Meera did better against the Stormweaver Warden than she had expected. Her training day with Zona had shaken her confidence but fighting Melas and especially Lexa had helped her regain some of that confidence. Even though her matches with Lexa got drawn out, they killed each other equal amounts of time, which gave Meera the confidence that she could still hang in there with the best of them.
Brison had informed them that Melas had given them a full eight hours of sleep today, but she still had woken up early. Lying in her bed, staring at the planks of the small hut, she couldn't fall back asleep, so she looked at her notifications. She was so tired last night that she collapsed as soon as she stepped foot in the hut.
*ding!*
[You have killed 3 Stormweaver Wardens – Level 332 – Level 335. For killing an opponent sixty levels higher than your own, you have gained bonus experience.]
*ding!*
[Congratulation. The Shadow Image has gained 9 levels and reached Level 278. You have been awarded 27 stat points]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Chakram of Echoes effect activated. Upon reaching Level 270 in your main class, you have earned two more Chakrams.]
Two more chakrams appeared on her arm, bringing her total to nineteen—eleven regular and eight level 2 chakrams. She had created two more to fight Lexa, as these were the only ones that could get through her lightning whip.
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Mirror's Affinity has gained 4 levels and reached Level 204. All of your mirror-based attacks will get a 208% boost.]
*ding!*
[Effect Upgraded. Mirror Affinity will provide a boost of 4% for every level henceforth.]
Meera smiled at that. More damage was always better, and she felt she would need it for the coming fight.
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Armor of Mirrors has gained 4 levels and reached Level 106]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Shroud of Shadows has gained 2 levels and reached Level 97]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Vampiric Chains has gained 3 levels and reached Level 92]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Mirror Step has gained 3 levels and reached Level 102]
Mirror Step did not evolve or give any passive boost, which saddened Meera, but it was okay. The skill had gotten faster with the increased levels.
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Mirrorstrike Vision has gained 4 levels and reached Level 105]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Mirror Tower Shield has gained 5 levels and reached 106]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Mirror Blast has reached Level 103]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Mirror Shard Barrage has gained 2 levels and reached Level 99]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Vitalize has gained 3 levels and reached Level 108]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Mirror Wing has gained 5 levels and reached Level 104]
*ding!*
[Skill Effect Upgrade. Mirror Wing will now fly the mirrors faster and use less mana. You can even easily take control of more mirrors and control them with ease.]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Shadow Coating has gained 3 levels and reached Level 72]
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*ding!*
[Congratulations. Mirror Phantom has gained 2 levels and reached Level 58]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Death Mark has gained 6 levels and reached Level 51]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Inferno Storm has gained 3 levels and reached Level 42]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Bastian's Strength has gained 5 levels and reached Level 55]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Heaven's Wrath has gained 8 levels and reached Level 9]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Shadow Affinity has gained 4 and reached Level 87. All of your mirror-based attacks will get an 89% boost.]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Wild Instincts has gained 3 levels and reached Level 57]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Tactician's Gaze has gained 4 levels and reached Level 82]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Prismatic Distortion has gained 4 levels and reached Level 29]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Absorption has gained 3 levels and reached Level 68]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Spectral Resilience has gained 6 levels and reached Level 101]
Another disappointment was that it did not evolve after hitting level 100. Meera wished she knew beforehand, which skills would evolve and which would stay the same.
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Iron Skin has gained 8 levels and reached Level 70]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Gladiator's Last Breath has gained 4 levels and reached Level 25]
She brought up all her stats to look at progress so far.
[Name: Meera Singh]
[Age: 24]
[Race: Unnatural Human]
[Class: The Shadow Image – Level 278]
[Class Ability: Hoarder – Level 26]
Stats
[Health: 2170]
[Stamina: 2350]
[Mana: 2490]
Attributes
[Constitution: 217]
[Power: 50]
[Dexterity: 196]
[Endurance: 235]
[Focus: 249]
[Agility: 170]
[Perception: 145]
Skills
[Ambush Tactics – Level 98]
[Shroud of Shadows - Level 97]
[Vampiric Chains - Level 92]
[Mirror Step - Level 102]
[Druvis Power - Level 79]
[Mirrorstrike Vision - Level 105]
[Mirror Tower Shield - Level 106]
[Mirror Blast - Level 103]
[Mirror Shard Barrage - Level 99]
[Vitalize - Level 108]
[Mirror Wing - Level 104]
[Petrifying Surge - Level 52]
[Shadow Coating - Level 72]
[Mirror Phantom - Level 58]
[Mist Concealment - Level 42]
Shadow Skills
[Decay Bite - Level 9]
[Death Mark – Level 51]
[Inferno Storm – Level 42]
[Bastian's Strength – Level 55]
[Heaven's Wrath – Level 9]
General Skills
[Identify – Level 9]
[Mirror Affinity – Level 204]
[Climbing – Level 20]
[Tree Walker - Level 15]
[Potion Making - Level 1]
[Alpha Aura - Level 22]
[Wild Instincts - Level 57]
[Charred Body - Level 15]
[Shadow Affinity - Level 83]
[Tactician's Gaze – Level 82]
[Prismatic Distortion - Level 29]
[Absorption - Level 68]
[Haunting Presence - Level 24]
[Spectral Resilience - Level 101]
[Blood Magic – Level 1]
[Soul Bond - Onyx the Stallion – Level 18]
[Negotiation Expertise – Level 1]
[Alcohol Tolerance – Level 1]
[Eyes of a Phoenix – Level 23]
[Iron Skin – Level 70]
[Gladiator's Last Breath – Level 25]
Armor
[Armor of Mirrors - Level 106]
Meera rested her eyes for a little while, but it wasn't long before Brison showed up. She got up and left with him through his shimmering door. He was quiet again. Despite how much this man worked, he showed no signs of being tired—no red eyes or bags under his eyes. It was odd. Maybe he can keep himself in top shape by writing it in his book.
When Meera emerged through the door, it wasn't a mountain peak with a clearing and a forest all around them. It was a gladiatorial arena. Thankfully, there was no crowd. It was rather bare bones and looked very roman-esque. There were some fallen columns and even a tree or two, which made Meera tilt her head. The place didn't look out of care. In fact, everything looked pristine.
The only other two people that had arrived so far were Tekton and Pallas.
"Hey, look who's here, and you've made some marvelous improvement in your levels," Pallas said.
Meera Identify'ed them both.
[Guardian Warden – Level 327]
[Gladiator Warden – Level 330]
"Thanks, but I'm still far behind both of you," Meera replied.
"Ha," Tekton barked a laugh, and not surprisingly, he was still polishing a dagger. "And yet you've beaten us both enough times. A true warrior shouldn't look at others and despair but size them up like a Drake sizes up its prey."
"Don't be so down on, Meera," Pallas said. "The way you're progressing. You'll leave us in the dust soon. I couldn't even dream of being as strong as you are when I was your age."
Meera smiled a little. "Say, Pallas, I wanted to ask you something."
"Ask away."
"I had some skills upgrade to their more powerful versions, but—"
"Really?" He practically squealed. "Which one?" His manic eyes were back again.
"I think I'll withhold that information until after the free-for-all," she replied. "Coming back to my question. Some skills evolved at level 100, while others didn't. Why do some skills evolve at level 100 and others do not?"
Pallas shared a smile with Tekton. "The answer is quite simple." He raised his hand. "Just like no finger is equal in length and function. And just like no two classes are similar. The same goes for skills. Some skills evolve at level 100, others at 200, some do not evolve till level 500, and others never evolve. In your case, it's even harder to tell because you steal them. If you had earned them through regular means, then we could've better gauged if they would evolve or not. My Bastian's Strength that you stole was at level 215. I would not expect it to evolve until you've got it to level 300, and maybe not even then. Maybe its next evolution will be at 500 or even at 1000."
Meera's jaw dropped. "Are you serious? Is there a way to tell when the next skill evolution will be?"
Tekton laughed. "You want to appropriate the powers of a god, do you?"
Meera frowned and looked between them both.
Pallas smiled at her. "Meera, the only one who knows a skill's journey in its entirety is Lord Darthin, the Master of skills. Only the creator of the skills can tell you when and if the skill will evolve."
To say Meera was disappointed was to say the sun was yellow, which, thankfully, in this star system, it was. She could only handle so many changes. A Saturn-sized planet always hanging in the sky was more than enough for her.
Brison arrived with Dirik and Zona. Pallas ran to his girlfriend, tackled her into a bear hug, lifted her off the ground, and gave her a big kiss. Meera was happy for them. Zona scared the piss out of her, and her new level was not making her any less scary.
[Archer Warden – Level 332]
Meera had a hand in handing Zona a lot of her new levels. Her strategy for dealing with her was to stay as far as possible and be camouflaged, as it was high noon, so invisibility was out of the question, thanks to her Shroud's one weakness—light.
Melas was the last to arrive, with sleepy eyes and disheveled hair and snapping at Brison for waking him up too early. The others laughed or shook their head at their leader, commenting how he was always like this.
"Oh, you're all here, and I thought I would have to waste my time waiting for you while someone made his rounds." He gave Brison a sidelong glance, to which the Keeper just rolled his eyes. Melas went on after a big yawn. "The rules are simple. Kill each other in any way possible. Die, and you're out. The last person surviving gets to kill the Heart of Doromar. I hope our dear Keeper of Records has made some progress towards finding a solution for that problem."
"I have," Brison said.
"Great," Melas said, sounding less drowsy and annoyed. "Any questions?" He glanced at everyone, and no one had any. He bulked up in an instant.
"Let's begin slaughtering each other."