Paragon of Man [Epic]
By reaching 100 hundred in all attributes during Tier 0 you have proven yourself as a paragon of your race. May your path break the ties that bind. +10% All Attributes, +25% Unity.
With the intense rush of his attributes increasing by ten percent and the strange confidence that filled his mind with the unity of his attributes, Kal dived beneath oncoming flames, rolled to his feet, and continued his darker self’s gory work. This time without the brutal savagery, using his practiced movements and better judgment to weave his way through the remaining garghounds to the flame seers.
He was still a lot weaker without his wrath Incarnate active but he was still far stronger than the weaker base garghounds, so hacking through them as they tried and failed to overwhelm him was almost too easy. Nevertheless, his wounds were mounting, his normal vitality making his regeneration from wrathful Regeneration effectively forty percent slower due to its scaling. Giving him less of a buffer before the damage stuck.
You have slain [Garghound | Abyss Spawn 4] Minimal experience earned for slaying a lesser being.
You have slain [Garghound | Abyss Spawn 6] Minimal experience earned for slaying a lesser being.
You have slain [Garghound | Abyss Spawn 6] Minimal experience earned for slaying a lesser being.
You have slain [Garghound | Abyss Spawn 9] Minimal experience earned for slaying a lesser being.
His strikes were less aimed at growing his wrath and more to efficiently remove obstacles on his way to his targets, but all the wrath he gained he immediately used to reactivate wrathful Regeneration if it had fizzled out.
Health:
447/1650
Stamina:
598/2680
Wrath:
3
Once the flame seers were dealt with Kal was confident he could defeat the reset easily enough. He neatly decapitated a garghound and reached the first of the remaining flame seers and was met by another fireball, but Kal lobbed the decapitated body into the flames making it detonate a few feet in front of the flame seer and give Kal the time he needed to close in on it. Once he was this close the flame seers were much less of a threat than he had originally expected. They apparently gave up much of their physical attributes to gain such a specific skill. Another neat decapitation was enough to deal with the first and second flame seers, but for the third Kal was forced to navigate his way through the remaining base variants to get to.
It was clear to Kal that the garghounds were being forced to fight somehow. The fear in their stances as he attacked constantly made him think they would run, but every time they attacked instead, and often in terribly planned moves. The only true tactics had come from the nobles he had slain. They had been the strongest in the horde by far so maybe it was that they were less affected by his aura than these finally weaker variants.
Kal had still taken more injuries from the flame seers and the annoying sky hunters but though his health was getting lower than he was comfortable with and his regeneration was no longer keeping up with few demons to kill, the fight soon became more of a desperate clean up. After finishing off the final flame seer and using his wrath to regenerate at least some of the skin on his chest from the burns he took, killing it. Kal staggered around hacking his way through the last of the garghounds. He was beginning to realize how inefficient killing the weaker ones really was, each kill could barely heal him twenty points if he was lucky. It was abundantly clear that he needed a way to attack things in a larger area, or at least at range. Only the strongest of the base garghounds could deal significant damage so he was able to stay ahead, just.
When the last of the garghounds finally fell to his sword Kal glanced at his status, trying to catch his breath.
Health:
125/1650
Stamina:
78/2680
Wrath:
0
“That… That was close,” Kal turned to look up at the annoying sky hunters to see them circling him from about one hundred feet up. Way out of range for anything he could do with any kind of accuracy, so he spent the time catching his breath and letting his Stamina recover. Before it had even gained ten points a notification flashed across his vision, once again opening itself without his input. This notification was different. It shined bright gold, almost hurting Kal’s eyes to look at, and its text was in the same color.
Your performance has been recognized…
System-sanctioned event initialized.
Quest alternative:
Garghound Eradication => Trial of the Slayer I
Trial of the Slayer I
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Your foes are infinite and your resources few. Will you defy the fate of trillions and stand atop the corpses of your enemies unending?
Rewards: Legendary Skill, Uncommon Chest x 2, Extra Class Upgrade Benefit
Alterations: Difficulty significantly increased, Time trial: Enemies will be allowed to enter the area of the trial for a duration with no limit. Accelerated Rewards: Rewards of the original quest will be awarded upon acceptance of the challenge.
Do you accept this challenge?: Yes/No
Kal couldn’t help but stare blankly at the notification, “What the fuck!?” Now it was abundantly clear that the system had been paying attention to what he was doing. It made him wonder if the system had more to do with the circumstances of this dome than he had originally realized. Was it always here? He had found one of the pillars down here, but the vision it gave him was not about the mountain or the dome at all. Instead, it was about a Karthian city and the beginning of the demon assault.
He understood that this plane of the abyss was formed by the integration of Kartha, but what exactly was the same and what was lost during the integration he doubted even Mara knew. But Kal felt like he was on the right track. This dome at the very least must be new or has at least been changed by the system.
The strange actions of the sky hunters confirmed the system's manipulation. They were clearly waiting, a level of restraint that he hadn’t seen in any of the garghounds besides the weakest ones who would run at the sight of him.
Kal sat down to help regain his Stamina a bit faster while he read the event notification again. The new quest description was very vague but also disturbing. What did it mean by the fate of trillions? Did it mean the others who had fought the abyssal spawn in the past? He assumed so. He was stronger, much stronger than he was before. Was he stronger than the trillions of people who had died fighting the demons, he wasn’t sure. But would the event have been offered if the system knew he would lose? From the stories Kal had heard about the system’s quests, it did not offer easily completed quests. They were all risky and would push whoever accepted the quest further along their paths, either that or they died.
But this was different, it was an event. Something he had only heard of happening during great times of upheaval, but the specifics were unknown to him. He added that to his mental list of likely stupid questions to ask Mara if he ever made it back.
Kal was about to begin siphoning to recover some Health when a countdown appeared.
Do you accept this challenge?: Yes/No
9…
8…
7…
Kal frowned and stared up to the roof of the dome, “Shit, you could have let me rest first,” Kal was annoyed but he already knew what he was going to pick. It was probably stupid but looking at those rewards, he couldn’t say no. With a mental command, he accepted the challenge and the notification exploded sending golden light throughout the dome. Kal could actually see that for whatever reason this notification had actually materialized and was now sinking into the atmosphere around him, seamlessly slipping into the hostile mana.
Like a lever had been pulled in the minds of the sky hunters they dove down towards him snarling with bloodlust.
You have slain [Garghound Sky Hunter | Abyss Spawn 21]
You have slain [Garghound Sky Hunter | Abyss Spawn 23]
You have slain [Garghound Sky Hunter | Abyss Spawn 22]
He dealt with them easily enough and checked his status once more before activating his wrathful Regeneration again.
Health:
125/1650
Stamina:
145/2680
wrath:
660
Kal didn’t have the energy to kill them messily enough to get any extra wrath but it was enough for him to recover about one hundred and sixty or so Health by the time his wrath was spent. Once Kal had activated his regeneration a flash of golden light began to swirl in a tight circle in front of him and a moment later it condensed and solidified as a small chest, covered in gold plating and silver filigree. Excited Kal immediately used Identify.
Uncommon Chest [System Forged] [Uncommon] [Soul Bound]
Within this chest lies the rewards for the mortal known as Kalum Lesta for his success during the bonus objective of “Garghound Eradication”
Kal looked towards the pillar of energy, half expecting it to do something before he got a chance to get his reward but it was the same as before. He guessed if the system was in control of what was happening now it would make sense for it to let him get his reward first. Kal knelt down and reached for the chest’s latch, before he even touched it the chest flung itself open, revealing its contents. Tucked in the corner of the chest was a leather belt with several small pockets, filling the rest of the chest was a pair of folded red and black pants. Kal used Identify on the pants first relieved that he would finally have something to wear.
Pants of the Disciple [Uncommon]
These pants were once common amongst the disciples of a favored god on the doomed world Kartha. Those who wore this attire fought with undying fervor and bravery, but also underlined by the gods' savagery. These pants will slowly repair themselves if continuous damage has ceased. +10 Vitality, +10 Agility, +10 Endurance.
Kal immediately slipped them on over what was left of his old pants, which was practically a loin cloth by now. He felt the immediate rush of power as his stats improved. Plus ten to two of his main attributes were pretty great but the extra ten to Agility was something he would definitely notice. But honestly, the best part was that he was wearing pants again. He just hoped that its repair function would actually keep up. They were surprisingly comfortable like they were tailored specifically for him. He hadn’t worn clothes this well-fitting since he was kicked out of home. The pants were Kal’s first ever magical item and even though the benefits were simple he was a bit giddy over the whole thing. With a smile, he used Identify again on the belt.
Vial Belt [Common]
This is a simple belt used to hold vials of useful potions and elixirs for the aspiring cultivator.
Contains: Minor potion of health x 4, Minor potion of stamina x 4
After reading the description Kal smiled again and quickly put on the belt and popped open one of the pockets to see a small red vial.
Minor potion of health [Common] [System Forged]
This is a system-forged healing item. Upon consumption, the user will recover 50% of their total Health. Restrictions: Can only be used by Kalum Lesta, Can only be used while below Tier 1
Well, it was clear that the rewards were created specifically for him now. It made him wonder what the significance of the pants was. Was the god they mentioned Fyborh? A huge pulse of energy shook Kal from his thoughts, as the pillar of dark mana almost tripled in size and Kal once again felt the eyes of the powerful creature staring at him.
It appeared the real battle was about to begin.
System Event: Trial of the Slayer I has begun.