am-books Book 2: Chapter 8: A Warm Welcome
Book 2: Chapter 8: A Warm Welcome
Book 2: Chapter 8: A Warm Welcome
The next morning dawned crisp and cool, but Elijah was hesitant to extract himself from his warm, rabbit-fur blankets. Still, he was a creature of habit, and he had many tasks to accomplish before heading to Ironshore. So, he groaned as he threw the comfortable bedding aside and pushed himself to his feet.
Soon enough, he began his morning routine. Starting with a leftover fish stew breakfast and ending with an abbreviated version of his training regimen, it wasn’t long before Elijah was donning his best outfit. It was a toga, just like the one he’d worn for the first meeting, but the stitching was a little tighter, and the fit a little better. Still, he knew he was never going to be much of a tailor, which highlighted one of his goals for the day.
If he did nothing else, he intended to purchase some proper clothing. To that end, Elijah found the little basket where he kept his pilfered etherium and dumped it all in one of his homemade satchels. Then, he gathered the looted weapons in an awkward bundle before heading to the beach where the invaders’ incursion had begun.
The rowboats were all exactly where he’d left them, so he selected the sturdiest one and shoved it into the surf. The water was frigid, but Elijah had grown used to it during his daily swims, so it was only mildly uncomfortable. Likely, that had as much to do with his Constitution as it did his routine. In any case, he pushed the small vessel out to sea, then hopped inside and started rowing across the strait.
As he went, Elijah was reminded of the last time he’d crossed over to the mainland. Back then, he’d been on a mission to rescue a dragon from people intent on draining her for their own cultivation. That had ended with Elijah killing quite a few gnomish ritualists, saving the dragon, and obtaining a Dragon Core. That Core cultivation had, in turn, given him the strength to kill the invaders.
He sighed as he continued to row.
So much had happened, and in so little time. Once, he’d struggled to even place on the power ladder, but now? He’d progressed into the top twenty-five, and given the advanced state of his cultivation – which Nerthus claimed should have been impossible on such a young world – Elijah felt comfortable in saying that he was one of the most powerful people on Earth.
Which was insane.
Almost as if to reassure himself, he opened the ladder and found himself in the thirty-second position:
Planetary Power Rankings (Earth)
1. Oscar Ramirez – Level 38
2. Sadie Song – Level 37
3. Hu Shui – Level 35
4. Ram Khandu – Level 35
5. Anupriya Pandey – Level 34
6. Kimberly Jackson – Level 33
7. Abigail Lowrey – Level 33
8. Michael King - Level 33
9. Gunnar Lindstrom – Level 33
10. Thor Gunderson – Level 32
11. Niko Song – Level 32
12. ...
13. ...
14. ...
32. Elijah Hart – Level 30
33. ...
34. ...
35. ...
91. Carmen Rodriguez – Level 21
“Just touch it.”
Elijah approached, trying to ignore the stern-looking dwarf that stood watch. He expected that the robed individual was one of the Envoys of the Cult of the World Tree Nerthus had mentioned. As such, he wanted to avoid offending her. So, he nodded and asked, “May I?”
“You may,” she replied in a gruff voice. “Don’t be expectin’ special treatment from now on, though. You come back ‘ere, and you wait just like everybody else, ya hear?”
Elijah nodded. He’d had no idea that he was skipping to the front of a line, but he wasn’t going to refuse now that it had been arranged. So, he stepped forward and laid one gentle hand on the crystal tree’s trunk.
Immediately, he became aware of a series of notifications waiting to be opened. He cycled through them, and as he did, he recognized them as menus meant to help him navigate the Branch’s various functions. There were almost a dozen headings, but most were inaccessible to him. Instead, only five were available: the Market, the Bank, the Knowledge Base, the Regional Map, and the Communication’s Hub.
The first destination was the Bank. From Nerthus, he knew that each time he’d killed something, the system had marked him for reward. And the Bank was where he could access those rewards.
Copper
Silver
Gold
Platinum
321
92
11
“Can I deposit the coins I already have into the Bank?” Elijah asked, glancing in the Envoy’s direction.
“You may. Simply think it, and the Branch will transfer any coins you have on your person to the Bank.”
Elijah followed the dwarven woman’s directions, and with a stir of Ethera, the coins he had in his pack disappeared. When he looked at the readout for his balance, he was unsurprised to see that it had changed slightly:
Copper
Silver
Gold
Platinum
362
179
11
Satisfied, Elijah moved to the next order of business: accessing the Knowledge Base. To his surprise, there were hundreds of topics ranging from crafting methods to faction information, with some of the Guides carrying hefty price tags. So, he satisfied himself with subjects pertaining to the system itself. Still, he spent three gold on almost two dozen guides before he finally settled on one called “A Practical Guide to Progression.” It was touted as a sort of progression-for-idiots instruction manual, and Elijah eagerly paid the fifteen silver to gain access.
When he’d finished, twenty-two crystalline leaves grew from the tree’s branches, but Elijah wasn’t finished. He still wanted to check out the Market, the Regional Map, and the Communications Hub. The last, he hoped might give him some insight into where his sister might have ended up.
As it turned out, all three topics were largely useless for him. The Regional Map only showed one other settlement, and it was almost two-hundred miles away. It was also the only accessible target for communications. The Market was a little better, but Elijah held off on buying any of the few items available to him. He still had more practical concerns, and he didn’t want to spend all his money on frivolity.
So, with that done, he collected the leaves, tossing them into his satchel, and let Ramik lead him away from the Branch and to what he dubbed the Crafting District.