I wake up to soone kicking my foot. Opening my eyes, I can see it’s rrick, and I’m the first one he decided to wake up, probably because I’m the closest to the door. With three of us in the tower now, we decided to split up the floors for privacy. Daniel is in the basent, I get the main floor, and Corvax gets the top floor so he can have easier access to sunlight.
“Welco back, rrick,” I say as I get up and wince from the movent. My injuries from yesterday are still far from healed. “Finally decided to grace us with your presence?”
He gives a sly smile, showing his pitch-black teeth. “I’ve been running around the forest playing hero the last couple of days, guiding any initiates I find in the forest to safety. It looks like one group from each planet was dropped here in the forest.”
“Did you find anyone else from Earth’s initiation?”
He shakes his head at . “No, but I see you found another initiate. Is his na Corvax by any chance?”
“Yeah, how did you know that?”
“I ran into the group he was initiated with a few days ago. They asked if I had seen him, and I said I would keep an eye out.”
“What about the other groups in the forest? What are they doing?”
“Go wake up the other two first. I don’t want to say this three tis.”
I consider walking all the way downstairs to get Daniel and then all the way back up to get Corvax, but it’s too early for that, so I just use portals and reach through, shaking them awake. rrick gives an approving look as I do this and takes so pastries out of his bag, laying them on a cloth on the floor. A few monts later, the other two join us.
“Look who’s back.” Daniel says as he walks up the stairs. “And you brought breakfast?” He walks over and sits down, imdiately biting into a croissant.
Corvax sits down a second later, his axe resting across his lap. rrick looks to the four-ard giant and tosses him a rolled-up piece of paper. Corvax unrolls it and starts reading, speaking only when he is done.
“You have done a great favor, rrick of Baradia. You have my deepest gratitude. If there is anything I can do to repay you, just say it.”
Daniel and I give each other questioning looks but decide to say nothing. If they wanted us to know, they wouldn’t have used a written ssage. rrick looks at each of us again before he starts speaking.
“I ca here today for a few reasons. The first is to check in on you two, now three if Corvax wants to stay and train.” Corvax just gives a solemn nod. “Good, things should move faster with three anyway. The second reason I ca here was to give you guys so supplies and a warning.” He tosses a small backpack down in between the three of us.
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“Inside there are a few healing potions,” he says while looking right at . “And so small gifts from various people at the expedition camp.”
Daniel imdiately takes the bag and opens it, removing a healing potion and tossing it to . I almost imdiately drink it down, feeling the refreshing mana run through my body, nding my bones and healing my flesh. The potion continues to heal as the conversation goes on.
“The last reason I ca here was to warn you about the other initiated planets. You guys already know about Earth, obviously, and Serul, where Corvax is from, but there are two more planets we have been able to get so info on.” He grabs one of the pastries and starts eating, continuing to talk while he chews.
“We don’t know the na of the third planet, but it’s ho to so kind of insect-like race. They walk on six legs and have pincers as well as hand-like appendages. They also tend to be very aggressive towards any life, monster, or person, attacking first in every encounter we’ve had with them.” He gives us an almost evil smile. “There may be a group of them in this city.”
Oh great, murderous bug people and giant bears, how wonderful. I would bet all of the gold and silver in my storage core that rrick led them here. He probably wants us to fight them or sothing.
“The last planet is called Harran, and it’s part of an empire that spans three planets in the sa solar system. The two other planets in the empire have already been initiated, so the people of Harran have a head start over you guys. They also tend to be pretty aggressive, but the group I ran into was weak, hence why I know so much about them.”
“So they knew about the initiation before it happened?” I ask, questioning the unfairness of that.
“Yes, but the planet itself had no mana prior to initiation, so they started just as weak as you, but with more information. I wouldn’t worry too much about them. You guys need to focus on your own progress. Speaking of progress, you guys seem more solid now. I can tell you’re coming into your skills and gaining levels fast.”
He finishes the croissant in his hand, grabbing another one before speaking. “And that whole goblin camp extermination and dungeon dive was a good call. Dungeons tend to be a good way to level up quickly, especially when you clear them alone.”
“Is there a benefit to clearing them alone vs. in a group? I don’t think I could’ve beaten that boss by myself.” I say, thinking back to the over one hundred ants we killed in the boss trial room.
rrick shrugs his shoulders. “Eh, you level up faster when you do all of the work yourself. And you’re a space mage, Ray. Space mages tend to have low damage output until at least their first class selection, and even then most rely on other affinities to do damage. I’m surprised you’ve been able to use [Space Control] with as much versatility as you have been.”
“What’s a class selection?” Daniel asks before I can.
A confused expression appears on rrick's face for a second, and then he starts laughing, loudly. “Did I not tell you guys that? Oops. Your first class selection is at level twenty-five, and it’s like a full upgrade to your [System]. The most important thing it does is let you decide how your body upgrade is distributed each level. It will also probably give you a trait or two, and maybe even so skills.”
“Is there anything we should be doing before we get to that point? And what will the options be?” A million questions are swimming around in my head, and I know rrick is unlikely to answer most of them.
“h, just keep doing your best. And the options it gives you are tailored for you, so there is no bad choice. One small hint is that the more impressive and cool shit you do, the better the class options will be.”
“So if we kill sothing really strong before we hit level twenty-five, we get better class options?” Daniel asks, eyes wide with excitent.
“Pretty much. Which leads into the next part of your training.” rrick says as he stands up. “I will return in five days. I expect you to have killed one of the bears and at least hit your first class selection by then. One last thing,” He takes off the amulet he is wearing and tosses it to Corvax. “Good luck, and goodbye!”
Deciding that he has given us enough ‘guidance’ for now, rrick turns around and sprints through the open door, leaping off the wall and down into the desert below.
“Is he always like this?” Corvax asks as he eats the last pastry.
“It seems like it.” I say as I walk over to Daniel, who is pulling everything out of the bag rrick dropped off and handing it out.
We have so new clothes, even so huge and four-ard versions for Corvax. rrick must have so way to spy on us almost constantly if he knew about Corvax before he ca here. The last thing he hands is a package with my na on it. Unwrapping it, I see it has two red mana crystals in it, and after inspecting them, a small smile tugs at the corner of my lips. They are both from Rayke and contain the next parts of his enchantnt tutoring.
After we all pack away our new items into our rooms, we sit down and decide on a plan for today. We have almost no food and only a little bit of water, so that is priority number one. After that, we need to make the tower more secure and comfortable, which I have a few ideas for. Then, our focus will be on leveling up and completing the task rrick set out for us.
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