Chapter 253: Resourceful Dwarf (1/2)
“How did I do?” The dwarf asked, all the fighting tests through. Ilea healed up the wound and switched to her armor again. The helmet stayed off as she sat down on the fountain rubble.
He could teleport, could see magic and could definitely crack into some places. She was sure his pure physical force didn’t topple her own but he could focus it better than she could. Perhaps if her ash improved more she’d rival him but for now it might be an asset. Ilea was definitely more interested in what information he had to share so far. Elfie had precious little to say about the undead and the dungeon as well as other monsters in the area.
“You did alright. Now try not to get hit.” Ilea said and punched at him, happy to find only air where her fist landed. The dwarf was in the air, flying towards the exit of the dungeon. He’s actually running. Smart move. Wings materialized behind her, ashen limbs moving to her side to create a more aerodynamic form before she blinked up and sped up. The dwarf was teleporting as well but Ilea’s speed was on a completely different level. Appearing behind him, she grabbed on and pushed down, the two of them tumbling in the air before they crashed into one of the houses close to the top of the city.
Ilea held on, her hands bending the metal away a little as she tried to pry open his chest. His laser formed but ash moved into his arm to prevent an attack. His drill she simply ignored, the blade cutting into a wall of ash that grew and grew, more of it pushing into all the openings in his exoskeleton. Finally overwhelming the mechanism, the two plates moved aside and a bleeding Terok was revealed, looking at her with big eyes. Three metal spikes rushed out towards her but Ilea caught two of them, the third one deflected by an ashen limb. “Give up?” She asked, three more limbs ending in hardened spikes hovering close to his face.
“You win.” Terok said, holding up his hands as the kinetic power in the metal projectiles subsided. “Couldn’t even get to the entrance.” He spat some blood, Ilea pushing healing magic through his armor with her ash. Standing up, the ash moved out of his suit and spread around her, a lot of it disintegrating.
Ilea leaned on an intact wall, looking at him as the machine closed again, even bent and damaged it worked. “How does it close at this point?”
“You mean my rig? Metal magic. Otherwise I’d have to dump it after every little bit of damage. Broken enchantments are more of a problem usually.” He explained, standing again.
“Good thing the knights aren’t exactly as quick as I am. And they can’t fly. Ready to face one?” She grinned.
“You really meant that… can’t be worse than you if you manage to kill them.” He grumbled, smashing two fists together.
Ilea wasn’t so sure about that, “They won’t hold back. And they go for the kill. Whatever they were before, they’re the best swordsmen and women I’ve ever faced.”
“Doesn’t mean much with your age.” He said and chuckled but definitely not as casually as he behaved back in his house.
“You be the judge of that.” Ilea said and jumped out of the now damaged ancient house, landing with a thud on the cobbled stone floor. Terok followed quickly, landing with grace. She observed through her sphere and was sure now that his control over metal was miles ahead of Kyrian. “What’s your metal control at?”
“Two twenty. Third stage as soon as I reach two hundred but I don’t expect that to happen anytime soon.” The dwarf replied.
Ilea grunted and summoned her notebook, starting towards an area she still considered unsafe. “You don’t look as old as you say. I thought people wanted to hit two hundred before they’re past their prime.”
“Don’t know a lot of dwarves do you. Our lifespan is quite a bit longer than a human’s. No wonder you lot rush leveling like that.” He said and laughed. “You can’t be under fifty.”
She raised her eyebrows, “Fifty? Someone else might’ve interpreted that as an insult.”
Terok held up his hands in defense, “Not a lot of humans around here. And those that are have reached high levels already. I never learned about age differences in your race.”
“I’m closing in on my mid twenties.” Ilea said, “I guess I look that age as well but having reached two hundred I’m not sure how I’ll go from here.”
“You can heal yourself. I don’t think your face will change any time soon. Higher chance of having it smashed in by some unreasonable monster you challenge.”
Ilea nodded. It was nice not having to worry about that but it had never really been a concern of hers anyway. Perhaps she’d learn to appreciate it more when she had hit her fifties. “You said humans rush leveling?”
“Sure you do. I doubt you had all skills at the end of the second tier before you passed the threshold.”
“I don’t think I did but it was close enough.” She said. Most of her Azarinth skills had been in the second tier before hitting level hundred already.
“Well you should try to max them before you get to three hundred. Bonuses from more specialized and rare classes are usually worth much more than the stats you get for pure levels.” Terok explained.
Ilea stopped walking and turned towards him, “Three hundred is always a class evolution?”
“Mostly. Before two hundred it can happen pretty much randomly. Had one guy tell me he could evolve at one eleven. Weirdest one I heard of. Two fifty can happen as well but it’s rare. Three hundred is always one as far as I know.”
Ilea was skeptical, “You seem to know a damn lot about high level shenanigans. Being at one eighty. How’d you get that knowledge? And how do you know it’s true?”
Terok just shrugged, a gesture that looked rather impressive with his massive metal suit on, “Living in the north for this long I got around. Travelers, explorers and dark ones visiting Hallowfort have made similar experiences. We’re survivors Ilea and information like that benefits everyone. I know you humans don’t think like that and trust me back in Eranur, the city I grew up in people were the same.”
“As to if it’s true at all… well I don’t know. I don’t think everybody is a liar and the stories I’ve heard came from direct sources. Comparing them gives me somewhat of a picture. Though it’s rare enough to meet someone above three hundred after all.”
Ilea listened to him. Compared to the elf, he was ready to share whatever information he could with her. Perhaps he was making some of it up but it sounded plausible enough so far, “Anything else you would suggest me do before hitting three hundred. Not that these knights are enough for that.”