Chapter 60 (1/2)

It had been a little under two weeks since the Newbie Barrier had fallen around Donnyton, and it had been an extremely busy time for Sam. Much to Sam’s disgust, Daniel was pushing very strongly for an increase in the differentiation between ranks. So Sam had received the task of creating a new ranking system for the village.

Outwardly grumbling, but inwardly rather smug that he had another chance to put off all of the other busywork that Daniel demanded and just experiment with Bone Shaping, Sam assented.

This new push for a more complication of the ranking system stemmed directly from some of the other more pressing activity in the recent weeks; the consolidation of the squad system and the preparations for the incoming tribulation.

The former was going quite smoothly; By and large, all Classer’s were separated into groups of 10, 9 squad members and a leader. There were a few exceptions to the numbers, based on need and special interest, but by and large this had held to. Thus far, they were in the mid 20s in solidified squads, while there was a pool of regular members and “officer track” people who were randomly grouped together and made to play war games under the watchful eye of Dozer, Decklan, and Donny.

If a squad seemed to gel, they would become an official unit, and receive their call sign, and their current number. The call sign would never change, but their number could; it was based the the ranking of their perceived strength, so  that could go up or down depending on the situation.

Regina had commented that while currently effective, the squad system was only a short term solution. As the number of people in the village increased, they would likely need to have experience fighting as a larger unit. Better to start looking for another tier, a Company of men, and train someone to manage that many men. She continued to point out that the great flaw of the current system is often times, the strongest or second strongest person in the squad is the squad leader, and at the front lines of fighting constantly. This allows for very little tactical deviation once the fighting starts. There is just no way for a person fighting to have the vision to spot the enemies weaknesses, and exploit them.

Sam thought she had a point, but Dozer and Donny seemed nonplussed by her words. Sam almost laughed aloud at their expressions. Sure, they were strong, but they just seemed so young sometimes.

Not that he could blame them for their confusion. If things stayed as they have been, they wouldn’t need a Company. The fall of the Newbie Barrier did indeed mean that more monsters spawned in the area, and stronger ones, occasionally double as strong, but after a few close scrapes, they had hammered out a rough patrol schedule, and dealt with most of the incursions.

Other than that, very little had really changed. Raid Bosses were a concern, but Glendel’s new abilities had been invaluable at finding and identifying them, rendering them pretty harmless. Other than that, there just wasn’t a unifying foe anymore, like the monster horde had been, to keep them on their toes, and make them work hard to survive.

There was of course, the looming Tribulation, but up until now, no one had seen it.

That, Sam reflected, was having a strange psychological effect on Donnyton.

They were constantly, training, grinding themselves to a point, ready for the oncoming, vicious sphinx. Vigilant patrols scoured the area. Any non domesticated monsters were killed seemingly seconds after they spawned. All in all, Donnyton had become a very safe and orderly place.

Still, everyone was waiting for the hammer blow to fall.

But Sam shook his head, focusing on his current task. In order to provide at least a little differentiation, he was making several types of pendants, created through his Bone Shaping. For the general groups, that weren’t part of the squads, they were given a bone pendant in the symbol of their use. These were for the general corps that didn’t yet make it into a squad

A weird flame shaped bone for the mages. A cross for the Healers. An axe for Dozer’s squad, a shield for Donny’s, a curved dagger for Decklan’s. This group of pendants was annoying to make, due to their group size. Sam was forced to spend most his mana pool and use mana potions to continue on with the project.

Bone shaping, by itself was simple. Sam used his hands, infused with mana, to rub the bones. It was a gradual process, but some of the mana would sink into the surface of the bone, and Sam would still maintain a certain measure of control over it.

After a sufficient amount of mana was rubbed into the bone, he pressed, driving the mana up and forward, into the shape he wanted. The bone slowly twisted and stretched, moving to fill that shape.

Not enough mana, and the skill failed, and he was left with a strange, twisted bone. Too much mana, and the bone exploded. Press too hard, and the bone exploded. Press too soft, and nothing happened for several seconds, and then the bone dissolved into powder as the mana diffused.

Sam had practiced obsessively these past few weeks, slowly reducing the percentage of bones that he wasted through his skill.

Although it wasn’t outwardly obvious, Sam was a prideful man. Early on, when the village had been established, his skill with an axe and construction had given him what he thought was a pretty significant head start in terms of paths, which translated into higher stats.

It was nice, in a way, protecting the girls and even that asshat Kal, wielding his axes with wild abandon, running solely on the thrill of adrenaline while monsters rushed forward...

But as the Classers leveled, that stat advantage disappeared. And then Vivian, Ellaine, and Kal left, wanting to flee to “civilization.” All he had left was Lyra, but of course by that point she no longer needed his protection; Sam couldn’t fathom the extent and methods of her skills, but he couldn’t deny the results she had achieved.

In fact, she had been visiting The Ghosthound these past weeks, giving him lessons in the control of mana…

Sam chuckled despite himself, his smile grim. Was even he beginning to just call Randidly the Ghosthound…? It was a sobering thought. Although Randidly was clearly the most powerful and versatile person in the village…

He bore so much weight on his shoulders…

Sighing, Sam turned back to his final project for the new stratification system. For the squads, he made the numbers 50-11, simple, plain numbers of bone, which would be worn by the squad leader. For the final 10, however, he used larger pieces of bone, which would be worn on the squad leaders back. These took a few tries, but make them he did, resplendent as graceful bones, displayed in roman numerals.

X, IX, VIII, VII, VI, V, IV, III, II, and finally I.

These would be the pride of Donnyton, Sam hoped. The honor that all the Classers strived for.

And the non-Classers, Sam supposed. There were several competing, although there was sometimes some grumbling when they were included on your team. It did raise their skills more quickly, which was helpful. It also was becoming increasingly obvious that having a NCC gave squads certain advantages.

Often they knew most basic combat skills, and could fill multiple roles in combat. Healer, Mage, Tank.

Unfortunately, this versatility came at the cost of low health, mana, and stamina pools; they usually rather quickly had to rely on potions.

For the I, the top ranked squad, Sam reverently used a bone from the Tribulation Randidly had killed. They were darker than normal bones, a grey blue, almost resembling metal. This, after all, was the pinnacle. It should be worth striding for.

Then Sam examined the piece of equipment he had made, then chuckled.

Livery of the First Squad Lvl 29: A sigil made for the best. Wearer receives +50 Health, Mana, and Stamina. Those under the command of the Wearer receive +10 Health, Mana, and Stamina.

Sam nodded, pleased with himself. The others had granted small amounts of health or stamina, but this was a much more significant amount. There were, after all, perks to being on top.

They had already arranged a system of challenges, so the lower squads could fight to gain rank, but it hadn’t been used overmuch thus far. Now, the pendant wearers would try to obtain a top 10 ranking, for the extra bonuses the larger pieces granted. And those in the top 10…

Would aim for the top.

Wistfully, Sam wondered how he would fare, should he join the pool to be placed into a squad. Although he felt he was slightly inadequate in comparison to the top tier, he thought that he matched up pretty well in comparison to most people’s physical specs. He was nearing 20 in almost everything. Perhaps not super impressive, but still…

A throat clear caught Sam’s attention, and he looked up. Daniel stood there, fidgeting slightly.

Sam chuckled. “How long were you waiting?”