Chapter 44

“You’re wasting my time.” Jewel commented as Henry stopped the car. It was another end of a shift, and while they’d cleared a lot of rifts, no greater rifts had formed near them today. Meaning, while it had been a busy 12 hour shift, Henry’s D.E.D. had not reached level 20. That wasn’t to say they weren’t making progress. The passive essence gain, plus defeating multiple D.E.D., many of which Henry noticed, were starting to appear as higher levels, in the 5, all the way up to level 15 range, had done good work. Plus…the fact Jewel had been quite…energized with murdering them all extremely quickly. Ever since his comment to her earlier that day, she’d been on a silent rampage.

“Well, if we keep it up, you’ll be done with me by the end of this week of shifts.” Henry said with a mock cheerful tone. He was dropping her off, once again, at the bar. It had been tense the whole day with her. This time around, she hadn’t even invited him for a drink. Just demanded he drop her off and get out of her sight. Something he was more than happy to do. Damned ice queen. As strong as she was, he had a feeling her ideals and his would clash too much to fully trust. But still, down the road, he figured she could be valuable in helping against the predicted invasion by the D.E.D. But, Henry wanted to a lot stronger before he tried to build that bridge with her.

The first step to that goal though, was hitting level 20 with his three D.E.D. Ideally, 25 for his Drakeling at least. And he knew his Storm Crow could evolve as well, though it seemed that evolution had a level range of 20-30. Meaning, best as he could tell, it triggered off more than just level. Go figure.

“If you just leveled up your Drakeling, we could have been done by today. And then you could go off on your own little agenda and stop taking up my time.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “Babysitting you, is really starting to annoy me.”

It wasn’t like he was slowing her down. Everything still died essentially the moment it came through the rifts. But Jewel had a perpetual loner streak about her that Henry figured he was harshing her mellow on. Too bad for her, Henry wasn’t going to let her iciness cause him to be reckless. This was the safest, smartest option for now. And he was going to abuse the aid offered to him, as long as he could.

“Thanks for all the help, Jewel.” He said simply. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Try not to get to shit faced.” He muttered the last part just as the door closed, and yet, she still heard him. That fact was made painfully clear, by the icy tendril that smashed into his stomach. He winced and drove away. At times, he enjoyed her, but she was definitely in a mood, and he could only hope tomorrow would be better.

Perhaps it is best to not antagonize her. His Evil Eye said as he drove away. While she is not an Awakened One, her power is undeniable.

It would be better if you just power leveled me. The Drakeling grumbled at the same time. The longer you take, the longer you’re depriving me of my true power.

Henry ignored both of his D.E.D. as he kept driving, the dark roads sparsely populated. He lost himself in thought as he drove, trying to formulate his plans as best he could. There was a massive invasion coming. He needed to not only get himself stronger, but also find a trustworthy group of powerful allies. After that, he wasn’t sure. But he knew somehow, someway, they would need to acquire immense power to fight against what was coming.

While I appreciate your concerns for my own growth. The Evil Eye continued, if necessary, please give the others a greater chance to grow. His voice was sorrowful, yet held another, slightly hidden emotion. You’ve already given me more essence than my kind normally gets. For that, Awakened One, I am grateful.

“You’re all going to level up accordingly.” Henry said, letting himself get pulled from his thoughts for a moment. Of all his D.E.D., his Evil Eye, given to him by Loki, had a special place in his heart. It wasn’t a misplaced sentiment either, he felt. Instead, something about that D.E.D., made it feel all too real and human. It was the most complex, considerate, logical D.E.D. at his disposal. Which just further drove home the fact these D.E.D. weren’t mindless, unfeeling monsters.

“By the end of the week, you will all be level 20. From there, we will move forward, and push towards 25. After that, 30, and so on. All of us, together though.” He said that last part firmly.

An alarm ended his conversation, and he immediately glanced down at his phone. His thumbprint activated the app, and sure enough, it was alerting to a rift opening near him. Glancing at the app, he noticed there weren’t any Exorcists near him…if you didn’t count the Jewel that was currently getting a drink. Considering she was off duty, and without a car at the moment, Henry figured she wouldn’t be coming to this one.

“Let’s go see what’s coming.” He said confidently towards his three D.E.D. as he turned down a side road, detouring from his trip home, to this rift. The highest D.E.D. they’d seen earlier today, had been a single, level 15 D.E.D. that had attempted to come through the portal. The D.E.D., which had been a Common Fire Imp, hadn’t lasted more than a few seconds.

And, while Henry was still wary of what could come through, his D.E.D. could easily handle a level 15 D.E.D. by themselves. After all, they had grown quite powerful over the past few days. Henry mindlessly played with the app as he approached the rift, skimming his info as he pulled into an empty parking lot.

Henry

Knight

Strike Team Alpha

Resonation Tier Potential- SSS

Current Resonation- B-

Max – 520

Current D.E.D. Points in use- 169

Funds- 600

D.E.D.

Evil Eye – Wind Type- Level 17 (42)

Bladed Drakeling – Earth Type- Level 17 (68)

Storm Crow – Lightning Type- Level 14 (59)

Henry grinned, confirming his information. First off, his 300 dollars had been deposited. Making 600 dollars in two days was awesome, and he would be lying if he said he wasn’t happy with the sudden, rather large influx in his job standing. Even if the shifts were 12 hours long.

Second though, his D.E.D. stats made him happy. He’d found previously looking at his profile, there was a tab for a small pull down that could showcase the basic information on his D.E.D. This information, which labeled their type, their affinity, and their level, could quickly be skimmed to see what the status on his D.E.D. was.

Today, he’d gained over 4,000 essence for his D.E.D., and his Evil Eye and Bladed Drakeling had climbed to level 17 as a result, from level 15 the day prior, and his Storm Crow had jumped from 11 to 14, and was nearing 15. Meaning, the three of his D.E.D. combined, could likely handle anything that came through a rift…though they were still under the safe level to engage a Larpen with.

That being said, as he glanced at the forming rift, and back as his D.E.D., his mind confirmed what Jewel had been telling him. Essence wise, his three D.E.D. had gained a massive amount. Enough that, even with a rough estimate, would have resulted in a single D.E.D. growing to level 25. Meaning, if he’d just been leveling his Bladed Drakeling this whole time…it would have already evolved into a Bladed Drake.

But, there was no time to think about that, and he pushed the thought away. Regret couldn’t allowed. Not now. Instead, resolve was all he needed. He was going to defeat this D.E.D., and continue growing stronger. No matter-

Please, let me have that D.E.D. Scrolled across his app as the rift continued to crackle. Enough information had been picked up in the app, showing what type of D.E.D. was coming through. It was a type of Kitsune. Which, Henry knew of, because he’d looked them up after having seen one before. The rare, little fire cat the cosplayer had received, had been a fire affinity Kitsune. Had been, being the main part there, since he’d watched it die yesterday in the larpen battle.

Why? Henry responded as he got his own D.E.D. into position. This was a Rare D.E.D. He had every intention of making a pact with it himself if he could. Especially since it had an affinity he hadn’t encountered yet.

If you pact it, and trade it to me, I’ll make it worth your while. The message read. He still wasn’t sure who was shooting him the message. The app could show profile pictures if they were set, as well as names. This particular message, was coming from someone he’d not interacted with before, and so, he wasn’t sure who they were. That being said, he highly doubted they could top the rare D.E.D. he was about to encounter. However, he also knew it would be foolish not to enquire. Plus, Henry was on a mission to make himself stronger…so he would be foolish not to enquire what it was being offered to him.

I’ll think about it when you get here. He said before closing the app. He had noticed their icon, indicating they were heading towards the rift. However, the crackling energy before him was already starting to take shape, and he knew the person wouldn’t get there in time. Meaning, for now, Henry’s focus was on acquiring this new D.E.D. for himself. From there, he would be interested to see what occurred.