My Ancestral Shroud pool had grown nicely, but I should improve it more. Far more. After all, it affected the thickness of [Greater Pyro Shell], my primary tanking skill. Replenishing the AS cost of my shell was the problem, particularly if there weren’t many enemies to Burn for the effect of [Mantle of Kindling]. Worse if I was fighting a world boss that had sky-high ailment resistance.

[Rejuvenation Charge] from my Aritu Ocadule helped my meager AS regen. However, I needed to use [Healing Touch] to generate it, which also cost AS bringing me back to my original problem. It was like a snake eating its own butt.

Do snakes have butts?

Then again, I’d need to cast [Healing Touch] for sustain anyway because my unbuffed health regen took a dip after I replaced the Invigorated Pygmy set. I couldn’t rely on [Band of Loamy Renewal] because I wouldn’t stand still all the time.

Another item on my to-do list was rearranging my primary attributes.

I had been dumping all points to Vigor, but I still had fifty-five points in Spirit from when I switched to my Totem Juggling Build and five in Might when I couldn’t meet armor stat requirements. If I reallocated all those points to Vigor, my health would jump big time. But I held off because my Energy regen was more pathetic than a snail’s pace—not to diss snails as they were an essential part of the environment.

Trying to figure out what snails do, but it was probably something.

[Withering Brand] and [Gnawing Rot] Energy costs were high. Not for a caster build, but definitely costly for me. For the same reason, I didn’t spend my free Lesser Skill Points on those Shards—leveling would strengthen their effects but would also increase Energy costs. I’d wait for a new debuff Skill Shard to spend my LSPs.

The Shards rewarded by Chief Nogras in exchange for Blight Tokens were primarily for Mardukryons, with weaker effects if used by other races like [Greater Pyro Shell] and [Horde Stampede]. Similarly, they cost Ancestral Shroud instead of Energy to cast. It’d be more economical in the long run to focus on Health and Ancestral Shroud, foregoing Energy.

Only after I got a replacement debuff skill would I reallocate my attribute points. Vigor and Spirit increased AS and its regeneration by the same amount, so nothing would be lost.

I should also ditch [Enfeebling Burden], but I was yet to find a suitable replacement. The good ones that popped up in the auction would reach bid prices beyond my budget; I didn’t want to blow big Artas on a single Link Shard.

That said, I should use my free LSPs and max [Enfeebling Burden] for now. It didn’t increase the cost of its Linked skills. The Artas fee of taking the LSPs out later would be worth the boosted debuffs. I wanted to look as good as possible in front of Megan’s friends.

Lvl 5 Enfeebling Burden (Link): Enemies under the effect of linked debuff-type skills will suffer an extra 25% more of their debilitating effects.

I had four free LSPs remaining. Stronger [Withering Brand] or [Gnawing Rot] would be good, but I didn’t want to increase their Energy costs. I’d just hold on to these for now. Next to try was my buffed state.

I toggled my PvP settings to be able to damage myself, taking note to mind it later if I didn’t want to get accidentally fried by Megan or Nitana. That’d be embarrassing as taking candy from a baby. Shame on those candy thieves targeting infants.

Whipping myself with my sling, [Ancestral Constitution] reached its maximum of seven stacks. I did draw bewildered stares from the passersby for my antics. Some of them probably recognized me, but no one said anything; they hurried on their way.

Understandable. If I were in their hooves, I also wouldn’t mess with a guy whipping himself.

Then I began spamming [Healing Touch] for [Rejuvenation Charge], weaving [Greater Pyro Shell] and [Cloak of the Plaguespreader] in between its cooldown. The last spell I cast was [Penitent Fortune Healing], boosting my charge generation while giving me a debuff; it only had a short duration, so I didn’t immediately use it.

[ Status | Penitence Misfortune: Reduce Movement Speed by 21%, Reduce Evasions Rating by 50 points for 7 seconds ]

As ghostly golden chains snaked around me, I drank [Morabodry], poisoning myself for one more debuff. The passive of [Cleansing Flames] now had two stacks.

[ Status | Morabodry Poisoning: Lose 1% of Max Health + 24 every second, Reduced Accuracy and Attack Speed by 7% for 15 minutes ]

Name: Herald Stone | Lvl 24 Exp: 1.2%

Base: Mardukryon

Health: 4,893/4,893 -> 5,586/5,586

Energy: 565/565

Ancestral Shroud: 1,709/1,709 -> 1,756/2,301

ATTRIBUTES:

Might: 112

Vigor: 249

Spirit: 100

Sense: 15

OFFENSE

Attack Power: 408

Physical Dmg. Inc.: 38.6%

Magic Power: 417

Magical Dmg. Inc.: 35%

--------------------

Attack Speed: (-7)%

Movement Speed: 16% -> (-5)%

Evasion Rating: 38 -> (-12)

DEFENSE

Armor: 4,289 -> 6,574

Magic Resilience: 1,615 -> 2,429

Phys. Dmg. Red.: 27%

Mag. Dmg. Red.: 27%

--------------------

Fire Resistance: 41%

Water Resistance: 50%

Earth Resistance: 39%

Wind Resistance: 18%

Poison Resistance: 16%

All Element Resistance: 4%

--------------------

Freeze Resistance: 10%

Slow Resistance: 10%

Stun Resistance: 5%

All Ailment Resistance: 4% -> 6%

RETRIBUTION

Neutral Damage: 357

Earth Damage: 397

Poison Damage: 1,062

HEALTH / ENERGY

Healing Increase: 31%

Healing Received: 26%

Health per Second: 125 -> 495

Health Regeneration: 4%

Energy per Second: 10

AS per Second: 41 -> 61

Divine Bovine! The stacks of [Ancestral Constitution] and healing modifiers from other skills were doing god’s work—my work—raising my health gained each second to four times its unbuffed value. Seeing that my Armor was higher than my health was also amusing. Armor was another component of the ‘life’ of [Greater Pyro Shell], doing twice the work in making me hard.

The pop of a new message distracted me from admiring my stats. It was from Megan, telling me that they were coming. Might as well eat my food before they arrived so I’d be as hard as I could be when we entered the tunnel.

Remembering Clement’s advice, I started with [Sweet Wafer], manually eating it. It tasted as its name—a thin, crispy cracker with a hint of sweetness. I munched on another one, following it with a [Thorny Melon Compote].

“It comes with a cup?” I chuckled, holding up the small wooden bowl. I downed its pale orange contents—a paste with fruit bits that tasted like honeydew sweetened with syrup. The bowl disappeared after. It would’ve been hilarious if I was also required to eat it.

[ Status | Mild Upset Stomach: Reduced Attack and Movement Speed by 3% for 15 minutes ]

A very negligible debuff, especially for me, who didn’t care about my attack speed. Losing a bit of movement speed was sad, but the passive of [Horde Stampede] would make up for it, and then some, once I joined a party of Mardukryons.

I summoned a [Burnt Swineling Skewer] from my inventory and bit off a piece.

It tasted like home. Like an actual home—wood and concrete. A very realistic rendition of overcooked meat with a charred black coat. It was difficult to down the rubbery chunk, but I pushed through because I was Herald Stone, the Man Who Always Finished His Food.

Mum would be proud of me.

[ Status | Mild Indigestion: Reduced Energy Regeneration by 7.5% for 20 minutes ]

“I barely have any Energy Regeneration,” I muttered. “This won’t have much effect on me, nor on enemy monsters.”

“Herald! Hello there, buddy!” a player called. “This your new eating spot?”

“I’m preparing before a quest,” I automatically answered, looking up from my interface. I didn’t catch who said it. The guttural Mardukryon voice was difficult to distinguish.

“Make sure you uncover another world quest!” another player yelled from somewhere else in the stomping herd.

I waved in a random direction, hoping it was the right one, “We’re all in this together!”

Someone else I did recognize passed near me.

Melonimi led a line of Mardukryons, all shorter than her and wearing similar basic gear, probably rewards from the same quest. Reminiscent of Luds, Melonomi also carried plenty of bottles. She had large pouches strapped to both sides of her lower body, almost bursting with her wares.

“Hi, Herald,” she cheerily said. “I wanted to farm some Blight Tokens but didn’t have a party, so I took a page from your book and decided to go with newbies.”

“That’s nice of you,” I said. “You’ve been helping plenty of new players since you came back to the game.”

“What about you? Do you have a party? Um, you can join us… if a newbie party is fine with you. We can use a tank.”

“I’m sorry. I’m going with friends. They’ll be here soon.”

“Lucky you,” she said. “My friends didn’t want to return to MCO yet because it’s like one month ‘till the end of the sem.”

“Aren’t you a Healer?” I asked. “I’m sure you can easily find a party.”

She frowned. “Yeah, I’m a Healer, but more of a Potion Brewer—my healing is not that high. Some people can get too intense, wanting a dedicated Healer, stuff like that, you know? Dictating my build like dickish dictators. I have plenty of stress in school, thank you very much. If I join a party, I want it to be a relaxed one.”

“I see,” I said, slowly nodding. “Relaxed…” Did our party fall into that definition?

I’d say we were far from hardcore. Quite casual, even if we had some intense fights against bosses. No conflict among our members if that was what Melonimi was avoiding. What would Kezo and the others think about inviting Melonomi? We had two more slots and didn’t have an actual support player on our team.

“We’ll go ahead,” Melonomi said. “Good luck with your quest!”

“And happy hunting to you!” I replied.

I hastily chowed on [Stale Crabore Pie] after she left. I ate so fast that it took a few seconds to register the pie’s awkwardly sour and acrid taste. Even the crust was like cardboard stored in the attic for ten years, soaked in vinegar and baked.

[ Status | Mild Nausea: Reduced Accuracy and Evasion Rating by 45 Points for 20 minutes ]

The system got that right. Other than a debuff, I had a real urge to puke. Thankfully, that wasn’t possible in MCO, despite the system’s realism, or I would’ve been hurling my guts all over the NPC guards.

Was my real body vomiting while I slept? I hope this wasn’t like pissing in a dream, pissing in real life thing. That was enough tasting food for me. I did my entire buffing routine again, then checked my stats to see the rewards of my suffering.

Name: Herald Stone | Lvl 24 Exp: 1.2%

Base: Mardukryon

Health: 5,586/5,586 -> 5,775/5,775

Energy: 565/565 -> 645/645

Ancestral Shroud: 2,301/2,301 -> 1,809/2,422

ATTRIBUTES:

Might: 112 -> 132

Vigor: 249 -> 269

Spirit: 100 -> 120

Sense: 15 -> 35

OFFENSE

Attack Power: 408 -> 428

Physical Dmg. Inc.: 38.6% -> 44.6%

Magic Power: 417 -> 455

Magical Dmg. Inc.: 35 -> 41%

--------------------

Attack Speed: (-7)% -> (-10)%

Movement Speed: (-5)% -> (-8)%

Accuracy Rating: (-45)

Evasion Rating: (-12) -> (-57)

DEFENSE

Armor: 6,574 -> 7,145

Magic Resilience: 2,429 -> 2,691

Phys. Dmg. Red.: 27% -> 32%

Mag. Dmg. Red.: 27% -> 32%

--------------------

Fire Resistance: 41%

Water Resistance: 50%

Earth Resistance: 39%

Wind Resistance: 18%

Poison Resistance: 16%

All Element Resistance: 4% -> 8%

--------------------

Freeze Resistance: 10%

Slow Resistance: 10%

Stun Resistance: 5%

All Ailment Resistance: 6% -> 8%

RETRIBUTION

Neutral Damage: 357

Earth Damage: 397 -> 423

Poison Damage: 1,062

HEALTH / ENERGY

Healing Increase: 31% -> 45%

Healing Received: 26% -> 40%

Health per Second: 495 -> 609

Health Regeneration: 4%

Energy per Second: 10 -> 9.25

AS per Second: 61 -> 76

“Blazing meatballs of gold…” I whispered, scrolling up and down my attributes.

And I was right to invest in [Cleansing Flames]. Its bonuses per stack did wonders. The boost was significant because it was supposed to increase the tankiness of the debuffed player while waiting for the cooldown of the active cleansing skill. With my unboxlike thinking, I purposely held on to my debuffs and basked in the benefits of [Cleansing Flames].

There were deductions to my Accuracy and Evasion Rating from the debuffs, but I didn’t really care about those.

In total, I had five debuffs—three from food, one from poison, and [Penitence Misfortune]. More than enough to cap the four stacks of level four [Cleansing Flames]. Unfortunately, [Penitence Misfortune] could only be up half the time, so I didn’t want to rely on it. Mild Upset Stomach and Morabodry Poisoning were up for fifteen minutes, while the other two debuffs lasted for twenty minutes—I had to do the entire meal each time the former expired.

“Herald! We’re here!” Megan held her glowing wand high so I could spot her from among much bigger Mardukryons. Hunter-Warrior NPCs were entering the tunnels. “Sorry for the delay. I couldn’t make up my mind which quests to take.”

“I didn’t wait long,” I said.

She invited me to her party, and we all trooped into the tunnel. Past the entrance, the other players and NPCs disappeared.