Nova terra kingbreaker t.., p.38
Nova Terra: Kingbreaker (The Titan Series Book 3), page 38
“Yeah, what was that about, Thorn?” Even Mina was getting in on the chance to pry open Thorn’s secrets. “The damage from that level of heat should be enough to leave you drained almost instantly!”
“Uh.” Thorn looked down, a sheepish grin on his face as he muttered in a quiet voice. “I don’t get tired.”
“You what?” Everyone leaned in.
“I don’t get tired. I think I have nearly unlimited stamina.” Looking around after he repeated himself, it got quiet as the others just stared at him. Mina, not even bothering to respond, threw her hands in the air and walked out of the tent.
“Hey, it's true. I normally don’t get tired at all. This time I’m pretty beat, but I still feel like I could squeeze out another fight if I had to. Why are you looking at me like that?”
Velin sighed and put away her notebook after looking at Seven Twisted Leaves, who shrugged. The old treasure hunter, who had been listening from the side, walked over to Thorn and patted him on the shoulder.
“Don’t worry about them, kid. Those of us who are different understand. Everyone has their advantages, just most are buried deep while yours are up near the surface. So, tell me, did you find anything interesting when you wiped out the big group?”
“We picked up lots of loot. Oh, and this.” Getting the tear-shaped stone token out of his inventory, he handed it to Baxby, who looked it over with interest. The old man took it with him as he walked back to the map, muttering the whole time. Placing it down on top of the map, Baxby poked it with his finger a few times.
“What is that?” Velin asked, walking over to the map and running her fingers lightly over the surface of the stone token. “Is it used with the Dwarven earth maps?”
“Looks more like a key.”
“A key?” Thorn, standing from his chair, made his way over, as well. “Doesn’t look like much of a key to me.”
“And that, kid, is because you lack imagination. This is a Dwarven key. It is probably part of a set that has been divided. My guess is that this is a hidden part of the quest, since clearing the large elemental teams is not something most teams will be able to complete. But yes, this is a key,” Baxby explained, tracing a finger around the outside.
“Normal keys have a set of ridges on them that push pins, right? This is the same, to an extent. If we flip it over, you can see those channels, right? The channels allow a magic circuit to be completed, unlocking the door or chest or whatever this opens. See how it has two shapes, one on the outside edge and one on the inside cut-out? Between those two shapes, we can have infinite variation. The shape on the outside tells you roughly where the key is from, the shape on the inside determines what it can open. If both shapes don’t fit, the key will not work.”
“That makes sense, I guess.” Looking at the stone token, Thorn blinked and scratched his head. “So that means we just need to clear the other two big groups of fire elementals, right?”
“Yes, we just need to clear the elementals.” Velin nodded, looking over at Seven Twisted Leaves, who perked up.
“I’ve got an idea for that. Since we can have Thorn tank, why not let him do that fully. We can swap out our balanced build specifically for taking out the large groups of fire elementals. Instead of running a full line of tanks and DPS, we can swap in more crowd control and healing. This way we can maximize Thorn’s survivability and have better ways to deal with the elite fire elementals. We barely scraped by this time, and Delmore is probably out of commission for a few days, as a result. If we can plan for it and bring the right people, we should be able to clear both fights in the same day.”
Looking at Velin and seeing her nod, Thorn agreed. “Good, let's do that. I’m a bit worried about Ragnarok, so the faster we do this, the better. Leaves, can you help Velin come up with a good team? I really need to sleep, but let’s plan on another run first thing tomorrow.”
“Sure thing, boss.”
“Have a good sleep, Thorn.” Velin smiled briefly at Thorn and then left the tent with the Fae Druid in tow, leaving Thorn and Baxby alone. The old man glanced at Thorn.
“I’m going to keep examining the map and the key. I want to see if I can figure out where the circuit connects, though my guess is that we will need to get the other half of the Dwarven earth map for that. Still, good job getting this key. I can smell the scent of something awesome locked away down here.”
“Oh? How exciting.” Stifling a yawn, Thorn smiled at Baxby, who just rolled his eyes. With a wave, Thorn headed over to one of the partitioned areas and collapsed into bed.
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
For the first time since he had entered Nova Terra, Thorn slept fitfully. In his dreams he was tied to a spit and slowly cooked by a collection of different elementals. Below him, a massive fire elemental was chained just out of reach, thick waves of heat rolling over him as it strained against its bonds. The other elementals were quietly arguing over the best way to prepare a Titan when the large elemental surged forward with a roar, the sound of its chains snapping waking Thorn with a jolt.
Rubbing his eyes, Thorn looked around the tent. Through a crack in the curtain separating his sleeping area from the main room, Thorn could see Velin, Baxby, and Seven Twisted Leaves talking around the table. Rolling over in his comfortable bed, Thorn stared up at the roof of the tent, letting the low murmur of voices wash over him. Despite his strange dream, the system had done its job, and Thorn was feeling refreshed.
Getting up after a few minutes, he stretched and walked into the center room of the tent, nodding to the three people gathered around the map.
“Morning.”
“Good morning, Thorn,” Velin replied, her pencil never pausing as she wrote in her notebook. Seven Twisted Leaves saluted Thorn in greeting, but the old treasure hunter just grunted, his eyes fixed on the map.
“Any new developments?” Taking a quick glance at the map, Thorn saw that there were a couple spots filled that had not been when he went to bed the night before. The details in those areas were not quite as clear as the rest of the map, but the general shape of the passageways were there.
“Yeah, Asher shared some information from their run, which is how we were able to fill in these sections.” Velin finally gave her pencil a rest as she pointed toward the new spots on the map. “Oh, and Corvo sent a message over. I think the Dwarven earth map we want has been found. The Eastern Alliance has it, and from what he said, they are willing to trade.”
“Oh? That is great news.” Both Thorn and Baxby perked up at Velin’s words.
“It is. Though we’ll need to send a group to do the trade. World Quest items have some restrictions, and they are a guaranteed drop, so I’m a little concerned that if any other guilds have heard about it, we’ll be in for a fight.”
“By guaranteed drop, you mean that if I am carrying it and I die, it will drop for sure?”
“Yup, 100% drop rate. So we need to make sure you don’t die.”
“Alright, got it. Have we made arrangements to do the trade?” Thorn took his seat at the head of the table, his eyes running across the map.
“We have.” Flipping back a few pages in her notebook, Velin ran her finger down the page. “Tomorrow. We’ll be meeting them in the dungeon, at the entrance connecting the air and fire sections.”
“Wow, you guys move fast. I guess everyone is in a rush to get this finished as fast as possible.”
“We’re on a strict time limit, after all. The first group to make it through the labyrinth will have an advantage in the next part of the quest.”
“Guess that’s true.” Thorn’s finger tapped his armrest as he considered. A thought crossed his mind, making him look up. “Wait a second. You said that we’ll be meeting them in the dungeon? I thought it was instanced? Doesn’t that mean when we go in, we’re by ourselves?”
“Only when we’re running the dungeon,” Seven Twisted Leaves answered. “Dungeons have a few different modes. Exploration mode, which doesn’t count your progress and is not instanced, and Diving mode, which does track your progress.”
“This all seems unnecessarily complicated.” Thorn sighed, resting his cheek in his broad palm. “Why would we want two different modes?”
“Different kinds of players and different sorts of treasures.” This time it was Baxby who spoke up.
“What do you mean?”
“Can you imagine unaffiliated players having to compete with guilds? They’d get swatted. So, there are two different modes for the dungeons. The Diving mode is designed for big groups and has increased difficulty and rewards, making it ideal for guilds who have the people and the organization to clear the dungeon. Exploration, on the other hand, gives enough resources for a small group or individual, but not enough for a big group to split.
“Exploration is also the mode where you can find out more about the history of the dungeon, catch the lead on quests related to the dungeon, that sort of thing. However, the two modes are effectively different dungeons. So the pathing is not the same. Big guilds don’t care about the quests and that sort of stuff, instead just focusing on swallowing up as many resources as they possibly can, so Exploration mode isn’t used much except by us unaffiliated.”
“So, Exploration mode isn’t instanced? What stops players from attacking each other?”
“Ha, nothing. Exploration is even more dangerous than Diving for that very reason. You’ve got to be on your toes, because every player you meet could be your enemy.” Baxby’s eyes glowed with excitement as he spoke. “When you combine that with the fact that most groups that explore are smaller, it can get quite exciting.”
“Then, isn’t there a danger of a group trying to monopolize the Exploration mode?”
“Ha, some people try.” The old treasure hunter turned his head as if he was going to spit but was confronted with the plush carpet that covered the ground, and he just swallowed. “Every once in a while, someone tries, but the guilds are always looking to improve their reputations, so they’ll sweep out any group that tries to lock up a dungeon.”
“Interesting. Velin, what are your thoughts on the exchange? Is it possible that it is a trap?”
“We considered that.” The Elf brushed her hair back from her face. “Corvo and I had a long talk about this trade, and that is one of the things that came up. However, because of how the trade came about, I don’t think it is likely.”
“What do you mean?”
“Corvo said that the information came from your connection down in the south, Josephine. One of her agents from the Eastern Alliance passed on the intelligence to one of our agents, who passed it on to Corvo. Apparently, the Eastern Alliance is still not sure what to do with the maps they have. They got four of them, but none show the air section where they entered the dungeon.
“When Corvo reached out to them, they agreed to do the trade with the added condition that we show them how the earth maps work, as well as let them know if we figure out who has the other air map. There is a remote chance that it is a trap, but since Corvo was the one who reached out, we’re relatively confident that it is just a normal exchange.”
“Excellent. You all do really great work.” Thorn smiled appreciatively. “Then, are we sending the Titan squad to make the swap? I’m all rested up and ready to go.”
“Yes, you and the Titan squad will go, though this time I’m coming with you, as is Baxby.” Velin gestured to the treasure hunter, who grinned. “While we are in Exploring mode, I want to try and learn more about the labyrinth, just in case it can provide clues for the next section of the quest.”
“Alright. The exchange is tomorrow, right? What were your thoughts in the meantime? Should we clear another one of the large groups? Leaves, you were working on a better team composition for that, right?”
“Yes, sir.” The Fae Druid, who had been listening quietly, spread out a piece of paper with fifty names written on it. “I put together a list of players whom, I think, will make this very easy. Normally, a single healer can keep up with two tanks or a tank and two DPS, so our split is twelve tanks, twenty six DPS, and twelve healers or support. With our new method, we only need you as a tank, plus a couple more to protect the healers.
“For our next run we will be taking more crowd control, as well as more healers. We have a total of five tanks, including you, fifteen DPS, and thirty healers or support. This means we should be able to bubble you enough that we don’t need any crazy maneuvers, and you can just fight through the elite fire elementals. We also found some fire resistant gloves for you and a couple of trinkets which will hopefully be a help in mitigating the heat. They shouldn’t mess with your set bonus’ too much.”
“Good.” Despite his nonchalance, Thorn was secretly glad that they had done something about the heat. The feeling of being cooked was an unpleasant one, and even though he had come out fine, he was not excited to repeat the experience. Thorn opened his menu and pulled up the armor he currently had equipped.
Blessed Armor of Hati - Heavy Armor
A completely random mish-mash of armor that has been blessed by Hati, transforming into its current form.
To transfer this blessing to another set of armor, complete a Moon Vigil at one of Hati’s temples.
Abilities:
[Glowing Helm]: +Vision range in the dark
[Earthen Armor]: +8% defense
[Killer’s Gloves]: +0.5% critical hit rate
[Killer’s Gloves]: -10% defense
[Well Worn Greaves]: -25% item durability
Set Bonus:
[2 pieces]: +Agility for every piece worn
[3 pieces]: +Duration of [Wolf's Rage] for every piece worn
[4 pieces]: +Defense of [Wolf Hide] for every piece worn
[5 pieces]: +Increased area of effect of [Wolf Helm] for every piece worn
[6 pieces]: +Faster transformation into [Wolf Form] for every piece worn
Thorn had been startled when he realized that the armor he had hastily put on before his fight with Korith had been reshaped into the [Blessed Armor of Hati]. The armor he had been wearing during his fight with the elite fire elementals had been completely ruined, turned into a smoldering pile of scrap by the flaming attacks. Unsure why his new armor was reformed into the familiar silver shape, Thorn began to dig through his logs to try and figure out what was going on.
It took some searching, but eventually, from a clue hidden in his [Wolf Hide] ability, Thorn realized that the [Blessed Armor of Hati] was connected with gaining Hati’s favor. The first time his armor had changed was when he first became an avatar. Since then, each time he received Hati’s favor, there had been no change in his armor because it already had the [Blessing of Hati], so he had not noticed it. He had looked at his [Wolf Hide] ability before, but this time, he noticed an extra few lines at the end.
[Wolf Hide]
A cunning wolf chooses to avoid the strikes of its enemy. But when they must take a blow, they rely on their tough hide to minimize the damage.
[Wolf Hide] increases the defensive capabilities of any armor you wear.
The skin of the Moon Wolf is distinctive, shining like the bright silver moon, and can be activated through the [Blessing of Hati]. To activate the Blessing of Hati, the avatar must stand Vigil in the Temple of the Moon while wearing a set of heavy armor.
Unlike the set of masterwork armor that he had ruined in the dungeon, the random assortment of armor he was wearing had some special abilities, though a few were terrible. The chest piece he had equipped did boost his overall defense, but the gloves actually reduced it while giving him a miniscule buff to his critical hit rate. Even his greaves were old and had a permanently lower durability, meaning that they would break much faster.
Thankfully, the [Blessing of Hati] gave Thorn some buffs, increasing his agility and armor, along with buffs to [Wolf’s Rage] and the new [Wolf Helm] he had unlocked. Replacing his gloves would make him lose the [6 pieces] set bonus, but since he had not unlocked [Wolf Form] it really was not a big deal.
He would also have a slight decrease in the other buffs granted by the [Blessing of Hati], but the increased fire resistance would more than make up for it. Until Thorn was near the temple of Hati in Fang Valley, he was stuck with the mis-matched armor that he had put on before he threw the boulder at Korith.
A few hours later, Thorn was standing with part of the Titan squad in front of the dungeon entrance. With them were a number of support players from the other two squads who had been transferred over to try out Seven Twisted Leaves’ solo tanking strategy. An hour earlier the gloves and two accessories had been delivered, boosting Thorn’s fire resistance significantly, and Seven Twisted Leaves had reorganized the Titan squad temporarily.
Blacksmith Apprentice Gloves
These thick blacksmith apprentice's gloves allow the wearer to handle the burning hot material from a forge without getting burned.
Abilities:
+Fire Resistance
