It was obviously the work of the same deranged sculptor who created the pillars of death. Etched into the surface of the entire doorway in life-like detail was a grievously wounded face. It had suffered such horrendous damage that Alan was unable to determine if the being he was gawking at happened to be a man or woman.
A broken circlet sat off-kilter above what remained of its disheveled hair. Matted curls poked up at random from under folded-over lumps of dead flesh. Thick pus could be seen leaking out of dozens of deep lacerations running from scalp to chin. The devastating wounds distorted everything in-between and revealed the humanoid skull buried beneath the ruination of undoubtedly once-regal features.
The unsettling face seemed to weep rivers of blood from within its hollow, eyeless sockets. In a display that turned Alan's stomach, the absurd amounts of blood running down the ruined face flowed into its open mouth. A jagged hole in its chin allowed the blood to pour out into a steadily growing pool carved into the base of the door. Alan shivered in disgust. He was unsure how to feel when he realized that despite everything that had been done to it, the being depicted of the door was actually Grinning.
Yeah, whoever carved these things was definitely missing a few screws. Alan decided
Standing guard, spaced out evenly before the ridiculous door were four Lvl 11 Desert Golems. Due to a nagging suspicion that the Room of Doom was most likely trapped, Alan hesitated in the doorway, weighing his options. Though he was growing more confident in his abilities, and the Golems no longer even gave him pause, there was something about those carvings that put him on edge.
Instead of entering the room he'd dubbed 'The Room of Doom' to fight the Golem, he chose to try to draw them out into the hallway instead.
I just need to get close enough to get my hand on their stupid faces... Once I tear out their Beast Cores it's all over.
Alan canceled [Stealth] hoping to provoke a response. When that failed to work he activated [Dual-casting] and fired two [Spectral Firebolt]s at the door behind the beasts.
To Alan's complete surprise, as the Golems backs were engulfed in the green flames and began to melt, they turned to face in his direction but otherwise remained completely still. Not one to waste an opportunity, once it registered that they weren't making a move towards him, or even attempting to defend themselves, Alan flopped down and sat crosslegged on the floor. Once he was comfortable, he charged up and fired off Spell after Spell.
First he Activated [Mana Regulation] and pumped a full quarter of his Mana into two [Lightning Strike]s. The clouds that formed were so big that they actually filled up the entire top half of the room.
Remarkable! Your Spell (B)[Lightning Strike] has grown to Level 6!
Gale-force wind gusted out from within the storm as the clouds began to stir. As if it were saddened by being unleashed, the wind cried a keening wail while pounding against the obsidian pillars. Once thunder started noisily rolling within the clouds above the already molten Golems, Alan narrowed his eyes to a thin slit in a mostly unsuccessful attempt to block out the sand-filled breeze.
Half-blind, Alan cast [Water Jet] and [Wind Blade]. A three foot long translucent blade materialized before him, alongside a beach ball-sized sphere of swirling water. After forcing enough Mana into the Spells to more than double their sizes, Alan waited patiently for the storm to begin.
He wasn't made to wait long.
Alan hurled his Spells right as Blinding bolts of lightning ripped free of the clouds. Even with Spells coming from multiple directions, still the Golems remained rooted in place, steadfast in their determination to guard the obsidian door.
You're seriously just gonna stand there? Alan thought, not at all disappointed, but definitely unsure of the logic behind the Golem's actions. Is it because I haven't actually entered the room?? Well its a shame to lose out on their Beast Cores, but there's no point in missing out on some free target practice..
In order to avoid the hassle of dealing with a (Blind) Debuff, Alan closed his eyes, deactivated his active Skills and activated [Mana Perception]. The vibrant energy currently being released throughout the room immediately became visible, appearing in his mind as a whirling current of crackling yellow and blue lines.
Lost in the flood of Mana flooding through his body, as the wind howled around him, Alan waited for the impending Kill Log notifications. While he waited in relative safety, Alan decided to try his hand once again at Spell creation. He sucked in a swift breath and activated [Tenacious Concentration], [Mana Regulation], [Dual-casting] and [Advanced Spell Alteration].
"Here goes nothing," Alan whispered, straining under the intense Stamina drain from having five Skills active simultaneously. And as the 1 minute cooldown ended Alan sucked in a deep breath and cast [Shocking water cannon] and [Lightning strike]. Right as the Mana tendrils exited 'Mana Valve' in his chest, Alan tied them together while he flexed the Valve fully open, allowing his Mana to freely flow into the Spells.
Alan observed with [Mana perception] as the Spells mixed together and morphed into something new. With the drain on his energy pools becoming too much to bear, he let the combined Spell loose. Usually when Alan released his Spells, the Mana drain would end. However upon releasing this Spell, for some reason the Mana continued to gush out from his wide open 'Mana Valve'
By the time Alan recognized his mistake and tried to close the Mana Valve, it was already far too late. No matter how he tried, it refused to close until his Mana pool was empty. A sudden, crippling wave of fatigue set in bone deep, sapping every bit of energy contained within his body. Unable to remain sitting up, Alan fell back into the sand, awash in incoming notifications.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
WARNING! You have fully depleted your Mana pool.
-50% Mana regeneration rate for 1 hour.
WARNING! You have attempted to use Mana with a fully depleted Mana pool. Attempting to convert Stamina into Mana at a conversion rate of 15 to 1.
Remarkable! Due to vastly overdrawing your Mana Pool you have acquired the (Common) Skill [Stamina Conversion]!
(C)[Stamina Conversion] Lvl 1- Upon activation, this Skill converts Stamina into Mp. Conversion rate is 15 Stamina Points to 1 Mana Point.
Conversion rate decreases with Skill Level.
WARNING! You have fully depleted your Stamina pool.
-50% Stamina regeneration rate for 1 hour.
WARNING! You have attempted to use Stamina with a fully depleted Stamina pool. Attempting to convert Mana into Stamina at a conversion rate of 15 to 1.
Remarkable! Due to vastly overdrawing your Stamina Pool you have acquired the (Common) Skill [Mana Conversion]!
(C)[Mana Conversion] Lvl 1- Upon activation, this Skill converts Mp into Stamina. Conversion rate is 15 Mana Points to 1 Stamina Point.
Conversion rate decreases with Skill Level.
WARNING! You have fully depleted all available energy pools. Converting Health to Mana at a conversion rate of 15 to 1.
Remarkable! Due to depleting all available energy sources you have acquired the (Common) Skill [Health Conversion]!
(C)[Health Conversion] Lvl 1- Upon activation, this Skill converts Hp into Mp/Stamina. Conversion rate is 15 Health Points to 1 Mana/Stamina Point.
Conversion rate decreases with Skill Level.
Unable to do so much as lift a finger, Alan dismissed the notifications in order to concentrate. His Health was still decreasing at an alarming rate. He summoned his last remaining Health Potion, but without the strength to move his arm, Alan was left to stare helplessly at the vial of red fluid sitting on his outstretched palm.
2000Hp. 1750Hp. 1500Hp. Eyes glues to his swiftly depleting Health Pool, Alan had no choice but to lay there motionless on the ground and hope his Hp Regeneration would be enough to keep his Health Pool from completely bottoming out.
After about a minute, Alan had less than 1000Hp. His Hp Regeneration had been fighting hard, but it simply wasn't enough to keep up with the rampant drain on his Health Pool. Growing increasingly tired, Alan soon had a hard time thinking straight. Yet again unable to move, he struggled valiantly to stay awake.
Under an overwhelming mental and physical drain, Alan knew he was losing the battle against his weariness. In a last ditch attempt to keep from falling asleep, he opened up his PSA, and used his unseen notifications as a distraction.
Remarkable! You have successfully altered the basic formula for the Spells (B)[Lightning strike] and (U)[Shocking water cannon] and successfully merged them together creating the (Uncommon) Spell [Thunder storm......ERROR! Localized dimensional anomaly has been detected…
*WARNING* Gaea, Mother of the Earthly Realms and last of the Primordial Deities has chosen to intervene in the creation of this Spell.....
*WARNING* Your created Spell is being altered. Results cannot be guaranteed.
Remarkable! Due to the intervention of Gaea, Mother of the Earthly Realms and last of the Primordial Deities, you have been bestowed the *Unique* Spell [Gaea's Tempest]!
*Unique*[Gaea's Tempest] Lvl 1- Upon casting, this Spell summons an extremely volatile elemental storm on any foes within a 20ft x 20ft area up to 150ft away from caster for a duration of 1 minute, dealing a large amount of Lightning, Water and Wind damage with high chance to inflict Paralysis Debuff and/or Blind debuff. Caster and all allies are gifted an instance of [Gaea's Benevolence]
Damage, Distance, Duration, and chance to inflict Paralysis and/or Blind Debuff increase with Spell Level.
Cost increases with Spell Level.
Cast time: Unknown. Cost: 2500Mp
Cooldown: 24 hours
[Gaea's Benevolence]- (Boon), Provides shelter from the coming storm. If [Gaea's Tempest] comes into contact with a target with this Boon, they are unaffected by the Spell, and their cooldown times are reduced by half.
(x4) Remarkable! You have defeated a Lvl 11 Desert Golem!
+24576 Exp gained!
98304 Total Exp gained!
Remarkable! You have reached level 15! +35 free status points! Evolution to next Evolutionary Stage (F) is still available! You have 35 unallocated status points.
Remarkable! You have reached level 16! +35 free status points! Evolution to next Evolutionary Stage (F) is still available! You have 70 unallocated status points.
106150 Exp to next Level!
As his Health Pool dipped below 1000Hp, Alan had to fight back an oncoming wave of panic. With 70 unallocated Status Points just sitting there, Alan tried to get some much needed juice flowing into his overtaxed Energy Pools by placing 10 Status Points each into Constitution, Vitality, Endurance, Intelligence, Wisdom and Willpower. He was overly relieved to see that not only had his Hp been completely refilled, but his Stamina and Mana were now at just under 50% and had begun to regenerate, albeit at a snail's pace.
Remarkable! Your Skill (C)[Stamina Conversion] has grown to Level 3!
Remarkable! Your Skill (C)[Mp Conversion] has grown to Level 3!
Remarkable! Your Skill (C)[Hp Conversion] has grown to Level 5! +1 Free Status Point!
The addition of Status Points was just what Alan needed to stop the frightening drain of his Hp. Never once did he think it possible he'd ever be so happy to see energy trickling at a ridiculously slow rate into his Stamina and Mana Pools. With his reduced Regeneration rates finally having kicked in, Alan regained the ability to move. Gasping in relief, he curled up into a ball.
Lying on the floor, it took Alan several minutes to come to terms with the fact that his loss of self-control and lack of caution had once again very nearly cost him everything.
That Gods-damned [Advanced Spell Alteration] is going to be the death of me! Alan clenched his jaw, what the fuck does it even do? Every time I use it I end up with emptied out Energy Pools... Is it using my Mana and Stamina as fuel to alter the Spell? I've gotta stop using that damnable Skill with enemies around! At the very least until I have a better understanding of what its doing..
And then I've gotta worry about something called a Transcendent Being spying on me! Is that like an angel or something? Shit all over my life... It might even be a God... It was already bad enough that a Daemon somehow noticed me. And now this!? But really though, why would a God be watching ME?? There's no way. I have nothing to offer myself, let alone a God. Hells I'm hardly scraping by as it is.
Suddenly wary, Alan stored his Potion while climbing shakily to his feet. Once standing, he awkwardly raised his arm and waved up at the ceiling.
"Umm I don't really know how any of this works..." Alan blurted out, utterly in the dark about how one should go about properly thanking a 'Transcendent Being'. "But thank you for your Help Gaea, or who or whatever you are... Don't get me wrong, I mean no disrespect, but things haven't been going so great for me recently. As I'm sure you've already noticed... I honestly don't have anything fitting to offer you in return for your generous gift other than my sincere gratitude."
Sure that his words had offended an otherworldly being, Alan cringed in anticipation of a swift and harsh retaliation. Several moments passed with Alan standing hunched over, every muscle in his body clenched to the point of cramping up. With his face scrunched as if he'd bitten into a lemon, Alan slowly opened his eyes just a crack and hesitantly peered around the room.
When Divine Judgement hadn't fallen upon his head after over a minute of waiting, Alan bowed deeply at the waist while uttering another word of thanks.
Although completely unsure if Gaea, or whoever, was even paying attention, Alan had no intention to take even the slightest chance of drawing a God's ire at this junction in his miserable existence. Standing up straight, Alan bowed once more.
Just in case.