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-Endurance grants an Additional(+2) Health per point.
-Soul grants an Additional (+2) Soul Energy per point.
-Immune to Charm, Sleep, Fear, and Confusion Effects.
-Unlocks World Boss Level Progression.
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A humanoid blood sucking monster resembling a mosquito, able to instantly steal the life force of her victims. Grants Greater Drain and Awakened Senses abilities.
-Greater Drain: On killing blow, permanently gain a percentage of the target’s total Strength, Endurance, and Soul stats (minimum of 1).
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The evolved form of a Mosquito Queen, grants Soul Thief, Bloodwalk, and Rapid Regeneration abilities in addition to Mosquito Queen abilities.
-Soul Thief: On killing blow, permanently gain one of your victim’s spells or abilities and imprint their soul into your memory.
-Bloodwalk: Mark a location with your own spilled blood, allowing you to instantly return to that location at the cost of Soul Energy.
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Lain Erickson
Blood Lord (0%) Progress to Next Evolution
Level: 1* XP: 0% To Next Level
Body Age: 29
Life: 688/688 Soul Energy 376/376
Strength: 190
Endurance: 172
Soul: 94
Agility: 50
Skills/Spells:
Age Stasis: Prime Human
Acid Resistance: 1/10
Perfect Mental Resistance 10/10 (World Boss)
Melee Mastery: 15/100
Appraisal: 6/10
White Nova: 4/20
Blast Nova: 2/20
War Mage: (1/1)
Greater Drain (1/1)
Awakened Senses (1/1)
Rapid Regeneration (1/5)
Soul Thief (1/1)
Bloodwalk (1/1)
Buffs/Debuffs:
+95 Spell Damage from Strength
+47 Attack Damage from Soul
+68.8 Health Regenerated per Second
*Soulthirst: Consume a Worthy Soul within (22h/18m/33s) to avoid Soulthirst
*EDEN: (+20%) XP gained for (23h/59m/59s).
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My face blanched an even lighter shade of white as I studied the changes I had brought upon myself. I hadn’t just gotten stronger, I had jumped the fuckin’ fence to the other side of the world’s mechanics. I was literally a monster, and not just any monster. I was a World Boss.
World Bosses were procedurally generated from certain mob types. Once a monster became a world boss, it was put into a self correcting evolution tree that in very rare cases could produce god like rogue enemies that rampaged across the game world. More often than not, a highly evolved world boss was not something you fought, but simply avoided at all costs.
I had excused myself to one of the many restrooms and now stood before a full length mirror. My body was still human in proportion but inhumanly shredded. There wasn’t a gram of sympathy to be found among the compact striations and dark veins. It wasn’t pleasant to look at like my old aesthetic game physique. This was the body of a killer. The fluid interplay of muscles as I twisted to look at my back resembled a coiling rattlesnake more than anything warm blooded. I made a confused sound as I noticed two dark red lines directly over my shoulder blades.
My face had changed too, thankfully it was subtle. My cheekbones and jaw were more sculpted, my nose was sharper, and when I smiled my canines were alarmingly pronounced. My eyes were still grey but there were now red flecks in the whites that would sparkle like glitter in the light. I tried cutting my claws back down to nails but nothing had been able scratch them. Maybe Tabula or Jade could do something about it.
My bodily woes aside, I was blown away by my new powers. All of the stats I had absorbed had been included into my base stats and multiplied for some reason, likely a hidden aspect of the World Boss title. That title was also interesting. Apparently an Implicit Title was always active in addition to whatever other normal title was also active. My health and Soul Energy were absolutely off the charts for my level, which had been rolled back to one. I had no idea what the experience requirements were to gain levels as a World Boss but I imagined it wasn’t as simple as when I was a human.
Every new discovery raised my excitement higher. I no longer needed to use the dagger to trigger Greater Drain!? I could steal abilities permanently!?
“I can fucking Fast Travel!?” I couldn’t help but exclaim out loud as I read the Bloodwalk ability. “Sixty-eight regen is bananas. I can farm resists without wasting potions...” For the first time ever, I was starting to look down on my former overpowered Exiled Gods Self. Sure I could have one shotted this boss I had become at my peak but this was Day. Fucking. Two.
“Wait. What the hell is Soulthirst?” I was suddenly worried. If I had to guess, it must be some vampire type effect where I needed to feed regularly or go insane. What qualified something as a ‘Worthy Soul’ for that matter? “I’m sure I’ll find out whether I want to or not.”
I filed my many questions away for later, and checked the one thing I was most excited about. I opened my inventory, and scrolled down. Most of my precious end game gear was still red, but there were three pieces finally highlighted in green. The smile I saw in the mirror looked a little too super villainy, I’d have to work on that.
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*Equipped: Pillars of Valor- Leg Armor
(Item Score 730) Skin: Default
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
+120 Strength
+120 Endurance
Indestructible
Unstoppable Tier 2
Soul Linked: LainTrain90-Can’t be Traded
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The plated leg armor was gorgeously crafted of a silvery metal with a mirrored finish and embellished with golden runes. In other words I found it tacky as a pink fedora.
That said, it was incredibly light and comfortable. It felt like wearing flannel pajamas compared to the rough linen trousers I had bought in town. In terms of function it was a piece befitting an ultra top tier, no life player like myself. The stat bonuses were double Elevated and perfectly rolled. I had passed on many other leg pieces of much higher item scores simply because they couldn’t measure up to those insane rolls. Finally, the Unstoppable tag doubled my Strength score while I was moving, which is pretty much all the time. And now the main event...
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*Equipped: Muninn, Raven of Mind- Pistol
(Item Score 720) Skin: Default
Damage: 333
+5’ Range per (1) Agility
Indestructible
Ammo Capacity (15/15)
Fires Arcane Rounds
Replenishes (1) Round Per Second
**Set: The last enemy damaged by Muninn gains Memory Brand for (30) Seconds.
(1) Additional Enemy May be Branded per (25) Agility.
----------------------------------------
*Equipped: Huginn, Raven of Memory- Pistol
(Item Score 720) Skin: Default
Damage: 333
+5’ Range per (1) Agility
Indestructible
Ammo Capacity (15/15)
Fires Arcane Rounds
Replenishes (1) Round Per Second
**Set: Attacks also damage any Memory Branded enemies regardless of Range or Line of Sight
Soul Linked: LainTrain90-Can’t be Traded
----------------------------------------
The twin semiautomatic hand cannons were from one of the most unpopular Abyss themes ever. It was a supernatural modern setting with heavy Norse mythology influence. The pistols were jet black with Ravens etched in relief along the barrel, blue arcs of energy played across the detailed ravens, making them appear to be in flight through a lightning storm.
The guns had dropped from a pair of raven headed secret world bosses gated behind a quest chain that had cost me a full week of progression. They had decent enough damage but they really performed their best in the worst situations where multiple enemies could cover one another.
I abandoned the idea of blending in. I’d soon be traveling openly with Tabula and the others, and with the strength at our disposal I no longer feared getting hassled by the local rabble or anyone else for that matter. It was time for Me to be Me.
My familiar suit materialized once again piece by piece, embracing me like an old friend. I smoothed back my black hair, noting as I did that my ears were now sharply pointed. I gave a final sigh as I studied the practical stranger’s reflection.
“I look like someone now.” I mused, tapping my cheek pensively with Muninn’s barrel. “Oh my shit I’m Dante from DMC on steroids.” I hit a dorky pose with my two pistols and snorted a laugh at myself. “At least my hair didn’t turn white.”
I left the restroom, returning outside to find Tabula having a discussion with Yugal. A sound I hadn’t ever heard before made me turn sharply. Niiya had laughed. It was only for a second, little more than a squeak of delight but it had struck profoundly. One look and I realized what had caused it.
Niiya was watching Jade do something incredible. She had transformed into a huge green and black tiger, roughly twice the size of the Siberian tiger I had once seen at the San Diego Zoo. She let Niiya stroke the dense, silky fur and the little cat girl’s eyes lit up with wonder. Jade even got down low and invited Niiya to climb on her back.
“Gray look!” Niiya shouted at me from atop the massive feline. I took a mental snap shot of that smile, knowing it would always be a treat I could pluck from the old emotional cookie jar when I felt low.
“That’s awesome! Hang on tight though you’re up pretty high.” I waved at her with my own sharp toothed smile.
“Pfft!” Jade made a disapproving noise. “She’s safer up here than you are down there.” The Jade tiger held her head up and away, giving me a sidelong and condescending look.
Tabula snapped a glare on Jade, and Yugal’s great jaw dropped in open admiration.
Jade caught the look and knew she was in for a headache. “Sorry that you don’t know how awesome I am yet, Master.” The tone was apologetic but the words were anything but.
“Be yourself girl.” I waved it away. “Do you have any other forms?”
“Are you kidding? You don’t even know that much? Just because Tabula always makes me stay in dragon form because it’s ‘the most synergistic and optimal’ I have to stay as a big flying worm and now everyone thinks that’s all I can do!” The giant tiger actually sat back on her haunches and did air quotations with her wicked claws. I pinched the bridge of my nose to fight down a giggle.
“I see, well now would be a great time to show off then won’t it?” I said. “Do you have a favorite?”
Jade looked down, a bit subdued. “You want to know about me?” She bent low again, and Niiya took the hint and crawled off carefully before running back over to me.
She touched my gray blazer curiously and waited patiently as I sat down cross legged on the brown grass beside her.
An impromptu show-and-tell commenced as Tabula and the giant Yugal both turned their attention to Jade. In spite of her usual arrogance, she looked suddenly bashful.
“I like my original one the best.” She finally said. “This was my first form.”
A green glow surrounded her once more and her body shrank and transformed in a flash. Where the huge tiger had stood was now a slightly larger than normal fox with nine bushy tails. Her fur was still the color of jade except for the tips of her tails and her paws which were snow white.
“Jade is a Huli Jing.” Tabula explained. “A mythical spirit beast that is able to shapeshift into various creatures as it ages. The dragon is the final form the Hilu Jing can attain, making Jade one of the oldest of her kind.”
“Way to steal my story!” Jade snapped. The fur on her back stood straight up and her words carried into a growl.
“Your fox form is beautiful Jade.” I interjected before a full scale war could break out between the two. “Are there others?”
“Y-you think so?” Jade seemed to forget Tabula’s story hijacking. “I learned how to turn into a human when I was fifty. I don’t usually do it but it goes like this...”
She glowed and changed shape once more, and shocked didn’t begin to describe the feeling, or I’m sure the look on my face. I was no stranger to good looking girls, even considered myself a bit numb to looks at this point. I now realized my error. While Tabula was a tall, exotic bombshell full of sophistication and mystique, I couldn’t seem to think about her as much more than a beautiful painting-untouchable and hard to relate to.
Jade’s look ran directly counter to those sensibilities. Her body was petite and athletic, she was five and a half feet tall with muscular legs, wide hips, and a six pack on her slim waist. She wasn’t top heavy by any means but that only exaggerated her sporty gymnast aesthetic. Her skin was bronze, her hair was an unruly mane of glittering green ringlets and her lips were full and parted in a grin showing bright white teeth. Her thin almond shaped eyes glowed with an intense green inner light and were reminiscent of her fox form. She looked wild, carefree, and mischievous. If I had to guess how old she looked I would say around twenty.
I was both thankful and secretly disappointed that her human form included clothes. She wore a tight black and green silk wrap that covered her chest and one shoulder along with a pair of short matching muay thai trunks. Her hands and ankles were taped like a fighter’s and I understood the look at once. Whoever designed Jade must have been a big Tekken fan.
All in all, she was my exact type that I never even knew I had. I put the revelation aside and decided to carry on.
“Wow that’s great!” I said, and the words rang as awkward even to myself. “Ahem. I just realized we don’t have much time. We need to get to Filam and warn everyone, and before that we need to get EDEN mobile.”
“Eh?” Jade seemed disappointed. “You didn’t even see what my forms can do!” She accentuated the protest by raising her left knee high in front of her, and then extending her foot so that it was above her head. She then brought it down in an axe kick that literally split the ground and caused the whole area to shake.
Heavy handed applause and a deep voiced cheer from Yugal surprised me as much as the overpowered kick. The giant was an instant Jade fanboy. Niiya gripped my arm tightly but looking down at her wide eyes and wider smile revealed it was from excitement rather than fear.
“We have all the time in the world to talk about it and show off.” I insisted. “For now I need everyone to listen to Tabula’s plan.”
“Right.” Tabula took the cue and began to explain. “Once Jade, Rain, and Myself are inside then you’ll need to deactivate EDEN. Then, you’ll need to fill the bed of the wagon Miss Niiya provided with soil. When that is done, you can deploy EDEN at the smallest blank configuration setting in the center of the wagon bed. You can then crawl inside where I’ll guide you through the manual configuration menu.”
“Let’s do it.” I grunted. “No reason to delay.”
A few minutes later, I stood in the once again empty clearing with Niiya and Yugal. I scrolled through the Astral Vault menu until I found the stored wagon.
Yugal had barely recovered from the vanishing building when a wagon materialized from thin air before us.
“You create complex items from nothingness. I have heard myths of such magic but to think I could behold it myself.” The giant was clearly mystified.
“Gray can do anything!” Niiya proclaimed, making me a little uncomfortable.
“There’s plenty I can’t do.” I said. “In fact I could use your help with something Yugal.”
The giant nodded. “I will do my best.”
“Great. Can you dig up some dirt and fill the wagon bed with it?” I pointed at the ground, then the wagon as I asked.
“Of course, just as Lady Tabula instructed.” The giant plunged his hands into the cold packed dirt beneath the leaves as effortlessly as a backhoe would on earth.
I watched impressed as the giant pulled forth enough soil with that one scoop to more than fill the wagon bed. A gentle swipe removed the excess and left the wagon filled with a perfectly even layer of dirt.
“Perfect. Now the next part...”I said as I pulled forth the metal cube that was EDEN and input the smallest possible base configuration.
Once EDEN was placed in the center of the wagon bed, I activated it and watched the tendrils of light once again feel out the available space before the artifact activated. It worked perfectly, the cube now filled the wagon bed, the door was more of a hatch now, just allowing me to squeeze inside.
“Excellent.” Tabula’s voice reached me as I entered the small room. “Now you should see a blue button next to where you entered. Press it.”
I turned around and found the button. Had it always been there? I couldn’t remember if I had ever looked behind me during the setup phase which was always simple voice prompts.
I pressed it and a window popped up. It was a single blank field with a blinking vertical line indicating I needed to enter some command.
“Enter the following command line.” Tabula began. “X://ROOTDIRECTORY/CUSTOMCONFIGURATIONS/TABULA0013/”
I typed the command carefully on the translucent keyboard that appeared below the prompt.
“Alright perfect. Now you can leave the rest to me.” Tabula’s voice was tinged with excitement now. “Please go inside to complete the setup.” She continued a moment later.
I crouched and went through the door that appeared a moment later. My eyes went wide at what I saw. The inside of EDEN was that of a modern three bedroom apartment with two full bathrooms, and a beautifully furnished living area.
I turned and opened the small door to see a curious Niiya staring at me from outside. I poked my head out, noticing that the wagon was somehow still standing and that EDEN’s exterior had assumed the form of a simple wooden carriage.
“Tabula, how the hell is this possible?” I turned back to find the android smiling in satisfaction at my amazement.
“EDEN has extradimensional attributes, allowing it to house spaces that otherwise would be impossible. Even the winter resort configuration does that to a degree. The interior square footage exceeds the parameters of the exterior. This configuration simply uses that system to its upper limit.” She explained simply.
“Alright, guess it makes sense when you put it that way. I just never knew.” I said still struggling to understand. “Come on inside Niiya.” I called, and she climbed up and through the door.
“Wow Tabula!” Niiya ran around the apartment looking at everything.
Ten minutes later our entire group except for Rain was standing outside the wagon. I was more than satisfied with the newly mobile EDEN except for one detail.
“Any of us are more than strong enough to pull it like a rickshaw but how do we get it through the forest and to a road?” I pondered aloud.
“I can do that.” Jade said. She was presently in her fox form, tickling Niiya with her tails. Apparently she really liked the little girl. “It’ll eat a ton of my Soul Energy though.”
“You can? But how?” I asked.
“It’d be easier to just show you.” She replied.
Jade then transformed in a flash of green light into her dragon form. It was as awe inspiring as always. Then without any warning, the Wagon began to float silently off the ground, climbing higher and higher before hovering perfectly still more than fifty feet in the air. Everyone aside from Tabula gaped openly. I then noticed the almost invisible barrier under the wagon. The wagon descended easily and settled back on the dirt a few seconds later.
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