Chapter 66: No Time for Math!

The reward section expanded beneath the Emergency Quest.

[QUEST REWARDS]

[EXP: 80,000]

[Gravity Mana Affinity Acquired]

[Skill Acquired: Gravitic Anchor]

[Tier: Grandform]

[Perfected Glimpse Applicable]

Zishan’s eyes stopped at the second reward.

’Gravity...’

He had already seen what Elinox could do with that Affinity. The ground around an enemy High General had collapsed beneath the pressure of her Mana more than once, and some of the attacks she had redirected earlier probably would have flattened sections of the station if she had allowed them to continue in their original direction.

Now, that same Affinity was sitting inside his Quest rewards.

A grin spread across Zishan’s face.

’Gravity... I actually got the Gravity Mana Affinity? I even got a Skill for it!’

The Major attacked before Zishan could admire it any longer.

Mana gathered around the man’s weapon as he crossed the remaining distance, forcing Zishan to push Thunderwake through his legs and throw himself sideways before the attack struck. The weapon tore into the ground close enough for shattered soil to hit the side of his uniform.

’Fuck! Give me a second!’

[The enemy Major has no reason to wait for the Host.]

’I wasn’t asking you!’

The Major pulled his weapon free and attacked again, forcing Zishan to activate Rift Steps before the blade could reach his shoulder. He crossed several meters and landed with Thunderwake still running through his legs, yet the officer followed him without giving him enough space to stop.

The man was injured badly enough that blood had already reached the collar of his uniform, and one side of his armor had been damaged during his earlier confrontation with the Olmost Major. None of those injuries changed the fact that he was still a Major.

Zishan was reminded of that when the next attack caught the edge of his defensive Mana and sent him sliding across the ground.

He barely managed to stay upright. ’Yeah. Still a fucking Major. A Major that’s at least at Level 300!’

The officer’s expression became worse when he saw Zishan recover. "You should have died from that."

Zishan checked himself for a second before looking back at him. "That’s a terrible thing to say to someone."

The Major’s grip tightened.

Zishan regretted opening his mouth when another concentration of Mana gathered around the man’s weapon.

He drove Thunderwake through his body and moved before the attack could land, leaving another electrical wake across the ground while Rift Steps carried him out of the man’s reach. His increased Stats were doing far more work than his military rank suggested they should, and the Major had started noticing.

The first attacks had been made with the confidence of someone trying to remove an ordinary Soldier from his way.

The next one carried enough Mana to make Zishan stop treating the situation casually.

The Major crossed the distance again, and Zishan gathered Wind Mana around his arm as he prepared Stormwing Rend. Before either of them could release their Skills, a heavy blade struck the enemy officer from the side and forced him away.

The Olmost Major had caught up with him again.

"You!" The enemy Major sounded more offended by his arrival than Zishan had expected.

The Olmost officer shifted his grip on his weapon and moved between them. "I told you already. You’re fighting me."

"You keep protecting that Soldier!"

"He’s one of ours, and the commander told me to protect him at all costs!"

Zishan looked dazed as he stared at the Olmost Major. "Commander Holtz actually said that?"

"Yes, so get moving, kid! Leave this man to me and deal with that Griffin and the Captain riding it!"

The enemy Major’s expression darkened at being dismissed like that, but the Olmost officer gave him no chance to respond before attacking again. Their weapons collided as the two Majors moved farther away from Zishan, clearing the path toward the station.

Zishan watched them for another second before looking up at the Highland Griffin.

The Highland Griffin crossed above him again, and the Captain on her back sent another command through their Taming connection. Wind Mana gathered along the creature’s wings before being released toward one of the defensive structures farther inside the station.

Several soldiers scattered before the attack struck.

Zishan started moving.

As he ran, Zishan remembered how the System had handled the Western Stampede. ’Wait. Why is this one Quest separate?’

[Clarify.]

’You know what I technically mean.’ He glanced toward the Griffin before continuing, ’During the Western Stampede, I already had the Field Quest, Protect the Forward Healers, and when the horde showed up, you added The Western Stampede under it as a Sub-Emergency Quest. Then, Larper became an Additional Objective inside that Quest.’

The System remained silent long enough for Zishan to wonder whether it was actually checking its own rules.

’So why isn’t this the same thing? The Enemy Kingdom Strikes Back Quest is already active. Why didn’t you just add the Griffin and that Captain as another objective?’

[Because the previous objectives were subordinate developments within the same recognized Quest structure.]

Zishan frowned.

[Field Quest: Protect the Forward Healers required the Host to assist Forward Medical Section Three until the immediate threat passed. The Western Stampede directly became that immediate threat.]

[Defeating Larper Forteza was later recognized as an additional objective because his actions directly affected the resolution of that same Sub-Emergency Quest.]

Zishan looked toward the Griffin again. ’And this doesn’t?’

[Break the Aerial Assault possesses an independent completion condition and may be fully resolved without determining the outcome of the other Quest: The Enemy Kingdom Strikes Back.]

[Likewise, The Enemy Kingdom Strikes Back Quest may be completed even if another combatant resolves the aerial threat instead of the Host.]

Zishan understood the difference after thinking about it for a few seconds.

The Western Stampede had been part of the danger threatening the medical station, while Larper had become another problem that had to be dealt with during the same crisis. Everything had remained attached to the same chain of objectives.

The Griffin was different. The larger battle would continue whether Zishan personally brought her down or not, and bringing her down would not end the enemy retaliation.

’So a Sub-Quest is basically still attached to the outcome of the Quest above it, while this one can succeed or fail on its own.’

[Correct.]

Zishan’s attention returned to the waiting Precedence prompt.

[Claim Rewards Before Completion?]

[YES / NO]

Zishan did not even bother pretending he needed time to think about it.

’Yes!’

[ADVANCE CLAIM CONFIRMED]

[Processing Quest Rewards...]

[EXP Acquired: 80,000]

Notifications began filling his vision while he continued toward the station.

[LEVEL UP!]

[LEVEL UP!]

[LEVEL UP!]

More followed.

The EXP pushed him across one threshold after another while more notifications filled his vision. His Stats had not changed directly, but every gained Level brought another three distributable points that he could use later.

The notifications finally stopped.

<anno data-annotation-id="f8db55fb-74ba-33c7-ce3e-139014c33f6f" data-title="[Level Increased: 75 → 85]">[Level Increased: 75 → 85]¹</anno>

[Distributable Stat Points Gained: 30]

<anno data-annotation-id="967c189e-7bab-e2d8-a95a-d4f229affa8f" data-title="[Distributable Stat Points: 105]">[Distributable Stat Points: 105]¹</anno>

Zishan stared at the numbers for a moment, trying not to grin too widely. One hundred and five unallocated Stat Points was already ridiculous enough, and he had barely started using the rewards from this Quest.

Some of those gains were tied to rewards that would remain provisional until their Quests were completed, but that did very little to make the number feel less ridiculous.

His attention drifted toward the 105 unallocated Stat Points before he forced himself to close that section. ’Later. If I start doing math right now, that Griffin is going to drop a building on me.’

[Gravity Mana Affinity Acquired]