Chapter 153 (Book 4 Chapter 30) (Part 2) (Patreon)

Author's Note (includes story info):

Getting back into the swing of things. One thing I want to mention is that there's a piece of information that I decided would fit better earlier in the story - specifically, the chapter where Rob prepares to invade Dwarven territory after Grant gives them the three-day warning. Here it is:

"The one bright spot was that Diplomacy would be okay. Rob managed to get a cursory checkup from his Soul Surgeon before the man fled, and thankfully, he was able to confirm that deactivating Diplomacy had halted their soul absorption. They couldn't perform the surgery right now, because there was no way of knowing how long Rob would be in recovery afterwards, but postponing it wouldn't cause any ill effects.

Rob made sure to express his gratitude to the Soul Surgeon once they'd finished. Prickly as the man was, he'd taken time out of his evacuation to ease Rob's worries – a decision that might very well cost him his life. And by the way he ran like hell after the checkup was over, he knew it, too."

And now, back to your regularly-scheduled chapter.

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7 hours and 37 Minutes Later

"...our soldiers have recognized that Dragon Queen Ragnavi's warmongering represents an intolerable risk to Dwarven territory," Nerasi proclaimed. "We will continue to research a method to kill her that does not necessitate the usage of Titan's Fist. Furthermore, if she escalates her atrocities, we are prepared to support Elven territory on the field of battle."

Rob was impressed at her rapid change in attitude. During their previous conversations, Nerasi had been – and still was – dead set on avoiding a pointless war between Dwarfland and Fiendland. Most people who were in that mindset of preserving peace would express reservations before turning around and committing to an entirely different war.

It showed how scared shitless the Dwarves were of Ragnavi potentially reaching Level 99. She was, just by herself, an existential threat on par with the Blight's continent-wide resurgence.

As Nerasi spoke, Seneschal Sylpeiros' tense posture started to relax. "Excellent," he replied, once she'd finished. "Contact me if there are any changes. A Message Crystal in Grant's office should connect directly to my personal Message Crystal in Elven territory."

"What about us?" Rob added, at Elder Alessia's request. "We don't have any way to get in touch with you if the Dragon Queen situation gets worse."

"Hmm." Sylpeiros scratched his chin. "Sending a specialized Message Crystal to Fiend territory would take weeks or months. Unfortunately, I see no other way for a permanent connection between our nations to be established. Perhaps the Fiends can meet my people halfway through the Human wastelands to receive a delivery. Until then, Messages can be relayed via the Dwarves, although that brings its own fair share of complications."

Actually, we could have the Fiends teleport us straight to Elven territory, Rob thought, then snag the Crystal and Waymark back. He kept that piece of info to himself – the Fiends' ability to utilize long-distance teleportation was a trump card they shouldn't reveal just yet. Even to prospective allies.

"I'll let you puzzle that out on your own," Nerasi said. "Will you be leaving soon, Seneschal?"

"Indeed. I have already been gone for too long." He grimaced. "My people need me. I will do what I can to forestall Ragnavi's wrath without provoking her into an all-out war."

Sylpeiros said his goodbyes to the Dwarves and Riardin's Rangers soon after. Their parting farewells were polite and awkward, like members of a group project who shared mutual dislike but knew they'd have to tolerate each others' presence for the next few months. Before heading out, Sylpeiros cornered Rob, asking to be added to his Party once more.

Message Continued From Party Member: Sylpeiros
Sylpeiros: Human.
Sylpeiros: You...
Sylpeiros: You were...
Sylpeiros: Not what I expected.

And then he was gone, taking his 76 Levels and centuries of combat expertise with him. Sylpeiros' departure reminded Riardin's Rangers of how vulnerable their position was; a single Party, trapped in the middle of enemy territory, with no real means of escape. If the Dwarves were planning some sort of elaborate betrayal, now would be the ideal time to try it.

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12 Hours and 18 Minutes Later

Rob breathed a sigh of relief as his favorite Skill came back online. Well, maybe not favorite favorite, but Top 5, easy. While Lifesurge and Not a Scratch had saved his bacon more often overall, nothing was better than Waymark at bailing him out of an impossible situations. His Party members agreed – they practically threw a celebration when he informed them that it was ready to go.

Although to be fair to the Dwarves, they hadn't given any indication that Waymark would be necessary. No extremists had tried breaking into Grant's workshop. The Dwarves' discussions with Riardin's Rangers – using Nerasi as an intermediary – were proceeding smoothly. Lastly, Gharvis' scientist team was close to finalizing their preparations, and would soon be adjusting the nuke to launch harmlessly into the sea. For now, all was proceeding as it should.

Which left Rob with enough free time that he attempted something he hadn't done in a while. With great care, he went on a deep dive through his Character Sheet, reading every Skill, analyzing every description, searching for strategies and loopholes he may not have considered.

Specifically, he wanted a way to fight the Dragon Queen. Now that Grant was dead, and Sylpeiros...probably wasn't intending to kill Riardin's Rangers, the big red bitch was shaping up to be their #1 threat. While the Blight was more dangerous in a general sense, as it could make Elatra unlivable by Corrupting the Loci of Power, Rob having Purge Corruption meant that he could at least fight back if he engaged a Blight in combat. They were realistically killable.

The Dragon Queen, not so much. She didn't have a big, glaring weakness for them to exploit, and all the defensive stats in the world wouldn't save him if she fired one of those mouth lasers she'd used on the Blight of Broadwater. Queen Ragnavi also got more mileage out of her Levels than a normal Combat Class user, as her Awakened Racial Skills freaking doubled her stats. Even if Riardin's Rangers somehow caught up in Levels, they'd still be behind, because she was effectively Level 180-something.

Simply put, her existence was unfair. Normal strategies wouldn't work. What Rob truly needed was some fresh hot bullshit to abuse. And as he read through his Character Sheet, one Skill in particular stood out to him.

???
Prerequisites: Reach Level 99, ???

It'd been there since he first came to Elatra, tucked away at the tail end of his Skill list. No description, a hidden name, a hidden secondary prerequisite, and a primary prerequisite of reaching Level 99. He'd mostly put it out of his mind until then, but his Party's earlier discussion about the Dragon Queen had reminded him of how ridiculous of a Skill requirement that was. No one, in the history of Elatra, had ever come close to Level 99. Queen Ragnavi was currently in the process of pulling off her second mass-scale slaughter just to have the chance.

In fact, it was common knowledge that 99 was the maximum Level a person could achieve. When Rob asked his Party how people were so sure of that, they couldn't respond with anything other than 'it's obvious' and 'everyone knows'. Either the whole world had convinced themselves of a lie, or it was part of their instinctual system-based knowledge, like how toddlers could activate Skills before they learned how to talk. Rob was inclined to believe the latter, because why else would Level 99 be singled out as a Prerequisite? It made a certain sense to have reaching the maximum Level serve as a requirement for something special.

Assuming it was special, and not useless, or even harmful. He wanted to feel excited over what ??? might be, but the Skill's mysterious origin was just too damn suspicious. Unlike his other Skills, Rob possessed no recollection of ever learning ???, and it was the only Skill he'd heard of that appeared on someone's Character Sheet before being fully unlocked.

That was...concerning. Rob didn't have a good track record with unknown variables.

I should ask my Party members about it, he decided. Can't hurt to pool our knowledge. Rob turned to face them, opened his mouth-

And froze.

There was movement. A unique mana signature, flying through the sky, traveling at incredible speeds.

"Shit," Rob hissed, jumping to his feet. "They did it. The fuckers did it." Riardin's Rangers briefly stared at him in confusion, a Message pinging in their minds one second later.

Group Message Continued
Keira: I'm...sorry.
Keira: I swear I checked Gharvis' group for launching mechanisms.
Keira: It didn't matter.
Keira: One of them touched the runic circle and Titan's Fist...
Keira: I'm sorry.

The room exploded into a panic. People began throwing around ideas like they were chucking darts at a board, desperately hoping for a bullseye. Nothing stuck. This wasn't a genie that could be put back in its bottle.

Only Rob was silent. Quietly, he pulled up his Character Sheet, double-checking a certain Skill's description to make sure he wasn't misinterpreting it.

Name: Not A Scratch (LV 16)
Prerequisite: Vitality 150, take damage from enemies at least 180 different times.
Description: Outright ignore the damage of a single attack from a single enemy. Physics still apply.
Cooldown: 5 Minutes

'Outright ignore'. No limit was stated. The Blight of the Village had partially broken Not A Scratch's effect, but that was because it was a Blight, with system-breaking Corruptive properties. Otherwise, Not A Scratch should nullify any damage that the system considered to be a single attack.

And based on his personal experiences, the system had a fairly loose interpretation of what 'single' meant.

Rob stayed silent as he waited, gathering his courage. It was very important that he didn't speak just yet. That way, his friends couldn't convince him to rethink what he was about to do.

Once he was ready, Rob summoned a crate of Firebombs from his Bound Items. The Flames of Vengeance won't work, he thought, going over his plan one last time. They don't affect inorganic matter. Firebombs will be tricky...but if I set things up properly...use my Skills in the right order...

"Rob?" Zamira uttered, in a baffled tone. "Why did you produce a crate of Firebombs?"

He was fully aware of everyone staring. Rob ignored them, summoning his Dwarven Sheet Metal and laying it flat on top of the crate. "Reasons."

The other members of Riardin's Rangers exchanged glances and took a few steps back. "What are you planning?" Elder Alessia directly asked.

"A solution." Despite himself, Rob kept talking. "You know, this situation actually isn't so bad," he lied. "Right now, the nuke is high up in the sky, safely out of collateral damage range. If we can detonate it now, we win." Maybe there'd be some nuclear fallout sprinkling down, but that was a small price to pay for saving Fiend territory.

"Detonate it," Alessia flatly repeated. "From here. How do you propose we do that?"

Rob didn't answer. Instead, he took a seat on top of the Dwarven Sheet Metal, which itself was on top of the crate of Firebombs. Finally, he summoned one single Firebomb from his Spatial Storage, holding it carefully in the palm of his hand. All of these things are *mine*, he thought, emphasizing the notion. The crate and the Sheet Metal are part of my soul. I summoned them as personal items. When I go, they will follow, the same as with the clothes on my back.

He hoped that the system was listening.

"...Rob?" Zamira slowly asked. "How were you aware that Titan's Fist had been launched before Keira contacted us?"

"Because I have an intuitive sense of wherever my Waymark points are."

As his words sank in, Rob placed a Waymark point on the floor of the vault, erasing the Mark back home in Fiend territory. It was a shame, but he could only have two active Marks at any given point in time.

And he wasn't going to erase the one he'd left on the nuke's exterior 21 hours ago.

Without hesitating, Rob executed a series of events in a very specific order. First, he disbanded his Party. Second, he cast Not A Scratch. Third, he tossed his one single Firebomb underneath the Sheet Metal, aimed at the crate.

Finally, he cast Waymark. As the crate detonated – Rob having been shielded from its initial burst by the Sheet Metal – blue energy surrounded him. Like always, Waymark teleported Rob to his second Mark, taking all of his personal items with him.

Except this time his second Mark was located on the outside of an airborne nuke, and his 'personal items' included a crate of Firebombs.

Which was in the middle of exploding.

Waymark finished.

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Thanks for reading!