Luke Everhart
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Chapter 143 - No More Help
🕑 Added 2024-12-23 11:30:01 +0000 UTC“What was that?”
Nar startled in his bed and opened the curtains to look out. Across from him, Mul was looking at their room’s door through bleary eyes.
Before either of them could say anything, the sound of raised voices filtered through from beyond the closed door.
“Maybe we should go check it out,” Nar said, swinging his feet over the edge.
Mul sighed. “Can’t a person just relax without anything happening?”
Together, the two of them made for the door, and as it slid open, it took Nar some time to understand what he was seeing.
The common room had gone silent.
Gad, Kur, Cen and Viy were all standing around the table, looking like they had just gotten up in a rush.
Opposite Nar, Jul stood in the doorway to the girls’ room in much the same way as Nar and Mul did from their side.
The others were all staring at Tuk, who in turn stood at the beginning of the corridor that led to the exit of their party room.
Tuk had his back to them, so Nar had no idea what was going on. All he could tell was that the ring tosser was looking down at something at his feet.
“Will someone tell me what the fuck is going on?” Mul snapped.
Tuk turned around slowly. “I lost it…”
“Lost what?” Nar asked, concern mounting before the pale, wide eyed expression in the trugger’s face.
Instead of replying, Tuk bent down and picked something off. Without saying anything he flung something in their direction.
“Woah!” Mul half shouted, half gasped, and flung himself to the side.
Nar however, unbothered by his [Instinct], followed the ring’s path as it sailed lazily through the air and came to impact at about chest height against the wall to his right. The ring clattered harmlessly from the wall to the floor, and Tuk stared at it with a dejected look.
“Why?” Mul shouted.
Nar looked between the ring and the trugger, and when the latter did not provide any explanation, Nar looked for the people standing around the table for one, in particular Kur or Gad.
Instead of explaining, however, Kur stepped around the table and walked towards the trugger.
“Tuk, you need to tell us what's going on,” Kur said, laying a hand on the trugger’s shoulder. “Otherwise, we can’t help you.”
Tuk nodded slowly. “I lost it.”
“Lost what?”
“I can’t make it come back anymore,” Tuk whispered, pointing at the ring. “There’s a message, with my gains. I won’t be helped anymore… With the tossing!”
Kur squeezed Tuk’s shoulder and gently made him look at him instead of at the ring.
“You’re not making much sense, Tuk. Come on, let’s all sit down, and you can tell us everything. From the beginning, okay?”
“Yeah…”
Kur guided Tuk back to the table, and Nar bent down to pick up the fallen ring. He laid it down gently in front of Tuk, who reached out to it with an uncertain finger.
“So, what’s this all about?” Mul asked, his voice gruff but his tone concerned.
Tuk took a deep breath and exhaled just as deeply. “I’m sorry. I’m not making any sense. Here, I’ll just read it out loud to you guys. It’s this bit…”
-[...
[Targeting and Trajectory Assistance] hidden passive skill has been removed. This skill translated your intentions into reality, and aided you in making proper use of your weapon, [Climber’s Tossing Rings of Hunger] for the purposes of the Climb.
With the Climb successfully concluded, this skill has now been removed from your skills.
You have unlocked:
NPR
Skill gained:
[Will of the Ring Tosser]
Your mind and aura have been slowly trained in the way of using tossing rings. Now, you must do the rest.
… ]-
“Was that… One of those mercies that the Master of Aura talked about?” Cen asked, in the silence that followed Tuk’s words.
“Did you also have this hidden passive?” Gad asked the caster.
Cen shook her head. “I always just thought that the System handled the aiming part. But maybe, it was my intentions manifesting through my aura… Hmm. Maybe Rel had it too?”
Kur rubbed his chin.
“What is that attribute and skill you got instead, to replace that passive?” Kur asked.
“Uh… I-I haven’t actually looked,” Tuk said bashfully.
“It’s alright, let’s all have a look now then, if that’s okay with you?” the party leader asked, with a kind smile on his lips.
“Yeah… Yeah, of course. Uhhh, let’s see…”
-[ Neural Processing (Ranged) - Neural Processing allows one to process certain kinds of information faster, and react or act upon said information faster. This is the Ranged variant of Neural Processing, [NPR], commonly awakened in those whose minds need to keep up with the demands of ranged combat, and the strain of the split-second, real-time decisions that need to be made to compensate for all of the variables of using a ranged weapon. These include, but are not limited to, weather conditions, targeting conditions, target conditions, ranged weapon characteristics, and many others.
Further, [NPR] provides bonuses to other attributes. Currently, per point, [NPR] provides an extra 0.05 * aggr. level to [Accuracy], an extra 0.03 * aggr. level to [Reflex], and an extra 0.02 * aggr. level to [Dexterity]. All resulting numbers are rounded down. ]-
“That doesn’t sound too bad?” Viy asked. “It’s like [NPC], except for your rings. So it will help you in controlling them yourself?”
“Seems like it…” Tuk said, sounding slightly more hopeful.
“Oh, and sorry to butt in, but by the way, I’ve unlocked [NPC] as well. 5 points!” Viy said, grinning.
“Really?” Nar asked.
“Me too,” Mul said. “4.”
Jul nodded as well. “3 for me.”
“That’s amazing!” Nar breathed. “[NPC] is probably the only reason I’m alive! It’s what allows me to actually use my [Reflex], [Instinct], sense and movement attributes as fast as I do.”
“That is amazing,” Kur said. “But hold on, that description sounds different than yours, Nar? It's a lot more extensive, for one thing.”
“Yeah, it did say that my [NPC] had been upgraded,” Nar said.
He quickly opened his status tab again, his UI had been left visible from rushing out of the room, and focused on his [NPC].
“So, it says…”
-[ Neural Processing (Combat) - Neural Processing allows one to process certain kinds of information faster, and react or act upon said information faster. This is the Combat variant of Neural Processing, [NPC], commonly awakened in those whose minds need to keep up with the demands of melee battle, and the strain of their attribute enhanced bodies and senses in the chaos of combat. These include, but are not limited to, offensive actions, defensive actions, positioning, planning and reaction speeds.
Further, [NPC] provides bonuses to other attributes. Currently, per point, [NPC] provides an extra 0.05 * aggr. level to [Reflex], an extra 0.03 * aggr. level to [Agility], and an extra 0.02 * aggr. level to [Speed]. All resulting numbers are rounded down. ]-
Then, he made a slight face in a moment of hesitation, but kept going. “At 10 points of NPC, it gives me a lot of bonuses. A lot. It boosts my [Reflex] all the way from 27 to 40. Well, 42, I have a passive skill that boosts it more…”
“42?” Kur half shouted. “Does that mean you got an attribute modifier on it?”
Nar shook his head. “I don’t think it works like that. And in any way, it doesn’t matter. My new class prevents me from gaining attribute modifiers in anything other than my [Aura**].”
That elicited another moment of silence.
“What?” Mul asked. “Why?”
Kur raised his hands. “Wait, wait, wait! One thing at a time! Tuk, can you please tell us about that skill you gained alongside [NPR]?”
“Uh, yeah…” Tuk said, prying his eyes off of Nar. “It says…”
-[ Will of the Ring Tosser - Imbue your rings with your aura, and they will gladly follow your desires. - Uncommon ]-
“That’s it?” Mul asked.
“It seems clear enough…” Cen said. “You need to put your will in your rings from now on.”
“What’s that even mean, though?” Viy asked.
“Maybe you need to think about what you want them to do?” Cen asked. “Like me with my [Aura Projectile]?”
“But… Wasn’t I doing that before?” Tuk said, looking down at the glimmering ring in his hands, almost as if directing the question to it, rather than the rest of them. “It’s not like I was just tossing them and hoping for the best…”
“Maybe it’s something else,” Gad said. “But at least it seems that it’s possible for you to control the rings yourself from now on. You just need to learn how to do it. And I doubt you are the only ranged that is going through this.”
“That could make sense,” Nar said. “I mean, I barely know what to do with my sword. Most of the time I just swing it around and hope for the best.”
“Same,” Gad said. “We’re all here to learn, so learn Tuk. That’s all you got to do.”
“You did it before, remember, with your aura?” Cen asked, offering him an encouraging smile. “One ring, then two, then the rest. One by one, little by little, you got there.”
Tuk deflated. “I guess…”
“And I guess I need to start watching my back again,” Mul muttered. “Don’t want to get nearly killed again.”
“Twice!” Nar said, grinning.
“Oh, come on!” Tuk protested, as laughter erupted around the table.
“You’ll be fine, Tuk,” Kur said. “We all will, alright? Things are going to be new, and most likely, strange and weird too. Probably even more so for us that got our affinities unlocked.”
Mul, Viy and Jul all made faces of different emotions. Uncertainty. Sadness. Worry.
“Just don’t panic, and bring it all to the table,” Kur said, knocking on the black metal surface of the round table for emphasis. “Together, we’ll get through it. Together, we’ll make it work. Got it?”
A chorus of yeses came from around the table, and Nar felt the atmosphere lighten up.
“Now, why is your class blocking your attribute modifiers?” Mul asked.
“Wait! Tell us on the way,” Kur said, standing up. “Or we’re going to be late.”
Comments
Lucas Onderwater
They have been through a lot together 🥰 And their journey is far from over!!
Gabriel Victor
I really like the dynamic within the party, you can really feel that they are close and care about each other!
