Without any thumbs to speak of Syn has a hard time helping. Sam quickly activated Mana Hands, hoping they would help. Eventually she managed to remove the armor.
"Well, clearly I can't use this yet." She said disappointedly.
She returned the armor and everything else to her inventory. She'd have to wait. Much to her relief her repair skill fixed the minor damage to the room. That was one less thing to worry about. It seemed every item had the same level requirements. Well at least at level seventy-five she knew she'd have some kick ass gear.
With her new gains checked out, Sam finally settled herself into bed. It was a few hours before dawn when Sam was startled awake. She could hear yelling and shouting coming from outside. Getting dressed into her armor, just in case, Sam made her way downstairs to the main room. It was mostly empty. That wasn't too unusual this time of night, but she figured there would be others who woke up like she did.
"What's going on?" Sam asked a frightened looking maid. The look on her face spoke of something big and horrifying. Her response was only two trembling words.
"B-beast Wave" she replied scurrying to the back room. Sam heard a creaking hinge and the thump of a wooden trapdoor closing.
{Ding! A new quest has been issued!}
{New Quest:
Survive Your First Beast Wave - While technically your second beast wave, for this one you will be integrated and can fight back!
Objective: Assist with the beast wave coming towards Crossroads Village and discover it's true origin.
Rewards: +500xp, A S.I.S.T.E.M. created, one of a kind enchanted item.}
After agreeing to the follow up notification of "Would you like to start this quest?"
"Well shit, quest time ladies and gents!"
Releasing the cats, birds, and Syn from their beast space, she told them what she heard and ventured outside. As of now, there were no beasts roaming the village. Non combat civilians were hiding in basements and town bunkers, while the village guards and any adventurers in town were rushing to the west gate.
When they arrived, the group in front of her was a mix of guards, adventurers and hunters. It looked to be around two hundred people. They were all crowded around the closed gate.
A man in full metal armor stood just in front of the gate in the back of a cart so he could be seen by everyone.
"Attention everyone! Looks like we gathered a good size crowd." He yelled over the murmured conversations in the crowd.
"For those that don't know me, I am Stanley Vessel, Crossroads Captain of the guards. Let me quickly explain how this will work for any new comers.
If you would kindly search my name in the community tab of your S.I.S.T.E.M., and issue a friendship request I can then invite you to the Wave Raid Party I've started. This will allow everyone to fairly attain experience, coin and loot.
The party is set to contribution divide, so the more you contribute the more you'll earn. This is decided by the S.I.S.T.E.M. itself, not me. So take it up with the S.I.S.T.E.M. if you have complaints. Loot will also be divided by class first, for class specific loot, then the loot that can be universally used."
After finding and sending a request, like asked, Sam received two more notifications.
{Stanley Vessel has accepted your friendship request!}
{Stanley Vessel has invited you to join his Beast Wave Raid Party. Do you accept?}
{[Yes]/[No]}
She accepted the request, continuing to listen to the Captain.
"There will be two areas for fighting. First will be for the ranged fighters, Mages and the support classes. They will gather closest to the wall and the gate. The second will be for everyone else. You'll be located just in front of the first group. We will follow the usual party set up. Defenders in the front pulling agro and the damage dealers behind. Rogues and Assassins are free to move where you're needed.
Come to me if you have a class that doesn't fall into one of those categories and we'll find a place for you. According to the scouts we have some time before they reach us so let's get into place. If there's any barrier mages report to my second in command Jenkins," he says pointing to a man beside him. Unfortunately for Sam, her height didn't allow her to actually see who he was pointing to.
"He'll arrange you so we can best use your skills. I think that's everything. Alright, everyone to their places." The Captain said climbing down from the cart that was moved out of the way.
Sam made her way through the crowd until she made it to the Captain's side.
"Captain Vessel, my name is Sam and I'm a Beast Tamer. Where would you like me to go? I have a Grove Warden Wolf for defense, a Thunderstormclaw, Embercat, and two Shadowshade Panthers as damage dealers with the Panthers also being classified as a rogue class I guess, a Lesser Light Slime for healing, two Peakwing Eagles for scouting… so I can go just about anywhere."
The look of shock at the number of tames made Sam laugh to herself, if only he knew, she thought.
"Ah, yes. Well you're free to go wherever you like. Do you fight alongside your tames?" He asked " if not, you can join the archers on the wall. It would probably give the best sightlines to keep an eye on all of them."
"I fight with them unless the enemies are too far below my level. They work well independently and can be split up" Sam said.
"Syn can join the tanks, Tempy and Iggy the damage dealers, my eagles are already checking numbers and speed of the beasts coming. They might even give us an approximate power range. Jel can hang out with the healers. If you're willing to have a tiny blob of slime on you, he can give an over time healing buff. He also has some decent AOE skills, can regenerate limbs and such, within 18 minutes of the injury that is. Also some passives that will help." Sam explained, pointing to her little jiggly friend.
"Nox and Nyx kinda do their own thing from the shadows." Just then the eagles came back.
'Sam! Bad Men!' Oriin screeched 'Bad men lead hundreds with an ugly monster'
"Apparently there are hundreds of beasts coming, and they're being pushed here by a small group of men and an…ugly monster. Whatever that means." she relayed the message from Oriin.
After being thanked and giving a little more information on the waves' arrival, Sam turned to upgrading her beasts as she took her place amongst the damage dealers.
"Jarvis, is there a downside to… speed leveling my tames?"
{"The major downside is a proficiency decrease. With more skills to use there is less concentration and focus on one skill. Each level up also increases skill power by 20%. Essentially they will be a higher level, but with weaker skills.
If you like I can automatically upgrade their skills as they use them. Depending on how high you level them up, you should have enough SKP to advance their skills to an acceptable power range for their level."}
"Alright, I can live with that." She first leveled up the eagles. She also tossed them some air cores. While she managed to get them to lvl 8 they only evolved to the third stage. Still an amazing feat.
Just like when her other tames advanced in species stage, the two eagles were enveloped in a distinct glow. As they advanced they grew. Originally they could be comfortably carried on Sam's shoulder or forearm. Now they were larger than the golden eagles from earth.
Their wingspan stretched eight feet from tip to tip and they stood at least three feet on the ground. Their feathers also changed. They turned a glossy mix of black and browns. The feathers you would see if you looked up while they were flying, were all shades of cream and white. They would practically disappear in the sky.
Their new skills added some intriguing advantages to the group.
{Your tames, Thalen and Oriin have advanced to Stage three of their beast species - Stormcrest Avian
Your tames have gained the following skills:
Stage Two:
Active Skill – Wind Slash LVL 1
Sweeps forward with razor-edged feathers, damaging foes in a line.
Effect: Moderate wind damage (34 dmg) + Bleed (7hp/s - 5s) + minor knockback
Mana cost: 14MP | Duration 12 seconds Cooldown: 2 seconds | Range: 14 meters
Passive Skill – Sky Recon Protocol LVL 1
Scouting range extended; can tag enemies for allied focus.
Effect: +20% minimap range; auto-pings detected enemies to allies every 10 seconds
Stage Three:
Active Skill – Tempest Lunge LVL 1
Dives toward a marked area, creating a burst of wind to scatter enemies and reveal hidden units.
Effect: AoE Knockback + reveal invisibility/stealth for 7 seconds
Mana cost: 20MP | Duration 7 seconds Cooldown: 3 seconds | Range: 14 meters
Passive Skill – Storm Eye Focus LVL 1
Sharpens group tracking in open terrain or skies.
Effect: +20% accuracy to all ranged allies in range; reduces ranged skill cooldowns by 15%}
With the stat points available Sam added five to Strength and four to Vitality bringing both to ten points. With fifteen of the remaining twenty four available points left, she added five to Instinct bringing it to fifteen and the remaining ten she added to Vitality. With their health points at two hundred, Sam would still need to add a few vitality and health enchantments when she made their armor.
"Ok boys, I need you to fly over the archers and the mages, so we can put that new passive to work. Keep an eye on the wave and call out if any beast sneaks past."
'Okay Sam' they both communicated to her. Then they were off into the air. Each one lazily circling over half the group.
Sam wanted to keep her tames levels within the range suitable for taking on The Lab. If they advanced too quickly they would end up missing out on XP. She had a limit of around level 10-15. The next group of monsters would be around level 15 and up so she had to stay just below their levels to benefit from the XP bonus.
But she also didn't want to get her tames killed either.
So she'd have to get them as close to level fifteen as possible with her banked XP.
She made her way through the group. Syn, Tempy, Iggy, Nox and Nyx had all their skills so their level up was less dramatic than the eagles.
She got them up to level thirteen with twenty-eight STP and thirty-one SKP each. When done, their SKP were left for Jarvis to use as needed and their stats were adjusted too.
Syn: (S) - 14 → 23, (V) - 11 → 22, (W) - 11 → 15, (I) - 11 → 15
Tempest: (S) - 23 → 27, (V) - 23 → 35, (W) - 23 → 27, (I) - 22 → 30
Ignite: (S) - 23 → 26, (V) - 22 → 30, (W) - 21 → 30, (I) - 22 → 30
Nox: (S) - 10 → 18, (V) 16 → 20, (W) - 9 → 15, (I) - 10 → 20
Nyx: (S) - 10 → 18, (V) - 16 → 20, (W) - 9 → 15, (I) - 10 → 20
She left the skill point to Jarvis, telling him to focus on whichever skills he thought would benefit at the moment.
Now with over half the beast bank spent, the XP would go straight to that. Not that she couldn't use it, but she was in no hurry to advance further.
She had Jarvis deal with her own skills, telling him to upgrade her Beast Tamer skills first. To only notify her if she happened to level her class, as it would gain her new skills.
With everything set all they had to do was wait until the beast came within range.
The forest didn't empty all at once.
It spilled.
Creatures burst from between the trees in uneven clusters, some bounding, some crashing, others gliding low over the undergrowth before slamming into the defensive line.
No clean front.
No pause.
Just pressure from every direction the woods could offer.
First came the deer.
Cinderhoof deer thundered forward with smoldering shoulders and fire-veined hides, antlers branching into living charcoal that scraped sparks off shields. Among them ran Silverhides, lean and sharp, their flanks flashing with light-aspected muscle as they phased through gaps too small for normal beasts.
Then the forest sent its teeth.
Bramblejaw lynxes flowed out of the underbrush like shadows given claws, thorned fur tearing at armor as they leapt. Rootbound boars followed, tusks wrapped in knotted vine and stone, each charge ripping chunks out of the ground itself.
"Brace!" someone shouted.
The line absorbed the impact with a collective grunt.
Syn anchored the center, paws sinking into soil as vines erupted outward, tangling legs and antlers alike. A Frostmantle elk slammed into her barrier and skidded sideways, ice cracking off its shoulders as defenders finished it.
To Sam's left, the undergrowth moved.
Ash-Boars erupted from the bushes, bodies half-charcoal, half-flesh, heat rippling around them as they surfaced. One smashed into a shield wall, igniting cloaks and panic in equal measure.
"Iggy!" Sam called.
The Embercat answered in fire and motion, flames flaring along her feet as she bounded from beast to beast. Her tail snapped like a fuse as she exhaled, fire rolling down into an Ash-Boar's open maw. It collapsed with a hiss, embers guttering out.
Tempy followed like a thunderhead on claws.
Lightning cracked as she slammed into a knot of Silverhides, electricity leaping between their antlers and tearing them out of formation. Several dropped mid-stride, smoke curling from scorched fur.
Above it all, Thalen and Oriin circled.
Their Storm Eye Focus settled over the field like a tightening lens. Arrows struck truer. Skills stabilized faster. Even the chaos felt… guided.
"Movement in the canopy," Sam warned.
As if summoned by the words, Glimmerwing martens burst from the treetops, membrane-wings buzzing as they hurled themselves toward the backline, tails glowing with stored light. One detonated mid-air when a mage clipped it, showering the area in blinding sparks.
"Eyes up!" someone yelled, shielding their face.
Sam raised her shield just as a Mossback bear hit the line, its shoulders layered in living lichen and stone. The impact sent three people sprawling.
The Gelatinous Return rippled violently, rebounding enough force to stagger the beast, but not stop it.
Syn hit it head-on.
The wolf's jaws locked onto exposed muscle as roots burst from the earth, binding the bear's legs long enough for a halberd to punch through its throat.
{"Efficient,"} Jarvis noted. {"Messy, but efficient."}
Sam barely had time to nod before something small, fast, and furious launched itself at her face. She yelped as claws scrabbled across her cheek and a chittering, green-eyed blur latched onto her collar.
"A squirrel?" she shouted.
It hissed.
{"Ah,"} Jarvis said, delighted. {"The apex predator returns."}
Sam tore it loose and flung it aside just in time for Syn to snap it out of the air. The wolf spat and immediately turned back to the fight.
"Still counts as traumatic," Sam muttered, wiping blood from her cheek.
The pressure shifted suddenly.
Beasts at the rear surged harder, movement becoming jerky, unnatural. Antlers glowed.
Eyes dulled.
{"Compulsion spike,"} Jarvis said. {"Not instinct. Someone's yanking strings."}
It was then that Oriin's 'ugly monster's made an appearance. Some ungodly amalgamation of beasts. Ugly Monster was an apt description.
It was roughly humanoid in that it had two arms, two legs, a head and a torso. The major difference was this thing didn't have any matching parts. Well she was pretty sure both legs came from the same beast.
One arm was a massive claw, the original owner most likely a massive crab or lobster. The other arm was roughly the same length as the claw, but was almost skeletal. Ending in syth like fingers.
It's torso could only have come from a troll. The skin was a sickly greenish gray, with pebbled skin that was notorious for being difficult to cut. It's torso ended in scales legs, each foot ending in sharp claws.
If Sam didn't know any better she'd swear it came from a velociraptor… a very big one.
Now the head was the most shocking. Mainly because there were two. One was a wolf and the other was a bear.
Unfortunately for the rest of the beasts it didn't seem to care what side you were on, as it barreled through the rest, get in its way and you'd find that out the hard way.
Clearly not a natural beast, it had to have a Tamer or whatever was controlling it.
Sam followed Oriin's sharp cry to the treeline.
There.
Three men crouched low among the roots, one had hands glowing as they lashed magic into the herd. Around them skulked smaller beasts. Pebblehide foxes, bodies half-stone, darting in tight circles to intercept anything that got too close.
Sam broke sideways, slipping through a knot of combat as a defender's sword shattered against a bark-armored stag.
"Throw it!"
Mana Hands flared as she caught the broken blade, reforging it mid-run. She etched a quick reinforcement rune and tossed it back.
"Try again," she called.
She didn't slow.
The first handler turned too late.
Mana-Null ropes knotted into place, choking the skill from his hands and slamming him into the dirt. He screamed as the magic died.
The second raised something sharp and glowing. Iggy landed on him in a blaze of fire and claws. The glow went out.
The third ran.
Sam tackled him as Blood Echo surged through her veins, power burning hot as she pinned him face-down. Necrotic Touch blackened the earth inches from his cheek.
"Call them off," Sam said calmly. "Especially the big ugly one"
He did.
The change rolled through the battlefield like a breath released.
Beasts faltered. Some bolted. Others simply… stopped, confusion breaking their charge. The defenders surged, pushing the remaining animals back toward the trees. The monster stopped and turned to the man being tied up.
Rain began to fall.
Sam activated Healing Rain, blessed water washing over blood and scorch marks alike. Fighters gasped as wounds knit just enough to keep them upright.
When it was over, the forest was quiet again.
Broken.
Scarred.
But quiet.
Sam dragged the bound handler toward the line, breath heavy, heart still racing.
{"Two captured,"} Jarvis said. {"One unconscious. One squirrel victorious in spirit."}
"Please never log that," Sam replied.
She looked back at her tames, at the people standing with them instead of behind them.
The woods watched.
And somewhere deeper in the trees, something had learned not to underestimate villages anymore.