His opponent turned, but it was too late. Atlas grabbed the staff with both hands and gave a hearty home run swing to his double’s back. A sharp crack echoed through the clearing as his doppelganger flew almost ten feet and landed on his back, air bursting from his lungs. He walked over to the copy and stared into his own face. The feeling was surreal as he watched himself gulp for air and struggle mightily.
“You’ve lost. Now stay in your own world. This one is mine,” Atlas punctuated before slamming the end of his staff directly into the throat of his reflection. A crunch signaled the end of the fighter as his body went limp.
Well done, Druid. You’ve faced your inner turmoil and come out victorious. This will allow you to advance in your druid skills unabated. Return to Master Proth to receive your reward.
The calm serenity returned to the clearing and the body of his slain doppelganger was nowhere to be found. A scan of the area showed nothing out of the ordinary, so Atlas left the ring of stones and walked back toward the city. On the way back, he detoured a few times to fight some animals and harvest skins.
You gained 180 experience.
Truth be told, he wanted to see if the combat images returned more than anything else. To his relief, they were back as normal. His path led him back to the city, and he headed directly for the druid master’s house. This place sure is strange.
Chapter 8
The Folly of Friends
Atlas entered Master Proth’s house to the sight of the druid working on a hide. The soft fur was a dull gray color, but he couldn’t quite place the animal it belonged to. The deft hands of the master slid a blade along the edges, and thin strips of leathery skin and fur dropped to a neat pile below the table.
“Greetings Master Proth,” Atlas called.
The druid looked up from his work and grinned, “Welcome back Atlas. How fared the trial?”
“Bested myself and live to tell about it. Sure was an odd sensation. Any idea why the combat system didn’t work during the trial?”
“The combat system is designed for struggles in this word. Yours was an internal struggle.”
“Internal struggle my ass. The asshole sliced open my ribs and poisoned me. I crushed his windpipe with my staff. How is that internal?”
“The fight happened in your consciousness. That’s why the combat system didn’t take over. It seemed perfectly real to you.”
Atlas considered that before asking another question, “What would’ve happened if I lost?”
“Oh, you would’ve died and respawned back here. There’s a slight chance it may have damaged some of your mind, but that rarely ever happens,” the druid said as he waved away the thought.
“Great… this place worries me sometimes. Anyway, I’m here to turn in my quest.”
The druid motioned with his hand and the box appeared in his vision.
Quest - Druidic Ritual
Requirements
• Level 5
Quest Rarity: Common
Quest Reward: 110 experience, 50 copper coins.
Description: You defeated yourself and claimed victory.
Do you wish to turn in this quest? Yes/No.
Atlas selected Yes, and the coins appeared in a bag in his hand. He checked his experience and saw he now was at 395/600.
“What skills can you teach and what levels are they available?” Atlas asked.
“I teach three skills here. The first is Barkskin at level 6, the second is Harmony at level 8, and the last is Resurgence at level 10.”
“I can guess what Barkskin does, but what do Harmony and Resurgence do?”
“Harmony allows you to call upon the energy of nature and focus it on a target. The power of nature will slowly heal that target for a set amount of time. Resurgence allows you to resurrect recently slain people. I’ll warn you, Resurgence requires a quest to learn it.”
“Good to know. Sounds like Harmonize is a good old fashioned Heal-Over-Time spell. Those are always great in a pinch. Is there anything I can do to help me kill stuff faster? I noticed it takes ages to grind animals in the woods.”
Proth shook his head, “Not really. Without a combat subclass, you’re stuck as a healer with little damage potential. If you could strengthen your magic, then your Nature’s Wrath spell would do more damage. The downfall of that is less mana to heal with. Increasing the rank of the ability would help with that. You could also work on your additions and try to master your first. That would help you move to the next.”
“Wait? I have to master my first to learn more? The weaponmaster taught me some already. Do they not keep teaching them to you?”
“Weaponmasters only teach counters and special types of moves. Mastering your current additions teaches you the next. That’s why your standard attack is only a two-hit attack. Once you master it, you can move to a three-hit one.”
“Well that’s good to know.” Atlas wanted to go back and yell at the weaponmaster for not telling him that but he knew he’d get the standard response of ‘you didn’t ask about it.’
“Do you know how to master them?”
“Both magical spells and additions are mastered in the same way. You must follow the movements of the spells or abilities perfectly. Your movement can’t be off in the slightest. You spells or weapons must land in the precise spot, at the exact angle. As for how to do it, I’m not sure. It seems to deal with a component of luck or chance. I’ve heard some say they have more success when they let their instincts guide them through the movements instead of actively trying to follow them.”
So it needs to feel natural then? That makes sense. You’d need to train your body to move as it should on its own. Must be like warriors of old training to keep their muscle memory for combat.
“Thanks, Master Proth. You don’t have any quests for me, do
