Havok Bringer

Chapter 8. Tune-up

Breakfast was great. Don’t get me wrong, onboard the Bloodhound, we could get anything created in the galley, but it still wasn’t Mom’s home cooking.

Cathead biscuits with sausage gravy and Mom’s homemade Mayhaw jelly- nothing made artificial could ever compete with that. We all ate our share before we started out to really see what upgrades the Havok Bringer armor had been hiding away.

Yes, it had been a couple of months since I had killed Anthragor and leveled up to 35. Yes, I got the notifications after the level-ups, and yes, I had figured out how to silence non-urgent notifications. Who likes a bunch of random notifications, especially during battle?

“So, would you like to explain why you didn’t tell me about these upgrades sooner?” Tiff asked, obviously annoyed as we walked toward an old cattle coral that was currently not being used.

“I kind of silenced them…” I said, cringing as I said it.

“Andrew, how many upgrades do you have? Why haven’t you checked on them sooner?” Tiff asked, again aggravation in her voice.

“I don’t actually know. After the Quasar, we went right into reconnaissance mode, and we weren’t really doing any fighting. During training sessions with Elvis and Kaj, I just focused on melee combat since that is where my most glaring weak spots are. Honestly? It just kind of slipped my mind,” I said, shrugging.

“Slipped your mind? Slipped your mind?! How can something as important as this just… slip your mind?!” Tiff stuck her hand out to stop me.

“Uh Oh,” CJ held his hands up and looked at Kaj, “Seems like were needed over near the corral,”

Kaj looked around to see nobody, “CJ, has someone asked for our assistance? I cannot remember anyone asking for our assistance.”

“Believe me, Kaj, we should go see if they need our help,” CJ shrugged at me with a knowing look.

I gave him the stink eye while trying to signal him to stay; I knew what was coming. He just held up his hands and backed away slowly like someone who inadvertently ran into a grizzly bear feeding in the woods.

“Coward,” I mouthed as he chuckled and turned to walk away with Kaj, who still seemed confused.

Now it was time to put my hands up defensively,” Tiff, I know what you are about to say, and I get it. I need to be more focused and understand what is at risk here.”

She just stood there with her hands on her hips, looking to the side into the forest,” Andrew, we have been through a lot together in such a short time. I know that you have come a long way. You are not the same person you were when we first met in the tutorial room. I am glad for that. I am also glad to see that you haven’t completely lost what makes you… well, you.”

I understood what she meant. I started to feel like I was losing myself after my first fight with Anthragor when I lost my arms. Then we went straight into the hell that was the Alcaran moon. The brutality and killing changed me, not completely, but I could tell that I wasn’t exactly the same.

After we went through the quasar, there was downtime. CJ, Elvis, and I had trained, but we had also played games and just took some time to forget about the chaos that was enveloping the universe. It was nice, it helped me disassociate, and I welcomed it. Unfortunately, it had also been the main reason I had not fully invested in improving my armor and ensuring I understood my new levels and upgrades.

“I’m sorry, Tiff, no more slacking. I still need you to help me understand everything about this armor and my levels. We can start today, okay?” I smiled and nudged her shoulder.

Tiff just shook her head in response, a small smile forming as she spoke,” No more slacking Andrew, I mean it.”

“I have some things to tell you, by the way. I had a strange dream last night. You aren’t gonna believe this.” I said as I recounted the details of my vision from the night before.

“Looks like you are going on a mission then. We can start planning today, this will not be easy,” she said.

“It could be, who’s to say it won't?” I asked.

“I have heard of seeds of power before. There are usually seeds planted before every dungeon to allow the interdimensional development of a particular dungeon. These seeds usually involve opening doorways to other dimensions. Once the seed is planted, the Coeus would take over from there to ensure the cultivation of the dungeon dimension was successful,” Tiff said.

“Okay, well, they didn’t really give me any details; they just told me that there was one on Earth, and I needed to find and activate it. Apparently, they want to level the playing field for everyone,” I said as we continued walking.

“This doesn’t make any sense; that isn’t how it works. The seed created the alternated dimension and only once inside did people gain powers and access the levelling system, which by the way was still controlled by the Coeus. How will finding a seed of power help now?” she asked, talking mostly to herself.

“Well, that is something we can figure out later, right now we have some training to do,” I said as I jumped over the rails into the coral.

First, pull up your stats so we can see the difference and allocate your free points,” Tiff said standing in front of me inside the coral.

“Sure thing,” I said, as I mentally selected my stat menu and expanded it.

Human Andrew Dawes

Level 35 – Havok Bringer

Strength – 533

Intelligence – 507

Dexterity – 4699

Stamina – 512

Vigor – 1314

Free points available: 100

I read the stats off as Tiff stood there listening.

“What the hell?” I said in disbelief, “My dexterity is off the charts compared to all my other stats. Why hasn’t that made more of a difference? Like, shouldn’t I be able to do some crazy shit?”

Tiff just shook her head, “stats don’t necessarily stack like you are thinking. The high Dex will help, but if one stat is just extremely high compared to everything else, it will reach a plateau on how it affects you,” she said as she stood there with her eyes flashing.

She was obviously doing some calculations on her interface while she spoke.

“Your Dex is a problem right now. You aren’t getting the benefits of the high Dex since your next highest stat is only at 1314, and even that is double every other stat; I think we can fix it, though. There is something we can do, but only so often, so it is important that we think this out. Let me do some calculations, give me a couple of minutes, and look at your abilities, as you should have gained some of those as well.” She said while poking and swiping at the air.

“Something has been bothering me,” I said, running my hands through my hair.

“When I was level 1, my base stats were all less than 10, and now they are in the hundreds or thousands,” I said, “so if my initial strength stat was eight, shouldn’t I be like…” I did some quick math in my head, “like 66 times stronger than when I started?”

“Tiff just looked at me dumbfoundedly, “Have we not discussed this?”

“Umm….No. I never asked. I guess I just assumed,” I said.

“It doesn’t work like that; nobody really understands the math, but it isn’t a direct magnification of base abilities. You have to understand that, as far as anyone knows, there is no limit to leveling as long as you can find foes or challenges that allow you to continue to level. While you are much stronger than you were initially, the stat points don’t necessarily translate directly to the amount of increase,” she said.

“Okay, so how does it work then?” I asked.

“Your level is more of an indicator than your stat points are. For example, you are now level 35, so you should have approximately the strength of three and a half pre-drop humans. Your strength stat is at 533 so that is an indicator of how well you can accomplish tasks within your level,” she said.

“I don’t understand, I am stronger and should be able to punch or kick someone as hard as another level 35, right?” I said, grasping at straws to try and understand.

“Right and wrong,” Tiff said, “While you will both have similar base strength, there is more to it than that. Let me give you an example. Let’s say that you and CJ could both lift 100 pounds; your base strength is the same, right?” Tiff asked.

“Umm, yeah?” I said questioningly.

“Using the same example, let's put a brick in front of each of you and ask you to break it. You break it, but CJ doesn’t; why?” she asked.

“He didn’t hit it right?” I asked.

“Not as simple as that,” Tiff said, “You knew how to use your strength; you could channel the strength to the parts of your body that needed it most to help you accomplish the task. CJ had the same base strength as you, but he didn’t know how to control it,” she said.

As she explained, I started to understand. The stat points withing the levels were what allowed me to better control each individual stat. My Dex was insane for my level, and my vigor was considered high but not out of control like my Dex; what did this mean?

For dexterity, it meant that I would have insane body control, would be more able to handle two-handed weapons, and would be able to pick up weapon skills and abilities more easily. For vigor, it meant that I would have a higher health pool, and health stims would work more quickly, allowing me to heal faster; this was important, especially in battle.

Stamina, intelligence, and strength all needed to be boosted as they were considered below average for my level, according to Tiff. According to her, it wasn’t normal to jump 20 levels in an instant. Killing an enemy that was 60 levels higher than me was also not normal, and without the Do-Over ability I gained at level 15, it shouldn’t have been even remotely possible. That coupled with the fact that Anthragor was caught off guard and unprepared for an ability that literally broke the laws of physics, and I did something that shouldn’t have been possible.

“Okay, I think I get it now. Levels equal power, and stat points equal control of that power,” I said, nodding.

“Right, it isn’t a perfect science, but it is the closest thing to a good explanation that we have,” Tiff responded. One thing I do know for sure is that once your stats are better aligned it will create a synergy that allows you to operate at a higher level overall.

“I’m working on allowing you to reallocate some of those dexterity points. There is an option that can be used every 20 levels or so. The problem is the extra percentage scaling that you are getting from your gear. If we don’t get you something that scales with strength, intelligence, and stamina, then your stats will continue to be imbalanced. For now, we can reallocate, but we really need a long-term solution soon, “she said.

“Open your interface and drill down under your stats; there should be a sub-menu with an option to reallocate,” she said.

“I see it,” I responded.

“Okay, let's do it,” she said.

I selected the option for reallocate, and a warning popped up.

Reallocate stat points?

Warning: once reallocated, this cannot be undone until you have reached at least level 75.

Wish to begin reallocation: Y/N

“Tiff, I thought you said this is something I can do every 50 levels; why is it saying I can do it again at level 75?” I asked.

“It works in 50-level blocks. You can do it once per 50 levels and cannot do it until you are halfway through the block. You could have done it anywhere between levels 25 and 49, and you will be able to do it again between levels 75 and 99. If you do not reallocate between the optional levels, the option will go away until you reach the next allowable level.

“Well, okay, here goes,” I mentally selected Y as I said it.

A message flashed on my interface.

Please reallocate stat points. Reminder: this is not reversible and could be detrimental to the development of participant Andrew Dawes.

Current stat points available – 7665

“Do I just want to evenly distribute the points for now? Based on what you told me it seems that it would make more sense to just evenly distribute the points into every stat so I can create the synergy you were talking about. Wouldn’t it make sense to just make them all equal? I do like having the high health pool, and I don’t want to take a step back in dexterity, but I still have the percentage amplifiers on those two stats so as I gain more levels, they will continue to grow at a faster rate anyhow,” I looked at Tiff waiting for her input.

“That would be the best thing for now,” Tiff said,” You have to remember level 35 is still early; there are monsters out there well into the hundreds and some even higher. We want to create a stable base for you to grow as you continue to get stronger.

With that, I did some more quick math and just evenly distributed the stat points. Afterward, I took another look at my stats.

Human - Andrew Dawes

Level 35 – Havok Bringer

Strength – 1533

Intelligence – 1533

Dexterity – 1533

Stamina – 1533

Vigor – 1533

Free points available: 0

I felt the changes immediately. It was like my body and mind became sharper. My muscles worked in tandem with my will instead of against it. I just felt like I had a complete tune-up, for lack of a better term.

“I feel…good,” I said as I held my hands out in front of me and clenched my fists.

“Great, let's see how you operate in a combat situation now,” Tiff said.,” Kaj, come into the corral; it is time for you to take off the training wheels. Captain Dawes requires a challenge.”

Kaj shot up into the air from his seat atop the coral fence. He spun up into the air and then landed in front of me with his scythe drawn as dust and dirt shot up into the air.

“Through pain, we are molded, Captain. It is time that I show you the true power of a Malakim,” Kaj swept his scythe across the ground in front of him and entered a battle stance.

I smiled and equipped my armor before settling into a fighting stance myself, “Don’t hold back, buddy.”