Final Tally

“You can feel something happening ahead?” Rowan asked Teri as they ran down the hallway.

“Yeah,” Teri nodded, her eyes narrowed, “I can sense heightened emotions from John and K’mels. I think they’re in trouble.”

Rowan tightened her grip upon her new sword as she suppressed the usual bitter feeling that welled up when someone displayed their magical talent. “That’s some range.”

Teri ducked her head down, ears drooping slightly. “It helps to have a strong connection to someone and that they’re feeling strong emotions. If they weren’t fighting, I wouldn’t sense anything.”

Rowan bit her lip. While brief, her experience with Newman showed him to be a decent warrior, one with a decent head on his shoulders. If he was being pressed, and in a way that implied being outmatched, then surely it meant whatever was up ahead was a threat.

“So it would be safe to assume they’ve run into one of the bosses,” Rowan said.

“I would say so. And…” Teri stopped short. “Vivian’s emotion’s just spiked too. And in the same direction. I think she and Ramirez just ran into them.”

A spark of fire lit up in Rowan, a desire to show Ramirez that she was capable. Before it could flare into an uncontrollable blaze, she took a breath, trying to temper her zeal.

Still emboldened, Rowan looked down at Teri. “We should hurry and try to find them.”

Teri nodded and the pair picked up the pace. It wasn’t long before they came to a door and Rowan threw it open. She quickly scanned over the large chamber, seeing Newman’s dark elemental fighting a construct while a second one was mostly up a flight of stairs, damaged by whatever Ramirez and Renoux had done a moment before they entered. Newman and his goblin partner stood a bit further away, their breathing giving her the impression that they had just defeated a third enemy.

Rowan managed to hold herself from just running down into the fray, trying to assess the situation as Ramirez would. However, Teri moved down the stairs, ready to jump into the fray and she couldn’t just let her face that last robot alone. Especially since their power would be cut if they got too far from each other.

Her heart began to race harder as they drew up to the robot fighting Newman’s elemental, raising her sword high to deliver a devastating overhand strike. The elemental threw one of her dark spikes at the machine then vanished right as it snapped its shield up to block the descending sword.

Rowan bit back a snarl of frustration as she pulled back. Then a small spark of satisfaction ran through her as she saw a crack running down the robot’s shield. Her eyes swept over the machine, noting several puncture wounds in its armor, courtesy of Newman’s summon.

‘It’s already injured,’ she thought, a grin making its way to her face. ‘And if I can break its guard, then one good strike should take it down.’

With a flare of mana, she sprang forward with greater power and swung her blade in a wide arc. Blade met shield with a crash and for a second, they were evenly matched. Then Rowan felt the warmth of Teri’s magic begin to course through her, and things began to tip in her favor, the shield slowly beginning to give.

As Teri attacked with her staff, splitting the robot’s attention, Rowan knew it was time to make a decisive blow. With a flare of mana to her arms, Rowan **** the machine to give ground and take a step back. As one step became two, then three, Rowan took the chance to break its defense.

She snapped back a step and lunged forward before the robot could adjust. With a strong thrust, she drove the tip of her sword past the shield and into the machine’s core, boosting her strength with one final surge of mana, nearly depleting her meager reserves. Her new sword punched through the robot’s cracked breastplate and emerged out of its back, stained with some kind of internal fluid.

The machine twitched for a few seconds then fell limp and disappeared, leaving its sash and sword behind. Rowan righted her posture, the fading adrenaline and depleted mana leaving her limbs heavy. Looking around the arena, she saw that Newman and K’mels had left and Ramirez and Renoux were proceeding down the stairs to meet them.

Pushing aside her weariness, Rowan brought herself to stand at attention and saluted her superior.

“At ease, squire,” the knight said with a curt nod. “That was an admirable effort, Donnelly. Though, I see you’ve swapped your weapon. Was that a choice or did you lose your sword?”

Despite knowing that this question would come, Rowan had to keep herself from withering under her mentor’s gaze, her gut twisting in anticipation of a dressing down.

“My sword was knocked from my grasp, Ma’am,” Rowan answered. “By the Lady’s Grace, it happened in a room with this blade on display. I was able to claim it without delay or harm to befall myself or Ms. Teri.”

“I see,” Ramirez remarked. “While I can’t say that getting disarmed is a preferred event on a mission, you look to have kept your head and remedied the situation without issue. Well done. We will have a full debrief once we get back to the manor.”

“O-of course, Ma’am,” Rowan said, the knot of anxiety abating. She hadn’t messed up too badly, as she believed Ramirez wouldn’t hesitate to let her know of her error, even with others in their company.

“We should get moving,” the knight declared. “While it seems that this was meant to be the final hurdle, there is no guarantee that there won’t be more enemies on the way out. It would be foolish to give them the chance to build up their forces.”

“Walking out together shouldn’t incur any penalties,” Teri said.

“I believe most of us are already incurring those penalties,” Ramirez cooly said, causing Renoux to shrink back a bit.

“What happened?” Teri asked as Ramirez led them to the exit.

“I distorted the vision of one of the bots before it could hit Senka,” Renoux revealed. “And I think Senka hit the one you were fighting right after you engaged it. So you guys might be the only ones to get points for beating the boss.”

“It will be interesting to see where the points fall, given the split teams in this case,” Ramirez said. “With how things transpired, the only group not getting any points for this fight was yours, Ms. Renoux.”

The redhead blushed. “As long as it only affects our chance at getting that extra prize, then I’m okay with that and I like to think so is John. And if it does impact what we win for your people, Teri, we’ll make it up to you somehow.”

Teri’s ears twitched and she bashfully looked away from the redhead. “You know that’d make the elders mad.”

“All the more reason to help,” Renoux replied with a light chuckle, one returned by the goblin a second later. “But hopefully that won’t be the case.”

“Only one way for us to know,” Ramirez said. “Let’s get out of here.”

“And there’s the rest of the players!” Announcer shouted as Vivian, Sofia, Teri and Rowan stepped through the doorway. “Now we can get this result show on the road!”

John smiled as they joined him and K’mels. “Any trouble getting out?”

“No, it was a clear path,” Sofia answered for the group. “I suppose they wanted an easy egress once the final enemies were dealt with.”

John nodded. “Yeah, that’s a common thing in games. A small reprieve after using all your resources against the boss.”

“It was much appreciated,” Sofia said. “A pity real engagements don’t have such niceties.”

“Enough chit-chat, players! It’s time for the tallies! Now, I’ll start with the bad news. Each team had transgressions in the final bout, so to get that out of the way, Team Purzonia gets no points as each half interfered. Team Order and Team Golmerk get points from one boss each for beating the last boss standing.”

John did his best to ignore K’mels sour glare, though he imagined it would have been far harsher had he not received any points.

‘I wonder how we lost our points?’ Senka mused. ‘Was it from having Candle try to snag the sash from the unactivated ones?’

‘You might have hit the one Rowan and Teri fought after they engaged it,’ John guessed. ‘We did run before we saw what happened with that last Black Thorn.’

“With that bit of housekeeping out of the way, let’s get to the numbers! To recap, going into this last round, Team Pruzonia had a narrow lead with 328 points, followed by Team Order at 324 and Team Golmerk at 323. This was anyone’s game to win. Let’s start with the winner of the last round, Team Order! You took out an impressive ten normal enemies between your two members. That earns you twenty points. And you retrieved four total bonus gear. Three of those were in the common tier, netting you three points each, but one was a rare drop, which is worth ten points. Since neither of you had to use your victory boon, we’ll give you a bonus ten points. And finally, for properly beating one boss, you get thirty points. For a game total of seventy-nine! And an overall total of four hundred and three!”

A scoreboard appeared in front of them with the Order’s point total displayed in the top position.

‘That’s the second lowest score for them,’ John thought, thinking back to the other rounds. ‘Round one and two really had higher point ceilings.’

‘Three cheers for the random sequence,’ Senka laughed. ‘Maybe if there was a set path, we would have done the maze or shopping game last.’

‘Suppose only Gaia knows,’ John thought back.

“Now, on to our next contestants, Team Golmerk! You also took out ten total normal enemies, for twenty points, found three pieces of normal gear for nine points, but managed to find two pieces of rare gear, so that’s twenty points. And you get one instance of beating a boss, so that’s thirty for a total of seventy-nine as well. Which puts your total score at four hundred and two!”

The Golmerk’s score appeared under the Order’s and John heard K’mels grind his teeth. It wasn’t hard to guess why. The bonus points the Order got for not needing their get out of jail free cards put them over by one point. And since he and Vivian wouldn’t be getting points for the boss fights, there likely wasn’t any way they were winning.

“Last but certainly not least, Team Pruzonia! You took out a walloping fourteen enemies for twenty-eight points, found four regular pieces of gear for twelve points and one piece of rare gear for ten. Since both members interfered in the boss fights, they get no points for them, so their total for the game is fifty and for the whole day is three hundred and seventy-eight!”

As their score appeared on the board at the bottom, the announcer continued, “Which means, our overall winners and the proud new owners of the Gold Experience Potion are Team Order! Let’s give it up for these lovely ladies!”

The sound of applause came from all around them as the glowing flask appeared in front of Sofia and the knight gently took it into her hands, holding it with care.

“Of course the real winners today are the good folk of Clan Golmerk. All the supplies and other goodies will be delivered upon your return to their settlement. And with that, the game is done. You don’t need to go home, but you can’t stay here. Goodbye and Good Buy!”

There was a sudden shift in reality and the mall atrium setting morphed into a copy of the section of woods outside of the entrance to Pruzonia. In the same instant, a display popped up in front of John’s eyes.

Quest Complete - Necessities Shopping
The games are done and the spoils are won. Don’t feel too bad about losing, I’ve got a nice consolation prize for you: A level up, for both you and Senka, along with a few skill ups as well!

Level Up!
Five Stat Points Gained.

Skill Level Up: Evocation Lv. 6.
Skill Level Up: Spirit Link Lv. 4.
Skill Level Up: Thaumaturgy Lv. 6.
Skill Level Up: Large Blade Proficiency Lv. 6. Damage increased from 9% -> 10%.

‘Well, those are nice prizes,’ John thought as he dismissed the displays. A quick manifestation of his character sheet soured his mood slightly. ‘But it looks like that level up was just gaining exp to reach the tipping point, not a free one on top of the exp from everything we’ve fought today.’

‘Can’t win them all,’ Senka remarked. ‘At least with level ups, we can boost up immediately.’

‘Fair point,’ John thought then looked at Teri and K’mels. “Well, all that’s left is the delivery. How do you guys want us to do that? Everyone shows up and helps or just get everything summoned and leave it to your people to handle?”

Before either goblin could answer, Sofia spoke up, “I feel now would be the appropriate time to mention that, in order to foster cordial relations, the Lord Protector has authorized us to provide whatever aid is needed to bring this task to an end. If you wish for us to assist, we will readily oblige.”

Teri opened her mouth to speak but K’mels took a step in front of her, cutting her off. “That would be something for the elders to decide,” he said tersely. “They don’t know about this extended offer or how the spoils are to be delivered.”

“Then we will wait for their judgment and depart if they wish us to,” Sofia replied.

K’mels gave the knight a tight nod then Sofia turned to John. “Before we go, I would like to ask a favor of you, Mr. Newman.”

“Um, sure? What do you need?” John asked, confused a bit by the sudden formality.

“While we’re still a part of your party, I would like you to use your scrying ability on this potion and the sword Donnelly procured,” Sofia requested. “They will, of course, be analyzed by our artificers and enchanters, but I know they will be curious to know what your powers say about them.”

“Yeah, that won’t be a problem,” John said, curious himself over what the potion really did. Learning what Rowan’s sword could hide was just an added bonus. Focusing on the potion as Sofia held it to him, John cast Observe.

Gold Experience Potion
Legendary
Made of only the finest ingredients and blessed by Gaia herself, this potion greatly bolsters the experience gained by the drinker and fortifies their ability to remain active. But perhaps its greatest effect is its ability to refill itself.

Attributes: Endless Cup, Enhanced Fortune, Titan Fortitude, Indestructible

Endless Cup: The keyed liquid within will slowly refill once it has been drained, at a rate of 5% volume per day.

Enhanced Fortune: The drinker of this potion will find the growth of their skills, bodily strength and mental abilities greatly increased after imbibing. Duration of the effect depends upon the amount consumed, with the whole potion lasting 10 hours.

Titan Fortitude: The drinker’s endurance will be greatly enhanced, enabling them to function at peak level. Duration of the effect depends upon the amount consumed, with the whole potion lasting 10 hours.

Indestructible: This object cannot be destroyed by any mortal means.

John had expected the potion to have crazy effects, and while it did, the lack of hard numbers were a bit of a disappointment. He watched as Soifa read this display, her sharp eyes dancing across the screens.

“Certainly promises a lot,” she murmured as she shifted her eyes back to the potion. “If your scrying is accurate, then this will be a great boon. Now, the sword. Donnelly, if you will?”

Rowan dutifully lifted her newly acquired sword up. John flashed her a quick smile then focused on the weapon, missing the slight color that rushed to the squire’s cheeks.

Lah’men Relic Blade
Rare
A weapon of the dwarven Lah’men clan of Olnaght. Forged to serve during their endless war against the Vel’tsh, it is inscribed with runes that ensure its wielder's experiences can be passed to the next to use it.

Attributes: Runic Recordings, Purpose Built, Legacy of Conflict (5)

Runic Recordings: The memories of this weapon’s former users are preserved within the script inscribed upon it, allowing the current wielder to draw upon their knowledge of war.

Purpose Built: This weapon was made with one goal in mind: the destruction of the Vel’tsh. When facing them or their allies, the wielder’s physical stats are increased by 50%.

Legacy of Conflict: Echoes of past victories cling to this weapon, each granting a 1% increase to physical ability. They fade at a rate of 1 per hour; the decay resets upon the defeat of an enemy.

“Donnelly, did you experience anything when using this?” Sofia asked once she had read the displays, sharp eyes laser focused on her squire.

“There were a few moments where I had flashes of inspiration that changed how I was fighting,” Rowan reported. “I did not feel any increase in my strength, though.”

“A small boost might be hard to notice, especially in the heat of combat,” John said.

“Plus, I was using my empowerment,” Teri added. “Any small boost you got could have been overwhelmed by my magic.”

Sofia remained silent for a moment, then nodded. “Donnelly, you may keep possession of it for now, but will submit it for inspection when we return to the manor.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Rowan said with a bowed head.

“If you’re done, we should get moving,” K’mels interjected. “If the elders are going to allow your continued assistance, they won’t want it to take the rest of the day if it can be helped.”

“Indeed, we should get moving,” Sofia smoothly said before nodding to John. “Lead the way.”