Chapter 98 – The Calm Before the Storm
Chapter 98 - The Calm Before the Storm
”There’s only so much training they can do. At some point, they have to apply what they’ve practiced, so they can improve through actual combat and encounters.” ~Shallies Mythernal”Before you all choose the next set of Skills you want to inherit, I should probably mention a rule that I left out last time,” Shallies began. Evening had settled in. She had finished training Yoshelle and was now training her actual students on nurturing their Stellar Mana. Before they had started, however, the three asked if they could inherit more Skills now that they had Apprentice Proficiency on the first set.
“Why didn’t you mention it last time?,” Tayin asked.
“Because none of you had any previous experience about inheriting a Skill, and also because the fact that you can inherit almost any Skill from me is actually more harmful than helpful, if you think about it.”
“Eh?” The halfling turned to Ren, who she relied on to make confusing things simple.
“If Shallies wanted to, she could have us inherit Skills that are meant for when we get to our Favored Class,” he explained, catching on quicker than the others.
“Oh, I see!” Grace said, finally piecing the puzzle. “Getting them earlier than we’re supposed to might cause an imbalance.”
Shallies scratched her head. “Technically, it’ll be fine if you learn a Skill one ascension early. So if you want a Hero Skill from your Class, it’s technically fine. If you want, you can even inherit a Skill or two from the other alternative branch of your Class Ascension. Again, technically, there’s nothing wrong with those.”
“You’re stressing that word a little too much there, Shallies,” Tayin said, catching the obvious. “What is it really?”
“There’s nothing wrong with it,” Shallies started. “Ren and Grace are right. Jumping two ascensions will cause an imbalance. Even if you can cover the mana requirements of those Skills, they’re still too powerful for you to control. But if we’re stepping one ascension lower, your training should be able to make it work. I just don’t really like letting my students inherit Skills that are specifically tied into their Classes.
“So here’s the rule: I’d like you to choose from the General Category Skills, or a specific Skill from your alternative Class instead.”
“That’s Armament Knight for me,” Ren said, rubbing his chin. “That’s definitely interesting.”
“Elemental Mage for me,” Tayin added.
“Spellslinger Blade for me, then,” Grace added last. “You said a unique Skill, just for it, right?”
“Yep,” Shallies confirmed. “Each Class route has a number of specific Skills set for them. Since none of you can get your alternative Class Ascensions anymore, inheriting them will be the best way to get close to that. It’ll also increase your versatility. You can even consider their Hero Class Skillsets. And you can also choose from your second Class branches, of course. Don’t forget about them.”
“That’s still a hefty list, then,” Ren said, opening his System Console. “Might take me a while to choose.”
“I’m pretty sure I’ll be the last one to decide again,” Grace intervened. She sighed.
“Well, there’s no need to rush,” Shallies reminded them. “You guys might want to concentrate more on your current training and the upcoming raid first. The Skills can wait.”
“In that regard, I still have no idea how we’re supposed to nurture our own Stellar Mana,” Tayin commented. “We don’t have to be meditating with The Perpetual Method in order to do that, right?”
“Nope,” Shallies replied. “Not a requirement. And while nurturing your own Stellar Mana is the final goal, that’s not what I wanted you to do first, remember?”
“Oh, right! We have to tap into your Divine Authority,” said the halfling.
“There’s one more before that.”
This time, Tayin turned to Ren again.
“Oh, I don’t remember either,” he said, clutching his temple. “I was so sure you said we needed to tap into your Divine Authority.”
“We need to sense Stellar Mana first!” Grace said, jumping in place.
“That’s the one,” Shallies said, pointing at the half-orc. “Good job, Grace.”
Stachie confirmed the Good Job Experience Points without making much of a fanfare.
“So sensing…” Ren started, falling into deep thought. “Basically it’s like Scanning?”
“Exactly! Good job, Ren!”
“If that’s the case, then how do we Scan for it?” Tayin asked before jumping in surprise of her own enlightenment. “We Scan for Divine Authority! Or is it energy? We look for anything that has to do with the Divine!”
“Yes!” Shallies exclaimed. “Good job, Tayin!”
After Stachie gave the corresponding Good Job Experience Points, the three tapped into their Mana-Affinity Attributes while using the Scan Skill. Shallies, being the closest Divine Entity to them, didn’t mind standing in the middle as their subject of observation. This would be the quickest way for them to sense Stellar Mana. And once they were able to do so, they would’ve achieved the first step into nurturing their own.
The entire evening went, however, without any of them having a breakthrough.
The next few days had been a routine. Shallies would serve breakfast, then she would train her students. Come lunch time, Yoshelle would appear with a bunch of people from The Gaiamaxims Guild. Some were new, but mostly they were returning customers who liked her cooking. After that, she would train Yoshelle with The Perpetual Method while Apple took care of the tavern.
During the evening, her students would return to train and attempt to nurture their Stellar Mana. Of course, none of the three had made any headway on that part of the task.
Still, Shallies was proud of them. Neither Grace, nor Tayin, nor Ren complained during their training. Frustrated, sure, but they had absolute trust in their mentor.
On the morning before Thrush’ven Alir crossed the Same-Plane Rift, Shallies broke their routine. She allowed her students to rest, thankful that the upcoming raid decided to wait until the final moment instead of breaching through the portal with brute force.
“The guild decided to do the same,” Grace started as she lounged on one of the tables at the bar. Chippy was with her this time around, since Apple was doing some final preparations to protect the flora and fauna around the Rift.
“Bored?” Shallies asked. Her student was spending the time playing with her phoenix while meditating using The Perpetual Method. She didn’t bother asking the half-orc to stop, since the entire point of that particular method was to be able to use it effortlessly, even resting while doing it.
“Sort of,” Grace admitted. “I get the point behind the decision, I just don’t have other things to do if I’m not training, I guess.”
Evidently, Ren and Tayin were nowhere to be seen. Shallies didn’t even have to engage her Focus or look into her Divine Authority to know that the two were on a date.
“Well, I’m about to get some customers,” she started. “You can either help out, or just chill in here. Your choice.”
“Can’t I ask Valor’el or Phey’lan to spar with me?” Grace asked. “Maybe Arun’dul wants to test his mana-control?”
“They’re with Apple.”
“Oh, I could’ve joined them.” The half-orc sighed, slumping on the bar. Chippy hopped on her shoulder and sat. “I guess I’ll help out around here then.”
“Good. You can start by asking our new guest to take a seat.”
Shallies headed towards the kitchen, impressed that her student was now so used to her shenanigans that sensing others arriving was no longer a surprise. Immediately, Grace hopped off her chair and allowed Chippy to properly balance on her shoulder before heading towards the door.
“Grandma Tibeth!” exclaimed the half-orc. “Welcome! Please, take a seat.”
“I wonder why she chose today of all days,” Shallies whispered while she prepared her kitchen. She wasn’t exactly doing it to impress the owner of The Swallowing Whale, but she didn’t want to disappoint either.
With a cup of tea, the Chef went out of the kitchen to serve Tibeth and Amabelle.
“I wasn’t expecting a civilian to bless my tavern today,” she started. “Madam Tibeth, Grace here has shared some wonderful things about you. My name is Shallies and I’m the tavernkeeper of The Adventurer’s Beginning. It’s an honor to finally meet you in person.”
Shallies genuinely believed that whoever came up with the idea of calling the owner of the only other tavern in Cinterbrim Province ‘Grandma Tibeth’ had some eyesight issues. Said lady didn’t even display enough wrinkles on her face to start accusing her of being elderly. And while the Godkiller was curious about her customer’s real age, she didn’t want to peek at the truth using her Divine Authority or any of her Skills.
“Well, with everyone in town gone for the evacuation, I finally got some free time on my hands,” said Tibeth.
“You were supposed to be evacuating as well, Grandma. Remember?” Amabelle intervened. Nonetheless, she sat at the table beside her boss. “After this, I’m bringing you to Stoneglow City.”
“We have all the time in the world, deary.”
“How’s that situation holding up?” Shallies asked. “The city isn’t pushing people away, are they?”
“There’s not many people evacuating, so the city was kind enough to let them in,” Amabelle explained. “Plus, The Gaiamaxims Guild helped us with the process, so it isn’t like we’re running out of bits.”
“That’s good.” Shallies turned to Tibeth. “I’m guessing you’re here to test out my cooking, then?”
“I’ve been curious about your establishment for a while now, Miss Shallies,” the owner of The Swallowing Whale started. “It’s quite a surprise that we haven’t taken a look at each other’s tavern after all this time.”
“Oh, I did visit a few times,” Shallies admitted, much to Tibeth’s surprise. “Subtly, of course. I did enjoy your cuisine, especially the Roast Duck Platter. Oh, and just Shallies is fine.”
Tibeth, shocked, turned to Amabelle, who simply nodded in return.
“She did visit a few times, Tibeth.”
“Well, I suppose I’m at least glad to hear that my cooking didn’t disappoint.” The tavernkeeper sighed. “But I would very much like to give you more of a presentation next time. And Tibeth would be fine. No need to add ‘Grandma’ since we’re both managing our own taverns.”
“Eh? Is that why they call you Grandma?” Shallies asked. “Just because you’re a tavernkeeper? I knew you looked too young to be a grandmother.”
“That’s very kind of you. But I’m basically married to my job, see,” Tibeth explained. “I’m the owner. My staff are my children. And my customers are my grandchildren.”
“That’s a good way of putting it. I’d rather not be called ‘Grandma Shallies’ though.” The Godkiller shyly scratched the back of her head. “Anyway, what can I get for you two? Oh, right. Grace will be serving you today.”
That night, Shallies finished packing all the Food Buff meals for her students and the seraphim. She even had some for the members of The Gaiamaxims Guild. Though they had Chefs of their own, they didn’t have an ample supply of chuchili.
“Mana-Regeneration, Attribute Buffs, Experience Boosts, Physical and Elemental Resistances from the Great Kraken and lavashifter… I think that’s pretty much it.” Shallies looked at all the meals each packed in their own disposable mana-fabrics. Some were dry meals like sandwiches or fried food, while others had broth or thick sauces. Either way, she was satisfied. “I’ll let Apple bring them over. They can just decide which one they want.”
After cleaning her hands, Shallies went out of her tavern. That night, she wouldn’t be getting any sleep.
After a couple of Sight Steps, the Godkiller appeared atop the Same-Plane Rift. The location was now barely recognizable when compared to when the initial wave from Thrush’ven Alir appeared.
Over the last few days, the Gaiamaxims Guild, along with Apple, had been hard at work in creating an enclosure around the Rift. The teacup fairy was, of course, responsible for leading away all the flora and fauna from the area, while the guild created all manner of protective arrays to keep the Great Storm in place. They varied from barriers around the direct vicinity, up to permission boundaries on the skies above.
Shallies was impressed with their work. There was barely any improvement she would need to add into the enclosure. Still, she subtly added her blessing into these protective arrays, ensuring that they wouldn’t break down from stress or energy loss.
At the very least, we can ensure that the main body won’t move anywhere…
The Godkiller recognized some of the people working in the enclosure. Guildmaster Maxims was there, but his wife was nowhere to be found. A quick tap into her Focus told Shallies that the Vice Guildmaster was hard at work back in their temporary headquarters. Yoshelle was also at the portal, along with Laika and Krevan. It looked like they weren’t planning on sleeping either.
Nodding to herself, Shallies decided to Sight Step down next to them.
“Working hard, or hardly working?” she asked, making her presence known.
As expected, none of the current people in the enclosure were shocked by her sudden appearance. They were all focused on the Rift, and seemed to have been expecting her to show up at any moment.
“We’re definitely not working hard yet,” Maxims began, stretching out a hand for a handshake. “That comes later. Good to have you with us.”
Shallies accepted the greeting. “I brought the Food Buffs some people here requested. Apple’s bringing the rest to your headquarters.”
“Is Apple participating in the raid?” Yoshelle asked.
“Not directly. She’ll be going around minimizing the damage on the Great Wilds and the surrounding environment. I know you guys already do that part, but I’m sure you don’t mind the extra help.”
“We sure don’t mind,” Maxims said. “We’re expecting the portal to open before dawn. So we’re looking at six more hours, at least. We should probably eat first.”
The Guildmaster led the way, and Shallies followed, pulling from her Class Inventory the packaged meals she had prepared earlier.
All the while, she expected the Rift to intervene and Thrush’ven Alir to show up a few hours early. But nothing of the sort happened.
Only when the sun was about to rise did the clouds of darkness appear, making the day seem like night.