Despite Alric taking part in the kill and earning a portion of the experience, the giant cat monster was worth a considerable amount of experience. Hirrus went from level 11 to just a touch over the line into level 13. Even without that, though, the monster’s death represented a significant increase in power. Not only were its Arcana quite powerful, but in addition to two raid-level pieces of gear - item level 60 hide chest armor and an antlered helmet - it also dropped the first legendary piece of gear that Hirrus had seen that wasn’t peeled off an adventurer’s corpse.

Freke/Gere Ring

Ring

Ilvl 70

+350 ATT/BUR

+350 TEN

+700 Cast Speed Rating/Attack Speed Rating

Special: Statistics change based on the equipped slot. ATT/Cast Speed in Left Ring, BUR/Attack Speed in Right Ring.

Special: When Equipped in the Left Ring, Arcana benefits from the Double Strike stat, having a chance to hit an additional time for 75% damage.

Special: When Equipped in the Right Ring, eliminate all Dual Wield penalties. Secondary Weapon cannot have a gem equipped.

Hirrus was momentarily disappointed that it was a legendary item with only one secondary stat, but the special attributes were quite hefty. In the hands of someone else, this would be a versatile tool without comparison. Swapping the ring between hands would be an incredibly potent tactic in combat.

In anyone else’s hands, at least. Hirrus looked down at his left hand, and the simple band there that he would never remove. No tactical advantage could be worth dishonoring his marriage.

Despite the lack of versatility, he had to admit that the ring was an attractive upgrade option. Physical combat had been his first priority for so long, but his amassed Arcana from the Last of the Strong officers had forced him to acknowledge the power offered by his magical options. It had put him at a disadvantage in experience. His use of Arcana was focused on efficiency, but he didn’t feel comfortable approaching the shifting conditions of the battle with that toolkit. But this ring offered an opportunity for his physical abilities to keep up. Wielding a secondary weapon might make his physical offense keep up with his magical attacks.

Not to mention the help the monster’s Arcana offered.

Low Caterwaul

+15 SUP, +86 Crit Rating

Damage: 1.5xATT + 2.5xRES

Cast time: 0.125 seconds

Cooldown: 9 Seconds

Added Effect: Electrical energy rebounds back on the caster, increasing attack speed by 20% for 10 seconds.

High Caterwaul

+15 ATT, +86 Double Strike Rating

Damage: 2.5xATT + 1.5xRES

Cast time: 1.25 seconds

Cooldown: 30 seconds

Added Effect: Electrical energy disables the target, reducing attack and cast speed by 20% for 10 seconds.

Royal Levin

+15 TEN, +86 Cooldown Reduction Rating

Damage: 0.5xATT + 0.5xRES

Cast time: 0.5 seconds

Cooldown: 600 seconds

Added Effect: Creates a storm cloud above the area for 60 seconds, attacking a random target every 6 seconds. Duration increased by 900% when cast in a designated Lair arena.

True to the ability’s description, the sky was still full of dark clouds, and every few seconds a surge of purple energy gathered and ripped up out of the ground. It seemed like this was a designated Lair arena, because the storm wasn’t letting up. Royal Levin was going to be a potent Arcana in any occasion, with a short cast time but an overall devastating damage output over its duration. Outside of a Lair, ten total strikes would make it add up to being numerically his most powerful Arcana, even if the damage was slightly unreliable, and delivered slowly over a full minute.

Meanwhile, Low Caterwaul would enhance his physical damage, even if it was magical damage itself, and High Caterwaul would help keep him safe from threats if he was going to be getting up close and personal with his foes.

He only wished he didn’t have to keep dodging lightning bolts, or else he would have experimented with what dual wielding could do for him. Instead, he took a moment to review what his stats had gotten to now.

Level 13

HP (Hitpoints): 68800

BUR (Burliness): 1863

SUP (Suppleness): 1420

TEN (Tenacity): 2180

ATT (Attenuation): 788

RES (Responsiveness): 814

GLE (Gleylike): 1966

He noted that his magical stats were relatively low, but X’ruhn’s Balance made it unimportant. If he intended to do serious damage with magical Arcana, his first move had always been to swap his physical and magical stats. It was interesting how much more of his stats came from the huge number of Arcana he’d amassed rather than levelling up. It ran contrary to Hirrus’ expectations. Why did Adventurers always want to level up as efficiently as possible when there were so many other more effective ways to become more powerful? Perhaps there were systems at work here beyond the scope of Hirrus’s knowledge.

“The fuck are we still doing here?” Alric said, dancing wildly from side to side. He was making little panicked noises whenever he saw the energy gathering above him instead of Hirrus. “We gotta get out of this storm!”

“We’re not done here,” Hirrus said, leading Alric towards the northern end of the clearing. “This way.”

“Why?” Alric said, still looking up at the sky with obvious panic, even as the next bolt took aim at Hirrus and was summarily ignored as he kept moving, causing it to strike just behind him.

“That explosion of sparks when your stone form wore off,” Hirrus explained, “that wasn’t me. Where do you think it came from?”

“I don’t know,” Alric snapped. “Maybe god loves me? I’m not one to look a gift horse in the mouth.”

“It was her. The woman who attacked us in the cemetery.” Hirrus pushed the ferns aside and led him into the undergrowth. “She saved your life. And she ran off this way.”

“What the fuck,” Alric cursed. “She was going to fucking kill me, though, right? Why save me?”

“I don’t know,” Hirrus admitted. He spotted a solid boot print in the dirt where he’d seen the flicker of her red hood, and made that his starting point to look for a trail. “She might not have been looking to kill you in the first place. She didn’t exactly stop and explain herself.”

“Women, right?” Alric said with a smirk.

Hirrus didn’t agree with Alric’s assessment, but decided not to get into it with him. He’d been a mercenary long enough to know that some men just didn’t understand women, and nothing Hirrus had ever had to say could correct them. Instead, he directed his attention at trying to track whoever was following them. He was more intent on speaking with her rather than fighting her now, though. The only way to convey that was to put his sword away and hope that she recognized that he was approaching her at a disadvantage. Perhaps it would make her feel safe enough to not employ her potent stealth ability.

As the search went on, Hirrus discovered it was more or less pointless. The signs of passage through the forest were sparse enough that he couldn’t be sure that any given sign was a sign of their confusing friend, or a passing deer or bear. Even the signs that were undeniably human could have been one of Rumi’s underlings searching the forest for Hirrus once he’d left the road.

He also couldn’t ignore that the hooded woman’s stealth ability was so powerful that she’d been undetectable while he was staring right at her in the cemetery. They could have stepped right over her a dozen times without knowing. Hirrus almost suspected that they had, as Alric was as sure-footed as a drunk man at midnight. He kept tripping over his own feet and blaming the tree roots. He very well could have been stumbling on an invisible woman.

“We’re not going to find her,” Hirrus said at last when he brought them to a halt. “The opportunity has passed.”

“Jesus.” Alric put his back to a tree and immediately sagged down to the forest floor. “Finally.”

“What’s wrong?” Hirrus asked.

“What the fuck do you think?” Alric snapped, gesturing up at the sky through the sparse holes in the forest canopy. “I haven’t slept in like thirty-five hours. Caffeine can only get you so far, dude.”

Hirrus didn’t know what Alric was talking about. For him, sleep had only been something dictated by his decision tree. The only actual use he’d ever had for it was intimacy with his wife, and filling a few extra hours of his off-duty time. It was certainly a more comfortable way to spend the nighttime hours than sitting around, but he’d had revenge to deal out for the past few nights that had kept him busy. It simply hadn’t occurred to him that adventurers might have an actual biological need for it.

“We make camp, then,” Hirrus said at last. “Not for long, though. Get what sleep you need, no more than that. Rumi must be stopped and I doubt my looming obliteration will wait patiently for us.”