I started looking at the gear I had just equipped.
‘[Explorator Boots of the Agile Mage]
Part of the Explorator Mage Set (7-piece set)
Feet
“These boots are made for dodging, and that's what they will help you do.”
Doubles Dexterity bonus (max 5) for the purposes of dodging.’
Hmm, that certainly explains how easy I had found side-stepping those jumps and charges.
‘[Explorator Trousers of the Agile Mage]
Part of the Explorator Mage Set (7-piece set)
Legs
“Move a thousand steps as if they were ten.”
Reduces stamina expenditure on long marches.’
Strange buff, but something I imagine would be really beneficial to anyone walking all day…which is something I imagine Explorators do.
‘[Explorator Blouse of the Agile Mage]
Part of the Explorator Mage Set (7-piece set)
Chest
“Rule 8: Explorators should always present a professional appearance”
Adds [Dirt Resistance] passive to all equipped parts of the Explorator Mage Set.’
Stop me getting dirty?
‘[Explorator Coat of the Agile Mage]
Part of the Explorator Mage Set (7-piece set)
Body
“Protective Coat for the Mage in the field”
Small bonus to slashing and piercing resistance’
I had thought my mana shield had soaked the attacks that I failed to dodge…I wonder if these resistances are added before or after…it would make sense afterwards if the shield is layered over my physical resistances…but mechanically it would be easier to calculate them before subtracting damage…
‘[Explorator Gloves of the Penetrating Mage]
Part of the Explorator Mage Set (7-piece set)
Hands
“Resistance is futile”
Adds [Spell Penetration] based on Attunement and spell level (max tier 2 spells) to any spell cast through the gloves.’
Spell penetration? Wendy hadn’t mentioned that or resistance in her training. Penetrating Mage instead of Agile Mage…still part of the Explorator set though, which implies there can be a bit more mixing and matching of gear to suit individual builds.
‘[Explorator Hat of the Navigating Mage]
Part of the Explorator Mage Set (7-piece set)
Head
“Every Explorator should be able to find their way home”
Adds one level to all navigation-related skills not requiring comprehension.’
The only navigating skill I had was naval…and that required me to comprehend the maps and language used…No idea what this one actually helped me with…if anything.
That's all 6 parts of equipped gear I have on…there are a few slots that are empty, belt, back, face, rings, and piercings.
I tried the cosmetics tab…oh…cash shop isn’t available yet…whales are going to whale…give them cosmetics, hopefully no pay to win, that kills more games than it saves.
Underwear tab then…yep, there it is…
‘[Explorator Travel Stays of the Discerning Mage]
Part of the Explorator Mage Set (7-piece set)
Waist
“A lady should always be at her best, even in the deepest of swamps”
Gives resistance to parasites and adds [Waterproof] passive to all equipped Explorator Mage Set and equipped underwear.’
That one must have auto-equipped itself, ahh yep, there is the underwear I put on aboard the ship. Well, if nothing else, being waterproof is going to make any swimming I do very convenient.
Well…this just leaves the staff.
‘[Explorator Tempest Battlestaff]
Quarterstaff/Spell Focus - Storm
“Call upon the Thunder!”
Enhances any spell from the School of Storms cast through this focus by one tier.’
One tier? One spell level? I’m not even sure what that means…
I went to close the HUD and get back to exploring when I noticed the flashing icon on the notifications tab. I’d need to get into the habit of checking for notifications; whatever change I got seemed to move that away from being so in my face. Probably so I can control when I review them.
‘You keep pushing yourself, even while carrying a load, endurance point gained’
‘You discovered a hidden quest objective for the first time, wisdom point gained’
Extra rewards for reading between the lines…got to keep my eyes and ears out for more of those, it does feel like the game is designed to reward those who go beyond the bare minimum...
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
‘You have unlocked the [Mage] title.’
‘You have unlocked the [Storm Mage] title.’
‘You have unlocked the [Off the beaten track] title.’
‘You have unlocked the unique [The Eye Of The Storm] title.’
Four titles? I decided I would look at those next.
‘You have mapped 10% of the Unknown Island.’
‘Local Quest - Unknown Island updated.’
‘You discovered the Island’s name is South Harmony. Local quest renamed South Harmony.’
‘You have discovered the SHIFTE Head Office.’
‘You have discovered the Local Quest Object - What is behind the door?’
‘You have discovered the Side Quest - Explorator Reports.’
I intended to try and find a way past that door, but to think it generated a quest and those reports? I guess they are more important than the set dressing, I thought they were at the time.
‘You faced a swift opponent, dodging its attacks, dexterity point gained.’
‘From your first attack until your last, you kept your focus unwaveringly on your opponent, focus point gained.’
‘Your extensive use of magic has reinforced your pool, allowing the Aether within you to grow denser, Aether point gained.’
‘Training brings confidence and strength, but it is only in battle is it realised, resonance point gained.’
‘Your extensive use of magic has reinforced your pool, allowing the Aether within you to grow denser, Aether point gained.’
‘You find yourself more attuned with the gear you wear, you feel in combat it will fare you well.’
‘Your experience in combat with a battlestaff has unlocked the skill for its use. The synergy with the quarterstaff enhances the starting rank by 1.’
‘You feel more confident with quarterstaffs.’
Yeah…I really should be checking these out more often. Right…the titles…
Right now, I’m the strongest Storm mage in the world? Really? I suppose from what Jacobs was saying, most people are trapped in that underwater city, trying to earn their passage to Landing… hmm, you know what…I need a second opinion… Can I add a title to a chat… I can…excellent…
‘Aenara…: Hey Jacobs?’ I got this title [Eye of the Storm]. What do you think it means?? ??:
‘Jacobs…: …I take my eyes off you for five minutes.’
‘Jacobs…: FIVE.’
‘Jacobs…: And you go and earn a unique world title.’
‘Jacobs…: I swear to god! You are chaos in a trench coat.’
‘Aenara…: How did you know I had a trench coat?’
‘Jacobs…: You… what?’
I sent a photo of me doing a moonwalker pose in my new gear.
‘Jacobs…: Stat details! Now!’
Seems you can add item links to the chat as well. nice.
‘Jacobs…: Damn, this is more than we thought…give us a couple of hours to complete this dungeon and we will jump on a group call. The other will want to learn about this as well. Jammy Git.’
‘Aenara…: Lunch time?’
‘Jacobs…: Sounds good. I’ll let the others know’
I looked around the room, danger was over, back to the exploring. I decided to start with the closet. The clothes hanging from the rail and on the shelves were the sorts of things more suited to an older couple. It felt wrong to paw them… The trunks, other than a few travel toiletries, were mostly empty and looked like they had seen a lot of travel. Nothing that I thought would benefit me.
Looking at the two remaining staffs
‘[Explorator Battlestaff of the Pyromancer]
Quarterstaff/Spell Focus - Inferno
“Burn it to ashes!”
Enhances any spell from the School of Flame cast through this focus by one tier.’
‘[Explorator Battlestaff of the Cryomancer]
Quarterstaff/Spell Focus - Arctic
“Feel the touch of the Frozen Heart!”
Enhances any spell from the School of Arctic cast through this focus by one tier.’
I dropped them into [Inventory], hopefully they will be useful if I can unlock those schools. I eyed up the other mannequin’s gear. The armour is definitely of no use to me; the set was the [Explorator Dragoon] and gave bonuses to combining range with melee. I considered taking the brace of pistols for a backup ranged weapon and a dagger or two as a backup melee, but they were all part of the set, and I didn’t feel like breaking it up or finding out there was a limit to what I could carry.
The cabinets in the other room held an assortment of bedding.
The final door on the landing led to a bathroom. Four toilet cubicles on one side, and three shower cubicles on the other. A couple of sinks sat below a large mirror. There was a bar of soap on a shelf in one of the showers.
Stepping out of the bathroom, I turned to look at the door in the far corner. Only the sitting room left to clear…I didn’t need to fight…but if I did…ahh, who am I kidding.
I stepped into the room, chargingup through the staff. The giant rat was exactly where I had left it. I stepped to the side to line up a good shot and then released the first spell. I got off another before it got back on its feet, and a third when it charged towards me and the door. I side-stepped its charge, brought my staff down on its back, releasing a . I jumped away from it as it collided with the wall, put some distance between us and hit it with another . I had just finished casting the next one when it got back to its feet, spun towards me and charged. The spell hit the middle of its head perfectly, causing it to drop, hit the ground, flip the rat onto its back and slide halfway between us. I stepped forward, thrust the Battlestaff into it and released the I had prepared. It didn’t respond.
I had nearly half of my mana remaining. I considered the fight; it had felt good. I had been less panicked than I had been against the one in the bedroom and had cast all of my spells through the Staff. If I assume they had similar amounts of health, then that was a decent damage upgrade.
I considered what to do next. I had cleared the house; next would be clearing out some of the buildings on the top tier of the town.
I looked down at the town below. A road led a declining route back and forth across the width of the town before arriving at the dock. The buildings had been built with their roofs at roughly the same height as their neighbours, which resulted in it looking from a distance like the place was built in tiers. Six in total. With the way the ridges spread apart, each tier was slightly wider than its predecessor. The top one had four buildings. Three staircases led down from where I was, one lay on either side of the town, following the ridge down to the docks, and the third was down the centre. Following the left-hand rule, my go-to when making decisions like this, where it otherwise doesn’t matter, I took the left-hand flight down to the first building on the top tier.
The first building’s signage indicated it was once a library. The glass of the doors had long since gone, though, leaving just the metal frames behind. Inside, I was nearly jumped by three of the smaller giant rats, but I made quick work of them. I was disappointed to find no books on the shelves. I couldn’t see any evidence that they had been taken for bedding or rotted away, but then it was also hard to tell with the amount of debris which had congregated in here. Even the top shelves were bare. In one room on the second floor, I had found a number of office cubicles with what might be computer terminals in them, reminding me of research stations that can be found in some public libraries.
The second building turned out to be a police station. A large rat had made its home in one of the cells, but I made easy work of it after I closed the door on it and plinkeds at it through the railings. Upstairs had a changing room with showers and toilets, and some of the offices had been converted into sleeping quarters. I couldn’t find any personal effects, but from what Wendy had told me, I knew it wasn’t always the two of them here and assumed this was where their visitors stayed.
The third building was labelled Brunel Hall, and consisted of rooms laid out like a classroom or a boardroom. Other than a couple more rats, nothing else worth mentioning.
The last building wasn’t labelled. This building looked in reasonable condition. There was a gate over the door, but it, like the door, was unlocked. Inside was what you would expect to see in an empty house. Open plan downstairs, three bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs. Wasn’t even all that much in the way of dust…The only thing I can think of for why no one used this place instead of the police station was that when I turned on the taps, there was nothing.
Stepping out of the house, I started moving towards the curve in the road, moving down towards the next tier of buildings, when movement caught my eye. Coming around the break in the sea wall was a small boat with a white sail. It might have been the one I had spotted earlier. I squinted at the boat, but it was still too far away to make out details, but the colour of the pilot’s outfit was awfully familiar to what I had gotten aboard the Indefatigable.