As the wyvern continued to move away from the town, Ballentine began shouting orders to the guards.
“Get the clerics now. I want all those injured across the town treated. I also want you four to check the building that the wyvern landed on. The rest of you need to start cleaning the streets, and I also want the livestock herd checked out. Tell Gregor to ensure that any livestock is moved into the barns immediately. I am sure we all saw the flying cow. Find out where it came down and check for injuries,” he called.
SJ grew to her human size and looked at the devastation of the building where the wyvern had crashed. The front wall was at a precarious angle, and she was surprised it hadn’t collapsed fully from the impact of the beast landing inside it. Still glancing towards the wyvern, she ensured it was still heading away from town.
“It will be back,” Dave said.
SJ walked some distance from Ballentine before whispering. “How do you know?”
“It is a predator, after all, and the town is an easy source of food for it, especially with livestock. I am surprised it didn’t just take one of the cows and leave.”
“These changes and monster levels could get very dangerous very quickly.”
SJ saw Zigferd place his hand on the half-elf’s shoulder, nod at him, and watch as he slung his bow over his shoulder and then turned, re-entering the jail area. Watching him lead back inside after what he had just done for the town concerned SJ, and she headed straight over. Entering the jail area, Zigferd stood at the desk with the half-elf talking to him.
“If you sign here and here,” SJ watched Zigferd indicate. “Then you are free to go.”
The half-elf picked up the quill from the desktop and, dipping into a pot of ink, scrawled his signature as requested.
“Thank you. Make sure that you don’t do anything else stupid while in town,” Zigferd warned.
The half-elf looked at the huge form of Zigferd, and his shoulder sagged. “It was an accident. I honestly had no idea what may happen.”
“I know that it’s obvious that Master Fretun wasn’t expecting you to survive or to inform got you to do it,” Zigferd replied. Turning, Zigferd noticed SJ. “SJ. What brings you here?” he asked, smiling.
“I just came to see who saved the town from the wyvern attack,” SJ replied.
“Well, Darren here just is a ranger with experience fighting wyvern,” Zigferd replied.
“He has. It’s good to know that there is someone in town to help with it. I am guessing it will be back at some point,” SJ said.
“I hope not too soon,” Zigferd said.
Darren was still in the same state he had been the previous evening. His face was covered in black streaks from the fire and the explosion in his room. His clothes were unkempt, and he looked dishevelled. “I’m going to see if any of my stuff survived the explosion,” Darren said as he headed to the door.
“Level 20 Legionnaire,” Dave said.
“Level 20,” SJ said in surprise.
Darren stopped, turning to look at her. “You could have asked,” he snapped angrily.
“Asked what?” SJ said, shocked by his response.
“To identify me before going ahead and doing it,” Darren replied.
“I didn’t,” SJ spluttered defensively from the anger in Darren’s voice.
“Then how do you know what level I am?” he asked, scrutinising her.
“That is a separate story. Let me accompany you to the Inn, and I can explain it.”
“Whatever,” he replied, shrugging as he walked out of the jail.
“SJ. Please keep an eye on him,” Zigferd said as she followed Darren out of the door.
Darren was walking off down the street, ignoring the guards and others who had now come out to clean up the mess left by the wyvern. SJ hurried to catch him up.
“Wait,” she said as she got to his side.
“Wait for what? To be thrown in jail again and locked up. I don’t think so. I am going to get my things and leave this dump of a town,” he snapped.
“Dump of a town,” SJ repeated angrily. “This dump of a town, as you call it, is my home, and I don’t take kindly to someone from out of town coming here and saying otherwise.”
“How would you feel after the way I have been treated?”
“Typical Legionnaire. All he thinks about is himself,” Dave said.
“Treated? You blew up the Inn, which was my home, and you don’t see me having a go at you, do you,” SJ retorted, frowning.
“I paid for the damages and apologised. I am unsure why I spent the night in the cells.”
“Precaution, probably. Would you let someone who had just caused an explosion walk off without questioning them?”
Darren stopped and turned to look at SJ, his eyes narrowed and filled with anger. SJ stood, looking back at him with a blank expression showing no malice toward him. His face began to soften slightly. “At least you aren’t looking at me as though I am a piece of dirt,” he grumbled.
“I have no reason to look at you any other way. I am more interested in finding out about you being a Legionnaire.”
“So how do you know I am level 20 Legionnaire if you didn’t identify me?” he asked, pursing his lips and looking at her, expecting to hear a lie.
“I know what level you are because I am also a Legionnaire with an administrator who speaks to me. I guess yours doesn’t,” SJ said, smiling.
His eyes went wide. “All administrators talk to their Legionnaires, but mine has never given me any details about anything useful.”
“Erm. My Administrator may not be that normal,” SJ said, shrugging.
“Hey. I can hear you, you know,” Dave complained.
“What do you mean not normal?”
“He is a little sarcastic.”
“I am. I have a first in sarcasm,” Dave replied smugly.
“Sarcastic. My administrator rarely speaks, and when it does, it’s in the most annoying metallic voice.”
“He must have an old model. They are rather boring to talk to. I wonder who he has?” Dave mused.
“Dave wonders who you have and says they must be an old AI model. He even said that they can be rather boring to talk to.”
“Dave?”
“My administrator.”
“He has a name?”
“It’s not his official name, but I couldn’t keep calling him blah blah blah or whatever his designation was. I couldn’t remember it for a start.”
“How can he speak to you about levels though?” Darren asked, frowning.
“Dave can do much more than that. He is my best friend in Amathera and always helps me out.”
“You are kidding me, right?” surprise registered on Darren’s face.
“No. Why would I lie about it?”
“My administrator only tells me about basic upgrade stuff. Its voice is the most frustrating part.”
Darren’s face was a picture as he stood looking at SJ.
“What does he tell you?” Darren asked, intrigued.
“Whatever he can.”
“Ooooo. I found his administrator. He is an old model—probably one of the first,” Dave said. “I can’t speak to his administrator for obvious reasons, as we have Legionnaires, but he is the only Darren registered on this continent.”
“Dave thinks your AI model may be one of the first ones on Amathera.”
“How would he know that?”
“He found your name and traced it.”
“I wish my AI was as helpful and interactive as yours sounds,” Darren replied in disbelief.
“Dave is great,” SJ replied, smiling. “You do realise that we are the only two Legionnaires in the town.”
“Aww, shucks. You will make me blush,” Dave said.
“I am not surprised there isn’t anything to keep Legionnaires here of higher levels.”
“There will be in the future if things continue.”
“What do you mean?”
“With the territory and border expansions that are occurring.”
“What?” Darren asked, frowning.
“You may not be aware, but the starter areas are starting to get the opportunity to level higher. This town was a 0-10 and now is a 0-20.”
“How has that happened?”
SJ spent the next few minutes explaining what had happened with the system since she hit level 10 as they neared the inn. On arriving in the town square, there were several broken stalls, and it was obvious the wyvern must have struck here. Thankfully, there was no evidence of injuries. Instead, it was filled with the frantic and worried expressions of the town members who were busy cleaning up. Many of them were glancing up into the sky continually. The damage to the Inn was visible in daylight, and SJ stopped surveying the scene. The front looked fine, apart from the fact it was missing its thatch. There were several blackened marks on the walls caused by the smoke, and there was a large sign posted by the entrance. ‘Garden entrance open.’
Walking around the rear of the inn to where the garden area was, the damage to the rear was more substantial, with the missing wall and clear damage caused by the explosion. SJ watched Darren cringe when he saw what he had caused. SJ spotted Fhyliss and headed over.
“Hi, Fhyliss.”
“Hi…” Fhyliss stopped in her tracks when she saw Darren. “You are either brave or very stupid,” she finished, looking at Darren.
“I just came to see if anything I brought had survived, and then I will leave and be out of here,” Darren said.
“You are lucky Mum has gone to help at Lucian’s, where that cow landed. She will probably be there for a while. I would advise you to go and look and then make yourself scarce. Her temper is legendary in the town.”
SJ couldn’t help but half-smile at her comment. She had seen the effect that Kerys could have on some exceedingly large and drunken beings before and the way they had shrunk away from her, and after seeing her tear into Darren the night before, she could believe her doing it a second time.
“Can I get in the back to check?” Darren asked.
“Go through. Bert is inside, clearing the worst away still.”
Fhyliss and SJ watched as he walked through into the back of the Inn.
“I can’t believe a wyvern attacked the town,” Fhyliss said.
“I know. It moved off, though, because of Darren.”
“Darren?” Fhyliss asked, raising an eyebrow at SJ and naming him.
“Yes. He is a level 20 ranger. You should have seen him with his bow. It was glowing as he fired arrows at it.”
“Hmmph. I think mum would say he would need to do a lot more than that to get in her good books.”
“He has paid for the damage. She can’t hold a grudge to that degree.”
“You know mum,” Fhyliss replied, shrugging.
“While I remember. Floretta thinks she may still serve food.”
“With the wyvern in the area, we will have to see how many of the town venture outside today.”
SJ had automatically turned to look in the direction that the wyvern had flown. There wasn’t a clear view of the mountains from here, but she couldn’t see any signs of it being airborne. The streets were much quieter than she would have expected. Many stood in doorways, talking in hushed tones to each other.
“You need to try and keep him in town,” Dave said.
Fhyliss had returned inside the Inn so SJ could respond to Dave. “Why?”
“I have seen all the town’s archers, rangers, and fighters. As with the magic users we have seen, very few can damage that wyvern. If it returns and attacks the town, there is virtually nothing they have of an offensive capability to damage it enough. Even multiple runs, as you did with it being shot at, would take forever to take its health down. As we saw with his shock arrow, that ranger has the best chance. Once it is on the ground, you stand a chance, but airborne, you won’t.”
“I am not sure how we can make him stay. He sounded pretty determined to leave as soon as he could. He is also level 20 and won’t be able to level from it in this territory.”
“That is true, but there may be a way around it.”
“Really. How?”
“I think I may have found a loophole you can manipulate to your advantage.”
At the thought of a loophole, SJ felt a rush of excitement. “Go on, what loophole have you identified?”
“I have been considering how the System will have allowed the growth changes to occur. I have also been considering the quest system and how it is associated with territory levels. With the expanded territories and the variance in levels that are now permitted to enter, I believe that if an open quest is given that provides cross-border potential, you may assign a quest for him.”
“Me, give a quest?” The revelation startled SJ. Never in a thousand years had she considered being able to assign quests.
“Yes. You are now a member of the town council. You should be able to assign quests on behalf of the town. If the Mayor authorises you.”
“Can’t that be seen as cheating?”
“Potentially, but remember you are not signed up to the terms and conditions. Unless we try, though, we won’t know. I can’t guarantee that it will work, but maybe if you can assign a cross-border quest, you can assign experience gains. It would be like how guilds operate with their quest system. Many quests are within different territories than where a guild is based, and they accept them on behalf of the guild, allowing members to complete them.”
“So to allow for Darren to be issued a quest since he is level 20, I would need to be in a territory that allowed quests for his level? I thought assigned quests were within a territory? You mentioned before if I leave a territory the quest is released.”
“Most are, but not all. Several quests cross territory at higher levels where they complete certain tasks or are after certain items or information. An example would be a quest relating to information. A being maybe required to go to a territory that they are a higher level than to attain information. Just because they are at a higher level doesn’t necessarily mean they will not gain experience if they complete the quest. It is no different than what I assume Darren was working under.”
“What do you mean?”
“He said he was completing a quest. The quest was to deliver the alchemical components to someone in Killic, a lower-level territory. He could still accept the quest even if he went to a lower level.”
“So even if it did work, I would need to enter a level 20-30 territory and assign him a quest that allows him to gain experience.”
“Basically, it is hypothetical. The problem is I have never known one that involves killing something or someone because of restrictions. I think that because the beast is above the threshold of the normal territory levels, it may allow it to happen as a kill quest. No one has tried it before, but you won’t know unless you try. It wouldn’t even be a consideration in normal circumstances as the levels are aligned directly with the territory.”
“It still sounds like a way of cheating.”
“I wouldn’t call it cheating. I would call it playing the system,” Dave laughed at his joke.
SJ groaned in response.
“I think the wording of such a quest must also be carefully considered. Because I have never heard of a kill quest cross-boundary, I think it would have to be deemed a protection quest.”
After several minutes, Darren returned down the stairs carrying a blackened backpack on his shoulder.
“Did you get your things?” SJ asked as he walked down the stairs.
“What I could. Thankfully, some of my clothes survived, and I will get changed out of these,” he replied, indicating his state. “Is there another nearby inn where I can get cleaned up?”
“Unfortunately, no. The only inn in town currently has no roof,” SJ smiled.
Darren grimaced at the comment.
“I will let you come back to mine to clean up, and while you are there, we need to talk,” SJ said.
“About what?”
“About you are staying in Killic,” SJ replied, smiling.
