Zogarth
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Chapter 65 - Chilling with badgers
🕑 Added 2020-11-12 14:08:13 +0000 UTC<Author note>
Sorry for the lack of chapters. I wanted to post more, but RR has got me in the slump again.
<Author note over>
Jake could feel that both his mana and stamina were reasonable despite the many Shadow Vaults. His quiver was also more than half-full making it unnecessary to reconjure more quite yet.
After he had poisoned a few more arrows, he set his sights on the next pack - four badgers, levels similar to the one he had just taken out.
With a Powershot, he once more took out the group's strongest, as he retreated to where he had fought the first group to not attract more beasts. He had to be a bit cautious for the last group and kite them in a circle, while he now had more space to use.
Minutes later, the beasts met their end, as Jake once more got a level. Quite honestly, this was too easy. His arrows were getting low, though, so he had to conjure some more. His stamina also began being low, so he decided to take a quick break to stock up on arrows while restoring some stamina.
Said restoration happened through the consumption of a stamina potion, as he took a quick peek in his spatial storage and saw that he was getting low one those
His consumption of stamina potions was quite insane. He used his skills liberally, making him consume a lot of stamina. That, coupled with him still not being all that practiced making the potions, made him have to drink one nearly every hour when it was off cooldown.
Deciding to extend his break a little, he retreated to the tunnel in which he had entered and sat down on the ground as he summoned his mixing bowl.
Following that, he took out some purified water and put it in the bowl, along with the Green Lavender and Evergreen Grass, as he prepared himself to make the stamina potions.
Placing his palm under it, he activated Alchemist’s Flame, making the transparent flame spring forth. The water slowly heated up, as he used his other hand and small strings of mana to pick up the other ingredients as he started his brewing.
He always found doing alchemy relaxing. Even during the challenge dungeon where his life was on the line, he still enjoyed it. It was challenging and complex, yet immensely satisfying to create something. Jake had never really had any hobbies that led to any actual products, being far too into archery or games.
His job was the same, with most of his creations simply being documents and figures on a computer. He didn’t count putting together a PowerPoint with a bunch of graphs and forecasts to be considered a worthwhile or satisfying creation.
But seeing herbs and water slowly turn into the desired color, and hearing the following message of his success was oh so satisfying, especially after struggling for a long time to make it correctly. He seriously doubted he would ever forget the first time he made a common-rarity Necrotic Poison.
Smiling to himself, he jumped into the work.
--
The hours passed by in the blink of an eye, as Jake sat there absorbed in his alchemy.
The dungeon around him was silent, the badgers simply milling about, sniffing the ground and sometimes bumping into each other. The Alpha was just sleeping, as it seemed to be waiting for a challenger to appear before it.
Only four groups of badgers remained. One of them had four members like those he had already taken down, while two of the others had five, and the last one six. By how they were placed, it seemed apparent that you should fight them in order of least to most, ending up against the Alpha at the end.
Just like a goddamn game, Jake sighed as he started packing up the unused materials and threw the stamina potions he had made into his spatial storage, but not before taking one and chugging it down. Interestingly enough, newly created potions tasted exactly the same as older ones, making Jake briefly wonder if potions had expiration dates.
He didn’t get a level despite hours passing, but he hadn’t expected to either. While his leveling-speed was likely monstrous compared to many others with their professions, it was a slow and arduous process compared to leveling his class.
A single fight lasting only minutes could earn him a level in his class, while he could easily do alchemy for an entire day without seeing a level-up, especially when he was trying out new recipes.
Of course, professions were way safer to do. Jake was in no danger while doing alchemy, and that was even with Jake’s being one of those with relatively high levels of risk due to the focus on using potent toxins. But compared to fighting beasts, the danger was negligible.
It had to be noted though Jake was in relatively little danger during his fights, in large part due to his profession providing him a very high amount of vitality and toughness, making him far more durable than any agility-based class should ever be at his level. Coupled with the many race levels, it wasn’t that surprising that he could easily face beasts many levels above his own.
Having finished cleaning everything up, he dismissed all distracting thoughts as he locked onto the next group of badgers. Four of them once again.
The battle went as one would expect, with Jake easily managing to kite them back and kill them one by one. He was exceptionally well-matched against them, making it an easy undertaking.
Three groups were now dead, with not a single one of them even touching the edges of his cloak.
He didn’t get a level from the last group, but luckily there were many enemies left.
The next group with five badgers proved to be a bit more annoying than the others. The extra beast allowed them to slowly gain ground on him until he was forced to meet the final one in melee. He ended up getting a nasty bite on his one arm, as he was forced to block the attack.
His attacker, however, didn’t fare much better as Jake used an arrow to stab the beast repeatedly while holding it down, with it becoming a battle of attrition. Perhaps the badger had hoped that the potent venom in its teeth would take out Jake before it succumbed to his attacks. A hope that swiftly died as Jake got the notification of the kill.
To his surprise, though, he hadn’t been able to neutralize the venom entirely through his Palate of the Malefic Viper. He felt a slight burning sensation in his arm as the poison struggled to travel through his veins. His health was also dropping little by little as his vital energy slowly fought off said venom.
The skill clearly increased his resistance still, as he could feel the venom’s toxic potency through his Sense of the Malefic Viper. In terms of pure toxicity, it was on par with his infused blood.
He was a bit lucky though that the beasts didn’t have any resistance to poison themselves. Nothing of note, at least. Which wasn’t that surprising as many animals usually didn’t even have resistance to their own toxins.
For example, a snake would be poisoned if bitten by another venomous snake of the same species, or even if it bit itself. Their venom was protein-based, which meant that while they could easily eat prey they had killed with their poison, the same venom would still be deadly if injected into themselves.
It being protein-based means that the stomach could break it down and absorb it, making drinking snake venom not actually dangerous under most circumstances. If you didn’t have any open wounds in your mouth, throat, or stomach, that is. However, it is still not recommended to drink venom under any circumstances.
And based on the venom these badgers possessed, it seemed to be of the same kind as snake venom. Of course, one had to factor in the system and possible magic elements involved. Jake could feel traces of inner energy within the toxin, making it not purely a physical substance.
The same was true for all of Jake’s own poisons. His blood and concocted poisons both. His blood being mana-based was quite self-evident, considering it was quite literally mana-injected blood. The ingredients used in poison concoction were also all filled with mana, making the poisons made from them also inherently filled with mana.
Jake wondered how a poison from before the system would fare against his current body. He remembered certain animals being absolutely ridiculously poisonous, being able to kill giant animals with even a drop of their venom or poison.
Perhaps the toxin would be far less effective due to all the magical mumbo-jumbo going on. Taking the venom currently being eradicated in Jake’s arm into consideration, he could only imagine how easily non-magical venom would succumb.
Not that there was any way to know in the end. The system was here, and it was likely going to stay.
After less than a minute, he had finally removed the final trace of venom in his arm, as he noticed that it had managed to take less than 1/20 of his total health.
Looking at his notifications quickly, he saw that he had gained another level in his class.
*’DING!’ Class: [Ambitious Hunter] has reached level 36 - Stat points allocated, +4 free points*
*’DING!’ Race: [Human (E)] has reached level 41 - Stat points allocated, +5 free points*
Honestly, this speed was ridiculous. But then again, he was a level 35 hunter killing beasts around level 60. Additionally, he had the Big Game Hunter skill, which helped him close the stat-gap by quite a lot. Noticing his class also reaching level 36, he slapped himself on his forehead as he admonished himself.
Why the hell had he used an arrow to stab the badger? He could finally use his new sword!
Taking it out, he instantly injected mana and felt that unlike the rare Greatsword of Nature, this one didn’t reject him at all but smoothly absorbed his mana. He immediately felt the faint connection and became aware of how exactly its Invading Chill ability worked.
[Shortsword of Icy Winds (Uncommon)] – A Sword made out of Froststeel and amplified with Ice-affinity mana over a long time. Due to the material used, the blade afflicts anyone hits with the elemental energy of frost. Enchantments: Invading Chill.
Requirements: Lvl 35+ in any class.
It wasn’t that unlike a poison, but it compared to toxins that had some physical parts to them, this affliction was entirely magical.
As the blade was now bound to him, the enchants and power within also activated as its edge chilled - a frosty layer covered the metal as it started giving off traces of vapor.
He had tried to use the sword before he reached level 35 and found that he couldn’t inject his mana into it at all. As for wielding it without binding it to himself, that too was impossible as the blade just wouldn’t sit right in his hand. It was a weird feeling, but it felt like if he tried to attack anything with it, it wouldn’t be as sharp as it should either.
He had forgotten actually to test if the theory was correct, but perhaps that was another experiment for another time.
What was important right now was that he finally had a proper melee weapon once more. He had found a common-rarity dagger in the valley before, meaning he could now duel-wield it together with the shortsword.
Taking out the dagger, which he had bound to himself when he found it, he started swinging them around to test how it felt.
To his satisfaction, he felt that Twin Fang Style indeed did work with the shortsword, making him not lose out on the stat effectiveness bonuses from the skill. He naturally still didn’t get the “weapon of bone” bonus, but hey, what can you do?
He decided to put the two weapons back in his storage as he quite frankly didn’t have confidence in beating those badgers purely using melee. One of the reasons he could handle them so easily was that he always killed one before the fight even began and then took them out.
However, being surrounded by five, all scratching and biting at him… yeah, he wasn’t going to do that. The damn things were also too damn big, reaching up to his chest. If they stood on their hind legs, they would be more than three meters tall, being by far the largest badgers he had encountered so far.
Of course, the Alpha was even more prominent - the size of a large horse, with far more bulk and presence due to its spiky hide. He couldn’t help but get a bit excited at the prospect of fighting it... but first, he had to get rid of the last three groups.
Checking his stuff, he was a bit low on arrows… but he didn’t feel like reconjuring more yet, so he decided to make it an excellent excuse also to do a bit of melee combat when he ran out.
The first Badger went down with the customary Powershot, with the next two dying to the kiting and Splitting Arrow combo. The last two had only taken minor injuries when they finally managed to pin him down.
With a bit of excitement, Jake took out his dagger and shortsword, as he used the sword to block the claw of the first badger. He felt himself getting pushed back, having a disadvantage in strength.
He barely had time to jump back as the other tried to bite him in the neck. He managed to get a good foothold as the first one charged again, but this time Jake managed to put the beast between him and the neck-biting one, making it unable to jump him immediately.
Taking the opportunity, he blocked the claw with the dagger once more, as he stabbed the beast in its front, penetrating quite deeply a bone stopped the blade.
The badger screeched as it seemed to go berserk, clawing and biting recklessly. An action that, sadly for the beast, only made the fight easier for Jake. The creature was stronger and slightly faster than himself, but also utterly predictable.
He landed a few more cuts on the beast while he dodged the other one, that was still desperately trying to bite him to pieces. The badger got slower and slower with every cut from the sword, the Invading Cold from the sword seeping into its muscles and making them stiffen. Finally, he got in close and landed a Touch of the Malefic Viper as he put his palm on the side of the beasts contorted face.
It’s screeching only got louder as the poison slowly started rotting its face, as Jake managed to Shadow Vault backward, no longer bothering with the thing. It was already dead. A prediction that proved right in only a few seconds as the poison managed to spread to the brain.
The remaining badger didn’t seem even the tinniest bit disturbed about the horrific death of its former comrade as it continued the frenzied assault.
A few minutes later, it met the same fate as Jake managed to stab the sword into its heart after its movements also started getting stiff and sloppy.
Jake hadn’t come out of the fight unscathed as his cloak was well and genuinely tattered, and he had several claw-marks all over his arms and chest. He had even been bitten once more, and on the same damn arm even. But the thrill of the fight made the pain irrelevant. The sword was sharp, and the icy affliction had done great work. It even made him think of perhaps concocting a nerve toxin to double up on the paralyzing effect.
However, the most important thing, for now, was yet another level.
*’DING!’ Class: [Ambitious Hunter] has reached level 37 - Stat points allocated, +4 free points*
Two more groups and one big-ass badger left.
Comments
fbt
I don't know how RR can reasonably police this. Thousands of stories, probably millions of comments, idk how they can tell idioms from sarcasm from toxicity except by manual review. I don't think it can be automated (yet) reliably, and the staffing costs to do it manually would be prohibitive. It looks like an author can delete a comment on RR but not block an abusive user (only report the user, which is something, if not ideal). This seems like an oversight to me. If RR can't (as I believe) make a better way to isolate bad apples they should at least make it easy for an author to do so? Maybe? idk. Maybe they need to give authors a banhammer...I think scribblehub has that based on one author's comments there.
fbt
tftc! :)
Mr. Bigglesworth
The only opinions that should matter, are the ones that pay the bills. There are other websites that would be more than happy to host a story that pulls in a ton of views. If RR won't police their toxic environment, then don't stick around and give them free money, imo.
Damian
Everyone is gonna die (sad face). be really funny if they technically didn't die and where just transferred to the real world.
LarsO
Hey man i just wanted to say that i love your story. Don't let the haters discourage you. You are doing a great job. I am excited to see what happens after the toturial. Keep up the good work!!
Zogarth
Yeah, I fixed it. The sentence-of-all-the-commas was kind of funny, though, and technically correct :p An abomination, but an abomination following the rules.
joshjosh100
I don't think you should ignore it when someone says they hate a character. Especially if an author never intended a character to be hated. If it's a one-of, sure, but if a lot of people see a character in a way you didn't write them it shows you can grow as a writing by finding out why.
BubblyGhost
despite the many Shadow Vault[s]. Said restoration happening [happened] through the -> You're narrating in past tense here. He used his skills liberally, making him, in turn, consume a lot of stamina. That, coupled with him still not being all that practiced making the potions, made him have to drink one nearly every time it was off cooldown, aka every hour. -> Too many commas! Multiple ways to be fixed to your discretion, so no direction correction. He didn’t count, putting together a-> Remove the comma after count, doesn't fit at all. the badgers simply mulling* about-> milling
Runaway_Cactuar
I guess I'll leave my 2 cents here. The story overall is good, no doubt. I really enjoy the world-building and mechanics you've developed here. The followers you're getting is easily well deserved. I personally don't fully agree with the William developments, but I'm assuming you have a grand plan for that character in the future. So I will wait and see how this whole thing unfolds. I know you're not built to shrug off the internet trolls, but don't let them control you. It's what they want.
Juli Freixi
Thanks a lot for the chapter Zogarth!! 😊
DominusIgnis
I'd say around 60% are negative comments with 40% positive. But what alot of people don't rap there heads around because they don't see it is that those are like 1/5th the people. The other 4th is just loving your story in quiet contemplation and dont wish for you to change anything. So don't forget that.
DominusIgnis
Also realise that just like with YouTube. Most of your comments are going to be negative
Amelgar
Thanks for the chapter! Loving the story thus far
Blaublue
"Just remember that even works like Harry Potter have bad reviews" - and rightly so. Being popular does not mean the work is not without faults, or even good. That does not mean one cannot enjoy it however
Stephen Pearson
Weeeellll... fewer people, at least. There's definitely a few with strong opinions on Patreon as well:-p
Bunny Waffles
The best thing when it comes to RR is to just outright ignore any disparaging comments or reviews if they don't offer some form of constructive criticism. Just saying "Wow that is stupid" or "I hate this character and what they are doing" is dumb and reactionary garbage. If people make well plotted arguments against the story direction or choices and enough people day basically the same thing, THEN you should look over it again, but always remember YOU have the benefit of actually knowing what is coming so if the change people were looking for is coming up or a character they despise for his actions is gonna get his comeuppance in the future just let them hate for now and enjoy the karmic payback down the line. Also people hating a character is just something that happens, and if it is hating someone you have either as or planned to become an antagonist then that is perfectly fine! If they dislike the MC, then just review tlwhat it is they hate and decide if thatbis a flaw you wanted them to have and disliked for anyways. At the end of the day, while you shouldn't outright ignore negative comments, focus more on the constructive ones and bask in the positive comments and dwell on those instead.
Stephen Pearson
Sadly, the downside of that is the posting on RR is how a lot of new people find the stories in the first place. That said, ignoring the RR comments seems like a good plan:-)
A B
once arm --> arm once repeatably --> repeatedly Also, I'm enjoying the story. RR may just be slumping because of the competition having a lot of new works on that address and equal in reasons, so that they change relative position in the ranking more early then normal. Hard to know without knowing the exact algorithm. If your patreon supporter list is growing, I think that's your best objective measure.
PrimordialJay
It seems like most of your bad reviews are mad that the story isn't pure combat. The system really punishes people who don't take up a profession and alchemy makes sure Jake doesn't spend most of his time recovering. It is nice to have an MC who thinks and I'm looking forward to Jake searching for rare materials in unexplored areas. I guess you could have given him healing powers so he could fight nonstop but I think there's a popular story that already does that (and has gotten criticism for having too much battle).
Nobody
RR really should really be treated as a marketing tool for new writers who haven't really proven themselves. Once you are firmly established, you can, and should move to either patreon or kindle. At least this way, any review you receive is from people that actually buy and enjoy your work.
PrimordialJay
It is a lot easier to destroy than to create. You've created an amazing story and I doubt that the negativity is coming from people who could do the same. Honestly if I could create a story like yours, I would. It would be nice to have people actually want to spend money on something I created. Keep doing what you're doing. Also remember that royal road is constantly being manipulated. Review swaps got so bad that they had to be labeled and marketing bots that vote things up or down.
BlodWedd
just saying you can sorta not post there anymore say the story up to now is free if you wanna read ahead follow on patreon... its your story post it where you would like also tey posting on webnovel there are more people there
Joshua
If you need a break take one but still post on here, no one's going to call you an idiot or be a cunt unless you do something wrong but I doubt you will. Honestly a great read and I'll probably be back here every other month as money is a little tight
Thaco4
As most have already said, ignore the haters you are doing great work! Keep your head up and PLEASE keep writing. Too often I see Authors get down because of the trolls of RR and stop writing. You have made an amazing story.
Kingtie
Gg badgers! But great story, I'm always looking for a chapter notification from you! Great stuff
Jonathan Timm
Negative comments on Royal Road mean ur doing something right dont sweat it . Just keep typing
Donncha crowley
Cancel comments on royal road invite people to your discord server to discuss your writing
Gardor
Shoot the sword! Shoot the sword! Poison the sword, use it as an arrow, power shot shoot it TO THE FACE!
Zogarth
https://discord.gg/ABbazTYQ I made it a long time ago when I had like 20 patrons, and I never really got done making it.
Can someone link the discord? I connected my Discord acct to patreon but i still cant access it. Also just wanted to say don't listen to the trolls on RR. You already have a large following on patreon, and this story is seriously good. I know what its like to not be able to stop reading the hate, but you need to realize they are trolls who will hate because the story isnt going in the direction they thought it would. This is a seriously amazing story.
Grevis165
Plus RR has an exceptional number of trolls. Any publicity is good publicity, right? lol. As long as you keep writing you will keep improving, and we're happy to keep supporting you :-)
Dude stop being negative. People are loving your work. Just remember that even works like Harry Potter have bad reviews. People have different tastes and will pick apart anything they don't like. Not every book can get such a large patreon following like you currently have so quickly.
Talen Drake
Look, when I find a stort this good on RR I binge it, and, if Patreon is enabled, grab the monthly subscription and never look at RR again. The free to read crowd is not the audience you want to cater to. Focus on your subscribers and only solicit feedback here. RR is cliquey AF, and full of troll armies loyal to their clique. You are wadting time and motivation trying to make the open internet like you. It will never happen.
RottenTangerine
Another great chapter. Thanks for writing!
HenryMorgan
I'm enjoying your fiction, don't stress about negative ratings, your results matter, (in regards to patreon and followers on RR)
The Human
Might be worth disabling the comments on rr and just letting people come find you on discord if they're keen to talk.
Sacred
At the end of the day they are commenting on your creation. And your creation is doing very well despite whatever they say. Even if it's deserved criticism. So I say, continue down the path that you enjoy and don't pay much attention to the none sense. If it's constructive criticism, fine. If it's not, then ignore them. Obviously that's easier said then done but you have to do what's best for you. And ignoring them sounds like it's best for you
William Jackson
Haters gonna hate. Your writing is grammatically sound, your characters (while they're still being fleshed out, even) make me invested in what happens to them. Your system allows for a lot of unique characters and growth. This story is miles ahead of most shit on RR. PEople on RR will hate on anything. Write the story you wanna write. Take solace in the fact that you are clearing a more than modest salary from patreon by doing nothing but writing this 'horrible' story. I know empty words from anon, but you got gold here bro, don't let idiot trolls discourage <3
Don't sweat the RR goblins too much, doesn't matter how good or bad the the story they will always want speedy leveling and brain dead face slapping OP af protag. Keep up the good work!
Zogarth
I can't stop reading them, I just don't work that way. I am gonna throw a long note in the chapter today and try to not bother addressing it again.
Zogarth
Dropped 50 rankings and every new chapter just makes the average rating divebomb.
The Shard
I've seen that for every author on the site. Every story, including the ones that went on to become Amazon best sellers has had author notes like the one you put up. Honestly, with how well you are doing on Patreon just stop reading the RR comments, this to me is one of the great finds of the year. I know I don't post much, or encourage much, but when I find a story of this calibre, and hear about more problems with RR trolls, well I need to say something.
seth dauer
I agree with this. Also I almost never look at the comments when we I find a great story and I'm catching up. That would get in the way of READING the next chapter!. So whatever the trolls are saying isn't going to matter to new readers in a chapter or three. Reviews matter, but I don't look at only one, and take them with a grain of salt too.
Eldar Kersebaum
Did you get a lower rating than before?
Talen Drake
I would suggest that they be awarded at 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13 etc in a Fibonacci scale
Zogarth
Not why he hasn't tried. He will try, but discover he can't :p
Zogarth
Royalroad slump.
Eldar Kersebaum
@zogarth New patreon subscriber here whatcha mean with rr slump? Btw: I am quite happy with the chapter speed 👍
MagicWafflez
good thing his cloak repairs itself... yanno, i wonder if these dungeon titles will require multiple new dungeons to get the next one, or if it will just have one *every* dungeon... i feel like it would be OP if it was... but i guess it's not OP if everyone can do it, and only getting a title on your first run of a dungeon wouldn't be bad
Elephin
Is there a reason he hasn't tried making a poison from the badgers' venom?
Zogarth
It totally is 65. I deny any allegations it wasn't always that.
Lani
Wouldn’t this be chapter 65?
Talen Drake
$2877 per month on Patreon... Much more accurate gauge of your work than a marketing site with trolls that leave .5 star reviews to manipulate the marketing site to favor those who pay to play.
