Chương 29: Chapter 28 – Thresholds

Kai swatted aside the goblin's spear racing towards his thigh and immediately triggered his new Skill. [Counter]. Parries and ripostes were hardly anything new for him, but as usual, the Skill allowed him far greater control over what he was doing, and most importantly, it gave him flawless momentum. He drew his blade up in an arc across the monster's torso, and it died before it hit the ground.

"[Zap]," Lena intoned, ending the fight for good as the archer hiding behind a rock was electrocuted. What is it with those things and rocks? ~ Goblins slain. 64 EXP awarded. ~ Quest complete: Find the Meiers' family dog. ~ Reward: 5 SP Not that there is much left to find. Poor thing. After hours of combing through the forest, they had finally located and cleared the goblin encampment responsible for abducting the beloved pet. Unfortunately, the monsters had been rather…

thorough in their treatment of the little terrier. Presenting Mr. Meier's kids with a few pieces of bloodied fur would not go over well, so they decided to come up with a heroic tale instead, the rest of the party overriding Lena's unwillingness to lie. What they finally settled on was a story of a courageous terrier saving the vanguard in their hour of need, then tragically dying as a hero. Still grim, but not quite on the level of 'Mr. Woofles became goblin dinner'.

The journey back to Lindenfeld was long and cumbersome. It gave Alexander and Marie time to process their first level-up, though.

"So, you get ten Attribute Points per level, but you need six to go from five Strength to six. Right?" Alexander pondered.

"Yup," Kai confirmed.

"Then seven, eight… That means after ten, we'd need more than one level-up to raise a single attribute. How annoying."

"On the other hand, the same goes for monsters," Kai shrugged.

"The higher we go, the less difference five or six levels make."

"I'm glad your father knows all this stuff," Marie said.

"Imagine if we had to figure all that out for ourselves." Lena hummed quietly in response, but didn't comment further.

"We should probably let the other teams take all the goblin quests from now on," Alexander sighed.

"As much as I don't want to face gnolls again, the others need the experience more than we do. And I'm not talking about Experience Points."

"I agree," Marie stated to Kai's surprise. He looked over to Lena, who nodded in assent.

"Alright then. No more goblins for us."

"Not so hasty," a voice came from above them, making everyone flinch violently. Daniel Brandt landed on the dirt road and simply asked, "No dog?"

"No dog anymore," Kai sighed.

"Unfortunate, but expected. I assume the quest gave you the standard five SP?"

"Yes, sir," Alexander replied. Kai didn't hear any sarcasm, which was a little unsettling.

"May I inspect you?" Daniel asked politely. Probably some kind of social faux-pas not to ask in the other world. While Marie and Alexander respectfully voiced their consent, Kai shrugged and nodded. A few moments later, Daniel gave his verdict.

"You should do another quick and easy quest. Alexander and Marie can get their first Tier II classes right now, Lena needs one more SP."

"I can?" Alexander perked up.

"Oh, yep. Spearfighter. But shouldn't I get Shieldbearer instead? Would fit my role better, right?"

"Good thinking. You will definitely want Shieldbearer next, but there is a high chance monsters will just ignore you if you're not threatening enough. So, pick the offensive option first."

"Understood, sir."

"Mr. Brandt, I don't have Treewarden unlocked yet," Marie said meekly.

"Perhaps I should–""I'll talk to Laura. She might be able to help you."

"U-uhm, thank you," she replied, clearly not too comfortable with the idea. I wouldn't want to be taught by Mom either… If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Lena, meanwhile, was positively giddy. Unsurprisingly so – her first Tier II class, Meteorician, would give her access to Levitation, along with Thunder, the spell Daniel had used to vaporise a goblin's head. And then there's me, Kai thought cynically.

~ Available Classes (Tier II): ~~ Swordfighter (16 SP) ~ SP available: 6 Thankfully, his four SP purchase of Counter had also counted towards the Fighter upgrade, making his Tier II class a little further away than the others', but still reasonably obtainable.

"Any chance we can do two quests instead? I'm ten away from Swordfighter."

"If you really want to push to Tier II now, you need to spend a lot of SP consolidating afterwards," Daniel warned.

"You're spread very thin right now. You only have two Wizard spells, and your proficiency values lag behind." Trust me, I am aware of that.

"What do you think I should do?" he asked, thinking that he knew the answer already. To his surprise, he did not.

"Given your choice of weapon and previous experience, getting Slashing Weapons from Beginner to Intermediate won't particularly matter," the Wizard explained.

"So, what you're really getting from Swordfighter is the exclusive perk 'Edge Alignment'. It is extremely powerful, all things considered."

"... What does it do?"

"Opportunist tells you when to strike, correct?"

"That's… broadly right."

"Edge Alignment tells you where to strike. You will be a lot better at hitting where it hurts, to put it simply."

"Sounds vague."

"It's not vague at all in practice. Alexander will know once he buys Spearfighter – the perk 'Spearhead' does the same thing for another fighting style."

"So I should buy the class and consolidate later."

"To be truly effective, you need both consolidation and Tier II. Both offer instant benefits, as well," Daniel shrugged.

"Though for what I have planned for you, getting Tier II now might be slightly more beneficial."

"Oh, what have you planned for us?"

"If I told you, you'd get impatient and rush." Gee, thanks for your consideration. = = = = = Marie's trepidation only grew as she approached the Brandt residence. Meeting the head administrator on somewhat neutral ground had been rough already, but this was her home. And to make matters worse, the utterly terrifying entity that was Daniel Brandt resided there as well. When he had met them on the forest road, her magical senses had all but screamed at her. He was… a beacon of mana.

Focusing on him was painful, like gazing into the sun. As she entered the Brandts' yard, her senses were triggered once more. Not the sheer alarm from before, but something more muted. She got the feeling that she was tolerated here, but nothing more. The feeling only intensified as she approached the garden. It was teeming with life, the plants looking healthier than any she had seen before. Vibrant colors, healthy leaves. And they were watching her, somehow.

"Oh, hello Marie. It's good to see you," Laura Brandt said, pretending not to have noticed Marie's approach. She was sitting in the middle of a flower bed like a zen master, a vine growing up her side like a cat snuggling with its owner. ~ Druid, Level 7 She's one level below me, but it really doesn't feel that way.

"H-hello, Mrs. Brandt. I, uhm, you told me–""No need to be so nervous, dear." The vine slithered up the veranda's wooden railing like a snake, then returned with a surprisingly tasty-looking chocolate chip cookie. It gingerly presented it to Marie, then returned to the Druid.

"Here, take a seat," Mrs. Brandt said, pointing towards a gardening cushion placed two meters away in the middle of a circle of freshly sprouted potted plants. Marie sat down, mystified by the entire exchange.

"Daniel told me that you would like to unlock Treewarden, right?"

"Y-yes, ma'am."

"Unfortunately, I can't help you with specifics. What I can do is try and teach you how to connect with flora in a way that your Spells simply do not allow." Marie tentatively nodded, unsure of where this was going.

"Thank you." She took a bite out of the cookie. It was just as delicious as it looked, but the moment she did, she felt something shift. The restrained hostility in the air bled away, replaced by… something almost welcoming.

"Oh, that is new," Mrs. Brandt hummed.

"Fascinating. How did you experience what happened just now?" She… did not intend to do that?

"Like, uhm," she stammered helplessly. Mrs. Brandt gave her an encouraging smile.

"Like I wasn't intruding anymore."

"Oh, that's what it felt like before? Sorry about that," the older woman sighed.

"But I assume it gave you a new perspective on plant life, yes?"

"... I think so?"

"Good. Now, let's get to the interesting part, shall we?" Marie nodded.

"Please make the plants surrounding you grow."

"Okay. [Wildgro –]""No, no. Not like that," Mrs. Brandt interrupted.

"Talk to them. Give them what they need to grow, then let them."

"Talk?" Marie was well-aware of the folk wisdom of talking to your plants to make them 'happy', but she had never taken it seriously.

"If you've never done this before, try touching one of the plants. Then think at it, and wait if it sends something back." Marie carefully laid a finger on one of the shoots and concentrated. She wasn't quite sure what she was doing, and after two minutes of fruitless focus, she gave up.

"How do I… connect with the plant?"

"You're doing fine," Mrs. Brandt said calmly.

"Relax." Only then did Marie notice her painfully clenched fist. She tried to force herself to slacken, to no avail.

"Girl, you've killed monsters almost twice your level," Mrs. Brandt chuckled.

"Don't be so afraid of little old me."