As he planned, Luke took first watch and ate all the while. He enjoyed the first real meal he had in three days. Sure, there was meat from before in the tomb, but nothing else. Adding in cheese, some root, and leftover fruit was heaven to his taste buds.
The entire time he kept watch over Sooty, there was an intense, lightning-filled storm just outside the cave mouth. The crash of rain was something he always enjoyed; for whatever reason, Luke liked the rain. The sound made it hard to stay awake. But he kept up, talked with Xera and Wayfinder, ate food, and enjoyed the nearby nature outside the cave.
Sooty had woken up a few hours later, and the bird was excited in her movement. There was an unmistakable damper in her mood when she realized it was still storming outside. Luke told her it was his turn to sleep and dozed off without suspense, not waiting for a response. The two talking artifacts were routinely kept quiet by Sooty’s bullying pecks and wing slaps. A few hours later, the exhausted Reaver awoke, ready to explore.
Luke felt the remnant heat the nearby fire radiated, only a few embers still burned. He rubbed his eyes and patted his stomach. Finally, he woke up without a counter ticking down at the top right corner of his vision. That alone was enough to celebrate. He stretched, feeling the rough stone, the dampness around the cave mouth, and breathing in fresh, moving air.
The storm had subsided, although there was still a faint mist. There were monster corpses around, just outside the cave mouth. The young man had dealt with so much carnage since coming into this world that it barely bothered him. He’d taken the time and threw them out into the rain when he kept first watch. The rain had done a great job of washing away the blood, so that particular scent was thin.
Sooty placed the rest of the troll’s larder into her Spatial Feather. To ensure he had space in his Inventory, Luke transferred everything he could except the cloth, a cup, and the rare quiver. The silver from the vampires and other sources didn’t take any Inventory space, so that also stayed.
Luke got up, he circled the fire and cave mouth; once his body didn’t feel so sore, he began to examine himself. With momentary peace, the sheer strength of his grip and the agility of his steps flooded around within him. He couldn’t manage to use the full potential of his surging stats, unable to adapt to how quickly things had changed.
By the time Luke reached ten points in any of the three stats, hit points notwithstanding, he couldn’t properly articulate the difference. It was all something he felt but didn’t understand. Only that so far, his body often hit a threshold, and it took an almost exponential increase in stats to shatter that invisible line.
“Good Morning, Sooty, Wayfinder, and Xera,” upon looking around and noticing it was dusk with the sun going down, he changed his words, “or evening,” Luke said.
Sooty turned her head, flapped a wing at Luke, then continued to peck the dying fire. She had grown interested in a game of her own making.
“Needle’s greetin’ to you, lad. Now that we don’t have a death trial to deal with, what’s the plan? I can offer advice if need be,” Wayfinder said.
“Hi Luke, I’ve been waiting ages for you to wake up. You sure do sleep deeply. There was tons of thunder outside. One flash even struck close by; you didn’t wake at all,” Xera said.
Luke peered outside at the mention of a lightning strike close by, and sure enough, there was a large black smoldering pit close to a black tree with red petals.
“I guess the exhaustion from the past three days stacked up. I doubt anything would’ve woken me unless it was a threat to my life. A loud noise didn’t cut it,” Luke said.
With his body sufficiently stretched and no longer sore, Luke sat on the most palatable-looking rock, in that it was the closest to a comfortable seat, with it being flat enough to use. Even with dusk, he had every intention of going out into the world.
Before that, Luke surmised it would be best to glean what he deemed essential from the Interface log.
[Quest Complete: Defeat the Spectral Lord] (Class Trial Quest- Foundational)
Reward: 9500 Experience, 5 Skill Points, Spectral Heart
A Reaver of unprepared, novice origin has pulled off what none in his class have before. No clever quips this time. Congratulations.
The Interface had waited for him to read the notice before the skill points and experience were accumulated and then spent within. As he was no longer in the trial, the cap preventing him from leveling further was lifted.
He’d reached level twenty in one shot and then felt like something stopped halfway. A string of words popped up.
[Distribute the other half of the quest experience to the Reaver’s Companion? Y/N?]
Sooty was vital for Luke; without her, there was no question he would’ve died in that tunnel. Without further consideration, he gave the other half of the experience to Sooty. To follow, more notices continued to populate his vision, and Luke took the time to sort through them all.
[You have reached level 20. Acquired 2 skill points]
[The Reaver’s Companion, Sooty, has reached level 20. Acquired 1 skill point]
His companion, Sooty, going up in level with him was paramount. Luke could share experience with Sooty, at least when the Interface gave him the opportunity, under unknown conditions, but there was no such thing for skill points. The five he gained from the quest were given to him, and he could not share them.
He wouldn’t mind if he could use them currently, but the points only went up, and there was no way to spend them. Now, the Reaver had accumulated eleven. Sooty, for reference, only had one and still had skills she could upgrade. Although to be fair, she did have one additional active skill over him.
Luke viewed it another way: once he found an excellent skill book, he’d have plenty of skill points to boost it to its maximum quickly. Even if he didn’t gain such a book, eventually, he’d figure out how to go up in tier, and the skill points would most definitely be spent then.
The skill point ‘problem’ was a good one to have, in any case, so he filed through the following log entries.
[Your artifact, Wayfinder, has reached level 10]
“Wayfinder, you leveled up again? How?” Luke said.
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“Aye, I didn’t expect that meself, but it seems all the experience you gained from the minotaurs, the black mountain, and even the other mirrors when I took my sunny vacation all went to me,” Wayfinder theorized.
Xera spoke up, and her voice filled the cave mouth. “What about master and me? How will we use the experience we earn from now on?” Xera asked.
Luke felt the breeze of dusk wash over him and felt the rough, dry stone beneath his fingertips; he opened his mouth to speak.
“I think I have to ‘switch’ it back to you, Xera; you should be able to level again. Although for Wayfinder to only go up once despite having,” Luke paused to sift through memories, “What, hundreds of monsters worth of experience to himself? No more for him,” Luke answered.
“Best you do that lad, me words about needin’ a mountain of experience before we hit me next directional ability wasn’t needless exaggeration. What you do with what you earn is up to your tack.” Wayfinder’s needle became erratic, “But to me mind. You shouldn’t give me or Xera lassie another drop until you hit your next wall.”
“Hey! Don’t speak for me like that!” Xera said.
The compass around Luke’s neck used a long pause to speak next. Luke figured Wayfinder was trying to tame his usual quips for a different track.
“Two-shiftin’ lassie, this isn’t a jab at you. We need to be effective as a group if we don’t want to end up in a ditch, six feet under rotten ground. The Reaver matron didn’t give the lad a warning for the warm and fuzzies.” Wayfinder was stern but more tactful in his stance.
“You’re right. Fine, no more getting sharper or more blasty for a while. If it keeps Luke alive so I can never be in that chest again, I’m game for it!” Xera quickly became energetic.
With that pause, Luke continued to sort the log information. The next one of note read out to him.
[You have stolen 21 HP, 11 Strength, 7 Intellect, and 9 Agility]
[You have stolen the Spectral Heart and received your progenitor’s approval]
The increase in stats was rather lackluster compared to other increases in the past, but complaining about any positive growth was a dangerous mindset. Plus, it was a single monster, a terrifying spectral being of undeath and doom, but still. To the Interface, one monster.
On another note, once his strength stat passed over 200, Luke felt his body strain decrease, and his gear felt noticeably lighter. A similar sensation overcame him back when his agility went over two hundred. In that case, his movement felt sharper, and his reflexes faster. Luke wasn’t particularly in tune with his body. As such, he’d barely notice the increase unless he paid particular attention.
The results indeed showed themselves over time. For Intellect, Luke never experienced any physical feeling. At best, he noticed his abilities increased in potency, and essence became more abundant.
Before Luke could sort through the effects of stats by feeling further, an oversized information window sprang up; the font was in silver and had flair, demanding attention.
[Congratulations, you have merged with the heart of a suitable exalted life form. You have been inducted into a sub-set of humans for an adjusted Interface. The new tab ‘Heart’ has been added under the Equipment menu]
The notice came unexpectedly to Luke; he had no idea the Interface could adjust. Rather than immediately look it over, he settled on taking a walk. It’d help him sort out the new changes and look into this one.
Luke got up and picked up Xera and Whispering Edge, which Luke put against the cave wall before he went to sleep and walked out of the cave. He noticed an absent pressure on his left shoulder.
The Reaver turned and spoke, “Come on, Sooty, we’re leaving to stake out the immediate area. We’ll come back if we can’t find anything friendly nearby.”
Once Sooty landed on her rightful place, Luke began walking, and another line caught his attention.
[The First Reaver has marked and mended you, unable to calculate the full effects]
“Unable to calculate? Damn Interface. That black and white orb doubled as a mark, too. How sly of her,” Luke said.
“That Veronica lassie, said the orb be useful down the line. But you’d best find yourself a place of knowledge, lad. There’s bound to be a text or two on a progenitor’s mark. The First Reaver isn’t the only founder of a class,” Wayfinder said.
“I never felt an ounce of malicious Intent from her, but you’re right. Best to check when we get a chance. For now, let’s figure out where we are. Can you mark the way back to the cave, just in case Wayfinder?”
“Aye, no need to worry, me needle will trail back to that place if need be.”
Luke observed the immediate area around him. An ephemeral stream cut through puddles and meadow grass. The kind to exist only after a heavy storm. Surrounding the meadow were innumerable onyx trees with red petals. A pale red moon with a white glow outline hung in the dusky sky.
He began his walk, then stopped right before the tree line. Around the cave was the small clearing; everywhere else was covered, and within the forest, may as well have been a black abyss; Luke could only see about fifteen feet out, no more than that. He felt the humid, tepid air around. A few red leaves pelted his body, which he paid no mind to.
The young man turned around toward the cave and gave a farewell wave.
“Hopefully, I never enter a cave again for the rest of my life,” he said.
“With the time we’ve had together so far, I don’t think so, master! Death caves can wait for a few months or even years, especially without chests!” Xera said.
“A man can dream.”
Before entering the onyx tree forest, he noticed a primordial white oak tree. The tree was hundreds of feet tall and wide enough that Luke didn’t have an accurate estimate. The tree felt entirely out of place and contrasted with the black forest. To his surprise, the roots connecting to the ground were blue.
“So this tree was the ultimate source of those roots.”
The tree was on the hill that encased the cave. The hill wasn’t all that high, comparable to a two-story building back on earth. A steam-like gray mist invaded the meadow, which filled up the entire clearing around the cave. The gray mist recoiled from the white oak but otherwise dominated the area.
A sense of caution overcame Luke, and he put his back against the nearest onyx tree, watching for anything unusual. He crouched down, and the nearby tall meadow grass hid him to a degree. The decision to stay on the side of caution rewarded him. A small group of undead ambled through the meadow. Luke held in his presence as best he could.
Despite going through a life-and-death trial for three days, his stealth skills were still non-existent, other than holding his breath. To his fortune, however, Whispering Edge passively reduced his noise for him by half. The undead didn’t notice him as they shuffled around, and Luke used the Interface on a less-decayed one.
[Desiccated Mercantan Captain]
Level: 12
HP: 183/183
Fallen captain of the now-ruined Confederation of Mercanta. Cursed to wander the Night Moon forest.
The captain was the only one to look unique in the small gathering of the undead. Luke inspected a more run-of-the-mill variant.
[Desiccated Mercantan Solider]
Level: 8
HP: 81/81
Fallen common solider of Mercanta. Loyal to his captain, even in death.
Luke let the undead pass. They weren’t particularly fast, but the process didn’t take long. The errant group melded back into the onyx tree lines; they left the meadow with no traces of their passage.
Once he was confident that nothing hostile would hear him, Luke said, “I think I’ll shelve my walk into the forest idea. I’ll finish going over the Interface while we trace the meadow.”
“Why didn’t we slash some undead?” Xera asked.
“I’d rather not tangle with something without reason, Xera.”
With the warm welcome from the remnants of a dead army, Luke kept around the clearing and walked around the hill in the dusk. He sorted through the rest of the Interface and finally tackled the new Interface Tab. He tapped his finger on the tab through the Equipment window, and a panel with a blank outline of his body replaced it. The only feature of the outline was the blue-red heart in the middle.
Once Luke focused on the heart, a wall of text appeared.
[Reaver’s Spectral Heart] (Merging)
An exalted heart adapting to an unattuned body. The bearer of this heart enjoys several advantages over the unachieved.
Spectral Adaptation: The exalted heart adapts the body, imbibing the blood of the most ascended foe the Reaver has slain. Permanently increases the Reaver’s limit of stat steal—current expanded limit 5%.
Imbibed blood of a tier 1 boss creature. Modifier increases based on tier of imbibed blood.
Stolen Talent: Increases talent with mastery and usage of Essence, including learned techniques—advances per tier.
Grants the Active Ability: [Frostfall Reave]
Sealed Passive - Unlocks at Tier 1
Sealed Passive - Unlocks at Tier 2
Luke was more than a little overwhelmed. He blurted out, “Holy hell.”