He put the piece of wood down, and lifted up the next natural treasure. It looked like a fleshy bulb, with liquid coursing around inside. That liquid looked disconcertingly like blood, as Jonathan could see it through a small panel of see through material on the side. It looked quite disgusting, especially if he was expected to eat it, but it was still a treasure, and would likely provide him with many benefits. In addition to its strange shape, it gave off a faint aura of heat. He picked it up, and scanned it.
Boon of the Hotblooded
Tier 2 Natural Treasure
A bulb from a rare species of volcanic plant, this natural treasure contained the pure elemental blood of a volcano itself. Eating the bulb will increase the consumer’s natural red blood cell concentration, allowing them to achieve more for the same amount of stamina use. In addition, their blood will become molten, able to harm anyone who breaks through their skin.
This one looked promising, and Jonathan put it to the side. He wanted the treasure after hearing about increasing the efficiency of his stamina usage. The molten blood was only a bonus on top.
The next treasure was what looked to be a crystallized lightning bolt, made out of clear crystal. It thrummed with electrical power, and when Jonathan picked it up, it felt like it was trying to get out of his hand, not willing to be bound for too long.
Conduit of Speed
Tier 2 Natural Treasure
This crystallized shard of pure lightning was sourced from one of the lower Tier elemental planes. Breaking the crystal and consuming the resulting dust grants the user the speed of lightning, increasing both the ability of their muscles to use greater speed, as well as their nerves to keep up. Be warned, unless your Strength and Resilience are on par, this treasure can lead to injury.
Jonathan put this one on the maybe list. He would be crossing his threshold soon in Dexterity, and he did not want something that could potentially be a danger, not until he saw the other options at least. The fourth natural treasure was a pink crystal that looked like a brain. It was only a faint resemblance, but it was still there. The crystal looked like it was an actual brain, if Jonathan let his elemental sight loose. It was a strange effect, and one that he was intrigued by.
Wisdom of the Earth
Tier 2 Natural Treasure
Consuming this crystal will grant the user the ability to tap into the knowledge of the Earth, using their surroundings as a repository for information. It grants access to a special skill that creates a library of information, beyond the memory capacity of even a peak Tier 2.
If Jonathan had been a mage, this would have been interesting, but as it was, he set it back.
The last treasure was the strangest of the lot. A large mammalian hand, it was dried and preserved by what looked like desiccation. Thick black fur was still visible on the back of the hand, and it looked like one of those monkey’s paw trinkets back on Earth. Perhaps this was the same thing.
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Book of Ekrathys
Tier 2 Natural Treasure
This treasure can be used once, and will grant a single wish. As long as that wish is within the parameters of the essence contained within this treasure, it will be granted. An example parameter for the treasure would be an instant bonus of a hundred stat points to each stat, not affected by multipliers. The only other limitation is the imagination of the user.
Just going by the potential stat bonus alone, this one was coming with him. Although it did not provide a scaling bonus like the others, a single boost to his power would be welcome.
Jonathan picked up the paw, and after a quick moment of deliberation, picked up the Boon of the Hotblooded, as well as the Strength of Wood natural treasures. Starting with the Strength of Wood, he started to consume them. Eating the essence enhanced piece of wood was like chewing on a branch. However, the wood began to soften as soon as it entered his mouth, and it eventually dissolved into a pool of energy. The energy rushed down his throat and into his muscles, empowering them beyond their previous limits. It felt like something was growing within him, something huge and implacable. Now that he had consumed the treasure however, he realized that if there was no limit to the number that could be eaten, Granath was probably stacked in terms of them. The worm likely had consumed hundreds of the things in his time, if not thousands-
Warning, you are approaching the Tier 2 limit on Natural Treasure consumption. You have two more left before that limit is reached.
Jonathan sighed. Although he would not be gaining any more strength from treasures after this, at least Granath would be stuck with the same amount.
A moment later, he slid the bulb like orb of the next treasure down his throat, wincing as it popped with a disturbing noise. Fluid rushed down his throat, quickly turning into vapor that soaked into his bloodstream. It felt like something had set his blood on fire, but the pain only lasted for a few moments. When it left, he felt better than ever before. His blood felt like it had been energized by the treasure, and it was able to carry more oxygen and essence through his bloodstream. He pulled back his arm, marveling at how smooth the motion felt now. With a grin, he pulled out the last of the treasures. This one would require a bit more thought. He wanted to use it to shore up his weaknesses, but unless he was specific enough, he would waste its full potential.
The stat boost option was also good as well, if he was unable to think of something else. The first thing that came to mind, his Divinity, would not be an option. Only Divinity could increase the power of Divinity after all. Although this boon was powerful, it was not that powerful. In that vein, the treasure could not improve his mastery over the Void, nor make his skills in that area more powerful. What was left were his more mundane attributes. He already knew about the stat bonus, so he simply moved on from that. His next thought was upgrading his class to the next rarity, but when he tried to make his wishes known to the treasure, it glowed red. It seemed that was too much power for the treasure. The limits were not oppressive, but still annoying.
Calculating the total stat bonus allowed Jonathan to see that he could add up to six hundred points to any stat. Of course, that was a terrible idea, as it would lead to drastic imbalance. Another idea that popped up was breaking one of his stats through a threshold early, allowing him to double up on the next threshold. However, that was yet another terrible idea. If he did that for Strength, he would never be able to get his other stats to a similar level, and he would probably end up killing himself. Then something came to mind that was likely within the parameters. Upgrading his race. Because a race could be upgraded at any time, as long as one had the threshold to do so, it would probably take less energy to do so. It was not entirely dependent on the thresholds either, as they seemed to be more of a gateway to the race, rather than what actually made the racial upgrade what it was. With an increasing conviction that this was the right idea, he conveyed his wish to the paw.