CHAPTER NINETY-EIGHT

Overcoming Tribulation, Part 1

“I’ve given you back limited use of the system.” Chiron twiddled his fingers at the air. “Use it to update your stats and distribute the points you earned in the last mission.”

“Oh, yeah,” Sam raised his hand to the floating screen that popped up in front of him, “I’d forgotten about that.”

“I keep telling you to make better use of the system, kid,” Chiron frowned. “What’s the point of such an awesome tool if you’re barely using it.”

“I know, I know,” Sam sighed.

STATUS NAME: Samuel Shepard HERO NAME: Herculean

He noticed that the ‘unofficial’ tag had been discarded.

“Styx, this is all Ashley’s fault,” he grumbled.

LEVEL 30 RANK Gamma (Γ)]

Sam still couldn’t believe it. The guy who was once the weakest healer in New York City was now Gamma level, and not just as a [Healer], too. His secondary role was now [Scrapper].

“I tanked an alpha-level dragon and lived,” he realized.

“Pick your jaw off the floor, lame-brain,” Chiron chided. “Gamma level’s nothing... you keep this up and you may even get to where Thunder and the rest of the elites are standing.”

That was a heady thought, the idea that Sam could become one of the all-time greats—maybe even break into the top ten. He had a sudden vision of himself in a stylish red cape surrounded by crowds of fans and reporters. For just a moment, he could almost hear them chanting his name.

He shook his head. “Get a grip, man...no point in getting a big head now.”

“I agree,” Chiron chuckled. “You’ve got a long way to go.”

TITLE: [Hero] + [Phantom Slayer: BOON: 25% increased damage against phantom-type enemies] + [Fire Proof: BOON: 10% increased resistance to fire damage] + [Vigilante: 10% increased civilian reputation, 20% decreased reputation with the Wardens, -100% trust from local law enforcement] + [Horror Slayer: BOON: 15% increased damage against horror-type beings.] + [Dragon Hunter: Awarded to Gram’s wielder. BOON 10% increased physical damage against dragon-type horrors.]

One of Sam’s eyebrows rose. “It doesn’t say hero-in-training anymore...”

“I think it’s too soon to call you that, but Triple-A’s a bit of a softy,” Chiron chimed in.

Sam also noticed that there was a new title on the list.

“Dragon hunter...” His brow furrowed. “But I lost the sword...”

“I wouldn’t sweat it too much,” Chiron replied. “Enchanted relics have a way of finding their way back to their chosen wielder eventually... Why Gram chose you is the real mystery.”

“How does it return to me?” Sam asked. “Is there a relic locator in the system or something? Do relics have GPS?”

Chiron shook his head. “As I said, don’t sweat it. The sword will reappear at the moment it’s needed and not before then.”

“Um, that didn’t happen with the Bow of Heracles,” Sam reminded Chiron.

“The bow didn’t belong to you... You were just borrowing its power that one time,” Chiron answered.

HEALTH POINTS (HP): 400/800 STAMINA POINTS (SP): 100/400 FATIGUE: 60% STRENGTH: 60 DEXTERITY: 50 CONSTITUTION: 80 INTELLIGENCE: 33 WISDOM: 30 WILLPOWER: 30

None of his attribute values had changed since he was level twenty-one, but that was to be expected as Sam had been too busy over that one mission to properly distribute the points he earned with each level gained. He wasn’t at all surprised to discover that a whopping thirty points were waiting to be allocated.

“Sucks that I didn’t get anything from completing my daily missions,” Sam sighed. “Oh, wait... wasn’t there a penalty for that?”

“Why do you think most of the system’s locked to you?” Chiron chuckled.

Sam glanced away from the screen to give his master a curious look. “So... the penalty for missing a daily mission is not being able to use Triple-A?”

Chiron shrugged. “There are worse penalties, but considering you missed your daily missions because you were stuck in Limbo, I decided not to slap you with the Belt of Negative Effects...”

“Belt of Negative Effects...?” Sam repeated, and yes, it did sound as ominous coming from his lips as it did when Chiron had said it. “Um, thanks for that, I guess.”

“That was a one-time stay of execution, kid.” Chiron crossed his arms over his chest. “You miss another daily mission and you get the full penalty.”

“I, uh, I’ll remember that,” Sam promised.

Of the thirty points Sam could allocate, twenty went to [Constitution], increasing his total HP to a thousand. That wasn’t all either. Hitting [100] was the threshold Sam needed to reach a new rank in [Regeneration].

[CONGRATULATIONS! You have unlocked the potential hidden inside you. [Regeneration (ζ)] has leveled up!] POWER: Regeneration LEVEL: Delta (Δ) DESCRIPTION: The hero’s increased HP has enabled this passive ability to grow past its current limit, increasing its capability to stabilize the hero’s life force while he draws breath. EFFECT ONE: The speed of regeneration has increased by one level. External wounds that don’t affect internal organs heal at twice the normal rate. Internal injuries heal faster, ensuring that the hero survives even a blow that might be fatal to regular mortals. EFFECT TWO: Over-fatigue will no longer cause the hero to lose consciousness, although he will receive a penalty to [Constitution] and [Intelligence] while in a state of high fatigue. EFFECT THREE: The hero now has resistance to [Charm], [Dominate], and [Paralysis].

“Whoa...” Sam breathed. “Wish I had this during the dragon fight.”

“You would have if you’d checked the system before the boss battle,” Chiron reminded him.

The fight with the dragon was quite the lesson for Sam, helping him to understand just which parts of him were lacking and needed to be supplemented. He distributed the remaining ten points to [Wisdom [35]], [Intelligence [35]], and [Willpower [33]] because he imagined he’d be able to fight better if his mind performed better. Surprisingly, raising his [Intelligence] score also provided Sam with an ability point.

“Master!” Sam called excitedly, “why didn’t you tell me Intelligence was this important?”

“What kind of idiot doesn’t know that?” Chiron rolled his eyes. “Don’t expect it to keep providing ability points with each milestone, though. The system tweaks itself to fit your needs.”

“Yeah, I get it,” Sam said, as his fingers danced excitedly across the [MENU] to activate [POWERS]. “Now, what should I get that will help me survive your obstacle course of death...?”

Sam hoped that he could find a new [SUPPORT] or [COMBAT] ability to help him succeed in his next challenge, but all the options underneath that tree were grayed out.

“Why not try a tree from one of the bonds you’ve forged?” Chiron suggested.

“Oh, yeah, that could be interesting, too,” Sam agreed.

ELEMENTALIST: [Thunder Charge], [Elemental Weapon] BATTLEMASTER: [Unarmored Defense], [Ki Strike] TOTEM KNIGHT: [Totem Spirit], [Beast Sense], [Speak with Animals]

Sam took a long time deliberating on which ability to take as they all seemed pretty useful in the long term. He was particularly drawn to the [Totem Spirit] as the idea of wielding the abilities of a lion or bear was appealing to Sam after having seen Jackboot in action. Ki strike, the power to harness his own Ki and then use it to attack his enemy sounded like a cool option too. Especially since this power would have normally taken him years of study in martial arts to acquire.

“Unarmored defense might not be too useful for a guy who can regenerate from almost any injury,” Chiron chimed in. “But Beast Sense would pair nicely with your lack of sense. Lol.”

In the end, Sam’s choice was decided on memory, one of Thunder speeding through Maeve’s house to smite the cannibal boar with her body wrapped in elemental energy. That was why he chose [Thunder Charge] as his newest ability.

“Interesting choice, kid,” Chiron noted.

I want to be as cool as her, Sam thought, although he said something else out loud. “I want to mix it up... add some elemental damage to my moves.”

“Not a bad idea,” Chiron agreed. “It might even pair well with one or more of your abilities... give you a combo move that’ll even break dragon scales.”

“And what ability would that be?” Sam asked excitedly.

“I’m not doing your homework for you, lame-brain,” Chiron huffed. “Figure that satyr-shit out yourself.”

“Not even a hint?” Sam pressed.

“I’ve given you enough hints.” Chiron tapped a hoof against the ground. “Well, are you done prepping? We don’t have all day, you know. Chimera will be here before you know it.”

Sam sighed. “Yeah, yeah, I know, I know...”

He moved over to stand by the entrance to Chiron’s Tribulator while sweat began to coat his back.

“I can do this,” he whispered.

“Of course, you can.” Chiron slapped Sam in the back, pushing him forward. “You’re training with Mr. Saturnday. You can do anything.”

“Um, thanks...” Sam replied awkwardly. Compliments were far and few in between for him. And, with that surprising vote of confidence filling him up with positive vibes, Sam ran forward to conquer the Tribulator