Next, Jackson had more character points than he had ever expected to have at one time. He immediately maxed out all his magical schools and combat skills. After Unarmed Combat specialization, Toughness, Axe, Short Blades, Stealth, Stunning Fist, Feign Death, and his three schools of magic, he was down to 780 character points. It was still a huge amount but showed him how quickly he could burn through it.

  The tier gains to his various skills were nothing that he hadn’t been expecting. That was part of following in the footsteps of his various family members. He already knew the gains to expect. He couldn’t use character points to level up Perpetually Purifying Body so that was out. He thought about putting more points into Dodge, but his class was built around taking damage, not avoiding it. The skill was useful but he wasn’t going to focus on it now.

  Maybe he should take Regeneration because it would certainly help him to increase his health regen, but he opted not to. It was in that moment that Jackson unwittingly took a step into adulthood. He decided to hold onto his remaining character points and discuss them with his family before spending them.

  That alone would have been a big step, but what made it even more profound was the simple fact that without thinking about it, he had first decided he wanted to speak to Gianna about it. They were going to be together for the rest of their lives, and he needed to make sure that his build complimented her. Just thinking about that caused butterflies in his stomach and a surge of excitement in his chest. He realized that the one person he wanted to share this with more than anyone was his fiancé.

  Jackson’s Stats

  Name: Jackson Nelson

  Race: Half-Human/Half-Moon Elf

  Age: 14

  Class: Ironwood Monk (Tier 1)

  Level: 36th

  Alignment +1

  Movement: 58

  Defense: 19

  Attack: 7

  Stats:

  STRENGTH: 60 (+20%) (+25%)72

  Bravery: 21.6

  Regen Rate: 7.2/hour

  Melee Damage: +144%

  DEXTERITY: 31 (+25%): 38

  Ranged Damage: +76%

  Rogue Skills: +38%

  AGILITY: 29 (+30%) 31 (+25%):37

  Movement Rate: +74%

  Defense Rate: +135%

  CONSTITUTION: 66 (+50%) (+25%) 77

  Health: 1670 (770)

  Regen Rate: 9,004.6/hour

  Fury: 23.8 (13.8)

  Regen Rate: 4.6/hour

  ENDURANCE: 36(+30%)46 (+25%): 55

  Stamina: 33 (16.5)

  Regen Rate: 16.5 (5.5)/hour

  Needed Rest: -55%

  INTELLIGENCE: 26 (+25%): 32

  Mana: 320

  Spell Damage: +642%

  WISDOM: 13(+30%): 16 (+25%):20

  Mana Regen Rate: 300/hour

  Faith: 6

  Regen Rate: 2/hour

  CHARISMA: 29 (+10%): 31 (+25%): 39

  Social Skills: 78%

  Teamwork: 11.7

  Regen Rate: 3.9/hour

  LUCK: 3

  +3% chance to avoid catastrophic effects

  +3% improvement on chance of loot drops

  +3% improvement on quality of loot drops

  Total XP: 25,157 XP to Next: 63

  Unspent Stat Points: 0 Unspent Character Points: 900

  Skills:

  Generic-

  Running: 180

  Social-

  Speak Languages: 8

  Combat-

  Unarmed Combat: 100

  Blunt Weapons: 100

  Short Blades: 65

  Toughness: 60 (DR: 24)

  Weapon Specialization: Unarmed- 60

  Counter-Strike: 10

  Axes: 60

  Crafting-

  Engineering: 40

  Alchemy: 1

  Rogue-

  Stealth: 65

  Stamina-

  Dodge: 1

  Stunning Fist: 60

  Class Skills-

  Feign Death: 60

  Perpetually Purifying Body: 20

  Magic-

  Esoteric Senses: 40

  Shaping Magic: 60

  1- Minor Pliable Body (aura)

  1- Stone Fist

  2- Blood Armor

  Conjuration Magic: 60

  1- Minor Multiply Ammunition

  1- Acidic Gel

  2- Gate

  Essence Magic: 60

  1- Minor Protection from Evil (aura)

  1- Minor Heal

  2- Lesser Companion Life Link

  Class Auras:

  1- Minor Pliable Body

  2- Minor Protection from Evil (Upgradeable)

  2- Glitter Dust

  Gear:

  Academy Uniform

  Elven Leathers

  Mace

  Wind Axe

  Dagger

  Health Ring: 300 HP

  Greater Earth Ring

  Ring of Streamlined Movement (not worn)

  Epic Ring of Poisonous Health: 300 HP

  Ring of Duplication- Ring of Poison Health

  Air Core

  Piersung's Ringed Fighting Gloves Tier: 4 XP: 5591/8213

  Fungal Tunic of Regrowth

  Bladed Knuckle Dusters (10% chance of 20-40 electric dmg) +5 base

  Dual Bag of Holding

  Chapter Eighteen

  “Better to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission.” —Rear Admiral Grace Hopper

  Baldora- Jackson Nelson

  When they landed in the area set aside for the griffons, there wasn’t much fanfare. Aremay had not sent any magical messages ahead of time because he didn’t want to be mobbed. As he told Jackson, these things were above his pay-grade.

  Jackson was happy to at least find his fiancé and mother waiting for him. From up in the air he could see that his mother was holding a small bundle. He hadn’t had the chance to meet his baby brother yet, but his first hug was going to be for Gianna.

  The king and queen were also there with Gianna, standing arm in arm with his mother. Nothing but joy was on her face, so he assumed that she was very glad to see him, but he also knew that later would come the hollering, especially if she found out how reckless some of his actions had been.

  He and Aremay walked forward side by side and both stopped before the king. Aremay dropped to a knee and lowered his head while Jackson simply bowed at his waist. On the walk over, and even as he bowed, he couldn’t stop himself from glancing over at Gianna. Had she somehow become more beautiful in the past week?

  That didn’t seem likely, but she was simply radiant. The more he glanced at her, the more he wanted to kiss her. That probably wasn’t the best move in front of her father, the king, but it didn’t stop the thought from being imprinted on his mind.

  After a few seconds, the king laughed. “Oh, stand up. You are both heroes. And you, Prince Jackson”—Albret shook his head as he said this last part—“you better go and hug my daughter before she explodes.”

  “Daddy…”

  Jackson didn’t even bother speaking but rapidly stepped over to her. Her complaints ended with a hug and then a kiss. Foolish or not, Jackson thought he had just faced down an entire town of orcs all while sitting on top of 500 lbs. of explosives. He figured he could handle the ire of his father-in-law.

  After a moment, though, he heard a cough to his left. He looked up and said, “I’m glad you realized you missed your fiancé, but how about a little love for your poor mother. I did just have a baby a few days ago you know.”

  Jackson rolled his eyes. “Yeah, and you’ve probably already got him asking permission before he dares nurse.” But at the same time, he crossed the distance and gave both mother and brother a hug. He looked down at the little bundle of flesh and wondered that he had ever been that small.

  “I missed you too, Mom. Maybe later I can properly meet…” His voice trailed off as Jackson realized he didn’t even know his little brother’s name.

  “Caiden,” his mother offered.

  “Yes, maybe I can meet Caiden properly later. I’ve got all kinds of ideas for things to teach him. Every little brother needs an older brother to teach them bad habits.”

  Now it was Queen Sophia’s turn to cough. “Just do that with your brother, so you are ready to teach my grandsons nothing but good habits.”

  “Mom…”

  The queen cut off her daughter’s protest. “I don’t mean yet.” Then she stared at Jackson for a second before looking back at her daughter. “I really don’t mean yet. But it will only be a couple of years. That is the way of royalty after all. I had you when I was only sixteen.”

  Jackson wanted to crawl under the rug, but they were out on bare stone, and there wasn’t even a rug available. King Albret came to his rescue though as both mothers seemed to be bonding over the idea of grandchildren. So much for counting on his mother to push the wedding back. Maybe she really had gone too native.

  “I will have to steal the prince as the war council and I need to receive reports from him and Captain Aremay. In the meantime, my dear, can you and the Chosen oversee the children? Get some servants to make sure they are properly cleaned and clothed, and that way we can present them to their parents without any additional trauma.

  “If it isn’t too much, Duchess Nelson, would you please check on their physical and mental health after this ordeal and perhaps even heal them? If you aren’t up to it yet, then I understand and can have a royal healer made available.”

  “Bah, I’m ready to fight a dragon if I had to. No, I’m just glad to see my son back. I’ll be happy to reunite these poor children with their parents.”

  The noble children were all standing behind him now, and Jackson realized they had been exceptionally quiet. That was probably owing to their upbringing, topped off by the stress of the past week and a half.

  He did think of one other thing though. “Begging your pardon, Your Majesty, but might I inquire about my father. Is he still out in the field with another of the teams?”

  Jackson’s mother was shaking her head, but again, Albret answered, “I’ll let you speak to your mother about that later. Apparently, your father was called away on some pressing business, but I expect he will be back here tomorrow.”

  The king’s tone made it clear that there was more to discuss but not right now. So Jackson and Aremay followed him to the council chambers. They chatted on the way there, which allowed Jackson to see a less formal side of Albret. He clearly was concerned for not only his future son-in-law but also all his men.

  Then when they hit the war council, the mask of stern but compassionate leader slid back into place. Aremay gave his report first, and then Jackson was asked to offer his own insights. Once again, it was strangely intoxicating to be treated as an adult, even if he hadn’t met the legal standard.

  That led to him discussing how he had pushed Captain Pritch into allowing him to go on patrol. He did his best to shield the man, but it was pretty obvious that the nobles present were horrified by the idea that the man who would marry the crown princess had gone on a scouting mission. They were all, however, extremely interested in learning about how he had created a massive explosion that could be seen from miles away.

  “King Albret, I used up most of the supply that Eris’ Rise has of the ingredients, but I have already sent them a note asking for more production. I learned that the dungeon is back up and running, and so I will have samples for you and your nobles soon. Then perhaps we can consider this substance in the negotiations for trade with Eris’ Rise. I’m sure King Eikhorn will want his taxes, but we can discuss that soon.”

  The nobles pressed for more information while King Albret sat back. It had to be a difficult position, and Jackson was incredibly glad he had thought to put the points into Charisma. With his new bonus, the stat was now essentially three times higher than it had been.

  When the nobles wouldn’t take ‘wait and see’ for an answer, Jackson was forced to pull out his trump card. “I’m sure that we can all discuss this later, but I thought you might like to know that I was awarded a specific trait by Eloria for the use of my bomb. You see it killed so many orcs in one attack that it pushed me up to Tier 4.”

  That got their attention.

  “I left Baldora as a level 24 on a scouting mission. I know that level probably didn’t impress any of you.” Jackson smiled as he spoke. He knew full well that it most definitely impressed them.

  “Now, after a number of battles, and most especially this last one, I return to you as a level 36.”

  That got the room gasping and whispering.

  “Not only that, but Eloria found fit to reward my challenges with a quest to upgrade my rare class to an epic class. I will need to learn alchemy, but otherwise, the quest seems fairly straightforward.”

  After that, the discussion changed. Unlike Albia, Miromar didn’t have a Tier 4 royal mage. So since Jackson was now a prince of the realm, that made him their first Tier 4. That was something to be respected and feared. Never mind that he was also a vassal of King Eikhorn, it got all the nobles to thinking. A couple of them even offered to introduce him to alchemists who he might train with.

  The meeting dragged on a bit after that, but Jackson couldn’t help but notice how people were constantly glancing over at him. He had undoubtedly just become a much bigger piece in the politics of Miromar. Just that thought made him realize he would need to get advice from Gianna, his parents, and then his in-laws-to-be.

  From time to time Jackson found his mind wandering as the discussions about troop placements, supply routes, and such continued. This did give him a chance to check on the progress of his gloves. He hadn’t realized until just now that the gloves, like him, had reached Tier 4 in that last battle.

  That made him grin, but he kept it to himself. The last thing he wanted was some noble thinking he was excited about the crop rotations or food transport. He would be able to equip another ring later and would probably go with the epic health ring, although the more he thought about it, the weaker that ring seemed compared to the rest of his rings.

  The gloves themselves had undergone some positive changes but nothing earth-shaking. Their base damage had increased as well as now enhancing his grappling ability too.

  Piersung’s Ringed Fighting Gloves

  Quality: Mythic

  Wt: 1.0/glove

  Restriction: Reduces XP earned by 10%

  Current Item Tier: 4

  XP: 5591/8213

  Passive Effect 1: +10 added to base damage for blows made with the wearer’s hands. Now affects feet also. Now enhances any technique that requires the hand for grabbing. (Effect improves with Tier increases)

  Passive Effect 2: Wearer may equip an extra ring per Tier (2 extra rings at Tier 7)

  Set Piece: 1 of 4

  Bonuses: revealed when 2 or more pieces are gained. (Vest, Boots, Belt)

  Piersung was a champion of the Imperial Tournament seven times and the creator of the Way of Thought martial arts style. In his later years, he became obsessed with creating the perfect fighting gear and turned his attention to enchanting. A portion of himself was imbued into the gear with unpredictable results.

  Reading the description again reminded him that he was going to have to do everything in his power to find the other pieces of this set. The power from just the gloves was significant, let alone an entire set. None of his research yet had turned up anything about Piersung, but maybe with Dad and Mira’s help, he would find something.

  Finally, when time for the evening meal rolled around, the meeting wound down, or rather Albret must have noticed how bored Jackson was. No matter the power that he possessed, he was, after all, only fourteen.

  “Prince Jackson, why don’t you go visit your mother. I know she has been anxious to see you as I know my daughter has been. I fear the planning for war will go far into the night, but there is no reason for you to be here the entire day.”

  Jackson wanted to jump up and run out the door, but whether it was because of his increased Charisma or just the weight of maturity he felt settling onto him, Jackson restrained himself.

  “Your Majesty, I am willing to do my part for Miromar. If you need me here, then I will stay.”

  “I appreciate that, but the young need more sleep than us old men. You may have amazing stats, but you are still growing. Don’t forget that. And take no offense at this; you will have your part to play. Let us sort out the strategy. I fear your strength will be needed all too soon.”

  Jackson wasn’t going to argue a second time. He stood, bowed, and then left. From there, he hurried through the hallways of the castle. There were a number of things he still needed to explore. The usefulness and ways to counteract Esoteric Sense were just one of them. He also had a couple of items that he hoped to get enchanted by Mira. Then, of course, he wanted to learn some spells from both his parents.

  That thought brought around the biggest issue on his mind. Something was up with his father, and he needed to find out what. Dad wasn’t someone to not show up where he was needed.

  When he reached the apartment where his parents stayed, the guards outside quickly announced him and then showed him in. This was odd because there were ten guards outside the apartment. Two of them were her usual guards from home—she had been traveling with a small compliment of guards since they had arrived in Miromar—but there were also two guards in the colors of the royal guard, which marked them as the protectors of the royal family and then, finally, there were five guards and a paladin from the church of Shanelle.