Chapter 67 – Adaptability

Barry: Please tell me your team is useless. I need to feel better about this shit-show.

Barry: I’m serious though. There’s a fucker with a guitar who thinks everything can be solved with a song.

Barry: I’ve never been more tempted to yeet someone into purgatory.

Barry: Tell me your team is shit, or I’ll join Bastion and become your sworn enemy.

Sal smiled as he went through the messages on his tablet. He had assumed that they wouldn’t have access to their messages during the excursion, but they were encouraged to share their experiences. More than a few pictures had been posted into newly created forums and some hastily pulled together survival guides were thrown into the Credit Store. Sal frowned as he clicked on the Credit Store.

Completed Orders: 41

A momentary surge of panic washed through Sal as he clicked into it, thinking that someone had been making purchases on his account. His thoughts went to the Controllers at Bastion, but the result was not what he had expected.

Rookie Set: Schematic has been purchased.

Rookie Set: Transition has been purchased.

Agent Set: Schematic has been purchased.

Rookie Set: Schematic has been purchased.

Rookie Set: Schematic has been purchased.

Sal exhaled slowly as he looked at the list of sales on his account. He didn’t even remember what price he had put them in at. Thinking about it, he realized how flawed those designs were without Blathnaid’s input and worried that he’d unintentionally scammed the buyers. It took him a few moments of scrolling through the orders to relax enough to think rationally. The schematics were much better than the blueprints available on the store, so it wasn’t so bad. There was no use for him to be buying anything out here, so he exited out of the store and checked his other messages.

Divinity: Prepare for shit weather.

Divinity: They’re doing it in bursts around the place. The three camps near us got drowned out awhile ago and we’re next.

Divinity: Aaaaand, we’re safe. Hope you haven’t killed Erika yet.

Divinity: But I’ll forgive you if you have.

Divinity: Send a picture of your setup!

With a laugh, Sal got to his feet and exited their enclosure. It was a lot more cramped once all the supplies had been stored, but it was better to think of it as cozy. Prestige hadn’t arrived back from her mysterious trip yet, which left them with a lot of time to get to know one another better.

Sal knew that Brophy was practically brimming with useful information, but Erika looked like she didn’t want to stoop to the level of asking him for help. Rochelle lay on her back, looking up at the sky. Likely out of sheer boredom. Ioseph was still eyeing the purification device, and Sal desperately wished that he still wasn’t trying to test out his earlier suggestion of pissing in it.

Sal thought it might be good to break the ice.

“My last team had help from Divinity Khan. She looked into the future and pulled all the training sessions for the next number of months, useful stuff like combat formations and training drills. I ran them for my team, if you’re interested in trying?”

Erika’s snort was the first to set the tone. “You only had to do that because you didn’t have a strong team. Everyone here is competent, which is why I brought you all together.”

Sal’s visor caught a slight hesitation in her demeanor, which meant that she wasn’t completely without reason. Any hope that she was willing to hear him out ended with her next sentence.

“All you have to do is trust in me to make the right calls. If you can’t keep up, I’ll ensure that you don’t fall behind.” She looked at each of them intently, and not a single person misunderstood what she meant.

Sal looked at Brophy instead. “Can you teach me what you know, please? While I’m sure Erika will have us covered, I’d still like to know how to act if she gets killed in battle.”

Erika’s laugh was cold as she gave him a withering look. “Don’t be ridiculous. It’s a training exercise and we’re only going to be entering an early floor in a tower. Do you really think a leecher has the potential to take down a team of five? Even if there was a prowler in the vicinity, it’s not like we’re defenseless.”

Sal nodded. “Yes. I do think that a leecher has the potential to kill you.” He kept emotion out of his voice and summoned the images of what he endured during his first dungeon raid.

Whatever Erika’s retort was going to be, it died on her lips as she saw and felt every emotion Sal had experienced during that encounter. She faltered and shook her head. “What was that?”

“Gallant, would you be able to recall a battle with leechers please? Maybe from when you were just starting out?”

Brophy raised an eyebrow at Sal’s choice of name, but a smile tugged at his lips as he looked over at Erika. “Most certainly. But Miss Clifton, I do hope you’ll forgive all the screaming.” He gestured at his temples as though giving her permission to read his mind.

The contrast was incredible. Sal’s projected memory had caused Erika to falter, but Gallant’s made her vomit over her shoulder. She barely had time to turn around before the retching began.

Rochelle got to her feet and hesitated.

Brophy winked at her and extended his hand.

If Sal didn’t know Rochelle’s ability, he would have been confused. His visor picked up the essence tether to Brophy’s body as Rochelle channeled her Regenerate ability on Erika. Getting sick from something horrible shouldn’t have left much to heal, but Rochelle seemed determined. Sal wondered whether it was an excuse for her to inspect Erika’s capabilities. The visor picked up a small smile on Rochelle’s lips that confirmed that very suspicion.

Sal clapped his hands together, bringing everyone but Erika’s attention back to him. “I think that small demonstration highlights the dangers of demons, even the weakest ones. Who wants to learn formations?”

Brophy’s hand shot up into the air, and Sal laughed at the enthusiasm. Rochelle left Erika where she was before also raising a hand. Ioseph shrugged and nodded. Sal smiled at that.

“Since the Controller will be giving out the commands, we just need to be able to execute those movements?” He directed his question at Brophy, who gave him a reassuring nod.

“Correct. It works a little differently in dungeons and towers, though, because of the change in terrain.” Brophy gestured to the area they currently occupied. “Our curriculum has only shown us how to navigate through the streets and how to be mindful of our surroundings. Things like the gauntlet are invaluable experience, but will be a lot less useful in a tower.”

Sal spied Erika from the corner of his eye. She sat up, wiping at her mouth. Rather than glaring at anyone, which was what he thought she’d do, she was listening intently to Brophy. It was the perfect outcome.

“We’ll need to have a closer grouping to ensure that we can reach each other in times of need, but spaced out enough to allow for movement and ability usage. With Roche needing to tether to activate her ability, it makes sense for her to be directly behind me. It changes the dynamic of the Healer propping up the Defense, but we’d have to adapt to our current builds.”

Brophy turned to Ioseph. “Could you tell me the nature of your ability? Your runes make me think that you’re likely a Warder. I’m guessing you protect and reflect?”

Sal finally witnessed emotion on Ioseph’s face, and it was a glorious image of disbelief. Brophy had apparently nailed his assumption in one guess.

Without missing a beat, Brophy snapped his fingers with a laugh. “Fantastic! Excellent ability for Defense, which gives us a lot more breathing room.”

When Sal met Brophy’s gaze, he no longer felt like he was talking to a fellow student. Brophy’s entire demeanor exuded confidence, capability, and expertise.

“Salvatore, you’ve got that fancy revolver and excellent defensive equipment, which would make you the perfect candidate for our rear guard. As long as we clear everything in front of us, you shouldn’t be ambushed from behind. It’ll allow you to pick off the targets we’re fighting at a distance.”

Erika’s voice cut through the explanation. “A Support can’t act as rear guard. Every lesson we’ve been given has reinforced that—”

“Adaptability.” Brophy cut her off and gave her a meaningful look. “That is what you need to learn in order to overcome a dungeon, tower, or portal. Why do you think we’re out here in the wild without knowing a single thing about it beforehand?”

The question was rhetorical, and Erika didn’t give Brophy the satisfaction of answering.

His smile returned as he looked at the group. “Because they’re training us to adapt to a new environment, which means that we need to create new countermeasures to the scenario we’ve found ourselves in. Roles are important, but none of us should be arrogant enough to assume that our class archetype is determined by ability alone. It comes from a desire to perform in that role and to add value to the team. The desire to protect, to save, to coordinate, and to support.”

Ioseph laughed as he looked at Brophy. “I think you forgot your own role. What is the desire of the Offense?”

Brophy smiled as he gave a good-natured shrug. “I just like killing demons. If I can do it quick and fast, my team never has to face danger.”

Sal raised his hand, but Brophy laughed at the gesture and waved it away. “You don’t need to do that, Sal. What is it?”

Sal had left his revolver in the case back in their enclosure. His memory of the dungeon raid still lingered in his mind. “I’m not a good enough shot to act as the rear guard. I’ve only used the gun once before, and I wasn’t really in my right mind at the time.”

Brophy’s eyes lit up, which was not the response Sal was expecting. “Excellent! That’s a key area for us to work on over the next few weeks. Expertise isn’t earned in a single day, so we’ll work on getting your familiarity up with your weapon. Anyone else? Any issues or fears that we can work on?”

Ioseph shuffled uncomfortably as he glanced at Sal before looking elsewhere.

Brophy didn’t miss the exchange as he walked over to the mountain of a man. “What do you need? Remember, there’s no such thing as a stupid question.”

Sal doubted the sincerity of that last part, but he was curious about what Ioseph Bitterwater could possibly need help with. At Brophy’s urging, Ioseph finally sighed and gestured in Sal’s direction.

“His mechanical hands. I can’t make runes very fast…like, they’re in my head and the power is there. Trust me, there’s a lot of power there. I just can’t get it out very quick.” His shoulders sagged as he shook his head. “I don’t know how that can be fixed, though. I want to be able to make the runes faster.”

Sal tilted his head. “Did an etcher not work for you?”

Ioseph shook his head. “I bought three of them, and none of them activated. No matter how much essence I try to push into them, they don’t pick it up. It’s the most frustrating thing. I ended up breaking two of them.”

Sal smiled and raised a single finger. “Did you prick your finger and give it any of your blood?”

Ioseph’s blank stare gave Sal the answer. At a speed that didn’t seem humanly possible, Ioseph bolted toward the enclosure. He almost ripped the tent flap off the tarp in his haste.

Brophy chuckled and turned to Rochelle. “I’m not going to pretend to have understood that conversation, but what about you? Is there anything we can help you with?” His grin was almost infectious, and Rochelle winced slightly before shaking her head. Her red braid flew from one shoulder to the other with the movement.

“Nope. I just need to meditate by myself to see if I can open more gates. It’s exhausting and boring, but it needs to be done if I’ve got any chance of using my ability without needing essence from others.” She looked resigned to her fate as Erika walked closer to their small huddle. In her hand was a half-full cup of water.

“I can assist with that. Not the exhaustion, but the boredom.” Her voice still lacked emotion, and Sal felt like there was a catch.

Rochelle seemed to have a short memory and terrible instincts as a smile appeared on her face. “You have a way to make it interesting?”

Erika shook her head as she gave Rochelle a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “No. I have a method that will keep you training until the job is done. Boredom won’t be a factor.”

Rochelle finally realized what Erika meant. “Oh.”