [F Rank]
Forged through fire, and tempered in battle, your body has gone past normal limits, and allowed you to regenerate as an ever burning pitch.
A skill that allows the user to regenerate actively.
Passive Effects: Gives a 5% regeneration increase to all regeneration rates (Increased based on Proficiency)
Converts Passive Regeneration into Active Combat Regeneration at a 3 to 1 ratio.
Sound Body and Mind P1(15%) [F Rank]
A skill that allows the body to increase regeneration through meditation.
Passive Effects: Increase overall out of combat regeneration by 1% (Increased based on Proficiency)
Active Effects: While in a meditative trance state your regeneration is increased by 25%. Will be broken if user takes any form of damage, can not be used under the influence of any form of debuff.
They both happen to be passive skills, and had helped save his life, but they only helped so much with the Debuffs he had, especially the Divine one Bear had left. Leaving him at only 40% of his status until the buffs wore off.
Divine Frailty [F Rank]
Lasts 16 Hours 47 Minutes 13 Seconds
It was painful but there was nothing Drake could do to change it. Drake placed the potions Bear had given him into his inventory, also snagging the remaining one that was still somehow unbroken in his garbs just above his obi. Reminding himself he needed to find some kind or make a utility belt at some point.
Taking a moment Drake looked over his body again.
The scars he was accumulating were growing by the day, forcing him to give a weary chuckle as he checked them. His exposed right side of his abs had a large burn scar that was still pink even after he had started to recover. His right arm where Bear had hit him with whatever that skill was, was still tender and burned. The skill had burned and still burned slightly, his skin felt like it was slightly bubbling under the heat of some kind of invisible fire.
God damn it that stings. I wonder if that's part of the reason I have such an overuse of my weakness debuff, it is partly a pain reducer… I'm glad I didn't give that asshole any more food now that I think about it. If this debuff is going to last this long and still hurt for hours. Drake thought, sighing.
"Haa.. I didn't really mean that," he said, rolling the new Rare stone he had gotten in between his fingers, "I got a pretty good deal here didn't I…" Drake mumbled.
Drake began feeling impatient, like he was just wasting time here, even the last day he hadn't made any real progress in levels, but his saving grace was the amount his skills had progressed.
"Silver linings and all that," he whispered.
Drake tried to wiggle his toes and was happy to find he was actually not paralyzed, only that his entire body even down to his toes hurt when he tried to do any kind of physical exertion. But Drake's desire to move was greater than the pain, and he stubbornly began moving his body checking for what was hurt, slightly hurt, and what really fucking hurt.
Satisfied that he would only have to deal with mild pain as long as he only moved his lower half he nudged his leg to wake Natto.
"Hey, sleeping beauty. Time to get up," he joked.
"Huh…?" Natto said groggily, a line of spit trailing from Drake's pants leg to her mouth as she raised her head, "Breakfast…?"
"Gross…" Drake mumbled, but wasn't overly worried as he was pretty much a dirty mess anyway, "Yeah I have some left over stew, but we don't have much until I can get more fresh meat."
Natto's alertness shot up when she heard the mention of food, "Certainly! Food now then?"
"Yeah, yeah," Drake said, unable to move his arms well enough to give a dismissing wave. Making Natto give him a concerning look.
"Are you well enough to even be moving?" she asked.
"Yeah I'm fine, it hurts a bit but nothing major, everything's been fixed up thanks to the potion and the new skills you had me learn. Thanks for that," Drake said, giving his honest gratitude.
Natto turned a slight shade of red, as her ears and tail only turned a deeper crimson. She somehow kept her haughty attitude saying, "W-well as long as you show gratitude I see no issue with helping you. After all," her mood changing, "I would not wish to lose such a splendid cook! Now forward, my glorious chef to the promised land of food!"
Drake shook his head, a smile on his face, using his earth magic to push him upward to a standing position.
He tried to concentrate to move the ground underneath him after inserting two move Rock Bullets into the earth, doing his best to turn it into a moving staircase, but after only shaping the small crater into a few steps he was spent.
"Fucking! 40% total stats is going to suck for the rest of the day I swear to…" Drake pulled back his frustration clamping down on the bubbling emotion, looking down at the concerned Natto, "My bad I guess I'm just still, just a little, itsy bitsy, teeny tiny bit, almost non existent, more than zero bit mad about losing."
Natto looked up, her arms crossed, one eye cocked, practically screaming 'uh huh.'
"What?" Drake said incredulously.
"Nothing," Natto replied, hopping up each step waiting for Drake to follow.
Drake took much longer to walk up the half baked stairs but eventually made it in reasonable time. After a few minutes of waiting for his mana to replenish he again made stairs, shaping the earth.
"You know," Drake suddenly mused, "It would have probably been so much easier if I just formed a spell to stairs and then put it on the crater's side," he laughed, almost sobbing.
Natto said nothing, just turning her shoulders slightly moving up and down.
"Hey! I can see that you're laughing! Remember who can hold your breakfast hostage!" Drake shouted.
Natto turned instantly, her face aghast, "You. Would. Not. Dare!" she roared, enunciating every word.
Drake's arms feeling slightly better he moved his shoulders into a shrug tilting his head, "I don't know. I think that last hit to my head might have knocked my sense of pettiness a bit loose," he joked.
"Bear should have killed you! Ahh!" Natto yelled, "Why was I even worried about such a stupid ape! Nothing can kill something so moronic and childish!" she huffed stomping towards the small campfire.
Drake laughed a bit too hard and grimaced, but it was surely worth it, as he grinned feeling a bit better after the back and forth.
Pulling an old friend from his inventory he used it as a makeshift stilt, "Welcome back to the fray Frank 2.0, may you last longer than your predecessor," Drake said, patting the top of the staff's rounded edge.
After a journey from the crater to the unlit campfire, that felt very much like taking the hobbits to Isengard. Drake finally sat down on the tree with a gruff grunt, stowing away his pal Frank 2.0 into his inventory. Natto still slightly peeved not far away.
"Well?" she said, her posture still wrathful.
"Hold your horses, I feel like I aged like 500 years," Drake said.
"Yes well you would still be very young for a F Rank, so it is hardly a valid excuse. Bring out the food dolt," she casually said, dropping a large bomb.
"Wait, what? You just said 500 was young?" Drake gasped.
"Certainly. The average lifespan of a F Rank being is around 1,000 years. Do you think that you gain strength just to be strong? Or that you can possibly reach S rank in a normal lifespan?" Natto explained.
"No way…." Drake said lamenting.
"What is it? Are you not satisfied and overjoyed to live longer? Certainly this is a great thing," she said with slight concern entering her voice.
"No, that's great! It's just, that means I have to deal with you for over a thousand years to-"
Drake didn't even get the chance to finish before a geta hit him square in the head knocking him off his seat on the tree.
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