Three options?
[1. (Unlocked from possessing more than 5000 essences before opening the passage to the desolate wastes.) Essence boost: earn additional 10 essences from each extraction.]
Another mention of desolate wastes. The description of this option roused little excitement from his heart. That aside, the bonus effect seemed decent enough; 10 essences might not sound like much, but from the frequency of his extractions, that number could bloat into the range of thousands in the future.
[2. (Unlocked from controlling three rank-two aspects before gaining your first class.) Summoning cost reduction: The cost for summoning aspect is reduced by 3 mana.]
Combined with his nature’s bracelet of summoning, this meant all of his summoning costs would be reduced to nothingness.
[3. (Unlocked from possessing an active elite aspect before gaining your first class.) Elite evolutionist: Essence cost for elite evolution is slashed by half.]
Essence wasn’t a problem for Theron now, but he didn’t know the true cost of evolving his elites in the far, far future. What if upgrading from a rank nine to a rank 10 required a million essence? A 50% cut would be favorable then. However, this trait only affected elite aspects, so while it was helpful, it wasn’t outright… essential, in a way.
[4. (Unlocked from earning a total of experience points above 30 000) Experience hoarder: Select one aspect from your list of active summons. That aspect will gain a bonus of 10% experience.]
Not too bad. The biggest drawback of the elite and higher-rarity aspect was their flat-out 50% experience gain reduction, and this will help alleviate that problem slightly.
[5. (Unlocked from finding 4 hidden events before reaching the desolate wastes.) Event sensor: A warning will be displayed in your vision when you reach close proximity to a hidden event. Range: 20 meters.]
That is a very cool ability. It wouldn’t help much in terms of combat, but the ease of finding treasures would help him significantly in finishing the hidden events quests, and consequently, making him stronger in the future.
[6. (Unlocked from clearing more than 6 lairs before reaching desolate wastes.) Lair sensor: A warning will be displayed in your vision when you reach close proximity to a lair. Range: 30 meters.]
Very similar to the hidden event variant. Lairs proved easy to find so far, but in the future, it could change. God knows what shit awaited in the desolate wastes—so having this would come in handy when lairs became… impossible to spot with the naked eye.
[7. (Unlocked from possessing an aspect above 75 might before evolving your class.) Mighty muscles: Gain +1 might per level. This is not retroactive.]
“Whoa…” Had this been retroactive, Theron would snatch this trait right away. It sounded downright insane if there wasn’t a level cap.
The list ended there. Theron sat on the incline, organizing his thoughts, calculating in his mind to pick the best three out of the bunch.
###
First, he set the essence and the experience achievements aside. None of those two appeared to be better than the others… for his current level. One could say these were the best in hindsight, but Theron could only form his opinion based on the events he’d gone through personally.
Next, he crossed the elite essence upgrade cost out of his viable list; while this might very well bite his ass later in the future; however, elite aspects were only the second-rarest tier. Doubtless, he’d encounter the more exotic monsters later.
Then the final one proved arduous to distinguish; the manacost reduction and the might gain per level. Both had their uses, definitely, but the might gain won in the end.
[You selected the following passive achievements:]
[Hidden event sensor.]
[Lair sensor.]
[Mighty muscles.]
[Achievements are listed in your status page.]
Theron Gray | Class: Novice | Rank: Unranked
Class: Novice| Level: 10 | Next 3000 xp
Mana: 19 / 19
Summon slots : 0/7
Essence: 7405
-Attributes | Free points: - (+1/level) -
Might: 11 (+2/level)
Speed: 10 (+1/level)
Magic: 14
Toughness: 11 (+1/level)
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Resistance: 10
Achievements
Hidden sensor - Lair sensor - mighty muscles
Abilities - Active
Abilities - Passive
Necrotic aura - lvl 1 | Summon Aspect
Extract Aspect | Unsummon Aspect
Necrotic touch - lvl 1
-
Three thousand? He whistled when the page came up. Now that’s a lot of experience points. The changes from the achievements were listed here, his once (+1/ level) tag had changed to a +2.
Once finished, Theron scanned the treant’s lair again, hoping he’d see a treasure lying about somewhere. His wish was granted the very next instant.
A rumble shook the still surface ringed by the body of water. The pond shook; ripples on its surface pulsated and weaved with one another as it sunk into the earth, revealing the damp soil and a treasure chest sitting listlessly near the deepest corners beneath. Theron’s heart skipped a beat upon its appearance. He was expecting to gain nothing from his experience clearing the black forest boar’s lair in the past.
With his boots’ active, his feet tapped the surface when he landed, squeaking against the damp soil. He yanked the top open, crossing his fingers.
What greeted him was… an alright find. Two common aspect cores rattled atop the same class stone upgrade—this one said tier 2—laid atop a large brown book-like object, which hummed as he picked it up and pried its contents. The pages were blank.
[Class stone upgrade-tier 2. Use during a drifter evolution to increase the rarity and power of your possible classes. Tier 1 upgrades from an uncommon class to a rare class. Usable once you reach level 10.]
[Ability upgrade book: Upgrades a level 1 ability to a higher level.]
An ability level-up… Sounds handy. No doubt his aura would benefit from a skill upgrade, although necrotic touch did see some use at times. The pages shone as he thought about using it, showing a list of options.
[Necrotic aura-level 2: Select one of the following. At level 2, the aura distance is increased to 15 meters. Tick damage cap increased to 7.]
[1. Weakening effect-might: As long as aura is activated, affected targets lose 15% might.]
[2. Damage amplification: As long as aura is activated, affected targets receive 10% additional damage.]
Oh wow… All options appeared incredible at a glance. Two incredible choices loomed over his mind between the might reduction and the damage amplification. While it looked boring at the start, with an extended range, Theron could finally be a decent source of damage output, threatening most lower-tiered aspects on his own after a few grueling seconds.
What about Necrotic touch?
[Necrotic touch-level 2: Select an additional effect from the following choices.
[At level 2, the initial poison tick is increased to 2 damage per second. The ability now lasts for 2 minutes. Mana cost is increased to 6 per cast.]
[1. Grants 15 might for the aspect selected.]
[2. Grants 15 speed for the aspect selected.]
[3. Damage amplification: Enemies under the effect of Necrotic touch will lose 25 might.]
Not bad… Honestly, Theron could see himself going for the second option here, as crazy as it sounded. 15 speed almost doubled Berys’ current speed—a sudden influx of celerity his opponents would certainly be caught off guard with.
Theron sat under the shadow of a passing cloud, pondering his next decision.
###
Theron clambered back up, brushing off the dirt soiling his leather vest and cloak as he watched Borys climb over Berys’ head with a gleeful grin. The aspects worked well together, never once crossing paths during the heat of a tense battle, working perfectly in tandem with one another. Lux’s horn pulses never struck a friendly target, a chilling reminder of its accuracy.
Ultimately, he couldn’t resist the wide-range debilitation option granted by the skill book. To reduce 15% might from all aspects nearby was just too alluring for him to pass up, an idea he pushed even hard after further deliberation, especially considering the rising might values. This effect complemented Berys’ natural damage negation well, too.
With only the Troll’s cave remaining on his list of unfinished business, Theron opted to scour the area near the massive stone statue, hoping to encounter any further hidden events he missed with his new sensor in tow.
###
[A hidden event is nearby.]
Huh? Here?
Theron’s party halted their march beneath the sweltering heat of the sun. Where? His eyes searched the infinite expanse of trees and bushes and grasses, spotting nothing but gray and green. Only after a minute passed before he came upon its existence. To be frank, without the aid of the sensor, Theron couldn’t for the life of him understand how the hell he was supposed to find this thing.
A pastel glint of light scintillated between the blades of leaves and grasses, hovering above the forest floor, uncaring of the dangers lurking within. At first, he thought nothing of it, assuming it was another random reflection of sunlight. However, after another look, the unassuming light turned to the form of a golden beetle, way, way smaller than its usual counterpart, flying about gleefully. Almost as big as a real earth beetle, he mused to himself.
[Hidden event found. Capture the golden beetle.]
Capture? Theron studied its flight pattern, eyes twirling and wheeling from its erratic, random movements. Its small size already made his attempts an exercise in futility, but paired with that speed, he was staring at a feat only the deftest and guile of humankind could achieve. Perhaps Lux’s projectiles can do the trick… But can I risk killing it? The event details told him to capture it, not to kill it.
Frankly, to find such a small thing within the massive forest showed what kind of arduous task he had set to complete. With something this small qualifying as the subject of a hidden event, no wonder he missed half the events back in the tutorial zone. Hell, he should be thankful he encountered two out of four.
The best bet to catch it would be a surprise attack, despite stealth not being his best talent, nor did he have much affinity toward it. For that goal, Theron planned to use his boots’ active skill. Yeah, it was a hastily made plan; the odds of it working hovered just a tinge above the line of zero, but this was his best shot regardless. He positioned himself a few paces away from it, raised his hands in front of his head, then kicked with all his might. His figure blurred from the burst of speed, blitzing through the air, closing the gap between the beetle and him in less than a second.
A massive gust of wind grazed his face and hair as he bounded toward the beetle’s exposed exoskeleton, from within its wings fluttered and flapped. It caught on to his plans, swerving just enough to avoid his direct grasp, twirling and dancing about as it fled away. Theron cussed as he bolted, commanding his aspects to follow, with Borys taking the lead since it had the highest speed. Try to catch it between your hands, but don’t kill it! he willed a command to it, hoping Borys’ higher pace could reach the beetle before it flew outside of their reach.
Whirs of its wingbeats trailed gold dust along its path. Its already tiny shadow dimmed as it gained distance, and to his right, Borys’ bounding figure appeared to outpace it. How can I help… Theron swerved through a bark as his head whirled, grasping for a solution so close to him, yet no matter how hard he thought, he couldn’t quite clutch it- Wait…
Lux! Shoot toward its left, veer it to Borys’ location. It acquiesced with a howl, aiming its horn at the flying beetle, then firing an accurate shot whizzing past the beetle’s left wing. It lurched to the right, veering so slightly closer to Borys, but it wasn’t close enough—not yet. Sensing danger, The beetle curved to the left, avoiding Borys’ approaching figure. There. Stop it in its tracks. Shoot another just in front of it.
Another icicle flew a generous distance ahead of the beetle, not to bear the risk of accidentally killing it. The beetle halted for an instant, but that instant allowed Borys to catch up, its frontal limbs gently clasping the poor beetle as it landed with a roll and a roar. Theron’s heart skipped a few beats from the sight. Please, don’t die… He caught up to his sable bear with a pant, “Borys?”
His bear opened its metallic fingers, revealing a dormant golden beetle.