Tars woke up to the pulsing of a new quest notification. Gaining clarity quickly, the Protector realized he'd slept later than he'd meant to. Considering the strenuous activity of the day before, he wasn't surprised. It would simply take some getting used to.
-Daily Quest- Grow in strength every day!
Regaining your body will not be easy but staying physically weak is not an option.
-Train your Strength 0/2.
-Train your Vitality 0/1.
-Learn a strength-based skill 0/1.
-Learn the 'Parry' skill 0/1.
-Rewards- +1 to Strength, +1 to Vitality, 100 exp.
It seemed like today would be less focus on magic and more physical training. Tars knew he'd been neglecting his sword training and moving his stat points into his mental abilities was only meant to be a short-term solution.
Tars also saw a second new quest available to him. This one was interesting and might solve several of his problems!
-Optional Quest- The God's have limited influence, but the Blessed Ones have solutions.
Your strength is tied to your people. Open the path to their increased might!
Find one who's level is capped 0/1.
Grant them the ability to advance themselves 0/1.
Learn who you are 0/5.
-Rewards- Unlock the Faith stat, gain a title.
This was what Kino had been speaking about in the shed. Before there were God's Tears, there was a way for Blessed Ones to access the system and help people advance their tiers. Tars had believed this to be out of reach and was waiting until he reached a city somewhere.
Now, it seems he had the chance to learn a way to empower his people without a God's Tear. Last time he unlocked a stat it was for 'Divine Energy', which came to him after he'd learned to channel it on his own.
It was a task that came easy, one he'd probably done hundreds, or even thousands, of times. With any luck, Faith would work similarly.
This was something he needed to let the Chief know as soon as possible. There was probably someone in the camp who was capped and had no way of advancing. Either that or they were extremely close.
Considering his late start, Kinton was probably already awake. Tars rushed to get dressed, wanting to start his day. He still needed to give Doster a personal quest as well.
Upon exiting the tent, Tars found people already working on breakfast. Some strips of meat atop a bowl of oatmeal, with several types of fruit to choose from. Avoiding the tart nimberries, Tars took a green, sweeter fruit called a Verma.
Enjoying the fruit, he was given a second one, before leaving to find the Chief.
The Chief was already speaking with people as he carried a wooden goblet filled with his morning tea. Tars nodded and stepped beside Kinton while he finished his conversation.
"Tars, good morning. Anything interesting happen?"
"A couple things," Tars responded. "Do you know of anyone in need of advancement? Needing to increase their tier, or something along those lines."
"Not that I know of," the Chief answered with a shrug, "but we didn't have a God's Tear, so most people would make a trip to the city if they had the need for advancement. Why do you ask?"
"I think I might have a way around needing the God's Tear."
The Chief had a wide smile, his happiness evident. "Good! I was worried that once we left the Ulstwen Kingdom we would have trouble with growth, especially if our new home turns out to be dangerous. That is one less thing to worry about!"
"I don't have the ability yet, that is why I need to find someone who is level capped," the Protector cautioned.
"Tars, I may not have known you long, but I don't doubt your abilities. You'll be fine!"
Tars noticed that the Chief went from shocked by his abilities, to no longer being surprised, and now being almost certain of his skills. He was left wondering why the change was so fast. Perhaps it was some skill from being a Mayor or Chief?
"The second thing was that I have some energy to spare and I need to find Doster."
"Ah, yes. I spoke with Kino already," Kinton said. "He'll be leaving the caravan sometime during the day. Off to scout the route ahead. I told him to study the map as much as possible."
Tars nodded in agreement. He was tempted to tell the Chief to let Kino take the map, but it might be safer to keep the map close to the caravan. The people here needed protection more than Kino would. There would be more danger for the scouts, of course, but they were also better prepared for it.
Tars decided to let the Chief decide where it was most needed. Besides, there might be other things for helping with personal quests or just finding resources and the scouts didn't have the extra time for exploration.
Tars' group, on the other hand, might be able to do some fighting and gathering along the way.
"Is our group scheduled for guard duty today?" Tars asked.
"Yes, same as yesterday. Did you have other plans?"
"I want to do my part, but I also want to take some time to explore some nearby areas. Maybe we could work both first shifts in the day and then explore afterwards?"
"I see," Kinton said and hummed in thought. "I think we can make that work. We'll split your group in half for the first shift. Three of you the first two hours, three the second, and then you can see if there is anything worth investigating."
"Thank you, Chief." Tars didn't have a problem with guard duty, only that he felt pressed for time. They would arrive at the Zagafol Canyon Gate in less than two days and Tars was anxious to reach tier one.
"I'm not sure where Doster is, but I doubt he's far from his family. Let's see if Umia knows where they set up their camp."
Half an hour later, Tars was sitting with Doster, Frint, and his tamed beasts. Doster's quest was rather simple, though not short. He was to increase his skill with the axe all the way to Initiate one, which was the step after Novice 5. He also needed to increase his strength and vitality to 175 each.
Doster had focused on Strength and Vitality, as they were the most useful skills for being a Lumberjack, so he wouldn't need to worry too much about the stats. The interesting part, and the part that might take some work was the third portion of his quest.
'Defeat in single combat a beast that represents strength and vitality. Then eat its heart.'
It sounded like a strange request, but it was one of the necessities for unlocking the class he was working towards. Not that he knew what that class was. But the quest did say that it would grant him a new class option at tier two.
He was also required to teach Tars Axe Proficiency Novice. This was expected, nearly every Blessing he had given to someone involved them teaching the Protector a skill or two. Tars had a feeling these were tasks he hadn't met by tier one last time.
He would find out once he gained his class.
For now, the three were discussing possible beasts for Doster to kill and eat the heart of. There was the boar, elk, bear, buffalo, or maybe a crocodile. There were other things that were stronger, but once they became tier one, they were no longer considered beasts to the system. At that point they were considered monsters.
Tars pulled out his map that he still carried in the quiver. Making sure to look at an area that was close to the camp, and as such not more than an hour away, they tried to find something interesting.
There was a couple of symbols of flowers, which the Elders had guessed meant medicinal plants, as well as what looked like a small pile of rocks. That was believed to be either a type of stone or metal ore.
There was also a stream not too far away with a fish symbol in it.
Wanting a wider view, the map seemed to shrink, with the camp and other symbols becoming smaller and the area around becoming visible, though with less detail.
If Tars made the symbols too small, they disappeared, leaving only cities, territory borders, and large features visible, such as mountains and lakes. After finding just the right amount, Tars was able to see at the edge of the map a white axe symbol that was slowly growing brighter than more dim.
That was how Frint's beast taming quest was the day before. It was likely that this was a target that Doster could go for. "We need to find the Chief!" Doster shouted in excitement.
The plan was made, and when the caravan started moving again, Tars, Frint, Doster, Paschot, Allevia, and Eston did their patrol at the eastern side of the wagon train. They used the map on occasion, but mostly Paschot had Frint trying to teach Allevia what he'd learned the day before.
Had he missed something, or had they encountered something new, Paschot would take over, teaching everyone except Eston, who had similar skills. Tars wanted to ask about the Child of Night class but didn't want to mention it in front of others. It might be something he kept secret. He would only admit to being a rogue, so there was probably a reason.
For the duration of their two-hour patrol, nothing interesting happened. When they saw the other six-man party begin their patrol Tars' group started walking away from the caravan at a quicker pace.
Pulling the map out again, they started in the direction of the white axe symbol. There were several other white wolf head symbols and a couple green ones, but they were farther east than they were going. And since it was even farther from the caravan than it was from the party, they just left whatever they were alone.
It took nearly an hour to get close to the axe symbol, and there were no threats visible on the map during the hike. They did happen across a white flower symbol that was nearby and made a slight detour. Being a white symbol, the group guessed it wouldn't be anything great. Judging by the encounters from the day before, as well as the rarity of certain colors, they'd started to understand the map a little better.
White symbols represented common things. Common ingredients, like the holcor leaves they'd just gathered. They were useable by herbalists and alchemists for making medicine that helps with pain and aids in sleep. For creatures they were just beasts, the equivalent to unclassed beings.
Green was the next rank of difficulty, being tier one monsters or uncommon ingredients. Usually either hard to find or having a small amount of energy of some type.
Next was blue, which were rare items and tier two monsters. This would be a challenge for the group, depending on the type of monster and how many of them there were. But more importantly, there was a blue symbol for stone or ore not too far from the beast they were taking Doster to.
This would probably be a very useful item, whatever it was. Either a metal that Hamal could use to make equipment with, once he had some time for crafting again, or perhaps something valuable like gold or some type of gemstones.
But that was for after. For now, everyone moved slowly and quietly, creating a wide circle around the location of the axe symbol. The quest said he had to fight it by himself, but if it was dangerous and Doster started losing, everyone would assist him in his fight.
They would just have to keep an eye out and try again when another beast was nearby.
Doster approached the small dip in the land, unsure what he would find. As he got closer, he saw a cave entrance between to hills. Unable to see inside, he continued down the hill. Everyone else drew themselves in, making sure to keep Doster in sight.
As Doster got near the entrance the roar of a large beast was heard. Tars watched him dash to the side and turn to face the cave entrance. That was when tars saw it, a beast that was about five feet tall at the shoulder and running on four vicious looking paws. The claws on them were sharp and one swing looked like it could send Doster flying.
Doster slowly backed away, staying just out of reach of the large bear. He seemed to be waiting for the right moment. Everyone else was aiming a weapon of some type, just in case something went wrong.
The beast suddenly dashed at the Lumberjack, trying to bite and then trample him. But Doster surprised the bear, and Tars as well, by gathering power in his legs and making a leap, similar to the one Reppicio had done to leap over the Leaf Covered Deer's barrier.
Doster spun himself around in midair, gathering a bit of momentum and burying his axe into the back leg of the bear. It roared again, this time in pain, as it stumbled. Doster lost his grip on the axe as the bear tumbled to the ground, nearly rolling on top of the axe.
Doster almost fell, being yanked off balance, but he rushed towards the fallen beast and managed to rip his weapon out just as the bear flung itself around to swipe at the Lumberjack.
He got his axe up and braced himself, managing to avoid serious damage. Nothing more than the shock of a powerful swipe straining his arms. Doster didn't waste the chance. The bear was now laying on its side, struggling to rise on its wounded leg.
Tars saw the axe come towards the bears head in a mighty downward chop. As it descended, Tars also caught a soft white glow covering the axe head. He wondered what Martial Skill what was? Maybe when Doster was training Tars with the axe he could teach him the skill also.
Doster pulled the axe back upwards, letting the bear fall to the floor, unmoving. The group approached, the battle now over. The Lumberjack was lightly winded, probably as much from the thrill of the fight as he was from exertion. It wasn't that long of a fight, and Lumberjacks are used to hard work.
Doster then looked at Eston. Could I borrow your knife? I feel like I should do this part myself as well.
He then spent some time cutting out the heart of the bear before looking at it. After a moment's hesitation, he bit into it and ripped a piece of the meat apart. He struggled with it, the taste obviously unpleasant, but Doster persevered. One bite after another, the Lumberjack ate every piece of the bear's heart.
Once he swallowed the last bite, his eyes flashed a bright green, and he gripped his chest with a grimace on his face.
"Doster!" Frint yelled, rushing over to him. The young Archer grabbed his brother, trying to hold him upright.
It only lasted a few seconds, Doster standing straight again. When Frint asked if he was in pain Doster admitted that it had already left.
He then took off his leather vest and lifted his shirt. On his chest, right over his heart was a green bear paw. It looked like a brand made of green magic.
"I also have a new title. 'Heart of the Bear'," Doster said after he righted his clothing.
"Off to check out the other item on the map now?" Allevia asked, excited to see what was coming up next.
Doster looked at the bear and bowed his head in respect and in thanks. It was something most of the villagers dead, giving thanks to what they take from the land. Whether it was the trees they cut down or the beasts they hunt for meat and hides.
"After we finish with the whatever that symbol is, we should bring some of this bear back to the caravan," Doster said.
The group nodded at the request and set off for the symbol of the blue rocks.