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*Soulthirst: Consume a Worthy Soul within (7h/29m/10s) to avoid Soulthirst
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It turned out that Duchess Carmine could be reasonable when she was scared shitless. She agreed to stay out of our way, and declared the territory west of the city off limits until the situation was resolved. That was two hours ago, and it was getting dark as I entered Gnollwood alone once again.
The air was different this time around as a result of my Awakened Senses skill. It was thicker, and had an oily metallic quality I had never noticed before. The smell of smoke, blood, and shit drifted on the breeze that was sweeping down through the forested hills from the mountains. I didn’t even need the directions Yugal provided. I knew that my prey was behind the stench. The shadowy evening forest would have been tricky to navigate before, but my eyes adjusted to the gloom like a cat’s. If anything I now felt more confident in the dark than in full sunlight. I practically flew through the woods now, each leaping stride carried me a dozen yards or more. I passed close enough to a wandering doe and her fawn to touch them and they didn’t even react other than to raise their heads and flick their ears.
The smell grew stronger with each passing minute, drawing me in like a beacon. I was eager, more eager than I ever had been. Some new instinct was driving my legs now, lengthening my stride even more. I always loved the rush of fighting monsters in an immersive environment, but this was something different entirely. I felt bloodlust furiously pumping in my veins, wanted nothing more than to find strong enemies and tear them to pieces with my own claws.
That thought stopped me in my tracks suddenly. Was that an effect that would grow stronger the closer I came to Soulthirst? My greatest weapon was my ability to calculate and dissect any situation tactically. I couldn’t afford to lose that here. With a deep, calming breath I forcibly took control of the Soulthirst fueled urges and proceeded more cautiously.
The forest thinned as I climbed the foothills and approached the root of the mountains. Signs of the monster gathering increased. Tree stumps from felled trees, torn up earth from the lumber being dragged, and hundreds of footprints ranging from flat footed goblins to giants. The trail was wide and clear, switching back and forth and climbing rapidly. I heard a slight sound, quiet breathing from the path above. I abandoned the trail and began to climb straight up the mountain’s face. My black claws bit cleanly into the stone, allowing me to scale the nearly sheer cliff as easily as a sturdy ladder. The sound of breathing stayed even and uninterrupted as I neared the source of it. I climbed slightly to the left, allowing me to reach the trail around twenty feet further up the path. As soon as my head cleared the lip of the cliff I searched in the direction of the breather.
It was a short humanoid with long bat like ears, spindly limbs, and greenish skin. I didn’t need Appraisal to recognize a goblin sentry. It was time to test my new natural weapons.
The creature was less than alert, staring idly out over the cliff. Even if it had been staring right at me, I doubt it would have picked me out from the deep shadows. I crept with no sound, swiftly covered the final ten feet, and swept my left arm in a violent palm strike to the back of the goblin’s skull. I only meant to knock it unconscious and let the fall do the rest.
It exploded. Pink mist, chunks of skull, brain matter, teeth, and dislodged eyeballs flew far out over the lip of the cliff before disappearing from sight far below. The body went ragdoll and followed the exploded head, spinning violent cartwheels out in the open air to eventually splatter on the ground hundreds of feet below. It was the force of a wrecking ball compressed to the size of a tennis ball. I shouldn’t have expected anything less but I was still mildly horrified at my own strength. That was way more graphic and tactile than anything I had ever experienced in game.
A small surge of power flowed into me, confirming that Greater Drain was really functioning without the use of my dagger. A satisfied smile spread on my face, tonight would be a feast. As an afterthought I nicked my index finger with my thumb claw and squeezed a drop of blood on the stone ledge before moving on.
I eventually came to a more level pass between two peaks, and I knew the enemy’s camp was close. I could hear chanting, hooting, and other various monstrous vocalizations. I was in the low clouds now, and the air glowed in the distance with the light of fire. I had encountered no other sentries since the goblin. Given the terrain I would place a few soldiers on the sides here where the path was most narrow. I focused on those spots and was rewarded. There were three orcs on each side, roughly twenty feet above the narrow pass standing at bored attention. Field Appraisal worked just as Ariel promised, but these were all common monsters with no names and levels around ten. Guess Blackfang and Doomhowl really were elites compared to the average rabble.
Their placement was too awkwardly spread to take them out without potentially alerting the camp beyond. I decided to simply bypass them instead. My real mission tonight was to find a worthy soul and stop this scary ass countdown. A minute later I approached a rough hewn fence of sharpened timber. A pair of orcs guarded the gate here as well. I circumvented the wall to a place that was deep in the shadows of a cliff. I scaled the stone once again, maybe I wouldn’t try to cut these ugly claws down after all. They were proving to be super useful.
I found a perch ten feet higher than the thirty foot wall just wide enough for me to sit and observe the large camp with my legs dangling off the edge. The monsters were clearly preparing to move out, the entire camp was bustling.
It was time for me to get busy too. I scrolled through my inventory and two glass globes the size of a grapefruit, filled with thick black liquid appeared in my hands. This method would make me miss out on some stolen stats but I really needed to start thinning out the weaklings.
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*Used Item: Bedlam Brew (x2)
All creatures within (50’) that fail to resist are driven into a blind rage, attacking anything near them indiscriminately for (1) Minute.
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The bottles soared through the air silently. I aimed for a large concentration of a few score goblins in the southeast corner of the camp and a pack of around thirty gnolls loading a wagon with food stuffs about a hundred feet to the west of them. I raised my arms like the conductor of an orchestra, and awaited the sweet music of war.
“Graaaagh!” The first shriek of outrage and pain erupted from an orc, with a gnoll’s bloody bone tipped spear poking through his chest. His enraged snarl turned into a squeal of bloodlust as the brew took him. He killed even as he was killed. Bedlam Brew was no fucking joke.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Like a swarm of bullet ants, the affected goblins fell over one hill giant that tried to restore order. He was completely engulfed in moments, and his roar was muffled as crazed goblins dove inside his mouth, stabbing and slashing with crude weapons.
“Field Appraisal.” I focused on a small group of better equipped orcs that were retreating toward the large central building which was made of pine logs. “Bingo.”
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Grobgash
Level: 53
XP: 7% to Next Level
Life: 180/180 Soul Energy 240/240
Strength: 40
Endurance: 90
Agility: 18
Soul: 120
Skills:
Blood Frenzy: Grant Strength and Endurance equal to Soul to (2) Allies per skill rank for (5) Minutes.
Harm/Heal: Damage a creature for (30) Health per skill rank, or Heal a creature for (30) per skill rank. Range: Touch
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With a quick roll of my shoulders and a deep breath, I jumped out into the darkness, pistols in hand. I landed lightly in a group of ten gnolls that had been out of the brews’ range.
“Blast Nova.” All ten were consumed by flames instantly. My spell damage at the moment was well over two hundred. The surge from Greater Drain nearly knocked me down to one knee. Focus.
I sprinted toward my named prey, he was almost in range of my weapons. One shot would do it. Something was coming out of the building. I fired two shots. Mission complete. Everything above Grobgash’s waist vanished in a cloud of mist and crackling black energy. The Warlord appeared then, his eyes widened in outrage at the chaos all around him. He sensed me almost instantly, and snapped his soulless glare in my direction. I waved like a friendly neighbor and started to walk away with my hands in my pockets.
“Stop!” The Warlord’s booming command carried the weight of a spell, which I easily resisted.
I went rigid, I’d seen enough Hold spell effects to act it out pretty well. The hardest part was not smiling.
“Bring me his head!” The Warlord ordered the two hill giants that had come to stand between us. They seemed tentative but didn’t dare refuse a direct order.
They approached, and as they both began to bend down to presumably tear my head off with their bare hands, I exploded into action. White Nova froze them in place and two arcane bullets shattered their thick skulls into frozen dust.
“Just kidding.” I said jovially, continuing my nonchalant walk toward the gate of the camp.
The Warlord’s roar telegraphed his charge, and I watched it from the corner of my eye. It was identical to the Gorgothan’s charge from EG. I was already ten feet in the air when he took his first step. He was physically faster than me, but was also hopelessly easy to read. I kicked off his head with one foot, propelling myself further toward my destination. I landed in a group of orcs just as the cooldown of Blast Nova finished counting down. Nine more pillars of flame disappeared into ashes on the breeze as the spell consumed them.
Given the distance, a Gorgothan would now use Black Lightning followed by a barrage of quills. As before I was in motion before the spell left his outstretched hand. He grunted in frustration as the lightning flashed harmlessly past me and instead sent a poor goblin flying to splatter against the wooden wall more than fifty feet away.
I was at the gate now, none of the nearby monsters were willing to step between us.
“I’ll be waiting for you in Filam.” I said as The Warlord exposed his back, and its deadly quills to me. “I hope this wasn’t your best effort. Blood Walk” I enacted the skill for the first time. The world dissolved around me as a barrage of wicked spikes ripped through the air toward me. Suddenly I was standing back on the trail where I had exploded the goblin sentry’s head.
At this point you’re probably wondering why I didn’t just stay and wipe all of the monsters out then and there. Well I’ll tell you. One: I wasn’t completely sure I would win. Two: I needed the ugly elkupine alive to keep my promise to Yugal, and didnt have a good way of restraining him. Three: I was almost guaranteed to be on the shit list of some very influential people very soon. Annihilating the Warlord threat right next to the city would earn me big points with the common people while sending another very clear message: we are not to be fucked with. Did you think I was the number one player of a ROLE playing game just because I was good at killing stuff?
Since I had some free time and I was curious, I decided to check my stats before taking off back down the mountain. I’m lucky I wasn’t chewing on something because I would have choked.
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Gray
Blood Lord (25%) Progress to Next Evolution
Level: 1* XP: 80% To Next Level
Body Age: 29
Life: 2,752/2,752 Soul Energy 660/716
Strength: 505
Endurance: 477
Soul: 179
Agility: 50
Skills/Spells:
Age Stasis: Prime Human
Acid Resistance: 1/10
Perfect Mental Resistance 10/10 (World Boss)
Melee Mastery: 18/100
Ranged Mastery: 4/100
Appraisal: 7/10
White Nova: 5/20
Blast Nova: 5/20
War Mage: (1/1)
Greater Drain (1/1)
Awakened Senses (1/1)
Rapid Regeneration (1/5)
Soul Thief (1/1)
Bloodwalk (1/1)
Blood Frenzy (1/10)
Buffs/Debuffs:
+252 Spell Damage from Strength
+89 Attack Damage from Soul
+275 Health Regenerated per Second
*Soulthirst: Consume a Worthy Soul within (1d/09h/22m/49s) to avoid Soulthirst
*EDEN: (+20%) XP gained for (14h/25m/30s).
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My life total was now higher than it had ever been even in EG. I could safely tank a hit from an average dragon (barely) and passively heal back to full Health in less than ten seconds. I still couldn’t use any more of my weapons because of my low Agility but...
“Ohh hell yes...”
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*Equipped: Beast Titan’s Claws- Hand Armor
(Item Score 806) Skin: Default
+200 Strength
+100 Agility
Indestructible
Pierce Armor Tier 6
Hand Speed Tier 6
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One of the longest boss fights of my life (aside from the Ruby Weapon in FF-7 when I was ten) was against a corrupted nature spirit called Maukokonoko the Beast Titan. It was a bear that made a grizzly look like a mouse. That’s not an exaggeration, it had trees growing out of the fur on its back and paws that could pancake an SUV.
It took two days, and I do mean forty-eight hours of kiting it across a rain forest packed with other dangerous mobs to a cliff, but not just any old cliff. This was a two thousand foot drop onto solid stone, with thick concealing growth right up to the lip. I had to keep it blinded and pissed with Huginn and Muninn (one Mind shot to each eye and one memory shot every ten seconds to stay ahead of its regeneration). Finally I had to leap out over the cliff, then use double and triple jump to barely make it back to the edge while old Mauko dropped to his doom. That strategy’s just between us by the way. Don’t go blabbing to Ariel.
The reward for that bitch of a battle was this pair of absolutely insane gauntlets. They gave double elevated and perfectly rolled stats, Pierce Armor that could ignore up to six hundred of the target’s endurance, and a Hand Speed boost that literally made my hands three times as fast.
The default skin was actually pretty badass. Tightly woven strips of dark red leather wrapped all the way up to the elbow, and long wicked claws thematically carved from the same material as Mauko’s claws extended two inches out from each finger. It was a hidden effect but I knew the claws themselves had roughly the same damage as a high tier dagger. I wondered if that would somehow stack with my own claws. Was I falling into a sort of unarmed build? I didn’t hate the idea as a former grappler honestly.
The intangible pressure and urgency from Soulthirst receded, and I felt mental clarity return. The closest thing I can think of to the feeling is being sexually frustrated for a long time, finally sealing the deal, and then at last having those few precious hours of afterglow where you can finally think like a person again. You might find the comparison unsavory but that’s the feeling and there’s really nothing else similar.