Azure: Gunner

Earning a new Tier rewards you with a significant boost in power. No, you don’t get a huge bump in Stats the way you do at Levels 5, 15, and so on, but there’s all kinds of other good shit! Keep in mind that all of this is a long way off for any of you baby Delvers, so don’t get too fucking excited just yet. You aren’t likely to reach Tier 1 until close to graduation from the Academy.

The biggest decision and most awesome part of Tiering Up is that you’ll get to choose a Class. The System will give you a limited set of choices, of course, but hey – that’s not nothing. You’ll be given a set of one to three Class Evolution choices and one Class Refinement.

A Class Evolution will take you down a ‘new’ path, though with varying degrees of divergence. A Refinement stays much closer to your previous path – basically, it should make you better at what you’re already good at.

Actually, let me rephrase. A Refinement gives you the chance to improve on your current strengths, and an Evolution gives you a chance to develop in new areas.

Neither of them means shit if you’re not willing to put in the work. The System does not reward coasting or sloth. For that, you need a trust fund.

- Delver’s Guild Handbook, Section 2.8 – “Tiers”

My consciousness returned slowly, in fits and starts. I drifted in and out of awareness, hearing voices that didn’t always make sense. There was a lot of shouting, and I remember telling PAST to shut the fuck up and let me rest. It was quiet after that, and I slipped away again.

I woke with a start, sitting up. Or at least, I tried to sit up. Nothing happened, and I panicked, a sound that definitely wasn’t a whimper escaping my lips. My eyes felt glued shut, but I couldn’t reach up to rub them.

“What…” my voice was hoarse, as if it hadn’t been used in a while.

I heard a thump, then a familiar voice.

“Az! Are you awake? Can you understand me?!”

It was Wolf’s voice, and I tried to nod in response. Nothing happened.

“Why… can’t I… move?” I whispered, my mind stumbling as I searched for an explanation.

I felt like my heart should be racing, but I could feel it beating slow and steady as if nothing was wrong. No, something was obviously wrong, and my body felt weird. Strange, in some way I couldn’t define, aside from the part about not being able to move. At least I could feel sheets under me, and knew I was in a bed somewhere, presumably back in the Academy.

“Az, are you there?!” Wolf’s voice came again, and I realized I’d drifted off for a moment.

“Yeeshh,” I replied, “where else would… I… be?”

He laughed like I was joking.

“Don’t worry, Lydia will be here in a moment. You can’t move because of her Spell, you were thrashing around in your sleep and she was worried you’d hurt yourself.”

“How… long?” I asked finally. “Team… ok?”

“Eight days,” he answered, “and everyone’s alive. I’ll go get them as soon as Lydia arrives.”

Even in my addled state I noticed he didn’t say they were OK, but I mostly felt overwhelming relief.

“What… happened?” I asked, trying to remember.

I could remember seeing the sky falling on me, but surely that was some kind of fever dream, right? I was pretty sure the sky couldn’t really fall.

“The Dungeoneer died while you were inside the dungeon,” Wolf responded in a grim tone. “There was nothing Lydia could do, he was just too fucking old. From what I saw before the projection stopped, and what your team said, it appears his death triggered the collapse of the dungeon. The moment the last of you were out, it vanished.”

“Oh,” was the only thing that came to mind. Then I added, “dead gods,” for good measure.

Before Wolf could respond I heard the door open and then a cool hand touched my forehead.

“She seems OK, at least as much as can be expected. Thank the angels! Az, I’m going to remove the block on your movement, but I don’t want you to try anything just yet. You’ve been in that bed for over a week and barely eaten or drunk anything. You need fluids first, and no stress. Wolf! Where do you think you’re going?” she added sternly.

The footsteps stopped, and she continued. “You can tell the others she’s awake and NOT TO BE BOTHERED! Understood? No one is to enter without my approval! Now get out of here and come back with a bowl of broth! Move!”

I felt a tingle of magic, and then my eyes tried to crack open, revealing nothing but a blur of light. I started to reach up and rub the gunk out, but my arms just flopped around weirdly and Lydia hissed at me to stop. I obeyed, frightened despite the Healer’s presence, and was about to ask her what was wrong with me when I felt her head cup the back of my neck.

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She gently lifted my head, and the color of the light shifted as I was moved. I felt the mouth of a bottle press against my lips, and she tipped it just enough to let some water out. I swallowed greedily, then whined as she pulled it away far too soon.

“Patience,” she advised me, “let’s get that broth in you first. You need nutrients as well as hydration, but I don’t want to give you too much and have you throw it right back up. Just a few minutes, OK?”

“Can’t see,” I grumbled, definitely not pouting.

The Healer lowered my head and a few seconds later I felt a damp cloth cover my face. I closed my eyes as she wiped at them gently, then tried to open them again. This time my eyelids responded to my orders, and my eyes blinked open. I shut them tight again a moment later, blinded, then tried again more slowly. The stone ceiling above me gradually came into focus, along with the Healer’s face.

“Better?” she asked, and I nodded weakly.

“Why does my body feel… wrong?” I asked, my voice tight with fear. “I remember… I’m not sure… my arm? It was… gone?”

To her credit, the Healer didn’t bullshit me.

“Your right arm was severed a few inches above the elbow,” she confirmed. “Cleanest cut I’ve ever seen, too. I’ve Healed you, of course, but I’m afraid there was significant, ah, corruption. I’m sorry, Az,” she added with a grim expression.

“I take full responsibility for your injuries. Did Elias tell you about the Dungeoneer?”

When I nodded slightly, she continued.

“I did everything I could to help him hang on, but… Father Time is undefeated, the old saying goes. I’m afraid that at the end of the day, I’m still only Tier 3. Perhaps a more powerful Healer could have stabilized him long enough for you to finish the dungeon… I don’t know. I should never have let Thompson send you into the dungeon with him in that condition!”

She finished with emphasis, and I felt my eyes drift closed.

Fucking Thompson… That scheming… schemer. Shit, I’m too tired to even come up with decent insults!

A few dozen seconds later I realized I still hadn’t responded.

“I doubt you could have stopped her,” I finally whispered.

The Healer winced, then blew out a long breath.

“Maybe not, but I should have tried,” she said softly.

I shrugged uneasily, then winced as I felt the feeling of wrongness again. It felt like… my shoulders didn’t match anymore. They weren’t moving together like they should.

“What’s… changed? The corruption,” I added in case it wasn’t clear.

Lydia’s face took on a professionally bland expression before she replied.

“Your eyes have changed more,” she began. “Additionally, your right arm, and portions of the right side of your torso, have… grown.”

“Grown?” I whispered nervously. The eyes were to be expected, but my body? I was scared to find out, I realized in surprise. I had thought I was OK with the idea of being corrupted before – I honestly really liked the way my eye looked – but the knowledge that my body had changed shook me. It was somehow worse that it had happened when I was asleep.

The Healer nodded, then stood. She disappeared from my sight for a moment, and I heard her soft footsteps. When she returned, she was carrying several pillows. She helped me to a sitting position, propping me up with the pillows. I looked down at my body in confusion as she lifted my left arm from under the sheets and laid it down on my lap, then my right.

My right arm was noticeably thicker than my left. Not like G’hala’s or anything, I wouldn’t have been able to miss that even without looking, but the size difference was readily apparent. It looked a bit more muscular, more developed, than my left arm. And… my chest was lopsided too. The soft blue shirt I was wearing – which I didn’t recognize, but that was the least of my concerns – was pushed out a bit more on the right than the left.

I let my head fall back against the pillows, my breathing fast and shallow. You’re OK Az, it’s no big deal. No tentacles or anything from what I can see. Not even any scales or fur! It could be much worse!

“My arm is… stronger now?” I asked weakly, hoping for a silver lining.

“Likely,” the Healer confirmed. “It’s also approximately one inch longer than your left arm, at the moment. And while your arm changed the most, the effect extends into your shoulder and torso as well, to a lesser degree.”

“I’m… lopsided,” I said bemusidly.

Further conversation was interrupted by Wolf’s return, bearing the bowl of broth and a bit of bread. I sat and suffered as Lydia spoon fed me. It wasn’t my fault my arms weren’t working properly, though. My mind whirled as I ate mechanically, the Healer not giving me a chance to ask a question until I’d finished the bowl. Feeling slightly bloated, I waited for her to wipe my lips with a napkin.

This isn’t humiliating at all!

“Why so much corruption?” I finally asked. “Did I… die?”

It was the only thing I could think of. I was higher Level than the dungeon for fuck’s sake. The mana density there shouldn’t have been high enough to do this to me. The only thing I knew of that would account for such rapid, dramatic changes would be if I had died and been revived.

“No,” Lydia said firmly, shaking her head. My eyes widened in disbelief as she continued. “Your teammates got a tourniquet on your arm and carried you to the portal. You never died, but I understand the confusion. We’re… not exactly sure of the details, but… perhaps it's best for you to start by checking your Status.”

I blinked in confusion, then did as she asked. Inspect.

“What in the name of all the motherfucking angels?” I burst out, ignoring the rest of it. “Level 10? And what the fuck is a CQS? How?! WHAT IN THE WASTES?!”

I tried to sit up straight to better express my outrage, but Lydia was there, pushing me gently back into the pillows. It was Wolf that answered.

“My best guess, and it’s only a guess, is that when the dungeon collapsed all the Essence it contained had to go… somewhere. Everyone on your team gained a full Level or more, even Tara – despite her having just reached Level 7 before the collapse started. She’s 8 now. The Essence transfer was so intense that several of your teammates passed out shortly after exiting the portal,” he said in a tight voice.

“But… I’m Level 10 now?” I whispered. “My Class changed… I don’t remember that! I don’t remember picking a new Class! What the fuck even is a CQS!? It sounds stupid!”

Wolf exchanged glances with Lydia, and the Healer took up the explanation.

“I’ve never heard of someone Tiering Up without knowing it,” she admitted. “But there are stories about people Leveling while unconscious. I’ve written to HQ asking for more information, hopefully a more senior Healer there can help. Perhaps you should ask the System?”

I groaned and closed my eyes. The last thing I wanted to do right then was deal with PAST, but unfortunately her suggestion was all too reasonable.

“PAST, what the fuck happened? How did I Tier Up, what is a CQS, and WHY IN THE NAME OF ALL THE DEAD GODS DON’T I REMEMBER ANY OF IT?!”

[WELCOME BACK, CQS ZIMMERMAN! I AM SO GLAD TO HEAR THAT WE ARE ON SPEAKING TERMS AGAIN!]