May 23, 1256 of the Second Era
After each block without taking a single step back, an attack to the head with [Stab] and a new kill to the collection. After each critical hit, more experience was added to the count and closer was the next level. Without a break, not even for a brief moment, not even to regain strength. Adding one corpse after another to the pile of lifeless bodies that was growing again before her. A pile as covered in death and blood as she was herself.
Bleep! [Berserk] and [Tense] have been deactivated!
Danger! Low Energy and Stamina!
Energy 105201/131000
Stamina 109/(340)
You have countered [Confusion III]!”
Gasping and with her heart about to burst, she tried to hold on the spear as best she could. The blood of so many dead creatures made it slip from her hands. "Gods! The tunnel is practically blocked and they keep coming! How many more are there?"
Athest's laughter echoed in her head. "We told you there were hundreds of them! Though with that spectacular spear and that narrow tunnel, it didn't matter how many there were, right?"
“Bleep! You have countered [Stress III], but you are still suffering [Stress II]!”
Feeling extremely dizzy, she momentarily leaned against the wall. "My limit is close again! I can't take it! I need to rest! I'm going to pass out!"
Most of the gruks on the other side of the pile of corpses stopped climbing. It was obvious that none of them wanted to die just by getting closer. However, a gruk archer didn't need to climb to attack Emhe. As soon as the gruk realized that the obstacle was in his favor, he shot a primitive arrow at her with his rudimentary bow. Anticipating, Emhe quickly crouched down and covered herself with her shield when she heard him draw his bow.
"Bastards! Will they never stop? What do I do now? I'm out of strength and the shield isn't big enough to protect me!"
Seeing her take a defensive stance, the remaining gruks took the opportunity to close in on her. Pushing the archer away, they try to climb the pile of corpses. Seven of them passed as Emhe retreated under the shield. "I need every second to recover Stamina! How about another little help, Dark God? You helped me before, didn't you?" To her disappointment, no one answered.
“Bleep! You are suffering [Stress III]!”
Emhe kept falling back and losing ground as the gruks gathered on this side of the pile of corpses. One of them, much bigger than the others, began to push his own against her, forcing her to attack. Without activating [Berserk] or [Tense], Emhe's attacks were clumsy and ineffective.
After unsuccessfully trying to attack with the spear, she couldn't help but show how desperate she was. "I can't even hold on the spear! It's too heavy! Help me!!"
Erum's voice spoke both stern and merciless. "If you don't want to give me the spear, you'll have to keep backing away!"
About to give in to panic. "There's no way out! What do you expect me to do without the spear? What do you want it for?"
Noticing her state, several gruks rushed towards her. Emhe could only hurt them with slow and predictable attacks. Feeling confident, the biggest gruk mercilessly shoved his congeners, even stepping over them. Accustomed to the wide areas of the cavern, he attacked as best he could in that narrow place.
Emhe could barely raise her shield against the wooden club with which he charged at her with. Luckily for her, the club hit the wall first and the impact was lighter. Still, she felt as if her left arm was going to break.
"Bleep! Danger! You are suffering [Stress IV]!
You are now suffering [Apathy I]!”
Enduring the pain and holding back the urge to scream. "Gods! He's too strong for me!"
When she heard the huge being laugh and enjoy her suffering while preparing a new and more powerful attack, Emhe's rage tore through her desperation, crushing the incredible pain.
"Bleep! You have countered [Stress IV] and [Stress III], but you are still suffering [Stress II]!
You have countered [Apathy I]!”
Shouting and with only 102 Stamina points, she activated [Berserk] and [Tense] taking the gruk by surprise. "FUCK YOU, MOTHERFUCKER!!!
"Bleep! You are suffering [Confusion II]!”
"Bleep! Executed [Stab] to an enemy's head. Critical hit (DTMx3). Instant Kill!
You have eliminated [Gruk] (Level 9)! You have gained 225 experience points and 90 essence points."
"Thum, Thump! You've gathered enough experience to level up!"
"Bleep! Rest to be able to allocate 5 points on your attributes and choose a path among the following; Power, Dexterity, Intelligence or Willpower. You will also be able to choose a new skill and another one every 5 consecutive levels within the same path".
If only her mind wasn't so unstable, she would have noticed the message and also wondered why she could kill something 8 levels higher than her. The answer was more obvious than one might expect. Levels weren't that relevant if the individual hadn't used them correctly. That was what differentiated a trained individual from any other being. Although, a good quality magical weapon in the right hands at the right time might be a more accurate explanation for her achievement.
Calculating every remaining Stamina point she had, she timed each of the 6 attacks she had left until she was exhausted again. One by one, she finished them off. Just as she killed the last one and [Berserk] and [Tense] deactivated again, she realized that the archer on the other side of the pile of corpses no longer had any obstacles.
“Bleep! You have countered [Confusion II]!”
"Shit! I'm stupid!"
Emhe raised the shield, but it was too late. An arrow hit her left leg and shattered her ankle. Feeling indescribable pain. "AAAAGHH!"
"Bleep! You have received [Arrow Strike]! You suffer a 20 point wound. Decreasing bleeding will occur until all points are removed. Blood loss 0.020% per second. Your ankle is shattered! You have a permanent injury that will take years to heal and will never fully recover."
Between screams of pain and cursing, she realized she was screwed. She could neither run nor fight! There was no point in resisting any longer. Although she sensed that bleeding to death would be the least of her worries.
"Bleep! You are suffering [Stress III]!"
"There's a lot of blood coming out!" Almost trembling and completely desperate. "ARE YOU GOING TO HELP ME NOW OR ARE YOU GOING TO LET ME DIE?!"
Like a roaring beast, the dark claws emerged from the ground again, and once more, liquefied the pile of corpses. Erum's voice echoed in her head. "Tear out the arrow! I will heal you in exchange for all these corpses and your weapons! It’s not negotiable! And don't tell me what you'll do unarmed! Where you're going, you don't need weapons!"
Amidst the confusion and horror of finding himself swimming in a mass of blood and flesh the archer dropped his bow. Emhe understood that the claws had left him unharmed because he was alive.
Erum yelled. "If you don’t remove the arrow now, you will die!"
Emhe dropped both weapons and pulled the arrow with all her remaining strength. "It's slipping with so much blood on my hands!" Enduring an agony she had never experienced before, she managed to pull it out, but it got worse instead of better.
"Bleep! [Open wound]! You suffer a 23 point wound. Decreasing bleeding will occur until all points are removed. Blood loss 0.035% per second!"
"Bleep! Danger! You are suffering [Stress IV]!
You are now suffering [Apathy I]!”
As soon as she dropped the arrow, the stone ground magically absorbed the blood. Almost instantly, a red mist appeared and flooded into her body.
"Bleep! [Open Wound] has been removed! All 23 wound points have been removed. Bleeding has stopped! Muscles, tendons, bones and veins have been fully repaired! You are no longer injured. Your ankle is healed!"
Emhe was so stunned that she almost fell backwards when the Dark God's monstrous voice yelled at her. "Run to the portal!"
"Bleep! Danger! You are suffering [Stress V]!
You are now suffering [Apathy II], [Confusion I] and [Daze I]!”
*[Stress V]: Debuff. State of panic that causes:
-10% to Power and Dexterity.
-60% to Perception.
-80% to Intelligence and Willpower.
*[Apathy II]: Debuff. When you possess only 30% of your Willpower:
Lack of enthusiasm and interest in any action.
Tendency to obtain [Stress] states.
-40% to all your Masteries.
-20% effectiveness to Weapon and Technique Skills.
Finding it difficult to muster the strength to move, Emhe desperately ran towards the end of the cavern. "Where is the damn portal?"
An almost imperceptible luminescent ripple dispelled her doubts.
"Bleep! Entering the portal!
…
Destination... Origin!
Eliminating emergency equipment!"
Feeling her consciousness fading. "What the hell is Origin?" She barely caught a glimpse of it, as she appeared levitating along with many others. A vast black lake in complete calm under her feet. An immense amount of dark water under a starry night with a perpetual twilight in all directions.
"Bleep! Eliminating [Stress] states!
…
Initiating lethargy!
Loading standard equipment!"
Just before she fell asleep, the Dark God cast the spell [Falsify], and a different female voice echoed in her head. A voice she didn't manage to hear. "Everyone will agree that she is the best we've had so far!"
The Dark God didn't seem so convinced by that statement. "I disagree! But I like her fighting spirit!"
The voice of the being known as Athest. "I don't understand! You disagree, but you have constantly helped her without making a pact. All this just because of her fighting spirit?"
Erum nervously asserted. "Unless you want this to end prematurely, shut up! Keeping a low profile is our sole purpose now. We don't want it to end before it begins! Remember, they can hear us!"
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The Dark God finished calm but defiantly. "Whatever they do, they won't be able to stop her!"
Athest sounded upset. "They can't?! Really?! I remind you that many will try to kill her…!"
The female voice that started the conversation wanted to end it. "Enough! This time we'll do it right! I won't wait any longer subjected to this fate!”
Far away from Emhe, but on the same plane, one of all the beings floating there was about to be created. However, not as Emhe was created. Both the being that saved the redhead and the redhead herself were different, and therefore so was the process. That was known by the being who wanted to eliminate her and failed. For now...
The creation process was somewhat quick. It only lasted a few minutes, although the transformed ones only perceived a few seconds. Without hair or defined sex, a humanoid figure was dreaming like so many others had been for days. In her dream, a voice that sounded like an AI asked her questions. Unbeknownst to her, this would shape her for a new life in a new reality far away from there.
Kind and calm. "Answer! Who are you?"
With knowledge implicit in the dream itself. "I’m Daowm, a half-orc of the Wolf-Eye tribe."
Unbeknownst to her, the humanoid figure that made her up took on the appearance of a half-orc young woman. Tall and strong, like any half-orc.
"Please! Describe yourself."
"My height and complexion are normal for a half-orc. However, I'm beautiful to my own kind. My skin and hair are very dark and my eyes are blue, traits I inherited from my human and orc parents. My Intelligence is not comparable to my Power and Dexterity. I'm an outstanding fighter and a beginner blacksmith. I'm also very gluttonous!
Gradually, the shape of the humanoid figure became more and more defined.
"What are your favorite weapons?"
"My favorite weapon is the two-handed axe and my secondary weapon is the longbow. I'm also capable of unparalleled acrobatics!"
"What is your purpose?"
"I want to find someone. I don't know why I don't remember her right now, but it's clear to me. When I find her, I'll know that she is the one."
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Name: Daowm
Age: 19
Level 1
Class: Acrobat
Race: Half-orc
You have only 10% orc blood, but you have distinctive physical differences from other humans. That's why you are called half-orc. Distinctive differences:
Slightly pointed ears.
Prominent lower jaw and small tusks.
Increased musculature and size.
Your skin is dark.
Blessings:
[Blessed by Buhay]: The God of Orcs, Buhay, noticed you before you were born.
Advantages:
* [Orc Constitution X]: Racial passive trait (Equivalent to [Robust XX])
+20% to Power
+40% to Weight
* [Orc Perception]: Racial passive trait:
Gives the skill [Low-light Vision]
* [Not so stupid]: Racial passive trait:
Gives the skill [Remnant of lucidity]
* [High X]: Passive trait:
+10% to Height (+5% to Attack Range)
+10% to Power
+20% to Weight
* [Agile XX]: Passive trait:
+20% to Dexterity
* [Attractive L]: Passive trait:
+ 500 to Aspect
Disadvantages:
* [Orc Ignorance XX]: Racial passive trait (Equivalent to [Ignorant XX])
-20% to Intelligence
* [Always Hungry LX]: Passive trait:
+60% to Stamina Consumption (+20% [High X] / +40% [Robust XX]).
* [Bad Dodger V]: Passive trait:
-5% to Acrobatics Mastery
[Blessed by Mianth]: The Goddess Mianth noticed you before you were born.
Advantages:
* Gives the special technique skill [Dancer]
* [Dodger XX]: Passive trait:
+200 to Acrobatics Mastery
Disadvantages:
* [Derogatory XX]: Passive trait
+200 to Notoriety
Main attributes:
Power: 100+30
Dexterity: 100+20
Intelligence: 100-20
Willpower 100
Vitality:
HP: 230/230
Energy: 130000/130000
Stamina: 350/350
Stamina Transition: 1/s
Stamina Consumption: 160%
Blood: 100%
Water: 100%
Health: 100%
Constitution:
Weight (kg): 96
Height (m): 1,82
Encumbrance (Kg): 34
Weapon:
Axe Mastery: 20
Great Axe: 6 (20)
Bow Mastery: 10
Longbow: 1 (14)
Professions:
Blacksmithing Mastery 20
[Melting metal] Knowledge 16 (20)
[Shaping metal] (Level 1)
Basic Skills
[Tense] (Level 1)
[Mentalized] (Level 1)
[Sprint] (Level 1)
[Stealth] (Level 1)
[Passive Regeneration] (Level 1)
[Passive Healing] (Level 1)
[Alive]
Special Skills
[Low-light Vision] (Level 1)
[Dancer] (Level 1)
Technique Skills
[War Dancer] (Level 1)
Weapon Skills
Great Axe [Whirlwind] (Level 1)
Longbow [Crippling Shot] (Level 1)
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*[War Dancer] (Level 1): Technique skill. Your combat capabilities improve at the cost of a decrease in your mental abilities:
+25% to Dexterity.
+100 to Acrobatics Mastery.
-17% to Intelligence.
+1 to Stamina Transition.
+100% to Stamina Consumption.
Costs 1 Stamina per second to maintain.
*[Dancer] (Level 1): Special Technique Skill. Your dodging ability improves:
+20% to Dexterity.
+100 to Acrobatics Mastery:
-12% to Intelligence.
Costs 1 Stamina per second to maintain.
*[Low-light Vision]: Provides the following benefits:
Reductions due to [Darkness] are 30% less effective to the Sight sense.
+50 to Sight in [Darkness II].
*[Remnant of lucidity]: Provides the following benefits:
The Intelligence decrease due to debuffs will never go below 10%.
The effects of [Confusion] are not that severe.
*[Shaping metal] (Level 1): Profession skill. Improves your ability to shape metal as you wish.
+20 to Strength, Accuracy, Cleverness and Tenacity.
+50 to Blacksmithing Mastery.
Costs 1 Stamina per minute to maintain
May 24, 1256 of the Second Era
When she finished answering the questions, her body and mind changed according to her choices. Right at that moment, she woke up. Instinctively, she took a couple of steps before she started to feel the gravity on her body and her mind becoming a bit simpler due to the disadvantage of her blessing.
When she finally opened her eyes, she was standing on a huge altar with a circular base. On both sides, there were two huge pillars delimiting some kind of undulation.
Confused and still blinded by the sudden sunlight, she took a few steps more trying to scan her surroundings. She counted at least three magical portals through which people were coming out very intermittently. Always one at a time. When enough people showed up, some well-equipped guards gathered them all in one place.
Feeling the breeze on her face, she understood that she was on top of a mountain or an elevated area. As she turned to search for the top, Daowm found something unexpected. A huge pillar stood like a skyscraper. A massive pillar that emanated a dim, white and blue light. "What the hell is that?"
Kindly, a bearded middle-aged man in strange armor raised his voice addressing everyone. Daowm thought he resembled a battle cleric or something similar, although she didn't know exactly why she assumed that.
"Welcome to Antharia! Please! Follow all those people walking down the stairs in an orderly fashion! Don't stand in the line with these adventurers that go to the Nexus. They're already part of the Adventurer’s Guild. At the bottom of the stairs, someone will explain what you have to do to join!"
Suddenly, one of the portals began to vibrate and its color gradually turned red. Panic spread and many tried to flee in panic. Guards swarmed around the strange phenomenon.
"Come on! Come on! Get ready!"
"Something forbidden is trying to pass"
"Nothing should be able to get through! The spell shouldn't allow it."
"No, look! It's forcing its way in and it's succeeding!"
"Move aside! Move aside!"
The battle cleric's voice prevailed over everyone. "Back off!" Raising his hand, he drew a symbol in the air that began to glow. With his other hand, he pointed at the newcomers and shouted. "Get out of here!"
The ripples of the portal abruptly smoothed out, making them look like an elastic membrane that something huge was trying to break through. So huge that it carried an adventurer in one of its claws like a doll. Oddly, the protective spell of the portal let the body of the imprisoned man pass through, but not that of the reptile that held him.
"Agh! Help! Help! Kill this thing! Kill it! It's tearing me apart!"
The battle cleric shouted. "Everyone stay still! You know what it is. That creature is corrupt, and so will he. If you are touched without a ward spell, you are doomed! I can only cast one spell of that level on a single individual. Wait! I have summoned help!"
Daown was petrified. Her heart was pounding so hard it was choking her. "Gods! How could such a huge creature exist?!"
By the time Daowm managed to get more than twenty paces away, she saw a man walk calmly out of a small portal. A temporary portal that closed right after he appeared. The man was very handsome and had beautiful long black hair. He wore shining armor that stood out from any individual in sight. Determined, he headed straight for the creature which was managing to rip off the protective spell that had lasted until now. Standing in front of the portal, he uneasily observed the phenomenon.
The battle cleric adopted a strange posture. He seemed to be praying. In that instant, a white and yellow aura enveloped the knight who took an offensive stance. The cleric had cast a protective spell on the knight named Marom.
Several of the guards shouted. "Stand back! Get out of their trajectory!"
Desperate, the adventurer imprisoned by the creature's claws screamed as the creature tried to push its body and head through the portal.
"Wait! I'm still alive! I'm in the middle of the trajectory! What the hell are you going to do!? No, no! Stop! I beg you!"
Meanwhile, the creature, which had already managed to get through the portal one of its wings, as well as its head and a claw.
Marom watched the infected adventurer angrily. "I warned you! I told you many times that you shouldn't go to that place! I told you that you would die if you went there! But your ambition won over you!"
Marom concentrated, causing the aura that surrounded and protected him to glow like a whirlwind of flame. Spreading a blinding glow, he moved incredibly fast, destroying the floor tiles in his path, but leaving the portal intact as he passed through.
Daowm gasped when she felt the shock wave. "He is awesome!... Oh, shit!... The adventurer!" The floor was littered with flesh, entrails and bones of both the adventurer and the wyvern.
Some dared to complain as the portal spell dragged the creature's remains back inside. As if something knew that the creature's remains did not belong to that place.
"Why did you allow him to kill him?"
"He was alive, you could have saved him!"
Marom didn't even deign to answer them. "Don't touch anything! Burn it all! Corruption doesn't resist fire, thank the Gods!"
Daowm gazed at Marom until she heard the whisper of the girl next to her. "It's ridiculous! How can he have so much power when he's so young! He hasn't even messed up his hair!"
Daoum turned and stared at her. The girl was slightly taller than her. Her hair was red, and her eyes were green. She was so gorgeous that everyone around was staring at her.
Uncomfortable, the girl who would later be known as Emhe, walked away from everyone. Daowm sensed that Emhe looked very tired and weak. As if she had pushed her body to the limit.
"Funny! Why do I feel like I've seen her before!