NOVEL NEXT Chapter 38: The Day of Miracles
Tom & Alex walked towards the parking lot.
Tom let out a long breath.
"Oh my god, that was awful. We need to find someone to do this stuff for me."
"Nope, you're the face of the party. Deal with it." Alex shot back.
Her smile faded as they came to the parking lot. Bodies were lined up on plastic sheets. They were slashed, burned, shot, bitten, and crushed to death. He was really glad Chloe wasn't with him right now. She had gotten bored and gone off to play with the other kids. He turned to Major Adams and Sgt.Thorn.
"Major Adams, that is a lot of dead people," Tom said.
"It's been a bad two days. We keep turning up bodies. We have about a hundred here so far and more coming every hour."
Tom approached the nearest person. The guy was wearing a chef's outfit and appeared to have had his thoughts ripped out. Tom activated [Thirst for Knowledge].
DING!!!
Name: Will Thawne
Titles: None
Race: Human
Type: Humanoid
Bloodline: None
Level: 0
Immune: None
Resist: None
Weak: None
Bane: Manslayer
HP: 0/150
Stamina: 240
MP: 180
Skills: StoryTeller, Pursuit Hunter
Somehow, that just made it worse. Knowing that this was a person and not background art. A mix of guilt, shame, and anxiety all bubbled up inside of his stomach. Had he been right to head straight to Hopkins? He could have done something … done what? Run around trying to save people like Iron Man? No, Hopkins was the best move. He probably should have sent up the beacon earlier, but he wanted to sleep without an army of people trying to break into his new home.
Tom pushed away all of his meandering thoughts as he activated [Hand of Mercy]. It was time to show what he was worth.
Just like Skippy, Will's injuries disappeared as his body was restored to its original condition.
<[Hand of Mercy] has Reached Level 4>
"Holy shit," Adams muttered
"I can't believe it, I ---" Thorn began when Will jerked.
Will's entire body contorted as he unleashed a blood-curdling scream as he grasped his throat, his hands searching for an injury that was no longer there. Tom pressed his hands to his ears as he waited for Will to stop freaking out.
"Well, this is new!" Tom shouted. "The other two people weren't this noisy!"
Alex cast a spell, and suddenly, the noise cut off as a silencing barrier surrounded the man.
"That's better," Alex said. "Too loud."
Sgt.Thorn shot her a look that might have melted steel, and then someone joyfully shouted out, "WILLIAM!!"
Tom turned to see a man running towards Will, wrapping him up in his arms and peppering him with kisses as tears rolled down his face. Alex cautiously dropped the barrier.
"What happened? Where am I?" Will asked as he started to calm down
Will was also crying, but it was less relief and more, 'I just suffered through something awful, and suddenly it's over, and now I'm freaking out.'
"Your back." the other man said.
"Well, sir, it's a bit of --" Major Adams began.
But Tom was already tired of this. There were at least a hundred bodies in the parking lot, and he wasn't going to spend all day waiting through tearful reunions.
"You died. I brought you back, end of story." Tom cut in, his ability to socialize having long since dried up. Now, could you please move so I can resurrect the next person?"
Everyone looked at him, flabbergasted.
"You realize this is going to become a weekly, if not daily, thing, right? Abbadon has already died twice. So move out of the way and let me resurrect the next person in the room, please." Tom said.
Will and his brother, lover? He wasn't sure which. Regardless, those two stood up and shuffled out of the way, their faces a mix of shock and relief.
"That was unnecessary cold," Adams said.
"Have you ever played an MMO? You die a lot. If I let everyone who comes back from the dead have a breakdown, I'm going to be here all day," Tom said.
In truth, he was going to be here all day, simply due to how little mana he had. Opening up the guild interphase, he issued a new quest.
DING!!!
You have Issued the Quest: Resurrection Duty Ⅰ
The Awoken Myths guild has been asked to help bring a bunch of people back from the dead. Unfortunately, the mana cost involved is not cheap, and a ritual has been devised to share the burden. Join the guild leader in the Parking lot and participate in a ritual to bring your loved ones back to life.
Objectives:
Report to the Guild Leader and participate in the ritual to share the mana costs of resurrecting the dead.
Failure Conditions:
Don't show up
Rewards: 1000 XP per person you help resurrect.
Penalty: None
Time Limit: End of the day
Tips: If you die, then you better pray that a bunch of people show up to donate their mana for your resurrection costs, so get out here and help.
Tom nodded as he activated the quest. The reward would allow people to get at least one level, maybe four. Turning to Alex, he snapped off his instructions.
"Alex, make sure everyone lines up by the doors. I need them to come in groups of roughly one thousand mana. Once we resurrect them, I need the patient to be removed as quickly as possible so we can start on the next person, victim, or corpse."
"Sure. Do you want coffee with that?" she asked cheekily as she moved to deal with the influx of people.
"Hold on, these people just went through trauma." Major Adams began.
"I don't care at the moment. Time is our most valuable commodity right now, and I am not wasting it on people's emotions. They are alive; they can complain about that on their own time, not mine," Tom said.
Tom didn't want to argue. He just wanted to resurrect people and then move on to the next project. He tried to use earth magic on the asphalt to carve the runes into the ground for a permanent ritual. But nothing happened.
"What the?" Tom muttered as he tried to pull on the earth again.
There was clearly some kind of reaction he just couldn't.
CRUNCH
Two chunks of asphalt ripped out of the ground.
"Huh," Tom muttered. "Hey, does anyone know what asphalt is made out of?"
"Gravel and Bitumen," The Major said.
"What's Bitumen?" Tom asked.
"Byproduct of petroleum," the Major said. "Why?"
And now Tom understood.
"Ooh, ok. That explains it. I can use Earth magic to control the gravel but not the Bitumen. So I can't make a permanent ritual on the asphalt."
"Is this a problem?" Major Adams asked.
"It's inefficient. I can't make a permanent ritual circle, so I will have to make a temporary one for every ritual, which will increase the mana cost and slow us down." Tom said disdainfully.
Even as he was talking, he was conjuring glyphs with light magic, creating a beautiful glowing circle humming with magic.
Despite how much mana this was going to cost, it was still the easiest ritual he had ever done in the real world. Mainly because it did little more than turn the other participants into mana batteries. Within ten minutes, the ritual was set up, and Ling had organized a line outside. She had also arranged for four people to move bodies into position.
"Alright, let's start!" Tom called out. "First group!"
Two people came up first. Tom remembered them as two of the intrepid wizards. They quickly made their way into the circle that would allow him to siphon off the mana, and then he activated the ritual. He filled their mana directly into [Hand of Mercy]. A few moments later, the corpse twitched to life. Before that, the woman started to scream as she came back to herself. Then Alex silenced her again.
"Alright, pick her up and take her inside. Put a new corpse in the circle and call in the next group of people!!!" Tom said as he created a brand new circle.
This was going to be a long day.
<[Hand of Mercy] has Reached Level 5>
<[Hand of Mercy] has Reached Level 6>
<...>
<[Hand of Mercy] has Reached Level 14>
<[Art of Life] has Reached Level 16>
<[Art of Life] has Reached Level 17>
<...>
<[Art of Life] has Reached Level 20>
<[The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] has Reached Level 27>
<[The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] has Reached Level 28>
<[Words Will Always Retain their Power] has Reached Level 19>
<[Words Will Always Retain their Power] has Reached Level 20>
<[Universal] has Reached Level 18>
<[Wordsmith] has Reached Level 24>
<[Library of Akashic Records] has Reached Level 20>
<[Thirst for Knowledge] has Reached Level 14>
<[Thirst for Knowledge] has Reached Level 15>
<[Thirst for Knowledge] has Reached Level 16>
<[My Mind is a Temple The Soul the Altre] has Reached Level 31>
<[My Mind is a Temple The Soul the Altre] has Reached Level 32>
<...>
<[My Mind is a Temple The Soul the Altre] has Reached Level 34>
<[Analyze Person] has Reached Level 21>
<[Best of Both Worlds] has Reached Level 11>
<[Best of Both Worlds] has Reached Level 12>
Tom felt drained. People had been arriving all day, and some of them had brought their dead with them, so he ended up needing to resurrect over a hundred fifty people. The worst part was how everyone freaked out after coming back from the dead. He would have to add a silence effect so that the next time, they wouldn't make any noise. Regardless, the skill growth had been fantastic.
Tom & Alex slumped against the railing as he looked out on the now semi-empty parking lot. Most people had gone inside to get away from the winter air. But Major Adams and Sgt. Thorn was still outside, just staring at him in awe.
"Are you ok?" Major Adams asked. "That looked kinda taxing."
"Yeah," Tom said. "Just having a migraine. I just forced a stupid amount of mana through my body. At least [Hand of Mercy] leveled up. Honestly, at this rate, it might be the second skill to hit 100."
"What is the first skill?" Sgt. Thorn asked.
"[Meditation] you can literally grind that skill in your sleep, so it almost always hits level 100 first …" Alex trailed off as she stretched.
Tom walked back into the school, finding dozens of people waiting at the door for him. He immediately recognized some of them as people he had healed or resurrected. The moment he walked in, the room fell silent as everyone turned to face him. One of the men he had resurrected came forward.
"You saved my life. I don't know how to repay you," Will said.
Tom gave his best fake smile as he shook Will's hand. "It was my pleasure, Will."
A woman approached him, her eyes red from crying. "My daughter...you brought her back. Thank you."
Tom said awkwardly. "I'm glad I could help."
Tom was suddenly overwhelmed as more people and more people came forward. Some shook his hand or hugged him, and a few even kissed him, but many more reached out to touch him reverently, their hands brushing against his arms, shoulders, and neck as he passed. Whispered words of gratitude echoed in his ears. And he tried to smile at them warmly despite how uncomfortable this made him feel.
They looked at him with utter adoration as if he were a savior. He could see their blind faith, the belief that he could make everything right. They seemed to hang onto his every word, worshiping the very ground he walked on.
Tom hated it. It was deeply uncomfortable, and a part of him just wanted to blast them all back with a spell. But he didn't. He needed to keep the school, and these people would be useful, even if their worship was extremely undesirable. For him, resurrecting all those people was a task, a chore that he had to do because they had failed to remain alive. He hadn't been expecting this almost fanatical worship.
Eventually, he got through the crowd, but only after his personal space had been violated way too many times. People had shaken his hands, hugged him, and touched him like he was the second coming of Jesus. A small part of him considered just fireballing the entire group so he could get some space. But no, he persevered, and he reassured dozens of people that he would keep them safe from the monsters.
"We're not just surviving. We're building our community, our new lives. And we can do it together," Tom said, trying his best to make the people go away.
The crowd erupted into cheers and applause, but Tom just felt a lump in his throat. He just wanted them to leave. He wasn't special. Hell, he definitely didn't deserve praise for something so basic. He just wanted his guild to prosper, build up his settlement, go on adventures, and have fun. Was that too much to ask for?!
When he finally managed to get away from the crowd, Tom made his way to a quieter corner of the school where the Major found him.
"Tom," Major Adams said, approaching him. "Are you okay?"
Tom chuckled, but the exhaustion was evident in his eyes. "The next time that happens, just shoot me. Seriously, I got blown up by a fireball, fought my way through an undead dungeon, healed my arm from kindling, watched my friends die and come back to life, fought off an army of imps, killed two higher demons plus a demon lord, and somehow this was more stressful than all of that. I'm honestly reconsidering just blowing this whole settlement shit off and leaving you guys to deal with it yourselves."
The Major smiled, and Tom could easily tell he was relieved that he wasn't letting the near fanatical worship feed his ego thanks to [Analyze Person].
<[Analyze Person] has Reached Level 22>
'Thanks system.' Tom thought sarcastically
"Take a break, Tom," Major Adams said firmly. "You've done more than enough for today."
Tom rolled his eyes. "Yeah, because I don't have anything better to do than take a nap. Nah, I still need to do a few things before I hit the hay. Don't worry; this is something I actually like doing."
Tom walked off, but despite what he said to the major. He didn't immediately move off to deal with the other items on his to-do list. First, he found a quiet spot to sit down and pull out his phone to play a few games. He started with Hearthstone, and he needed some normalcy. Unfortunately, the servers were down, so he switched over to Solitar and started to play a few hands. After a few hands, he started to feel normal. He was just getting through his sixth game when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He whipped his head around to find Alex looking down at him.
"Playing anything good?" she asked
"Just solitaire," he admitted sheepishly. "I needed a break after … that."
"Yeah, I think I need one of those as well," she said as she sat down on the bench next to him.
"Hey, after we finish all of the shit, you want to play civ five tonight?" Tom asked sheepishly.
"Fuck yes," Alex responded. "Civ five was way better than six."
You may skip to the next chapter.
Name: Tom Bruner
Race: Half-Elf ()
Type: Humanoid
LVL: 13
SubRace: High Elf / Caucasian
Age 18
Health: 455
Stamina: 585
Mana: 2340
Health Regen: 6.5 per hour
Stamina Regen: 7.8 per min
Mana Regen: 13.0 per min
Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths, Guild Master
Immune
None
Resistances
Mental 50% Soul 34%
Weakness
None
Bane
Manslayer
Classes: Augur 10, Tactiction 1, Scribe 1, Pro-gamer 1
Total
STR: 13
AGIL: 13
DEX: 11
CON: 39
END: 13
PER: 130
INT: 117
WILL: 104
SPIRIT: 26
EGO: 13
CHA: 78
LCK: 13
Base
STR: 13
AGIL: 13
DEX: 11
CON: 39
END: 13
PER: 130
INT: 117
WILL: 104
SPIRIT: 26
EGO: 13
CHA: 78
LCK: 13
Personal: +4 PER +4 WILL +3 INT +3 CHA
Racial: +3 WILL +2 CON +2 CHA +1 SPIRIT
Bloodline: +5 PER +5 INT
Level Bonus: +1 to all Stats
Bloodline:
[Bloodline of the Keeper of Akashic Records]—Forgotten: Through your vein runs the blood of the forgotten Keepers of the Akashic Records. These monks, scribes, and scholars helped create the system, and within their blood are the keys to its secrets.
- [The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] - Level 26 >> Level 28
- [Words Will Always Retain their Power] - Level 18 >> Level 20
- [Library of Akashic Records] - Level 20 >> Level 21
- [Universal] - Level 17 >> Level 18
- [Wordsmith] - Level 23 >> Level 24
- [My Mind is My Temple, My Soul the Altar] - Level 30 >> Level 34
- [Thirst for Knowledge] - Level 13 >> Level 16
- [Visions of Akashic Records] - Level 11
- [Soul Forge] - Level 25
- +5 PER per level
- +5 INT per level
Skill Slots: 18/60: Skill Points: 2
Personal Skills
- [Analyze Person] - Level 20 >> Level 22
- [Best of Both Worlds] - Level 10 >> Level 12
- [Art of Water] - Level 7
- [Art of Earth] - Level 4
- [Teacher] - Level 9
Augur 07/16
- [Augurs Eye] - Level 7
- [Bright Arts] - Level 25
- [Art of Life] - Level 15 >> Level 20
- [Prophetic Meditation] - Level 27
- [Far Seeing] - Level 11
- Capstone: [Hand of Mercy] - Level 3 >> Level 14
- [Quest Giver] - Level 1
Tactician 05/6
- [Nascent Guild Leader] - Level 11
- [Leadership Ⅱ] - Level 16
- [Raider Ⅰ] - Level 15
- [Coordinate Ⅱ] - Level 10
- [Logistics Ⅱ] - Level 12
Pro-Gamer 01/11
- [Spell Trap] - Level 1
Scribe 01/6
- [Contract] - Level 9