Azure: Gunner

Several Researchers have attempted to catalog the complete set of optional functionality available for purchase through the System. Regardless of whether they nominally succeeded, no satisfying theory has yet been presented which explains the System’s motivations.

It does not take an advanced degree to understand that giving every person access to a Class weapon and a personal spatial storage system are benefits vastly more deserving of compensation than simple administrative functions like name changes.

- Rufus Veres, Level 29 Prolix Historian, Oddities of the System

[Done, CQS Azure! One eagle has been deducted from your account!]

Well, that’s… better. Slightly better, anyway.

Between the shotgun shells I’d used in the initial fight, and the fifteen mana I’d poured into my blunderbuss – plus Pierce and some infused shots – my mana was hurting. Good thing I had so much more than I used to.

Mason appeared out of thin air next to me, and I cursed in surprise. One moment there was nothing but an empty patch of rock, then suddenly it was occupied by the tall, muscular Delver. He smirked at me as I gaped at him.

“Report, Specialist,” he ordered.

I froze for a moment. Specialist? That sounds pretty good!

“Hey PAST, can you call me Specialist instead of CQS?!”

[It shall be done, Specialist Azure!]

Mason cleared his throat, and I hurried to answer his original order. When I was finished summarizing the fight, he looked at the cave, now almost blocked by the body of the quadrosaur.

“Is the cave cleared?” he asked, and I flinched internally. I did not want to go in there to check. Or even to ask Raylan to do it.

Wait a minute, do we really need to?

“Does it need to be, si – uh, Mason?” I challenged, almost forgetting that he hated being called ‘sir’ despite the fact that he was obviously in charge.

He answered with a raised eyebrow, and I rushed to explain.

“I mean, if there’s anything in there, it didn’t come out when Tara Roared, or when my blunderbuss went off, or when the monster howled. I don’t think anything that might still be hiding in there would come out later and chase us down, right? Unless we’re stopping here for the night?”

“No, we’ll continue. Very well, Azure, carry on.”

We waited for H’ruk to Level Up, gathering around in surprise when he received the largest System chest I’d ever seen. The Fire Mage opened it with obvious excitement, only to frown as he pulled out an enormous wooden shield. The Wasted thing almost looked like a fucking door, it was so oversized. It had to be five and a half feet tall and three and a half feet wide, and was reinforced with steel.

“Ooohh, it’s so big!”

The salacious remark came from Rhyme, unsurprisingly, as the elf sauntered over to H’ruk with wide, insincere eyes.

“Can I… touch it?” they continued, and my friend flushed under the force of the admittedly-beautiful elf’s teasing.

“Hey! He’s taken!” I interjected, stepping in between the two of them.

“I… what?!” H’ruk sputtered, and I kept going.

“That’s right! He’s my personal mobile cover! I bet I can Tactical Reposition behind this thing!”

“You may have the shield, if you want it, Azure,” H’ruk offered, and I laughed.

“Does it look like I could lift that thing?! No, it’s much better if you use those big muscles to carry it for me!” I looked up into my friend’s dark eyes and blinked exaggeratedly, reaching up to poke at his bulging biceps.

That’s flirting, right? It was cute when Maria did it to me!

My team erupted in laughter, and Rhyme joined in, seemingly amused by my interruption. Tara seemed especially entertained, and I gave her a fake-angry glare.

<Dead gods, Az, you are the worst at flirting!> she said over the Comms, miming poking G’hala in the biceps while batting her eyelashes, then burst out in giggles again.

Like a proper leader, I turned to Mason and, ignoring the Defender, told him we were ready to go. It turned out H’ruk’s massive shield came with an enchantment that made it easier to store in his Inventory. Otherwise, I’m sure he would have left it behind, and I would have been sad. I was looking forward to trying out the mobile fortress.

We continued further up into the hills and the mana density kept increasing. Mason finally had us pull back our Scouts, instead sending Haldred ahead. It was too risky to leave G’hala and Raylan out in front any longer.

We fought once more that day, against a Level 16 quadrosaur that we took on only after Haldred wounded it first. It wasn’t much of a fight against a creature with a severed hamstring, but even the reduced Essence did its job and Raylan and Zaire both reached Level 10.

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I was super excited for my friends to join me in Tier 1 and definitely not jealous that they were actually going to get to pick their new Classes. Unfortunately, that hardass Mason made us wait as he drove the team further into the hills. We entered a Tier 2 zone, and he pushed us right through it, the Tier 4s taking care of the monsters we encountered. Mostly, we didn’t even get a chance to see them before they were dead.

Mason and Haldred both were ranging around and ahead of the rest of us now, clearing the way. We climbed out of our original ravine and through and over some others, scrambling up steep slopes at times. There was hardly any trace of a trail, and it seemed obvious that the only ones using our path were the occasional monsters or animals. When we finally stopped for the night it was at a cave which had obviously been occupied until our arrival.

No trace was left of the previous owners except for the stench, which Phyx immediately dealt with. When Mason announced that the Tier 4s would be taking the watch, we immediately gathered around Raylan and Zaire. They were finally free to sit down and begin the Tier-Up process. Raylan was the first to report his options.

“I can choose between Assassin, Rogue, and Fighter,” he said, looking at Mason as if for guidance.

The Black Razor just looked back at him expectantly, and Raylan blew out a breath before summarizing what we’d learned about those Classes back in, well, class.

“The Assassin is focused on Stealth and first-strike offence, the Fighter is the best pure combatant of the three, and the Rogue is somewhere in the middle.”

We all nodded, agreeing with his recollection, before I asked what Skills each one got.

“Both Assassin and Rogue give Stealth first. Fighter gives Parry.”

Both Stealth and Parry were good, solid Skills. Anyone could learn to sneak around, of course, but the Stealth Skill could make it supernaturally effective. Similarly, we all knew how to parry an incoming blow, but the Skill would let Raylan deflect blows otherwise too strong for his lightweight daggers. Raylan let us all give him our thoughts before he made up his mind.

I voted for Assassin. Not because it sounded cool, but in part because I was still worried about Yuri coming after me. What better defence could there be against one Assassin than having an even better one on my side? It was selfish, I knew, but I also trusted Raylan would pick the one he really wanted no matter what we said.

He decided on Rogue, opting for the more balanced approach and Stat distribution. His Level Up chest contained a Level 10 booster, just like the one I’d gotten unexpectedly from PAST. He applied it to his helmet, reasoning that keeping his brain safe was the best option. He didn’t frequently use any backup weapons other than his pistol, which was already Level 15. His throwing knives were more of a training tool than anything else, and a few Levels wouldn’t change that much.

Our attention then turned to Zaire, only to find the manaborn already had his System chest sitting in front of him. He removed the booster from it and used it on his own helmet as we all gaped at him. When he was done, Zaire gave us all a calm smile.

“I have selected Earth Mage, the Class Refinement option. It was the only one that gave Unbreakable as the first Skill,” he explained.

Unbreakable was a highly desired Skill for Earth Mages, I remembered from Zenia’s classes. It made all of their conjurations tougher and more resistant to damage. Considering how often higher-Level monsters had been able to break through Zaire’s walls, I understood the appeal. It would also help prevent his spikes from shattering on their scales or armor, if I recalled correctly.

“I have also unlocked an Aspect,” the – upgraded – Earth Mage continued.

“Awesome! What is it?”

“The Aspect of the Student,” Zaire reported with a smile. “It grants the Skill Concentration, and one point in Acuity per Level!”

I was excited for him to get the Skill – if I’d been given the choice, I would have liked to give him that Skill gem I’d gotten from Yuri. Sure, if Yuri had one more suited for my Class I would have kept it without an ounce of guilt, but the truth was that Zaire would make far better use of the Skill than I did.

My infusion mod had been awesome back when I’d first gotten it. Sadly, now that I knew the limitations, it was more of an excuse to practice runes than anything really capable in a fight. Breadtiles were still fucking fun, though!

Just like that, almost half of the team was in Tier 1. Nearly lost in the excitement, Jayce had reached Level 9, matching the orcs.

Breaker was on watch as we ate a simple dinner of rations and jerky, sitting around the soft glow of a pair of mana lamps. Rhyme finished eating before most of us, and the slender elf rose to their feet dramatically. Everything Rhyme did was dramatic, after all.

“It is a sacred tradition among my people that – ,“ they began, only to be cut off by booing from my team. We’d learned our lesson about elven ‘traditions’, after all.

“Fine,” the elf amended, crossing their arms… crossly. “It is my own sacred practice that such a momentous occasion be commemorated in the grandest of traditions. Behold!”

They unfolded their arms, gesturing dramatically, as we all looked around, unsure what we were supposed to be beholding. Then I realized they were holding a small, diamond-shaped crystal about an inch tall in one of their palms. I had no idea what it was. Identify.

(Item: Song Crystal – blank)

“A blank song crystal?” someone asked dumbly, and – oh shit, that was me…

The elf turned a baleful stare at me.

“It will not be blank for long!” they stated grandly. “For now, I will demonstrate to you the most bamboozling Bard Skill of them all, the true pinnacle of power, the crème of creativity, that dulcet delight – the Theme Tune! The Signature Song! The Definitive Ditty! The Main Melody!”

Mason let out a bored sigh, while the lovely Phyx clapped excitedly. The Air Mage was leaning against him, seemingly content to ignore the way he sat like a stone, not returning her half-embrace. Speaking for myself, I was only following half the words that came out of the elf’s mouth. Everything became clear when Rhyme broke out into song, using a soft baritone.

“Raylan walks where shadows creep

No hero’s cape, no time for sleep!

Twin blades flash, a lightning strike

With a grin, he ends the fight!”

The Bard’s right hand was dancing through the air as if playing an invisible stringed instrument. And whether through magic or Skill, the sound came. Then they added the left hand, and the sound of a drum kicked to life.

“As he smiles, sharp and sly

Knives whisper – you will die"

I sat, entranced, along with my team, as the Bard performed. They broke into the chorus with a grin.

“Fangs and claws, they lunge, they roar

But Raylan’s danced this dance before!

One knife for truth, one knife for lies

Both sing songs of their goodbyes!”

I cheered excitedly with most of the group – Mason notably excepted – when the Bard finished. With a flourish, they presented the sound crystal to Raylan. When the now-Rogue channeled mana into it, the sound of the song emerged softly. It took Jayce a few tries to cast Amplify Sound, but when they got it right Raylan was able to place the crystal into the area of effect and the song poured out at full volume.

We eagerly petitioned Rhyme for more, but the Bard claimed his ‘superlative Skill’ could only be used once a day. Whatever the fuck a ‘superlative’ was, I had enjoyed the song. Tomorrow it would be Zaire’s turn.

Raylan's Dance