Chương 18: [b1] 018 - You have Earned a Boon

It had been three days since Fermi had been in the dungeon, and she was starting to get itchy. It wasn't a dramatic thing, but she could feel it in her bones. Every time she had a spare moment not actively working through something, her mind drifted back to the dungeon boss. She couldn't believe Burke and his team had defeated it. Part of her was jealous, the other, much larger part, was purely amazed. They were a higher level, but it was still astonishing to her that they were able to get to the fourth pylon.

"What are you thinking about?" Silo asked as he jumped down from the apple tree. They'd managed to collect a whopping six affles. Not exactly enough to feed a village, but it was a surprisingly good harvest compared to their usual luck. Fermi glanced around, even though she knew they were the only ones out here.

"Trying to figure out when we'll be in the dungeon next." Silo grinned and walked over to the next tree. Fermi could just knock affles free with her wind abilities, but Silo loved climbing and she didn't mind the leisurely pace it let them maintain. It was the one slow part of her day.

"I think Grace has off tomorrow so we should be good to go."

"So, Laura's good with going back? She seemed pretty strongly against it before—even after Burke gave her that bow." Two affles fell to the ground and Silo hopped down.

"I've been trying to talk to her about it but every time I try she shuts me down. I'm pretty sure she'll join us though. Not like her to leave a group struggling." Fermi wasn't sure she believed that, but hoped she was wrong. Without Laura, they wouldn't be returning to the dungeon anytime soon. The rest of the morning foraging went about as expected. The orchard netted them a whopping twenty-seven affles and the eastern forest got them a few mushrooms but not much else.

Fermi had the afternoon off and wasn't sure what she was going to spend it doing. She wanted to go into the dungeon, but without the rest of the group that wasn't an option. Instead, she went to the meadery, and Silo went to work with Rikard at the blacksmith shop.

"What can I get ya?" Will said from behind the bar. Fermi ordered a small glass of honey mead and sipped it idly as she looked around the tavern. It was generally a busy place, but this early in the day it was pretty dead. Will leaned against the back wall across from her, polishing a glass. She felt awkward having him stare at her, so she started to make conversation.

"How has the meadery been doing?"

"Oh you know, not enough ingredients and too many customers." Fermi winced at her stupid question. She knew better than most how few affles they'd gathered lately, which was a key ingredient in Will's mead.

"I do have some exciting prospects on the horizon though," he said, leaning forward.

"Oh?" He reached into his inventory and pulled out a vial of amber liquid.

"Identify it," he said. Fermi ran her tongue along the inside of her teeth as she used Identify on the vial, not sure what to expect. Vial of Minor Healing ► This vial contains a minor healing potion, restoring ten percent of the consumers health instantly. Has a five minute cooldown. Her eyes went wide.

"Where did you get that?" He pressed a finger to his lips.

"Lower your voice," he hissed.

"It's not been announced just yet. Tomorrow I think they're plannin' it. But Elder Synog came to me yesterday with a profession coin. Said no one better in the village was equipped to become an Alchemist." Fermi swirled her drink on the bar top.

"That's exciting. Did they say why they decided we need an alchemist? It's been years since they've given out a profession coin." Will shrugged, "not sure, just said they felt it would be important with the coming winter to have one around. Been several years since Jess fell to those sand worms." Fermi grimaced and swallowed a large gulp of wine. Jess had been close with her father and had taken on a parental role for Fermi, before she died.

There had been a time once when Fermi thought she'd follow in Jess's footsteps and become an Alchemist herself.

"That's really exciting, congratulations." Will beamed at her, clearly proud of his soon to be new role.

"'Course I'll be needing help round here, if you know anyone who's looking." Fermi said she'd think on it and send a few friends his way if she thought of anyone who would be good for the role. If she had more time on her hands, she probably would have taken the role. But with the dungeon and foraging, she was stretched pretty thin as it was. Everyone was. She finished her mead, making small talk with Will but her mind was preoccupied. Once she was done, she left and made her way right to the blacksmith shop.

There she found Laura lounging in the sun while Silo worked, shirtless and sweaty as he worked to polish a sword.

"Is Rikard around?" Fermi asked." Hi Silo, nice to see you. Wow, Silo, looking strong today. What are you working on, Silo? All of those would be appropriate greetings, just for reference." Laura threw Silo's shirt at him and answered Fermi.

"No, he's not. Went out about twenty minutes ago. What's up?"

"I think… I think Burke is starting to distribute the loot." Laura glanced at Silo, then back to Fermi.

"Well, yeah. He gave me the bow, remember? And you still have a System Coin to spend like he asked, plus the Experience Chips."

"No, I know that. I just had a drink at the meadery. Will, he—" Fermi dove into the explanation of her conversation with Will. By the end of it, Laura's jaw was so tight Fermi half expected to hear a tooth crack.

"Why would they go with an Alchemist? Like, we don't have one, but there are so many other uses for coins. Think of the food we could buy," Silo said.

"The potion they used on Grace. They must have realized they'd need more, which means they'd have to replenish the stock without people noticing. Only way to do that is to train someone up enough to make them," Laura said. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"We should meet with him, see what else he's spending them on," Silo said.

"I doubt he'll tell us. He seemed annoyed that we asked last time." Fermi could still see clear as day just how tired he'd looked in that moment.

"Before we talk to him again, you two need to pick your skills. Grace and I already have ours done."

"Really? What did you go with?" Silo asked, trying his best not to seem overly shocked. Fermi wasn't sure he quite nailed it, but Laura didn't seem to notice.

"Poison Arrow. Pretty self explanatory, but I think it'll help a lot. So far everything we've fought has multiple targets, so I can just hit all of them with it and let the poison tick down while I focus on a larger target."

"That's so sick," Silo said, and pulled out his coin.

"Yeah, I'm excited about it. And Grace got a heal over time skill which seems really useful." Silo whooped, but Fermi could tell from the glossy look in his eyes that it wasn't about Grace's ability, rather one of his own.

"Goddess, do I even want to know what you got?" Laura asked.

"Overwhelming Roar. When I use it, my voice projects extra loud and I disorient all monsters within five meters of me for ten seconds, or until they take damage. Pretty sick, right?" Fermi and Laura shared a look.

"That sounds unbearable. Please tell me there's a cooldown on it."

"Ten minutes," Silo said under his breath.

"What other choices did you get?" Fermi asked. Silo paused for a moment, eyes flashing as he navigated menus.

"Not that it matters because Overwhelming Roar is clearly the best choice, but I also got Kindling, which gives a chance for my flame attacks to leave a Damage over Time effect on the target for a small amount of damage, and Buckler, which increases the amount of damage that's reduced by my shield when I successfully block an attack."

"Goddess, why do you forsake me like this?" Laura said, hands clasped together as she pleaded toward the sky.

"What, I think Buckler could be good. Grace would appreciate that for sure, right?" Fermi said.

"He'd have to be successful in actually blocking attacks. I've watched him fight. He's not." Silo made a hurt grumble.

"I'm more of an 'a strong offense is a great defense' kind of tank." Both Fermi and Laura rolled their eyes. Then Laura said, "I don't even know what that means. But unfortunately, I do agree that Overwhelming Roar is your best choice." Silo grinned ear to ear as he selected the skill. A bright flash of golden light fell over him like golden dust dancing in a sunbeam.

"Your turn, Fermi." Fermi took out her System Coin and consumed it, praying to her Goddess for something useful. You have Earned a Boon. Select One from the following options: ► Eye of the Storm ▹ For a held breath, the air goes still and clear, allowing the paths of motion to reveal themselves to you. See where things will go before they do. The longer you hold this stillness, the more it costs you. ► Anchor ▹ Plant yourself in the Goddess's breath and become anchored.

Any force that would normally move you breaks around you. This stillness can be extended to those who stand nearby. ► Riptide ▹ Catch a force already in motion and turn it. Change the direction of a charging enemy, force the action of a trap, and perhaps, change the tide of battle.

"Riptide, oh Goddess please Fermi, think of my—all of our shins," Silo said, but Fermi's heart was pounding far too loudly for her to focus on his words. All her life, she'd dreamt of this. Now it was finally happening. She focused on her choices, trying to understand the nuance held in each of them. They weren't nearly as straightforward as Silo's had been or maybe he just distilled them in his explanation.

"Eye of the Storm is the clear choice, I think," Laura said, and any doubts Fermi had about her choice solidified.

"That's what I was thinking too. If I can see where a monster is going, I can just tell you to move." Silo shot her a dejected look, but agreed with the analysis.

"Fine, but if my shins get hit one more time by a Rammer I'm going to blame you."

"She can tell you where it's going, not move you out of the way," Laura said, her tone stony with an undercurrent of mirth. Fermi glanced at the choices one last time, just to be sure, then selected Eye of the Storm. Her body seemed to pulse with energy and the skies darkened all around her for several seconds before returning to normal.

"Tomorrow. We're going back tomorrow." Silo leaned over and high fived her. She turned to look at Laura, lips pulled tight in not quite a smile. With both Fermi and Silo's eyes on her, she winced, then gave them a small nod.

"Fine, yes. But I want to take a few precautions." Fermi was just about to ask what type of precautions when shouts were heard from the main road. The group got up and made their way out of the blacksmith shop, following the shouts toward the village square. A forager she recognized—Leslie—was running and shouting for Atlas. The leader of the Guardians appeared, walking out of a nearby house.

"What's wrong? There's no need to cause a scene, forager." Leslie panted, hands on his knees and head hung low. Atlas tired of waiting and delicately but firmly put a hand on the man's shoulder, pulling him upright.

"You've started to gather a crowd. Speak. Now."

"Okay—okay. I was in the southern plains on a foraging route. There isn't much out there but herbs but we check it anyway." Atlas steeled his gaze and Leslie let out a nervous laugh and hurried his story along.

"Right, right, sorry. I saw some tracks. They weren't the usual tracks for the area. All the plains has are Reedhoppers and Fawn Grazers. These were a—a—" He cut off, gasping for breath and clearly struggling with the words. Atlas held him by the shoulders and breathed in, then breathed out, guiding the man to calm down. He let out a shaky breath, then spoke.

"It had three legs. Two in the back, one in the front. Except the front foot didn't match the back two. I think—I think it was—" Atlas held up a hand, silencing the man.

"Where are these tracks? Take me there." Fermi watched, her entire body trembling while Atlas and the forager ran out of the village toward the southern plains. She wasn't a hunter, but she could think of only one creature that matched that description. It couldn't be right though; Leslie had to be wrong. The Tress were an entire ocean away.