Unchosen Champion

Coop left the sleeping cat sprawled in his bed and slowly shook his head. If he wasn’t already desensitized by Jett’s sleeping habits, he would have been worried that she was dead, laid out on her back with her legs splayed out as if rigor mortis was setting in. By now, he understood that she was a deep sleeper despite what he assumed were leisurely days lazing about the settlement. For his part, he was more or less the same, so her habits were at least relatable.

Outside, it was an unusually overcast day on Ghost Reef. The clouds weren’t the dark gray that threatened storms, so rain didn’t seem to be on the forecast, but there were carpets of fluffy white shapes crowding each other and blocking the blue sky, leaving the islands in a perpetual shadow of filtered sunlight. Coop and Sunny went through their routine, this time enjoying a jog along the perimeter road of the northern half of the courtyard. It was a bit like running through a friendly neighborhood, with residents starting their days and stopping the pair for brief exchanges of greetings and friendly waves.

There were dozens of new service buildings among the previous, familiar crafters. Marcus had been filling out the gaps in their human expertise with basic alien contracts that complimented the prior purchases. Coop wasn’t sure what all of them were, but the Druid Circle was obvious enough, as it was essentially an organized grove of alien trees in the middle of a block, with blue and yellow leaves decorating black interwoven branches, and the artisan jewelcrafter had a large white replica gemstone mounted above the entrance to their shop, catching the percolating light that filtered through the clouds. The settlement had the capacity to sustain a much larger population than ever before, and even after they returned the phantoms they would have room for more residents. At this point in the assimilation, Coop had to assume most would be coming from other struggling settlements as the population consolidated within the surviving safe territories.

The breakfast meeting with Marcus was expanded to include Shane and Arthur, fresh from their two day adventure in the Mana Well. The gloom that had hung over the highest level party in the settlement had disappeared, swept away by their gains in the leveling zone. Coop inspected the pair’s auras, almost as excited to see their progress as he was when he checked his own.

[Human (Level 73)]

[Vitality Channeler (Acumen)]

[Dynamism]

[Human (Level 72)]

[Bloodseeker]

“Nice.” Coop commented as he joined their table. “What’s that? Seven levels in two days? I’m assuming you guys feel better about your prospects.” He didn’t comment on the fact that every time he inspected Arthur’s aura, he received less information than the previous time. The man valued his secrets.

Arthur nodded once in greeting while Shane responded. “Much better.” He confirmed. “But we’re going to need to set up a rotation to keep the top level under control. Just one party is not enough, even if it’s around the clock coverage.”

“We were already starting to facilitate hunting parties and guided grind zones. Wouldn’t it be easy to expand them to the Coral Forest?” Coop wondered, watching with hungry eyes as Desmond brought the breakfast of the day. That the sight of a meal still made his mouth water was a testament to his hearty appetite. Mana was messing with their anatomy so that hunger was a figment of his own imagination, but he still felt it.

Marcus didn’t seem enthused about sending residents into the well when he answered. “Maybe in the long run we’ll be able to send them down, but for now the adventure groups aren’t prepared for the challenges that Shane and Arthur described. Personally, I wouldn’t want to do it.” He admitted. “The Primal Constructs have reached a level of familiarity for the residents, but powerful mutant shrimp will be a harder sell, and not something we should force. The residents are still coalescing around the idea of the Adventurer Guild in the first place.”

Both Shane and Arthur seemed to agree, but Coop was disappointed that they thought more people wouldn’t take the opportunity to progress even faster. They had already done so well through the siege, they should have more confidence in themselves.

“It’s just a numbers issue.” Arthur pointed out, identifying Coop’s wordless discontent. “Only a portion of the residents will have the capability to push at an even more rapid pace, and there are only so many residents. It isn’t to say they are giving up, just that not everyone is quite so daring.”

Coop begrudgingly accepted the explanation. It wasn’t like he had forgotten that they had a limited population of residents. “We could always just pull back.” He suggested. “Take control of a smaller area that better matches our capacity.” Even he had to admit defeat when he had initially wished to claim the entire coral colony, settling with only clearing the upper levels before he returned to the surface.

Shane nodded along. “That’s more or less what we were thinking. As we level up, we can cycle through different sections of that coral colony, letting some of them mature over time, and giving us a wider range of level targets. We might need to call you in to wipe them out before we get to the point that we can sustain the hunting grounds ourselves.”

“Not a problem.” Coop readily confirmed he could swing down. “I’m gonna check out the next levels at some point, I can always take care of it on the way.”

“Even at the impressive rate that the denizens of the mana well grow, it will be quite a while before it becomes necessary to supplement our culling.” Arthur noted, making sure Coop didn’t interrupt his own progress on their behalf.

“What’s this?” Coop put his spoon down. “You’ve become that much more confident compared to the depressed party from a few days ago?” Coop paused his eating to ask, amused that they were already dissuading him from aiding their progress after clinging to the idea of being carried by him like a liferaft.

“Yes.” Arthur stated matter-of-factly. “It was a real relief when we confirmed that it wouldn’t be necessary to scramble while being further left behind. We’re taking our position in Ghost Reef seriously, and if we can’t set a decent example, it would be more than disappointing.”

“Well, I’m happy for you guys.” Coop affirmed. “Do you think you’ll be able to power level others down there?”

Shane and Arthur exchanged a glance before Shane explained their hesitation. “Only if they are ranged with magic damage. The claw swipes are absolutely brutal. It would be unnecessarily risky for any archetypes that need to get close, and overly difficult for physical damage dealers to contribute without a proper experience sharing system in place.”

“Hm.” Coop stifled a grumble. “That’s pretty limiting, but for now I am just thinking about one person in particular.” Coop admitted.

Arthur glanced at Marcus and Marcus put his hands up. “Not me. I don’t want anything to do with those monsters and I’m getting plenty of profession levels at the moment. He’s talking about Jones.” Coop nodded, agreeing. Marcus would be following a more standard package for leveling, one that focused on the Primal Constructs for the familiarity of the other residents.

“We can do that.” Shane verified, confident in the singular task. “We’re taking a few days before we return, so we don’t miss this beach bash you got people worked up about, but the plan is to set up shorter runs. A single cycle, then back out.” Shane explained. “We need to refine the trail in and out before it’ll work the way we hope, but it should end up being a daily task that doesn’t pull us from our other duties.”

“Perfect.” Coop approved, loving the initiative to seek out efficiency in grinding. “It’s gonna be all hands on deck for the Big Beach Bash Bonanza anyway.” Coop conceded. His advisors just shared skeptical glances at each other, still not fully understanding their Champion’s emphasis on the leisure activity.

Coop left them questioning his motives, finishing his breakfast and heading to see Garod, the master blacksmith. His advisors would come to their own understanding. It’s not like it was complicated. People worked hard, not just during the siege event, but before that, to survive up to that point, and afterwards to repair and rebuild. They deserved the leisure time, apocalypse or not.

Standing at the threshold of the tavern, he glanced around the fort. It ended up being a pleasant day, thanks to the clouds shielding them from the rays of the sun. There were more than the usual amount of people out and about, browsing shops and sipping coffees beneath blooming orchids and gently swaying palm fronds. Coop took in the sights as his feet found the gray stone street.

As he entered the courtyard he peeked through the large gap between the coffee shop and the bakery. Noticing some aggressive movement in the corner of his eye that drew his attention, Coop jogged across the road, ready to cast Retribution and arm himself if a monster had penetrated the courtyard. Other residents were occupying benches, not overly concerned, but there were also a handful of people observing the scene from a distance. If they hadn’t made a move, it could be dangerous enough to require the Champion’s attention, but he had no idea what could have penetrated deep into their territory without causing more commotion.

Coop slid his way between some of the spectators and was confronted with a stranger sight than he expected. Vronk, the ogre-like baker, was apparently play-wrestling with the Eater of Worlds. They faced off and Vronk let himself be bowled over after a frollicking charge from the enormous, squealing pig, despite his theoretical four digit level advantage. Not to mention his system contract’s restrictions.

“Gahaha!” The ogre giddily bellowed as the giant wild pig rolled on top of him like he was a particularly appealing mud pit.

Once the ogre was pinned, the smaller pigs rushed in and swarmed Vronk while he lay prone in the grass, as if they were employing coordinated tactics to take down difficult foes. He was apparently delighted by the smothering embrace of more than a dozen pigs, and it was entertaining for the residents who laughed along with him.

“Do they do this a lot?” Coop asked one of the other residents, baffled that he hadn’t noticed it before.

“At least every few days.” He received as a response. “Usually after they return from wherever they go to hunt. For him, it’s like playing with a pack of puppies. Look! Watch the little ones try to flank him!”

The pigs really did swarm the ogre from his blindspots with a pincer movement that had Coop nodding. “I had no idea.” He admitted, then he paused as he registered the rest of the statement. “Wait, the pigs hunt?” Coop thought they just swam around, ate, and slept. The Eater of Worlds would have been an obvious absence, but ever since they invited him to the fort during the siege, Coop believed he had been retired, much like Jett.

“Every once in a while.” The resident confirmed as they smiled at the ogre’s antics, paying more attention to the wrestling than to Coop’s confusion. They pointed and laughed as one of the smaller pigs tried pulling the Eater by the tail, a treacherous act as he joined the ogre’s side, but budging the much larger pig was an impossible goal for the little one.

Coop used Presence of Mind to check the pigs himself, curious if the Eater had been maintaining his progress.

[Gluttonous Wild Pig (Level 78)]

[Eater of Worlds (Body)]

[Chosen of the Shepherds of the Lost (Slayer)]

[Wild Pig (Level 15)]

[Tusk Warrior (Body)]

[Wild Pig (Level 14)]

[Druid Gorger (Body)]

[Wild Pig (Level 17)]

[Beachtrotter (Body)]

“What the hell?” Coop muttered, not so much surprised by the Eater’s progress as much as the rest.

The Unchosen pigs were leveling now? Coop’s forehead was wrinkled in confusion, and not just at the fact that they were all investing into Body despite a variety of classes. At first, Coop was sincerely bewildered, asking himself what the revelation that the regular animals suddenly started leveling could mean. He wondered if the Eater of Worlds had something to do with it. He appeared to have a faction that would be dedicated to such a thing. Why now, though?

As usual, Coop slowly worked through his jumbled thoughts, and came to what for a moment felt like a profound realization, then became embarrassing. He was Unchosen, and he had been leveling this whole time. Didn’t that mean the pigs always had the ability, but maybe not the opportunity or the inclination?

He rubbed his fingers through his eyebrows while he whispered, “I’m the same as the regular piggies…”

He wouldn’t fault them if they needed some extra time to come to terms with the changes in their lives. They were wild animals, he had no idea how they made decisions. He imagined it was more than instincts as they had to be able to consider risks and rewards, weighing advantages and disadvantages at some level of consciousness.

Coop imagined himself as a pig, happily swimming in the ocean every day. Then one day, meteors came and one of the herd became an absolute unit, a beast who utilized his new found power to make sure the days spent splashing around in the water continued uninterrupted. Coop would have been happy to let the good times roll. But the siege event was too much to be sheltered from. He shook his head, finding it too easy to put himself in their shoes. Or hooves?

In any case, it seemed like there was more potential hidden in the Unchosen than he had anticipated. There were so many birds and fish that he had dismissed as innocent manaless creatures caught up in the assimilation. And sharks! He couldn’t forget the sharks.

He was also reminded of the coral in the mana well, exposed to unusually high amounts of mana, and how the tiny invertebrates had already appeared to adapt in a way that had him questioning how rapidly natural selection was taking place. Could those marine invertebrates actually be using the system to manipulate mana? Could they have been Unchosen this whole time? As he understood it, a coral head was formed as a colony of many genetically identical polyps, so maybe it required a colony species when it came to microorganisms.

“Bah!” Coop waved the hand that had been pulling his eyebrows to shoo the thoughts away, sounding more like Balor than the Champion of Ghost Reef. It didn’t matter to him what the biological limitations for species becoming Chosen was, but it did confuse him. When he had a chance, he would ask Camila to see if the pigs and other animals wanted to join their faction, if they even could agree to the contract.

He walked to the smith deep in his own thoughts, periodically shaking his head at the piggy progress. It was surprisingly traumatizing as he remembered all the random Chosen animals that had put him to shame in the early days; there was even a damn barnacle on the oil rig with levels. The competition for natural resources, pre-mana, had primed wild animals to be ready for the combat necessary to advance. Compared to someone like Coop, who had lived a life of creature comforts, they were born warriors. Now he had to worry about Unchosen animals that had graciously given him a multiple month head start before they started leveling, like they needed the handicap for their competition. After he was done with Garod, the Primal Kites were going to help soothe his frustration.

The little bell rang as Coop entered the shop, sounding a gentle chime that alerted the smith that he had a customer. Coop put his confusion to rest and concentrated on the present. As usual, it smelled like coal and fire while Garod labored in the workshop. The blacksmith’s hammer rang from the back a few more times before the diminutive alien checked his visitor.

“Champion! Changed your mind about craftin’ with the relic, did ya?’” Garod pinned his ears back with his goggles, particularly excited with his current customer. “I’ll admit, I’ve been dreamin’ about using it ever since you brought it out.” He rubbed his double-thumbed hands together, then wiped soot on his brown leather coveralls as he felt the grime.

“Not exactly.” Coop tried letting him down easy. “I’ve got another project I’m hoping you can take the lead on.”

Garod tried to hide his disappointment at being turned down yet again. “Well, if it’s comin’ from you, it’s bound to be interesting.” He admitted, like it would be a consolation prize.

Coop pulled out the Bloodstone Relic. It was a different Unique than the one Garod had been dreaming about, but it had the impact Coop was looking for. The crystal-like rock swirled with black and red on the inside, and tiny flecks of smoke occasionally popped into existence on its exterior, matching the colors as they floated in the air before fizzling out.

“By the Maker! Another one so soon!” Garod’s oversized eyes shot up to Coop’s face, then back to the relic, then back again. He coughed and cleared his throat. “I mean, I never doubted you would find another.” He tried to correct his reaction, to avoid offending the Champion that was rapidly becoming his favorite person in the galaxy.

Coop handed it over and the smith cradled it like the relic was the most precious, delicate egg he had ever beheld. “I want you to craft a caster weapon.”

“Ah, but you realize this is quite the rare combination. It really won’t work for almost any specific affinities.” Garod winced as he pointed out the flaw in Coop’s idea, not that he didn’t want to do it, but that he wanted to make sure he could deliver a satisfying result.

“It’s not a problem, I have someone specific in mind.” It looked like Jones would be the first to receive a unique item from Coop. Just the luck of the draw, he thought.

Garod nodded, still entranced by the relic. “What kinda weapon do ya’ want?” He asked, absently.

“Well, it’s a gift for an old friend, so I’ve got something in mind if it’s possible.” Coop explained what he was thinking to the smith who nodded along, not finding any problems.

“What about the array?” Garod queried. Coop summoned a handful of treasures he had looted from the mana well, all glowing with energy. Garod nodded, slightly less impressed as he shifted them around and specifically selected ones he deemed good enough for a masterwork. “And the Legendary materials?”

“I’ve got several varieties, but I don’t know which ones would be best.” Coop admitted, hesitating before he started making a pile.

“There’s several directions you could take… Is your friend more of a damage dealer or support, more direct magic or affliction type?”

“Hmm…” Coop scanned his materials and thought maybe it would be better to get Jones involved in his gift after all. “I think he’ll be a direct damage dealer that focuses on the stone part while benefiting from the blood part himself.”

Garod nodded. “Destruction Gems with some kind of dense modifier then.” Garod suggested.

Coop selected a Sturdy Destruction Gem that he had received from the Ancient Devourer Field Boss and offered it to the smith.

“That’ll do.” Garod didn’t say anything else as he gathered the materials against his chest and carefully hauled them past his counter and into the back.

Coop waited a moment for him to come back out, but the hammering sounds started and he realized the smith had forgotten about his customer in his excitement to play with the rare materials. Hopefully, the result would be what he ordered.

Coop left the shop and frowned as he realized he hadn’t even found out what it would cost him or when it would be ready.