Tycoon May: Chapter 1 (Patreon)

Chapter 1

A lone figure stepped through the glowing barrier that separated the rolling plains of District April from the broken hills of District May.  Waiting for him was a trio of slavering monsters, their twisted forms pulsing with corruption.  The storm of energy that came with the new arrival shot bolts of blue-tinted lightning throughout the area, tearing furrows of singed grass and dirt out of the ground.  The figure - a warrior clad in battered armor, bearing a single-edged curved sword in a sheath on his hip - ignored the violent energy that struck him.  It wasn’t enough to distract him from his purpose.  He looked at the creatures with a burning hatred in his eyes.

“Not this time, beasts.  I won’t be run off with my tail between my legs.  This time, I’m ready for you.”  Bending slightly at the knees, the warrior looked over his opponents with a discerning gaze.  The six-legged beasts resembled hairless badgers, their teeth and fangs gleaming in the late-afternoon sunlight.  The one in the lead was the largest of the three, a scarred and rugged monster that rivaled the size of a small pony.  It growled, dropping into a crouch as it prepared to pounce.

As the misshapen badger sprang at the warrior, a flash of light accompanied the sound of tearing flesh, and the three beasts collapsed to the ground in a spray of blood.  The warrior slid the last few inches of his exposed Uchigatana back in its sheath, his use of Iaijutsu - the art of drawing the sword in order to instantly attack - so fast that the three monsters didn’t even see his strike.

<Success is decided by decades, but improvement is measured by the day, and your constant progression speaks volumes to your dedication, Grant.>  The warrior patted his Uchigatana absentmindedly, looking over his surroundings with a steady eye.  Sarge, the sword spirit contained within his Wielded Weapon, February Twenty-Ninth, growled in Grant’s mind.  <Don’t placate me, Grant Monday.  I am paying you a compliment.  Taking a moment to appreciate your gains is important for understanding where you have come from, and measuring the path you still need to walk.>

“It doesn’t matter.  I was not strong enough to save my friend, and that means I am still too weak.  I have to train longer, hit harder, and focus on honing my skills - both physical and magical - until nothing can stand before me.”  Grant crouched, looking around him to ensure there were no more enemies waiting to ambush him.  The tear in the boundary behind him finally closed, sealing him in the unfamiliar District of May.  “I’m now in the Mid-Summer month, meaning I’m starting all over again from the bottom.  This time, I’m not going to fall short when others are depending on me.  They will be able to count on me to save their life.”

<Sometimes, even when you do everything right, people around you are going to die.  That’s the life of a warrior.  And no matter what form a Wielded Weapon might take, every Wielder and Vassal who holds a Weapon of Power is a warrior.  They accept that risk the moment they choose to take on the responsibility inherent in their role.>  Sarge waited for Grant to absorb what he had said.  Once again, he was ignored.  <You carry the same burden they do, Grant.  Duty is as heavy as a mountain, death is lighter than a feather.>

“I… understand.  But isn’t my duty as a Wielder to protect those who can’t protect themselves?  And since I failed that duty, shouldn’t I punish myself with more training to make sure it doesn’t happen again?”  Grant didn’t wait for the sword spirit to answer.  Instead, he sprang forward, clearing the edge of the border just as a hand bearing three foot-long claws erupted from the ground where he was standing.  “Ha!  I knew there was still more!”  He spun in place, turning to face the new threat.  “Come on then, monster.  Don’t keep me waiting.”

The creature that crawled up from the ground looked to be part mole and part giant worm.  It had a nose made of short metallic tentacles, and they whipped around looking for the prey it had sensed.  Grant didn’t give it a chance.

Drawing forward in a downward slice, he activated his skill ‘Begonia Chop’ almost unconsciously.  His sword removed the monster’s head from its body in a spray of gore.  He felt some resistance, as if the flesh of his enemy was more dense than normal, but his Uchigatana managed the task.  It collapsed heavily to the ground, its limbs flopping around as it spasmed in death.  Grant wiped his sword off on the corpse, and sheathed it in one smooth motion.

“I guess the monsters in this region aren’t as tough as I was expecting.”  He poked at the beast with his foot.  “Cutting through them isn’t a problem.”

<That’s because the beasts near the border to April are weak.  The stronger monsters will be found deeper into the District.>  Grant nodded before turning and heading for a nearby hilltop.  <Good idea.  Get to higher ground, and see if you can get a better idea of what’s around us.>

“We don’t have any time to waste.  It’s a long walk from here to District June.”  Grant crested the top of the rise, silhouetting himself against the glowing border for anyone who looked in his direction.  “What do you think about that?”

Below him, rolling hills of green were dotted with clusters of trees.  In the distance, a few faint smoke trails marked the locations of villages or cities.  Grant could see a few clusters of monsters loping over the hills, their speed and size making him think they were some kind of herd beasts.  Closer, there was a group of bedraggled men that were starting to form up into a loose formation near the edge of the glowing border.  They were too far away to see any specific details, but Grant assumed their sluggishness was caused by the occasional clump of dead beasts.  They had just fought a pitched battle, and were getting ready to return to their base.

<It looks to me like some kind of organization hunting down the monsters in the area.  Maybe you can join up with them, and gather some intelligence.>

“Good idea.  I need to find out where the Lord or Lady of the Month is, and defeat them as soon as possible.”  Grant watched as the group below him shuffled tiredly away from the border, heading deeper into the District in an unorganized gaggle.  A small group led the way, several figures wearing heavy armor.  “That must be the captain of the guard patrol.  I will try to ask him if I can join, and see what I can learn.”

<Just be sure not to swear any oaths.  I would hate for you to get stuck serving in some Army for the rest of your short life.>  Sarge paused, as below them a pair of men clearly snuck away from the group.  They furtively dodged between trees, increasing the distance between them and the patrol.  More than one person noted their desertion, but no one commented or pointed them out to any of the important-looking people.  <Whelp, it looks like they don’t really do oaths, then.>

“I would just turn around and leave if they tried to force me.”  Grant grunted, as the two men were swallowed by some kind of ambush monster that raised up from the ground and disappeared with its meal faster than the blink of an eye.  Not even the people that had noticed the pair disappear seemed to have seen what happened.  “Maybe they don’t have them swear oaths because it’s pointless.  None of them live long enough to make it worth the effort.”  He carefully watched where the beast had disappeared.  Grant was pretty sure there was some kind of shallow cave or depression in the ground, which was why the monster could seemingly pop in and out of nowhere.  “I think I should watch my step.  Those things look nasty.”

<Your Thundering Step spell should keep that from happening to you.  That was a Monstrous Cave Ray.  They are resistant to cutting and bludgeoning weapons, but weak to elemental damage.>  Sarge thought for a moment.  <Imagine a very gross wet blanket that likes to jump out of nowhere and eat the flesh off your bones.  Very unpleasant creatures.>

“I’ll keep that in mind.”  Grant started to head down the hill, but ran into a problem.  The hill ended in a cliff that ran a long distance in both directions, making it impossible for him to make it over to the group before they would disappear into the distance.  “Great.  Now what do I do?”

<You should try the new ability you got from District April.  It’s supposed to help you fall safely.>  Sarge waited for Grant to pull up his stat sheet and look it over.

Name: Grant Monday (Options: Grant Monday, Earl Spring, Lord April)

Rank: Earl Spring (Lord of The Month for January, February, March, and April)

Class: Foundation Cultivator

Cultivation Achievement Level: 33

Cultivation Stage: Mid Autumn

Inherent Abilities: Swirling Seasons Cultivation

Health: 940/940

Mana: 39/39

Dao Achievements: Dao Seed of Change

Effects:

-20% requirements of gaining a skill

+20% speed of increasing a skill

+20% chance for skill to mutate upon ranking up

Physical: 593

Mental: 156

Armor Proficiency: 269

Weapon Proficiency: 282

Late Spring Medium Ornate Banded Mail armor. Full set: Head, Torso, Legs.

Total Physical Damage Decrease per set item (Includes Cultivation bonus): 149

Total Magical Damage Decrease per set item (Includes Cultivation bonus): 149

February Twenty Nine (Considered as a Late Spring Medium weapon due to Weapon/Armor synergy)

Total Damage increase: 155. (Base weapon increase: 14. Weapon Cultivation increase: 141.)

Critical hit maximum damage: 234

Weapon Inherent abilities:

1) Weapon Absorption: This sword has the ability to absorb another Wielded Weapon’s power, taking its ability into itself. Restriction: Only one weapon per Monthly series.

2) Weapon/Armor Synergy: When the Wielder is equipped with armor, this sword increases in potency and gains power. Increase is capped at the Welder's cultivation stage, or average armor stage, whichever is lower. February 29 is currently considered a Mid Spring Light’ sword. Current maximum damage is: 94 (80 from weapon cultivation, 14 from base weapon weapon stage damage, rounded up.) Damage type is ‘piercing’, ‘slashing’, or ‘blunt’ depending on how February 29 is used.

3) Time is Space: you now have access to any of the powers of February Twenty Nine, no matter where the Weapon is. You may also call your Weapon to you so long as you touch upon a place in the world where it once was while bound to you. Cost: 25% of mana pool.

4) Locked

Weapon Absorbed abilities:

1) Sword Grandmastery: Imbue your weapon with a Sword Spirit that creates a model that allows for enhanced physical, mental, and weapon cultivation. Restriction: the training plan must be followed, else the ability locks for 24 hours. There’s only one warning given per day.

2) Live by the Sword: Pause and meditate on the failures of your combat ability, healing up to 40% of all damage taken within the last 10 minutes, over one full minute. This ability will increase with physical cultivation.

3) Let’s Make A Deal: Set a binding rule, as well as the punishment for breaking that rule. The harsher the requirements of the rule, the harsher the punishment may be.

4) Adjusted Air Friction: Adjust the amount of friction you have with the air around you.  Run with reduced wind resistance, or slow yourself to a crawl.  Cannot be used without the wielded weapon in hand.  Ability scales with Armor Cultivation levels. Caution: May cause a discharge of lightning.

Skills:

Plant Insight (1/5) Skill tier 1: It’s 10% easier to spot plants with medicinal effects within a ten-yard radius.

Kenjutsu (2/10) Skill tier 1: All damage dealt when wielding a sword is increased by 10%.

Skill tier 2: your sword will never betray you. When a sword is wielded by you, the blade will always land exactly where you intend.

Iaijutsu (2/5) Skill tier 1: When prepared to attack, sword instantly leaves a sheath and slashes or penetrates target, increasing on-hit damage by 10%.

Skill tier 2: Perfect Aim. If you can use any sense to see something coming for you, your sword will be there.

Reflective Skin (1/10) Knowing your enemy is half the battle, and you’ve found a way to make it harder for other people to understand you! As this skill is self-created, it’ll increase significantly faster than other skills.

Lightning Attunement (2/10)

Tier one effect: Increases damage of all lightning-attuned spells by 10%.

Tier two effect: Ride the Lightning! Your ability to direct lightning-based spells and abilities is now perfect. Halo effects can now be aimed.

Bodily Awareness (2/3)

Tier one effect: Your mind has learned what’s real, and what’s not. Now you will always know for sure. The pain of all real damage taken is increased by 10%.

Tier two effect: Pain is your body’s message to your brain that something is wrong. Perfect understanding of what injuries you have sustained allows that communication to be more effective. Generalized pain is now sharpened to the exact location of any damage.

Begonia Chop (1/3)

Tier one effect: When properly focused, sword slices through four times its own thickness in material, increasing target penetration by 10%.

Peach Flower Petal Flurry (2/3)

Tier one effect: Must use Iaijutsu, combined with a series of sharp stabs and quick deflections, now your sword increases penetration and damage by 10%. A flowering petal of after-images will allow fear to bloom in the heart of your foes, pollinating their doubts and implanting the roots of their defeat.

Tier two effect: Tier two effect: All attacks that connect with a critical zone now do the maximum level of critical hit damage.

Hemlock’s Bane (1/2)

Tier one effect: When you have a perfect parry, your next attack will have a 10% increase in damage. Impact will cause Philosophers to ponder the inevitability of death.

Belladonna Dodge (1/2)

Tier one effect: When you have a perfect dodge, your armor is 10% more effective for the next successful hit against you. Hallucinations not included.

Spells:

Elemental Spell: Thundering Step II

Prerequisites: 100 Mind. Two feet. Metal weapon.

Active Mode: Create a static field in a five foot radius around you that damages others when they move through the area. Doesn’t move from the point it was set. Lasts five seconds.

Mana cost: 10 per use.

Damage (Self): 0% Mental cultivation.

Damage (Other): 100% Mental cultivation per second.

Training Mode: Increase movement speed by 50% while out of combat. Combat is defined as not dealing or taking damage from an opponent for five seconds.

Mana cost: 10% per second. Mana regen halved while active.

May stack spells at double the Mana cost. No limits.

Utility Spell: Apprentice Repair

Prerequisites: 80 Mind. Two hands. The ability to see or sense the targeted object.

Active Mode: Improve, combine, or repair the object or objects targeted by the spell. More complicated items require a higher-tier spell.

Mana cost: 7 per use.

Training Mode: If used when disassembling, reassembling, or cleaning an item, 50% chance of the user gaining a deeper understanding of how an item works.

Mana cost: 7 per use.

<It’s been a while since you looked at all of your improvements over the past few levels.  Your damage is much higher, and your health is almost to a thousand hit points.>

“True, but my armor level is still holding me back.  Sword synergy means I am stuck like this until I can find a better set than what I have now.”  Grant sighed, and looked over his fourth absorbed ability.  “I guess now is as good a time as any to try it out.”

Not wanting to wait, Grant took a running leap off the edge of the cliff.