Tigra leaned away from the group she had 'convinced' to come with her in search of the 'haunted ship' so she could get this done with soon.
While she had thought about going alone and simply looking everywhere, there's a major flaw.
She still needs more nutrients and calories than the regular person on Etheria, yet she's in somewhere as inhospitable as it can get.
She has been in the blasted desert for nearly 4 hours now, and she only has a small amount of food that Melissa had given her, along with her two drinks. At the rate she would be moving around the desert, she'd be off her game. She already feels slightly tired if she ate less than 3,000 calories a day.
Forget using magic that long and running constantly.
'If I traveled throughout all of the Crimson Waste, even at my fastest, would take 16 hours straight. But Y.A.S. would wear off after three minutes and after 1 hour, so would Raiju. Going based on how much actual time it would be is much closer to 4-5 days straight. Then again, that's if I traveled every mile of the Waste. If I flew, I could likely cut that down to 2 days.
Assuming I don't find another place to eat though, I would quickly run low on nutrients and would likely be unable to keep that speed going for that long. I don't have any of my Rations on me, since Hordak likely didn't intend on having me survive.
Well, I proved someone in charge of me wrong once, what's another time?'
"Excuse me," A silky voice spoke to her.
She turned her head and blinked before looking up.
The green skinned person she saw in the back had walked up to her while she was talking to…
A quick glance at the two answered her.
[Bleka the Ram | Age: 31]
[Level: 42]
[Bau the Lizardperson | Age: 33]
[Level: 44]
…
Anyways, the person stood a good 7-8 inches [19 cm] taller than her. She'd guess that they're 6'3 [190.5 cm].
"I couldn't help but hear that your name is Tigra?"
"What of it?" Tigra looked at them closer.
[Double Trouble | Age: 19]
[Level: 86]
…
'86? Who are they?'
"You see, I've been hired by a mutually friendly employer. They simply asked that I keep an eye out for you and extend an invitation to meet them."
"You want me to meet someone I don't know at a random time? I assume that they want me there alone?"
"Oh no, you're free to bring your little kitten with you."
Double had her full attention at that.
"Excuse you?"
Double hands were up to seem non threatening.
"No need to get those claws out, Tiger." He looked at her hand, which did have her claws out silently. "Simply letting you know that my employer is fine with you bringing your Chosen with you, if you don't feel comfortable meeting them alone."
Something about this situation was actually making her slightly tense, but it confused her. Instincts was staying silent, especially since she made an example out of Harna.
"Or, if you don't trust my information, I could travel with you and your guests for a time. You'll learn more about me and the deal, while I get to learn more about you."
She did not trust them, especially since they are working for an employer.
Yet, it would help to have someone with actual combat experience with someone who was nearly at Weaver's real level despite being 43 years younger.
"Fine. We're leaving after I finish my drink though."
"Oh that's fine, darling. I'm just finishing up my business and will be ready."
"Just be ready by then, Double."
Tigra saw the tiniest tell that Double Trouble was taken aback, yet they gained a greater air of curiosity around them.
"Oh, you're going to be fun."
With that last statement, Double walked back to their table.
As they left, Tigra noticed that they didn't make a sound and realized exactly what put her on edge earlier.
'Sheet - Sneak.'
[Sneak LV 48 (2728/4800) - This provides the chance of you sneaking up on someone and the likelihood that you'll see someone sneaking up on you. Calculated: (BASE_DEX / 2) * 1.48 = 519% chance of sneaking up on someone and vice versa. This is reduced by 10% for every level higher than yours. This is increased with every prestige.]
…
'I didn't sense Double sneaking up on me.' She wore a light frown as she brought her drink to her mouth. 'That means that they are, at minimum, 42 levels higher than I am to have even the beginning chance for me to not notice them.'
A few minutes later, the group of four were off, leaving the tavern behind.
_________
A few hours later found the group of four surrounded by sand with the sun starting to set.
The air was getting colder, yet Tigra simply started using heat to combat the coldness and continued on. If the coldness of the Northern Reach, where it could reach -25 F [-32 C] during the day, could easily be fought back with heat, the desert at night was not a problem.
The problem was her company instead.
"B-Boss, can we stop for the nigh…night." Bleka asked.
She turned around to look at them and noticed the issue she briefly forgot about.
She's traveling with a Lizardperson.
Bau seemed to be on her last legs as her eyes were drooping hard and slouched forward.
Bleka was hugging herself tightly, likely trying to keep her heat to herself and away from the night.
Double…Double seemed fine.
They likely noticed her confusion before smirking and raising a hand.
Before a flame appeared in their hands.
"It pays to be able to make sure your environment isn't your enemy." They commented.
The more Tigra found out about Double, the more they became more and more dangerous to her. They could sneak up on her without visible effort on their part and now they seemed to show that they know sorcery without worrying about revealing something like that to her.
"Good to know that I don't have to worry about you freezing into an icicle." She commented.
She walked towards the group and created a fireball from her hand, letting it float to a stop in between everyone with Mistress of Fire.
Bau seemed to immediately slowly get closer to the source of warmth and even Bleka got a little closer.
Double though stayed where they were, watching with an analytical gaze. Their form seemed to glow ever so lightly before they laid on a…condensed slab of sand.
"You can also perform Earth Magic?"
"Darling, like I just mentioned. It pays to make sure your environment isn't your enemy." They lightly shook their head, as if speaking to a child.
Tigra narrowed her eyes at him and let a quiet growl out for a second.
"No need to be condescending. After all, you are a mercenary, correct?"
"Oh? And what makes you guess that?"
"Earlier, you mentioned that you were wrapping up a job. You don't strike me as a delivery person. You seemed to know your way through this desert pretty well, seeing as you've pointed out half of the quicksand spots along our way. So you've been here a while if you know the tricks. I know that if I had to make a living here, I'd be a mercenary who would be looking for jobs to do." Tigra explained as she laid on her side on the sand.
She noticed that Bleka and Bau were slowly dozing off and turned her attention back to Double.
"I'm willing to take the first watch, since these two need warmth, they'll be best at keeping attention during the early morning." Tigra suggested.
"Actually, I have a few questions for you, if you are in the mood." Double rolled their wrist.
"Only if I can ask you a few as well." Tigra countered.
"Very well." They stated, as if she had asked the greatest thing from them.
Tigra hummed before looking at the spell she had considered using here.
[Truth LV 1 (0/300) - Creates a glowing circle up to 10 feet wide that forces anyone in it to speak only the truth. They may still refuse to answer, but anything they say, they believe to be true. MP: 300/m ]
…
"How about we cut to the chase, Double." Tigra suggested.
"Oh? What do you propose?"
Tigra cast Truth before a circle of dim blue light appeared on the ground in between them. She noticed that Double twitched ever so slightly at the sudden light before their smile slightly turned downward.
"Where's the fun in that? But, if you so wish, I can answer a few questions-"
"No, it's fine." Tigra cut off, stopping Truth
Truth gained 300 [300/m] * 0.1 [6 seconds] * 4 [Genius & Unimaniac] = 120 EXP!
…
Tigra instead activated it again, but with only her in the circle.
"If you don't feel comfortable with it, then I'll just use it on myself." Tigra informed. "So that way, you can still have your fun."
Double seemed to find something interesting about her action as they seemed to study her, not unlike how Entrapta looked at her when she had a new theory about her biology.
"...Very well. In fair interest, since you are using that spell on yourself, I will state plainly that I will accept silence as an answer of you not wanting to speak on the matter, instead of confirmation or negative." Double threw out.
Tigra nodded before she did something that she hoped actually was mostly not noticeable.
Tigra activated Lie.
MPR: 1621
MP Use: 387 [Truth + Lie + Fireball]
…
Tigra stretched lightly to get rid of some stress before focusing on Double once more.
"You may have the first question, Double."
"So gracious. Very well then. Who tipped you off to my name?" Double's tail wrapped around themselves.
'My power.'
"I would rather not let the name be heard while believing it would create several more questions that I do not feel like answering at this time." Tigra answered.
"Curious. Then again, I doubt that you haven't heard what curiosity does." Double's smile returned back to its sly smirk at that comment.
"Yeah, yeah. But I often find satisfaction is always around the corner. I've yet to die from pure curiosity."
"True enough. Now, I believe you're next."
Tigra had several questions but she figured the first one should produce interest in Double and build up from there.
"How did you sneak up on me in the tavern? While I'm far from being the best with sneaking, not just anyone can sneak up on me."
"That's easy. I take pride in my skills as an actor." They flourished their arm to the side. "I can quite simply become anyone easily. I doubt you'd find anyone who can act even half as well as I can. As such, I've gained plenty of skills that one doesn't think an actor should have. I've been doing this for years and years, Tiger."
Not a single thing registered as a lie, which presented Tigra with a rough estimate of what they actually meant.
They gained their ability to sneak over the many years of their job and they are confident that nobody could actually be better than them in what they do.
"High praise for yourself, I see."
"None of it is false, but I have a feeling you know that already."
The look in their eyes narrowed ever so slightly before returning to normal.
"Now then, what are you doing here in the Crimson Waste? Shouldn't you be in the Horde, working on capturing more towns?"
"That's two questions, Double." Tigra pointed out. "However, I'll allow it, since they are obviously the same question but expanded.
As for why? Hordak is acting like an idiot and sent me here to retrieve some kind of First One tech that could be anywhere in this desert. I have all the time I want, but he stated that I am not to leave the Waste without the tech."
"Does he genuinely expect you to find something that, in total, is roughly 5 million miles?"
Tigra rolled her eyes and decided to answer this one, seeing as it isn't asking for much.
"Not really. He genuinely wants me gone due to my influence. I'm teaching the students of the Academy that are going to enter the military for the next 2 years. I've also gained a high status reputation with the majority of the Horde while also telling him that I am loyal to my Chosen first and him 3rd."
"And who's second?"
"Uh uh." Tigra stopped him. "Anymore is going to need a question. Which is going to need to wait."
Double nodded but seemed content with what they had managed to determine.
"What is there to know about the Waste? I know it is supposedly inhospitable, yet there are more people living out here than I thought."
"That's a bit loaded." Double pointed out. "But, since you placed some trust in me being honest, I'll give you three big parts.
The Valley of the Lost is a den for anyone with less than glamorous backgrounds and jobs. It's where I spent most of my time, actually growing up. It's a place with consistent food and water being sourced there, as it is one of the larger settlements with up to 6,000 people being there. If you're looking for anyone in the Waste, that's the most likely place.
The second is the First Ship. No one really knows how long it has been there, just long enough for something nearly 40 feet tall to be covered plus 30 feet of pure sand that only was dispersed enough during that giant storm nearly half a year ago now. It kicked up a sandstorm the likes the Waste hasn't seen in centuries. In fact, that sandstorm is still going on in the heart of the Wastes, except it's only 300 feet in radius now, instead of 900.
The third is the Ruins of Cadalia. Very few people check it out since the Runestone of Fire keeps building with energy, making the area a potential hotspot for an explosion. Add onto the fact that it's near the borders of another kingdom that would expose the Waste to the outside? Many people don't try to head to the mass graveyard anymore, seeing as anything of value is likely underneath 20 feet of cooled lava."
Tigra focused on taking in everything that they said, seeing as they are still telling the truth to her without even a half-lie, if the spell can detect that.
Tigra nodded, already mentally putting a reminder to check out the sandstorm in the heart of the Waste, seeing as any natural sandstorm would have calmed down within a week of it starting. Yet this storm has been going on for over six months with signs of only slowly ending.
Then there's the First Ship, which is likely the 'haunted ship' that Bleka was muttering in the tavern. Add onto it, that's likely the source that Entrapta detected and is likely needed to retrieve it.
'How the fuck am I suppose to transport something of that size? Even if I tried my clones, we could, at max, lift just under 2.2 tons. If it's nearly 40 feet tall and meant to travel, it has to weigh maybe 45 tons.'
"Those are the major points of interest in the Waste." Double informed.
"Alright."
"Now then, why are you doing what Hordak asks? It sounds like he sent you on a death sentence based on what you knew. You don't seem like someone willing to throw away their life that easily, based on how you talked about him."
Tigra did hesitate at this part, yet she felt part of her say that it's fine to talk about it.
"He's taken my Chosen captive. She's strong and can easily look out for herself, but I don't believe that she has reasons to expect to be betrayed by Hordak right now. He took care of me by taking me off guard and surprising me with a trap. Followed by reducing the oxygen in the room long enough for me to fall unconscious.
I really don't know what's going on with Hordak, because he should know that I'll enter a genuine meltdown should he do something to her."
"Because he knows that you won't do anything as long as you have no control over saving her." Double determined. "As long as he can keep you on a goose chase while keeping her close to him, it's a blatant showing that he can do whatever to your Kitten at any time should you make a mess for him to clean up. It's manipulation 241."
Tigra arched an eyebrow at that.
"It's not basic and takes someone adept at manipulation to keep it going without losing your bargaining chip." They explained.
Tigra sighed before Truth and Lie were released.
Truth gained 300 [Base EXP] * 20 [Minutes] * 8 [Genius, Spellbook, and Unimaniac] * 1 [People] = 48,000 EXP!
Truth leveled up! LV 1 → 18
[Truth LV 18 (2220/5400) - It creates a 10 foot radius circle that only allows the truth to be said. MP: 266/m]
Lie gained 100 [Base EXP] * 20 [Minutes] * 8 [Genius, Spellbook, Unimaniac] * 1 [People] = 16,000 EXP!
Lie leveled up! LV 15 → 18
[Lie LV 18 (2100/5400) - It allows you to know if someone is lying to you without giving a visual indication of being activated. MP: 82/m]
…
"Get some sleep Double." She told.
She jumped into the air before Fire Step activated and she shot about 60 feet into the air.
To pass time productively, she activated Lightning Clothes, which created a yellow jacket around her upper body that went down to her wrists.
Along with that, she focused on how she made her clones in the past but instead, focused on creating a thick layer of coldness where her blood would circulate and a center of ice cold enough that she would have to use Azure Flames to melt it.
After about 20 minutes, she got her result.
Beside her, holding an arm around her shoulder and the front of her neck, stood another Tigra, yet they had a cold aura around them, unlike the heat from Flame Clone and the static from Lightning Clone.
Ice Clone created!
[Ice Clone LV 1 (0/350) - Mastery level Ice spell. With this spell, you create a clone with 1/10 of your HP and 1/5 MP but they are only able to use your ice spells. Once they run out of HP or MP, they disperse themselves. Through mastering this spell, you will be able to create more clones every 15 levels. MP: MP_Use]
…
While the Ice Clone wouldn't be able to do much in a fight, this was more about having something productive be done while she kept night watch, which she would need to wake Double either in 4 hours or stay up for the night.
'Staying up shouldn't be that bad.' She thought.
So, Tigra stayed floating in the air for the next 7 hours and dropped down, just as the first streams of light were coming up.
Tigra landed and dismissed her spells.
Lightning Clothing gained 20 [EXP/m] * 420 [Minutes] * 4 [Genius and Electromaniac] = 33,600 EXP!
Lightning Clothing Leveled up! LV 1 → 21
Ice Clone gained 499 [MP/5] * 420 [Minutes] * 2 [Genius] = 419,160 EXP!
Ice Clone leveled up! LV 1 → 49
You can now create up to 4 Ice Clones at the same time.
…
Tigra walked over to Double and nudged them with her foot.
Double opened one eye as if they were just laying there and not sleeping.
"First Moon's starting to rise. Didn't see anything out there besides something far on the horizon slowly moving away from us." Tigra informed, walking over and waking the other two.
"Are you going to be able to perform well with no rest, Tiger?" Double asked.
"I should be fine." Tigra waved off. "I'll have you three handle the next night shift we may have."
After the other two got up, they started walking again.
_________
2 hours later though, Tigra found a new situation.
Warning! User [Tigra] has been awake more than 24 hours. As such, [Sleep Deprived 1] has been added.
…
[Sleep Deprived 1 - After not sleeping for longer than 24 hours without a trait to avoid this or prolong it, you will start to have decreases in your stats until the next time you acquire [6 hours + 1 for every additional level] of sleep.
Sleep Deprived 1 - 24 Hours: -5% all stats | 6 hours
Sleep Deprived 2 - 32 Hours: -15% all stats | 7 hours
Sleep Deprived 3 - 40 Hours: -25% all stats | 8 hours
Sleep Deprived 4 - 48 Hours: -40% all stats | 9 hours
Sleep Deprived 5 - 56 Hours: -55% all stats | 10 hours
Sleep Deprived 6 - 64 Hours: -70% all stats | 11 hours
Sleep Deprived 7 - 72 Hours: -95% all stats, no magic, no traits | 12 hours
…
'That's an issue for the future.' She frowned lightly as she could lightly feel bags starting to form under her eyes now.
They were walking in a canyon with a large skeleton in front of them before Tigra's Primal Instinct started going off and Neuron activated instantly.
"Well isn't that interesting." Double commented, a hand on their hip.
"Uh, what is?" Bleka asked.
Tigra's eyes went everywhere before seeing dark figures barely peeking over the bones and rocks.
Tigra huffed before relaxing as she saw most of them were level 37.
"What's interesting is that we walked into an ambush."
With that comment, the ambushers - roughly 150 of them - stepped forward with a few cackling at what they likely perceived as an easy job.
A red lizardperson stepped out of the skeletal head.
"I'm guessing that that lizardperson is the head or leader or whatever of these people?" Tigra asked.
"You'd be correct, Tiger." Double informed. "That is the leader of the Lasher Gang. One of the two gangs that runs the Waste. The other is the Hunter Gang, led by Huntara. Yet, she was with these two a day ago."
"Tung Lasher!" Bleka cried out.
Lasher smirked at hearing someone say it in fear.
For an entire second.
"Pfft. Ha!" Tigra couldn't hold in her laugh, taking a few back. "I'm sorry, but did you really name yourself that?"
Lasher frowned momentarily before returning to his smirk.
"Never thought you'd be stupid enough to step out here without Huntara!" Lasher yelled out to the area, ignoring Tigra. "But here you are. And now I'm gonna leave your bones as a warning to all who cross Tung Lashor, strongest in the Crimson Waste!"
Tigra cackled again.
"I'm sorry, but I actually can't take you seriously. You're trying to intimidate me with threats while using the name Tung Lasher . You may as well be calling yourself 'Thigh Slasher,' 'Arm Cracker,' or 'Eye Piercer.'"
Tigra had taken a light mocking tone with that.
"You done, Outsider?" Lasher sounded annoyed.
Tigra thought before turning to Double and waved her hand.
"Oh no, I'm afraid I shouldn't. After all, nothing can make fun of him worse than him knowing that he keeps using the name a 6 year old likely made up."
Bleka and Bau looked at them like they were crazy, Double more.
Tigra nodded.
"Also!" Tigra announced, walking forward. "I'm afraid that they aren't Huntara's members."
She looked Lasher in the eyes and gave a wide smirk.
"They're mine." Her eyes landed on the whip on his waist before looking curious. "Also, someone I care for is looking for a new whip. I think I'll be taking it."
"Are you usually this hostile?" Bau asked.
"Only with people that are planning on attacking me, my people, or won't listen to reason." Tigra answered.
"Enough!" Lasher yelled. "I'm going to wipe that smirk off of your face, Outsider."
Lasher turned towards his gang.
"Who's the strongest in the Waste?"
"Lasher! Lasher! Lasher!" His gang chanted.
Lasher jumped down to stand across from her.
"And don't you forget it."
New Quest Created!
Strongest in the Waste
Tung Lasher has made it known that he's the leader of one of the two major gangs in the Crimson Waste and has chosen to fight you.
Objective: Defeat/Eliminate Tung Lasher
Bonus Objective: Don't get hit once
Hidden Objective: ???
Rewards: [Crimson Waste] rep +50, 3,500 EXP | [Crimson Waste] rep +75, 1 trait point, 6,000 EXP | ???, ???
…
Tigra laughed lightly before flaring Dark Pulse.
A faint purple wave spread out along the sand before encapsulating all 150 of Lasher's gang, leaving him unaffected.
"Let me make one thing clear," She began. "Anyone who enters this fight, will not leave. Anyone who goes after the three behind me, will be made an example of. Anyone who does anything to mess with this fight? Congrats, you're my next opponent."
Tigra smirked widely while briefly activating Fire Fists with Azure Flames, letting everyone see the heat waves coming off of her fists.
"If you think this is a bluff, ask about Harna in the future."
She released Dark Pulse.
Dark Pulse gained 40 [EXP base] * 150 [People] * 30 [Seconds] * 2 [Genius] = 360,000 EXP!
Dark Pulse mastered!
[Dark Pulse LV MAX - This spell allows the user to create an aura around them that empowers their ill intent. This can cause several to avoid conflicts with them, surrender, or even potentially be killed should enough power be put behind the spell. MP: 5 MP/m]
Due to mastering this, Magic Control increased by 5% and WIS + 3
Magic Control: 327% → 332%
WIS: 285 → 288
…
Tigra saw quite a few of them almost fall off of the large ribs that they were on.
"Now then," Tigra turned her attention back to Lasher. "Are you willing to serve under me?"
[Tung Lasher | Age: 48]
[Level: 68]
[HP: 8,160 | Armor: 65%]
He snarled at the implication before reaching down and grabbing his whip.
He swung his arm, making the whip crack harshly.
Whatever expectation he hoped to make, it failed horribly.
Tigra opened her mouth and yawned, showing off her fangs.
"I'm sorry," She started. "I've been awake about 25 hours. I simply cannot act impressed at you using a tool to break the sound barrier."
Lasher simply swung the whip at her.
She barely had to move thanks to Neuron being activated and dashed to the side. Feeling like she wants to make sure that the 150 around them understand that Lasher is a big fish in a small pond, she also activated Haste.
The whip and her movement created a crack as the sand under her blew away.
"The hell!?" She heard someone exclaim.
Lasher saw what seemed to be an afterimage from her moving that quickly before looking at Tigra, who simply looked at her black claws.
"Can your whip only break Mach 1, maybe Mach 2?" She asked.
He swung the whip again, only for her to appear on the opposite side of the whip this time.
"Because I am breaking Mach 3, nearly Mach 4." She explained. "At this speed, I should be moving 2,880 miles per hour, or 4630 kilometers per hour. If you're more into using scientific terms."
Lasher's body seemed to tense as he understood what she was saying.
If he couldn't move faster than his whip, he'd never even touch her.
Tigra appeared behind him, causing him to freeze and his eyes widened.
"At any point in time, I can end this. But I need to make an impression so that I'm understood while I'm in this desert."
He spun around and tried to slash at her with his claws, only to feel pain before he shot away from her, slamming into the sand and creating a cloud.
H2H gained 700 [2000 * 0.35] EXP!
…
Tigra had simply spun and kicked him while her hands were in her pockets. She could take this as seriously as she takes fighting the grunts in the Rebellion.
Sure, Lasher is definitely high enough that he could be a legitimate threat…
If she couldn't move probably 50x faster than he could at his fastest and she has yet to use any speed trait, lightning armor, or fire charge.
While she would normally just end the fight and move on, this isn't like the Rebellion: She doesn't have any reputation with the Crimson Waste. In fact, she has negative REP, likely since she's from the Horde.
"I'll ask one more time." She spoke, the area dead quiet. "Will you serve under me?"
Lasher coughed before slowly getting up with a snarl.
"I am Tung Lasher! I am the strongest in the Waste!" He denied.
"You may have been," She conceded, seeing as she had no proof of the counterargument. "But that was before I showed up. You were the strongest, because you never fought me. Because I never stepped foot in the Waste besides Mount Cadalia. Because you lead what? 200? 300 people max? I'm in charge of nearly 300 thousand soldiers under my command in total. I must decide where they will go, will they fight, who will their back up be, and more. Granted, I still need help from a fellow General, but that there, not here."
"You're the strongest ant who is trying to challenge a tigress for her pride."
Tigra narrowed her eyes.
"And I don't like someone messing with my pride."
Lasher seemed shocked…before he smirked.
He whistled before 70 members aimed energy rifles at her companions.
"I give one warning." Tigra announced it to everyone. "A single shot, everyone with a gun up will be in two pieces before the first shot makes it 20 feet from their barrel."
The area had grown tense before Tigra's ear twitched.
She heard the charge up of a blaster being readied to fire.
"Very well."
A shot rang out.
An electrical current screeched through the air as Lightning Armor activated through her HP.
Tigra moved at Mach 52.5.
Tigra slashed 6 of them with Crimson Slash with her dagger.
Crimson Slash gained 5500 [damage] * 6 [people] * 32 [Pyro, Genius, Spellbook, P.O.F.] = 1,056,000 EXP!
Crimson Slash mastered!
[Crimson Slash LV MAX - The ability to send out fire in the form of a slash or stab after an attack. Damage is Weapon+(MP_USE * 3 * Fire_Multiplier + INT * 5 * [1+LV/100]).
Damage: Weapon + 16179]
Blades gained 5500 * 6 = 33,000 EXP!
Blades leveled up! LV 96 → 99
…
Crimson Slash has been mastered! Due to this, Magic Control increased by 5% and INT + 5
…
MP: 2109/2409
…
Tigra switched from that to shooting 16 fireballs into 4 groups of 4. She was on the move, just before all the fireballs exploded, each dealing 1641 damage, making sure that every group of 4 were dealt with.
Fireball gained 1641 [damage] * 16 [people] * 32 = 840,192 EXP!
Fireball leveled up! LV 23 → 95
[Fireball LV 95 (363/19000) - Shoot a fireball dealing INT * (1.25 * 95/100) * Fire_Bonus. Damage: 2485. MP: 5]
…
MP: 2029/2409
…
Tigra appeared in front of several others, with two lightning daggers, having put Shadow Piercer up.
She practically danced through them, slashing through throats, stabbing through lungs, hearts, and even several heads.
Lightning Dagger gained 5500 [Max HP of opponents] * 20 [People] * 4 [Genius and Electromaniac] = 440,000 EXP!
Lightning Dagger leveled up! LV 1 → 54!
[Lightning Dagger LV 54 (10700/16200) - Create a dagger made out of electricity. Damage is [Base_DEX * 1.8 + STR * 1.5 + INT * 2] * (1.54) * 1.64 [Blade_Bonus] * 1.25 [Lightning_Bonus].
Damage: 14,887. MP: 15]
Blades gained 110,000 EXP!
Blades reached Level 100! Would you like to Prestige?
[Y]
…
[Blades LV (1)32 (5903/6400) - Increases damage dealt through blades by (32 * 2^1) %. 64%]
Due to massive level increase, DEX + 7, STR +4
DEX: 666 → 678
STR: 150 → 154
…
MP: 1999/2409
…
She released the daggers before creating 2 Lightning Falchions and proceeded to remove 25 heads from their bodies, also keeping track that the energy bolt was halfway to Double, who seemed to be realizing that Tigra was much faster than they believed.
Lightning Falchion gained 5500 [Max HP of Opponents] * 25 [Enemies] * 4 [Electromaniac and Genius] = 550,000 EXP!
Lightning Falchion leveled up! LV 1 → 61
[Lightning Falchion LV 61 (1000/18300) - Create a falchion made out of lightning! Damage is [Base_DEX * 1.8 + STR * 1.5 + INT * 2] * (1+61/125) * 1.25 [Lightning_Bonus] * 1.98 [Blade_Bonus]
Damage: 9,596 | MP: 67
Blades gained 5500 * 25 = 137,500 EXP!
Blades leveled up! LV (1)32 → (1)49
For reaching levels 135, 140, and 145, DEX+3, STR+1
DEX: 678 → 684
STR: 154 → 155
MP: 1775/2409
…
The last 13 were targeted by her Lightning Spear, usually finding its way through their chests, with a few being through the head.
Lightning Spear gained 5500 * 13 * 4 = 286,000 EXP!
Lightning Spear leveled up! LV 1 → 44!
[Lightning Spear LV 44 (2200/13200) - Creates a spear of lightning! At the end points, it will deal [Base_DEX * 1.8 + WIS * 2.4 + INT * 3.1] * (1+44/125) * Spear_Bonus * Lightning_Bonus * 2. Else, it is multiplied by 0.2 instead of 2.
Damage: 1452 | 14517. MP: 145]
Spear gained 71,500 EXP!
Spear leveled up! LV 40 → 50!
Due to reaching level 45 and 50, DEX + 2, STR + 1
DEX: 684 → 688
STR: 155 → 156
…
MP: 1576/2409
…
Tigra dashed back in front of Double before covering her right arm in Ice Armor and held out Fire Shield.
The energy blast impacted the shield, yet the blast didn't get through the shield, rendering her Ice Armor unneeded.
Fire Shield gained 1750 [Damage] * 32 [Genius, Pyro, Spellbook, P.O.F.] = 56,000 EXP!
Fire Shield leveled up! LV 29 → 36
[Fire Shield LV 36 (4580/9000) - Creates a shield of fire that blocks up to INT * 5 * 1.36. Blocks 2048 damage. 45 MP/m]
…
Tigra stood with her arm out, letting Fire Shield slowly go away. She kept her eyes locked on Lasher's confused and wide eyes before thumps from bodies falling off of the giant bones started occurring.
First there was one. Then two. Four. Seven. Sixteen. Twenty-nine. Forty-seven. Seventy.
You gained 40 [EXP Average] * 70 [Number] = 2,800 EXP!
By the last body, Tigra could practically sense that the atmosphere of the area changed.
"Lasher," She spoke, her voice gentle, as if speaking to a child. "I informed you that these three were off limits. I forgot to tell you that I don't let anyone mess with mine without repercussions."
Tigra looked behind him, yet Lasher knew that she was likely looking at the bodies.
"Some of your men had to learn the hard way. After all, I said that there would be examples. And you want to know the terrifying part about all of that?"
Tigra held up her arm, letting everyone have a clear view of the cuff around her arm.
"This is one of two devices on my arms. Together, they limit my magic to 40% of its natural amount. I could also move 25% faster than what I just went."
Lasher seemed to start shaking a little.
It increased majorly as she started to walk to him.
"Hold on a minute! We can talk about this!" He tried to scramble, until Dark Pulse kept in place through fear alone.
"We are past talking." Tigra denied. "I gave you 2 chances. Very few get a third from me."
Tigra stood in front of him as he was absolutely terrified.
"So, I'll ask…for the final time."
Tigra ignited her hands in blue flames before using Lava Armor with blue flames increasing the power.
The main problem though is that Azure Flames are more of a scare tactic with Lava Armor at the moment due to just how much it increases its cost, thus meaning she must use more MP or HP to offset the increase in price. Which she can't do just yet.
But it does wonders for showing her strength when she needs it.
"Will you serve under me?"
"Y-Yes!" He cried out.
"Now, answer me this one question."
Tigra crouched down.
Tung Lasher felt as if she was staring into his soul to decide whether to let it continue or simply burn it to ash.
"Who's the strongest in the Waste?"
"You are!"
Tigra leaned back and looked at her gang.
"Who's the strongest!?"
"Tigra! Tigra! Tigra!"
Tigra smirked as she let all spells go, just as her MPR returned to its 100% instead of 15%.
"Don't you forget it."
Quest [Strongest in the Waste] Completed!
Objective: Defeat/Eliminate Tung Lasher
Bonus Objective: Don't get hit
Hidden Objective: Take control of Lasher's Gang
Rewards: [Crimson Waste] rep +50, 3,500 EXP | [Crimson Waste] rep +75, 1 trait point, 6,000 EXP | [Strongest in the Waste] title, +30 CHA
…
[Strongest in the Waste - While holding this title, anyone in the Waste will recognize you as someone in charge.]
[Crimson Waste REP: 40 [Neutral] ]
Leveled up! LV 65 → 66
15 Attribute Points and 3 Skill points awarded.
WIS + 15
WIS: 288 → 305
…
She'll mess around with the skill and trait points later, but now?
"How far away are we from the giant ship in the desert?"
______________
Tigra [Sleep Deprived 1] Current | Real
Age: 18
Level 66 (8505/16500) | 51.55%
HP: 10,507|11,060 | HPR: 4728|4977
MP: 2409|6339 | MPR: 1646|4331
SP: 5254|5530 | SPR: 2364|2489
STR: 156|164 | DEX: 688|724
CON: 525|553 | INT: 301|317
WIS: 305|321 | CHA: 135|143
Skill Points: 6
Trait Points: 2
Upgrade Trait Points: 0
Speed: 95.5 MPH
Magical Control: 337%
Carry Capacity: Normal - 292 lbs. MAX 390 lbs
Skills:
[H2H LV (4)29], [Run LV (2)45], [Dash LV (4)84, [Blades LV (1)49], [Spear LV 50]
[Dodge LV 41], [Reading LV 75], [Writing LV 105], [Sneak LV 48]
[Light Res. LV 4], [Air Res. LV 2], [Water Res. LV 87]
[Magic Res LV 42], [Earth Res LV 4]
[Program. LV 35], [Security LV 18], [Hacking LV 27], [Strategy LV 61]
Spells [Tigra still uses]:
Clone-Fire and Lightning
Fire Step, F. Clothing, Fire Breath, Flame Dive, Lava Armor, Flame Charge,
Flame Fists, Fireball LV 95, F. Dagger, F. Arrow, F. Falchion, F. Spear, Fire Augment
Lightning Armor, Lightning Claws LV 20, L. Falchion LV 61, L. Spear LV 44,
L. Arrow LV 1, L. Dagger LV 54, Lightning Slam LV 1, L. Clothing LV 21
Chill, Ice Armor, Ice Clone LV 49
Darken, Shadow Mask, Shadow Ball LV 1, Shadow Spy LV 68, Shadow Armor, Dark Pulse
Breeze
Bubble, Stream, Wave, Water Armor LV 63
Haste, Heal, Regeneration LV 1, Truth LV 18, Lie LV 18
Traits:
[Night Vision], [Magical], [Obsidian Claws], [Huntress], [Primal Instincts]
[You are the Weapon - Multiplies H2H bonus by 2]
[Lightning - Multiplies final DEX by 1.5]
[Durable - Multiplies final CON by 1.15]
[Smart - Multiplies final INT by 1.15]
[Wise - Multiplies final WIS by 1.15]
[You are Speed - For two minutes a day, your DEX is multiplied by 3]
[Omni-Regeneration II- Multiplies all Regens by 3]
[Maniac - EXP x2: Fire, Water, Pure, Electric]
[Unburnable - You can't be hurt by fire or heat through fire. Period.]
[Proof- Can be hurt with ill intent: Physical, Electricity, Ice, Shadow]
[Phoenix - Once a month, if your HP is reduced to zero, you return to 75% HP once with a 25% increase in stats for the next 10 minutes]
[Raiju - Multiply your movement speed by 3x for 90 minutes within a 24 hour period. Lightning attacks do 100% more damage but water damage hurts you thrice as much as normal]
[Grimm - Decreases damage taken by 75%, regenerations + 200% but Light attacks deal 3x their regular damage. Works for 30 minutes a day]
[Yuki-Onna - Touching something with HP will do INT*100 ice damage per second. Can be used for 10 minutes a day]
[Fueling the Fire - Increases Damage for Fire attacks by 50%]
[One with Fire - Fire spells take 25% less MP than normal]
[One with Lightning - Lightning spells take 25% less MP than normal]
[The Myth is Real - You have 7 spare lives and will restore you to 50% HP, MP, and SP upon resurrecting 4 minutes later]
[True Heir - Allows you the ability to connect with the Runestone of your home kingdom, or a Runestone should there not be one]
[Over Killer - Due to your ability of overkilling, your threats are more likely to succeed as warnings towards enemies]
[6th Sense [Catra] - You now will know when your fellow Chosen(s) are in trouble]
[Recovery - Your Regens are increased by 50%]
[Control - Allows the use of 4 continuous spells without causing pain]
[Princess of Fire - Multiplies MP by 2, MPR by 1.5, and Fire spells gain 4x EXP]
[Azure Flames - You can use 50% more MP to increase a fire spell's power by 100%. Doing so turns your flames into a brilliant blue]
Milestones:
[Genius - All EXP for spells is doubled]
[Brilliant - All spells do 25% more damage]
[Hare - Increases movement speed by 25%]
[Cheetah - For 30 seconds every 2 hours, your DEX is increased by 50%]
[Eagle - You can now run on air as long as you remain undisturbed]
[Diamond Body - Decreases damage taken by 60% after resistances]
[Meditated - MPR remains active at 15% while using spells continuously]
[Confident Aura - Those around you will think you know what you are doing]
[Strong - Increases non-magical attacks by 10% and carrying capacity by 25%]
Weapons:
Dark Flame - A Jian that can channel fire magic to increase its power ~ 4200 damage with no added MP
Shadow Piercer - Dual Daggers dark enough to be hidden in shadows ~ 4140 per dagger
Tigra chewed through a ration bar before finishing it in two more bites and grabbing a fourth one.
"I don't know how you can eat so many of those, Boss." Bleka commented. "Not even Lasher can get himself to eat a third in two hours. Yet, you've eaten three of these in under ten minutes."
Tigra swallowed her bite.
"Years of practice. I need these nutrients. I ate barely 1500 calories yesterday. I need to eat about 5000 every two days on average when I'm just going about my motions. More if I'm using a lot of my magic or running around."
"But how? They taste like hardened sand, crushed bones, and the humidity of the desert all wrapped up in a splintered crate." Bleka complained.
Tigra raised an eyebrow as she continued eating.
"Very descriptive there." Double commented. "Yet, surprisingly accurate if I must agree. No matter the color or what you do with it, it feels like it scrapes your throat all the way down while absorbing all of the saliva from your mouth."
Tigra swallowed once more.
"Really? At this point, it just feels like I'm eating cardboard while licking a rock." Tigra shrugged. "It sucks, but all it does is remind me of a statement an Academy student told me once about them."
"What's that?" Bau asked.
Tigra scrunched her face.
"This tastes nutritious."
Her face went back to normal before chuckling lightly.
"They were right though. Rations do not taste the best."
"Are we planning on stopping today? We're about 20 hours away from the ship based on typical walking speeds." Bleka reminded.
"What's everyone's capabilities?" Tigra asked. "How long are they willing to go and how long can they actually go?"
Bau and Bleka looked around for about a minute before answering.
"I'd guess that we'd need to stop for about an hour when we reach the next oasis in roughly 3 hours to refill water, clean it, and have some people cool off from the heat." Bleka answered.
"Metal containers?"
"Yeah. We've got 5 people carrying jugs of water that can weigh about 40 pounds when full."
"That's…5 gallons each, right?"
"Yeah. Every other person with us also has a canister that can carry about a gallon of water as well."
Tigra hummed as she finished off the ration.
'5 people carrying a total of 25 gallons. 74 people here all together…means 37 extra gallons. In total, 62 gallons of water. Taking into account how much we all need to drink…we can stretch that a total of 3-4 days if everyone drinks one-fourth of a gallon a day if we must.'
Tigra nodded.
"Keep an eye out for the next oasis then. I can help out with purifying the water. All I need to do is boil the water for about a minute and as for cooling down, I can reduce the temperature around us by about 10 degrees Celsius [18 Fahrenheit]." She explained.
They continued walking before Double got closer to her.
"When it comes down to it, who are we leaving behind?"
She stared at him out of the corner of her eye.
"No one. I'll simply use magic and return people back to the Tavern. My clones should be able to reach it within ten minutes."
"If you can go that fast, why don't you?"
"First, that will drain me of my magic quickly, thanks to these."
She gestured towards the magical restraints on her arms.
"Secondly, I wasn't joking. They are under my command now. In my time of leading, I've lost less than 50 people, despite having fought the Princesses and the Rebellions dozens of times. Each time, I've kept them alive for the most part.
Finally, if it gets bad enough, I'll take a couple of rations and look around the Waste at my top speed while everyone heads to a safe spot."
"How long would it take you to explore the Waste?" Double asked.
"Roughly 3 days straight." She shook her hand. "I'd be using almost all of my magic and stamina to do that though. I'd likely find the ship within the first day though."
"How fast can you go?" Double inquired.
Tigra acted like she was thinking.
'Power, can you calculate speed while including my methods of increasing my speed?'
Available: 95.5 [DEX/9] * 14.94 [Dash] * 3 [YAS] * 1.5 [Cheetah] * 1.5 [Fire Charge] * 3 [Raiju] * 4.67 [Lightning Armor - HP] * 2.09 [Haste]:
95.5 * 2956 = 282,303 MPH | Mach 368.1
Max [Phoenix]: Mach 368.1 * 1.25 = Mach 460
…
Tigra blinked at that in astonishment.
'Last I checked, my previous highest was Mach 193! What happened!?'
Dash has prestiged and almost reached the previous level before prestige once more.
As such, its bonus has been almost doubled. That's not including the extra speed you'll regain from losing 5% your stats.
'Which explains the almost double in top speed.'
"-ger? Tiger?" Double's voice brought them back.
"Sorry. Was doing mental math. Last I showed was about Mach 190."
Double blinked at that.
"Can you repeat that?"
"My fastest speed I've gone is about Mach 190; 145,000 miles per hour; 234,500 kilometers per hour; 214,000 feet per second, take your pick." She listed off.
While many may say that she shouldn't be telling her speed to someone that she doesn't actually trust, she'd laugh at them for assuming that she did.
She simply told Double the fastest she's gone yet. She could move nearly 2.5 times that if Phoenix came into play.
"How…how fast did you go against Lasher?"
For the first time since she's seen Double, they seemed to have actually gotten stumped about something.
"Only Mach 53."
Double breathed in before breathing out.
"You're telling me that you can move half the speed of lightning at your previous speed?"
"How fast is genuine lightning?"
"The bolt of lightning moves roughly Mach 352. The flash is lightspeed."
'I can move faster than lightning?'
Correct. Congratulations Tigra.
There are very few things in the Universe now faster than you, excluding teleportation as that affects space and not speed or velocity.
You'll be in for a surprise once you do go that fast though.
…
"Then, yeah. I traveled half the speed of lightning for a little bit."
Primal Instinct blared.
Tigra stopped before activating Neuron and looking around, bringing everyone to a halt.
"Any of you thinking of attacking me, don't. Otherwise, there's a predator nearby." She announced, causing everyone to stiffen and some pulled up their weapons, looking around.
Tigra didn't see anything unordinary.
Just sand, sandstone, and rocks along the canyon that she could see.
Then, something moved.
Her eyes locked onto the location and saw some sand streaming down slowly, as if something was moving it.
"What are the possible animals in this region?" She asked the group.
"Scorpions that can paralyze limbs in seconds but they're roughly humanoid in size, Basilisks that can dig through sand quickly, spew fire, and-"
Cries went out as the sand erupted behind them.
Tigra turned and saw several people freeze before falling over with panic in their eyes.
Something slithered out of the dust and ate 3 people.
Quest Discovered!
Princess of the Snakes
A snake-like creature appeared and is attacking your group.
Objective: Defeat/Eliminate the Adolescent Basilisk
Bonus Objective: Save as many of your gang as you can
Hidden Objective: ???
Rewards: 4500 EXP | 50 EXP per gang member remaining | ???
Failure: Snake food
…
' Status - Adolescent Basilisk!' She thought, activating Haste and Lightning Armor with her HP.
[Adolescent Basilisk | Age: 23]
[Level 76]
[HP: 57,000 | Armor: 75%]
An Adolescent Basilisk is the stage where a young basilisk will go out and start to challenge creatures to use as proof of their ability. At this stage, a basilisk is capable of easily slipping into soft ground and tough ground with slight difficulty. Certain branches of a Basilisk can spew out a cloud of poison, a cloud of flames, or a stream of lightning. Most Basilisk have the ability to inflict temporary paralysis through eye contact.
…
"Everyone!" She exclaimed. "Large snake that caused several people to fall over."
"Basilisk!" Someone yelled out in fear.
"Anyone capable of helping others, get them safe." She commanded.
She snapped her fingers before both hands blazed red.
She moved before appearing where the basilisk was heading and slammed a fist into the ground in front of it, causing it to heat up and explode, causing a large cloud of dust to shoot outward and blind the snake.
"I'm your opponent, you overgrown gecko!" She snarled.
The basilisk shook its massive orange head. Its body curled up behind it, as if it was about to spring forward. Yet, even when it was curled to spring forward, it still was twice as tall as her.
'Has to be about 30 feet long, 4 feet tall.' She deduced before looking to the side at seeing a flash of gold from where its eyelids were.
She charged two fireballs and shot it in its direction.
She heard it make contact.
2485 fire damage * 0 = 0 damage inflicted.
…
'What?'
She saw the ground shift from her peripherals and jumped to the right, just before she saw something orange shoot by her.
But its tail smacked her in the face, sending her spinning backwards before using her hands to spring herself onto her feet and rolling her neck.
"Man. I'm glad that doesn't hurt. Otherwise, I'm sure that you would have put a crick in my neck."
Tigra heard it hiss in what she believed to be annoyance or anger.
Someone crying out to her left caused her to look, only to be surprised.
The Basilisk had grabbed one of her gang but was looking at her.
Right in the eye.
[Temporarily Paralyzed: 00:10:00]
[Temporarily Paralyzed - While in this condition, you can not use your muscles to move, defend, or attack. All of your organs will still work, but your muscles are practically locked in a manner to keep you alive but docile]
…
Now that she was looking at them, the Basilisk's eyes were a golden amber.
The Basilisk seemed to smirk at her if it could before turning to go after the nearby gang members.
'Think!'
Tigra was glad about Neuron still working as it allowed her to process everything much faster than she could without it.
'Magic is still working. I'm glad for once that magic doesn't have pathways affected by muscles but instead, the body. It means…'
Tigra tried something.
Red flames shot out of her feet, making her raise in the air as she continued her previous spells, as they were helping her process faster.
' Haste, Lightning Armor, Fire Step, Neuron . That's 4 out of 6 available spells I can use.'
She activated regenerate and looked at her status to see if that did anything, seeing as she knew Heal wouldn't work, as it wasn't damaging her.
[Tigra]
[Status: Temporarily Petrified: 00:09:21 → 00:03:47]
…
'Alright, that's 5.'
She focused on using the flames coming out of her feet before shooting towards the Basilisk.
She flew in front of it and took in its widening eyes.
Before spinning herself as flames converged through her feet.
' Flame Dive! '
Her flaming feet slammed into the snake's head, stopping its advance and pushing it back with a cry.
(69,487 damage + 0 [fire damage]) * 0.25 [Armor] = 17,642 damage inflicted!
H2H gained 17,642 EXP!
…
Tigra shot backward before floating in the air, her body still stiff with her arms as if she was preparing to throw a punch while her legs were somewhat close together.
Instead of hitting with both legs, she only really managed to hit with her right leg.
The basilisk shook its head before glaring at her.
[Petrified refreshed! 03:42 → 04:02]
…
Tigra answered its look by simply floating in front of it, trying to convey annoyance through her eyes.
It worked apparently, as it opened its mouth.
A wave of lightning and fire spewed out at her.
She made sure that Lightning Armor would protect her clothing before channeling Fire Shield in front of her body.
It was slower than normal, but a slowly spinning shield of fire appeared in front of her, blocking the damage.
Fire and lightning went past her and struck the sand around her.
It kept going for nearly 30 seconds before the lightning started to sputter out and the flames slowly died.
Fire Shield gained 2047 [damage blocked] * 30 [seconds] * 32 [POF, Genius, Spellbook, Pyro] = 1,965,120 EXP!
Fire Shield maxed out!
[Fire Shield LV MAX - Creates a shield around you in a certain direction that blocks INT * 5 * 2 [Mastered] = 3012 damage. MP: 10/m]
For mastering Fire Shield, WIS + 5 and magic control +5%
WIS: 305 → 310
Magic Control: 337 → 342%
…
'That's another spell down. Now I should be able to learn two more spells from the spellbook back in the Zone.' She thought.
She caught a smirk on the snake's face and it quickly fell as it saw her floating unharmed.
'My turn.'
She willed electricity from the Lightning Armor to thin into an electrical arrow.
It soared through the air before slamming into the basilisk.
It flinched.
Lightning Arrow gained 1438 [damage] * 0.25 [Armor] * 4 [Genius and Electromaniac] = 1438 EXP!
Lightning Arrow leveled up! LV 1 → 3
…
If Tigra could, she would have smirked.
She created another and fired.
It snaked out of the way before Tigra shot forward, revealing it to be a distraction.
Lightning exploded around her feet before she spun herself and slammed her right heel into its head.
' Lightning Slam !'
Lightning Slam dealt 105,546 * 0.25 [Armor] = 26,387 damage!
Lightning Slam gained 26387 * 4 = 105,546 EXP!
Lightning Slam leveled up!
[Lightning Slam LV 23 (4346/9200) - Cover a part of your body with lightning and slam it into your target, dealing H2H damage * (1 + (0.5 + 23 / 125) * Lightning_Bonus.
Damage: 120,924 | MP: 30]
H2H gained 17476 EXP!
H2H leveled up! (4)29 → (4)30
For reaching 430, STR + 1, CON + 1
STR: 156 → 157
CON: 525 → 527
…
The Basilisk cried out as it slammed into the ground.
'Basilisk - HP.'
[Adolescent Basilisk - 12,792 | 57,000]
…
The Basilisk stayed on the ground before it looked up at her floating form before closing its eyes and relaxing.
'Its given up.' She determined, floating downward.
She landed in front of it, yet it still didn't open its eyes.
'I wonder…Power, is there something to connect this Basilisk to me?'
She did need transportation in the desert and, while this would be above it, she felt something about this.
[Searching…]
[...]
[...]
[2 methods found:
Spell: Familiar - creates a magical copy of an animal that will follow your every command to its best ability. If the familiar is destroyed, it will not be able to be summoned anymore.
Trait: Bonded - You can bond with an animal and be able to talk to and understand it, be unaffected by its abilities, and they will grow along with you. If your animal reaches its evolution level, you will be given two choices for it to turn into.]
[Do you wish to acquire one of them?]
[Y, Bonded]
Very well.
Trait [Bonded] obtained.
…
Tigra floated over to it before landing on its head.
Would you like to Bond to Adolescent Basilisk?
[Y]
Creating bond…
…
Bond created!
[Bond: Adolescent Basilisk LV 76 | REP: 0]
…
"Just get it over with. There's no need to-"
"Well now," Tigra spoke, rolling her shoulders at feeling Petrification go away. "That's better."
Tigra hopped off of them before speaking again.
"What's your name?"
She didn't get a response.
"Basilisk." She spoke again. "What is your name? And go ahead and open your eyes."
They did, holding genuine annoyance and looking her in the eye.
"There, was that so hard?"
They blinked.
"It's unaffected? But it worked earlier."
"It did." She confirmed, getting wide eyes from them. "And I understand you now. So, what is your name?"
They remained silent.
"...No name. Haven't earned one yet."
"Well, how would you like Draco?"
"...Draeka."
"Oh, my bad. So, how would you feel about joining me? I have no doubt that you'll be able to find other creatures to fight and prove your worth."
They stared at her, confused where that came from.
"Listen," She muttered. "Out here, I don't trust anyone with me. They'll likely be waiting for me to let my guard down and try to gain the position of leading this land. But you? You know nothing you can do can really hurt me and you'll keep everyone from having second thoughts. You in?"
"...Very well. I will be wanting a rematch in the future."
Tigra smirked before hopping onto its head and dropping her spells and applying Regeneration and Heal onto it.
"I have no problem with that."
Regeneration gained 50 [EXP_Base] * 4 [Genius and Unimaniac] * 180 [seconds] = 36,000 EXP!
Leveled up! LV 1 → 17
…
Quest [Princess of Snakes] Completed!
Objective: Defeat/Eliminate Adolescent Basilisk
Bonus Objective: Save as many of your gang as possible
Hidden objective: Tame the Basilisk
Rewards: 4500 EXP | 50 EXP (x65) | 2000 EXP, +50 REP with [Draeka]
…
9750 EXP gained, +50 REP with Draeka
…
Leveled up! LV 66 → 67
15 Attribute points and 3 skill points awarded
You have reached [Friend] level with Draeka.
As such, you have received +10 CHA
CHA: 135 → 146
…
15 points into INT
INT: 301 → 318
…
5 Skill points turned into Trait point [4 remain]
…
Trait point used for [Intelligent]
[Intelligent - Upgrades 1.15 multiplier from Smart to 1.3]
INT: 318 → 359
…
'That was more than I expected.' She thought.
"Do you know where a giant piece of metal is?"
"Yes. It is annoying with its calling for a mate. It goes on and on through the day and night. Most of us are impressed and saddened that it has yet to find its mate."
'Mate? What…a signal. I remember that they touched on that in the Academy, but they didn't come up too often for me, since I never planned on going into the Navy or anything similar. Must have been what Entrapta picked up.'
"Well, I need to reach that place. Can I have your help in transporting me and a few people?"
Draeka flicked out her tongue while staring at her.
"You and 3 others."
Tigra frowned lightly before nodding.
"That's agreeable. Stay here for a moment."
Tigra hopped off after healing her.
Regeneration gained 50 [Base] * 4 [Unimaniac and Genius] * 20 [seconds] = 4,000 EXP!
Leveled up! LV 17 → 18
[Regeneration LV 18 (1750/4500) - Heals you or a target by [1 + (18 * 1.25 [Brilliant]) / 150] times your healing rate. 115%]
…
Tigra walked back to her group and found several of them watching her and noticed how some were straying their eyes away from her before forcing themselves to look at her.
'Probably trying to keep an eye on Draeka without looking her in the eye.'
"Is it taken care of?" Bleka asked.
"If you mean, is it dead? No. Instead, it's mine now."
"What do you mean by that?" Bau asked, only for Double to smirk.
"My, you really are entertaining to be around."
"Just the same as all of you. You're mine."
"Did…did you adopt a giant snake that can spew fire and lightning while also being able to paralyze with a stare?" Lasher questioned.
"Yes."
Blank looks and a lightly laughing Double was the response.
"Draeka is willing to transport me and 3 other people to the ship. The rest, go back and inform everyone about the change in leadership."
"Now, who is going with us?" Double asked.
She did not miss them saying us instead of you .
"The people coming with me are Double, Lasher, Bleka."
"M-Me!?" Bleka exclaimed.
"Double because they've been good company and I'm curious about them for potentially hiring them. Lasher so he can get a true understanding of just why I will be remaining in charge. Bleka because I need someone who will not hide what happens from the rest in case Lasher tries to downplay whatever happens when you all return to wherever you all stay." Tigra listed.
She turned to the rest of the gang.
"Can the rest of you make it back safely?"
After some talking, Bau stepped up.
"We'll be fine. The least experience among us has been in the desert for 3 years. We know how to avoid most of the dangerous predators out here and how to move safely through the desert."
Tigra nodded.
"For now, just do what you've been doing but don't cause trouble where it isn't needed. Last thing I need is for you all to get a big head thinking I'll fix any problem you make."
Not long after, the group split into two and the group of four made their way to Draeka.
"Keep your eyes closed please, Draeka." Tigra asked. "Where would you like these three to sit?"
Draeka simply arched themself slightly, about 5 feet away from their neck.
"Alright, get on Draeka."
"It's name is-"
"Her." Draeka hissed.
"Her." Tigra repeated. "Draeka doesn't seem to like being called an 'it,' so I suggest you'd not do so."
Bleka nodded.
"Draeka's a girl?" Lasher asked for confirmation, a sense of dread coming off of him.
"Yeees?"
"Oh boy. Based on the coloring of her scales, the length of the scales, and her willingness to attack in broad second moonlight, she's young. And already being ~25 - 30 feet long…she'll be about 80 feet long when she's done growing then."
Tigra whistled at that.
"You know a good amount about Basilisks. How long will that be?"
Lasher held his chin as he gently got onto Draeka.
"Have to. Even an Adolescent is among the top 10 most dangerous creatures in the Waste. I'd guess she's about 20 based on the descriptions I gave. So…10 years? At that point, she should have challenged and eaten a lot of big creatures."
Tigra nodded as the other two got onto Draeka as well.
Tigra jumped before landing on a flat part of Draeka's head.
"Are you good to go, Draeka?"
"I am. Since you four can't follow me under the sand, it will likely take us the rest of the day and a night to reach it."
"Alright." Tigra acknowledged it being about 10 hours then, before an Ice Clone with a very dark shadow appeared next to her and she laid down.
She felt Draeka move her head close to the ground before they were on the move as her eyes closed shut, hoping to get rid of that [Sleep Deprived] status condition.
_________
Ice Clone gained 575 [MP/5] * 2 [Genius] * 480 [Minutes] = 552,000 EXP!
Leveled up! LV 49 → 74!
[Ice Clone LV 74 (25180/25900) -Allows you to create 5 clones made out of ice. They can use all ice based spells and traits. They will have 1|4 HP and 1|3 MP]
Shadow Spy gained 10 [Base] * 4 [Spellbook and Genius] * 480 [Minutes] * 3 [Number of Spies] = 57,600 EXP!
Leveled up! LV 68 → 72!
You can now create up to 8 shadow spies at the same time.
…
Tigra groaned before opening her eyes as the clone dispersed, knowing that she'll need to take time to just go through the memories, despite not wanting to.
You do have the ability to dump the memories.
Tigra froze before taking a deep breath.
'You mean…to tell me…I didn't have to spend hours just watching me sleep!? I felt like a creep and it was me!'
You never made the indication of not wanting to view them. Also, previous users didn't use similar abilities to watch themselves sleep before. They usually had a purpose; so they never needed to use the dump feature.
'Dump the memories.'
Tigra took in her surroundings and found everyone sleeping.
"I see you're finally awake."
"Yeah. Thanks for this."
"You proved yourself stronger. I couldn't hurt you with my tail, my energy breath, my flames, and my stare was only an annoyance to you. Meanwhile, your hits hurt as if I'm being hit by a Behir."
"A Behir?"
"A predator that is unaffected by my stare, my energy breath only helps it, has a body similar to mine but usually 3x the length, and six arms on each side that could pick me up with ease with only one. Its bite is strong enough to tear something like me in half with no difficulty."
"Lasher was mentioning something about you needing to prove your combat prowess by defeating and eating other things. Is that just for food or does it have a purpose?"
"Mix of both. When looking to mate, both males and females look for the ones with proof of good genetics and ability to protect and feed. However, there are legends of several Basilisks over so many days and nights that no one Basilisk will live; if enough valiant enemies are defeated, they may be able to gain the ability to become their full size or look like one of you small creatures on a whim.
There are stories of Basilisks your size capable of lifting someone like me with one hand. Able to swat cliffs into pebbles. Able to out speed the fastest Basilisks. The ones that grow to their full size gain scales that no teeth can bite through. Stare strong enough that one truly becomes stone. A being strong enough to fight a group of Behirs alone.
We do this for survival and climbing the ranks of nature's food chain."
Tigra digested that information.
'Sounds similar to me leveling up. My Power did mention that Draeka would level up along with me. Does that mean?'
She looked at Draeka more seriously.
[Draeka the Basilisk | Age: 23]
[Level 77]
[HP: 57,800]
…
'Yep. I leveled up and so did Draeka. And her HP increased by 800 just from one level. As long as I keep improving, Draeka's likely to become the strongest Basilisk Etheria's ever seen.'
"Sounds like it's in my best interest to get you there."
"As long as you don't make me do all of your work. You're stronger than me for now. As of now, you are my leader. You'd best make sure someone doesn't change that."
Tigra could read between the lines.
"How long until we reach the giant piece of metal?"
"Roughly 2 hours. We stopped for about 2 hours so I could get some quick sleep. It will be enough for the next 12 hours, but after that, I'll need to sleep for about 10."
Tigra nodded as an Ice Clone appeared next to her.
2 hours later though, Tigra saw something.
"Yeah…" Her eyes trailed over the massive ship. "That's a First One piece of tech if my eyes have anything to say about that."
__________________
Tigra Py'ra Blureclaw | 18
Level 67 (1755/16750) | 10.48%
HP: 11,100 | HPR: 4995
MP: 3024|7560 | MPR: 1733|4333
SP: 5550 | SPR: 2498
STR: 165 | DEX: 724
CON: 555 | INT: 378
WIS: 321 | CHA: 154
Skill Points: 4
Trait Points: 1
Upgrade Trait Points: 0
Speed: 100.6 MPH
Magical Control: 342%
Carry Capacity: Normal - 309 lbs. MAX 413 lbs
Skills:
[H2H LV (4)30], [Run LV (2)45], [Dash LV (4)84, [Blades LV (1)49], [Spear LV 50]
[Dodge LV 41], [Reading LV 75], [Writing LV 105], [Sneak LV 48]
[Light Res. LV 4], [Air Res. LV 2], [Water Res. LV 87]
[Magic Res LV 42], [Earth Res LV 4]
[Program. LV 35], [Security LV 18], [Hacking LV 27], [Strategy LV 61]
Spells [Tigra still uses]:
Clone-Fire and Lightning
Fire Step, Fire Breath, Flame Dive, Lava Armor, Flame Charge, F. Shield, Crimson Slash,
Flame Fists, Fireball LV 95, F. Dagger, F. Arrow, F. Falchion, F. Spear
Lightning Armor, Lightning Claws LV 20, L. Falchion LV 61, L. Spear LV 44,
L. Arrow LV 3, L. Dagger LV 54, Lightning Slam LV 23, L. Clothing LV 21
Chill, Ice Armor, Ice Clone LV 74
Darken, Shadow Mask, Shadow Ball LV 1, Shadow Spy LV 72, Shadow Armor, Dark Pulse
Breeze
Bubble, Stream, Wave, Water Armor LV 63
Haste, Heal, Regeneration LV 18, Truth LV 18, Lie LV 18
Traits:
[Night Vision], [Magical], [Obsidian Claws], [Huntress], [Primal Instincts]
[You are the Weapon - Multiplies H2H bonus by 2]
[Lightning - Multiplies final DEX by 1.5]
[Durable - Multiplies final CON by 1.15]
[Intelligent - Multiplies final INT by 1.3]
[Wise - Multiplies final WIS by 1.15]
[You are Speed - For two minutes a day, your DEX is multiplied by 3]
[Omni-Regeneration II- Multiplies all Regens by 3]
[Maniac - EXP x2: Fire, Water, Pure, Electric]
[Unburnable - You can't be hurt by fire or heat through fire. Period.]
[Proof- Can be hurt with ill intent: Physical, Electricity, Ice, Shadow]
[Phoenix - Once a month, if your HP is reduced to zero, you return to 75% HP once with a 25% increase in stats for the next 10 minutes]
[Raiju - Multiply your movement speed by 3x for 90 minutes within a 24 hour period. Lightning attacks do 100% more damage but water damage hurts you thrice as much as normal]
[Grimm - Decreases damage taken by 75%, regenerations + 200% but Light attacks deal 3x their regular damage. Works for 30 minutes a day]
[Yuki-Onna - Touching something with HP will do INT*100 ice damage per second. Can be used for 10 minutes a day]
[Fueling the Fire - Increases Damage for Fire attacks by 50%]
[One with Fire - Fire spells take 25% less MP than normal]
[One with Lightning - Lightning spells take 25% less MP than normal]
[The Myth is Real - You have 7 spare lives and will restore you to 50% HP, MP, and SP upon resurrecting 4 minutes later]
[True Heir - Allows you the ability to connect with the Runestone of your home kingdom, or a Runestone should there not be one]
[Over Killer - Due to your ability of overkilling, your threats are more likely to succeed as warnings towards enemies]
[6th Sense [Catra] - You now will know when your fellow Chosen(s) are in trouble]
[Recovery - Your Regens are increased by 50%]
[Control - Allows the use of 4 continuous spells without causing pain]
[Princess of Fire - Multiplies MP by 2, MPR by 1.5, and Fire spells gain 4x EXP]
[Azure Flames - You can use 50% more MP to increase a fire spell's power by 100%. Doing so turns your flames into a brilliant blue]
[Bonded: Draeka - LV 77 Basilisk]
Milestones:
[Genius - All EXP for spells is doubled]
[Brilliant - All spells do 25% more damage]
[Hare - Increases movement speed by 25%]
[Cheetah - For 30 seconds every 2 hours, your DEX is increased by 50%]
[Eagle - You can now run on air as long as you remain undisturbed]
[Diamond Body - Decreases damage taken by 60% after resistances]
[Meditated - MPR remains active at 15% while using spells continuously]
[Confident Aura - Those around you will think you know what you are doing]
[Strong - Increases non-magical attacks by 10% and carrying capacity by 25%]
Weapons:
Dark Flame - A Jian that can channel fire magic to increase its power ~ 4610 damage with no added MP
Shadow Piercer - Dual Daggers dark enough to be hidden in shadows ~ 4360 per dagger