Mage Tank-Chapter MTB5 Prologue (1)

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SYSTEM ADDENDUM ADDED BY USER NAME: [EMPRESS RONA LITTAE]

ADDENDUM NOTE: 12 minutes before Fortune’s Folly enters the battle of Krimsim.

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“Who can tell me about the basic Delve grades, also known as difficulties?”

Lieutenant Nokomi Moonwing stood in front of her classroom of Delver hopefuls, idly shifting her leathery wings where her uniform tugged at them. Her black eyes roamed the room to see which of her students were willing to answer. They were a self-assured group–a marked difference from her own time in the Littan academies–so she had no shortage of volunteers.

A man raised his hand, a Hyrachon who was likely older than she was, albeit still in his prime. An unusual age for a Delver academy student, but the academy that had sprung up at Fort Ruiz was unusual in many more ways than that. Nokomi herself was unusual, being a Chovali Delver in the Littan military.

Nokomi pointed to the Hyrachon. “Mr. Gith’meltora,” she said.

The rumble of the man’s feet was enough for Nokomi’s sensitive ears to pick out every person and object in the room as he stood from his seat at the back. All the Hyrachons sat near the back, not due to any petty tribalism as Nokomi had first suspected, but simply because they were too tall to sit anywhere else without blocking someone’s view. The man towered over the mix of Eschens and Littans as he spoke.

“Thank you, Instructor Moonwing,” said the Hyrachon. His small agate horns glittered as he nodded. “Beginning with the basics, there are five Delve difficulties. These include the four attribute-granting difficulties of copper, silver, gold, and platinum, along with the broader ‘special’ category, which offers other types of rewards.”

“Good,” said Nokomi. “All basic Delves fall into one of these difficulties. Now, Mr. Gith’meltora, what’s the difference?”

“Attribute rewards,” the Hyrachon replied. “One for copper, two for silver, four for gold, eight for platinum, zero for special.”

“Excellent, although I would urge caution when making absolute statements about Special Delves. While most do not award attributes, we have at least one example of a party entering a special and emerging with more levels than they went in with. So, for special, I would say ‘variable’ attribute rewards. What else?”

Nokomi listened attentively to the student’s summary of other Delve difficulty considerations, which generally boiled down to “higher difficulty means that the Delves are more difficult.” She thought over the confidence she’d been seeing, and ascribed it to the unusual demographics of her class. Many were well into adulthood and deeply skilled in one trade or another, working professionals accustomed to their own expertise. Their mettle was forged in experience, rather than the empty bravado of a noble’s child who’d suffered little hardship. With the emergence of seven new Creation Delves, many talented individuals who’d missed the opportunity to become a Delver were being offered one of the hundreds of new annual slots.

After the Hyrachon finished his overview, the gentleman was willing to get into more granular detail.

“Each difficulty can present specific types of challenges, with the next difficulty up including the lower difficulty’s challenges and adding one of its own,” said Mr. Gith’meltora. “Copper Delves are generally short and involve a single challenge, which can vary from combat to puzzle solving. Silver Delves layer an additional problem, such as a combat encounter that is made more vexing by the presence of a puzzle.”

“Yes,” said Nokomi, looking over the class again. She flexed her bat-like wings and gave them a brief flap, getting the attention of those few who weren’t fully engaged. A Littan soldier’s head jerked when his fur was disturbed by the breeze. Nokomi struggled to keep her fangs hidden as she grinned at him while he rubbed an eye and looked at her apologetically. Nokomi decided not to call him out. He was obviously weary from whatever physical training he’d undergone earlier that day.

“The main difference between a Silver Delve and a Copper Delve,” Nokomi continued, “is that silvers include the same types of hazards as coppers, but often layer those challenges over top of one another. Silver Delves also tend to be longer, meaning that a Silver Delver not only has to deal with more complex challenges, but also a greater number of challenges in total.” Nokomi gestured to Mr. Gith’meltora. “Please continue.”

“Gold Delves introduce pervasive environmental hazards,” said the Hyrochon after another glittering nod. “The entire Delve may be underwater, for example, or all of the surfaces might be covered in razor-sharp blades. Most Gold Delves involve at least three elements to each challenge, all of which must be handled for success. They can also be larger than Silver Delves.”

“Much larger,” said Nokomi. “In fact, the sheer size of a Gold Delve is itself sometimes considered an environmental hazard. So, a Copper Delve may involve fighting a pack of Vulgungs, a Silver Delve may involve fighting a pack of Vulgungs while in a room filled with dart traps, and a Gold Delve may involve fighting a pack of Vulgungs in a room filled with dart traps while also inside a Delve that shoots magical fire into all of its chambers once every eight minutes.”

Nokomi took a breath. “You can see why most people choose to avoid gold,” she said, getting a round of chuckles in return. “Now, Mr. Gith’meltora, tell me about platinum.”

“There are no predictable rules for platinum,” said the Hyrachon.

“That’s almost the textbook answer, and it isn’t wrong,” said Nokomi. “But it isn’t entirely right, either.” The Hyrochon’s thick brow furrowed. “Excellent work, Mr. Gith’meltora, you may sit.” The Hyrochon gave a short bow and sat back down. Nokomi let a moment of silence pass, making sure everyone was wholly focused.

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“Platinum can follow the same pattern,” Nokomi said. “A fourth variable over the other three, such as an extraordinarily short time limit to the Delve. Those are the easiest platinums. Platinums can also be as simple as a copper, with only a single challenge, but that challenge will be many times more difficult. Instead of one pack of Vulgungs, you’re fighting ten. The inescapable fire that fills the Delve every eight minutes leaves you Ignited, Slowed, and Poisoned. The same goes for length. Platinums can be as short as a single room, or as large as an entire city, maybe even larger. While their contents have no predictable rules, the one thing that can be predicted is that a Platinum Delve will be more lethal than a Gold Delve in the same level range. However, there’s one more consideration for Delve difficulties that we have yet to mention. Can anyone tell me what that is?”

Nokomi was pleased to see the previously inattentive soldier raise his hand.

“Private Delfin,” she said, gesturing to him. The Littan stood and straightened his uniform.

“That would be the escalating difficulty problem, Lieutenant,” said Delfin.

“Define that for us.”

“All Delves, regardless of difficulty, increase in challenge at a rate that exceeds the rate of advancement for Delvers in their level range.”

“Can you give us an example?” asked Nokomi.

“Yes, Lieutenant. Monster grades within Copper Delves increase at a rate of one-half of a percent above Delve Level, compounding and rounded up. This means that the average monster grade in a tenth-level copper is eleven, or thirty-five for a thirtieth-level copper. Silver is six-tenths of a percent, gold is seven-tenths of a percent, and platinum is a full one percent.”

“Which is an average monster grade of 41 for a Level 30 Platinum Delve,” Nokomi added. “And I will stress the word average. That term is deceptive. We have on record a Level 12 Platinum Delve that was inhabited by hundreds of Grade 12 monsters, with several packs of Grade 20 elites and led by a Grade 26 boss. The average monster grade was 14, but the peak grade was 26.

“As the Delve’s level and difficulty increase,” Nokomi continued, “so does this variability in monster grade, leading to much higher peak values than the Delve’s average. Can you guess which difficulty has the highest variability, Private Delfin?”

“That would be platinum, ma’am.”

“Correct! And before anyone laments the uselessness of averages, there are constraints. You won’t find a Level 5 Gold Delve with a hundred Grade 3 monsters and a single Grade 50. There are various charts on predicted peak monster grades sorted by Delve level and difficulty in your textbooks, which go into this in greater detail. Read them, memorize them, take them to dinner, sleep with them under your pillow, whatever it takes. They. Will. Save. Your. Life.” Nokomi emphasized each of her last few words by rapping a claw against her desk as she strode past. She gave that advice a few seconds to settle, then moved on.

“The Hiwardian solution to the escalating difficulty problem is to have a hard cutoff after thirty Delves completed in any given difficulty. Why is that?”

Nokomi looked around the room, then noticed Private Delfin trying to glance down at his notes while continuing to stand stiffly at attention. Nokomi grinned, failing to hide her fangs this time, and waved the man down. “Apologies, Private Delfin, I don’t expect you or any of your classmates to know the answer to that. I appreciate your participation; you may sit.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant,” said the private, before quickly finding his seat.

“You won’t find the answer to this in your textbooks, since they’re introductory,” said Nokomi. “The phenomenon is not well understood, but there is a significant increase in the number of Delver parties who do not return from their thirty-first Delve in any given difficulty.”

A Deijinon woman raised her hand, and Nokomi gestured for her to speak.

“Why thirty-one?” she asked. She tilted her head, causing her feathers to sway. “That seems like a weird number.”

“A good question with no good answer,” said Nokomi. “There are different theories concerning the number eight and even divisions, which the System seems to favor. Thirty is the last even number before the next interval of eight at thirty-two, which is half of eight times eight, sixty-four.

“Regardless of the math,” Nokomi continued, “we do have parties who survive their thirty-first Delve in a specific difficulty. Their accounts uniformly report a greater-than-expected increase in challenge to the Delve’s hazards, but the mechanisms vary. Sometimes it’s a complete difficulty jump. Copper Delvers have found themselves in Silver Delves, and Silver Delvers have found themselves in Gold Delves. Gold Delvers have faced challenges that appeared to be custom-tailored to counter their builds, and in one instance were placed in direct competition with another Gold team.”

Some dark looks passed around the class.

“However, this is one of the few cases where Platinum Delves appear to be more predictable than the lower difficulties,” said Nokomi. “While we have very few accounts of Delvers going beyond thirty Platinum Delves, in all accounts that we do have, the thirty-first Platinum Delve must be conquered solo.”

The dark looks transitioned into a soft chorus of sharp inhales and hushed whispers.

“Delvers focus on team tactics,” said Nokomi. “We are specialized in our role, and we rely on our party members to fill the gaps in our builds. This is by necessity, as a party of generalists is significantly less potent than a well-organized party of specialists. The thirty-first Platinum Delve turns this practice upside down and uses it against us. Why? According to General Connatis, who has been through and survived his thirty-first Platinum Delve, it is the only way to truly comprehend your own weakness.

“We rely on our party members to cover our vulnerabilities, but how deep do those vulnerabilities go? How much do our allies sacrifice to make up for them? Are our build choices effective, efficient, and necessary, or are they self-indulgent? A mage who only takes damage evolutions forces the tank to defend him more often at the expense of his allies. He forces the healer to burn mana on him when it might be better served elsewhere. Such a group might be extraordinarily lethal in combination, but the moment that mage is taken out, the rest of the party falls apart.

“According to the general, the solo Delve asks, ‘Are you building around your party, or is your party building around you?’”

The silence that followed was shattered when the door to Nokomi’s classroom flew open. She shot a scowl towards whoever had so rudely interrupted her lesson, but reeled her expression back in when she saw that it was her commanding officer, Captain Iberto. The surly Littan captain was normally meticulous about his appearance, but Iberto’s fur was ruffled and his uniform’s coat unbuttoned. The captain’s dishevelment was nearly as unsettling as the grim expression he wore.

“Lieutenant Moonwing,” he said. “Come with me. You’re going into battle in two minutes.”

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