Duskbound

"And then I spent about twenty thousand decarmas storming the building and killing the corrupted seed bearers inside," Jensen said. "We got everyone we could out and retreated into the forest, but it's been slow going with… well, look around and you'll see why."

"Injured, children, low levels and lack of wilderness survival skills," Torwin said, nodding as he listed off some of the reasons their progress had stalled. "Still, an encampment in the middle of the woods? Why not just push on to the next town?"

"We tried that," Jensen said. "I scouted ahead myself. Turns out Deshir and the logging crews weren't the only places hit. My theory is that whatever did this, it started by infecting people who went out into the wilderness for their work. It must take a while for them to grow new seeds, or they'd have overrun the whole frontier already. We burned out the supply at Deshir, but from what I saw, it wasn't enough to take more than half the town anyway.

"Beldrit's got something similar going on, except that as of yesterday it was still an active battle. The town's tearing itself apart because they can't tell who's been corrupted and who hasn't. Sildra went to try to sort things out with her new skill, but it only works at night and I'm betting it's going to be an uphill struggle trying to convince someone that their husband or son is dead and being puppeted by a monster."

"It could have spread to the other towns, too. It could be even worse there," Torwin said, scratching at his beard as he thought. "Shit, this is a disaster. We need to root out the corrupted seed bearers quickly before the infection spreads beyond the towns here, then we need to get word to Cravel so they can spread the news."

"I agree, but if we leave these people here, there's a solid chance they'll get captured again. I think I burned Deshir's whole seed supply, but if they had more, we'd just be giving the monsters new victims to turn."

"So, what's your solution?" Torwin asked.

"You mean, besides waiting for you to show up?" Jensen replied.

"I can't do much of anything you couldn't do yourself. I'd just do it faster. Besides, you've got the immediate situation under control already. What was the next step in your plan?"

"The idea was that Sildra would help the locals pacify Beldrit so we could move the refugees there, then I'd get to work sniping at the monsters in Deshir while we waited for you and she'd keep on down the road to Celarut to see what was going on there. Repeat as necessary."

It was a solid plan, but too slow for Torwin's tastes. They couldn't know for sure that the monsters would be content to sit and wait to be exterminated. In fact, they probably wouldn't, and the fact that this had happened in both Deshir and Beldrit at the same time implied a level of coordination between the two groups that didn't bode well for the human side of the conflict.

"If you're sure everyone in Deshir is a monster, I'll go back and clean it out," Torwin said. "You keep on with your plan of getting these people to safety once the fighting is over in the next town, and I'll catch up with you there."

"They are," Jensen told him. "At least, Sildra's skill says so, and it hasn't been proven wrong yet. Every person she's said is a monster has been confirmed by a system kill notification. We can't prove some monsters aren't still hiding among the humans, undetectable, but I don't think that's the case."

"Good enough," Torwin said with a nod. "Now, before I go off to take care of that, tell me about your class evolution options!"

He'd already used [Identify] on his apprentice and confirmed he still showed as a [Tracker], so it wasn't too late there. Hopefully, Jensen had gotten something good. Judging by the grin on his apprentice's face, he was betting he was right.

"So I got some of the standard side-grade evolutions, things like [Explorer] and [Archer]. Nothing special there, just a bunch of uncommon options. I also got two rare options: [Heavy Artillery] and [Champion of the Forest]."

Torwin's eyebrows went up at that. [Heavy Artillery] wasn't a surprise. Jensen's description of his exploits hurling explosives and raining death down on large groups of enemies—not to mention a building—readily explained the option. He'd been fighting at range for months now, and spending copious amounts of money in the last battle to beat down a numerically superior force in open combat with overwhelming firepower fit [Heavy Artillery] perfectly.

[Champion of the Forest] was a weird one. Anything with the word 'champion' in its class name was a protector class, which didn't much fit Jensen's personality at all. Torwin could only assume it had come from his association with the druid girl. They'd been working closely for a week or two, but the bond must have been quite strong for Jensen to be offered a class that revolved around helping her.

"Are you considering either of them?" Torwin asked. "They won't lead you to [Ranger], but they are both rare options."

"No. My father wouldn't approve," Jensen said, "Besides…"

Torwin didn't miss the teasing tone. "Besides, you got something that you think is even better? What is it, a third rare or something uncommon that leads to an exceptional rare?"

"An epic," Jensen said smugly.

"No. You did not."

"I did."

Torwin burst into a laugh. "Gods! Congratulations, boy. That's amazing. Which one is it?"

"Well, that's the thing." The smugness disappeared, replaced by a bit of an awkward wince. "I don't think my father will like it, but it's epic. How can I pass it up? If I take it, could you help me… I don't know. Justify it to him?"

The class had to be far away from [Ranger] if Jensen was still hesitating over picking an epic class. Torwin was honestly surprised he hadn't already taken it. He wasn't sure if he would have waited three days for anyone else's advice if he'd had that opportunity.

"Well, don't keep me in suspense. What is it?"

"[Vault Seeker]."
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Torwin sucked in a sharp breath. His first instinct was to demand that Jensen take the class immediately. [Vault Seeker] was a ridiculously sought after class. Its skills mainly revolved around tracking down old ruins from past civilizations, detecting and defeating traps, neutralizing any magical guardians left behind, and claiming untold riches. A dozen different institutions would snap Jensen up just to get a [Vault Seeker] on their payrolls, and he'd be able to name his price at any of them.

His family would almost certainly want to finance his ventures themselves, and the return on that investment would be immeasurable. Within a decade, Jensen could catapult them to upper nobility just through dint of sheer wealth.

The fact that Jensen was hesitating to take the class when he obviously knew how valuable it was meant there was an angle Torwin was missing. His apprentice had spelled it out for him, too. He was worried his father wouldn't approve.

"You obviously know how valuable that class is," Torwin said. At Jensen's nod, he added, "So what does your father have against it?"

"It's not in his plan for me," Jensen said bluntly. "The class is useless unless I actually go out and use it, and he wants me near the family home. I'm sure he'd love a [Vault Seeker] working for him, just not his son."

"Wait, if that's what he wants, why was he alright with letting you take [Ranger]?"

"For the prestige," Jensen said. "It's a well-respected class, and I'd be in a position to bolster the family reputation without having to actually put myself in danger once I obtained it."

Yet more proof that you never would. You don't get a hero class for the prestige, and certainly not if you're planning on retiring the instant you get it.

Ignoring that for the moment, Torwin said slowly, "Taking the class puts you at odds with your family. Not taking it, though… The wasted opportunity of a lifetime."

"Exactly."

"I guess the question is, are you brave enough to stand up to your father? With [Vault Seeker], you won't need his money. You'll make your own, and so fast that you'll no doubt be the richer of the two sooner rather than later."

"I want to, but, well, you've met him?"

Torwin shook his head. "I was actually informed about the contract between your father and the guild after it had been signed. No offense, but I wasn't part of the deal and I wasn't given a choice as to taking you on as an apprentice. That's not to say that you've been a burden."

Jensen snorted. "Liar."

"Okay, yes, you've demonstrated repeatedly that you don't have the disposition to pick up the [Ranger] class, which is another reason you should take a class that so clearly does resonate with you."

"And you'll help void the contract and talk with my father?"

"The contract? Yes. Your father? No. You're a grown man. If you're going to become a [Vault Seeker], you'll face things far scarier than an angry man with an overinflated sense of self-worth and a large bank account."

Jensen blanched, but Torwin could see him firming his resolve. "I can do this. I am my own man. He doesn't control me. He can't stop me," he muttered.

There was no outward sign of the change, but a moment later, Jensen gave Torwin a nod. "Thank you for the advice, Master."

[Jensen Alderworth- level 20. Class: Vault Seeker. Stats: 71ph, 36me, 50my. Skills: Tracking (5), Marksman (4), Empty (-).]

"I guess I won't be your apprentice much longer, huh," Jensen said as Torwin got a look at him. "Well, while we're still together, maybe you could give me some advice about what skill to take."

"Of course," Torwin said. "Probably your best option would be some sort of treasure seeker skill that will merge with [Tracking]."

They spoke quietly for a little while, and Torwin was pleased to realize that he was proud of his apprentice. Finally, Jensen had taken a step to get out from under his father's thumb and claim a measure of freedom. To an old [Ranger], nothing could have been more precious.