Nerd Sessions

Chapter 4: Over Hill and Under Tree

"Of all the things to run into," Derv groaned, gripping his staff tightly, "It had to be a whole fucking satyr raiding party…"

In the northern wooded regions of the Land of Wen (formerly known to adventurers as most of Canada), satyrs were hands-down the most prevalent of the demihuman races one was likely to encounter, with no less than three raids dedicated almost entirely to them. To help give this impression, the developers of Elder Tale created small, randomly-timed events where a large pack of satyrs would band together and attempt to invade one of the Lander villages in the region. Since these events tended to be advertised in the game, the attempted invasions usually devolved into killing fields where the adventurers would outright slaughter the satyrs for loot and experience.

Unfortunately, such warnings no longer existed. So now Derv and Vellrish found themselves in a frantic battle against a hundred satyr invaders which, unlike the goblins they'd fought further south, were no pushovers.

Case in point…

Invading Satyr Skirmisher

Demihuman, Lv. 63

Rank/Normal

The demihuman hollered as it charged towards the summoner, rancid spittle flying from its mouth. Brandishing a jagged scimitar, it swung a bulky arm down toward him…

"Elemental Bolt!" he shouted, directing an open palm at his pursuer. A blue bolt of frost burst forth, crashing into the satyr's chest and sending it flying back. Much to Derv's dismay, however, the satyr rose again with still roughly half its HP.

"Christ, this is getting annoying," Derv panted, already running away from the enraged satyr. While its movements were momentarily slowed by the debuff applied by the ice-type attack, he could only run so fast.

This was the primary drawback of the summoner class. While it was true that the class could form a contract with and command all manner of beasts, monsters, and spirits, the offensive abilities of the player alone were virtually nil and totally reliant on the summon.

Thankfully, summons could be quite reliable.

A torrent of water crashed into the satyr's side, appearing as if out of thin air. The satyr cried out and thrashed as the water quickly wrapped around it, capturing it within a floating orb. Yue drifted through the air next to Derv, twisting her arms in unison with the spinning globe of water. The satyr was still visible within, panic firmly etched on its near-human face as it desperately tried to escape.

But such was not meant to be. Yue's sleek silvery arms suddenly went rigid, and with them the water. Then, slowly raising an open hand, the undine smiled slightly. Her fingers began to tighten into a fist and the water responded, freezing and utterly trapping the drowning satyr within a sphere of ice. She swung her fist almost dismissively, smashing the ice globe against the tree and shattering it, along with her captive, into a million pieces.

Derv gulped. "You know, Yue…" he spoke hesitantly. "You could've just killed him quickly with an Ice Arrow."

The undine shrugged her slim shoulders. "Maybe, but that's booo~oooring." Yue grinned as she spun higher into the air, pointing in the distance. "Oooh, there's more over there! Let's go kill them, Master!"

The ritual summoner followed her gaze and sure enough four more satyrs were barreling toward them, bounding easily over the thick underbrush. While their appearances slightly varied, some sporting fine black fur while others had a ragged, mangy brown, each one wore an expression of absolute bloodlust and hate in their red eyes.

Still, they were nice enough to be packed close together, which made them ripe for...

"Yue, use Freezing Liner." Derv commanded. Still smiling, Yue pushed her hands forward.

…a well-placed AoE. A surge of chilling frost erupted and swept up the charging satyrs, killing two outright and sending the other two screaming back into a tree. The survivors, with barely a sliver of HP left, were quickly killed off by a pair of quick Ice Arrows. Gold clinked as it fell to the ground, the sole physical remains of the satyrs.

Despite that, Derv frowned. When he and Vellrish ran into the invading horde, they'd been forced to split up due to bad positioning. Unfortunately, they'd been unable to regroup yet due to the constant demands of both running from and fighting their much more numerous foe. Derv had hoped that at least the satyrs would've divided more evenly to pursue the separated brothers, but if all he was getting were these measly packs…

Heart gripped in panic, Derv began running in the direction he'd last seen Vellrish.

-NS-

"Quick Assault!"

His body launched, crashing him into the latest group to attack him. The satyr he'd targeted died instantly, fading into nothingness even as its comrades surrounded him.

"Viper Thrash!"

A slice at the arms, crippling a satyr as it found its tendons cut and blood pouring out of its wounds.

"Dance Macabre!"

His blades glowed bright blue, humming with energy. Another satyr fell.

Screaming with vengeance in their hateful eyes, the rest of the demihumans dog-piled him. He was briefly stunned, almost overwhelmed by the sudden charge and taking more hits than he would've liked.

"Whirlwind!"

He spun, striking five satyrs with each of his blades. The AoE skill did an even amount of damage to all of them, accompanied by translucent markers appearing where they were struck, but unfortunately none of them seemed perturbed by that. Cursing, he leapt upward to avoid getting mobbed, the frustrated roars of the satyrs behind him.

Vellrish landed on a muma branch above them and stared hungrily at the baying satyrs. More were rushing to join in, at least twenty coming from the direction where'd he last seen Derv. He would've been worried if not for the party window clearly showing his brother was still alive and kicking, if his slowly depleting MP bar was any indication.

His eyes quickly checked the title cards of each satyr to make sure their levels weren't getting any higher and to see any differences in class. Thankfully, most of them were "Skirmishers" and therefore wouldn't be capable of much besides basic attacks. The five hooded satyrs behind the pack cloaked in pitch-black robes and brandishing staffs of muma bark, however…

Invading Soothsatyr

Demihuman, Lv. 67

Rank/Normal

Those assholes could be a problem. If they went unchecked, they'd provide endless buffs and heals from the backline, even potentially harassing him with ranged spells.

One raised a meaty paw and uttered something in a foul tongue, causing a sickly green bolt to shoot forth.

Like that.

Vellrish rolled to the side, dodging the attack. The bolt went wild, shooting off into the canopy. Still, he knew he had to act soon. Thankfully, he had a plan.

It'll probably take out all my damn MP, but it'll be worth. I just have to time this right…

Brandishing his twin short swords, he leapt into the air above the satyrs. As he ascended, he quickly muttered, "Ring of Capability: On." A silver band on his left ring finger glowed blue and, once he felt its effects on him, Vellrish grinned wolfishly and directed a blade at the nearest target.

"Quick Assault!"

Then he was among them. Swashbucklers were notorious for their mobility, being rivaled only by assassins amongst all the classes, and Vellrish put that famed trait to the test. He never stayed in one spot, constantly weaving his way through the satyr ranks and striking at any opening he found. However, he never struck to kill, instead spamming weaker skills that would leave certain markers where he struck.

Some, like those left by Viper Thrash, took the appearance of a fanged snake, signifying a bloody DoT effect. Others, caused by Early Thrust and a host of other skills, looked like playing cards, which meant the target would take bonus damage when hit again. Vellrish's focus was entirely on stacking as many markers as possible on as many foes as possible before the effects of his activated Ring of Capability, which drastically reduced cooldowns for ten seconds, wore off. When those ten seconds ran up, though…

I'll have to use it right away, Vellrish thought. A satyr somehow predicted where he was going to be next and swung accordingly, slicing across the Wolf Fang's chest. Vellrish cursed as he crippled it with a Bloody Piercing. It'd be real fuckin' nice if I had a Phantasmal-rank anything, though… he mentally added bitterly.

The timer went out on the ring's effect. He still hadn't reached the soothsatyrs like he would've liked, but at this point it couldn't be helped. With what he had planned, he couldn't afford to waste any more MP.

So Vellrish leapt back into the air, narrowly avoiding the latest charge by the satyrs, and landed on a branch. Satisfied with the distance between him and the demihumans, he said, "Break Trigger."

The forest floor lit up. The satyrs didn't even have time to scream as explosions erupted on their bodies, enveloping them in vicious flames. Vellrish himself was almost blown away by the shockwave, yelping in surprise and desperately clinging for purchase. Every single satyr that had been marked was killed instantly by the roaring fire, which quickly consumed the rest that hadn't been marked.

Vellrish growled as his body lost almost all of its strength and became lightheaded, the result of a sudden and drastic decrease in MP. Break Trigger'scost was relative to the amount of active markers prior to use, so it only made sense. With lidded eyes, he looked at his handiwork.

Nothing remained of the twenty-odd satyrs, save for small piles of gold and a few items of little worth. Remarkably, the fire seemed to not have spread at all, instead disappearing along with the satyrs. Vellrish realized belatedly that perhaps using an explosive attack in the middle of a forest might not have been the most prudent of actions.

Thank god the weird parts of games still seem to be true, then, he though as he leapt down the forest floor, already reaching for his loot. At least it looks like I got all-

Something struck his side, hissing and burning, which sent him crashing to the ground. "Sonuva bitch!" he groaned into the dirt, rubbing at his side as he right himself. "The hell was… ?"

The soothsatyrs answered him with a barrage of green bolts of magic. Vellrish managed to deflect one, dissipating it with a blade, before being forced to dodge.

This isn't good, Vellrish thought as he ducked underneath yet another attack. I don't have enough MP to close the gap and Break Triggertook a lot more out of me than I thought it would. I might just have to try and find Derv…

"Astral Hypnos!" called out a voice from the trees.

Purple circles appeared around each of the soothsatyrs' heads, swirling at a maddening speed for a second before they dissipated. All five of the demihumans crumbled to the ground instantly, a 'ZZZ' icon above their collapsed bodies.

"Karma Drive!" A four-leaf clover icon appeared in Vellrish's vision. "You got ten seconds, land a crit!" the voice, definitely female, commanded.

He sprinted toward the sleeping soothsatyrs without hesitation, pushing his enhanced body to its limits. With a vicious shout, Vellrish slashed at them, tearing into their flesh, until a ping echoed in his ears the moment he dealt a critical hit. The alert was followed by his lightheadedness completely drifting away and energy surging back into him. He looked at his MP bar, and sure enough it was back to forty percent.

Vellrish grinned. "Dance Macabre!"

After that, it was all too easy.

The soothsatyrs burst into light, reduced to translucent orbs that drifted to the sky. The satisfying clink clink of gold falling to the ground filled Vellrish's canine ears, perking up at the sound. The swashbuckler looked around, searching for the girl who'd helped him.

"Yo, thanks for the help!" he called out into the trees. He paused, considering. "You want half the loot?"

"Yes, actually." Despite the answer, she didn't reveal herself. Instead, it was followed by the grunts of someone moving quickly through the trees overhead.

"So, uh… you gonna come down or what?"

"Would love to!" she shouted, her voice growing distant. "But I kinda gotta keep moving! Just gimme my half next time you see me, 'kay?!"

"But I don't even know who you are!" Vellrish called after her, but she was long gone. He was left alone in the forest, accompanied only by the occasional squawks of wildlife around him. He shook his head as he began collecting loot. "And if you were in such a hurry, why'd you stop to help?" he grumbled to himself. "Weirdo."

"BRO!"

Vellrish turned to see Derv sprinting into the clearing, Yue trailing right behind him with spears of ice at the ready. When Derv saw his brother safe, sound, and surrounded by literal piles of gold, he groaned and fell to his knees, panting heavily.

"For fuck's sake," he breathed, wiping sweat from his brow. "I'm dumping ALL of my points in DEX or VIT or whatever the fuck makes running easier right when I fucking level."

Vellrish laughed at his physically-weaker-and-therefore-inferior brother's plight, gathering gold like the loot hound he was as he did so. "Probably not the wisest idea for a summoner, dude. Why are you even like that, anyway? You didn't have to fucking book it to me, ya know."

"No, I didn't know," Derv said spitefully, finally collecting himself and standing up. "I was trying to save you, ass. Though it seems like you handled it pretty well by yourself."

"Nah, I had help. Some enchanter chick came outta nowhere and did some good support. Really knew what she was doing." He shrugged, golden leather pauldrons shifting with the movement. "Shame she left right after. Didn't even see her."

"Neat," Derv said, clearly enthralled. His gaze wandered hungrily to the majority of the gold that had yet to be touched. "So, since we both aggro'd that whole shitshow together, I was thinking we-"

"Fuck off, my loot."

"Hrm. Then hurry up, Dryad's Grove is close by and I'd like to get this over with. The less chance we have of running into more goddamn satyrs, the better."

"Could you be any saltier?"

"Shutty the fucky uppy."

-NS-

The remainder of the trip to Dryad's Grove had been relatively uneventful and thankfully devoid of rampaging satyrs. Twenty minutes after a very happy Vellrish had finished collecting his loot, the two brothers spotted their destination. A wooden staircase, carved into the bark of an immense muma tree, climbed up to the canopy and led to the town above. To their surprise, they found two adventurers, both members of Q.Q., guarding it.

"Yo," called out one, a dwarf guardian. A beefy, plated hand rested easily on the mace at his side. He eyed Derv and Vellrish wearily as they approached. "You guys from Great Lakes?"

LookMa

Race/Dwarf

Guardian, Lv.73

Q.Q.

"Yeah, just came from there," Derv answered. They stopped at the staircase, unsure if the two Q.Q. members would just let them pass.

"How's it lookin' down there? We haven't left here since shit hit the fan."

"Uh, alright I guess?" Derv scratched the back of his head. "The big guilds seem to be fine, but most people are just kinda moping around and staying in the city, last I checked."

"Hmph. Pussies," LookMa grunted."At least most of 'em didn't lose two fuckin' feet."

"Yeah, I'm sure your life is just utter hell right now," growled the werecat next to him.

Tooner

Race/Werecat

Bard, Lv. 75

Q.Q.

"Don't ya mean right meow?" LookMa put on his best shit-eating grin.

"All of my hate."

"So, uh," Vellrish cut in, "Can we, like, go up?"

"Huh?" LookMa turned to him as if seeing him for the first time. "Oh yeah, totally. We're just guardin' in case more fuckin' satyrs show up. Just don't go startin' shit up there, aight?"

"Cool, thanks." At that, the brothers left LookMa and Tooner and began their ascent. As they climbed, more and more sunlight peaked through the canopy, giving a better view of the forest. There was even a light breeze that fluttered through Derv's robes when they were high enough.

Vellrish looked around with a bored expression. "So, why are we meeting this Wilbur dude?" he asked, hands in his pockets.

"He's the guild master of Q.Q., a merchant guild that's based here," Derv answered, "Sykko apparently helped him a while back, so I guess our guild gets special discounts on whatever Q.Q. sells."

"So we're picking up some stuff?"

"Yup."

"Like what?"

"Uh," Derv scrunched his face in thought, trying to remember. "Some wooden carriages, ideally some with elemental resistances and extra room for supplies."

"He got a big journey planned or something?"

Derv shrugged. "No idea, he only just messaged me about it. I guess he hadn't decided on the specifics until recently."

"Hm," Vellrish grunted. "Well, should be fun, whatever it is. So long as we're out actually adventuring and stuff."He paused, eyes darting to the air left of them. Yue was off in the distance, floating between the trees with her arms spread wide. "Hey, how many summons can you have active at a time?"

"Technically twelve," Derv answered, "But if I had twelve servants going at the same time, the mana cost would be obscene. Most summoners tend to have only one up at a time so that the summon can use all of its abilities without draining us too fast."

"So the servant uses your mana when it's fighting?"

"Yeah. It's not like I have many skills I can use on my own, so it's not really an issue." Derv looked over at his brother. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, if you have eleven other options, then why've you only been using Yue so far? Isn't your build mostly necromancer stuff?"

Derv gave a half-frown and scratched at his silvery hair. "Yeah, necromancy is definitely my main strength. It's not that I'm afraid to use it, I just…"

He looked over at Yue, who had just spooked a few brightly-colored birds from their perches. Feeling his eyes on her, she grinned and waved at him with a webbed hand.

Derv returned the smile and waved back. "It's hard to explain. Yue is just fun to have around, I guess. Plus I feel bad whenever I dismiss her to wherever it is summons go when I'm not using them."

"So it's not because you want to bang her, right?"

"Hell no!" Derv blanched, "That'd feel creepy, especially with the whole master/servant dynamic going on. If I had to put a label on it," he paused, rubbing his chin, "Hm… maybe father/daughter?"

Vellrish snorted. "That's weird, man."

"Hey, you just sprung a weird question on me out of nowhere!" Derv replied indignantly. "Sorry if I can't have a perfectly articulate answer right away."

"I'm just busting your balls, dude," Vellrish laughed, lightly elbowing his brother. "You'll have to use your other summons eventually, though. Half of why summoners are so good is cuz of all the options you have."

Derv sighed. "I know, I know. We've only been here a few days, so I'm still getting used to it. I'll get there."

Vellrish shrugged. "No worries, I was just curious is all. Looks like we're at the top."

Derv sent a telepathic command to Yue, who quickly joined them, before reaching a wooden platform at the top of the stairs. From there they could see most of Dryad's Grove, which mostly consisted of large platforms carved from muma trees and long, swinging bridges between them. The locals were predominantly elves, dressed in simple leather clothes, although a few humans could be seen amidst their pointy-eared fellows. It was hardly Derv and Vellrish's first visit to Dryad's Grove, so that wasn't too surprising to them.

What was surprising, however, was the behavior of the people they'd once called NPCs.

"Does everyone seem a bit… livelier to you?" Derv asked, eyes scanning everyone he could find in the tree-borne town.

"Yeah," Vellrish answered, his tone full of confusion. "It's almost like they're actual people, now."

Elvish children giggled as they chose each other around, deftly weaving between adults as part of some game of tag. Barkers called out to people passing by, promoting the wares of merchants that had set up shop. Around them, the locals chatted lively amongst themselves. Gone were the robotic and stilted movements, always predetermined and tightly scheduled. There were also more than Derv remembered, since before the only NPCs in Dryad's Grove were merchants, the innkeeper, and a handful of useless villagers to give some semblance of a community.

"Sheesh, that's a little insensitive, isn't it?"

The brothers spun around to face the speaker, an auburn-haired fox tail with her hands on her hips. Her purple robes gave her away as one of the magic classes, although a quick look at her status clarified just what exactly she was.

Lilith

Race/Fox Tail

Enchanter, Lv. 87

"You owe me that loot, by the way," she added, pointing at Vellrish as she joined them.

Vellrish grumbled, already begrudgingly opening his trade window. Derv snickered before giving Lilith an appraising look. "Do you know something about why the NPCs are like this?" he asked her, gesturing in the general direction of the town.

Lilith shrugged her slim shoulders, still watching Vellrish to make sure he was giving her an acceptable amount. "Nope, just that they've been like this since we all ended up here. Thanks!" She tapped the 'accept' button on her own trade window and a small sack of gold materialized in her open palm. After idly tossing it in the air and catching it, she waved at them and began to walk off. "Well, see ya!"

"Hold on!" Derv called after her. Lilith stopped and half-turned to face them, tilting her head. "Do you know where we could find an adventurer named Wilbur? He's the guild master of Q.Q.?"

"Oh, that grumpy dwarf? I was actually just gonna meet him now," Lilith said as she jerked a thumb in the direction she was headed."Just follow me."

"Thanks," Derv said, and the two brothers joined her. They crossed a bridge to the next platform, their steps creaking against the dark wood. Yue flew over and under the bridge in loops, occasionally grapping falling leaves and freezing them at her touch.

"So you keep your summons around even when you don't need them?" Lilith asked as she watched the undine float around them.

Seeing it as an attempt to break the silence, Derv nodded. "Yeah, I just like having her around, I guess."

"Sheesh, you must be a lonely guy."

It was Vellrish's turn to snicker. The summoner thought about glaring at him, but figured it'd be pointless. Instead, Derv just groaned and palmed his face. "Who says that to someone they just met?" he muttered.