Morning found Duke and Aurelia waking simultaneously as Duke gasped for air as if his lungs had been completely emptied. He was desperately sucked in lungfuls of air for a good minute before his body calmed down and realized he was OK. His brain was still trying to catch up.
What in the actual fuck was that?
“Are you OK, love? What happened?” Aurelia was trying to hide the alarm in her tone and did an excellent job of it, but Duke’s XENOGLOSSIA saw right through it.
Sometimes I really hate that Ability.
“I think I’m OK. I have no idea what that was. Maybe a bad dream.”
The answer came momentarily when his world lit up with a cascade of notifications. More than he had ever seen before. so he delved into them.
*** Remember what I told you about your next set of notifications. Enjoy the rewards for your “adventures.” ***
*** Wow, that was amazing to watch! You took on a dungeon based entirely on this world’s gods and not only survived but managed to kill each and every one of their incarnations. We are so proud of you, and dedicating the final shrine to us was such a beautiful touch. We are more than pleased, we are truly touched.
You pushed yourself beyond what we thought were your limits in this one. Your rewards will definitely reflect that. You killed 600 creatures of no less than level 160 and receive a massive 5,415,000 experience. This will bring you right into Tier 4. In fact, it brings you all the way up to level 66 in Tier 4! You now have a massive 1,266 Characteristic Points to spend.
For killing each incarnation of the local gods, we grant you the Title “Godslayer”. This will help you when you confront the actual gods of this world.
You Skills and Abilities have advanced dramatically.
Stealth has increased to Initiate 34
Dodge has increased to Practiced 61
Aerial Maneuvering has ranked up to Practiced 16
Meditation has increased to Initiate 16
Martial Arts Combat has increased to Adept 35
Tonfa Mastery has increased to Adept 124
Diplomacy has increased to Initiate 21
TELEPORTATION has increased to Adept 151
REGENERATION has increased to Adept 81
AURA CONCEALMENT has increased to Initiate 14
LASTING DISGUISE has increased to Initiate 9
LIGHTNING has ranked up to Adept 3
OVERCHANNEL has increased to Adept 31
MENTAL FORTITUDE has increased to Practiced 33
FORCE has increased to Initiate 23
FLAME DART has evolved into FLAME at Initiate 24
POISON DART has evolved into POISON at Initiate 9
ACID DART has evolved into ACID at Initiate 7
WIND DART has evolved into WIND at Initiate 3
ICE has increased to Initiate 24
EARTH SHARD has evolved into EARTH at Initiate 2
LIGHT has increased to Initiate 26
BOLT of DARKNESS has evolved into DARKNESS at Initiate 3
SPELL RESISTANCE has increased to Initiate 13
SIMULCASTING has ranked up to Practiced 1
CLEANSE has increased to Practiced 21
RESTORE has increased to Master 54
IDENTIFY has increased to Initiate 31
SENSE MAGIC has increased to Novice 19
REMOTE CASTING has ranked up to Initiate 4
INVENTORY has increased to Practiced 23
ARMOR SKIN has increased to Adept 14
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FLIGHT has increased to Practiced 36
CLAIRVOYANCE has increased to Initiate 15
SILENCE has increased to Novice 18
COMBAT SENSE has increased to Initiate 27
HOLD UNDEAD has increased to Initiate 7
These gains are tremendous and represent just how hard and how far you pushed yourself in that dungeon. Continue to push yourself like this and you will soon be ready for the competition. ***
*** This is nearly everything they were holding back from you. Do not speak about this outside of a dungeon or they will become suspicious. We do not need them to put any more restrictions on you than they already have. Right now, they still have the power over you to alter you. I am getting closer to breaking their hold and set you free. Bide your time. ***
*** You have reached Tier 4. Congratulations!
Tier 4 options:
Option One – (Common) Class specialization. Option not available.
Option Two – (Common) Gain a second Class. Option not available.
Option Three – (Uncommon) Ability evolution. Choose an Ability to significantly enhance and alter.
Option Four – (Rare) Ability generation. Create a new Ability.
Option Five – (Rare) Ability combination. Combine two or more Abilities into a single Ability.
Option six – (Very Rare) Race change. Change your base race to another.
Make your choice! ***
Duke was once again confronted with a choice, and he was wildly unsure what option to choose. He was tempted to combine CLEANSE and RESTORE to see what that would turn into but wasn’t sure that would get him anything more useful than the two Abilities already were.
I wonder if I can hold my choice off for a bit. My TELEPORTATION is right on the verge of Master Rank. I might get a cool evolution when it ranks up or I could evolve it now and see what happens then. Or I could create a new Ability. Our communications are shaky at best over any real distance. The Jewels of Whispers are good for what they do, but they are significantly limited. Maybe I’ll look at the next notification and come back. And race change…I think I’m going to leave that one alone.
*** You have been granted the Title Godslayer. You have proven yourself to be a force greater than any simple god of such a simple world. As such, you are even greater when countering them. All your Abilities operate at an additional 100% effectiveness when used against a god. ***
Interesting title that I completely did not earn and I’m not sure if I will ever want to be in a situation where I can use it. Then again, any edge is something worth taking. I just hope it doesn’t turn them against me. I don’t think I am quite ready for that level of heat. And it looks like I can hold off on the Tier 4 selection. Probably not too long though. I hope there’s some warning before the option goes away or something. One more thing to do before I get out of bed – allocate stats. This is going to suck.
“I have a lot of points to allocate so this might be a bit rough. Want to head down for breakfast and I’ll join you later?”
“Or I could just stand here and watch you suffer.”
“You could do that too, I suppose.”
“Nah, I’ll go get some breakfast.” She leaned over and gave him a warm kiss before slowly sliding her body over his own making sure he felt everything as she rolled out of bed. She once again took her time putting on her armor, teasing him the whole way.
Duke moaned and fired off a CLEANSE and RESTORE before she slipped out the door with a blown kiss and a final comment. “See you when you’re done suffering.”
Duke dove into his stat allocations. When he was done, he accepted the changes and suffered through the changes. The largest jump was in Psyche, bringing it to a raw stat of 1,200. He also moved every other stat above 500. His Health and Mana had jumped to around 900,000 and 1,500,000 respectively. He felt ready to take on the world. So, naturally, he went down for breakfast.
He found Aurelia sitting at a table filled with Legionnaires with an empty seat next to her. As he approached, the Legionnaires stood and snapped to attention. Duke returned their salutes and gestured to the table. “As you were. This is breakfast, not an inspection.”
A few chuckles greeted him as the Legionnaires returned to their meal. Aurelia smiled as he sat next to her. “You seem a bit bigger, my love.” A suppressed chuckle from across the table belied the immediate response that popped into more than one Legionnaire’s mind. Duke chuckled along as he had the same reflexive response pop into his head.
“I had a lot of points to allocate.” He replied with a wink.
One of the Legionnaires, a Cohort Commander by his rank insignia leaned across the table and asked Duke, “Your Majesty, you seem to be far stronger in every aspect than you should be. May I ask what makes you so strong? What’s the secret?”
Aurelia moved to dismiss the question, but Duke waved her off. “That is a somewhat difficult question to answer as much of the answer is, and needs to remain, secret but I will share some of it with you. But first a question for you. How many Characteristic Points do you have allocated?”
The man swelled with pride. “I have 477 Points allocated at level 40. Most are from leveling, but I have earned more than a few through my efforts. Having an Uncommon class has been great for my stat growth.”
Duke smiled. “That is quite the respectable stat growth while not even halfway through Tier 2. I am a bit further along. My total stat allocation is just under four thousand.” His response was greeted by the sound of utensils hitting the table and more than a few rattling to the floor.
“Four thousand, Your Majesty? That’s not a jest, is it?”
“Not in the least. You have an Uncommon class and that gives you a nice stat boost every level. I have something else and that gives me quite a few more than anyone else I know of. That is a tremendous advantage for me and one I would not have shared beyond this table.”
Immediately there were cries of “On my honor!” and “Death before it leaves my lips!” and similar declarations of agreement. Duke’s XENOGLOSSIA was still working with his enhanced Intuition and made it easy to read the shock of his revelation and the emphatic honesty of the Legionnaires’ intention to keep his secret just that.
Duke looked around the table, meeting all their eyes before speaking. “My soul tells me the ardent truth of your words. The Thrice-Blessed Legion is honorable above all else. I thank you for all of it. Your service. Your fidelity, your willingness to fight for the kingdom, all of it. Never have I served with better men and women.”
Laying it on a bit thick, but they deserve it. They are the reason the kingdom still stands as I cannot defend against everything. Strong soldiers are needed to hold the ground. That’s a lesson we all had to learn the hard way. Air superiority can deny an enemy territory and even restrict their movement, but without ground forces, you can’t hold any territory.
Breakfast eventually came to an end and Duke took Aurelia outside for their journey. “Are you ready for this?” He asked.
“Sure am.” She replied with an eager smile.
Duke smiled himself, asking. “Remember how you left me this morning?” Then he TELEPORTED them both to the Wildheart Refuge dungeon.
They appeared barely a meter away from where Snarlheart and Emberclaw stood, ready for the delve. They were equipped for combat and cut intimidating figures, smiling at Duke.
Aurelia leaped back, drawing her sword in a defensive posture while uttering an oath.
Duke looked at Snarlheart and Emberclaw with bewildered looks on their faces and broke down laughing. Between chortles, he introduced everyone. Emberclaw and Snarlheart were gracious in welcoming Aurelia. The glare he got from Aurelia was icy death.
Worth it. Totally. Until she gets me back at least.
After everyone calmed down, they turned to the dungeon entrance because there was an entrance now. It looked somewhat incongruous against the silo, but a large pair of sliding barn doors waited for the group. Without further discussion, they opened the doors and entered the newborn dungeon.