Chapter 27.1 - Temptation
There were a lot of these damnable gods to memorize. It'd take a while to get them all straight.
“Thanks for the rundown… my head hurts a bit but I think I’ll be able to remember some of it.” Trey said while rubbing his skull. “Perhaps you can tell me more about this ‘Alkir’ character later on. She seems to be your favorite.”
“Of course.” Rivia replied anxiously, just happy to be of use to him and finally meeting his gaze with her red eyes matching his. She held it there, scared, unsure of whether or not he was pleased with her before Trey looked away and yawned.
He pulled out his status page, remembering that he still had points to assign. He dumped the 1 unused skill point into Chaos Ball and assigned the 5 stat points to Willpower, giving him another slot for minion control. He had decided not long ago that he should try to always have at least one open just in case he came along something he could minionize. If he grew some more levels and already had a slot open, he would then start putting more points into other stats. He wasn’t sure what the exact build he was going for was yet, but he knew that he had to at least work a little bit harder at increasing his strength. He really wanted to see what that sword could do at full power, even if it was leagues away from being able to use its full potential. Needless to say, he used a lot of magic... so he would need intelligence for increasing his magic damage and wisdom for increasing his mana pool. He could focus less on speed and dexterity for now, and he didn’t think he’d ever be putting any points into luck or faith.
“Atharost, go ahead and assign your own points.”
The ifrit did as he was told, assigning 10 stat points to intelligence to increase his magic damage and 2 skill points to fire blast without even thinking about it. He received a notification, blinked, and turned to Trey.
“I’ve received another upgrade option for my spell Fire Blast. Would you want to take a look? Or should I choose that as well?”
He had no idea what Atharost was talking about and it showed. Atharost did something with his status screen and in an instant the prompt that the ifrit was showing appeared in front of Trey.
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“Your spell Fire Blast has increased to level 20. Every 10 levels you are able to choose one of two options for another upgrade. Please decide between the two options listed beneath:”
Fire Blast^ (Fire) - Level 20
* Create a large torrent of flames at medium range with high damage.
* Upgrade 1> Heat from Fireblast is increased by 300%
* Upgrade 2> SELECT AN OPTION:
* Option 1: Reduce mana cost by 25%
* Option 2: Increase damage output by 10%
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“Ohhh!!! So that’s what those little arrows mean! They correlate with the amount of upgrades the spell has right?” Trey pointed to the two little arrows next to the spell’s name, then compared it to the other spells Atharost had. He didn’t wait for the ifrit to reply and pulled up the other abilities Atharost had to view them as well.
Fire Bolt^^ (Fire) - Level 23
* Shoot a basic Fire Bolt at your enemies at long range
* Upgrade 1> Increase speed of Fire Bolt by 70%
* Upgrade 2> Increased piercing damage with concentrated center
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Demon Tail^ (Fire) - Level 11
* Allows piercing and slashing attacks.
* Upgrade 1> Increased dexterity stat by 15 points
“Fascinating.” Trey commented as he read it over. He hadn’t gotten to level 10 in any skill yet so he had no idea what it had looked like until now. “I’ll leave the option up to you. You’re going to be the one using it.”
He turned to Napoleon and took a long look at the sleeping little creature. He was going to start letting Napoleon do the same and choose his own builds, though he’d mention to them both that he’d at the very least like to be advised what they were doing when they chose to assign.
“The mana option then.” Atharost said, choosing the 25% reduction to mana cost for Fire Blast. He shook his head grimacing. “If I had this upgrade in the fight with the culn, I wouldn’t have lost like I did. I wouldn’t have needed you to save me…. But I am glad it happened that way.”
Fire Blast^^ (Fire) - Level 20
* Create a large torrent of flames at medium range with high damage.
* Upgrade 1> Heat from Fireblast is increased by 300%
* Upgrade 2> Reduce mana cost by 25%
“So where are you from? Tell me about your past life.” Trey asked his new friend while stretching, then putting his arms behind his head and yawning.
The ifrit shook his head and looked downcast at once. “Not… today. If that’s alright with you, master. Perhaps another time.”
Trey blinked, shrugged, and turned to Rivia. “What about you Rivia? I… I know I killed your father, and that your father killed your mother. Got any stories about your past that aren't too touchy?”
Rivia gave him a glare on instinct and quickly covered it up with a fake laugh. She hummed lightly and curled her knees to her chest, resting her head on them and looking into the fire. She sat there for a long, long time, the flames reflecting off her eyes as she gazed into the past.
“I was just four years old when I began to read scripture. My father was a low ranking priest at the time, far before he gained status. My childhood was filled with sermons and I spent hours of every day at prayer.” She smiled a cold, sad smile. A mask to hide her true emotions. “I wasn’t allowed to go hunting because I was a girl. Culn women have few places in society, with some of the most esteemed females becoming priestesses to the Infernal Crowns. This is what my father wanted for me, and he would beat me if I suggested I do something different. When he killed my mother, it was because she’d allowed me to go play with the other children that day and let me skip my hours of prayer. I sacrificed my first soul to Alkir when I was 15. My life has been nothing but study of scripture, rituals, sermons, prayer, and other religion-oriented activities. I have come to enjoy it… but that joy was amplified many times over after I felt Alkir’s touch for the first time. Though it was just a dream, I knew it was her.”
Rivia’s eyes grew watery and her lips began to quiver as her smile blossomed. She let out a sharp exhale, still looking into the dancing flames while the others listened. “I… I felt her. Alkir, Mistress of Darkness… she touched my mind as I slept, if only for a moment. It was then in that instant that I knew my life finally had meaning. She whispered to me… something that she had never done for my father despite decades of his service. She told me that one day I would see him die in front of my eyes… that I would see my mother avenged, and that I would serve a new master. That I would need to guide him into her service. By that, my life’s true meaning would be fulfilled. Today… after you provided me with a minion contract, I heard her words again… and realized that she was talking about you.”
Trey tried not to vomit with the religious bullshit she was spouting. He’d heard similar crap from the bishops and preachers back home on Earth in the churches he attended as a kid. He had lost his religion at the age of 16 and had never turned back. Not that he didn’t want a kind and loving god to exist, but they had completely lacked any proof and always told him to have an abstract ‘faith.’ But blind faith was what led to the crusades, mass suicide poisonings in Brazil, cults of child sex predators in Texas, the hanging of completely innocent people in Salem, and suicide bombers in the Middle-East. Now that he was hearing this from Rivia he couldn’t help but compare the two, and he was certain she was just making it all up to try and manipulate him like all the other religious zealots did with their worshipers. Perhaps he shouldn’t have mentioned to her that he’d like to learn more about Alkir… but then again she had useful miracles due to her faith. Perhaps he would just roll with it and wait to see what happened, and hopefully she would become something more useful than eye candy and a basic healer in the future.
“You’re saying you expected Trey to come find you?” Atharost asked skeptically. “Pshh. The old gods speak to no one but their elder priests and prophets. They would not speak to someone like you, even in a dream, much less give you a sign of things to come. I do not believe it.”
Trey himself wore a skeptical frown.
Rivia ignored the ifrit and tears continued to stream down her face as she just kept… smiling. “I do not expect either of you to believe me, but it is true. Aside from religious studies, I have done and seen nothing in life. The friends I made were other priests and priestesses, two of which were killed by you… and you…”
She pointed to Trey and then to Atharost, keeping the smile even with the open accusations. “Above all things... It is Alkir’s will. She told me you would come, and I know it is my path to serve and guide you into her arms.”
Trey pooched his lips. “Hmmm. I see. How long ago did Alkir talk to you?”
“She did not talk to me! That is not what I said!” snapped Rivia angrily, only to reel in that anger immediately afterwards and dropped her head respectfully. “I… I am sorry. She did not talk to me… that is reserved for only the most devout. She told me through visions and dreams… I knew you were coming three days prior to your arrival. That is when I got the miracle ‘Immortal’s Infernal Blessing,’ and when I knew that she had set out a different path for me. Praise be to the mistress of darkness…”