Chương 50: Chapter 49 - The Dangers of Rapid Growth

Elias scrubbed himself and his armor clean in the river with some supplies that Astra had added to his pack before changing and joining Coop and the gang by the kitchen. Astrid was more than happy to give his hand a light once over, sealing any cuts, but leaving any rough skin or bruising to promote callus growth, Cooper on the other hand was less understanding.

Cooper faced Eli hands on his hips with a stern expression, " Lad, the whole camp watched you haul enough stone today to build a small fort all by your lonesome. If you so much as touch a single potato I may have a riot on my hands, and I have a reputation to consider."" Lady Blackhall said to rest and that is just what you will do. You are always welcome in this kitchen, but!"

He jabbed a knife point at a nearby crate before waggling the blade in Eli's direction, " You will take up your post right there, and you will not lift a finger unless you want it removed by one of my little friends here." Eli laughed and plopped down on the crate to placate the man, " All right, message received. I would like to be able to keep counting to ten without taking off my boots."

Coop barked a laugh before turning back to work, and the rest of the gang spent the daylight swapping training stories with Eli, taking it in stride that he was a soldier in a foreign land before joining them. Eli kept his contributions light since he didn't want to spill the 'I'm from another world' story without knowing what was weird and what wasn't. Tia's cheer squad stopped by to check in, and to tell Eli all about the hard work she put in today, apparently the mental link between companions wasn't well known.

Elias still enjoyed hearing the stories first hand instead of intuiting through Tia's ranting tirades. The pair were actually sisters who both worked for a tavern owned by their family in a nearby town, and had travelled with a caravan to set up a trade deal for supplies at a local village only to have their caravan raided by the bandits on their return trip." The bastards had us for weeks, but I'm really mad at the trader.

The coward and his guards didn't even put up a fight, what in the Abyss were we even paying them for?" fumed the elder sister Evelynn. She had wavy sandy blonde hair and warm brown eyes like her sister Anjelica, and while the experience had left them a little gaunt and malnourished, they had a fire in their eyes that was missing from some of the other refugees." We never saw the craven weasel at the slave camp, and I told the Lady my suspicions."

Evelynn spat on the ground in a display of disgust, " I bet the arsehole was selling passengers when he could get away with it, I'll never forget that face."" I believe you Evie, we ran into the same man at Springdale, and the timing is too suspicious." Astra plunked down on the crate next to Eli joining the discussion, cooing at Tia as she slithered into Astra's lap hissing in pleasure as Astra rubbed the wyvern's sore muscles. Yessssss, shiny two legs is the best. Brother!

Take notes, tell sister-astra she is a most excellent servant and I need you to bargain with her to find the price for more rubs next time, all the dead birds she needs, just give me a number. Astra laughed as Eli translated, " No birds needed to pamper a cutie like you, you just come see me when you need it. And yes if we can find the man Mira and I have some questions as well." Eli was surprised when he looked up at the startled expressions on the sisters, but laughed when they gave him the puppy eyes." Nay!

The little critter can talk?"" And you can understand her?"" Oh by the Ancients, that's adorable, ask her what she likes other than inkfruit!" Eli rolled his eyes at Astra's smirk and passed the time until dinner helping translate for Tia's fan club. Ding [Congratulations! [Companion Bond] has reached Lv 5] Dinner by the tents was tense to begin with, as Astra was clearly still upset with Mira over the events of the morning, but after Eli's clear nonchalance in response Astra eased her position slowly warming back up to Mira over the course of the meal. Eli was surprised by how hungry he was, the triple portion from dinner going down with ease, Mira smirked."

It will only get worse as we start allocating your free points, I actually plan on hunting down some tier two beasts for their mana infused meat otherwise you will have a hard time consuming enough to compensate." Eli boggled at the implication as he sipped his tea, " Does everyone have this problem? I imagine feeding your communities must be tough!" Astra laughed tossing her hair as her curly mane shone like a river crimson and gold in the reflection of the firelight, " Hardly!

How many 12 year olds do you think are out in the woods killing boars or pouncing on assassins two tiers above them?" She chortled in amusement, " No silly man, most people are not doubling or tripling their attribute totals over the course of a few days, or are even in a position to do so if they wanted to?" She shook her head, " No, the rapid leveling is a feature of your very low level, and since you are a grown man not a child it is even faster."

Mira nodded while feeding some of her dessert to Tia, apparently even Mira was not immune to her charms." My Lady is right, as you rise in power the levels come slower, and mana infused meat is more common and easier to obtain. If you are ever in a similar situation where you are increasing your attributes by more than your current total you should do a similar thing, but it is unlikely." Eli pondered for a moment, "What would happen if I allocated all the points at once?

Mira and Astra both recoiled with a grimace, and Mira nodded for Astra to answer," Frankly I doubt you would survive. If the pain from your body tearing itself apart didn't kill you, the drain on your internal reserves would as the System would try to build large amounts of tissue from a supply of material no body could ever contain."" Never increase your scores by more than 50% of their totals nor 50% of your entire total in a single push unless you want to die a painful death.

Just keep it to no more than 10% or 20% every couple days and eat hearty and you will be fine." Good to know…. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Mira laid out the training plan for tomorrow, allocating some points to the remaining unenhanced attributes followed by training them, while she provided some more background on the empire and its culture."

We should arrive in Springdale the day after and will have a long stretch to travel until we reach Emerald Grove, so it would be preferable to postpone starting on new skills until our business has concluded." She stood and headed towards her tent, " Good Eve My Lady, Mr Mercer. I shall see you in the morning." Astra gazed into the fire with a stony expression for a while before looking up at Eli with a neutral expression. Eli thought he could see a hint of vulnerability in her eyes as she spoke."

Eli, I'm sorry for this morning."" Mira told me what happened and it made me furious. I told her she had nothing to worry about and she still did that regardless of my wishes." Do you blame me for it?" Eli smiled and shook his head, " Never. I would never hold you accountable for the actions of others Astra." Her stony expression broke a little with a fond smile, " Aye, I had imagined you would not."" Do you hate her for it?" Eli considered this for a moment, " No.

At the time it hurt a little bit, but after some time to think, I can understand her reaction. These things sound like a serious threat and she takes her position seriously." Eli smiled at Astra, " Caring for her ward is not exactly a bad quality, and it's plain to see she looks at you more as a daughter or younger sister than her employer." He shook his head, " No, I get it." Astra's smile broadened, " Hmph, good to know."

They settled into a companionable silence, occasionally speaking, but the efforts of the day quickly had Eli dozing in his seat. As he nodded off for a moment he stood, slightly unsteady and announced he was heading off to bed, Astra laughed and steadied him with a hand on his arm." Easy there Mr Bluffback, it has been a long day of hauling rocks and it is time for you to retire as well."

As Eli turned towards the treeline, her grip on his arm firmed, and she gave him a serious look as he turned sleepily back towards her." Enough with the trees, Eli."" We had the men set up a spare tent and cot for you. You are not in the wild anymore, you can have some comforts." Eli considered protesting for a moment but paused as she gave him a small pout, " Please, do it for me if not for yourself."" It doesn't feel right to have a friend sleeping rough when we have plenty to spare.

I even had them set something up for Tia." Eli smiled, " All right, thanks Astra." She walked him over to a new tent next to hers, and showed him inside where an armor stand, a small wash basin, a cot with bedding, and an empty crate turned nest filled with an arranged pile of blankets and bedding was prepared for them. Astra gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze, and he gave a near imperceptible shiver as she turned her brightest smile on him."

You are more than welcome Elias, do not forget you are not alone anymore, let me know if you need anything else." After she left he tucked a snoring Tiamat into her new bedding, stripped out of his armor, and settled into the comfortable bedding. Eli dozed for a moment before shaking himself awake, I almost forgot, Mira told me to allocate a couple points into each of the lower scores before I slept. He pulled up his interface for one last check before allocating his free points for the first time.

Name: Elias Mercer Age: 23 Race: Voidborn Human Class: [Child of Void] Lv 10 ============ Health: 90/90 Stamina: 210/210 Mana: 250/250 ============ Vitality: 9 Strength: 21 Endurance: 21 Dexterity: 10 Intelligence: 25 Wisdom: 9 Willpower: 26 Charisma: 7 Free points: 70 ============ Class 1: [Child of the Void] Class 2: Locked Class 3: Locked ============ Class Skills: [Child of the Void] Locked ============ General Skills Observant: Lv 10 Tracking: Lv 7 Stealth: Lv 10 Eagle's Eye: Lv 10 Basic Weapon Crafting - Primitive: Lv 4 Basic Weapon Proficiency - Polearms: Lv 5 Dismantling: Lv 2 Basic Weapon Proficiency - Small Blades: Lv 8 Stalwart: Lv 4 Companion Bond- Tiamat Mercer: Lv 5 Free Skill Slots: 0 / 10 She said to start by getting everything to ten, Eli went through the mental toggles that Mira had coached him on, adding a point to vitality and dexterity first.

Elias willed the mental intent to commit the changes, and he could feel the strangest almost painful sensation as muscles and skin crawled for a few seconds, that slowly faded in a dull burning sensation that blended with the rest of the soreness from rest of his exertions for the day. Weird, it was almost like a whole body cramp, and that was only a couple points for physical effects. Damn 70 points at once would be brutal.

Eli triggered the three points to charisma, and after a moment's pause Eli could feel a wholly different sensation. There was a slight tingling on his skin, but the rest was internal, taking place in the same immaterial region that the mana that powered his skills came from. What an odd sensation, Mira said it might have something to do with the soul given the way the system described it, but she didn't know much more.

Apparently if I want to know more I would need to check the ducal library back in Astra's home town. Eli did one final check of his interface before closing his eyes, excited to continue his training tomorrow.

Name: Elias Mercer Age: 23 Race: Voidborn Human Class: [Child of Void] Lv 10 ============ Health: 90/90 Stamina: 210/210 Mana: 250/250 ============ Vitality: 10 Strength: 21 Endurance: 21 Dexterity: 10 Intelligence: 25 Wisdom: 10 Willpower: 26 Charisma: 10 Free points: 65 ============ Class 1: [Child of the Void] Class 2: Locked Class 3: Locked ============ Class Skills: [Child of the Void] Locked ============ General Skills Observant: Lv 10 Tracking: Lv 7 Stealth: Lv 10 Eagle's Eye: Lv 10 Basic Weapon Crafting - Primitive: Lv 4 Basic Weapon Proficiency - Polearms: Lv 5 Dismantling: Lv 2 Basic Weapon Proficiency - Small Blades: Lv 8 Stalwart: Lv 4 Companion Bond- Tiamat Mercer: Lv 5 Free Skill Slots: 0 / 10