NOVEL WEB Chapter 29: Wednesday
BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP
Tom tried to smack his phone as he got up, groaning at what he felt was too early. He didn't want to wake up; he had been having the most fantastic dream. He and his friends had been transported into their favorite game, and then …
<[Prophetic Meditation] has Reached Level 9>
<[Prophetic Meditation] has Reached Level 10>
<...>
<[Prophetic Meditation] has Reached Level 27>
Tom suddenly realized he wasn't in his bedroom. The notifications snapped him out of his stupor. He looked down to see the pornstar elf version of Alex sound asleep on top of him, her new oversized breasts pressed into his stomach.
He was trying really hard not to sexualize someone he had hung out with since kindergarten. This hadn't been this issue before when she was more … plain. Maybe he was just shallow? That felt like a sour taste in his mouth. Pushing his mental tangent, he tried to shake Alex awake.
"Alex, Alex, get up."
"Yes," she moaned softly as she started to grind against him
"ALEX!!" Tom shook
"Wha?" she grumbled as she fell off the couch.
"Ooff," she grunted as she hit the ground.
"That hurt," she groaned.
"The massive funbags on your chest didn't help?" Tom quipped.
"You know, before I got tits, that would have been hilarious, but now you just mean. They're sensitive." she moaned as she massaged her chest.
Then she froze and looked down at her oversized breasts.
"Is it real? It's real!! I'm still beautiful," she cried out in glee as she touched her own face.
BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP
Tom was dragged from his thoughts and looked around for his phone, only to discover that his phone wasn't what was making that noise.
"Where is that sound coming from?" Tom asked
"What sound?" Alex asked, looking at him confused as she kept examining herself.
"That …. Ow, it's my notifications," Tom said, realizing his mistake as he pulled up the notification, bleeping for his attention.
Settlement Notification
Your settlement is under attack! People are attempting to break into your settlement.
"Everyone up!!" Tom called out as he sent the notification to everyone in the party.
"Tom," a sleepy Chloe groaned from the bed. "What's going on?"
"Don't worry about it, peanut," Tom said. Someone was knocking at the door, and we needed to go answer it all. Go back to sleep."
Chloe let out a yawn as she laid down "ok."
Alex was already kicking Abaddon awake.
"What's going on?" Abaddon asked.
"One moment," Tom said as he moved over to wear Skippy slumped over the desk and shook him awake.
"What's going on?" Skippy asked.
"Barbarians at the gates," Tom said. Someone is trying to break into Hopkins, and we have to deal with it."
Skippy's eyes shot wide open.
"Well, shit just got interesting," Skippy said as he drew his twin moonstone swords from his inventory. "Let go kill some fools."
"Shouldn't we be diplomatic about this?" Abaddon asked. "They could be in trouble."
"Until proven otherwise, we'll assume the worst," Tom said with a sign. "I need to finish things up. Give me a minute."
Sitting down, Tom immediately entered meditation, the familiar nebula of his soul appearing before him. He got to work immediately using the [Soul Forge] in what was becoming a familiar pattern.
DING!!!
Congratulations!!!
You have Combined [Earth Mage] - Common and [Geomancer]- Inferior → [Master Geomancer] - Historic
You have Combined [Water Mage] - Common and [Aquamancer] - Inferior → [Master Aquamancer] - Historic
[Earth Magic] - Lesser + [Geomancy] - Inferior → [Art of Earth] - Uncommon
[Water Magic] - Lesser + [Aquamancy] - Inferior → [Art of Water] - Uncommon
[Art of Earth]: You have pushed your understanding of Earth to your limit. Increase your mastery of all Earth magic by 2.5% per level of this skill.
[Art of Water]: You have pushed your understanding of Water to your limit. Increase your mastery of all Water magic by 2.5% per level of this skill.
He immediately moved over to his Master Aquamancer and his Master Geomancer.
He really should have done this last night, but he was bloody tired.
"[Sunder Class]," he ordered.
DING!!!
Warning!!!
Do you wish to sunder your class? You will lose all attributes gained from levels lost.
Y/N
Pressing yes without a second thought, He watched as the two classes broke apart.
DING!!!
Congratulations!!!
You have received the Buff: [Build yourself Back up]
[Build yourself Back up]: You have been wounded, but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. +500% XP gains. This Buff will fade at the rate of 1% per hour until it is gone. Should you reach your previous level, this Buff will disappear.
Do you wish to Sunder the Ability: [Art of Earth]
Y/N
Do you wish to Sunder the Ability: [Art of Water]
Y/N
Tom hit no. He wanted the skills, but he didn't need the classes.
<[Soul Forge] has Reached Level 11>
<[Soul Forge] has Reached Level 12>
<...>
<[Soul Forge] has Reached Level 18>
<[My Mind is a Temple, the Soul the Altar] has Reached Level 22>
Tom exited his meditation. His body was left heavy and stiff, and he stumbled as he got up.
"What the hell?" he muttered.
"Are you alright?" Alex asked, helping him stabilize himself.
"I'm fine. I just lost four levels and am feeling the difference," Tom said. I just need to regain some levels."
Betty was still asleep, somehow, her shirt completely open for all the world to see, and Alex was enjoying the view of the perfect teardrop breasts as much as Tom was. Shaking his head, Tom grabbed a blanket and draped it over Betty. He didn't want Chloe to see that.
He would note for future reference that sundering your levels was, if not painful, it was uncomfortable as all hell. Just another reason not to screw up his build the first time.
"You guys ready?" Tom asked, turning to his team.
His friends nodded.
"Alright, let's go find out who is at our gates," Tom said.
Tom walked to the front of the school doors to find six people in firefighter gear trying to bust through the main door. Tom immediately started to sweat nervously. Sure, according to the rules of Noralon, this was their home. But would anyone respect that?
Tom let out a breath. He needed to calm down.
"Abaddon, open the doors!" he ordered, hoping his voice didn't betray his nervousness.
Abaddon shoved open the door, startling all of the firefighters.
"What the fuck?!" the guy in front shouted as he raised his axe.
"I would like to ask you the same thing," Tom said, walking out around Abaddon. "Why the hell are you trying to break into our base?"
"Uh," one of the firemen strutted.
"Do you think they're scared of us?" Abaddon tried to whisper, but he failed to manage it because he was so big.
"I think it's your ugly mug," Skippy said as he and Alex walked out to join them.
Chloe hung back from the group just inside the school, just in case something happened and she needed to take cover.
"What the … what are you?" one of them asked.
"Go on, Tom, you're the face of the party," Alex said.
Tom rolled his eyes before Abaddon pushed him forwards. He had never been so nervous in his life. He almost wished they would start shooting at him. He knew how to deal with that.
"I am the guild leader of the Awoken Myths guild. We have claimed the Hopkins settlement as our own, which you should have seen when you walked over the border. We are also the ones who sent the beacon message that notified you of the safe zone." Tom explained
Then, unexpectedly, one of the firefighters stepped forward. Or at least Tom assumed he was a fire chief because everyone seemed to defy him.
"Are any of you Lance, Skippy, Alexandra, or Abaddon?" he asked
Tom felt his face go blank, and he looked at the rest of his group, who were looking at him dumbfounded.
"My name is Tom, not Lance, but yes, that's us. Why?" Tom asked as he gathered a spell in his hand in case this was a trap.
"I'm supposed to give you this." The fireman said. "Names Major Bailey Adams, by the way."
Tom snatched the letter out of Adam's hand. His curiosity peaked before it was replaced by unyielding rage.
Dear Awoken Myths
Hello Lance, I know you're the one reading this. LOL, you're so predictable. You know I love you. Anyway, as I'm sure you have noticed, the world is now known as The Legend of Noralon. As the resident mercenary of Noralon, I would like to offer my services to the Awakened Myths Guild for a price, of course.
Now I know you are all probably still pissed after the Scylla incident, so I'll give you some free information as a respected college. The Vancouver Zoo has become a dungeon, and it is closed to intruders, so I can't get in. It produces a monster breakout every six hours, and the locals aren't doing so well against them, but you gotta love their moxie. I've been farming the escaped animals and already claimed a settlement, mostly for the title.
Anyway, if you want to hire me, I have a drop-off point at Aberdeen Street. Meet me on Friday at 9 a.m. The address is enclosed below.
Your favorite Merc Starkiller luvs and kisses
P.S. I am using my system token to buy the [Heir to Sun Wukong] class. Suck my enlarged dick.
"FUCKING STARKILLER!" Tom swore loudly, causing the fire chief to stumble backwards as if he were afraid that he would lash out at him.
"Why didn't I think of grabbing [Heir to Sun Wukong]? This is bullshit!!" Tom muttered to himself.
That class was a peak legendary class with a heavy focus on being unkillable. Honestly, the information was helpful. The information about the dungeon was critical, and having a way to contact Starkiller would be helpful. Still, goddammit, it had to be Starkiller, of all people. The guy was a fucking migraine. Worse was his class. If he was telling the truth, they were low-key screwed. He passed the letter off to his friends.
"You're one of those beta testers, right?" Major Adams asked.
"Yes, anyway, thank you for playing messenger for Starkiller, Mr.Adams … sorry, Major Adams. Is there anything I can do to thank you?" Tom asked, exasperated.
"Yeah, as a representative of the Canadian government, I would like to formally request that the building be used as a refugee center. Could you please unlock the doors?" Major Adams said.
"Hey, um, why are we asking instead of just calling the police?" one of the firemen asked.
"Do you remember what that monkey kid did? Look at these people. You think they're normal?" Adams asked.
"I know you're trying to help us, but that was extremely insulting," Alex said.
"And Racist," Skippy cut in.
Tom wanted to facepalm. Were his friends capable of any decorum?
"Look, we need a place to put these people. I would like to call in that favor." Major Adams said.
The way he said it, Tom was expecting some karmic ability, but he already knew the Major didn't have any such ability. Then again, Starkiller might have something like that from the premium rewards from the tutorial. He was a Mercenary at heart.
"We can open the gymnasium; we can easily cut it off from the rest of the school," Tom said as he pulled out the building core.
"Great, come on, let's move the injured and children into the gym," Adams said, turning around and racing down into the parking lot.
"Children?" Tom asked. He froze as he felt icy fingers clenched his heart as he thought of Chloe.
He looked out into the parking lot. The lot that had been empty the day before was now swarming with people, and for some reason, it was also free of ice.
"What the hell is going on?" Tom asked.
The parking lot had completely transformed from when he had last seen it. Injured individuals limped around the massive empty parking lot, their faces etched with pain and fatigue. Some clutched makeshift weapons bandages while others lay on the ground, their clothes stained in blood.
Lost children, with tear-streaked faces wandered around looking for family members as they clung to tattered blankets or stuffed animals. Groups of people huddled together as they watched the people around there wearily as if they were expecting to be attacked. The sounds of sobbing echoed through the parking lot, punctuating the air with heart-wrenching cries of despair.
Their arrival hadn't gone unnoticed; people were looking in their direction, well, in Abaddon's direction.
"This is horrific," Alex said.
"Tom, What should we do about this?" Skippy asked.
"We're going to help," Tom said in a way that brooked no argument. "Or would you prefer we just leave everyone out here to die?!"
Skippy held up his hand's placatingly.
"Alright, dude, just don't bite my head off," Skippy said.
Tom shut his mouth. His reaction wasn't purely a result of moral being. He had spied a child abandoned and covered in dried blood. He didn't know who the kid was, but all he could imagine was what if that was Chloe.
Walking over to the nearest group, he saw one person with a busted leg, and the rest were scratched up by animals.
"Mass Heal," Tom chanted.
All of the scratches and cuts closed up instantly. Unfortunately, the guy with the busted leg took more work. The broken leg was infected, so he had to cast less purification, lesser mend, and revitalization to repair the damage.
"How did you do that?" asked one of the people he had just healed.
"Magic, no, go be useful and have the injured brought to me," Tom said dismissively.
He might not know how to be a public speaker, but he knows how to play the game.
"Um, ok," the guy nodded.
"How much can you heal?" Major Adams asked.
"All of them, eventually," Tom said.
"I'll try to organize things with the Fire Department," Alex said as she started talking to the Major.
Tom and Alex started moving from group to group casting healing spells with Abaddon and Skippy trailing behind them as bodyguards. Alex was organizing things for people to stay in the gymnasium, and the Major seemed to be making phone calls.
Soon enough, people realized what was happening and started bringing over their injured bodies to be healed. Even the firefighters who were brought over there were injured, and he healed them in short order.
The kids were the worst. Most of them were asking where their family was, and the ones who didn't had a hollow look in their eyes. He was just healing up another scraped knee when Abaddon spoke up.
Abaddon said, "We're going to need to grab some food soon. I don't think we have enough in our inventory to feed everyone. Actually, I don't think we have enough to feed me."
"We've got the stuff in the school kitchens," Tom said.
"How long will that last? A day, two?" Abaddon pointed out.
"So what do you want to do?" Tom asked.
"There's lots of people here. Maybe we could find some suckers, form a raid party and have them go down and rob the supermarket or something," Abaddon said.
"Hey, Tom." Luke's voice cut into their conversation.
Tom felt his nerves stand on end.
"Speak of the devil," Tom muttered. Luke, what do you want? And why should I care?"
Luke flinched backwards as if he had been physically struck.
"Are you really still on about that? Now, during all of this? Can we put this behind us? How many times do I need to say I'm sorry?" Luke asked.
"When I stop feeling angry, you can stop apologizing," Tom stated.
"People are injured, and you're being petty?" Luke asked.
"No, I'm healing people. You're standing here wasting my time. So I ask again, what do you want?"
A tiny man flickered into existence over Luke's shoulder.
"Alright, godling. It's time for you to fold and walk away from the table before you dig an even bigger hole," the flying man said.
Tom activated [Thirst for Knowledge] on the little creature.
Name: Theo
Level: 7
Classes: Guide 7
Race: Tempest Spirit
A spirit of wind, rain, and lighting, this spirit has been bound by a god and forced to serve its prodigy as a guide as a penance for its actions.
<[Thirst for Knowledge] has Reached Level 6>
<[Thirst for Knowledge] has Reached Level 7>
<[My Mind is a Temple, My Soul the Altar] has Reached Level 23>
Tom blinked before turning his eye on Luke.
"Demigod," Tom stated bitterly. "Even in an actual apocalypse, you're the golden child."
Theo looked white as he coughed.
"I apologize for whatever my charge did to upset you, but I beg you don't kill him. We have come to ask for the boon of healing from you, Guild Master," Theo said placatingly.
Tom raised his eyebrow. The spirit was talking like one of the NPC from the legend of Noralon. That was interesting. He would need to talk to Theo about this situation. Despite his expertise in the system, he didn't actually understand the real system. Yet.
"Alright, then, spirit. Let me tend to your injury; in exchange, I expect to speak to you later," Tom said.
The spirit bowed his head before leading Tom over to another group of people. They were mostly his old classmates. Most of them were the jocks that Luke hung out with. But he recognized a few. Chad, Kevin, and a few others he knew. He would have to talk to them soon enough. But right now, there were too many people with more advanced injuries that he required more in-depth healing. Legs needed to be straightened out and the bone repaired. Wounds cleaned and repaired. He didn't know how long he spent just healing people before they were carted off into the gymnasium. But he was broken out of his work when a familiar voice cut into his thoughts.
"You see, my brother is magic." Chloe's voice rang out across the parking lot.
Tom turned to find Chloe and Princess. They were surrounded by a bunch of children who were currently petting Princess beside the fire truck in the parking lot.
"Chloe!!! What are you doing out here?!" Tom asked as he stomped over away from everyone else.
He cast another mass heal, emptying his mana as he walked up to the group of kids. Tom couldn't help but notice that some of the kids seemed to relax as their injuries healed. It almost made up for the fact that he had just emptied his mana pool.
"Um, actually, you just told me to go back to sleep," Chloe said.
"Chloe is not… you know what, Chloe? Why don't you take your new friends to the gym and you can play there? You can even go into the storage area and grab ---" Tom's voice was cut off as a screaming fireball shot toward them. Tom felt his mind speed up as he realized what was about to happen. He couldn't move away without exposing Chloe; he was out of mana and didn't have time to pull out a spell scroll.
He suddenly realized he was about to be in a lot of pain. Leaping forwards, he raised his hand and caught the fireball with his left hand. For a split second, nothing happened, and for a really long second, Tom dared to hope it was just an illusion. Then the fireball exploded, and Tom's world became searing agony.
The very last thing he did before he hit the ground and became incoherent was to send an invite to every person on the school grounds to join Awoken Myths.
You may skip to the next chapter.
Name: Tom Bruner
Race: Half-Elf ()
Type: Humanoid
LVL: 11
SubRace: High Elf / Caucasian
Age 18
Health: 380
Stamina: 490
Mana: 1980
Health Regen: 5.5 per hour
Stamina Regen: 6.6 per min
Mana Regen: 11.0 per min
Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths, Guild Master
Immune
None
Resistances
Mental 34% Soul 23%
Weakness
None
Bane
Manslayer
Classes: Augur 10, Tactiction 1
Total
STR: 11
AGIL: 11
DEX: 11
CON: 33
END: 11
PER: 110
INT: 99
WILL: 88
SPIRIT: 22
EGO: 11
CHA: 66
LCK: 11
Base
STR: 11
AGIL: 11
DEX: 11
CON: 33
END: 11
PER: 110
INT: 99
WILL: 88
SPIRIT: 22
EGO: 11
CHA: 66
LCK: 11
Personal: +4 PER +4 WILL +3 INT +3 CHA
Racial: +3 WILL +2 CON +2 CHA +1 SPIRIT
Bloodline: +5 PER +5 INT
Level Bonus: +1 to all Stats
Bloodline:
[Bloodline of the Keeper of Akashic Records]—Forgotten: Through your vein runs the blood of the forgotten Keepers of the Akashic Records. These monks, scribes, and scholars helped create the system, and within their blood are the keys to its secrets.
- [The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] - Level 26
- [Words Will Always Retain their Power] - Level 18
- [Library of Akashic Records] - Level 19
- [Universal] - Level 16
- [Wordsmith] - Level 18
- [My Mind is My Temple, My Soul the Altar] - Level 21 >> Level 23
- [Thirst for Knowledge] - Level 5 >> Level 7
- [Visions of Akashic Records] - Level 2
- [Soul Forge] - Level 10 >> Level 18
- +5 PER per level
- +5 INT per level
Skill Slots: 15/60: Skill Points: 3
Personal Skills
- [Analyze Person] - Level 12
- [Best of Both Worlds] - Level 8
- [Art of Water] - Level 7
- [Art of Earth] - Level 1
Augur 06/16
- [Augurs Eye] - Level 7
- [Bright Arts] - Level 25
- [Art of Life] - Level 15
- [Prophetic Meditation] - Level 8 >> Level 27
- [Far Seeing] - Level 11
- Capstone: [Hand of Mercy] - Level 3
Tactician 05/6
- [Nascent Guild Leader] - Level 10
- [Leadership Ⅱ] - Level 11
- [Raider Ⅰ] - Level 15
- [Coordinate Ⅱ] - Level 10
- [Logistics Ⅱ] - Level 12