(14,814) Step 6.1 (Patreon)

Feeling extremely conflicted, I rushed to catch up to the rest of the party. They stopped and manhandled me to get my new armor equipped. I paid as much attention to the process as I could, knowing that I'd have to do it on my own at some point.
It turned out that Kelsh had also thrown in a back strap for the glaive– Nadir. I should probably remember that name, it seems important. She felt heavy in my hands, and the armor felt uncomfortable, like I’d strapped a bunch of pillows to my torso. It was only a dozen or so pounds though, and I'd run carrying much more than that before.
We went back outside and Enricha threw the blanket back over me with a soft smile. Then we started heading in yet another direction. It seemed completely random to me, with the snow obscuring everything, but the party members seemed to know exactly where they were going.
Soon yet another building came into sight, and we walked in to find what looked like a reception room. The party immediately marched over to a board on the wall, ripped a paper off, and slammed it down on one of the receptionist's desks.
“We've got our fifth member,” the archer said with a grin. I didn't know his name yet, but he seemed pretty smug. The fun kind of smug though, not the jerk kind.
The man at the desk, who was dressed as and held himself like a Victorian butler, sighed and raised a stamp over the page, then looked up at me and squinted. “Has he been tested yet?”
The archer's smile froze. “Frick.”
The group collectively turned to look at me with varied expressions. “We completely forgot about that.”
The receptionist smirked and rose from his seat. “It's a good thing we have a testing center in this very building, isn't it?”
“Fitz…” Randun gave him a meaningful look.
“Bah. I may not like you, but that doesn't get in the way of my work. I won't go too hard on the boy, but he'll have to be at least Iron rank to attempt this mission with you.”
Fitz turned to look at me. ”Now, what role do you see yourself filling in a party such as this? I'll be testing you in multiple aspects, but this will be the one I push the furthest with, so think carefully.
I looked back over my status.

Name: Xan Kim
Title: [Successor of 14,814 Steps (6)] (Upgradeable)
Level: 2 (/6)
Class: N/A

Might: 6 (7) +
Mobility: 6 (8) +
Mind: 6 +
Magic: 6 (7) +
Matrix Points: 4

Traits: [Inheritance], [Succession], [Silent]
Powers: [Self-Healing] Level 2, [Unkillable] Level 2
Skills: [Improvised Fighting] Level 3, [Tracking] Level 1

I decided to just confide in him. I'd probably be teleported out of here the moment I completed the quest, so hiding things wouldn't matter. “Definitely the person at the front, no matter the circumstances. I have a Stealth-related Trait and Tracking, low-level though it may be. I also have two Powers that make me more difficult to kill than I otherwise should be.”
Fitz was taking notes, but looked up when I finished to ask a follow-up question. “Would you mind sharing the names of your abilities with me?” A bubble appeared around us, and a string of golden text scrawled itself in the air.
Fitz Howal Jitters has sworn not to reveal any of your personal details shared with him without your consent, intentionally or otherwise.
When I finished reading the text, it dispersed into motes of light.
“Are you willing to give me some advice?” I asked anxiously.
Fitz shrugged. “It's not my place to tell you how to live your life, but I do have a lot of experience with adventurers. I may be able to assist you. Tell me, child, what is it that ails you?”
I look at my status again and will it to appear to him.
A look of surprise crosses his face, then his mouth opens slightly and he stares at me momentarily.
“I am sorry, child… have you opened up your title?” He sounded slightly hesitant.
I shook my head, then did just that.

[Successor of 14,814 Steps (6)]
You are Planet Earth’s Inheritor of the Lord of 14,814 Steps. You are on the 6th Step.
You gain the [Inheritance] and [Succession] Traits.
You will be transported to the location of your next Step whenever you complete the current one.
Your Level, Matrices, and Abilities are all capped by your current Step, rather than the standard Plausibility Cap.
You cannot organically gain Skill, Powers, or Traits.

“The Lord of 14,814 Steps… Who's that?” I looked up at Fitz with no small amount of confusion.
“Ah, well, that's a bit of a history lesson, one we really don't have the time for, but the important part is that you need to finish the Steps.” He took my arms in his hands and stared at me. “You cannot fail, do you understand me?”
I nodded, not fully getting the point but also not wanting to worry him anymore.
He breathed a sigh of relief, then stepped back and looked over my status again. “I have two suggestions for you, if you wouldn't mind listening to them?” I motioned for him to go ahead. “Firstly, you should keep your Matrices as even as possible for the time being. Your four points can be invested to raise all of them to 8. It would be inefficient for one of your stats to be above your Step limit and the others to be below it.
“Hmm, I would also recommend gaining more fighting Skills. You'll probably need them, if what I've heard is correct. Try to find things that work well together. Yes, I know that you cannot gain Skills naturally, but I assume there's another way for you, seeing the ones you have now.
“Finally, reach level 10 as soon as possible. You will gain access to your Class, which will be extremely useful for you. Once you're there, though, stop leveling until you get a very good option. Your Skills and Powers decide what options you'll be granted, but the quality thereof may be influenced by the level of said abilities. Keep your build cohesive and synergistic, and you'll be offered a good class.
“Anyways, I'm just going to sign off and say that you passed the test. Try not to die.” With those words, he scribbled something on his clipboard and handed a form to me. The privacy bubble popped, and the party rushed in to full the gap.
“Is that–” “Did he just–” “You can't just–”
“Yes, yes! I signed him off,” Fitz explained with great exasperation. “Now go on your little quest and leave me out of it.”
Randun wrapped Fitz in a huge hug. “Thank you, Fitz! I just knew that there was a nugget of gold buried in that dead heart of yours!”
“Yes, yes,” Fitz deadpanned. “Now get off of me.”
The party cheered all the way out the door.
My blanket was returned to me once again, and this time we started going down. The huge mountain grew more and more visible as we moved further away, eventually coming to rest at a small outcropping.
“Okay, troops!” Randun hollered with a wide grin. “Most of you probably already know this, but I'll reiterate it for Xan’s sake. We're hunting a wyvern! Ollie, would you mind explaining what that is for us?”
The archer rose to stand beside him, explaining, “People often mistake Wyverns for a breed of dragon. This is objectively incorrect. Then they assume that they're distant relatives. This is also wrong. Wyverns are a completely separate breed of flying lizard. Yes, I know, it's hard to believe that lizards evolved into massive flying creatures not just once but twice. Still, that's the truth, and it's clear in numerous ways.
“For one, wyverns act much more mammalian than dragons. Wyverns keep their eggs inside their bodies, rather than laying and hatching them. Even the earliest evolutions of dragon have the ability to breathe fire, whereas wyverns have a potent venom and heightened regenerative abilities. Yes, like a hydra, they are actually cousin species.
“Wyverns only have two legs! They're shaped like giant lizard bats. No horns either, unless you're dealing with a Dire Wyvern, which we are not. The plan to kill the beast is by completely overpowering its healing with acid, venom, fire, and huge attacks. Any questions?”
I raised my hand. “Feel free to speak whenever, kiddo. You're one of us now.” I lowered my hand, then vocalized, “I don't really have any of those things. What will I be doing here?”
Ollie looked at Randun, who got the hint and replied on his behalf, “You'll be climbing onto the beast and pouring tar into the wounds we make. That should slow its healing down quite a bit.”
The entire group looked at him open-mouthed, but he just rolled his eyes. “We'll be lopping off its wings and tying it to the ground the moment we catch it. If anything, this is a good opportunity for him to get some levels.”
“I'll be fine, guys,” I voiced, reassuring myself as much as them. I doubted that being bucked off would be able to kill me anyways. My biggest treat was the venom, but I'd be far from its mouth.
The last group member, a buff lady who looked like she'd been raised by wolves, piped up, “What are we doing with the body?”
Randun gave her a look. “Geisha, must I restate that we're going to be using venom, acid, fire, and tar? No. You can't eat it.”
She pouted like a toddler whose parents had told her that she couldn't have a toy they'd found in the store.
“If that's all…” Randun trailed off leadingly. When only silence followed his words, he coughed into his fist and continued, “Then I suppose we'll head to its roost now. Just a short way down the mountain and up the next one.”
We started marching again, making good time down the mountain and only stopping for a break halfway up the next one. I was completely out of breath by then, even with the running training I'd gone through in three full years of Track.
I normally wouldn't have felt too bad about that, but the rest of the party seemed perfectly fine, and it felt like I was just slowing them down. Still, I took my time recovering, knowing that I probably wouldn't get another chance.
This mountain was quite a bit shorter than the one we'd come down, so it didn't take much longer to climb to the top. It was especially obvious that we'd reached the peak when the sound of flapping reached my ears.
“Shhhh,” Randun intoned, motioning for us to get behind him. Geisha looked reluctant, but she followed his directions.
The flapping sound died down after a while, and the party silently began preparing, pulling out weapons, chains, vials, and nets. A bucket was handed to me. Yup, a bucket. It was full of, you guessed it, tar.
“I think you know what to do with this,” Randun whispers to me, “Listen for my signal to climb the beastie.”
I nod back at him and he returns to his position at the front of the party.
We wait and wait, until eventually we hear that flapping again, the wyvern rustling in its nest. The party tenses, but maintain their silent wait. A few minutes after the sounds stop, Randun makes a motion with his hands and the party mobilizes, with me following behind them.
The party’s surprisingly stealthy, but not enough. About fifteen feet away from it, the huge lizard takes a deep breath, sniffing at the air. Its eyes snap open.
The party rushes it, Geisha activating some sort of Power to burst forward and hack its left wing off with a single swing of her battleaxe. Ollie shoots a crossbow bolt at its eye, missing but still managing to embed it in the wyvern’s skull.
The monster roars in rage, spinning around and knocking Geisha away with its massive tail. It nearly falls prone without its left claw to stabilize it, but it’s recovering quickly.
Randun can't have that, though, so he tosses a chain over the wyvern’s back. Suddenly, Geisha is there, blood dripping from multiple gashes and scrapes from where she'd smashed through and skidded off the terrain. She pulls the chain tight, and the wyvern’s back lowers by a few inches.
Both fighters use some sort of post that fuses itself with both the chain and the stoney ground, locking it in place. Another chain joins the first, but this one is thrown back and forth, getting wrapped around the wyvern multiple times, fully trapping it and stopping it's movements.
The wyvern spots me, and I get a good look at the pain and hate in its eyes. Then, a hint of fear.
It doesn't want to die.

[Wyvern | Level 32]

“Xan! Now!”
The wyvern outclasses me by miles and miles, but that doesn't matter here. Proper planning had significantly reduced the danger to my life.
Now all I need to do is follow through.
I race up it's remaining wing. The overgrown lizard tries to throw me, but the wing is throughly trapped by the party’s chains, and I manage to climb up into its back, if just barely. Again, it thrashes about, trying to knock me loose, but I grab ahold of one of the chains to stabilize myself.
Ollie shoots bolt after bolt at the wyvern's face, but it always manages to jerk away just in time to avoid getting hit in the eyes.
I look at the bucket in my hand, realizing l can fix that.
Taking my bucket of tar, I ignore the fear in my heart and shouts of my teammates to climb up on top of the wyvern's neck. It keeps bucking and thrashing, but I pull Nadir from my back and stab her into the lizard's neck to keep me latched on.
I crawl forward until I lock eyes with the wyvern, then pour the contents of my bucket onto its face, blinding it and probably scalding it's eyes and nostrils.
It. Was. Furious.
When irritated, alligators and crocodiles do this thing called a “death roll.” What the wyvern does to me here isn't exactly that, but I imagine the experience is similar. Another easy comparison might be being a tick on the back of the neck of a wet dog shaking itself dry. Again, not perfectly accurate, since I'm not a tick and the wyvern isn't a dog, but it's close enough.
I manage to stick on for a solid few seconds, but Nadir loses her grip and I'm sent flying.
My head smashes into a rock and everything goes black.
…Then [Unkillable] kicks in and it's as if nothing happened. Well, based on the look Enricha gives me I apparently still look like my skull’s been smashed open, but hey, that's what [Self-Healing] is for, right?
Apparently Enricha doesn't agree, because she rushes to my side and green light begins to emanate from my wounds.
“Are you alright?! Please tell me this looks worse than it is!” Enricha sounds like she’s about to have a heart attack, then looks like she's going to faint when I start feeling around the injury to figure out what sort of state I'm in.
“Hmm, well my skull is moving around a lot more than I think it should, so I probably cracked it. I should probably be dead… Lucky me for being [Unkillable], right?”
The healer gives me a strange look then refocuses on healing me.
A quick look at the fight shows the wyvern roaring in pain as it's entire head is engulfed in flame and all of its limbs are hacked off.
We're winning. Go us!
A though crosses my mind, and I check my Magic reserves and a bit of panic flashes through me as I realize how quickly they're dwindling.
I cut off my own [Self-Healing] and give Enricha a guilty grin. “So uh… you think I'm going to be mostly healed in, say, a couple minutes?”
She presses a hand against my chest. “No. You stay right here and don't get back into that fight. I'm not going to push myself just for you to go get yourself killed right away.”
My smile turns grim. “Actually, I more meant that my Magic is declining rapidly and the moment it does, this injury will start affecting me again. It'll probably kill me.”
Her eyes go wide, and the green light that flows around my head suddenly turns golden, a long with her own eyes. “I know how cool that must have felt, but that doesn't mean you get to die just to have it be your last accomplishment, okay?!”
“Thanks, miss.” A wave of exhaustion passes through me, and I realize just how much I've been through since I last slept. It's been a long day. “I think I'm gonna take a nap now. Is that alright?”
I'm not awake for long enough to hear her reply.





I yawn and stretch out, noticing how awfully cold and hard my bed is. Did Josh sneak into my house again last night and turn down the AC? I swear Emi, you've gotta stop letting him in just because you think he's cute! You're my sister, for heaven's sake!
My eyes slowly flutter open and jolt backwards as I'm faced with a series of concerned faces staring down at me.
“Who–” My eyes catch on the wyvern's wrecked corpse. “Oh. Hi,” I say lamely.
“Bwahaha!” Randun slaps his hand down on my shoulder, making me quake a bit. “Good job, kiddo!”
“You might be almost as cool as I am,” Ollie says with a squint and grin that tells me he's just messing around. Geisha punches him in the shoulder anyways.
“How does your head feel?” Enricha asks with a concerned expression.
“I'm fine, I think. A bit hungry, I guess?” My stomach rumbles to punctuate my point, causing Geisha and Randun to laugh.
“Let's head back then, celebrate our victory in the tavern, eh?”
“He's not old enough for alcohol, Randun!” Enricha scolds.
“Well he's old enough tonight. No more boy could have managed something as ballsy as that.” He declares, winking at me. “Ya did good, kid.”
He helps me to my feet, and I spot Nadir laying in the snow beside me. I pick her up with a grin. The party had brought my pack back from where I'd left it, so I took a moment of time to pull out the rag and cleaner and clean Nadir’s blade.
After scrubbing the blood and grime off for a couple minutes, Nadir is returned to her former beauty. I strap everything into its place, with Nadir being attached to my back and my bundle resting on my side, then jog to catch up with the party, quickly reaching the spot where they’re waiting for me.

[Quest Complete!]
Teamwork makes the dream work.
+1 to all Matrices.
+1 Level.
You gain an automatically assigned weapon mastery Skill.

Oh. I guess it's time to leave, then.

[Transporting User: Xan Kim to The Seventh Step.]

Name: Xan Kim
Title: [Successor of 14,814 Steps (7)] (Upgradeable)
Level: 6 (/7)
Class: N/A

Might: 7 (8) +
Mobility: 7 (9) +
Mind: 7 +
Magic: 7 (8) +
Matrix Points: 12

Traits: [Inheritance], [Succession], [Silent]
Powers: [Unkillable] Level 4, [Self-Healing] Level 3
Skills: [Improvised Fighting] Level 4, [Tracking] Level 1, [Glaive Mastery] Level 1

I exit the world, headed off to the next Step.