Chapter 450: Steady Climb (1/2)
Ilea returned to Ravenhall the following morning. This time a little earlier to allow for a nice and extended breakfast as the suns rose over the mountains.
The luxury of a buffet served solely for her on a beautiful terrace certainly made up for the rancid smells and blight in the Karheim dungeon. A quick bath in the lake near the city helped clean off most of the dirt and blood. The ice was gone but the water hadn’t been exactly warm. To Ilea, it hardly mattered.
She looked through the steady advancements in her skills with a smile, biting into a croissant.
‘ding’ ‘Sentinel Sphere reaches 3rd lvl 13’
‘ding’ ‘Sentinel Core reaches 3rd lvl 23’
‘ding’ ‘Azarinth Fighting reaches 3rd lvl 26’
‘ding’ ‘Azarinth Perception reaches 3rd lvl 12’
‘ding’ ‘Ashen Wings reaches 3rd lvl 14’
‘ding’ ‘Eyes of Ash reaches 3rd lvl 7’
‘ding’ ‘Avatar of Ash reaches 3rd lvl 21’
‘ding’ ‘Keeper of Ash reaches 3rd lvl 22’
Ilea was very much happy with the quick progress in her class skills. The undead was dangerous and quick, his fighting prowess nothing against her healing, defense and regeneration but if she simply let him come and attack, it was enough.
She didn’t know how long this would work so well. Even with the high level of the creature, which she estimated to be in the late five hundreds or early six hundreds, at some point her skills would slow down. For now, she could benefit from the obvious experience the creature still retained.
The Vampire she had killed in the Descent really would have been a prime candidate for leveling. That thing could even take all of her attack skills without dying. She could have just returned whenever she had time. That option was gone now.
Ilea didn’t regret it exactly, knowing that at the time the class levels had been beneficial. She just had to find an equivalent. The undead was a start but not a replacement.
Could inquire about Vampires. Might be able to find one or the other. Or that Werewolf thing I fought with Edwin and co. Hmm, might not be enough at this point.
She continued eating and read the rest of her notifications.
‘ding’ ‘Monster Hunter reaches 2nd lvl 4’
‘ding’ ‘Arcane Magic Resistance reaches 3rd lvl 12’
‘ding’ ‘Blight Resistance reaches lvl 7’
...
‘ding’ ‘Blight Resistance reaches lvl 10’
‘ding’ ‘Diamond Magic Resistance reaches lvl 10’
…
‘ding’ ‘Diamond Magic Resistance reaches lvl 13’
‘ding’ ‘Emerald Magic Resistance reaches lvl 6’
…
‘ding’ ‘Emerald Magic Resistance reaches lvl 9’
‘ding’ ‘Ruby Magic Resistance reaches lvl 5’
‘ding’ ‘Ruby Magic Resistance reaches lvl 6’
‘ding’ ‘Sapphire Magic Resistance reaches lvl 7’
…
‘ding’ ‘Sapphire Magic Resistance reaches lvl 9’
‘ding’ ‘Topaz Magic Resistance reaches lvl 7’
…
‘ding’ ‘Topaz Magic Resistance reaches lvl 12’
‘ding’ ‘Vine Magic Resistance reaches lvl 3’
…
‘ding’ ‘Vine Magic Resistance reaches lvl 5’
‘ding’ ‘Water Resistance reaches 2nd lvl 5’
Ilea nodded to herself, happy with the improvements. I hope the Descent repopulates with non corrupted creatures. That would be great for resistance leveling.
She wondered how long she should reasonably stay away from the place. The Ascended might not care to hunt her down but the dungeon itself was something it had considered its territory. Might not be the case anymore with what it did to the metal in the end.
Ilea thought a couple of months would be necessary at the very least. Then she could visit Hallowfort again and get some information from Catelyn. She trusted the Fae to inform the fox of her survival.
She finished the hot chocolate with closed eyes, uncaring of the scathing heat pouring down her throat. Some of it was absorbed by her third tier Heat Resistance to provide some warmth. Heart of Cinder could certainly be used for such a result but Ilea currently didn’t have a way to safely get rid of the spell once activated. Sending a beacon of bright energy up into the sky wasn’t something on her list. Especially with the flying guards and birds. Killing humans on accident wasn’t something out of the question anymore.
She left several gold pieces in exchange for two hundred and ninety silver pieces. The waitress reassured her that payment wasn’t necessary but Ilea had already vanished.
Once you’re rich and influential, you apparently don’t have to pay for anything anymore, she thought with a smirk. As if it was an affront to ask the famous Lilith to pay for services or goods provided. Ridiculous.
Jerry looked relieved when Ilea finally showed up, his expression quickly turning to fear as he approached her.
“What’s the matter, Jerry?” she asked with a smile, ignoring the looks from dozens of people hanging around in the arena.
Some of them were trailing the attendant but their questions died down as soon as they spotted Ilea.
“Ah… yes. Greetings, my lady. Erm… it seems the session from yesterday has made its round. I am nearly done with categorizing. Claire informed me to lower the rewards from five silver to two per hour. Nobody left at the announcement so I suggest we lower it further tomorrow. Would that be agreeable to you?” the attendant explained.
“Sure. I trust you two on that so just do what seems appropriate. If possible I suggest we massively increase the reward for new magic provided. Enough to attract Shadows as well,” Ilea explained.
By now she had covered herself with ash. The Healer tag was one thing but she didn’t exactly want every adventurer in the area to know her face.
“Of course. I will discuss the changes. I have listed the main elements for today. Please mark those you do not wish to include,” Jerry added and handed her the book he was carrying.
Ilea glanced through, happy to find a few rarer schools. She scratched the ones she already had at the end of the second tier and added a plus to the rare schools. “Pay the ones I marked with pluses a little better.”
He nodded and took the book back. “I will. If I may add another suggestion,” he said and waited for her to nod. “I suggest we pay those of a higher level with an increased rate. It would both potentially entice some of them to increase their personal power and might attract stronger adventurers.”
“Sure. We can introduce all that gradually. It’s only the second day. Let me know if you have any other suggestions. Discuss them with Claire as well,” Ilea said and stepped to the center of the arena, people stepping aside.
One rather large and heavily armored warrior didn’t step away.
[Warrior – lvl 128]
“Excuse me. That’s my spot. You’re here for the magic training?” Ilea said.
“And you are the one offering it? To level your resistances for sure… I can’t believe a rogue healer would be involved in such a scam. Oh well… when is the noble coming that we will attack?” he asked with disinterest, looking past her.
Some of the people cringed back, others just shook their heads.
Ilea noted that most of them didn’t care either way. She sighed and casually grabbed the man’s arm. She twirled and threw him to the spectator stands, his form crushing several benches in the process.
“Shall we begin then?” she said and clasped her hands together.
Several hours later, she bid farewell to the large group of adventurers.
The undesirables hasn’t been terribly offended when Jerry informed them, merely disappointed that they were not allowed to participate in the lucrative endeavor.
The reduction of the reward proved if anything that the initial sum had been ludicrously high. Only those that had participated on the day prior reacted with more than minor disappointment. Smug more than anything, to have found this gold mine before everybody else.