Chapter 16: 16 – Chasing Martyrs

Tess had expected to argue and convince the village. She didn’t expect them to agree and send her off with a pack of provisions.

“Everyone saw what you did on the wall,” Esti had said as she handed Tess her pack. “Not much use arguing against facts.”

“I’ll bring him back safely,” Tess answered.

“I’m sure of that,” Esti said.

Tess thanked the rest of the villagers for their help and made her way to the village edge.

Woohoo! A new quest! We’re off to save your savior. I think that’s worth… maybe another 500xp? Yeah, five hundred is a nice round number. Now, onward to awesome!

 

Tess sighed. At some point, she would have to find a way to mute this god. He was like a younger brother enraptured with their older sibling, always following them around and inadvertently getting on nerves. Only in this case, Tess couldn’t ditch them somewhere.

The woods ahead loomed despite the afternoon sun’s cheery light. Probably because of the obvious hole carved through the trees. The foliage around the hole curled with sickly brown corrosion. A gaping maw to hell that only the foolhardy would take.

Tess steeled herself, rearranging her current skills from archery back to survival. The boxes interrupted her.

Hey! You should have enough to feed your skills with that 70xp! Why not get that Druidry upgrade and talk to animals? Or maybe a bonus to Archery?

 

Tess grumbled, but opened her skill list and purchased 7 tier one packages. For once, Novus was right. She had enough skills to unlock some secondary effects. Effects which could mean the difference between life and death.

The slot machine appeared again—

“I don’t have time for the animations,” Tess growled.

Which was quickly replaced by a wheel with seven flappers in various places. It spun once, curtly, then deposited all seven skills into Tess’s vision.

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