System Change

After splitting off from Jacks, Derek continued his way to the village. While running, he brushed away all of Silvi’s kill notifications that had piled up through the battle. Unfortunately, most of the guards were in their mid-60s or 70s, so with the reduced experience from Silvi, and being a good deal above their level, Derek didn’t gain much XP.

Overall, he ended up gaining two levels. It was better than nothing, and two levels meant 60 more stat points for him. With his stats the way they were, he kept the points and wanted to wait to decide to increase his Endurance and Vitality even more or boost his Strength stat a little.

So far, his Endurance and Vitality stats have been his savior. After taking Jacks’s ultimate skills on, he was sure that if he hadn’t passed through the two thresholds beforehand, the damage he would have taken would have been much, much worse.

Derek pushed all those thoughts aside. He would cross that bridge when he got there. It may be some time before he leveled up enough to make a dent.

Now, as he dashed through the forest full of monsters, his focus was on Thomas, Brandi, and the others. According to Alanah, it would be best for him to get to Savannah as fast as possible. He hadn’t wanted to use the Time Prison for transportation just yet, but it didn’t seem like he had a choice.

He didn’t want others to learn of the Time Prison, but the majority of those who would use it had already made oaths. Brandi, Thomas, Rayna, and Malorie had all made oaths before he took them to the first dungeon together, and those oaths would cover the Time Prison as well. He only had to worry about Rudy… and Stella. Rudy would be easy. He’d be happy to create another contract, and Derek doubted he’d have a problem with Stella.

If he went as fast as he could, he should be able to gather everyone in the village, then those left at Torith, and reach Wilmette by nightfall.

Within a few hours, he and Silvi were back at the village. This time, he took the front gate instead of jumping over the walls. When he arrived at Rayna’s former residence, he found everybody sitting around the meeting table, waiting for his return.

“I’m back.” He announced as he walked through the door to the meeting room.

Silvi, taking the girl’s enthusiasm as a sign that she would be pet, hopped from Derek’s shoulder and into Brandi’s embrace.

“Did you take care of everything you needed?” Rayna asked.

Derek nodded. “I did, but it left us on a clock. If you plan on coming, we need to leave now.”

Rayna nodded her head and looked at Malorie, who nodded back. “We gathered everything we needed while you were gone. We don’t have much.”

“Yup, yup. We’re all good to go. Say, how long until I’m able to open up my contract business? I can’t contain my excitement.” Rudy cut in.

“I don’t know.” Derek answered bluntly. “That Depends on Natalie Savannah. We can discuss all that later.”

Derek turned and gave Richard and Delilah a half smile. “Unfortunately, I no longer have the time to bring Thomas home to see you. You can come to the city with us and say goodbye. You would need to find your own way back. You could also write a letter or something…”

Richard and Delilah looked at each other and shook their heads. Finally, Delilah spoke. “It’s fine. Just let him know that he’s loved and he always has a place to come home to.”

Derek nodded. “I’ll see what I can do about getting a communication’s crystal sent to you once we get to Savannah. I don’t have any extra one on me at the moment.”

At that, the couple’s eyes brightened. “We would be in your debt.” Richard spoke. “Thank you.”

Derek nodded and looked at his group. “Come on. Time to go.”

Once the group was well outside the village, out of sight of anyone else, Derek stopped them. “Okay, this is good.” He said.

“What are we doing?” Rayna asked.

Instead of answering her, he looked at Rudy. “I’m going to need an oath or a contract from you. You can’t reveal anything you’re about to see to anyone.”

Rudy frowned, but complied. “I can make a contract. How important is what you’re going to do? I need to know how harsh to make the terms.”

“It’s not of great importance. You can make the terms ‘until I say otherwise,’ as it may be less important later on. Sound good?” Derek asked.

“If I choose not to?” Rudy asked.

“Then we part ways here, and you will need to get to Savannah on your own. Either way, what we talked about before still stands.” Derek explained.

“What about the contract from before? Does it not cover this?” Rudy asked.

“It may, but I don’t believe other people knowing will be harmful to me or the others. It’s just something I don’t want widely spread right now.” Derek explained the situation.

“Very well.” Rudy agreed and wrote up a quick contract. “This one states that I will not reveal any future secrets of yours, unless you otherwise agree that I can, under penalty of losing my combat skills. Does that seem good enough?”

“How are your combat skills?” Derek asked.

“They’re good enough to be a guard, but not enough to be a part of a good Adventurer’s Guild team.”

Derek thought for a moment before agreeing. “That’s fine. Besides, I’ll know if you break it.” Derek said.

Rudy nodded and wrote up another contract. Derek looked over the terms and agreed. The contract only had limitations for Rudy. There was nothing Derek had to abide by this time. Derek signed the contract and dismissed the notification that appeared.

“Okay, that’s that.” Derek said. “Stand back.”

Derek grabbed at the space in front of himself and ripped it open, revealing the door to his prison. He felt bad for using it with his group because of how dark it would be inside. He would have to remind himself to find some lighting runes.

He opened the door. “Alright, you’re all going to need to go inside. I tested it earlier, and it’s safe. Unfortunately, I haven’t prepared it for people to stay in, so it’s going to be dark inside, just bear with it. You’ll also get some notifications, don’t worry about them.”

The group gave Derek an odd look, but they trusted him. Rayna was the first person to step inside. The rest followed. Even Silvi hopped in.

‘Silvi?’ Derek asked.

‘I can cook inside. It will give them a light as well.’ She explained.

‘But you won’t be able to level up your Cooking skill.’ Derek said.

‘But I can eat.’

Derek nearly facepalmed after listening to the gluttonous bunny. He thought she was just being thoughtful for once, but it turned out she only wanted to eat. He looked in and gave everyone a reassuring smile before shutting the door. He made sure to adjust the time to half of what he would spend outside before pulling the space together and canceling the skill.

With that taken care of, he took off to Torith.

***

A few hours later, and Derek could see Torith in the distance. He didn’t bother letting the group out of the prison, as they would just have to go right back in. Derek made sure his Gold Adventurer’s Badge was pinned to his shoulder. It would allow him to pass freely through the city.

Derek checked the system time and nodded. He headed straight for the Adventurer’s Guild. After waving to Nia, he walked directly to the back without an escort. Standing next to the door to a training room, Derek put his thumb on a rune and waited.

A few minutes later and the door opened with a sweat soaked Thomas behind it.

“Go get your things, we’re leaving.” Derek got straight to the point.

Instead of arguing or asking why, Thomas nodded. “I’m already ready.”

Derek smiled and cast Cleaning on the boy, removing the sweat and odor from him. “Let’s go.”

When the duo walked out of the guild, Jacks was waiting for them. Derek furrowed his brow slightly.

“You got here faster than I thought you would.” He said. “I had the guards let me know when they saw you arrive.” He explained.

Derek nodded upon realization. Because of his status, Jacks still had control of all the guards in the city until they learned differently. “We’ve got one more person to pick up, then we’re out of here.” He said, then took off at a jog through the streets.

When they got to the Crown, Stella was leaning against the wall outside in full travel gear. It was odd seeing the impeccable beauty in a tunic, pants, and boots, but the look suited her.

“You ready?” Derek asked.

“Alanah said you we would probably be leaving fast.” She nodded. “I’m ready.”

With that, the group left the city. Once outside, Derek began leading them towards Wilmette.

“Aren’t we going to the village to pick up the others?” Thomas asked.

“No. They’re already here.” Derek answered.

Alone again, Derek turned to Stella. “Normally, I would have you take an oath or make a contract for what happens next, but I trust…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Stella began writing a contract. She finished and gave the papers to Derek. “Is this good?”

Derek read it over. It was a pretty light contract, and didn’t have many harsh penalties, but it was good enough. “Good enough.” He said. Alanah had once told him that she preferred loyalty over oaths, and he agreed. He believed he could trust Stella. The contract was just icing on the cake.

“Alright.” He said, then opened his prison.

Inside was the group sitting around a fire while something boiled in a pot. They all noticed when the door opened, and new light shined into the room.

“Wow.” Stella said. “You’re able to transport people?”

“Something like that.” Derek said. “Okay. Get in and let’s go.”

Jacks hesitated, as he had been locked in alone before, but still went inside. Thomas practically sprinted inside to see Brandi. Stella didn’t.

“I think I’ll stay out here with you.” She said.

“Can you keep up?” Derek asked.

“If I can’t, I’ll go in.”

Derek nodded. “Just a few more hours.” He told the group, then shut the door.

Turning to Stella, he said, “Let’s go.”

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