RD 2 Ch 15 (Patreon)

Chapter 15

“Bran. Bran.” A voice urgently called me.

“Hmm” I groaned, but I was on my feet in an instant. “What are you doing?”

Zane was clinging awkwardly to the lip of the roof. “I can’t step on the roof or I get shocked. Katie’s hair looks fried after she tried three times this morning. She… uh… said that you hypnotized her to keep coming to you.”

“I’m pretty sure she’s insane. I have no hypnosis.” I rubbed at my eyes and deactivated the talisman.

“Wow. You’re really skilled at those.” Zane looked at the several others that I had pasted around my sleeping bag.

“It was something that I could learn before being initiated.” I offered.

Zane nodded. “Well, if you need anything to make ones helpful for the group, I just spent all my time training with weapons.” He tentatively stepped on the roof.

The shock must have gotten Katie pretty bad. Then again, she wasn't at a very high level yet. It would be enough to stop me for a few minutes.

“I wanted to double check with you on thoughts for today. Given the monsters might be even higher level, how should we break up the groups?” Zane asked.

“Probably send out Nyx or whoever is fastest to get a check on levels first. Hypotheticals are just that. If you can get hard data, then do so. Assuming they are now about level nine, then you need to split the group in two and no more. Put yourself and Nyx as the two leaders because you two are the strongest.”

Zane paused. “What about you?”

I had been putting myself off on my own to be honest. His question gave me pause and I fished around my spatial ring before pulling out four talismans, attaching two to myself. “Have the group leader tear one if they are in trouble. It would be best if I was able to float and help either group.”

“Are you sure you’ll be okay on your own?” Zane asked.

I nodded. “Pretty sure.”

“Then this should make it easier.” He pulled out a rack of vials.

“Just have everything in that spatial ring?” I asked, joking.

Zane hesitated and I only smiled, taking the rack of vials, using my inspect on all of them to make sure there wasn’t a trap. The only way he’d have what he needed to make these vials was if his family sent him in with them.

Blood was a powerful medium, often used to ensure cooperation.

“I’ll catch you later then. Time for me to go organize everyone.” Zane hopped off the roof. I could tell he felt a little awkward that I’d inspected his gift.

The vials checked out, but I wasn’t going to use them now. I would almost assuredly rank up to A rank class with this. It would be a waste not to get some levels and some stats before then.

When I needed the stats to keep fighting, I’d use these.

For now, I peeled off the talismans protecting my status window. No one here could see it anyway.

[Name: Bran Heros

Level: 4

Class: Blood Hegemon B

Status: Healthy 

Strength: 709

Agility: 685 

Vitality: 874 

Intelligence: 480 

Spirit: 11431 

Skills: 

…

Primordial Bloodline [In development 52 hours remaining]

Regeneration A

Soul Absorption Arts F

Bloodline Manipulation S

Powers of Blood D]

Not bad at all.

I had gained a decent number of stats since entering the instance, but my eyes were on the primordial bloodline. For all the talk from that damned leech, this bloodline better be SSS with some sweet benefit.

It owed me that much. Stupid thing died without giving me as much as I’d like.

Although I would work to level the Powers of Blood skill after I left the instance. As the Mul Branova group expanded this would help me without having to spend a fortune on potions.

I dusted off my hands and jumped from the roof, there was no point in waiting. It was time to grind.

Nyx waved at me as Zane was talking to everyone else. Her hair had remained seafoam green, but she’d clearly cut it with a knife down to something shorter. Her face had changed slightly and so had her overall frame, but those changes were minor.

I gave her a short wave and rushed out of the sanctuary and into the forest.

Without anyone else around, there was no need to fool around or hide.

The S ranked short sword appeared in my hand and I used Blood Boil to give me a boost as I tried to see just how quickly I could run through the forest.

The first cyclops of the day looked up from where it had been digging, only to find my sword bearing down on its neck.

As expected, it was level nine. Its physical stats were already over a thousand. In another two days, these things were going to be stronger than me.

But in better news, the experience and gold I gained would rise with the levels. At least the system was fair in trying to kill me.

I scooped up a fistfull of gold coins and bounced them in my hand before they disappeared into my spatial ring. It was almost a shame to kill all of them too early, but the longer this took, the higher the risk was that someone from the clan would come in and scoop it all up.

Because even to the old men of the clan, an S rank instance over level one hundred might be tempting enough for them to clear.

***

Simone smiled at the shop owner as she stepped around the open doorway and into the little shop. It was strange, in a way.

The whole clan gave her an ancient feeling and the people were a strange smattering of decades. It seemed people fell into clothing habits from when they were outside the clan and kept them going when they returned.

“Simone.” Elle Heros caught up to her.

“Ah. Mother-in-law.” She smiled, turning her eyes into two crescents.

There was an awkward air between them for a moment. “So…” Elle hesitated. “How are you?”

“Just fine. Browsing the shops, partially because I have little else to do, partially because Bran’s probably going to come out of there and want a thousand things.” Simone smiled and started to look at the shelves, her inspect running over everything.

“Is that what he’s like now? Demanding?” Elle had an unhappy twist to how she viewed Bran at the moment, and Simone was not a fan.

“Assertive, not demanding. He knows what he wants and damned if you or anyone else gets in his way. I want to be helpful and have some knowledge of where things are.” Simone opened a little box to see what was inside.

“Ah. This is hard, you know.” Bran’s mother started. “He was a seventeen year old boy a few months ago when I got sick. Stupid, rash. I was just getting over my terror of letting him out of the house with a set of car keys. Now he’s off running into instances with you and that mafia princess. Suddenly he has a driver and those ladies all over him. A mother has to wonder what very stupid thing he’s done to get all of that suddenly.”

Simone hummed. “He’s not a seventeen year old. Not even eighteen. You have to remember that.”

“It’s hard and very sudden.” Elle grit her teeth. “I hate… hate that he’s changed so quickly.”

Simone patted the woman’s shoulder. “Maybe if you didn’t fight him quite so much it wouldn’t feel like such a huge change. Because I’m pretty sure despite everything, he’s still much the same Bran you raised.”

Elle scowled at her.

But Simone just smiled. She was right after all, even if a mother didn’t like another woman knowing their son better than them.

“Perhaps you’re right.” Elle grudgingly admitted. “What’s that?”

Simone had picked up a bunch of violet roots. “Bran was looking for some of this in the stores outside the clan. It’s not that expensive either.”

“What for?” Elle asked. “I don’t know any use besides decoration for Simmering Strands.”

“I doubt that’s what Bran is going to use them for.” Simone burst out laughing at the idea of Bran suddenly decorating. “He probably doesn’t put an ounce of thought into decorations. When he took me on a date looking for some, he was really shopping at one of the FPA markets.”

“Are his walls bare?”

Simone shook her head. “He bought a place fully furnished, but there’s still a picture frame with the stock photo in it. Gloria and I have a running bet on when he’ll replace it.”

“Never would be my bet.” Elle sighed.

“Gloria has longer odds than me. Think I’m going to get a few nice pictures with him and see if I can’t subtly prompt him.” Simone giggled. “Don’t tell Gloria I’m cheating.”

“You three haven’t been together long, but you get along well.” Elle said, following Simone as she continued through the shop.

“Of course we do. Bran’s the glue. It’s really hard to be anything but happy when he puts his full effort into taking care of you. Those poor Mul Branova girls.” Simone shook her head.

“The drivers?” Elle asked.

“Oh. Right, he probably didn’t tell you. They are all the ladies he’s saved from demons. Weak bloodlines, but enough that he was able to awaken them and get them trained up enough that they could operate a step above normal people.” Simone said, finishing a lap of the store and heading towards the counter.

“The potions he made in those vats?” Elle asked.

“Yep.” Simone left out the comment about the bloodline upgrading potions that Bran made. Apparently those would make even the clan crazy. “So popped their bloodlines, got them some training and made them his work force. Before he knew it, they started a little worship thing for him and changed their names. When he got that cursed artifact, well, they went all in.”

Elle turned a glare at Simone and double checked their surroundings. “I’d not say that in public again. Cursed Artifacts are not well tolerated. Why do you feel bad for them?”

“Ah. Because of what I’m not supposed to talk about he’ll never really see them more than hired hands. He could control them, thus he will distance himself. They’d all probably bend over for him though.” Simone chuckled.

Elle’s face became hard at that statement. “I don’t want to hear about that.”

“Oh. Well, that’s a shame. I thought the Heros Clan wanted to spread their seed far and wide.” Simone shrugged and met the woman at the counter, holding up her prize and then dropping the appropriate amount of gold coins on the counter for it.

“All set.” There was no receipt or anything.

Kind of odd, but Simone sucked the roots into her spatial ring and headed out.

“The clan does want that, but life isn’t always as simple as what the clan wants.” Elle groused.

“Yes. You have some horrible experiences. After meeting your parents, I think I understand a little better.” Simone gave Elle a look of mild regret. “They are pretty pushy.”

“All parents are.” Elle shot back. “But yes. They were quite pushy; it got worse when I was initiated.”

Simone performed a time honored and well honed strategy of staying silent to make the other party fill the void.

Elle glared at her and sighed. “They pushed me to Odyssey.”

Simone made a noise of both surprise and understanding. “You should have told Bran that.”

“I lasted all of three months.” Elle snarled. “Instance popped in Norway, deep north and we were cleaning up before going into it. It was significantly more difficult than the monsters we mopped up outside of it.”

“Bran says they get debuffs if they are out of the instance for very long.” Simone added, only to get an unhelpful frown from Elle.

“We went in, got stuck. Couldn’t finish it and were running out of food fast. There were five of us to start. My friend died the first day in the instance.” Elle spat.

Simone had to judge her a little. Inspect was a good tool and they had likely ignored or overestimated their own strengths. Maybe doing an S rank level 1 had inflated all of their confidences.

“Anyway. Thorin came in. Apparently the monsters out of the instance had caught his attention and he wandered into it to crush it on his own. He scooped us up out of there and I spent six months with him.”

“Then nine months later?” Simone egged her on.

“Seven months later.” Elle said. “He knew, but he wasn’t really attached to the idea of a kid. It made a very good excuse and I got out of Odyssey to raise Bran. The Clan was absolutely thrilled to have some of the Borrson blood mixed in.”

“He just walked away?” Simone’s voice was tinged with disgust.

“It’s the Borrson way. Don’t hate him for it. The men just let the kids happen. They are raised communally and then the dad normally steps in later to ‘toughen’ the kid up. Normally around eight they start to train them. Trust me, I was fairly okay with him staying away and not smashing Bran through concrete under the guise of training.” Elle said. “He’s still my precious boy and I want to keep him safe.”

Simone shook her head. “Probably best if you stop trying to coddle him. He’s just going to fight you that much harder.”

“I know. Sort of.” Elle waffled her head. “My head knows, but my heart doesn’t.”

Simone just nodded, only imagining the struggles of being a mother. “Well. Maybe I’ll ask him to invite you over to his place for dinner sometime.”

“That would be nice.” Elle smiled.

“Ah. Just the two ladies I was looking for.” Circe appeared out of nowhere. “I’m afraid that the instance has continued to destabilize. I wanted to know if you had any way to contact Bran.”

Elle glanced at Simone with a raised eyebrow.

“What? He’ll be fine.” Simone shrugged. “You’ve seen his swordwork when he gets really motivated.”

Circe raised a blue eyebrow. “Care to share, little Elle?”

“He cut an A rank demon in half along with the rest of the warehouse. That was just because he got a little excited fighting a demon.”

Simone knew she was lying, but it was to hide Bran’s recent past.

“Well. That’s reassuring. Because if something doesn’t change, that instance is going to become a level one hundred and thirty seven S rank instance.” Circe pursed her lips. “Do you have something?” The older woman’s red eyes bore into her.

“For emergencies only.” Simone said, not batting an eye at Circe. “I don’t believe it’s an emergency right now. He’ll protect anyone he’s with too.”

The older woman stared Simone down for a long moment before sighing. “Those old men want to let the instance rise without interfering. They believe the new initiates will hole up in a sanctuary and wait. Until the instance stabilizes, we can’t enter without damaging it.” Circe bit her nail fretting over this more than Simone would expect. “I don’t like it. We should send reinforcements even if it means damaging the instance. Nothing is more important than our people.”

Elle snorted.

“Oh right. You still hate me.” Circe smiled at Bran’s mother. “Have I not apologized enough? Mistakes were made by all; it was a tragedy.”

“It will never be enough. Getting your mitts off my son would be a start.” Elle glanced at Simone.

Simone hesitated. It felt like the two were asking her to choose a side. Simone just smiled. “Bran will do what Bran wants. Don’t either of you look at me like that. Pretty sure he’s interested in joining Odyssey.” She dipped her head at Circe. “This would be a little of what we talked about, Mother-in-law.”