Chapter 79

Etson National Forest, Etson - 11:22 AM

The migraine I woke up to pounded heavily on my head. Sensing that this was a combination of my transformation and lack of Mental Points, I mentally removed the 43 points that were still in the Medallion of Uuska and refilled my native MP reserve. The process was painful as even thinking hurt, let alone mentally commanding the system, but I made it through despite the trouble.

My head immediately began to feel better as the migraine downgraded into a headache. I opened my eyes slowly to see that I was in the same tent I had brought the forest burning team to earlier. Someone had laid me on a cot along with others who, I assumed, had been wounded enough to not wake up after being healed. I checked the wound in my gut, and noted that the hole was no longer there. My skin wasn't even tender.

Outside of the tent, I heard yelling and crying. No sounds of battle, though that was what I expected. Demonic leader or not, the Vespae would follow their instincts to flee without a queen to guide them. Etson was safe until the next round of scenarios started, but there was a few days of rest for those who survived today.

I tried to sit up but my head started pounding again. “This sucks,” I whispered to myself. Snapping open my menu, I navigated to my status screen to see if I had any lingering effects from the transformation.

[[Status]]

Player Anthony Franklin

Class: Warmind

Race: Half-Angel (Dormant)

Points: 4,833

Stats:

Hit Points: 506/506

Mental Points: 47/300 (0/100)

Strength: 25; Dexterity: 45; Constitution: 44; Wisdom: 30; Willpower: 30

My eyes immediately fixated on my race. “Half Angel,” I read aloud.

Slowly, I brought my arm up to look at it. It didn’t look any different to me, and I wondered if I was exhibiting any of the signs of a race change. My hair didn’t feel like it was on fire when I shifted my head, nor would I have any wings since I was laying on my back. I could always find a mirror later. Based on the fact it’s listed as “dormant,” I might only change when I use Esaraphelscion’s Love.

I narrowed my eyes as they flicked down to look at my points. I would have to ask Sara about that.

As I expected, my hit points were back up to full and my Mental Points had been dropped to zero. The headache was starting to recede now that I had some points in it, but I lamented the weakness of being a Warmind. If it weren’t for the Medallion of Uuska being able to hold some of my resources, I would have had to wait for my Mental Points to tick up slowly.

Looking through it one more time, I snapped closed my inventory and spoke to the room. “Good morning, Sara,” I attempted to say cheerily. “Could you please tell me why I won negative 600 or so points by beating the Vespae queen? It was at 5,620 before I summoned you. Does removing shackles have a point cost I didn’t know about?”

It took seconds for Sara to respond.

[[Patron Message]]

I’m happy to see you’re awake! Your friends are still on the battlefield.

To answer your other question… Break Free has a really high resource cost. It takes your Mental Points first, and then starts using your points to sustain itself. The transformation consumes MP slower than points, but you only had 36 left after everything you did today, so it didn’t last long. You were in that state for a little over four minutes and it cost you 4,087 points. The more power it grants you, the more points it’ll cost in the future. I’m sorry I didn’t warn you but you needed the transformation to succeed.

To save on messages, I’ll also add that your transformation isn’t complete. You’re a Half-Angel now but you don’t have the stats to support it just yet. I’ve never turned anyone into a Half-Angel before, so I’m not quite sure when it’ll stop being a dormant change.

Sincerely,

Esaraphelscion, Angel of the End

I nodded as I read through the message. The cost for activating Break Free was an unfortunately fair one. Breaking the scenario limits was no easy feat and I would have quickly agreed to a thousand points per minute to gain access to later powers. The fact that the cost would rise as I gained power gave me pause, but I could already think of ways to abuse this new power that weren’t open to me before.

As much as I would have loved to use it whenever possible, it would have to be put aside as a trump card as I still needed as many points as I could possibly get for The Prize. Spending points when I didn’t need to was anathema to everything I had worked towards for all this time.

“Thank you, Sara,” I said after thinking it over. I offered the room a soft smile. “I’m glad I have you to count on.”

It was good that she was trying to put as much into a message as possible. The cost of messages that a Patron could send to their ward was taken out of their point totals. Assuming that she started with the 1,000 points she used to give me that last quest, then she would have 1,500 points now. Sending messages cost a low amount of points from that pool but would gradually grow in price. It reset every day, but being frugal was the way to go.

[[Patron Message]]

You’re welcome, Anthony!

Sincerely,

Esaraphelscion, Angel of the End

I chuckled and shook my head. Maybe frugal wasn’t up Sara’s alley but I wasn’t going to scold her for it or anything; the system didn’t allow all-or-nothing when it came to points and quests so a little here or there wouldn’t hurt. It was cute that she kept signing her name at the end, though. I let my gaze linger on the message for a few seconds before closing it out.

It was time for me to try getting up again, and this time I succeeded. The headache hadn’t gone away yet but it was at a manageable level. A quick glance around showed me that no one had stirred even as I spoke earlier, and I was glad I didn’t disturb anyone’s rest.

As I began heading outside, I noticed how fragile my body seemed to be without the power of Break Free flowing through me. Such thoughts were worthless, and I pushed them back into my mind. I had survived 99 runs without it, I didn’t need it just because it was suddenly in my grasp.

I opened the tent flap to see rows upon rows of wounded on the ground. The healers were doing all they could for them, but with so many needing help they had resorted to less magical means of taking care of injuries. Several people were bandaged up with bottles of water and painkillers beside them. They would heal naturally given the time, but this would not be a day soon forgotten.

“Excuse me,” I said as I caught the attention of the closest healer. The man looked up, and I recognized him as the same guy who was here when I came through the door. He was checking the bandages on one of the unconscious players on the grass. “Hello. Could you tell me where our fearless leader Thomas is?”

“Good to see you up and about,” he said with a sad smile. “He should be back on the battlefield. They’re still collecting the dead, last I heard.”

“Thank you,” I replied, giving him a nod before heading off towards the Vespae hive.

A lot of people were loitering between the base camp and the battlefield. Despite our victory, the mood was somber. Sure, there were some people who were talking excitedly in their own groups, but they mostly kept it down out of respect for others.

Something that worried me were the members of the Etson Faithful who bowed their heads and made the sign of the cross as I walked by. They didn’t approach, but it still made me feel strange about the whole thing. Did I accidentally make a splinter faction that worshiped me instead of Seraphim? I could have done better than that scum sucker any day, but it left a bad taste in my mouth regardless.

It didn’t take me long to make it to the battlefield. Teams of volunteers that included two hulking Amalgams were gathering the Vespae bodies into large piles as they were searched and looted. Spears and other trinkets made a small mountains here and there that would no doubt be brought back to Etson, but for now it seemed like cataloging the battlefield was the biggest concern.

The humans and Kobolds who died in battle had been moved to line the edge of the forest. Several people were lingering and all of the remaining Kobolds were here with Elder Tet, standing over or kneeling next to their friends and loved ones. A pang of regret filled my heart, but I knew that we would have lost far more people if we had waited. It was an unfortunately common scene for me.

“Elder,” I greeted respectfully as I approached.

Elder Tet looked at me with sad eyes but smiled, nonetheless. “Anthony, I am glad that you are awake. We were worried about you.”

“Thank you for your concern,” I replied, turning to the bodies. “How are you and your people?”

Out of the thirty five Kobolds that came to our aid, eighteen of them laid here. Elder Tet was the only living Kobold standing due to his station. The rest were on their hands and knees, heads down as they grieved their fallen comrades. A few people emulated them, some stoic and some sobbing. No matter how briefly they had known each other, a battlefield was capable of forging deep bonds quickly.

Elder Tet waved his staff over the dead, and the sadness in his voice deepened. “We have taken a heavy hit this day, but as much as we mourn we agree that this was the best outcome.”

I heard some of the bowed Kobolds near us growl, but I didn’t make note of it. Not everyone would be able to let go so quickly. Elder Tet himself wouldn’t be over it for a long time, but he was a great leader and the Kobolds would work well with the people of Etson moving forward.

When I didn’t say anything, Elder Tet looked back towards his fallen people, his head bowed. “I heard you are leaving,” he said softly.

“There are a lot of people out there that need to be saved, and it’s dangerous for everyone here if I were to stay,” I replied. “Please give Serranras my regards. We really wouldn’t have been able to do this without her help.”

“I will do so.”

“Thank you.”

“Before you go, I do want to warn you. Thomas, well…” Elder Tet sighed, and pointed off further down the line. In the distance, I could see a small group of people gathering around some of the fallen. I recognized Corwin, who was back in his Labradoodle form. “I fear he was not as prepared for the death and destruction as we hoped he was.”

I pursed my lips and nodded. Reaching down, I offered Elder Tet my hand. “Thank you, sir. And may you always be blessed by the forest.”

“To you as well, Anthony,” Elder Tet replied, shaking my hand. “May you always find a forest mother willing to aid you.” With a parting nod, I headed towards Corwin.

I slowed down once I was closer and could take in the scene. Kayla and Jeff were holding each other tightly, and neither of them noticed I was here. Corwin did, but he remained wedged between the Mills, and his tail barely wagged as our eyes locked.

Beyond them was Gabrielle, John, and Thomas. The latter was on his knees, head down towards the ground while Gabrielle and John both had hands on his shoulders. I followed their gaze, and my heart dropped.

Laying in front of Thomas, mostly covered by a bloodstained white sheet, was Gloria. I lowered my head and came to a stop, but I didn’t take my eyes off of her. Even with all the shit I pulled, Gloria and I always got along well. She was the first of Thomas’ main group to forgive me, and always advocated peace between us.

That wasn’t to say she didn’t give me an earful every now and again when she didn’t like the means, but she really wanted to believe in the end I strove for.

Jeff was the first one to notice me, and he waved me over. I slowly approached, and as soon as I was in the man’s reach he pulled me into a hug with him and Kayla. She looked up at me with red eyes, but butted her head into my shoulder before burying her face back into Jeff’s chest. Giving the man a small smile, I extricated myself from them and approached the mourning Justicar.

“Thomas, I-“

“Stop,” he said, sounding defeated. “I don’t want to hear it from you.” Gabrielle gave me a sad smile, actually turning to face me. I saw that John’s hand had clutched onto Thomas’ jacket tightly, but he didn’t acknowledge my presence otherwise.

“Thank you, for today,” I said softly. “We wouldn’t have made it through this without you.”

“Made it through this?” Thomas repeated. “There's seventy-three people dead and we're still finding more. Half of the Kobolds had been killed off. At least a quarter of the wasps escaped to who knows where. But you’re thanking me?”

“Thomas,” Gabrielle whispered.

Thomas slowly stood up, shrugging the other two off of him, and turned to face me. “Thanking me? For this?” he asked, throwing his arms to the side to indicate the row of bodies behind him. “My sister is dead, Anthony. My sister died protecting the people you brought here with your delusions of grandeur, spewing nonsense about how things would go and talking out your ass.

“This woman raised me, Anthony,” he continued, pointing back at Gloria. “After our old man died, my mom - our mom - worked three jobs to keep our family off of the streets. Every day it was Gloria who kept me fed, taking me out, teaching me about life. And not just me, but all the neighbor kids, too. John, too. You went on about how I stepped up at the resort, about how I was the only one who can lead the Tumblers. Well, she’s the one who raised me this way!”

Thomas took a step towards me, and I was surprised to see John hold him back. Both men were red in the eyes, but the Justicar’s tears were flowing freely.

“I followed you, Anthony. I trusted you. And we did some good, yeah, I’ll say that. The queen died. The bugs fled. But this?” Thomas’ voice was grim as he spoke with heaving, sobbing breaths. He jabbed his finger back at his fallen sister. “This is on you. If these people weren’t here, then they would still be alive. They would still have a chance to survive.”

I let Thomas’ words wash over me as I watched him. He was lashing out, and he had every right to do so. Even so, I couldn’t stop my mind from responding to him in kind.

More would have died if we hadn’t attacked earlier.

They knew what they were volunteering for.

Your sister is a hero, don’t sully her good deeds like this.

Instead of throwing out excuses, though, I remained silent. The truth was that I didn’t know what to say to him. Thomas didn’t want me to offer him any weak platitudes or apologies, he wanted someone to blame.

“Do you have anything to say for yourself? Anything at all?” he asked. “She is gone forever because of your plan, because you brought the wrath of the administrators down, because of you… Don’t you have anything?”

“C’mon, Tommy,” John said. “You know-“

“Anything,” Thomas repeated.

My eyes flicked to Gloria. She looked so serene, laying there. Despite the blood and the wounds that were undoubtedly hidden under that sheet, the expression on her face was so peaceful. Like she had accepted her fate with grace and dignity. And I knew, even if Thomas didn’t want to admit it, that she chose to fight a losing battle so that others would live. I wondered how many people she had saved fighting to the death, and what the circumstances were.

“All the way up to the end, Gloria was a hero,” I said, trying to keep my voice even. It was harder than I expected it to.

“That’s it?” he snapped. “That’s all you have to say? I know Gloria was a hero, every damn person here knows that! They found her surrounded by a goddamned mountain of bugs that was taller than she was! She-“ Thomas cut himself off to scream, throwing his arms in the air.

“Tommy, it’s not Anthony’s fault,” Kayla said.

“Don’t you call me Tommy,” Thomas replied, glaring at Kayla. A moment of silence passed before he pointed back towards the forest. “You’re all skipping town, right? Then get going. Get out of here. Y’all aren’t welcome with the Tumblers anymore.”

Gabrielle looked ready to say something, but I shook my head. “Stay safe, Thomas,” I whispered. “You, too, Gabrielle, and John.” I began walking away.

Gabrielle mouthed the words “be safe” to me, and I jerked my head towards Thomas. She nodded, understanding what I wanted.

As I walked past Thomas, he leaned in and spoke with so much venom in his voice that I was almost taken aback. “I hope that son of a bitch you’re running from catches you.”

I pursed my lips and kept moving, accepting that his words came from a place of intense sorrow. He would push on despite this because that was the kind of person he was. There was nothing I could do for him now but continue pushing towards my goal.

We walked in silence, the weight of our losses crushing the mood, but I stopped once we hit the streets of Etson. Without turning to look at the Mills, I stopped. "This is your last out."

"Anthony," Kayla said, her voice short. "You already know what we're going to say."

"I have to give it," I replied stubbornly. "We're going to run into a lot of what we just saw. We're going to make a lot of friends who may end up like that. This is far from the last time we'll be survivors on a battlefield like that. I don't want you to answer now, but think about it. We'll leave soon after we get back to the train, so you have some time to decide if you're ready for more of that. If not, then there's no shame in walking away."

"Okay, boss. We hear you," Jeff said. His voice was low and weak, a far cry from what it normally was.

I sighed and took off my hat, running my fingers through my hair. “I know we just left, but do y’all need to say some goodbyes? Tie up any loose ends?” I asked. Not that I had done either of those. Like usual, I was skipping the tearful goodbyes. Do the scenario, move on to the next one, save some lives. A perpetual circle.

“No, we did all that this morning on the way to the battlefield,” Kayla answered. “Left some makeshift wills with friends, just in case… Well, you know.”

Nodding, I began walking again. “Okay, then let’s get going. We have a long road ahead of us,” I stated, and we resumed our journey.