Chương 135: Robust

I pulled out the matriarch's head and cast [Artifact Index]. [Headhunter - Strzyga Matriarch] Weapon modification: Cannot be attached to weapons. Gear modification: Toggle: Grants wings capable of flight. Drains moderate amount of mana. Boosts party members' Strength based on a percentage of your Strength. Boosts party members' Dexterity based on a percentage of your Dexterity. Boosts party members' Attunement based on a percentage of your Attunement.

Boosts party members' Stamina based on a percentage of your Stamina. Wings capable of flight. This would let me fly? That would officially make this the best head ever. I should try to find one for Kasia as well, just in case she eventually got a class that also has access to [Headhunter]. We could be flying all over the place together! I'm sure she'd love that. I attached the head to my belt next to Bogumir.

"Keep that filthy thing away from me," he said.

"Sorry, Bogey, working with limited space here." I actually had plenty of space, but I thought this was the most aesthetically pleasing way of displaying the head. Can't be a goddess if you don't look stylish, you know. People just wouldn't buy it if I was just attaching them wherever without thinking of how it looked. How it tied my look together. You have to be intentional with these things. Vasil cocked his head.

"So what does the h—" I activated the toggle and grand, white and silver feathery wings sprouted from my back. They were elegant and beautiful, just like me, and matched my eyes. I tried unfolding them and it worked. It felt so natural it was like I'd always had them. When I spread them fully the wingspan was enormous. Must have been over twenty feet. Vasil blinked a couple of times.

"I see." I pointed at him.

"If you think that's cool, check your stats."

"My goodness. It boosts the stats of the entire party?" he asked, eyes wide.

"It does. It's based on a percentage of my own stats."

"That is incredibly powerful. You did good, Hecate."

"You know what," Kasia said.

"I think those wings would look super cool if you were on fire. They already look cool. But with fire it would be super cool." I glanced back and wiggled my wings.

"They totally would, wouldn't they? We should keep an eye out for more of those big mamas. I could get you a head as well, in case you also get access to [Headhunter]. Then we'd both have wings! We could fly everywhere! Can you imagine that?" Kasia clapped her hands in excitement.

"That would be awesome!" Hubert was staring at me with his mouth open.

"Cool, huh?" I asked.

"Y-yes, Lady Aurelia," he stammered.

"Very cool."

"Yeahhh." I peeked up at the ceiling. Probably shouldn't try to fly in here. Might crack my head open. That seemed like a thing that would happen to me. Not because I was clumsy or anything, but because everyone and everything was always conspiring against me, and that ceiling looked like it was just waiting for me to slip up. I toggled the wings off. I'd try them outside. I'd be responsible, like I always was. Speaking of responsible, I also had fifteen stat points waiting to be spent.

"Alright Vasil, give me your wisdom," I said.

"I have fifteen stat points laying around. What would be the robust choice?" The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. He squinted.

"I would recommend putting seven into Strength and eight into Stamina. That would take both of them to fifteen total."

"Nothing into Dexterity or Attunement?"

"Your Attunement is already very high, thanks to your gear. [Haste] likely makes up for a large amount of difference in Dexterity you may have with higher leveled opponents. Unless they also have [Haste], but you can still use [Blink] to reposition yourself. And because your Attunement is so high, you are able to keep [Haste] active for longer and [Blink] more often than most people. Raising your Strength and Stamina would be the most impactful way to spend those free points." That made a lot of sense to me.

I assigned the points to Strength and Stamina, then checked my stats. [Hecate, Gunwitch Level 22] Strength: 15 (8 + 7) Dexterity: 61 (33 + 28) Barrier: 1 (1 + 0) Attunement: 143 (21 + 122) Stamina: 15 (15 + 0) Luck: 1 (1 + 0) Chaos: 1 (1 + 0) Headhunter Totems Equipped: 4/4 Not bad. Not bad at all. One might even call it robust. This gave me a decent Stamina base and would put me above most average people with Strength.

Having slightly more balanced stats would also be helpful for the bonuses my party would receive thanks to the Strzyga Matriarch head. I was becoming a real team player. Perhaps one day I would even be a real leader. I also still had three skill points and three skill upgrade points available, but I intended to follow Vasil's advice and wait for a quiet moment so we could brainstorm together on what my best options would be. I was very excited to finally be able to explore Ambelios's side of my class.

I was also looking forward to finally putting some runewords into my weapons. I held out the list of runestones to Vasil.

"Do I have what it takes to make your secret family combination yet?" He shook his head.

"Not yet, though I must say the amount and variety of runestones you have managed to gather in such a short amount of time is… well it is hard to wrap my head around. The things you have already managed to accomplish… you truly are special, Hecate. I am very proud of you."

"Aww. Thanks, Vasil. That's very kind of you to say. I do try my best." All around me, my ducklings were cracking open boxes, carefully pulling out and examining the contents, holding the items up for Hubert to see, then packing them back inside. Hubert was completely focused, his eyes glowing purple. His hands moved like he was conducting an orchestra and softly humming magical runes in the same shade of purple as his eyes kept rapidly blinking in and out of existence around him.

How were we going to take all this stuff with us? Did we want to? We probably did. If I was going to take all these people back to the cathedral with me we were going to need a lot of stuff. A lot more than what was in this room. I had no idea what was required to feed and clothe and whatever this amount of people. They did say they came here with a caravan, right? That should mean they had a way of carrying large amounts of goods for long distances.

Hopefully we'd be able to pick up more necessities on the way back and become at least partially self sustaining at our base. It wasn't extremely far from the civilized world, but it was still pretty far, and the swamp was dangerous and hard to travel. Making it easier to travel would also increase the likelihood of getting found, so that was out of the question.

"Vasil?" I asked, turning to him.

"Yes?"

"We'll be alright, right?" He tilted his head.

"Why wouldn't we be?" I rubbed the back of my neck.

"It's just… it's a lot of people. They all need food. They all need clothes. I don't even know what else. I have no idea what people need. I have no experience with this. I have no idea what to do."

"Ah," he said with a faint smile.

"Yes, Hecate, we will be alright. I do have experience with this, as you know. I will take care of everything for you, or I can guide you, if you want me to. Things may appear rough at the start—they always do— but they will improve over time. You need not worry. You will be alright. Everyone will be alright. I am confident in that." That put me at ease a bit. Being responsible for Kasia was one thing.

Being responsible for such a large group of people who all seemed to think I was something far greater than I was, was another. This was something I couldn't joke my way out of and this was not something I was expecting when I woke up this morning. I felt utterly unprepared. Something caught my attention in the corner of my eye and pulled me out of my thoughts. A woman was pulling out what appeared to be books from one of the crates. Actual books.

For some reason I felt drawn to them and I was already walking towards the crate before I even realized it. I pushed past a few of my followers, who scrambled out of my way.

"Excuse me," I asked.

"What is your name?"

"Odeta, My Lady," she answered with a bow. I pointed at the crate.

"Could you—Could I see those?" She pulled out one of the books and handed it to me.

"This one?" It was bound in rough, tanned leather. It was cracked and stained. I had no idea what animal they used for this. It didn't look like a professional job, but at the same time it did look like it had been bound with care. I traced the creases of the back with my fingers, then turned it over. When I saw the title I gasped and almost dropped it.